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What happens to the Cuba cruises?


florisdekort
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13 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Apparently Pursuit will do something in the Caribbean not involving Cuba starting March 23 and ending April 5, then head for Lisbon arriving April 18. The next month she'll likely do the western Med, Portugal, and France's Atlantic ports on the way to Southampton May 24.

 

I will do something else.

Pursuit sails from Lima on 23 March ending in Miami on 5 April then TA to Lisbon. How will it get from Lima to Caribbean if not this?

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22 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

It is news to me. I will find out from our itinerary department by tomorrow, and from marketing to see if letters have been sent/are in the works.

 

Here is the letter re the rescheduling of the May 9 cruise. I apologize for my delay.

I will also post this on the Roll Call.

 

June 14, 2019

Dear Azamara Guest,

Last week, we sent a letter to inform you  of important changes to your 15-Night Atlantic Pursuit Voyage on Azamara Pursuit, which was scheduled to depart on May 9, 2020. We’re writing again to provide you with more details about compensation and re-booking options available.


 

Due to the recent change in the United States policy towards cruises to Cuba, we had to modify the 2020 deployment pattern for Azamara Pursuit.  As a result, this required us to alter the sailing dates and itineraries of some voyages. Yours is among those impacted.

Essentially, this modification moves our transatlantic crossing earlier—departing Miami on April 5th, 2020. It shortens the voyage by two days and removes a call on Plymouth, England from the itinerary. Beyond that, you’ll visit the same destinations as originally scheduled with one exception. Your final call will be in Lisbon, Portugal which is an exciting addition for anyone who appreciates history, architecture and exceptional cuisine. Lisbon’s Gothic grace and good-time attitude combine to make it one of the most captivating cities in the world, and you’ll end your voyage in the heart of it all. You’ll find the specific details below.

We hope you’ll join us on this new journey across the Atlantic. However, we also realize that these changes are significant and may not suit your schedule or interests. With that in mind, we’ve added our electronic voyage overview brochure to provide a variety of alternative sailings for your consideration. Click here to review our latest itineraries.

Naturally, any shore excursions purchased through Azamara will be refunded completely or credited for new shore excursions on an alternate voyage.

We invite you to select one of the compensation alternatives described below by July 12th:

  • If you choose to move to the new transatlantic voyage onAzamara Pursuit, departing on April 5th, 2020, we’ll guarantee you the prorated or prevailing rate, whichever is lowest. You will not pay more. Also, you will receive a $500 onboard credit per standard stateroom or a $1000 onboard credit for suites. In addition, we will reimburse with proper receipts, up to $500 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for Domestic guests and $1,000 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for international guests. 
  • Re-book on any other new Azamara voyage, in the same category for the cruise fare paid or prevailing rate, whichever is more favorable to you; this applies only to new bookings. Also, you will receive a $250 onboard credit per standard stateroom or a $500 onboard credit for suites when you rebook on a new Azamara voyage. In addition, we will reimburse with proper receipts, up to $500 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for Domestic guests and $1,000 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for International guests. 
  • If you choose to cancel, a full refund for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment however, you will not receive the other incentives described above. We will reimburse with proper receipts, up to $500 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for Domestic guests and $1,000 per person for non-refundable Airfare/Hotel changes for International guests.

We will personally reach out to you to ensure the best possible solution is reached. If you have questions or concerns that need to be addressed before we contact you, you are more than welcome to call our special help desk at 1-855-AZAMARA (292-6272), option 3.

The desk is now openand will remain open through July 12th, 2019. All reservations that are not changed by the specified close date will be ineligible for the compensation offered.

 

Thank you for your understanding. We take great pride in bringing you and every Azamara guest unforgettable experiences both onboard our ships and within our destinations. We can assure you that your Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

Azamara Club Cruises

 

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On 6/17/2019 at 4:49 PM, marinaro44 said:

Nice of Azamara to let us know.  Was about to book flights and hotel. 

 

At one time or another we've had ten Azamara cruises booked during the period from this August through next May, and eight of the ten have had either major date or itinerary changes...sometimes both. 

 

Too much of this disruptive nonsense for me.  A big black mark for Azamara to add to the new upgrade scheme disaster.  They must not realize they're losing once-loyal patrons with the incredibly callous attitude displayed toward us.

 

 

This from one of Azamara's most ardent supporters. I hope that Azamara is listening. On our last cruise we talked to a number of very high level Azamara cruisers that are booking other cruise lines. 


 

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8 hours ago, Arizonasunshine said:

This from one of Azamara's most ardent supporters. I hope that Azamara is listening. On our last cruise we talked to a number of very high level Azamara cruisers that are booking other cruise lines. 

Maybe this explains more than a little of what is going on. 

 

A Wikipedia page from a few years ago (references the 2016 dry docks) lists Azamara's "key people" as Pimentel (president and CEO), Van Middendorp (AVP, Hotel & Marine Operations), Bjorndal (Director of Global Marketing & PR) and Twynam (Managing Director, UK & Ireland).

 

The "Leadership" page on Azamara's web site now shows:  Pimentel (president & CEO), Carol Cabezas (COO), Francisco Mallmann (VP, strategy & finance), Nils Lindstad (AVP, sales &trade support), Scott Daniels (AVP, hotel operations; and a former hotel director on Journey), and Twynam (same position).

 

Cabezas was VP investor relations at RCI and before that had executive positions in sales, finance, and revenue at Celebrity.  Her masters degree is in finance.  Mallmann has two masters degrees, one in finance and the other an MBA.  He started at RCI in revenue management at Celebrity. 

 

Lindstad has been with Azamara ten years and before that was at Sea Dream where presumably he worked with Larry Pimentel.  Bjorndal is still with Azamara but now appears off the top "leadership" charts.

 

I wonder if we are now seeing at Azamara the typical MBA/finance emphasis on maximizing today's revenue above all else.  What matters is getting the best bottom line at the end of the quarter, whatever it takes and whatever effect it has on passengers.  Certainly something has changed in Azamara's ethos, and not for the better with respect to long-term patrons.

Edited by marinaro44
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8 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Maybe this explains more than a little of what is going on. 

 

A Wikipedia page from a few years ago (references the 2016 dry docks) lists Azamara's "key people" as Pimentel (president and CEO), Van Middendorp (AVP, Hotel & Marine Operations), Bjorndal (Director of Global Marketing & PR) and Twynam (Managing Director, UK & Ireland).

 

The "Leadership" page on Azamara's web site now shows:  Pimentel (president & CEO), Carol Cabezas (COO), Francisco Mallmann (VP, strategy & finance), Nils Lindstad (AVP, sales &trade support), Scott Daniels (AVP, hotel operations; and a former hotel director on Journey), and Twynam (same position).

 

Cabezas was VP investor relations at RCI and before that had executive positions in sales, finance, and revenue at Celebrity.  Her masters degree is in finance.  Mallmann has two masters degrees, one in finance and the other an MBA.  He started at RCI in revenue management at Celebrity. 

 

Lindstad has been with Azamara ten years and before that was at Sea Dream where presumably he worked with Larry Pimentel.  Bjorndal is still with Azamara but now appears off the top "leadership" charts.

 

I wonder if we are now seeing at Azamara the typical MBA/finance emphasis on maximizing today's revenue above all else.  What matters is getting the best bottom line at the end of the quarter, whatever it takes and whatever effect it has on passengers.  Certainly something has changed in Azamara's ethos, and not for the better with respect to long-term patrons.

 A very interesting hypothesis marinaro and certainly one that makes a lot of sense. Something has changed at Azamara ....and it's not just the logo! 

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Well after a lot of juggling and lateral thinking we have got a great outcome on our Cuba cruises -  we were going to do the transatlantic, have a few days shopping in Miami and then join the round cuba cruise.  But then events overtook us all!

 

We think Azamara has been very fair with their offer as particularly for the transatlantic which was on the same dates as the original bookings the change of ports was all that had happened.  

 

So we kept the transatlantic, but have now bought the two following cruises finishing up in San Juan the day our non changeable overnight flight leaves Miami.  Lets all keep our fingers crossed that I have not been too optimistic as we could only get an 11am flight back with a 7am docking....something I said I would never do.

 

We will transfer our 21 November booking to something in 2021 - exact one not decided but have a few more days to do that yet. It was a good option from Azamara and we decided we could possibly do something we thought was beyond our current reach.

 

We are very happy with the flexibility Azamara showed us in a situation that was largely outwith their control.

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3 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

That’s great, uktog, a great result!

No kidding.  And the couple that scored the 24 night east African cruise as compensation.  Makes me wish I had booked a Cuban cruise just to avail myself of the fall out generosity. 👍

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2 minutes ago, flyingshoes said:

No kidding.  And the couple that scored the 24 night east African cruise as compensation.  Makes me wish I had booked a Cuban cruise just to avail myself of the fall out generosity. 👍

Indeed, though we will not be heading for something as long as that!

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2 hours ago, uktog said:

Well after a lot of juggling and lateral thinking we have got a great outcome on our Cuba cruises -  we were going to do the transatlantic, have a few days shopping in Miami and then join the round cuba cruise.  But then events overtook us all!

 

We think Azamara has been very fair with their offer as particularly for the transatlantic which was on the same dates as the original bookings the change of ports was all that had happened.  

 

So we kept the transatlantic, but have now bought the two following cruises finishing up in San Juan the day our non changeable overnight flight leaves Miami.  Lets all keep our fingers crossed that I have not been too optimistic as we could only get an 11am flight back with a 7am docking....something I said I would never do.

 

We will transfer our 21 November booking to something in 2021 - exact one not decided but have a few more days to do that yet. It was a good option from Azamara and we decided we could possibly do something we thought was beyond our current reach.

 

We are very happy with the flexibility Azamara showed us in a situation that was largely outwith their control.

 

We had no Az sailings booked, but have landed very nicely with the rescheduled cruises. Our TA advised that Az had reduced pricing, with better Caribbean itineraries than the other 'Cuba' revised cruiselines. So we have booked the two back to backs from San Juan 30th Nov (your final leg?) and 7th Dec. Incredibly, with the Az OBC for back to back bookings we have an additional $300 OBC for each sailing i.e. $600 total.....as we sometimes say here in Scotland, it's cheaper than staying home!!

 

Great to read that this has worked out for you, and your flight times look absolutely fine to me.

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13 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Maybe this explains more than a little of what is going on. 

 

A Wikipedia page from a few years ago (references the 2016 dry docks) lists Azamara's "key people" as Pimentel (president and CEO), Van Middendorp (AVP, Hotel & Marine Operations), Bjorndal (Director of Global Marketing & PR) and Twynam (Managing Director, UK & Ireland).

 

The "Leadership" page on Azamara's web site now shows:  Pimentel (president & CEO), Carol Cabezas (COO), Francisco Mallmann (VP, strategy & finance), Nils Lindstad (AVP, sales &trade support), Scott Daniels (AVP, hotel operations; and a former hotel director on Journey), and Twynam (same position).

 

Cabezas was VP investor relations at RCI and before that had executive positions in sales, finance, and revenue at Celebrity.  Her masters degree is in finance.  Mallmann has two masters degrees, one in finance and the other an MBA.  He started at RCI in revenue management at Celebrity. 

 

Lindstad has been with Azamara ten years and before that was at Sea Dream where presumably he worked with Larry Pimentel.  Bjorndal is still with Azamara but now appears off the top "leadership" charts.

 

I wonder if we are now seeing at Azamara the typical MBA/finance emphasis on maximizing today's revenue above all else.  What matters is getting the best bottom line at the end of the quarter, whatever it takes and whatever effect it has on passengers.  Certainly something has changed in Azamara's ethos, and not for the better with respect to long-term patrons.

 

Yep.  Same has happened at Celebrity.  We are now sailing more with other lines than the RCCL crowd, sadly.

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