Newbie Qs: Fine print on Azamara shore excursions?

[snowglobe]

Hello,

I spent the day getting ready to finalize our choices of shore excursions for our b2b cruises next Jan. & Feb.. Can someone please explain what the standard "No cancellation fees on most tours with 48 hours notice*." means? (The asterisk says: "*Not valid on tours that involve flights, hotel stays, events or private arrangements.")

When I read the detailed fine print, it was pretty clear that Azamara reserves the right to cancel shore excursions, but it was not at all clear about the conditions that permits us, the guests, to cancel a reserved shore excursion.

 

So if it's an off-the-ship-no-flight-involved shore excursion, can we really cancel anytime up to 48 hrs before the date of the scheduled excursion and get our full OBC/cash back? Or is it 48 hours before the cruise sail date?

 

It appears that although 'most' shore excursions are refundable, the language seems to imply that 'some others' may not. How can we tell if any given excursion is non-refundable, if all excursions use the standard disclaimer quoted above? There's an excursion that I'd like to book ahead of time, but since it's worth more than $1,000 CAD for the two of us, I'd rather know for sure before I pay for it. (Of course I'm working on this on a Saturday, and there's no way to phone Azamara about this until next week...)

 

Also, when a shore excursion is not bookable online, and instead instructs you to check onboard, does this mean that it's sold out? I'm a bit disappointed that 3 of my top choices are no longer available to book 8 months out. One excursion became unavailable in my basket while I was still working on it this afternoon. Is there such a thing as a wait list for sold out shore excursions - especially this far in advance? One of the ones that seem sold out cannot be done independently, so that's why I really wanted to book it through Azamara.

 

If a port of call is tendered, like the Bay of Islands, would a foldable, portable mobility scooter be accepted to be loaded onto the tender (I'd be walking on)? 

 

Finally, there really doesn't seem to be much on offer at all in some of the ports of call, especially in New Zealand and Rarotonga. Are we likely to see more shore excursions to become available? Since New Zealand is already well covered by Celebrity and RCCL, can we really hope for more, or is this their standard complete offering that I'm seeing now?

Thanks!

 

 

Edited June 2, 2019 by snowglobe

[uktog]

5 hours ago, snowglobe said:

Hello,

I spent the day getting ready to finalize our choices of shore excursions for our b2b cruises next Jan. & Feb.. Can someone please explain what the standard "No cancellation fees on most tours with 48 hours notice*." means? (The asterisk says: "*Not valid on tours that involve flights, hotel stays, events or private arrangements.")

When I read the detailed fine print, it was pretty clear that Azamara reserves the right to cancel shore excursions, but it was not at all clear about the conditions that permits us, the guests, to cancel a reserved shore excursion.

 

So if it's an off-the-ship-no-flight-involved shore excursion, can we really cancel anytime up to 48 hrs before the date of the scheduled excursion and get our full OBC/cash back? Or is it 48 hours before the cruise sail date?

 

It appears that although 'most' shore excursions are refundable, the language seems to imply that 'some others' may not. How can we tell if any given excursion is non-refundable, if all excursions use the standard disclaimer quoted above? There's an excursion that I'd like to book ahead of time, but since it's worth more than $1,000 CAD for the two of us, I'd rather know for sure before I pay for it. (Of course I'm working on this on a Saturday, and there's no way to phone Azamara about this until next week...)

 

Also, when a shore excursion is not bookable online, and instead instructs you to check onboard, does this mean that it's sold out? I'm a bit disappointed that 3 of my top choices are no longer available to book 8 months out. One excursion became unavailable in my basket while I was still working on it this afternoon. Is there such a thing as a wait list for sold out shore excursions - especially this far in advance? One of the ones that seem sold out cannot be done independently, so that's why I really wanted to book it through Azamara.

 

If a port of call is tendered, like the Bay of Islands, would a foldable, portable mobility scooter be accepted to be loaded onto the tender (I'd be walking on)? 

 

Finally, there really doesn't seem to be much on offer at all in some of the ports of call, especially in New Zealand and Rarotonga. Are we likely to see more shore excursions to become available? Since New Zealand is already well covered by Celebrity and RCCL, can we really hope for more, or is this their standard complete offering that I'm seeing now?

Thanks!

 

 

Hi

Yes unless when you book an excursion it says it’s non cancellable eg because of flights or other tickets you can cancel up to 48 hours before the day of the excursion 

if it is saying book onboard it’s either already sold out or it’s not 100% confirmed the trip is running 

Weather conditions permitting they will of course accommodate wheelchairs 

Id say for early next year they are probably reworking some of the offerings based on last seasons experience. Hopefully more will appear soon 

[Baynanno1]

We did Sydney, Hobart, New Zealand in February 2018 and there were 40 shore excursions for the 7 New Zealand ports, averaging around 6 per day.

In January 2019, we did Melbourne, Hobart, New Zealand and there were 71 shore excursions for the 10 New Zealand ports, averaging around 7 per day.

 

I am waiting for the number of shore excursions to be increased from 19 for the Suez Canal cruise in March 2020.

[snowglobe]

Thanks, this is all very helpful.

 

In places like Port Napier, we only come in at 2pm - which really shortens our opportunity to do a wine tour on our own and see some of Napier’s Art Deco architecture by daylight. It may also account for the dearth of shore excursions on offer by Azamara for this port of call on our cruise.

 

One of the things I check is who else is in port on the same day. Turns out that the Noordam is scheduled to leave at 2pm... which makes me think that it’s the need to be able to slide in behind it that makes the Journey get into port so late.

Edited June 2, 2019 by snowglobe

[oddjob16]

7 hours ago, snowglobe said:

Thanks, this is all very helpful.

 

In places like Port Napier, we only come in at 2pm - which really shortens our opportunity to do a wine tour on our own and see some of Napier’s Art Deco architecture by daylight. It may also account for the dearth of shore excursions on offer by Azamara for this port of call on our cruise.

 

One of the things I check is who else is in port on the same day. Turns out that the Noordam is scheduled to leave at 2pm... which makes me think that it’s the need to be able to slide in behind it that makes the Journey get into port so late.

On the port of Napier´s website the ETA is 15:00 Even less time for shore excursions. I wonder if the Azamara Shore Excursions are possible given the late arrival. 

[snowglobe]

It's why I'm currently communicating with a private wine tour guide to see if we can salvage at least a visit to a couple of wineries. I really doubt that Azamara can realistically offer anything more than Napier town itself...

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

On the port of Napier´s website the ETA is 15:00 Even less time for shore excursions. I wonder if the Azamara Shore Excursions are possible given the late arrival. 

There are really great private providers in Napier who can tailor things really well. Look on the ports of call board or on trip advisor. 

We got someone who took us around in a vintage car it was fun. 

[oddjob16]

23 minutes ago, uktog said:

There are really great private providers in Napier who can tailor things really well. Look on the ports of call board or on trip advisor. 

We got someone who took us around in a vintage car it was fun. 

I have already sent out some mails to private providers in Napier. A winery visit around 3:30 pm will be just fine with me 

[snowglobe]

Odd, please let me know if you have an alternative. My e-mail address is in our roll call.

[oddjob16]

3 minutes ago, snowglobe said:

Odd, please let me know if you have an alternative. My e-mail address is in our roll call.

Will do

[Baynanno1]

We were in Napier from 12 to 7pm and there were 10 excursions listed. The shortest was 1hr15min and the longest 5hr30min, others between 3 & 5 hours. Wineries of Hawkes Bay was a 4 hour tour (I did not do it, having been there before).

Sunset will not be until around 8.30pm or a little later, so with a bit of luck you should be able to visit a winery or two and still see many of the Art Deco buildings before the sun sets.

Edited June 2, 2019 by Baynanno1

[snowglobe]

As I mentioned before, for our cruise, Journey only docks at Port Napier at 2 pm (at the earliest).

Cellar doors do their last pours by 4:30 pm, including the three featured in the "Wineries of Hawke's Bay" shore excursion on offer (with a start time of 2:50 pm, barring any delays.)

 

The best that Azamara can realistically offer us that day are short excursions that focus on Napier itself. Unless the tour operators that Azamara sub-contracts make special arrangements to keep these businesses open longer, or they rush guests right through, I don't see how they can reasonable deliver the usual wine-themed shore excursion on offer for that port of call (with a 30 min. drive to the first stop.)

 

I prefer being aware of this situation ahead of time and factor it in my plans (personally, I'd rather 'plan B' it ahead of time) - especially since shorex can be a weak cog in the Azamara product, according to many posts on this board.

Edited June 2, 2019 by snowglobe

[snowglobe]

38 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

Sunset will not be until around 8.30pm or a little later, so with a bit of luck you should be able to visit a winery or two and still see many of the Art Deco buildings before the sun sets.

 

Thank you. That's what I'm hoping to do. 

I wonder if Azamara has even considered the actual logistics of this particular port of call day on our cruise, and its shorex offerings...

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 6/1/2019 at 8:23 PM, snowglobe said:

Hello,

I spent the day getting ready to finalize our choices of shore excursions for our b2b cruises next Jan. & Feb.. Can someone please explain what the standard "No cancellation fees on most tours with 48 hours notice*." means? (The asterisk says: "*Not valid on tours that involve flights, hotel stays, events or private arrangements.")

When I read the detailed fine print, it was pretty clear that Azamara reserves the right to cancel shore excursions, but it was not at all clear about the conditions that permits us, the guests, to cancel a reserved shore excursion.

 

So if it's an off-the-ship-no-flight-involved shore excursion, can we really cancel anytime up to 48 hrs before the date of the scheduled excursion and get our full OBC/cash back? Or is it 48 hours before the cruise sail date?

 

It appears that although 'most' shore excursions are refundable, the language seems to imply that 'some others' may not. How can we tell if any given excursion is non-refundable, if all excursions use the standard disclaimer quoted above? There's an excursion that I'd like to book ahead of time, but since it's worth more than $1,000 CAD for the two of us, I'd rather know for sure before I pay for it. (Of course I'm working on this on a Saturday, and there's no way to phone Azamara about this until next week...)

 

Also, when a shore excursion is not bookable online, and instead instructs you to check onboard, does this mean that it's sold out? I'm a bit disappointed that 3 of my top choices are no longer available to book 8 months out. One excursion became unavailable in my basket while I was still working on it this afternoon. Is there such a thing as a wait list for sold out shore excursions - especially this far in advance? One of the ones that seem sold out cannot be done independently, so that's why I really wanted to book it through Azamara.

 

If a port of call is tendered, like the Bay of Islands, would a foldable, portable mobility scooter be accepted to be loaded onto the tender (I'd be walking on)? 

 

Finally, there really doesn't seem to be much on offer at all in some of the ports of call, especially in New Zealand and Rarotonga. Are we likely to see more shore excursions to become available? Since New Zealand is already well covered by Celebrity and RCCL, can we really hope for more, or is this their standard complete offering that I'm seeing now?

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

In some ports of call there isn’t much to do other than sit in the sun, but I’ve been onboard some cruises where there were more options added, on board.  As for not available tours, I think they are near full leaving for onboard bookings especially suites.  I’ve seen those disappear if they can add another bus, time, etc.  I’ve also waitlisted, onboard, and made the tour. 

 

As for folding scooters all of the cruise lines seem to just be learning what those are!  M dealing with buses that supposedly can take folding wheelchairs  but not folding scooters and can get no answers.  I’ve not had a problem with tendering with my scooter one was at Greenwich where they had to be able.  I’m trying to remember if Azamara had another tender port in the Baltic Sea.  My scooter is about 1.5 yo so I’ve not done too many Azamara tenders yet.  Many ports have their own tenders which are friendlier to mobility equipment.  I’ve never seen anyone not have to walk on though I’ve seen some decent ramps on occasion.  

 

Be aware that Azamara gangways are the type that can become stairs!  There is plenty of help to carry or drag your scooter to the top, but you’ll have to do the stairs, most likely.  Don’t forget to fill out their paperwork.  I found that releasing the wheels made it pretty easy for them to drag scooters, when the gangway was flat but steep.  Often they prefer to carry and are pleasantly surprised at the weight!  One day they will learn that pushing on the back of a folding scooter chair just collapses the chair!  

 

[snowglobe]

6 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

As for folding scooters all of the cruise lines seem to just be learning what those are! […] My scooter is about 1.5 yo.

Thanks for detailed and very useful post.

 

It sounds that cruising with a scooter is a relatively recent development for you. Can I ask which scooter you chose, and what motivated your choice? Are you still happy with it?

 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

4 hours ago, snowglobe said:

Thanks for detailed and very useful post.

 

It sounds that cruising with a scooter is a relatively recent development for you. Can I ask which scooter you chose, and what motivated your choice? Are you still happy with it?

 

 

I met someone with a Mobie and loved it. I email the guy some years later and he still loved his.  My feet however needed to extend farther so I rented a Transformer which is similar and liked it but it was a bit fragile for the airlines because they were looking for a release it didn’t have.  The Mobie has a place to store a spare battery which is really nice.  Ultimately I bought a Triaxe Tour which has, higher speed, longer battery life and higher weight limit so I can carry my carry on too.  It is also 3 wheels.  I get lots of questions about it on cruises.  I do sometimes wish I had the Transformer for its small size, but I like the features of the current scooter too and would probably choose it again.  The side coaster, safety wheels need to be redesigned as they are easily damaged especially on cobblestone, I’ve just removed them.  Once they are bent they unscrew as they easily lose ball bearings.  I’ve also found it is a bit too easy to bend the piece hat holds the front wheel straight.  The Triaxe Tour has a predecessor the Triaxe Sport while has the ability to carry something behind or drag a small item.  It had no platform for your feet and put my feet too far apart and back to be comfortable.  If that had a platform it would be my first choice.  With a lead battery it will go faster, longer etc. The battery just isn’t airplane compliant, although a lithium ion is available for it.   Both of the Triaxe are a bit longer which make them easier to drag like a suitcase when needed.  They also have runflat tires.  And they are 19 inches wide high makes them easy to get through a door.  They are narrower than my walker is!  

 

We’ve discovered too that it is good to bring a spec sheet and user manual with us.  It helps explain power and things that the airline ticket people aren’t used to asking for quite yet.  It helped one flight attendant who was trying to answer a pilot’s question too.  The pilot knew how to calculate power, but since the attendant did not we needed to show it already calculated.  I think I’m going to make a tag for it!  

 

Can you tell me what you chose?