HELP! Azamara is trying to cancel my trip because of their mistake! Horrible Cruise!

[PatG2]

I've been on many cruises, but this is my first time cruising on Azamara. What started off as a dream vacation has become a nightmare. On 5/31/19, I saw a great deal for a suite with Azamara. The cruise is only 2 months away so I figured they needed to fill some cabins and also needed to hit some end of the month/quarter sales numbers. I booked two suites, 1 through a 3rd party site and the other directly through Azamara. Immediately after booking, I called the third party site to confirm everything went through. I told them, the cruise is only 2 months away so I wanted to make sure everything went through so I could book my flights right away. They said, "everything is confirmed, go ahead and book your flights". They even emailed me a confirmation. The very next day I spoke to a supervisor at Azamara who also confirmed both my suites. That supervisor would later say, "I saw you got a great price but didn't think anything else of it". Over the next few days, I received 6 email confirmations, 3 verbal confirmations, and I even did the online check-in and printed my boarding tickets.

 

Then, I get a phone call from the same supervisor at Azamara that said they made a mistake in the price and they needed to either downgrade me or cancel my trip. I explained, I would not have planned a whole vacation (flights, hotels, transportation, excursions) for an oceanview room. I only booked with them because I was getting a good deal on a suite. I wanted what was promised. After a few more phone calls from them, they said they would cancel my trip this Tuesday if I didn't decide.

 

Please help! How can Azamara cancel my trip after I've: Paid in Full, Recieved Multiple Verbal and Emailed Confirmations, Even Printed my Boarding Pass!?! If a customer makes a mistake, you better believe the cruise line still going to take their money. What can I do to make them honor what they sold me?

 

[PatG2]

If you are thinking about cruising Azamara, consider this:

 

1) There customer service has been terrible so far.

2) If you see a great deal, it might not be a real deal. They might contact you later and say they made a "mistake". Even after they confirmed multiple times.

3) If they make a mistake, it's you that has to pay for it. It could be 100% their fault, and you can still be the one that suffers from it. They will not do anything to make it right.

4) They are not true to their word. They can tell you multiple times that you are good to go and then backtrack all of it.

 

All this has happened to me. I have never had any other problems with the multiple other cruise lines I've been on.

[SoBaycruiser]

You have my sympathy.  While businesses are not required to sell something at an advertised price if it’s a mistake, I would think they gave up that right when they confirmed and reconfirmed your booking.  If nothing else, it’s poor business practice to cause a customer expense for your mistake.   I am very sorry this happened to you.

[PatG2]

6 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

You have my sympathy.  While businesses are not required to sell something at an advertised price if it’s a mistake, I would think they gave up that right when they confirmed and reconfirmed your booking.  If nothing else, it’s poor business practice to cause a customer expense for your mistake.   I am very sorry this happened to you.

Thank you SoBaycruiser. I completely agree, had I not purchased yet, they are welcome to change the price as often as they want. Even if I got a phone call the very next day after purchasing I would still let it go. BUT, after I confirmed multiple time, paid in full, received my tickets... This is CRAZY! Can you image any other business trying to get away with this. Can you imagine if after buying a TV, or a vehicle, or whatever, you get a call from the store and they tell you that you need to return the item. After you paid in full and signed all the paperwork! Any other business would be out of luck. Their mistake, their bad.

[florisdekort]

Based on your side of the story, I can only fully agree you have been wronged.  Perhaps Bonnie, Azamara’s rep on here, can provide assistance when she sees this.  She’s been excellent at resolving some quite similar issues in the past.

[PatG2]

15 minutes ago, florisdekort said:

Based on your side of the story, I can only fully agree you have been wronged.  Perhaps Bonnie, Azamara’s rep on here, can provide assistance when she sees this.  She’s been excellent at resolving some quite similar issues in the past.

Thank you florisdekort. I appreciate the feedback. Is there a way to tag Bonnie on this or reach out to her directly? She should be able to fully verify my story.

[laurieb]

I’m so sorry to see this.  You had mentioned that you booked two suites, one through an agent and one direct.  Did you cancel one of them, or is this happening to both of them? What does your agent have to say?

[Jimmycruiser]

I am confused with your post. Why did you book with two parties? Did you want two suites? Did you pay the full amount twice to two different parties? When you say suites what suite category did you book?  Azamara has always been good so I assume they will make it right once the full story is known. Let us know the resolution.

[PatG2]

7 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

I am confused with your post. Why did you book with two parties? Did you want two suites? Did you pay the full amount twice to two different parties? When you say suites what suite category did you book?  Azamara has always been good so I assume they will make it right once the full story is known. Let us know the resolution.

Thank you Jimmycruiser for your response. Yes, I paid the full amount twice with two different parties. I first booked with a 3rd party site because that is where I found the deal. I then went on Azamara's website to see if they had the same sale and booked directly with them once I saw that they did. I booked two club continent suites. One for my Wife's and I five year anniversary and another for my best friend who plans on proposing to his girlfriend on the balcony of their suite.

Needless to say, it hurts to tell my wife and best friend that I might not be able to deliver what I promised. Especially after we were all excited and planned out our whole trip. I thought I did everything right by confirming with them multiple times but apparently it doesn't matter if I do everything right if Azamara doesn't do right on their end.

I will keep everyone posted to what happens.

[oddjob16]

I think I have seen this before. No?

Yoy have been on many cruises, you say, but your profile is 4 hours old.

 

[PatG2]

2 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

I think I have seen this before. No?

Yoy have been on many cruises, you say, but your profile is 4 hours old.

 

Thanks for you response oddjob16. I have been on many cruises, I go on 1-2 a year, but I just created my username on cruisecritic to specifically talk about this. I have used cruisecritic many times but never created a username till now. I'm new to this so I apologize for multiple threads.

[lovecruzin]

9 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

I think I have seen this before. No?

Yoy have been on many cruises, you say, but your profile is 4 hours old.

 

 

I had been cruising for 10 years before I joined cruise critic!  The OP is obviously frustrated (and it sounds like right fully so). Since he is very responsive to the questions and comments, I think your reply is quite unkind. 😀

[PatG2]

1 minute ago, lovecruzin said:

 

I had been cruising for 10 years before I joined cruise critic!  The OP is obviously frustrated (and it sounds like right fully so). Since he is very responsive to the questions and comments, I think your reply is quite unkind. 😀

Thank you lovecruzin. Appreciate you making the world a better place :).

And I'm not mad oddjob. I welcome all input. Thank you all.

[2pbears]

I have a great deal of compassion for the OP because I realize that he is in a very difficult position.  My own experience with Azamara has been so completely different from this (I have found that they have generously compensated for any issue, whether it was their mistake or not)  so I am wondering if this is a situation where the error in pricing was so glaring that it should have been obvious to everyone involved (including the OP, the third party company and the Azamara customer service rep) that the booking should never have taken place.    If this is the case, I can kind of see Azamara's stance on this issue.   However, I do believe that once this is expressed to the appropriate personnel at Azamara they will make a good faith effort to offer something that can be palatable for the OP.  I hope that is the case.

[hiccups]

2 hours ago, 2pbears said:

I have a great deal of compassion for the OP because I realize that he is in a very difficult position.  My own experience with Azamara has been so completely different from this (I have found that they have generously compensated for any issue, whether it was their mistake or not)  so I am wondering if this is a situation where the error in pricing was so glaring that it should have been obvious to everyone involved (including the OP, the third party company and the Azamara customer service rep) that the booking should never have taken place.    If this is the case, I can kind of see Azamara's stance on this issue.   However, I do believe that once this is expressed to the appropriate personnel at Azamara they will make a good faith effort to offer something that can be palatable for the OP.  I hope that is the case.

It's not OP's job to notice a "glaring" pricing error.  Several years ago RCI had a glitch in their online pricing and grand suites for a particular cruise were listed at less than half their typical rate.  We, along with a bunch of other cruisers, booked those cabins, and RCI never tried to take them away.

Azamara made the bookings, took the money, and now needs to man up and give the OP the cabins for which he paid.  Perhaps when a few of these errors start hurting Azamara they might put a little more money into IT.

[PatG2]

11 minutes ago, hiccups said:

It's not OP's job to notice a "glaring" pricing error.  Several years ago RCI had a glitch in their online pricing and grand suites for a particular cruise were listed at less than half their typical rate.  We, along with a bunch of other cruisers, booked those cabins, and RCI never tried to take them away.

Azamara made the bookings, took the money, and now needs to man up and give the OP the cabins for which he paid.  Perhaps when a few of these errors start hurting Azamara they might put a little more money into IT.

Thank you hiccups. Azamara has started to make me feel like I'm a crazy person but comments like this remind me that I did everything right. I even took steps above and beyond to make sure the reservation was confirmed. Hopefully Azamara will honor the reservation.

[Whitby100]

This doesn’t seem legal.  I am quite sure in Canada Azamara and the wholesaler would need to stand by the pricing - I can’t believe it would differ in the US. I am not sure what rules apply in the US, but I’d contact a reliable travel agent or do a quick google search.  

[Jimmycruiser]

It has only been 6 hours for this thread and already everyone assumes Azamara is guilty when no facts have been presented in this thread regarding when, what cruise, and what price discrepancy.  Give Azamara a chance to respond. If you have a confirmed price in writing since you paid in full with only two months to go I believe they will honor it. If not then there are facts not revealed as of yet. 

I do not understand what the last day of the month with auto sales has to do with cruise pricing. Auto dealers get large bonuses for meeting certain monthly, quarterly and annual sales with the best deals in late December not May. Cruise pricing has to do with demand and unsold cabins not end of month quotas. 

[PatG2]

28 minutes ago, Whitby100 said:

This doesn’t seem legal.  I am quite sure in Canada Azamara and the wholesaler would need to stand by the pricing - I can’t believe it would differ in the US. I am not sure what rules apply in the US, but I’d contact a reliable travel agent or do a quick google search.  

Thanks Whitby100. My thoughts exactly! Any other industry would never get away with this! Imagine if you bought a TV, or car, of furniture, or anything, and then the company called you after and said you had to return the item after you paid for it because they made a mistake. This would never happen.

I use to sell real estate, if a seller listed a house below market value, and a buyer made an offer which the seller accepted, the buyer could sue the seller if the seller then tried backing out. Even if the seller said I realized after it was below market value, it wouldn't matter. The buyer would sue and win to make the seller sell the house for the price that was already agreed on.

[PatG2]

23 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

It has only been 6 hours for this thread and already everyone assumes Azamara is guilty when no facts have been presented in this thread regarding when, what cruise, and what price discrepancy.  Give Azamara a chance to respond. If you have a confirmed price in writing since you paid in full with only two months to go I believe they will honor it. If not then there are facts not revealed as of yet. 

I do not understand what the last day of the month with auto sales has to do with cruise pricing. Auto dealers get large bonuses for meeting certain monthly, quarterly and annual sales with the best deals in late December not May. Cruise pricing has to do with demand and unsold cabins not end of month quotas. 

Thank Jimmy for the response. Maybe auto sales isn't the best example but at the end of the day, sales is sales. Revenue managers (those who create pricing for things such as flights, cruises, hotels, etc) have quarterly numbers they have to hit. Still, doesn't matter how they came up with the pricing, the fact is that I paid the advertised price, paid in full, confirmed multiple times, and printed my tickets.

 

I do welcome your skepticism, I too would think this story is so crazy that there has to be something missing. I welcome any Azamara employee to dispute any of the facts I made.

[Whitby100]

Just glanced back to see what was happening here and surprised to find you haven’t found the solution.  I just did a quick google search and the US Dept of Transportation does indeed require that the customer gets the error pricing if paid in full.  Clearly some information is askew. I am confident Azamara will sort it out for you.  Good luck.

[need2bespoiled]

Is Azamara trying to cancel both suites, or one?

It sounds to me, like maybe you booked the last / same available cabin, twice?  Did you choose two different cabins or was it a guarantee? 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[SiamCruisers]

My experience has been Azamara is quite fair to guests.  They usually make things right.

Give management time to look at the situation and see what they can do for you.   John

[rallydave]

Unfortunately sounds exactly like the Azamara where we loved our first cruise where the home office did everything right when we were booked the last Club Continental Suite by an agency that we only were looking for information on and easily got the booking switched to our chosen Agency.   We booked a follow-on cruise while on board as we were so happy with the experience.

 

Then, in the name of increasing profits with Cuba cruises,  Azamara decided to cancel our cruise and move it a month earlier in an extremely unprofessional manner wanting to charge the same price for a cruise 4 days and 3 ports fewer..    We couldn't change our date as we had booked a river cruise that matched up to our booked cruise dates.  Our agency took the issue to the highest level and the only thing Azamara would do was a full refund and even that was an adventure in their inept home office.

 

Really hope they honor your purchase but, with the horrid money grubbing home office not really sure what will happen.  Think you can get the federal trade commission involved.   Unfortunately our experience is that Azamara is deceiving and out to improve profits not to say profits are a bad thing   but, customer service is important and a competent home office would really help.

[PatG2]

10 hours ago, need2bespoiled said:

Is Azamara trying to cancel both suites, or one?

It sounds to me, like maybe you booked the last / same available cabin, twice?  Did you choose two different cabins or was it a guarantee? 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Hi Jenna, 2 different guarantee suites. They are trying to cancel both.