CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: SHOULDN'T AZAMARA AVOID ITALIAN PORTS FOR NOW?

[Cahpek]

 

At the moment, the Coronavirus outbreak situation in Italy is getting worse by the day. The country has the largest coronavirus infection and death rate anywhere in Europe (On March 4^th, 2020, the figure according to the ECDC https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/geographical-distribution-2019-ncov-cases   , there are 2,502 infections and 70 deaths ).  All schools in Italy are closed . Italian Prime Minister has even said  his country’s Health Service risk being overwhelmed. That means, the situation is getting extremely serious.

 

What concerns me is Azamara’s policy:

 

“Regardless of nationality, boarding will be denied to any passenger who has traveled from, to or through mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Iran, South Korea, and the Italian regions of Lombardy, Emilia Romagna and Veneto in the past 15 days; as well as any guest who has come in contact (within six feet) with anyone with 15-day prior travel to these regions.”

 

The above policy seems to indicate concern only from those who have visited/lived in or have been in contact with anyone from THREE Italian regions, but it does NOT cover the whole of Italy. Shouldn’t the WHOLE of Italy  be included instead of just  theTHREE regions? Why not?  After all, the CDC has put travel to Italy on Level 3, the same as China.

 

Also, shouldn’t Azamara reschedule their cruises and avoid visiting Italian ports altogether?

 

If Azamara sticks just with the above policy and continue to visit Italian ports, it means passengers can still visit Italian ports and cities outside the three regions, mingle with the locals and come back on board the ship. Also, passengers/crew can also end and start cruises in Civitavecchia -including those who have been in Italy other then the three Italian regions. Isn't that too much of a risk to take?

 

In April/May 2020,  the Azamara Persuit will be having cruises which will be visiting Italian ports with the Mediterranean Jewel Voyage April 26th-May 4th (Barcelona->Cote d'Azur ports->Portofino->Livorno->Civitavecchia) and the Mediterranean Discovery Voyage May 4th - May 14th (Civitavecchia->Sorrento->visiting Spanish ports –>Lisbon) .

 

I hope for the sake of the passengers and the crew, that Azamara management would review these two cruises on the Azamara Persuit and see whether it is advisable for the ship to  avoid ITALY altogether until the Coronavirus situation improves in that country.

 

I know this may upset quite a number of passengers but these are exceptional and urgent times, and it takes exceptional and urgent decisions.

 

There are times when the health and safety of passengers and crews come first than just enjoying a cruise (or making money). 

 

The last thing, I am sure, that Azamara management would not like to see is that any of its ships end up in the news like Holland America’s Westerdam, the Grand Princess, or even worse, the Diamond Princess. 

Azamara management should see the above cruise lines' experience for them to try have some "foresight" to try avoid any potential dangers that could affect the reputation of its company, or avoid potential problems for the company to deal with.

 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Cahpek

[Wheelhouse]

As this outbreak progresses it appears more and more likely that the whole Med season for all cruise lines will need to be reconsidered and subsequently cancelled.   Unfortunately management  does not yet seem willing to accept this scenario as it will be devastating to their financial positions. 

[DavidTheWonderer]

29 minutes ago, Wheelhouse said:

... Unfortunately management  does not yet seem willing to accept this scenario as it will be devastating to their financial positions. 

Before attacking management, I think a brief pause to realise that the situation is changing by the hour is appropriate.  So speculating about what the situation will be in 6 weeks regarding Italy and/or Europe and/or the world is just that: speculation without any real facts behind it.

That said, if I were booked on a cruise involving Italy leaving on April 26 or even May 4 I would be inclined to cancel.

[vival]

I agree that attacking management at this point is unfair. As David said things are changing by the hour. The logistics of this must be a nightmare for Azamara and they will want to have a definite plan in place before making it public. I think any cruises in the Med this summer must be In doubt.

 

Have any other cruise lines as yet cancelled their Italian cruises?

 

I know some lines have changed their cancellation policies but the sceptic in me says it would be better for the cruise lines if anxious passengers cancelled and rebooked rather than waiting for the line to cancel the cruise and then they will have to refund the fare.

 

We are booked on 9th May cruise out of Venice and definitely aren’t planning to be on board. Personally, given the current situation I don’t see any way that this cruise will go ahead.
 

Difficult as it is we have to be patient and allow Azamara time to make their very complicated decisions. I wouldn’t be surprised if they either delayed or cancelled altogether bringing their ships to Europe for the Summer.

 

 

[Spursgirl]

Unfortunately already Cahpak's figures are out of date - there are now in excess of 3000 cases and 100+ deaths in Italy. I am watching the figures closely as I am currently booked on one of those early season Med cruises on Pursuit. Must admit am not keen on spending two days in Livorno, disembarking in Civitavecchia and flying out of Rome. The best case scenario is probably that I would have to self quarantine for 14 days on my return and that is how things stand at the moment. I appreciate that this must be a total nightmare for Azamara management and hope they are consulting closely with medical professionals who I would assume would be advising them that things will get considerably worse before they get better. Personally I would like to see them offer passengers penalty free cancellations very soon. 

[Mackdogmolly]

The CDC is recommending all nonessential travel to Italy be suspended and those returning, self quarantine for 14 days. 

[katiebeth]

Azamara is not even avoiding Singapore or Indonesia in direct defiance of CDC and State Department recommendations which state all cruises in, out, or thru Asia need to be reconsidered and furthermore states passengers are subject to quarantine anywhere and anytime along the cruise route.    It goes on to say ports may refuse disembarkation and should you choose to ignore these recommendations ....do not expect to be brought back to the United States on repatriation flights ......oh and BTW, do count on being able to re-enter the U.S. for a specified period of time.

 

We are on the 3/24 sailing from Sydney to Singapore with a stop in Indonesia!    Delta has already fully refunded our airfare.

 

Azamara on the other hand has responded with form letters and rote over the phone responses indicating no changes at this time ....meaning no refunds or credits.      Having been a long time and loyal passenger on RCCL, Celebrity, and Azamara, I am shocked at their indifference .....it's frankly dangerous and irresponsible.     As I have said, my husband and I are more concerned about floating aimlessly for days at a time and/or being quarantined in a foreign country for days with no way back to the United States.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but not holding out much up for Italy or other impacted ports/cruisers .....Azamara's motto seems to be "full steam ahead"!    Reckless, IMHO     

Edited March 5, 2020 by katiebeth

[lisiamc]

The situation is indeed very fluid.  You may also notice that the countries with the highest numbers of cases are also the countries with the highest rate of testing going on.  For example, Germany and France have recently upped their testing rates, and their official numbers have risen as well.  (I expect a similar trend for the USA as they also do more testing.)  I think the numbers may turn out to be very similar all the way across Europe and other affected countries, as the testing and reporting evens out.
 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by lisiamc

[Wheelhouse]

3 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

  So speculating about what the situation will be in 6 weeks regarding Italy and/or Europe and/or the world is just that: speculation without any real facts behind it.

 

 I have some news for you.  It is only going to be worse in 6 weeks.  

[Wheelhouse]

2 hours ago, vival said:

 

 

I know some lines have changed their cancellation policies but the sceptic in me says it would be better for the cruise lines if anxious passengers cancelled and rebooked rather than waiting for the line to cancel the cruise and then they will have to refund the fare.

 

 

  

This  ^

[hubofhockey]

Universities are calling back students doing study abroad in Italy.  I'm surprised Azamara hasn't sent its ships to the Caribbean, South America, and other parts of Europe for the summer.  Of course, the school will not be losing out and cruise lines would.  I am relieved that we picked Galapagos for this spring and did Hong Kong, Macau, and Southeast Asia last October (phew).  

 

RCL stock price is getting hammered today and that might be an indication that summer in the Med may not happen.

Edited March 5, 2020 by hubofhockey

[vival]

Ok, very disappointed in Azamara's latest announcement! However they are now denying boarding to anyone who has travelled through Italy not just the regions previously mentioned - so as things stand they can't board our cruise in Venice so I guess its just watch this space for now!

[Baynanno1]

Travel Advisory update :

https://www.azamara.com/en-au/travel-advisory

[AJCM]

Silversea has implemented a temporary policy for cruises between Jun 1 and Dec 31. You can cancel up to 30 days before departure and be penalised only the admin fee (if cancelled within 29 days charge is 100% of booking). 
 

Seabourn very similar - cruises from Apr 30 - Oct 15 receive 100% future cruise credit if cancelled up to 30 days before departure. 
 

I expect Azamara won’t have any choice but to follow. Most travel insurance doesn’t cover cancellation for pandemic, so it’s down to the cruise lines whether to potentially permanently lose a large number of their client base through not enabling refunds or transferring to future cruise credit.
 

[Baynanno1]

4 minutes ago, AJCM said:

Silversea has implemented a temporary policy for cruises between Jun 1 and Dec 31. You can cancel up to 30 days before departure and be penalised only the admin fee (if cancelled within 29 days charge is 100% of booking). 
 

Seabourn very similar - cruises from Apr 30 - Oct 15 receive 100% future cruise credit if cancelled up to 30 days before departure. 
 

I expect Azamara won’t have any choice but to follow. Most travel insurance doesn’t cover cancellation for pandemic, so it’s down to the cruise lines whether to potentially permanently lose a large number of their client base through not enabling refunds or transferring to future cruise credit.
 

 

It doesn't look as if that is going to happen.

We are booked to cruise on 17 March and the latest we have is a link via email overnight to the latest Travel Advisory.

https://www.azamara.com/en-au/travel-advisory

[sunlover33]

We hope to see you onboard enjoying a healthy and enjoyable voyage soon!

https://www.azamara.com/en-au/travel-advisory
 

Can they  guarantee the cruise will be healthy? If so I will happily cruise with them, otherwise I would like the option to cancel. 

[DRJVH]

6 hours ago, AJCM said:

Silversea has implemented a temporary policy for cruises between Jun 1 and Dec 31. You can cancel up to 30 days before departure and be penalised only the admin fee (if cancelled within 29 days charge is 100% of booking). 
 

Seabourn very similar - cruises from Apr 30 - Oct 15 receive 100% future cruise credit if cancelled up to 30 days before departure. 
 

I expect Azamara won’t have any choice but to follow. Most travel insurance doesn’t cover cancellation for pandemic, so it’s down to the cruise lines whether to potentially permanently lose a large number of their client base through not enabling refunds or transferring to future cruise credit.
 

Silversea is part of Royal Caribbean- how come  they’re not offering the same to other lines under their umbrella? 
 

[AJCM]

Apparently RC owns 67% of Silversea; so, although being majority shareholder, the owners of 37% must have negotiated some independence in how they're run and their policies. Azamara appears to be 100% owned by RC. Its policies appear to be dictated by Head Office and seem aligned with the policy for Royal Carribean and Celebrity cruises.

 

 

[Haworth]

The decision to change the cancellation policies should have been made weeks ago, Azamara could have been seen as taking the lead and acting like the luxury cruise line it claims to be, Viking quickly and decisively took that ground. Any change now looks like a belated attempt at damage limitation, long term impact on the business model is not good, too much competition out there who show more respect to their customers.

[Lindy028]

2 hours ago, Haworth said:

The decision to change the cancellation policies should have been made weeks ago, Azamara could have been seen as taking the lead and acting like the luxury cruise line it claims to be, Viking quickly and decisively took that ground. Any change now looks like a belated attempt at damage limitation, long term impact on the business model is not good, too much competition out there who show more respect to their customers.

Haworth, I agree completely, we are loyal Azamara customers but their handling of this situation has left us feeling that this will no longer be the case. We were absolutely impressed at Viking’s reaction to not just this, but the situation I think, on Viking Sky. It is when things are going wrong that you find out the true ethos of the cruise company!
They have a duty of care not just to their customers but to their employees!

[Spursgirl]

Like many others am a loyal and currently frustrated Azamara cruiser. My April cruise ends in Civitavecchia with about half our itinerary visiting Italian ports. Azamara has clearly forgotten the mantra that it takes a long time to build a company reputation but a very short period to lose it.

 

The company's current guidelines are totally inadequate not to mention muddled. What happens for example to unfortunate passengers who are denied boarding because they have a temperature? Are they taken to a location where they can be monitored and re- tested? Are they immediately quarantined at the embarkation city or are they left to fend for themselves? Obviously most people would ( if allowed) want to get home asap with the potential that they could be infecting significant numbers of people at an airport or on a flight.

 

This current strategy is untenable!

 

 

[Haworth]

51 minutes ago, Lindy028 said:

Haworth, I agree completely, we are loyal Azamara customers but their handling of this situation has left us feeling that this will no longer be the case. We were absolutely impressed at Viking’s reaction to not just this, but the situation I think, on Viking Sky. It is when things are going wrong that you find out the true ethos of the cruise company!
They have a duty of care not just to their customers but to their employees!

As a passenger on "that voyage" on the Viking Sky I agree with everything you say

[Borrie]

21 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

Before attacking management, I think a brief pause to realise that the situation is changing by the hour is appropriate.  So speculating about what the situation will be in 6 weeks regarding Italy and/or Europe and/or the world is just that: speculation without any real facts behind it.

That said, if I were booked on a cruise involving Italy leaving on April 26 or even May 4 I would be inclined to cancel.

If you can cancel without losing all your cruise fare.

[uktog]

11 minutes ago, Borrie said:

If you can cancel without losing all your cruise fare.

I wonder if the mindset is so US centric they have lost sight of different booking terms and country regulations.  Azamara altered their structure recently, in the UK we no longer have an in country Managing Director.  Cannot help but wonder how things would have been for UK guests had the old structure and former personnel been in place.

[hrhdhd]

11 hours ago, sunlover33 said:

Can they  guarantee the cruise will be healthy? If so I will happily cruise with them, otherwise I would like the option to cancel. 

 

No cruise line can guarantee a healthy cruise--ever.