3/14/20-Due to global situation we are canceling cruises until 4/11

[BBMacLaird]

March 14, 2020

Dear Azamara Guest,

 

Beginning at midnight tonight, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., our parent company, has decided to voluntarily suspend our fleet’s global sailings in support of the global public health circumstances. Our goal is to resume operations after April 11th, 2020.

 

Unfortunately, this means upcoming voyages scheduled to sail during this time will be cancelled. We’re currently working directly with guests as well as travel advisors impacted by this temporary disruption.  

 

We will conclude current sailings with modifications in order to provide our guests the best options for their safe return home. We are also communicating with our shipboard leadership to work through the adjustments this decision presents for them. We know this adds great stress to our guests, employees and crew, and we are working to minimize the disruption. 

 

This decision is inconvenient, but necessary in light of the global response to this virus. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused; however, our priority is to protect the safety and well-being of our guests and crew, first and foremost.  We know, this too shall pass, and we are optimistic that very soon you’ll be excited about planning your next vacation. As always, the most important thing to us will always be the safety of our guests and crew. In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor the global situation. 

 

I highly encourage you to visit our website, which is constantly being updated with the latest travel alerts and regulations at https://www.azamara.com/travel-advisory.

 

On behalf of all of us at Azamara, including our senior officers and crew, thank you for your continuous support. We wish you good health and truly appreciate your continued loyalty.

 

Sincerely, 

Larry Pimentel

President and CEO, AZAMARA®

 

Larry Suspension Message_Mar_14.pdf

[DRJVH]

2 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

March 14, 2020

Dear Azamara Guest,

 

Beginning at midnight tonight, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., our parent company, has decided to voluntarily suspend our fleet’s global sailings in support of the global public health circumstances. Our goal is to resume operations after April 11th, 2020.

 

Unfortunately, this means upcoming voyages scheduled to sail during this time will be cancelled. We’re currently working directly with guests as well as travel advisors impacted by this temporary disruption.  

 

We will conclude current sailings with modifications in order to provide our guests the best options for their safe return home. We are also communicating with our shipboard leadership to work through the adjustments this decision presents for them. We know this adds great stress to our guests, employees and crew, and we are working to minimize the disruption. 

 

This decision is inconvenient, but necessary in light of the global response to this virus. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused; however, our priority is to protect the safety and well-being of our guests and crew, first and foremost.  We know, this too shall pass, and we are optimistic that very soon you’ll be excited about planning your next vacation. As always, the most important thing to us will always be the safety of our guests and crew. In the meantime, we’ll continue to monitor the global situation. 

 

I highly encourage you to visit our website, which is constantly being updated with the latest travel alerts and regulations at https://www.azamara.com/travel-advisory.

 

On behalf of all of us at Azamara, including our senior officers and crew, thank you for your continuous support. We wish you good health and truly appreciate your continued loyalty.

 

Sincerely, 

Larry Pimentel

President and CEO, AZAMARA®

 

Larry Suspension Message_Mar_14.pdf 128.34 kB · 0 downloads

For can’t see this all being over by 11 April! 
 

[AJCM]

We’re now seeing an industry policy consistency - very similar terms of compensation, terms of re-booking and period the temporary policy applies to. Presently it’s mid April. So assuming little improvement, then it looks like by early to midApril, they’ll extend out to mid-May. Airlines (or at least Qantas) are following the same concept. This gives me reassurance that we’re being looked after.

[Grandma Cruising]

13 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I have a cruise in October for which I'm fearful. Will see. My priority is to stay healthy and certainly not spread it round to people in a worse place than me to deal with it. Social responsibility for everyone. 

 

As regards April 11, two hopes. Bob Hope and no hope. 

 

Phil 

We’re in the same position - cruise at the end of October. Initially we thought - well it’ll all be over by then, but now we’re wondering. Final payment is due early in July and I can’t see things being any better then - more likely much worse. Looks like we’ll be asked to self-isolate soon, given our age and health, but we’re already doing that to an extent. We decided last week not to go to the gym any more for the time being. 
Certainly agree about April 11th - there’s no chance of any cruising then or for the foreseeable future! 

[uktog]

Given how long it is taking to unwind in China I have to agree. 
An April restart seems a little bit like a song I love from South Pacific - cockeyed optimism 

Time will tell but would it not be more realistic to sit out to 31 May

[Kozimoto1209]

I think Azamara is making a mistake with their compensation and refund policy.

Due to their lack of communication over the past week, they caused their customers anxiety and played with their emotions.

I for one will probably look at the other cruise lines in the future that stepped up and were upfront to there customers with their communication and policies. I will be glad to receive a refund but will not accept a FCC. I feel they should also provide a 25% FCC along with the refund for two reasons. To provide compensation for their poor communication especially for those who were only a week out to cruise and it would also kickstart the cruise line when they restart normal cruises.

Just my thoughts.

[midwestchick]

On 3/15/2020 at 6:44 AM, Kozimoto1209 said:

I think Azamara is making a mistake with their compensation and refund policy.

Due to their lack of communication over the past week, they caused their customers anxiety and played with their emotions.

I for one will probably look at the other cruise lines in the future that stepped up and were upfront to there customers with their communication and policies. I will be glad to receive a refund but will not accept a FCC. I feel they should also provide a 25% FCC along with the refund for two reasons. To provide compensation for their poor communication especially for those who were only a week out to cruise and it would also kickstart the cruise line when they restart normal cruises.

Just my thoughts.

 I totally agree with you.  I have a final payment on April 8 but I can’t see how ships will sail anytime soon.   It would be nice to get some answers.

[difranco]

On 3/15/2020 at 11:44 AM, Kozimoto1209 said:

I think Azamara is making a mistake with their compensation and refund policy.

Due to their lack of communication over the past week, they caused their customers anxiety and played with their emotions.

I for one will probably look at the other cruise lines in the future that stepped up and were upfront to there customers with their communication and policies. I will be glad to receive a refund but will not accept a FCC. I feel they should also provide a 25% FCC along with the refund for two reasons. To provide compensation for their poor communication especially for those who were only a week out to cruise and it would also kickstart the cruise line when they restart normal cruises.

Just my thoughts.

We agree wholeheartedly. Our cruise on the Quest departs Athens on 14th April, in a country that is part of the EU one month travel ban. No passengers can possibly fly into the country and no cruise ship will be allowed to dock in Piraeus. As of yesterday the Greek authorities will only allow residents on the Greek islands to board ferries and other passenger vessels must moor up immediately. 

Azamara know this cruise will not operate but as you say they want our money as liquidity and will not issue a refund. We will be playing poker with them as we will not be blinking until the -48hrs deadline. A full refund now with 25% FCC and we will definitely sail again. A protracted refund fight and we will be back on Seabourn or similar.

[Grandma Cruising]

If their liquidity comes into doubt you may not be able to sail with them again!

[asnaleah]

3 hours ago, difranco said:

We agree wholeheartedly. Our cruise on the Quest departs Athens on 14th April, in a country that is part of the EU one month travel ban. No passengers can possibly fly into the country and no cruise ship will be allowed to dock in Piraeus. As of yesterday the Greek authorities will only allow residents on the Greek islands to board ferries and other passenger vessels must moor up immediately. 

Azamara know this cruise will not operate but as you say they want our money as liquidity and will not issue a refund. We will be playing poker with them as we will not be blinking until the -48hrs deadline. A full refund now with 25% FCC and we will definitely sail again. A protracted refund fight and we will be back on Seabourn or similar.

We agree with you. We’re on the same cruise from Athens, and we all know it’s not happening. I love the Azamara crew, but the way we’ve been ignored by the company is just not right. They still have a chance to keep our business, but they’d best get on it. Now, if only I can get British Air to refund our flight from Heathrow to Athens...

[difranco]

British Airways will be working through their flight schedule on a rolling day basis, however, they cannot fly to a destination that will not let them in.

Keep an eye on their announcements next week as they may follow suit with EasyJet and announce a suspension of all flights once repatriation is over. BA will eventually offer cash refunds as their are some serious big hitters in the business world who will make sure they do. Good luck.

[jelayne]

14 hours ago, difranco said:

We agree wholeheartedly. Our cruise on the Quest departs Athens on 14th April, in a country that is part of the EU one month travel ban. No passengers can possibly fly into the country and no cruise ship will be allowed to dock in Piraeus. As of yesterday the Greek authorities will only allow residents on the Greek islands to board ferries and other passenger vessels must moor up immediately. 

Azamara know this cruise will not operate but as you say they want our money as liquidity and will not issue a refund. We will be playing poker with them as we will not be blinking until the -48hrs deadline. A full refund now with 25% FCC and we will definitely sail again. A protracted refund fight and we will be back on Seabourn or similar.

From a compensation standpoint Seabourn is offering the same 125% FCC or 100%

refund for the cancelled  cruise.  Same as Azamara and most other cruise lines.

[asnaleah]

11 hours ago, difranco said:

British Airways will be working through their flight schedule on a rolling day basis, however, they cannot fly to a destination that will not let them in.

Keep an eye on their announcements next week as they may follow suit with EasyJet and announce a suspension of all flights once repatriation is over. BA will eventually offer cash refunds as their are some serious big hitters in the business world who will make sure they do. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice!

[BBMacLaird]

There is a new Travel Advisory rolling out today, 3/24/20, with important news.

 

We understand the gravity of the public health crisis confronting the country. In an abundance of caution, we have decided to further extend our temporary global suspension and we anticipate that we’ll be back on the high seas after May 11th, 2020. This decision is inconvenient, but necessary in light of the global response to COVID-19. We are reaching out to our booked guests and travel advisors directly to help them work through this.

As always, our priority is to protect the safety and well-being of our guests and crew.

 

[babyboomerxxx]

Bonnie. 
I have used the online link to request a refund instead of the future cruise credit for two cruises booked directly with Azamara. At the end it says “Your request has been received. You’ll receive an email confirmation shortly”. I have not received a confirmation for either (the first was 3 days ago). I would have thought this would be an automated response. It would be good to know that our request has been received. Would you be able to find out why email confirmations are not being sent?. Thanks for your help. 

[BBMacLaird]

10 hours ago, babyboomerxxx said:

Bonnie. 
I have used the online link to request a refund instead of the future cruise credit for two cruises booked directly with Azamara. At the end it says “Your request has been received. You’ll receive an email confirmation shortly”. I have not received a confirmation for either (the first was 3 days ago). I would have thought this would be an automated response. It would be good to know that our request has been received. Would you be able to find out why email confirmations are not being sent?. Thanks for your help. 

I will inquire if the confirmations are automated or manual. As I posted on another thread, please keep in mind that Florida, and many other states, are under lock-down. Point being, we ask for your patience.

[difranco]

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

I will inquire if the confirmations are automated or manual. As I posted on another thread, please keep in mind that Florida, and many other states, are under lock-down. Point being, we ask for your patience.

I had the same experience when requesting a full refund to my payment card via the email weblink. Confirmed on the website but as of yet no email. Will leave it to the end of March before chasing. Don’t forget to check your junk box or antivirus folder.

[hrhdhd]

4 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

I will inquire if the confirmations are automated or manual. As I posted on another thread, please keep in mind that Florida, and many other states, are under lock-down. Point being, we ask for your patience.

 

Just for clarification, Florida is not locked down. Some counties in Florida, including Miami Dade, are closing non-essential businesses or asking people to stay home.

Edited March 25, 2020 by hrhdhd

[skoretsky]

Correct, the State of Florida (entire state) is NOT under government of Florida lockdown https://www.sun-sentinel.com/.

 

Local jurisdictions (city of Miami, Florida for example) may override for the protection of people in their areas.