Azamara refund problems (merged)

[Baynanno1]

12 hours ago, uktog said:

This plea is not to take away from my happiness that some guests are getting satisfaction.

 

I wish someone from Azamara would come onto these boards and explain why some cruises have refunds issued and other earlier cruises have no future cruise certificates issued - some as early as March/April 2020.  In relation to the certificates its nothing to do with the travel agents sitting on the refunds to help their cashflow.

 

Please can we have an explanation of the process, thanks

 

HEAR,  HEAR !

[Grandma Cruising]

I wonder if there is an issue here with commission. Someone on these boards mentioned that Azamara has said that TAs will be able to keep commission. In that case they must keep control of the FCC so they make the new booking in order to earn the commission. I assume commission won’t be paid twice on the same sum of money.

[uktog]

42 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I wonder if there is an issue here with commission. Someone on these boards mentioned that Azamara has said that TAs will be able to keep commission. In that case they must keep control of the FCC so they make the new booking in order to earn the commission. I assume commission won’t be paid twice on the same sum of money.

There had better not be!  I have absolutely no intention of using that agent again.  They did no work on these bookings I did the transfers for them.  I’ve asked Azamara for clarification 

Edited June 11, 2020 by uktog

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

There had better not be!  I have absolutely no intention of using that agent again.  They did no work on these bookings I did the transfers for them.  I’ve asked Azamara for clarification 

I hope you get it sorted out and can book direct.

[blobby113]

On 6/10/2020 at 9:46 AM, blobby113 said:

No refund yet. The travel agent is sitting on the refund for our Lima to Miami cruise, and says that the taxes and fees component for the BA to Lima cruise hasn’t come to them yet. I may end up being the last to be refunded at this rate.

The refund turned up in our bank account last night. The 50% refund for the BA to Lima cruise turned out, as I expected, not 50% of our cost, but 50% of the “cruise fare” component. So we actually received only 33% of our cost. The reasoning apparently was that all taxes and fees for the entire cruise had already been paid by the time the cruise that we were on was cancelled. I’m at a loss to explain to our insurers how we should be compensated.

[Hamwen3839]

We thought we were going to have the dubious honour of last person refunded especially as we have been waiting since 16 March, however we have just received  about 3/4 of our refund from T.A. who has been holding those funds for about 8 days now. Balance is still being chased up and no idea how long that might take.

So take heart anyone still waiting from the same time frame.Really looking forward to closing this matter as it has been so frustrating.

[Mrs Miggins]

Just received an email from Azamara when I queried the shortfall of £517 on the refunds received by my TA.

The reply says "Thank you for your email. I can understand come confusion with our refunds."   Well,  you can say that again, just read this whole thread.

They advise for me to get the TA to phone them.  

[uktog]

12 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Just received an email from Azamara when I queried the shortfall of £517 on the refunds received by my TA.

The reply says "Thank you for your email. I can understand come confusion with our refunds."   Well,  you can say that again, just read this whole thread.

They advise for me to get the TA to phone them.  

Fat chance of that happening these days I am afraid.  Funny my email that told me about my certificate that came from Azamara said my agent would be in touch - absolute silence to date.  Sooner Azamara gets a grip of this agency situation in the UK the better, its appalling in far too many cases

[deblou_20151]

Just an FYI to all waiting for partial refunds...Azamara shorted us around $600 on our refund with promises for the rest to be refunded in 2 to 3 weeks. That was several weeks ago.  After a ridiculous response to an email I sent them this morning...that they were busy and would respond to the email within 2 weeks...I'd had it.  I disputed the remaining amount with my credit card company this morning.  They said I will see the money back on my credit card within 3 to 5 days and they will deal with Azamara.  I can't imagine there can be an blowback on me, it's all there in black and white, what I paid for the cruise and what they refunded.  I just can't find any acceptable excuse for these refunds to be taking so long.

[christine848]

We are still waiting for our refund from our 28 March cruise on the Quest, cancelled on 13 March. I contacted Azamara and they told me they had sent the refund to our TA on 18 May, almost 4 weeks ago. After many unsuccessful phone calls and emails to our TA, and the situation is worsening as phone calls and emails are just not being answered now, I am becoming increasingly frustrated. Until now, I have been very patient and waited the 90 days our agent was saying it could take...that has passed, and my patience is wearing very thin now. 

Christine

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, christine848 said:

We are still waiting for our refund from our 28 March cruise on the Quest, cancelled on 13 March. I contacted Azamara and they told me they had sent the refund to our TA on 18 May, almost 4 weeks ago. After many unsuccessful phone calls and emails to our TA, and the situation is worsening as phone calls and emails are just not being answered now, I am becoming increasingly frustrated. Until now, I have been very patient and waited the 90 days our agent was saying it could take...that has passed, and my patience is wearing very thin now. 

Christine

Did you pay by credit card?  If so raise a S75 refund claim for non delivery against your travel agent through your credit card company.  It’s unacceptable and I so wish we could name and shame the UK agencies who are acting like this, it’s not isolated cases. No agent should take 90 days once Azamara has given them the refund. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by uktog

[christine848]

12 minutes ago, uktog said:

Did you pay by credit card?  If so raise a S75 refund claim for non delivery against your travel agent through your credit card company.  It’s unacceptable and I so wish we could name and shame the UK agencies who are acting like this, it’s not isolated cases. No agent should take 90 days once Azamara has given them the refund. 

We did...I will look into that.Thank you! 
I'm sure they meant 90 days since cancellation of the cruise...it is 25 days SPsince the TA was sent the refund by Azamara.

[Baynanno1]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Did you pay by credit card?  If so raise a S75 refund claim for non delivery against your travel agent through your credit card company.  It’s unacceptable and I so wish we could name and shame the UK agencies who are acting like this, it’s not isolated cases. No agent should take 90 days once Azamara has given them the refund. 

 

Indeed, it is a pity we are unable to name and shame those TA's in many places around the world who are holding on to refunds while we continue to blame Azamara for non payment. We know ours has also held on to some payments for a similar length of time.

[vival]

 

We have now finally received a full refund into our account on 12th June, however I’m also very unhappy with the TA’s handling of this . Our booking was with a large online UK agency.

 

When I emailed Azamara regarding our refund on 4th June they replied saying they had refunded our TA on 18th May with two amounts which in total was £500. When I queried this with Azamara this was their reply:

 

“Thank you for your email. Azamara has a contract with your travel agent as to when funds for your reservation are sent to Azamara. Please contact you travel agent regarding any remaining refund due to you.”

 

We paid the final payment in mid January for our 9th May cruise which was cancelled on 25th March. From Azamara’s response it would appear that the TA has retained almost all of our  money throughout. In any correspondence with our agent she repeatedly implied the refund was coming from Azamara which was the cause of the delay.

 

If this is the case it strikes me as very unethical!

 

Has anyone else any experience of this?

[uktog]

18 minutes ago, vival said:

 

We have now finally received a full refund into our account on 12th June, however I’m also very unhappy with the TA’s handling of this . Our booking was with a large online UK agency.

 

When I emailed Azamara regarding our refund on 4th June they replied saying they had refunded our TA on 18th May with two amounts which in total was £500. When I queried this with Azamara this was their reply:

 

“Thank you for your email. Azamara has a contract with your travel agent as to when funds for your reservation are sent to Azamara. Please contact you travel agent regarding any remaining refund due to you.”

 

We paid the final payment in mid January for our 9th May cruise which was cancelled on 25th March. From Azamara’s response it would appear that the TA has retained almost all of our  money throughout. In any correspondence with our agent she repeatedly implied the refund was coming from Azamara which was the cause of the delay.

 

If this is the case it strikes me as very unethical!

 

Has anyone else any experience of this?

I think these agencies are doing lots of things that are unethical.  I think the reason there were issues with our future cruise certs based on when monies were paid was it was still sitting with the agency hence why they were pushing me down the refund route.  Interesting although azamara have told us about the certs our agent is saying they don't have them.

 

I also have an issue on a riverboat cruise with the same agency.  I agreed a delayed payment to early July with the riverboat company and the agency is adamant it has to be paid by Monday.  There was always a delay between paying the agency and them paying the cruise line but I think it is becoming clear the timelines are significant and are being used as the cash flow by these agencies.  Sorry if I am a broken record, but most of the UK travel agency business needs to clean its act up big time.  

[blag]

28 minutes ago, vival said:

 

We have now finally received a full refund into our account on 12th June, however I’m also very unhappy with the TA’s handling of this . Our booking was with a large online UK agency.

 

When I emailed Azamara regarding our refund on 4th June they replied saying they had refunded our TA on 18th May with two amounts which in total was £500. When I queried this with Azamara this was their reply:

 

“Thank you for your email. Azamara has a contract with your travel agent as to when funds for your reservation are sent to Azamara. Please contact you travel agent regarding any remaining refund due to you.”

 

We paid the final payment in mid January for our 9th May cruise which was cancelled on 25th March. From Azamara’s response it would appear that the TA has retained almost all of our  money throughout. In any correspondence with our agent she repeatedly implied the refund was coming from Azamara which was the cause of the delay.

 

If this is the case it strikes me as very unethical!

 

Has anyone else any experience of this?

 

I don't really understand this post.

The italicised content in your post refers to payment TO Azamara from travel agent, not the other way round. 

You refer to Azamara's response, but what I see here doesn't suggest anything unethical. Or is there more? 

[vival]

12 minutes ago, blag said:

 

I don't really understand this post.

The italicised content in your post refers to payment TO Azamara from travel agent, not the other way round. 

You refer to Azamara's response, but what I see here doesn't suggest anything unethical. Or is there more? 

 

Sorry if I didn't explain myself very well. My understanding from Azamara's response (which was exactly as quoted) was that in fact our TA had never passed on our final payment to Azamara in the first place so the TA has had all our money except the £500 all along and should have refunded us much sooner!

I agree with uktog that many travel agents need to clean up their act! I"ll certainly look more closely next time, that is if I ever book a cruise again. 

[Mrs Miggins]

Have now received a cheque from my TA (small family run).  Still waiting for a further £517 to make the refund complete.  Spoke to TA today and they say they were having trouble with late payments from The Travel Trust but that things were improving.  

I looked online and according to their website they have 450 members and "guarantee 100% financial protection to the consumer"

I havent heard of them before but I assume that they are another link in the chain which might contribute to late refunds.

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Have now received a cheque from my TA (small family run).  Still waiting for a further £517 to make the refund complete.  Spoke to TA today and they say they were having trouble with late payments from The Travel Trust but that things were improving.  

I looked online and according to their website they have 450 members and "guarantee 100% financial protection to the consumer"

I havent heard of them before but I assume that they are another link in the chain which might contribute to late refunds.

Small agencies use them. The little cruise line I’m using next places the money to them and I have a trust receipt for my deposit which is a nice comfort. I fear I may need to get a refund shortly 

[uktog]

On 6/11/2020 at 7:24 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

I wonder if there is an issue here with commission. Someone on these boards mentioned that Azamara has said that TAs will be able to keep commission. In that case they must keep control of the FCC so they make the new booking in order to earn the commission. I assume commission won’t be paid twice on the same sum of money.

Azamara have confirmed to me the future cruise certificates are the guests not the agencies and can be used anywhere. So no agency should be keeping control of your certificates. 
It’s clear though several are dragging their feet to protect their cash flow and individuals are doing things to save their commission where the guest does not know their rights. 

[excitedofharpenden]

40 minutes ago, uktog said:

Azamara have confirmed to me the future cruise certificates are the guests not the agencies and can be used anywhere. So no agency should be keeping control of your certificates. 
It’s clear though several are dragging their feet to protect their cash flow and individuals are doing things to save their commission where the guest does not know their rights. 

I totally understand that times are tough for these guys. It must be awful for them, but they must act with integrity because this is what will carry them through at the other end of this mess.

 

I'm now starting a process with my travel agency for a cancelled cruise in October that was advised to me by the cruiseline two weeks ago. I've heard nothing from my agents. Well they have just written to me asking me to book shore excursions for that cruise.

 

I understand that FCC will be offered, but as things stand I will be cancelling until I'm more definite about my future cruise plans. 

 

Phil 

Edited June 15, 2020 by excitedofharpenden

[Spursgirl]

Have finally received my refund after regrettably having to threaten to take my (Scottish) TA to the Sherriff's Court.

 

In my case the fault was totally Azamara's. Despite the TA requesting a refund on my behalf the day the cruise was cancelled, 70 days later I received my first communication from Azamara informing me that my FCC had been forwarded to my TA. When my blood pressure came down I told the TA that if this was not sorted within 48 hours legal action would follow and they re-imbursed me immediately before they had received the funds from Azamara.

 

i have heard from two other people that Azamara employed the same tactics with them and sadly it leaves me feeling that the integrity of this company is sadly lacking.

 

i know that many are still waiting for resolution and hope that this comes soon.

 

it is unlikely that I will be rushing to book with Azamara when it is safe to cruise again. That makes me very sad as I have loved all my 20+ Azamara vacations.

 

 

[uktog]

26 minutes ago, Spursgirl said:

Have finally received my refund after regrettably having to threaten to take my (Scottish) TA to the Sherriff's Court.

 

In my case the fault was totally Azamara's. Despite the TA requesting a refund on my behalf the day the cruise was cancelled, 70 days later I received my first communication from Azamara informing me that my FCC had been forwarded to my TA. When my blood pressure came down I told the TA that if this was not sorted within 48 hours legal action would follow and they re-imbursed me immediately before they had received the funds from Azamara.

 

i have heard from two other people that Azamara employed the same tactics with them and sadly it leaves me feeling that the integrity of this company is sadly lacking.

 

i know that many are still waiting for resolution and hope that this comes soon.

 

it is unlikely that I will be rushing to book with Azamara when it is safe to cruise again. That makes me very sad as I have loved all my 20+ Azamara vacations.

 

 

Glad you got a result Hazel but so sad it had to be in the manner it was.  I can fully understand why you feel that way for the future.

[Mackdogmolly]

53 minutes ago, uktog said:

Glad you got a result Hazel but so sad it had to be in the manner it was.  I can fully understand why you feel that way for the future.

I have received my FCC for my cancelled cruise, but not the taxes or fees. And I am still struggling with ChoiceAir for my airfare refund, which they promised would arrive no later than 45 days after cancellation. On day 46, they said they could make no promises as to when it would come. I am about to take it up with my CC company and told them as much. They asked to be informed prior to this step. I’m not sure how my card company will handle it.

[Penton]

I was booked on the 26th April Azamara Journey cruise from Dubai to Athens and requested a full refund on 25th March when I received an email from Azamara advising that the sailing was cancelled. 
I am so pleased to report that today I have now received a full refund. It came in three payments, shore excursion, partial fees and taxes and then remaining balance, all the figures are correct.

I was just about to give up hope and it took three emails to UK Customer Services and a phone call last week. I just want to share this news for those of you who are still waiting,  there is light at the end of the tunnel!