Azamara Onward, The Good and The Bad

[Xcelsior]

1 hour ago, roberts2005 said:

Am now in Venice waiting to go home, a long almost 3 hours from Ravenna to Venice,   Just watching a large cruise ship leave Marghera from the rooftop of the J W Marriott. It would have been nice to have docked there.

 

At around 4 AM on our last night a notice was put under my door that my wife’s account had a balance and she needed to settle her account before leaving.

 

I not only created accounts covered by my credit card online before boarding but again at checkin.   The billing by the front desk was horrible with many mistakes.   I went down at 5 AM to settle.

 

My wife was still stopped on the way out.

 

There appeared to be a lack of training for the people at the front desk. And this was with only 440 people on board.

 

I thought it an insult that the offered a $200 credit toward a future cruise for all the problems.

 

So what exactly were all the problems?  If the ship wasn't ready, they should have swapped it out for the Journey that isn't sailing itineraries again until the end of the month.  Maiden cruise or not, the ship should have been ready and up to snuff.  I get there might be some service related issues with a new crew and all......but they set the inaugural date for passengers, not the other way around.

[lisiamc]

To put my money where my mouth is, we have today booked Onward’s last European cruise (Civitavecchia to Lisbon), and the following Transatlantic (Lisbon to Miami). We really had a good time, and we are looking forward to the next time!

[barneyboy]

Has everyone received the email offering a cruise credit equivalent to the amount paid for the maiden voyage?

[blag]

15 minutes ago, barneyboy said:

Has everyone received the email offering a cruise credit equivalent to the amount paid for the maiden voyage?

I haven't, but then I wasn't on this cruise! 

[Riocca]

16 minutes ago, barneyboy said:

Has everyone received the email offering a cruise credit equivalent to the amount paid for the maiden voyage?

Yes we’ve just received it and it took us by surprise as we enjoyed the cruise, yes there were challenges but nothing we weren’t expecting. Only thing we commented on was the cleanliness of certain areas but that was addressed as the voyage went on. 
Just wondering if the year time frame mentioned relates to booking or taking the cruise, either way looking forward to booking another cruise and probably on Onward.

[blag]

1 minute ago, Riocca said:

Yes we’ve just received it and it took us by surprise as we enjoyed the cruise, yes there were challenges but nothing we weren’t expecting. Only thing we commented on was the cleanliness of certain areas but that was addressed as the voyage went on. 
Just wondering if the year time frame mentioned relates to booking or taking the cruise, either way looking forward to booking another cruise and probably on Onward.

In the past, before COVID, I have extended FCC's to 2 years. 

[barneyboy]

9 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Yes we’ve just received it and it took us by surprise as we enjoyed the cruise, yes there were challenges but nothing we weren’t expecting. Only thing we commented on was the cleanliness of certain areas but that was addressed as the voyage went on. 
Just wondering if the year time frame mentioned relates to booking or taking the cruise, either way looking forward to booking another cruise and probably on Onward.

Yes we were pleasantly surprised. I thought we might be offered some compensation but surprised by the amount. We’ve been looking at some Greek Island itineraries later this year so may book one of these. 

[takemewithyou]

1 hour ago, barneyboy said:

Has everyone received the email offering a cruise credit equivalent to the amount paid for the maiden voyage?

That’s very generous!!  Enjoy!

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Yes we’ve just received it and it took us by surprise as we enjoyed the cruise, yes there were challenges but nothing we weren’t expecting. Only thing we commented on was the cleanliness of certain areas but that was addressed as the voyage went on. 
Just wondering if the year time frame mentioned relates to booking or taking the cruise, either way looking forward to booking another cruise and probably on Onward.

We just got this too. We feel faintly guilty, because we had a wonderful time with only minor inconveniences, but will accept this with great pleasure! And we have four Azamara cruises stacked at the moment, but I’m sure we can work in another one if we try.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

3 hours ago, lisiamc said:

We just got this too. We feel faintly guilty, because we had a wonderful time with only minor inconveniences, but will accept this with great pleasure! And we have four Azamara cruises stacked at the moment, but I’m sure we can work in another one if we try.

I don't want you to feel guilty.  Send them to my account!!!!

[Cruising Cat19]

Mrs. Cabezas letter of apology and compensation should be praised for its generosity and timeliness. The Contractor who refurbished Onward was morally dishonest not performing the job he was well paid for. The things not done or done badly will have to be corrected and will take a significant period of time to accomplish. Azamara should have had a shake down cruise for one week checking every stateroom and one week to clear a punch list from items noted before beginning a back to back to back sailing schedule. The crew to a person acted outstandingly to compensate for the major and minor discrepancies and the end result of the Contractor's failures will cost Azamara over $400,000 to passengers and an unknown amount to correct items. We know what the other ships look like and how they operate. Onward will get to that level but maybe not for months. In the interim, give Mrs. Cabezas the credit she deserves to try to make us happy to sail again. We will and soon and will continue to believe Azamara as a company is the best cruise line operating. Our responsibility to Azamara is to identify the deficiencies so they can be corrected. Sail again - you won't be disappointed.

[java spot]

I hope they also offer some compensation to the crew! 

[IslandThyme]

As someone brand-new to Azamara I'm heartened to see that they stepped up to the challenges.

[tgg]

7 hours ago, Riocca said:

Yes we’ve just received it and it took us by surprise as we enjoyed the cruise, yes there were challenges but nothing we weren’t expecting. Only thing we commented on was the cleanliness of certain areas but that was addressed as the voyage went on. 
Just wondering if the year time frame mentioned relates to booking or taking the cruise, either way looking forward to booking another cruise and probably on Onward.

I think this should be a new item on the main Azamara page.  People need to know that management has come through with an incredibly generous offer.

[excitedofharpenden]

I'm very pleased to read that Azamara have recognised the issues with the ship and come through with this generous offer. I hope that they get at least some of this money back from the shipyard and suppliers. 

 

Phil 

[norn iron]

The compensation offer made by Az is very generous, however, it was probably well covered by breach of contract from the refit company.

 

Last year whilst on board Quest we had a coffee at Mosaic and Captain Carl joined us. We hadn't seen Captain Carl since Pursuit left its refit in Belfast, so it was an opportune moment for some feedback on the Belfast experience courtesy of MJM Marine who did the Pursuit refit.

 

What Captain Carl detailed was that Azamara were more than happy with the workmanship and finish of the vessel, however,  there was a breakdown/fallout in relations between the companies over contracts.

 

The penalty clause was that for every day vessel was late on delivery, or unseaworthy MJM Marine would be fined £1m per day.
MJM counter argued that for every day they were were early they should be paid £1m extra, this was unacceptable to both Az and RCI, in fact Carl told us this had never been put on the table by a refit company before and shocked the RCI and Az contract teams.

 

A compromise was reached, for every day MJM Marine were early on delivery they would be entitled to a free days use of the ship at the cost to Az. 

The outcome was (and Captain Carl was very happy!) that Pursuit made two overnight stops to Isle of Man from Belfast whist full off guests courtesy of MJM Marine, and their contract.

 

MJM brought friends and family of their work force, leading business figures from Northern Ireland and lots of Charities,

 

Captain Carl thought is was a great deal negotiated by MJM, Az not so happy at picking up the cost.

 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, norn iron said:

The compensation offer made by Az is very generous, however, it was probably well covered by breach of contract from the refit company.

 

Last year whilst on board Quest we had a coffee at Mosaic and Captain Carl joined us. We hadn't seen Captain Carl since Pursuit left its refit in Belfast, so it was an opportune moment for some feedback on the Belfast experience courtesy of MJM Marine who did the Pursuit refit.

 

What Captain Carl detailed was that Azamara were more than happy with the workmanship and finish of the vessel, however,  there was a breakdown/fallout in relations between the companies over contracts.

 

The penalty clause was that for every day vessel was late on delivery, or unseaworthy MJM Marine would be fined £1m per day.
MJM counter argued that for every day they were were early they should be paid £1m extra, this was unacceptable to both Az and RCI, in fact Carl told us this had never been put on the table by a refit company before and shocked the RCI and Az contract teams.

 

A compromise was reached, for every day MJM Marine were early on delivery they would be entitled to a free days use of the ship at the cost to Az. 

The outcome was (and Captain Carl was very happy!) that Pursuit made two overnight stops to Isle of Man from Belfast whist full off guests courtesy of MJM Marine, and their contract.

 

MJM brought friends and family of their work force, leading business figures from Northern Ireland and lots of Charities,

 

Captain Carl thought is was a great deal negotiated by MJM, Az not so happy at picking up the cost.

 

 

 

I remember being told that story by MJM Marine chairman Brian McConville at the Pursuit naming ceremony.  Boy, he was a character and his wife too.  I also remember hearing from high up in Azamara a little later on that they wouldn't use them again. You've added a bit more meat to the bone.  I was afraid to ask "why?".  They had a great time on their short friends and family cruise I understand. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

It is good Azamara stepped up to the plate. Well done!

The trouble with the shake down trips they did was they used travel agents and press people. All their reports on social media were highlighting how wonderful it  was. Some were Azamara regulars who are agents so I’m surprised they didn’t spot things weren’t right. Or is it that shake down cruises given as freebies only give very limited feedback on the functionality of each room. 
Id suggest a shakedown of say six days with everyone moving room every two days. Yes a little inconvenient but it would really test out each room. Everyone should have a detailed checklist for the room they are in and accurate completion should be a condition of getting the freebie 

[lisiamc]

7 minutes ago, uktog said:

It is good Azamara stepped up to the plate. Well done!

The trouble with the shake down trips they did was they used travel agents and press people. All their reports on social media were highlighting how wonderful it  was. Some were Azamara regulars who are agents so I’m surprised they didn’t spot things weren’t right. Or is it that shake down cruises given as freebies only give very limited feedback on the functionality of each room. 
Id suggest a shakedown of say six days with everyone moving room every two days. Yes a little inconvenient but it would really test out each room. Everyone should have a detailed checklist for the room they are in and accurate completion should be a condition of getting the freebie 

I like that idea! I’d happily sign up for a reduced rate cruise and work my way through a list of test items.  At least if I had a seriously deficient cabin, I’d only have it for two days.

 

 

Edited May 18, 2022 by lisiamc

[roberts2005]

On 5/16/2022 at 3:09 PM, lisiamc said:

To put my money where my mouth is, we have today booked Onward’s last European cruise (Civitavecchia to Lisbon), and the following Transatlantic (Lisbon to Miami). We really had a good time, and we are looking forward to the next time!

Glad you booked a few more cruises.  Did you receive any of the OBC they promised onboard if you booked within 30 days?

 

 

[Mrmatt]

7 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I'm very pleased to read that Azamara have recognised the issues with the ship and come through with this generous offer. I hope that they get at least some of this money back from the shipyard and suppliers. 

 

Phil 

I am booked for 4  June on Onward and getting slightly concerned about all the issues being referred to. Can someone clarify what major issues are with the ship?

[AJCM]

Azamara’s response to Onward issues, while taking into account all  recent criticisms of conflicting pre-cruise Azamara communications just reconfirms the Azamara experiences we’ve had, since we started in 2012.

 

A wonderful cruise experience, every time, with really professional, xuarlmwr oriented people in all senior, leadership positions on board all their ships; and the organisation, both on land and sea. They have previously provided significant support and compensation when anything goes wrong on the water. The previous chief, Larry, really set the standard.

 

 However, they have always been a really difficult, error prone organisation to deal with on land. I know all businesses have had significant difficulties through covid but Azamara’s on land customer service problems significantly pre-date covid and the sooner they’re totally remote from RCI the better as far as I’m concerned. We always book cruises direct with Azamara, because we discovered quite early that there are always pre-cruise booking/admin issues that need ro be resolved and I’m more committed to satisfactory resolution than any travel agent will be ( and if you book through an agent, you can’t deal direct with Azamara).

 

If the new owners can somehow match customer service on land with the on board experience we’ll all (as well as agents) be very happy little vegemites.

[AJCM]

Just now, AJCM said:

xuarlmwr

for anyone wondering, this is Apple’s spellcheck interpretation of what should be customer- bizzare error correction.

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

It is good Azamara stepped up to the plate. Well done!

The trouble with the shake down trips they did was they used travel agents and press people. All their reports on social media were highlighting how wonderful it  was. Some were Azamara regulars who are agents so I’m surprised they didn’t spot things weren’t right. Or is it that shake down cruises given as freebies only give very limited feedback on the functionality of each room. 
Id suggest a shakedown of say six days with everyone moving room every two days. Yes a little inconvenient but it would really test out each room. Everyone should have a detailed checklist for the room they are in and accurate completion should be a condition of getting the freebie 

Sadly too late for Onward, but this is a great idea.  

 

Phil 

[lisiamc]

57 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

Glad you booked a few more cruises.  Did you receive any of the OBC they promised onboard if you booked within 30 days?

 

 

Yes we did.