deposit refund for a cancelled cruise

[swigso]

18 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

We considered booking Azamara pre-Covid but did not do it due to a work conflict. We have very recently (this week) begun looking at specific cruises due to very attractive offers and are browsing threads here on CC to educate ourselves on Azamara since the sale in hopes of making an educated decision. 

We do not have unlimited funds available - this is a splurge for us and we want to be sure we're acting responsibly as well as getting the best value for our investment. This conversation gives me pause.

Thoughts, suggestions, recommendations? What would you do if you had an opportunity for a do over?

I feel for everyone on this thread who has not received proper treatment from Azamara and am not looking to be the next in line, but don't want to miss out on a great experience if that could be my outcome.

Hello

here is some positive news:

I booked a cruise in 2020 and paid the £500 deposit, then Covid happened. We moved that cruise twice finally settling on an Istanbul to Athens sailing on Oct 14 this year. Then we were notified that Azamara had agreed to charter the ship for the next sailing and it would now be round trip from /to Istanbul.

Because it was so far out there were no incentives or OBC but then followed a very good promotion so we upgraded to a continental suite.
Because I am a cruise nerd and follow prices I saw that there was an amazing sale this week and the price for the same cabin had been more or less halved per person.

I spoke to my TA and asked her to cancel the booking and rebook at the new pricing I was fully aware that I would lose my deposit but would still save £2k.

She explained that I would need to pay another £500 deposit which I was happy to do, but she would see what she could do. I received my new confirmation and lo and behold I have the new pricing my new deposit was taken and my original deposit has also been deducted from my final balance. The $500 OBC was forfeited but due to exchange rates I am even more better off.

My TA worked wonders and Azamara have come up trumps I did not expect this. But, I have used my TA for years and they are fantastic so there will be a nice gift sent to them.

Edited May 26, 2023 by swigso

[Takapuna Grammer Girl]

Well after not getting a call back for three consecutive days, after not receiving any response to my emails to Guest Relations, to the Guest Relations Manager and to the Chief Administrative and Information Officer, I decided, as a last resort, to email Carol Cabezas, the president of Azamara. That was this morning. I did not receive a reply from her but, later today, Thomas Rooney, Executive Guests Relations, contacted me to discuss my request for a refund. He said the delay was because Royal Caribbean had not transferred my credit card number. So here it is, my refund, which I had been asking for since April 15, has been processed. 
I find it interesting that, the same day as I emailed Ms. Cabezas, I was finally contacted by someone at Azamara. Coincidence? May be may be not. At any rate, I have renewed my faith in Azamara and look forward to our next cruise in the Middle East in 2024. I guess I can say my patience was rewarded.

[puppymama1]

Good for you!  I emailed her on Monday… no response.

I will resend the emails tomorrow….

[KevintheIrishDJ]

We did 2 cruises last year. I am waiting for a 5k refund since Jan. for a Dec. 23 cruise. I am sorry I ever sailed with them.

[trk_koa]

I tried sending an email about our overdue refund to three addresses I got from the Elliot advocate page mentioned above. I sent it on May 26 to  AzamaraGuestRelations@Azamara.com and CC’d the two executive contacts for “Guest Services Manager” and “Chief Administrative and Information Officer”.
 

The Guest Services Manager one bounced as undeliverable. No response from either of the other two addresses. 

[Takapuna Grammer Girl]

Well, I never heard either from any of those three. But my email to the Guest Services Manager did not bounce as being undeliverable. For what it’s worth, the same day I emailed the President of Azamara, I heard from someone about my refund. Coincidence or not? It might be worthwhile for you to email Carol Cabezas. Good luck!

[puppymama1]

My email to Guest Services manager did bounce back too... I re-sent the email to the others, including Carol Cabezas.. I didn't hear back but my travel agent, who was also moving up the food chain on his contacts, did hear back and gave them the credit card number.  I haven't seen the credit yet, but hopefully it will come through in the next few days.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Tried something new. 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Got instant reply:

"

Dear Guest,

 

Thank you for taking the time to submit a web form. We understand that you have questions and we are working diligently to resolve all impacts from our technology transition.

 

We have received your inquiry and will respond in 3 to 5 business days. Please note that we are prioritizing sailings departing in the next thirty days.

 

While you may be seeing incorrect or missing information about your future sailing, please be assured that your booking is secure at the original rate. This includes your shore excursions, on board credits, and any other components of your reservation.

 

Additionally, while you may be seeing incorrect or missing information in your loyalty account, please be assured that your status, rewards, and past and future sailing activity remain accurate in our systems. 

 

We thank you for your continued patience. We look forward to seeing you on board.

 

Sincerely,

The Azamara Team

[Takapuna Grammer Girl]

At least your request was acknowledged, so that’s a start.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

38 minutes ago, Takapuna Grammer Girl said:

At least your request was acknowledged, so that’s a start.

It was an automatic reply.

[puppymama1]

Finally!  The refund was posted to our credit card today! For those still waiting for your refunds, keep asking about them… there is hope!

[M4k3MyD4y]

I've read through this particular blog as I had placed a deposit back in 2021 for Azamara's 2023 Australia cruise during the Xmas/New Year's eve holidays.  I've received the two msgs from the company about their IT issues but at this point if Azamara and RCI have yet to sort out the data, I'm hesitant to proceed w/the cruise and it's also my first w/Azamara cruise line.  I've been on Celebrity for the past decade or more but wanted to be in Sydney for New Year's as it's been on my bucket list, and it seems only Azamara of the bigger lines is the only one for 2023/2024....looks like it won't be happening this year.  

 

While reading through the entries, it looked discouraging until I reached toward the more recent ones and a couple folks received their refunds.   The problem I'm having is that my booking doesn't even appear in my account and not sure I can even request my refund!   I do have Azamara's acknowledgement and the itinerary, etc when I first made the deposit so I'm hopeful I'll be able to push my request through.  I have made several email inquiries similar to what several have done and no reply.  Next I will send msgs to specific folks in their mgmt chain as suggested in addition to sending snail mail and attempting phone calls.   The full balance is not due until August so still have time but crossing my fingers.  

 

Thanks to this board/blog and everyone who have notated their experiences, it's much appreciated and I will try to also provide my experience as well for others.

 

- CP -

[uktog]

The thing to remember no one’s booking has reported as being completely lost. It may not be visible to you but it is still there in the system. This is a situation you just have to trust - though some posters will chastise you for doing that. You’ve got a little while before final payment and I’m sure Azamara expects to have everything fixed by then. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I haven't counted how many people have come to CC and reported that after all the pre-cruise worries everything got sorted easily onboard and the cruise was great – it's a lot.  I have counted how many have reported that they got to the ship and were turned away because of pre-cruise issues:  zero.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

I cancelled a 12/23 cruise in 1/23 and asked that part of the refund pay for the 11/23 cruise and the remainder returned to me. I finally got thru on the phone several months ago. I was told it would be escalated to supervisors and I should get a reply in a few days, NOTHING.

In April I got: “Good afternoon, Kevin. Due to the migration into our new systems, we are just now seeing your message; please accept our apologies for any frustration or inconvenience this may have caused. While we hope you were able to reach out to one of our agents via phone to get your initial inquiry resolved, we still wished to verify if all has been taken care of or if there's anything we can still assist with. Kind regards,

Azamara Customer Service”

Since then, I have sent emails to my TA, and several departments in Azamara. I followed up several times. NOTHING.

[JaneStarr]

🤦‍♀️ 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

My post yesterday about the status of my refund has been deleted!!! It says my OBC info is not available online and I should call them. 😂 😂 😂

[uktog]

27 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

My post yesterday about the status of my refund has been deleted!!! It says my OBC info is not available online and I should call them. 😂 😂 😂

So did you actually cancel the cruise? 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

My post yesterday about the status of my refund has been deleted!!! It says my OBC info is not available online and I should call them. 😂 😂 😂

Only your double post was deleted.  The original one is still there (4 up from this one).

[Mackdogmolly]

My TA reached Azamara yesterday about the refund of my deposit for my canceled cruise. The agent said they were way behind and it would take another month. I’m willing to wait another month, but probably not much longer.

[Haljo1935]

17 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

My TA reached Azamara yesterday about the refund of my deposit for my canceled cruise. The agent said they were way behind and it would take another month. I’m willing to wait another month, but probably not much longer.

And then what - what happens if you don't have the payment in another month?

I'm considering my first cruise with Azamara so following along here to gauge my appetite for disappointment if things don't work out.

Truly hope you receive your payment.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

22 hours ago, uktog said:

So did you actually cancel the cruise? 

We have a 11/23 cruise also.

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, Haljo1935 said:

And then what - what happens if you don't have the payment in another month?

I'm considering my first cruise with Azamara so following along here to gauge my appetite for disappointment if things don't work out.

Truly hope you receive your payment.

I *may* take it up with my credit card company, based on Azamara’s terms and conditions.

[trk_koa]

I just got off the phone with my travel agent. I mentioned the issue noted above about Azamara not having the credit card information. Sure enough, they did not. She gave them the information and supposedly, my refund has now been issued, “but could take out to thirty days” to post to my credit card.

 

So it worth it to contact them again and make sure they have the CC. 
 

I will let you know if I see the credit show up.