Cruise to Israel cannot go to Israel

[Host Jazzbeau]

Links to TA website are not allowed.

[Rabbit27]

Dear Azamara Guest,   We hope this message finds you well. We are writing to inform you of important changes made to your upcoming Azamara Journey® cruise, scheduled for October 27, 2023, all of which have been made with your safety and well-being as our utmost priority.   Due to the recent Israel and Gaza Strip conflict, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to redeploy the Azamara Journey by removing all our ports of call in Israel. Your safety, along with the safety of our dedicated crew members, remains our number one concern.   While we deeply regret any inconvenience this change may cause, we want to reassure you that we are committed to providing you with an exceptional and safe travel experience. In place of the Israeli ports of call, we have secured alternatives in Sharm El Sheik, Egypt and Salalah, Oman, both of which are renowned for their rich cultural heritage, picturesque landscapes, and warm hospitality. We are confident that these new destinations will offer you a memorable and rewarding experience that aligns with the high standards you expect from Azamara Cruises.   We would also like to assure you that any shore excursions you may have booked with Azamara in Israel will also be fully refunded.   Again, we regret any inconvenience this situation may have caused you, and we sincerely hope that you will continue to choose Azamara Cruises for your future travel adventures. Should you have any questions or need guidance of what you can explore in any destination please contact your Travel Advisor or click here for your local Azamara call center number.    Sincerely, AZAMARA® ©2023 Azamara. Ships registered in Malta. “Change the Way You Sea” is an international service mark of SP Cruises OpCo Limite Azamara, 3059 Grand Ave, Suite 205, Miami, Florida 33133, United States

[seahappy08]

We have just received our revised itinerary for our 27th October cruise. We only had one day in Israel so are very happy with the changes Azamara have made at such short notice.

[hamrag]

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Links to TA website are not allowed.

I assume that is directed at me for posting the revised itinerary for 17 October Journey cruise. It was not a link, but in precisely the same format as post #157 on the roll call thread. There was no way of identifying the TA from my post.

 

Can you explain please why my post was removed yet the one on rollcall was not? Looking at the timeframe, that one was posted a couple of hours before mine, and I've only just seen it, so it feels like discrimination! My sole intention was to try and provide a heads up since the Az website in the UK had not been updated.at that time.

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, hamrag said:

I assume that is directed at me for posting the revised itinerary for 17 October Journey cruise. It was not a link, but in precisely the same format as post #157 on the roll call thread. There was no way of identifying the TA from my post.

 

Can you explain please why my post was removed yet the one on rollcall was not? Looking at the timeframe, that one was posted a couple of hours before mine, and I've only just seen it, so it feels like discrimination! My sole intention was to try and provide a heads up since the Az website in the UK had not been updated.at that time.

The post on the roll call consists of nothing but text.  The two posts that you put here were not "in precisely the same format" as the roll call post:  your posts included live links to the TA website – I clicked on them and each one took me to their website.  There was no discrimination – you were in clear violation of the CC guidelines, even if you didn't realize it, and in fact I was trying to spare you a Guideline Reminder by quietly removing them.  Please doublecheck your facts before accusing!

 

Thankfully @Rabbit27 has now posted the information direct from Azamara, so the unofficial TA posts are irrelevant.

[lahore]

I am a bit surprised about the lack of empathy displayed by some posters here.  I would have thought that it went without saying that the situation in Gaza and Israel is appalling and without doubt the OP realises that a cruise is a 'first world problem'.  That being said, people pay a lot for cruises and look forward to them for years.  Perhaps the OP was about to do something they had wanted all their lives; viz to visit Israel.  Now they can't and nobody seems to think it matters much.   If it was me I'd be beyond peeved to be told that one of the most fascinating countries in the world (obviously now completely untenable as a port to visit) was going to be replaced with two of the MOST BORING ports in the Middle East (Sharm El Sheikh and Salalah).  No wonder they were easy to get into at short notice.  I adore Oman but Salalah doesn't have much going for it, especially in comparison to Israel.  I would be desperately seeking a refund at this stage and wish the OP luck with the outcome they desire.  

[Traveling Fools]

9 hours ago, lahore said:

I am a bit surprised about the lack of empathy displayed by some posters here.  I would have thought that it went without saying that the situation in Gaza and Israel is appalling and without doubt the OP realises that a cruise is a 'first world problem'.  That being said, people pay a lot for cruises and look forward to them for years.  Perhaps the OP was about to do something they had wanted all their lives; viz to visit Israel.  Now they can't and nobody seems to think it matters much.   If it was me I'd be beyond peeved to be told that one of the most fascinating countries in the world (obviously now completely untenable as a port to visit) was going to be replaced with two of the MOST BORING ports in the Middle East (Sharm El Sheikh and Salalah).  No wonder they were easy to get into at short notice.  I adore Oman but Salalah doesn't have much going for it, especially in comparison to Israel.  I would be desperately seeking a refund at this stage and wish the OP luck with the outcome they desire.  

 

@lahore I agree with you wholeheartedly, however, TCs for most, if not all, cruise lines contain a war clause that permits changes like these to be made and indemnifies the cruise line(s) from making relative changes if war like conditions exists.  In this instance, war like conditions do exist and the cruise line can invoke the war clause to make changes in relative itineraries.  Further, if they failed to make relative changes in their itinerary an one, or more, of their passengers or crew sustained an injury or death due to those war like conditions then the cruise line would be subject to a MAJOR law suite which you and I know would happen.

 

Think about it.....the cruise line decides not to change the itinerary.  How many You Tube, Face Book Reporters would head towards Gaza to get that 60 second video and ends up incurring a non-combat injury, wounded, kidnapped, or killed.  Or, if the ship itself or any of ship sponsored excursion were targeted and hit by rockets, small arms fire, or suicide bombers.  Who do you think would be blamed?

 

I realize you recognize and accept the rational of Azamara, and other lines, cancelling stops at Israeli ports; and just want compensation for passengers who have booked the cruise for the specific reason of visiting Israel, but it just isn't going to happen. 

 

We were on a 2004 South American cruise from Buenos Aires to Santiago with a stop in the Faulklands.   There were a lot of Brits and Argentines aboard who had book that cruise specifically for the stop at Port Stanley.  Citing weather, X cancelled the stop.  We all knew weather wasn't the cause, rather it was a defective propulsion system that resulted in the cancellation of one other port call.  Believe it or not, the only compensation X offered and provided was a ship wide 1-hour open bar.  Thank-you very much.

 

I speculate Azamara will do much more than open the bar, but know they won't give refunds.  And, if they do they will be very limited in scope.   

[Vesalius]

So we have a final outcome.  Azamara allowed us to cancel the cruise to Israel that is not going to Israel.  They offered us the option to reschedule our cruise to Israel in the future.  As the situation there is horrific and the timeline for when the instability will end uncertain, we did not feel comfortable rescheduling our Israel trip until there is more future clarity on the situation.

 

Our TA was able to negotiate a full credit to be applied to a different cruise.  We booked a trip on Azamara Onward to Australia and New Zealand, another trip that has been high on our bucket list for a long time. 

 

For our Israel trip, we had booked business class air and a pre-cruise hotel on our own, so we did lose thousands of dollars on those elements of our trip as we were only able to get a partial refund, but at least we were able to fully reapply the cruise fare.  Such is life.  

 

We are saying our prayers in the hope that those currently suffering in the war will somehow find peace.

Edited October 13, 2023 by Vesalius

[Dynacruiser]

20 minutes ago, Vesalius said:

So we have a final outcome.  Azamara allowed us to cancel the cruise to Israel that is not going to Israel.  They offered us the option to reschedule our cruise to Israel in the future.  As the situation there is horrific and the timeline for when the instability will end uncertain, we did not feel comfortable rescheduling our Israel trip until there is more future clarity on the situation.

 

Our TA was able to negotiate a full credit to be applied to a different cruise.  We booked a trip on Azamara Onward to Australia and New Zealand, another trip that has been high on our bucket list for a long time. 

 

For our Israel trip, we had booked business class air and a pre-cruise hotel on our own, so we did lose thousands of dollars on those elements of our trip as we were only able to get a partial refund, but at least we were able to fully reapply the cruise fare.  Such is life.  

 

We are saying our prayers in the hope that those currently suffering in the war will somehow find peace.

Congratulations!  it seems at least part of the issue was resolved (sorry about the plane and hotel cancellations).

 

Glad that Azamara allowed you to cancel and get full credit, and you were able to use it.   As I have several future Azamara cruises scheduled, I am glad that Azamara is doing the right thing for their customers.

 

Now, let's hope that the conflict in Israel/Gaza is resolved one day soon, or at least the killing of innocent civilians stops.  I know it is a very complex situation.

 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Vesalius said:

For our Israel trip, we had booked business class air and a pre-cruise hotel on our own, so we did lose thousands of dollars on those elements of our trip as we were only able to get a partial refund

Did you book direct with the airline?  The airline T&Cs for all my direct-booked flights include free changes.

 

Here's an article on airline change fees:

 

For almost all United flights, except those booked in basic economy, you can cancel for free if you are traveling within the U.S. (including Alaska and Hawaii), Canada, Mexico or on an international flight that originates in the U.S.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airline-change-and-cancellation-policies/

 

[Vesalius]

We booked business class ourselves directly with Turkish airlines, with a stop in Istanbul.  They have very reasonable prices for lie flat seats and great cuisine, and the business lounge in Istanbul has chefs that prepare delicious meals on demand, one of our favorite lounges around the world.  We consider that particular Turkish airlines business lounge stopover as another enjoyable part of the trip.  
 

These business class flights were about half the cost of business class on United non-stop.  But their policy is that these deeply discounted business class fares are non refundable and non changeable.  They refunded us around $1500 in taxes and fees for two tickets, but the non-refundable, non-changeable fare itself was forfeited.  We also had booked a wonderful hotel in Athens for two nights pre cruise.  That would have been refundable had the cancellation been with more notice, but was non refundable so close to the travel dates.  Most often we book some elements of the travel ourselves if there are better options for a better price, and in a case like this, we lose the protection of booking through the cruise line.  

 

We don’t take travel insurance but rather “self insure”.  Over the years we have saved many thousands of dollars declining insurance, but this particular trip with the war breaking out, we did finally experience some losses.  In any case, the trip insurance policies apparently have an exclusion for acts of war.  Our travel companions did take the insurance, but the coverage did not help them.  They worked with Azamara to change their cruise with a FCC.

Edited October 14, 2023 by Vesalius

[blag]

1 hour ago, Vesalius said:

But their policy is that these deeply discounted business class fares are non refundable and non changeable.

I got caught in the same way for exactly this reason, when, for similar reasons, Azamara withdrew from the Black Sea.

The Business-Class flights, with Turkish Airlines – however – were changeable. I found an alternative cruise (not Azamara) and was able to change my flights to suit the replacement cruise.

But I had booked non-refundable pre-paid hotel accommodation and lost that money! 

I could not claim on my insurance, because the insurers maintained that I was choosing not to go on the completely-different Azamara cruise. If that cruise had been cancelled, however, they would have compensated me.

[lahore]

@Vesalius  Good news. I'm happy for you. Azamara recently changed something for us too, and they didn't have to according to their T&C's, so it seems that they may be compensating for recent bad press about shoreside customer service with some empathetic and responsive service.  Win/win. 

Edited October 14, 2023 by lahore

[GlobalMethod]

15 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

TCs for most, if not all, cruise lines contain a war clause that permits changes like these to be made and indemnifies the cruise line(s) from making relative changeTs if war like conditions exists.

Well said TF. One benefit of cruising versus other types of travel is this ability to salvage 'something' out of a change in circumstances.

 

In other travel you can be immobilized in a location for days or weeks due to political changes, weather, etc.

 

With Azamara this 'something' can still be a pleasant cruise voyage, perhaps not to the port a particular cruiser hoped for, but somewhere that can be explored.

 

We get great value for our travel euros in cruising with Azamara!

[Cyn258]

You were very lucky that Azamara allowed you to book a cruise to another location.  At first they did not have an Ocean Suite available on next years cruise and they wanted us to pay an additonal $2800 for the World Owners Suite or downgrade to a Continent Suite.  We asked if we could transfer the money to a cruise we have booked in Jan '25, the answer was No.  We asked if we could book a different cruise the answer was No.  They told us we had 2 choices, either take this years cruise as planned, (but we did not feel comfortable with the overnight in Egypt being so far from the ship), or transfer the dollars to next years cruise paying $2800 more for World Owner's or accepting a Continent suite.  By the end of the call an Ocean suite became available and we reluctantly booked that but am an Elite member on Azamara and thinking of cancelling our next 25 day SA trip with Azamara over this.

[Grandma Cruising]

Struggling to understand what you mean about the overnight in Egypt being so far from the ship?

[Cyn258]

The ship docks in Alexandira, Egypt.  I booked the overnight excursion to the Pyramids and cruise down the Nile River, both of which are a good distance from the cruise ship.  If the war escalates or there are issues in Egypt as last weekend two tourists and their guide were killed, it made me uncomfortable to be so far from the ship and its safety.  Yes, I could have booked an excursion closer to the ship, however these are two things I wanted to see when I go to Egypt.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Cyn258 said:

The ship docks in Alexandira, Egypt.  I booked the overnight excursion to the Pyramids and cruise down the Nile River, both of which are a good distance from the cruise ship.  If the war escalates or there are issues in Egypt as last weekend two tourists and their guide were killed, it made me uncomfortable to be so far from the ship and its safety.  Yes, I could have booked an excursion closer to the ship, however these are two things I wanted to see when I go to Egypt.

Ah, I understand.

[Vesalius]

I had a chance to think about everything that transpired, and I have to say we are grateful to Azamara for working with us to come up with a new plan that works for us.  We are looking forward to our future trip to Australia and New Zealand as this part of the world has been on our travel wish list for a long time.

 

Now that we are booked, I can start looking for a good option for lie flat business class travel from North America to Oceania.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Vesalius said:

I had a chance to think about everything that transpired, and I have to say we are grateful to Azamara for working with us to come up with a new plan that works for us.  We are looking forward to our future trip to Australia and New Zealand as this part of the world has been on our travel wish list for a long time.

 

Now that we are booked, I can start looking for a good option for lie flat business class travel from North America to Oceania.

I was able to get a good deal flying NY to Auckland (non-stop) and home from Sydney on Qantas. They have a fare called Business Sale that was cheaper than the others I was looking at. 

[DS]

       Perhaps, for some people, there may be a silver lining....   In 2022 we had a Black Sea voyage that was radically changed by the situation in Ukraine.   We cancelled that.   BUT we were able to find a Baltic cuirse, that having to cut St Petersburg from it itinerary, was offered at a very good price.   We have been to St Pete, so the other stops were our prority.   It turned out to be a wonderful-- and afforable-- voyage!  Check the options!

[john1970]

I had the same with the Black Sea cruise which turned into a Greece intensive. I would have done that but we had paid a hefty price due to it being Black Sea and Azamara wanted to charge the same. I quoted them UK package travel regulations and got a full refund. I noticed that the new cruise to Greece then went massively down in price after final payment. It's hard to please everyone in these types of situation. My advice to anyone with air tickets that they cannot use is to wait until very near to departure to cancel as by then the flight itself might cancel and allow a full refund.

[Whitby100]

It seems that Azamara has not updated Israel itineraries online, unless they’re only dealing with immediate sailings.  We were contemplating sailing with friends on one of the Israel sailings in October 2024 but the itinerary hasn’t changed.  While the destination intrigued us we are limited to an October sailing due to commitments at home, thus the interest. Have people on these cruising been notified of itinerary changes?

[blag]

1 hour ago, john1970 said:

My advice to anyone with air tickets that they cannot use is to wait until very near to departure to cancel as by then the flight itself might cancel and allow a full refund.

Good advice!

Airlines do change/cancel itineraries, and/or change times etc. In these circumstances I think that all airlines will offer a refund. 

[Grandma Cruising]

On 10/14/2023 at 3:21 PM, Cyn258 said:

The ship docks in Alexandira, Egypt.  I booked the overnight excursion to the Pyramids and cruise down the Nile River, both of which are a good distance from the cruise ship.  If the war escalates or there are issues in Egypt as last weekend two tourists and their guide were killed, it made me uncomfortable to be so far from the ship and its safety.  Yes, I could have booked an excursion closer to the ship, however these are two things I wanted to see when I go to Egypt.

Ah, I understand.