Changes for Onward and Journey April/May Red Sea transit

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

From my point of view I think it would be a poor/risky decision to go through the Suez (as demonstrated by what happened to Crystal Symphony). Much better to keep the ship and crew safe and go round the Cape of Good Hope, even if it will mess up the schedule. 

 

Phil 

What actually happened to Crystal Symphony was a smooth trip through under military escort – as opposed to the inflammatory press coverage that has been categorically denied by Crystal...

https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/safety-security/crystal-strongly-refutes-any-incident-red-sea-deadhead-transit

 

[NC Rob]

We just got a notice that the May 29th departure on Azamara Journey has been cancelled.

[Grandma Cruising]

Sounds like they’ve decided not to risk the Red Sea, even with only a ‘skeleton’ crew.

[Peter Lanky]

2 hours ago, NC Rob said:

We just got a notice that the May 29th departure on Azamara Journey has been cancelled.

Azamara has known this for some time. Journey is travelling around Africa, and scheduled to be in Walvis Bay on 21st May. There was never a possibility of reaching Athens within 8 days.

Edited April 9 by Peter Lanky

[SS Sail]

 

Cruise critic 

What’s happening with Azamara cruises? It seems since leaving Royal Caribbean, they are on a downward slide in terms of customer service. 

We booked a cruise earlier this year which was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime to celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday on the Journey departing Athens on the 29th May 2024. 

Unfortunately, Azara email to inform us that the cruise had been cancelled at very short notice due to the ship being unable to reach the Mediterranean from the Far East. 

The email we received from Azara detailed that on the 14th of May 2024 we would receive a voucher for the full cost of the cruise +30%, with no further action needed.

We selected this option as we wanted to continue to take a cruise later in the year or next year.

However that voucher never arrived and despite several calls and emails to Amara they have blanked us! They have not provided any explanation as to why the promised voucher has not arrived, this is unacceptable. 

After many calls to the call centre and having been told there’s nothing anyone can do and we just have to wait we are appealing to anyone who can assist or suggest how we can resolve this urgently as a substantial amount of money is involved. 

This is a very sad situation for a once reliable and efficient cruise line! 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, SS Sail said:

 

 

Cruise critic 

What’s happening with Azamara cruises? It seems since leaving Royal Caribbean, they are on a downward slide in terms of customer service. 

We booked a cruise earlier this year which was meant to be the holiday of a lifetime to celebrate my mother’s 70th birthday on the Journey departing Athens on the 29th May 2024. 

Unfortunately, Azara email to inform us that the cruise had been cancelled at very short notice due to the ship being unable to reach the Mediterranean from the Far East. 

The email we received from Azara detailed that on the 14th of May 2024 we would receive a voucher for the full cost of the cruise +30%, with no further action needed.

We selected this option as we wanted to continue to take a cruise later in the year or next year.

However that voucher never arrived and despite several calls and emails to Amara they have blanked us! They have not provided any explanation as to why the promised voucher has not arrived, this is unacceptable. 

After many calls to the call centre and having been told there’s nothing anyone can do and we just have to wait we are appealing to anyone who can assist or suggest how we can resolve this urgently as a substantial amount of money is involved. 

This is a very sad situation for a once reliable and efficient cruise line! 

I suggest you try emailing Erin ODonnell who is Head of Customer Relations and Loyalty at eodonnell@Azamara.com

I’ve found her very responsive.

[Keeria]

Have you booked direct with Azamara or with a travel agent?

[fruitmachine]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I suggest you try emailing Erin ODonnell who is Head of Customer Relations and Loyalty at eodonnell@Azamara.com

I’ve found her very responsive.

Oooh, a different email address than the one I have (erin.odonnell@azamara.com) but I have had radio silence from my one since I sent her an email last weekend.  Perhaps I'll try your alternative.

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

Oooh, a different email address than the one I have (erin.odonnell@azamara.com) but I have had radio silence from my one since I sent her an email last weekend.  Perhaps I'll try your alternative.

I’m pretty sure I used the one that you have and she responded, but it wouldn’t hurt to try the other one too.

[SS Sail]

2 hours ago, Keeria said:

Have you booked direct with Azamara or with a travel agent?

Thank you.
We booked direct with Azamara, we also lost a lot of money on flights that could not be transferred.  It’s a real mess 

[SS Sail]

3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I suggest you try emailing Erin ODonnell who is Head of Customer Relations and Loyalty at eodonnell@Azamara.com

I’ve found her very responsive.

Thank you. We will send Erin an email.  

[Keeria]

22 hours ago, SS Sail said:

Thank you.
We booked direct with Azamara, we also lost a lot of money on flights that could not be transferred.  It’s a real mess 

We had the same problem with promised FCCs that never arrived. As we had booked with a German travel agent,  Azamara Europe insisted that our travel agent must contact the Azamara office to get the FCC Nos. Finally our travel agent received those FCC Nos. However, in  your case, it is the Azamara office who will give you the FCC Nos. that can be applied to your future reservation. 

[Brynballa]

For anyone booked on the 26th October Athens to Dubai and potentially the Dubai to Dubai Pursuit cruise following that, I have today received a response to an email sent to Erin O’Donnell. She says that a communication will be sent out next week about the options available.

 

Good news for me as I’ve been holding off of booking any flights.

 

If I get any more information I’ll post it on this forum.

[Squiz58]

Noticed this morning that the Athens to Dubai, Dubai to Dubai, and Dubai to Singapore cruises have all changed to “pricing unavailable”

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Squiz58 said:

Noticed this morning that the Athens to Dubai, Dubai to Dubai, and Dubai to Singapore cruises have all changed to “pricing unavailable”

Viking cancelled their equivalent trips yesterday 

[oddjob16]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Viking cancelled their equivalent trips yesterday 

Big question is : «What is the replacement?» Will they cancel the whole season in Oceania/ Asia or will they set up cruises around Africa to meet up with the planned itineraries from Singapore OR will they sail empty around with minimum crew? 

[tonyl1956]

On 6/10/2024 at 6:27 PM, Brynballa said:

For anyone booked on the 26th October Athens to Dubai and potentially the Dubai to Dubai Pursuit cruise following that, I have today received a response to an email sent to Erin O’Donnell. She says that a communication will be sent out next week about the options available.

My account on Seaware now shows the 26th October sailing as Cancelled, though it's also shown as Booked but I guess that will be removed soon.

 

That's the whole of our B2B gone now, as we'd booked the already cancelled 19th October Athens to Athens, which became a charter. We replaced that with Athens to Chioggia on Journey in less than 4 weeks time, so at least we are cruising soon and will have opportunities to do some onboard bookings for 2025/6.

[Brynballa]

Where do you look to see if it’s cancelled on your account - can’t see it. Have you had any communication from them?

[tonyl1956]

1 hour ago, Brynballa said:

Where do you look to see if it’s cancelled on your account - can’t see it. Have you had any communication from them?

No communications as yet.

 

It's not showing as cancelled if I log in on azamara.com and look at upcoming cruises there. I logged in (same login details) at https://seaware.azamara.com/touchb2c/#/ and it shows among 'My Reservations' as cancelled (and booked!).

[Billy Butlin]

36 minutes ago, tonyl1956 said:

No communications as yet.

 

It's not showing as cancelled if I log in on azamara.com and look at upcoming cruises there. I logged in (same login details) at https://seaware.azamara.com/touchb2c/#/ and it shows among 'My Reservations' as cancelled (and booked!).

Are the Reservation numbers the same? Ive had instances where Ive booked but changed cabin and so had a Cancelled reservation and Booked reservation for the same cruise.

Somewhat academic as you say as your cruise will almost certainly not be happening

[Brynballa]

Cancellation communication has arrived.

[DS]

Which cruise?   Athens to Dubai?  Can you post / copy/paste  the email?   I got changes for the follow on Dubai-Dubai ( cancelled) and Dubai- Singapore ( changed to Port Louis, Mauritius to Singapore) and posted them on respective roll calls...

[Brynballa]

Dear Azamara Guest,

 

We hope this message finds you well. Due to the ongoing unrest in the Red Sea, which presents risks to the safety of our guests and crew, we have made the decision to cancel our scheduled cruise on Azamara Pursuit^® departing on October 26, 2024.

 

We understand the inconvenience this cancellation causes as you have made travel arrangements and plans in anticipation of this sailing. We are truly sorry for the disruption to your travel plans. While we regret that we cannot embark on the planned journey, we are dedicated to assisting you in finding alternative options to suit your preferences.

 

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR YOUR OPTIONS

 

Option 1:

• Accept a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) valued at 130% of the amount of cruise fare paid to date. FCCs will be issued by July 31, 2024. The 100% FCC for the cruise fare paid never expires. The additional 30% FCC must be booked and sailed by 7/31/2026.

Option 2:

• Forego the Future Cruise Credit (FCC) in option 1 and request a full refund of the total cruise fare paid to date. Refunds for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment. Please allow up to 45 business days to process.

 

[DS]

12 minutes ago, Brynballa said:

Dear Azamara Guest,

 

We hope this message finds you well. Due to the ongoing unrest in the Red Sea, which presents risks to the safety of our guests and crew, we have made the decision to cancel our scheduled cruise on Azamara Pursuit^® departing on October 26, 2024.

 

We understand the inconvenience this cancellation causes as you have made travel arrangements and plans in anticipation of this sailing. We are truly sorry for the disruption to your travel plans. While we regret that we cannot embark on the planned journey, we are dedicated to assisting you in finding alternative options to suit your preferences.

 

PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR YOUR OPTIONS

 

Option 1:

• Accept a Future Cruise Credit (FCC) valued at 130% of the amount of cruise fare paid to date. FCCs will be issued by July 31, 2024. The 100% FCC for the cruise fare paid never expires. The additional 30% FCC must be booked and sailed by 7/31/2026.

Option 2:

• Forego the Future Cruise Credit (FCC) in option 1 and request a full refund of the total cruise fare paid to date. Refunds for amounts paid will be processed to the original form of payment. Please allow up to 45 business days to process.

 

Thanks