Azamara Quest Cruise Ship - Our first Luxury Cruise - we were shocked by how badly we were treated!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- Since our experience on Azamara Quest we have been back on Azamara Onward and can happily report that the Guests Relations team were excellent. A sign of a good company is when things don't go to plan, they sort it out and Azamara have just done that!
Azamara Cruises do some things brilliantly, a lot of things really well but sadly on this cruise they do some things badly too. Here are our thoughts of our 25 nights on board the Azamara Quest cruise ship!
Watch our review of the Renaissance Hotel Heathrow Airport here - • Renaissance Hotel Heat...
Watch our Azamazing Night in Bali video here - • Find out all about our...
----------------------------
Paul and Carole's cruising Videos and Vlogs Playlist - • Cruising with Paul and...
-------------------------------------------
About Paul and Carole Love to Travel
We are a married middle aged couple from Gloucester, England who share our tips, advice and experience on how you can choose the right cruise line, cruise ship snd cabin. Cruising is expensive so we use all our experiences to give the best tips and advice so you can make the right choice too!
-------------------------------------------------
Our Patrons and You Tube members are the first to know of our plans, have early access to our videos and there are many more perks too!
Do you want to become an Insider and be the first to know what's happening with us? If you do, then please check out our Patreon and You Tube memberships here -
Patreon - / paulandcarolelovetotravel
You Tube Membership - / paulandcarolelovetotravel
------------------------------------------------
Planning a land based holiday, flights, bucket list trip, or cruise then we recommend this travel agent -Dan Hammond of GoCruise&Travel who you can be contacted here by email - dan@gocruise.uk.com, telephone 01622 891895 or complete our booking form here for a no obligation quote - paulandcarolel...
Find our favourite travel, cruise and motorhome accessories in our Amazon Shop ➡️ www.amazon.co....
Sign up for our NEWSLETTER by completing the box on our home page here ➡️ paulandcarolel...
This post contains affiliate links which means we may receive a commission if you click a link. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help us keep this site up and running!
#Azamara #AzamaraQuest #cruiseship #Videos #Cruise #cruising #paulandcarole #Vlogs #vloggers #bloggers
Find all our other Azamara Quest Australian Adventure Episodes from our vlog series here! th-cam.com/play/PL_6zC3nwhe736emmobrsIGtnWBMKDnPL5.html
Sounds absolutely disgusting! Don’t let this drop. The head office will be shocked when they see this on Social media! I really hope you have complained. Keep up the great work!
We won't! We have been complaining since day 5 and not heard anything yet, which is really poor!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel I am still in shock watching this Vlog, can’t wait for the rest of the series! I look forward to hearing much more about this disgusting service!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel Exactly the same as Princess Cruises. They ended up offering me £200 to sail with them again. Absolutely no way will I ever sail with that company again. Simply appalling.
Absolutely Disgusting service
Just got off the Quest last week. One of the best cruises we have taken and this was not our first Azamara cruise. Staff and crew were great, no complaints.
That's great to hear!
Paul and Carole, I’m so sorry to hear about the appalling experience you had with Guest Relations on this cruise. How stressful that must have been for you. Thank goodness you have the resilience and sense of humour to have survived the experience, and I wish you the very best of luck in getting a positive response ( finally) from Azamara. I’m afraid your experience brought back really bad memories for me of a cruise I went on with Celebrity on Constellation in 2019. This included being put on the wrong excursion bus in Dubai, missing out on the experience I really wanted, then being forgotten by the tour guide despite standing exactly where he had told me to wait, and nearly being left behind in the Mall. I was only rescued because fellow passengers pointed out that I wasn’t on the bus just before it set off to return to the ship! The response from the Excursions team was unbelievably bad, and I had a really stressful time getting the excursion charge refunded. What was my problem they wondered, I had been on an excursion after all! Also , the Guest Relations team were offhand and uninterested in any problem. I will never go on a cruise with Celebrity ever again. Best wishes for happy cruising for you in the future.
Oh wow, how scary for you, and no need for such bad attitudes. Thanks for your comment!
Absolutely shocking ! Thank you for your honesty. There are more then enough cruise lines out there for me to cross off Azamara from my list. Sad to see lovely Carol upset, but you have saved your followers from more tears.
Thanks Paul appreciate that!
We had a perfect cruise on the Azamara Journey this past year. I hate to think that we would have avoided it if we saw your description of how you were treated on the Quest prior to our trip. Sorry to hear what you went through after we had absolutely no problems.
Thanks Micheal, great to hear you had a good experience, guess it just depends which staff are on at that time!
Really sorry to hear about the mixed experience you had on the Quest. Sadly we had similar bad experiences on the Onward with both embarkation and guest relations' interactions. It was our first cruise with Azamara and will be our last.
Oh really and that is their new ship. You would of thought they would have the best staff on that one!!
I am so happy that you do not sugar coat your cruise experience like many many other vloggers do. You have kept it real and for over 14,000 lb for the cruise it is absolutely horrible how you were treated. I have been treated awful by guest relations on a few cruises and even with all the patience and grace I have shown them, they have mostly been rude and not helpful at all and treated me as though a couple thousand dollars is just cents to them and I should not feel bad about my cruise not going well. There have been parts of my cruises I have enjoyed such as time at the ports and time with my family but NCL, a d some Royal guest service employees need more training and some compassion and empathy would go a long way. I expect there to be issues and for the most part can overlook most, but there are times when they(the cruise line) need to help make it right.
Thanks Michelle. Definitely training needed, agree niggles you cope with but persistent rudeness and such poor communication is not acceptable. Such a shame!
Sad to hear of your bad experience with Azamara Quest as we had been on a Med cruise in 2016 with Azamara Journey. Wonderful small ship helpful staff. Every time that we returned to the ship following an excursion the captain Johannes Tysse would be at the gangway to welcome everyone back on board. Glad that your enjoyed your Aussie trip anyway.
We had the same too. The other staff around the ship were fabulous! Australia was amazing!
We loved our Azamara cruise, we have cruised for many years (over 30 cruises), and can honestly say the Azamara cruise was the best, from the moment we boarded the ship till we disembarked it was wonderful, can obviously only speak from our experience but would sail with them again in a heart beat 😊
That's good you had a great cruise. We heard great things which is why we booked!
Yes we have cruised twice with Azamara and everything was faultless. Sounds like things have changed since Covid which is really disappointing.
@@lindasymons8361 yes, perhaps that is the reason, we sailed on two Princess cruises last year (2022) which had both been postponed from 2020 due to Covid, and although we enjoyed them, we did notice that they had definitely cut back on certain things, perhaps to recoup the money they had lost during the pandemic. Obviously if you had been a first time cruiser you would not have been any the wiser, but having sailed with them many times we did 😟
I'm shocked at how they handled the situation! I've worked with the company before and they are typically very good about these type of things. I highly suggest asking around with the regulars you've met to get emails for shoreside, some are even in contact with the CEO (mind you it is a small company), and let them know your experience.
We have since had contact with shoreside who were very responsive and also been back on Azamara Onward where we were treated very well.
Wow. That has to be the worst guest relations we've ever heard of on land or sea. You did well to stay that calm dealing with such poor service.
Rest of Azamara sounds great; but that level of service is genuinley making us think twice about going on Azamara later this year which we've been talking about booking for the last few weeks.
As an aside you both look to have great tans 😀
Looking forward to the upcoming Azamara Vlogs.
Linzi and Mark
It was such a shame as they do so many things really well and the majority of staff are amazing! Certainly something we didn't expect!
I’m shocked that the Hotel Director took no ownership of the problem.
We had the exact same embarkation experience on Pursuit. (Almost like you were telling our story). We had a worse debacle with the transfer than you did. We had the same issues with unhelpful, short-term memory and “disappearing ink” at guest relations. Totally agree about the very high quality of the rest of the staff… except in the Spa. We had a very bad experience there as well. The deceptive, high-pressure sales were ridiculous. They convinced my daughter the overpriced product was mandatory as part of the service. She was so flustered she left it behind and they just put it in a drawer. When she told me the next day, I assumed the spa would send it to the room. They did not. When I went to pick it up they said they didn’t know who it belonged to… but somehow they knew what room to charge.
Sorry to hear your bad experience too, that is awful with the spa!
😢😢😢
I just watched this, as I only subscribed last week. I am just sick hearing what happened to you. I sure hope you received restitution.
Love your videos! You seem like such a lovely, fun couple.
Thank you for sharing.
We did and have since been in Azamara Onward and it was fabulous! Thanks for finding us and subscribing!
Omg, I'm truly shocked by what you have told us! Absolutely despicable treatment of you and some other guests. I would certainly think twice about booking with them now. Hope this vlog finds its way to the hierarchy of Azamara. Heads should roll and some sent for re training.
Thanks Janice we have been in contact numerous times, sadly no response.
We also were considering Azamara for an upcoming cruise. We have cruised mostly with Viking and Oceania in the past. We do like the smaller ships. Took a cruise around part of Norway last summer and I felt that the food had slipped a bit, but everything was really nice. The food was very good, don’t get me wrong, just a little under what we had before. The nightmare with that trip was with Air Canada. Delays here in Charlotte caused us to not get on our flight from Toronto to Copenhagen causing us ultimately to arrive to our ship 3 days late. We had thankfully booked through a travel agency and they ultimately got us to where the ship was docked. Oceania were wonderful and were tracking us the whole way. When we finally got on board, they were so wonderful and welcoming. I cried just from therelief. Thankfully😂. We had to stay all night in a hotel in Toronto, and Air Canada has never reimbursed us. They were terrible to many people that night and never even offered to book us into a hotel. I could go on--. Glad you are home safe and sound. I can only say that I will be watching to hear if you’re ever contacted by Azamara.
Oh wow what a nightmare for you! We do think post pandemic standards have slipped with many cruise lines, lots of experienced crew were lost and we know the cruise companies have had a nightmare with recruitment. Hoping it all improves in time, and they get the right people in the right jobs!
We booked an Azamara cruise to the Caribbean for this month back in September with a refundable deposit. Then, I started reading reviews and got nervous so we canceled. We ended up booking a 14-night Caribbean on Holland America for December instead, and it was amazing! It was $4k for the two of us for a balcony including the “Have it All” package and unlimited laundry package, which allowed us to send out laundry every day that was returned the next morning clean, pressed, and on hangers. We went home with all clean clothes packed in our bags. Great experience on Holland America, and we now have three more cruises booked on them.
Oh wow that does sound fabulous! Going home with all clean clothes, love that!
Wow! We are truly shocked and speechless! We have only ever heard good things about Azamara! Faulty Towers at sea it seems, can not believe how bad you were both treated! Absolutely devastated for you both, such a disappointment!
It was certainly a trip full of highs and lows!
Happy they stood up and took care of you. I wonder how much it has to do w your power as blogger/ vlogger/ you tubers
I plan on having a good time and certainly am hoping/ insisting on appropriate care
That definitely helped. Though it seems that we were not the only ones with issues and they had lots of complaints about this team. Good to see they acted on feedback and seems customer service is now excellent throughout the fleet.
Great to see Vloggers tell it like it is ! Thank you … Horrendous customer service that becomes all consuming and blemish on what should be an amazing holiday. Looking forward to watching your adventures ashore and away from the grumpy four !
Thanks so much! Sadly it was. However, our time in Australia was amazing!
You two are great! Love watching your videos. Thanks!
Thank you!
Glen from Ant & Glen here - always love watching your content, folks! Am so very sorry to hear about the crazy incompetence of the guest relations staff. Who the heck trains these people?? Really appreciate the way you share your experience with total honesty, very much looking forward to the vlogs!
Hi Glen thanks appreciate that! Not sure they have had any training! By the way great to see you in front of the camera with Ant, really enjoying the banter!
Someone has to keep him in check!
@@Blank8uin7h7hjh LOL! 😂
Missed you guys. Sorry to hear about the problems but grateful you tell us the truth so we can make better choices. ❤
Thanks appreciate that!
We were on the Bali to Perth leg of your cruise and it was our 1st sailing with Azamara to. Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your cabin. We slept through the storm and didn't even hear about it until the following afternoon. Your comments regarding seasickness made me think of the time we sailed on Ovation of the Seas from Perth to Adelaide and I suffered terrible seasickness. I thought the guests staying on Azamara from Perth were very brave in such a small ship.
Loved your honest account and will look forward to hearing more about your travels.
Hi Karen, apparently the captain didn’t wake up either. No one can legislate for freak weather but it was quite clear that our balcony doors seal was in affective yet they still didn’t fix it,even though they said they had, maintaining a ship should be a priority as should customer service. But glad you had a good cruise 😀
Hi guys
On reflection we had a couple of less than satisfactory dealings with guest services as well. 1st to get a replacement door key card for my husband when he misplaced his and the response from the desk was efficient but no smiles or welcoming greetings. The 2nd time was on the second day in Perth when we decided to finish the cruise early and packed up intending to get off around 4pm and go home. But when we went to Guest Services to advise of our intentions we were told like two naughty children that we couldn't as it was too late for Customs checks. Which we were ok with but both felt very confronted by her manner. Especially as no correspondence had been given out explaining this in the exit information.
So we hope you have some success if you decide to follow up on your issues.
Regards
Karen and John
🙂
Pleased to see you got back from your Cruise safely. I am so shocked at how you were treated by the customer relations team. I could see how upset you both were. I know you said you had a wonderful time in Australia and you have lovely memories,but the bad parts you are not going to forget. I hope Azamara do get back to you re your complaints,have a feeling they won't. They should have responded by now anyway. Your vlogs are watched my many and your subscribers know you are honest and fair with your reviews. I for one go by what reviews say and I will not use Azamara at the moment,I will wait to see if and what they have to say to you. If you get a reply. Look forward to the vlogs.
Thanks Tricia. Agree our gut is that they won't, but we will see! Your right we will never forget, but we are thankful for all the good memories too!
Looking forward to your new vlogs and welcome home.
Certainly not a cruise line we will be going on - seeing your ‘probably’ out of date Kwells Carol sent shivers down my spine - I probably would have had to get off ship at first opportunity as suffer with motion sickness at the best of times. 🤢
Pleased you came home with some good memories. 😊
We came home with lots of great memories thankfully! Yes sea sickness is not fun!
Our Azamara cruise had the worst embarkation ever- we were dropped at the terminal an hour before it even opened, then two hours hanging about. Emma had a problem with a noisy door, which they fixed - but our cruise only cost £820! Hopefully we can catch up with you in February and you can tell us all about it!
Yes does seem embarkation is an issue, lots of comments on our social media about it too! Looking forward to seeing you in Feb! 😍
We did a cruise in Australia a year ago, and those who get sea sick, may not want to go. The Tasman sea is notoriously rough. I've seen video of the really big ships rocking too and the TH-camrs getting sick too .
Yes it’s definitely entertaining
Nice balanced review..Thanks. We have sailed on the Quest a number of times and never had any problems with motion ( Indian Ocean, Med etc )...Strange!!!
Thanks! it is strange as we really struggled!
Welcome home and so sad for you both that your cruise was dampened by the incompetence of the guest relations. I had a tear in my eye seeing how upset you got just speaking about it. Looking forward to seeing if they get back to you regarding your complaints xx
Thanks Mary! Sadly no response as yet! 🙄
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel looking forward to the vlogs xx
New subscriber here guys. Love your videos and balanced no nonsense approach to assessing the pros and cons. We board Quest in May for a 3 week cruise so this is very timely for us. Keep up the great work.
Thanks for subscribing! Have fun it is a lovely ship......let us know if guest relations have improved!
Well that was an eye opener.
Really sorry to hear your experience on what should have been the cruise of a lifetime.
Perhaps we'll stay with P&O after all 🙂
Looking forward to the rest of the series.
Take care.
John & Carole
Thanks John episode 1 out next week! Thankfully there were a lot of positives too and we have some amazing memories, Australia was amazing!
I was considering an asian cruise on Azamara and was already concerned after previously hearing about their tiny bathrooms but, because I don’t tolerate bad customer service, I will have to reconsider.
The bathrooms are tiny. Paul couldn't fit in so the whole bathroom was used as a wet room!
Princess showers smaller
Well, we’re shocked! Very sad to see you upset Carole, but it’s totally understandable. We’ve booked a 30 night cruise with Holland America doing Asia next year - and like you, it cost a “kings ransom”. If we did it and encountered the issues and treatment you had received, we would be as equally distressed by it all. I booked an Azamara Onward cruise around Montenegro and Croatia in May for Dan’s birthday - a region we have wanted to do for a long time, and chose Azamara so we could do it right. Having watched this, I’m now wondering if I made a big mistake. Even if Azamara didn’t live up to your expectations, we hope that Australia did and more!
Thanks guys! A chunk of my retirement money went on this, so it is very frustrating to have to deal with such bad attitudes. Azamara to some things really well, the itineraries are superb as are the majority of staff on board. So go with an open mind and enjoy! Australia was amazing we didn't want to leave!
I swear to god we were going to book a cruise on Azamara until I saw this video
We have been told that the team we had issues with no longer work for Azamara....also we have since been on Azamara Onward and didn't have any issues with Guest Services there and had an amaxing time. Azamara do so many things really well so despite the problems we had on Quest we would cruise with them again if it was a particular itinerary we wanted.
I would never cruise on that line,thanks for letting everyone know about this problem
No problem!
I’m so sorry to hear of this appalling experience. I’ve only been on Azamara once, on the Quest’s sister ship Journey. I was on the ship right after Azamara was started where it replaced the Celebrity Horizon to Bermuda. I found it to be a step downward from Horizon. I haven’t been back on Azamara since (over 30 cruises taken since then) and have no plans to return. I recall embarkation and disembarkation to be somewhat out of control and service to be spotty. I thought that was due to early teething problems, but the entire cruise was disappointing, though the Cruise Director was outstanding.
[Edited for spelling error.]
Thank you! Funny you should mention Celebrity Horizon, I worked on that ship in the early nineties as a nurse! 😀
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel Thanks for sharing! I absolutely loved Horizon, still my favorite ship ever. Great size, outstanding staff, beautifully decorated (loved the Warhol endangered species prints) and perfect for smaller ports, like Bermuda. Seemed so much more open and thoughtfully designed than the R-Class ships like Quest and Journey.
Yes I have very fond memories. Loved Bermuda, not been back as yet but must go sometime!
So appreciate your honesty and completely understand your frustration. Azamara Cruises need fix this bad attitude immediately. Poor service reviews spread like wildfire in the cruise industry. So appreciate the two of you being “out there” and reporting on your experiences. Lots of love from Canada!😍
Thanks so much! We have since been on Azamara Onward and happy to report they have fixed it!
So good to hear.@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel
Apparently thee were a lot of complaints. Good to see cruise lines respond to feedback. We couldn't fault the service on Onward 😀
So nice to see you in my neck of the woods! And woooow don’t the old R class look amazing in their Azamara guise. Nice review.
Cheers! She does look good!
Experience last year on Onward was not great and it stank of cost cutting, giving them one more chance this year and hope they replicate our previous three cruises with them. Now owned by an investment company does not give me confidence. Great video guys and hope you have many more enjoyable cruises.
Thanks M&M! Hope you do too, do let us know!
Oh my gosh… I am Crew Member working at Guest Relations for a different Line and I have no words to express how bad I feel about it! I hope you got some sort of compensation at the end
Thanks! It was shocking thankfully we have had good experience on other cruise lines. We understand it is a very difficult job, but communication skills are key and sadly it was lacking with this team on so many levels!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel every job is different but nobody forces us to work onboard! We are all human and we should treat passengers the same way we want to be treated if not better
Exactly! 😍
Shame on #azamara for this horrible treatment. Glad to know they are no longer under the Royal Caribbean umbrella with that standard of terrible guest service. But thank you for your candid and thorough review. You've gained a new follower in me.
Thanks for subscribing! It wasn't good but thankfully we had lots of positive experiences too!
I have only ever cruised on these smaller ships, Azamara, Oceana and Viking Ocean. Azamara Quest is one of the ships I have been on. I have to say that I have only ever had a great experience with them and none of the issues you encountered.
It is awful that you had these issues. Admittedly my experience was before COVID so perhaps certain standards slipped. I do know that they are under new ownership so hopefully they will get a grip. While my next is a Viking Mediterranean cruise I do plan another Azamara after that.
It great to hear that you had a great times seems to depend on the staff on the ship at that time! Thanks fir watching!
I have just watched your vlog and I am surprised that you would be treated like that on Azamara. We were thinking of trying them but after watching that I wont bother now. We have only been called liars once on ship and that was on Queen Victoria but I did get an apology and compensation. I hope that you get something back you deserve it. Carol if I could I would give you a hug after being so upset I am only down the road in the other town. Take care and keep up the good work
Thanks Jeanette! Seems Cunard responded appropriately to you shame Azamara don't follow their example! Hug greatly received from down the road!
We join AZAMARA Quest @ Cape Town on 20th Feb. I’m glad I’ve seen your vid.
I had a similar experience with Costa in 1999 and lead a 248 Guest Mutiny off at Naples because Guest Relations/Captain’s attitude (“Cruises From Hell”). Terrible this still happens. Very fair overview. Dare I say “appropriately BRITISH” - especially with your West Country accent.🥰
Have subscribed & will watch more. Safe travels.
Thanks for watching and subscribing! Oh wow that sounds terrible too. Such a shame this team were so bad as the rest of the staff on the ship were fabulous, thankfully we had lots of positive experiences too! Great you recognised the accent too, we are originally from the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel "Glouw-Sester Shire" as our tax-evading cousins might say. LOL. God's own country. ;-)
Just checked and you've done other ships and places that we have so will be interesting to sit down tonight with a nice glass of Lidl's Sauvignon Blanc (LOL) to watch with Suzanne.
I'm intrigued by your Wi-Fi findings as I was about to book the full package this morning and it clearly stated, if another person logs on, the initial person would be logged off. So I will check the exact wording - in case it refers to device not "guest" but it certainly read that I could end my activity, log off & Suzanne could log on. I appreciate, as Vloggers, you would both use simultaneously so buy 2 packages but we expect to just use one. The basic package is already included in our deal. I also read that VOIP calls are not supported. That's a shame for us as out business calls would normally be diverted in this way!
I trust you have no objection to me referring to your Vlog should I need to with our trip? Hopefully, that wont be necessary.
This is our first time Azamara - having only ever heard great things BUT the worry of course is that, if Sycamore's claims at takeover were just "puff pieces", the line will decline. That doesn't seem a good business model. Service Industries/Staff need to service their clients- or go do something else! "Hospitality" used to mean being hospitable to everyone - guests especially!
All too often these days, Customers seem to be treated as a nuisance! (No published phone numbers. no response emails etc etc). I see Azamara do have a telephone line - but charge 7p per min for the privilege - for customers to ask questions!!!
So you're cruising again next Thurs. BRILLIANT. We fly out on Weds to Pilanesberg Game Reserve, then Victoria Falls, before down to Cape Town for 5 days then join the Journey on the 20th. We will watch your travels from there with interest ! "ENJOY".
Thanks again.
@@riprowley2562 Lol! Yes we have done lots of ships so hope you enjoy our other content too.
Regarding WiFi it is normally for one device, and you can log off to use the other, so you should be fine.
We have no problem with you referring to our vlog if needed.
Hoping this is just a blip as we had heard excellent things too, thats why we booked and overall it was.
We are cruising next week so looking forward to that. Your trip sounds amazing, have a fabulous time!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel We'll try. ;-)
Blimey! Can’t believe this. What atrocious service. I have watched you on many of your cruises and this is the first time you have really put me off a cruise
Sorry about that! Sadly it was.
Where DID they find those people in Guest Relations?!? Absolutely beyond belief! Would totally ruin any - any event I was at. Just Wow!
Thanks Kay, not good!
HI guys glad to see you back sorry about your issues but glad you had lots of good experiences as well. I am pleased to see that you are not being slagged off by people in your comments for reporting the truth. We had an issue on QM2 recently and apparently made the whole thing up according to some! Looking forward to your vlogs. We won't be able to make next Thursday as we are on stage but catch up with you soon.
It was definitely a holiday of highs and lows! Yes sadly sometimes passengers that are passionately loyal to a particular cruise line will not believe you if you say anything negative. Not a problem just ignore, if particularly rude block and move on to the next comment! No problem have fun on stage!
We are on the Quest in two weeks and hope that we do not have to go near Guest Services. We were on Coral Princess in July and had a similar experience with our cabin flooding when we were stuck at sea in heavy weather. The water was actually flowing under the base of the sliding door where it meets the cabin floor. Even the passageway outside was wet! There is something about getting out of bed and having squishy carpet, particularly when you are on the side furthest from the balcony. Ick! Many cabins on our deck had the same problem. Unfortunately, there seems to a lack of maintenance on some ships on different lines since covid but not all. Hopefully, things will improve and that Azamara will have a quiet word to their Guest Services staff.
Yes nobody needs soggy carpet! How did Princess handle it?
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel Princess crew did best they could under the circumstances ,Housekeeping and Engineering Managers were on the spot immediately and Towels supplies to help soak up water and stand on,,very apologetic but full ship so no other Suites available,,,,,We were 2 days late into Brisbane Port due 6-8 meter seas and high winds,,,,,We are on Azamara Quest in 2 weeks,,,,I hope Guest relations has been sorted by then as we have been looking forward to this cruise,,,After 20+ cruises I have always found visiting Guest relations is time wasted enjoying our cruise,,,Thanks for all your videos
@@TheDavidGordon Thats good to hear about Princess. Let us know how you get on!
We were on Coral last July out of Brisbane and there was a groaning sound so loud coming from somewhere deep in the ship that we couldn't sleep, and we are good sleepers. We were given a similar fob off to what these guys experienced.
Boy I’ve been on several of their cruises and never experience the things that you’re talking about. It must’ve been just the crew that they hired for that time. I have always found them super cooperative and helpful and friendly. In fact I enjoy that cruise ship more than all the other ones I’ve ever been on.
It was exactly that, the rest of the staff were amazing and we really liked the ship too!
I listened very attently. Thank you so much!!! I am canceling our cruise. I would not be able to enjoy any cruise like that no matter what!!!
It was very frustrating to say the least. We have since been on Azamara Onward and the service was excellent throughout.
That really is soo shocking !!! they should be ashamed ,very unsettling that in this day and age customers could be treated in this way .I can understand why your were so upset . I truly believe you need to be compensated !! for your distress !! I hope the bosses in charge of guest relations hear about your experience . take care keep on cruising
Thanks it wasn't pleasant. We have filed a complaint, no response yet.
I’ve been wanting to try this line. Given the difficulty I’ve been reading in the comments I’m no longer sure. I’m going to subscribe to your channel to hear what the line had to say. Thankfully I just found you
Thanks for finding us! We should have more news next week!
Royal Caribbean embark around 5,800 people twice a week from Singapore in the same port and nobody complain. They have a proper system and people are let onto the ship in batches. I'm sure its an Azamara issue not the port issue.
Oh that"s interesting!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel azamara probably thought that you would explore the airport, it is one of the best airports in the world, there is so much to see and do! Still they should have made it an option and not enforce it. Also the ride from airport to ship is very near (as you have pointed out) so why are they so stingy on the transfer.
Oh what a tale of woe, Paul and Carole. Love your blogs and am really worried now about Guest Services, as I am on an Azamara cruise in May. Do I need some Valium with me .....
LOL I would pack some! No seriously hope the ship you are on have a better team than were on ours!
Wow, how disappointing to have to deal with that level of ill-natured and unaccommodating representatives, especially on a bucket list cruise. Credit to the two of you to push through it and still enjoy your cruise, but seriously, that is sad. Love your vlogs!
Thanks it was hard we just had to mentally put it in a box, so it didn't sour the whole 25 nights!
I will never cruise Azamara again. As you said, staff was great but guest relations soured me. When we first went to our room I checked everything to make sure it was functioning. The TV did not work and this was important because my husband has mobility challenges and spends a fair amount of time in bed watching TV. Someone was sent fairly quickly and repaired it. That would have been the end of it for me but it seems like I was then branded as the broken TV lady. Every single day, at least twice a day, when they'd see me they'd ask How's your TV? Is it working well? It was humiliating for them to carry on that way, trying to make me feel like I was a complainer. My husband loved the cruise but he never got the TV chatter. It seems trivial but I was first embarrassed then angry with guest relations people and really tired of trying to avoid contact with them.
Why would they do that, such bad customer service, sorry you were made to feel that way. Understand how you felt as every time we had to go near to the desk we felt uncomfortable, and no one should be made to feel that!
Hi Paul and Carole, it's pearly.. Great to see you both but sorry to hear that you had a bad time. Terrible service.. Seems the top man, captain' had the same attitude. Absolutely disgusting treatment.. How people can treat you like that and get away with it or to think it's acceptable.. Glad you are home safe and well.. Xx 😊
Thanks Pearly! Actually the Captain and the rest of the staff were very sociable and polite, just this team were not!
Fantastic review! I will definitely be skipping this cruise line.
Thank you! Azamara do so much well but this was frustrating. However we have since been on Onward and happy to confirm that the service was excellent throughout!
I went on Pand O Iona. WiFi was a mess. They set up WiFi stations on the first day in the main lobby. They had to physically set it up on people’s phones because it was so complicated. Real farce.
Oh no was that just access to the app to book dining etc?
thank you for your video i was realy think go with azamara but now i will look some other company i find your video positive energy just you share your bat expiriece and price what you pay is shoking
big hug and lot new trips
No problem thanks for watching!
OMG!!! I was so shocked to hear about that awful service you received. Totally unacceptable. I was so sad to see Carole upset like that….. I wanted to try Azamara myself and have been looking, but this has put me off them…. For now at least.
It was such a shame because the other staff around the ship were fabulous! Thankfully we had lots of positives too!
As someone that worked in shore excursion and had to have guest relations especially during a crisis. This screams absolutely shocking service. Hell to the no. Absolutely no that is truly ridiculous can't even find the words
It was shocking! Thankfully there were a lot of positive experiences around the ship!
@Paul and Carole Love to Travel I'm glad you had lots of positive experiences as well, but what you experienced is unforgivable. I worked for a themed / meant to be more premium small ship line. Don't get me wrong the were days I was tired or not in the best frame of mind during a tough situation but always be open and honest with the customer. Even in situations where you don't have all the information.
The lack of communication baffles me there as well. The guest relations team wouldn't be that large they all would communicate
Their communications skills were dreadful, sadly we are recieving lots of comments about other lines and their guest relations too! Hope with feedback they get it sorted!
@Paul and Carole Love to Travel just baffles me. I know I've mainly stuck to one line as a passenger, but I've never experienced poor communication from guest relations or a cruise line. Issues yes, but always doing their best to resolve them
And that's how they should all be. 😀
I just got off the celebrity constellation and had to deal with guest services….OMG I totally had the same experience with the 4 people standing around with the faces and attitudes of dementors and then also had the look away faces of the guest relations the 2nd time that I went down. I wonder if this is becoming a thing with the cruise lines… I have to watch your update video now. Crossing my fingers for a positive outcome for you.
We have had lots of comments about other cruise lines having issues with guest relations, which is a real shame, front of house should be an excellent, knowledgeable service! Our communications with the shoreside team have been very positive so far, thankfully!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel I was glad to hear that things were going positively. Thank you so much for your in depth review of your cruise.
No problem, appreciate you watching! 😍
omg, that's like a Little Britain skit - Guest Relations full of "computer says no" staff. I will steer clear of Azamara! Looks like you managed to have some good times on your cruise, regardless!
LOL loved Little Britain! 😂
Bang go our plans to book an Azamara cruise! Shocking attitude. Cruised with P&O, Princess, RCI etc and always found the guest services great. Sorry to hear about your experience especially with the money you paid!Have you contacted Azamara since and had a reply?
Exactly we had a flooding issue from the toilet with P&O handled amazingly well. Our correspondence started with them on the ship.....Still no response!
My god, I dunno what I’d have done if I had repeatedly had those interactions with guest relations. Talk about gaslighting! I am going on my first cruise ever and it’s on the Azamara Pursuit in Aug (7 night Dalmatian coast). I hope and pray I’m not forever turned off by cruising afterwards 🫣🤞🏼
We have since been on Azamara Onward and can happily report that the staff were excellent!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravelwell I’m glad to hear that. That first trip sounded like a nightmare!
It was!
Well, I’ll never sail with this cruise line, that’s for sure. It looked like there was a great deal of mold and dirt at the bottom of the balcony door. That tells me there was a problem long before you ever stepped into that cabin. The fact that guest services acted surprised means that they’re practiced liars as well. Even the way you were treated with contempt by the hotel officer says that your information was passed on to him, yet he never bothered to help in any way. Very poor customer service. Nothing makes up for that.
Definitely poor maintenance, really disappointing! Though thankfully we have still come back with some fabulous memories!
Sounds like our NCL cruise we had this past spring!
Oh really, guest relations??
The whole trip, broken toilets, cold food even in specialty restaurants , one hour lines to get back on ship after excursions, 3 hour wait in coach without water or bathrooms becauthere was a visa muck up in Gibraltar and so much more!@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel
It sounds as though we were on the same cruise as you although we embarked in Dubai and disembarked in Singapore on 10 December. The staff at embarkation were incredibly rude although the staff on board were grear
Glad you had a great experience except for embarkation. The staff with the exception of guest relations were amazing, thankfully overall we had a great time! 😃
I must firstly apologize . I thought it couldn’t have been that bad as Guest Services in must ships and hotels are pretty average as someone who use to work in Reception.
But and it’s a big but….this experience takes the cake. I think you were very patient, I would have been ripping heads off.
I think they were hoping to wear you down and you just get sick of asking and go away.
Thanks so much for this review on Azamara. I really hope that front team get their act together as they are letting the rest of the crew down.😢
No problem! They certainly let the company down as the rest of our experiences on board were excellent!
Appalling customer services 😳. I do hope you guys have influenced someone high up to sort all this out after this vlog 🤞🏻
Thanks Lizzy! 😍
We had a whistling door in the middle of the night on a Carnival ship last year. It was horribly loud and we couldn’t sleep. Guest services had a guy with a toolbox and a new seal up there in 20 minutes. That was Carnival, the budget friendly cruise line. And guest services called to make sure everything was fixed to our satisfaction. Shame on Azamara for how they treat their passengers.
Now that's what you call service. We had nothing like that!
A few observations, good help is hard to find since the plague, you get what you pay for.
Having a little bit more money, paying a bit more for a cruise, doesnt buy the experience you seem to expect, it did once but not now. If youre not mega rich, stick with cattle class. Everything in between is just a rip off.
When you pay a bit extra, you expect too much and as you have found out, its not always better, if you pay the normal fare, any extra is a bonus.
Yes get that!
Customer service person we encountered over New Year on P&O Azura was appalling. We dealt with Guest Services on 4 occasions on the cruise twice with this same person. Absolutely awful. Other two occasions were fine, lovely smiling, helpful staff.
Sorry to hear that too! Just not Azamara then!
Your experience was obviously much worse Carole and Paul, it sounds absolutely appalling. Ours were only minor things but still a nice smile and greeting goes a long way. Great video btw. Love your honesty
Thank you!
Oh, dear, sorry to hear this, but are also now thinking will i regret booking Azamara? As we are booked on our first cruise with them and its the Quest on the reverse sailing from Sydney to Perth 6th February this year, we have a balcony mid ship!!!!!! *Crosses fingers for better weather and guest relations get a rocket up the...............Love your blogs BTW 🙂
Thanks, great to hear you enjoy them! Hopefully the Guest Relations may have change to trained staff by the time you get on. Is your cabin 8015 if so can you please check if the door has been fixed!!
Well. Sure sounds like the owner's nephews, Huey / Dewey and Louie were being forced to do their compulsory "desk duty" stint in order to qualify for their spot on the inheritance list! None of the issues you had to navigate through were minor or cosmetic in nature. The dismissive arrogance and total void of ownership at all level of the hierarchy speaks volume. Much respect at keeping it professional. You two are seasoned travellers and a class act. I've worked customer service for over a decade and your experience makes me cringe on so many levels. Stellar customer service is the bread and butter of the service industry - period. You do what it takes to "make it right" in a timely fashion, end of story. Lovely trip I'm sure but it must be nice to be home for a bit of R&R. Enjoy.
That did make us LOL! Exactly that, at no point did they even say the words, how can we help! After 30 years of managing staff in the NHS I was gobsmacked with how we were treated. Thankfully we do have some positive memories too!
Enjoy your videos--TY for sharing. Definitely no Azamara for us!
Thanks!
I'm sorry you received such appalling customer service - I would be crying too Carole! Sounds to me that some of the crew onboard needs some serious retraining.
Thanks Michelle! They certainly do!
Must be so frustrating and miserable , did you video any of these exchanges with staff or TH-cam not allow?
We didn't! So frustrating!
I didn’t feel that much movement with Oceania and Regent ships….sounds like stabalizers were broke.
Don't think there were any issues!
I was thinking about cruising with Azamara. Now that I know they are no longer part of Royal Caribbean, and based on your appalling treatment, there is no way that I will ever give them my business.
Seems the changing of hands has had an impact!
Dear Carol and Paul. Great video. I hope you have now had a lie down and something to drink to calm you down. That story was a 'bloody disgrace'. I would think that the shipping line will be anxious to see how their bookings fair after your horror story. The desk you were dealing with thought that if they behaved as they did, it would 'fob you off'. I would not have been so polite to them in response to their rudeness. Well done!!
Exactly, total fobbing off!
Wow...I'll stick to Ambassador. If you pay a low fare, you cannot be disappointed!
Expectations will certainly be lower!
Hi Paul and Carole. How awful to experience such bad customer service on your luxury cruise. Totally unacceptable. But as you say, not all the staff were like that. Has this put you off Azamara? Would you cruise with them again I wonder. Love your videos. Look forward to learning about the rest of your Aussie cruise adventure xx
Hi Lynda, We would never say never..... We have written to Azamara on a number of occasions during the cruise and since home, and not received a response so that has certainly put us off cruising with them again for the time being! Episode 1 will be out next Friday!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel It’s not on for a luxury brand! Think I would be put off too. I was waiting to hear about your cruise as my husband and I really fancy doing something similar but it’s put us off a bit. Anyway looking forward to watching your videos, bet it was amazing. It’s great to get good information and tips from you both. You’re so down to earth and fun. Hope we meet you on a cruise some day. You never know! We are off to the Caribbean in 2 weeks time on the new P&O ship Arvia. So fingers crossed it will be fab. Xx
Thank you. Will definitely avoid Azamare
We have since been on Azamara Onward and the team on there were great. It seems the team on Azamara Quest at reception have also changed this time which is great!
My friend sailed with Azamara in 2017 and she said they were very disorganized back then.
I recently sailed across the Great Australian Bight from Fremantle to Sydney on the Queen Elizabeth and felt some movement. I always get seasick so I took a tablet every night. Embarkation was amazingly fast and efficient in Fremantle.
Oh love Queen Elizabeth, the blight does seem to be pretty rough! Glad your embarkation was amazingly fast!
You have to come back as you missed the best part. Queensland 😀😀
Lol yes we plan too!
How dreadful for you both. I hope you get some compensation. I love your vlogs and have watched all your Cunard ones (I travel with them) and love your honest revues of your trips. How you kept your temper I do not know!. I will now watch the rest of your vlogs for this trip as I was thinking of booking Azamara for the future but I dont think I will now.
Thanks Jennie appreciate that! It was a difficult one. Vlogs start next week. It was so frustrating as Azamara do so much really well too!
@@PaulandCaroleLovetoTravel Looking forward to your vlogs. Still do not think I would travel on Azamara though after your comment amount the stability of the ship. Thats why I now only travel QM2, as I hate the water (lol) but love to cruise, crazy I know. QM2 I feel safe on her..... Keep up the good work I love to see your adventures!!
@@JennieLowe-pv9eo LOL can understand that QM2 is a sturdy bird! 😂
your to nice Paul I would have lost my mind then absolutely destroyed them on social media and demanded to speak to the Captain
We tried to do things the right way! 🙈
All I can say is Holy Shit! Such terrible service from the senior staff. Unbelievable! Thank you so much for this review... I will never book with them since I'm an avid cruiser. I hope many people see your stream ... and maybe it will change things. I would be livid for the amount you paid.... WOW... I will tell all my friends who are retired and love to cruise to not even consider Azamara.
Was very frustrating to say the least. We have now had contact with Azamara and they seem to be taking on board our comments. So 🤞
Jeez bit of a horror story for you guys. Look out this year for half empty Azamara cruises then 😆
It wasn't pleasant! Shame as so many other awesome staff on this ship!
i hope you made the company headquarters know how badly you was treated by the customer service team on the ship
We did!
My wife and l say the same thing about Azamara. She broke her foot trying to get off the ship onto a shuttle. The staff were the ones putting the passengers on. She broke her foot because the shuttle was not tied correctly. The ties were way to long. After the xray on board they sent us to a hospital in Italy the next day. They said they would look after it. It cost me 100 euros for the taxi there and back, and the hospital requested a 2000 euro deposit. The customer relations did nothing to help us. They would not even give us an incident or accident report. At the end, they offered us a 600 dollar future credit off a cruise that was 8000. Terrible customer relations, will not go to Azamara again.
Oh wow sorry to hear that!
That is truly appalling!
Thanks for your honest review guys! Azamara had been a line that I’ve been wanting to try, but since they’ve been taken over I keep hearing stuff about how their standards have slipped. I hope they can find their feet again. I’m sorry you had to deal with such incompetence.
Exactly we hope so too. They do so much really well so such a shame!
I love Azamara and my experience in October was superb
That's good to hear, shame ours was spoilt by a small team. The rest of the staff were fab!
Incompetence? More like Ignorance and arrogance!.
@@vickiphillips4876 we were on in October for their Croatian Intensive cruise. We had a ball!! That is why we are sailing the Journey in June.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. I am doing my due diligence in researching where to spend my hard earned money. I could easily imagine having what happened to you happen to me. I've never sailed on that cruise line but after hearing this I never will. At least you've saved others from wasting their money.
Azamara offer a great cruise experience, it is a shame this particular team let the whole side down! Hopefully with all the feedback changes will have been made!
Having watched a lot of your cruise vlogs Paul & Carole, must say you're always genuine and honest with the reviews down to the smallest detail. The level of customer service you endured was absolutely shocking and I hope you get compensated well, because news travels fast . I'm glad you could enjoy Australia 🇦🇺 after all that 👍
Thanks Peter. Hope so too. Australia was amazing, it was everything we imagined and more!
Oh lord...I was starting to consider Azamara, but no more. I feel for you guys, and I feel for the other staff on the ship who obviously work very hard, only to have it ruined by management.
Excellent so many fabulous staff on board, let down by the minority. Maintenance seems to be ignored too which is a concern!
Hi I have just commented you could do to read it too
We cruised for the first time five years ago on Azamara Quest and experienced almost exactly the same things you experienced. Since we had never cruised before, we had booked a suite with a butler and upgraded everything. Our pre cruise hotel they picked was awful! Our embarkation day was awful! We had lots of issues with stained towels and and stained robes repeatedly. There were other things as well. Every time we thought we were being kind in a response to them, we were glared at by guest relations. They just didn't care about our concerns or complaints and offered NOTHING.
We are finally taking a second cruise, and I thought they might have changed under new management, but you have confirmed that we made the right choice trying another line. Thank you for your honesty, but sorry for your experience.😵💫😵💫😵💫
Thanks for watching! Oh wow sorry you have had a bad experience too!
Thank you for sharing such an honest account of what you experienced. It was awful to see Carole upset and I hope you get a sincere apology from Azamara soon, although I doubt it as it sounds like they treat their customers with contempt. They were a company on my wish list but they're not anymore.
Thanks, sadly no response yet!