6 thoughts on “Azura Naming Celebrations with Darcey Bussell”

1. Changing a port of call is one of the negative aspects of cruising, particularly if you book the cruise because it calls into a place you have always wanted to see. I can understand it, if weather, breakdowns or sea conditions demand it, but changing a port of call due to over crowding is in my view unacceptable. We have been told that our long awaited cruise to the Norwegian Fjords on the Azura in June will change a port of call because there are too many cruise ships calling it at the same time. I would have thought that before you sell an itinerary you check with the port to see if your visit is convenient. It smacks of over booking to me – so often a problem with flights and hotels. Anyone else as disappointed as we are? We have already been to Flamm so missing Geiranger is a major disappointment.

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2. I'm sorry to hear of your port of call change to the Norwegian Fjords on the Azura in June 2010.To my knowledge the cruise companies know ahead of time what ship will be docked or tendered on that day with the local port authorities.In our Alaska season for cruising, only one ship is allowed to cruise in the Glacier area at a time and this is weather exception arranged prior with the Alaska Parks Glacier group.In those ports much like the Fjords, each ship knows who will be present and who will dock vs. to tender.It is possible the port authorities when granting permission overbooked and realized at last moment. It would be an interesting question back to P & O and the port in question.Thanks for feedback.Cheers

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3. HiThank you for your comments. I wrote to the Port Authority and P & O this is the response from P & 0 =Good Afternoon Mr DruryThank you for your email.I would wish to apologise again that it proved necessary to change the itinerary for your recent cruise and I regret the disappointment you have described. I do wish to assure you that we understand your disappointment, particularly in view of the plans you had made for your visit to Geiranger. We naturally avoid making any changes to our planned itineraries, but for the reasons outlined, we believed we had no alternative. We do plan our itineraries with the utmost care, understanding that passengers select a cruise due to the destinations available, as well as the overall cruising experience. In instances such at the itinerary changes for this cruise, we are very much tied to the availability of any given port, and any decisions to make a call lays in the hands of the Port Agents, rather than P&O Cruises directly. The decision was made to amend the days that Azura will call at selected ports of call rather than removing a port of call entirely, as it was felt that this would disrupt our passengers enjoyment of their itinerary even further. Therefore, our decision has been made with the very best intentions. Nevertheless I am truly sorry your disappointment on this occasion. Despite your current feelings on the above, we do still hope you go on to enjoy a wonderful time, and that there are many aspects of your forthcoming cruise which live up to and exceed your expectations. We certainly look forward to welcoming you on board for what promises to be a most relaxing holiday.Kind regardsKat TupperP&O CruisesAdministration TeamCarnival UK

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4. Hi RobSince I posted the reply from P & O I see on cruise.co.uk that there dozens of people now complaining about port changes in the Norwegian Fjords in June for P & O AND Cunard. Whatever is going on?Ray

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5. Best way to perhaps get some answers is join the cruise.co.uk board and ask the question. You could also ask one of their TA's who have access to Cunard / P& O agents.Cheers

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6. I don't want to bother you any further than is necessary, but there is a great deal of dscontent about these port changes and I wondered what you would make of this email I received from P & 0Good Morning Thank you for your email. Both our Port Agent and the Port Authority cannot control how many cruise ships apply for places so their planning cannot be questioned. To confirm, we ask for a place in the port, they were full and said no. We waited until nearer the call to deal with the conflict as the majority of conflicts clear themselves by other cruise ships cancelling and when it became apparent that the situation was not going to change we worked on a way to resolve the conflict. Geiranger have strict rules as to the number of ships allowed in port and so as the other alternate day which we could have called on (given the restrictions of the ships speed, other ports in the cruise, start and end dates of the cruise etc.) was also too busy we had to cancel the call. I hope this information has helped to answer your enquiry and look forward to welcoming you on board soon. Kind regards Kat Tupper P&O Cruises Administration Team CarnivalDoes this mean they sell itinearies before they have them? Selling something you don't have is fraud isn't it?

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