I returned last weekend from a cruise on the Azamara Quest called “Indian Ocean Adventure”. It sure was an adventure! To reflect upon how quickly things are changing around us in the travel industry: when I left Toronto on Feb. 16 neither Azamara Cruises nor our travel cancellation and interruption insurance were offering refunds if we decided not to travel, and the cruise was scheduled as normal.
My flights to Cape Town for the start of our cruise were perfectly routine and I had a fabulous first two weeks on land and on the ship. By the time I landed back in Canada with our journey cut short I had rearranged my return flights with no penalty and had a 75 percent credit towards my next cruise. I travelled back on March 14 through airports alternately eerily empty at one moment, and with hour-long lines to pass through immigration the next. The departure boards had ominous lists of cancellations. I am writing this on Day 2 of the 14 days social isolation requested by the Canadian government of all returning travellers.
To take a moment to celebrate the amazing and positive experiences that fuel our love of travel – the start of our vacation was everything that I had hoped for. I delighted in Cape Town’s glorious setting, Africa’s energy and stunningly beautiful scenery, and our animal encounters with elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes – even African penguins. Plus, the Azamara Quest was – still is – a wonderful experience.
It’s a perfect size with only about 700 passengers and homey meeting places that include the “Drawing Room” and the “Living Room.” The food and wine are universally excellent. My fellow passengers were an intrepid, well-travelled and interesting mix of Canadians, Americans, Europeans, Australians and more. There were an astonishing number of Azamara veterans, some of whom were into double digit numbers of past cruises. Many came up with the same rationale – something along the lines of “we like Azamara because if something goes wrong, they will bend over backwards to fix it.” How prophetic those words turned out to be!
After such an enjoyable start in Africa, the storm clouds started to gather, figuratively speaking, as we headed across the Indian Ocean. Madagascar closed its port, denying us the much-anticipated chance to visit the lemurs. We managed to hike through the dramatic and unspoiled scenery of Reunion – but passengers attempting to disembark a Princess ship that called into port shortly after us were met with violent protests by locals who were afraid of infection. Riot police were called, and the Sun Princess promptly sailed away. Mauritius shared its beautiful beaches, plantation houses and vibrant cultural mix of Tamils, Hindus and Christians. That was to be the last time we stepped on shore before the end of our cruise, 14 days later. And we will remain the last cruise ship to have docked in Mauritius for some time to come.
Meanwhile on board we had come to value the enthusiasm and diligent care of the Azamara crew. The Captain had wisely instigated “maximum sanitation” from the very start of our journey. Almost every surface we touched was wet with sterilizer as the staff uncomplainingly wiped everything from handrails to tables to menus – over and over again. When thanked for their extra duties the universal reply was that they just wanted to keep us healthy and safe. Hand sanitizing stations were everywhere on the ship and the “Azamara” fist bump was practiced diligently.
Things started to really deteriorate after Mauritius. The Captain came over the PA system to tell us that Sri Lanka had barred us from entering Colombo, but we still had to go there to take on fuel and supplies. Captain Magnus was an outstanding leader to both his crew and the passengers. How many of us have stood in angry groups at airports as a lonely ticket clerk, knowing nothing about our cancelled flight or any alternatives, has no reassurance to give? By contrast – Captain Magnus could not have been more complete or more honest in his communications. He never spoke to us without the Azamara team in Miami and the team on board having coordinated a plan going forward. He did not hide on the bridge but held Q & A sessions and bravely showed his face around his ship.
We spent one day taking on supplies in Colombo, gazing sadly at the city we were not allowed to enter. A feature of every Azamara cruise is their complementary “Az Amazing evening” – an onshore evening meal and event that brings you closer to your destination, its culture and its people. Ours was to have been ashore in Colombo – but the crew threw the Azamara White Night Party on board instead. In the face of adversity everyone joined in what many veterans dubbed the best Azamara White Night Party they had ever attended.
We optimistically looked forward to the rearranged Az Amazing evening in Cochin, India. But once again the Captain was to make an announcement. India had also barred cruise ships and so our calls at Cochin and Mumbai were cancelled, and our itinerary was now Muscat in Oman followed by Abu Dhabi and our final destination of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
In the face of this mounting uncertainly, though we were still very much virus free on board, instead of germs we spread economic downturn as we sailed along. Sorry Dodi who was to have shown me the lemurs in Madagascar. Sorry venue, waiters and local entertainers in Colombo where we were to have enjoyed our Az Amazing evening. Sorry Houseboat operator in Cochin who was to have taken me on an inland cruise through the backwaters of Alappuzha. Sorry tour guide Varsa Joshi who was to have shown me the crowded streets of Mumbai, the railway station packed with Dabbawallas delivering lunch pails and the world-famous laundry. Sorry bus and taxi drivers, restaurants, museums, hotels, the list goes on and on… By now Azamara had also proactively offered passengers first 50% and then a 75% future cruise credit. I have to say the Future Cruise Desk was busy all day right up to the last day of the journey, which is a huge compliment to how well this whole situation was handled, as well as a lesson to all in the industry to keep the faith that “this too shall pass”.
At the same time of the announcement that India was closed to us, the Captain very noticeably put his foot on the accelerator and the ship steamed at full speed for the rest of our voyage. It wasn’t a great surprise therefore when we got the news that the United Arab Emirates was also closed to us and we were heading straight to Muscat to end our cruise there. I was working at a Travel Agency in 2001 when the 9/11 attacks changed our industry forever – and the scramble that followed this announcement reminded me of the heroic efforts made to look after stranded clients by travel professionals back then.
Over 700 people now had to individually organize online visas to be able to enter Oman, which had never been on our original itinerary. Working with the officers’ laptops and the ship’s limited at-sea internet, everyone on the ship stepped up. The onboard photographer took the necessary passport photos and the back office created the necessary passport scans to attach to our applications. Crew members held the hands of the less technically savvy as they worked through the Omani website. We managed to complete the paperwork just before Oman announced it would process no further tourist visa applications.
Every passenger also had to rearrange their flights to leave early, and to leave from Oman rather than Dubai. Here is where the good travel agents made clients for life. Many passengers could proudly announce that their agent had received the itinerary change from Azamara, proactively changed the flights and emailed or texted them with the new flight details. They looked compassionately at passengers with independent bookings who spoke of unanswered phones, confusion and chaos. If ever there was a lesson to have your client’s contact details and to make sure they have yours – ideally text and email, as phone calls are difficult from far flung places – this was it.
Again, the crew stepped up and didn’t give up – even when US passengers who had rearranged their flights then had to rearrange them again in light of the confusion over Donald Trump’s ban on flights from Europe. I can’t say enough about how hard they worked for us. Stephen Millet, the Cruise Director spent something like 10 hours helping with flights and visas, yet still found time for his team to organize a Pirate Party for our penultimate evening. And he found the energy to then come down and sing to us for a couple of hours – because in the absence of local entertainers able to come onboard, the show had to go on!
While you might think a party held a whiff of the band playing on the Titanic – the entire crew kept on making superhuman efforts to ensure that we continued to be superbly fed, entertained and having as good a time as possible. This same crew was unsure of their own futures, though they were all noticeably loyal and sure that Azamara would look after them as much as possible. The next cruise on the ship was definitely cancelled, and they were not sure when they would work again or how they might get home. But our needs came first – every time.
As of a CNN article from March 16, there are 11 ships still at sea with passengers and crew uncertain of their fate. Four ships have coronavirus cases and will therefore need special handling and the remaining seven are actively negotiating for a way to disembark their currently healthy passengers. Of all the ships experiencing this disruption – I count myself as lucky to have been on an Azamara vessel. And the lesson underscored by my whole experience is that when the chips are down, you need a great travel provider and a great travel agent.
(Dara Beard worked in Canada for Air Miles and their travel agency Extra Mile Travel before becoming Producer for the Chris Robinson Travel Show on AM740 Radio in Canada and CJAD 800 in Montreal)
Azamara Quest White Night party/Basotho people of Lesotho/Addo National Park