Huntingdon1701

Yes, she was incorrect. You just need to make sure that you use a different restaurant for each of your sapphire meals. But other than that you can do whatever you want. I did 3 nights in Le Bistro on my last cruise with various credits.

Yes, sometimes significantly. That said, I'm not bothered about actually meeting them.

16 - it's the main deck for the topsail lounge and concierge. Just walk out and you're in the right place. I've sailed twice in 16007 and enjoyed it.

It used to be the whole bar but I think they've now changed it so it's only the robot's drink that are not covered by a package. Speak to a human and you should be ok. If not, you're only a short distance from other bars that would be able to serve a soft drink.

Yacht Club is almost always worth it. On a port intensive cruise, the butler escort off the ship each time and the escort back on your return is hugely valuable and makes it a much more relaxing experience. There is a Haven comparison thread in the forum that you might want to have read through. Yacht Club is the closest equivalent to Haven (and much better value, in my opinion).

I'm glad someone asked. I think I'm on the same cruise as you, and was definitely wondering. All other ports have had excursions posted for a while. I emailed Azamara about it a couple of weeks back but they haven't responded. There are a few options on viator, but not terribly suited to the length of a cruise excursion.

Likewise didn't find it open on the Jade, but Prima and Star both did. It's very odd - do the other Jewel class ships not offer it either? It used to be available on the Jade pre-Covid.

Don't worry - it's very straightforward to get from Rome to the port, although you do need to leave a decent time. There are a number of providers, including cheaper shared transport, but I like Welcome pickups who will collect you at your hotel and drop you directly at the port. Their drivers all speak very good English and the cars are good. Pick any hotel you want that looks good and is convenient for some pre-cruise sightseeing.

I didn't get to do the South Africa one at the last minute because of the resurgence of Covid - finally doing a version in Jan. The South America one was great, but really stood out because of the Falklands, which can be hit and miss in terms of ships actually managing to land. It would be good but not great without it.

I was planning this one in Covid and there were lots of safari-like excursions available then. I've just done the Santiago to Buenos Aires trip on the Star and that's well worth doing in its own right(although I saw the antarctica issues on the previous one and thought they handled it badly.)

Unlikely everything would be sold out, including the free time ones, if OP has been following since February. Somewhere like Gibraltar does have limited spaces but everywhere else has been quite flexible. You could double check on the roll call to see if anyone else is having this issue. However, I would start looking at some of the other providers so that you don't miss out. Pick a reputable one and there is little risk of missing the ship. You'll also find they're often cheaper and smaller groups than the ship tours. If you google 'shore excursions' a few of the main ones will come up.

I'm not sure the rollout was fleetwide. Last cruise I was told it was the full amount, just after the announcement of its implementation.

They need to be careful. A couple of cruise lines have lost legal cases after misdescribing ports. The Royal Caribbean case actually featured Venice, when they weren't sailing from it but from Ravenna. https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/cruise/hurtigruten-and-royal-caribbean-sanctioned-over-misleading-advertising-claims

Plenty of shelter from rain and sun. Only a couple of full loungers, but a number of very comfy sofas/seats, not just the hard ones you can see in the pictures. It does get crowded at times.

NCL issue tender tickets the night before, usually. Your friends will have to make sure they are first in line to get the earliest tickets. Keep an eye on the daily for when it starts and then get there before the time listed.