crusinbanjo

We have had good success on SS air when we had already known what flights and routing we wanted. If you don’t know in advance, you will likely get routing that is way out of the way. On one cruise we were able to get SS to book us from Boston to Hong Kong direct, then Singapore to Tokyo - Tokyo direct to Boston. It pays to know in advance and advocate for your own best interests…… or, as we do much of the time, book our own flights to get better routes, schedules and prices.

I didn't see it in my inbox either

Yes, I believe so and just at the end of the Snow Harvest Festival here in New England.

Mrs Banjo and I have similar feelings. We have not deserted SS, (or other lines), but we find ourselves doing less cruising. We have noted the declining experience and rising fares and feel the value per cruise is not always where we expect it to be anymore. We are now mostly planning land tours with small group operators that are providing what we perceive to be better value. That is not to say we won’t be cruising, just that we exploring and finding alternate options that fulfill our desire to travel in the manor we are accustomed to.

Mrs Banjo and I just returned from the first two segments of the World cruise. The onboard experience was good, as would be expected. I cannot comment on how it was in the past, since this was our first Azamara cruise. We have cruised on Silversea, Regent, Seabourn, and others, and all have a good on board experience. We thought the food was good, (but we are not very picky). The drink packages were confusing, and IMHO not necessary at all, as the wines and drinks included were just fine for us. Specialty restaurants were good and the chef's table was a nice experience. All of it was good, but not over the top. What was over the top, was the "Azamazing" night in Cozumel. That was truly spectacular. What was not amazing, was what was promoted as the "Azamazing" day on Fakarava Island. That was a total disaster, IMHO and did not represent the company well. The area we were not happy with is the accounting and pre cruise website planning options. The website was mostly a disaster until very recently. just one example is: I could not understand why we could not make specialty reservations online, instead, we had to wait in line, (pun intended), on the first day. We discovered later that it wasn't necessary as they had availability almost every night. Also, and most disturbing, is the lack of clear accounting of what we paid and for what. The ship provided a folio, as expected, but, in our case, my credit card was charged for what we also paid for with OBC. I have called and asked for an accounting, but have yet to see anything. I will be disputing the $700+ charge on Monday if I don't get a response by then. Overall, we would book again, with some reservations and precautions if the IT is better then the competition's.

From my point of view, Fakarava was poorly planned and very disappointing. It was advertised as an Azamazing event, but given the available time on the island and the length of time to get pax off and back on the ship, disappointing is not a strong enough word. Mrs Banjo and I had a cabin on Deck 6, and were one of the last groups to go ashore. All of the planned activities were winding down, there was nobody to direct us where things were happening and we ended up with less than an hour before needing to be back on board, so no time to swim, etc. For us it was not Azamara's best effort, it really made them look like amateurs in event Planning, Particularly after the over the top event in Cosumel, Mexico.

We booked directly with Azamara.

Mrs Banjo and I frequently book a gty on SS, never had an issue and almost always were upgraded to a high category than the Gty suite.

We board in a few days and have received nothing looking like a a boarding pass or other info from AZ. WE are planning to do as the website says, show up with our passports & credit card in hand. (will also bring along copies of our paid invoices....... Just in case)

Thank you, I hope you are correct. I don’t want controversy, if these things take too long, or go poorly, my plan is to accept what is offered, enjoy the cruise, and make future decisions accordingly.

Mrs Banjo and I will be boarding for our B2B cruises in the near future. The website now shows OBC credits that came from who knows where, and don’t seem to match anything we have previously documented. We have been assured that this will all be straightened out when we board, but, as I told the customer service person, I am not looking forward to having to go, with email printouts in hand, to discuss this on board. What we really purchased and wanted was a stress free cruise. This issue, along with the odd process of making dining reservation when you first board, has not helped in that regard. It looks to me like our first day on board will be about negotiating OBC, more negotiations for dining reservations and the required life boat drills. Relaxing, lunch and exploring the ship? Not so much! We are first timers with Azamara, and if this goes poorly, we will be last timers.

I took advantage of that promotion. I paid in full when I booked the cruise, used their "Port to Port" option and got 15% off the already lowered fair. Then I was sure to buy good insurance, but it was a major savings.

Well, I did call AZ customer service again and was assured that the OBC was in place and the screen shot I have is accurate and it will not be an issue when we board. I certainly hope she is correct, the last thing I want to do is be arguing about OBC while on board. So, it will be what it will be and we will not make a big fuss on board that will spoil the cruise. If it all works out, great! If it doesn’t, well we will still enjoy our first and last AZ cruise.

No, I made them at the same time, asked for them to be B2B, but the invoices came in with separate numbers

Ours has yet to show up despite having filled in the form twice and 2 calls to AZ