BillC

Azamara uses the San Basillo Terminal. There is a private water taxi dock right at the entrance to the pier.

Ruby and Dale are both fantastic.

I have sailed multiple times from / to Venice. We have always docked at San Basilio.

There is a very good orchestra on board and they usually provide dance opportunities before the nightly shows. Most of the dancing occurs each night in the Living Room with the music provided by the DJ.

When Azamaara was started it was part of Celebrity so the decision was made to piggyback on the existing Celebrity infastructure thus the loyalty #'s have always been the same.

My agency got a notification from Azamara yesterday confirming that we will stop at Male in the Maldives from 8 AM to 6 PM. Galle has been removed from the itinerary. The notice further states that Azamara Marketing will compose a letter discussing the change that will be sent to clients on the cruise during the next week.

My understanding is you get whichever internet benefit is the larger, but not both. If you have a traveling companion who is at the same level they would also get their own set of benefits. On a B2B it used to be a " use it or lose it " approach but last year they changed the system so you can carrry over any unused minutes into the following cruise.

If you have transferred a booking to an agency then Azamara, or any other cruise line , will only dialog with that agency.

Just put " National Passport Center " onto the form.

Azamara gives you a $ 400 OBC for a B2B. That's a whole lot better than a free bag of laundry. You also have unlimited access to a free laundry some thing Celebrity does not have.

Cynthia and I hope that you will join us on that cruise. I've been to Japan many times on business but have done very little touring so we are really counting on a "destination immersion" itinerary.

Bill

The one we are anxiously awaiting is the port intensive, lengthy Japan voyage that Larry mentioned during the recent LCV voyage in the Arabian Gulf.

These are very popular itineraries and generally are pretty full so I'd book sooner not later. Popular itineraries like this usually have price increases rather than decreases.

Azamara offers US customers a Best Price Guarantee. If there is a special offer, or price decrease up to 12 months prior to departure you can request the then current price. If the sailing is within 12 months of departure the decreased amount will be provided via an onboard credit. If final payment has already been made no credit will be issued. I suggest that you search Azamara's website based on the country of your residence to see how the guarantee would apply.

In addition to all the activities that Phil mentioned usually several other senior officers will hold Q&A sessions that I always find quite informative. We are big fans of the progressive team trivia contests that are held on every sea day at 12:15 just after the Captain's daily announcement. Depending on the cruise director it will be held in either the Living Room or the cabaret theater. They usually open the bar at noon so you can have your favorite libation at hand, as well as fresh pop corn. It can get pretty intense but is loots of fun.

If you want to start learning bridge I recommend that you subscribe to an online service that would teach the basics, improve your skills. I use a New Zealand service that costs about $7 (US) monthly.

I've been on Azamara for multiple Super Bowls in various parts of the World. They have all had Super Bowl transmissions. One was probably bootlegged since it was only in Spanish, and the screen went black during each commercial break.. The ship will put out a special spread - hot dogs, popcorn, chips, etc. I would check with the activities manager, or one of the audiovisual technicians to ensure where it will be shown. I think the biggest problem is the time difference between Houston and the time in Indonesia. My calculation is that kickoff will be around 6:30 AM on Monday morning in Indonesia.

Of the 4 times that I've been in Venice with Azamara they have always the San Basilio facility. There is a very convenient vaporetto stop nearby. This terminal is used only for small and medium sized ships. The large cruise ship use the Marittima facility which is quite large,and busy.

Each cruise is considered and offered independently based on the level of the travelers on each cruise. If you don't like the room that's offered you can decline the upgrade.

A special brunch for Discovers, and above, is usually held in Prime C and served by the senior officers.If there is a very large number of eligible people, such as a transatlantic sailing, it has been held in the MDR. Either way, it is quite enjoyable.

Don't count on it since provisioning is probably already done. Reading through this thread it appears that many people like IPA's, as do I, but it will not be available. My suggestion is that if it's really important to you AND San Diego County has the most micro-breweries in the USA you visit one of the breweries located near the cruise terminal and load up your favorite IPA. Go visit Karl Strauss, Half Door, Monkey Paw, Green Flash, Ballast Point or Stone Brewing and taste them all, and buy your favorites.

I have been following this thread and have been very amused with his initial statements and various responses, as well as the many contradictions - "did not enjoy any single part.." followed several sentences later with " nice cabin, nice ship,good service, etc.

But I am truly bothered by his statements about Eric, one of the most dedicated,talented and caring cruise directors at sea. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but if you want to call someone a narcissist you should at least spell it correctly. In Eric's case I don't find him to be self-involved, vain, or selfish. He is quite the opposite from this definition.

Azamara is fortunate to have 3 very involved and talented cruise directors, yet each is different but they all are dedicated to providing a very pleasant cruise experience. Just my humble opinion.

Only 1 left - The Queen Emma Bridge ! Will have to research an itinerary that will get us there.

Have a great trip over the Holidays, Phil. Our first Azamara cruises were a B2B from Athens to Singapore, and then to Hong Kong. The ship was beautifully decorated and the crew went overboard ( pun intended ) to make the occasions very memorable. Sorry we can't join you but Cyn and I look forward to sailing with you next year.

Agree with Phil's points completely.The Cruise Directors usually host a solos table in the MDR on one of the first nights of each cruise. There are 3 different menus for the Chef's Tables - Italian, French and California. Each is coupled with multiple selections of very good wines, and the event usually is very social. We have met many solo travelers at them. We just had an 87 year old friend travel solo on Azamara and she was very pleased how well she was accepted and felt right at home to the point where she booked several more crises next year, including the one that we are really looking forward to, the Seychelles.n to

We, too, have been on multiple President's Cruises on both Celebrity and Azamara.This LCV cruise was one of the best we've attended. Perhaps expectations were set too high, and shaded by the 2 very enjoyable cruises before the LCV. We did not feel any missing vibe, but we were almost too busy with the various events. In fact we had to pass up the Indian buffet ( a first for us! ) and never even made it to the Living Room the entire cruise!

We were in the lead SUV for the overnight and could hear the many calls between the tour company the camp and the other drivers. We were an hour late leaving the pier and only left after 2 Azamara people brought beach towels from the ship to the vehicles. The tour operator kept explaining that they had recently been criticized for deviating from the published itinerary, so he was extremely inflexible.We recommended skipping 1 wadi to get back on schedule but he wouldn't change.We thought the camp and dune busting experience was top notch. Re: Land Discoveries we made several changes and they were handled flawlessly. We did not attend White Night so I can't comment but we do agree that the Azamazing Evening was our best ever.The LCV host and her sales assistant were very responsive and professional. We find it easier to send them emails, or send a paper document telling them what we wanted.Our experience, interacting the the crew, officers and Miami staff was very positive. In particular,.Larry, Sandi and Nicole were outstanding hosts. There were 2 LCV brunches that we were invited to sit at hosted tables with officers that although did not include caviar, had special menus concocted by Chefs Robert and Monica.All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed the experience, meeting many old friends and making many new ones.We's go on next year's cruise but would have to cancel the Journey's Seychelles cruise. Not going to happen!

Completely agree with these comments about the improved food offerings and specials that were on the Transatlantic. Of particular interest was the multiple appearances of crab claws and legs on multiple occasions. Chef Iwan continues to amaze!