neverseasick

Thanks for all the photos. Very helpful! We will be sailing on the Serenity soon. Are there movies shown at night as an alternative to the shows?

11 hours ago, uktog said:

I notice a cruise we are doing in 2024 is 1 day less and costs 60% more in 2025 

Ouch!!

39 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

How is the air conditioning in the cabins?

I have read reports of either freezing cold or too hot.

Thanks.

Yes, thanks for raising this question. We are wondering as well since it was reported during very hot weather that some of the public rooms and deck 8 cabins had insufficient cooling. I’m not sure you can check on this now if you’re sailing in temperate weather?

3 hours ago, trebor111 said:

Plant based menu.

Apologies if this has already been covered & I understand if I am the only one interested...

We are interested as well. Did you enjoy many of the choices on the menu? Did others in your party as well? The menu does look wonderful but we're wondering how much of it people enjoy. Thanks!

18 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

Azamara needs to make the upgrade of its internet a priority.  People now expect to make video calls and conduct business regardless of location.  Make a statement and upgrade to Starlink.

I thought Azamara had announced at one point that it was their intention to upgrade to Starlink? Our own concern is Onward’s air conditioning system. It apparently isn’t up to snuff in certain cabins and common rooms. We’ll be sailing through some very hot climes next year.

48 minutes ago, kent4489 said:

We’re in Bonita Springs, Fl, just north of Naples. We are one mile to the beach. The very worst is past, but the wind is still howling and strong.  Earlier, we had a gutter come off and it went flying somewhere. The street is filled with horticulture debris. Our electricity has been off for 7 hours now and most likely will be out for several days, hopefully not longer. However, there is still a concern for rising water. Only a half mile away, cars are floating down the street. Still very worried here.

Hopefully the worst is over for you and your home. News is reporting that it's the strongest hurricane your area has ever experienced? 

41 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Prayers for all our Florida Friends!!

Ours as well. My heart breaks for lovely Sanibel and Captiva Islands where Ian is approaching just now. The damage will be devastating. 

6 hours ago, KY Deb said:

Alas, we are preparing to be hit by hurricane Ian here on the west coast of Florida!!

We are really hoping Florida isn't hit too hard. We cherish our memories of bringing our kids down to Captiva when we lived in Massachusetts. We still dream of the wonderful shelling there and remember what Charley did to the island. Fingers crossed for you all!

1 hour ago, Baynanno1 said:

Lovely area where you live. We stayed overnight there on a drive over several days, through much of California and Nevada on our first visit to USA back in 1991.

It is, thanks. We feel very lucky to live near Lake Tahoe and feel it should have been a national park. 

50 minutes ago, nordski said:

I am certain that when we are visiting Yorkshire that will be exactly the weather we will be enjoying. Gorgeous scenery.

We visited the Lake District in July and were lucky in the weather. Here's a picture taken while hiking Loughrigg Fell. Wish we could be there now though it's lovely in the Sierras near Lake Tahoe, Nevada where we live. The mtns above us just got the first snowfall of the season and Northern California received much needed rain. 

Uktog, I’m really enjoying watching the new season of Shetland on Britbox. It’s wonderful to see locations we were able to visit in July and the show is terrific as always. I can’t imagine a new Jimmy however.

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Didn't realize this from your earlier post.  Maybe they are reacting to the differences between Onward and the other ships – it seems that it was in even worse condition that Pursuit when that was 'rescued' from Princess.  I hope that Azamara can continue to repair the deferred maintenance damage, because these R-ships are really nice and can continue to please for many years to come – just as 6 of the 8 of the prior-generation Renaissance ships are still pleasing across several cruise lines [they don't make them like this any more...]

Sounds very likely. For this who sailed on Onward during the hot summer months, was the air conditioning sufficient?

I'm not sure where to post this question? We have sailed on Azamara once and didn't think to sample the vegan menu. We should have since we're not big meat eaters. Has anyone done so and what did you like/not like? It's certainly extensive.

1 hour ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

My parents are on board right now and I just spoke to them.  They are not so happy with the overall ship.  they are in suite which they said was very nice but not so much with the rest of the ship. Dark wood, dark elevators , thoughts the ship was showing its age in a lot of places.  They did say the food was great so far. Did not ask about the entertainment.  They were also disappointed they missed two stops because they could not dock but that is not the ships fault. They only been on board since Friday so hopefully it improves.

Thanks for your input! Glad they like the food. What's important to us is the itinerary and the people we meet as well as the food. 

On 9/15/2022 at 1:03 PM, TxnAquarian said:

Totally agreed! I have not one booking with Azamara, because the itineraries are so dull and repetitive. They like to say that they focus on destination immersion and finding off-the-beaten-path ports, but they really don't anymore. Same ports year after year. It's too bad, because Azamara has always been a lovely and comfy product. Now my bookings are with Silversea and Seabourn because the itineraries and ports are so much more varied. I am truly spoiled looking through some of their 2024 itineraries with many ports I've never been to, late nights and overnights. Even Oceania is adding new ports in Alaska, and that's rarely done. 

 

Interesting! Re: 2024 world cruise itineraries we find it to be the opposite. Azamara's itinerary is outstanding. We  looked at all WC cruise itineraries for 2023/2024/2025 and found Azamara's to be the most varied and exciting.

I guess my question is are all the R ships equal in stability? We've sailed on one of the Oceania R ships during part of a world cruise in rough waters and were absolutely fine. 

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Onward was the ship that was offered as a free add-on to the Pursuit deal.  [Princess owned both of them, and apparently ran them both into the ground – or whatever the appropriate metaphor is for cruise ships!]

Not good. We sailed on the Quest in late July which we greatly enjoyed. We were told by another couple who had sailed on the Onward when it was the Pacific Princess that it was extremely unstable when in rough waters. Not a great choice for a world cruise? 

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

When Azamara bought Pursuit from Princess, Captain Carl told us that they had been offered this ship 'for free' in the deal and passed on it.  But when Sycamore needed to make a splash, this was the only quick fix available.  Still, they should have sent it to Harland and Wolff in Belfast instead of going with what seems to be the low bidder...

Do you mean the Onward rather than the Pursuit? We are concerned since we are booked for the 2024 WC. Piaa was as well. 

Is anyone onboard the Onward right now? If so, what is your overall impression of the ship as well as of the dining and entertainment? Even very recently it's not getting the best reviews.  

1 hour ago, Piaa said:

Yes we have cancelled our future Onward cruises and booked with SeaDream

That's sad to hear. We will miss you!

On 9/10/2022 at 12:51 PM, Piaa said:

I just submitted my review - will see if it gets posted but (imo) yes a 2.9 out of 5 is about right.

Hi Piaa! Your review has been posted...I just read it, thank-you. Sounds like they have their work cut out for them. Are you canceling your future Onward cruises? 😔

Hi Piaa! We were just on the Quest. I think they had 14 movie choices that we could watch from start to finish any time we wanted to. I thought the selection could have been at least twice as large since many ships used to have long lists of dvd's to choose from. Personally I would love it if Azamara would have a movie night one night during a voyage instead of live entertainment. It would be wonderful if they offered popcorn and showed a fairly recent release. But I realize selecting a movie that's a real crowd pleaser can be tricky. - Debby

Thanks so much for these, Chris.. a big help! The CC suite looks lovely. My only question is how comfortable the back of the balcony chairs will be for long cruises? But we can certainly bring pillows. 

26 minutes ago, Marmaduke said:

have just looked at the photos in the above link and I don't think they are new photos of Onward.

There is a picture of the Land Discoveries Desk adjacent to the Conciege desk.  Surely the Land Discoveries is now on deck 5 in the Den, nowhere near the Conciege.  I believe they are just general photos of an Azamara ship.

Yes, I agree. The rooms are beautifully designed and I'm hoping the Onward's are equally so. 

31 minutes ago, Zoey said:

For the life of me I can't figure out what that is at the top of the stairs. It looks like a funhouse mirror. 

Yes, it looks like a mirror jigsawed together.