papa B me

Great post Jazz

I tend to book trips 1-2 years in advance in order to get the cabin/suite I want. I’ve had experiences on other lines where perks were added for new bookings and since it wasn’t past final payment date they were added 

My question is if you book a cabin/Suite with limited availability that sells out a year or more in advance will Azamara still add promotional perks. I don’t think you can reprice since there’s no open cabin/suite to compare to but if Azamara was running a $500 OBC booking promotion would they add it to my booking. Our cruise  isn’t until Sept 2020 and our cabin selection is sold out. Trying to figure out if I should keep checking Azamara sight for ongoing promotions. Plus I have the same issue for a June 2021 cruise I booked for Greece intensive.  Thanks for help 

Brian 

RallyDave,

Many people and I would include myself in this category come to these boards to learn as much as possible about the cruise lines we are considering.  So we definitely want to hear both pros and cons so we can make an informed decision.  There is no doubt that on some boards there will be people who will be a cheer leader and get quite upset when someone posts a negative thought.  I first encountered these on the Regent Board years ago.  This is also when I first began to read your posts.  I do believe there is a difference on the Azamara board as the most prolific posters here that have sailed and continue to sail Azamara are generally pretty balanced and don't deny the problems that Azamara has especially with land portions of the experience.

I also find the reviews and comments from posters who have sailed recently and ones who continue to sail the most relevant.  The challenge for people trying to gather information is when posters who haven't sailed in years continue to post about their experiences and actively try to persuade new posters to look elsewhere at other lines.  Your motive may be truly altruistic but it often comes across as you are trying to hurt the cruise line because of the perceived lack of fairness and reasonable treatment you experienced.  This has been my experience in reading your comments here and for a number of years on Regent as well.

On the Azamara board you commonly say that you enjoyed the on board experience so much that you booked another cruise but after it was cancelled and the ineptness of home office you would never sail with them again.(The same way you felt years ago about Regent).  And you certainly have the right to feel the way you do and to take your business elsewhere.  But it would really be helpful to newbies on a thread that if you are going to jump in to discussions to elaborate more about what you liked about the onboard experience and give equal time to what Azamara does right.  Then say but the way you view things that it wasn't worth the home office challenges.  But to simply tell a poster who is asking whether Azamara is worth it "NO" when you yourself found the onboard experience worth booking again while on board is unfair both to the newbie asking the question and to Azamara.  Because as I mentioned on another thread where I'm the OP asking about the new "land" based trips I'm personally willing to put up with poor home office communications if it is a great travel experience and the on board/on land experience meets my personal value proposition.

These are open boards and I agree that all view should be valued and desired.  I just wanted you to know my opinion as to why you often get the "feedback" you get from people you perceive as "cheerleaders" and more importantly how your comments impact people looking for a balanced view to make the best decision for themselves.

Just one mans opinion

Thank you again for the advice.  I truly do understand that I can save money by planning the pre cruise trip myself.  I have planned trips on my own many times.  It really isn't a matter of giving Azamara more money, it's about creating the experience I'm wanting for this trip.  Was simply reaching out to see if anyone had personal experiences with Azamara's land trips as far as quality and enjoyment. Again thanks to all for the encouragement on how easy it is to book Lisbon myself.

Brian

Tring and Snowglobe

Thank you for the advice and recommendations

Brian

RallyDave,

Thanks for your input.  I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy when it comes to travel.  So if I enjoy the actual travel experience I have a pretty high tolerance for the things that don't go well such as pre cruise communication.  I too had a cruise canceled by Azamara.  It was actually an Alaskan cruise where they diverted to Japan instead.  It was over a year and a half in advance so I didn't have any issues with refunds/compensation.  When I travel if I enjoy the accommodations, food, itinerary, atmosphere, etc... I don't get real bent out of shape with the frustrations of a home office or if someone doesn't smile at me on the ship, if I don't get invited to dine with the captain, etc....I base every trip we take on the overall experience in deciding whether to travel again with them.  From what I can glean from this forum over the past few years that despite some frustrations many find Azamara a worthwhile over all experience and seems to fit what I like in travel.

As I mentioned when I started this thread I certainly understand that I can plan out my whole pre cruise a whole lot less expensive then a package deal from Azamara.  And it is still likely that I will.  However for business and personal reasons I like the idea of not having to take the time and energy this coming year to plan out ever detail.  So I will continue to consider the pre cruise option.  I do love getting first hand accounts such as Sobaycruisers.  Then I take into account that the city of Lisbon is quite different then Denali so there will be no 13 hour bus rides.  I'm not going to fly in before the pre cruise begins so as long as I know where the hotel is by the time I get there all is good.  If for any reason I'm not greeted at the airport it isn't that hard to get a taxi......

Bottom line is that I feel incredibly blessed to travel as we do and am grateful that there are so many different travel options.  I truly appreciate all the help I receive from these boards and others.  Selfishly I do wish that there was a little more understanding that we all are different and like different things and that there would be greater respect for our differences.  Azamara boards have been better then some of the others but even the tone here has gotten pretty intense as witnessed on a thread comparing Azamara to another line that was recently closed.

So again, would love to hear from any other posters who have experienced pre or post land trips with Azamara.

Thanks again to those who have posted.

Brian

I'm also thinking about using it towards the indulgence package.  With the OBC it provides and the OBC that comes with the cabin we've booked I think it will be enough to cover the excursions we want to take.  

SoBaycruiser,

Thank you so much for your response.  This is the type of feedback I was hoping to get. I'm still in the planning process and have plenty of time to decide.  It seems communications issues are a consistent theme with Azamara.  With the new emphasis they have on the land portions of the trip it will be interesting to see if more people start taking them and if they have created the infrastructure to sustain it.  Thanks again for your input.

Brian

Thank you for your feedback.  I believe the 3 night pre cruise for Lisbon is about $1700 per person.  I start planning our trips pretty early so have some time to work the pros and cons.  We've been blessed to have some really good pre cruise experiences with Uniworld on river cruises so it caught my attention.  Thanks again

I would also recommend AMS-BSL for the reasons already given but I was also of the opinion that the ports get more scenic each day from AMS to BSL as it is much more industrial in AMS and Cologne and more fairy tale like as you move towards BSL.  

We have a cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona booked on the Pursuit for September next year.  I certainly understand that cruise companies pre cruise packages are expensive compared to planning the pre cruise stay ourselves.  I have done both on our other cruises and have found pros and cons to both.  One of the things we have enjoyed on other cruise lines pre cruise stays is getting to know some of our fellow passengers before the cruise as our experience has been that the pre cruise passengers are small in number and usually very outgoing.  

My questions are for anyone that has taken an Azamara pre cruise package is:

#1. Have you found the quality good(knowing it is more expensive then DIY)?

#2. Have they been well organized?

#3. Did you enjoy the hotels Azamara utilizes?

#4. Is the transition from pre cruise to cruise seemless?

#5. Did you experience getting to know other cruisers during this time a positive?

I'm considering booking the Lisbon precruise stay.  Any thoughts appreciated

Brian

Thank You!

Does anyone know if you can use accumulated points on a Royal Caribbean Credit card on an Azamara Cruise for either OBC or towards the balance of a booked cruise?

Thanks to all for the kind words and I'm so glad you found the day to day review helpful. Finishing up a week with my whole family(4 grown children and spouses, 4 grandchildren, 3 grandchildren on the way, and 3 of our 6 grand pups) at Hilton Head in the 95 degree weather.  Been a great week but has made me long for the pleasant breezes in Hawaii in February.  

WriteOnYourHeart, I hope you have a wonderful trip next year and the trip excursions were really good.  It's also really easy to book independent trips without a car as in most places they will pick you up and drop you off right at the dock.  But either way you will have a great time.

Thanks again for all the kind words

3 hours ago, usnavywife said:

Papa B. Can you tell me appx. how long yall were cruising the Napali Coast? And if that was one way or both?
Appx what time did that start?
Thanks.

I believe it began 2:30-3:00 and lasted well over an hour.  It sailed both directions.  Initially your view is on the Port side and you are closer during this pass by.  However, when it turned and we were facing from the Starboard side I went and sat on our balcony and it was still spectacular.  I've read other reviews where they either didn't sail both directions or they were too far away to enjoy from the Starboard side.  I'm sure weather has something to do with it.  We had spectacular picture perfect weather so perhaps the captain decided to prolong it as long as possible and kept us closer on the return.  Hope this helps

13 minutes ago, dawnmarie386 said:

Papa B Me, your review was such a joy to read and a treasure trove of advice and observations.  Thank you so much!  

Thanks for the kind words.  I'm glad you enjoyed it and found it helpful.

Brian

We went in June and I don't recall any issues at all with mosquitos

Lois,

I thought of another way that works well on the Uniworld cruises to meet people while traveling solo.  Although I've never traveled solo I do spend a couple of hours a day on the ship solo.  My wife tends to take much longer to get ready for dinner and ready for bed then I do.  Plus she doesn't drink.  So I get ready and go hang out at one of the lounges.  I'll usually go sit at the bar as opposed to the tables and inevitably I meet other people sitting alone.  Many times they are traveling solo or commonly with an elderly mother or father so they are looking to meet people as well.  When I'm feeling exceptionally sociable I'll watch for a group of people in the lounge who seem to be having fun.  I'll walk over and say you guys look like you are having so much fun I thought I would come and join you.  Every time I do this people are so welcoming and often become dinner companions or excursion companions.  Again, you'll have no problem meeting people to dine with.

It's extremely easy to share a table.  There will be the isolated group of people that get their whole table filled but most people are happy to share and meet others.  We have dined with people traveling solo on all 3 of our Uniworld cruises.  Sometimes its them asking us if the seats taken and sometimes us asking.  We've always tried to sit with different people at lunch time especially to get to know different people.  We also seem to connect with people on our excursions which carries over to meal time.  Don't think you will have any issues from our esperiences.

Lois,

Our trip was really casual.  Regular jeans, slacks, and tops are certainly ok for dinner.  I would say that maybe the captains welcome and farewell dinners were maybe slightly dressier meaning long sleeve button up shirts for men and dress slacks and top for women but not fancy or really dressy.  I would say many did wear what they wore during the day to dinner although I don't remember shorts at dinner.  Certainly during the day on the ship shorts are the norm.  This was the first trip I didn't even take a jacket.  Wouldn't have put it on as it was really warm for much of our trip.

Hope this helps.

Brian

Robin,

I've wondered about the Viking cruises but they haven't made it to the top of my list.  I'm anxious to experience Azamara.  I'm not a golfer but they host Perry Golf cruises.  The one we have booked is a Perry Golf cruise.  Might be something for you guys to take a look at.

Brian

9 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

Glad to see these pictures popping up! Thanks for this nice addition!

Thanks JP!  The itinerary of this trip and the pace of the excursions really make this an easy trip to combine all that Uniworld offers with being able to get out on your own and wander.  So based on your reviews it probably will be a good fit for you guys.  I highly encourage you to consider the Milan portion as well as Uniworld did a really nice job with this and there really is a lot to see and do

On another note, we had our first Silversea cruise last August and I feel confident we will sail with them again.  Next up is trying Azamara next year for an Iberian port intensive cruise.  No more big trips for the rest of this year as we have two more grandbabies due this year(will make 6).  Your trip reports are what inspired me to do them when we cruise. 

Thanks for taking a fresh look at this old thread.

Brian

Well this concludes my photo tour 2 years later - LOL.  I do hope the review and pictures are helpful to those planning their trip or thinking about this trip.  I really do highly recommend this trip if you have an interest in Venice and the surrounding islands.  It really is quite unique.  I've had fun off an on today  going back through my day to day review and pulling up and posting the pictures.  But I guess I better get back to work so I can keep planning these types of trips.  Happy to answer any questions that might come up.  Safe travels

Brian

If you get a chance to go on the Rialto market tour with the chef I highly recommend it

Here are a few pictures from the three islands that were toured in the Venice Lagoon.  The historian traveled with us and really was interesting.