ghstudio

quote from the azamara web site today (in the FAQ)....to date, we never received "further notice" notice and we booked in November so we missed any discussion on CC. Is the Azamara Circle Program still reciprocal with Celebrity Cruises' Captain's Club Program? Yes. Until further notice, guests who sail with Azamara and Celebrity Cruises will earn points towards membership in both Azamara Circle and Captain's Club, regardless of which brand they sail. Azamara Circle and Captain's Club members will enjoy select benefits of their tier levels on both lines. Select tiers in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Program also will receive reciprocal benefits when sailing with Azamara.

Hopefully, that's what we'll find on our July cruise...but as of now (and the new owners are now the new owners), we don't have (at least I haven't found) a single executive contact name or email address...customer service response time is weeks, not days...no human to speak to other than (guess) some call center with no authority to do much of anything. Not an auspicious start for a new cruise line.....and I'm being kind......

We too were blindsided by this incredibly poor marketing decision by the new Azamara team. We had two azamara cruises booked this year (our first on Azamara) and to this day, it shows that we are "discovery plus"......I am led to believe that we will actually have no status on our cruises. We are too committed around our cruise in July (airfare, pre/post cruise arrangements), but we are cancelling our Fall cruise to Israel because we don't have those commitments ($10k booking). It's not so much the actual benefits...it's the misleading information that continues to this day on the web site...and no communications from Azamara indicating that the info is wrong...like a simple email. If this is managed so poorly, one has to wonder what other decisions will be made that effect us. Perhaps we will regret the cancellation, but I don't like the way we've been misled and not sure what else will change as the new owners try to maximize their profit instead of focusing on the marketing advantage of at least extending the benefits to anyone who books before they make it clear that you have no status. Throw out all the old reviews...we just don't know what we'll experience now. As of today I am still discovery plus....but I'm expecting that to change, now that I've found that sentence/deadline. This thread is exactly what I'm afraid of happening....no focus on the customer:

We received this today from HA for our March cruise on the Westerdam to Japan/Korea: IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION Please be advised that all guests 18 years of age or older must have completed a primary vaccination series for COVID-19 AND also received at least one booster before embarkation (total of 3 vaccination doses). Vaccination certificates must be written or translated into Japanese or English to be valid. Guests ages 12 to 17 travelling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian are not required to be vaccinated; otherwise, two vaccination doses are required. Children under 12 are not required to be vaccinated. In addition, guests ages 5 and above must produce at check-in a photo of their negative self-administered COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test taken within one day before cruise embarkation with a time and date stamp. Please note that testing and self-tests will not be available at the pier. Face masks will be required indoors on board for guests 5 years and older. It is strongly recommended all guests are up to date with their COVID-19 and Influenza vaccinations before travel. Review health and safety information at https://bit.ly/hal_twfaq.

D729 (rear facing) on the Sky Princess was one of the quietest cabins I've had on any cruise ship a couple of weeks ago. On every ship, cabins have different wall, air duct, plumbing and stuctural supports....all of which effect sound....and vibrations. The only solution is moving cabins and hoping the new one is quieter.

Just off the sky princess and received my final shipboard statements via email. My wife and I were on the same booking in the same cabin (obviously). Princess set up two folio accounts. We received $75 non refundable OBC each for our booking and $100 stockholder non refundable OBC which was posted to my folio ...so we had $250 OBC. Simplifying, for clarity ...my wife purchased a pair of earings for $125 and we had no other charges. The earings were posted to her account. Reviewing the statements I received today.....My wife's folio showed the $75 non refundable OBC and an end of cruise a princess processing a charge to our VISA card of $50. My account showed that since I had not spent anything, My $150+75 OBC's were non refundable and unspent. Even though I had $225 OBC, some from jointly owned stock...since the $100 shareholder benefit was posted to my account, their accounting system ignored it when closing my wife's folio. Discussed with Princess today....and "finger's crossed", they said they would send it to accounting for review and it might take 4-6 weeks to resolve and refund the $50 that should not have been charged...it should have been covered by the OBC in my folio. Had I not reviewed and called...I suspect that they just would have kept the $50. That's a warning folks...Princess on board statements are not easy to read and you really need to check them closely.

It’s not that it’s not up to par…but it’s just more institutional food with little seasoning. Service after the first night was very good. I just think the buffet is more interesting, with more choice and better seasoned.

For a refreshing drink...make believe you are in Venice and order an aperol spritz. For bourbon drinkers, try 1 part bourbon 1/2 part aperol. There really are almost an infinite number of drinks, depending on the bartender and your likes. I've had great Mai Tai's and some that were just dreadful. It's fun to concoct your own drinks....ask the bartender what he can do with dark rum and amaretto and see what he creates. There's no best drink...and my bloody mary made with scotch (many different names for this) may not be your cup of....tea. The main thing is to enjoy...and if your on the drink package, to explore...and what better place to explore than a cruise.

retreat pool is much quieter than the main pool .... and many seem to discover it which translates to: I guess you have to be a chair/chaise hog....get yours early and mark out your turf. Each night in the buffet, they have a "special night"...so one night it was paella, etc. and there is a special lunch the last day with sushi and sashimi and special (good) desserts). note: unlike the Ocean terrace on 7, the sushi rice was very dry and the sashimi was essentially hacked, not sliced but still excellent fish). I would have eaten there more for dinner, but my friends and spouse prefered to be served so we ate dinners in Estrella ...breakfast and lunch in the buffet. They weren't interested in the specialty restaurants. A funny food note...if you ask for horseradish for your roast beef or put wasabi on your sushi...it is exceptionally spicy hot...and I eat all kinds of spicy hot foods. For me, it was excellent and I even asked for the supplier's name so I can order some...but it's a killer for most.

Just returned from a one week western Caribbean cruise on the Sky. This not a "live from" post mainly because wifi from the Sky doing anything other than read mail or web pages with few graphics is unbearably slow. No...sorry to burst bubbles...but Princess does not even come close to having the best internet on the seas. For whatever reason, perhaps lots of graphics, the cruise critic site was too slow to do any sort of "live from" live. The Medallion application has not improved. There was no point during the cruise when I could get to dining menus or dining reservations on the app. In a fit of frustration, I decided to delete the application and reload it. Ummm...not a good idea...you see you can't download applications from the Apple application store from the ship. That is actually probably technically incorrect...but it would have taken well over the 7 days of our cruise to actually download the app. The computer folks agreed and their only suggestion was to try to download it at one of the ports. Then I went to the Princess site and due to senility, I forgot my password again. No problem, just enter your email and change your password. Email received....."Click here" in the email to change the password.....and a browser message.. .site can not be found. Yup, it's true...you can't change your princess password from a princess ship.....that function or site is blocked by their system. Verified with the computer folks who didn't believe me...so we did it on their computer....with the same issue....their solution...you guessed it....find a hot spot at the next port, give it a try. They verified with HQ and yes, it's is blocked by their system. I've posted previously about the SKY food (we were on the Sky in Norway in August)...but I'll repeat a bit. The best seasoned, best choice of "free" food on the ship IMHO is the buffet on 16. Always an indian, asian and mexican section with other interesting and good choices. Breakfasts cooked to order...(I do not recommend the corned beef hash...but the smoked salmon, whitefish and mackeral are moist and wonderful). I also strongly recommend that you get a pizza at Alfredos (not the pizza on deck 16)...it's really good. This trip, we tried the sushi restaurant and it was surprisingly good...and very very reasonable....10 pieces of sushi for $7, five slices of sashimi for $3, etc. It's a very pleasant meal. I've saved the main restaurant to last.....service the first night was dreadful . ..but we've learned that's more the norm than the exception. The other nights were much better. The appetizers were, again as we've come to expect, better than the main dishes. Again, sadly cruises these days (princess, HAL....) season minimally in the MDR. If you want tasty, head to 16...if you want table service....then it's the MDR. I ordered wine each night and although I had the drink package, I always pick a wine from the premium package list and they (often) charge the difference ($3-5). The first night, I ordered a specific white wine from the list and another at our table ordered a martini. Both arrived well after the appetizer (it was about a 30 minute wait)...and the waiter brought me a glass of red wine..... You get the idea. Not a problem on other nights. The wines must be free pour without measuring because every time wine was ordered there was a significant difference in the amount of wine in the glass....sometimes you won, sometimes not so much. Yes, I did say often...some times I was charged for one but not for the refill...other nights no charge...and I always told the waiter that I knew there would be an up charge... Desserts were pretty good...the creme brule was outstanding. On the second "formal" night, I asked for two lobster tails...rather than surf and turf..not a problem..yes, a bit dry, but lots of hot butter ... Cabin attendant....kept taking the bathroom glasses and replacing every few days 🙂 but otherwise, great service. Cabin: we had a rear facing verandah cabin...great large balcony. The only time we had soot was the morning we arrived back in Ft Lauderdale...otherwise no issues at all....and extremely smooth and quiet...we would definitely book again. Entertainment was pretty good...one of the shows was technologically incredible...lights, projectors, staging, sound system. early show was packed...late not so much. Princess royal class ships don't have acrows nest or any bar where you can look forward at the sea if it's cool out or rainy unless you are willing to pay for the sanctuary. Most of the bars are indoors around a very highly used corridor, so your view is of people passing by in both directions. We had some non refundable on board credit left so I went to the liquor shop to use it up. They suggest that they are 20% under local on shore prices...but I found that they were actually about 20% more than Total Wine in Ft Lauderdale. Selection was meager.(I'm being kind)...especially to a bourbon drinker...but then again, they have very few bourbon's even at the bars. A real positive....the folks working on the SKY are the most friendly and helpful I've found on any cruise ship....they really do make a difference. I should have mentioned earlier....in the buffet area on 16, they come around with juice/coffee and will get you drinks from the bar....nice touch vs celebrity for example. They also clean tables very very quickly so unliike some other lines, it's pretty easy to find a nice place to sit. We had six in our group and we could easily find tables . We missed Roaton due to winds and seas....An RCL ship made it in...we didn't (maybe our pier was in a different location???) In any case, we had an extra day at sea and they refunded $17 or so port tax without even asking...it just appeared on our accounts. We did stop at Costa Maya...unless you want to go to a beach...don't bother to walk to the "town" which is only a tourist trap...no bargains, all the same stores you've grown to love/hate (diamonds international, et al). Enough rambling.....nice to be home. On to planning next year: HAL in March, and finally trying Azamara in July and October....

same problem....I just called princess and set the meals up.

If you don't order/get the medallion before the cruise...it takes about 2 minutes to pick it up when you check in.

They require both to get the plus package. If you are buying a drink package, you can buy it just for yourself.

Just a warning about the casino....they allow smoking on one side....which is, of course, a joke because smoke spreads. If you spend an hour at the tables, your clothes will reek of smoke when you leave. I always play the tables on cruises.....and after one night on Princess, I skipped them for the rest of the cruise.

It depends on what your current cabin costs and it's location. If I wanted to be center ship and to try club class...(so two reasons to bid), I might go to $150 a person or even $200 if you are way forward or aft now. We paid the full upgrade from MA to M1 just to try it on our last cruise....but as I said, we wouldn't do that again for the full price.

$100...why not. Cabin locationi....a MA has the identical location and is a lot cheaper, if you care about location.

don't know if anyone mentioned it, but you can't download to a kindle through the ship's wifi. The only way to do it is to go to the computer center and ask if they can connect you to do a download. If they take that away, there will be no way to get new books on your kindle on board, if you want them.

Just back from Sky in M1 (club class) cabin. Menu is identical to standard dining and they add one dish a day. The extra dish is nothing special, it's just another dish....I don't think my wife or I ordered the special any night (14 night cruise). The "advantage" was that we really could dine anytime with zero wait. That's worth something, but not the $'s princess asks for club class....we won't book club class again.

We are elite + on celebrity, but just back from a princess cruise on the Sky. Princess has, in our opinion moved closer to carnival and is no longer comparable to Celebrity in food, wine or liquor quality and selection. Nothing like the martini bar feel, no bar where you can just drink and watch the sea….we really didn’t like the Sky and we’re disappointed in the food, although the crown grill was good…sabatinis was pretty good….dining room food (and we were in club class) was just adequate. We liked holland America, but we were on a small ship (1100 passengers), so can’t really comment. No cruise is a bad cruise…..but I don’t think you’ll get the celebrity vibe on princess. We are not booking celebrity now because we don’t like French balconies…and their itineraries never change. Planning some Oceania cruises…and Holland American for different cruises. We aren’t rushing back to princess

sky princess didn't have these a couple of weeks ago...

Columbia (and perhaps others) sell a winter coat with little dots of silver inside which keep your body heat in......and it squishes down to almost nothing in your packing. It was perfect...but we had sunny weather and high 20s with little wind. As always, prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Layering is your friend. Pack a ski hat and gloves and a couple of extra layers, just in case. It's a wonderful cruise (we did it on Celebrity).

whatever you decide to do, don't convert from one non US$ currency to another non US$ currency. It will be processed as two transactions...one "selling" to US$ and then "buying" the new currency. That's two charges for conversion. I (obviously) learned this the hard way many years ago and doubt that it's changed. Best idea above...use it for tipping or keep it for a future trip (if you'll be back).

Fortunately, the ship runs better than the Medallion App. Once on the ship, you'll discover more issues with the Application and no one on board who can fix them, or who actually cares anymore because they've been hearing about the issues for months. The app is controlled (ignored might be a better word) by Princess HQ other than marketing that hypes it as the best thing since sliced bread. Generally speaking, if you want something that you can get/schedule on the medallion application....just do it the old way....ignore the application and you'll be a happier cruiser.

What most don't realize is that the Medallion Application is an ongoing daily activity. No need to put it on the daily schedule, it's always there for you and each time you open it, you will have a new challenge. For laughs, compare the menu on the appication to the one in the dining room.....or the wine list on the application to the wine list at a specialty restaurant. Feel free to try to see your on board account. It's not a bad activity....better than some that actually are on the schedule.

Don’t think so…..we had empty seats in club and commoners were kept waiting.