yyztravels

We did the TA on the Pursuit Nov 6/18, 14 night Barcelona to Miami and it was a great trip!!  Unfortunately at the start of the cruise the weather was bad in the North Atlantic so to avoid the storm they skipped our first two stops, Gibraltar and Medeira (Funchal).  We hadn't been to either which is getting to be a rare thing (not having been to a port already) so were looking forward to them but for some reason we were enjoying the trip so much just accepted it and move on.  In place we went to Teneriffe, arrived about 2:00 p.m. and left the following night at 9:00 or 10:00 p.m.  We did the ships excursion to the Volcano and would highly recommend it!  We were fortunate in that we have very warm weather the entire crossing and mostly flat seas.  In mid Atlantic they slowed and turned the ship for less wind across the deck and we had the best time at the White Night party!!!  We did 2 nights at Aqualina and 1 at Prime C.  We thought Prime C was better on Pursuit than a previous journey on the Quest.  Our only other stop was Bermuda which I love and we arrived quite early there and got to overnight and had most of the next day, however it was windy and raining pretty hard.  The best part is getting to dock in the centre of Hamilton on the smaller vessels. 

We ate quite often at the poolside grill and the service there in the evening was great.  Met lots of nice interesting people that you would continue to run into due to the smaller ship and that made it even more special, getting to hear stories and experiences from others, and laugh and mutual respect.

Were not big on scheduled activities vs. reading,. going to they gym,  dining at every meal and not rushing.  I never once felt bored on this crossing and wish it could have lasted longer.  Also getting 7 25 hours days was a bonus.  It was cool to hear basically every other day, "the clocks are going back one hour tonight"! 

Previous to the cruise i was reading the reviews of Pursuit and a little concerned but there was no need.  Everything was great, unless your one to pick on maybe the smallest of smallest details

I usually like just stalking the boards, so this is my first post. I feel compelled to write this inresponse to flyingshoes valent defense of the Pursuit. Five below average reviews in the space of two cruises, when the other ships in the fleet do not average that many in a year, is significant. From what I have heard and from what I have read on Cruise Critic, Captain Smith seems to be clever, entertaining as well as charismatic; leadership may not be his forte. In my experience, inspirational leaders inspire five-star reviews, nice guys you work for get average and below average reviews. I hope rather than sweeping this under the rug and making excuses, the upper management at Azamara is working on a plan to get Captain Smith the tools he needs in order to become an inspirational leader rather than just a nice guy to work for. Good luck to Azamara in being able to get this trend turned around.

WOW ...photo 6 of the shower...this should not be acceptable in any class cabin!

Celebrity seems to be so focused on the Edge that they have lost reality with the current ships and customers.

I'm tired of all the Edge marketing.... obviously the existing ships need some attention as well.

Plus of course the two Spa Suites that have been added on Deck 9 port side.

 

 

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My understanding is that the r class ships... i .e. Adonia did not have suites on deck 8 so yes...lots of construction.. configuration changes. Overall I believe the cabin count went from 356 to 340 on pursuit. A few cabins were added on deck 4.

I’m sure one of the experts on this board knows the answer to this question — Did Adonia have the equivalent of the CC Suites or did those have to be completely constructed out of regular size staterooms for Pursuit?

What was most frustrating to me was not knowing whether the phone recording hours or the website hours were correct. I also didn't realize that payments couldn't be made online.....new experience for me. Oh well, at least we got it done didn't we? I assume you're on the same sailing I am (TA on 11/6) since you were in the same predicament over the weekend?

Today at 5:00 EST, my final payment is due and I can't reach Azamara. I've never had so much trouble trying to give somebody thousands of dollars. My problem is, I'm getting ready to be in court all day (for work) with a working lunch. I don't know if we will conclude court before 5:00.

I've booked over a dozen cruises online, including several Celebrity, RCCL, HAL, and always did it online myself and paid directly online. I was surprised yesterday to try and reach Azamara and find they were closed. When you pay online, you can do it at anytime day or night. I'm kind of surprised you can't do it online at Azamara because you can with Celebrity and RCCL.

They really do need to get their act together. I first called the 855-AZAMARA number and the recording says they are open M-F from 1:00 AM (which I thought was strange) to 7:00 PM EST and Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

I got up a little earlier this morning to call at 6:00 AM EST (since the recording says they open at 1:00 AM) and the same recording says they are closed and goes on to recite the previous hours. I got to work and looked up Contact information on their website and it states they are closed on Sunday and open M-F 9:00 AM to 9:30 PM and closed Sunday.

 

Do you know if they WILL cancel my reservation automatically if I'm unable to reach them or give me some grace time? I'm pretty frustrated.

I would think Azamara can do better than this!

At that time of year it will only be 'dark' for 3 or 4 hours... otherwise

Hopefully you'll have sunshine as we did. I couldn't stop myself from getting out of bed a few times a night and going out on the balcony to take in the view....of course on sail out it will be light all evening so you can see it again or for the first time then. Out of `16 cruises Norway fjords remains my favourite.... enjoy.

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The survey was very clear about this being a potential veranda plus category but still having the existing cc suites. It was described as an addition cabin level without removing existing.

Similiar celebrity....same cabin size as concierge, veranda,etc.

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If it was possible to install larger showers in balcony cabins I am sure it would already have been done on previous refits.

I hope this is not just another way to increase prices for very little extra value.

I completed the survey and could easily see them removing some services from standard veranda and below cabins to help distinguish this new category as they are limited in what they can offer on the smaller ship without incurring significant capital/dry dock time which they will not do.

My overall history with this type of survey is that the idea is pretty far along or a fine deal and the survey is just a rubber stamp so they can say they did it as part of the change process.

My thoughts.... stupid idea Azamara.... for their ships configuration/size.

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Celebrity seems to offer alot of 'teaser fares'. . They are real but depending on the category inventory there may be only 1 or 2 cabins at the lower price and then the prices rise accordingly. Also it's best to look at what the all-in total cost is for the perks you may want plus of course taxes/gratuities.

You'll find that the cost of the perks (1 - 4) varies dramatically from free to insane based in the date you paid for the cabin.

If you don't want a drink package or other perks some great deals...but if you want any of the usual comforts you may like the cost usually ends up close to what the best price has been for a cruise.

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