blag

On our recent cruise (Pursuit Baltic) where the Euro was the most usable currency, the ATM was offline for the entire cruise.

Your itinerary lists the arrival and departure times. The ships, generally speaking adhere to these times, and the chances are that you can assume that you can get onshire soon after those times. But note that bad weather, technical or mechanical issues can cause delays, so I'd build-in some leeway in your programme. BTW, the fast trains aren't that much to get excited about. Seville, however, is a lovely City.

I'm intrigued by your circumstances. Are you sure that your insurance covers you for curtailment etc. in the event that your grandchild's life is in immediate danger? We had a similar situation and had a difficult decision to make when our insurers deemed our premature return to be for reasons outside the scope of the cover.

It depends on your circumstances.

Or somewhere in Morocco?

On our recent cruise with Azamara the new boarding protocols were much, much, much better than the old system. In the past we have been obliged (even for the Suite check-in) to queue for over an hour in sweltering heat. The latest check-in took less than 10 minutes, plus the 10-minute onboard safety briefing.

I added my comment so that people might be aware that they might not be able to rely on the onboard ATM's. The USD ATM was working throughout the voyage! I feel that Azamara is still very US-centric, despite the fact that on many cruises US citizens are a minority, and - on that particular Baltic cruise - were outnumbered by the Canadians.

But note: on our recent 12-day Baltic cruise on Pursuit, the 'Euro' ATM never worked!

Molehills and mountains.

Just as a matter of interest, how many Suites are there on Onward? And how many on the other three ships? Do any other categories of stateroom have Specialty dining included?

Maybe your huge hoohaa is my minor blip?

We always eat in the eat in the Specialty restaurants, but never at the set times. Ask the Maitre D responsible for both to accommodate you at times that suit you. You are paying for the meal, and you are entitled to special treatment. I am sorry to hear that you felt awkward about this, but, really, there was no need.

Now that I think about it - prompted by uktog's post - there was one day, pre-notified, when we were not on board.

We were on Pursuit in 8049 in August (Baltic 12 days), and did not encounter this issue. In fact, we always take a suite in more-or-less the same location, and have not experienced any drenching of the balcony, although it must be said that we don't use the balcony very much.

So, a part of the cruise will be affected. And $300 OBC compensation is offered. On my recent Azamara cruise, one morning the captain broadcast apologies for the absence of ANY Internet connection shipwide, and there were other days (no announcement) when there was no internet at all due to some system failure. No $300 OBC compensation for us! So, if the outage is planned, and you know about it you get money. If it's not planned, and you are in the dark, futilely struggling to get connected, wasting time and effort, assuming it's just the usual lamentably slow connection you get what? No internet! PAHHH!

Agreed! But, as a long-term, and current, resident of Italy I can confirm that - in my experience -tipping is not the norm. Italians only tip if they have received exceptional service, and almost never if a service charge is included. (Why pay twice?). Bus drivers, tour operators, and the like may expect tips from tourists, but will rarely receive tips from residents. Waiters in restaurants are an exception to this. And tipping in Euros is, of course, preferable.

Why tip?* Gratuities are included. *(Unless you like paying twice for the same service, or perhaps you think that tipping will give you better/preferential service)

Ignore it. Testing not required. Azamara admin haven't got round to modifying their output.

No

Not required.

Do you mean Cape Town? 'as our base'? Obviously, you don't stay on board if the Safari is arranged through Azamara. But Azamara's safaris are usually pre-, or post-cruise. If you arrange a Safari independently you can leave stuff on the ship, but you must return for debarcation.

Well done Well done! Bravo! I am finding the dialogue on this topic in the 'Tips' thread singularly unenlightening and rather tedious!

Sorry, but I don't understand this.

The bottles indicate the complimentary French reds are from Cébazan.

I don't understand this sentence. Please clarify.