OC Cruisers

54 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

We've found the onboard atmosphere friendly.

 

Yes there are tables for two in the MDR and in the Specialties. In the MDR, we never had to wait more than a few minutes for a 2-top; more often there was no wait. In the Specialties, where reservations are required, getting a Table for 2  in advance does require making the reservation as soon as the bookings open and being flexible on day and time. Additional reservations while onboard may be tricky.

 

We have not found the announcements to be overly frequent.

 

Other then a  few fliers reminding folks of onboard future booking specials, there aren't really any sales pushes.

Just super helpful!! Thank you☺️

Do you find the beds to be comfy?

Generally, we’re Regent loyalists and just saw an O itinerary that intrigued us, so reading this thread has been both funny and informative. Wondered if the onboard environment is friendly? Are there tables for two in the dining room (husband is pretty deaf so conversing is hard for him). And are there lots of announcements and sales pushes? Thanks a bunch!!

We sailed Mainer in October and really enjoyed her. It was our 2nd Regent cruise after sailing Splendor in June. Though an older ship, she was in fine form on our voyage. We board Splendor again in under 2 weeks and wouldn’t have hesitated to sail Mariner again if we’d found an itinerary that worked for us. Happy traveling! 

Hello! We just disembarked Mariner today, and it wasn’t ☹️ and we had no luck finding it online. We inquired at Reception and also included it on our guest survey. Hope your trip is great! 

On 10/24/2023 at 7:37 PM, Gpilon said:

Jude was CD on our Splendor TA in April../..she puts the Energizer Bunny to shame. 
 

Jude is terrific! We’re onboard Mariner now and she was our Cruise Director on Splendor back in June. At the Seven Seas gathering last night, she said it was her last such gathering before she begins her vacation. 

We are so appreciative of vitacura taking time during the voyage to post. It’s so generous!! We’re enjoying it more than we could ever say. Thanks a million, vitacura!!

We board Mariner in Montreal in mid-October after having enjoyed our first-ever Regent voyage in June on Splendor, so this sneak peek is just sublime☺️

We’re considering a fall booking and wondered if Mariner has the same amazing bedding that Splendor has? Thanks and happy travels! 

Tack! Detsamma! 
 

We just completed our first voyage (the 10-night from Southampton to Stockholm) on Regent. We booked a GTY H and were delighted to learn three days prior that we were assigned an F1☺️ Such a sweet suite! 
 

Happy travels! 

Hello! 
 

Apologies if this has already been asked and answered many times already—I’m packing and wondered if the hairdryers onboard are the kind you have to keep your finger on while you’re drying your hair or not? I’d like to not bring mine if possible. Thanks a bunch! 

Just wanted to thank everyone for sharing your experiences on Onward! We’re making a decision this week on which ship to sail on in October and really appreciate this generous (and hilarious) community. 

Hi everybody☺️
 

We’ve enjoyed many Azamara cruises, but Quest is our favorite. We’ve been eyeballing an October itinerary but are spooked by the reviews on this site that say it’s not up to Azamara’s usual standards. The 2.9 overall rating is 😱 Has anyone who’s an Azamara regular been on Onward lately who can shed any light? Thanks!!

36 minutes ago, Leo_On_Geo said:

Yes there are hairdryers.  They are not very strong, if you need styling,  and you have to hold the button to make them work. There are loads of posts about how most people do not like them. They dry my hair fine, but my hand cramps holding the button.  If you have thick or curly hair you may want to bring your own.

Yes!! Holding down the button! Hard pass😁Forgot about that! I wasn’t sure if Sycamore Partners made changes or not. Thanks so much. 

Hi: 

I realize this sounds like a trivial question with everything happening in the world today—but we’re boarding Quest next Sunday, and it’s been a bit since we’ve traveled on her—pre-Sycamore Partners. Anyone know if there are still nice hair dryers in cabins? Asking so I won’t lug mine unnecessarily.
 

Thanks so much ☺️

Really depends on what you’re looking for. Azamara is lovely. Small vessels. Different from Crystal and Celebrity which I’ve sailed. I wouldn’t enjoy Celebrity bc of the size and the hubbub. Azamara would be closer to the Crystal experience but on a smaller vessel and not as many amenities included. Staff and crew are terrific.

We are also longtime Azamara cruisers. We took our first Crystal cruise in October 2021 and just disembarked our 2nd Crystal cruise today, so two Crystal cruises in about six weeks for us tells the tale. We were blown away by the friendliness and professionalism of the crew, the quality of the food and beverage, the staterooms (those beds!!) and the overall experience. Wait staff knew our names and drink preferences right away and remembered both when we returned this month. The only thing we missed from Azamara was outdoor evening dining. We’re sold on Crystal and with Azamara’s sale, I doubt we’ll return with what we’re reading about current quality issues. We enjoyed it so much before—what great people they had! 

6 hours ago, ccletzgo said:

Well my head is spinning.  (actually rocking like crazy)  rough seas first night and really chopping coming into Mia on last night.  I have so many thoughts.  The ease of embarkation and debarkation was seriously unbelievable for a cruise !!   Pulled up, checked in, walked on.  Yesterday had breakfast and walked off. No lines either way.  Loved how easy it was to get around but missed the glitz a bit.  Bar service was mostly horrendous.  Yep, that bad. 😞  A few happy servers but overall, just bad.  Impossible to get a drink actually delivered to you at the pool.  

 

Loved the bed and bedding was the BEST!!!    Yep, small as expected.  Bathroom smelled bad.  It was the shower curtain.  Once we had it changed out to clean one, (they should do every turn around) all was good. 🙂 

 

Cabin stewards excellent and happy.  Rooms service staff excellent and happy.  dining staff excellent and happy.  Sunset bar grouchy!  Windows Cafe excellent happy.  Patio, well? kinda lost, like maybe is that where they first start there positions? Never did receive the drinks we ordered.  Pool bar, I don't even know what to think.  See my signature.  Never had this issue. Discoveries bar and restaurant, phenomenal.   White night, fun.  Great food choices.  Cabaret entertainment.  Corny. Made me miss the the big ships.   Eric did his best even with the virus he was fighting all week. 

 

Husband says he would do it again in a min. loved no lines easy tenders and small ship.  I'm still on the fence.   I love me a Celebrity M class ship. 🙂 

 

I do believe Azamara would be a great way to see Europe on a very port intensive itinerary that has few sea days.  

Hi 🙂 

We were also on this cruise. This was our 2nd Azamara this year and our 5th Azamara overall. We found this cruise to be very different like you said in terms of zero poolside drink service (but drink service everywhere else was great). We found service in the Patio to be a bit off during the day but good the one night we were there. Overall, the crew seemed off the us—like maybe they had just started working together. Little things like an itemized menu being posted in the evenings in Windows were also missing (until the last night). Our previous Azamara cruises were all at least 12 nights and we wondered if that made the difference. Also wondered if the company had fewer staff—it sure looked that way on the pool deck. Also wondered if Azamara had cut costs overall or only on shorter voyages since there was no lobster at White Night. We were glad to have one at all and the weather was perfect.