takemewithyou

2 minutes ago, royallondon said:

Regent is due to get the first new build in 2026 and so if my total speculation is anywhere near the mark, I am more thinking the acquisition of a Regent Ship, Mariner, Voyager.  

That could be, I suppose.

Just now, royallondon said:

 

It doesn’t of course have to be an R class ship.

It only makes sense that Oceania would be off loading R class ships, doesn’t it?  I don’t think they have any plans to get rid of Riviera and Marina! 

From conversations on this site regarding the lifespan of these R class ships, I thought there was an end point to how long they can be used.  I don’t remember the quotes of the useful life span of these ships.  Does anyone else remember?

I have also seen comments that there are environmental concerns about these ships (they no longer meet certain environmental standards) and that some ports will not accept them for docking due to these concerns.  Remember seeing mention of ports in Norway, for example.

so I really doubt that Azamara would be acquiring another R class ship in 2026 or beyond…..

42 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

It could also be a staffing issue?

That’s what I am wondering.
 I am sure @uktog will seek out the reasoning behind this change.

It seems like the shipboard activities were plentiful and I love that you had a dim sum brunch!  Love the live reports!

Thank you! 

27 minutes ago, Ballwin Babe said:

How does one tell if an Amazing Evening is planned for our stay in Thessaloniki?  Thanks again...

If you look under the list of shore excusions, you should see a description of your Azamazing evening under all the postings of shorex for Thessaloniki.  You need to sign up for it, if you want to go.  It would be the only shorex that has no change associated with it.

52 minutes ago, uktog said:

We too were at the shrine precruise yesterday and it was madness not helped by a less than ideal guide. So hoping for a little more calm on the upcoming ports! 

@uktog are you doing a Live report from your cruise?  
Maybe you can add some comments about how things are on Journey?

I would love to hear your impressions, if you have any time.

Thanks! 

24 minutes ago, crzrr said:

The hotel director who was on for our first cruise, and I believe on Pirate Wife's cruise, was the worst one we have ever had.  Consequently, we found that other senior officers were very lax in their duties as well.  This attitude flowed from the top down.  We had never seen anything like it on an Azamara cruise.  When Ryszard came onboard things changed instantly.  He was sent to Journey for only 1 1/2 months and then is going back to Quest, so you can draw your own conclusions.

I have seen some changes in HD on Azamara in the past year, and many of the “legacy HD” are off to other cruiselines, etc.  The changes have not been for the better, either.  
 

We are due to sail on Journey for our first cruise over Christmas and New Years and I hope it will be a good experience….fingers crossed, but to say I am nervous…..that’s an understatement! 

1 hour ago, laurieb said:

I'm sorry to hear it was not up to par.  Perhaps Journey has become the "training" ship?

I sincerely hope not!

1 hour ago, aliaschief said:

Last night’s Chef’s Asian Table on Onward.

 

 

I would love to try that menu!

Thank you so much for enlightening this thread with all your posts! 

Looks like some new ports…new itineraries according to social media posts.

They need to first maintain the ships they have now…..no new builds until that is done.

8 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I'm not long back from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Journey and spent 11 days in Japan afterwards. I'm not going get into the intricacies, but my overall experience on the ship was most definitely not as good as I've previously enjoyed.

 

I've always felt that it was a special experience on Azamara with great service and good food. Lots of nice little touches around that made it seem as though you were genuinely being cared for. This time not so much. Nothing special in the cabin. Not even flowers to brighten the room. For a premium experience I also feel the ships are getting a little old.  Most disappointing though was the general so so service. Admittedly there are the stars I've sailed with before, but there were also a large number of new faces and I didn't feel they exhibited the Azamara way of going the extra mile. Poor training. 

 

The food in the buffet I felt was generally overcooked. The chicken I had at the deck barbecue was tough and stringy like a lot of the chicken dishes. We had a lovely meal in Prime C, but our server was poor. There were too many inconsistencies on a ship that used to be my favourite. 

 

The old adage of having too much of a good thing maybe true in my case. Perhaps I've just done too many Azamara cruises and need a change, but overall I feel they are resting on their laurels too much. Not offering anything different. I've booked Onward for September with good friends, one of who has been going through cancer so it will be a special trip for us all, but I will reassess after that one which I think will be my 50th on Azamara. As I said perhaps I need a change, but the feel and service just weren't the same. Not "special" enough. 

 

Phil 

Hi Phil.  Thanks for your thoughts on your most recent cruise on Journey.  One question…..was Ryszard the Hotel Manager and Stephen the CD?

Your thoughts are a little concerning to me considering Journey is my next cruise. Inconsistency seems to be the trend.

It IS very disappointing!  
When we sailed on Oceania in November for a TransAtlantic, we had very comfortable chairs that were a pleasure to sit in and we spent hours on our balcony reading and watching the ocean.  The sea conditions were such that it was one of the highlights of our cruise and just couldn’t compare to the experience of the balcony chairs on Onward.  
We will not cruise on Onward.  We avoid it.  The balcony furniture on the other Azamara ships is better but nothing like the comfortable furniture on Oceania.

30 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

Mid March Prime C on Onward will have an Asian themed menu for a couple of weeks. Maybe doesn’t appeal to all but we are looking forward to the change. Was shown the menu last night.

 

Looks really good!  Yum! 😋 

46 minutes ago, tgg said:

I received this offer today, and it seems the terms have changed.  Our cruise departs Nov. 20.

 

Originally, this offer was for either a 5% discount or 5% OBC. I guess I don't know what is meant by "5% OBC to be used in future sailing."

 

Anyone have any idea?

 

PAY-IN-FULL PROGRAM:   The Pay-In-Full Benefits Program (the “Offer”) is available to guests who choose the option to pay for their remaining cruise fare balance in full after receiving an email indicating they are eligible. Participation in the “Offer” does not change the refundability of the cruise fare and guests will retain their normal cancellation policies. The Offer is available for select guests booked on sailings departing in more than 180 days. Guests who accept this offer and pay their sailing in full will receive 5% Onboard Credit to be used in future sailing. Guests must call the Contact Center or their Travel Advisors to redeem the Offer. The Offer is combinable with Back-to-Back OBC, Loyalty quarterly savings, National Account amenity or hosted programs, reduced single supplements, and onboard booking savings. The Offer does not combine with onboard booking reduced deposits, net rates, travel agent rates, groups, some statement agencies, or employee rates. Offer and pricing are subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn by Azamara at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all amounts referred to herein are in USD (United States Dollars). Other terms and conditions may apply, please refer to the Azamara Cruise Ticket Contract. After the offer period, if a guest changes their ship and sail date, changes their category, or requests a refund, the Pay In Full Benefits will be forfeited.   ELIGIBLE PAY-IN-FULL SAILINGS:   The Offer is available for select guests booked on sailings that are departing in more than 180 days.    REDEEMING PAY-IN-FULL OFFER:   Eligible guests must call the Azamara Contact Center or their Travel Advisors to redeem the offer. Sailing must be more than 180 days to redeem the offer.   EXCLUSIONS:   Any bookings already paid in full are not eligible for this offer.   ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS AND CONDITIONS:   Upon submission of payment [or last payment], the guest will acknowledge that they have read, understand, and accept the terms and conditions of the Cruise Ticket Contract, including the Cancellation Policy.

©2024 Azamara. Ships registered in Malta.   Azamara, 3059 Grand Ave, Suite 205, Miami, Florida, 33133, United States

Got the same offer today for sailing in Dec.  

It is confusing,  Not clear if the OBC is used for the cruise you are paying early for or for some future cruise.

I believe the original email we received was as you said…..either 5% off or 5% OBC.

As the original author of the post, I welcome everyone’s posts on this thread. 
I enjoy all perspectives.

52 minutes ago, uktog said:

I’m not talking about minor variations I’m talking about this 24 hour pre order stuff. How do people know what their options are if there isn’t a menu? Is it to be only for those “in the know”? Sorry it needs a menu. 

There’s a lot of stuff on Azamara “for those in the know”………that’s not necessarily such a good thing……….!  
I agree that options should be more in the public realm for everyone, just not for Those in the Know.

On 2/16/2024 at 4:22 PM, malcliz said:

I wonder if that’s why we have just received a survey which included our opinion on Azamazing evenings?

We also received that survey.  It certainly does ask a lot of questions about how much we value the Azamazing Evening.  It almost seemed like the response that they wanted to receive was that loyal cruisers don’t value  it very much so they could do away with it.

12 minutes ago, aliaschief said:

On the Onward we enjoyed another Chef’s Rice Table feast last night. We followed up dinner being entertained by guest performer Tom Seal’s. What a fantastic performer.

Tonight we will have a pool side buffet as we celebrate Lunar New Year. Martin and Roy will be performing in Cabaret tonight.

We will be crossing International Date Line so we will be watching the Super Bowl on Monday. The Super Bowl will be aired in the Cabaret Lounge and game will start at 11:00 AM!

Another day at sea and we have blue skies.  
Life is good.

 

 

Those rice tables are something!  I finally attended my first one this past June.  There is so much food!  We walked away stuffed, but happy! 

Thanks for your continued uodates from your world cruise! 

1 hour ago, emerald6273 said:

Feeling very stressed. I booked an Azamara cruise in October 2023 for September 2024, via a well known large US cruise agency. I paid a $1100 deposit. Received the 5% Azamara offer incentive to pay balance in full. I contacted cruise agent to make final payment. Now Azamara are saying there was a price glitch, are refusing to honour price on my invoice. They want $7k more or have offered full refund of my deposit. I’ve paid non refundable flights, hotels, airport parking etc for my trip. Dog sitter deposit paid etc. I’m absolutely gutted. I was so looking forward to my trip. How can Azamara do this to a customer who has already sailed with them 5 times?

I would think your travel agent needs to work through this with Azamara and go to bat for you.  Your travel agent can go above the head of person on the phone to a Manager at Azamara.

57 minutes ago, Hulagirl said:

Actually it says early savings not booking bonus. So it has nothing to do with a deposit.

 

Also wondering if this is aimed at certain cabin categories.  Veranda and lower, not the suite categories.

My booking is a CC suite.

18 minutes ago, Hulagirl said:

I find this interesting as we have a cruise in July but never received the e-mail.  I'm curious if this is targeted to certain stateroom categories. 

 

We booked this cruise in Sept. 2022 and received a good sized early booking discount on the fare.  I'm wondering if this would negate us from receiving the e-mail offer.

 

 

Read the terms listed on the original post.……..says combinable with onboard booking savings, BUT NOT combinable if you received a reduced deposit with the onboard booking.

1 hour ago, laurieb said:

I haven't seen either of these promotions in the US market

I just received the email a couple of days ago regarding receiving OBC for paying cruise in full now.