commodoredave

We received an offer yesterday for paid upgrades to better suites on our upcoming cruise on the Pursuit. While the highest level suites are still beyond our means, the upgrade cost to the Panomara Verandah Suite was reasonable. My question to those in the know is: Is the Panorama Suite worth about 20% more than a V2 suite? Thanks.

Thanks. Strangely, the CC review actually mentions in the pro and con section that formal nights are a con on the Venture. Perhaps that was because the TA and influencers on the ship during the inaurgal phase cruises were expected to dress up.

The review of the Venture by Cruise Critic states in the dining section: "Meals in The Restaurant are elegant, and the venue does have a daily dress code that passengers seemed to follow, including on Formal Night." I hope you are correct and that CC is wrong. However, it would be helpful if someone could confirm either way. https://www.cruisecritic.com/cruise/seabourn/seabourn-venture

I've sailed with Crystal pre-Covid 3 times, and hope to do another one with new Crystal late next year or in 2025. And I've sailed with Silversea pre and post-Covid 6 times, and have another one booked for Japan early next year. There are many things to like about them both. In my opinion, Crystal does some things better than SS, SS does some things better than Crystal, and some things are similar. Therefore, I believe it is a stretch to say that Crystal is "far superior" to Silversea on food, service, entertainment and enrichment. At least, that has not been my experience.

I would add Silversea after Regent.

I guess you’re not perfect either! 😜

So true.

I agree with you to a point. However, as Azamara has far fewer ships and capacity than X, one should expect there to be fewer negative threads on the Azamara board. The bottom line is that while there are fewer complaints than X, there are still to many for the “luxury “ line they claim to still be.

We love the Solstice. Took our 2 children with us on a Med cruise when they were in their late teens. I wrote a funny story about it on my blog which might give you a smile: https://gentlemansportion.com/2019/02/18/the-old-man-and-the-sea/

I've decided to give Celebrity another try even thought our last cruise was disappointing. We are doing an 8-day Bermuda cruise with friends next May. Hoping for the best.

When the onshore problems are properly addressed and fixed, I would certainly consider cruising with Azamara. The more options we have for cruising, the better.

New sales, too. Check these threads: An Azamazing Voyage to Mediocrity which details a couple's nightmare trying to get mistakes on their reservation corrected for the last 3 months with no resolution. Also the thread directed to Carol Ceberas the CEO. On the positive side, it does appear that onboard service is still good, and that once the onshore troubles are fixed it may be safe to cruise with them again.

I've just finished my first class in sensitivity training. I am now offended by everything and everyone. Mr Luxury, I find your comments hurtful, damaging, insensivitive and unduly harsh - please keep them coming so I can convince my therapist to recommend a cruise for recovery! 😂

You may want to check the Azamara board -- it has several threads lamenting the decline in service and lack of attention to customers, particularly by onshore management. It would appear Celebrity is not the only cruise line that has changed for the worse.

Why do the Acqu class cabins have extra body jets? Are the people in these cabins harder to clean? 😆

My guess is that SS is trying to see what the market will bear in terms of pricing for these tours. DW enjoys them, as well as cooking school excursions. I've been on a few, but don't get nearly the enjoyment out of it as DW. The price is now at a point where I will not go anymore, and DW is having second thoughts.

Agree. My wife and are are big fans of the buffet for breakfast and lunch. However, we took no offense whatsoever to the "feeding at the trough" remark, and it actually made us smile. Maybe we are not sensitive enough.

My general comment about private investment companys and their expectations for their assets is based on dozens if not hundreds of newspaper stories about how these types of companies operate. There is plenty of evidence out there if you look for it. With respect to the financial performance of Azamara, nobody including me knows precisely how they are doing. But judging from comments on the Azamara board and the story mentioned in the original post, they are clearly good at something: giving refunds. That can't be good for the bottom line.

Due diligence is all that is required. The recent performance of Azamara requires it. Conspiracy theory? Kind of a weird statement in the circumstances of this thread.

Some people have lost their life savings and homes by not being pessimistic. Life is so much better by being careful!

At least the emails I am getting now say my cruise is on the Pursuit. For several months, they said I was on the Venture! In any event, I guess patience truly is a virtue!!

That might eventually become the case if revenue and net income suffer because of the onshore managment problems. Private investment companies are notoriously impatient when it comes to the financial performance of their assets. It doesn't help that far too many people have had negative experiences with Azamara management in the past 2 years, and that some travel agencies have started to caution people about booking a cruise with Azamara. These two factors have and will continue to impact financial performance on Azamara until they are successfully resolved, which could happen if the CEO makes customer service a top priority. But the outcome is clearly in the CEO's hands, and she has a limited amount of time to address it.

For the last several months I have been getting this same message from Seabourn about booking shore excursions: “Very soon you will be traveling on board a South America Seabourn voyage, discovering new places on an ultra-luxury cruise. Enrich your vacation with our optional shore excursions and our world-famous spa treatments. Take a few minutes now and plan your optional shore excursions and spa experiences. Then, when you arrive on board, you’ll be ready to immerse yourself in the adventure. Let’s get started!” However, there are never any new excursions to book. Of the six destinations where we will be going ashore that are not included as expedition excursions, only 2 have optional excursions listed and they have been there for months. So why am I getting these same messages every week? And when will the missing excursions finally be listed so I can see them? The cruise departs October 10. Please help solve the mystery.

One needs to decide which risk is worth taking -- carrying a passport ashore and having it stolen, or going ashore with just a copy in the hopes if stopped by police they may be forgiving. I have also chosen the latter and have never had an issue. But it's a decision each person needs to make for themselves with full knowledge of the consequences of one's choice.

Sounds like a great strategy by cruise lines to make their air programs more appealing to customers!