excitedofharpenden

John, at the end of the day it's totally ridiculous that guests are struggling so much to get through and pay for their cruise. Unacceptable that you spend so long. Maybe in two or three years we'll look back and laugh it the situation, but for those of us who have to endlessly listen to the Azamara hold spiel for well over an hour it is not so funny. OK if I was phoning up ask about the mechanics of booking a drinks package, but it's to pay for a cruise. For goodness sake Azamara, automate it so we can pay with our credit card online. Phil

The way that it's always been explained to me when I've asked the question is that the laundry departments don't have the capacity to do two bags of free laundry for every cabin on the ship. I have no idea if this is the case, but it sounds feasible. Same with the wifi. The system as it stands can't cope with everyone having unlimited access. I know on my two most recent cruises the internet had the worst performance that I can remember. And this was two different ships. Slow and kept cutting out. Maybe there were lots of free unlimited wifi deal guests on the ships? Phil

I disagree with the last part of your post. I watched the video this morning of Emma (it came up as a recommendation on my YouTube channel). I've watched her videos before and they are always good value just like this one. However it is very clear she is a bargain cruiser. Nothing wrong with that at all, but I feel if you choose to take a packaged flight on the day of the cruise to keep the costs to a minimum then you have to be prepared for some compromises. Hanging around to board the ship might be one, depending upon when that packaged flight arrives. Phil

There is a big gap between the two in terms of loyalty points required, but if you drill down, the benefits really aren't that different. Overall I can't think of anything major to improve the program. The benefits are nice to have, but I think it's the atmosphere onboard and the friendliness of the crew that have the guests coming back. Phil

Ask for a late check out? Wait in the hotel lobby? Leave your cases and do a quick shop and go back? No hotel is going to kick you out on the street no matter what time you have to vacate the room. As Betsey says, don't stress. I have no issue at all giving the staff a couple of hours extra to clean. Phil

Sadly this took a hit when the entertainment was revamped a little while ago and they got rid of the ballroom dancers from the cast. Sometimes they have them back as guest entertainers who may stay for two cruises (end of one and beginning of the next) and they might do lessons, but it's limited. Phil

Just wondering for those of you who are Zenith and not staying in a suite and now without access to the Retreat Lounge, what has been your experience of being able to use the Retreat Host to help out with admin stuff like say booking a car at the end of the cruise, issues you might have onboard? Also, have we lost the priorities we had like escort to the tender, debarkation at the end of the cruise etc? These were useful benefits. Phil

I did look at the Africa itineraries. The elephant in the room is that West Africa, there really isn't much down that side to see and that's why they find it difficult to substitute. It's a bit like West coast of South America. You can travel for miles with no really exciting ports. East Africa is far more attractive to me. JMHO of course. Phil

I think the main issue is that there is nobody near the top of the tree making decisions on drink provisions who understands how much the mixers influence the taste. If they came here and read the (many) comments they might just do something, but for now the Royal saga continues. Premium it's not. Phil

Yes, you are right there in Bordeaux. View from the ship. Phil

We stayed at the Arena, Copacabana for a couple of nights. It was about half way along the beach in a good location. Nice comfy rooms with big picture windows overlooking the sea, good outside bar and swimming pool. It wasn't too expensive and that was true of generally most of the Rio hotels. I'd stay there again. Phil

I didn't vote in the poll. It's up to Azamara what time they board guests. As it happens I boarded Journey in September and Quest in October. Complete non issue. I really liked the fact that people weren't racing to be first on the ship and it was all very relaxed and worked very well. Providing of course that you are patient. Of more importance to me was the new way of doing the lifeboat drill in groups as we boarded. Loved it. So in summary, I don't know what the big deal is. Phil

Weather. Phil

This question has popped up before. Perry Golf are a class outfit with small groups and no impact. You'll be fine. Phil

Yes, everyone gets the same reduced deposit and OBC. It's the dicount for booking onboard that is tiered (from 5-10%). The internet discounts are IMHO hugely over-complcated now and vary according to cabin type and offer free minutes as well as %age off a full voyage unlimited package. Coupled with the fact that there are also promos from time to time for free internet when you book. Azamara Circle discounts on spa treatments are for the signature treatments only (hot stone massage etc). Just to be clear. Phil

That guy is a star. He was as a waiter too. A very bright young man. Phil

Was that Robert per chance? Phil

Yes. Only when you get to the ship. Phil

Yes, they won't do it first night. Changeover day is a very busy day for them. Phil

In my view this has been way overdone and it seems to have blown up on one thread and chiefly (but not exclusively) by someone who has never been on Azamara before. I've not noticed it as a general issue before. On this board or on the ship. So I take the complaints with the pinch of salt I think they deserve. By way of qualification I've had the services of an Azamara butler probably more than fifteen times in a variety of suites. It's always been a nice experience. Some more than others. As usual it's about.the people. For me I like the butlers that don't take themselves (or me) too seriously. I'm low maintenance, but if I'm not feeling well or I want to organise a get together in the cabin then the larger stateroom space and a butler is really nice to have and if I was staying in a CC suite without one I'd really miss it. Phil

I know it's anecdotal and comes from social media, but the long wait times seem to be very much of now. My own personal experience from three months ago was very long wait times. Phil

I'm with you. I don't get it either. Celebrity are much worse for this than Azamara, but I don't like the trend. White Night on Journey was fine for me and a great performance. It was way too loud on Quest the week after. Led by the Cruise Directors? We left White Night early on Quest because of the loudness and general performance. Two of the dancers writhing about up by each of the pool hot tubs trying to get the crowd dancing looked like they were pole dancers at a strip club. It was embarrassing. Well to me at least! Phil

It's not ones own fault. It is an Azamara resourcing issue. Not everyone is techy. To have to find out about and use another system like Skype just to call Azamara is silly. I have no need to use it for anything else. Phil

You make a great point. I hadn't thought of that. They need to sort this ridiculous issue soon. Phil

You did exactly what I was about to write, ie speak to Azamara directly. It's a bit of a minefield with the offers, but direct they will be honest as to what you can and can't do. Congratulations on the savings. I'd take money off the bottom line and forego any perks/OBC any day of the week! A lesson for all of us to check price before final payment. Phil