Penton

I’ve just booked a cruise (Onward 31st July) direct with Azamara. Last Friday I contacted the UK number and was quickly given a price and offered the opportunity to keep the cruise on hold for a week whilst I sorted out flights and ensured that my cat could be accommodated at her usual cat hotel. Today I rang to pay for the cruise and was immediately sent an email confirmation and the Guest Ticket booklet which contains all the necessary information, itinerary, port directions etc. and a boarding pass which I will print out and take to the port. No luggage tags required, they will simply attach tags at the port. Both calls were answered immediately and today I spoke to a very helpful agent at the new UK office in Welwyn Garden City, all so easy and excellent customer service!

I’m joining Onward next week for my fifth Azamara cruise, my second as a ‘solo’. I agree with all LT Hambone’s observations and I’m so pleased I’ve found Azamara. What really stands out for me is the friendliness of the crew and fellow passengers and the relaxed and happy vibe onboard. I’ve been on the big ships - Cunard, P & O, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America and they all have their pros and cons but it would take an extraordinary unusual itinerary to tempt me back to any of them.

I started my cruise journey with Royal Caribbean in 2000 and reached Diamond Plus loyalty status, so lots of cruises with them. Have now given up the big ships and agree that they are out to make money at every turn. (I’ve also cruised with Celebrity, Cunard, P&O, Holland America and Princess). Yesterday I boarded Quest, my third Azamara cruise. I love the small ships - friendly and helpful crew, interesting itineraries, the relaxed vibe and so much included in the basic fare. Yes the bathrooms are small in the verandah cabins but all cruise lines have their good and bad points and I really feel I’ve found my happy place in Azamara!

We were on Onward in May and the machine was working perfectly! As for Mr Whippy the Jersey Dairy Mr Whippy was to die for, best ever, loved that island and its beautiful beaches.

Why is pre-boarding testing required for Athens? Have just checked the GOV UK website and apart from having to wear masks on public transport in Greece I can’t see any other requirements, no proof of vaccination or testing requirements. What am I missing?

We walked over to the beaches in Argostoli and Gytheion last week and took the towels from Onward. They are great towels but very bulky and we wished we had taken our own lighter more compact beach towels with us.

I guess it is all down to people’s expectations and priorities but we were on Onward last week and had a lovely cruise. Yes there are areas which need some remedial work but I’ve been on many other ships which have been very ‘tired’ and in need of refurbishment. The food and the entertainment was good, the hard working crew were cheerful and the service we received from them was exemplary, in my view that goes a very, very long way.

Adrian, we were on the cruise with you so I have really enjoyed reading your entertaining posts and thoughts about the voyage. It was my second and my friend’s first Azamara cruise and we had a fabulous time and agree with your observations. You describe your evening dining at the Sunset Veranda and I think we were sat at the table next to you because I noticed the Chablis arriving and thinking that would go down well! However we were quite happy with the included wines so I didn’t feel too hard done by. As the weather was so fabulous we ate outside most of the time, venturing to the Discoveries restaurant only for the brunch and the British themed evening when the choices of food at the Windows Cafe were dismal. Having had some frustrating and poor pre-cruise communications with Azamara I was feeling unsure of how our onboard experience would work out. Thankfully we found nearly everything to be very good indeed. We took advantage of the free transfer from Venice airport and found it well organised and comfortable. We also paid for an Azamara transfer at the end of the cruise to Athens airport, again well organised and easy. What really stood out us was the consistently good service provided by all the crew we met, they worked relentlessly to make our time onboard happy and relaxed. The organisation and teamwork needed to put on the brunch, the Duo Violins entertainment and the White Night was impressive, especially as this was only their third full itinerary. We liked Korcula where we wandered around the old town. In Kotor we did a shore excursion where we had an excellent guide. In Corfu we made the mistake of paying for the hop-on-hop-off bus through the shore excursion desk and found it cost 39USD rather than 21 Euros direct, purely for the convenience of a very short ride from the ship to the port gates! Fancying time on the beach in Argostoli and Gytheion we walked from the ship to the beach and enjoyed Greek salads and local beer along the way. In Santorini we took the cable car up to Fira and then took a three hour long walk to Oia along the coastal path. It was very hot and in places treacherous underfoot but the views were spectacular and we enjoyed the peace and quiet and the gentle breeze along the way. So overall a most enjoyable and successful cruise, looking forward to the next one in September.

My Randox appointment is in the car park of The Radisson Edwardian Hotel which is on the Bath Road on the north side of the airport. There may be other options but this the most convenient one for me to drive to. If you look at the Heathrow Airport website it tells you where the testing facilities are.

I have queried the timing of PCR testing with Azamara Customer Services and of course have not had any response from them after 10 days but surely 72 hours is 3 days (3 x 24 hours). So I’ve booked a PCR test for 6pm on Wednesday evening at LHR (Randox) before flying out to Venice at 8am on Thursday. I will get the result in 1 - 3 hours so will know the result before I am due to fly. Should there be any challenge that my timing is incorrect I will take a hard copy of the Azamara email dated 20th April which is the only official communication I have received from Azamara. The lack of clarity and Azamara’s non-responsiveness is staggering and stressful just 13 days before embarkation.

Thank you Chris for all these wonderful photographs and information. We are boarding on 21st May and now feeling more confident that our onboard experience will be good. Is there furniture on the deck 6 balconies now? Just wish that Azamara would improve their communications, their lack of clarity is somewhat unnerving.

We are on the same sailing and as I understand it we are required to have either a PCR test within 72 hours or a lateral flow test within 1 day of boarding. We will be expected to provide a negative test result at the pier. As we are due to fly from the UK two days before the cruise I will be getting a PCR test the evening before we fly which falls within the 72 hour timeframe and my travel companion will get a lateral flow test done in Venice the day before we board as she has recently recovered from COVID. Just hope we have interpreted Azamara information correctly!

Thanks for sharing this information gwilli. We are also staying near Venice airport supposedly making it easy to pick up the shuttle bus there. So this is not good news but thank goodness I’m keeping a very close eye on Cruise Critic because I’ve heard nothing from Azamara about this latest change! I’m getting rather frustrated and concerned about the lack of clear communication from Azamara about the various changes they have made. Just hoping that the on-board experience will be better.