Riocca

Only looked at a few cruises, probably the more mundane ones admittedly but they’ve been around £1000 per couple for a CC. But for comparison the Gran Canaria to Lisbon cruise we have booked in 2023 is one more night in 2025 and visits Morocco instead of Seville but is 108% more than our invoice cost. In fact the price for an inside cabin is roughly the same as the pre discount price shown on our invoice for a N1 CC suite.

Don’t forget in some markets people can book to reserve the cabins they want in the hope of benefiting from future price drops and if they don’t materialise can cancel with minimal cancellation charges. Something we can’t do in the U.K. however it might result in last minute panic sales in the future.

Going back pre pandemic Azamara were trying to achieve £1000 per night for a CC suite so it’s not a surprise that prices are rising but it will be up to the market whether they can achieve it. Certainly post pandemic we’ve had some good prices presumably to tempt passengers back onboard especially given the doubts people may have had over the change of ownership. 2024 prices were a substantial uplift on 2023 but offers have been softening some of those, 2025 is a long way off we will monitor any cruises we might want to do and see what happens. As much as we like the Azamara product we have a realistic price we are prepared to pay but won’t compromise the way we cruise to achieve it.

With the new Azamara onboard system used currently on Onward you don’t need to, the server just asks for your cabin number and from their hand held device they can see you have a package and for security your picture also is shown. All of the ships will have this system over the next few months I was told Pursuit will be next very shortly.

Yes there’s a Special Cocktail menu in each bar venue onboard Onward and included in the Ultimate Package, looks the same as was available on Quest in September. Cost at $14.95 is the same, of course the Atlas drinks are only available in the Atlas Bar and there’s no Sunset Bar. Have to say most nights pre dinner the Atlas bar has been very busy, there’s a much higher proportion of passengers with the Ultimate Package than there was on Quest but this may be due to the fact it’s a shorter cruise and there was generous OBC available at one time.

Actually finding we are preferring the 2pm boarding with safety drills as you board and cabins available. If you plan the day to match it seems to make the day more relaxed.

My take on this for what it’s worth is that the Ultimate Package is more about spirits than wine. Especially with the Atlas cocktails at $17.95 and specialty cocktails at $14.95 the $23.95, discounted substantially with loyalty, looks extremely reasonable. The wines by the glass and beer selection are really just an addition, if wine is your thing then the wine packages probably provide better value. We upgrade because of our spirits preferences and take the wine by the glass as a bonus.

There’s nothing on there that’s not available to suite guests, only thing that should be added is that specialty restaurant reservations are subject to availability. Better than Viking butlers who don’t exist at all.

I’m at a bit of a loss to know what Butlers won’t do that’s on the list, currently onboard Onward in a CC suite we have an experienced Butler and have no complaints. All cruise lines we’ve been on in suites have the same line on unpacking and packing but really do you want someone else doing that for you! Laundry and pressing, you have to bag it and list it like any other passengers but it’s the Butler who gets it through the system and returns it to you. They will make reservations for you but you don’t get preferential treatment if the restaurant is fully booked at the time you want then it’s hardly their fault. Afternoon tea service is different on Onward as Princess got rid of the trolleys but you only have to call the same with canapés you have to ask, that said yesterday our Butler noticed we were in the cabin earlier than normal and popped in with a delicious plate of prawns. Butlers look after your food and beverage needs but you have to ask as they’re not mind readers, if you’re expectation is for a personal servant then you’re going to be disappointed it’s a cruise ship not Downton Abbey.

This is the latest wine list for the Ultimate Package onboard Azamara Onward.

Agreed, three screens are quite small and easily ignored if you want to.

I think I can remember Lee Hetherington saying that Princess had installed new sound systems in the refit prior to selling the ship to Azamara, could this be the source of the problem? Not been in the Den as yet on an evening but haven’t experienced any problems in the Living Room or Show Lounge to date, will try and pay attention to detail for the remaining days of the cruise.

We’ve cruised on R ships in the Princess days and not had a serious problem however when Azamara refitted the CC suites the baths were higher which means it became problematic for taller people. Originally Azamara were going to make all CC suites walk in showers but it was down to objections from some on Cruise Critic that it became 50/50 baths and showers. If you look at bookings on cruises now the showers nearly always sell first, maybe this is why Azamara doesn’t listen to the vociferous minority on Cruise Critic these days.

We’ve had quite a lot of interaction with Azamara recently and have not had to wait longer than 10 minutes to speak to anyone. We have just made an onboard booking, talking to Future Cruise onboard he agreed the trick is to always choose new booking from the options you’re going to speak to the same people who can deal with any problems. There has been a lot of new recruitment recently which is improving the situation, but my opinion is that the limitations are that it’s still Royal Caribbean’s phone system and choosing the other options send you into a queuing process.

We were in there last night at about 6.30pm sitting near the bar didn’t think it was any different from the volume level on Quest in September. Possibly could be the positioning of the speakers on Onward creating hotspots volume wise.

Currently on Onward, the music is just quite background music if they had live musicians then it would be yet another entertainment venue which is not the point of the Atlas bar. At the moment they have musicians showing on the video wall but they can have destination videos or a roaring log fire.

Seems random, all future cruises disappeared then 3 came back with 2 missing including the one that starts on Saturday. Now they’ve all gone again, not the first time this has happened this year so must be a system error, possibly to do with migrating information to Azamara’s new IT platform?

Wasn’t until we came over to Celebrity / Azamara in 2010 that we came across the Meet & Greet concept, didn’t happen on P&O and never saw it advertised on Princess. I did organise one on Princess afterwards but it was like pushing jelly uphill, wouldn’t do it again. So it seems to me that only the RCG companies take it seriously most other lines, not that we’ve been on them all, leave it to the Roll Call to organise a meeting. I stand to be corrected we’ve been on 14 different lines but there’s plenty more we haven’t had experience of. Possibly Azamara are moving this way, when you think of it logically most Roll Calls are about organising private tours the very thing cruise lines are trying to sell you. I think CC meetings will still be facilitated but not in the high profile way it has been in the past.

This has always been a problem with most of our Azamara cruises that the get together has clashed with sail away, some ports it’s not a problem other than it’s better to be on deck that in a dark venue often the Show-lounge. We board Onward on Saturday only a short cruise but no sea days, next March on a 10 day cruise there’s only one sea day on day 5 and October another 10 day cruise with no sea days. On Quest in August it was scheduled an hour before sail away, with the latest version of safety drills maybe that’s the answer, although again many, including the ship, weren’t ready for it.

You would get $300 pp OBC and possibly an event ( Best of the Best meal is currently not happening) otherwise it’s just the extra space.

As I understand it’s the cruise after yours that’s been chartered the 14th October cruise has been changed to return to Istanbul for the charter rather than Athens.

This was the information posted: We're writing to inform you of some important changes regarding your client's 8-Night Greece Intensive Voyage scheduled to depart on October 14, 2023, on Azamara Onward. The Azamara Onward, has been chartered by a private group which has required us to alter the dates and/or ports of call of some voyages. Theirs is among those impacted. Their journey will now conclude in Istanbul, Turkey, and in place of the Greek islands of Chios, Rhodes, Nauplion, and Athens, we will instead make stops in Mykonos, Patmos, and Canakkale, Turkey. Rest assured, they will still have the chance to travel to some of the most breathtaking islands in the Greek Isles and end their trip in the same city where it all began: Istanbul. With more than 2500 years of history, culture, and extraordinary landmarks, they now have the option to extend their journey if they prefer to explore it at a slower pace.

I have seen comments on another forum that Onward has been chartered, the 14th October cruise still exists but with a changed itinerary, the following cruise is cancelled.

Vueling is a budget airline and part of the IAG group so a sister airline to BA and Iberia.

Here’s a link to the page on the U.K. website: https://www.azamara.co.uk/azamara-upgrade-programme If you don’t qualify you should get a message to that effect but it might just be that upgrade bids aren’t open yet.