Riocca

If it shows on your online account it’s Azamara OBC, sorry to say but a lot of U.K. travel agents are dishonest about this. Friends have booked Azamara and say their travel agent gave them $500 OBC, free Wi-Fi and a Premium Beverage package to seal the deal no they didn’t it was Azamara’s offer at the time. During the pandemic we had 2 cancelled cruises and have had to start legal proceedings against our ex travel agent each time before they paid out they now owe us money from another cancelled cruise and guess what despite many promises no money. I realise all travel agents aren’t the same but my preference is to deal directly with the cruise companies, and Azamara other than the occasional problem getting through on the phone have been excellent.

I noticed that, did wonder if having refunded the cruise cost for the maiden they thought that there was no requirement for this FCC. If that was the case it should have been communicated in the maiden refund email and maybe they realise this. Anyway gratefully received and spent on an extra cruise so Azamara have gained from it 😁

2023 cruises are still saying Venice probably in the hope that the promised cruise port in Marghera will materialise. If not it’s going to be interesting if they choose to stay at Ravenna or change to Trieste either way it’s going to cause problems with transfers to the port. Our next cruise from Venice is October 2023 so we’ll hold off on getting the outbound flight until we know what’s happening.

I know this is a US travel agent but in the U.K. booking through a travel agent Azamara’s confirmation is always Azamara’s price the agent gives discounts from their commissions which are never shown on Azamara’s customer documentation. So, and this is a crude example, Azamara’s confirmation price is £5000 but the agent gives 5% discount you pay them £4750.

Phoned Azamara this morning to apply a FCC to an existing booking, all done in 10 minutes. There’s a new on hold message that’s up to date and references the 4 ships, Atlas Bar and Onwards World cruise. As regards the email it obviously addresses customers concerns on contacting Azamara and that things will improve slowly. Sounds like some functions are being outsourced hopefully that will work better than the time RCCL did it and moved everything to Guatemala. The 9 -12 months timeframe for IT implementation sounds like it may be a little longer than the previously quoted first quarter 2023 to fully unplug from Royal Caribbean, hopefully that helps get things right first time.

Just received ours as well, thought they were going to apply it directly to clear the outstanding balance for our October cruise. Going to have to brave telephoning Azamara tomorrow to check.

You get reciprocal status but not points the same as between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Azamara is no longer part of the Royal Caribbean family having been sold last year, once the new accounts system is up and running the reciprocal arrangement will stop this is due to be the first quarter of 2023.

No, if you’re not on the Ultimate Package you can still pay as you go, obviously as the special cocktails are $17.95 a go the Ultimate Package is better value if you are going to use the Atlas bar often. Think of it as a beverage version of the speciality restaurants where buying a package is better value.

Looking forward to seeing how this will work when we’re on Quest at the end of the month, The Atlas Bar is a very different type of venue to The Den. Can see there could be a conflict between those wanting to enjoy the live entertainment and those wanting The Atlas Bar Experience, but as always we will be open minded about it.

Have you looked at the Roll Call for this cruise? It’s been quite active by Azamara standards with tours being arranged there might be something that works for you. As regards speciality restaurants reservations can only be made once onboard there’s a desk set up in Windows Cafe, possibly on embarkation day there will be another desk on deck 5. You are able to purchase dining packages pre cruise but not make specific reservations.

Gratuities are included on all drinks.

Having been on Onward I would disagree, the Atlas Bar is all about the the theatre of the bartenders art doing this in venues where live entertainment is key won’t work as well. We liked the ambiance in the Atlas Bar where we could talk freely with other passengers without having to defer to others wanting to listen to featured musicians. As has been said before the space is available during the day for those seeking quite contemplation, we will be on Quest in a few weeks time and it will be interesting to see how well this space is used in the evenings.

I have asked Azamara this question and the reply was “within 6 months”. I would think that with so many problems worldwide these days they are reluctant to be releasing itineraries that have to be changed later with all the problems that creates.

It’s the overnight in Seville that’s a big draw for me.

Party time in the Atlas Bar 🥳😎

We did the same for a March cruise, I was told that the balance of the FCC would be credited back after that cruise was completed and could be applied to another future cruise. It’s only a small amount so not a major problem if that doesn’t happen but time will tell. We had to pay the taxes at the time of booking as the agent said any cruise booked using the maiden FCC had to be paid in full at the time of booking.

If your referring to the Maiden not yet, I had to pay the balance for our October cruise less the FCC amount and it was escalated to the senior management team, Friday was the target to resolve but I’ve heard nothing yet.

Vicki to save you suffered too much we don’t mind helping you out 😎

We’re doing Onwards Spain intensive 25th March 2023 Gran Canaria to Lisbon, EasyJet fly from our local airport twice a week but the flight on the 25th is due to land 15 minutes before Onward leaves so thought it might be a bit tight 😁 So we’ve booked 4 days at an all inclusive hotel to get us ready to cruise 😎

EasyJet are asking £35.49 per suitcase up to 23kg to fly with us to Gran Canaria next year, so £50 is not too bad. Strange they are charging duty on something you could walk through customs at the airport for free.

Tips are included in the cruise fare there’s really no reason for additional tipping and the staff don't expect it. For us there are always so many staff who go the extra mile and the fairest was to say thank you is to make a donation to the Crew Welfare Fund, this can be done at the Passenger Services Desk any currency is acceptable but is best done in the currency of the ship US Dollars. The fund provides special events for the crew and donations are truly appreciated by them.

Make sure your running iOS 15.6 this seems to be the difference for me.

Didn’t work on my 2019 iPad either running iOS 15.5 difficult to close pop up and wouldn’t print boarding pass, managed to take a screenshot and print that. Now I’ve upgraded to a 2022 iPad Air and the latest iOS is 15.6, pop up closed no problem and I could print from the print icon without a problem. As others are still having problems I don’t think Azamara have changed anything so either iOS 15.6 has squashed a bug or there’s something fundamentally different on the new iPad. Just tried it from my iPhone 12 also running iOS 15.6 and could close the pop up and print without a problem. So it looks like iOS 15.6 could be the answer.

No I wouldn’t risk not doing it but it’s annoying when you go to all that effort and nobody is interested.

Phoned 8.30am and after listening to Azamara U.K. messages received an instant answer! Not sure if it’s significant but when it comes to options I selected 3 for direct bookings and 2 for new bookings it takes you to the same team, don’t trust phone systems with too many options.