alfredo1

Having been on Pursuit and Quest this year and enjoyed the huge benefits of the refit in terms of passenger comfort, general extra inside lounge space, revitalised "Living Room", and upgraded cabins I am astonished that Azamara do not intend to refit the Journey until October 2020, and now even more so as we have just booked a cruise next year on Journey assuming that the upgrade would have taken place. Even in 2018 the ship was starting to look shabby, so what state will she be in after another year. Bonnie, would this be a acceptable reason to cancel without penalty as we are hugely disappointed?

AZAMARA COMES GOOD AGAIN!! After all the grief that the officers and crew have had over this debacle, and their very obvious embarrassment that they have been put in this position by a wrong decision made in Miami and over which they had no influence, clearly their displeasure was made clear to management who realised the impact of their mistake leading to an announcement tonight that all passengers will receive a fifty percent refund of the price paid for the cruise, and as white night tonight a free premium spirits bar which no one abused. What other cruise company would do that, the air conditioning is repaired, the weather is great and everyone is set to enjoy the remainder of the cruise with an exciting tale to tell back home. Well done Azamara, that is the quality we expect.

Another thread refers to problems after dry dock, and onboard Quest just now this is illustrated in spades. When the ship left Singapore it was filthy, with balconies and open decks dirty with discarded items all over the place, workmen still on board, and disclosed that the shops will not be complete and open until more than half way through the voyage and work ongoing. Much worse was to come as the air conditioning system failed and the vessel became a furnace, resulting in passengers sleeping on every available sun longer overnight and crew crammed on deck 11 open area like a refugee camp. Those who did not suffered 35 degree temperatures in their cabins. The Captain has been regularly updating, but a not so subtle clue of problems was when he mentioned that luckily personnel from the manufacturers were on board and were working on the equipment. Day two the ship was very hot, and various issues were apparent, and perhaps minor but no ice on board and public events cancelled because of the heat, as of now 35 degrees as we near Saigon. Various attempts made to restart the a/c system during day one with varied success and the system has to be switched off again in Saigon port to try and achieve cooling on the ship. There is much more to comment on, but bottom line is that the ship should not have sailed in this condition, Azamara know why not, and by so doing they showed complete disregard for the comfort and safety of the passengers, many of whom are elderly with medical conditions and were visibly distressed. As usual the crew on board were exemplary and their hard work is appreciated by all, and they are suffering as well. Azamara have lost the goodwill and future business from many on board, and it is only by good fortune that they have not had to medivac passengers from the ship or worse which would have been even more of a public relations disaster than it is just now. I am sure others will be more strident in their criticisms as time moves on, but this is not what we expect from Azamara, and the sight of passengers sleeping on deck should horrify management at Miami where the blame lies fairly and squarely , not with the Captain and crew on board. Previous incidents have been well handled by Azamara and we await to see what the reaction is to this, and on board credit is not an appropriate response. This post gives an early opportunity to respond. Let us hope that repairs today can deliver a better resolution and a cooler ship.

"LOYALTY AND TRANSPARENCY v PROFIT........ONLY ONE WINNER" Reading the email from Azamara I have to conclude that Azamara have totally lost their way, and senior management really need to examine how where they want to position the Azamara brand, because all the changes made to the product and continual "nickel and diming" and drive to upsell on board packages demean the premium cruising description, and currently Celebrity offer a much better product at a much better price point, and comparing the Azamara inclusive drinks package with the likes of mainstream lines such as Marella, NCL, and MSC should have them hanging their heads in shame. We have sailed with Azamara for many years and love the crew and sailing environment to such an extent that after our next cruise we will have travelled with them for the best part of a year in total, but fear it may be our last as our other favourite line Seabourn demonstrates just how inclusive cruising should be, often at a price point comparable to Azamara, even if that means for us one less cruise per year. We have never been offered an upgrade at Discoverer Plus level, despite availability although being content with our booked balcony/suite, it does seem lacking in transparency and regard for loyalty. The elephant in the room for Azamara is the fact that they have old ships, getting older by the day, and without newbuilds the brand will wither and die which would be a poor reward for the great crew across the board, who contribute much to the lovely atmosphere on board. Shame really.

If no shuttles at Greenock, the local train stations are an easy 10 minutes walk from the ship, and there are four trains an hour to/from Glasgow Central station terminus. The journey takes 30 minutes for the fast train, and 37 minutes with a few more intermediate stops on the slower train. Return fare is approximately £7/$10, and is a safe journey. Local taxis rank at the port and will do bespoke tours at an hourly rate of $60?? dollars, which allows time to visit a considerable area of Scotland away from the port. Taxis are available with 4/6/8 seats which can be quite cost effective for a group.

RICE PUDDING RECIPE I think I would check the quantities first. Don't seem correct to me...

Really, really, really, hope so!!! We join just after you and really, really, hope Aqualina menus are dramatically revamped back to a classy seafood menu to balance Prime C. Not only changed, but also expanded as the existing menu is designed for 7 day cruises, no more. Having been recently disappointed with the quality of the ingredients in Aqualina on Pursuit, surely time for Azamara to up their game and buy top class seafood to justify the hype!!!

Cannot imagine that the cost would be too great to build a bar into the Pursuit. On a small full ship in the sun it is an invaluable space loved by Azamara regulars, as was displayed during the furore about converting the area in to fee based restaurant.

Meant to mention that was obviously on the Pursuit.

Let's hope they leave the sunset bar alone. I was not alone in missing that area for a quiet drink and conversation on sea days, but with no bar service outside windows service times it is a lovely area wasted.

We second that. The UK team are fabulous, very knowledgable and very pleasant to talk to, the complete antithesis of the Azamara operation in Central America!! Take note Azamara.

Dress code on Pursuit. Something not mentioned earlier, but prompted by a recent post re dress code on Azamara, while one of the attractions of Azamara is the relaxed dress code, on the Pursuit Lima to BA there were passengers dining in Discoveries with grubby t-shirts/vests/jeans/trainers/shoes that quite frankly were unfit to be used while gardening, something we have never encountered before on Azamara, and something which really should be better managed.

We were also on Pursuit from Lima to BA, and agree with the above review. The interior review of the ship was well done, and The Den an excellent space, apart from the too loud piano music, but the paintwork on our balcony was scruffy and the door surrounds filthy with engrained dirt. We too had one meal in Aqualina where we felt the quality of produce especially our favourite dover sole was poor, and cancelled others, while Prime C was excellent as usual and generally Discoveries was of a high standard. Overall the speciality restaurants are not worth the charge, and it is time that was removed altogether, and the menus refreshed!! It was difficult to pin down what was missing, but the Pursuit did not feel the same atmosphere as Quest and Journey, and that may be down to Senior Staff being on leave, very little senior officer interaction, too many new crew members including supervisors, and poor supervision, but it does need to be addressed. Heike would be appalled, and I am sure Ryzard will apply himself now back from leave. There was considerable inclement weather on this trip, and there was a lack of decent lecturers relevant to our geography and ports of call, insufficient on board activities when the open decks were not in use, and poor communication as to changes of itinerary, or expert commentary of the features of the Chilean Fjords. Nothing to be gained labouring the point, but overall we left the Pursuit disappointed, however, look forward to joining Quest very soon for normal service to be resumed.

Hi, Yes we stayed at the Queen Victoria for a week in Cape Town and loved it, however for a hotel to have a glass or two of wine, the Cape Grace is in a superb position and also does a great afternoon tea!! There are many other good places within the V&A to have a drink and enjoy the environment, and South Africa does great wines.

The Queen Victoria Hotel, Manor House, and Dock House, could not be closer to the V&A, are excellent hotels in a very safe environment with great service and lovely staff. Highly recommended.