ECCruise

Clearly a turn toward Limassol in the last hour or so.

When we were in Ashdod in May when conflicts had arisen, the ship made sure that they had the contact information for all pax not on ship shore excursions so that, if needed, they could be contacted.

Ours says the same. And boy, was she negative 6 months ago.

Having sailed a total of over 150 days since the restart with 3 of the lines he bashes (NCL, Princess and Azamara) I disagree with lots of what he says on all 3 lines. But since this is an Azamara board, I will only comment on his take there. 1) Have noticed not the slightest depreciation in onboard service rather than his "mixed." Overall experience nowhere near "under par." 2) I see some negative reviews, but nowhere near the "a lot" that he touts. I saw one long diatribe by what I could only describe as classic whiners and a couple of other sub-par takes. 3) Obviously the IT issues are legend (, but we've never had a "problems onboard" that he claims. 4) And as an aside, after having some problems with stateside customer service 6 months or so ago, the difference we've experienced in those interactions (and we've had quite a few) in the last couple of months is like night and day. Most of what he relates is culled from sitting at home and reading reviews. And maybe there is some aggregation value there, but that is about as subjective as you possibly can get.

The actual MONEY doesn't get transferred. Just the notification of the amount. Billing would occur at time of sailing.

Yes and yes.

You can likely settle all this in one phone call. We've done similar by phone a couple of times in the last month or so. If their accounting shows at least the OBC you think you have, go with it.

No. I am virtually certain that Azamara can see it (which is how it is applied to your account quickly onboard) but we cannot see it.

My TA has to transmit any OBC to Azamara prior to sailing, so they would know. Mine has already transmitted the info to them on sailings in 2024 and 2025.

Sailed every ship except Meridian from inception (Horizon to Reflection) to E Class and Flora, in which we have zero interest. Definitely a completely different cruise line today from what it was--not that is necessarily good or bad--and we have 4 sailings booked in the next year or so, but going in knowing that it no longer will have the feel of what hooked us 25 years ago.

Yes, Quest does seem to be the common denominator. We were on B2B in April and May. The first sailing had only one show but the second sailing had 2. Kept meaning to ask Amanda about it but kept forgetting to ask. All the shows were broadcast to the stateroom TVs.

Yes, that was definitely the case and it made sense at the time.

I've not heard of any of the others in upcoming months being cancelled, but would have to hear from folks on those sailings.

In our particular sailings, it just seems strange that the 2 evenings (in Valencia and Walvis Bay) that have been cancelled were literally been on the books for over 18 months, with specific notes on the venues, what would be seen there and bookable online a long time ago (prior to the migration, in fact). And then changed less than 60 days prior to departure. It will be interesting to see if the only AzAmazing night left, in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (again, with very detailed descriptions of where and what will occur) survives.

We've had 2 AzAmazing Evenings changed out of 3 on our B2B2B in November/December (Valencia and the one quoted above in Walvis Bay, Namibia). Since one of those would likely be fairly easy to arrange (Arts and Sciences Center in Valencia) and one more difficult (a desert venue in Walvis Bay) it may be a combination of both expense and logistics. If you talk to anyone on the ship (especially the Shore Ex team who do much of the heavy lifting) it is a lot of very involved work. On our last 2 AzAmazing nights earlier this year (HCM City and Colombo) we remarked at both the huge amount of work to arrange, coordinate and bring to fruition it was PLUS the obviously huge expense.

Up to date simply means it shows your most current vax, whether it was yesterday or 10/22. But wow, having just been in Japan, facing my fate in Japan because I scrapbooked a tiny piece of paper would not be even a remote possibility for me, but YMMV.

I think a lot of discussion is superfluous. Doesn't matter what Carnival is doing or what other parts of the world are doing. The OP is going to Japan. Japan can change regulations in a drop of a hat, as we saw in May when regulations (not involving COVID vax) were changed overnight. And it is something as simple as taking an up-to-date COVID vax card. A no-brainer of all no-brainers.

Walgreens here stamped them yesterday.

Having spent a month in Japan earlier this year and knowing how strict they are on any number of issues from COVID to body temperature checks to immigration to customs to whatever else they decide to monitor, there is absolutely no way I would travel to Japan with every bit of evidence I have, especially since it involves a couple of vax cards. Could care less what a cruise company says.

Admittedly selfishly, we are happy that they have delayed the Quest dry dock since we will be sailing on Quest 27 days before that now axed dry dock on April 1. Knowing that many times work will begin on the sailing(s) previous, especially when one is a crossing. Had that situation twice in the past, and many contractors, venues closed occasionally, etc. can have a detriment on a sailing.

Same procedure in Melbourne and, I would expect, in Adelaide and Fremantle.

Yes, Australia has different rules than most B2Bs. As I recall, you will need to exit the ship so they can "zero it out" and know all pax have disembarked, either at the end of their sailing or as a B2B. You will have been issued your new ship cards. Yes, you will definitely need to pass through immigration on your way out. Unless rules have changed, you will not be allowed back on the ship immediately (I remember something like must be off at 10:00, first return at 11:30). Again, unless rules have changed, you can do whatever you want after you disembark, just as long as you are back in time for all aboard and muster for the next leg.

Looking at that map, it does look like a clone of 2024.

I'm not sure that map shows the actual itinerary. Quite a few places on the list don't show up on the map (basically just the highlights). Will be interesting when it is announced on the 25th.

That is a feature (!!) of the Seaware software. Explora Journeys, MSC's new luxury brand, uses the same software and will not allow you to select staterooms until you enter all the same information as the Azamara site. The workaround is simple. Just use an online website from a TA and all (or most) cabins will be shown so you can see availability. Specific TAs cannot be mentioned on here but there are dozens and dozens that will show the info you seek.