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Azamara Acquires P&O's Adonia Cruise Ship, Set to be Rebranded as Azamara Pursuit


LauraS
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We were on the Adonia twice: October of last year to Cuba, then this past April to the Dominican Republic on a volunteer cruise. Also back in March '08 to the Amazon when she sailed as the Royal Princess.

 

Note that this ex-Renaissance ship (the R8) does NOT have the mini-suites on deck 8 like Oceania and Azamara ships do. I hope when they refurbish it in 6 months time, they do add them in - preferably the whole of deck 8. We'll have to wait and see. We'll be on the Quest in April, so we'll get first-hand info then. Can't wait to see the unique itineraries the Pursuit will sail, per Larry Pimentel's video.

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I'm presuming it will have a large refit in dry dock. A lot of staff to train to get her ready for a more upmarket company.

 

Still the same tiny showers[emoji51]

 

 

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I read she enters service in August 2018, so that is one very long dry dock.

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What ! Another third or fourth hand ship from a budget line to impress the clients on a so called premium line. Not impressed.

 

 

She may be that but she is an R class and will be sailing with 2 of her sister ships on a very upmarket decent cruise line:mad:

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What ! Another third or fourth hand ship from a budget line to impress the clients on a so called premium line. Not impressed.

 

With an extensive refurbishment and the exceptional crew, there will be no resemblance to any of the previous owners. But you're more than welcome to sail your other favorite cruise lines. That will leave a cabin for me? :D

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What ! Another third or fourth hand ship from a budget line to impress the clients on a so called premium line. Not impressed.

Have you ever actually sailed on an Azamara Club Cruises ship or are you just an armchair expert?

 

She goes into dry dock in the Bahamas for inspection and then I think across to Europe to be "reimagined". Lots to do!

 

Phil

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What ! Another third or fourth hand ship from a budget line to impress the clients on a so called premium line. Not impressed.

 

Downdie

Sorry to see the "put-down" responses you got to your post......it is a point of view which you are entitled to have...

...but unfortunately, as you can see, if someone shows the slightest negativity towards Azamara on this forum, the Azamara cheer-leaders will run you out of town!

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We have sailed on Azamara Journey twice. The showers/bathroom are not "upmarket". The rehabs only can do so much to an older ship. The four new Viking ships get our vote/business currently.

 

The Viking ships are simply beautiful and as you say the bathrooms on Azamara leave a lot to be desired.

 

I would happily sail Viking again, we had a lovely cruise with them earlier this year but it didn't quite have the ambience of Azamara. Just my opinion

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Downdie

Sorry to see the "put-down" responses you got to your post......it is a point of view which you are entitled to have...

...but unfortunately, as you can see, if someone shows the slightest negativity towards Azamara on this forum, the Azamara cheer-leaders will run you out of town!

If you are referring to me as one of those cheerleaders (a term which I find rather a put down in itself) perhaps you need to check my posting history here on the Azamara board. It's what I did with the poster I quoted.

 

Phil

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What ! Another third or fourth hand ship from a budget line to impress the clients on a so called premium line. Not impressed.

 

 

 

Azamara will make it a class act, as always. I'm sure cruise ships are a lot like cars. They lose value the instant they roll off the lot - or out of port - nice to have a brand new one, but smart to let someone else bear the depreciation. Try it, you might like it.

 

 

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Have you ever actually sailed on an Azamara Club Cruises ship or are you just an armchair expert?

 

She goes into dry dock in the Bahamas for inspection and then I think across to Europe to be "reimagined". Lots to do!

 

Phil

 

I think it is quite reasonable to enquire whether someone who writes that they are not impressed with the acquisition has actually cruised on the line in question. I would not presume to give any opinion on Pullmantur since I have no experience.

 

In regard to the post about Viking, I would agree that the ships are beautiful and we have another cruise booked with them. However on our previous cruise with them the guests were not nearly as friendly, and they were often on their first ocean cruise. Many of their criticisms were of the 'it's not like that on Viking River' variety. Many were disappointed that they couldn't always just walk on and off the ship in the same way.

Azamara is far from perfect, and I have agreed with many criticisms, but the onboard experience is exceptional . I look forward to our B2B next June.

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For us, it’s not the cabins that matter - we spend very little time in them anyway. It’s the whole experience, the friendliness, the service, the food quality etc. I’m sure that will all be replicated on the Pursuit.

 

 

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I totally agree with you Host Grandma Cruising. I don’t sail with Azamara for the showers, I sail with them for the experience the fabulous crew give me. We are also fortunate to meet some lovely people and have made many friends onboard. Some of them even “star” in Cruise shows! Mentioning no names.......😀 but he does live in Harpenden!! 😄

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I don't know about anyone else, but I only spend about 7 minutes a day in the shower :) which leaves a lot of time to enjoy Azamara and their R ships for the rest of the experience! I have a nice large bathroom at home. It's not why I cruise. That being said, I am looking forward to trying Viking with my family over the holidays but will not be surprised if Azamara still feels like "home" (without the large bathroom but I will trade that any day!)

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Have you ever actually sailed on an Azamara Club Cruises ship or are you just an armchair expert?

 

She goes into dry dock in the Bahamas for inspection and then I think across to Europe to be "reimagined". Lots to do!

 

Phil

Hi Phil: I have to admit I have never posted on the Azamara board because I haven't sailed with them, and I doubt I ever will.

I have sailed on their current two ships when they sailed in the Caribbean for Pullmantur as the Blue Dream and Blue Star before the RCCL takeover.

As well I have no problem with older ships, in fact I rather prefer them if they are proven quality vessels.

My list includes Pullmantur's Holiday Dream ( Europa and now Saga Sapphire), Oceanic, Horizon, Zenith, and Gemini ( Cunard Crown Jewel and now Celestyal Nephili), among others.

Most of these were on mainstream or budget lines at appropriate price points.

Ultra premium cruises, and their higher tariffs on older, refurbished hand me down ships is not appropriate IMHO.

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Hi Phil: I have to admit I have never posted on the Azamara board because I haven't sailed with them, and I doubt I ever will.

I have sailed on their current two ships when they sailed in the Caribbean for Pullmantur as the Blue Dream and Blue Star before the RCCL takeover.

As well I have no problem with older ships, in fact I rather prefer them if they are proven quality vessels.

My list includes Pullmantur's Holiday Dream ( Europa and now Saga Sapphire), Oceanic, Horizon, Zenith, and Gemini ( Cunard Crown Jewel and now Celestyal Nephili), among others.

Most of these were on mainstream or budget lines at appropriate price points.

Ultra premium cruises, and their higher tariffs on older, refurbished hand me down ships is not appropriate IMHO.

 

Actually Azamara is an upscale not ultra premium cruise line IMHO. However I suppose I could see how it might be considered Ultra Premium based upon Pullmantur's pricing. Having just sailed Azamara for the first time, I found it much more enjoyable for the price for me than many of my Celebrity cruises that got me to their Elite loyalty level.

 

 

But since you've never sailed Azamara and don't like their ships, why even bother posting like you did? It serves no useful purpose. You might enjoy going over to the Celebrity board and doing the same about their Edge ship. It's really expensive compared to some other of their cruise ships. ;p

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Hi Phil: I have to admit I have never posted on the Azamara board because I haven't sailed with them, and I doubt I ever will.

I have sailed on their current two ships when they sailed in the Caribbean for Pullmantur as the Blue Dream and Blue Star before the RCCL takeover.

As well I have no problem with older ships, in fact I rather prefer them if they are proven quality vessels.

My list includes Pullmantur's Holiday Dream ( Europa and now Saga Sapphire), Oceanic, Horizon, Zenith, and Gemini ( Cunard Crown Jewel and now Celestyal Nephili), among others.

Most of these were on mainstream or budget lines at appropriate price points.

Ultra premium cruises, and their higher tariffs on older, refurbished hand me down ships is not appropriate IMHO.

 

Hi Downdie, we would love it if you'd give us a try. I think you'll like what we've done with our ships. And we'd like the chance to make you an Azamara believer. If we disappoint, which I doubt, then you have all the ships on your list to return to.

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Actually Azamara is an upscale not ultra premium cruise line IMHO. However I suppose I could see how it might be considered Ultra Premium based upon Pullmantur's pricing. Having just sailed Azamara for the first time, I found it much more enjoyable for the price for me than many of my Celebrity cruises that got me to their Elite loyalty level.

 

 

But since you've never sailed Azamara and don't like their ships, why even bother posting like you did? It serves no useful purpose. You might enjoy going over to the Celebrity board and doing the same about their Edge ship. It's really expensive compared to some other of their cruise ships. ;p

Hi Steve: At no point did I state I did not like Azamara's ships, I"ve sailed on them after all, but they are third hand ships. My whole point is that after about ten years in business they should be thinking newbuilds.

RCCL's German partner TUI started up about the same time with two second handers Galaxy and Mercury from Celebrity as Mein Schiff 1 and 2, but have since had a couple of new ships built.

I would never think of criticizing Celebrity on the CC boards for the cruise pricing on a brand new state of the art ship that the Edge is.

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We have cruised with HAL on a brand new ship - but the experience was nothing like Azamara. The ship was beautiful, but it didn’t feel happy, or like ‘home’.

I guess the issue here is people’s priorities - some people are more interested in their environment than the experience - and vice versa. Nothing wrong with either, just different.

 

 

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Downdie

 

I think maybe you don't quite get the Azamara ethos. They are destination focused rather than ship focused. The ship is secondary - that is why they waited until another R class ship became available. When you choose an Azamara cruise, which ship is largely irrelevant as they are essentially identical (the on-board experience is also much better than the mainstream lines).

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Hi Steve: At no point did I state I did not like Azamara's ships, I"ve sailed on them after all, but they are third hand ships. My whole point is that after about ten years in business they should be thinking newbuilds.

RCCL's German partner TUI started up about the same time with two second handers Galaxy and Mercury from Celebrity as Mein Schiff 1 and 2, but have since had a couple of new ships built.

I would never think of criticizing Celebrity on the CC boards for the cruise pricing on a brand new state of the art ship that the Edge is.

 

Thankx Downdie, I believe I understand your POV a little bit better. I do disagree with your statement that you've sailed Azamara's ships just because you sailed on the R class ships.

 

 

I've sailed on the Mercury a couple of times. The Mein Schiff 2 is not like the Mercury.and can't be judged as such because of the refurbishment and the difference in cruise line mentality/operations..

 

 

However since you indicated you prefer budget & mass market cruise lines, I suspect you probably won't see the value in Azamara's pricing even if they did a new build.

 

 

Some people like new builds. I'm not one of them. Some realize to them it's not just the rivets and steel that makes a cruise. I'd like to suggest you try sailing Azamara and see if you still feel the same.

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