Request for help in choosing a cruise line

[Joecors]

I have a dilemma. I know that the service provided by the crews of the Journey and the Quest to be superlative. However recent events in respect of the “other half”(land based staff) of Azamara in which shortfalls have been highlighted on this site, some of which have affected me, together with personal experience of “service” provided by Azamara H.Q. U.K., have convinced me that I should seriously consider cruising with other lines. Therefore I am interested in

(1) Ships roughly the same size

(2) Non-smoking ( or as near as)

(3) Interesting ports of call

(4) Informal dress for dining

(5) Comparable service to that provided by Az. crews

(6) Considerable improved service to that provided by Az. office support

 

Finally Mr.Pimental, if you get round to reading this, you must realise that most of excellent hard work produced by your ships’ crews is being wasted. These are the people who, as expressed in your philosophy on 1th May 2010 “really make people feel special”. Unfortunately other members of your organisation are not party to your philosophy , tending to forget that we are customers as well as guests.

[California Native]

Hi...

Let me begin with ships roughly the same size.

Princess..Pacific and Ocean

PandO just acquired an R ship which was known as the Royal Princess with Princess Cruises

Oceania

Holland America..the Prinsendam.

then you can go smaller or bigger from there

Smoking..AZ and Celebrity have really taken the lead in non smoking and others can't beat it.

Unfortunately you just cant predict when you are going to have a chain smoking chimney on either side of your cabin.

Service..AZ onboard service is #1 in my book. you will need to adjust your barometer of expectations when sailing on others.

However, I find Princess to be stellar especially on the small ships. Holland America could of been a fluke for me but on our last sailing the service was HORRIFIC and yet thats the only time it has been.

Just to really make my point..We received better service on AZ 24 days in a inside cabin than my mom and I received on HAL in a suite.

Interesting ports of call ...

The Prinsendam and the little Princess' have excellent itineraries. I have found Ocenia's to be a bit more mainstream (for our needs)

Formal night..you will have that on Princess and Holland America. Not sure on Oceania as I havent investigated it enough. On the small ships on Princess it is fixed dining, no anytime.

HOWEVER, the buffet is open and is EXCELLENT (not as good as AZ, but definatley on the higher end.

Shoreside

I have found Princess shoreside service to be PHENOMENAL. 99% of the time I book direct and they have always been on point. Only one time did I ever have an issue and it was BIG..it went all the way up to Alan Buckelew..Not only did his secretary call to apologize. We were offered a very nice compensation package. They made it right, right away!!

and your final paragraph...you can add a +1 from me on that.

Buon Viaggio

K.

[Project_gal]

I have a dilemma. I know that the service provided by the crews of the Journey and the Quest to be superlative. However recent events in respect of the “other half”(land based staff) of Azamara in which shortfalls have been highlighted on this site, some of which have affected me, together with personal experience of “service” provided by Azamara H.Q. U.K., have convinced me that I should seriously consider cruising with other lines. Therefore I am interested in

(1) Ships roughly the same size

(2) Non-smoking ( or as near as)

(3) Interesting ports of call

(4) Informal dress for dining

(5) Comparable service to that provided by Az. crews

(6) Considerable improved service to that provided by Az. office support

 

Finally Mr.Pimental, if you get round to reading this, you must realise that most of excellent hard work produced by your ships’ crews is being wasted. These are the people who, as expressed in your philosophy on 1th May 2010 “really make people feel special”. Unfortunately other members of your organisation are not party to your philosophy , tending to forget that we are customers as well as guests.

 

I feel that I need to defend "Azamara HQ UK". We have never had anything but wonderful service from Azamara/Celebrity in the UK. Sometimes reading these board, I think that we must be talking about different organisations. It was our overall experience onboard during our last cruise [despite the wonderful service] that has left us feeling "flat" and disinclined to choose Azamara again.

 

Sue

[orchestrapal]

Sounds like Oceania is for you. Come over and post your questions on the Oceania board. We have been delighted with everything they have to offer for 10 cruises and leaving Monday for b/b Miami to San Francisco-Alaska-San Francisco:D

[Jade13]

It was our overall experience onboard during our last cruise [despite the wonderful service] that has left us feeling "flat" and disinclined to choose Azamara again.

 

Sue

 

 

Wow, I am surprised and if I recall you were in the PH Suite.

[Jade13]

We always have good experiences on Holland America Line. They have been in business for over a 100 years and know what they are doing. The shore side experience and HQ in Seattle is way above "mass market".

 

Overall we feel they have the best itineraries at sea. The Prinsendam will be the closest in size to Azamara, and the ship has a following. The other ships to look at would be the S and R class ships which are approx. 1,200 passengers. Our favorites are Veendam and Maasdam. Both are in dry dock right now. In fact, we will be back on both ships in the next 12 months. We have 50 nights onboard ship booked between now and May 2012. One thing that HAL has that is missing from Celebrity and Azamara is the teak wraparound promenade deak. They also have a pool with a retractable roof, so if there is poor weather you can use it. All the Ocean Views and standard Veranda's have full bathroom with tub. In our opinion they have the best beds at sea. Currently they allow smoking, but in limited areas. We have never had a problem. A very good source tells us they are getting ready to make their ships smoke free.

 

One thing HAL has going is great communication. If there is any issue they get to it in a timely fashion. We were on a 7 night cruise last year and it got aborted half way because of a hurricane warning, and we went directly to the disembarkation port, missing 3 out of 5 ports. Immediately upon the announcement they offered everyone OBC and by the next day, along with a presentation on hurricanes in the theater with the Captain and staff, they anounced a 25% credit on a future cruise. It was a saftey issue because we would not be able to dock in Boston if we waited and winds/tides changed, so we needed to go straight there. Now compare this to what happened on Celebrity Century last year in France when they canceled the cruise one day into sailing. The thread on the Celebrity board indicates that the Captain went into hiding. It took months to sort out everyones financial issues. And, all they offered was 25% of what was paid on a future cruise.

 

Btw, note that HAL has already reinstated Egypt, so they are not as conservative as Azamara/Celebrity/RCCL On the World cruise a number of weeks ago Egypt had been canceled. But they gave passengers four days notice they were changing course again and they would be in Safaga for Luxor. Egypt has been reinstated for the rest of the year.

[Joecors]

...for your responses

[Joecors]

[quote=Project_gal;28851111]I feel that I need to defend "Azamara HQ UK". We have never had anything but wonderful service from Azamara/Celebrity in the UK. Sometimes reading these board, I think that we must be talking about different organisations. It was our overall experience onboard during our last cruise [despite the wonderful service] that has left us feeling "flat" and disinclined to choose Azamara again.

 

Sue

 

With luck like that you surely must have won the National Lottery too!

My experience with Addlestone has been trying to find my way through something like six telephone gateways each with 3 or 4 options with the last gateway referring me to the first one. Did you have the misfortune to be involved in the cancellation of visits to Alexandria? I realise that they had no choice but their abject system of advising guests (or not) was pathetic. I thought that the "service" was peculiar to the U.K. but the "dreaded lurgy" seems to have now spread to the U.S.

 

 

Sometimes reading these board, I think that we must be talking about different organisations.

 

Maybe it's the rest that's all out of step ???

[Project_gal]

[quote=Project_gal;28851111]I feel that I need to defend "Azamara HQ UK". We have never had anything but wonderful service from Azamara/Celebrity in the UK. Sometimes reading these board, I think that we must be talking about different organisations. It was our overall experience onboard during our last cruise [despite the wonderful service] that has left us feeling "flat" and disinclined to choose Azamara again.

 

Sue

 

With luck like that you surely must have won the National Lottery too!

My experience with Addlestone has been trying to find my way through something like six telephone gateways each with 3 or 4 options with the last gateway referring me to the first one. Did you have the misfortune to be involved in the cancellation of visits to Alexandria? I realise that they had no choice but their abject system of advising guests (or not) was pathetic. I thought that the "service" was peculiar to the U.K. but the "dreaded lurgy" seems to have now spread to the U.S.

 

 

Sometimes reading these board, I think that we must be talking about different organisations.

 

Maybe it's the rest that's all out of step ???

 

Honestly never had a problem with them. We usually deal with the same personal cruise consultant [PCC] but, when he is unavailable, the various others we have spoken to have been just as good. Yesterday, for eg, our PCC booked us on Eclipse for December 2012 about two hours before the itineraries were release on the Internet allowing us to grab exactly the suite we wanted. And, to top that, the deal we got was better than we had dared to hope for.

 

Sue

[Project_gal]

Wow, I am surprised and if I recall you were in the PH Suite.

 

Correct!

 

Sue

[Emdee]

I would also look at

Regent

Paul Gauguin Cruises

[triplestar]

My husband & I cruised on the Azamara Quest last June then changed in Instanbul to a second cruise on the Nautica. We had constant debate as to which was the better of the two.The Nautica was more opulent in its decor in the public rooms,but the carpet in the cabins was very much in your face whilst that on the Quest was more restful.However the public rooms did not have the wow factor of the Nautica.Each ship had its own strengths & differences and a cruise on either would be most enjoyable.The entertainment on the Quest was better & the average age was younger & the cruise more relaxed and overall less expensive.The afternoon tea on the Nautica was to die for, but they didnt have a Cafe for cappucinos etc like the Quest.I booked both cruises through a travel agent & had no problems , we had a better grade of cabin on the Nautica but I preferred our cabin on the Quest. However when it came to ticket presentation the Nautica won hands down. My feeling is that the Nautica is more showy in the obvious ,but the Quest better in the less obvious ie flowers & fruit in the cabin complimentary tote bag better toileteries & chocolates at night. This year we booked 2 back to back 7Day cruises on the Quest, but these were changes by Azamara to an eleven day cruise & then a 7 day cruise.We had to change airbookings which incurred a cost which Azamara paid & we didn't have any increase cost for the extra 4 days. I am sorry that you have had issues with Azamara,because on the whole we feel that they are better value for money than Oceania. However I would certainly cruise on Oceania again if the itinerary was right-- the Black Sea cruise was an excellent one ,better than anyof the other cruiselines. . I do hope you find a cruise & cruiseline to suit

[insidecabin]

What sort of things are wrong shoreside that make you want to change lines when you are happy with the onboard product.

 

90% of our cruises once we have decided what we want(pre booking research) and booked(either direct or through TA for a discount) the only dealing shoreside is final payment.

[comcox]

I have a dilemma. I know that the service provided by the crews of the Journey and the Quest to be superlative. However recent events in respect of the “other half”(land based staff) of Azamara in which shortfalls have been highlighted on this site, some of which have affected me, together with personal experience of “service” provided by Azamara H.Q. U.K., have convinced me that I should seriously consider cruising with other lines. Therefore I am interested in

(1) Ships roughly the same size

(2) Non-smoking ( or as near as)

(3) Interesting ports of call

(4) Informal dress for dining

(5) Comparable service to that provided by Az. crews

(6) Considerable improved service to that provided by Az. office support

 

Finally Mr.Pimental, if you get round to reading this, you must realise that most of excellent hard work produced by your ships’ crews is being wasted. These are the people who, as expressed in your philosophy on 1th May 2010 “really make people feel special”. Unfortunately other members of your organisation are not party to your philosophy , tending to forget that we are customers as well as guests.

 

We are past Azamara clients, who only left because of the change to boring and/or short itineraries, but are returning to them next year now that unusual internaries are coming back.

 

Since then we've tried Oceania, which compares quite well to your wish list. Their R class ships are identical to Azamara's, but they've also added two larger ships recently. Dinner dress is always smart casual in all restaurants and smoking is very limited to two small areas. Itineraries include both traditional and unusual. Staff service is excellent, but I don't know how the U.K. office staff works as we are U.S. based.

 

I'm just about to head off on a Swan Hellenic cruise; they are British based so I'm finding some challenges there. I did book directly with their U.S. booking agent and she has been great, but we get short changed in receiving mailings of such things as cruise books because of the distance. Shore excursion booking is not online but by fax--very old fashioned. They only allow smoking in designated outside locations. They do have some formal nights, but it's limited to main dining room. There is a buffet style cafe that serves the same menu and dress is smart casual every night. They have only one ship, the Minerva, which has only 390 some passengers. One nice bonus is that all gratuities and most shore excurions are included in your cruise price; and for U.K. passengers air and transfers as well.

 

We've also cruise with Holland America several times including once on their small ship the Prinsendam. Smoking is a problem on all HAL ships as they still (unbelievably) allow smoking in all cabins and on verandahs as well as on the promenade deck. Even if you are lucky not to have a chain smoker nearby whose smoke invades your cabin through the air system (my last and final HAL experience), it eventually drifts into the hallways so you can't avoid it. They continue to have formal nights but offer casual dining in the buffet style cafe. That said HAL does have very good service but their itineraries only include some to unusual places; our favorite was their west Africa cruise, Lisbon to Cape Town.

[Susan-M]

What sort of things are wrong shoreside that make you want to change lines when you are happy with the onboard product.

 

 

Recent threads have outlined numerous shoreside problems that are causing frustration and additional expense for ACC's clients, hence the loss of confidence in booking with them.

 

Some of the problems relate to OBC's, Choice Air and the bungled 50% off shore excursion promotion. All of the problems are a result of poor planning on the part of ACC's administration, a lack of cohesion within the various departments, and poor training of service reps. Even Bill Leiber has acknowledged the many problems with shoreside operations and the need to make improvements .

 

It seems promising that they are willing to admit to their mistakes, until you realize that that's as far as it goes, i.e. the attitude is, "Yes, we've erred, we can explain how it happened, but we won't do anything to make it right for you ... sorry, you still lose out, but we hope that you have an Azamazing Cruise!"

 

Susan

[Jade13]

We are past Azamara clients, who only left because of the change to boring and/or short itineraries, but are returning to them next year now that unusual internaries are coming back.

 

quote]

 

I hope so for 2013. I find the itineraries "boring" for 2012. Btw, I noticed that you are cruising in (late) November and December. Those are really the only times we can not travel because my DH is a chef. Hopefully those cruise itineraries are a sampling of what is to come in 2013.

 

Again, another post reinforcing that the Azamara clientele is looking for the interesting and unique itineraries so we love where they take us.

 

I do not think they understand their target market.

[Jade13]

Smoking is a problem on all HAL ships as they still (unbelievably) allow smoking in all cabins and on verandahs as well as on the promenade deck. Even if you are lucky not to have a chain smoker nearby whose smoke invades your cabin through the air system (my last and final HAL experience), it eventually drifts into the hallways so you can't avoid it. That said HAL does have very good service but their itineraries only include some to unusual places; our favorite was their west Africa cruise, Lisbon to Cape Town.

 

We have yet to have a problem with smoke. They are getting more restrictive, and in fact, the smokers are now leaving the line. They keep taking smoking surveys and some very good sources posting on CC say they will soon no longer allow smoking.

[Jade13]

I'm just about to head off on a Swan Hellenic cruise; they are British based so I'm finding some challenges there. I did book directly with their U.S. booking agent and she has been great, but we get short changed in receiving mailings of such things as cruise books because of the distance. Shore excursion booking is not online but by fax--very old fashioned. They only allow smoking in designated outside locations. They do have some formal nights, but it's limited to main dining room. There is a buffet style cafe that serves the same menu and dress is smart casual every night. They have only one ship, the Minerva, which has only 390 some passengers. One nice bonus is that all gratuities and most shore excurions are included in your cruise price; and for U.K. passengers air and transfers as well.

quote]

 

We loved Minerva. We cruised on her to Antarctica, and along with Quest, was one of our three favorite cruise vacations. She has a wrap-around deck.

 

Captain Carl Smith from Quest told us he used to be Minerva's Captain.

 

What is your itinerary?

[Joecors]

Thanks you have summed it up far better than me.

Just one example:

We usually travel out of LHR. Because of Azamara's system of block booking flights we were unable to print off boarding passes the night before flying and on arrival at the terminal the boarding passes were metaphorically thrown in the air resulting in no one sitting on the plane with the companion they were travelling with.

Now this is service from

"a boutique cruise line of distinction....a sophisticated yet relaxed way of travelling" (taken from the front page of Az. latest brochure)

We have also been involved in the two recent fiascos of Egypt and the 50% reduction in tours which have already been highlighted in recent blogs. I do have to remind myself that this is a 4/5* cruise line.

[Lottie A]

While I do realise from your posts that some of you feel genuinely aggrieved at your treatment from Azamara Admin, I do feel it only fair to state that fortunately my experience has been the entire opposite.

 

From the start of the booking process to a small Le Club Voyage hiccup midway, all my queries have been answered promptly and efficiently. I also managed to book some half price tours just before the deadline - because I was able to browse the tours available for my cruise on the Az website. However I do realise others were not able to do so.

 

This cruise will be our third on Azamara Quest. We love the onboard experience, enjoy the food and the ports that they take us to - and cannot praise the superlative crew highly enough. We think Oceania is good (and yes I have cruised with them!) as well as Celebrity, Cunard, P&O etc but we MUCH prefer the Azamara experience. We are trying Crystal in 2012 but I think they will have to go some to beat Azamara.

 

I appreciate that some will not agree with me - but I feel it is important to note the positive as well as the negative about lovely Azamara - absolutely my favourite cruiseline. :)

[Jade13]

We are trying Crystal in 2012 but I think they will have to go some to beat Azamara.

 

:)

 

Why Crystal in 2012? Is it because of an itinerary that Azamara does not have, and if so, what is it?

[insidecabin]

Thanks you have summed it up far better than me.

Just one example:

We usually travel out of LHR. Because of Azamara's system of block booking flights we were unable to print off boarding passes the night before flying and on arrival at the terminal the boarding passes were metaphorically thrown in the air resulting in no one sitting on the plane with the companion they were travelling with.

Now this is service from

"a boutique cruise line of distinction....a sophisticated yet relaxed way of travelling" (taken from the front page of Az. latest brochure)

We have also been involved in the two recent fiascos of Egypt and the 50% reduction in tours which have already been highlighted in recent blogs. I do have to remind myself that this is a 4/5* cruise line.

 

It can be frustrating when you get hit by a few issues all at once

 

I checked our flights as soon as they were confimed so no suprises one was on-block.

 

Interesting that for our TA cruise only the inbound European flight from Rome was on-block, our outbound LHR -> Miami we could do on-line checkin(grabbed bulkheads with 24hr to go) or prebook seats at cost earlier.

 

Our solution at checkin at Rome was to use the self service terminals at the same time and get seats together then just do a bag drop.

 

With the free flight program having direct flights I can accept this, this was probably the cheapest TA this spring for a UK pax that has to pay for flights(not using airmiles). A much higher quality cruise than most other options.

 

For regular cruise flight packages they could offer the regular flights as an option to the block so offer prepaid seat selection is in the deal but this will be reflected in higher prices. perhaps they could offer the airport lounge as well so you get the choice, economy or premium package for the flight add on.

 

The current deal RCCL has done to secure good flights prices for all brands has its drawbacks.

 

1/2 price tours were available for our one stop and bookable on-line but we did not need them.

 

I have yet to find a cruise line that has it's shoreside act totaly in order, most of the web sites have issues

 

Always a good idea to have a few other options available we will give anyone a go if the package stacks up for trip we want.

[Lottie A]

Why Crystal in 2012? Is it because of an itinerary that Azamara does not have, and if so, what is it?

 

Well, we are looking at two Cystal cruises, both have ports not on Azamara's itineraries, but also because we really want to try Crystal Serenity - my sister went on her in 2010 and hasn't shut up raving about the luxury yet - but the fave cruise at the moment is Crystal Serenity in Feb 2012. We have both a significant birthday and anniversary in Jan/Feb 2012 so we are thinking of splashing out big time - well I am anyway! He still needs a bit of persuasion! :D

 

The cruise is Sydney-Adelaide-Fremantle-Indonesia-Singapore and we would be able to spend a week with friends in Sydney pre-cruise and then post-cruise a few extra days in Singapore in one of my favourite cities. Shopping Heaven. :)

[Joecors]

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. The Azamara cruises that I've travelled on have been superb.; six so far, and despite my misgivings contemplating a seventh. The crews that I've met have set the bar so high that I expect similar service from the shore crew. The crews on board go that extra mile to make the cruise special; sure they make mistakes but as soon as it is brought to their attention they put it right. Can you expect the same from the shore crew? If so, and you've had good special service from someone in Azamara at Addlstone, please let me know their name.

Thanks

[Lottie A]

Maybe that's where I'm going wrong. The Azamara cruises that I've travelled on have been superb.; six so far, and despite my misgivings contemplating a seventh. The crews that I've met have set the bar so high that I expect similar service from the shore crew. The crews on board go that extra mile to make the cruise special; sure they make mistakes but as soon as it is brought to their attention they put it right. Can you expect the same from the shore crew? If so, and you've had good special service from someone in Azamara at Addlstone, please let me know their name.

Thanks

 

Hi Joecors,

Well, I would never normally name a staff member on a cruise forum as they have no right of reply - and it may actually threaten their employment, but as in this case I have nothing but praise for the said staff then I will make an exception.

 

My contact for my Le Club Voyage query was Stephen Schone, Le Club Voyage Consultant. He was most efficient and prompt at sorting out my problem. At Reservations and Information it was Sam - sorry have forgotten the surname - but again very prompt and efficent service. Even my TA was impressed! Maybe this indicates that not all "Shoreside" staff are inefficient or deserve to be classed as such - but perhaps there are some senior staff involved in planning, customer care and promotions who could do with a lesson in effiency from their juniors! :D

 

Hopefully Bill will have some good news for the people who lost out on the half price tours when he returns with some answers from "higher management" later this month.