Celebrity cruiser tries Azamara

[excitedofharpenden]

5 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

Marlboro reds and Marlboro gold (lights) from the bars (certainly the pool bar next to the smoking area). About $5.50 a pack IIRC.

 

No cigars.

Yes. Sometimes $5.50 and sometimes $4.50. I haven't quite worked out how it is priced, but suspect it's the itinerary you are on and whether there is additional tax. It makes more difference in the shops. 

 

Phil 

[Fatfish]

Does the shop sell by the carton (Duty Free) ?  Thanks

[uktog]

No they don’t 

[SteveH2508]

12 minutes ago, Fatfish said:

Does the shop sell by the carton (Duty Free) ?  Thanks

No. No DF at all (booze, smokes, smellies).

[SteveH2508]

19 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Yes. Sometimes $5.50 and sometimes $4.50. I haven't quite worked out how it is priced, but suspect it's the itinerary you are on and whether there is additional tax. It makes more difference in the shops. 

 

Phil 

$4.50 in 2017 - $5.50 in 2019. I assumed it was just a price increase.

Edited July 23, 2019 by SteveH2508

[excitedofharpenden]

6 minutes ago, SteveH2508 said:

$4.50 in 2017 - $5.50 in 2019. I assumed it was just a price increase.

I paid $4.50 this year, but I haven't paid attention as to why. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

2 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

No. No DF at all (booze, smokes, smellies).

There are tax free perfumes and aftershaves and a small selection of makeup 

[SteveH2508]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

There are tax free perfumes and aftershaves and a small selection of makeup 

I'm a bloke with a beard so those three items are of no interest to me. DW is VERY choosy about her make-up and perfume (DW does not have a beard either!) so we missed those DF items.

[Tom47]

I'm pleased that my 2 year old thread is still generating posts.  We still do Azamara cruises, 2 more scheduled.

[SoBaycruiser]

On 11/13/2018 at 4:47 AM, Bloodaxe said:

I believe that the original home of the R Ships was none smoking and look what happened to them.

 

My understanding is Renaissance Cruises (original owner R-ships) went out of business due to the fact they were highly leveraged and when 9/11 occurred and the travel industry took a big hit, they couldn’t survive.

[Redtravel]

On 11/14/2018 at 10:28 PM, Tom47 said:Well that's a bummer!!  So I may not try Oceania after all!  I like Celebrity S class showers and if I could get an Azamara itinerary on Celebrity, I would be a happy man.  Thanks for the info.

The R ships are nice.  Cabins are small, but nicely arranged. There is excellent use of space. Yes, the shower is small. It works. Great water pressure and lots of hot water. Never have to ask for clean towels or toiletries. Cabin stewards are prompt to replace soap, shampoo, towels, etc. Celebrity S ships have larger cabins and bathrooms. They have way too many people in public areas. On my last Celebrity cruise on a Reflection, I was often frustrated trying to find an empty table st the buffet, a chaise at the pool, or a seat in the lounge. S ships are too crowded. On R ships, you never have crowds. I prefer smaller ships. 

[Tom47]

12 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

The R ships are nice.  Cabins are small, but nicely arranged. There is excellent use of space. Yes, the shower is small. It works. Great water pressure and lots of hot water. Never have to ask for clean towels or toiletries. Cabin stewards are prompt to replace soap, shampoo, towels, etc. Celebrity S ships have larger cabins and bathrooms. They have way too many people in public areas. On my last Celebrity cruise on a Reflection, I was often frustrated trying to find an empty table st the buffet, a chaise at the pool, or a seat in the lounge. S ships are too crowded. On R ships, you never have crowds. I prefer smaller ships. 

DW agrees with you and says that I need to get over my shower issue.  She is a foot shorter than me.  Does that make her biased?:-)

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Tom47

[Bloodaxe]

1 hour ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

My understanding is Renaissance Cruises (original owner R-ships) went out of business due to the fact they were highly leveraged and when 9/11 occurred and the travel industry took a big hit, they couldn’t survive.

 

Actually I did know that, my previous post about smoking was nothing more than a joke.

Edited July 24, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[Bimmer09]

5 hours ago, SteveH2508 said:

Marlboro reds and Marlboro gold (lights) from the bars (certainly the pool bar next to the smoking area). About $5.50 a pack IIRC.

 

No cigars.

 

That is a more than fair, non-gouging price. If one purchases a pack of Marlboro in a shop in Chicago the price is $14.90 and when you ask for a pack the shopkeeper dips down behind the counter and when he resurfaces with the pack he is wearing a Lone-Ranger mask and pointing a gun.

I drive  to Indiana where they are a dollar more than Azamara charges.

Norris, who enjoyed the company of Cuban cigar smokers on the Journey.

[SoBaycruiser]

22 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Actually I did know that, my previous post about smoking was nothing more than a joke.

 

Ooops!  😳

[Redtravel]

On 7/23/2019 at 8:39 PM, Tom47 said:

DW agrees with you and says that I need to get over my shower issue.  She is a foot shorter than me.  Does that make her biased?:-)

 

The shower is small. Unfortunately, when Azamara bought R ships, they could not change the size of the bathroom.  We started sailing on Azamara in 2009. We complained about the tiny shower.  It is what it is. We took several cruises and had a good time.  There were times when we selecting a cruise that we chose not to go on Azamara because of the shower.  Fast forward 5 years, we were planning a trip to Alaska to celebrate our 50th anniversary.  We had some specific requirements: dates, ports, price, etc.  After considering the available sailings and there were many, Azamara was the best choice.  When reflecting on our most recent cruise on Quest in a July 2019, we laughed about the shower. It wasn’t really terrible. You don’t spend much time in the shower. Get in, soap up, wash off, and dry off.  Of course a bigger shower would have been nice.  The nice part is we had no plumbing issues, had lots of hot water, water pressure was good, and the thick cushy towels were super absorbent.  We had a good time and decided that the R ships have some really great features.