Azamara Journey rerouted due weather

[oddjob16]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

Is it worse than your experience in previous cruises?  You’re not in a black spot as we had great coverage on another line in that area. It’s a real worry, WiFi was a huge issue in November as the speed was so slow I could not clear the security sign ins for work system. 
Now I can’t book Azamara cruises at critical work periods - being self employed need to work to cruise! 

It is partly erroneous. At times you can have a good voice call home via whats app, messenger or facetime, but sometimes it will take an hour to upload a 3Mb picture. Point is: you must have back-up. I bought a NZ simcard with 10 GB data. Good to have when in port or ashore.

Obviously the system needs to be refitted with a new modern base. Other lines give you free wifi. Must be the onboard limitations IMO.

[Grandma Cruising]

4 hours ago, laurieb said:

Nope no dial up here.  Maybe early morning no one else was online 

I guess I’m comparing it to our Norway cruise; so bad that Azamara gave a partial refund on request 

Norway last July was bad for 2 reasons - one was the normal difficulty of getting WiFi in some areas because of the topology (high Fjord sides etc) , but there was also a fault with one of the two main bits of kit that provide the WiFi. They flew a mechanic out to mend it, but it took quite a few days so it was virtually unusable for most of the cruise.

[excitedofharpenden]

6 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Norway last July was bad for 2 reasons - one was the normal difficulty of getting WiFi in some areas because of the topology (high Fjord sides etc) , but there was also a fault with one of the two main bits of kit that provide the WiFi. They flew a mechanic out to mend it, but it took quite a few days so it was virtually unusable for most of the cruise.

It has much to do with the high latitude and lack of a good satellite signal there. It's known for it. I am aware of two very frequent Azamara cruisers who will not do that itinerary.  It's vital he has computer access for work. 

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

11 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It has much to do with the high latitude and lack of a good satellite signal there. It's known for it. I am aware of two very frequent Azamara cruisers who will not do that itinerary.  It's vital he has computer access for work. 

 

Phil 

Yes, the IT chap told us that, but he also told us they had additional problems that required them to send for a mechanic/specialist technician.

[excitedofharpenden]

28 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Yes, the IT chap told us that, but he also told us they had additional problems that required them to send for a mechanic/specialist technician.

No mechanic can do anything if the signal is non-existent. I'm sure they were just giving you the "patter". 

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

10 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

No mechanic can do anything if the signal is non-existent. I'm sure they were just giving you the "patter". 

 

Phil 

No, we saw him get on the ship - Tromso I think it was - and saw him around. I had a long chat with the IT manager. He acknowledged that Norway was always difficult, but equipment issues made it worse this time.

[uktog]

My experience the IT technicians onboard just say anything they alleged an issue with my work Mac which was absolute rubbish the issue was the system isn’t fit for purpose. Then he said it was the room I was in and I should book a different one. 
I’m really worried about my May trip, it’s in the Med all planned to have to no work. However work deadlines have had to change due to a certain virus and May will be a peak time. Without decent WiFi it’s going to be a nightmare if not impossible so I am looking into cancelling the three cruises if work will cover the cancellation costs. 

[Baynanno1]

We were on the same Norway cruise as HGC.

A specialist technician was flown in to fix the equipment problem on that Norway cruise.

Edited February 18, 2020 by Baynanno1

[RBPatt]

On 2/18/2020 at 3:34 AM, uktog said:

My experience the IT technicians onboard just say anything they alleged an issue with my work Mac which was absolute rubbish the issue was the system isn’t fit for purpose. 

 
You're right, that Mac comment is rubbish.

 

We're booked on Journey  March 9.  I have an international  SIM for the days we're in port.  From the discussion here it sounds like we should skip the Internet package.  Does anyone think otherwise?

 

  Bob

 

[excitedofharpenden]

8 minutes ago, RBPatt said:

 
You're right, that Mac comment is rubbish.

 

We're booked on Journey  March 9.  I have an international  SIM for the days we're in port.  From the discussion here it sounds like we should skip the Internet package.  Does anyone think otherwise?

 

  Bob

 

If it’s port intensive and you get a reasonable amount of data with your plan (I get 12GB data for a month which is ample for me) then I probably wouldn’t bother with ship internet.  Expense and slowness.  I had lots of sea days on my trips which is why I used the ship internet. 

 

Phil

 

 

Edited February 21, 2020 by excitedofharpenden

[RBPatt]

2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

If it’s port intensive and you get a reasonable amount of data with your plan (I get 12GB data for a month which is ample for me) then I probably wouldn’t bother with ship internet.  Expense and slowness.  I had lots of sea days on my trips which is why I used the ship internet. 

 

Phil

 

 

 

Thanks Phil,

 

We have 5 sea days out of 15 and it won't hurt to be unplugged for a while.  I'll just stick with the mobile data in port.

 

I used the ship Internet on a Cuba cruise recently and it wasn't too bad.  But that's a different part of the world.

 

  Bob

[Covepointcruiser]

Some lines charge differently for different internet use.   Those who stream, upload pictures and otherwise need a lot of bandwidth can pay an additional fee.  The number of these users should be limited so they can actually use the internet for what they need.  The other passengers requiring a more limited plan would pay less if they are just reading emails, answering emails etc.   As more of us demand internet speeds in areas with little or limited satellite coverage something needs to be changed.

 

[oddjob16]

Just off in Sydney. A nice cruise all in all. Some ups and some downs. 

Tonic was Seagrams at the start but we managed to get the bar staff to dig up some Schweppes for us. We "survived" on that and all staff were aware of our preferences. 

Wines were a slight disapointment. We found a couple of whites and reds that were OK and kept to those. No problem to ask for them when out of rotation. 

We expected New Zealand wines to be heroed on this cruise but instead they were emtying the stock of cheap italian and chilean grape juice. Considering there was a huge group of people on a wine extensive tour on this cruise, this was a slightly poor decision by F&B management. Undrinkable wines served regularly is not a great sales pitch. 

We managed OK with the WIFI package. I had a local sim back up and probably would have been very frustrated relying on the ships wifi only. Not good enough for those who rely on excellent wifi during sea days. 

Food was a step down. MDR was hit and miss. You never knew. One day was marvelous and the other was total disaster. What is worse than fish & chips with soggy batter? Answer: Fish & chips with soggy batter and soggy chips. 

C'mon!!!! 

To be continued.... 

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, oddjob16 said:

Just off in Sydney. A nice cruise all in all. Some ups and some downs. 

Tonic was Seagrams at the start but we managed to get the bar staff to dig up some Schweppes for us. We "survived" on that and all staff were aware of our preferences. 

Wines were a slight disapointment. We found a couple of whites and reds that were OK and kept to those. No problem to ask for them when out of rotation. 

We expected New Zealand wines to be heroed on this cruise but instead they were emtying the stock of cheap italian and chilean grape juice. Considering there was a huge group of people on a wine extensive tour on this cruise, this was a slightly poor decision by F&B management. Undrinkable wines served regularly is not a great sales pitch. 

We managed OK with the WIFI package. I had a local sim back up and probably would have been very frustrated relying on the ships wifi only. Not good enough for those who rely on excellent wifi during sea days. 

Food was a step down. MDR was hit and miss. You never knew. One day was marvelous and the other was total disaster. What is worse than fish & chips with soggy batter? Answer: Fish & chips with soggy batter and soggy chips. 

C'mon!!!! 

To be continued.... 

Welcome to Sydney Odd. Your food experience mirrors mine. Sometimes good, sometimes not. We had a terrible meal in Patio. Next time it was fine. I realise I'm getting bored with the food in the MDR, although on Journey it was good to have the menu on the TV to be able to work out the good days to visit. 

 

Phil 

[oddjob16]

... food continued.

MDR hit and miss but very satisfied with Aqualina and Prime C. Excellent service and great food. The buffet was also nice, but they struggle in peak hours. Patio was getting a bit repetitive. They have not changed much since the opening. 

Entertainement was over all good. The Cast of the Azamara singers some of the best so far. The dancers not up to standards of previous years. 

The band "Smooth Sensations" was a quartet with excellent music and a very talented vocalist. 

The piano player was a bit boring to our taste. Not an entertainer but simply a piano player. I still miss Jim Badger. 

The Journey was in excellent condition. All crew were at high standard and all in all we had two great weeks with a fantastic itinerary. New Zealand is fantastic. Too bad we had to go ashore to find New Zealand wine. 

 

[Bloodaxe]

We also miss Jim, great entertainer but not to everyone's taste, late evenings on the ship have never been the same since he left, I believe he was usually on Quest.

Edited February 23, 2020 by Bloodaxe

[excitedofharpenden]

Jim was a bit irreverent, but fun. Yes, he was on Quest and very popular...

 

Phil 

[uktog]

I suspect in this era of political correctness acts like Jim are not going to be used by cruise lines. 
They moved to some really good quality piano bar entertainer (eg Ed Walters) but then stupidly asked them to go during the ill fated entertainment revamp and other lines snapped them up.  
Last year, there was a really great piano player/singer Gemma Rose. Is she on any of the ships these days?

[Bloodaxe]

I take your point about Jim, has I said not to everyone's taste but I did hear that he has since worked on other cruise lines.

He would be great in the larger new lounge in the evenings, there was never any room in mosaics when he was performing late night.

[Mrs Skip]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

I suspect in this era of political correctness acts like Jim are not going to be used by cruise lines. 
They moved to some really good quality piano bar entertainer (eg Ed Walters) but then stupidly asked them to go during the ill fated entertainment revamp and other lines snapped them up.  
Last year, there was a really great piano player/singer Gemma Rose. Is she on any of the ships these days?

Gemma was on Quest over Christmas, thought she was great.

[Ithikan]

9 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

Entertainement was over all good. The Cast of the Azamara singers some of the best so far. The dancers not up to standards of previous years. 

 

We agree about the singers and thought they were really good.  Re. the dancers, I enjoyed them very much and watched as their performances consistently improved throughout our 15 night cruise (we disembarked in Auckland).   I believe this may have been Christa's first cruise contract, and it speaks to her ambition and training to note how, in the end, she owned the stage during "Blackbird" (Beatles medley).  Especially appreciated were the 3 mini "dance" classes taught by Christa and Tyson, with ACD Emily, at various times during the voyage.  These were underattended, but I do hope this concept will be tossed into the activities mix during cruises with many sea days.

[oddjob16]

4 hours ago, Ithikan said:

We agree about the singers and thought they were really good.  Re. the dancers, I enjoyed them very much and watched as their performances consistently improved throughout our 15 night cruise (we disembarked in Auckland).   I believe this may have been Christa's first cruise contract, and it speaks to her ambition and training to note how, in the end, she owned the stage during "Blackbird" (Beatles medley).  Especially appreciated were the 3 mini "dance" classes taught by Christa and Tyson, with ACD Emily, at various times during the voyage.  These were underattended, but I do hope this concept will be tossed into the activities mix during cruises with many sea days.

Maybe they just need some more training together. Individually they were very good, but they should improve by traing in some new lifts and moves. 

[excitedofharpenden]

Odd, yours was only the third cruise they've performed that show together. Previously singer Daniel and dancer Tyson were on Pursuit and they brought the new show to Journey. So it's all quite new to them still. 

 

I was impressed with Cruise Director Danny who took over the reins from Eric and Assistant CD Emily who is on her first contract on a ship. Both very personable with good voices (particularly Emily). 

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Odd, yours was only the third cruise they've performed that show together. Previously singer Daniel and dancer Tyson were on Pursuit and they brought the new show to Journey. So it's all quite new to them still. 

 

I was impressed with Cruise Director Danny who took over the reins from Eric and Assistant CD Emily who is on her first contract on a ship. Both very personable with good voices (particularly Emily). 

 

Phil 

We liked Danny when he took over from Eric on the Journey in July.

[ellbon]

23 hours ago, uktog said:

I suspect in this era of political correctness acts like Jim are not going to be used by cruise lines. 
They moved to some really good quality piano bar entertainer (eg Ed Walters) but then stupidly asked them to go during the ill fated entertainment revamp and other lines snapped them up.  
Last year, there was a really great piano player/singer Gemma Rose. Is she on any of the ships these days?

Ann,you are thinking of Ed Waters.He just opened on the brand new Regent ship. He flew to Europe  to join  and bring her from the shipyard. Have no idea what happened to Max.

 

Also the four piece band I got to hear for two months. The singer is married to the drummer. The Living Room was busy with them playing at night. Great people..think her name is Sheena.