The Azamara 'Personality'

[Fatfish]

Article from Cruise Industry News

https://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/24281-the-azamara-personality.html

[TeaBag]

Very encouraging article.  Thank you for posting.  I hope Captain Johannes Tysse  is still on the Journey when we sail in May 2022.

[uktog]

18 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Very encouraging article.  Thank you for posting.  I hope Captain Johannes Tysse  is still on the Journey when we sail in May 2022.

Too early to tell.  They had started a policy of moving everyone around, not sure if they will keep it but he has been moved to Quest for 2021.  Captain Gianmario and Captain Magnus are currently allocated to Journey.  Both are very much in the style of Captain Johannes - humour, visibility, approachability etc. so if they keep them on Journey next year you won't be disappointed.

[ECCruise]

If you are looking for a brief look at the "Azamara experience" here is a look at it from the perspective of a very difficult situation (Quest last sailing in midst of a deepening COVID situation).  We were on the same sailing and we heartily agree with this sentiment.  And a look at Captain Magnus' leadership as well.

VACATION INTERRUPTED: An unexpected adventure on the high seas

[Baynanno1]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

If you are looking for a brief look at the "Azamara experience" here is a look at it from the perspective of a very difficult situation (Quest last sailing in midst of a deepening COVID situation).  We were on the same sailing and we heartily agree with this sentiment.  And a look at Captain Magnus' leadership as well.

VACATION INTERRUPTED: An unexpected adventure on the high seas

 

An excellent read . . . thanks for posting.

Above and beyond is where Azamara's wonderful crew members go to sort problems, whether they are miniscule or gigantic. No wonder we love cruising with them!

[TeaBag]

I enjoyed the unexpected adventure of the high seas as it paralleled our experience on Celebrity Eclipse in South America at exactly the same time.

[hamrag]

“I prefer to be visible,” he told Cruise Industry News; “to be out and about and chat with people. Sometimes I position myself strategically with traffic coming by, so I may spend time at the gangway in the morning with my coffee, alongside our hotel director, while greeting guests as they go ashore.”

Tysse could also be spotted onboard helping the staff serving food and drinks during a special event, and he was at the gangway at disembarkation, thanking guests and wishing them a safe journey home.

 

We found ALL of the above to be true on our two B2B Azamara cruises. Heike too, as referenced in the article was incredibly visible and the most amazing Hotel Director we have ever seen on our 47 cruises.

Each morning, I headed down to the coffee bar for our early caffeine fix 'to go'. Often, Captain Johannes would arrive for his coffee, and not once was he served before others in line. The coffee bar crew had obviously been instructed by him not to give special treatment, as guests were more important to him. The extent of senior officer interaction, in our experience, is unique to Azamara.

 

The white night, in particular, had the full range of senior officers serving and mingling with all passengers and not only with frequent cruisers. On the white night of our second cruise of the B2B, I went early to find a suitable table for us and wait for my DW to arrive about half an hour later. The Captains' wife, or partner, saw me sitting alone and asked if it was OK to join me for a few minutes. She was a delightful lady, and we had the most engaging chat for 10 minutes or so.....I wondered if she perhaps thought initially that I was a widower or just on my own, but it was a lovely experience.

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

3 hours ago, hamrag said:

“I prefer to be visible,” he told Cruise Industry News; “to be out and about and chat with people. Sometimes I position myself strategically with traffic coming by, so I may spend time at the gangway in the morning with my coffee, alongside our hotel director, while greeting guests as they go ashore.”

Tysse could also be spotted onboard helping the staff serving food and drinks during a special event, and he was at the gangway at disembarkation, thanking guests and wishing them a safe journey home.

 

We found ALL of the above to be true on our two B2B Azamara cruises. Heike too, as referenced in the article was incredibly visible and the most amazing Hotel Director we have ever seen on our 47 cruises.

Each morning, I headed down to the coffee bar for our early caffeine fix 'to go'. Often, Captain Johannes would arrive for his coffee, and not once was he served before others in line. The coffee bar crew had obviously been instructed by him not to give special treatment, as guests were more important to him. The extent of senior officer interaction, in our experience, is unique to Azamara.

 

 

I agree. It's hard to explain with Captain Johannes, but he is the most sociable of people and humble, not flashy with a real depth of the genuine. And he, like Heike is everywhere and will always find time to stop and converse. It's a very natural skill which comes with loving their jobs. 

 

Phil 

[CynthiaP]

Hi ECCruise!

We were on the same cruise in the Indian Ocean as you were! We were also booked for the back-to-back cruise of the Persian Gulf that was cancelled. Between Azamara, our travel agent and Emirates airline, we had no problem getting home. It was our first cruise on Azamara. We have sailed Celebrity many times. We were drawn to this cruise because of the itinerary. We loved the smaller size of the ship and everything about it. We were also on the pre-cruise extension in Zimbabwe and Botswana, which was fabulous. The entire crew was fabulous. We had a wonderful time and made friends we still correspond with. Before we disembarked, we booked an Azamara Greece cruise for October 2021 and the Rio Carnival cruise in February 2022. We can't wait and hope these sail.

 

[LuAnn]

10 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I agree. It's hard to explain with Captain Johannes, but he is the most sociable of people and humble, not flashy with a real depth of the genuine. And he, like Heike is everywhere and will always find time to stop and converse. It's a very natural skill which comes with loving their jobs. 

 

Phil 

We were with Captain Johannes on the holiday cruise December of '19. We had sailed with him before and on that cruise we told him that our DD Tiffanie was now working as a "Business Development Manager" for Azamara. She was coming on board as we left the ship and he said he would look out for her. He did that and just this month...when Tiffanie needed his help with answering a question for a travel agent he asked how her Mom and Dad were doing. We thought that was so special!! 

[bbqoug]

In April 2019 DW & I were on Journey with Captain Johannes in charge.

On the 3rd day of the cruise as we approached Charleston Harbor I started receiving calls on my cell phone letting me know that my father had died back at home.

Of course we needed to leave the cruise to get home to help with the arrangements.

 

The crew members were fantastic in helping with arrangements for us to meet with Customs & Border Protection to get permission to fly home since we were in violation of a US Maritime Act that stipulated we could not board in one US city (New York) & then disembark in another US city without first visiting a foreign port.

We had to pay a fine, but they allowed us to disembark & go home.

 

I sent a message to Captain Johannes on Twitter letting him know how much we enjoyed the limited time on Journey and that he would be proud of how kind and helpful his crew had been.

 

About 3 months later I received a call that said it was from South Carolina. I answered even though I didn't recognize the caller and it ended up being Captain Johannes.

He said he had read my message and was calling to see if I was doing OK after the passing of my father. Who does that? Apparently Captain Johannes does!

Needless to say I was very touched, and still tear up when thinking about his kind gesture.

It is now a goal of ours to sail with Captain Johannes again in the future.

 

[marinaro44]

People like Johannes, Carl, Ryszard, Heike et al are what make Azamara special.  Shower size is just a nit.

[laurieb]

On 1/30/2021 at 12:55 PM, TeaBag said:

Very encouraging article.  Thank you for posting.  I hope Captain Johannes Tysse  is still on the Journey when we sail in May 2022.

He’s now on the Quest
 

[laurieb]

4 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

People like Johannes, Carl, Ryszard, Heike et al are what make Azamara special.  Shower size is just a nit.

Yeah how much time do you spend in your shower??

[Host Jazzbeau]

32 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Yeah how much time do you spend in your shower??

 

The time may be short, but the encounter can be quite intimate!!!

[TeaBag]

1 hour ago, bbqoug said:

In April 2019 DW & I were on Journey with Captain Johannes in charge.

On the 3rd day of the cruise as we approached Charleston Harbor I started receiving calls on my cell phone letting me know that my father had died back at home.

Of course we needed to leave the cruise to get home to help with the arrangements.

 

The crew members were fantastic in helping with arrangements for us to meet with Customs & Border Protection to get permission to fly home since we were in violation of a US Maritime Act that stipulated we could not board in one US city (New York) & then disembark in another US city without first visiting a foreign port.

We had to pay a fine, but they allowed us to disembark & go home.

 

I sent a message to Captain Johannes on Twitter letting him know how much we enjoyed the limited time on Journey and that he would be proud of how kind and helpful his crew had been.

 

About 3 months later I received a call that said it was from South Carolina. I answered even though I didn't recognize the caller and it ended up being Captain Johannes.

He said he had read my message and was calling to see if I was doing OK after the passing of my father. Who does that? Apparently Captain Johannes does!

Needless to say I was very touched, and still tear up when thinking about his kind gesture.

It is now a goal of ours to sail with Captain Johannes again in the future.

 

What a lovely tribute to Captain Johannes.  I think it is an absolute shame that the Maritime Act people could not waive the fine for you.  After all it is a very sad day to lose your father and also to have to abort your cruise.

[bbqoug]

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

What a lovely tribute to Captain Johannes.  I think it is an absolute shame that the Maritime Act people could not waive the fine for you.  After all it is a very sad day to lose your father and also to have to abort your cruise.

Thank you.

I asked the CBP officers if they could waive the fine since my father fought for this country in the Korean War, but they wouldn't budge. Oh well, at least we were somewhere where it was easy to fly home quickly to be with the rest of our family.

[SailingSteve77]

On 1/30/2021 at 3:13 PM, ECCruise said:

If you are looking for a brief look at the "Azamara experience" here is a look at it from the perspective of a very difficult situation (Quest last sailing in midst of a deepening COVID situation).  We were on the same sailing and we heartily agree with this sentiment.  And a look at Captain Magnus' leadership as well.

VACATION INTERRUPTED: An unexpected adventure on the high seas

Thank you for sharing.  Like you, we were on the last sailing of the Pursuit - Buenos Aries to Lima.  Our last port of call was Punta Arenas, Chile when the ports in South America started closing to cruise ships.  Our cruise was canceled as we sat anchored off of Santiago, Chile for several days.  Everyone was booking flights and they would cancel and then rebook and cancel again.  Just like Captain Magnus, Captain Carl Smith showed his leadership skills to passengers and crew alike.  When he announced that we would now sail to Miami, the whole ship erupted in cheers and many tears.  We then stayed anchored for another couple of days while the ship was reprovisioned by one tug.  Going back and forth 24/7.  We then set sail for Miami and I've enclosed a pic from our White Night Party.  This was our first experience with Azamara and we were impressed indeed by the professionalism, care and hard work by the crew.  We are booked on the Pursuit for their T/A sailing next November in the same cabin.  

 

Cheers!

 

Steve & Cindy  

[TeaBag]

We were watching the Pursuit while we, too, sailed around in rings on Eclipse pleading with the San Antonio people to let us dock.  Nope.  We liked having a companion ship out there in the deep.  it was lonely to see you sail away.  We sailed on to Valparaiso where we were provisioned and we wonder if that was where we contracted COVID.  We were reassured we were in a safe little bubble as we sailed on to San Diego.  In fact we were not, as we learned in an email upon arriving home.

we are booked on the Journey next year and I can hardly wait to experience Azamara.

[SailingSteve77]

On 2/7/2021 at 1:08 PM, TeaBag said:

We were watching the Pursuit while we, too, sailed around in rings on Eclipse pleading with the San Antonio people to let us dock.  Nope.  We liked having a companion ship out there in the deep.  it was lonely to see you sail away.  We sailed on to Valparaiso where we were provisioned and we wonder if that was where we contracted COVID.  We were reassured we were in a safe little bubble as we sailed on to San Diego.  In fact we were not, as we learned in an email upon arriving home.

we are booked on the Journey next year and I can hardly wait to experience Azamara.

I'm glad you made it home A-OK and you will love Azamara.  Here's a pic of your Eclipse off of San Antonio and the Pursuit (mini-me) and the Eclipse in Ushuaia, Argentina...

[TeaBag]

Thank you so much.  On our flight from Houston to BA, we sat beside a passenger who was on the Pursuit and later met him, by chance, on a tour in Ushuaia.  I think we were all well taken care of on the 2 ships.  I just wish this virus would become past tense so we could all enjoy cruising again.

[excitedofharpenden]

49 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Thank you so much.  On our flight from Houston to BA, we sat beside a passenger who was on the Pursuit and later met him, by chance, on a tour in Ushuaia.  I think we were all well taken care of on the 2 ships.  I just wish this virus would become past tense so we could all enjoy cruising again.

Coincidentally the year before in late 2018 I was on Pursuit heading down to Ushuaia and we passed Eclipse as she was heading away and I happened by chance to get a shot from the balcony after dinner. It’s not a very good one at night on my phone, but it was fun to see the ship I’ve been on a few times😎  I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Eclipse.  

 

Phil

[TeaBag]

We have met you somewhere, Phil.  We have been on Eclipse 6 times.

 

I hope the Azamara people are not annoyed at all the references to Eclipse on this thread.  I have to be honest and say we are very annoyed with Celebrity at the moment and hope to call Azamara our new line of choice.  Bring on the stories, Azamara sailors, I love them all already.