Anybody onboard currently?

[harrodsfan]

Again thanks for the response. I will check out the section you recommend. Obviously one can get sick on any cruise. And two months from now who knows. There could be another variant.  We have only done three tests, all self tests, as we have been fairly prudent in our activities. We have traveled a bit,. Hawaii, east coast last fall. 
this summer is our longest trip ever.. our trip is 46 days, 4 days getting to cruise ship. 21 day cruise b2b and then 18 days in rented homes in the country in England. The England part I am not concerned about. And we can make the cruise work if we have too.
 Hey, I was on a Royal Viking line world cruise that hit a reef in sharm el sheik Egypt in 1996.  We had to be evacuated from the ship after it almost sank.  We ended up in Egypt with a fabulous guide that ignited a life Long love of archeology.  So I guess I will have to think of this as an adventure. I am oldish but healthy so far. And I do want to travel. A dear friend we met through archeology is the enrichment lecturer for these cruises so that’s our motivation for booking. 

[Riocca]

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

[Riocca]

On a sour note Royal Club tonic is everywhere, will be having a serious discussion with F&B when appropriate. We have upgraded to the Ultimate package and you might as well mix Hendricks with bleach as Royal club🤬

[takemewithyou]

5 hours ago, Riocca said:

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

Thanks for the report!  
Can you elaborate just a bit more on the “more modern feel” that Onward has?  

Can’t wait to hear more!  😀

[uktog]

28 minutes ago, Riocca said:

On a sour note Royal Club tonic is everywhere, will be having a serious discussion with F&B when appropriate. We have upgraded to the Ultimate package and you might as well mix Hendricks with bleach as Royal club🤬

Sour note.... surely it is worse than that.  It is very disappointing to read this, surely under the new management they have worked out better sources of appropriate supplies.  Almost like they are tone deaf to feedback.  Like you wouldn't notice!!

 

Do report back on your discussion!

[oddjob16]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

On a sour note Royal Club tonic is everywhere, will be having a serious discussion with F&B when appropriate. We have upgraded to the Ultimate package and you might as well mix Hendricks with bleach as Royal club🤬

Same on Journey in january. They had some Schweppes around but would pour you the Royal Club if you looked away for a second. The Hendricks with Royal Club was just like a bad joke. Yes, have a serious moment with F&B manager, but I am afraid they are stuck with some management decisions from years ago. 

[RedBlu]

8 hours ago, Riocca said:

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

That’s good news, we’ve read conflicting answers about upgrading from an included package. We would have upgraded anyway but now we’ll have more of our OBC to spend on other things!

[Mrmatt]

11 hours ago, Riocca said:

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

Has the Pool deck been finished yet and are the sun loungers the same as other Azamara ships.

[Baynanno1]

23 hours ago, DS said:

Thanks, Audobon_tx... most interesting... seems like a lot of turn over after only 1 or 2 cruises...   Hope the next set of passengers can update us all

 

Captain and Hotel director usually work 4 months on and 2 months off.

They were on board well before the ship was able to return to cruising.

Cruise Director Tanya's current contract has just finished. (posted by Tanya on social media)

[Riocca]

9 hours ago, Mrmatt said:

Has the Pool deck been finished yet and are the sun loungers the same as other Azamara ships.

Everything is operational on the pool deck but they are still working on the final touches like hand rails and the cladding around the posts.

Sun loungers are different from the other ships we spent yesterday around the pool and found them very comfortable, didn’t hear any complaints from others either.

[Riocca]

14 hours ago, uktog said:

Sour note.... surely it is worse than that.  It is very disappointing to read this, surely under the new management they have worked out better sources of appropriate supplies.  Almost like they are tone deaf to feedback.  Like you wouldn't notice!!

 

Do report back on your discussion!

Spoke to Elizabeth about it yesterday and she’s going to come back to us, there is a hidden supply of Schweppes that the staff in the Atlas bar acquired for us.

We did suggest replacing Coke with Royal Club cola and see what the reaction was I think the point was accepted.

[Riocca]

14 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Thanks for the report!  
Can you elaborate just a bit more on the “more modern feel” that Onward has?  

Can’t wait to hear more!  😀

It’s the colour pallet and fixtures and fittings some areas feel like a new build not a 23 year old ship. The pictures of film stars are gone in Prime C and the dark wood panelling has modern grey inserts, Aqualina is light bright with modern fittings. 
The pool deck framework around the windows is in a graphite grey colour highlighting the view outside.

 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Spoke to Elizabeth about it yesterday and she’s going to come back to us, there is a hidden supply of Schweppes that the staff in the Atlas bar acquired for us.

We did suggest replacing Coke with Royal Club cola and see what the reaction was I think the point was accepted.

That’s great, though I d lost count of the number of times this conversation has been played out before including with Elizabeth.  The trouble for me, having also on occasion benefitted with the hidden supply is it’s very awkward sitting in a bar with others and you have and they have not.

Your point about Coke is very well made. 

[royallondon]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Spoke to Elizabeth about it yesterday and she’s going to come back to us, there is a hidden supply of Schweppes that the staff in the Atlas bar acquired for us.

We did suggest replacing Coke with Royal Club cola and see what the reaction was I think the point was accepted.

Thank you Riocca for these updates, appreciated.

 

I’m puzzled as to why the onboard Senior Management team haven’t been able to address this long ongoing issue.  Surely they have some clout in what should now be a more nimble “guest focused” organisation?  

In the grand scope of things the purchasing of tonic is insignificant.  Plenty of time has elapsed to allow a change to any current purchasing contracts.

Have they really been listening?

 

In the meantime, send the F&B Manager ashore armed with some money in the same way as the Chef does to buy the fresh fish and other produce.

 

Regards 

[les37b]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Spoke to Elizabeth about it yesterday and she’s going to come back to us, there is a hidden supply of Schweppes that the staff in the Atlas bar acquired for us.

We did suggest replacing Coke with Royal Club cola and see what the reaction was I think the point was accepted.

 

Never heard of Royal Club but just looked it up. Is it that bad?

 

I assume no Fever tree either?

 

Doesn't sound very premium or ultimate to me if they are skimping on the soda/mixers 

 

My June sailing on Pursuit only has basic drinks included. Not sure now whether to upcharge or not now. Problem is, I've loads of OBC left. Is there any shops onboard that's worthwhile using the credit on. Generally, I know the shops tend to be a bit meh, but a few years back I was shocked to find the Citizen Eco sale watch I bought on Silver Wind reduced to $118. It wasn't until I got home and found UK shops were selling it for £450. First time I've ever benefited.Normally it's my wife's credit spend fund!

[uktog]

33 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

Never heard of Royal Club but just looked it up. Is it that bad?

 

I assume no Fever tree either?

 

Doesn't sound very premium or ultimate to me if they are skimping on the soda/mixers 

 

My June sailing on Pursuit only has basic drinks included. Not sure now whether to upcharge or not now. Problem is, I've loads of OBC left. Is there any shops onboard that's worthwhile using the credit on. Generally, I know the shops tend to be a bit meh, but a few years back I was shocked to find the Citizen Eco sale watch I bought on Silver Wind reduced to $118. It wasn't until I got home and found UK shops were selling it for £450. First time I've ever benefited.Normally it's my wife's credit spend fund!

Fever tree is what we dream of, would love but we’ll take Schweppes just as we will take unknown brand sparkling water over club soda can. Honestly if you’re a g and t drinker it’s not worth upgrading just to enjoy premium brands if it’s royal club rubbish onboard.  However if you upgrade to the ultimate also to get the slightly better wine, you can see some benefit. But the upgraded wine selection can also be hit and miss with what’s advertised not being available.  The “champagne” on Quest last month because they’d run out was not good.  I can see given the pictures the decent stuff was on Pursuit and Onward for their reopening/opening. It’s not so nice being on the “poor relation”.  They need to crack the beverage quality and supply fleet wide.
 

Shops vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise but generally very difficult to find much worth buying. But you do sometimes come up lucky as you did. 
 

Royal London is right, they’ve had years to sort out this tonic issue.  We were all believing the “sort outs” would roll in on Onward when clearly they’ve actually gone out and stocked it with inferior products.  Absolutely the f and b manager should ensure they or someone in their team has a daily task ashore! 

[Mrs Miggins]

I think the shop on Quest was awful.  A large portion of the central display was taken up with 'refurbished' ie second hand Louis Vuitton handbags.  Prices were $1500 upwards.  This is a really specialised market and the bags that I saw at the beginning of our B2B were still there at the end.

 

I drank a few Vodka tonics onboard and they were using the large bottle of Schweppes Tonic.

 

Just filled out my online end of trip survey and it really does not address my concerns.  Apart from the wonderful group in the Living room which was the best we have seen, the rest of the entertainment fell far short of previous cruises.  We have previously had Tony and Eric as CD's.  Omnipresent and always with a word or a smile.  Our CD just went though the motions.  I don't know if that is normal for her but her forthcoming wedding to the Future Cruise Consultant would understandably have been a huge distraction.  

Because of Ravenna's strict rules she had to leave the ship early and the last night entertainment was a local folk band.  Of course both the Captain and Ryzard were isolating.  The new F & B manager Richard Godwyn did a sterling job.  Also the Associate Cruise Director, shortly moving to Journey I think, Darren Lytton is going to be very good.  His one man show was excellent and we saw his confidence growing through the two weeks we were onboard.  However the production shows were lacklustre and had not a shred of humour - where were the roller skates, where was the dressing up and being 'silly' sometimes ?

 

However overall we had a great cruise overall and have booked a 14 day Spanish Intensive for next June.

As ever we met some lovely people and the crew were outstanding.

Edited May 4, 2022 by Mrs Miggins

[les37b]

31 minutes ago, uktog said:

Fever tree is what we dream of, would love but we’ll take Schweppes just as we will take unknown brand sparkling water over club soda can. Honestly if you’re a g and t drinker it’s not worth upgrading just to enjoy premium brands if it’s royal club rubbish onboard.  However if you upgrade to the ultimate also to get the slightly better wine, you can see some benefit. But the upgraded wine selection can also be hit and miss with what’s advertised not being available.  The “champagne” on Quest last month because they’d run out was not good.  I can see given the pictures the decent stuff was on Pursuit and Onward for their reopening/opening. It’s not so nice being on the “poor relation”.  They need to crack the beverage quality and supply fleet wide.
 

Shops vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise but generally very difficult to find much worth buying. But you do sometimes come up lucky as you did. 
 

Royal London is right, they’ve had years to sort out this tonic issue.  We were all believing the “sort outs” would roll in on Onward when clearly they’ve actually gone out and stocked it with inferior products.  Absolutely the f and b manager should ensure they or someone in their team has a daily task ashore! 

 

Seems crazy to penny pinch on an important aspect of your enjoyment and I seriously don't understand the relative high cost of the ultimate upgrade if it doesn't address the basics.

 

I get that some brands or variants can't be accommodated and there will be disappointments. 

 

On my Jan Silver Moon trip, I was confident there would be no tanquary Sevilla and there wasn't. There was however a Ginato citrus substitute, served with Fevertree Clementine and I was made for the entire 25 days. Awesome.

 

On Sky Princess last month, selection was basic as expected. (They don't pretend to be anything more than mainstream cruising), but was happy enough with Hendricks and schweppes tonic.

 

If you get the chance, the SALT bar on the newer Muse class ships are great.... But you can't please everyone all the time. The concept came as a replacement for my favourite eatery at Sea Indochine. You can't have everything, even on ultra luxury lines! But the drinks are awesome. You would think a basic tequila sunrise cocktail would be mostly similar... How wrong was I. 

 

 

 

The Celine le Moon was nice too. Bit of art form, almost too good to drink!

 

Worth the overall extra increase in costs for superior drinks? Nope, but if the comparison can't get the basics right, it becomes a failure. Bit of a red line that would have me leave saying never again. 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

That’s great, though I d lost count of the number of times this conversation has been played out before including with Elizabeth.  The trouble for me, having also on occasion benefitted with the hidden supply is it’s very awkward sitting in a bar with others and you have and they have not.

Your point about Coke is very well made. 

Yes, it's been promise after promise and whilst it is nice that onboard management appear to be listening it's the same story.  They obviously aren't or don't have the ears of the office because nothing gets done and the Royal keeps coming back like a (excuse the phrase) turd that won't flush. The mixers certainly don't go with a premium or ultimate drink package. They can restrict the use of the better mixers to those on the packages if they want. At least we can all make a choice of whether it's worth the upgrade. They might sell more packages because of it.  Perhaps that should be an idea and might get their attention. 

 

Phil 

[Mrmatt]

8 hours ago, Riocca said:

Everything is operational on the pool deck but they are still working on the final touches like hand rails and the cladding around the posts.

Sun loungers are different from the other ships we spent yesterday around the pool and found them very comfortable, didn’t hear any complaints from others either.

Thank you. Sailing on 4th June and hope deck floor is finished. 

[Mackdogmolly]

Very happy to hear that an upgrade from premium to ultimate can be had for the $7 difference. Hope they will honor that on my Quest cruise in June, which comes with the premium package.

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, Mrmatt said:

Thank you. Sailing on 4th June and hope deck floor is finished. 

Deck floor is completely finished it’s just some woodwork and that’s virtually done now.

[jollyjoyce]

9 hours ago, royallondon said:

Thank you Riocca for these updates, appreciated.

 

I’m puzzled as to why the onboard Senior Management team haven’t been able to address this long ongoing issue.  Surely they have some clout in what should now be a more nimble “guest focused” organisation?  

In the grand scope of things the purchasing of tonic is insignificant.  Plenty of time has elapsed to allow a change to any current purchasing contracts.

Have they really been listening?

 

In the meantime, send the F&B Manager ashore armed with some money in the same way as the Chef does to buy the fresh fish and other produce.

 

Regards 

LOL and I think that F & B manager might beTony ???  He owes it to us Brits to get some decent tonic onboard.  I am sick of asking for it. This is the only thing that I would complain about on Az...hopefully by July when we come onboard it will be sorted......as Tony will be Hotel Director  on Onward.

[combine]

8 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

I think the shop on Quest was awful.  A large portion of the central display was taken up with 'refurbished' ie second hand Louis Vuitton handbags.  Prices were $1500 upwards.  This is a really specialised market and the bags that I saw at the beginning of our B2B were still there at the end.

 

I drank a few Vodka tonics onboard and they were using the large bottle of Schweppes Tonic.

 

Just filled out my online end of trip survey and it really does not address my concerns.  Apart from the wonderful group in the Living room which was the best we have seen, the rest of the entertainment fell far short of previous cruises.  We have previously had Tony and Eric as CD's.  Omnipresent and always with a word or a smile.  Our CD just went though the motions.  I don't know if that is normal for her but her forthcoming wedding to the Future Cruise Consultant would understandably have been a huge distraction.  

Because of Ravenna's strict rules she had to leave the ship early and the last night entertainment was a local folk band.  Of course both the Captain and Ryzard were isolating.  The new F & B manager Richard Godwyn did a sterling job.  Also the Associate Cruise Director, shortly moving to Journey I think, Darren Lytton is going to be very good.  His one man show was excellent and we saw his confidence growing through the two weeks we were onboard.  However the production shows were lacklustre and had not a shred of humour - where were the roller skates, where was the dressing up and being 'silly' sometimes ?

 

However overall we had a great cruise overall and have booked a 14 day Spanish Intensive for next June.

As ever we met some lovely people and the crew were outstanding.

Would agree re Richard Godwin (F&B) really nice guy and Darren Lynton will fit in perfectly as asst Cruise Director on Journey . He has a great  voice , nice patter and great life skills after singing around the world and  being a teacher for 10 years! .. He was on our Pompeii trip and we enjoyed chatting with him. 
 

The Fantastic Beats in the living room were a very good band, very versatile.

Why there were 4 dancers goodness only knows !  Having only 2 singers to compliment Cruise director and asst seemed very strange planning? 

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, combine said:

 

The Fantastic Beats in the living room were a very good band, very versatile.

 

Fabulous band, we are usually Den people in the evening but that band totally changed our evening menu. Agree Darren is going to be a really good fit.