Onward Rebuild

[Riocca]

A few pictures from the current Captain onboard.

She’s certainly going to need her time in the beauty parlour 🤭

 

I see that Princess have removed the aft anchor from the ship.

[Riocca]

Good news from onboard, the name has now officially changed to Azamara Onward, not showing on MarineTraffic yet but took a few days to catch up when Adonia changed to Azamara Pursuit.

 

 

No interior pictures being released yet, possibly don’t want to show work in progress as they did with Pursuit before a big reveal.

[Cruiser Craig]

If anyone has any further updates, please share!  Thanks

[Riocca]

10 hours ago, Cruiser Craig said:

If anyone has any further updates, please share!  Thanks

Other than the Drawing Room being replaced by the Atlas Bar all that’s being said on Facebook is that the painting of the hull in Azamara colours has begun.

[uktog]

I’m going to be interested to see what they do with Mosaic and associated space on Deck 5.  Will the shops encroach further like they now do on Quest? 

[Riocca]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

I’m going to be interested to see what they do with Mosaic and associated space on Deck 5.  Will the shops encroach further like they now do on Quest? 

From the earlier walk round it’s going to be the same as Pursuit with Mosaics being on Starboard side, it looked like Princess had configured the shops the same as Pursuit when it was Royal Princess.

In a recent walk round video of Pursuit the shop fronts are now open as on Quest but keeping the same footprint with the extra shop area on port side, presumably this was done in the last dry dock.

It does limit the seating in Mosaic but at least there’s now no artwork clogging up the seating area, you can also use the seating in The Den.

 

[uktog]

39 minutes ago, Riocca said:

From the earlier walk round it’s going to be the same as Pursuit with Mosaics being on Starboard side, it looked like Princess had configured the shops the same as Pursuit when it was Royal Princess.

In a recent walk round video of Pursuit the shop fronts are now open as on Quest but keeping the same footprint with the extra shop area on port side, presumably this was done in the last dry dock.

It does limit the seating in Mosaic but at least there’s now no artwork clogging up the seating area, you can also use the seating in The Den.

 

The Den is too uncomfortable with its low chairs for anyone with mobility issues to enjoy a nice cup of tea in. 
Having just returned from Viking and enjoyed so much space (ship was 70% full you would have had no issue with the rest) and comfortable seating it really threw into contrast Azamaras limitations and it’s disappointing they are perpetuating them 

 

(will do a separate review in due course)

Edited March 26, 2022 by uktog

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

The Den is too uncomfortable with its low chairs for anyone with mobility issues to enjoy a nice cup of tea in. 
Having just returned from Viking and enjoyed so much space (ship was 70% full you would have had no issue with the rest) and comfortable seating it really threw into contrast Azamaras limitations and it’s disappointing they are perpetuating them 

 

(will do a separate review in due course)

We’ve only done one Viking Oceans pre pandemic, a big issue for us was that the ship being over 50% bigger than an R class can’t access some of the smaller, off the beaten track ports. As it was in the Caribbean we were always docking with the mega ships, there were other aspects that didn’t suit us but that’s always down to personal preferences.

[takemewithyou]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

The Den is too uncomfortable with its low chairs for anyone with mobility issues to enjoy a nice cup of tea in. 
Having just returned from Viking and enjoyed so much space (ship was 70% full you would have had no issue with the rest) and comfortable seating it really threw into contrast Azamaras limitations and it’s disappointing they are perpetuating them 

 

(will do a separate review in due course)

What is it with low chairs on cruises, that let’s face it, are predominantly occupied by senior citizens?  Our one cruise on Oceania, DH was so uncomfortable trying to get up from low chairs everywhere, except dining areas! 
I am looking forward to your review of Viking.  We leave in about 3 weeks for our first cruise with them and believe it or not, comfortable seating areas is one of the things we are hoping for.  That, and better wine and cocktail choices and a few other things!

[uktog]

43 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

What is it with low chairs on cruises, that let’s face it, are predominantly occupied by senior citizens?  Our one cruise on Oceania, DH was so uncomfortable trying to get up from low chairs everywhere, except dining areas! 
I am looking forward to your review of Viking.  We leave in about 3 weeks for our first cruise with them and believe it or not, comfortable seating areas is one of the things we are hoping for.  That, and better wine and cocktail choices and a few other things!

You are very much in luck then!

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

What is it with low chairs on cruises, that let’s face it, are predominantly occupied by senior citizens?  Our one cruise on Oceania, DH was so uncomfortable trying to get up from low chairs everywhere, except dining areas!

Designers are all young and 'hip' – with good hips!  Also, low chairs make the ceilings look higher.

[takemewithyou]

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Designers are all young and 'hip' – with good hips!  Also, low chairs make the ceilings look higher.

Exactly!  We figured that out on Oceania!  That’s the look the designer was looking for….make the ceilings not look so low!  The chairs would have been comfortable if they were at least 6 inches taller!  

Edited March 26, 2022 by takemewithyou

[Cruiser Craig]

Mixed feelings

 

Okay, I'm feeling a little sadly blue about the disappearance of the library since we did enjoy that haven and we don't really drink cocktails. 

 

Wine is our thing, along with peace, quiet, crosswords and books.

 

But on the other hand,  I'm feeling happily blue about the hull being painted that lovely Azamara blue.

 

Looking forward!

[Host Jazzbeau]

12 minutes ago, Cruiser Craig said:

Mixed feelings

 

Okay, I'm feeling a little sadly blue about the disappearance of the library since we did enjoy that haven and we don't really drink cocktails. 

 

Wine is our thing, along with peace, quiet, crosswords and books.

 

But on the other hand,  I'm feeling happily blue about the hull being painted that lovely Azamara blue.

 

Looking forward!

It looks lovely in this picture.  When the ship is in the water, it always looks black to me.

[Riocca]

Recent YouTube video of the outside of Onward, still some work to do, good news is that the name on MarineTraffic has now been updated.

 

 

[travelberlin]

There is definitely no more library on this ship? Or has it been reallocated? 
Ivi
 

[ECCruise]

9 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

There is definitely no more library on this ship? Or has it been reallocated? 
Ivi
 

The Library (Drawing Room) is definitely gonzo, replaced by an "Upscale" cocktail bar.

Whether they relocate a book collection (other than the travel books in the Den) elsewhere is yet to be determined.  But I, for sure, wouldn't count on it. 

[travelberlin]

10 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

The Library (Drawing Room) is definitely gonzo, replaced by an "Upscale" cocktail bar.

Whether they relocate a book collection (other than the travel books in the Den) elsewhere is yet to be determined.  But I, for sure, wouldn't count on it. 

Oh! This is very sad 😔 One of my favorite places on an Azamara ship is the library. I hope the other ships still have it.

Ivi

[ECCruise]

3 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Oh! This is very sad 😔 One of my favorite places on an Azamara ship is the library. I hope the other ships still have it.

Ivi

As of now, yes, Journey, Quest and Pursuit still have the Drawing Room.  I am pretty sure they will do the same "change" on those ships unless their new Cocktail venue is not supported with pax $$$.

Hint, hint. 

[fernem]

18 hours ago, travelberlin said:

Oh! This is very sad 😔 One of my favorite places on an Azamara ship is the library. I hope the other ships still have it.

Ivi

I think taking out the lovely library, used for private meetings as well, in order to make the room a money maker does not feel good. I will miss the sweet library and the sunset bar. 

[Mackdogmolly]

45 minutes ago, fernem said:

I think taking out the lovely library, used for private meetings as well, in order to make the room a money maker does not feel good. I will miss the sweet library and the sunset bar. 

Me too!

[uktog]

19 hours ago, ECCruise said:

As of now, yes, Journey, Quest and Pursuit still have the Drawing Room.  I am pretty sure they will do the same "change" on those ships unless their new Cocktail venue is not supported with pax $$$.

Hint, hint. 

Hint well and truly heard......

[travelberlin]

I also rather have a nice library then a cocktail bar some where. 
Maybe that cocktail bar is out of place on Azamara ships? More Celebrity type of venue?

Ivi

 

[excitedofharpenden]

51 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

I also rather have a nice library then a cocktail bar some where. 
Maybe that cocktail bar is out of place on Azamara ships? More Celebrity type of venue?

Ivi

 

And please, not the horrendously loud music they have in the martini bar on Celebrity. I sound like an old curmudgeon, but I felt like this some while ago when I was a lot younger and I'm not the only one. If they crank up music on Azamara or pipe muzak around the ship I'll likely walk away. I'd like to think they are more sensible at pitching the product to a different market. It will be very interesting to see how the new bar on Onward goes. 

 

Phil 

[laurieb]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

I also rather have a nice library then a cocktail bar some where. 
Maybe that cocktail bar is out of place on Azamara ships? More Celebrity type of venue?

Ivi

 

I don't think it's out of place at all