Atlas Bar on Onward

[uktog]

9 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Want to hear all about this no upselling cruise! 😉 

 

I’m going to do a comparative review when I get back - it’s Viking - can’t do much onboard the WiFi is no better than Azamara (we’ve done approximately this itinerary on Azamara so it’s not a location issue) 

[Marmaduke]

Very disappointing news.  Azamara was one of the few cruise lines that had a library, well stocked with a good variety of books in a dedicated room.  I guess now that if Onward is to continue have a 'library' it will be poked away in some corner of the ship.  Maybe they will  install a book shop, with books for purchase (better not give them any ideas).

As for the small plates of food to be provided with these expensive cocktails, what is wrong with the tapas in the Living Room or is that to be discontinued.

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Riocca said:

Viewing the video posted on Facebook the ceilings are in very poor condition probably due to age and lack of maintenance by Princess so there might not be an option of keeping it.

 

Another though, the Atlas Bar will I assume be an evening venue so the space will still be available during the day. The Den is successfully a dual purpose space day to evening this may well be the case with the Atlas Bar.

Restoration would always have been possible. Trouble is from the pictures you now have something with fixed seating so not that conducive to other events. For example where would weddings or vow renewals which it was a perfect setting for on the other ships. 
I think we can see the direction of the new owners coming through. 
And another thought when exactly to people want this artisan food whatever that is?  And do you have to have a package to have the food? 

[Riocca]

To clarify what Azamara are saying, you don’t have to have a package to use the Atlas Bar so anyone can use it. As it’s only serving premium cocktails you have to pay for them as you would with premium cocktails at any other bar on the ship, but if you have the Ultimate Package they’re included. 
If it’s cocktails only then for us it’s use would be limited, but if you can get normal drinks like a G&T, hopefully with Fevertree, then it’s a possibility. We normally go for the Ultimate Package as it includes the alcohol we normally drink and as we are on holiday to enjoy ourselves why compromise for a small additional cost.

[amyr]

I fell in love with the Pacific Princess when we took a long trans-Pacific cruise on her.  It was not long after Princess acquired her from Renaissance, so she was still in good shape.  Loving that ship is what led us eventually to Azamara, and I was so happy to see they were giving the old R3 new life.  It's sad, however, to see what's happened to the lovely library.  Looks like they replaced the ceiling panels with plain ones?  It's a nice looking bar, I suppose, but it's so dark and closed in.  Not a place I'd seek out to buy a fancy cocktail.  

[john1970]

Way to annoy the loyal customers. To be honest after our April cruise on Pursuit we will be looking at testing other lines. I just feel Azamara doesn't listen to it's loyal cruisers and the crew onboard are being let down by the management in the USA.

[Trend]

Very disappointed the feeling that sets Azamara apart is the lack of class distinctions. This is not an all inclusive anymore.

Feeling is it may turn devoted passengers off (my personal feeling)

[nordski]

I am impressed by the strongly held views in support of maintaining The Drawing Room as it was.

Allow me to suggest a contrarian view.

 

Firstly, as some have suggested, it was a multipurpose venue and sometimes suffered from the failings of such a location.

My wife, who would often go there in mornings to quietlyread a book, sometimes had to leave as a few others arrived for socializing. When used for a CC Meet and Greet, the furniture never seemed to be in a pattern that led to community and the arrival of other cruisers who were touring the ship placed one in a bit of a fishbowl. They no doubt wondered who we thought we were. 
Thus, although a versatile space, I am thinking that many of the functions performed by The Drawing Room could be fairly easily relocated.

 

Secondly, on ships that were noted for a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, to me The Drawing Room displayed the least of these qualities. It had the feeling of an Edwardian gentleman’s club, or at least the ones I have seen in movies, and one where I knew that I would never be proposed for membership. Even when just walking through to gaze at the room’s best feature, it’s ceiling, I would sometimes find myself being stared at by someone in one of those nicely upholstery chairs who seemed to know that I just didn’t belong.

 

Finally, if the Atlas Bar attracts those who would normally frequent The Den in the evening, I am hoping that that will provide more seating for us when we want to listen to the musician performing there.

 

I am confident that these views are a minority position, but if this is the biggest change in the ships’ design, for revenue purposes no doubt,  then I will be fine with that. 

[ECCruise]

Obviously on this subset of Azamara cruisers, the sentiment is largely negative to the Atlas Bar.

Unless this feeling is transmitted to the powers that be, however, I am virtually certain that you will see this in each future drydock of the other 3 ships.

 

See:  Celebrity first "Solsticizing" the rest of the fleet first, then "Revolutionizing" (i.e. "Edgifying") all the ships in the next go-round.

[ECCruise]

18 minutes ago, nordski said:

Secondly, on ships that were noted for a friendly and welcoming atmosphere, to me The Drawing Room displayed the least of these qualities. It had the feeling of an Edwardian gentleman’s club, or at least the ones I have seen in movies, and one where I knew that I would never be proposed for membership. Even when just walking through to gaze at the room’s best feature, it’s ceiling, I would sometimes find myself being stared at by someone in one of those nicely upholstery chairs who seemed to know that I just didn’t belong.

Been in, or through, the Drawing Room probably hundreds of times over the years and never once got that feeling from another Azamara cruiser.

[oddjob16]

Strange move and I wonder what is the rationale behind it. You can get a cocktail anywhere on the ship, but in this place you ONLY get cocktails. You must pay for the cocktail here, but anywhere else on the ship the cocktails are included. It strikes me as somewhat desperate move to make use of a space they think is underused. Why not a sportsbar, a pub, a wine bar? But cocktails of all things……

[Riocca]

If my memory serves me correctly when The Den was announced on Pursuit back in 2018 there was similar consternation, now it’s accepted as the favourite place for many.

Like others I have reservations about the concept but the simple fact is that if it’s a success and a good number of passengers use it then it will stay and possibly be added to the other ships. If not they will try a number of tweaks to see what works, if nothing does then the idea will be dropped.

I’ve seen this before on other cruise lines, even on Azamara with the plays & opera, in the end it’s down to the passengers whether it’s a success or not.

[ECCruise]

11 minutes ago, Riocca said:

If my memory serves me correctly when The Den was announced on Pursuit back in 2018 there was similar consternation, now it’s accepted as the favourite place for many.

Like others I have reservations about the concept but the simple fact is that if it’s a success and a good number of passengers use it then it will stay and possibly be added to the other ships. If not they will try a number of tweaks to see what works, if nothing does then the idea will be dropped.

I’ve seen this before on other cruise lines, even on Azamara with the plays & opera, in the end it’s down to the passengers whether it’s a success or not.

Agree with one caveat.  If it doesn't work, then the damage has been done.  You will never see it returned to the IMHO unique space it once was.  

[marinaro44]

14 minutes ago, Riocca said:

If my memory serves me correctly when The Den was announced on Pursuit back in 2018 there was similar consternation, now it’s accepted as the favourite place for many.

Like others I have reservations about the concept but the simple fact is that if it’s a success and a good number of passengers use it then it will stay and possibly be added to the other ships. If not they will try a number of tweaks to see what works, if nothing does then the idea will be dropped.

I’ve seen this before on other cruise lines, even on Azamara with the plays & opera, in the end it’s down to the passengers whether it’s a success or not.

As I recall, much of the consternation was from devotees of the about-to-disappear casino.  Personally, I like the expanded Den but see no benefit for passengers in moving the shore excursion and future cruise sales desks into the Den area.  The benefit was to Azamara in being able to add revenue-producing oceanview staterooms on deck 4.

[Mackdogmolly]

11 hours ago, laurieb said:

I will go there.  Looks like a beautiful space to have a cocktail and tapas.

You can get a cocktail and tapas in the Living Room

[uktog]

I’ve never seen an overly crowded bar on Azamara so why add another

Theres no way back once they smash out the library - when the changes were made to the Den it was only the gamblers and one person who had issue with the siting of the piano who were unhappy all the other comments were positive. 
Of course they kept it under wraps to now when it’s too late….

Did anyone get a survey asking if you wanted more cocktail venues onboard?…..
How many of Azamaras customer base would say in the evening my No 1 drink of choice is a cocktail?  This is more the language of twenty somethings than the Azamara average

Its all about revenue generation pushing sales of packages. I’m really disappointed to have a booking on Onward now. 
And I’m not sure the direction of travel fits the customer base unless we are heading towards a more “Celebrity type experience” 

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, Trend said:

Very disappointed the feeling that sets Azamara apart is the lack of class distinctions. This is not an all inclusive anymore.

Feeling is it may turn devoted passengers off (my personal feeling)

This is open to everyone, why do you see it as not inclusive and class distinctive?

[Mackdogmolly]

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

I’ve never seen an overly crowded bar on Azamara so why add another

Theres no way back once they smash out the library - when the changes were made to the Den it was only the gamblers and one person who had issue with the siting of the piano who were unhappy all the other comments were positive. 
Of course they kept it under wraps to now when it’s too late….

Did anyone get a survey asking if you wanted more cocktail venues onboard?…..
How many of Azamaras customer base would say in the evening my No 1 drink of choice is a cocktail?  This is more the language of twenty somethings than the Azamara average

Its all about revenue generation pushing sales of packages. I’m really disappointed to have a booking on Onward now. 
And I’m not sure the direction of travel fits the customer base unless we are heading towards a more “Celebrity type experience” 

Here here!

[uktog]

25 minutes ago, laurieb said:

This is open to everyone, why do you see it as not inclusive and class distinctive?

But only those who have purchased the package fully benefit from the experience  (or pay as you go). Maybe the words aren’t right but I totally get where trend is coming from. 
If you look at the list of things people are “excluded from without an additional payment” either at the time of booking (by the type of room they choose) or if they don’t purchase an up sell onboard it’s getting longer recently 

*Speciality dining - not that special now they’ve crammed so many tables in

• Thalassotherapy pool

*Private breakfast dining venue

*The Atlas Bar (unless you drink standard drinks in which case why go)

 

Im also concerned about space to sit on a day when outside sitting isn’t an option. Azamara ships have very little public sitting space. They’ve recently taken space in Mosaic for shops already. The Library was a comfortable bolt hole these “inside” days. Bar lounge seating will not be as comfortable. And it’s certainly not going to be an appropriate venue for church services or Bill W meetings any more. Where will they go? 

[cruisefam38]

19 hours ago, KirkNC said:

Who would go there and why?

Passengers who wandered over from Celebrity or one of the other cruise lines squeezing profit from every available public space and don't appreciate the pleasure of a quiet, peaceful space. 

 

Since one of our first stops upon boarding an Azamara ship is the Drawing Room to borrow books, and since we use the resource literature available throughout the cruises we think this is a loss.

 KirkNC, since we just met you and your wife in the Drawing Room on the Quest, I have a recent positive memory of that public space. 

Did the TPTB not consider the Den for the craft cocktail bar?  I agree with uktog, for the population of passengers on an Azamara ship, is another bar necessary?

I guess no one could figure a way to reconfigure the space for a suite or two.

 

When will TPTB appreciate the whole ship as a single revenue generating unit, and understand the overall ambiance of the travel experience includes contemplative spaces as well as noisy, crowded, busy, raucous environments?  Revenue generation is indirect as well as direct, albeit more difficult to quantify.

[lisiamc]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

Agree with one caveat.  If it doesn't work, then the damage has been done.  You will never see it returned to the IMHO unique space it once was.  

If those photos above were from Pacific Princess/Onward, then it arrived to Azamara with the  bar already added.  I can’t fault Azamara for trying to find a use for something that will be expensive to remove.  I like the theoretical idea of a bar to meet in before dinner at Prime C or Aqualina, since I have never in many cruises seen anyone actually using the bar in Aqualina, and on the few occasions I’ve used the bar in Prime C, it’s been a pretty dull affair.
 

I’m not in favour of the very niche approach of fancy, expensive cocktails being their only offering, though. We will hopefully get to try it in May, and I will report back.

[ECCruise]

29 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

If those photos above were from Pacific Princess/Onward, then it arrived to Azamara with the  bar already added. 

I may be wrong, but I thought the posted pictures were after Azamara repurposed it.

The pictures I find of the library on Pacific Princess look like this:

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

If my memory serves me correctly when The Den was announced on Pursuit back in 2018 there was similar consternation, now it’s accepted as the favourite place for many.

Like others I have reservations about the concept but the simple fact is that if it’s a success and a good number of passengers use it then it will stay and possibly be added to the other ships. If not they will try a number of tweaks to see what works, if nothing does then the idea will be dropped.

I’ve seen this before on other cruise lines, even on Azamara with the plays & opera, in the end it’s down to the passengers whether it’s a success or not.

The concept of the Atlas Bar is very different to The Den though as that became a space for all at the expense (or otherwise) of the Casino. This new area is more of a revenue generator and losing an already nice and well used space.  I guess the proof of the pudding will be the extra revenue it actually generates. That will be an easy measure. The Azamara guests are a savvy bunch financially (even if Azamara aspires them to be high income/high spending) and I'm just not sure it will be that busy, except for those that have the Ultimate package. They will be trying to push that package for sure. 

 

You'll remember when they were thinking of converting the Sunset Bar into an evening speciality restaurant and Azamara came here after the announcement and shelved the idea because of all the negative comments. I was very impressed they swallowed their pride. That was in the days of Larry Pimentel. 

 

We will see. I'm trying to be positive and might be if you could get standard drinks there too because that adds another nice venue if say you were off to one of the Specialty restaurants. 

 

Phil 

[Riocca]

I’ve re read the email and it strikes me that the food probably isn’t included either given the description or the food available and that there’s a dessert menu. 
In effect it could be another specialty food outlet, I’m sure there’s more to come on this.

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The concept of the Atlas Bar is very different to The Den though as that became a space for all at the expense (or otherwise) of the Casino. This new area is more of a revenue generator and losing an already nice and well used space.  I guess the proof of the pudding will be the extra revenue it actually generates. That will be an easy measure. The Azamara guests are a savvy bunch financially (even if Azamara aspires them to be high income/high spending) and I'm just not sure it will be that busy, except for those that have the Ultimate package. They will be trying to push that package for sure. 

 

You'll remember when they were thinking of converting the Sunset Bar into an evening speciality restaurant and Azamara came here after the announcement and shelved the idea because of all the negative comments. I was very impressed they swallowed their pride. That was in the days of Larry Pimentel. 

 

We will see. I'm trying to be positive and might be if you could get standard drinks there too because that adds another nice venue if say you were off to one of the Specialty restaurants. 

 

Phil 

I could see the rationale of removing the bars from both specialty restaurants, we know already Aqualina’s  is being removed and make this a pre dinner venue. However it feels as if its closer to the Sunset veranda scenario.

Given what’s happened over the last few years it’s no surprise that they’re looking to generate more revenue.