Is Onward really a 2.9?

[Piaa]

28 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Back to the original topic, for those of us who may be considering Onward, it would be nice to hear some specifics about the cabins and the condition of them since that seemed to be where all the complaints were on the first couple of cruises, as backed up by the reviews on CC.  Saying, well my cruise was great!  I appreciate that …..but How about answering some specifics?  There are a lot of complaints in these reviews….are they resolved or not?  I don’t know.

 

I asked some very specific questions about CC suites earlier in this thread and have gotten no responses!  I have gone to you tube and reviewed what I can but I am still left with questions.

 

I wish people would give some specifics about the cabins….

Have the chairs on the verandas been changed?  Were those temporary due to supply chain issues or permanent?
Is there now a second chair in the CC suites or just the one big upholstered chair?

is the furniture and the sinks still chipped or have repairs been made?

Any other comments on cabins?

 

 

Have the chairs on the verandas been changed?  Were those temporary due to supply chain issues or permanent?

No they are the same I believe but I didn't find then uncomfortable for coffee in the morning but wouldn't want to sit on them and read a book on a sea day.

Is there now a second chair in the CC suites or just the one big upholstered chair?

No still just one upholstered big chair

 

is the furniture and the sinks still chipped or have repairs been made?

Ours was fine although the sink very low (I am 5'2" and the countertop hit me about 3" BELOW my belly button LOL) 

 

Any other comments on cabins?

Deck 8 CCC and found it nice (although 2 rips in the headboard upholstery already) 

 

Hope this helps.

Edited September 12, 2022 by Piaa

[Piaa]

12 minutes ago, neverseasick said:

Hi Piaa! Your review has been posted...I just read it, thank-you. Sounds like they have their work cut out for them. Are you canceling your future Onward cruises? 😔

 

Yes we have cancelled our future Onward cruises and booked with SeaDream

[neverseasick]

1 hour ago, Piaa said:

Yes we have cancelled our future Onward cruises and booked with SeaDream

That's sad to hear. We will miss you!

[cruiseerf]

Just read Piaa's review.   Quite specific and cohesive.  It is sad that Azamara is sailing ships like this and I am hopeful they can "Pull it together" with maintenance and proper staffing.   It sounds like they have many new crew members and are struggling with the issues of a much older ship.   All these ships were constructed under the "R" brand I believe and like with automobiles, you can have 9 great ones come off the assembly line and 1 clunker....perhaps mechanically the Onward is the clunker?  Who knows.   The customer service lapses are unacceptable and they need to up their game.  Sounds like they need a more pro-active hotel director.  I sail in 6 weeks.  I will add my comments to this thread.  Safe sails to all. 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, cruiseerf said:

Just read Piaa's review.   Quite specific and cohesive.  It is sad that Azamara is sailing ships like this and I am hopeful they can "Pull it together" with maintenance and proper staffing.   It sounds like they have many new crew members and are struggling with the issues of a much older ship.   All these ships were constructed under the "R" brand I believe and like with automobiles, you can have 9 great ones come off the assembly line and 1 clunker....perhaps mechanically the Onward is the clunker?  Who knows.   The customer service lapses are unacceptable and they need to up their game.  Sounds like they need a more pro-active hotel director.  I sail in 6 weeks.  I will add my comments to this thread.  Safe sails to all. 

When Azamara bought Pursuit from Princess, Captain Carl told us that they had been offered this ship 'for free' in the deal and passed on it.  But when Sycamore needed to make a splash, this was the only quick fix available.  Still, they should have sent it to Harland and Wolff in Belfast instead of going with what seems to be the low bidder...

[neverseasick]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

When Azamara bought Pursuit from Princess, Captain Carl told us that they had been offered this ship 'for free' in the deal and passed on it.  But when Sycamore needed to make a splash, this was the only quick fix available.  Still, they should have sent it to Harland and Wolff in Belfast instead of going with what seems to be the low bidder...

Do you mean the Onward rather than the Pursuit? We are concerned since we are booked for the 2024 WC. Piaa was as well. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just now, neverseasick said:

Do you mean the Onward rather than the Pursuit? We are concerned since we are booked for the 2024 WC. Piaa was as well. 

Onward was the ship that was offered as a free add-on to the Pursuit deal.  [Princess owned both of them, and apparently ran them both into the ground – or whatever the appropriate metaphor is for cruise ships!]

[neverseasick]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Onward was the ship that was offered as a free add-on to the Pursuit deal.  [Princess owned both of them, and apparently ran them both into the ground – or whatever the appropriate metaphor is for cruise ships!]

Not good. We sailed on the Quest in late July which we greatly enjoyed. We were told by another couple who had sailed on the Onward when it was the Pacific Princess that it was extremely unstable when in rough waters. Not a great choice for a world cruise? 

[neverseasick]

I guess my question is are all the R ships equal in stability? We've sailed on one of the Oceania R ships during part of a world cruise in rough waters and were absolutely fine. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't know whether any of the improvements to the 8 R-ships over the years has involved things that would affect stability.  I'm sending a bat-signal to @chengkp75 for his expertise on this question.  I know he has said in the past that because of the hand-made steps in ship construction [he phrases it much more expertly than that...], no two ships sail exactly alike.

[hamrag]

7 hours ago, Piaa said:

 

Yes we have cancelled our future Onward cruises and booked with SeaDream

Thank you for the honest review. We wouldn't now choose Azamara over the many better options at a similar price point, with the exception being for a unique itinerary. They still have some that few other cruiselines offer, so that is a big plus for us and we are considering two such future cruises with them.

[marinaro44]

One person doesn't like a cruise and the world panics.  Ridiculous.

[Riocca]

We neither read or write reviews we know what we like and how we want to cruise. If we make a mistake and select a cruise line that doesn’t deliver what we think then it’s not necessarily the cruise line but our poor choice, as I’m sure many other passengers enjoy what is offered. Reviews  either seem to be from the cruise lines faithful or those with problems or buyers regret, we’ve cruised with 16 different cruise lines some we would return to others we wouldn’t but that’s based on just our opinion. If we have a problem we speak with the onboard staff who can address the issues, if they don’t then we won’t return.

 

Getting back to the OP’s question we were on Onwards maiden cruise and didn’t have any problems other than one which was self inflicted. Yes it was disappointing that the shipyard hadn’t completed the ship to schedule but it was mostly cosmetic in areas that other than visual didn’t impact us as a passengers. We were in a CC suite and in our personal opinion the bathroom layout had been improved as had the practicality of the storage, we had all the required furniture and the air conditioning worked just fine.

[kool kruiser]

We took our first Azamara cruises in May on the Onward. Yes, there were a number of quality issues from the refit, which we know were recognised fully by senior onboard officers. However, there were also many excellent features, for example the beautiful pool area with lovely hard and soft furnishings. Overall, we had a great time, perhaps primarily because the crew were superb. We are returning in October, so it couldn't have been that bad !!

As a matter of interest, when the Pacific Princess, the ship was used for that cruise line's then world cruise. In May, the seas were more akin to ponds so difficult to evaluate stability.

 

[Mackdogmolly]

12 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Here is the review…..was just again checking for new reviews….

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=690698

OUCH! My sister is sailing on Onward for her first Azamara cruise next March. Sure hope this isn’t her experience.

[Ithikan]

Extending thanks both to Piaa for the detailed Onward review, and Riocca for the thoughtful response.  We've the first two legs of Onward's World Cruise reserved, and are feeling some concern.  CC posts and online reviews will receive our close attention over the next several months...

[Piaa]

5 hours ago, hamrag said:

Thank you for the honest review. We wouldn't now choose Azamara over the many better options at a similar price point, with the exception being for a unique itinerary. They still have some that few other cruiselines offer, so that is a big plus for us and we are considering two such future cruises with them.

 

We LOVED the itinerary of the Onward WC and when I stumbled across the cruise after too many cocktails in the pool on a Sunday afternoon (😂) we were booked within 12 hours without hesitation but are now looking at Regent (and other lines) for long segments and SeaDream for Caribbean and European short vacations.  

 

Unfortunately 155 days on the Onward, at this point, would not be enjoyable (for us) which is sad as we were truly looking forward to it, as I'm not 100% confident they can fix all of the issues in time with them not having any time to haul and as mentioned, there was nothing major but many, many, small issues that added up to a not a great value at the Azamara price point - some I didn't mention in the review as they are minor but for when planning 155 day would have been annoying.

[Piaa]

12 hours ago, neverseasick said:

That's sad to hear. We will miss you!

 

We are so very sad but will be following along on you adventures on Facebook (and here) and we wish everyone a fabulous time.  

[Marmaduke]

Returned last week from a cruise on Onward.   There are still many small problems which need to be addressed, some are due to supply issues but what concerns me is that over time these might be come permanent cutbacks.

 

Cabins, we had a standard veranda which had been refurbished to a similar standard as the rest of the fleet. The fridge was in the single wardrobe which is where Princess installed it. I don't believe the R ships originally had fridges in the cabins. The drawback to this is it cuts down on the hanging space above, the draws below were still usable.  The light in the bathroom was rather dim and there was no container of cotton buds/cottonwool balls, nor notepads by the phone or binoculars   Balcony furniture is slightly smaller which gives more room outside, but the chairs have a low hard back which is not particularly comfortable.

 

Crew, many of the crew were new to Azamara and still undergoing training, but they were all very friendly and go out of their way to please.  

 

Laundry, only one iron and ironing board.

 

Atlas Bar, nicely decorated and moderately popular.  Having used OBC to upgrade to ultimate package we went in there most evenings.  Having tried about 4 of the special cocktails there is no way I would pay  the $17 + price tag.  I prefered to have my favourite cocktails made with the fresh ingredients that are available in there. No complimentary drinks are served there, you either pay by the drink or buy a package.

 

Library, according to Guest relations the library in now in the Living Room, port side, but it is not what I call a library, as there are very few books. I counted about 20 cookery books, 3 copies of the bible , 20 assorted fiction, and a dozen paperbacks left by previous guests.  This may be a supply issue, but having mentioned it to an officer, I was told nobody used the library on the other ships as everyone has an I-pad and Kindle these days !  If you have spare books at home and space in your suitcase outbound, the shelves in the Living Room could do with a boost.

 

Piped Music, this was a noticable irritant around the ship, particularly in Windows and by the pool. 

 

Shops, the same at the rest of the fleet, limited stock, high end and very over priced.  Only reason to shop there is to use up OBC.  

 

Pool Area and deck 11, plently of new, very comfortable sun loungers, although I noticed that many are already missing their wheels.  There are no sofas or hanging chairs on deck 11 unlike the other ships.

 

These are just a few of the differences I have noticed on Onward.  Initially I was not sure about the ship but it has grown on me, and I would be happy to sail on her again if the itinerary and price were right.

 

 

 

 

[Piaa]

6 minutes ago, Marmaduke said:

Piped Music, this was a noticable irritant around the ship, particularly in Windows and by the pool. 

 

Strangest music I have heard on a cruise ship and we had a giggle every night in Atlas with the strangest really limited selection they had to play - over and over and over again 😂

[Piaa]

9 minutes ago, Marmaduke said:

I would be happy to sail on her again if the itinerary and price were right.

 

I guess I should amend my review to say the above - we would sail on her again knowing what we know but either the price has to drop and be more in line with a line such as Royal Caribbean/NCL or they need to bring her to the quality I remember Azamara being.

[uktog]

50 minutes ago, Piaa said:

 

Strangest music I have heard on a cruise ship and we had a giggle every night in Atlas with the strangest really limited selection they had to play - over and over and over again 😂

That would send me running out of the bar never to return, smoking cocktails or not

[Piaa]

35 minutes ago, uktog said:

That would send me running out of the bar never to return, smoking cocktails or not

 

The bar staff were soooo funny and made sitting with them overnight so much fun - we just turned off the music (which was via a weird 3 panel TV/video screen of the artists that played on the wall behind you)  🤣

[santrah]

1 hour ago, Marmaduke said:

 

 

Pool Area and deck 11, plently of new, very comfortable sun loungers, although I noticed that many are already missing their wheels.  There are no sofas or hanging chairs on deck 11 unlike the other ships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really disappointed that there are no sofas or hanging chairs on deck 11.   This being one our favourite place on our last Azamara cruise....do you think that they will be installed by November?!

Edited September 12, 2022 by santrah
Error

[Riocca]

26 minutes ago, santrah said:

Really disappointed that there are no sofas or hanging chairs on deck 11.   This being one our favourite place on our last Azamara cruise....do you think that they will be installed by November?!

Possibly not, we were told they were on order but there was a 12 month lead time from the manufacturer.