uktog

9 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

There is an (imperfect) work around:

 

Go to the summary page on Seaware, and change the word "summary" in the URL to "invoice".

The great news is I can see the booking and the figures

The bad news - this was a single booking moving to a b2b booking and the figures are all wrong by several thousand £££  Maybe it wasnt a good idea to go and look!  I have asked the agent to push for the new invoices asap.  

Dynamic pricing based on supply and demand - just like Oasis tickets!

I loved the memory of the eclipse in Scotland in 1999.  We had an amazing boss then and he insisted everyone from the office went into the garden where we worked - all 40 of us - a team photo was taken just before the eclipse and then we stayed outside for the duration.  It was about 11 in the morning.  We remember most that suddenly about 2 minutes before it, all the birds when quiet and flew back into the trees and went to sleep  It was so still and quiet.  Two minutes after the eclipse it was like the dawn chorus.

Given that memory we have decided we cannot better our memory of 1999 so will skip these cruises

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

First world problems, tbf they are irresistible....just bring your own! 🤣

The first world problem is I eat some even more naughty bread product instead 😂

51 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

There is an (imperfect) work around:

 

Go to the summary page on Seaware, and change the word "summary" in the URL to "invoice".

Thanks that’s really helpful 

36 minutes ago, blag said:

Therefore is it not reasonable to conclude that the problem of consistency (the most important thing) may not be caused by Azamara, but by third parties.

Some of the requirements are cruise line driven and I’ve first hand experience of my agency being given inconsistent or different process requirements across calls. There is also inconsistent requirements between countries not all are down to legal frameworks. 
I apologise my posts are not detailed and precise enough for your liking. 
I will not answer any more questions from you on this topic 

Just now, blag said:

Forgive me for being a bit dense.

Am I right in thinking that you are saying that not all UK TA's are using the same booking system or means of making the booking with Azamara, and that this has an impact on invoice delivery?

They all use the system but have different payment relationships (which affects how the system appears to the guest) and different company policies on how reservations are handled. There is also the issue of different levels of awareness these days. When Azamara was part of Royal agents had plenty exposure to the system through also doing bookings for Royal and Celebrity but now they are working with one they don’t know as well. 

7 hours ago, laurieb said:

are things different there?  Do TA's not have access to online bookings?  Here, TA's can forward the confirmations from the online booking engine; my TA does very quickly

I think there a variety of structures for interaction with Azamara here

You can ask Azamara for the same staff member each night and they will try and accommodate you but sometimes it is not possible for example having to allocate the waiter to a different restaurant.  Its difficult to tell who will be onboard as staff change all the time and the best ones from the MDR today might be moved up to a speciality by the time you board.

All the experienced staff are very good - my advice would be to ask the host at the podium if you can be seated with one of their most experienced waiters.  

To be honest for me, location of my table can be more important - it can be noisy in some parts of the restaurant if the ship is pulling out of port or travelling at speed.  Some tables are also more cramped in than others so you might want to choose a location first night eg some like the middle section or by the windows nearer midships rather than a waiter

I’m glad some people are getting their invoices quickly but it’s not consistent and that’s what needs looking at most - consistency

5 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

On my last few cruises I have rarely taken any bread rolls, even in the MDR - fills me up too much (although I sometimes can’t resist a bread stick!).

Unfortunately our last two cruises no breadsticks were offered in the MDR - we commented on our cards about that.  Hope they have listened and brought them back

I did a booking three weeks ago and my travel agent tells me she is still waiting an invoice to share with me. Used to have it instantly 

You can enjoy breakfast in the MDR. Unfortunately unlike other lines the buffet is self service. Not only does this increase the risk of virus transmission it also means dishes can look “trashed” very quickly as guests “dive in”. You can end up with a dish full of sauce only as some guests focus on picking out the best bits 

3 hours ago, Zoey123 said:

I will have to respectfully disagree with you. And, regardless of the configuration, those two ships are incredibly dated in those cabins. I watched the videos and I wonder how badly that carpet smells. It’s ancient. Itappears that I will be finding out as I think we are going to book it anyway. But for three people…

 

And Azamara’s newest sales videos are definitely selling those as accommodating three to four people and are insinuating that all ships are like the Onward.. So there’s that…

Carpets are regularly replaced on all Azamara ships even when they are in port they will do a section. The only smell  I have ever encountered is a new carpet smell when a change has been made say in a corridor while we’ve been ashore 

4 hours ago, Toronto Guy said:

Does anyone really think that Prime C or Aqualina is that much better then the MDR?  I have never experienced that.  I've usually been underwhelmed and a bit disappointed with a few exceptions. I still go for a change of venue, but I don't get why some people rave about it and others are more "meh".

I think I would call it inconsistent.  Both certainly have had its issues over the last two or three year in terms of consistency not helped by the removal of popular items that they did well from the menu.  I believe they are working on a new offering for Aqualina in particular and I hear from those who have been onboard recently that the quality of cuisine and service has gone back to how it used to be which is great to hear.

14 minutes ago, villauk said:

Thank you @ghstudio. We’ve not been on an E class ship as the fake balcony cabins haven’t been interesting enough to us. We tend to like the more relaxed feel and don’t hang around the Martini Bar etc; we much prefer sitting at the coffee bar. I’m a little confused about the casino comment as it does state on the deck plan there is one on Journey. Is this not the case? Are the balcony cabins exactly the same on deck 6 and 7, and it’s just the case that deck 7 have cabins below and above that warrant the extra cost? Is the WiFi expensive on Azamara as we obviously won’t get any free minutes like we do on X. TIA.

The difference between Decks 6 and 7 are purely location. I think you are looking at an old plan, all the casinos were removed several years ago

All the wifi costs and packages are on this page of the website.

https://www.azamara.com/gb/booked-guests/before-you-board/stay-connected

4 hours ago, villauk said:

We’re seriously thinking of booking a cruise on Journey for next year. Previously, we had considered Azamara but our travelling companions couldn’t get the dates, so we never booked. Would you say that this Azamara experience is similar to Celebrity but on a smaller scale? I’ve also been reading the reviews on CC and Journey isn’t painted in a very good light regarding cabins, furnishing etc. We want to try something new, however, we also don’t want to be disappointed that our expectations of a notch above Celebrity are ill-founded.

If you are ok on a cruise where you are just a number and staff very much are handcuffed by rules then Celebrity is fine, if you want to be someone who is recognised and looked out for by many staff as an individual this is where Azamara really comes into play. There is only limited upselling onboard and no one hassling you as you walk past the two very small shops on Azamara. 
That said you have to realise it’s not glass and chrome and unless you are in a suite recognise you have a tiny but very serviceable shower 

Head to Vigiland Park in Oslo. The statues are so interesting and it’s a lovely setting

Make sure you take time in smaller places eg Olden to go a walk to a village to see typical life

In Olden whilst the glacier is interesting the Skylift is amazing - the only place you will see a view like this

You get a Birds Eye view of your home away from home. 

It all depends when the evening starts and how long any transport took back from the venue. There’s actually less people go to Windows than at the normal lunch time peak because

a. The buses come back over a 30 minute span typically- if it’s people walking back the span is longer

b.  Not everyone is wanting more to eat

c.  Some go for a drink first some go to eat first

We usually enjoy some sandwiches (there is often a favourite cheese and pickle on) out on the veranda watching the returners and usually the ship getting ready to go

5 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Do you think there's a better way of arranging the trivia?  Given that depending upon who is on the cruise it's sometimes much more popular. I don't think there is a perfect answer. 

 

Phil 

I hate it when the living room has afternoon trivia. Like many I’m looking for a post time ashore tea and scones and relax. The sound of the two trivia’s is so annoying sometimes especially if the staff member is struggling to pronounce words and it grabs your attention. 
For me the perfect solution is to try and work around the rehearsal times and make more use of the cabaret lounge for activities 

People never grasp that they way Azamara do progressive trivia it’s almost all irrelevant until the final question! 

31 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I think they use Seaware by Veronix - it seems to cause problems everywhere it’s used. Azamara use it too and their system is poor!

They do and unlike Azamara haven’t been as proactive in solving issues.

At least on Azamara you can in the UK see and book excursions if your travel agent is holding funds. On Explora you can’t even see what’s on offer without phoning up and getting a pdf sent. Then when you go to book (the same day as the pdf is sent) you discover the prices were indicative only - they say from £x. They also do not allow any bookings using obc which is their default resolution when they mess things up (in our case shortened the cruise, ok covered b and b in the hotel for the two days but then could get a breakfast rate so rather than reduce the cruise cost they are giving us obc to cover breakfast)

Whllst I love the onboard experience I absolutely loathe their back office it’s been nothing but hassle on three bookings. Seaware contributes to the issues but there is a lot in their control they could fix. 

41 minutes ago, laura1960 said:

Thank you, takemewithyou, for your response! Yes, I've been checking the shore excursions section since we booked. I can see they're doing an AzAmazing evening on the cruise right before ours, but nothing on ours yet. Oh well! Maybe later. Ours is a 10-night cruise....do they tend to do the offshore evenings on longer cruises? The choir in the cathedral must have been fantastic!

The question of onshore or off shore is determined by venue availability not necessarily cruise length. The only cruises that do not have evenings are the transatlantic and some 4 night cruises do not 

3 hours ago, N 2 Sun said:

I love this group and your answer is most helpful. Thank you so much. I will update our record on my reservation page. 

The one thing about Azamara over many other lines. They will bend over backwards to accommodate you where your catering requests are reasonable and for medical reasons.
 

Your request certainly falls in the reasonable camp! 

They didn’t fall for my caviar diet plan 😂😂

13 hours ago, CruiseCrew123 said:

The function will be available on the website 60 days before your cruises 

That function does not work for any guest whose travel agent has the standard UK/EU/Australia arrangement that they hold your cruise payment until you join the cruise in trust then pay it to the cruise line

I sail in under 2 weeks and can still not do anything as it shows balance outstanding. However if I phone the agents if they are one of the fully trained ones can make the dining reservation. They can also book the excursions but I still need to also pay them via my agent.