uktog

That is new wording! Good to see it

I think the only area that needs clarification is tub vs shower rooms for club continental and that can be achieved in the bid process by having separated club continental suites into two categories so you can bid on the type you want. Then automation can continue as before

I’m hoping I can ask for clarification on the room type (not the number) before paying if I’m in luck

I suppose as long as they can confirm walk in shower or tub I would be happy but thanks Phil we will send you out as the UK 🐹 guinea pig. I’m not sure why they don’t email rather than phone which would avoid international issues

Excellent news. I will look closely at my next offer. Some people are very lucky not to have been afflicted by conditions that affect their mobility- until you are you don’t understand how depressing it can be and the extent to which it impacts on your ability to do simple things. Empathy is such a gift!

My favourite photos from the Deck 5 aft pool

Now you know the correct figure is $10 you might want to reconsider

Unfortunately if you did not pay for travel insurance on booking you will have more limited cover re cancellation as the event is already happening

You can bring as much alcohol (spirits and wine) as you want. You are usually but not always charged corkage if you bring wine to the dining room. You can also bring on more alcohol at any port of call.

Some in the UK also discount or share commission. You have probably over paid for your cruises @KevintheIrishDJ by not shopping around. It’s the same for any travel you book hotels you buy etc

Welcome aboard is very low key Re Sakura at lunchtime DH and I shared the bento box poolside one lunchtime. It was delicious and just the right amount of food 🍲

Think it was a few more and the lobby was as vocal off line. Azamara wouldn’t have made a change on the noise of one regular here. I don’t think they did learn enough with Onward the % with tubs is still too high. They should have had the courage to do as other lines do eg Viking and eliminated the tubs. They’d sell out CC far more easily and have much less hassle of having to work changes if they If they are aiming for a younger market they are virtually all shower rather than tub users.

Excellent point re conversion cost recovery Oh yes I remember the vocals of some frequent cruisers who were sadly out of touch with the reality and wishes of the majority

Yes it’s a hard choice. The tub combo is a nightmare for so many. Locks you out of bidding for upgrades as well as you can’t risk getting a tub. Why they ever listened to the few who wanted a high % suites with tubs I will never know. 50% was way too high imho

Just make sure when comparing prices, unless your accepting a lower level experience that you set the Azamara price at a club continental suite and you add in $27 a head per day drinks package plus the cost of unlimited WiFi

Sounds like the lovely experience that used to be held in the theatre has been rescaled and brought onboard

Agents discounting has always happened

Why are you surprised? Price one would have no benefits Price two is eligible for the repeat cruiser quarterly saving Price three the travel agent has added a further discount Happens all the time

I have not been on Oceana, so my comparisons are purely with Azamara where we have over 40 voyages. They were our go to cruise line, but over the last two years there have been a number of changes and consistency of standards has become for us a major issue. That said we do have two Azamara Cruises booked in the coming months and are looking forward to them. First major thing to bear in mind is that an entry level OT1 on Explora is the equivalent of the entry level suite on Azamara, so you have to ignore the Veranda and smaller rooms - almost 75% of the ship. Obviously, with being a newer ship, and having a more efficient layout Explora wins handsdown in terms of the room and public space experience. Azamara, particularly on onward out because they have taken out one area of general public space that could be used during the day and made a bar only included for those buying the top drinks package, is very short of public space. It only has one swimming pool and two tubs available to all guests. There is a second large hot tub, but that is on a private deck only available to guests in suites or by paying an additional fee. We found no difference in the friendliness of guests between Azamara and Explora we also found the crew to be equally attentive, although explora crew has the edge in terms of professionalism. The Azamara crew do try very hard. Sometimes they enthusiasm gets in the way of the maintenance of consistent standards. The biggest difference, without a doubt is the food explora food is in a different league is consistently well served and at an appropriate temperature we found the Emporium on much more pleasant experience than the windows café, which is the equivalent on Azamara On Explora , apart from the Michelin star restaurant, there is no charge for their more special restaurants marble grill and Sakura and the other two restaurants which are technically “main dining room walk ups” are lovely well laid out venues with the standard of food and service at the level of Aqualina or Prime C on Azamara, but the difference is there is no charge to eat there. The included drinks on Explora are of a higher calibre to those on Azamara. So, for example, if you wanted to drink a beefeater gin on Azamara, you would have to pay extra for that or buy a package for the whole Cruise that upgraded your drinks, whereas on Explora drinks like that and champagne are included for all. The included wines were also of a much better quality on Explora although I appreciate some people still find them not to their liking, but they were far better than those offered on Azamara. Our experience of the included excursions was that for a Caribbean cruise, which is what we will compare offering on. Though slightly more expensive on Explora it was far better, much smaller groups and much more professionally delivered. Azamara in that part of the world can often feel like the jolly trip they providers deliver to Cruises of 6000 guests and that’s what you’re to have also! To entertainment, where Explora is still trying to fully sort out their offering. They certainly have the venue capacity to offer a much wider range of options in an evening than Azamara does, and where they were providing entertainers brought in for the Cruise, they were of an equal standard to those that Azamara contract with. However , the two resident singers are opposed to four on Azamara where very poor and lacked the musical skills that we are used to Azamara. That said we know Explora are looking at their entertainment options so hopefully that changes if it hasn’t already. There were enrichment speakers. I would say again, broadly similar standards between the two lines which did disappoint as I was looking for some more to the standard offered by Viking. We have been fortunate on Viking to have had excellent speakers, although I appreciate that can sometimes be timing and some Cruises just get better speakers than others. So to sum up, I would say that if you see Azamara as around a 4.5 star experience, Explora would be a much more solid 5 overall with food, being at least one to 1 a half stars above.

State of emergency now also in Papua New Guinea. Certainly doesn’t sound good there either

Greece every time for me because there’s such a variety of things to do history, modern, wine, food shopping, beaches and unlike Italy no long coach journeys to go and see things. I find Greece far easier to be an independent minded traveler than Italy and (personally) I feel safer in their smaller ports

It’s extremely hard for a new line to know their required order patterns accurately until they have a year of data. Then computer models tell them likely order patterns based on guest demographics. It’s an amazing piece of software the benefits of which go unseen by most guests. Restocking has been an issue and the MSC supply lines haven’t always delivered on time or quality. In Barbados we had to delay our departure several hours as the container with all the fresh supplies was still at sea! The port agents and ship staff did an amazing job getting it offloaded from a container ship quickly and brought alongside but I’m sure there was some focused feedback about contingency timing to the land based supply chain staff from the onboard management As regards the “fixed menus” we had 19 nights onboard and never had an issue with choice. We enjoyed something new every night as either starter or entree and never even went to the Emporium at night as we had originally planned to do at least once

Some countries it’s not possible due to the terms of visas the ship has got for guests

It really depends what matters to you if you see the itineraries as equal. Azamara has strengths for sure but so do other lines. Things that might put you off Azamara * generally an older crowd - but usually a friendly group * food used to be a strength some still see strengths others highlight inconsistencies (my take it generally remains acceptable but be prepared for off days) * postage stamp sized showers - but how long are you in the shower for? You can avoid that by booking a Club Continent room which would be more comparable to Seabourn * entertainment can also be variable- if there is a good DJ in the lounge you will be fine - our experience is one in three/four cruises the DJ is a dud and it seems to be happening more lately It’s a decision only you can make after an extensive population of a decision tree chart! Good luck.

If I did make a bid on my April trip if that set of conditions is still there I’d hold them to it if I got a room with a tub