uktog

13 hours ago, lovetosew said:

Where is everyone's sense of adventure? I have been on so many cruises with side trips to dining venues to try the local cuisine and some of my best travel tales are of peoples lack palate curiosity. I will not repeat but to encourage.  As my mom would say, "Just one bite."

Whilst I agree when you are working around food allergies (nuts and chilli in our case) you want to find a menu that has least adaptations otherwise as DH found to his cost he gets lower quality substitutes at times. 

Same on Azamara. Last time on Explora either they ignored the maximum or it wasn’t applying on the excursions we did. 
Azamara are brutally strict their system flags up your age and it will not allow a booking to be made - in our case we couldn’t join a cooking class which was ridiculous. 
They said it’s the company that provides the excursions that sets the limits and they have to follow them strictly. No way round the issue - other than suggesting I being slightly younger went and DH went on a panoramic drive around - that was the ultimate slap as he’s fitter than me. 

12 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

I found that exact wording on the UK site under Booking FAQs in the Pricing section.

Interesting we’ve been told sale reductions do not reduce your fare and in the UK it only relates to a wholesale reduction eg change in taxes 

1 hour ago, blag said:

Oh well, it is just so easy.

I'm astonished that you don't know. 

Go to Booked Guests > Easy Check-in > FAQ's > How do I obtain luggage tags for my Azamara cruise?

Then click on the name of your ship(s) to download the tag(s). 

 

Thank you. No need for the sarcasm 😂

3 minutes ago, riandei said:

Thanks for sharing.

 

but will still like to know how to do it myself

So would I 

6 hours ago, GregoryPaul said:

Interesting discussion, especially as the FAQ section of their website states;

 

If I book now and the fare is further reduced, will I get the discount?

We do not have a discounting strategy however should your fare be reduced for any reason, we will adjust your fare accordingly.

Not on their UK site as far as I can see

15 hours ago, joseph123 said:

 

This has always been common practice. Most cruise lines will honor cost reductions if there is a price decrease or incentives offered before you make final payment. I have personally experienced that with just about all the cruises I have taken. For Explora, I had a 7 day cruise booked on the Explora II for this Feb that I booked during the black Fri sale event last year and then noticed that there was a 9 night cruise offered a month earlier at the same price. I contacted Explora customer service and they allowed me to make the change without loosing my deposit. I was informed that their policy was such that they would allow one change only without penalty before final payment is made. So in essence, I am now booked for a 9 day cruise on Jan 5, Mia/Mia for the same price I had booked the 7 day cruise Feb 21, SJA/MIA. I also paid $1,000.00 less pp than the rate being offered today for an OT1, so that Black Fri sale was pretty awesome! I am very happy with that and the way their customer service team handled.

This business practice is not global. Cruise lines may well look after US guests this way but the cruise industry does not have as generous terms in UK, Europe and Australia. Explora appears not unsurprisingly to be follow European conventions. Those of us who have watched others benefit from price drops in the past whilst locked out prefer the Explora model. 

48 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

2 days ago received an offer to upgrade our September booking - we are B2B and the offer was for the second leg of 7 days - BCN to Monaco.  Submitted offer just above minimum for CC.  Offer accepted, and if successful they would inform later.

However today had email saying the offer had ben cancelled "due to a change in your reservation".  We have not made any changes.  Just followed a link "Azamara Upgrades" and after entering surname and booking reference another list of possible upgrades were shown.  This time for the first 4 day cruise of our B2B.  The minimum price per person is listed as £385.  This is exactly the same as the previous minimum price quoted on the 7 day cruise.

I have only one booking number - so can't explain any of the above.

The process has obviously been outsourced.  Disappointed at the moment but will phone on Monday.  Not expecting anyone in the UK to be able to help.

It’s been reported on another thread you cannot bid on b2b cruises on a single reservation number. It’s a bug the outsourced provider cannot work around. Evidently the advice is to enquire once onboard. 
Personally I’ve given up on the upgrade “benefit” a long time ago when they outsourced it and weren’t transparent on whether loyalty counted or not. I book the best I can afford from the outset and leave it at that. 

2 hours ago, seatrial said:

I’m just curious, what is EJ’s official policy on price-drops after booking?

Our experience in the UK booked through one of one of their major travel agent partners is no chance. It’s a rebook and loose the initial deposit (we declined) 

Very interesting. Although a little OTT should be compulsory pre board viewing. 
One area he touched on which we have noted regularly is a problem on Azamara is some guests are monopolising the serving crew in bars and particularly in Windows café the first day and service really suffers. 
 

Our son worked in a hotel which was a high-end experience and had a lot of Asian staff who joined them. One of the training programs they had was what they called disengagement training.  Azamara needs this.
 

What this related to was explaining to staff whose cultures were to be impeccably polite that there were techniques to use to be able to get away from guests and perform their work duties as part of a team.  Indeed some of the staff reviews were marked down because they spent so long chatting to guests even though the guests reviews might name them as being wonderful.  The feedback they got from the Trainees was they were very grateful for this training because many of them found the level of questioning intrusive and awkward . Dare I say it particularly by some of the American guests who tend to be quite intrusive compared to British European guests would ask  eg asked about number of children family circumstances where they live animals they had at home etc - not realising a line was crossed. The staff found it an intrusion into their personal space unsettling but they answered the question perhaps giving the impression of wanting to share the information. Training practice answering questions like that and give a polite response close down the conversation was so appreciated. 
 

I think also Azamara could also give some of the more Junior crew guidance on how to interact with guests on social media.  Recently, I have seen one member of the staff publicly displaying on their page thank you notes including the names of the guests, their home addresses and gifts received. It’s almost like they are looking for this from others which is totally inappropriate and must annoy some of their fellow crew members.  
 

I also think Azamara should strongly discourage guests from funding crew members at home on an individual basis. It happens and I know it upsets some crew. 

We all have a lot to learn and need to me much more emotionally intelligent around staff and other guests. This video was a timely reminder. 

16 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

I’m definitely passing on the shark. I’ve seen the videos.

 

They fooled me once with Vegemite. Fool me twice? No way.

 

This begs the question. What do foreigners think the weirdest thing Americans eat? And don’t say hot dogs because they are just another form of sausage.

Grits

2 hours ago, cavaaller said:

I know…

 

just don’t like to be reminded that I will have to leave this ship.

Have you any other suggestions how they could tackle this? 

Why not tell the servers your preferred tastes - they will be able to give you great advice. I love the smoked negroni but it is a matter of taste 

1 hour ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Do I wait to be invited to bid - as in the past ?  Our cruise is end of September.  I asked Azamara UK today and was told that I could place a bid online via the website.   Indeed I found a form but it did not recognise my booking reference or name.  Its not unusual for the website to be uncooperative so do I assume that all recent upgrades have been as a result of an invitation to bid from Azamara.

I thought you had to be invited to have the right links

10 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Is that a train ride? Or did you need to take a cab?

 

We are considering staying in Malmo to save money, but near the airport could work, as well. 

Train from Oerstad station which is about 100meters from the Copenhagen Crowne Plaza Towers hotel into the middle of Copenhagen 

Barcelona like many places has a problem- the protests currently are rooted in issues about the cost of housing. It’s the same on the Spanish islands. IF people spent more ashore and did not use short term rentals there would be more money in the economy and the housing stock would improve for locals. It’s no different to what is happening in Edinburgh although two solutions are being worked on - a tourist tax that’s added to port fees for cruisers/ hotel fees for others. And more importantly very tight licensing of short term rentals and higher local taxes on them. In future they will be licensed and the number of licenses heavily restricted. 

I do not blame the cruise lines. Guests want to see iconic places and they want turnarounds in locations with good flight connections to the US. 
 

I responded because there has been an undercurrent on several threads here that  eating ashore is good eating onboard is bad. It is not. 
 

Barcelonas issues are repeated around the world. It’s a very complex supply and demand conundrum affecting availability of staff for the hospitality sector, their wages and the supply of living arrangements. 
 

My father used to complain about the tourists from Edinburgh coming to Fife. Beyond our front door we are all tourists to a greater or lesser extent. 
 

Good luck anyone coming to Edinburgh timing their holiday to coincide with the festival and tattoo. Unfortunately the refuse collectors are cute these days and intent to coincide their latest pay dispute then as they did two years ago. Edinburgh stank then 😡

39 minutes ago, roberts2005 said:

As to where cruise ships dock, if I am not mistaken, don’t some ships dock close to town, but others dock very far outside of town.

You are correct we’ve had two different disembark locations with Azamara. We found the Crowne Plaza at the airport fully met our needs. We actually stayed a couple of nights there. It was an easy ride into town 

Bear in mind for those with food allergies in a country where English is not universally spoken heading back to the ship for lunch is part of the “risk management” process. We do however head back out and as well as leaving money in the shop tills may enjoy a coffee or drink ashore. 
So accept not everyone can eat lunch ashore easily! 

3 hours ago, LuAnn said:

Phil..is the Patio open every evening? Thanks!! 

It very much depends on the sailing you can’t say every night I’m afraid LuAnn 

I expect that route is under review- it’s not so much the canal as the seas off the type of Somalia that led to the round Africa trips earlier this year. I expect there’s a lot of discussions with insurers etc as to whether the canal route could be offered 

2 hours ago, cavaaller said:

something interesting has happened:

I have received a letter from the cruise Sales team telling me that I am entitled to 4 complimentary nights if I book a 7N sailing during this cruise.

 

This cannot be right...????

 

Does this mean, I book a 7N cruise and only pay for 3 Nights?

This sound too good to be true. I am sure there are blackout cruises - I just hope, that some of the eligible ones will be during school breaks!??

 

I will definitely ask Pangiotis (Head of Cruise Sales) about this the first chance I get.

 

Not a scam but a very good benefit that now works as a genuine discount without the smoke and mirrors of the past 

Your toilet issue sounds like a system back up which happens from time to time. I suspect from other things said your room hadn’t been signed off by the supervisor. Maybe it should have been but you should address the issue with the supervisor so they monitor for the future. 

In warmer places the Patio is a great spot. We also love the back veranda on Windows if we want a simple casual dinner. I agree the MDR is not as it used to be - menu choices focus too much on spices cheap meats with the beautiful salads and pasta of the day no longer offered. 
I am sure though with some of the changes in Head office hotel side we will see adjustments in due course. 

9 minutes ago, Allwashedup said:

Thanks UKtog, hopefully, I can get a WI-FI connection on the dockside. 

There are pubs in the area or head further into town on the tram - might be much more pleasant as the terminal building is minute 

4 minutes ago, Allwashedup said:

We are on a British Isles cruise which starts on Sunday 14 July from Leith.

 

Does anyone know if Azamara Quest would show the UAEF European Football game on TV on a big screen or in our cabin on our television.

 

If not, what time do we need to be back on the ship in the evening if we choose to go into Leith to watch the game. The ship does not depart until the following day.

The gangway is open all night. Experience is that they do not show games like that onboard and haven’t been showing the games to date this year. 
Bear in mind if you are watching in Edinburgh you may well be with a lot of Scots suddenly claiming Spanish grannies 😀😀