uktog

One reason that you had so many publicists onboard in August was because the initial inaugural (17 July) was cancelled at the very very last minute. “Proper customers” like me were abandoned (see my thread about my refund) with none of the promised communication after the cancellation. No one reached out to rebook me to quote their words to this day. But they did reach out to the publicists added them to the August sailings (so the number of them onboard was even greater) and I suspect sweetened their experience even more. Note they are all in expensive rooms. As for us, had we been onboard we would have been very objective and answered normal questions like when is the laundry open - I saw one facebook respondent declined to answer that question extolling the virtues of the ships laundry which when digging that seemed to be free to them anyway. Instead I will be objective, their shoreside service is beyond appalling when things go wrong. Banging their terms and conditions on the table that they pay any refunds due 60 days after cancellation is the last straw when it was them who cancelled. Obviously the publicists have not waited either for someone to “reach out to them to rebook” or for any refunds. Oh wait, there won’t have been refunds on freebie’s. So objectively Explora are NOT customer service focused shoreside and that is part of the customer experience.

Dunfermlime is my home town. We are usually there most Sundays to see the grandchildren (though sadly not today or id meet folks and show them round). The Abbey and Royal Palace are amazing and you have Carnegies birthplace and the Abbot House all in a small area. The Abbey will open about 1230 after Sunday service Hope you have a good day, totally understand frustrations dear Mother Nature can be so unkind and it would happen on one of the busiest days in the year for cruise visits. (I recall one time previously she made herself known it was on the Saturday and Sunday of the Open a few years back, another time Journey got into Leith for an overnight and was stuck in for three)

So sorry to hear this - its not the first time Azamara has had challenges with the wind in Edinburgh. It is something that is not "talked about" but should be. I can understand how upset people will be, but really glad those with tattoo tickets have managed to get into Edinburgh. One other way people could get to Edinburgh is to get a local taxi and head to the Inverkeithing Park and Ride. From there, all the buses to Edinburgh stop. It is on the road into Inverkeithing so nearer that the train station

I am so sorry to hear this, I did fear when the trauma team and air ambulance were involved. Thoughts and prayers with everyone affected by this tragedy

That will be some bus logistics now.

What surprised me was they didn’t start that process far sooner

I’m not sure the berth at Rosyth is clear. I think there’s only one anchorage just now at Newhaven. They could try Leith again on the next tide (it’s a tidal lock and as you know a tight turn) as the storm is due to head off later on. They’re banking on that at the tattoo

Looks like they might be heading for the more sheltered anchorage under the Forth Bridge or even to dock at Rosyth

It’s blowing an absolute gale here today. They may still be trying to go for the lock at Leith but I would doubt it we’ve a weather warning Storm Betsey. If they can they will tender to Newhaven about a mile from Leith. I’ve seen this happen several times with Azamara once Journey got into the harbour and couldn’t come out. Edinburgh in July and August is notorious for gales. I hear there’s to be a safety check re the tattoo in the next hour. It’s sad seeing so many weather blown tourists trudging around.

I have seen one video showing it, it’s in the tall unit by the terrace door

Thoughts and prayers with the crew member who has clearly suffered significant injuries https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-66549591

If crew are slamming a particular door, advise guest relations. On other cruise lines I have seen a sign added to the crew side of a door saying Recent Noise Complaint Crew are reminded to close this door. Do not leave it to slam. I saw it on Embarkation day and never heard a thing all our cruise so it certainly worked. So I would go ahead choose a room and if there was an issue, address it at the time

You can via the tv in room or ask at the booking desk. They know the planned themes though their can be last minute switches if supplies don’t materialise on time or things are slow maturing and ripening

Although Explora have not refunded us and are still holding out for the 60 days before making a refund per their terms and conditions, our travel agent has today put the steps in place to refund us now as they consider Explora's stance to be entirely inappropriate. They will recoup the money from Explora. I think they also recognised my Credit Card dispute if I actioned one as I would be entitled to would be against them as per the way many agents operate in the UK I paid them and not Explora. There is an issue with a previous cancellation voucher that was used as part payment for the cancelled inaugural cruise. Whilst I was not expecting a cash refund on that, I was expecting a lot more flexibility given that I already have two more cruises booked and paid for. Explora will not allow the voucher to be applied to either of those cruises unless I cancel and rebook (and lose all the benefits I had for Early Booking and an OBC offer). I have been in a similar situation with Azamara and they immediately allowed the voucher to be used and a refund issued on the credit balance. I know Azamara are not saints but Explora would be well advised to recognise what competitors do when they screw up. As to the 30% voucher for this cancellation, that is still in dispute as to what it is based on and also the query remains why for such a late cancellation did Explora offer the lowest "apology voucher" on record. So buyer be very very aware, Explora may well be a luxury line with beautiful food onboard but they behave like a mass market budget operator hiding behind terms and conditions when things go wrong for them. I am very pleased some due on the 17 July managed to get onboard quickly and feel pampered and loved, however that has not been everyone's experience and I and my travel agent (one of the UKs largest) have been left in dismay at their attitude and approach to this cancellation. You might well experience "Ocean Wellness" onboard but oh boy do you create "Ocean Tension and Stress" ashore On that basis, I do not consider them a cruise line that cares about their customers and others should beware..

Appalling treatment- the rush and stress then particularly for international guests the problems of flights home or filling in time to the original. Why the rush to get guests off? Couldn’t they have stayed until they had time to sort out forward plans

So sorry to hear you are having to cancel. I hope the process can be smooth and straightforward for you and that the healing hands are with you and your loved ones

Thanks @TER777 His allergies have been registered. I know he will not pre order if he can manage to choose around without adaptations. It would worry us if we pre order and then could not get in that place. I understand what you say about the Marketplace, we would have to see whether it worked for us onboard. From what I am hearing, we would still have to go up to the stations to order and it is this jumping up and down which is not something we would want to do more than on say 2-3 evenings across our two cruises. I would hope that we could always get into a venue other than the MarketPlace every evening

Wish I could find one particularly one that shows all the cabins available. It looks like even after going through the dummy booking game the Azamara site only shows a few

Look forward to hearing about the food

I’m interested about there too. I’ve seen one menu but I’m curious is that a fixed menu for every cruise or are there variations or additional specials each day. From what I’m seeing the food is lovely but there are a lot of dishes containing nuts, spinach or polenta three things DH is allergic to. I know he can order ahead if need be but when on a cruise he absolutely craves for a normal experience of choosing when he’s ready to eat which he does achieve on some lines. We can see a few dishes that will work from the menu we’ve seen but as we are on for 20 days we were hoping we could use Fil Rouge/Yacht Club a lot as we are not buffet people.

An update as I am still waiting my refund and airfare etc My travel agent, whom I cannot name, I wish I could so they got the recognition for the battles they have taken on, has really been persistent on this and its disappointing that its been like nailing jelly with Explora, stories changing all the time. Unfortunately the information we now have is that Explora's terms of business they are using in this matter are that they will be refunding 60 days from the cancellation date of 10th July. so around 8th September if anyone is waiting for their refund you have a while to go yet. The IBAN/BIC code issue mentioned in Post 18 was a red herring as we say. I had other cruises to pay for so my travel agent is looking at how internally they can set one off against the other, but for all the wonder and gloss and bling of the glowing reports you read online from what I believe are predominately "plants" onboard, Explora may be a luxury experience onboard but, based on this experience, it certainly does not treat its customers very well shoreside.

Remote Desktop and VNC connect would not work for me last year on any Azamara ship

I’m worried I didn’t wake up to one this morning. What’s happened?

Delighted to see Ryzard back from leave

Unfortunately you are looking at prices with promotions and other factors like taxes - if only it was as simple as being 30% etc. It’s not and you get many instances where applying the free nights makes the cruise more expensive than not using them