uktog

ABTA rules in the UK. They have to refund. Sadly this is not the first time Explora have had to be pulled up re compliance with UK Travel trade regulations

None other than the Emporium at lunchtime all open in the evening

The smaller Spanish ports are a must in my view. Being docked downtown in places like Seville cannot be beaten

Our go to is the Loch Melfort hotel however without a car it would not work. Have you contacted the Perle because it may be that their website isn’t fully loaded? That’s not unusual with them. Oban is a funny place for Hotels because of it being a set off place to so many islands people are necessarily looking for hotels offering much. They are more Premier Inn type somewhere to leave their heads, the Premier Inn in Oban is very good by the way Two boutique hotels are very good No 17 The Promenade and No 26 by the Sea. As regards car service, it will be an expensive drive. The reason is although it looks like it’s only 100 miles that trip takes nearly 3 hours because of the types of road that the driver will be on and depending where your driver comes from that’s about a six hour round-trip for them. Alternative that many people do is they take the taxi from Glasgow Airport to Glasgow Queen Street station and then the train to Oban which is one of the most beautiful train rides often featured on television programs. It’s a direct train. Glasgow hotels very much depends on your budget. You could enjoy the Kimpton in Blythswood Square or the old charm of the Central nod refurbished and managed via IHG. The Indigo is also good. A good Scottish chain to consider is the Apex in Bath Street. Glasgow hotels have got quite expensive particularly with more and more pop concerts and sports events happening in the city. As we are usually out and about and only looking for a bed we head to the Premier Inn or the Indigo but you might want more from a hotel haha @fruitmachine and I have posted very similar things simultaneously

We often go there for weekends- do you want an active or more relaxed day? Do you want traditional things eg distilleries or more nature related? Who are you cruising with and are you looking to stay somewhere before/have a car Hopefully I can narrow down suggestions

We did this cruise this year, it was an amazing experience. I honestly cannot think of anything bad about the experience we had on Quest. There were several naturalists on board who not only did presentations but were also available on deck at key times. We saw lots of penguins on ice flows, some seals and so many whales. The naturalists became very excited at all the whales we saw - we saw some of the less commonly found ones. The natural beauty was special. The only thing I would say is if you are not used to the cold (we are) you might find you want to view indooors rather than outdoors and the Lounge did get a little crowded at times

We will sit on the fence not least because we probably have to do some property bridging in the short term

IF you got to that stage and as Kirk says more likely than not it will be sorted well before they can pay you direct. I’d rather take that risk than not enjoy things throughout my cruise

I would just start spending and argue later even if it has to be when you get home

What are we talking about - my answer was about the VIP event which I highlighted also has the potential to clash with cruise critic in terms of timing and to an extent venue. I think for the majority of cruises now the cruise critic event is in a section of the living room with few if any senior officers attending. The timing is not ideal for most guests but on port intensive cruises that’s something that’s hard to work around. There will always be exceptions! If meeting up with others to finalise private tour arrangements are important then I would suggest it’s no longer sensible to rely on a Cruise Critic social but to set up on the rollcall an alternative place and time/method to communicate. Its not like the ships are large and to be honest we have met more Cruise Critic posters in casual conversation in the bars and dining room than we have at the socials which now frankly are hardly well attended at all on many cruises - yes there will be exceptions. It’s not about how active roll calls are but a large number of other reasons not least nowadays people are interacting by name not handles in other places and forming connections that way.

Usually the Library except on Onward where it was in Atlas

Looks like it might also clash in part with the top suites drinks which are often just after sail away on a port intensive cruise

They do provide water in the cabin as well. As you’re in a suite just let your butler know you want it and the ice kept topped up

Norway is one of my favourite places to cruise to. Because one ship has a Norwegian captain he has shared his knowledge with all the captains so regardless of the ship you go on with Azamara it’s an experience with surprises and little (food) extras - I won’t spoil the surprises- you get with no one else. I have done four variations of the itinerary and as regards weather in July and August it’s always been very good. Indeed pack sun cream - as several stops are on the Gulf Stream it can be warmer and sunnier there than parts of Scotland and Northern Europe. I hope you can persuade your husband to go, it’s beautiful with lovely people and whilst there are some ports people rightly say you must do x or y most ports are also places for delightful walk arounds yourself and as below finding tiny villages unique micro breweries, flowers everywhere shops, nature walks and little museums and who can forget Trollfjord

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!

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

Thanks that’s really helpful

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

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.

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

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