uktog

No everyone has to pay the charge

As we go on Viking six weeks after Explora we should be able to do a good comparison to them albeit we may not be looking at like for like. Our first Viking was acceptable enough to have another, particularly because of how receptive they were to feedback onboard

Well said indeed, - what is 10 minutes onboard in the scheme of things

Interesting I am trying to adjust an existing booking (which includes spending more) and the agent just won’t engage. I’m going to go into their shop and sit and see what happens. The previous line has been don’t wait we will call you when it’s done then they call with incorrect response and decline to call again because of wait time. (yes I’m also now using another agent but I’m not sure they are any better.)

I think you make a very valid point about judging the entertainment as a first timer vs a repeater. It’s all fresh for the first timer so their views differ. Azamara has a high number of repeat guests. I think that’s where the challenge comes in (I will ignore the serial repeaters no entertainment schedule can give them variety). Azamara are now rotating the production shows and cast between ships which may or may not give variety depending on what goes where. I find some of the guest acts shows haven’t changed for years. But the worst same old same old is the cruise directors shows. Some change over time some are same old same old. That’s disappointing given the range of new pieces available every year. Personally I also think White Night needs a change. Again on some ships it’s the same play list from 10 years ago. They also need two versions the indoor and the outdoor as some of the numbers don’t “transfer inside” as well. For me a good player in the Den and some talent in the living room is what makes or breaks a cruise

Last winter as I understand they were laid up for most of the time as the crewing precludes all America sailing. I suspect the cost to change crew model plus the fact the competition (albeit more expensive) are offering better boats meant these two vessels on that route didn’t stack up economically. It’s a shame but inevitable

We are similar paid for three before doing one - in three weeks time all will be revealed to us, really looking forward to seeing how it is. I was getting a little tired of the more traditional dining and entertainment models but was still only wanting a sub 1000 guests experience. I will post back how it is, being on the inaugural we will be the real sharp end guinea pigs. Buckle up for the ride!

Several cruise lines do that. I’d find it strange if they didn’t

Ian really made our cruise. A brilliant musician and a very clever guy. He’d clearly researched his brief thoroughly

We had that issue on Journey. The cruise director stood and listened one night after mid cruise feedback and agreed. He discussed it with the pianist but basically she would not take onboard the feedback, I am not sure if they renewed her contract. I think the problem is with the particular artist, if they are happy to be the background with a little more interaction as appropriate it works fine but if they see the Den as "their show" and a place to dominate, it spoils everything. As you say, the whole point of the Den is to meet with others and we have to be able to hear them

But it feels different if SSBP was included as a booking promotion

Always expected there to be a pecking order over and above square footage for those who pay so much more

Lots of options to do on your own, most start very near the ship. All are pretty good and all are a fraction of the cruise line cost

That’s so annoying she didn’t know these answers six weeks ago and people gave her detailed notes at every port. We had three people with walkers and there was an elevator from street level to the boat which the guide took them to. We told Riba that

Because of the market operating rules the hotel staff on the Ocean vessels were predominantly from the Philippines, something tells me there are limitations on using them on all American vessels. Most were quite good, none we spoke to aspired to Ocean vessels most saw European rivers as their option

Sorry to hear about the noise level (no pun intended). On our last cruise we only went to White Night to dance after dinner downstairs. My Apple Watch was constantly highlighting loud environment to me (at one point 90db) so we left. Tgg is right the next generation has very different perception about what is loud to us. I’ve never heard anyone complain the music is to quiet onboard but I’ve often heard it be criticised as too loud. On Onward the Living Room was “painful”. We stopped going.

I am aware of one UK agent who is extremely reluctant to engage with Azamara

This is the independent site the UK government directs travellers to if they want to check vaccination requirements. This is the South Africa page but you can head back to the index for any country https://travelhealthpro.org.uk/country/201/south-africa As you can see South Africa requires anyone who has recently been in an area at risk of yellow fever transmission to be vaccinated. This is the list of countries affected- it includes Kenya https://nathnacyfzone.org.uk/factsheet/65/countries-with-risk-of-yellow-fever-transmission

It’s been announced another shop onboard - Cartier

It’s nothing to do with Azamara and the colour of the form is irrelevant. It’s the public health authorities at immigration that set the rules. The cruise lines have to follow them. I am not sure you require vaccinations to enter in South America but I would advise you check with official sources in your country and in the countries you plan to visit. In the UK that’s the FCO website

The agent is not correct - the transfers can be booked via OBC. Sometimes they appear as excursions and you can do it that way, if not leave it and do it onboard, it will be fine

And how do they determine the top cruiser 🙂

Sorry to those who have been disappointed for 2024. We kind of got the sense this might be happening when onboard and there were elements where it was showing that there was no enthusiasm to "build the brand" in this area. It is a shame but I would say although Viking is more expensive, their boats and food offering are in a different league to AQSC. I suspect AQ knew this and realised they couldn't justify the investment to match Viking

It very much depends where you have been the previous 14 days and from what we could ascertain this was the issue with South Africa. It’s why on Azamara guests couldn’t tour countries en route to Cape Town if they were not vaccinated and exemption letters or cards were not acceptable. They had to stay onboard some couldn’t get off between Lisbon and Namibia. I know Explora is on the east side but stopping at Mozambique and Tanzania unvaccinated could give some people challenges. It’s understandable that South Africa is now being strict and wants to protect their people Everyone has to do their homework before booking cruises these days! Don’t rely on what someone did last year. Times have moved on

My travel agent will not let us book without checking the current vaccination position for each country and what she found for guests not vaccinated against yellow fever was not good news, partly due to the abuse in issuing exemption letters by doctors in some countries. This annoys, I cannot get these letters just by asking, I have to go through a detailed assessment process and the default position is to direct the traveller for a vaccination unless there is an underlying health reason why (which is the case in my situation). I do not think we can tell what Explora is like until the first sailings, it certainly does not feel too low key for us