Port Power

Ships want to make the most they can out of these short cruises, so I am pretty sure Ovation will be going far enough out to sea in order to open their casino and shops.

That doesn’t make it right. It is just learned behaviour from visiting Americans. It is avarice and greed hoping for free, untaxed money.

No, that definitely does not happen. Local tourism ways has access.

On ships, it is the American social norm as staff are poorly paid. I am sorry you are pressured to tip on land in Australia, but unfortunately it is only because visiting Americans have previously tipped. Some providers are simply greedy! Australian prices are dearer because proper wages and taxation are included in the retail price.

As the available wine is well below par for many of us, perhaps we should insist that corkage not be charged. We are bringing our own wine as included wines are not drinkable, hence saving the company money as well.

NO TIPPING. End of story. Bus drivers and tour guides are paid well. Better than waiters most likely. It is annoying that Americans have brought in the idea of free money, undeclared and untaxed, into Australian society. (This is not a personal attack on you.) No tipping anyone, anywhere.

Tauranga Tourism has a great big marquee at the dock where everyone who has booked directly with their registered people meet up and depart. Guaranteed to return on time. Smaller groups. Absolutely much better than using the cruise lines with their inflated prices. They have a range of other tours as well.

V1, V2, V3 and VX denote where on the ship the cabins are located. Look at the deck plan. V1 are midships on several decks (and possibly also deck 8 IIRM); V2 are deck 7 fore and aft near midships; V3 are forward and aft.

A balcony! "Club Veranda" is just Azamara's terminology for a normal balcony cabin. As opposed to "Verandah Plus" which includes internet, laundry and something or other else.

I will repeat advice given previously up thread. Country Club Casual. NO FORMAL. For dinner at night, that means what you would wear to a nice restaurant. Pants and blouse, nice jeans and a collared shirt, slacks and polo top, a dress of any sort. I am a dressy person by nature. During the day in warm climates, shorts and fancy T-shirt or flowy wide leg pants and a floaty top. At night also floaty pants and top. Dressy but definitely not formal. My late husband NEVER wore a jacket or tie. For dinner, slacks and a button-through shirt, slacks and polo, smart jeans and a shirt. During the day, jeans or denim shorts and polo.

This has reminded me to pop a tote in my suitcase for when I board Quezt next week. I know I’ll want it for taking at least a towel to the beach in Busselton. Now to choose which one? Azamara or HAL? I just don’t need another tote, so would rather leave any new one on the ship.

I might add, as long as existing members are adjusted accordingly.

Those points are consistent with other lines. If you pay more for a suite, then extra points per night are earned and deserved. Silversea is now in the position Azamara was, but there are many more SS ships.. Loyalty levels were reciprocated with Celebrity, but not Royal unless you had the relevant Celebrity level earned. With the number of SS ships, I don’t think I would like a Royal Diamond member enjoying all the perks on their first SS cruise when loyal SS guests have spent more money but might miss out on the perks. I speak as an RCI Diamond member, although also Elite earned equally through Azamara and Celebrity. Sure I would like free laundry, but have I earned it on SS? I don’t believe I have as a newcomer. Edit: However, as a marketing ploy…..

That’s correct, of course you can buy cocktails at the Atlas bar. @uktogwas only comparing inclusions between the drinks packages.

You really need to post this on your roll call. That’s where you will find fellow cruisers.

No. By lodging your bid with credit card authorised, you have accepted the cabin you “win”. If you think you might not like the location, do not bid.

Some ports and counties do still require testing. If you are positive, you are not allowed to board. Many of the current problems with the larger ships are that some passengers did not want to forego their holiday, and therefore still boarded the ship and set about infecting other passengers and crew. Last I heard, Azamara was giving a FCC in the case of being COVID positive at the time of the cruise.

That’s atrocious! I thought ship crews included a carpenter to fix these types of items? It really should have been a very minor annoyance that was quickly fixed. If there is no Champagne on board, I would be asking for a refund of the premium package. Why weren’t stocks replenished after the transatlantic? Not good enough at all!

Just $7.00 per day from Premium to Ultimate.

Surely this is something only you can decide? Only you know your budget. If price is not an issue and you prefer a larger, more spacious cabin, then CC is preferable. Similarly for the spa suite, if the price is worth it for the additional space and features, and you like using spa facilities, choose that one.

Yes, all ships have the white night. Men dress in white, too. My late husband would wear jeans or black slacks, but a white or pale lemon shirt. I would wear white capris, but a pale multicoloured loose chiffon shirt. If you don’t have white clothes, it doesn’t matter. If you have a light coloured top or dress though, go with that.

The weight limit is for the charter flight, not for boarding the ship. Were you on a charter flight from Santiago to Buenos Aires?

This incident has been kept very quiet. There isn’t even mention of it in the Viking Expedition thread. I do hope the lady is comfortable during transit and recovers in due course.

Horizontal Falls can be very rough. “White water rafting” type water and whirlpools. Regulations were tightened subsequent to that accident. However, even with very experienced crew, nature can take its own path.