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My experience - Received and placed an offer to place a bid to upgrade from Balcony to Premium Balcony on our 15 night Panama Canal Cruise 78 days before sailing. My bid was in the middle - not too strong, but not too weak. 46 days later (and 32 days before sailing), my bid was accepted. Woot! However - our new cabin was the dreaded connecting stateroom. I called Princess and was told yes, I can switch to another cabin in the same category IF there was an open cabin. Fortunately, there was, and we were able to move a few cabins down the hall. Overall, I am very happy with the process. Just some comments - If you have a cabin that is unique/in a very desirable location, I would think long and hard about bidding for an upgrade. If your bid is accepted, there is a very real possibility the new cabin might not be as good as the one you started with! If your bid is accepted, check your new cabin out ASAP (I use Cruise Deck Plans) !! If the new cabin is not a good one (like what happen to me), call Princess ASAP to see if you can change. Yes, you can go back to your old cabin if it is still available, but this is a hit or miss situation. I did give serious thought to adjusting my bid, but after checking on available Premium Balcony cabins, I decided not to. Good call on my part! Best of luck to anyone who does place a bid!

Ahhh - Never mind - I just found it - Port Oasis Eco Park. Great idea - will keep this in mind for our upcoming cruise - thanks!

Curious - what Nature Preserve are talking about?

Curious - We booked the "Padua and Transfer to Venice Marco Polo Airport tour w/ Azamara. Wondering if the tour starts at Fusina OR from Porto Marittimo? Semper Gumby everyone, Semper Gumby!

Ciao! We stayed at the Hotel Santa Maria in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, absolute amazing experience! It's an old convent, all of the rooms open onto a courtyard filled with lemon and lime trees. Service is A+++, includes an amazing breakfast, and is in a quiet part of Trastevere. A very unique hotel !!!

That happens to me on occasion. Also happened on the old web page. Just refresh and it should come back! While things are not 100% great with Azamara support (web page, customer service, booked travel, etc.), I was really impressed with Carol's email. Here's a CEO that is acknowledging the problem areas and is laying out a plan to move forward. How many CEOs would acknowledge there's a problem?

Here's the email! What's interesting is two things. First, all four primary areas of focus are four main topics on this board. Second, Carol doesn't mention where these four primary areas of focus came from. I'm wondering if she's watching these boards????

Dear Azamara Guest, It’s been two weeks since our last update and I wanted to share what we have been focused on to ensure we get back to serving you pre-cruise the Azamara way. I understand your frustration and appreciate your patience as we have been focused on stabilizing a full commercial system transition. We are getting your pre-cruise experience back on track, and I assure you that the experience onboard remains as warm and authentic as ever. There have been four primary areas of focus as we integrate our new systems: The biggest pain point we heard from you was the ability to access your loyalty account on Azamara.com. This access problem was caused by the creation of multiple profiles over the years. By completing the form, we have been able to clear the incorrect profiles and make your loyalty information available for viewing in your Azamara.com account. Another significant problem was access to future bookings in your account. The root cause was bookings that were missing your email address, which is why we added the form for you to complete allowing us to match your bookings to your account. Once in your account some of your shore excursion amounts did not look right or your onboard credits (OBCs) were not visible. As of yesterday, we were able to clear up the shore excursion amounts and your OBCs are now available in your account, ready to apply as you wish. Very importantly, we recognize that our hold times have been extremely long. We started recruiting new Contact Center team members as soon as our hold times challenge began. As of Monday, we have a class that was hired, onboarded, trained, and on the phones. Another class will join mid-May with two more scheduled for early and late June. On an additional note, for those of you who booked air travel through Azamara the airline tickets are processed thirty days before departure (consistent to historical practices). While we do not anticipate any issues, if your departure date is within thirty days and there is no record of the ticket with the airline, please contact us for resolution. While we continue to successfully book new reservations, we know that there are a handful of data issues still requiring resolution over the next few weeks. We are confident that these issues are impacting only a small percentage of bookings made in our former reservation system. Please rest assured that your complete reservation details remain intact. Azamara has always stood by its product and made things right. We are as committed to that spirit as we ever have been. Thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and loyalty. I will share another update in the next couple of weeks.

Also - We booked a post cruise excursion for Venice. If we look under our booked excursions, yup, it's there! But if I look at available Shore Excursions - nope, nothing is listed for Venice. Two years ago when Sycamore purchased Azamara, we all knew the day would come when Azamara would have to cut the apron strings with RCL. What we didn't know was how comical the results would be!

So - I was just looking at available shore excursions for our upcoming Athens to Venice cruise and there are not one, not two, not three, but four - yes, FOUR - post cruise excursions listed for Athens! Looking forward to arriving at the Port of Piraeus, and then heading right back to the airport!

PROS - Location, location, location! Azamara ships dock where other ships can't - on our Med cruise, we docked in the Nice harbor instead of at anchor off Villefranche where the big ships go. Small ship - the entire week we never had to use the elevator, everything on the ship was a quick 2 minute walk! Free self-service laundry machines! Azamazing Evenings - on our Med cruise did not have an Azamazing evening due to COVID. Instead, we had a destination celebration where three amazing opera singers came on-board for a concert. Very nice! Booze! Basic beer, wine, and mixed drinks are included! Great service! Embarkation and debarkation were the fastest we have ever seen! Food was good with a lot of variety. The itineraries are the main draw, going to not only the main stops but a lot of smaller out of the way stops. White Nights - hoping to have one on our next Azamara cruise, have heard these are a lot of fun! The ships might be on the old side, but they are lovingly maintained by a very dedicated crew! CONS - Small ship - Because of the ship size, you do not get all of the bells and whistles of the bigger ships. Which for us is fine - we chose Azamara for the destination, not a fancy ship! Small bathroom - Again, because this is an older, smaller ship, the bathrooms are really small, and the shower can be a challenge, especially since Azamara still uses shower curtains. The ship does tend to roll more than a bigger ship - but for us, that just meant we slept better! Yes, the technical side is lacking right now. The transition to the new web site has been painful, but so far it is wayyyyy ahead of the old web site, and well worth the annoyance! Overall - if you are more interested in WHERE you are going, than Azamara is a great choice. Small ship with great service, lots of fun! A few pics - this is us looking over at the Harmony of the Seas from the TOP deck of the Azamara Quest! Location, location, location! Here's where we docked in Livorno! Here's Nice - we looked like one of the custom yachts in the harbor!

Poseidon Be Praised !!! Our June cruise just showed up in my account, and even better, all of shore excursions, OBCs, cabin, etc. are correct! Woot! For everyone who is still waiting, patience seems to be the key. While this has been a slow/painful process, it appears to be working itself out. For everyone thinking about Azamara, I'll say it again. Don't let a little website SNAFU sway your decision! Once you get to the ship, you'll have an Azamazing Adventure !!!!

Our upcoming cruise is early June, we have not received anything via email and we still do not see our cruise when we log into the website. I've clicked through the Request Support link multiple times over the past week, but no luck. Sigh. If anyone out there is reading this thread and thinking about trying an Azamara cruise, my advice would be..... give Azamara a try! Do NOT let this website SNAFU be a reason to pass over Azamara - once you get to the ships you will be quite pleased! Also - be very lucky you didn't have tp try and deal with the old website, what a piece of junk! Counting down the day until our next cruise, will keep clicking away on Request Support!

Well - I can tell you what it looks like from below! 🙃 About a month or two before our cruise, we were moved to B742 / B738 because the port side cabins on the Aloha deck were being reserved as COVID quarantine cabins. So, unfortunately, I can't report back on this cabin. Enjoy your cruise!

@G&Gcruisers - You are most welcome! Feel free to ask any questions! And - stay tuned, the best is yet to come. Wait until you see what we did in Le Havre!

Part 3 - Scotland, the first half! After leaving sunny Ireland, it was off to cloudy and rainy Scotland. Well, at least the first half was cloudy and rainy! Greenock, Scotland "So..... Who wants to feed a hairy coo?" We had arranged for full day tour with Tom at Clansman Tours. Our original plan was to tour Inveraray Castle in the morning, and then visit an ATV/Clay Pigeon shooting place in the afternoon (to keep our boys happy). But, about a week or so before we left Tom contacted us and said the ATV/Clay Pigeon shooting place was going to be closed the day we were there, so he found an alternative clay shooting place near Stirling for the afternoon, and adjusted the schedule accordingly. Nice! Tom and his amazing van were waiting for us as we left the pier. After a very scenic drive through the Highlands, we arrived at Inveraray Castle and had the rest of the morning to explore at our leisure. After Inveraray, we headed to the Falls of Dochart for lunch at (wait for it....) The Falls of Dochart Inn. Good lunch, and amazing scenery! After lunch, Tom asked us, "So.... Who wants to feed a hairy coo?" Hairy coos are Highland cattle - big, hairy, with horns. Tom took us to the Trossachs Woollen Mill to meet, and feed, Honey and Hamish. Tom explain to us that they are rescued hairy coos, and while they might appear to be a tourist attraction, they are well cared for (and well fed by tourists, you can purchase a bag of veggies at the mill shop) and are living a safe, happy, and comfortable life. Tom also explain that because Highland cattle numbers are declining (due to practicality), Honey and Hamish are ambassadors for their breed. Very gentle creatures, and yes, there are eyes under all that hair! After feeding the hairy coos, we moo-ved along to our next stop, and after passing Stirling Castle (more foreshadowing!) we arrived at Clay Pigeon Scotland. This was an absolute blast (no pun intended) - our instructor was awesome, funny, and incredibly helpful teaching us how to shoot. For the first few pigeons, he would show us where the clay would fly and where to shoot. Towards the end of the session, our instructor would step away and let us work it out on our own. Did I mention funny? Me: (pointing to the sheep in the field behind the range, the white dots in the photo below) Do the sheep mind the shooting? Instructor: What sheep? Me: Ok, where are the clays coming from? Instructor: I'm not telling you.... Pull! Do to her eyesight, my wife did not shoot. But, our instructor had her give it one try with two clays, and after shooting he exclaimed, "Absolutely perfect! She was absolutely perfect in missing each one!" Once we were done, it was back to the ship after an amazing day in the Highlands! NOTE: The main draw for this port was the The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo since the ship was in port until 2:00 AM the next morning. There are quite a few threads out there regarding ship tour versus doing it on your own. If this is something on your bucket list, then look for a cruise that either stays late in Greenock or stays late in (or overnights) in Edinburgh. Kirkwall, Scotland "Am I hearing..... bagpipes !?!?!?!?!??" After a much needed sea day to recharge after going non-stop for too many days, we arrived in Kirkwall. Kirkwall is one of the reasons why we chose this itinerary, it just looked interesting. And we were not disappointed! Because we like to think out of the box when it comes to tours, we booked a trike tour (yes, a motorcycle trike!) with John at Orkney Trike Tours. Since the trike only holds two passengers, we booked 2 two hour tours. Up first were me and my wife, and then our sons would get their turn. NOTE: That is NOT us in the photo, it's from John's website since I don't have a good pic of his trike. This was an absolute blast! Our helmets had headsets so John could narrate as he drove around the island. We drove through Kirkwall, up Wideford hill for some amazing views, and then out to the Standing Stones of Stennes and the Ring of Brodgar. As we drove by the standing stones, a ship tour bus had arrived, and our fellow passengers just stared at us as we drove by (more foreshadowing!). Back to the ship to trade places with the boys! Our boys had roughly a similar tour, but John made a few tweaks to make it more fun for them. During their tour, it started sleeting and raining. Not a problem - John had rain coats and pants for the boys, and they had even more fun! If you want to find the wildest way yet to see Orkney, this is the way! While the boys rode, the the wife and I did walk around town using the free shuttle bus. This is a really welcoming port - all of the local volunteers who helped guiding folks on the pier, manning the buses, and greeting passengers at the visitor center were warm and welcoming. A truly incredible day in Kirkwall! We were in our cabins for departure getting ready for dinner when we heard this "noise". "Am I hearing..... bagpipes !?!?!?!?!??", my wife asked. Out to the balcony we sprang, and yup, there were bagpipers on the pier to send us off! What an awesome way to end the visit! DSCN3568.MOV Next up - Scotland the Sequel!

Part 2 - Guernsey & Ireland Alrighty - time to get the port calls underway! St. Peter Port, Guernsey "Humor is the best way to make the unbearable bearable." This port was a challenge for us, we were not interested in either war history or fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. So we went in a different direction and booked a Sark Coast & Caves Experience with Island RIB voyages. Yes, we were getting off a ship onto a boat to go ride another boat! Tendered ashore in the morning (more on that in Part 5), walked around town (lots of shopping and eating opportunities), and arrived at the meeting point an hour early, and had the following conversation - Me: "Hi! Checking in for the 12:30 tour!" Island RIB: "Oh, I'm sorry, guess you didn't see the email yet, the tour has been cancelled." Me: "Why? It's a beautiful sunny day with calm seas!" Island RIB: (pointing towards the Queen Victoria) "See that ship out there? There's supposed to be island in front of it!" Me: "All I see is fog........" So, no tour, and the Island RIB folks were incredibly nice, offered to rebook (we couldn't, so they gave us a full refund), and asked if we needed any help finding something to do. Instead, we went back to the boat early to avoid the tender lines, and waved bye bye to Guernsey as we engaged in a horn battle with the Queen Victoria (we won, of course!). Cobh, Ireland "As I was going over the Cork and Kerry mountains" For this port we kept it real simple - had a ton of shipboard credit from rebooking incentives, so we used most of it on our only ship tour, Cork City Sights and Jameson Whiskey Tasting. Since this was an afternoon tour, spent the morning walking around Cobh - the walk up to the cathedral was foreshadowing of what was to come. Nice little town! The tour itself was pretty good - we aren't whiskey drinkers, but enjoyed the tour of the distillery and the tasting. Quick driving tour of Cork, and then back to the ship. Side note - this port's main attraction is Blarney Castle. My wife and I were there years ago, and our boys weren't interested in going, so we skipped it. Dún Laoghaire, Ireland "And all the way to Dublin, Whack fol lol le rah!" Today was going to be our roughest day yet due to the logistics - tender to shore, train to Dublin, walking tour of Dublin, train to Dún Laoghaire, tender back to ship. Since I'm posting my tendering thoughts later, let me tell you how easy (and cheap) the train to Dublin is to ride! From the tendering pier it's a short walk across the street to the train station, just follow the crowd. Railway agents were manning the ticket machines to help out, machines are very easy to use (don't forget to get a round trip ticket for 5€!), and there was another agent directing everyone to the correct platform. A short 20 minute ride later and we were in Dublin! We booked a walking tour with Cathy from Tours by Locals - Cathy showed us all the main sights of Dublin, made a few stops for snacks, and picked an out of the way pub for lunch. Cathy was very knowledgeable, and very funny. She also booked us for the Book of Kells at the end of tour so that we could avoid the crowds and be right next to the train station. Back to the train station, more railway agents helping to point people in the right direction, back to the long tender line, and finally, back to the ship. Belfast, Northern Ireland "Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance" Belfast was another stop where my wife and I had been, but our boys had not, so instead of repeating our trip to see the Giants Causeway (which is amazing, highly recommend seeing this one!), we booked a trip to the Gobbins Cliff Path with Vale Cabs. This was an absolutely amazing hike! But it's not for everyone - very steep path down to the cliff face (remember the foreshadowing in Cobh?), some tight tunnels to navigate (very glad they give you a helmet!), and lots of rock stairs to navigate. But the views and the wildlife make it all worth the effort! After the hike, we had a quick tour of Belfast, then back to the ship. NOTE - It appears Vale Cabs is no longer offering this tour. If you are interested, I would contact them and see if it's still an option. If not, you can book this tour with the ship or find other tour options. Vale Cabs is still offering a tour to the Giants Causeway, and I would recommend this as an alternative. Next up - Scotland!

Part 1 - Getting to the ship via London Whoever said getting there is half the fun hasn't flown internationally lately! Flight to London We flew out of Newark directly to Heathrow We used Newark Long Term Parking, very friendly, good service, and good rates. If you sign up for their LTP Club, you can get enough points for a free day or two! Our flight was booked through American Airlines as a code share with British Airways, and we caught a good sale and upgraded to Premium Economy If you can wing it, go for Premium. Bigger seats, slightly better food and drink (including alcohol), a nice amenity kit (with a thicker blanket than regular economy) - plus the boarding early part is nice. Landed at Heathrow, and the fun began! We debarked on the tarmac and had to take a bus to the terminal. Fun! Our baggage claim number changed while we waited, and then had about an hour wait until the bags started rolling out. We did get all of our bags! For our transfer to London, we used London Transfers Great service, good prices, and very flexible for where you need to go - they can even do multiple drop-offs! As soon as we arrived in baggage claim, our driver had texted us to let us know he was there and where to find him! His van had water bottles and every known charging cord in multiple spots. Awesome! So we made it to London, now what? For our hotel, we stayed at the Cheval Three Quays Had a fully serviced two bedroom, two bath apartment with a full kitchen and not one, but TWO balconies! Kitchen was stocked with bread, eggs, cheese, snacks, water, juice, salami, cheese, coffee, tea - all complimentary! Oh, did I forget to mention the location? Check out the view from the master bedroom balcony - Hotel was a short walk to the Tower Hill tube station and the Hop-on/Hop-off bus stop, and also a really short walk to the Tower Pier Absolutely perfect stay, place is amazing and we had more than enough room for the four us! So, what did we do in London? All of the tourist stuff, of course! We used the London Pass along with an Oyster card. Only thing that was not on the Pass was Westminster Palace - other than that, we made the most of the pass! We also scored tickets to the Ceremony of the Keys and saw Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club. Oh - big London tip - M&S Simply Food stores can be your best friend - grab and go lunches, snacks, heat and eat dinners, all sorts of goodies. We grabbed some stuff at an M&S next to Green Park for an impromptu Picnic, and the one near the hotel we used for dinner one night. And - bonus - a very rare opening of the Tower Bridge on our last night - Time to get to Southampton! We used Nick from Tours By Locals for a custom tour - he picked us up at our hotel, took us to Hampton Court Palace for a guided tour, then a stop at Stonehenge (which was a lot of fun with Nick!), a lunch stop in Salisbury by the cathedral (which was sadly closed), before dropping us off at our hotel in Southampton. An amazing day! We stayed at room2 - a funky little hotel very close to the Ocean Cruise Terminal. Check-out time is 2:00 PM, which makes this hotel a great choice for cruisers! The big day has arrived! The front desk recommended a taxi to get to the terminal, said it would take at least 45 minutes, and offered to reserve one when we checked-in. Since our boarding time was 12:30, the front desk reserved an 11:00 pick-up time to be safe. So - taxi arrived promptly at 11, 6 pounds and10 minutes later we were in the terminal, checked-in, and waiting to board! Spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, drinking, eating, drinking some more. Will post more about the ship later. Thus ends Part 1 - more to come, and more pictures as well!

Greetings! It's only taken me a few weeks to start pulling all of this together, so my apologies. What follows is a mostly objective review of our Emerald Princess British Isles cruise, and is a more detailed review of my original Emerald Princess - 1 to 13 August British Isles post. Yes, I know, I could have done better naming these two posts! Also wanted to pass along to the community the resources we used to make this a really fun, and unique, cruise. Planning a 12 day UK cruise can be daunting - so many ports, so many options, pre cruise vs. post cruise, etc.! Feel free to ask any question! I'm going to break this post into chunks - Part 1 - Getting to the ship via London Part 2 - Guernsey & Ireland Part 3 - Scotland forever! Part 4 - Heading home via France Part 5 - Random thoughts about the ship So - sit back, relax, and enjoy!

@RetAF98 - I disagree - it was an AWESOME cruise! Over the weekend I will post a recap of what we did where, and other random thoughts. Having a difficult time re-adjusting to reality. If anyone else was on the cruise and happened to see a giant blue motorcycle trike in Kirkwall, or three motorcycle side cars in Le Havre, that was us!

You're welcome - It's a sea day and I need something to do while waiting for my next drink!

@Malleykatt - We booked a tour with Niall McOwan over at Scottish Guided Tours (https://scottishguidedtours.com/). Might be too late to book with him, but worth a try! This poor guy waited on the pier for over two HOURS, and once we got ashore, he was able to rearrange our planned day to get the most out of our limited time. Very knowledgeable, funny, and his van holds seven. If you can get a tour with him, you will not be dissapointed! If you do contact him, tell him you were reffered by the crazy family that made him wait on the pier for two hours! @SomewhereGirl - Lots of tickets were available, and it was all very orderly and well organized. Don't recall how many groups were before Pelican, but it was quite a few. Also, the amidship areas were not jammed with people waiting, most folks went back to their cabin or another lounge to wait. I would NOT stress about either Guernsey or South Queensferry, they are both short tender rides with local help. Dublin is the tricky one because it's a long tender ride with no local assistance. Yes, Princess excursions delayed our departure, and that's why we booked our private tours to meet at least an hour and a half about the first tenders started running. Hope this helps!

The Captain said the passenger is doing ok, and everyone on board was very understanding. Which castle are you visiting? We went to Stirling Castle because our guide said Edinburgh castle was not a good option with the Tatto and Fringe Festival running. We arrived at Stirling around 2 PM, watched all of the Princess tour busses leave, then had a very relaxing time wandering the castle with minimal crowds. Good call! As for tenders - my honest opinion is that if we were on-time, this would have been the best tendering port with minimal wait and less than 20 minute transit times. Enjoy your cruise!

Adventures In Tendering - Edinburgh Edition! As mentioned previously, we had a medical emergency after leaving Invergordon, and we spent 3+ hours sitting just outside the Cromarty Firth to offload a passenger and then wait for the ship's medical staff and equipment to return. As a result, we were almost two hours late arriving at our South Queensferry anchorage. Which then made for a very fun tendering experience! 8:45 AM - I went down to Crooners for tender tickets, got the Pelican group. Woot! 8:50 AM - First tenders head ashore with ship shore excursion passengers. In addition to the ship tenders, also using two local tour boats and both the forward and amidship tendering platforms. 10:40 AM - Our group is finally called, and we loaded onto one of the local boats. Large boat, swallowed up quite a few folks, and it had a narration playing on our way to the dock explaining the three bridges. 11:05 AM - Made it ashore and found our tour guide for the day! 4:15 PM - Arrived at the dock, long line for the tenders, looked like it ws going to be a long wait. 4:30 PM - Boarded one of the ship's tenders. Noticed there were two more ship tenders plus a local boat waiting to dock. 5:00 PM - Made it to the Horizon Terrace Bar for a well earned Long Island Ice Tea. Overall, was a very smooth and easy tendering experience (except for the long wait to get off, but that was due to our late arrival). Even though we were two hours late meeting our tour guide, we still had an amazing day and only had to miss one stop - Roselyn Chapel. Off to Le Havre for our final stop.

@PacnGoNow - I asked around some more, same answer, final numbers for the next sailing have not been finalized. Guess that's because we're cruising post COVID and everything is in a state of flux?