royallondon

The OP had has the following email: “The price he quoted me was hundreds of dollars below the mock booking I did, so I jumped on it and confirmed the price in my email back to him”

We didn’t have a package but often went to the Atlas Bar for pre dinner drinks. Whilst my wife had the “artisan” cocktails (signed for) I often had a standard drink which I picked up from the Prime C bar and took through. Interestingly, there’s been little to no mention of the “Tapas” food served in the Atlas Bar. Based solely on our experience, we never saw anyone either ordering it or indeed eating it. Not sure if this part of the offering has any longevity. Regard

You won’t be disappointed, the location is fabulous. Outside the front door is the boardwalk, the side door is the harbour and ar the rear is an escalator taking you up into a lovely shopping mall. Have a great time. Regards

Ship: Onward Captain: Gianmario Sanguineti Hotel Director: Tony Markey Cruise Director: Martin ……….. Only his second contract with Azamara Executive Chef: What’s the pass mark! Perhaps someone can help fill in the missing spaces! The CD, Martin, was only on his second contract, the first being part of the show team. He was extremely personable and his own show, the best of the cruise (singer). He was very visible and engaged well with the guests.

Yes, the staff are very tactful 😜

Flew into T5 Heathrow at 5.30pm on the 20 July from Athens. Took no longer then 10 mins to get through passport control and when we arrived at the baggage belt our cases were on it. We couldn’t believe our luck having heard so many “horror stories”. Regards

Flew into Heathrow T5 from Athens on Wednesday 20 July. 10 min wait to get through passport control, walked to the luggage belt and both our cases were already on it. We honestly couldn’t believe it having heard all the horror stories. The only problem we had was that we should have flown into Gatwick but that’s another story. Regards

Lovely pictures uktog. Out of interest, how many are on your cruise? We had 540 recently on “Onward” and our cabin Steward also had no assistant but was right on point. We were on deck 7 and must say I can’t remember seeing any assistants. Regards

We were onboard “Onward” two weeks ago and at no time were we asked for prove of Insurance. Regards

An absolute embarrassment. I just don’t get it.

That was my understanding (from the Captain at a Q&A session) having been on board last week. 1500 additional books were scheduled to be put in the new library space (living room) in Athens last Wednesday. Interestingly the doors to the Atlas bar were closed (but not locked) on the 3 occasions we passed by during the day (to see if it was being used as a day “quiet space” ) The Captain also said the original mural had actually been preserved having been covered over before the new distressed style designer luggage trunk design was applied. Regards

Hi No further charges are added. It’s $70 all in for 3 visits. Hope that you have a great time on J. Regards

Edit to post 1519 $70 for 3 specialty restaurants Final port Athens (GCSE Geography has failed me miserably)

So sorry 🤣

Currently on “Onward” from Istanbul update. Now 7 days into the cruise and a short update of a few things that may (or may not) be of interest. The food in Aqualina & Prime C was excellent and the service somehow half a notch above that of the MDR. We took the 3 visit offer for $90 which represents excellent value. Both restaurants are operating full menu’s. The pool deck refurbishment has been extremely successful and is looking great. The loungers are very adjustable with thick comfortable cushions that include head pillows. The shower curtains are very much of the “cling on” variety (and clinging on more as the days pass!) unlike those on Pursuit. The “Onward” will receive these curtains in due course when supply becomes available. High winds prevented tendering at Mykonos yesterday and so an impromptu Captain, HD (Tony Markey) Q&A. The new cocktail bar apparently is going very well and likely to be installed in the other ships at some point. It offers a return per sq ft which the library didn’t and wasn’t used. 1500 more books will be in the new library when we dock into Rome. There is an air of optimism that further investment into the Azamara brand is likely. Club Royal remains the Tonic of the day. Our cruise has been great (to date) and Azamara retain our confidence to book with them again when the time & itinerary suits our plans. Regards

We made a conscious decision not to take any ships tours but have used the shuttle bus twice. Unfortunately I haven’t seen the capacity of the tour buses. The shuttle’s have been full on the early outbound trip but only 50% full coming back. Regards

Also no Covid announcements on “Onward” nor indeed rumours of any cases. With 540 on board i suspect this situation to change. Only a handful of guests are wearing masks permanently but a few more wearers (like us) in the show lounge and when on the shuttle buses.

Boarded Onward at Istanbul’s new cruise terminal Sunday. Embarkation was a total shambles. Arrived at 2pm (designated boarding time) boarded ship at 4.30. We were issued sticker number 10 and asked to sit down. Only other sticker number was 1. These numbers had no relevance as an informal queue formed as more and more people arrived. To cut a very long story short those who were asked to sit down ended up being checked in by portable iPads some 2 hours later. Some people weren’t asked for their negative test confirmation, some were (us). No doubt the chaos led to staff panic and shortcuts. Ironically a few that turned around 1pm apparently just breezed on (that’ll teach us to be conformists). The ship left 90 mins late due to the debacle. We spoke with Captain G last night who stated Azamara were asking for the docking fees to be refunded such was the shambles. Now chilled and recovered we are finding the ship to be great and very much in keeping with the other 3 ships, all of which we have been fortunate to have sailed on. The Onward certainly looks and feels part of the Azamara family following her refit. We are in cabin 7059 a midship balcony which we find to be well furnished, light and airy with a spotless rust free balcony with seats and a table more comfortable then they look. The staff can’t do enough to ensure everything is ok for you and seem genuinely happy to be back at sea looking after their guests. I believe we have 540 on board this sailing and haven’t had a single issue relating to a lack of service in any of the bars or MDR. We boarded thinking we may have to upgrade the drinks package to secure some good wine but after 2 have concluded the standard offerings are more then agreeable and the money better invested into a new handbag (so the wife tells me). Food in the MDR and Windows (breakfast) has been good thus far with no need for us to bail out to the “always included” choices. We have booked both Prime C (tonight) & Aqualina and so will feed back experience later. The patio is open (alongside Windows) but unfortunately very few dinners to date. We will partake tomorrow evening as lovely to be outside enjoying the weather. By the way, Windows is now fully self service for breakfast other then for the normal egg and toast requests. I personally preferred it when you pointed and they tonged it (if you know what I mean)! If our onboard experience continues as is, we will be well pleased 🤞 Regards

The Sofitel Heathrow has a “test & rest” option. Looked at it ourselves (for Gatwick) but the price left me “coughing n spluttering”! As your room is already booked I suspect they could just add the test element and worth emailing them the question. Regards

Having looked as a result of “PirateWife” posting I’m reading the same in that the “click & collect” is not supervised. We’re looking to get something sorted for our July 10 sailing (flying from Gatwick, 9 July) but want to meet the criteria to avoid potential boarding issues and double costs. Regards

As Oslo Dutch has replied, 7 day Norway from Southampton. We booked an Iona cruise this morning and was made aware of this trial when asking about current “C” testing arrangements. We will be on “Onward” in 3 weeks but not expecting any changes to current protocols. Who’d want to be running a cruise line right now! Regards

P&O (UK) are trialing dropping pre departure tests on 5 Iona sailings during June/July. As always, an evolving situation. Regards

Sounds a nightmare and so untypical of Azamara pre C. They clearly need to review their procedures and fast. Starting off a much anticipated cruise on the back foot isn’t what you want or should expect. Now onboard, I’m sure your rocky embarkation will soon be behind you and hope the rest of your cruise meets your expectations. Have a great time. Regards

Agreed, very wishy washy.

I can see why that brought you to heel Phil! 🤓