RW75

Joyride, so pleased you arrived safely and are enjoying your cruise. Great posts by the way. I am certain the laundry bags used to be bigger, although I often have false nostalgia memories. How many times has your husband hit his head in your suite? Definitely looks like he has to bend his neck to go through the doors.

Looking at the confirmation for my next cruise, it shows Flash OBC and More2Sea under the promotion applied section on the second page - which is the $1000 offer. Not sure what the More2Sea promotion is. Pro rata rate shown at USD625.00 as I’m solo. This showed as credit in GBP in the voyage planner with a further USD150.00 (I believe that is the figure, happy to be corrected) added for the refer and receive, total of GBP793.80 showing. Can’t quite figure out the amount, certainly not unhappy. There is no distinguishing between credits, just one figure. Nothing on the confirmation stating OBC is only available for excursion. For a transatlantic with one port spending more than around $200 on an excursion is impossible. If there was no revert to pure OBC there would be lots of very unhappy people.

When I booked last week, Barbie in reservations whom is always amazing did say there had been confirmation that the Shore Ex credit would convert to OBC onboard.

I have been travelling to Bermuda for thirty years and always hired a scooter. While I don’t necessarily disagree with the comments made here, I do feel Bermuda is the safest place in the world as a tourist to be hiring and riding a scooter. The caveat in my mind being that one really should have experience on the road and not just ride around in a circle to demonstrate proficiency. More so the case if two people are sharing a scooter. I would never recommend casual hire for anyone who has no experience riding a motorbike of some kind. The hire cost in recent years has increased hugely and I don’t see it is a cost effective way of seeing the sights when taking a day rental. Everywhere is accessible by public transport and hiring a taxi for a half or whole day is likely to cost less. Especially if there are two people or more. Private tours are usually less expensive than cruise line tours and not difficult to arrange.

Jane T - I would like to think you should expect high teens minimum to low twenties mostly. That is C not F. A day or two out of PuertoRico will be warmer. Never easy to anticipate, that’s purely my experience of late March to mid April

Cruise Kay - hope you had a mild case and are over it now. I always imagine contracting Covid onboard must be scary. I often feel a little apprehensive taking a cruise alone, especially a longer duration. Almost always have never had to be concerned and had a great time. Did a trans Pacific on a large ship and even though there was plenty to occupy me I didn’t find my fellow passengers to be so friendly. My last transatlantic had a large number of solos. Everyone was friendly, plenty to do onboard, eleven night duration with one port. Had good weather until the last day. Booked another transatlantic and an Asia to Australia while onboard. Don’t discount starting or ending in the Caribbean. I often find single rates on ships sailing to/from one of the islands for the Europe repositioning very attractively priced.

Joyride - you’re looking good so far. The aisle seat is blocked, may be under airport control for allocation. No seats available for sale so could be occupied.

Les - pics below of the cost of testing at LIS airport. The rapid test is reasonable in my opinion, have been told of cheaper in the city, unfortunately, I can’t offer any direct info regarding this.

If you have not arranged a covid test for your return and will not be testing onboard, an antigen is available for €25 at Lisbon airport with SynLab. Results/certificate within one hour - usually much quicker. Seemed to be €20 in the city with a certificate. Possibly less if you look around. can be a bit of a hassle with VeriFLY, have taken a result to the AA check in desk and not had a problem.

Yes, I’ve carried off early on Azamara and even left the ship a day early after an overnight in the disembarkation port was added.

Joyride, you’re all sorted now so don’t stress about it any longer. when you’re not a frequent flyer the small details don’t mean so much to you and you take it all at face value. I often have my seat assignments shifted, it is unfortunately one of those things that happens. They are never assured even when you pay a fee. You are entitled to a refund of your seat assignment fees. For reference on your return flight, you may wish to move from row 1 as these seats may be bassinet positions, therefore, anyone travelling with an infant will be assigned the bassinet position seating. Again, ask at the airport tomorrow.

I find Azamara to be the best cruise line to go solo. Always found plenty of company and I’ve never gone to dinner alone. There is a LGBT drinks get together in the Living Room every evening. Very informal and tends to morph to attendees making their own arrangements for timing around other activities. The most social place is the smoking area on deck nine, always plenty of people there for a chat a drink whether you smoke or not. I’ve done two this year and have two more booked. Can not recommend enough for anyone cruising solo.

Joyride, I’m thinking the above poster is correct and you are flying Level which is the long haul low cost carrier of IAG. There is recline space at the bulkhead. They are the exact same seats that Iberia have for Premium. I’ve used the IBeria product a few times and the seat is okay. Take some snack items with you, the catering is not substantial. You should have two checked pieces at 23kgs each per person. im guessing you have been booked on IB2622 or AA8847. When you’re not used to the arrangements of code-sharing it can be confusing and agents do not often explain the finer points or indeed the operating carrier which is a requirement. There are often discrepancies in luggage and seating policies between carriers issuing tickets on their own ticket stock. confirm your return seat allocation when you arrive at the airport and maybe ask to speak to the station manager and have him/her contact customer services regarding the refund of your seating fees I would suggest you have a discussion with the loyalty person onboard. Hope you can relax a little now and look forward to enjoying your cruise.

All of the A330/A350 fleet are fitted with premium seats

If it helps, Iberia online check in opens 36 hours prior to departure. Not sure if that will help if you’re connecting on AA. You will be able to see seats at that point on the IB website. Try looking at the seats using Royal Jordanian website. Often a good One World resource. You will probably find the seat pairs are not all actually taken, just not available to selection without status.

I have had a few issues with solo rates with several cruise companies. Changing occupancy and names. Being totally transparent and honest, Azamara have always been the best with adjusting the cost at a later date when and if a better deal has come along. Doesn’t always feel you’re doing the right thing booking online and paying double, especially if a different offer is available in a different sales region. I don’t cruise with Azamara as much as I would like or as much as most on this board, however, I have come to value the ladies in reservations very highly. Call and have a chat with one of them. I have no doubt any one of them will talk through every option you have going through your mind. If those ladies ran the company I’m sure everything would run smoothly.