General Agent

I have commented on the other version of this topic but feel it is worth clarifying some points. Yes, the ship is stunning, the staff great and everything spotlessly clean. The free shows were ok but for me lacked the atmosphere that a live ships orchestra adds to a performance and rather loud. Food is subjective but I do expect it to be served hot in the MDR and of good variety and quality, which I personally did not always get. In my opinion, if you are going to have a four day menu rotation on an 8 day cruise, there needs to be a little more choice. The quality of the steak in the MDR in my personal experience was variable from almost inedible to ok. Yes I could have sent it back but on a table of 8 I did not feel comfortable doing so. I would find the ship crowded with more passengers on board especially at double that we experienced (2600) with associated longer service times in the bars. This cruise was great value at about £45pppn for a Bella balcony. We used this cruise as a taster for this ship (and MSC) for a couple of cruises we had our eye on for 2023 where the cost is more than double at about £95pppn and for me at that price does not represent good value especially at greater passenger numbers getting on and off the ship for excursions and shuttles. It is great that we can have, and respect, different opinions and there are cruise lines and ships out there for us all. It's just that this ship is probably not one for us unless it is great value and half empty, which is something you cannot know at time of booking.

We were on this cruise too and agree with most of Bogof1 has said. This ship had 2600 passengers and 1600 crew according to the sign in Le Havre. This ship can take 4800 at double occupancy and 6300 at full capacity with max crew of 1700. At less than half full capacity and only about 5% down on crew, the ship should have been able to cope well with the numbers. Even at these numbers the ship felt crowded in many areas (bars and restaurants) where seating was at a premium and service, except in the evening, slow and somewhat chaotic with drinks orders taking way too long to be taken and arrive and the wrong good and drink orders being delivered. I can only imagine what it would have been like with double the passengers. As this was term time for UK passengers, only pre school children were on board but there were quite a few with buggies etc. The buffet at breakfast was quite relaxed as these things go with plenty of room if you went to the back of the ship, but in several days there were no mugs for tea/coffee for about 20 mins. The 4 day menu rotation was a first for me. At least you knew what not to order second time around. Food quality was variable at best and not up to standards of budget lines used before (CMV, Marella etc.). Dress code is non existent even for 'formal' night so why advertise it as such? Disembarkation was a farce. I don't know the reasons for what happened. Queues started forming for self disinformation before 7.30 and it took over 2 1/2 hours for some to have their face to face passport check.and a.further hour or 2 to get off the ship, due to 'technical reasons'. This passport check was not the main cause of the lengthening queues. The bottle neck was due to the very slow cruise card reading programme. there were 2 border guards checking passports and at least double the number reading the cards and putting stickers on. I.guess this was to ensure all passengers were processed even if they did not got off. There was no meaningful information from staff, no water and no one managing the queing which snaked back in itself in several places. We joined the queue at about 10.15 when it had reduced considerably and got.off on.deck 5 where there was no queue even though there was still a long queue of about 100 people on deck 6. We were out of the port by 11.15 having picked up our car. Not all of the problems can be laid at MSC's door but their card reading system need a full update as it took 3 to 4 time as long as systems in other cruise lines and they need to realise that communication is vital even if you have nothing new to say. Staff going along the lines with water an maybe sweet or biscuits would have helped pacify those who were getting quite heated. Will we sail.with MSC again? Most unlikely as the general cruise experience was not what we like and we now know the big ship experience at anywhere near full capacity is not for us. By the way the original post seems to be repeated and maybe could be merged?

They are magnetic. That is why they ask you if you have a pacemaker on embarkation. What they do if you have one I have no idea.

I wish I had looked this morning, have just got back from on site LFT test (negative) for cruise on Friday from Southampton ..... At least my travel companions can cancel theirs but for me its £20 I could have spent on something else! No message from Princess at all.

Many thanks for your feedback. As you can imagine I am really upset at the way Azamara have treated those on deck 6. If I could take them on I would but because we booked a package through a TA we have to go through the TA and this is taking ages and they can't be bothered to find the truth. Azamara should be ashamed of the way they have treated what is after all is said and done a small number of people. It makes a special holiday memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Just a long shot, but did you receive an ABTA or ATOL certificate for your booking? These MAY include items that are covered by their schemes but the above regulation is a good source of information as to who is responsible in different circumstances. Good luck!

Thanks for responding xxsamoakesxx, I guess most people who were moved received an upgrade of some sort and so would not be too unhappy. Of those you spoke to who were not moved from deck 6, do you know if they were compensated in some way? Azamara knew on 30th Nov that redecoration of the corridors would be an issue for this cruise. I did not expect this from Azamara.

I laid 3 A4 sheets of vaccination records on the floor and took a photo. The app seemingly accepted it although you would need a magnifying glass to actually read the documents!. What a total waste of time and effort! If it takes as long to get a drink through the app I will die of thirst!

Trying to upload my vaccine certificate but the app does not seem to accept PDF file. Is this correct?? It would be helpful if the app would tell you what file formats it will accept....

This is a long shot. We were on the above cruise and were on Deck 6 where disruptive re-decoration works were ongoing throughout our cruise. There were only about a dozen cabins occupied by paying customers at the bow end of the ship, the rest were empty or occupied by contractors. We were told by the hotel manager that we should have received notification of the works in our cabin on embarkation but we did not. Despite several requests to Azamara both at the time and since our return, no copy has been forthcoming. Is there anyone out there that received a notification of the works and could tell me what it actually said? Also, if you were booked on Deck 6 but relocated to different Decks, when were you informed of your move and what were you told? Any information would be gratefully received. Many thanks in advance.