Four21eyes

Sigh. I feel very unmoored. I have called both my TA and Azamara. Two weeks ago, the cruise we were to have joined out of Southampton to NYC was cancelled. Yesterday, I committed to a land tour in Ireland, to replace the second cruise and redid our airfare to reflect a multi-city trip. We both feel Azamara is doing damage to the brand by not sharing their plans with us. We almost feel they are holding out for something. Several plausible scenarios for that. I understand these are all first world problems but several thousand of us are impacted by their laissez-faire attitude. Safety of passengers is the first priority of the captains aboard Azamara. We have the utmost respect for them. I feel very uncomfortable and untethered by this whole thing.

We just returned two days ago from a cruise on Onward. This was our fifth Azamara cruise. Two pre-Covid and three post. Cabin choice - The large suites are fore and aft. If the seas are rough… The suites are mid-ship and lovely. We had a stall shower which was very roomy compared with balcony bathrooms. Balcony is also about thirty per cent larger. We have been in one of the owners suites. It was very large. Food- The main dining room - Discoveries- seems to be struggling to resume its’ pre-Covid rigor. Food lukewarm and the delivery times could be up to 45 minutes. Windows (buffet) and the two specialty restaurants were much better. Wine and liquor choices continue to be what they were pre-Covid. You can BYOB on Azamara. Choices - The staff is helpful and friendly. We asked a lot of people what they thought. Many people were trying to use future cruise credits and there were many first time Azamara cruisers. Most people said Viking. Hands down. Second was Oceania for the food and service which they said was a notch above. However, their crew was standoffish. Third was Celebrity and then Azamara. Some people loved the experience and others said, for the money, one and done. There are pros and cons to each. Azamara has a laundry facility which is included. Many lines do not. They could take the entertainment up several notches. There was a lack of communication on this particular cruise. Lots to consider. Things have changed post Covid. Hopefully, Azamara will get back to what it used to be.

For some reason, Azamara does not have good tech support when it comes to WIFI. As we will be near shore, we are planning to rent a hot spot. When we cruised in Japan, we did and it was seamless. Don’t buy the WIFI package on board. It is a waste of money and very frustrating.

My husband also has been collecting for decades. We have found that staff tries to up sell you in the specialty restaurants. And it is swill. I also rarely drink anything alcoholic. We will be in Dublin for almost a week before we board. I have been researching wine shops and plan to BYOB.

Pre-Covid we really thought Azamara was terrific. We are set to sale on a B2B this summer. That being said, we did have a few issues with Customer service on the early voyages. Fast forward to May of 2021. As we were doing the B2B, I decided to make reservations for 2022. Had done a serious amount of research, including the cabin I wanted. The agent was helpful but as we were attempting to use our 2020 credits up, I was told she would get back to me with the final accounting. The next week, I called and was reassured everything was fine by a different agent. He said he would send the agent a note, asking her to send me an email finalizing the trip. Never got anything. In October, I thought, why not check the web site. No reservations. The snippy agent I did get, told me I had no reservations and there was nothing in the system to indicate I ever had same. I document everything. Long, long story made short. After sending FedEx letters to six executives, including the director in NYC, I finally got a response. We are booked but have to change cabins… Fast forward again to last month, when we had a final payment due for insurance. The phone bank was overloaded with people, who had justifiable reasons to wonder how they were getting in/out of Venice. As I HAD to make this payment and my COVID booster wouldn’t allow me to lift my left arm, I decided to wait on hold. I timed it. THREE HOURS and THIRTY-SEVEN minutes. For a two minute conversation. Why didn’t customer service add a dedicated number to the phone tree for people like me, trying to pay off their fees? I didn’t need an agent. I needed accounting. I am hoping the cruise as as wonderful as previous trips…

If you want descent bottles and have the time to purchase same, bring your own. The wine selection on our past pre-Covid voyages was just above swill. Avoid the pressure to upgrade the drinks package. Not worth it ! No name vineyards, with large prices.

We have rented WIFI hot spots. It works incredible well as long as the ship is in sight of land. WIFI on board the Azamara cruises ,we have been on, is spotty to non existent. Most ports have free WIFI and people hung out at the embarkation area, so they can access their email. Purchasing the WIFI package was a waste of money and time. If a hot spot works, they should just rent those to people who want to be connected. Good luck !