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Thanks to all who responded, especially @bluemarble, @rsquare, and @foodsvcmgr. who raised the definite possibility that our dining status (to be "confirmed on board") is not a waiting list, but just new verbiage, and/or a peculiarity of the "My Cunard" website. I don't recall this uncertainty before our last QM2 voyage (May, 2022), but I'm pretty sure that was before the implementation of the open seating option. So we'll sit tight now. And yes, for the record, our emailed reservation shows "Second Sitting: Confirmed". I'll be sure to update this thread if we have any surprises after embarkation. Thanks again to all for taking the time to comment.

We'll be sailing on the 2023 Christmas cruise on the QM2 - we have a Britannia cabin. At booking, we requested a table for two at 2nd seating. I just checked "My Cunard" and our dining request is listed as a "...preference. It will be confirmed once you are on board". First seating and open dining are marked "Available". This is the first time our dining preference has not been confirmed prior to embarkation (though usually we've requested 1st seating). We've also always been assigned our desired table for two, though we sometimes have to re-request it from the maitre d' on embarkation day. We are Platinum and on this trip, in a mid-level Britannia category (neither highest or lowest). Here are my questions: 1) What are the odds that our 2nd seating/table for 2 will be "confirmed once we are on board"? Or is that code for "your desired option is unavailable: we'll tell you what is available in person." 2) if those odds aren't good, are we better off requesting "open seating" now? On a holiday cruise, it might be nice to have the flexibility to dine early or late. And I just received an email, that people on open seating can start reserving their holiday dinner times now. But that strategy wouldn't be preferable if it would expose us to lengthy queues, or reduce the odds of getting our preferred table size. Thanks for your time and advice.....

Glad you are safely on board. I haven’t gone out today, but saw that parts of Brooklyn (4th Ave, Prospect Expressway, and yes, Red Hook) were impassable, with fast moving water in some sections. You are safest on the ship! Yesrs ago, we were upgraded to Princess Grill (why? and never repeated) on the QE2. Wonderful to experience it - enjoy!

Nikola Tesla lived in the New Yorker Hotel. The hotel has a small exhibit about Tesla, and other aspects of its history, in an area below the main lobby. (There are stairs and/or an escalator from the lobby.). I found it interesting when I was passing by. Probably best you took a pass on the McDonald’s on 8th Ave at 35th (?) St. May have improved recently, but it had been a hangout for drug use. (When the City cleaned up Times Square a lot of the squalor pivoted south on 8th Ave.) Stay dry and enjoy your trip!

Just back from 8/29/2023 10 day Ireland Intensive. First time Azamara cruisers. Had many problems precruise with shore-side services in May- June when our final payment was due (invoice amount wrong, couldn’t process final payment until it was six weeks late, couldn’t reach a phone agent, no precruise checkin process). Even had a backup plan in mind if we couldn’t board in Dublin (take the train west). But we were on the list, embarked as quickly as we ever have on Seabourn, and had a great on board experience- possibly the friendliest crew we’ve ever encountered and food at the level one would expect from an above-premium line. People have been saying that the on-board experience has not been affected by the shoreside problems. I can confirm that was the case for us this summer.

Took the ship tour to Limerick from Foynes. The main attraction was the 12th C (?) St. John’s castle. Excellent multimedia displays on Irish history there/ and good views from the battlements. St. Mary’s Cathedral also worth the extra charge (on our free time). Nice to see that Limerick is rebuilding and renovating its riverfront - no longer “Angela’s Ashes” squalor. We liked all the ports on this trip.

SOME GOOD NEWS - the issues with MY reservation on Azamara's website have been resolved. My problem - in April, the balance due on my August cruise was incorrect, and I didn't want to pay the incorrect amount. Subsequently, the ability to pay online disappeared entirely. About three weeks ago I completed the online "Future Bookings and Loyalty Support" form. Other than an auto-reply email, I never heard back from Azamara. A week ago I completed the same form again. This time I received an email from an Azamara agent WITHIN A DAY. She corrected the balance due and offered to work with my travel agent to facilitate payment. Simultaneously, my travel agent told me that their systems could now, at last, connect with Azamara's system. My travel agent processed the payment on my behalf, and Azamara's site now shows me paid in full. So it seems Azamara is making progress. I do share concerns that this almost 3 month debacle may have hurt Azamara's cash flow, but we'll hope for the best.

Back in 2015, we went on a shore excursion (cruise line was not Azamara) that visited two wineries out of PIcton: Cloudy Bay and Wither Hills. Cloudy Bay was set up to allow us to taste five wines; I can't remember how many wines were offered at Wither Hills, but they bottle Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. I've been a fan of Cloudy Bay for years. Wither Hills was new to me. I don't think either winery offered a meal on this excursion.

My final payment was due the end of April. The Azamara website showed a balance due about $2,000 above the correct amount. For the past two weeks my ONLY option on the Azamara website was to pay the full, and wrong, amount. There was no option to pay a partial amount. This week the website shows something new. The "Make a Payment" button is sitll there but it opens a screen that doesn't show the (correct or incorrect) balance due and there is no option to pay. So because I've been told they aren't auto-canceling reservations for failure to pay, I'm just sitting tight for now. My cruise sails in late August.

I've stayed in two hotels in Amsterdam - both were new buildings, so no historical charm, but both have good views, all the modern conveniences. and are relatively close to the cruise port. 1) Hilton Doubletree - on an 'island' across a canal from the old city center and a 5 - 10 mt walk from Central Station (rail), which is also the starting point for the trams that can take you throughout the city. It's walking distance to many restaurants in the historical center. There are great views of the historical city. just across a bridge, from its south facing rooms. It would be a relatively short taxi ride from here to the cruse port (as opposed to from hotels on the south side of the old city.) Rooms are simply furnished (think "built-ins"), but do the job. 2) The Movenpick Hotel is part of the cruise port complex, so could not be more convenient for embarkation. The historical center is a lengthy walk, though I believe there is a tram stop nearby that will take you to Central Station (check this). A mid-market hotel but rooms are a little plusher than the Hilton. Or you can book a hotel IN the historic center and figure that the higher transportation cost to the port is offset by more convenience while you are touring the city. (And Amsterdam isn't that big anyway.) I've never stayed there, but I know some cruiselines used the Radisson Blu for guests with pre-embarkation packages. (Hah - I see Mercruiser just posted the same suggestions!)

In 2019, we stayed at the Hilton at Puerto Madero -a new hotel in the extensively redeveloped docklands due east of the Plaza de Mayo. Felt very safe- office workers during the day, genial crowds in the evening. Lots of good restaurants within walking distance. There was a Hop On Hop Off bus stop alongside the hotel. We used that bus to get to other neighborhoods.

To answer an earlier question, yes I was able to add my “Upcoming Cruise” by filling out the online form and clicking “Get Help”. It took a couple of weeks. My final payment was due in April. As of the end of last week, my travel agent can’t process it. I’m not willing to pay it myself on Azamara via my login, because there is only the option to pay “in full” - the wrong amount. I understand they aren’t auto-canceling for late payment right now. But I also can’t add shorex’s or transfers, presumably because of the outstanding balance. I’d be interested to hear if anyone with an older reservation has been able to make payments on the new system,

My "Upcoming Cruise" finally showed up today. (I filed out the online form late last week.) Yes, it sometimes still shows "No upcoming cruises". In this case, (as others have written), I need to "refresh" the screen by clicking on my profile button (upper right), then click on "upcoming cruises" a second time. The balance due they show is incorrect - it includes the price of shore excursions I booked and paid for several months ago. When I deduct the cost of the shore excursions from their balance, the result equals the balance due that I show.

Some people have had luck calling the Azamara phone number at 8am Central Standard Time (6am if you are in Oregon). When I've called later in the day, I get a recording that their lines are overwhelmed and they aren't taking calls or messages, but when I called at 8am CST, I got a different recording, and per some, the opportunity to leave a message to which they respond. They are prioritizing sailings within the month, so if you leave a message, maybe mention that you were supposed to embark this week. The certified letter may cover you better legally, but if you reach them by phone, maybe they can send you an email confirming you weren't a no show. So sorry you are in this situation- best wishes to you and your wife.

Thanks, JaneStarr, for responding to my questions (especially for taking the time on your way to the airport!) I'm reassured that your travel agent has been told that cancellations for non-payment are on hold. Thanks as well to everyone else who responded or shared their stories. Re the online "Future Bookings and Loyalty Support Form". The first million times I tried to fill it out, I clicked (alternately) the "Get Help" button, or the "Submit" button way at the bottom (which actually seemed to relate to a request for brochures). Either way, when I returned to the screen, the information I had entered was still there - as if it hadn't processed. When I tried it yesterday, the form cleared when I pressed "Get Help" - which I took to mean the information was finally transmitted to Azamara - but I don't actually know for sure. The screen is poorly designed - it should be clearer which button sends the data. I used to work in IT (healthcare) and remember nightmare long nights when it became clear that imported data had failed to correctly populate a new system. You need a big dedicated team to test and support these systems, especially during a transition. (I can only imagine how the Azamara reservations staff, probably already lean, is dealing with this.) This is why relatively small operations like Azamara have a structural disadvantage in our IT-driven world.

Another website question. My "Upcoming Cruise" (for late summer) is not showing up under my online profile. Final payment is due tomorrow. Up to this point, electronic payment (credit card) via my travel agency's web-page has errored out. I just filled out the online "Future Bookings and Loyalty Support Form" and for the first time since I started trying to do this, I believe it may have filed. Assuming it did, does anyone have any experience with how quickly Azamara acts on these forms. Has Azamara explicitly told anyone that they are not holding us to the final payment dates (i.e. will not cancel the booking) given the current difficulties with their user systems? Thanks!!

Let me add my thanks for your post on this important topic. We were also on the 1/14 cruise r/t Hawaii. I'm also a retired nurse - and chose to mask almost everywhere in public. (By "almost", I didn't mask when walking briskly out of the dining room or walking down empty halls - but I did mask in the gym, the theater, Lido lines, BB Kings, elevators, at trivia, on shore excursions, etc.) We were well until our disembarkation day, when we both developed coughs. I also brought Covid tests with me. We tested negative then, and have tested negative four more times since arriving home. I'll say that this illness "felt different" from Covid, which unfortunately I have already had twice. Something, maybe more than one illness, was clearly circulating through the ship - we went to Lincoln Center stage on the last weekend. Many people in the audience were coughing (much more than at the beginning of the cruise) and one of the players , coughing herself, had to excuse herself to go backstage for a sip of water. We took four cruises last year, in March, June, September, and November - all but one on 'big' ships. We caught Covid on the June cruise but had no problems on the other ones.

My favorite arrangement from this cruise was a very creative rendition of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five”. They even performed “Stairway to Heaven” (Led Zeppelin), a bold choice that caught the attention of a few passers-by.. in a more traditional mode, earlier in the day we had 45 minutes of Mozart I’m sorry I missed any session where they may have talked a bit about their schooling and experience.

Yes, thanks to JamesHill and Heidi13 for answering my original question, and remembering it from October!

On the Koningsdam now, and enjoying the Lincoln Center ensemble whenever our schedule allows (e.g. missed them on our five port days in a row) Two observations- 1) it makes a lot more sense to see a chamber music group in a small venue like the Lincoln Center Stage. It will really change the experience to have them on a cavernous main stage. And will that mean their instruments will be mic’ed? I doubt trained classical performers will want to play mic’ed instruments. That’s a whole other form of entertainment. 2) The Lincoln Center groups gave some pretty amazing arrangements, eg we heard Rhapsody in Blue and two violin concertos re-arranged for the four-piece group. They are really a step above what string ensembles do on some other lines. Something the entertainment director said suggested these arrangements are proprietary - part of the franchise that contracts with HAL.

We are currently on the Koningsdam’s R/T from San Diego to Hawaii. Yes, HAL offered a tour that combined the river trip and fern grotto, with the Waimea Canyon. Unfortunately we had strong winds the morning of our Kauai arrival and docking was delayed almost two hours.. Some of the longer tours (including the fern grotto/Waimea Canyon combo) were canceled. We were booked on this tour and wish they had run either half (say, Waimea Canyon only) with a partial refund for the missed portion. But that wasn’t offered and the excursion was fully refunded. We ended up taking an Uber to Lihue and visited the island museum on our own- nice but hardly the long scenic day we had envisioned. We had a lot of disappointments with the shore excursion department on this cruise. Our Maui excursion was canceled by HAL about five days before the cruise, our Kona excursion was canceled by HAL the day we embarked, and then the Kauai excursion was canceled when our docking was delayed.

We (72 and 75) kayaked on a Seabourn cruise to Greenland. Three years ago we kayaked on the Antarctic peninsula. Yes, the cruise line provided dry suits. The kayaking was in very still water - protected coves with ripples, no waves - some photogenic small bits of floating ice. We felt very confident - our local river kayaking (New Jersey) is technically more challenging. A guide in a kayak led the group of passengers, and a zodiac boat stayed close to the group, presumably to rescue anybody who got into trouble. I wouldn't want to fall in, but I felt safe. It was quiet and peaceful - almost a moment of solitude even though we were part of a group. Note, on the same trip Seabourn sponsored a "polar plunge" for passengers (tethered to the ship by a cable) who wanted to jump off the tender platform into the arctic water - in their bathing suits. Seems insane to me, but a couple of participants actually lingered in the water for maybe 30 seconds.

Thanks, all, for the responses. Yes, if I hear or read any explanation of why the ports were canceled, I'll come back and post it here. rcs931: Brisbane and and Newcastle still show up for the version of my itinerary on the Viking webpage for people making new bookings. But those ports have been removed from the version of my itinerary under "My Trip". So if you didn't receive an email, and those ports still show up under "My Trip" for your voyage, then I think you'll be ok.

We have LONG been booked on a much-postponed Sydney to Bali voyage now scheduled for 2024 on the Orion. Yesterday, we received an email from Viking informing us that they were dropping Brisbane and Newcastle from this itinerary "due to new, local regulations". This is a disappointment because we have a family connection in Brisbane. I know our specific voyage isn't the only one affected - I believe people making the same trip in 2023 received the same email. Of course, I'm curious what kind of regulation would prompt Viking to cancel a port, and I'm also curious if there is any likelihood that the ports might be reinstated if conditions changed between now and 2024. I couldn't find anything explicitly relevant on the internet. Brisbane has just opened a new cruise terminal to much publicity, so I don't think they would be backpedalling on hosting cruise ships. On the other hand, I know another cruise-line's ship had a well-publicized Covid outbreak before arriving at Brisbane last summer - so maybe more requirements grew out of that (?). Does anyone have any information as to what "new, local regulations" might be behind this change? Thanks in advance.

We also took the charter flight from Kangerlussuaq back to Reykjavik on September 18. While we waited to board, I noted that Kangerlussuaq did not appear to have the machinery to load luggage onto aircraft in bulk containers. So luggage was loaded piece-by-piece. I realized then that the luggage would also have to be off-loaded in Reykjavik piece-by-piece (170 passengers = 200 pieces = 5 tons of luggage), which may account for the delay in Reykjavik baggage claim. This seems to be a foreseeable risk for using what was almost a bush airport. Post-cruise, we were booked into the Hotel Borg, where coincidentally we spent three nights prior to boarding the Venture. So we were already aware that busses are not allowed to use the street right in front of the hotel. I fault the Grey Line agent on our bus for saying that the walking distance from the bus stop was "half a kilometer". It was really two short blocks (the hotel is on the other side of the same block facing the bus stop).. After hopping in and out of zodiacs and kayaks, this seemed like not a big deal. That being said, it would be difficult for the mobility impaired or people with lots of luggage. I noted from our prior stay that small Mercedes bus-vans ARE allowed to park in front of the hotel, so maybe Gray Line or Seabourn should have made special arrangements for those with exceptional needs.