azjoy

Cabins in the center and on lower decks (4 and 6) tend to be less affected by rough seas.  

We've only stayed in Ocean View and Balcony cabins.  I think the bathrooms are the same size, as Grandma said "small but adequate".  I believe the old Azamara website listed the square footage and there was a difference but I don't remember how much.  The light from the balcony makes the cabin seem much larger and cheerier.  

I prefer the Balcony cabins but 5,000 is a big difference, in almost any currency!  But depending on the length of the cruise, it might be worth it.   

Good luck and happy cruising!

Just before this was announced, a family member booked her first Azamara cruise.  I thought I had 30 days from her booking date to submit the paperwork under the old Referral program and we were traveling so I delayed.  I submitted a request through the Azamara Contact site to ask whether we would be covered under the old program or the new one (and mentioned that she had booked before the new program so I could NOT send her a link as required in the new program. 

The response from "Azamara Sales Solutions Team" was quick but it consisted of "Thank you for reaching out! Currently you can not get the R&R until after she sails with us!"

Unfortunately, the terms & conditions state that we would automatically qualify for the VISA card when she paid the deposit, which was already done.  So, they didn't answer my questions or address this catch-22 issue and they mis-stated the Azamara policy.   

I've already replied and will continue to pursue this, especially for my family member.  I'm expecting the next communication to recommend that I address this when we board the ship for our next cruise - more than on a year away!  

I started this thread and just wanted to post our final result.  Success!!

The Future Cruise Consultant on Journey, Tine, was very helpful and knowledgeable.  We met with her on the day after we met the requirements for the new level, Discoverer+.  When we explained what we wanted, there was no pushback or hedging.  She agreed the free nights could be booked on the current cruise and volunteered to price the cruise 2 ways:

- at the "full" price, discounting the 6 free nights

- then at the current sale price.  

She had a spreadsheet to estimate the price using the free nights.  When that came out to be significantly less than the sale price, she put the cabin on hold and sent it to Azamara pricing for confirmation.  We expected it to take a long time but they responded in less than 2 days (and this was over the U.S. Labor Day holiday) with the same price she estimated.  I almost ran down the steps to give her the deposit! 

As several others reported, it can be done on the qualifying cruise with a knowledgeable Future Cruise Consultant.  If the FCC insists it can't be done, I would suggest politely but firmly asking that the policy be verified with the department manager or HQ.  I've used this tactic with airlines, hotels and many other businesses.   

I only insist when I've verified with knowledgeable sources (i.e. the regulars on this forum!) that it can and has been done.  Perhaps the agent is new or wasn't trained on this situation so this can be an opportunity for the them to learn - and help other customers.   

13 hours ago, 2ndsailing said:

Wonderful. When is your cruise? Maybe we'll be neighbours

January, 2025.  San Diego - Hawaii - French Polynesia.  

As of 2 days ago, there were still CC suites available, but they were 8056 and aft on the port side and under the Patio on the starboard side.  Not sure about forward.  

Check it out, would love to see you the cruise!

Thanks blag, 2ndsailing and Jazzbeau for your comments.  

We're on Journey and we went to 8 and told the butler we were interested.  He told us 8060 was empty and showed it to us.  

With your comments,  we are now happily booked into 8050 for our next Azamara cruise!  

We're looking at a trans-Pacific cruise on Onward in 8050.  Has anyone been in that suite?  I'm concerned about noise.  2ndsailing mentioned a crew door opposite 8054, were there any other problems?

Thanks in advance

30 minutes ago, blag said:

Whilst on board in March I asked exactly this question of both of the cruise sales personnel, separately.

 

I was told (by both sales agents) that, since I would be on the 'qualifying' cruise and would accumulate sufficient additional points during the cruise to pass the threshold, I would be able to book a future cruise during the 'qualifying' cruise and benefit from all the benefits (extra discount, free nights plus the benefits applicable for booking on-board). I was told that it would not be necessary to wait until I had disembarked the qualifying cruise. 

Thank you very much!  This eases my mind so now I can move onto other worries! 🙂  

19 minutes ago, beatnix said:

We had this case 2 weeks ago. Our level was changed after retourning. 

It was not possible to add the regulations of the new level to the booking on board.

I know that's true for the other benefits of the new level, such as internet minutes.  I was speaking about a new booking using the free nights with the new loyalty level. 

In 2019, we were able to a future cruise onboard and have the free nights applied to it.

Has anyone tried this with the new management?

We are currently 10 points away from the next loyalty level and our next cruise is in August. 

We’d like to book a future cruise while on board using the free nights and the higher discount. 

We were able to do this under RCCL in 2019 but I was wondering if anyone has experience doing this under the new management?

Thanks

On 3/1/2023 at 10:03 PM, Sandymay said:

We embarked on our 3rd Azamara cruise in December 2022 - Perth to Melbourne. Unfortunately, we contracted COVID 7 days into our 14 day cruise and were confined to our cabin for a mandatory 5 days. After 3 days we took the decision to disembark and return home.

We were assured by Guest relations onboard we would be eligible for a future cruise credit plus credit for unused specialty dining etc.

Sadly, since January, we have made repeated attempts to contact Azamara via several email addresses, phone, Facebook and have been totally ghosted.

Has anyone else had this experience? Can anyone offer any next steps?

Hello,

We were on the same cruise (our 11th) and we also came down with COVID, missing the Azamazing Evening in Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, the fireworks in Sydney, etc.       

We mailed a complaint letter (yes, snail mail) to Azamara Guest Relations weeks ago but heard nothing.  Tried an email last week but, not surprisingly, no one has acknowledged/responded yet. 

We were trying to deal with this ourselves rather than involve our TA.  Now that we know Azamara has a policy for giving FCC for COVID sufferers, we've decided to get her involved. 

No one at Azamara mentioned anything to us about FCC!  I've saved the page from their website for backup.  We have an Azamara cruise later this year where we would use the FCC. 

Thanks for mentioning this. 

We've used this particular credit on many cruises and I recall it being non-refundable.

It's listed on your confirmation from Azamara and shows available in the Azamara website Cruise Planner so can be used to book shore excursions pre-cruise and any the leftover can be used on board, like all other OBC.

One thing that it cannot be used for is tips for specialty dining. There are a few other exceptions for using OBC but I don't remember all of them.  

As for why it's non-refundable, I can only speculate that it's being provided by both Azamara and American Express, but that's just a guess on my part.

My most recent use of this credit was in December on back-to-back cruises. 

Thanks for the info on the sale.  We didn't get the email but I found that several of the excursions we had already booked for a December cruise were discounted. 

BUT - I checked the "discounted" price against what we had already paid and there was only 1 out of 3 excursions where the "discounted" price was lower.  

So, if you've already booked excursion, I'd recommend checking your original price before rebooking.  

Also, the discounts were only available on our December cruise, not the one we have booked in March. 

In 2017 they provided a bus to Darling Harbor.  I believe the stop was quite close to the Sea Life Aquarium.  But of course, that was a long time ago and pre-COVID. 

Would love to hear from folks who've been there in the last year since we'll be there in January.  

I don’t know if you’ve already taken your cruise, but wanted to share our recent experience with cabin 439 on the Silver Whisper.  The positives were, as noted by previous posters; close to midship (very little “motion of the ocean”), and close to an elevator. 

Unfortunately, we did experience quite a bit of noise.  The first night I was awakened twice by a loud noise.  It sounded like a noisy motor and it went on for a while.  The second time was 5:30am and I opened the windows to see the Pilot transferring to his boat, almost directly under our window.  At the next port I noticed several “doors”, one large enough for cargo, underneath our window.

While in several ports, we looked out to see a large hose emerging from under our window to the dock and there was loud noise like fluid rushing through a pipe.  I’m not sure if it was rushing onto the ship or off the ship – but it was loud.

We didn’t even request this cabin.  Originally, we were in 427 but were moved into 439 after final payment.  Our request for an explanation was ignored and the location looked good so we decided to give it a try.  After a week of complaining about the noise, we were moved into 658 which was much quieter.  Yes, there was more rocking but we preferred it to being awakened in the middle of the night.         

We've used Welcome Pickups in several cities and found them prompt and reliable.  The last time we used them from Civitavecchia to Rome.  Enjoy your cruise!

5 hours ago, Mayflower1 said:

On our last Silversea sailing from Greenwich ( Pre Covid ) the Luggage Van was situated in the side Road opposite Starbucks. Our Car pulled up and the Men unloaded and placed all but Carry Ons onto the Van. We then strolled past Cutty Sark to the Jetty to board the Transfer Ferry to Silver Spirit. There was no Tent and all Formalities were carried out Onboard. It was very calm & easy.

 

I hope this helps and wish you a wonderful Cruise.

THANK YOU!!  This definitely eases my mind!

Thanks for the info.  

As I mentioned above, my concern is not getting ourselves to the ferry pier, but getting the luggage into Silversea's care without too much rolling on our part.  When Azamara embarked from Greenwich, the cruise folks were set up on a side street, convenient for the taxis.  We didn't have to touch the luggage.  They also had staff standing all along the way from the luggage dropoff to the pier.  (I think they were only steps apart).  We didn't need them since we spent the morning there, taking tours in the area.  Unfortunately, that's not an option this time.   

All of this just reminded me of the last 2 times we were on Silversea.  Those cruises both ended at Tower Bridge, moored to the HMS Belfast.  There was a ferry across the river to Tower Pier and both times Silversea managed to misplace one bag.  It turned out OK but we didn't need the stress.

I appreciate everyone's responses.  We'll have to work this one out the day of the cruise.  I'm working on some contingency plans, hopefully the email at 15 days will contain some contact info in London. 

Thanks!

@HostJazzbeau - Thanks for the Starbucks tip.  I'm trying to minimize the distance we have to roll the luggage (since this is Silversea, there'll be one more case than normal for the dressy clothes.)

@jollyjones - Thanks, especially for the news about the docs.  We departed Greenwich in September, 2018 on a different cruise with a slightly different set up.  The taxi dropped us and the luggage on a side street where the baggage handlers were waiting.  They took the luggage out of the taxi and we walked over to the ferry dock to take the tender.  

Between the extra case and the fact that we're 4 years older, this has become more important to us.   Thanks for helping! 

Has anyone recently boarded a Silversea ship in Greenwich?  I'm looking for info on where to direct the taxi.  We're 2 1/2 weeks out with nothing from Silversea. 

Our TA seemed puzzled by my concern - "just go the the cruise terminal" - she doesn't realize there isn't a terminal at Greenwich, just the ferry dock.  She just got back from vacation and has promised to research it but since she also has to ask them about a Silversea arranged flight that was cancelled, I'm not expecting  anything in the next 2 weeks.  

On a previous cruise with a different cruise line, we stayed in Greenwich overnight and walked over to find out where to direct the cab to drop the luggage.   That is not an option this time, we'll be staying much farther away.

FYI - we have SS air but we deviated to arrive early so we can't use the SS transfer.

We'd appreciate hearing about anyone's recent experience with Silversea at Greenwich.  

Thanks

9 minutes ago, -Lew- said:

 

I respect your preference of obtaining foreign currency prior to traveling, but I don't understand how the process can be cheaper and easier.  I find banks usually add a fee or apply an unreasonable exchange rate to any currency transaction.

 

When we travel to Europe we have a few hundred euros saved from a previous trip for any immediate expenses...airport transfers, etc.  We then use our Schwab debit cards to obtain cash from ATMs with no foreign transaction fee and reimbursement for ATM fees.  Obtaining cash locally is convenient and safer since we don't have to have a lot of cash on hand.

And Schwab reimburses ATM fees.  We've been doing this for years. 

For security purposes, we keep the Schwab checking account separate from our regular checking account and deposit funds before we travel.  If someone "skims" the ATM card, they only have access to that money and not our regular checking account.  

We've sailed out of Reykjavik with Silversea twice and they used Radisson Blu 1919.  It was very convenient to where Silversea docked ( "Miðbakki" port, I think).  In fact we walked between the port and the hotel, even wheeling our luggage one time. 

There is a larger cruise terminal (Skarfabakki?) farther away but I don't know which port and/or hotel Silversea is using now.  

If they're still using Radisson Blu, we also found it very convenient for tourism, dining and walking around Reykjavik.  One time we joined a very good walking tour that started one block from the Radisson Blu. 

On our most recent visit to Reykjavik, we stayed at the Canopy by Hilton.  It was more centrally located to everything and had good staff and great breakfast. 

Whatever you decide, enjoy Reykjavik and I highly recommend a visit to the Perlan museum.

On 12/16/2021 at 9:10 AM, ysolde said:

We are moving to Scottsdale early next year (sometime after our upcoming Regent cruise).  In 2023, we have a TA cruise out of Miami, ending in Barcelona.  We have advised our Regent travel advisor of our upcoming move, and she has made the adjustment to our reservation without a problem.  However, I looked up flights between PHX and MIA and noticed that to get to Miami from Phoenix by late morning, you have to fly out around between 11:00 pm and 1:00 am.  There are not a whole lot of options.  A JetBlue flight leaving Phoenix at 11:00 pm and arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 6:15 am.  An AA flight leaving Phoenix at 10:40 pm and landing in Miami at 5:45 am.  There is a SW flight leaving at 5 something in the evening, but that one lands in Miami sometime after midnight.  Would Regent put us on that one and leave us stranded at the airport until morning?

 

There are flights that land around 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm.  I don't see those working.  So much for the non-stops.

 

When I plug in flights with connections, I get one flight with a very tight (57 minute) connection in Orlando.  Leaves Phoenix at 10:45, arrives Orlando 5:43. Depart Orlando 6:40.  Arrive Miami 7:49.  This connection seems very tight to me.  Similarly, there is an 11:44 to CLT with a 47 minute connection.  Arrives CLT 6:33.  Departs CLT 7:20.  Arrive FLL 9:21.

 

What does Regent usually do when flying people from PHX to MIA?  I am assuming it puts people on the non-stops, even if they land very early in the morning.  So that probably means the AA flight (since it lands in Miami)?  I am assuming there will be more and different flight options a year from now.  I just want to get a sense of scheduling.

Hi,

We're in Scottsdale and used the Regent flights for a Miami cruise a few years ago.  They booked us on the AA redeye nonstop flight departing around midnight and arriving very early in the AM.  Then we waited at the airport for the Regent supplied transfer, then waited for quite a while at the pier for them to open boarding, then waited on the ship to get into our cabin and nap...

For our upcoming Regent cruise from Miami, we turned down the Regent flight and booked our own for the day before (arriving around 8pm).  We can get a hotel wherever we want and Uber to the pier when we want. 

If that doesn't work for you, you also check on a deviation to arrive the day before but that costs extra and doesn't include the transfer or the hotel, I believe. 

Whatever you choose, enjoy your cruise!         

I was also wary of the potential “skimming” problems with ATM’s, until I found a bank offering a checking account that charges no fees (ATM, or monthly/annual maintenance fees) and also rebates ATM fees from other banks.  I deposit enough money for a single trip, which limits the theft exposure and eliminates the threat of someone stealing my pension and having legitimate bills rejected from my main checking account.

And yes, there is additional tracking required with a separate account.  But we make several international trips a year and we find it easier than getting foreign currency locally.  And since tracking/reconciliation was part of my professional life, it’s not a big deal for me. 

I used to track the conversion rate but I always found it to match the average for the day and it was better than what our local bank quoted to get the foreign currency up front (with lots of fees!)

Caution: This may only apply to the U.S.   Don't know if CC rules allow me to post the name of the bank?    

On 11/8/2021 at 7:55 AM, cruiseej said:

@mahasamatman Reykjavic is a compact city, so taking a cab from the port to your hotel of choice should be quite easy, fast and inexpensive. 

 

You're correct about the city but the international airport, KEF or Keflavik, is quite a ways from the city.  As I recall, It's about an hour drive from the city.  Reykjavik City airport is for domestic flights.

Unfortunately, a taxi or private transfer in Iceland is not what I consider inexpensive.  In July, they were running about $150 to $160, one-way.  A previous trip we used the shuttle bus but we had to transfer from the large bus to a smaller one and then stop at several hotels.  I think it doubled the transfer time.  

To mahasamatman, whatever you decide, enjoy yourself.  Iceland is a great country.  

In 2019 we ended an Azamara cruise at Harumi Port or Harumi Wharf (not the International Cruise Port).  Harumi was brand new and convenient.  The cab ride to the Conrad hotel was less than 10 minutes.  We waited in line for a cab much longer! 

There are a lot of good hotels in Tokyo.  I'd suggest finding an area near a train station.  

We chose the Conrad because we had stayed once before and loved it and the area.  They took great care of us both times we stayed. 

For transport to and from the airport, we've used the Airport Limousine Bus twice (once to Haneda and once to Narita) and found it quite comfortable.  The pickup times meant spending a little extra time at the airport but we didn't stress over it.