nordski

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

What’s a wokey woman?

i don’t know, but if you and Uktog are examples I am all for more of them.

Thanks for the information.

Was the dry dock schedule posted during or after the period when cruises were postponed because of Covid?

11 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

And, oh by the way.....how about the French Champagne industry being saved by American rootstock!?!

As a young 4H Grape Club member I was told that some of the saviour rootstock came from Canada, but maybe that was an embellishment.

Google tells me that both Missouri and Texas claim to be the sources.

Can we agree to say North American root stock to lessen the chauvinism? 😀

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

My Town!!
 

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/09/07/travel/things-to-do-burlington-vermont.html?unlocked_article_code=1&fbclid=IwAR0Pj8ObFiaJvLL_4hI4UFt3TU3mEbZ0KoDR8DghNQZjEAFfrJx4bX5nJhE_aem_AbjmFEEOha-oPWgNdCoFIzqrhcvPzkrwyAUsqBLVua9tZDOZ2qHs1SJYk4Ws3CYNf1w

A great write-up, but they should have focussed on the wonderful residents.

2 hours ago, JYDCruise said:

The fact that this thread exists (and is more than a handful of posts) gives the answer to that question.

I guess I am hoping that there is a process in place that is gradually improving the situation. Some posts do suggest that.

After previous apparently near-death experiences, I am not yet convinced that we have the final answer. Azamara has been the cruise line partially created out of a rather sobering business disaster (Renaissance), abandoned by a disinterested parent (Celebrity), recreated as the “New” Azamara (Larry Pimentel), and then abandoned again (RCI).

So I am rooting for the turnaround that means the story doesn’t end.

I think this article resonates with many who have  suffered particularly in the post-website period.

However, I am not certain that it is fair to be quite so laudatory about Larry P’s administration.

First, it would be wonderful if Larry’s ideas had, as Richard Fain claims, a big impact upon the industry as a whole. If so, then it would not be so difficult to find an alternate cruise line and perhaps RCI would have stayed the course.

Secondly, he doesn’t mention Azamara’s transition to a “more inclusionary” beverage experience. On this forum that change produced considerable heat, so much so that Azamara offered free cancellations to those who felt that this would compromise the shipboard experience.. So heated that the wonderful Chief Blogging Officer, Bill Leiber, at least once withdrew from the discussion to let cooler heads prevail.

Thirdly, it was not unheard of thst people complained here as to how the office in Miami was letting down the crew on the ships.

Larry Pimentel deserves high praise indeed, but if anything gives me hope for the future it is that Azamara has experienced several transitions and heavy seas. Not so heavy as the present regime faces and we will discover if they, as was Larry, are up to manning the helm.

10 minutes ago, blag said:

It is bizarre how one comment is picked on and takes a thread off at a petty tangent.

I admit to fuelling this, but nevertheless I feel uncomfortable. 

I apologize that the humour in my response was not clearer.

9 minutes ago, blag said:

I was not slandering it!

I liked the Canadian bacon. For me it was the only viable bacon on Seven Seas Voyager.

Their English bacon was that vile streaky stuff. The American bacon (Applewood smoked, as I recall) was also very streaky and invariably offered in a near-cremated form, and therefore, to me, disgusting. 

Thanks for the clarification! We take out peameal bacon so seriously that there was a feature movie about it, although it WAS a comedy.

5 hours ago, blag said:

 

Stuff that I thought wasn't as good: there was no decent English bacon (had to make do with  Canadian); the showers in the standard suites are smaller than in Azamara's CC suites; and there are significantly fewer activities.

Now wait just a gosh darn minute here. Several years ago I had to enter the trenches on this forum to defend the honour of Canadian back (peameal) bacon. And as a long ago hog farmer I am certainly willing to vigorously defend the quality of the source of that bacon.

Being of a peaceable nature I am going to assume that maybe there is a confusion in terminology between Canadian bacon and what the English seem to call “streaky” and what we would call American bacon.

But be warned that I will not stand for any slander of our fine Canadian bacon (either back or peameal)

4 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

That is a very low number for a Norway cruise.  They are usually very popular.  I do wonder if the high cost of air travel these days is a contributing factor?  I'm only going by my personal experience so this is purely a guess. The lack of availability of reward flights has been an issue for me in addition to the ticket price for buying one without miles.  

Phil

Quite true and probably an issue particularly in North America. It also is a big expense if, as some reports indicate, the experience is interrupted by illness. So some of us of a certain age may be waiting for more “clarity” before committing.

Right now I only make a reservation with a full refund option.

15 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Took me 5 months and many emails and calls.

Then, in terms of time, my experience was better. No emails or calls either.

34 minutes ago, kent4489 said:

We had to cancel on Monday this week (Aug. 21).

 

This was in the confirmation e-mail from our TA, later on Monday... "The refund amount of $xxxx.xx will take anywhere from 7-14 Business Days to appear on your credit card."

 

If true, we should see the credit no later than Sep. 8. We'll see.

That’s a more promising timeline.

Hope it is accurate.

It seems that on various threads there is periodic discussion of the timeline for refunds for cancelled cruises.

We cancelled in May and received our refund today, so the time elapsed was about 3.5 months. We found this acceptable, others will likely disagree.

If appropriate, others may wish to share their experiences.

26 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Even as one of the older demographic, I absolutely get it.....you, and we, will cease to be their demographic possibly sooner than we would hope so they need to develop the brand to encourage younger cruisers. That's not to say I think what they propose is the way to attract such, far from it!

 

We don't like it any more than most, but this is 'the circle' of life and all of us have an expiry date!

I enjoy your good humour on this topic. The front office will have to provide a product that cruisers can “grow (mature?) into” as they age and leave behind the ships that suited them as young singles, couples, or families.

I certainly accept that those who are somewhat younger than us will not necessarily share our values or our culture. In my view, Azamara has to appeal to those younger souls but hopefully not completely alienate those of us who have become attached to the Azamara experience.

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

I suspect the latter, Seaware is no doubt customisable but probably within given parameters, RC’s system was bespoke and provided options that suited them best and we’ve all become accustomed to their way of operating. To other cruise lines we’ve sailed with onboard credit is exactly that and was only available once onboard, I’ve a feeling that that’s the was Seaware is written and Azamara are trying to find a work round to provide what went before.

There’s no way Azamara could have produced their own bespoke system and the choice of off the shelf systems is very limited so like it or not we’re going to have to get used to the new system.

Booking tours with OBC and finding available cabins excepted it’s a far more comprehensive system than RC’s if you spend time looking around, and I except it’s not intuitive, there’s a lot of good information available within the booking. I was able to make final payment very easily for our next b2b booking, once Azamara had sorted it out, that was something that wasn’t possible with the old system.

Thanks for this informative post. 

Given that there are still a number of issues affecting individuals who are/have signed up for cruises, it would certainly be understandable that those concerns are the priorities, 

Once those priorities have been resolved, we can hope that the Seaware programme can be revised in terms of how it handles shore excursions, finding available cabins, and paying with OBC.

7 hours ago, uktog said:

I hope the “new scheme” replaces the “free nights mystique” - its a mystique not a scam though I can see how some might interpret the marketing that way - with something more genuine and meaningful, note I’m not saying generous. For example an extra x% off the advertised price of a future cruise. Transparent understandable and might encourage even more bookings 

I agree. We made both the 3 and 6 free days work for us, but it took some serious research not to mention excellent advice on this forum.

Simpler would be better.

27 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

This is the article I read about the new travel requirements.  For the record, the article refers to this as a visa, although not a typical visa.  Here is the article:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/europe-visa/

Thanks for posting this.

I did not link to my source in my initial post as it would probably be paywalled.

11 hours ago, wannavacay said:

I will definitely check out the other forum for hotels in Rome, but since I'm here... for those of you who stayed in Trastevere, did you walk to the primary sights?  Or did you catch a train or cab?  Seems like a pretty hefty walking distance, especially if they weather is ugly.  TY!

You have certainly received lots of good advice.

We would concede that, while we enjoyed our stay there, Trastavere is not the most central location for some of the sites.

Host Jazz Beau made an excellent suggestion about staying near Termini. Fairly central, access to transit, and lots of small and inexpensive family-run hotels. See Rick Steves books for suggestion. That was our first location and one of the best.

If you are willing to pay for a unique experience, then Cruise Mom42’s suggestion of the Aubergo del Senato is spot on. Top-rated on TripAdvisor and we were lucky to receive a free upgrade.

Thus, Tratavere wouldn’t be our first choice given your parameters.

Apparently in 2024 visitors to the Schengen Area  from countries such as Canada, the USA, and the UK, will need to fill out a new form as part of the Europe Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS).

The form will be required for those between 18 and 70, covers visits up to 90 days long, will be linked to your passport. and will cost 7 Euros.

It also appears that the application can be filled out online and the rationale is to provide anther layer of security.

Of course, details of this plan may change before implementation,

19 minutes ago, njguy_south said:

All of the complaints some places (not on our board but in the cities) are making about tourism is simply amazing. I live at the Jersey Shore (Cape May County). We love -- LOVE -- our peninsula and the beaches in the off season, when the entire county has about 95,000 residents. In the summer months, this swells to over 800,000, people. You cannot drive or get anywhere as a local, especially from Thurs through Monday.  However -- and it is a BIG HOWEVER -- that tourism is our economy. It affords us what we have on the off season.  These large cities (like Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Venice, to name 3 big complainers) will not be able to support their tourism industry with locals and limited tourists. 

 

I have been in Rome so many times during the week after Easter; few tourists there then; I never once saw a line for St. Peter's or the Colosseum. I once went in August and OH MY, the line at the Colosseum was 3 hours long!!  I had never seen that in the 10+ off seasons I had been there before (and often spending about a week).

 

Without the tourist, Amsterdam will NOT be able to support their museums or other tourist sites, which the locals probably hardly visit.  The locals built the Red Light District and allowed abundant use of pot smoking, and now BooHoo, they don't like it when others want to enjoy it.  Close your doors to tourists, and go the way of Venice, which is losing its local population as each year passes.

 

Without the tourist dollar, places -- even like my Cape May County -- would become a wasteland.

Tourism and its impact, both positive and negative, will certainly be a rising topic for discussion in the future.

In that debate, Venice is clearly by far the most dependent on tourism and Amsterdam, I would argue, the least.

I also expect the challenges for cruise lines like Azamara will be rather different than those facing the Royal Caribbean fleet.
 

The various cruise line responses will be fascinating.

On 7/21/2023 at 3:01 AM, Riocca said:

There does seem to be more and more noise about banning cruise ships on environmental grounds so interesting itineraries may become more limited, possibly the future is mega resort ships that go nowhere. At that point we won’t be cruising anymore.

An urbanologist I know has just made that point. Although he lives in Toronto, he is presently in Malta where his father lives. In the midst of +40C temperatures and the tourism season, he speculates that eventually cruise ships may be severely limited in available ports and essentially become floating resorts.

Like you, we won’t be “cruising” any more.

10 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

I haven’t read too many good posts on X board when I  check periodically about BLU….sadly.  We used to love it, too.

We too used to love Blu, but our experience 3 years ago led us to the conclusion that the Blu concept was no longer any kind of priority.

9 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Yes, it could end up being all sizes.  certainly won't do good things for the economy there!

The news story seemed to link the “sustainability” problem of cruise ships with the arrival of British lads on a bachelor party binge.(Wasn’t there an episode of Ted Lasso that alluded to this?)

Given my age and energy level, however misguided the comparison I might take it as a compliment. 😀

4 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Amsterdam bans cruise ships to limit visitors (msn.com)

We may have a change in plans for the end of our cruise next year 😞

Thanks for posting this. 
 

Doesn’t mention discriminating based upon a ship’s size, as is the case in Venice, so this may apply to river cruise ships as well.

2 minutes ago, Toronto Guy said:

It is when they are deducting the Canadian dollar value off the US dollar value.  I had $700 USD OBC and they were deducting the Canadian price off of that like it was on par.

Ahhh, now I see the problem.

Thanks for the explanation and I apologize for my post.