Marmaduke

Having spent most of the afternoon trying to submit my details to Barbados Immigration for my flight out I have finally succeeded on the 5th attempt.  What happens now at the end of the cruise when the ship returns to Barbados?  The procedure always used to involve filling out a form and presenting it with your passport   to the Immigration Officers on board when the ship docked in Barbados at the end of the cruise, does this still happen or do we have to fill in another on line form during the cruise?

I have also had the same problem when trying to access the Barbados Immigration form via the P & O website link.  I have discovered a link to the form via Gov. Uk  Foreign travel advice  Entry requirements, which I hope will work when the time comes as my cruise is not for a couple of weeks.

When the form has been completed and submitted within the required time frame do you receive a QR code to download or print off ? Does this have to be shown at airport checkin or is it checked on arrival in Barbados ?  

I agree with Riocca, it would be nice to get a loyalty discount when booking, no matter when, where or who you book with.  On occasion in the past we have purchased a future cruise certificate on board, which for the cost of the reduced deposit entitled us to our relevant loyalty discount for a booking made at a later date.  The down side to this was that certain travel agents would not accept them.

Many thanks to Walkingdude for taking time to report from the cruise and  giving an overall view. I assume that afternoon tea in the dining room is now a thing of the past, which is a shame as it was the only time you could get a decent hot up of tea. Is the dinning room still open for lunch every day or only on sea days?  Apart from the delay how was the Tui charter, are drinks in economy free this year and do they give out bottles of water or do I need buy some at the airport ?  Do you have to pay to watch the movies ?

On my last cruise in August  the Cruise Director was under the impression that Azamara no longer held Cruise Critic Meet and Mingles, although when informed that over 30 people had signed up he hastily organised one for that evening, which happen to be a sea day.

With regard to timing I prefer the Meet and Mingle to be held on the first evening of the cruise around 5 - 6 pm.  What do others prefer ?

2 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Just heard last night that due to airport strike our flights home have been cancelled. Meeting at 9 in the Cabaret to outline new plan. We've been booked on flights in two days time. Azamara finding hotel for next two nights. Not sure how many are affected. Steward wonders how this will affect passengers due to board today.

Sorry  about your flight  problems, glad to hear that Azamara is looking after you.  What was your original flight routing and with which airlines ?

On 10/14/2022 at 9:15 PM, alfredo1 said:

FLORENCE ON YOUR OWN!!

Azamara are normally tied up almost right in the town centre of Livorno.

Get off the ship, walk five minutes to the bottom of the Via Grande, buy bus tickets from the newsagents on the right hand side at the bottom of that road, get the bus outside the newsagents (blue route from memory, check), and in 5/8 minutes you are dropped off at the station.

Get off the train at Florence and you can see the architectural sights, 5 minute walk and you are there.

Repeat to get back to the ship.

Very easy, very reasonable price, and you are in control of what you want to see.

Simples!!

This is what we have always done and it works well.   One tip is when buying your bus tickets from the newsagents stall is to buy 2 tickets for each person as this provides you with a return and saves time and hassle when you return to Livorno station, as often the bus is ready and waiting outside.  Don't for get to validate your tickets when you board the bus and your train tickets on the platform.

5 minutes ago, Aloha 1 said:

It isn't a problem of seeing the ship, it's having your driver drop you at the right door apparently. My understanding is there's a half mile walk just to get from your drop off to registration.

Correct, the drop off point is   underground, in fact the whole cruise terminal is underground and on several floors.  It takes ages to find your way though the warren of tunnels and up and down escalators.

Are Oceania guests currently required to wear masks whilst on board at  ports in Europe and are masks compulsory on the Oceania tour buses ?

On 9/23/2022 at 4:18 AM, IWantToLiveOverTheSea said:

Well, in May it was a mess too. Galataport is nice and new, but not ready for prime time.  By May they had only had a few cruise ships since re-opening after the worst of Covid, and you could tell they weren't ready!  And you're right - no signage!

 

Totally agree, we were there in early July for an overnight mid cruise stay.  It took ages to find our way out of the terminal to the street and on return we couldn't find where to get back into the terminal.  We ended up following another ships tour group through the maze of tunnels and security and it took 30 mins to get back to our ship.   Fortunately we have been to Istanbul serveral times because the new port complex has certainly put me off any future visits.

I once had 6001 on another R Class ship.  The forward facing gives a different perspective  but the balcony does not have much of a roof, ideal if you like maxium sun, but not if you prefer shade.  If there are tender ports on your itinerary you will be disturbed by the anchor being deployed, and like others have said you will feel the motion if there are rough seas.

Can you use OBC to pay the gratuities ?

I noticed that the last cruise shown for Journey in 2024 ends in Barbados.  I guess that she will be heading to South America for the winter season 24/25.  I wonder if there is any chance of one or two Caribbean itineraries (round trip Barbados) first, before she heads south.  I would certainly be interested as it would save the hassle of US immigration in Miami.

Returned last week from a cruise on Onward.   There are still many small problems which need to be addressed, some are due to supply issues but what concerns me is that over time these might be come permanent cutbacks.

Cabins, we had a standard veranda which had been refurbished to a similar standard as the rest of the fleet. The fridge was in the single wardrobe which is where Princess installed it. I don't believe the R ships originally had fridges in the cabins. The drawback to this is it cuts down on the hanging space above, the draws below were still usable.  The light in the bathroom was rather dim and there was no container of cotton buds/cottonwool balls, nor notepads by the phone or binoculars   Balcony furniture is slightly smaller which gives more room outside, but the chairs have a low hard back which is not particularly comfortable.

Crew, many of the crew were new to Azamara and still undergoing training, but they were all very friendly and go out of their way to please.  

Laundry, only one iron and ironing board.

Atlas Bar, nicely decorated and moderately popular.  Having used OBC to upgrade to ultimate package we went in there most evenings.  Having tried about 4 of the special cocktails there is no way I would pay  the $17 + price tag.  I prefered to have my favourite cocktails made with the fresh ingredients that are available in there. No complimentary drinks are served there, you either pay by the drink or buy a package.

Library, according to Guest relations the library in now in the Living Room, port side, but it is not what I call a library, as there are very few books. I counted about 20 cookery books, 3 copies of the bible , 20 assorted fiction, and a dozen paperbacks left by previous guests.  This may be a supply issue, but having mentioned it to an officer, I was told nobody used the library on the other ships as everyone has an I-pad and Kindle these days !  If you have spare books at home and space in your suitcase outbound, the shelves in the Living Room could do with a boost.

Piped Music, this was a noticable irritant around the ship, particularly in Windows and by the pool. 

Shops, the same at the rest of the fleet, limited stock, high end and very over priced.  Only reason to shop there is to use up OBC.  

Pool Area and deck 11, plently of new, very comfortable sun loungers, although I noticed that many are already missing their wheels.  There are no sofas or hanging chairs on deck 11 unlike the other ships.

These are just a few of the differences I have noticed on Onward.  Initially I was not sure about the ship but it has grown on me, and I would be happy to sail on her again if the itinerary and price were right.

I think Azamara need to sort out next years itineraries first.  When looking on line to see what was available for Summer 2023 I noticed that they were still advertising several Black Sea cruises.  With the best will in the world I don't see the Black Sea being  an area for cruising for several years to come, even if the war was to stop tomorrow.    

Although Azamara does have an advantage over larger ships in that she can get into the smaller more unusual ports, replacement ports need to be found for these dates and soon before other companies book all the best ports and berths in the Eastern Med. I feel that Azamara is being rather slow over this issue.  They cannot be selling any cruises for these dates at they do not have any viable itineraries to offer, which has to be bad for business .

I miss the local tourist information reps that used to come onboard at each port.  Hopefully they will be able to return when covid conditions allow.  Maps are available from Guests Relations but they tend to be printed from the internet, many of them are A3 size which helps.

Destination Celebration " Sounds of the Mediterranean" appears to be in Dubrovnik .

 Delight in a complimentary onboard performance by well-known Croatian cellist Ana Rucner. The vibrant and exotic live music puts you in a celebratory spirit as you arrive to the port. Join fellow guests to sip on a beverage, have a seat, and get ready for the show. Afterwards, smile and have your photo taken with this renowned artist.

Like Terrier 1 we also walked to the  La Spezia train station from the dock, it took us about 20 mins. 

We also bought the Cinque Terre Train card from the Cinque Terre tour office at the station where they gave us information and a timetable.  We took the train to the first village, Riomaggiore then walked along the paved costal path to Manarola which took about 20 min, although I am not sure whether this path is currently open has they had a rock fall a few years back.  From Manarola we took the train to Corniglia and walked up the hill to the village, after which we took the train on to Vernazza and finally Monterosso where we got a fast non stop train back to La Spezia.  We managed to do all five villages in one day whereas the ships excusion usually only  goes to two of the villages.

When Ventura was new we were invited as loyalty club members to lunch on board and a tour of the ship.  There were numerous new attractions onboard to temp the family market,  a Scalelextric(?) model car racing track, a rock school for kids to learn musical instruments, opportunities to learn circus skills, two giant tampolines on deck 19 and Noddy was onboard for the smaller children.  Within five years I think all of these attractions had been axed, which seems to point to the fact that P & O cruisers and not really interested in gimmicks.

Taxis in this part of the world are very cheap and having researched the places we wanted to visit managed to get around independently. We visited the Mosques in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Muscat.  There are shuttle buses provided in most of the ports and in Doha the bus driver was happy   to drop us off the Museum of Islamic Art.  In Abu Dhabi we got a taxi from the port to the new Louvre Museum.

22 minutes ago, capegirl said:

How do you arrange to use your OBC to book a taxi to Rome Airport?

I believe this can be done through the concierge .  I have also used OBC to buy a seat on the Azamara coach back to the airport  and on one occasion booked the morning tour with airport transfer included. A form to book the coach is normally sent  to the cabins halfway through the cruise but you can always ask the price at Guest Relations so you can ascertain how much OBC you will have left.

Are there any advantages for UK guests to making a future booking whilst onboard Oceania.  Also can you book ' Cruise Only' onboard and have it transfer to a TA for packaging with flights, transfers etc.

Regarding the OP's comments about the shuttles buses in Marseille, we experienced much the same problem with Oceania a few years ago. We were told the buses would run on the hour and half hour.  We got off the ship at 9:20 and found ourselves first in the queue.  We were then told by the co-ordinator that we were waiting for the 10am bus as the 9:30 had already left because it was full. Rather than take a taxi at a cost of around 24euros we waited for the next bus which in fact left at 9:50 when it was full. On the return journey, like the OP we had a long wait in town. What Oceania omit to tell you is that the French like long lunches so don't expect buses to keep to any schedule !  We arrived back at the ship around 3pm and were unable to get any lunch as the buffet had closed and the grill and burger bar was full. We would have been happy to order and take the food back to the cabin to eat on the balcony but they refused to take  orders unless you had a table number.  We were less than impressed.

We will be visiting Marseille again later this year with Oceania so this time we will take one of our included O life excursions at that port.

3 hours ago, harrodsfan said:

I am very disappointed in the shop merchandise. Pretty bad selection imho! Maybe just not my taste. 

I agree entirely, having recently be on both Quest and Journey.  The merchandise is very high end, many of brands (particularly skincare) I have never heard of.  Most of the shirts and clothing items are only stocked in XL.  The range of Azamara souvenirs is poor.  If it wasn't for the fact that alot of people at the moment have OBC to spend I doubt the shop would sell anything.  Even with OBC I had trouble spending it and left the ship with money still on my account.

Is Oceania still sending out the personalised brochure with details of the tours prior to the cruise. If so when can I expect to receive a copy ?