Mrs Miggins

The Gypsy Moth pub is actually right next door to The Cutty Sark, (last Tea Clipper) ie within 30 feet. Google Maps is your friend (especially "street View"} - it's so easy to see a location so I dont understand why more people don't use it

In fact we never drank it (we had chosen vodka). I asked if it could be given to the staff bar, but was told it would just go back into the stores. Previously we had brought back home two of the small bottles (Bombay Gin and Vodka) which fitted nicely into our suitcase. We abandoned the other two bottles. All were unopened ! We prefer to drink in the bar and not in the cabin.

4 small bottles in April 2022 - One large bottle in July 2023.

Well the Wimbledon Men’s Semifinals were a little tame today so I thought I would find some light relief on the Viking board. it is hilarious. Someone who loves adventure and climbing mountains has friends who have been on a Viking cruise who complain of it being elitist, and disliked their fellow cruising passengers but is going to book anyway. Could this be a calamity ? A Viking cruise is not an adventure and nobody climbs mountains. They go on organised shore excursions, enjoy some lovely places, complain about cobblestones, worry about tipping, and whether a short sleeved Hawaiian shirt is suitable for Manfredi’s! Surely an expedition ship is the answer. Of course you have to be fairly elite to afford their prices.

We had free entry In June onboard Journey from a CC suite. To be honest it's really not great. I certainly would not pay extra.

Have had a reply from Azamara. Thank you for contacting Azamara. We cannot apologize enough for the extended delay in our response; this is not indicative of our normal operations. I am sorry you were unhappy with the shore excursion. Our goal is to restore your confidence, and this feedback is a valuable and essential part of our ongoing improvement efforts. While we are unable to increase the compensation provided by the ship, I want to assure you that all of your comments will be shared with our operational teams for their internal review. We understand that the way to ensure that all of our customers are loyal customers is to guarantee that every contact or experience they have with Azamara demonstrates how important each customer is to us. This understanding is at the heart of everything we do, and we sincerely apologize you did not receive the experience you expected. We truly hope that the disappointments you shared have not caused you to lose faith in Azamara. Actually it has caused me to lose faith. I do not know why they couldnt issue a Future Cruise Certificate for the disputed amount. They lose nothing if I do not book again, but it would show good faith and just might encourage me to book. They neglected to mention my credit card debit despite their final invoice showing me with unspent OBC. Strangely I get a red box at the end of their email "EXTERNAL EMAIL CAUTION: This email originated from outside Azamara. Please use caution when clicking on links or opening attachments"

I understand this exactly and indeed highlighted this to the Shore Excursion Staff as well as Tomas. However it didn't get us anywhere and now there are no answers to our email complaint either.

We have been onboard with Tomas before and he is very visible. However in this instance it appears he was unable to help. The galling thing is that Birdie 91436 was able to get a 99% refund. I assume they were also on Journey since the French Intensive was immediately after our Spanish Intensive cruise.

Our Hotel Director was Tomasz Jadczyk. The ship was Journey. Sadly he appeared not to have the authority to reimburse us. He said that they had negotiated a 50% refund with the Tour Company and that was the maximum he could give.

On our recent Intensive Spain cruise on Journey my husband was booked on an expensive "Discover the Gastronomy of Galicia" in La Corunna. Tour to include two market visits to include picking up local ingredients, tasting treats along the way. Then a local restaurant where chef will prepare a typical lunch using the day's finds. "Sip Galician wine and savour authentic dishes crafted fro market secrets". Didnt start well with miscommunication of amended later start time. Pleasant young lady guide who confessed at the she didnt cook and knew nothing about food or ingredients. Walked through market for 10 minutes then given 45 minutes free time. At that point many thought they were on the wrong tour and in fact left. Then the group boarded a bus for a one hour tour, not advertised and superfluous since we had visited this port several times before. On arriving at the second market they spent 5 minutes since it was closing with stall holders packing up. Then a 35 minute walking tour since it was too early for the restaurant. When eventually seated they were served 4 poorly prepared tapas, No sign of chef and the guide was hiding. Everybody complained. Since we are longterm Azamara cruisers he complained both to Shore Excursions and eventually the Hotel Director. The response was that it was all Miami's fault. Eventually after several more conversations we were credited with half the cost. Others said they had been credited the full amount, perhaps others were given nothing. Shore Excursions then gave us two printed cards with email addresses CustomerRelationsUK@Azamara.com and AzamaraGuestRelations@Azamara.com headed "Post Cruise concerns/comments". A complaint was duly sent - but no response - no acknowledgement - nothing. Adding insult to injury our final email invoice, received several days after we returned, showed we still had OBC - not shown on in cabin TV - and they then charged a further (small) amount to my credit card. No response to complaint about that. For the first time ever on our two week cruise we did not receive the usual "comments" request half way through. We enjoyed our cruise but unusually we do not currently have a future cruise booked.

On our White Night in Bilbao in mid June we eat early in Prime C then joined White Night. It was a really excellent evening. Lots of tables upstairs on the walkway. Loads of people dancing. One of the best we have enjoyed. The entertainment team went above and beyond and kept singing until after 10. Certainly not the place for a quiet conversation but the rest of the ship was available for those who chose not to attend. We were on Journey.

I was on that cruise. The Number of Guests was apparently 569. Interestingly on my B2B last April on Quest the number of guests from the UK was approximately the same as those from the US. This time the breakdown was given as: 266 from U.S, 82 from UK 77 from Canada, 69 from Australia, 30 from Mexico 16 from New Zealand 4 from Argentina 4 from Denmark 3 from Italy 3 from Netherlands 3 from India 2 from Ukraine 2 from Chile 2 from Cyprus 2 from Belgium 2 from Spain 2 from Switzerland This time I did not book another cruise onboard. Prices seem high (in common with my other preferred cruise lines). I will wait for the inevitable 'sale' prices.

Just a small but important message. Do some research about the ports you visit . In the past they used to have a representative from the local tourist office onboard in many ports plus proper maps. Now you only get a poor quality, much enlarged photocopy. Poor resolution means often the street names are illegible. I know you can get google maps on your phone but a proper paper map identifying points of interest is so useful .

On Seville they were in shops nearby the Alcazar and Cathedral. Today taxis offering tours were at the port gates in Lisbon.

We booked Alcazar timed tickets before we left home. Skipped the long line. The self guided tour cost 7 euros each using their device which had headphones. I think to download onto your own phone was cheaper and you didn’t have to leave a ‘deposit’ like a driving licence. There were many local vendors offering both Alcazar and Cathedral tours at 35 euros each per person. However we like to take our time rather than be shown the highlights in a group. We had time to sit in the garden etc. There is a cafe but we chose to have tapas outside We were inside for around 2.5 hours. You can of course also book the Cathedral online.

Captain Filipino G Adelfoulakos Hotel Director Tomas’s Jadczyk Cruise Director Stephen Millett Asst Cruise Director Grace O’Donnell-Clancy Guest Relations Aelred Almeida Staff Captain Dario Guerrieri

Also on Journey. Went to the wonderful Alcazar yesterday. Tickets booked online before leaving home. We used their excellent self guided presentation. We used their devices, but we could have downloaded onto our phones. This morning I took a short walk to the Plaza America that we saw on our Panoramic Tour yesterday. Saw a wonderful (and free) exhibition in the Museo de Artes featuring modern costume and fashions with a Spanish flavour plus ceramics, tiles and crafts. Only a handful of others in this splendid building unlike yesterday in the Alcazar. We had a splendid Tapas lunch near the Cathedral yesterday and were serenaded by some of the lovely ‘Tuna’ singers that were our onboard deck entertainers last night. Weather lovely. We have also done the French Chef’s table. First time despite our many previous Azamara cruises. A great time was had by all helped along by excellent food and generous pouring of the excellent paired wines.

Meet and Mingle was on our first day at 5.45. Listed in the daily ‘Insider’. Well attended. Drink and canapés. Cruise Director said a few words. Embarkation day Saturday June 3

Just been to a wonderful Azamazing evening in lovely Valencia in the spectacular City of Arts and sciences We enjoyed a story woven around a little girl and the sea. Included 5 Flamenco dancers, acrobats, trampolines, lovely music and a fun group of Bangra acrobats. The young girl was fabulous as were all the large cast. Azamara at its best.

We board Journey in Barcelona on Saturday. We were expecting to dock by the World Trade Centre right in the centre of Barcelona. Have googled Marina Terminal but getting confusing answers ?

Thank you for this. So glad it worked for you. I assume you used the number (732) 335-3297 as given by UKTog ?

Jane Star :Thanks I appreciate your help. I did see you previous post but it was the specific number for Journey I was looking for since I did not book my flights through Azamara. Thank you Fruit Machine and of course UKTog for the very useful advice. I have never had a problem previously but I guess anything is possible. Thank you again to the ever helpful CC community.

Sorry I neglected to say we are on Journey

Of course we are only flying from London to Barcelona. In the old old days Azamara used to fly us out the day before and put us in an hotel (we did this in Rome and Athens). However that perk is long gone. I have booked flights independently since then. However I would still be grateful if anyone knows how to contact the ship if in the very unlikely chance that we are delayed significantly . I think they used to have the ship number on the Daily handout ?

I am cruising with Azamara from Saturday - lovely itinerary. Had a few minutes to catch up on the Viking board this morning. Goodness me ! Tempers are easily frayed here. Makes me very uncomfortable and possibly off putting for prospective Viking clients.