norn iron

One positive which I forgot, and definitely and good for us, is the in Suite drinks . Gone are the four half bottles, and now you can choose any litre bottle from the complimentary spirits range. This is a big plus for us as we don’t like Bombay Sapphire (too perfumed) and litre of Gordons plus locally sourced Schweppes is a big plus.

Some quick thoughts on the positives whilst on board Onward. There is a healthy number of experienced Azamara crew on board to help guide the newer crew into the Azamara way. Familiar faces include Elro, Elij, Nelson, Kymberly and Derrick. It was most interesting watching Derrick with his cheeky laugh train one of the new bar staff. The waiting staff now all use iPod Touch’s to take your order and it automatically registers either with the bar or kitchen teams. Sign off in Prime C and Aqualina is on a iPad Mini, brought to the table. Big improvements. One major change in relation to complimentary drinks, Newcastle Brown Ale on draught has gone, to be replaced by draught Carlsberg. Complimentary wines are decent quaffing wines. I do like the generic Azamara own label, as it prevents wine snobbery.

Don’t we all love a march! 😂

Correct. There were 18 unbooked suites as per Monday of this week.

There are 3 N2, 4 N1, 2 CO and 2CW suites currently available for the 19th. Good luck in the 24 hours while you approach the deadline for notification.

Onward ex Ravenna on June 18th Which ship are you on?

The 'management' will be very happy when I tell her about the upgrade to a CC at minimum bid!!

Is dining in Discoveries still tables for two or larger bubble groups?

We are on the same cruise as Gwilli and the communication I got from Azamara was if we have arrived in advance and were spending time in Venice, then we must get the bus from the Tronchetto in Venice. The bus departures from Marco Polo Airport are only for those arriving on Saturday 18th

Is there a chance the fridge hadn't been finally fitted to its correct location in the desk? Thats the first thing that went through my mind - work in progress. ps bringing wire hangers should be added to Tips for newbies. I've been bringing them for years. pps I'll take a look on Saturday when we board Onward. I don't think 'the advisor' will be very happy if she has lost hanging space.

We have been notified this evening that our 18th June Onward cruise will drop Pula in favour of Zadar in Croatia. Dear Azamara Guest, We're writing to inform you of some important changes regarding your 11-Night Jewels of the Med Voyage scheduled to depart on June 18, 2022 on Azamara Onward®. Due to operational constraints, we've replaced the call in Pula, Croatia, scheduled for Tuesday, June 21st with a call in Zadar, Croatia. Complete details are shown in the chart below. We apologize for any inconvenience this change may cause. Zadar, on the other hand, is incredibly gorgeous, with pre-Romanesque architecture, remarkable modern monuments, and an old town perched on a peninsula. We're confident that this unique place will be well worth the trip. Rest assured, you'll receive a full refund for any Azamara shore excursions booked, and new shore excursions in Zadar will be available by logging into your Voyage Planner. Thank you for choosing Azamara. We look forward to welcoming you aboard in Bologna (Ravenna). Should you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately for more details specific to your country of residence or¿visit https://www.azamara.com/contact-us for your local Azamara call center number. Sincerely, Azamara

Great idea. Definitely needs consideration. I know up until about eight years ago Royal Caribbean did something similar. Obviously their ships are much larger so they also employed a Mystery Shopping company to bring on 2-300 mystery shoppers to take part in the early stage feed back, this was in addition to the press and travel trade.

Mrmatt, we are onboard 18th June. from previous experience Azamara have got their together pretty quickly after maiden voyages. I am hopeful and optimistic for our cruise on the 18th. Keep these threads informed when you are on board.

The compensation offer made by Az is very generous, however, it was probably well covered by breach of contract from the refit company. Last year whilst on board Quest we had a coffee at Mosaic and Captain Carl joined us. We hadn't seen Captain Carl since Pursuit left its refit in Belfast, so it was an opportune moment for some feedback on the Belfast experience courtesy of MJM Marine who did the Pursuit refit. What Captain Carl detailed was that Azamara were more than happy with the workmanship and finish of the vessel, however, there was a breakdown/fallout in relations between the companies over contracts. The penalty clause was that for every day vessel was late on delivery, or unseaworthy MJM Marine would be fined £1m per day. MJM counter argued that for every day they were were early they should be paid £1m extra, this was unacceptable to both Az and RCI, in fact Carl told us this had never been put on the table by a refit company before and shocked the RCI and Az contract teams. A compromise was reached, for every day MJM Marine were early on delivery they would be entitled to a free days use of the ship at the cost to Az. The outcome was (and Captain Carl was very happy!) that Pursuit made two overnight stops to Isle of Man from Belfast whist full off guests courtesy of MJM Marine, and their contract. MJM brought friends and family of their work force, leading business figures from Northern Ireland and lots of Charities, Captain Carl thought is was a great deal negotiated by MJM, Az not so happy at picking up the cost.

Smirnoff and or Finlandia

Yes, compared to Royal Club.

Belfast has three different cruise berths. The newest and largest is 3.5 miles from the centre of the city. The two older ones are nearer to the centre, however, there is a not to pleasant walk through the docks. The good news is, Visit Belfast (a council funded business unit) lay on shuttles for all cruise ships visiting Belfast.

Phil, I'm inclined to agree with you on this one. Bring the humble pie my way. I do think the differences between what was and what is now, is Azamara had Bonnie monitoring and contributing to the threads, as well as Richard Twynam being aware of what mattered.

You beat me to it with that one 🙈

Most Carrefour's stock Schweppes

Most definitely. It is now our pre boarding routine.

Royal Club is worst tonic water you could ever encounter. It is owned by Heineken and I am convinced it is offered to cruise lines free of charge as a deal sweetener for listing beers, otherwise no buyer would touch it. The thought of Royal Club fills me full of dread, and probably means doing some grocery shopping for Schweppes or Fever Tree in Ravenna in six weeks time before boarding Onward. If I am not mistaken, a few years back Richard Twynam came onto Cruise Critic and stated that Royal Club would no longer be stocked and Schweppes would be, he also clarified Fever Tree was too expensive. I can only presume, that as Richard has left the company and the company has subsequently been sold it was easy to reverse the assurance offered by Richard.