chucknmarilyn

25 minutes ago, Haljo1935 said:

Hi - @chucknmarilyn you've got mail.

Thank you!!!

On 3/13/2024 at 11:21 PM, Haljo1935 said:

Welcome to HAL! We have cruised HAL, Princess and Carnival with varying itineraries and seasons; there's something to like about each of them, but prefer HAL mostly for the smaller ships and quieter spaces. 

We like Music Walk but it is LOUD.

While there is plenty to do, we do think there's a lack of activities and entertainment. The ships have great start of the art theaters, but there are no Broadway type production shows.

I am happy to share the Daily programs from my 16 day San Diego HI cruise Dec 21, 2023 - Jan 6, 2024; no idea what the adjustment removing Christmas & New Years would be as that's my only time for that itinerary. It should give you an idea of what's offered.

If you want them, let me know if you want them posted here or emailed. If email, just provide. 

I love Grand Dutch Cafe - K'dam is 1 of 3 ships that has that - enjoy!

You could also search the Live reviews for HI itineraries on K'dam. 

I would love to see your dailies. We have been on Koiningsdam and loved the ship but it was a very port intensive Norwegian Fjords itinerary so activities and entertainment were not important. Now I'm looking at a longer sailing with a LOT of sea days. I'm about to change my mind. Thanks so much.

mkfirquain at g mail dot com

We've loved them on 5 cruises so far!!!!

On 1/9/2024 at 8:28 PM, r2h2 said:

Good luck on viewing the Saturday night game Dolphins vs. Chiefs as it is only being shown on Peacock(a streaming outlet).  This will be the first ever NFL playoff game where one has to pay to watch it. 

The Miami and KC markets don't require Peacock so I'm not sure if they will have any way to pull from Miami. Doubtful.

Well, I found half of your lost weight!!! The most I've gained on a cruise in many years. My only food complaint was the changed cookies. We had a lot of really good food. Solarium Bistro was our least favorite.

Odyssey is one of my favorite ships. We all like different ships and enjoy different foods and activities. And we are both in the 75-80 range!

It does sound like you would prefer something like a smaller Celebrity ship. 

Hope your wife is feeling better.

1 hour ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Even your experience beats a 3 hour slog to Ravenna,,,,I should imagine over time Maghera will get better.

The car service I have booked says 2 hours and 10 minutes for usual transfer from VCE.

3 hours ago, Boycey said:

Agree wholeheartedly with the OP.  Ravenna is unsuitable as a turnaround port. The main attraction in the North Adriatic is Venice, and Ravenna is 3 hours away at best, and a horrible 3 hours at that.

 

The Bologna mitigation is a bit of a sleight of hand as it may well be nearer to Ravenna, but no-one wants to go to Ravenna as a destination in the first place. It was never included in any serious itinerary before Venice closed its doors to larger ships, so we must always remember the end game has to be a sustainable facility in Venice, entered and exited other than through the ancient city.  Any development in Ravenna is short term and the shorter the better.

I understand you don't want to sail from Ravenna but I don't agree that "no-one wants to go to Ravenna". Probably not for a lengthy visit but it is very appealing to many for a shorter stay. Bologna and the nearby Ferrari sites are a bonus. Many prefer those options over Venice.

The main question is what would your immediate  solution be? 

Just now, chucknmarilyn said:

 

We stayed in Bologna prior to a cruise from Ravenna. Unfortunately we didn't have time to spend in Ravenna to see the mosaics. For this year we booked from there again on Azamara. They changed ports to Choggia so I guess we'll have to try again!!!

A bit of research in advance can prevent a lot of issues.

20 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

Seems many are not taking the time to understand the situation. A lot of info posted here is questionable at best. (I sailed out of Ravenna last October on Connie, fyi....)

 

No ships are allowed to use the Marittima facility IN Venice currently unless they are extremely small. Not even Azamara or O small ships qualify. Azamara is currently using Fusina and Marghera, two ports that are closer than Ravenna, yes, but it's still not Venice....

 

Celebrity is only charging somewhere between 60-70 euros for a transfer between Venice and Ravenna. I took it last year and thought it was reasonable and easy solution for a longish transfer. Of course I'd rather not have a 3-hour drive, but the ships have little choice and certainly cheaper than paying 500 euro for a private transfer. I don't understand how the OP was saying there was a 600 euro charge for a bus transfer by X?

 

Another point: Transfers to Marco Polo from Ravenna ARE available, they are just not announced in advance. You have to purchase them onboard the ship. The actual daily with the info in it has been posted on this forum in the past.

 

And finally, shame on those saying there is "nothing" in Ravenna. The city boasts EIGHT UNESCO World heritage sites, most of them related to the wonderfully well-preserved and early mosaics that can be viewed in several different churches and monuments. Ravenna actually served as the capital of the Western Roman empire in the 300s and 400s AD. I did an overnight trip on the train especially from Rome one just to see the city. Oh -- and it also boasts wonderful food (along with Bologna).

 

If planning to see Venice, it still makes sense to fly into Venice. If not, Bologna is probably 

18 hours ago, thefer said:

Who is Mercedes Lafuente like?  I heard he is on Symphony of the Seas 

Mercedes is a fun and energetic CD. We really loved HER.

5 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

👋Hello!

I don't know if you are interested in a pre-loved designer bag (for yourself or even a gift)  but we were on the Onward last month and the ships shop had a large display of them. 🛍️

 

 

I really am not but apparently  this is becoming a thing. I did browse the pre-owned items on Celebrity a couple of months ago. They also had a lot of beautiful purses. I assume this is by a new company or I just haven't noticed before.

27 minutes ago, NicNata said:

We are doing a Croatia intensive cruise in October 2023 that includes most of these excursions. All of the excursions have gone up in price pre to post website migration and some of them by eyewatering amounts as in your spreadsheet. Has anyone actually talked to Azamara about why such large increases? I am reluctant to book now because I don't know if the new prices are correct or if it is yet another glitch of the website. I noticed that on this cruise, several of the tours are repeated multiple times (stating the same price each time it is repeated), suggesting that all is not right with the website. Another red flag is that the cruise is described as an 11 night Greece intensive cruise when it is actually an 8 night Croatia intensive cruise. My plan is to call Azamara to challenge this pricing before I book anything. At the moment its looking like booking tours via Viator or similar may be a better bet

I think we are on the same cruise on the 4th. For the most part I thought the prices were on par with our other non-Azamara cruises. Maybe just the ones I was interested in. I've only booked 4 so far. Hope they stay "booked". I used OBC and now it says I have $66 due. I should still have a few hundred credit left. Yikes!

Thanks for all of the feedback. I do plan to look at dining options but am not able to yet. The excrsions just opened up yesterday. This is only an 8 night cruise and all port days so that pretty much eliminates a need for laaundry and internet. We have unlimited data on our phones. I'm sure I can figure out a way to spend it. 🤩🤩🤩

Last night I was able to book some excursions for Quest in October so apparently progress is being made. At least I hope they are booked since the procedure for using OBC was a bit quirky. The prices looked comparable to what I would expect. I think mine ranged from $69 to $179pp. 

Thank you so much. I'll have to look at the dining whenever I actually can.

This is an unusual dilemma for us. We have more OBC than we would normally use. Most excursions are bought and I believe gratuities  are included. Not big drinkers. May use a bit in the spa but what else will we need credit for onboard? First time on Azamara but not new to cruising.

5 minutes ago, XJ6 said:

 

 

Hi there.

Ah..... maybe didn't make it clear enough - these are 'Featured Shore Excursions' and just very coincidentally, this morning, the ones I want on my upcoming cruise are 'featured' and priced. Clearly, this is not all of the excursions available on my cruise, nor are all of the 'Featured' excursions that I can see priced. Just pure chance the 'Featured' and priced items today happen to fit my preferences. Sorry to get people excited unnecessarily.

Beyond frustrated with this. I can't even find "featured excursions". I'll go try on PC later.

23 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

I beg to differ and have the data to back that up.

Using a generous £ to $ rate of 1.25 (we could only see £ price pre cruise, and only $ price onboard) Azamara increase excursion prices by between 10% and 123% for a cruise last month.

I meant to say on any other cruiselines. My experiences are mostly Celebrity, Royal, and HAL. Did Azamara have these large increases before the ownership change?

9 hours ago, laurieb said:

Excursions always go up in price the closer you get to your sail date, on all cruise lines, especially for tours that are popular.  

I have rarely found that to be the case on any cruiselines. We do often take advantage of some sales that are a better price earlier but the base price rarely changes. Even then the difference is minimal.

I believe Odyssey should have Mike S on until 7/9 instead of 9/9.

9 hours ago, djmike said:

I miss the old CC meet and greets and seeing old friends and making new ones. 
 

I’ll be on Odyssey until July 9. Then (according to Mr Rush) I’ll head to be the front of house CD for the Presidents cruise on AL. But I will only be there for 2 weeks. 
 

the rest of the year is TBA at the moment as there are a few possibilities. 
 

hope everyone is well! 

Well, this sounds like there is still hope. One of our most fun cruises was on Odyssey in October 2021 for a B2B.  You always have the best activities and make everything extra special. Bonus that Nick Wier and crew and Ken Rush were also onboard and fun to talk to. Incredible shows.

Have a great President's Cruise. Wonder if Abe will hop on since that's his territory now. We miss him.

12 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I'm going to trust Mike.  That's Mike Szwajkowski.  🙂 

That's definitely  a good bet. I was SO in hopes he would have our TA in October but doesn't seem hopeful.

3 minutes ago, Homelines said:

Seems like there is alot of moving the CDs around.

 

There are usually more changes as the transatlantic and transpacific cruises begin.

On 3/23/2023 at 11:42 AM, toad455 said:

 

Had Mercedes on the Anthem once back in early 2020 and she wasn't good at all.

We had her on a TA several years ago and she is still is one of my all time favorites. Our friends had her prior to covid and thought she was great.

We all like different  types. There is one CD  a lot of people really like that just hits me wrong and I hope to never see again!

17 hours ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I suggest you remove the app from you phone and re-install.   Hopefully that should help with future cruises.   I was told this by Voom desk for a couple of reasons.    

Have you checked your spam/junk folder for the invoice?     

We have always received ours the same day of dis-embarkment.  

You just said everything I was going to say. 

I often restart my phone to update the app. That helps a lot. 

Every once in a while the invoice does find it's way to spam but I've always got ours on disembarkation day.