excitedofharpenden

21 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

Quest is in Melilla today. Melilla is a Spanish enclave in Marocco and the city is very open and welcoming. Lots of Art Deco architecture and very clean and neat. We are mid cruise and so far there is nothing to complain about. Been to Discoveries, Windows and Patio and all meals have been excellent. The included wines are 👍  and no reason for us to go for any upgraded packages. We will not do the speciality restaurants on this cruise, but we will check them out on our two cruises coming up in May.

White Night is tonight. Nice and warm weather, so it will be a blast.😁😁

 

Lovely!  Hope you and Synnøve are having fun. 

Phil 

14 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

At least they seem committed to AzAmazing Evenings.

Clearly they are not from what is happening on many cruises as evidenced by many postings to this board. 

Phil 

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I would rather see Azamara take Oceania's R-class ships, one or two at a time.  From a marine standpoint, they are nowhere near end-of-life.  From an environmental standpoint, they could be updated with new engines that run on clean fuels (like Windstar did to the little sisters – and Azamara wouldn't need to splice in new cabins because they are already the right size).  As others have said, it is important that Azamara have a uniform (and uniformly excellent) experience across its fleet – having identical ships is a good start for that.

That would be a waste of time with Azamara in my view. At least with Windstar they stretched the ship, changed the cabins out and added new venues before they changed the engines. And the cabins were a much better size to begin with. New ships please, but not too big. 

Phil 

9 hours ago, uktog said:

Interesting- Discoveries is empty and there’s no issues in Windows even though it’s too cold for outside this cruise. 
There used to be an option of buffet plus a la carte in Discoveries last year. That would be a far better option if adjustments were needed. Like many some days I like to be served and room service isn’t quite delivered as it used to be (no call ahead tray just left for you to set it out). We only use room service if our order is coffee and pastries (where of course mosaic is also an option)

 

I think the staffing is the correct answer given that on previous full ships they could do the served menu and buffet in discoveries. Probably running on lower headcount these days 

I'm the same. I like the option of Discoveries for breakfast too. I was not impressed with room service on Journey recently. This time I really missed having a Club Continent suite for the first time I think. The extra space to eat food brought by the butler and Aqualina for breakfast. 

Staffing?  You may well be right. One of my interactions in Windows asking for cottage cheese to go with the melon (which has always been there and I love) was met with a very dismissive "no" as the guy was obviously undet stress with something else. The can do attitude always stood out for me on Azamara and it's clear that not so much now. Highlighted by the stellar service I received everywhere when I set foot on land in Japan. 

Phil 

This has turned into a very strange thread full of speculation. I asked the op if they'd share the details, but they didn't reply to me so who knows what's gone on 🤷‍♂️

Phil 

4 hours ago, Riocca said:

Over the years we’ve experienced some great AzAmazing Evenings and some not so great, after 10 years many passengers will have experienced the same evening a number of times and recently we’ve noticed more and more passengers remaining onboard. So maybe it was time for a shake up anyway.

However it’s possibly more fundamental than that, 10 years ago with two ships and the resources of Royal Caribbean the organisation of these events although complicated probably didn’t absorb too much of those resources.

Now Azamara is a small independent company with four ships and limited resources, so those resources have to be used as efficiently as possible. Finding locations and arranging transportation is probably the biggest problem, of course Azamara could employ a whole department to provide these events but it’s going to reflect directly in the cruise fare which many complain is rising too fast anyway. 
 

 

 

 

With regard to your first paragraph, I have to disagree. You know me. I've done quite a few Azamara cruises and have rarely repeated the same one. Examples of one's I have are the Teatro Goldini in Livorno (three times I think) and the Odeon in Ephesus twice.  Both of those Azamazing Evenings I was very happy to repeat. There have been subtle changes to others (Chania as an example) that I've enjoyed. I'll say that all the ones I've been to have been well attended.

As to your other points, you are probably right, but it doesn't change my viewpoint about them. It's a shame and Azamara cruisers, new or repeat are going to miss out. 

Phil 

32 minutes ago, aussie travel bird said:

We had the Onward Inaugural cruise AzAmazing evening at the Opera at the Fort at the end of the pier in Livorno. It was (and this is from a non opera lover) fantastic. I am bitterly disappointed that Azamara’s intentions are to discontinue on shore evenings in favour of those onboard. It’s doesn’t sit right with their ‘change the way we sea’ or ‘destination immersion’ voyages. We cannot understand why our Japanese intensive we got off recently had its Destination Celebration onboard in the only Korean port of call. In fact all 3 B2B2B were onboard. To me there may be onshore restrictions but it looks very much like cost cutting. Incidentally our next 3 are onboard too. We’ve mentioned it our feedback but expect it’s unlikely to change. 

I'm with you and yes, it's cost cutting and more importantly putting less effort in. 

Phil 

@Carolexas Cruiser, I'm sorry this had happened to you and for the stress it is causing you. This is a result of the very poor IT that was in place at Azamara following the acquisition by another company. This board is littered with differing stories. 

I'd be really interested to know exactly how much the price was when you originally booked it (to include cruise date and cabin category) and how much they are now asking you for. If you are prepared to post that information here.  Maybe knowing the scale someone can give you a suggestion of where to go. I hope you can get it sorted out. 

Phil 

36 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

They have 2 shows. We signed up for the earlier one and will have dinner after. You will find it under excursions on the website

Just to say this is not an Azamazing Evening. It's a Destination Celebration on the ship. 

Phil 

From my point of view I think it would be a poor/risky decision to go through the Suez (as demonstrated by what happened to Crystal Symphony). Much better to keep the ship and crew safe and go round the Cape of Good Hope, even if it will mess up the schedule. 

Phil 

8 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

 

We are due to sail on Journey for our first cruise over Christmas and New Years and I hope it will be a good experience….fingers crossed, but to say I am nervous…..that’s an understatement! 

I don't want to make you nervous. It was just my experience and you will probably have a fab time. 

Phil 

12 hours ago, Dynacruiser said:

When my room is not clean (it happens), I personally prefer to complain directly to the cleaning person.  Their jobs are hard enough and I feel they could get in trouble if I talk to the hotel director.    

 

But I hope Azamara is a good employer and uses negative feedback from guests to better train their employees, rather than punish them.

If your room is not clean then there may simply be a training issue and by mentioning it then that can be dealt with. Helps you, them and potentially other guests. I wouldn't be afraid to speak to the Chief Housekeeper or their assistant. That's their remit and as far up the line as I'd personally take it. 

Phil 

13 hours ago, debcip said:

Phil, I just posted on another thread that on the Journey, the idea of future Azamazing evenings was definitely being promoted—that it was not possible in some countries but that as a whole they will be going forward. 🤷🏻‍♀️

—Debbie

Will see how it pans out. I heard from a reliable source up the chain of command that they will go. All indications at the moment are that there are more and more "destination celebrations". We had one on our recent Japan cruise. The Azamazing Evenings are expensive I'm sure and perhaps it's one of the budget cuts. I hope it doesn't happen because I really like them. 

Phil 

7 hours ago, DS said:

              We have been on more than 30 Azamara cruises and have had the opportunity to attend many “Azamazing Evenings.”  Some have been fantastic and fascinating, some, not so much…   I’ve found that the good ones contain three ingredients. 

 

       The first is the Destination. We have had classical and historical opera houses and concert halls, 12^th century churches, natural sites like Wadi Rum.   We have also had a pier side, folding chairs set up, with a minimal stage so only the first three rows could see the magician (comment: not so good…).  Once, a court yard between two building of a shopping center…yuck.  In short, the Destination is important.

 

       The second is the involvement of the passengers – US!  The best ones have had something special for us, either activities or food or something.  We’ve had great “fair like” experiences of local activities, and others that merge with the performance (see Wadi Rum).  We’ve had many that provide local food, etc. (including the bad location of the shopping center…).  If that something is “dinner in the main dining room before/after the performance,” well…not a positive grade. Neither does a “whatever-area-buffet” in Windows or on deck.

 

       The third is the actual performance.  It should be over and above what is normally available.  In many ports Azamara brings on “local entertainment,” often of a folkloric nature—local songs and/or dances.   That is good and appreciated—but it is not “azamazing.”  The Azamazing Evening performance should be something that cannot be accomplished any old night in the Cabaret Theater—it should be something Azamazing.

 

        So… I really appreciate traditional “Azamazing Evenings” (even though we may not attend every one for any of a variety of reasons).  “Destination Celebrations,” a wholly acceptable product of the pandemic, is not a substitute for “real’ Azamazing Evenings.”  These, and “Onboard Azamazing Evenings” tend to violate all three of our essential characteristics.

Totally agree with all of this. Couldn't have said it better. 

Phil 

17 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

That’s how we felt after our cruise on Journey in November. When we got good service it came across as if they were doing you a great favour, rather than it being the norm. Pursuit in Feb/March was totally different - excellent but unobtrusive service, great food too.

Strangely enough I did a back to back on Journey and then Quest back in 2022 and the experience was chalk and cheese. Much better on Journey than Quest (it was when the four ships met in Koper). These inconsistencies shouldn't happen. There should be a standard across the fleet. I miss Heike and Johannes on Journey. They ran a tight ship.

No doubt that there are maintenence issues on these older ships. Our cabin patio door howled when it was windy as the seals were shot. I believe they are falling behind now with newer ships coming onstream. There are a number of ports that Azamara can no longer go to because they don't meet the emissions requirements. If Azamara announced new ships that would get me interested. Big news coming on the 10th April. Wonder if that will excite?  Or another special offer?

Phil 

I have always done the Specialty booking myself. Prefer to have more control. You should go to see one of the bar tenders to upgrade your package. The butler won't be able to do it and the person you upgrade with will get credit for doing it. 

Phil 

I'm not long back from Hong Kong to Tokyo on Journey and spent 11 days in Japan afterwards. I'm not going get into the intricacies, but my overall experience on the ship was most definitely not as good as I've previously enjoyed.

I've always felt that it was a special experience on Azamara with great service and good food. Lots of nice little touches around that made it seem as though you were genuinely being cared for. This time not so much. Nothing special in the cabin. Not even flowers to brighten the room. For a premium experience I also feel the ships are getting a little old.  Most disappointing though was the general so so service. Admittedly there are the stars I've sailed with before, but there were also a large number of new faces and I didn't feel they exhibited the Azamara way of going the extra mile. Poor training. 

The food in the buffet I felt was generally overcooked. The chicken I had at the deck barbecue was tough and stringy like a lot of the chicken dishes. We had a lovely meal in Prime C, but our server was poor. There were too many inconsistencies on a ship that used to be my favourite. 

The old adage of having too much of a good thing maybe true in my case. Perhaps I've just done too many Azamara cruises and need a change, but overall I feel they are resting on their laurels too much. Not offering anything different. I've booked Onward for September with good friends, one of who has been going through cancer so it will be a special trip for us all, but I will reassess after that one which I think will be my 50th on Azamara. As I said perhaps I need a change, but the feel and service just weren't the same. Not "special" enough. 

Phil 

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

It depends how good the performance is. Our event in Namibia was just brilliant. It was onboard, but the three acts we had were amazing. Personally we preferred it to the last few we’ve been to onshore where we had to queue up to get on a bus, go to a large tent at a hotel, have a drink and a snack then sit & watch a performance, then queue to get back on a bus, effectively taking up a whole evening for a 45 minute performance.

If it’s off the ship then it needs to be something really special to justify the queuing & standing around, not just a performance that could be done in the cabaret lounge on the ship.

Yes, I understand what you mean, but one of my issues of holding them in the cabaret is that the sight lines aren't very good so unless you can get seated nearer the front it's difficult to see unhindered. Also the ceiling height in the cabaret restricts the performance.

I will miss doing them on land. Nice to get off the ship, but it's another of those drip, drip, drip cost cuts that I saw many more of on my recent cruise. 

Phil 

11 hours ago, cshim said:

I just got off the Pursuit. They had a very disappointing destination celebration on board. This is a shame as the Azamazing evening was something we were really looking forward to.

Azamazing Evenings are going the way of the dinosaur unfortunately to be replaced by these Destination Celebrations.  Not the same at all. 

Phil 

6 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

If you are interested in wines, I recommend you don’t decide on upgrading your package until you board and make sure what is available. The last time we were on AZ, we embarked expecting to upgrade to ultimate. However, so many of the wines advertised as being included were not available that after discussing with the Sommelier, we just purchased a five bottle package and paid for a few specialty cocktails along the way (Mostly after dinner drinks like Port and Grand Marnier). This worked for us and we spent much less on beverages than we would have purchasing the Ultimate package.

This is good advice, ie don't assume. 

Phil 

1 hour ago, Ahaohio said:

I know that you need the ultimate package for the artisanal Atlas cocktails to be included. Question is can I find a list of what concoctions are included with the premium package as an upgrade from the basic package.

They will try to make you anything they can if you ask for the included drinks. Some cocktails aren't quite as good as if they were made with the top shelf ingredients, but they do a pretty good job. 

Phil 

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Honestly the difference in size is marginal. I’ve never heard anyone complain that the type of floor is not good to dance on. It’s usually that they don’t like the music or the timing or that the ship is rocking too much as the Living Room does experience movement.  It’s not like it’s competition dancing. If it was me I would concentrate on the itinerary not other things when making my choice. 

I agree. It's not wotth the worry. One person might like the set up over the others, but it makes little difference. 

Phil 

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Great to hear that the ports continue to deliver so much. Azamara (and other lines) are hugely helped by the port authorities in each stop. This pamphlet that they prepare shows how much will be set up if you ask. 
I have also found it a useful resource for planning. Other countries should prepare a similar one stop summary! 

 

https://partners-pamph.jnto.go.jp/simg/pamph/2349.pdf

This says it all. I have been so impressed with Japan and the organisation this country is able to achieve. And the people are so incredibly polite. Before even coming here in early March and getting on Journey we'd booked to come back on a land trip next year. You have to be quick off the mark if you want to use BA flight points. I'm very glad we did. We can then immerse ourselves more fully here. 

We saw Fuji from the ship on our way back to Tokyo, and have just spent three days at Lake Kawaguchi. Spectacular and Fuji was stunning in the moonlight. 

Phil 

2 hours ago, ECCruise said:

On Quest now and the standard internet is as it has been for years (and on HAL 2 weeks ago): slooooow. 

To get decent internet on both lines we needed to upgrade. And at a price less than we were paying for terrible internet 15 years ago. 

It's a slow old process (if you'll pardon the pun). At the moment I'm comfortable paying the extra for faster internet that at least enabled me to stream, knowing that not everyone chooses to do so and thus overload the system. 

Phil 

I know this is a little thing, but it makes me sad to read the lack of interest in investing in new balcony chairs. They were promised ages ago and still nothing. Why the heck don't they listen to their guests and sort it out? It's very poor. 

I'm not long back from finishing a cruise on Journey. I'm going to sit and gather my thoughts fully, but this Azamara trip was not the best. Too many signs of cutting back and they seem to be resting on their laurels, offering the same old. No signs of forward investment. This Onward balcony chairs situation is a very good example of my fears for the future. 

Phil