JandMinToronto

33 minutes ago, Jay19 said:

We are booked on the August 5th Quest cruise, Montreal - Reykjavik, b2b with the following cruise on August 20th which was Reykjavik to Copenhagen and was 13 nights.   Last week we received an email from Azamara, similar to the one posted above, saying that the 2nd cruise was being shortened to 10 nights and would now be r/t Reykjavik ending on August 30th.  There was a new itinerary posted at the end of the email and one of the options given was to move to this new itinerary, get a pro-rated change of fare and some OBC.   We were told that we had until December 14th to advise Azamara of our decision.    

 

I told our TA that we would keep the August 5th cruise and would move to this new r/t Reykjavik cruise as a b2b, so this morning she phoned Azamara only to be told that the August 5th cruise has been cancelled.   We have never received any advice of this from Azamara and the cruise is still showing for sale on the website.     

 

I know quite a lot of people booked on the August 5th cruise when it was released so I'm wondering if anyone has received any information about a cancellation?     

We are booked on the B2B starting August 5th to Reykjavik and the August 20th to Copenhagen.  We got the email saying the second leg has been shorted too.  I called Azamara Saturday and the agent looked and could find no changes to that first leg Montreal to Reykjavik, and it is still bookable online.  However, that packaged "Grand Voyage" starting Aug 5 out of Montreal is not bookable and I would guess it is because the August 20th forward components are no longer available as originally marketed.  I'm keeping my eye on the website and might phone again tomorrow.

On 7/17/2023 at 10:35 AM, Dr H said:

I just found the Viking vs Azamara posts. I will have to take a peek, but we are Azamara loyalists to the end. Here is a small point to consider. Quest will be making these sailings, and will be undergoing dry dock refurb in March or April, 2024. We were advised of this last winter while we were on board, and there are scattered references to the refurb in several scattered posts. It's going to be a new(ish) ship. (Hope they would get rid of that hideous chandelier in the MDR.)

Hello Dr. H; thanks for the info about dry dock refurb, I will keep my eyes + ears open.  I might even ask when we're on the Journey in less that a month doing Scotland & Ireland.  We are also Azamara loyalists.

Question: was it you I chatted to a couple of years ago who gave me tips to keep diabetes in control?  I've thought of that often and wanted to thank that doc!  Anyway, knocked down now to pre-diabetes. To be honest, being on a cruise and so active with excursions (and not sitting at my desk working) really helps!

We looked at them too!  B2B  Dublin -> Reykjavic -> Montreal (24 nights).   But also the B2B Montreal-> Reykjavic -> Copenhagen (28 nights).  Similar itineraries but there are a few ports-of-call differences.  For now, we have opted to take the B2B ending in Copenhagen since then we can potentially add on something else.

But importantly, do you get AZ Circle loyalty points?  😁

I liked the video wall concept as it could display all kinds of things!  e.g. "artwork", photos of upcoming destinations, seasonal themes, etc.  Or just be turned off.  Here is a picture I took from the Onward maiden voyage...the fireplace might be too "big" for the room but it was brand new so they might now resize it.  Later I saw projected some generic geometric patterns but I didn't take a picture of those. I thought it was innovative.

Regarding seating, I remember from the maiden voyage the banquettes were a little narrow and uncomfortable, but by the Christmas/NY cruise they told us they had been working to make it more comfortable and had replaced some.

One night with a circle of friends all socializing, the "monkey light" behind us was a bit glaring and bright for those facing it. So I just unscrewed the lightbulb to turn it off. No problem but later the server showed me there was a light switch in the cord itself, who knew!  lol 

We were on the maiden Onward voyage in May, and again on December 22nd Christmas/NY cruise. We really enjoyed the Atlas bar for as many evenings as possible prior to dinner. It became a go-to place to assemble with new-found friends.  We never ordered any of the food items (has anyone I wonder) but we tried most of the menu cocktails.  The Atlas bar was a keen determinant for us to upgrade to the Ultimate drinks package, the other being the Sommelier's Ultimate package suggestions at dinner paired with our meal.  On our feedback questionnaire we especially called out the great service by Atlas bar server Aga, who listened to a request for Puerto Rican Coquito which they didn't have (a variant of eggnog but with various alcohols in it), but then he did his research and had it ready for us as a surprise the next day!!!

By the way, the library was moved to the port side of the livingroom.

14 hours ago, Chot50s said:

Elsewhere on the Azamara board, others started reporting their loyalty points and status missing on both their Celebrity and Azamara accounts. Here is the fix that seemed to work for some folks (including me).

Posted January 28

 

 

 

   On 1/26/2023 at 8:44 PM,  JaneStarr said: 

Anyway, what worked for me to fix it was to delete my Captain’s Club number from my Celebrity account, save, and then add it back and save again. That somehow fixed my tier and points on BOTH Celebrity and Azamara.  

I can confirm that this 'trick' also worked in my case. I had booked my first Azamara cruise, then canceled it and from that moment on my points and tier would not show up anymore on Azamara, Celebrity and RCI. Deleting the loyalty number on my profile and then re-adding it fixed the issue. I did this on my Celebrity account, but I guess it would also have worked if I had done this on either the Azamara or RCI website.

Thank you so much, it just worked for me too.  Note: I'm posting this on Feb. 6 AND the fixed point total  has also carried over to Azamara (which split from Celebrity Feb 1).   I better email Azamara to let them know not to bother actioning my two emails on this issue sent over the last month!!

I also reported a points balance discrepancy between myself and my partner. We've always been on the same cruises together, yet his points balance is "missing" 48 points following our recent Onward cruise.  I emailed January 17, to LeClubVoyage@AzamaraClubCruises.com. I was impressed that I got an immediate auto reply from Loyalty@azamaraclubcruises.com saying my email had been received.  However, no subsequent follow up yet.  Sadly, the split with Celebrity should have occurred by now; still would like to see it fixed at Azamara.

As suggested by Grandma Cruising above (thanks), I have followed up with Loyalty.

Fantastic! and I just tried it on the Onward, Christmas Day, and got the following.   Such a Christmas present 🙂

Same with us....we always travel with at least one Azamara bag in the pocket of our suitcase along with some string to tie the top closed with handles inside, at the grommets. The reason is that they are very handy "in case" I need to check a bag on the way home from wherever having bought too much stuff.  If we get a new one I inevitably give them away to friends. We are in the land of plenty with those.

Regarding the leather key card "case", I always bring those too!  I usually return any new ones to the Customer Relations desk.

Anyway, a "gift" is a nice token, and we've used many times already the Delft Blauw Azamara plate that was given as a souvenir on the Onward inaugural voyage!

On 11/22/2022 at 4:15 PM, Big Timber said:

I am in 7119 in February.  Is that your current cabin?  If not, do you know if 7119 also has the tub/shower combination?  If so, I will try to change to either deck 8 or 6 (both currently are available).  If you have any recommendations, I would appreciate receiving them.  Thank you.

One thing to consider for deck 8, is that the Sunset Verandah is directly above you. You might hear some chair/table scraping noises?  We've always chosen Deck 6 or 7 CW based on past experience in a CC under the patio. If you're an early bird, then scraping noises might not make any difference.

Thanks so much for the pictures.  I suspect we might be in the same stateroom....thanks for vacating it for us 😊

Does the Shower/Tub combo have a little step-through door?  Someone on the inaugural cruise mentioned it to me but I haven't seen it yet (will be in CW next month!)  And if so, hopefully the seal is water tight when used as a tub!

We were on the Journey and awake actually for the 4-sisters event.  Unfortunately I wasn't on my balcony at the time of the pictures otherwise I'd have been waving for the pictures!  Oh well.  

I had booked years ago when there were only the 3-sisters hoping for a grand Azamazing evening, but I understand the pandemic (I won't say it's over) and logistics made that impossible.  

3 hours ago, malcliz said:

“A few other items are missing, as well, such as the Azamara hangers (yes, you will have hangers, just not ours), laundry bags, slippers and a few other things”

 

Perhaps the chairs are the “few other things”  😂😂

I guess I will just have to pack the Azamara slippers I took home from a previous cruise. They are still in their plastic wrap shrink wrap, might be worth me selling back to Azamara or donate to a silent auction! :-)

Hello Chris, as I'm starting to pack things here in Toronto for our flights tonight, I just thought of something perhaps you can ask.

Do they have distilled water for people's CPAP machines? If not, then I will pick up a jug somewhere!

In the past Azamara always had this for guests. I'm almost certain the Onward will too but worth asking in case they've had supply chain issues on this item.

Thank you!

Michiel

36 minutes ago, suttonrunner said:

That should be OK but as It specifies 72 hours (not 3 days) I would make sure the covid test on Friday was within 72 hours of  boarding  time.  If you are boarding at 2pm then I would  have the covid test  sometime after 2pm in the USA just in case.

Don't forget about the time change, which from North America can work to our benefit :-)  It really has thrown a wrench into plans...do we now need two tests: 1) RAT to get on the plane, 2) PCR to get on the ship 3 days later!  To be honest, I'd rather get the test at home so we don't spend precious time in Monaco trying to find an open pharmacy standing in line to get it.

7 hours ago, laurieb said:

On Quest, we’ve had French and Italian, just one of each on each cruise.  There was a special Explorer dinner centered around Marco Polo’s explorations when we were in Italy, and also a seafood extravaganza that has been offered once at dinner and twice at lunch.

The chef’s tables have been starting at 7pm

Thank you for the info.  We're on the upcoming Transatlantic and they list the Chef's Table for $250 pp for 3 evening meals.  Thinking that might be a place to spend OBC, assuming that's possible.

A separate thought: since there is likely no Cruisecritic gathering to say hello and meet, how would we recognize each other ....maybe we should have name badges!   Hello my name is JandMinToronto!

Regarding the Chef's Table, can anyone share how that works.   For example, what are the kinds?  (e.g. French, Italian, Indonesian, Canadian :-) ).    And also I am interested if they have one everyday or does it seem random?   What time of the evening is it (not that this matters, just curious!....would probably end up going straight to sleep anyway after all the wine pairings!)   

The Canadian reference was just a tease since we are obviously from Canada; but the Indonesian was very serious because on prior Azamara cruises in the far east they offered Indonesian rijstafel specialty dinners and they were wonderful ...perhaps not for the Chef's Table but perhaps they might schedule one or two.  I will ask!

We are planning forward......

Appreciate any Chef's Table info!

We were on the Pursuit a couple of years ago (time flies), and let me flip this around.  We had old technology phones that did not support the AZ app. Not having the app I "missed out" on looking up my account info which I could get a print-out by going to guest relations. The interactive TV didn't show that on the Pursuit, at that time.  I thought I was missing out, but based on these comments here, I guess not!

Does anyone know if a cruise is cancelled and we opt for a FCC, what happens with any accumulated OBC? (e.g. from a  booking resulting from a webinar, or say from the former RCC stock plans).  Do you think they fall by the wayside and any OBC needs to be "re-earned"?

Thank you so much, I was hunting high and low on the Azamara website, duh!  

Can anyone advise me where to apply for the RCL Stock OBC?   luv2travel90266 you mentioned a link, and Grandma Cruising you mentioned you applied too.   I have several future AZ cruises I should do apply for, I was waiting for my Feb 2021 stock statement :-)

Thanks in advance.

The changes promise to be very exciting, and now with the "new" 4th ship coming even more to look forward to!  We currently have 7 Azamara voyages deposited over the next couple of years, and can't wait until we start travelling again.

Meanwhile I had earlier provided some feedback to AZ when solicited, and I sure hope they incorporate for the 4th ship renovation, as possible:

"

One piece of feedback that I was keen to provide to the survey, was to try and greatly improve the quality and speed of the internet on board.  I know the ships are a little bit older, and being on the high seas means that ships are beholden to satellite technology, but for working people it means a lot to have fully functioning internet.  By having internet that is more responsive with speed and security, I think you could improve your target market of working people, or business owners who need to be periodically online.   I was recently on an Expedia call in which Oceania and Regent were present. I think it was Regent that said they have internet access that would appeal to small business owners.  As a consultant myself, my ears immediately heard that and I thought that’s a very good point. 

I’m sorry I can’t remember if they are present in the suites I’ve booked, but having an actual internet Ethernet port rather than just relying on WiFI might actually help speed things up. This could be a perk that is available in suites for those of us who need the cable option for security reasons."