Riocca

2 hours ago, tonyl1956 said:

We're booked on that cruise and were disappointed to see it in today's email. I'm hoping they cancel it sooner rather than later, as we've got quite a lot of FCC tied up in the booking and suspect we might lose that if we cancel. Not so much of a deposit as we booked on board, so only £125 each.

 

I'm going to approach our TA and see what they think Azamara might offer.

If you booked onboard you can a one off change to another sailing and retain all your onboard booking benefits of course you will lose any promotions that came with the original booking.

Like you we booked this cruise whilst onboard quite a while ago and we were waiting to see what Azamara were going to offer but when the 2026 itineraries were launched we decided to move the booking to Quest’s 22 night Antarctica cruise. We received our onboard loyalty discount and the $300 OBC, the new booking came with the Early Booking Bonus which was the same promotion as we had on the original booking. 
Judging from the offers made to customers on the recently cancelled cruises the best we could expect was a lift & shift to another itinerary of up to 18 days which probably wouldn’t work with the 22 day itinerary we wanted to book.

Last year we had a discussion with an Assistant CD about background music around the pool area, was saying that if they play music they get a number of complaints but if they stop playing music they get an equal number of complaints that there’s no music. Classic case of you can’t please all the people all the time, personal preference is no music but don’t object to the occasional live music on sea days. 

1 hour ago, Rabidcruiser said:

After some 55 cruises (23 on Azamara) the Halifax card failure was more than a surprise for us. I also had an RBS ( Royal bank of Scotland ) mastercard card with us but that was new and had not even been activated by using as a chip and pin ( why not done on board) BUT surprisingly we managed to use this brand new card (without any special authority) for £750 deposit on Onward  for two future cruises!. The additional issue with Halifax is that they refuse to engage in discussion as to how they came to make such a ***** up of blockage and failure to communicate - both on the cruise and after. The reason for my post here was that when I spoke to Halifax post cruise they could not guarantee it would not happen again. It is evident that such cards can be used on Azamara successfully but I continue to press what exactly made this failure occur - sofar no explanation , apology or offer of compensation. If banks have become a law unto themselves ( aka the UK Post Office scandal) someone on high needs to set them straight!. Always carry at least TWO cards on holiday.  Ironically Halifax ( and other banks) now seem to think if you notify them where you are going they ignore  it as fraud could occur anyway. If it is AI they are using then saints preserve us! They still need to use due diligence like where was the card last used ( In this case - T4 LHR Hilton, Marriott Sydney, taxi Sydney were ALL passed then why not Azamara?)

It’s the $1 US transaction after recent use in a different country that gets flagged by the fraud department, when I had a card compromised, thanks to a well known hotel booking site, it was flagged up because of a series of low cost transactions in Florida. The bank said this is what normally happens as the card is tested before being hit with the big one.

We’ve been using our Halifax Clarity card since 2015 and, touch wood, have never had a problem using it abroad. When we first had it you used to have to inform them where you were travelling but after a couple of years we were told that was no longer required.

Like all banks they use AI to monitor if transactions are out of the normal pattern, so I expect if a card is being used in Australia and they then see a small test transaction in the U.S. it rings alarm bells unless it’s within the normal pattern of the card. Fortunately Azamara transactions are within the normal pattern of use for our cards, however we always have our normal HSBC cards as a backup.

Only thing I would say is that Azamara did a test transaction at the end if every cruise week. So if there was for example $100 due at the end of the first week it appears in pending transactions and at the end of the second week there’s another $100 test transaction. Our cruise was 17 days so I could see 2 pending transactions on the card but these are cancelled before the final balance is taken. It then depends on how the card issuer handles these pending transactions, Halifax viewed it as the same transaction so only the larger of the two pending transactions was taken from the available balance. 
Hopefully I’ve explained that okay 😀

11 minutes ago, tonyl1956 said:

This is not quite a newbie question but I'm asking on behalf of some first time Azamara cruisers!

 

Last time we were on board (Quest Jan 2023), I used my Revolut card at check in and the process was fine. It's not a credit card but I had plenty of $ on it, as we were on a much longer trip, so had the money in $US while on the ship, swapping it to $NZ & $AUS as we went along. For those of us from the UK, many of the banks make significant charges if we use our ordinary cards abroad, either by using an unfavourable exchange rate or making individual transaction fees, or both!

 

This year, we are going again, but taking (slightly!) younger family members, who use similar cards when travelling. They may not have such a lot of spare cash to load up their card with $ and this trip is more or less just for the cruise, so in reality apart from a few € for incidental spending in ports, they shouldn't actually need much.

 

Wanting to avoid any issues at check in, does anyone know how much Azamara 'ring fence'? 

 

I would assume it's not a lot, as experience suggests they make an appropriate charge every time you spend anything anyway and I'm sure there would be a knock on the door pretty soon if your credit wasn't good!

 

Thanks in advance

 

Tony

On our recent cruises Azamara has tested the credit card with just $1 until there’s a debit balance on the onboard account when they will use the amount due. Payment isn’t taken until the cruise is over and the final invoice is issued.

We use the Halifax Clarity credit card for traveling as it offers currency conversion at the full Mastercard rate with no fees. As it’s a true credit card you don’t have to preload any money and it’s accepted everywhere Mastercards are accepted.

While the 79 day itinerary looks great it’s a bit too long for us these days however we’ve booked the 22 day BA to San Antonio section taking in both Antarctica and the Chilean Fjords. My only thought is I wonder how popular the cruises that end & start in Panama City will be.

30 minutes ago, uktog said:

There will be some changes on Journey for the April 18 cruise 

Darren Lynton will be back replacing Stephen Millet

Captain Kresimir goes on leave. His replacement is new to the role but known to many - congratulations Captain Dario 

Yes our congratulations to Captain Dario 🥳

12 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

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 

We’ve had a few repeats over the past few years some we were happy to repeat others not so. Last year on one cruise so many passengers stayed behind they had to hurriedly arrange some sort of entertainment, only a film in the Show Lounge but it was something.

We’re all going to have differing views but we have enjoyed the majority of the ones we’ve attended and are glad we were able to experience them, but as with all things life moves on and will try and enjoy the onboard experiences. 

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. 
 

32 minutes ago, Peter Lanky said:

We were on the now cancelled Singapore to Athens cruise on Journey on 3rd May and have now been 'lifted and shifted' to a cruise next March. However I have been keeping an eye on things and it seems the Journey is definitely going around Africa as a 'Japan to Greece' 41 night Grand Voyage at the absurd price from £15,798. I can't see anyone jumping in at that price. This also includes the scheduled Japan to Singapore section.

 

However, the maths doesn't work out. Stopping at Walvis Bay on 21st, it seems to be planning to leave people in the middle of the ocean on 29th May. 🤣8 days non-stop at 20 knots would probably end up somewhere off the coast of Mauritania, so good luck to anyone trying that.

The following May 29th ten night cruise is currently showing as sold out, which is never a good sign, so maybe that will provide the extra days required.

We are booked on Pursuits October 26th Athens to Dubai so are waiting to see what transpires, the prices increased to ridiculous levels a while ago but have dropped in price twice in the past week to something more normal. 

Crystal Symphony made a run via the Red Sea:

https://www.cruisehive.com/cruise-ship-encounters-red-sea-tensions-on-repositioning-voyage/127657?fbclid=IwAR3t-OEcEDIovvej1dfLcf9MPZ4Fns4nUUsyiTY-PEAmJ4xBLv3t0ZulGxI_aem_ASvvmNDCP4gr3jV7MiQjMc8lyGjPUGhsl7H8JJOBoiNyd6ZUvnjKjWhyN9TSz6Fn894

Judging by a post Azamara has just made on FB it’s the long awaited 2025/26 itineraries, we were told on Quest last week that they would be out in April so would make sense.

9 hours ago, Ron1209 said:

Hello,

Im on the October 26th cruise out of Athens going to Dubai down the Suez Canal. I did get an itinerary change last month cancelling port of Eliate but that’s it.

I guess they are still hoping Red Sea issue will soon resolve itself. Not sure what to do about booking flights.

Ron

Just disembarked Quest and being on Pursuits 26th October sailing obviously asked this question, no definitive answer but it’s looking likely that this cruise will be cancelled and the preceding charter to allow Pursuit to dead head around Africa to Dubai. Prices also went extremely high for this cruise to dissuade people from booking but have dropped in recent days to more reasonable levels. 
We have booked flights that can be cancelled or altered at minimal cost just in case.

Don’t forget Azamara have a new management team in respect of a new CFO and incoming CEO so that brings in new ideas. 

My take on the differing offers is that they are trying different things to see what is most attractive to customers and will settle on whatever is most effective.

As regards Sycamore my understanding is that all their companies run autonomously they provide the funds for growth, think of it like a bank, but if Azamara can provide cheaper financing from bringing in customers funds early then that’s good business. Viking have been doing this for years in the North American market with no return for their customers.
 

2 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Leader of the A team. ❤️ The culinary team with Exec. Chef Siri have been outstanding. Such passion in their food and presentations. It’s a team effort that has well exceeded the standard of excellence. Azamara World Cruise  a great experience.

Latest rumor?  Could Amanda P. ( Ret.) and Tony M. be rejoining 

us as entertainers on our Africa detour? All our male entertainers and dancer are leaving in Dubai. Present ladies entertainers stay.

It will be a different ship experience after Dubai but hey we are onboard a wonderful Azamara cruise, great crew and we love sea days and do not need to be entertained much. Plus they have provided us at an extra cost an African Safari on one of our ports of call after Dubai. We are going to do it and they also have excursions offered on our most infrequent ports on detour.

Azarmara is all about the guest and what’s best for them.

Life is good on Azamara. B.

 

Spoke to Tony last night and the rumours are indeed true, so you’re going to enjoy some excellent entertainment, enjoy!

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So far this is the first Azamara cruise that I have heard about with the fuel problem.  No explanation so far, so let's hope it was some kind of one-off.  The itinerary changes on Oceania have been voluntary (or probably demanded by NCL) and were strictly to save money.

From other forums it was said that Onward had experienced stronger than anticipated currents which caused a higher fuel burn than anticipated.

Currently we are on Quests TA crossing and as far as Mindelo yesterday have had never perfect sailing conditions although Captain Johannes has been warning that things could be a little different north of Cape Verde. So yesterday just after sail away he announced that the weather system they had been tracking from Greenland was going to bring significant rough sea conditions so for the comfort and safety of passengers some changes to the itinerary would be made. So currently instead of heading to Tenerife as planned we are heading to La Palma which was the following port, our stay there is as was originally scheduled but we will then head to Tenerife arriving at 10pm staying until 10pm the following day. This will give shelter during the worst of the expected sea conditions, Quest will then head directly to Lisbon missing out Funchal to give us the smoothest ride possible.

It’s this sort of communication and care that makes Azamara special, we’ve travelled with other lines who wouldn’t make any changes just telling passengers to expect rough weather.

Pursuit’s October cruise that transits the Red Sea is yet to be cancelled, although it’s only a matter of time, so 2025 would be after that I would assume.

Just now, Grandma Cruising said:

We’ll be on Onward for the first time in September. Could someone post a photo of the chairs, so we know what to expect.

The same chairs are used in the Pool Bar.

Currently onboard Quest and can confirm that the WiFi included with the Experience More packages is the faster Starlink service. However when I initially logged into the system using the package link I was only getting the standard slow speed internet, took a quick trip to customer services to get it corrected.

Even though I am entitled to free WiFi as a Loyalty/Suite benefit the system only allows one account per person, just something to be aware of.

1 hour ago, uktog said:

So you get the 10% or whatever off the $8?  

Yes at Discoverer Plus we paid $6.40 per day.

Plenty of Whispering Angel onboard Quest and there’s a new Scottish Gin on the Ultimate Package called Botanist.

Strange thing is the flyers on Quest shows a picture of the Atlas Bar and specifically mentions it in the text.

Just boarded Quest and beverage packages are $26.95 for Premium $34.95 for Ultimate, upgrade Premium to Ultimate is still $8 but loyalty discount applies to the upgrade. Also speciality restaurants are $49.95pp we have been assured this pricing is now fleet wide.

Just boarded Quest in Rio everything super easy, our only problem along with many others was taxi drivers not knowing where to drop off their passengers. Even then Azamara had a golf cart & trailer patrolling to pick up and get passengers to the correct area. Security was slow as Oceania Marina is also boarding today and the security area was common.

We arrived at the terminal about 11.40 and we were at onboard check in by 12 noon, specialities booked and drinks package upgraded and sat on the Sunset  terrace by 12.30. Obviously learned lesson from last year.

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Quite agree about likely numbers not reporting it and that a high number of people suffered from it. On the other hand most people we spoke to said they were fine after 24 hours, and that was certainly our experience. A few like you were poorly for longer, but seemed to be in the minority. I was OK, my husband had it for a few hours, but immodium stopped it - no antibiotics. He was quarantined for the last day.

I wonder if there were 2 separate things - SA water causing a little bit of a GI upset, and some sort of virus causing longer illness and needing antibiotics to clear it. 
Interesting to hear that now the bottled water has been changed, everything seems to be back to normal.

Antibiotics have no effect on Viruses so it’s doubtful that the problem was viral. If it is related to the bottled water it’s possibly coliform bacteria due to poor quality processes in the water bottling plant.

Another possibility is that minerals within the water are causing a mild reaction in some people.

Either way it would be impossible for the ship to test the water onboard to ascertain the cause.

Segment 7 of the World Cruise was due to end in Dubai and as I understand it full World Cruise passengers are approximately one third of the total passenger count, this would probably make Dubai the disembarkation port for the majority of passengers. Therefore deviating from Dubai would make it a logistical nightmare for many of the other passengers who will be on that segment.

Cancellation of segments 8&9 was inevitable given the current situation in the Red Sea and minimises the ongoing disruption to future itineraries, appreciate it’s disappointing for those who booked the full World Cruise but Azamara are looking at the bigger picture.

As regards those who booked single segments I would expect Azamara to be making the same offer made to those on Journeys cancelled 3rd May cruise which has been noted on another thread.