Riocca

Rough estimate given that there’s about 90 cabins currently available is 500+ John

Vicki Not sure if they have the manifest for that one yet but will try to find out. John

Think it’s still work in progress, it’s showing that way on our new booking but in practice on the current cruise it was applied for the whole cruise.

It’s a feature of the new software which allows them to combine b2b under a single booking number. There have been a few issues with this but they are learning and everything was resolved quickly. Made a new b2b booking onboard and was offered the option of single or multiple booking numbers, we opted for single as I think this is going to be the way it works in the future.

Elizabeth is on leave returning on the 5th January 2024 for the World Cruise, Tony is on a project at the moment and is possibly on Pursuit.

Now it’s a two tier system depending on whether the bookings have been combined under one booking number or not. At the b2b meeting all instructions were given and there was a table set up for restaurant reservations. If you had multiple booking numbers then you had to check in for the second voyage in the Cabaret Lounge, we were under one booking number but changing rooms and just has to swap key card at the customer service desk.

Currently onboard Onward and had a discussion with the IT manager regarding the internet and this is the information I was given. Earlier in the year they were testing the capability of the Starlink system and were pushing it as hard as they could with unrestricted bandwidth hence the high speed we were experiencing. Now the current policy is that WiFi will be limited to a maximum of 512Kbps this will be the standard package at I believe $19.95 per day including complimentary WiFi with suites and loyalty benefits. High speed WiFi of up to 4 Mbps is available as an upgrade at an additional $7.95 per day cost, however WiFi within the Experience More packages will be the higher speed WiFi. A flyer offering this package is available onboard although not mentioning speeds as is a note in the voyage overview. Please don’t shoot the messenger, the higher speed which we had last cruise is fine for streaming whilst the lower speed has been ok for internet browsing.

Currently on Onward these are the senior officers: Master - Captain Gianmario Sanguineti Staff Captain - James Peter Brennan Chief Engineer - Stanko Rajic Hotel Director - Tatiana Morello F&B Manager - Dejan Silavski Cruise Director - Eric De Gray Asst. CD - Roy Ryan Executive Chef - Srinath Gokulanathan Chief Housekeeper - Clifford Dcosta Guest Relations Manager - Maribel Kury Most of the hotel staff only joined at the end of last week and are currently due to stay until the 5th January 2024, Captain Carl Smith will take over sometime in November, not sure of the exact date.

Where a ship docks is in the hands of the port authorities and be changed at the last minute, unless of course the cruise line own their own terminal which Azamara doesn’t. So they can only advise the terminal they expect to be using.

Healthy option 😁 Just spoken with East Pearl they came onboard on the 27th September so will be on until the 5th February. John

We have just done the AzAmazing evening in Dubrovnik in the castle, it will be the last time that venue is being used as the access is very poor for those with any mobility problems. The venue is above a nightclub and open to the elements but I counted well over 100 stone steps to access the venue. The show was excellent but you didn’t lose much with it being moved onboard and more passengers would be able to enjoy it.

In reply to the question about tonic water currently available onboard Onward asked on the Senior Officer thread. Main tonic is Schweppes and the slimline tonic is FeverTree. Unfortunately Plymouth Gin is in short supply but there may be a reason for that 😎

Full price of the drink, depending on how many drinks from the Ultimate Package you would want during the cruise it may be better value is to upgrade the package at $8 per day. There’s no requirement for all passengers in the cabin to upgrade.

No booking shows b2b OBC for both cruises, EXMO package for both and onboard booking OBC for both so nothing lost.

All these YouTubers earn money by getting “clicks” so the headline is always sensationalised to grab attention, they all look to cruise lines for free cruises and upgrades so I don’t believe any of them as their views can be tainted because they feel they haven’t had enough attention. We have our likes and dislikes like everyone else, and many of these people have very different views from us, only review I trust is our own but we wouldn’t inflict our views on anyone else.

Yes that’s right, it’s all gone a bit Pete Tong (wrong) on this current cruise but it’s part of the learning curve for the new software, we’ve sorted everything out. New booking is much clearer in terms of what applies to which cruise.

We are currently on a b2b that was converted into a single booking number and can confirm that’s correct. Just booked another b2b whilst onboard and was given the option of single or individual booking numbers.

Yes as far back as I can remember we’ve been able to use OBC for Shorex with Azamara and Celebrity but it was something that appeared unique to the RC brands. The ability to book Shorex in advance is built into their new software but not it appears using OBC to pay for it, the current work round is not acceptable as a long term solution. Either the software has to be changed to accommodate this or they have to find an acceptable alternative way of working. If you look at the Oceania website they offer the option of OBC or free Shorex, Viking offers included basic Shorex, Azamara have to clear their heads and provide a sensible option.

Our experience before we cruised with Azamara/Celebrity was that OBC could only be used onboard, if you wanted to book an excursion you had to pay upfront then if you wanted to pay with OBC you had to go to the tour desk to cancel and rebook. On the other hand OBC wasn’t as generous as we’re currently experiencing so usually only covered onboard expenses at best. Azamara needs to find its own way forward and not try to replicate the old way of working with systems obviously not designed to do so. Would have been better all round if they had said we are now a new company making a clean break from the old systems, possibly some past passengers wouldn’t like it but it would avoid the current confusion.

Only appears on the cruise we are boarding in 2 days all the others are over 30 days out and I’m sure I read somewhere OBC could only be used within 30 days of sailing. Although like most people I’m not really sure of the new rules or the validity of information people have been given.

We’ve booked this cabin for our cruise starting next week, it’s the same location as 8056 on the other ships and is our preferred location. Quick access to the stairs & lifts and most importantly quiet, that said it’s under the beverage station in Windows and there’s been occasional noise when someone has dropped a tray but that’s pretty rare. Importantly for us it’s also has the walk in shower, being on a bulkhead the balcony also has a solid partition on one side which helps if you value privacy.

When we started cruising with Celebrity & Azamara we found it interesting that you could book Shorex with OBC but nothing else. The frustration was that we could never fathom why OBC was given in the currency of the ship US$ but then converted to the currency of the booking, in our case U.K.£, usually at a non advantageous rate and then any balance converted back to US$ to use on the ship. We have to deal with whatever the currency of the ship is when onboard so it’s something that we could deal with pre cruise. Azamara’s problem seems to be that they are trying to meet the expectations of past passengers with proprietary software that isn’t compatible with that. If that actually is the case then they should be upfront and say this is the way it’s going to be ongoing and not try and create a work round that’s difficult for passengers to understand.

I think it’s a legacy of the way RC worked, even then it was only shore excursions that could be purchased with OBC before boarding. On the cruise lines we cruised with prior to Azamara & Celebrity onboard credit was exactly that nothing could be bought with it prior to boarding including shore excursions. If you wanted to secure a tour before boarding you had to purchase and pay for it then once onboard get the tours desk to cancel and rebook using OBC with the payment being refunded to your card, so for us it’s nothing unusual.