tiggertom

1 hour ago, corinna121 said:

Hello all, We set sail today and did not receive an offer to upgrade even though I did follow the much appreciated advice of tiggertom. FYI we are first time Azamara cruisers we bid $1300pp via website to upgrade from Verandah to CC. This works out to $110pp per night. 12 night cruise in the Mediterranean. We booked through a third party with TA. And did later add the following Trans-Atlantic so that we do not have to fly back home. But I have two separate booking numbers. So I doubt that is a B2B problem that I have seen some people run into. Our first itinerary seems very popular and I think it will be a full ship. My husband had me checking email everyday to see if we got the bid. We mostly liked the idea of specialty dining and WIFI being included, which we will buy anyway. We are happy with the cabin we originally booked but I wanted to thank everone who frequents this thread for all of the tips and tricks. Special shout out to tiggertom and Grandma Cruising who have answed questions that I posted. If I forgot to include any info that is needed to update the thread, please let me know. Most of all this was the first time I have ever tried to bid for an upgrade and I wouldn't have done it if it wasn't for this thread and the spreadsheet. Thank you all!

Sorry the upgrade didn't work in your favour, but all is not lost until you board. Whatever cabin you are in you will have a wonderful first cruise with Azamara. Please let us know your thoughts. 🚢

2 minutes ago, corinna121 said:

We set sail in 5 weeks in a V1 I was planning to try upgrading to a suite but I never recieved an upgrade offer in my email. Does anyone have any advice?

 

You could try the link on the website https://www.azamara.com/gb/booked-guests/azamara-upgrades

good luck

Azamara usually use the Santa Apollonia cruise terminal in Lisbon.

10 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

This is the reply I had from Customer Service regarding the offer and prompt withdrawal of an upgrade offer on our B2B which is covered by one booking number

 

 

Hello,

 

We apologize for the less than excellent experience with our website, Azamara is dedicated to ensuring all our guests have an amazing experience and it is truly unfortunate you were unable to experience this from the start with your online interaction with us. We have escalat ed this to the proper channels so that this incident is not repeated. We truly appreciate you brining this to our attention as we at Azamara are dedicated to excellence and creating incredible lifelong memories. Thank you for being Amazing Azamara guests! We truly appreciate your feedback and consideration.

 

Well my "incredible lifelong memories" will obviously not be made in an upgraded suite.

Does nobody check spelling and grammar 😬

We’re OT1 midship on deck 7 with cabins above and below on the port side, as long as it is quiet we will be happy.

8 hours ago, Elizabethbea said:

 For the sake of clarity once and for all: A price offered by a Company is an "invitation to treat" in Law, and if NOT a binding Offer. End of story. It's nothing to do with mistakes--whatever--it cannot be held as a binding offer.

If the price at the point of sale does not match the displayed price then most shops will offer the lowest price as a matter of goodwill. The advertised price is an invitation to buy but Trading Standards would be interested if this incorrect pricing was a regular occurrence.

11 hours ago, Jim Avery said:

Sailing EJII in November and curious to know from yall who have been aboard.  Are the Rolexes sold at list price?  Any benefit to buying onboard as compared to a dealer back home or online?

Thanks

Post #21 says that there will not be a Rolex shop on EJII

Thanks for your report, safe journey home

4 hours ago, DavyWavey70 said:

So 2 months ago I booked a 3 week tour of South Africa that included a 12 night Azamara cruise through a very well reputed UK tour operator. I Was so excited to finally try Azamara.  Ever since I booked I have been trying to book my excursions and upgrade my included package to no avail. Firstly it took 2 weeks to see my booking at all, this took several phone calls. It was loaded incorrectly. A Week after it finally showed up, Azamara showed that my booking was cancelled. I Called them several times and they confirmed that the booking was cancelled but they couldn’t tell me how or why. Eventually the tour operator managed to get the booking re-instated. It was reinstated incorrectly with my basic package loaded but with none of the extras included such as the 3 table tour. Several phone calls later they finally loaded the 3 table tour to the booking but at the same time dropped the entire essentials package. I’ve called several times since trying to upgrade my package only to be told that I’ll just have to sort it once onboard. The representative has claimed several times that they have had no communication whatsoever from the operator to confirm what should be included despite the operator confirming 5 separate conversations with them. I Have now wasted dozens of hours of my life trying to make the most basic arrangements for my special trip to be met with nothing other than indifference and incompetence. Azamara reps have consistently put the blame onto my tour operator which I know is absolutely untrue. Their IT systems seem to pre-date the times of Marty McFly, their honesty is extremely fluid, their competence is beyond questionable and their ability to deliver would be easily outdone by a paraplegic sloth. What on earth have I let myself in for? 

You booked a package with a tour operator? Then the tour operator will deal with Azamara. Let them sort out the problems. 

On 4/28/2024 at 2:44 AM, 2SailingNomads said:

I think they missed not just in the residences but also the PH.  Closet is not big, bathroom w/ a single sink and the DUMBEST thing, the switch to turn on the light on the outside of the bathroom.  Having been on-board for the last 10 days I think from people I have spoken to there are some like us who sail on SB, Regent, Scenic, etc. who were interested in trying out the brand, from the initial hype, high end champagne - no longer the case, a "different" approach to cruising, well I don't see that except in the terminology they use, hosts vs. crew, etc.  Then there are the people who sailed on MSC or Celebrity / Carnival who we spoke to who saw this as a step up. 

There are a LOT of really good things about this ship: the crew, food, outdoor spaces, 5 pools, 10+ plus bars, but a LOT IMO of things that could be much better.  Limited choice of included spirits, 1 bag of laundry per segment, poor included wines, lack of shaded outside spaces and the list goes on.  I find it surprising with the amount of money being put into this line they didn't do a better analysis of the existing luxury lines offerings and take the best of them.  

In the UK and most of Europe safety regulations prohibit electric switches and sockets inside bathrooms and toilets apart from low voltage sockets for razors and electric tooth brushes. Explora Journeys are probably following European guidelines, and all the cruise ships I have been on also follow these rules.

Just read a post on Facebook suggesting Barbara Muckermann has resigned. Not sure what has happened at Silversea?

My.silversea.com working fine for me.

17 hours ago, Catchum said:

Just back from 8 days post cruise in Cape town. We stayed on Bree Street - 15 minutes walk to V&A 10 walk minutes to Grassmarket area.

We look the 3 day HOHO to get to the Botanic Gardens (amazing), table mountain, where we spent half a day exploring (get there early for no queues), we also spent time at Holt bay where we had faboulous fresh seafood at Muriel's looking out to the harbor. We also did the HOHO Harbor cruise and the canal cruise - recommended. High tea with champagne at the Mount Nelson Hotel was out of this world and yes we did it on Valentines day❤️. Also a day trip to see the penguins at Boulder Beach and Cape Point lighthouse.

 

Need to go back to do a wine tasting tour, Bo Kaap and a township tour and to try a Gatsby.

 

We also did Karibu the safari platter (not on the menu) for two, a nice bottle of wine, tip and the most impressive dessert ever for $75 total. Pictured.

Thanks @Catchum, that food looks wonderful. There is plenty to do, so looking forward to it. 

18 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Stay in or close to the V & A Waterfront, it's great, very lively & lots of lovely restaurants. We stayed at The Commodore hotel which was good. We bought a 1day HOHO bus ticket which included Table Mountain. It was a long queue to get the cable car, but seats along most of it, fab views from the top. We also pre bought tickets to Robben Islsnd & it was cancelled the morning we were due to go & struggling to get the money back (done a chargeback on my credit card). Aquarium is very good. We made reservations for restaurants, all on the waterfront, glad we did on Saturday & Sunday, but maybe not needed in the week. Very cheap to eat & drink. First night we ate at Mozambik - very lively - a cocktail, a beer, a bottle of wine, 2 starters & 2 mains, all for less than £40. Other 2 nights - Karibu and Cape Town Fish Market - bit dearer but still under £60! All very good.

Thanks @Grandma Cruisingthat sounds wonderful, a great choice of things to do. Were card payments accepted widely? Thanks

We’re doing Gran Canaria to Cape Town in November, any recommendations for hotels and things to do in Cape Town as we will be spending 3 days there before we head home. Thanks

2 hours ago, AlbertasRose said:

Yes, our cruise is in August, it was a nice bit of extra OBC to use!  We wouldn't have made that much interest in a year at the bank.

 

Was it 5% of the price of the cruise minus port fees and taxes. I was only offered 2%

7 hours ago, Symmes99 said:

Has anyone taken advantage of this offer? I’m leaning that way now - a 5% return by paying 6 months early is better than leaving that money in the bank.  

I applied for it but was offered 2% of the price of the cruise (minus port fees and taxes). Did you get 5%?

I enquired about this offer and my travel agent has said Azamara are offering $250 OBC if you pay in full. That works out at only 2.3% of the price of our cruise (minus tax and port fees). Can anyone tell me how much OBC they will get for paying the balance early? Thanks.

6 hours ago, uktog said:

I think you might be tempted to book again!  It’s very different to Azamara- in our view the differences are positives although we don’t write Azamara off (yet!).  

 

The staff are equally friendly but in a more subtle way (which we like).  “Fraternising” with some guests including off ship does not seem to be encouraged which is great as all hosts (as crew are called) feel equal as do all guests. Of course some guests may speak with some officers more than others but it’s much less “competitive” amongst guests. An example is yes there are bar chairs for guests to sit at and hosts will speak to guests there but they give equal attention to every guest including those sitting elsewhere not just have conversations with some at the bar. Azamara Atlas Bar in particular could learn a lot from the Explora Lobby Bar! 

The  food is on a different level but then to be fair so is the food budget.
 

There are so many pool options, currently shade is a little limited but that’s being addressed (the balconies which all have a substantial round table two comfy upright chairs and a day bed as a minimum) are shaded so that’s always an option. 

I absolutely loved that pool bar service involved staff quietly walking around looking for guests signaling they wanting drinks, then going to get individual orders not guys roaming up and down shouting (waking you up!) bar service then delays whilst they gathered up large trays of drinks to serve. 

I also liked that martinis and cocktails were properly made (eg measured not free pour). This view may not be shared by everyone but latterly around all the bars on Azamara I found free pours to be far too spirits heavy and quite unpleasant (even when you asked for it not to be strong).

 

Of course the suites are so different- even the entry level ones have more space than a club continent suite and I defy anyone to use all the storage! 

 

Azamaras itineraries still win but a lot of Explora beats them and for next year, factoring in the additional cost of a club continent suite and drinks package to an Azamara fare, on current pricing Explora per day in an entry level suite was  less per person per day than Azamara for a very similar itinerary. So Explora got our summer 2024 booking. 
 

They don’t recognise loyalty onboard (thank goodness!) once outside your room everywhere is accessible to everyone and so far the conversation opener with other guests is where are you from or what did you do today, not how many cruises have you done, oh I’m top cruiser etc 😛) 

 

I will be interested to read how your cruise goes, by January  even more tweaking will have happened on Heike’s watch - with entertainment being a priority. She knows where she needs to get to, she just has to bring others (including those in Head Office) with her on that path. 

Thanks for the informative review. I enjoyed it so much that I have booked for March 2025 on Explora 11, Miami to Lisbon 😁😎. We’ve just had our first Azamara cruise in over 4 years, on the Azamara Onward and really enjoyed it but we’re keen to try something new. Explora sounds right up our street. 

18 hours ago, spinnaker2 said:

A month and some days later…

 

We cancelled our upcoming expedition cruise.

 

We are still feeling quite bruised by our experience on the Cloud, specifically as to the sewage odors which could not be fixed. Many did try to fix it, or at least made it look as if they were trying to fix the problem. The engineer who told us that it could never be fixed was the most honest of the lot. 

While those in charge gave lip service to the issue, acknowledging it with the polite “I’m so sorry”, and “the crew is trying to fix it”, as soon as we were off the ship they washed their hands of us.  

 

Approaching 500 days and years of cruising with Silversea, we feel trod upon.  

 

Will we ever cruise with Silversea again?  

 

 

You’ve had nearly 500 days and you are allowing one bad experience to jeopardise your future cruises with a company you obviously love? I hope you were compensated for your bad experience but I would give them another chance to redeem themselves. You’re on a ship, these things happen. Move on and feel lucky that you are able to cruise the world.

We’re on Onward in November and not received the email either 🤷‍♀️ You wonder how they decide who gets it?

On 10/8/2023 at 8:13 PM, Astalarasta said:

Hello experienced Azamara Cruisers,

 

We received our cruise documents directly from Azamara. This will be our first cruise with Azamara and are confused by the  information in our documents.

 

It notes that sailing time is 4:30PM. The time listed for our boarding group(Deck 6) is 3:30 to 4:30 PM and there is also a statement indicating that we will be denied boarding if not checked in at the pier at least 90 minutes before sailing.   

 

Any advice for when we should arrive at the port?  We are sailing from Port Everglades.    Looking forward to your thoughts!

 

 

 

Hi Can you tell me where you find the time for boarding? I think we are the cruise before you (Lisbon to Fort Lauderdale) and haven’t received that detail yet. Thanks

6 minutes ago, Werangels said:

Did you telephone customer services to do this please?  Did you purchase the experience more package?  Thanks. 

No, I did it online. It was before the website changed. I got the Experience More package as an early booking incentive.

We have used the Experience More OBC for our excursions for our cruise in November. 

15 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

My husband’s account was the same. It took about 5 requests to get it sorted, but it now shows the same as mine and both are correct.

We are not trying any more to get hubby’s loyalty level correct.we’ve tried twice and we have an email from Azamara Circle confirming his loyalty level and promising to correct it. We will take that email onboard with us, in case of any issues. Mine is correct!