mrbluesea

Contingency plans are never going to be port specific, it is about the ability to take appropriate corrective action to address individual circumstances.  The actions P and O put in place appear to have been reasonable given the location and that they would not have had port based staff.  From personal experience a few years ago when many hundreds of people arrived at Southampton to embark a P and O ship that could not be boarded, due to poor weather conditions, hotel rooms were found for all of us. In these circumstances it was easier to secure rooms whereas this would not have been as easy at this port.

I've only had two Azamara cruises one port intensive and one transatlantic.  My preference was very much the transatlantic. On the port intensive cruise I never really got that much opportunity to explore the ship and all it has to offer. The transatlantic trip did however provide that opportunity. I think its about getting into a routine on the sea days and getting involved in something you like. For me it was the gym followed by the art classes in the morning and then a lecture in the afternoon. I also thankfully managed to avoid the triva pursuit and anything with the word 'team' attached to it and still had a super trip.

I think it depends on the size of the ship. On other boutique cruise lines the captain is extremely visible compared to the larger ships that p&o operate. Where possible a visable captain greatly enhances the overall guest experience. A captains role is so much more than stearing the ship. Unfortunately on the larger ships this interaction tends to be limited to the 12.00 announcements and the captains cocktail.

Hi, a few years since we have sailed p&o, but luck lucky enough to get the 35 night cruise. Same as others have already said, details are on cruise personaliser but not on my account. Is this perhaps the reason that no tier is detailed on cruise personaliser, it just says 'no loyalty tier'. Off topic a bit but have p&o moved to being able to record on board spending in a better way than keeping drawer full of receipts.

Thanks

Lunch or breakfast is fine to share a table, particularly if we are on a table that seats 4. I am more than happy to share. But during an evening meal if we are on a table for 2 then sorry but the name is in the title (table for 2).  More than happy for a 'goodevening' etc to people at the next table but some people really do need to be able to pick up the hint that sometimes we all like our own privacy.  

Only went to an Azamara event once and would not bother to attend another. Last time I attended HAL had got the balance much better.  Nice lunch for all repeat cruisers with the celebrity cruisers acknowledged, no speeches.

1 hour ago, aloha123 said:

I assume downloading from this webpage is legit? It looks like a great website. Thank you.

Absolutely fine. I have used the pages on specific ports for many years and they have always proved accurate. Glad they helped.

*Its was just the sheer number of people at the wine tasting location.  If you are there when other ships are in they will also visit the same location and getting to taste the wine was a bit chaotic. Having said that, the view from the location was excellent, it was just the number of people that was the problem. 

If you Google *toms port guide* you will get a good idea of the docking issue at fira.  There is a good picture on the first webpage.

Hi, we also visited santorini with Azamara and docked at fira. The problem is getting from the port to fira. It's either cable car, donkey or 600 steps on the same track used by the donkeys. I would think planning a tour one hour after planned docking time is a little tight. The Azamara trip we took was fine other than the visit to the wine tasting.

Love the baths rather than a shower, in particular as they are deep. As long as you know what you are getting there should not be an issue. 

I would go for an outside.  The price difference between an outside and an inside is much smaller and in my experience of port intensive cruises you spend little time in the room and may not get the full benefit from a balcony on such a cruise. However I do like waking up to see daylight.

Pursuit is fine and based on my experience of another ship in the Azamara fleet she is better.  There are always going to be the odd occasions when things go wrong or are not to someone's preference.  That's just life. For me, Azamara  have got the very vast majority of things on pursuit right and I would happily return.

I do recognise some of the issues such as sitting tables for 2 close to larger groups is not going to work and when this was offered in the specialty restaurant I just turned the table down and said I would wait for a better table to become available. However, this seems to be a fleet issue rather than specific to Pursuit.

  'No one seemed bothered when we cancelled all our Speciality bookings'

We were on the cruise out of Barcelona and we cancelled our aqualina bookings after the second visit and transferred to Prime C for the remainder of the voyage which was perfect. We were very politely asked if there was any particular reason for canceling.  Overall we found the trip to be outstanding and would highly recommend.

480 or so on board the transatlantic. Very nice, shame about the weather though.

Agreed, on the same cruise and he is outstanding.

Ship. Pursuit

Room. 8052

The standard of the suite is outstanding. Everything well maintained, however the fitting of the balcony door means that with any sea movement it squeaks like a rat in a cage.  I would avoid the room for any cruise with a large number of sea days. I did try to get the problem sorted while on the cruise but with no success.

Now on pursuit. If you have a room with a bath then bring your own bubble bath as the shower gel does not do the trick.

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Yes you’re right it did, that’s the one I misread, for which I have apologised.

Thank you for all of the useful info and the time that you devote to this site. Which is very much appreciated.

Bonnie, thanks very much for finding the date. Really good to known they will be on the TA. Thanks.

33 minutes ago, Tuscanybabe said:

Agree with everyone , if it's not broken why not leave it alone ?

it worked very well before .

My guess is the change would have been made to reduce any corporate fee paid to the app publisher.  My personal view is that it seems ok at the moment.

That's good to hear thanks Igor the update.

 

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oops.

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Currently on Pursuit. Have not missed the mattresses at all. Not sure but the lounge chairs appear wider than on the other ships.

 

 

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Ruefully I remembered your post the past 2 weeks as I have been dealing with a supplier (Dell Computers) for an order in which I spelled out very clearly the parameters for delivery, parameters to which they agreed and that they later confirmed.

 

You can guess what happened and the ensuing chaos of phone calls and emails.

 

So I certainly have no idea who is at fault in the issue of the lounger cushions.

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It’s just not a focus.

You know what happens when you loose focus.

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I very much hope you're right. I'm only responding to the live commentary. My only personal experience is from a couple of years back where I found the waiters had a habit of staring straight in front rather than catching your eye. I'm hopeful it won't be like that when I'm on board in a couple of months. Here's hoping.

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