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9 minutes ago, mare s. said:

I am soooo confused.   Because of early booking terms and special promo, we got OBC from Azamara.  In addition, our TA gave us a hefty amount of OBC.   The OBC from Azamara shows on our reservation summary (in addition to the other promo perks) but the OBC from our TA does not.   From what I am reading here, we may or may not see the TA OBC and it may or may not show up before we depart.   And we may or may not be able to get the TA to call Azamara and get the credit listed so we can use it in advance of boarding for shore excursions.  (but I also read that TA OBC cannot be used until we are actually on board!)  I guess I should be grateful that the web site shows our correct loyalty level, but I am an early planner and would like to lock in our shore excursions in advance.   Can anyone provide real clarity on this or am I doomed to confusion?

You will not see TA OBC on your account.  It generally shows up onboard on the second day of your cruise (that's been our experience).  As far as I know, you have never been able to use TA OBC prior to getting onboard.  It is after all, onboard credit!  In the past, we have been able to use Azamara OBC prior to embarkation to book shore excursions.  That's where the confusion seems to be now.  Some have reported being able to use it prior to final payment, some have been told that it can't be used until final payment has been received, and some have reported being told that it can't be used until 30 days prior to your sail date.  It seems to be dependent on the agent you speak with.  

3 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

It's unsustainable for them to provide unlimited data volumes at full Starlink speeds for the reduced or free cost of the current Internet package. Your (and my) experience on Journey is that they have chosen to limit speed, and now have a pilot option to lift that at additional cost.  An alternative would be for them to limit data volumes (xxx MB or GB per day/week/cruise) and charge for more.  This is exactly how most mobile phone contracts work. 

 

As I said in April, I won't be surprised if they also test that option.

It's possible, but given everyone who purchased internet had unlimited speed with a full ship on Onward in January, it didn't seem to be a constraint.  I suspect if they made it totally free and unlimited speed, that could be an issue.  Perhaps they should test providing constrained speed free for all and unlimited speed for the purchased packages.  An additional charge would certainly limit the number of people using it.  With the low speed you could certainly still text and email.

When we were on the Onward in January we were so impressed with the internet speed.  The ship had been upgraded to Starlink.  We were just on the Journey in September.  Even though the Journey uses Starlink as well, the internet speed was awful.  I noticed an ad in the daily program to upgrade the internet speed at a cost of $8.95/day.  As we were in ports every day and have international coverage, we didn't do anything about upgrading.  However, with 3 days left of the cruise a port was cancelled, our ships excursion was cancelled and we found ourselves with OBC and nothing we wanted to buy.  So, we decided to upgrade the internet for the last 3 days.  In speaking with guest services we learned that it is a pilot program and if we had any feedback we should put it on our end of cruise survey.

The upgraded speed was exactly what we had experienced with the basic package in January on Onward.  Needless to say, we gave quite a bit of feedback.  There has been quite a bit of complaining about internet speed lately on all of the ships.  I can't help but feel that they are limiting the basic package speed in hopes that people will pay more for better speed.  Not my idea of what a premium cruise line should be doing.  

So, if you are budgeting and need a higher speed, you should probably plan on another $8.95/day.  Currently, there is no discount for loyalty on this upcharge - another thing that guest services recommended that I comment on.

Since the conversion, has anyone been able to book ships excursions for a future cruise while onboard in order to get the 10% discount, and been able to use the OBC for that future cruise to pay for them?  

13 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

My TA has to transmit any OBC to Azamara prior to sailing, so they would know.  Mine has already transmitted the info to them on sailings in 2024 and 2025. 

Does it show up anywhere in your account?

How would AZ know what the OBC from your TA was?  It generally doesn't show up on your account until the 2nd day of the cruise.  

Thanks for a great review.  I had followed all of your trials and tribulations post conversion and am very happy to hear that it all worked out.  One thing that we do when we purchase the Ultimate drink package is ask to see the included drinks list.  We then snap a picture of it so that we always have it available.  We were just on the Wine and Culture cruise on Journey and the subject of included port came up after dinner.  We were able to produce the list and the included port was provided.  It comes in very handy.

As far as I know, this has never been possible.  We have tried before and we received the same answer that you received.  We have purchased the packages with a credit card and have been able to immediately use any OBC that came with the package to purchase shore excursions.

19 hours ago, uktog said:

I cannot understand re Dover Sole why it’s not on the menu for everyone in Aqualina. It was such a favourite of everyone

It’s one of the dishes I so enjoyed but I can’t bring myself to ask for it as a special request. The very public filleting just rubs me up as I feel for others who did not know to ask for it and I’d feel awkward (maybe I’m too sensitive) 

 

I’ve not been on an Azamara cruise for years where Americans were in the majority. Funny they were on our Viking cruise but there we saw absolutely no off menu ordering. Maybe it’s a policy maybe it was just given the wider choice people were happy. 

We just got off of the Journey. 540 passengers of which 333 were Americans. And the cruise departed out of Southampton!  We’ve never been on an AZ cruise where Americans were not in the majority.

I’m not a Prime C lover as I’m not a beef eater and don’t care for the other entrees. However I make a very nice meal out of starters and sides. I’m in Prime C so I order off of their menu. I do however order the soufflé from Aqualina as I don’t like the one in Prime C and they never seem to do a second option there as they often do in Aqualina. 
Btw - this time Dover Sole was the special each time in Aqualina. And, judging by the amount of filleting going on, it was popular. 

Currently on the Journey. Everything great. Ship looks good, food great and crew as wonderful as always. Ship almost full. White night and Azamazing evening both fun. Booked two cruises while onboard and already have all documents in our email. All in all a very enjoyable cruise … and there’s even Fever Tree!

Last November we booked excursions in both Cairo and Luxor.  We thought that both were very good.  We were in full sized busses.  Never felt rushed.  We seemed to have enough time every where that we went.  The one in Luxor was the overnight that they offer.  One of the benefits was that we were at The Valley of the Kings right when it opened.  No lines and got to see everything we wanted.. including adding an extra ticket to see the tomb of Seti I.  Others have talked about doing this privately and, if you read some of the roll calls for this itinerary, you can get the names of private tour companies.  We were more comfortable going with AZ.  

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Viking also have experts onboard, often real specialists.   My last canal transit (Pursuit 2019) there was no "expert" - just the gentleman who often talks about ports all round the world did something in the Caberet - very generic - the day before the transit and the Cruise Director talked from the bridge but he was just reading from Wikipedia if you looked it up there on the day.   Our transit in 2012 was excellent - that time they had an engineer on board who was very good.

I hope in future you get the engineer and not the generic supplemented by Wikipedia

Our last Panama Canal transit with Azamara was in January 2023 on Onward.  We had a gentleman who was an expert on the Canal who spoke over the loudspeaker throughout the entire transit pointing out various points of interest as we were approaching them.  All very interesting.

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

My choice for Panama Canal was/is between Viking and Azamara, similar Verandah cabins for 10-days.  Azamara begins in Miami and Viking begins in Fort Lauderdale.  Both end in Panama after a full transit through.  Azamara was $5600 for two with $1075 onboard credits through online TA, premium drinks.  Viking was $6600.  If price point was similar, would have given Viking a shot. $2K still matters to me, but if people feel that Azamara is in trouble or that product is much inferior, I would consider switching (eating the $150 forfeit fee).  

I can't comment on what Viking does but, having done the Panama Canal twice with Azamara, can say that one of the highlights is having an expert on board who explains the canal as you are traversing it.  You learn so much.  

20 hours ago, Killin Time said:

Azamara is going through some challenges right now. I still love it but things are not what they used to be.

On the Journey in July the food was lackluster. The buffet scrambled eggs were inedible.  Very liquid and obviously made with dried eggs. No one could eat them. 
There used to always be a picture gallery by guest relations with the senior staff posted. Not on our Iceland trip. 
I’m concerned that Sycamore will just sell off Azamara and that the line as we know it will be gone….

If you didn't like the buffet eggs, why didn't you asked to have fresh eggs made for you at the egg station?  Personally, I find the scrambled eggs to be fine.  However, if I want something extra in them, I have them made at the egg station.  

Personally, I think that it's great that the fridges are empty and you can ask to have whatever you would like in them.  We have always asked for the fridge to be emptied of everything but diet coke and bottled water.  Now we will just ask for those items.  However, I also think that there should be a note in the room stating what is available to be stocked in your room... ice, sodas, water, etc.  Also, if in a suite you can be asked about afternoon tea, etc.  We've always told our butler not to bother with the afternoon goodies as they would just be wasted... we can make it a few hours without eating (maybe)!  It's all about communication and consistency which, unfortunately, has not been Azamara's forte recently.

Last time we were onboard it was $95 per person.

Up at the top of the page is a shopping basket icon.  If you click on that, it will take you to the screen that is shown above with the cancel button (I think ... you never know!🤪)

24 minutes ago, ebtrip said:

Have a question. I have 600.00 in OBC.  I was told by Azamara I could not book my shore excursions until 30 days after I paid my final. Is this true?  I’m sooo confused. Thanks 

You should be able to book your excursions now with that OBC - assuming the $600 is from AZ and not from your TA.  We've booked ship's excursions a year in advance with OBC.  No need to wait until after final payment.

Some cruises have 4 free nights, some have 3 free nights.  The cruise in question, 12/22/23, has 3 free nights.  Obviously, the cruise price has gone up in the year since it was first booked since it is a holiday cruise and probably popular.  It would appear that the price has gone up enough that once the the 3 free nights are applied, the price is back down to where it was a year ago when booked.  

When there are sales like this sometimes it works in our favor to rebook at the lower price, sometimes it doesn't.  Depends on the popularity of the cruise.

35 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

Goodness what a beating the pre-cruise experience is right now. Makes me wonder if anyone from AZ is even reading this board because fixing seems very slow.  A few days ago I booked some shore excursions online…while I was still in record it was all showing…did not give me an option to check out or “save” and when you go to sign out, just says if you sign out you will lose info but again, no option to “save” so I kept myself “signed in” and you guessed it, now they are not showing in my record…I have never had so many technical challenges…could it be the site is not set up correctly for IPad use? I have also noticed weird layout issues in the onboard cruise booking section…

Hi.  Did you check out?  As you "book" shore excursions, they show up in your basket at the top.  You then have to go through various convoluted maneuvers to get them to be deducted from your OBC.  There are a few postings that go through the whole process.  Instead of entering payment, you click "cancel", etc.  Probably easier to call since wait times are down significantly.

11 hours ago, laurieb said:

If you're US and have a TA, they can give you your cruise ticket that shows your OBC, even if it's all the way to 2025.  Reach out to them.  I'm not sure what it's like if you book direct, but they should be able to do the same.

Thank you for letting us know about this.  I emailed our TA and she was immediately able to send us our docs for our upcoming Sept. cruise and the two cruises that we have in Feb/March 2024.  Unfortunately, our OBC's were incorrect so she worked things out with Azamara.  We all agreed on what the OBC should be but it was not reflected correctly in the docs.  I really only got them to check the OBC's since we don't really need them to board.

1 minute ago, njguy_south said:

Yes, but not $1,245.

That's for 2 people.

3 hours ago, njguy_south said:

Hi. I am booked for an Oct/Nov 2024 Azamara Cruise, stopping in Safaga for 2 days. I looked at the itinerary above, and it seems limited in what is to be seen for the amount of money. I contacted two reputable companies, each of which will provide a private tour for ONE person (me) to/from the ship, overnight in Luxor, and visiting a whole list of sites (all included in the fare), including:

• Karnak Temple
• Luxor Temple
• Hatshepsut's Temple
• Valley of the Kings (including Tomb of Tut)
• Colossi of Memnon

 

It will include the private car, drive/tour guide, and 5-star hotel for the evening. Plus I get to control where I go or don't go (like skipping the shopping).  All for $460.  The ships tour seems more expensive, considering it is a group tour?  I am also thinking of using them when in Alexandria to see Cairo.

Just as an FYI - those are the same sites included with the AZ overnight.

Here is a picture inside the tomb of Seti I.

1 hour ago, Oslo Dutch said:

As unfortunately customary in Egypt, a lot of precious tour time is wasted in papyrus/alabaster factories and tacky horrible tourist stores. Many years ago we did a tour down to Luxor and were dropped off in the Valley of the Kings for a very short time in order to be bussed off to one of these ghastly tourist traps for double the time.

 

How much time was wasted like this on the Azamara Tours? 

On our Luxor tour we did not stop at any place like that.  We did at the end of the day in Cairo to see the Pyramids.