pvkatmom

Enjoying hearing about your cruise and looking forward to your further posts. Pam should put "terrible" (regarding the tubs) in quotes since as I recall, Pam was also an advocate for bath tubs (as was I and many others-- its the main reason we book a CC suite). Thank goodness Azamara retained some tubs. Interesting that now Azamara is finding out that people who don't post on CC (most pax never post or look at CC) wanted and expected tubs. Have a terrific trip and hope you have plenty of sunshine and good times!

Glad to hear that your dinner in Discoveries was yummy, and I can't wait to eat tapas in the Living Room! Sad to hear about your experience in the gym, my husband uses it almost every day unless we're on an all day excursion. He doesn't do the spin bikes, but I find it VERY odd (and inhospitable) that they wouldn't be available for all guests to use (except when there is a spin class). While we're active at home too (yeah, Zumba (me), running (DH), golf, hiking with our dog and lifting weights (both of us)), I am perfectly happy on sea days to sleep in, then go to a dance class, play trivia, go to a lecture, and lie by the pool or elsewhere and read or do crossword puzzles. We rather enjoy sea days as a rest-break from the ports, as like you, we really try to "pack it all in"/see as much as we possibly can when in port and often walk for 6-8 hours looking around or on an excursion. Do try to dine at Prime C and Aquilina at some point on your trip, we enjoyed both of them very much. I admit that we went to those venues pretty often since we had a Club Continent suite (because we just have to have a bathtub to loll and relax in, especially if we've walked 6 or 8 hours...). But we also enjoyed Discoveries for dinner and a Mexican night at the evening buffet (the guacamole was excellent!). I hope the rest of your trip is wonderful and look forward to hearing more about it!

Thank you so much for your amazing photos (I agree with others that they are so terrific, some should go in Azamara's brochure)! And I am also just loving your commentary on everything-- so enjoyable to read, as you are so witty and upbeat! You make your readers smile or laugh out loud-- this one, anyway. Going to show DH all your photos tmw. We were on Journey for Christmas/New Years 2014 trip and loved it (Buenos Aires-Rio). This upcoming Christmas 2016 we are on Journey for Singapore/Indonesia /Bali. We were a bit worried about the "re-imagining," as we thought the ship was just great as it was and loved the friendly vibe from the crew and fellow pax. There was a lot of concern (many posts) by the CC Azamara faithful about the potential loss of the Sunset Bar and loss of tubs in the Club Continent suites-- but Azamara listened, and both were retained (still some tubs). So yay, Azamara, and @family, I SALUTE YOU for all your time and hard work you put into this thread. Sending thanks and hugs from Southern California, you rock!

I actually live a 25 minute drive from the port of Los Angeles (which is in San Pedro, CA) and would've loved to see the ship, but all sounds great.

No place for "Mean Girls" or mean anybodies on Azamara. Was surprised to hear that people were being abusive to the crew--- the crew works very hard and tries their best. They are one of the best elements of Azamara, if not the best.

I initially posted what follows in response to the thread on MrMojoRisin's review of his recent voyage, but realized it more properly belongs in this thread:

As we will board Journey in December 2016, it is absolutely great to hear all these "positives" about the friendly crew and friendly fellow passengers, as that was our experience, too, in December 2014 (I posted a glowing review of that voyage on CC) and that is why we booked again. Our dining experiences were also wonderful then! Now if only the corporate/ land side experience were as great, that would be terrific... I sent an email to customer service (rather than to the LCV department, since that is what Bonnie said to do in the shareholder/other benefits issue thread). It was regarding the EBB (Early Booking Benefit-- OBC to be given to be applied to Land Discoveries for those that book 10 months or more in advance) which we clearly qualified for under the specific PRINTED terms of the offer (even when you go to the fine print "terms and conditions"). I asked my travel agent to call to claim this for us and she was told it was only for new bookings made since the offer was introduced. But that is not what the PRINTED offer says-- Azamara is adding new conditions ad hoc. So I wrote an email to customer service February 23 and I know they got it, as they send a robo-response, that your email was received and is in the queue to be answered. So a WEEK later, I've still heard nothing. If my husband's firm took a week or longer to respond to a client's inquiry, they wouldn't have any clients... Very frustrating-- because the shipboard experience is great, but dealing with (or the lack thereof, since they don't respond) with corporate is awful, as sending them anything seems to go into a "black hole."

As we will board Journey in December 2016, it is absolutely great to hear all these "positives" about the friendly crew and friendly fellow passengers, as that was our experience, too, in December 2014 (I posted a glowing review of that voyage on CC) and that is why we booked again. Our dining experiences were also wonderful then! Now if only the corporate/ land side experience were as great, that would be terrific... I sent an email to customer service (rather than to the LCV department, since that is what Bonnie said to do in the shareholder/other benefits issue thread). It was regarding the EBB (Early Booking Benefit-- OBC to be given to be applied to Land Discoveries for those that book 10 months or more in advance) which we clearly qualified for under the specific PRINTED terms of the offer (even when you go to the fine print "terms and conditions"). I asked my travel agent to call to claim this for us and she was told it was only for new bookings made since the offer was introduced. But that is not what the PRINTED offer says-- Azamara is adding new conditions ad hoc. So I wrote an email to customer service February 23 and I know they got it, as they send a robo-response, that your email was received and is in the queue to be answered. So a WEEK later, I've still heard nothing. If my husband's firm took a week or longer to respond to a client's inquiry, they wouldn't have any clients... Very frustrating-- because the shipboard experience is great, but dealing with (or the lack thereof, since they don't respond) with corporate is awful, as sending them anything seems to go into a "black hole."

Not a Games of Thrones fan (my husband has watched some of it), but many episodes are filmed in Dubrovnik (we were there May 2015) and there seems to be a whole cottage industry there devoted to this-- T shirts and other memorabilia at stores, special tours, etc. Just Google it.

Thank you, Judy and Phil, for the Bali info. Judy, I will email you. As to positive reviews, I really enjoyed seeing the blog with photos captioned "Newbie Blog from Journey" that was posted on this Board today with a link to a blog made by Wanda. I loved seeing her photos of Journey post dry dock-- and Wanda's upbeat attitude about everything was refreshing.

*help or tips, Judy*

I recently spent 40 days on the Quest, embarking in Bali and leaving the ship in Auckland. All I can say is it was a wonderful experience overall. It was Azamara's inaugural season for Australia and New Zealand, and just like most ships "inaugural cruises", things weren't perfect, but then, they never are. However, the staff was terrific, the food was great for the most part, and the ports were interesting and worth visiting, (again for the most part.) I'm sure Azamara may "tweak" the schedule a bit in the future. My only real complaint was the included wines, which IMHO, had declined in quality from previous cruises, and I voiced that complaint in the survey.

As someone already mentioned, it comes down to perspective. Do you look at the glass as half empty or half full. In my case, I felt very blessed to be able to spend such an extended amount of time on a cruise line that I love, on a lovely ship(that will soon be updated) and visiting places that were interesting and unique.

I'm certainly not a pollyanna by any stretch of the imagination! But I believe Azamara is a wonderful cruise line that listens to it's customers and tries to accommodate their wishes as much as possible. They also have a business to run. So looking at it from the big picture, I will continue to be an Azamara cheerleader and look forward to the 6 more cruises I have booked with them.

That should say it all.;)

Hi Judy, we will be embarking Journey in December 2016 and the cruise spends a lot of time in Bali ports. I've been researching in earnest what to do in the various ports, but I would love to hear what tips you may have/what you did. (our trip is the December 23 2016 Singapore/ Bali trip.) We were on Azamara Journey for the Christmas/New Years trip Buenos Aires to Rio in 2014 and loved it. (I wrote a glowing review on CC) Thanks for any hlp/tis, Judy!

Is what we're booked in. I hope this is quiet, after the re-fit? Since it is close to 8061 which is apparently noisy...

Dining function has returned. Menu numbdrs listed by date. Number 11 tonight. Veal ribeye, etc. Didn't look for desserts but would guess not shown, as they are separate menus from the main dinner menu. Escargots and jumbo shrimp cocktail every night are significant additions. "World cuisine" item will usually reflect either theme in buffet or local cuisine.

All Andy's hard work is so appreciated! And now we can apparently see the menus on TV... on our last Azamara trip, every day, I scurried around to all the dining venues to see what was posted before reporting back to my husband, although many nights we went for Prime C or Aquilina. Come to think of it, I probably could've asked the butler to bring us the menus for every day, since we were in a CC suite... Oh, well. Used to doing things myself, I guess. Menus look good!

I booked my cruise almost two years out, but I am less than 10 months out now, so I guess no OBC for me.

Pam, you DID book more than 10 months in advance, so you should get the OBC for Land Discoveries. Read it again, below!!! My first post made it seem like you still had to be 10 months away from sail date, but that is not how I'm reading it now. Per uktog, this program was rolled out in November 2015, and I saw nothing about it not applying to prior bookings. The whole point of the program seems to be to give people that book early, a price guarantee and perks for booking early. You and I qualify! We both booked more than 10 months in advance. I got busy with other life issues, since my last post, but am hopping on this tomorrow to get the OBC for Land Discoveries.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/p...ricing-program

P.S. I seem to recall that, as was I, you Pam, were an advocate for keeping some bath tubs... Azamara listened!:)

It is a global programme that was introduced last November

 

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/plan/our-pricing-program

I didn't know about the global program until now, thank you! I originally booked a December 2016 cruise on the Journey around January or Feb 2015 (so almost 2 years in advance), then I saw they had a BOGO for 50% off the second fare, so I asked for and got that in March 2015. But now I see that since we are in a CC suite and we are still more than 10 months away from our sailing date, we are also entitled to $500 in OBC for Land Discoveries. Yippee, I am going to ask for that, too! Thank you, this site is such a great resource!

A lot of very tasty sounding dishes on the menus you've posted. And Andy, thanks so very much for all your hard work keeping us all informed! I read all your threads and look at your photos and am grateful to you for taking the time and energy to post them. Very excited for our upcoming cruise on Journey December 2016 Singapore/Bali!

This is great advice, because Swissair (in 2006) lost some of our luggage and my daughter and I had to wear the same clothes and shoes we wore on the plane (we left LA) in Cairo for three days. Then it was found and delivered. (Naturally, my husband's bag(s) came through just fine and he doesn't care if he's wearing the same thing in three days worth of photos!). I've also had bags lost by AA for a day or so, and then delivered to my home, but it was at the end of the trip so I didn't care so much. Then I was just in a rush this May 2015, my husband and I were flying to Venice from LA via Lufthansa, and I didn't split our clothes and shoes. So naturally, my bags went missing (why is it never my husband's bags?!?) so I had to wear the same thing in Venice for 2 1/2 days and it was a bit cold and rainy, but I didn't have my jackets... Luckily the bags have not, thus far, turned out to be stolen and I have always gotten them back in time for ship departures or other departures. But it's anxiety provoking. SO, ALWAYS SPLIT UP YOUR STUFF!!! I forget what cruise we were on, but for one honeymoon couple, the new bride didn't have her clothes/shoes/luggage for the entire cruise, poor thing!

I agree, when I saw those chairs for Discoveries-- big, bulky and very low-backed. Maybe the tables will turn over faster? ;) Overall, Azamara is doing an Azamazing job-- I thought the offer to those on the dry-dock cruise was very generous, as well. Excited for our cruise on Az Journey in Dec 2016!!!

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-d-azamara-quest-20160117-story.html

Here is a very nice article recently in the Los Angeles Times travel section about the Quest (don't let the headline scare you off-- they transited the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aden) Great article, lots of nice photos, happy reading, enjoy!

I am very grateful to Bonnie for being an ombudsman on this site and for Azamara's wisdom in retaining Bonnie to monitor and respond to client concerns. The only issue on this site that I posted repeatedly on was the tub vs shower debate, since the primary reason my husband and I book a CC suite is for the tub. (The specialty restaurant access is nice, too, and one we avail ourselves of). Bonnie was very responsive to all that posted on this issue, and happily Azamara ultimately decided to retain tubs in some CC suites. This resolution kept me as a happy customer and I'm looking forward to being on Azamara next Christmas (2016) for the Singapore/Bali cruise.

We love the friendliness of the Azamara staff and the longer stays and interesting itineraries. While I follow the site and read others' posts on all issues (it's entertaining, and often informative and with some good suggestions for the home office) it seems some are focussing on minutiae... cranberry sauce...grapes... but that's okay-- my understanding is that this is meant to be a welcoming site for all to be able to express their opinions! Happy cruising to all!

Thank you for posting it! We were on Odyssey in May and will be on Azamara Journey next Christmas for Singapore/Bali. We love Christmas sailings (and it is also the best time for my husband to be away from work). Again, terrific video!

Yes, please keep us updated, Judy. I'm especially interested as I'd long ago booked a Club Continent Suite on Journey for the 2016 Christmas Singapore, Bali cruise--- because we'd been on the Journey for the Christmas 2014 Buenos Aires /Rio cruise and we LOVED it (Happy crew, great food and wine, although, come to think of it we did dine in the specialty restaurants most nights, and fun and engaging fellow passengers). Then it looked as though Club Continent Suites wouldn't have bathtubs (which is why we book them in the first place), but after much discussion on Cruise Critic, happily Azamara is retaining them in many CC suites and ours is one, yay! The fact that Azamara has Bonnie tune into, and attempt to convey our comments to HQ and relay back answers speaks well of Azamara. Bonnie does yeoman service on this site. While we tend to be destination and port centric in our choices, we've decided we like Azamara and Seabourn best so far, as we don't like the megaships. We enjoy the overnights and longer stays that Azamara offers, as opposed to the "in at 8am, out at 5pm" port stays the other lines offer (including Seabourn). Thank you in advance, Judy, and wishing everyone a prosperous and Happy new Year!

Per the current Journey deck plans, looks as though my husband and I will have a bathtub for our Dec 23, 2016 Journey sailing in CC suite N2 8063. Yippee!!! I am sooooooo relieved about this, as it is a 14 night voyage (and not having a tub for that long might've been a "deal breaker"). We walk a LOT in every port, sometimes up to 8 hours a day, and after that we don't want to stand up in a shower to bathe before dinner-- we just want to lie down and bask in a nice, warm tub. Looking forward to Bonnie's confirmation on the CC suite deck plans, but glad it looks like we won't have to try to trade with someone else... or cancel. Thanks also to my fellow cruise critic posters who advocated for Azamara keeping some tubs!

You do have to hang in there, though , for the first 50-75 pages, then they are completely captivated!

We were just in Athens this May 2015 and one of the most fun things we did was to take the "Happy Train" --it stops in Syntagma Square and one other place for passengers. (Just google it) It goes right by all the highlights of Athens and different neighborhoods: it snakes down the narrow streets of the Plaka-- close enough to the diners' tables you could swipe a piece of their bread, if you were feeling naughty! So fun and it only costs about $3 a person for a wonderful 45 minute- 1 hour ride. We took it at night, we were at the Grande Bretagne hotel, which I also highly recommend, and the stop was closeby-- we went on a lark and loved it!