Nuts4pi

We are US citizens & will be visiting Angola on March 10, 2023 during our 21-Night Journey voyage. We can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether or not we need a Visa, even if we stay on board! The travel websites all say yes (no exceptions for cruisers) but Azamara said no. What is the real answer?

It's official! All Azamara cruises remaining this year & early next year are canceled. Cruises to resume on all 3 ships with their 2021 Europe itineraries.
https://www.azamara.com/cruising-suspension

37 minutes ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

When did you try to Lift & Shift?

Are you dealing with your TA or with Azamara direct?

If your TA is not honouring Lift & Shift, go to Azamara directly, as they need to know if a TA is not playing ball.

 

We booked directly through Azamara (onboard during our previous cruise). However, when I inquired about the L&S with them back in early September, we hadn't yet made our final payment. Now that we have, I will probably try to request the L&S again. Though I was hoping they'd first cancel the December cruise (which hasn't happened yet) so we could get the additional 25% FCC towards the next one. 😉

One caveat we face is that this upcoming cruise is not repeated next year - no where within the 11-13 month window from the original cruise date (Dec 21). I'm hoping they'll let us book the one-way (more nights) that they have scheduled in Feb 2022 instead.

12 hours ago, hiccups said:

You can Lift and Shift even if the cruise hasn't been cancelled--we did!  If there isn't a comparable cruise, you can get in touch with Azamara and see if the BA to MIA cruise can be used for your L&S.

I tried to L&S but they wouldn't honor the discounts we had received on our scheduled December cruise (40% off cruise fares, CruiseNow onboard booking credit, etc.). Hoping they'll change it soon so that we can move our booking without paying out the nose for a different cruise.

My concern at this point is whether or not they'll continue to allow the "Lift & Shift" for the SA cruises scheduled in November & December this year (even though they're not cancelled - yet). We've made final payment on our December NYE cruise & would use the FCC towards the Feb 2022 Buenos Aires to Miami itinerary if (when?) Azamara/RCCL cancels the upcoming sailing. Just sitting on pins & needles, waiting to hear something! 

On 1/29/2019 at 7:50 PM, Djptcp said:

You should see your login on the right hand side of the page. Click on it and you will see Account Settings. Click on that and you will see Signature. The Countdown Clock form is:  https://www.cruisecritic.com/vbulletin/countdown.cfm When you finish your information you will see a highlighted link - copy it, go back to your Account settings, click on it, go to Signature and click on it and you should be able to paste your countdown clock info. I had so much trouble trying to find the Countdown Clock page after the new CC website rolled out, I ended up bookmarking the web address above. It has worked fine for me. Good luck!

Apparently, the countdown clock is - again - not working! I followed your link, filled out the form, then copied the highlighted link to my signature. However, when trying to save the signature, I got an error!

BTW, the highlighted link code is EXACTLY the same as it used to be, referencing a page that no longer exists on the CC website. 😞

I am late to posting to this thread. Russ is an amazing man. He always made time to talk to people, accept our feedback gracefully even if it was delivered without any class (not us!!!!). We are sailing on Quest next April and I’m sad that we won’t see him again. We may just have to start stalking him on Crystal and jump on his ship some day. I wish him all the best.

LOL - I'm with you on the "stalking" him on Crystal! So much so that I called them to check out their Canada cruises! We booked the Alaska cruise assuming Russ would still be on the Quest. So sad he won't be, but I trust Azamara made the right choice with Earnest (TBD).

I'm including a couple of memories with Russ on a few of our Quest cruises...

The 1st picture is from this past January on a trip from Miami to Cuba, then through the Panama Canal, ending in Costa Rica. The AZamazing Evening was in Panama. Russ was, as always, jovial!

The 2nd picture is from a cruise in December, 2013 (Christmas Caribbean cruise). Our blind/handicapped daughter (seated with the sunglasses) was with us. She just LOVES Russ (behind her) and I don't recall her ever having a smile so big! Even though this picture is from nearly 5 years ago, she STILL talks about Russ and this cruise. It is the highlight of her life!!!

I have to say that Azamara's loss is Crystal Cruises gain - in spades! I know that many of Quest's passengers will miss him dearly. He is one professional person that is difficult to replace!

I was on Quest in January and there was no drinks shop. Maybe you are thinking of the table outside the shop which displayed bottles of drink which you could get in a drinks package.

Nope. We were on the 04-Jan-2018 11-night Panama Canal/Costa Rica cruise on the Quest. I bought 2 cartons of cigarettes at the shop (but didn't buy any alcohol). The shop WAS there when we were on board.

As a matter of fact, on my recent Baltic cruise (June) on the Journey, I asked where the shop was to buy cigarettes by the carton. I was told, "this is the Journey, not the Quest." Felt a bit foolish, LOL! :-P

You can buy cigarettes from behind the bar. They are kept at the Pool Bar. From memory $5.50 a packet. Marlboro Light or Gold. Certainly no shop on Quest selling alcohol. There’s only Quest Shop one side and Indulgencies the other.

Phil

Are you on the Quest now, Phil? We were on it in January and the shop was there at the far end (you'd almost miss it if you weren't looking for it).

Hi, I don’t think that Journey or Quest have ever sold tobacco or alcohol on board

We were on the Quest in January. They had a shop that sold duty-free alcohol (not for onboard consumption) & cigarettes. The shop is on the Spirits Lounge end, on the same side as Indulgences.

Jean, this is the smoking section. Photo taken yesterday morning.

I did see that picture on on of the threads, so I thank you for confirming the smoking area exists.

What about the availability of tobacco products & alcohol purchases from the shops? Are they available on the Pursuit?

Thanks again!

Jean :)

Hi Everyone,

My husband, Mike, & I are considering the NYE in Rio cruise on the Pursuit. Does anyone know whether or not the shops on board will carry tobacco & alcohol products (like they do on the Quest)? Does the Pursuit have a smoking section on the pool deck (like they have on the Journey & Quest)? Thanks in advance for any info you can provide.

Jean

I have a question for Bonnie (or whomever monitors this thread from Azamara)...

I noticed that the recent itinerary time changes for this cruise have been updated on the website EXCEPT for St. Petersburg - it is still showing a 6:00 pm departure on June 27!

Has our departure time gone back to the originally scheduled time (6:00 pm) or is it still being changed to 5:00 pm?

Thank you for confirming this information.

Jean

First time I clicked on the link from the app. Just tried again from CC website and it worked this time. That’s using Safari on an iPad.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I've just tried it now and it works for me.

Phil

Sounds like it maybe only works with Apple products? Still no luck for me. :(

I notice you have called this thread Le Club Voyage visit......is there a link between being invited to this event and being a LCV member?

I also would like to know the answer to this question as I didn't get an invite (but I'm only at the "Discoverer" level - maybe invites only went to those who are at a higher level?).

On Viking they have headsets so it doesn't disturb the ambience for anyone else -- does Azamara have this with the new screen?

Great idea as I am one of those that usually doesn't want anything to do with sports while on vacation! Okay, okay - I'll admit that during the White Nights on our Quest cruise in January, my husband & I were "watching" the Philadelphia Eagles in a very tense playoff game on our phone over the Internet; Eagles won! As a side note, Azamara didn't broadcast any of the US football playoff games, but now they're putting up a big screen for soccer?!

Generally, I want to see & hear the sites & sounds from the exotic places we're visiting - not crowds cheering for a team!

As far as headphones go, I know Azamara has those light-up ones where you can choose what you want to listen to (it was funny watching a crowd with red- or blue-LED headsets during that Quest trip; they were "competing" with each other and singing out loud, but no one else could hear the music, LOL).

My vote is to put the screen in the Spirits lounge. Let those that want to see the game(s) view it there without bothering the rest of the passengers. JMHO.

Just an update to my original post (in the Roll Call thread). I have yet to hear back from either Bonnie (via this message board) nor from Richard Twynam (to whom I sent an email).

Once again, here are the questions I posed in the email...

1) Will the check in process be done in a tent or completed on board the ship? Will we be able to drop off "checked" luggage prior to the check-in time (12:30 pm)? Once checked in, will we be able to board the ship, then leave to visit sites in Greenwich & London? We've been told on a message board that, in some ports, passengers are not allowed to leave the ship once they've boarded and we're hoping Greenwich is not one of them.

2) In the event we are allowed to leave the ship & go sightseeing, what is the latest time we would need to be back at the pier to board the ship (i.e., what time is the last tender)? We plan to be in London well into the evening, returning via the Thames Clipper (the last one arriving at Greenwich Pier at 12:23 am, though we most likely will be returning sooner than that). Our ship does not depart the port until 4:45 am the day after embarkation (Monday, June 18).

3) Because Maritime Law requires all passengers participate in the safety drill prior to departure, what is the plan for those passengers who are in London for the day and don't return to the ship until very late in the evening?

Hoping one of them will reply soon!

Jean (yn)

Try the link in the post below and follow the instructions Phil posted. Worked for me.

Still didn't work. Don't know if it's because of the browser I'm using (Opera) or what, but the links (and instructions) provided just don't work for me. :(

After logging in on the first tab (which brought me to the Voyage Planner), I opened the saved link in a 2nd tab and it required me to log in (again). Once again it brought me to Voyage planner, where I'd have to log in with my reservation number. Sorry, but I just don't know what to do to get it to work.

Phil, I think we're both dismayed that Azamara still hasn't fixed this. Here is a link to my original post where I laid out the workaround. I POSTED THIS IN 2014. It's been almost 4 years. Very sad.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=43495787&postcount=1

Sorry to say neither the 4-year-old link nor the newest one you responded to worked for me. When I logged in it took me to Voyage Planner and asked me to log in again on that page (this was the url both links took me to after I "logged in": "https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/book-shore-excursions?errorCode=profileError")

In the spirit of moving forward, I would like to offer to help with some information on this board and maybe if it works, Andy would be happy to make a sticky out of the thread

 

On the Celebrity board, there is a very useful spreadsheet kept up to date by one of the cruisers where others can search for information on a cabin. Here on Azamara, we have to try and search and trawl for information and I am offering to create and maintain with say forthnightly updates a similar spreadsheet.

 

For it to work, everyone has to post information in a consistent way and also only use the thread to post information, not to engage in debate (pop over to the Celebrity board if you want to see more on how it works)

 

For Azamara, I would suggest the information should be

 

Cabin Number

Ship

Month/Year sailed

Would you choose this room again Y/N

Is noise an issue Y/N

Balcony size Normal/Larger/Smaller

Any other comments (keeping these succinct so the spreadsheet does not grow too much)

 

How do others feel about this - if you think we do not need it here, please say, I will not be offended!!!!

I definitely support this (and am will to help as I have a LOT of spreadsheet experience, both with Excel & Google Docs/Spreadsheets).

I will also provide my cabin information upon returning from our 17-Jun-2018 Baltic/Russia cruise on the Journey.

We will be disembarking at Greenwich in June and are meeting some Australian friends who will be embarking on the same day. Our plan is to meet for brunch and it would be so convenient if we could do it close to the pier in Greenwich

 

1 Are there any left luggage facilities at or near the pier in Greenwich?

Luggage can be left in the Cloakroom at the National Maritime Museum (about a 5 minutes walk from the pier). Cost is £1 per item. Hours are from 10am - 5pm daily.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/plan-your-visit/facilities-access

If you are using the App hold your finger on the post and the edit option comes up. However remember editing is time limited so if your post is 20 mins old it will let you type in the edit but won’t let you save it.

That stinks! We should be able to edit anytime! :(

There are no posts 148

There are two,pages here

 

Europe in general is easy compared to Au.

 

I was on and off several times in Greenwich. Tenders run late enough for guests or did theatre in the city. I even went out to eat. So tenders run late.

 

Does not matter to me Athens, London or anywhere in Europe I never had a problem getting off on turn around day as a B2B or getting in the first time.

 

Ann is correct AU is very strange there. I did several B2B in Au and NZ. Was able to come and go as a B2B person but later heard about problens with new guests

Thanks for your insights, Robin.

Post #148 refers to my post in the roll call, not in this thread. ;)

Glad to hear about your experience in Greenwich. I have sent an email to Mr. Twynam for clarification, as was suggested in a post somewhere.

Jean :)

PS - why can't I "edit" my post? Found some typos I'd like to correct. ;p

With respect, you answered point 1 of her post, but not point 3, the direct quote from post #148, which I repeat :

 

"we plan to check in as early as possible (we're in a suite), then depart for London and stay there until late in the evening, if possible"

 

for which I have sought to find clarification so that this guest does not find herself on board and unable to leave again. I am beginning to regret ever having sought to ensure that does not happen to her.

First of all, thank you, Trish, for starting this thread. I have read all the replies to this one and the roll call thread. Here are my comments...

1) My husband & I have cruised Azamara many times, too (we're just shy of being "Discoverer Plus" LCV members), but have never done a B2B (yet). We have never been in a port that required us to stay on board after check in. If we arrived early, we've been able to drop off our checked luggage but might have to sit & wait to complete the check in process. In Greenwich, since there is no terminal, the question remains as to how the check in process will even work. Will it be in a tent (as is done with Viking cruises) or on board the chip (e.g., in the Cabaret Lounge)? That all remains a mystery at this point. I will send an email to Richard Twynam to see if he can clarify any of my questions regarding how check in will work in Greenwich and whether or not we can leave the ship after boarding.

2) In the description for this cruise, Azamara talks about London being an "overnight stay" and mentions things to see/do in London. The "Cruise Ticket Booklet" itinerary also shows we're "tendered" (T) in London on day 2 (vs. "cruising" © on the Thames River) - VERY MISLEADING! That is also the reason for one of my early posts in the roll call thread inquiring about the departure time from Greenwich (thinking it was a typo). We're disappointed that we, in effect, have a 3rd "sea day" vs. being able to visit Greenwich/London sites. :(

3) Regarding the safety drill, I am quite familiar with it but, for this cruise, I'm traveling with my sister - new to Azamara. I've told her the basics of how the drill works (& she's been through it before on another cruise line), but we know we still have to complete the drill at some point before departure per maritime law.

4) Regarding staying in London until "late evening" ("wee hours"), the question about the last tender is based on the last Thames Clipper arriving at the Greenwich Pier (12:23am). Most likely, we won't be out that late, but we what if we don't want to reboard until 10pm? :confused:

Thank you all for your help in trying to answer my questions.

Jean

Can recommend a park, sleep, cruise for $219 tax included if you arrive the day before.

What is your recommendation? We're on the 7/7/17 Celebrity Summit for 9 nights. Thanks!