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java spot

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Everything posted by java spot

  1. What a goreous cat. And what a sad return home. Very sorry for your loss. You summed up the Explora "attitude" so well in your final post and articulated something which I sensed but didn't have words to express. I personally liked Explora. I liked its avowed attempt to break away from the cruise ship mold. Regardless, it's always good to have eyes wide open and make peace with the deficits and assets of a cruise line and adjust as needed. Thanks for sharing the journey.
  2. My next Azamara cruise is out of Miami . I think I'll go to the dollar store and buy a fold up beach chair and bring it on board with me. Increasingly, I am needing to supply some very basic supplies when cruising Azamara. (decent wine, decent vermouth, high quality nuts and other snacks). Add one more to the list.
  3. I am finding that the friendliness of passengers on Azamara is one of the most (only?) compelling reasons to keep cruising with them. I would say it is lucky for the corporation that this culture exists and seems to continue despite their penny pinching, raising prices of specialty dining and drink passages, two -tiering internet, and stratification of passengers when calling for tenders, and events by suite class , e.g. deck #. The egalitarian nature of Azamara has always been a big draw, and what has created this friendly on board culture. I hope they understand what the moves they are making can disrupt this balance. My opinion after a month on board the Onward World Journey.
  4. I am interested if they have also increased the price of the drinks. They have signature cocktails on the menus. I was drinking Manhattans that were priced at 9.95. If you have the time and inclination, please check the menu and keep me posted. Thanks!
  5. Interesting news for everyone. Did they specify at what point of the journey this would kick in?
  6. There is another thread which I think goes hand in hand with this one to some extent, regarding whether or not the Azamara experience has changed. To me, this kind of treatment signals a change in corporate policy that is bound to affect the onboard experience. If one comes on board and is unhappy about unfair charges, and new higher prices for premium dining, and chef's table and excursions that weren't booked in advance - that affects the whole experience. Just my opinion (and my feelings after 30 days onboard )
  7. In regards to the World Journey and Azamazing evenings, the events during the first two segments were a real fail. In Cozumel, bizarrely, they bussed us to the venue which was a 7-minute walk away. Maybe that was their ploy to ensure that the suite passengers got the seats where they could see the show. For 2/3 of the attendees, it was very difficult to view. The stratification of passengers became an even bigger issue on the 2nd leg where the event was held in Fakarava. By the time the deck 4 passengers were allowed to tender, they had less than an hour to do whatever it was that was supposed to be done on the island. There were no staff from Azamara directing passengers and it was pretty much complete chaos. It was sad, as both events had potential. I liked the idea of an azamazing day, and the venue was beautiful.
  8. It was an excursion but highly recommend a cab so you can take it at your own pace. I thought it was gorgeous - amazing mountain air that is 15 degrees cooler than at the port. Beautiful vistas and interesting architecture.
  9. Also went to Makrynitsa and another hillside town and it was wonderful. Highly recommend a visit high up into the hills if a long bus ride early in the a.m. is not something that makes you happy
  10. On the 2nd leg of my last cruise (ending Feb. 3) I decided to forgo the ultimate package which seemed like an obscene amount of $ to pay for a drinking habit, even with the 20% discount. Opted instead to have one good "signature" drink at $10 and consume some bottles of wine I had brought on board. I do find myself drinking more than is appropriate for me when I've shelled out the cash. And you can now hang out in atlas bar and drink all kinds of cocktails - not just the Atlas bar ones. I missed the nonstop Pelligrino but also felt guilty about all the glass bottles i was using. And the onboard water actually tastes very good. Crazy increase.
  11. I'd guess over half of the ship went to the island. The crew did an amazing job patiently and safely transferring so many people, with a variety of fitness levels, onto the tenders. For those unable to make the trip, there were plenty of crafts from Pitcairn as well as lectures.
  12. I just had almost identical speeds on the Onward in the south Pacific. Agree,the upgraded service is still not especially robust but much better than the standard. On Explora I had better speeds than in my house.
  13. Phil / I’ve stayed in this spot in other ships as well and specifically requested it. In the past these promenade chairs were heavy duty teak (ish) chairs that possibly were not moved around with such frequency. That’s the only explanation I can think of. You are right - the world cruise dinner did not help. And the tender action is also pretty noisy but that it predictable and not to be helped. Good idea on the door - for that matter all of the cabin doors should have better self closing hinges !
  14. Great spreadsheet. How do we make additions? I'm on Onward 4051. While the cabin is close to access mosaic, front desk, and elevators, it is quite noisy. The dragging of the deck chairs above on the promenade happens early a.m. when they are setting up in addition to throughout the day. (I have requested several times that chairs are rolled on their wheels rather than shoved, to no avail) Also, the proximity to the front desk access door means a lot of door slamming as crew access it frequently. You also need to assess if you want to encounter a potential line of people waiting at the front desk as you come and go from your cabin. I would not choose it again but think weighing this issues is a personal decision.
  15. I was charged a corkage fee of $15 a few days ago. Not happy about that at all.
  16. The internet package is for one device at a time. There is currently no limit on how many drinks you can have on the basic package. I've done about a dozen cruises with Azamara however it seems to be changing and it has been over a year since last on board. Maybe someone with more recent experience will chime in if my representations are false.
  17. I was offered an upgrade bid starting at $225 for my oceanview cabin. The trouble is, balcony cabins are now being offered for a couple thousand less than I paid for the oceanview. So paying an extraa $450 is a bit infuriating. This is the case on both legs of a B2B. Has anyone had any luck with a situation like this. I brought it to the attention of my TA who I hope will get me a "free" upgrade. I feel disincentived to ever book before the final payment window now.
  18. The Astern bar is probably open the latest. When I was on board in September there was an electronic music dj who played some great contemporary dance music (rather than recycled music for boomers) if it’s active it will probably stay open past 1 am.
  19. It is $90 at home also but I don’t have a 20% Disoverer discount around town to cover the tip so it’s not a bad deal for me. Maybe I should be going to Atlanta for haircuts. And p.s. they always upcharge at salons for long hair.
  20. If someone on any ship has a spare moment to post I would love to see a menu of prices at the spa for the more mundane services such as haircut and pedicure. Many thanks.
  21. Never been an early boarder and am often asking how late I can board. In Istanbul however all bets seem to be off. I was the only one boarding somewhat late and had to sit and wait for them to hunt down the dog to sniff my luggage. Was close to half an hour. So the very very long trek to the ship was not appreciated. The old terminal was such a breeze.
  22. I will look forward to reading your posts. A friend recently disembarked and had a disappointing report. Thanks for making the effort.
  23. Definitely possible but I don’t know if they allow it. I had the veranda partition loose and clanging all night long on Onward during one of the early voyages keeping the people next door and myself awake all night. They “fixed “ it but was banging again and finally stopped it by stuffing a washcloth in the partition so tight it held it. Long story to say yes it’s possible.
  24. They can be purchased alone.
  25. All "co-ed". Like college dorms in the 70's.
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