PirateWife

We were isolated in our veranda room on our cruise last month. Frankly, any room can start to feel small after a few days in mandated isolation. There were several rooms on our deck that had isolated passengers. If I had been really sick, I might have chosen to be on deck 4 closer to the medical facilities.

If your Azamazing Evening is on ship, eat before or after. Little nibbles are passed out before the show.

The showers are small, but I have so many other things to do, I don't spend a lot of time in that small space.

I was on the first Azamara sailing that negative tests were no longer required and 10% of the passengers got COVID. I don't want to be on another experiment with my December Caribbean cruise but I have already paid for it. Hopefully, passengers will be vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

We had St. Thomas substituted for Bermuda on our November cruise. St. Thomas was a waste of time.

5 hours ago, Piaa said:

Machine on the Onward last week was broken (has it ever worked?) 

Oh, no. I hope it is fixed by my December cruise.

On the Quest, when the Patio opened for dinner, Swirl and Top was available in the evening.

3 hours ago, ninaslcpa said:

Is the self-service laundry open 24/7?

 

On Quest for second leg of b2b it was open 8 am-10pm. On first leg, it was open earlier but not posted. I only found out because I tried the door handle one day.

6 hours ago, bderr said:

What has been your experience using the self-serve laundry on board? Do the machines work well?  Is there a long queue to do a load of wash?  Thanks

I use the self-serve laundry regularly even though I can get free laundry. Maybe a control issue. Don't join the line at 8 am. Most washers take about 40 minutes so about 8:40 there should be some washing machines available. There are other times during the day when washing machines are always available.

Emphasize book early. While I would not choose to dine every night in speciality dining, on last two cruises we were only able to book one night unless we wanted to eat at 8:30.

Partaking in the mini(?) outbreak on Quest, I can give you more details. There were 50 cases in all. The breakout happened shortly after the shore excursion on the Flam RR. We were fully vaccinated and boosted, tested before joined cruise, hand sanitized and wore masks. The excursion was crowded and a likely spreader. We first self-tested which was positive and then called to be tested by the medical staff. We isolated to our rooms for 5 days, our only human contact was with Hazmat Man who delivered food to us. We were given bags to bag our trash and our used towels. Guest relations called us every day to see if we needed anything. The medical staff supplied some OTC medication to deal with the symptoms. After 5 days, we were tested again and were negative and escaped. Our room was thoroughly stripped and aired out and we continued on our cruise. Not the experience we were looking for but we survived. When we escaped, we noticed a lot more people wearing masks. Those that tested positive towards the end of the cruise and were ending their cruise, disembarked like everyone else as there were no restrictions in Amsterdam.

Just back from b2b cruises on the Quest. Biggest difference was wines available with standard package. Bottles had Azamara label on them except for one red which was switched out shortly into the cruise. The Patio opened for evening dining during the second cruise. The crew was happy and planning to stay with Azamara. The senior crew was visible. I did not see any major changes.

12 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

A majority of Travel Agents seem to require final payment two weeks before Azamara's deadline.

August 10 to TA.

August 24 to Azamara.

Maybe that is in Australia. Our agent makes the payment when required as stated on the Azamara invoice.

Worst tour was a private tour set up by someone else. Best tour was an Azamara ship tour. But there have been some really good private tours and some poor ship tours. For me it often depends on where I am going and what is available. Safety is always important. Everyone has their own style when traveling and want different things from tours. I avoid ones that feature shopping in shops but love open markets. 

Since I am not up at 10 pm, I can't tell you if shops are open. However, shops are usually open in evenings after port departure.

I never leave any non-refundable OBC so I usually buy something. The best thing I ever bought was Eric De Gray's CD several years ago. Getting ready to start playing it again as I pack for another cruise.

I have to ask. Why would your partner bring 25-30 items of evening attire? There are no formal nights.

I am laughing at the back and forth about tourism and Edinburgh. We will try to be good tourists. Our ancestors came from Scotland a long time ago, but we will still get things wrong and ask you to repeat yourself when you try to help us. We watch all shows on BBC with closed captioning. Appreciate all of the info about getting to the Tattoo and back to the ship.

I am sure many of us have bought tickets for the Tattoo on the August 10th. I haven't thought too much about getting from the ship to the location of the event. We have bought the Amber Package. I have copied the instructions from uktog to get a bus back to the ship. Don't know how often the bus runs or the cost. It is time I start thinking about getting from the ship to the venue. What are others doing? Any suggestions?

59 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Do the hairdryers that Azamara supplies in the staterooms dry long hair fast?  Can they be moved to a convenient location, or are they fastened to the bathroom wall?

Hairdryers are not fastened to the bathroom wall. You can plug them in anywhere. We leave it in the desk and use it there as there is a mirror and outlet. They don't produce as much air flow as our home hair dryer but they are ok. Besides we walk outside and the weather rearranges our hair.

4 minutes ago, luv2travel90266 said:

How did you check in? I am also on a mid August sailing and check in is not available. Others have not been able to check in only a few weeks prior to their sailing date. Please confirm. 

You can expect check-in to open about 30-35 days before cruise. I just checked in for a cruise in late July. Actually, I rechecked in. Someone on another topic had posted a back door link to check in several months ago and I did it then. However, someone else posted that that link would not work because of the changes at Azamara. But, when I went to the "official" check-in tab there was my info already filled in. 

I am so sad to see Heike leaving. She set the standard for Hotel Directors. She made many of our cruises special.

12 minutes ago, RDR Cruisers said:

I just noticed the "Destination Celebration" on my Voyage Planner for my 12 JUL cruise.  Do I need to "add to cart" to register for the experience? Thank you!

Yes. There are usually two times available and you need to pick the one that suits you.

Click on "Plan my voyage" on the cruise you want to check on. It will at the top of the page next to the cart.

I would tell you my secret for when to get a machine but then it wouldn't be my secret any more. There are times during the day that the machines are available. If you choose not to get there first, my memory says the cycles are about 50 minutes when the early risers will be emptying their machines.

6 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

No because it only applies to cruises departing before 31 December 22. The Black Sea cruise we cancelled was for May 23.

We cancelled the same cruise about a month ago and moved our deposit to a cruise this December. No penalty or cost of transfer was assessed.