Doing things differently on Pursuit - a reflection

[Trend]

Good on you, yes that is why we talked to the young lady and reassured her she was not at fault. I even felt bad for the poor wife who sat for another five minutes hoping he would return then she sort of slunk away with embarrassment.

Never a need for abuse.

[Gordoncruickshank]

As a potential first time Azamara cruiser I am a shade dismayed at a lot of what has been said about the Pursuit earlier in the thread. Our history is that have to date done 18 cruises with Celebrity in a row and another 2 coming up starting in 12 days time we have also done a number of other cruise lines before we found Celebrity. We have another 2 booked after that and are likely to book another 2 for February 2021. We have been getting a bit exasperated with the Celebrity pricing disparity between Europe and in the US eg a Sky suite on Celebrity next September for 10 nights is around £12,000 when it used to be around £6,000 or less and the others are just silly prices, and have started to look around elsewhere for something better than what we have been getting, not so much to save money but to spend it differently. We have one booked with MSC later this year to give that a try.

 

Our only experience with Azamara was in a travel agent's visit several years ago in Greenock and while we really enjoyed the experience and the food we felt that we could get better accommodation on Celebrity then for less money. That is no longer the case. I have to say that I was shocked at the cruise terminal at Greenock, it reminded me of landing in the Gambia 26 years ago where the international terminal was a tin hut.

 

We have been looking at a cruise on the Pursuit for October next year which we fancied and have actually discussed with Phil on these boards the process of booking Azamara on board Celebrity but what I have read here is giving me serious misgivings about whether this is a sensible plan.

 

It works for us at the moment as we are getting close the Celebrities top level and our cruise points get added to Celebrity as well. It gives us the chance to try a smaller ship to see how we like it but the experience of seasoned Azamara cruisers in this thread makes me think that we may be better staying where we are.

[excitedofharpenden]

Being on the three cruises, wow, what a completely different group of guests on each one.  The first, a good mix and friendly.  The second holiday cruise with lots of children and 67 Mexicans onboard was shall we say lively.  The third to Antarctica, probably the most miserable and rude guests I have ever encountered on Azamara.  I gave up saying good morning/afternoon.  Much pushing.  The sea day buffet after the lecture finished was like a feeding frenzy at the animal house.  

 

Much feet on drinks tables at the pool deck, spread out on sofas and taking up limited inside space to sit in the Living Room.  Saving seats inside by leaving belongings on tables and chairs in spite of numerous announcements not to.  And the way I heard a small number of guests speak to crew in the dining room and guest relations for example?  Appalling.  Thankfully this is not the norm at all.  The crew did very well dealing with it.  

 

Phil 

[audobon_tx]

That's a shame, Phil.  Maybe the yahoos were bored and will not return.  It would help if Azamara tightened up on dress and behaviour standards, to disincentivize those folks from "trying out" Azamara.  It really isn't any harder to dress and behave properly although many seem to think it is and select cruiselines accordingly.

[Gordoncruickshank]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

 Much pushing.  The sea day buffet after the lecture finished was like a feeding frenzy at the animal house.   

 

Much feet on drinks tables at the pool deck, spread out on sofas and taking up limited inside space to sit in the Living Room.  Saving seats inside by leaving belongings on tables and chairs in spite of numerous announcements not to.  And the way I heard a small number of guests speak to crew in the dining room and guest relations for example?  Appalling.  

 

 

So it is just like Celebrity then!!

[Baynanno1]

10 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Being on the three cruises, wow, what a completely different group of guests on each one.  The first, a good mix and friendly.  The second holiday cruise with lots of children and 67 Mexicans onboard was shall we say lively.  The third to Antarctica, probably the most miserable and rude guests I have ever encountered on Azamara.  I gave up saying good morning/afternoon.  Much pushing.  The sea day buffet after the lecture finished was like a feeding frenzy at the animal house.  

 

Much feet on drinks tables at the pool deck, spread out on sofas and taking up limited inside space to sit in the Living Room.  Saving seats inside by leaving belongings on tables and chairs in spite of numerous announcements not to.  And the way I heard a small number of guests speak to crew in the dining room and guest relations for example?  Appalling.  Thankfully this is not the norm at all.  The crew did very well dealing with it.  

 

Phil 

 

Stretched out reading a book with dirty shoes on a table where food and drinks will be placed is not on! One has a stateroom with a bed, pillows and a bolster where one can put the feet up while reading.

Stretched out on a sofa which accommodates two or three - with bare feet where others will sit later (presuming the space will be vacated at some stage - thongs on the floor in the picture). Again one has a stateroom with a bed, pillows and a bolster where one can put the feet up while reading.

Glad to know the crew dealt very well with those situations - hopefully without incurring abuse!

 

[QueenP]

That is very unlike Azamara, as Phil says your experience can depend on the other people travelling. Generally Az passengers are very friendly and well mannered. I am travelling on Pursuit next Oct and hope that I will have the same experience as I have had several times on Journey. 

[Ithikan]

5 hours ago, QueenP said:

That is very unlike Azamara, as Phil says your experience can depend on the other people travelling. Generally Az passengers are very friendly and well mannered. I am travelling on Pursuit next Oct and hope that I will have the same experience as I have had several times on Journey. 

I agree, QueenP, and am also hopeful that our two Pursuit cruises this summer will be more in line with our former Med cruises on Azamara.  Which is to say - involved officers, an engaged crew, and happy passengers.

[excitedofharpenden]

11 hours ago, QueenP said:

That is very unlike Azamara, as Phil says your experience can depend on the other people travelling. Generally Az passengers are very friendly and well mannered. I am travelling on Pursuit next Oct and hope that I will have the same experience as I have had several times on Journey. 

I'm sure you will enjoy the same mix of nice guests next October as is usual.  I commented on the untypical crowd on the Antarctica cruise as a follow on to posts about how a small minority treat the crew.  Certainly not the norm. 

 

Phil 

Edited February 9, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[woodlander1]

We are just thinking of booking a Baltic cruise next year on Pursuit and I thought I would just take a quick look at the boards to see what was being said about this ship.  We enjoyed a cruise to Norway on this ship when she was named the Adonia with P & O.  Somewhat worried therefore to read these comments.  We have been on both Journey & Quest and had great experiences and wonderful holidays hence our return to   Azamara. We enjoy the ships’ ambience,  relaxed atmosphere,  our fellow travellers,  itineraries and the excellent crew.  

Are we going to be disappointed in Pursuit?  It  made me wonder whether the time had come for to at least look at other cruise lines like Oceania, Viking etc.

Any thoughts gratefully received 

 

PS we have just returned from a land based holiday in New Zealand and we saw Quest moored up in Picton as we were catching the Interislander from South to North Island.  It was lovely to see her - she was looking great.  It made me rather nostalgic and left me wanting to book another cruise with Azamara but...............?.

Edited February 9, 2019 by woodlander1

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, woodlander1 said:

We are just thinking of booking a Baltic cruise next year on Pursuit and I thought I would just take a quick look at the boards to see what was being said about this ship.  We enjoyed a cruise to Norway on this ship when she was named the Adonia with P & O.  Somewhat worried therefore to read these comments.  We have been on both Journey & Quest and had great experiences and wonderful holidays hence our return to   Azamara. We enjoy the ships’ ambience,  relaxed atmosphere,  our fellow travellers,  itineraries and the excellent crew.  

Are we going to be disappointed in Pursuit?  It  made me wonder whether the time had come for to at least look at other cruise lines like Oceania, Viking etc.

Any thoughts gratefully received 

 

PS we have just returned from a land based holiday in New Zealand and we saw Quest moored up in Picton as we were catching the Interislander from South to North Island.  It was lovely to see her - she was looking great.  It made me rather nostalgic and left me wanting to book another cruise with Azamara but...............?.

We were on Pursuit’ Maiden cruise and had a great time, yes there were issues but that’s only to be expected on a maiden cruise. Some things are done differently on Pursuit but that’s because the ship is different from Quest & Journey as it’s been under different ownership for 15 years so there are fundamental differences some more obvious than others. 

Growing by 50% has no doubt caused problems to Azamara but to us this was evident on all 3 ships, I could give specifics but that would be unfair to the staff we’ve spoken to. We are confident that this was just temporary growing pains.

Currently we have five Azamara bookings three of them on Pursuit and we have no concerns at all about these bookings. In fact we have more concerns about booking anything on Journey until that horrible electronic casino is removed and replaced by The Den.

 

[NeverStopLearning]

4 hours ago, woodlander1 said:

We are just thinking of booking a Baltic cruise next year on Pursuit and I thought I would just take a quick look at the boards to see what was being said about this ship.  We enjoyed a cruise to Norway on this ship when she was named the Adonia with P & O.  Somewhat worried therefore to read these comments.  We have been on both Journey & Quest and had great experiences and wonderful holidays hence our return to   Azamara. We enjoy the ships’ ambience,  relaxed atmosphere,  our fellow travellers,  itineraries and the excellent crew.  

Are we going to be disappointed in Pursuit?  It  made me wonder whether the time had come for to at least look at other cruise lines like Oceania, Viking etc.

Any thoughts gratefully received 

 

PS we have just returned from a land based holiday in New Zealand and we saw Quest moored up in Picton as we were catching the Interislander from South to North Island.  It was lovely to see her - she was looking great.  It made me rather nostalgic and left me wanting to book another cruise with Azamara but...............?.

 

The Lima -> BA and Christmas cruises were our 2nd and 3rd Azamara cruise respectively with the first being the 2017 Christmas cruise. We were pleased enough with the product to book a b2b NZ, Australia cruise for 2021 on the Pursuit. Our next Azamara cruise is this Christmas on the Journey. There will probably be a cruise sometime in the middle as well.

 

I, personally, attribute some of the issues to two causes. First, the addition of 50% capacity to the line no doubt caused some stress over all 3 ships. Second, the lack of a full-time FB manager on the Pursuit contributed to some issues as well. Being down a full headcount in management with 33% new people is bound to cause problems with identifying and fixing problems. 

 

The issues that Phil pointed out with inattentive senior staff and being ignored are also valid and fall outside my two points. That was a real failing in customer support and retention. Hopefully, Azamara will examine the issue and reach out to him.

 

The entire cruise industry is in a constant state of flux balancing price against value. Senior (land based) executives are only judged on share holder equity, i.e. profit in the short term. Losing customers also affects share holder equity but has a longer time horizon before it becomes a problem. It is like balancing a ball on a pin.

 

Competition among cruise lines is how we, the customer, ensure that our price/value objectives are met. If Azamara drops in value too much, it is time to try other lines. We will shed a tear about what was, but ultimately we go to where we feel our needs are being met.

 

There has been a lot of respectful, balanced and constructive opinions being raised here. All with the intention of Azamara, through Bonnie the CBO, fixing the issues before they become systemic problems. I don't see this type of discussion in any of the other boards. That makes a big difference.

 

Apologies for the long rant, I will blame it on the early morning and the fact that I returned to Ottawa Canada in time for record snowfall and freezing cold. Cabin fever is setting in....

 

To answer your question: Your cruise is far enough in the future that the issues should be fixed. Since you can cancel up to 6 months before your cruise, keep monitoring the board and make a decision before you pay. You will lose a small portion of the down payment but will get most of it back. Stay the course for a little while longer.

 

As always YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary),

[Tom47]

Ann and Phil, thank you for your thoughtful and detailed comments.  I hope that Pursuit improves as a result.

[nordski]

4 hours ago, Tom47 said:

Ann and Phil, thank you for your thoughtful and detailed comments.  I hope that Pursuit improves as a result.

 

Agree!

 

I can offer a comment from the limited perspective of a person once seconded to a task force within a larger organization.

 

We were assigned a major transformative objective and, once we achieved it with the resultant “esprit de corps”, we became, as others in the organization pointed out, real pains in the rear.

 

Initially we dismissed that assessment but, as it was repeatedly pointed out, we came to recognize its truth. We had moved too far outside the culture of the parent institution.

 

I’ve seen the same thing happen to others in similar circumstances.

 

Perhaps the team who oversaw the transformation of Pursuit, a major project indeed, may have understandably fallen prey to that same problem. I think from the first sailing there was an expression of belief that Pursuit was taking a somewhat different tack than the other ships.

 

I believe that corrections in course can be made without totally destroying what the transition team has created. Especially based upon the reasoned criticisms of Anne and Phil. 

 

We we are so confident about that, that we will be on Pursuit in the autumn.

[uktog]

An excellent perspective Nordski. I too had a transformation role for a period launching new sites. We selected “good eggs” from other sites and new hires with the highest potential sending the lower potential new hires to other sites as backfill.  Very quickly we realised we had to closely manage the new sites again about six months after opening when initially we believed they could be left alone. 

 

For us we nicknamed them the Golden Eagles  - they knew they’d been selected as opposed to being there as a result of resourcing rotations, they’d been in the blaze of glory and adulation on opening and because they had the newest gizmos believed this made them the best. Some felt immune - untouchable. Like Nordskis teams they were absolute pains and ours often weren’t really delivering when you stripped out the impact of their newness on results. 

 

Our CEO was a wise man, probably never read management gurus work on culture but he recognised what he referred to as the time to clip the eagles wings. Words like new or special were removed from references to the site and at least a quarter of the staff and at least 50% of senior management were moved back out to older operations- some promoted on this move, many only promoted after showing they still reflected the organisation ethos and this with some took a long time or never happened. 

 

Yes I wish I could have been able to do a case study on Azamara culture before, during and after this transition phase from all perspectives.

 

I hope too progress is so is being made to address issues, we have had no direct contacts but we will live in hope for those with future bookings on Pursuit and the other two ships where change will be around them to. 

[procter]

WOW!!!

Just come back to this thread and find that both Ann and Phil who are probably the most respected and helpful commentators on this board have been completely ignored by Azamara H Office..

Never mind that they have probably both spent in excess of $500,000 and probably deserve being carried on board in a sedan chair to not AT LEAST offer Phil Captains table on all 3 voyages in inexcusable.

I am sure Phil would have declined with good grace had he not wished to mtake up the offer.

 

Bonnie,

May I suggest that somebody with some gumption and responsibility in Miami hotel operations  picks up the phone tomorrow and gets direct communication  with Ann and Phil regarding these issues of food and staff.

Personally I would parachute Heike straightaway to fix staffing issues and either or both of Adell and Alix to fix dining issues. 

 

Finally Bonnie,

Can we have clarity regarding dress issues.

I remember being turned away from a brunch because I was wearing long shorts.

Do the staff have the AUTHORITY to refuse access to areas for improper /slovenly dress or are they stuck with advice only and the guest can ignore it and go in anway.

I really do not want to see T shirts or baseball caps in any dining venue except outside of Windows or Patio Bar 

[audobon_tx]

Just now, procter said:

WOW!!!

Just come back to this thread and find that both Ann and Phil who are probably the most respected and helpful commentators on this board have been completely ignored by Azamara H Office..

Never mind that they have probably both spent in excess of $500,000 and probably deserve being carried on board in a sedan chair to not AT LEAST offer Phil Captains table on all 3 voyages in inexcusable.

I am sure Phil would have declined with good grace had he not wished to mtake up the offer.

 

Bonnie,

May I suggest that somebody with some gumption and responsibility in Miami hotel operations  picks up the phone tomorrow and gets direct communication  with Ann and Phil regarding these issues of food and staff.

Personally I would parachute Heike straightaway to fix staffing issues and either or both of Adell and Alix to fix dining issues. 

 

Finally Bonnie,

Can we have clarity regarding dress issues.

I remember being turned away from a brunch because I was wearing long shorts.

Do the staff have the AUTHORITY to refuse access to areas for improper /slovenly dress or are they stuck with advice only and the guest can ignore it and go in anway.

I really do not want to see T shirts or baseball caps in any dining venue except outside of Windows or Patio Bar 

 

wow......

[marinaro44]

The overreactions on this thread continue to astound.  During our 32 days on board, we booked four Azamara cruises for 2020...all on Pursuit.  Food was fine, as was confirmed by another poster or two above.  With the one exception that I noted above, service was typical Azamara.  Again, with one exception I also noted above, officers were as visible to us as they've always been, despite the absence of a F&B manager that I'm sure stressed the F&B staff.

 

The ship is gorgeous.  We're making a big deal over one person putting a shoe on a table.  There are boors on every cruise on every ship.  Stop generalizing based on one photo.  There are chair hogs on every cruise, but our experience has been it's typically less so on Azamara.  The Antarctica crowd was different, and I attribute that to the destination.  Many came just for the chance to see Antarctica, with primary interest in nature, not in the cruise experience.  But I saw no grievous attire offenses like the ones Procter is conjuring.

 

If you shun Pursuit, it's your loss.

[uktog]

The difference is in my experience the inappropriate behaviour was ignored on Pursuit, it is not on the other two ships, just as service and quality issues in the Specialities and other feedback were not responded to appropriately as they would have been elsewhere. . My comments in my original post were a snapshot from different cruises to the ones Marinaro was on.  Our full comments are in our post cruise survey, there were other specifics we chose not to share on a public forum as they identified individuals. Some posters may see our experiences as over reactions, bear in mind Phil and I only overlapped on one cruise so this thread now covers five cruises.

We too had a more minor post Zenith milestone after cruise 1 but had no recognition or communications since coming home from Azamara. 

OK, what’s done is done and our plans for the next 18 months are made based on our experiences and we have no sense of loss. 

[MNgardens]

I am willing to bet that in the long run any kinks in the system will be worked out. It is unfortunate that some cruisers were disappointed.

 

I do want to add another data point for those who are trying to evaluate whether or not to cruise on this ship. I have been on one cruise on each of the three ships. We were on the Pursuit in October. To me as a person with fewer experiences, all the ships were run about the same. I have had all very port intensive cruises - we did our sightseeing, ate some tasty food, had a little fun, and slept well. I wouldn't hesitate to book them again.

 

The Den was a strong improvement over the casinos.

 

 

[Bloodaxe]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

The difference is in my experience the inappropriate behaviour was ignored on Pursuit, it is not on the other two ships, just as service and quality issues in the Specialities and other feedback were not responded to appropriately as they would have been elsewhere. . My comments in my original post were a snapshot from different cruises to the ones Marinaro was on.  Our full comments are in our post cruise survey, there were other specifics we chose not to share on a public forum as they identified individuals. Some posters may see our experiences as over reactions, bear in mind Phil and I only overlapped on one cruise so this thread now covers five cruises.

We too had a more minor post Zenith milestone after cruise 1 but had no recognition or communications since coming home from Azamara. 

OK, what’s done is done and our plans for the next 18 months are made based on our experiences and we have no sense of loss. 

 

We have also seen very bad behavior on Quest, last year on Quest at one a the larger tables in Prime C. 

We had a adjacent table for two, all through the meal a group of eight people where passing mobile phones around and loudly video calling back home.

This was witnessed by the hotel director who made a point of telling us how sorry he was the next day.

I am not sure what was said to the people concerned but it didn't stop the same thing happening again in another Restaurant.

My point is that bad behavior is not just on Pursuit, I am afraid it is a sign of the times.

Edited February 10, 2019 by Bloodaxe

[Grandma Cruising]

Quite agree, you can come across bad behaviour anywhere. We have a similar tale. On one of our Azamara Quest cruises we were sitting at a table for two quite close to a table for 6. The folks at the table for 6 were talking extremely loudly and a couple of them had very nasty coughs. Whenever they coughed they turned their heads right towards us.

Rather than make a fuss we called our waiter over and asked to move tables, explaining why. The move was accomplished with the minimum of fuss. 

[uktog]

41 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

We have also seen very bad behavior on Quest, last year on Quest at one a the larger tables in Prime C. 

We had a adjacent table for two, all through the meal a group of eight people where passing mobile phones around and loudly video calling back home.

This was witnessed by the hotel director who made a point of telling us how sorry he was the next day.

I am not sure what was said to the people concerned but it didn't stop the same thing happening again in another Restaurant.

My point is that bad behavior is not just on Pursuit, I am afraid it is a sign of the times.

Indeed, it sadly is, however you got a reaction from the Hotel Director, there was no reaction to anything on Pursuit. 

There were obviously extenuating circumstances we are now aware of, but it doesn’t excuse the level below not stepping up to the mark and providing the level of service the restaurant managers and bar managers have given on the other vessels.  

I don’t want to name names or give detailed specifics, but that level fell well short of the standard I’d expect on our third cruise. 

 

[Shawnino]

On the contrary, I think specifics would be illustrative.

[150edmiston]

2 hours ago, Shawnino said:

On the contrary, I think specifics would be illustrative.

Nope cant agree with that all.  Calling individuals out on a public forum isn't a good idea.  The folks who are mentioned often have no way to retort or defend.  The facts as stated in previous posts that there was no F&B has to have been an influence.  I do think we all need to take a deep breath here.  AZ will be reading this with interest and will, as they usually do, act speedily to rectify. How does "parachuting Heike" in sort anything?  The Hotel Director on Pursuit is first class.

 

I'm genuinely sad to read about UKtog and ExcitedofHarpenden experiences.  If I need to know anything AZ,  I look to them for a guide/steer. 

 

Knee jerk wont sort this tho. We leave in 2 weeks for Buenos Aires.   Will happily report back as we progress.  David