Anybody onboard currently?

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

40 minutes ago, uktog said:

Fabulous band, we are usually Den people in the evening but that band totally changed our evening menu. Agree Darren is going to be a really good fit.  

 

 

We also loved Fantastic Beats in The Living Room. Apart from Darren’s show we just went to the Living Room on Quest  for our entertainment .

[B17]

On 5/3/2022 at 9:43 AM, Riocca said:

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

On the drinks if you are on the std package and want to order a single drink thats on the Ultimate can you simply pay the odd $1 or two difference which you can do on Celebrity 

[uktog]

41 minutes ago, B17 said:

On the drinks if you are on the std package and want to order a single drink thats on the Ultimate can you simply pay the odd $1 or two difference which you can do on Celebrity 

No you have to pay the full advertised menu price

[norn iron]

14 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Never heard of Royal Club but just looked it up. Is it that bad?

 

I assume no Fever tree either?

 

Doesn't sound very premium or ultimate to me if they are skimping on the soda/mixers 

 

My June sailing on Pursuit only has basic drinks included. Not sure now whether to upcharge or not now. Problem is, I've loads of OBC left. Is there any shops onboard that's worthwhile using the credit on. Generally, I know the shops tend to be a bit meh, but a few years back I was shocked to find the Citizen Eco sale watch I bought on Silver Wind reduced to $118. It wasn't until I got home and found UK shops were selling it for £450. First time I've ever benefited.Normally it's my wife's credit spend fund!

Royal Club is worst tonic water you could ever encounter.

It is owned by Heineken and I am convinced it is offered to cruise lines free of charge as a deal sweetener for listing beers, otherwise no buyer would touch it.

 

The thought of Royal Club fills me full of dread, and probably means doing some grocery shopping for Schweppes or Fever Tree in Ravenna in six weeks time before boarding Onward.

 

If I am not mistaken, a few years back Richard Twynam came onto Cruise Critic and stated that Royal Club would no longer be stocked and Schweppes would be, he also clarified Fever Tree was too expensive.

I can only presume, that as Richard has left the company and the company has subsequently been sold it was easy to reverse the assurance offered by Richard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[les37b]

8 minutes ago, norn iron said:

Royal Club is worst tonic water you could ever encounter.

It is owned by Heineken and I am convinced it is offered to cruise lines free of charge as a deal sweetener for listing beers, otherwise no buyer would touch it.

 

The thought of Royal Club fills me full of dread, and probably means doing some grocery shopping for Schweppes or Fever Tree in Ravenna in six weeks time before boarding Onward.

 

If I am not mistaken, a few years back Richard Twynam came onto Cruise Critic and stated that Royal Club would no longer be stocked and Schweppes would be, he also clarified Fever Tree was too expensive.

I can only presume, that as Richard has left the company and the company has subsequently been sold it was easy to reverse the assurance offered by Richard.

So a supermarket  shop in Lisbon prior to boarding is in order!

[norn iron]

1 minute ago, les37b said:

So a supermarket  shop in Lisbon prior to boarding is in order!

Most definitely. It is now our pre boarding routine.

[uktog]

Norn Iron’s recollection is absolutely correct. There were also commitments made onboard but again by someone no longer with the company. 
 

Interesting on Viking there were absolutely no Club products. Schweppes Tonic and proper sparkling water. 

[uktog]

4 minutes ago, norn iron said:

Most definitely. It is now our pre boarding routine.

We need a spreadsheet of sources in key locations. 
 

I will add mid cruise top ups in Gibraltar and Cyprus have been easy to achieve in my experience 

[norn iron]

2 minutes ago, uktog said:

We need a spreadsheet of sources in key locations. 
 

I will add mid cruise top ups in Gibraltar and Cyprus have been easy to achieve in my experience 

Most Carrefour's stock Schweppes

[SunnyNy]

 

 

 

"What happens if you are on a back to back and test positive before the second leg?"

 

 

  I'm following this as I'm in the same situation.  I have heard that B2B's will not be charged for tests between cruises, but am unclear if we'd have the option to isolate on the second leg if we're positive.  

Edited May 4, 2022 by SunnyNy
correction

[blobby113]

On 5/3/2022 at 6:43 PM, Riocca said:

Currently on Onward, if you want to upgrade from a Premium drinks package that was included in your booking to the Ultimate package this can be done for $7 per person per day. Loyalty discounts are not available on the upgrade.

There is a new rum on the included package Flor de Caña replaces the Mount Gay.

Also Onward has a new paperless accounting system with orders being done on pda, staff are still learning how it works which is slowing things down a little but I’m sure it’s a temporary blip, otherwise Onward is looking good. Still workmen doing the final touches but the ship has a much more modern feel than the others.

Can you upgrade from Premium to Ultimate before you board, or do you have to wait until you are on board?

[crzrr]

31 minutes ago, blobby113 said:

Can you upgrade from Premium to Ultimate before you board, or do you have to wait until you are on board?

When I was on the Quest in February I was told that you had to wait until you are onboard.

[jcbc522]

Riocca:  Have the hair dryers showed up yet?  Also, is the self serve laundry operational?  We are on the next two sailings.  Thank you.

[Riocca]

2 hours ago, jcbc522 said:

Riocca:  Have the hair dryers showed up yet?  Also, is the self serve laundry operational?  We are on the next two sailings.  Thank you.

No news on the hairdryers as yet, Insider says self service laundry is open 8am to 10pm.

There are cloth laundry bags available only without the Azamara logo, good news is they’re larger than the usual bags.

[Mrs Miggins]

7 hours ago, SunnyNy said:

 

 

 

"What happens if you are on a back to back and test positive before the second leg?"

 

 

  I'm following this as I'm in the same situation.  I have heard that B2B's will not be charged for tests between cruises, but am unclear if we'd have the option to isolate on the second leg if we're positive.  

Just did a back to back on Quest.  We were tested in Barcelona pre boarding, but there was no testing for those on a B2B in Civitavechia before our second leg.  Interestingly there were apparently more than 90 on board who were on the same back to back.

[Mrs Miggins]

Sorry to go back to the Tonic situation.  Schweppes was being poured from the large bottles on Quest.

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

No news on the hairdryers as yet, Insider says self service laundry is open 8am to 10pm.

There are cloth laundry bags available only without the Azamara logo, good news is they’re larger than the usual bags.

Self service laundry was operational on Quest and week and a hairdryer was in the dressing table cupboard.

[Riocca]

14 minutes ago, HalifaxYorksCruiser said:

Self service laundry was operational on Quest and week and a hairdryer was in the dressing table cupboard.

Onward is awaiting hairdryers all the pax on the maiden had an email advising of this about a week before the cruise. We are in Civitavechia today and a lot of deliveries are due, so far we’ve watched 3 large lorries being unloaded, but no idea what was in them, anticipation is part of the excitement of a maiden.

[gymfreak]

I started one infamous “Toinicgate “ thread years ago which ran and ran even reappearing from time to time.

Time has moved on but still we are in no better position onboard with supplying some acceptable tonic as standard.

Having recently cruised on another comparable line and speaking to friends on lines who allegedly are less premium , quality tonics are freely available including FeverTree.

Surely it’s time  given the strength of dissatisfaction on the subject that this gets addressed ASAP ?

 

[barneyboy]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Onward is awaiting hairdryers all the pax on the maiden had an email advising of this about a week before the cruise. We are in Civitavechia today and a lot of deliveries are due, so far we’ve watched 3 large lorries being unloaded, but no idea what was in them, anticipation is part of the excitement of a maiden.

Hopefully our balcony chairs are in one of the deliveries, although yesterday we finally got two of the white plastic chairs which were piled up on deck 10. 

[Riocca]

22 minutes ago, barneyboy said:

Hopefully our balcony chairs are in one of the deliveries, although yesterday we finally got two of the white plastic chairs which were piled up on deck 10. 

Just been talking to the Guest Relations Manager, balcony furniture is due to arrive today if it does they’re going to get it out over the next couple of days. Currently they’re using what they have available, we’ve got a table probably designated to the Patio and they have the white night table on the Patio.

Be nice to see what the balcony furniture actually looks like before we leave Onward.

[barneyboy]

5 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Just been talking to the Guest Relations Manager, balcony furniture is due to arrive today if it does they’re going to get it out over the next couple of days. Currently they’re using what they have available, we’ve got a table probably designated to the Patio and they have the white night table on the Patio.

Be nice to see what the balcony furniture actually looks like before we leave Onward.

Yes hopefully it will arrive but glad to have something. It’s typical that we got chairs just as the weather changed and we don’t want to sit out. Fingers crossed the sun returns soon. 

[Jem 12]

On 5/4/2022 at 6:00 PM, uktog said:

Fabulous band, we are usually Den people in the evening but that band totally changed our evening menu. Agree Darren is going to be a really good fit.  

 

 

We had a lovely cruise on Quest last week, we agree the band In The Living Room was some of the best entertainment we have had on our Azamara cruises. 
We also enjoyed a couple of shows in cabaret lounge, but nothing much memorable.

The two nights of Karaoke were generally painful, one was too many to be honest.

All the people we met onboard were lovely and the staff were amazing. 

 

[Marmaduke]

Are people tending to mix more onboard now there are less covid restrictions e.g. sharing tables in the MDR  and forming trivia teams.  I got the impression that earlier in the year that people we discouraged

from mixing with other passengers outside of their own travel bubble.

[barneyboy]

27 minutes ago, Marmaduke said:

Are people tending to mix more onboard now there are less covid restrictions e.g. sharing tables in the MDR  and forming trivia teams.  I got the impression that earlier in the year that people we discouraged

from mixing with other passengers outside of their own travel bubble.

Yes we’ve been sharing tables in the dining room and I’ve seen people forming  teams for trivia.