Anybody onboard currently?

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

2 hours 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 people were freely mixing onboard and sharing tables last week

[travelberlin]

When does boarding start? Hotels have check out time at 12.00. Can you board at around 12.30?

Ivi

[uktog]

20 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

When does boarding start? Hotels have check out time at 12.00. Can you board at around 12.30?

Ivi

No unfortunately the earliest boarding is scheduled for 14:00.  This is to allow the ship enough time to deep clean all the areas.  We arranged a 13:00 check out free of charge from our hotel then made our way to the ship then.  Our hotel would have stored our luggage had we not been able to have a later check out

[takemewithyou]

I haven’t seen any pictures of Prime C yet on Onward?

Anybody Have any?  Those of you currently onboard……

[Riocca]

7 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

I haven’t seen any pictures of Prime C yet on Onward?

Anybody Have any?  Those of you currently onboard……

Here are a couple of pictures of the back & side will try and get some more later.

 

[Riocca]

Safe in our room is a good size and will take a normal laptop, there’s also a power supply in the safe for charging devices whilst locked away.

 

[ragesinn]

Just off Pursuit with several comments on expectations. Number one is that Patio remains closed in the evening with no explanation given. Number two is that Premium beverage package listed is dated with less than one-half of the beers available and it seems intent to finish off their inventory before replenishing their inventory which means staff may have to scramble for your beer. Number three is that greater guest interaction, less mask wearing and more overall positive vibes on the ship versus the last two Azamara cruises in October and November on Journey.

 

[LEESRE]

Anyone onboard Quest at the moment could they please ask where is Quest from the 19th May to the 26th May either it is fully booked or on Charter.  Thanks

[takemewithyou]

10 hours ago, Riocca said:

Here are a couple of pictures of the back & side will try and get some more later.

 

Looks like all large tables at the back.  We always loved being tucked back there in a cozy table for two.
The colors are different but as near as I can tell, it’s not bad. Looks like it could use some art work on the walls…..maybe supply chain issues!

[combine]

21 minutes ago, LEESRE said:

Anyone onboard Quest at the moment could they please ask where is Quest from the 19th May to the 26th May either it is fully booked or on Charter.  Thanks

There are no guests on Quest this week. A charter cancelled. Next guests are due on 8th May.

[Riocca]

12 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Looks like all large tables at the back.  We always loved being tucked back there in a cozy table for two.
The colors are different but as near as I can tell, it’s not bad. Looks like it could use some art work on the walls…..maybe supply chain issues!

There aren’t many pictures about the whole ship it’s more European minimalist with decorative highlights. I’ll ask if there are any pictures coming, although we will be relying on the ships wi-fi for a couple of days so won’t be using it too much as it’s so slow.

[uktog]

32 minutes ago, Riocca said:

 we will be relying on the ships wi-fi for a couple of days so won’t be using it too much as it’s so slow.

Thats not what we wanted to hear!  If they cant sort it on a new ship will they ever?

[MouseBerry]

1 hour ago, ragesinn said:

Just off Pursuit with several comments on expectations. Number one is that Patio remains closed in the evening with no explanation given. Number two is that Premium beverage package listed is dated with less than one-half of the beers available and it seems intent to finish off their inventory before replenishing their inventory which means staff may have to scramble for your beer. Number three is that greater guest interaction, less mask wearing and more overall positive vibes on the ship versus the last two Azamara cruises in October and November on Journey.

 

Well, in Germany Az cruises for this spring/summer were sold on quite a promotional fare, likely to attract new cruisers to a bit upscaled cruise than mass market. If Az is not shine to usual premium standards this marketing step might fail. We used promotions for Oceania and HAL and were quite happy with it, i.e. we came back for other cruises. Will see if Az can impress us as well. What i read above doesn‘t sound promising.

[Xcelsior]

1 hour ago, MouseBerry said:

Well, in Germany Az cruises for this spring/summer were sold on quite a promotional fare, likely to attract new cruisers to a bit upscaled cruise than mass market. If Az is not shine to usual premium standards this marketing step might fail. We used promotions for Oceania and HAL and were quite happy with it, i.e. we came back for other cruises. Will see if Az can impress us as well. What i read above doesn‘t sound promising.

I think they are going to have to be careful going forward if they are going to survive as an independent cruise line.  The sailings over next couple months are half empty still and the competition is stiff.  I love Azamara (although it is a little too quiet for me at night) but I don't see much difference between my last Azamara cruise and my Celebrity cruises to be honest, especially considering the price differential. There are things I like about Azamara much better...and some things not.  The small ship, itineraries and service is great - but there are also drawbacks with entertainment, facilities and size of cabins for the prices they are asking.  I also see no difference in food between the two (in fact, I think Celebrity is actually better sometimes).   Will be interesting to see what happens.

Edited May 7, 2022 by Xcelsior

[roberts2005]

On Onward right now.  Internet is worse than slow.  Many websites will not load.  One reason I have not posted.  Staff is great, but many seem new.

 

weather has been bad, with changes in ports.

 

Selection of fresh fruit is very limited.  Prime C has been great.  Acqulina not so great.

 

No shuttle in Livorno.  Good 10 to 15 minute walk to town.

 

Azamazing evening was enjoyable. They should have skipped the food and wine provided as no way to drink and eat at same time. Wine in one hand, food in other. No tables.

 

Still enjoying as our first cruise since Covid   

[JoAnneV]

23 hours ago, ragesinn said:

Just off Pursuit with several comments on expectations. Number one is that Patio remains closed in the evening with no explanation given. Number two is that Premium beverage package listed is dated with less than one-half of the beers available and it seems intent to finish off their inventory before replenishing their inventory which means staff may have to scramble for your beer. Number three is that greater guest interaction, less mask wearing and more overall positive vibes on the ship versus the last two Azamara cruises in October and November on Journey.

 

I asked the hotel director on Quest and he said the chef is too short staffed to have the Patio open at night. We love the patio, too, but when we have been on Azamara it is often not busy in the evening. I hope it will open when they get back to full capacity. 

[travelberlin]

34 minutes ago, JoAnneV said:

I asked the hotel director on Quest and he said the chef is too short staffed to have the Patio open at night. We love the patio, too, but when we have been on Azamara it is often not busy in the evening. I hope it will open when they get back to full capacity. 

Thanks, I love the Patio also and specially during COVID times is a good place to eat al fresco with less risk of being infected. Disappointed to hear it is still not open. Next time before I book a cruise I will try to find out if the venues are all open independently if the cruise is fully booked or not. No wishes to pay high cruising prices for part of the regular services.
We are expecting a certain product and apparently Azamara is having difficulties to deliver. A pity 😔.

Ivi

Edited May 8, 2022 by travelberlin

[uktog]

58 minutes ago, JoAnneV said:

I asked the hotel director on Quest and he said the chef is too short staffed to have the Patio open at night. We love the patio, too, but when we have been on Azamara it is often not busy in the evening. I hope it will open when they get back to full capacity. 

Worrying, if they are short staffed with less than a full complement of guests how are they going to cope as they increase capacity as I believe they plan to do in the coming months.

[travelberlin]

8 hours ago, roberts2005 said:

On Onward right now.  Internet is worse than slow.  Many websites will not load.  One reason I have not posted.  Staff is great, but many seem new.

 

weather has been bad, with changes in ports.

 

Selection of fresh fruit is very limited.  Prime C has been great.  Acqulina not so great.

 

No shuttle in Livorno.  Good 10 to 15 minute walk to town.

 

Azamazing evening was enjoyable. They should have skipped the food and wine provided as no way to drink and eat at same time. Wine in one hand, food in other. No tables.

 

Still enjoying as our first cruise since Covid   

I am glad you are enjoying your first cruise with Azamara. We really like the Azamazing evenings and it sounds like yours was very nice. In a fortress with the Italian Opera La Traviata. I would have loved to be there…

Ivi

[Grandma Cruising]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

Worrying, if they are short staffed with less than a full complement of guests how are they going to cope as they increase capacity as I believe they plan to do in the coming months.

My presumption was that knowing they had less than a full ship, they also planned to have fewer crew in areas affected by passenger numbers, so fewer kitchen staff, fewer stewards, fewer servers etc. Obviously you still need the same number of sailors as the ship itself runs in the same way however many or few folk onboard.

[uktog]

42 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

My presumption was that knowing they had less than a full ship, they also planned to have fewer crew in areas affected by passenger numbers, so fewer kitchen staff, fewer stewards, fewer servers etc. Obviously you still need the same number of sailors as the ship itself runs in the same way however many or few folk onboard.

The message we got on Quest when raising things with the hotel director was they needed more staff then. 
We felt then if reduced staff numbers meant reduced service they should have been up front about that from the start. 

[takemewithyou]

37 minutes ago, uktog said:

The message we got on Quest when raising things with the hotel director was they needed more staff then. 
We felt then if reduced staff numbers meant reduced service they should have been up front about that from the start. 

It’s pretty sad to hear these reports.  We didn’t notice any reduced service on Quest in mid Dec.  The patio was open its usual hours.  We had dinner there a couple of times.  Only Prime C was open for dinner with a combined menu from Aqualina.  
So do you think they pulled staff from Quest to go to Onward?  That’s what I am thinking.  I know a few staff told me it was either time for them to go home on break for awhile or they would be going to Onward.

Is Ryzard still HD? 
I have a friend going on Regent soon and started reading their board……they have a lot of service issues right now, as did our mid April Viking cruise.   But we really  had no service issues on our Dec Quest cruise and were so pleased about that.

[uktog]

10 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

It’s pretty sad to hear these reports.  We didn’t notice any reduced service on Quest in mid Dec.  The patio was open its usual hours.  We had dinner there a couple of times.  Only Prime C was open for dinner with a combined menu from Aqualina.  
So do you think they pulled staff from Quest to go to Onward?  That’s what I am thinking.  I know a few staff told me it was either time for them to go home on break for awhile or they would be going to Onward.

Is Ryzard still HD? 
I have a friend going on Regent soon and started reading their board……they have a lot of service issues right now, as did our mid April Viking cruise.   But we really  had no service issues on our Dec Quest cruise and were so pleased about that.

Yes I think they had lost staff to Onward and also staff who had been since start up were due leave.  Ryzard was still on then and was well overdue his annual leave and we felt he was burning out as a result and not getting the back up from the levels below him.  Given what you say that the Patio was open in mid December with the guest numbers they had then, in many ways for the Spring guests thats even more disappointing.

[takemewithyou]

14 minutes ago, uktog said:

Yes I think they had lost staff to Onward and also staff who had been since start up were due leave.  Ryzard was still on then and was well overdue his annual leave and we felt he was burning out as a result and not getting the back up from the levels below him.  Given what you say that the Patio was open in mid December with the guest numbers they had then, in many ways for the Spring guests thats even more disappointing.

Yes.  We had a little over 400 guests.  We had a lot of lunches on the patio and several dinners.  There seemed to be plenty of cooks and servers.  The food came out perfectly, timely and was just liked it always was.  Ryzard was not HD then.  He had not yet arrived.  We also had set menu dinner service in Windows.  We only had one dinner in Discoveries, but never heard any complaints with service.  Prime C service was as it always was.

Seems lie there has been lots of changes since Dec.

[laurieb]

On 5/7/2022 at 8:25 AM, combine said:

There are no guests on Quest this week. A charter cancelled. Next guests are due on 8th May.

A charter cancelled, so Quest will use the week for some prettying up/ maintenance is what I understand.