Anybody onboard currently?

[Host Jazzbeau]

23 hours ago, uktog said:

Agree, we loved on 6 October Journey cruise.  We didn’t do the Italian (too many substitutes needed to remove nuts) and had the Explorers Dinner would happen on the 13th but it was cancelled due to low demand 

The Middle East Chef's Table was cancelled early on.  I suspect the problem was that both the French and Italian filled up before 3pm on embarkation day, and that led a lot of people (including us) to drop the 3x package.  At a net of $60, I was willing to try that new menu but it didn't seem worth $95.  Then they used the time slot for a second sitting of the most popular menu, so they actually got higher revenue.  In the end they did at least 2 French and 2 Italian nights, and they moved at least one of them to Aqualina so they could add a table of 6 to the regular table of 12.  Some may be tired of these menus, but they sure earned Azamara a lot of revenue on this sailing!

[DS]

On 10/13/2022 at 9:24 AM, DS said:

Onboard the ONWARD ( 10 Oct Ravenna to 21 October Rome)

 

Senior Officers:   Captain CARL Smith; HD Elisabeth Vogel; Cruice Director ERIC DeGray; F&B IWAN Pennings (former exec chef); Assist CD Roy Ryan

 

Passengers on Board:  442

 

FOOD:   So far the food has been excellent—we’ve been in MDR, Aqualina, and Prime C—all good

 

SERVICE:   Mostly up to usual Azamara standards (a bit of hiccups in Prime C last night), excellent in Aqualina.    Comp wines have been a mix of Azamara Label and other non-Az labels.   Usually just 2 reds and 2 whites a night   ( June cruise, with all Az labels, at least had all 4 varietals of both red and white each night).   BUT, as always, you waiter can usually find what you want…   

Room steward have been excellent, although as some others noted, there are now no assistant room stewards

 

COMMENTS and NITS:   still some supply chain problems:  no bagels the first two mornings, and today we knew from Iwan that they had been loaded yesterday – but the restaurant staff did not!   BUT, in usual Azamara style, they went and found them.   There were none of the usual “Make up my room / Do not disturb” door magnets when we boarded--- steward said they were still waiting for them.   They showed up a day or so later.  When we boarded there were still lots of things on the pier to be loaded – including many mechanical parts ( big engines/ generators, huge propane ( or something) tanks)   Obviously still trying to get things up to snuff.

Ship is very cold; our room the first day/night was frigid, even with thermostat turned fully up.   A mention to the room steward the next morning, and it was corrected by engineering—nice and toasty now!

 

CHAIRS:   I think every single chair on the ONWARD is physically lighter than is counterpart on the other ships.   From the veranda (molded plastic with thin cushion), to all the restaurants ( some times on other ships it was hard to move the chairs out from the table—not here… I’ve seen several tip over when someone tried to move them.)    Same thing in the lounges and Cabaret.   They also tend to be very narrow, especially those with arms.    I’m a skinny guy but still touch both sides of these chairs when sitting down—they must be uncomfortable for larger folk.

 

SHIPS APPEARANCE:   There is still a lot of work to be done.   For example, there is a large crack all the way through our desk top.   The hand rails in the elevators are all beaten up, some with chunks out.   A simple coat of paint would go a long way!   (but please, not the same icky brown as in in there now… it’s not a natural wood color, just some other brown stuff).    Brass on stair treads in need of heavy polishing.  (Last cruise on different ship we saw one staff member polishing this brass every single day of our cruise… he started on deck 10 and got to 4 or 5 by the end of the cruise!)

 

TRANSFER FROM VENICE TO RAVENNA:  We were on the Azamara provided bus from Venice airport to Ravenna port.  Unfortunately, the PURSUIT was also sailing from Ravenna the same day, so we had two ship loads of people.  They mixed us up on the busses.  Others have posted here or elsewhere about the trials and tribulations of moving our own luggage from airport arrival hall to busses ( half a klick or more way through the parking lot, then getting off the bus and standing in line ( again with two ships worth of people) before giving the baggage to the porters.   Inside the building, at least there were two separate areas for check-in.     And all this on top of the 2 ½ hr bus ride, without the promised “comfort stop.”   I’m so glad that it looks like Venice will be back in a year or so…

 

BOTTOM LINE:   We are coming from Fort Myers Florida, where the past 2 weeks have been --- just awful!  We are so glad to be back on board and have the Azamara staff take care of us, feed us, entertain us.   We can forgive crappy elevator handrails!

 

On 10/13/2022 at 9:24 AM, DS said:

Onboard the ONWARD ( 10 Oct Ravenna to 21 October Rome)

 

Senior Officers:   Captain CARL Smith; HD Elisabeth Vogel; Cruice Director ERIC DeGray; F&B IWAN Pennings (former exec chef); Assist CD Roy Ryan

 

Passengers on Board:  442

 

FOOD:   So far the food has been excellent—we’ve been in MDR, Aqualina, and Prime C—all good

 

SERVICE:   Mostly up to usual Azamara standards (a bit of hiccups in Prime C last night), excellent in Aqualina.    Comp wines have been a mix of Azamara Label and other non-Az labels.   Usually just 2 reds and 2 whites a night   ( June cruise, with all Az labels, at least had all 4 varietals of both red and white each night).   BUT, as always, you waiter can usually find what you want…   

Room steward have been excellent, although as some others noted, there are now no assistant room stewards

 

COMMENTS and NITS:   still some supply chain problems:  no bagels the first two mornings, and today we knew from Iwan that they had been loaded yesterday – but the restaurant staff did not!   BUT, in usual Azamara style, they went and found them.   There were none of the usual “Make up my room / Do not disturb” door magnets when we boarded--- steward said they were still waiting for them.   They showed up a day or so later.  When we boarded there were still lots of things on the pier to be loaded – including many mechanical parts ( big engines/ generators, huge propane ( or something) tanks)   Obviously still trying to get things up to snuff.

Ship is very cold; our room the first day/night was frigid, even with thermostat turned fully up.   A mention to the room steward the next morning, and it was corrected by engineering—nice and toasty now!

 

CHAIRS:   I think every single chair on the ONWARD is physically lighter than is counterpart on the other ships.   From the veranda (molded plastic with thin cushion), to all the restaurants ( some times on other ships it was hard to move the chairs out from the table—not here… I’ve seen several tip over when someone tried to move them.)    Same thing in the lounges and Cabaret.   They also tend to be very narrow, especially those with arms.    I’m a skinny guy but still touch both sides of these chairs when sitting down—they must be uncomfortable for larger folk.

 

SHIPS APPEARANCE:   There is still a lot of work to be done.   For example, there is a large crack all the way through our desk top.   The hand rails in the elevators are all beaten up, some with chunks out.   A simple coat of paint would go a long way!   (but please, not the same icky brown as in in there now… it’s not a natural wood color, just some other brown stuff).    Brass on stair treads in need of heavy polishing.  (Last cruise on different ship we saw one staff member polishing this brass every single day of our cruise… he started on deck 10 and got to 4 or 5 by the end of the cruise!)

 

TRANSFER FROM VENICE TO RAVENNA:  We were on the Azamara provided bus from Venice airport to Ravenna port.  Unfortunately, the PURSUIT was also sailing from Ravenna the same day, so we had two ship loads of people.  They mixed us up on the busses.  Others have posted here or elsewhere about the trials and tribulations of moving our own luggage from airport arrival hall to busses ( half a klick or more way through the parking lot, then getting off the bus and standing in line ( again with two ships worth of people) before giving the baggage to the porters.   Inside the building, at least there were two separate areas for check-in.     And all this on top of the 2 ½ hr bus ride, without the promised “comfort stop.”   I’m so glad that it looks like Venice will be back in a year or so…

 

BOTTOM LINE:   We are coming from Fort Myers Florida, where the past 2 weeks have been --- just awful!  We are so glad to be back on board and have the Azamara staff take care of us, feed us, entertain us.   We can forgive crappy elevator handrails!

on 2nd leg of B2b.... same senior officers as noted above.... 573 passengers... assuming all got thru the Rome airport mess ( we were almost 3 hours late in departing, waiting for passengers... some never made it... including Capt Carl's family, whose flight was cancelled yesterday

[uktog]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The Middle East Chef's Table was cancelled early on.  I suspect the problem was that both the French and Italian filled up before 3pm on embarkation day, and that led a lot of people (including us) to drop the 3x package.  At a net of $60, I was willing to try that new menu but it didn't seem worth $95.  Then they used the time slot for a second sitting of the most popular menu, so they actually got higher revenue.  In the end they did at least 2 French and 2 Italian nights, and they moved at least one of them to Aqualina so they could add a table of 6 to the regular table of 12.  Some may be tired of these menus, but they sure earned Azamara a lot of revenue on this sailing!

The Arabian Dinner, although advertised on the interactive TV was never offered.  The reason the Explorers dinner was cancelled was evidently they could not source the ingredients.

I suspect the reasons the tables were very popular was that so many people were struggling to use OBC (weren't the shops terrible) that some were opting for the French menu even though they had had it before.  Not sure how much revenue they actually made

[asnaleah]

Anyone know about Azamara changing the Azamazing evening to an on-board event? This notice came with our final payment invoice for Feb 25 Buenos Aires to Rio. 
INCLUSIVE AMENITIES FOR ALL GUESTS: Complimentary AzAmazing Evenings event (on most voyages)*, Select standard spirits, International beers and wines, Gratuities, Bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas, Self-service laundry, Shuttle service to and from port communities*, where available, Concierge services for personal guidance and reservations.
*Please note, these amenities have been modified to comply with current health protocols due to COVID-19. Destination Celebration will now be offered onboard as an adaptation of Amazing Evenings. We have also suspended our shuttle service temporarily.
    

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, asnaleah said:

Anyone know about Azamara changing the Azamazing evening to an on-board event? This notice came with our final payment invoice for Feb 25 Buenos Aires to Rio. 
INCLUSIVE AMENITIES FOR ALL GUESTS: Complimentary AzAmazing Evenings event (on most voyages)
*Please note, these amenities have been modified to comply with current health protocols due to COVID-19. Destination Celebration will now be offered onboard as an adaptation of Amazing Evenings. We have also suspended our shuttle service temporarily.
    

During the COVID crisis Azamara changed its Azamazing evening events into an onboard event. They plan to go back to the full Azamazing Evening event from November 22. Looks like they haven’t updated their information regarding cruises after that yet. Have you looked in the shore excursions information in your Voyage Planner, the Azamazing Evening will show as a zero cost event.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

15 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

During the COVID crisis Azamara changed its Azamazing evening events into an onboard event. They plan to go back to the full Azamazing Evening event from November 22. Looks like they haven’t updated their information regarding cruises after that yet. Have you looked in the shore excursions information in your Voyage Planner, the Azamazing Evening will show as a zero cost event.

Our Dec. 22 Onward cruise has been switched to an event in port.

[DS]

21 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Our Dec. 22 Onward cruise has been switched to an event in port.

We are onboard the ONWARD ( Rome -> Barcelona).   What was originally advertised as an AzAmazing evening is going to be held on board-- i.e.  a Destination Celebration.   Eric said that after Nov 25 they would be AzAmazing Evenings... we ( or you, since we are not on cruise immediately after Nov 25...) will see!

[asnaleah]

Thanks @Grandma Cruising. The cruise planner shows an event on shore. We shall see if it happens or is changed to an onboard experience. Either way, I’m sure we will enjoy the evening!

[Scots Caz]

12 hours ago, DS said:

  Eric said that after Nov 25 they would be AzAmazing Evenings... we ( or you, since we are not on cruise immediately after Nov 25...) will see!

I have an onboard destination celebration on 26th November in planner (Journey) so I assume it may be for cruises that commence after 25th November

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, Scots Caz said:

I have an onboard destination celebration on 26th November in planner (Journey) so I assume it may be for cruises that commence after 25th November

Not necessarily. Our 29 October cruise on Quest has a full Azamazing Evening in the grounds of a hotel in Aqaba on 5 November.

[uktog]

It is very much venue and itinerary dependant so some ships will start there off ship events sooner than others and even after a ship goes "off ship" it may have to bring some back on ship for some cruises

[Mackdogmolly]

42 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Not necessarily. Our 29 October cruise on Quest has a full Azamazing Evening in the grounds of a hotel in Aqaba on 5 November.

Does it make you choose between that and the Petra excursion? Apparently that is the case on the same cruise in 2023

[Rabo]

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Does it make you choose between that and the Petra excursion? Apparently that is the case on the same cruise in 2023

In email correspondence with Azamara, I have been told that arrangements will be made for guests going on the Petra excursion to attend the AzAmazing Evening.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Does it make you choose between that and the Petra excursion? Apparently that is the case on the same cruise in 2023

People who are doing the Petra excursion have written to Azamara about this & have been assured that Azamara will make sure the ‘Petra people’ can get there.

[Mackdogmolly]

11 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

People who are doing the Petra excursion have written to Azamara about this & have been assured that Azamara will make sure the ‘Petra people’ can get there.

Good! Because on the 2023 cruise you are not allowed to sign up for both events 

[Rabo]

12 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Good! Because on the 2023 cruise you are not allowed to sign up for both events 

We're still not able to "book" both online for the October 29 voyage, but have been assured that it will be taken care of on board.

[DS]

UPDATE ON ONWARD

              Many of the postings have noted some of the deficiencies on the ONWARD.   We are currently onboard (Islands of the Med   Rome-> Barcelona). We were told by HD Elizabeth that there would be workers onboard this cruise doing “stuff’   And, boy, are there!   They have replaced all the bench seats in Atlas Bar (I presume they took comments of them being too narrow to heart).   They are replacing all the hall wall coverings at least on deck 8.  They are replacing all the cabin desktops that were cracked (as ours was… we came back today with a new desk top).   They are adding new air flow devices to keep smoke from smoking area out of cabins on deck 9 and 8  (ONWARD is first… will migrate to other ships later).   While there are still things to do, its clear they are taking things seriously.    (I would add that at most ports the majority of “stuff” loaded onboard has NOT been consumables, but equipment, engine parts, pallets of wood, furniture, etc.)

[DS]

Three weeks and no posts by anyone onboard any of the four ships???    Should I worry about Azamara???

[audobon_tx]

55 minutes ago, DS said:

Three weeks and no posts by anyone onboard any of the four ships???    Should I worry about Azamara???

 

No

[Roel94]

On 10/24/2022 at 4:35 PM, DS said:

UPDATE ON ONWARD

              Many of the postings have noted some of the deficiencies on the ONWARD.   We are currently onboard (Islands of the Med   Rome-> Barcelona). We were told by HD Elizabeth that there would be workers onboard this cruise doing “stuff’   And, boy, are there!   They have replaced all the bench seats in Atlas Bar (I presume they took comments of them being too narrow to heart).   They are replacing all the hall wall coverings at least on deck 8.  They are replacing all the cabin desktops that were cracked (as ours was… we came back today with a new desk top).   They are adding new air flow devices to keep smoke from smoking area out of cabins on deck 9 and 8  (ONWARD is first… will migrate to other ships later).   While there are still things to do, its clear they are taking things seriously.    (I would add that at most ports the majority of “stuff” loaded onboard has NOT been consumables, but equipment, engine parts, pallets of wood, furniture, etc.)

Tony told me this summer the bar benches And that  bar was missing furniture. I wish they were replacing the night stands in large suites ..way to small 

[lisiamc]

We are currently on Onward, waiting for morning trivia in ten minutes. The ambient music is so loud that we can’t have a conversation. The Den doesn’t need to sound like a disco at 9:15am. I’m not sure why they can’t seem to change this when so many people complain. We just received the “How is your cruise so far?” note last night. I will definitely mention it.

[uktog]

21 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

We are currently on Onward, waiting for morning trivia in ten minutes. The ambient music is so loud that we can’t have a conversation. The Den doesn’t need to sound like a disco at 9:15am. I’m not sure why they can’t seem to change this when so many people complain. We just received the “How is your cruise so far?” note last night. I will definitely mention it.

Please do. We will not be happy if our cruise next month is on a floating disco. Hopefully the hotel director acts on your feedback as they are the one ultimately responsible for your onboard experience. 
 

I hope it’s not a case of turn the volume down for the this cruise when they complain and then crank it back up for the next cruise until they complain
 

Glad to hear the furniture is changing around the public areas, that has to be one they want to sort out before they get to Miami and the “bigwigs” visit

Edited November 16, 2022 by uktog

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, lisiamc said:

We are currently on Onward, waiting for morning trivia in ten minutes. The ambient music is so loud that we can’t have a conversation. The Den doesn’t need to sound like a disco at 9:15am. I’m not sure why they can’t seem to change this when so many people complain. We just received the “How is your cruise so far?” note last night. I will definitely mention it.

Yes, we would find that irritating also. That said, on our family cruise on MSC Yacht Club earlier this year when out and about around the ship there were a few times it got annoying. But, our 3 adult kids in their 30s thought it was good! 😲

 

I think the issue is generational, and with the higher age range demographic cruisers (like us) on Az it is not appreciated. Guess there is a 'balance' to be struck to keep cruisers coming back, our generation will soon be gone....in relative terms!

[AJCM]

We finished a B2B2B on Pursuit recently (including the four ships get together). As our first cruise since 2019 has finished, I’ve lacked the enthusiasm to closely follow the board as I recover from the inevitable jet lag flying west to east for 24 hours.

 

I’ve just read several pages of this thread and people are talking about how to avoid aspects of White Night (eating and attire).

 

To give a different perspective, for many this is the highlight of the Azamara cruise experience.  

 

I encourage people to get into the spirit - arrange a table with friends or ask to join a table and make new friends, eat what you do like from the buffet (there’s a really wide choice), make sure you leave space for the crepe suzette. Seems to me plenty of people leave once the eating finishes and the dancing starts,so you don’t have to fully throw yourself into the night. 

 

However, if you want to fully enjoy the night, I suggest you wear white and dance. The music, singing and dancing is great fun and the whole crew make a tremendous effort to make it a special experience. One outfit in white doesn’t take up much room and plenty of people wear their white more than once. From some comments it’s clear that some people don’t want to wear white. It’s not compulsory but imho everyone looks great and who’s watching that closely anyway. If you wear white you’ll likely feel more a part of the night. It’s a great night if you choose it to be. If you choose not to wear white (completely up to you) you’ll probably still have a very enjoyable night but feel a little out of place.

 

This comment is not intended as. a criticism of anyone - just trying to give a different perspective to people who may not have cruised with Azamara before.

[AJCM]

P.S. If you’re fortunate enough to know the moves to “Man, I Feel Like A Woman” practise up.