Anybody onboard currently?

[KevintheIrishDJ]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

They do not want larger vessels coming up the river on environmental grounds

Not unlike Key West.

[GoGiantsfan11]

On 9/11/2022 at 10:15 PM, neverseasick said:

Is anyone onboard the Onward right now? If so, what is your overall impression of the ship as well as of the dining and entertainment? Even very recently it's not getting the best reviews.  

My parents are on board right now and I just spoke to them.  They are not so happy with the overall ship.  they are in suite which they said was very nice but not so much with the rest of the ship. Dark wood, dark elevators , thoughts the ship was showing its age in a lot of places.  They did say the food was great so far. Did not ask about the entertainment.  They were also disappointed they missed two stops because they could not dock but that is not the ships fault. They only been on board since Friday so hopefully it improves. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

Dark wood, dark elevators

This is the classic nautical décor that some of us especially like about Azamara.  You want bleached wood and off-white everywhere?—Viking, Celebrity, lots of other choices.

[Aardvaark]

3 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is the classic nautical décor that some of us especially like about Azamara.  You want bleached wood and off-white everywhere?—Viking, Celebrity, lots of other choices.

My condo is full of Swedish Moderne.  Nice to get back to dark, regal, surroundings.

[Aardvaark]

Pardon me if this has been answered before, but which nights of the 17 are "Gala" nights in the dining facilities? 

[GoGiantsfan11]

13 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is the classic nautical décor that some of us especially like about Azamara.  You want bleached wood and off-white everywhere?—Viking, Celebrity, lots of other choices.

My parents have probably been on 20+ cruises with Azamara.  They love the cruise line.  The call was quick maybe I did not understand it correctly.  Also, complained the wifi was terrible on the ship. 

[hamrag]

1 minute ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

My parents have probably been on 20+ cruises with Azamara.  They love the cruise line.  The call was quick maybe I did not understand it correctly.  Also, complained the wifi was terrible on the ship. 

And they didn't know about the dark wood decor after all those cruises? This is the classic look, one of the things that attracts people to Az!

[beatnix]

7 minutes ago, Aardvaark said:

Pardon me if this has been answered before, but which nights of the 17 are "Gala" nights in the dining facilities? 

No Gala Events at Azamara. Country casual, but if you want to dress up , just do it.

But for White Night you should pack something white. 

[margo2011]

On 9/15/2022 at 5:49 PM, Cruizer Bill said:

Thanks Bruce!  We are on B2B cruises all the way to Barcelona.  There are 85 of us staying on and that is a record for Azamara post-Covid.  
There are 579 passengers booked on the next cruise.  That is 98 more than the present cruise.

 

We are expecting protestors when we sail into Bordeaux.  They don’t like cruises or cruisers.  You should be with us to drink some Bordeaux wine!

We were in Bordeaux on the last cruise no problems at all .We docked along side a park right in the city centre .

[marinaro44]

30 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This is the classic nautical décor that some of us especially like about Azamara.  You want bleached wood and off-white everywhere?—Viking, Celebrity, lots of other choices.

And...really...in the bottom 5-10% of criteria for choosing a cruise.

[marinaro44]

9 minutes ago, beatnix said:

No Gala Events at Azamara. Country casual, but if you want to dress up , just do it.

But for White Night you should pack something white. 

But entirely unnecessary if it's not in your usual cruising wardrobe.

[tgg]

39 minutes ago, beatnix said:

No Gala Events at Azamara. Country casual, but if you want to dress up , just do it.

But for White Night you should pack something white. 

 

Country casual?  Perhaps those two words should be separated by "club".  😉

[neverseasick]

1 hour ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

My parents are on board right now and I just spoke to them.  They are not so happy with the overall ship.  they are in suite which they said was very nice but not so much with the rest of the ship. Dark wood, dark elevators , thoughts the ship was showing its age in a lot of places.  They did say the food was great so far. Did not ask about the entertainment.  They were also disappointed they missed two stops because they could not dock but that is not the ships fault. They only been on board since Friday so hopefully it improves.

Thanks for your input! Glad they like the food. What's important to us is the itinerary and the people we meet as well as the food. 

[the mice]

2 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

But entirely unnecessary if it's not in your usual cruising wardrobe.

Thank you - I never pack anything white when traveling, especially if I am trying to go carry on only and we are traveling for a month and will have to do laundry (on land and on ship) so sending out whites could be a disaster, esp. if only 1 item.  (and in NY, black is our white anyway 😉)

Edited September 19, 2022 by the mice
typos

[marinaro44]

2 hours ago, the mice said:

Thank you - I never pack anything white when traveling, especially if I am trying to go carry on only and we are traveling for a month and will have to do laundry (on land and on ship) so sending out whites could be a disaster, esp. if only 1 item.  (and in NY, black is our white anyway 😉)

No reason to be stressed over the color of your clothes.  Relax and just enjoy.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, the mice said:

Thank you - I never pack anything white when traveling, especially if I am trying to go carry on only and we are traveling for a month and will have to do laundry (on land and on ship) so sending out whites could be a disaster, esp. if only 1 item.  (and in NY, black is our white anyway 😉)

It's dark enough at the White Night party that no one can tell true white from light pastel.  [But NY black would definitely stand out... 😉]

[takemewithyou]

Where and when……..

Question about Meet and Greets for Cruise Critics…..are they still being held the same day as embarkation?  (That’s how it was 12/22 for us).

And Onward specific……where are they holding the meet and greet now ?

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

My parents have probably been on 20+ cruises with Azamara.  They love the cruise line.  The call was quick maybe I did not understand it correctly.  Also, complained the wifi was terrible on the ship. 

Didn't realize this from your earlier post.  Maybe they are reacting to the differences between Onward and the other ships – it seems that it was in even worse condition that Pursuit when that was 'rescued' from Princess.  I hope that Azamara can continue to repair the deferred maintenance damage, because these R-ships are really nice and can continue to please for many years to come – just as 6 of the 8 of the prior-generation Renaissance ships are still pleasing across several cruise lines [they don't make them like this any more...]

[andrcan]

26 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Where and when……..

Question about Meet and Greets for Cruise Critics…..are they still being held the same day as embarkation?  (That’s how it was 12/22 for us).

And Onward specific……where are they holding the meet and greet now ?

On my cruise on Pursuit in June, CC Meet&Greet was on the 3rd day.

[takemewithyou]

3 minutes ago, andrcan said:

On my cruise on Pursuit in June, CC Meet&Greet was on the 3rd day.

Were there any invitation s in the cabin or did you just watch for the announcement in the daily newsletter?

[neverseasick]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Didn't realize this from your earlier post.  Maybe they are reacting to the differences between Onward and the other ships – it seems that it was in even worse condition that Pursuit when that was 'rescued' from Princess.  I hope that Azamara can continue to repair the deferred maintenance damage, because these R-ships are really nice and can continue to please for many years to come – just as 6 of the 8 of the prior-generation Renaissance ships are still pleasing across several cruise lines [they don't make them like this any more...]

Sounds very likely. For this who sailed on Onward during the hot summer months, was the air conditioning sufficient?

 

 

 

 

 

[Roel94]

4 hours ago, GoGiantsfan11 said:

My parents are on board right now and I just spoke to them.  They are not so happy with the overall ship.  they are in suite which they said was very nice but not so much with the rest of the ship. Dark wood, dark elevators , thoughts the ship was showing its age in a lot of places.  They did say the food was great so far. Did not ask about the entertainment.  They were also disappointed they missed two stops because they could not dock but that is not the ships fault. They only been on board since Friday so hopefully it improves. 

I felt they needed work in changing out mirrors etc.

they have the best shower,a great butler and the Atlas Bar.Plus Marty in spirits.Also a new port vs the same  two ports.I was I could of skipped them.

[Cruizer Bill]

Day no. 4of 13 day Pursuit cruise

Still no meet and greet

Bilbao was perfect and we are now in La Coruna with a beautiful sunny day ahead.

The cruise is going great!  Paul Hazel sang last night and the onboard cast have been excellent!

[uktog]

9 hours ago, the mice said:

Thank you - I never pack anything white when traveling, especially if I am trying to go carry on only and we are traveling for a month and will have to do laundry (on land and on ship) so sending out whites could be a disaster, esp. if only 1 item.  (and in NY, black is our white anyway 😉)

Do not worry about White Night. Some people go absolutely over the top about it.
 

It’s a pleasant evening, the buffets a bit crowded for me, the foods fine though with outdoor dining inevitably a bit cold and whilst you sense some fashion police are trying to big up the white theme it’s not a requirement. I may have a white top on for my cruise nights it might just be a white hair band. 

Personally I preferred when it was called bright nights immediately post covid (and yes there was a buffet but access was more restricted again something I liked it was far easier to get your food). The bright or sparkling dress code was much more relaxing! 
 

And I liked that they did not allow access to the pool deck until around 6. Immediately pre pandemic it had become a joke people staking out claims to tables at 1630 - it was worse than pool chair hogs 😂😂

[Riocca]

23 minutes ago, Cruizer Bill said:

Day no. 4of 13 day Pursuit cruise

Still no meet and greet

Bilbao was perfect and we are now in La Coruna with a beautiful sunny day ahead.

The cruise is going great!  Paul Hazel sang last night and the onboard cast have been excellent!

Having cruised with many cruise lines the high profile meet and greets seems to be a Royal Caribbean/Celebrity thing. We had one on Quest last month but it was a low profile self administered thing with just room set aside for it, Ryszard did attend but only when someone reminded him it was going on.

Now under new ownership maybe Azamara are taking a more ambivalent view of Cruise Critic like the majority of other cruise lines.