Rare crusinbanjo Posted March 6, 2023 #1 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Hi All: Mrs Banjo and I are considering a first time cruise on Azamara Onward. WE are experienced cruisers and have cruised on this ship when she was the Pacific Princess, some years ago. Can somebody comment on the ship's overall condition? WE are hoping it is in good shape and are looking forward to a B to B on her in January 2024. Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinaro44 Posted March 6, 2023 #2 Share Posted March 6, 2023 It was in fine shape in December and early January. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted March 6, 2023 #3 Share Posted March 6, 2023 We sailed on Onward in January in a Club Continent Suite. Everything worked as advertised. In a Q & A with Captain it was apparent they had many challenges to overcome in order to launch last May. All the pipes were replaced. There were areas that flooring had to be replaced. A passenger on the maiden voyage showed me pictures that showed the ship was not ready to be launched. Well, the ship looked pretty good on our cruise and they are constantly working on keeping it that way. Crew was great, food warm and good and this cruise confirmed to us that we will be fine cruising in that same suite for 155 days on next years World Voyage. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinbanjo Posted March 6, 2023 Author #4 Share Posted March 6, 2023 Thank you. I think I will book the B to B cruises very soon. Looking forward to being on board in January 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercruiser Posted March 7, 2023 #5 Share Posted March 7, 2023 (edited) We were on Onward last week, Feb 12 - Feb 28, Lima to Miami. I thought Onward was in great condition. The interior looks mostly brand-new. The assistant cruise director said that Princess basically trashed the interior when they laid up Pacific Princess for Covid. Princess stored all kinds of junk inside the ship. As a result, Azamara had to replace or refinish almost everything you see in the interior. IMHO, the result looks very good. A couple of niggles that had absolutely no impact on our enjoyment of the cruise: 1) They painted over the Pacific Princess white hull with Azamara blue. Some of the blue paint is coming off, especially at the waterline, showing the white paint underneath. Looks like a bad paint job. 2) They replaced the fans on the pool deck, underneath the jogging track. They look like some cheap POS that you might buy from a liquidation store for $20 each - not something I would want on my home, let alone a moving ship. The fans are already broken and inoperative. This fan is supposed to have four blades. It only has three. If you turned it on, it would vibrate so bad as to be a hazard to passengers below. Edited March 7, 2023 by Mercruiser 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the mice Posted March 7, 2023 #6 Share Posted March 7, 2023 (edited) We were on Onward in October-November.. The ship was still being worked on in a few places then and we had to dodge some workers in the halls, near elevators on upper deck (don't remember exactly where). but I would hope that work has been completed by now. We were in a standard verandah and I was somewhat dismayed to see that the desk and mirror and cabinets were not changed out. Our desk had a broken hinge on one door, but a call got it fixed right away. FYI - quite by accident, last week I found this article on our cruise with lots of photos done by an online cruise magazine: https://www.cruiseturtle.com/cruise-ships/azamara-onwa Edited March 7, 2023 by the mice 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinbanjo Posted March 7, 2023 Author #7 Share Posted March 7, 2023 Thank you all for the great info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChucktownSteve Posted March 8, 2023 #8 Share Posted March 8, 2023 5 hours ago, the mice said: We were on Onward in October-November.. The ship was still being worked on in a few places then and we had to dodge some workers in the halls, near elevators on upper deck (don't remember exactly where). but I would hope that work has been completed by now. We were in a standard verandah and I was somewhat dismayed to see that the desk and mirror and cabinets were not changed out. Our desk had a broken hinge on one door, but a call got it fixed right away. FYI - quite by accident, last week I found this article on our cruise with lots of photos done by an online cruise magazine: https://www.cruiseturtle.com/cruise-ships/azamara-onwa Thank you for posting the article. I really enjoyed it. Makes me feel better about our booked Onward cruise 12/24. I hope it wasn't just a whitewash article but accurate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riocca Posted March 8, 2023 #9 Share Posted March 8, 2023 7 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said: Thank you for posting the article. I really enjoyed it. Makes me feel better about our booked Onward cruise 12/24. I hope it wasn't just a whitewash article but accurate. One of the better articles I have seen, lots of information with any embellishment, only misinformation was that Onward was Pacific Princess not Ocean Princess. Also didn’t continually use the word luxury as others have done, description was instead boutique which is much more accurate. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare DCPIV Posted March 12, 2023 #10 Share Posted March 12, 2023 I agree that she is in great shape (or was back in December), but there were a handful of minor, relatively inconsequential things like what @Mercruiser mentioned. Along those lines, some of the speakers out at the pool weren't working. Given recent history, we certainly could understand that they would need to take care of such things while at sea and with passengers on board. That can take a while to run down all the punch list items or little things that pop up. We had a fantastic cruise and would go back on board Onward without hesitating. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie99 Posted March 14, 2023 #11 Share Posted March 14, 2023 On Onward just now. Ship is in excellent condition. Our cabin, CC suite 8020 is in great condition, obviously refitted. Steward and butler, faultless. Cruise Director is not De Gray chap as we expected but a Scots guy, Martin ( I think, not exactly sure) . He is ok, not memorable. Enjoying cruise very much. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takemewithyou Posted March 14, 2023 #12 Share Posted March 14, 2023 I thought Eric was going to be coming back in March. Are they giving any idea when he may return to Onward? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kent4489 Posted March 14, 2023 #13 Share Posted March 14, 2023 I heard that Eric will be back on the 18th. We are also currently on Onward. At the end of this current cruise, we will have spent 40 nights in same CC cabin since June. And we are booked again, same cabin for Nov. trans Atlantic. Obviously, we are very satisfied with Onward. Our Butler and cabin steward are also faultless. After 18 glorious days this trip, we are sad to leave on Sat. We like Martin, the CD very much. 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laganlady02 Posted March 15, 2023 #14 Share Posted March 15, 2023 19 hours ago, scottie99 said: On Onward just now. Ship is in excellent condition. Our cabin, CC suite 8020 is in great condition, obviously refitted. Steward and butler, faultless. Cruise Director is not De Gray chap as we expected but a Scots guy, Martin ( I think, not exactly sure) . He is ok, not memorable. Enjoying cruise very much. How was embarkation in Gran Canaria? What time did it start and did you have a separate group for suite guests? Thank you for any information you can provide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottie99 Posted March 15, 2023 #15 Share Posted March 15, 2023 2 hours ago, Laganlady02 said: How was embarkation in Gran Canaria? What time did it start and did you have a separate group for suite guests? Thank you for any information you can provide. We were allocated 2.30 pm embarkation. We arrived 1.45 and were aboard in less than 30 mins. Lines were fairly long but moved quickly and were well organised. once dropping luggage, there was a separate line for suites. Cabins were available immediately and luggage arrived very quickly. Azamara handled whole process very well 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvkoko Posted March 15, 2023 #16 Share Posted March 15, 2023 I will sail first time on Azamara 3/25/2023 from Gran Canaria. Is there a daily planner for ship activities? Curious when the times are for entertainment. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baynanno1 Posted March 15, 2023 #17 Share Posted March 15, 2023 6 minutes ago, luvkoko said: I will sail first time on Azamara 3/25/2023 from Gran Canaria. Is there a daily planner for ship activities? Curious when the times are for entertainment. Thank you. The daily planner is called "The Insider" and is left in your room each evening for the following day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissaghoti Posted March 15, 2023 #18 Share Posted March 15, 2023 I take a picture of ‘The Insider’ schedule to avoid carrying it around all day. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseaholic78 Posted March 16, 2023 #19 Share Posted March 16, 2023 10 hours ago, luvkoko said: I will sail first time on Azamara 3/25/2023 from Gran Canaria. Is there a daily planner for ship activities? Curious when the times are for entertainment. Thank you. Do pop over and join us on the roll call, we are a friendly bunch. Rosalyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmax Posted March 16, 2023 #20 Share Posted March 16, 2023 21 hours ago, Melissaghoti said: I take a picture of ‘The Insider’ schedule to avoid carrying it around all day. Wouldn't it be easier to fold it up and carry it around in your pocket rather than having to carry your phone around? 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercruiser Posted March 16, 2023 #21 Share Posted March 16, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, macmax said: Wouldn't it be easier to fold it up and carry it around in your pocket rather than having to carry your phone around? Speaking for my DW, she rarely has pockets, but she always has her phone. Edited March 16, 2023 by Mercruiser 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted March 16, 2023 #22 Share Posted March 16, 2023 Its also a great idea to have a photo of the front page with you when you are ashore so you have access to the port agents details, location name of the dock etc. Bits of paper can get lost! 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted March 16, 2023 #23 Share Posted March 16, 2023 1 hour ago, macmax said: Wouldn't it be easier to fold it up and carry it around in your pocket rather than having to carry your phone around? If you have T-Mobile, you always carry your phone because you always have free text and data coverage. So then the camera (and camera roll) is also available 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palms2Pines2Sea Posted March 20, 2023 #24 Share Posted March 20, 2023 The Onward is in very very fine shape, especially for her age. We enjoyed the recent Transatlantic tremendously. Some random photos from our crossing. 😎 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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