AllisonJames

Last year our Scottish Islands cruise on Journey was called the “Norway Intensive” in My Azamara for our entire pre-cruise time which was months. And we didn’t even have any ports in Norway, we went Amsterdam to Dublin. It was never corrected. The good news is: yes, it really was the Scottish Islands cruise!

Welcome! Hope you enjoy AZ as much as we do! And I will be very interested to hear about your perspective on AZ, particularly since Celebrity Eclipse, in my opinion, is a very different cruise experience.

We took this offer today and we immediately received an updated invoice showing the credit.

Update: yes, this credit is additional to the other types of onboard credit we already have from when we booked. Even though our cruise isn’t until May 2025, we probably will take advantage of it. We will use it and end up with a zero balance at the end of the cruise! We don’t mind paying early, especially if it helps us earn our credit card status earlier, which to us has many advantages as well.

Thanks for this everyone…I had missed the email. Can I assume this is in addition to the onboard credit we already have (from booking onboard and from our travel agent and I think a booking offer as well?) This seems appealing to me because we can spend it on shore excursions (my husband does the Perry Golf package so I usually end of taking a number of AZ excursions when I am on my own) the Spa, and adult beverages 😎 Also…we are taking a Viking River Cruise in July and had to pay 11 months in advance and certainly didn’t get any extra onboard credit to do so!

If you are interested in wines, I recommend you don’t decide on upgrading your package until you board and make sure what is available. The last time we were on AZ, we embarked expecting to upgrade to ultimate. However, so many of the wines advertised as being included were not available that after discussing with the Sommelier, we just purchased a five bottle package and paid for a few specialty cocktails along the way (Mostly after dinner drinks like Port and Grand Marnier). This worked for us and we spent much less on beverages than we would have purchasing the Ultimate package.

Thanks for this, I found it interesting. We were on the Silver Whisper (our only time on SS) in 2011, 5 years before we started cruising on AZ. We too liked the size of the Silver Whisper, which is one of the aspects that encouraged us to look at AZ. But I can’t say that we thought SS was much better than AZ, although the larger veranda staterooms was a plus. I am wondering how you found the ambience and other guests on SS. We definitely thought SS was more formal and the guests less friendly than on AZ and that’s one of the reasons SS hasn’t been appealing to repeat. But then again, I am talking about 13 years ago so would love your thoughts on that. We like the casual and relaxed vibe of AZ. I don’t think we’d sail the Silver Whisper again, but some of the newer ships like Silver Moon look incredible.

We cruised quite often when our kids were that age. The two questions I encourage you to ask yourself: “Would my kids be happy if there aren’t any other kids on the ship to have fun with?” And “Would I be happy if my kids were bored and reduced to spending lots of time gaming when I have invested significant time and money in giving them an amazing travel experience?” Only you know the answers to those questions.

This is wonderful … we were booked to sail Crystal Bach in July 2020, it was going to be our very first river cruise and we were so excited…well, we all know how that turned out. Those ships are absolutely gorgeous (and very different from the typical Uniworld decor, which frankly, has kept us away from Uniworld) and so now maybe we can experience them!

Hi, we had the French Chef’s Table on Journey in August…wondering if the wines are the same from ship to ship…but I think I have the menu…will look and post here if I find it!

None in Invergordon or Greenoch. Inverness and Glasgow are quite a distance…you can take the train if you don’t want to to do tours. In Lerwick (Shetland Islands) and Kirkwall (Orkney Islands) we had shuttles In Oban and Stornaway (Isle of Lewis) we tendered directly to the town. I hope you make it into Edinburgh — we didn’t on Journey in August due to rough seas and difficulty getting through the locks. Ended up docking in Rosyth about 45 minutes away.

There can be a line at Discoveries in the first hour after it opens (6:30 - 7:30). We like to arrive a little later (around 8 - 8:30) and usually don’t have a long wait (or any wait) as the earlybirds are departing for the show. Of course, the downside to a later dining time is we often find ourselves missing the shows…so it works well for us to plan accordingly if there is a special show we want to see. I do wish they would have a slightly later show time but they do their best to accommodate the schedules for most of the guests…if there are two shows the times are usually 1 1/2 to 2 hours apart and most shows we have attended have been 45 minutes which we think is a perfect length!

I would be much more impressed if Carol came on this board and started directly answering our questions. Considering the situation, it’s warranted.

We were on Pursuit’s Maiden and I really thought it was beautifully done and loved the improvements that were done — for example the upholstered chaise lounges that face the windows in the living room…and the fact that they moved the band area more to the center so you don’t lose that window space and some of the view. I really notice the difference when on Journey and wish they would do that to Journey and Quest…not sure if that’s how it is on Onward. I followed along on social media as they were refurbishing Pursuit and it was amazing to see how everyone pitched in and accomplished what they did and the scale of the entire operation. Yes a few hiccups on the maiden but not many that were obvious (pool chair cushions were delayed but I am remembering correctly they were in place before the end of the cruise). I would bet the condition of Onward upon delivery to AZ, as well as supply chain issues really had an impact. Whomever led the Pursuit refurb did a first-class job. However…it is time to get rid of the dark wood in the staterooms…time for new cabinets and a lighter/more contemporary design!

Thank you for this very detailed review. We have only sailed on Viking Ocean once and it was more than 5 years ago but our experience and perspective was very similar to yours…Did not feel like there were noticeably more guests than AZ (and it was a holiday week) and loved all the indoor/outdoor areas — great ship for inclement weather or longer cruise. We are booked on Viking River for next July and yes, their payment policy is a bit crazy…payment in full more than 11 months in advance, but we were happy with the cost for a two-room suite so we paid it and the river cruises really book up so necessary. Also booked on AZ again but there are areas where Viking is edging out AZ. Although we did not find the service or the other guests as friendly on Viking as on AZ…I can say the Viking pre-cruise experience, this far ahead, has already been extremely good.