Riocca

Last year we had a discussion with an Assistant CD about background music around the pool area, was saying that if they play music they get a number of complaints but if they stop playing music they get an equal number of complaints that there’s no music. Classic case of you can’t please all the people all the time, personal preference is no music but don’t object to the occasional live music on sea days.

It’s the $1 US transaction after recent use in a different country that gets flagged by the fraud department, when I had a card compromised, thanks to a well known hotel booking site, it was flagged up because of a series of low cost transactions in Florida. The bank said this is what normally happens as the card is tested before being hit with the big one.

We’ve been using our Halifax Clarity card since 2015 and, touch wood, have never had a problem using it abroad. When we first had it you used to have to inform them where you were travelling but after a couple of years we were told that was no longer required. Like all banks they use AI to monitor if transactions are out of the normal pattern, so I expect if a card is being used in Australia and they then see a small test transaction in the U.S. it rings alarm bells unless it’s within the normal pattern of the card. Fortunately Azamara transactions are within the normal pattern of use for our cards, however we always have our normal HSBC cards as a backup.

Only thing I would say is that Azamara did a test transaction at the end if every cruise week. So if there was for example $100 due at the end of the first week it appears in pending transactions and at the end of the second week there’s another $100 test transaction. Our cruise was 17 days so I could see 2 pending transactions on the card but these are cancelled before the final balance is taken. It then depends on how the card issuer handles these pending transactions, Halifax viewed it as the same transaction so only the larger of the two pending transactions was taken from the available balance. Hopefully I’ve explained that okay 😀

On our recent cruises Azamara has tested the credit card with just $1 until there’s a debit balance on the onboard account when they will use the amount due. Payment isn’t taken until the cruise is over and the final invoice is issued. We use the Halifax Clarity credit card for traveling as it offers currency conversion at the full Mastercard rate with no fees. As it’s a true credit card you don’t have to preload any money and it’s accepted everywhere Mastercards are accepted.

While the 79 day itinerary looks great it’s a bit too long for us these days however we’ve booked the 22 day BA to San Antonio section taking in both Antarctica and the Chilean Fjords. My only thought is I wonder how popular the cruises that end & start in Panama City will be.

Yes our congratulations to Captain Dario 🥳

We’ve had a few repeats over the past few years some we were happy to repeat others not so. Last year on one cruise so many passengers stayed behind they had to hurriedly arrange some sort of entertainment, only a film in the Show Lounge but it was something. We’re all going to have differing views but we have enjoyed the majority of the ones we’ve attended and are glad we were able to experience them, but as with all things life moves on and will try and enjoy the onboard experiences.

Over the years we’ve experienced some great AzAmazing Evenings and some not so great, after 10 years many passengers will have experienced the same evening a number of times and recently we’ve noticed more and more passengers remaining onboard. So maybe it was time for a shake up anyway. However it’s possibly more fundamental than that, 10 years ago with two ships and the resources of Royal Caribbean the organisation of these events although complicated probably didn’t absorb too much of those resources. Now Azamara is a small independent company with four ships and limited resources, so those resources have to be used as efficiently as possible. Finding locations and arranging transportation is probably the biggest problem, of course Azamara could employ a whole department to provide these events but it’s going to reflect directly in the cruise fare which many complain is rising too fast anyway.

The following May 29th ten night cruise is currently showing as sold out, which is never a good sign, so maybe that will provide the extra days required. We are booked on Pursuits October 26th Athens to Dubai so are waiting to see what transpires, the prices increased to ridiculous levels a while ago but have dropped in price twice in the past week to something more normal.

Crystal Symphony made a run via the Red Sea: https://www.cruisehive.com/cruise-ship-encounters-red-sea-tensions-on-repositioning-voyage/127657?fbclid=IwAR3t-OEcEDIovvej1dfLcf9MPZ4Fns4nUUsyiTY-PEAmJ4xBLv3t0ZulGxI_aem_ASvvmNDCP4gr3jV7MiQjMc8lyGjPUGhsl7H8JJOBoiNyd6ZUvnjKjWhyN9TSz6Fn894

Judging by a post Azamara has just made on FB it’s the long awaited 2025/26 itineraries, we were told on Quest last week that they would be out in April so would make sense.

Just disembarked Quest and being on Pursuits 26th October sailing obviously asked this question, no definitive answer but it’s looking likely that this cruise will be cancelled and the preceding charter to allow Pursuit to dead head around Africa to Dubai. Prices also went extremely high for this cruise to dissuade people from booking but have dropped in recent days to more reasonable levels. We have booked flights that can be cancelled or altered at minimal cost just in case.

Don’t forget Azamara have a new management team in respect of a new CFO and incoming CEO so that brings in new ideas. My take on the differing offers is that they are trying different things to see what is most attractive to customers and will settle on whatever is most effective. As regards Sycamore my understanding is that all their companies run autonomously they provide the funds for growth, think of it like a bank, but if Azamara can provide cheaper financing from bringing in customers funds early then that’s good business. Viking have been doing this for years in the North American market with no return for their customers.

Spoke to Tony last night and the rumours are indeed true, so you’re going to enjoy some excellent entertainment, enjoy!