uktog

2 minutes ago, gaspari said:

Approx 350 from Miami, approx 300 more in Lanzarote, then about another 100 in Casablanca

As the cruise was not being sold from Lanzarote -and I doubt 300 islanders would go on a cruise at once, can I assume you are surrounded by a number of influences and travel agents?

I am curious, did this itinerary have issues all the way from Miami or did new (additional) guests board somewhere along the line?

14 hours ago, DrKoob said:

We have just spent two weeks in your beautiful country. Take a look at my blog (www.jimbellomoDOTcom) for my photos of your beautiful country in rain or in sun.

I have just looked- you covered so much about the West and the photos are gorgeous. Your assessment of Glasgow was spot on! 

8 minutes ago, gaspari said:

We spoke at length to a receptive customer services guy two days ago, who suggested the F and B manager would meet us to discuss, but nothing

Ask to speak to the General Manager that who you need 

51 minutes ago, casperthecat said:

Except that the only table they offered was 8.45pm

So how did everyone get in ahead of you?

Mind we’ve often been left with that time on Celebrity

You can ask to speak to the manager in overall charge of the restaurants and they can usually sort something 

Alternatively the Emporium is not a Celebrity buffet it’s far far better

Or for one night room service whilst getting yourself set up for tomorrow 

48 minutes ago, casperthecat said:

It is now being suggested that everyone makes a reservation for Fil Rouge and Yacht Club. I’m not doing that. I may as well be on Celebrity. 

Except you don’t get food and service of the quality of these two restaurants on Celebrity. I’d suggest do as they ask or consider dining at night in Emporium which is a class well above anything Celebrity can offer on demand 

Ok sounds like they are trying to manage some internal problems- you can fight against and be miserable or do as they suggest 

With the exception of two days we always had freshly squeezed juice. The two days it was missing was due to supply issues which were addressed. People need to remember Explora is a new line, they will need a year to gather sufficient data to provision efficiently based on guest demographics and itinerary. Every line had occasional drop offs on provisions. 
I do not recognise the description of breakfast offerings -  the beautiful baked onboard bread products shone out though it is recognised the breads are a European type selection which is to be expected on a European line. 

I hope the sun shines for you in Edinburgh - our weather has been constant rain for almost a month but the scenery and buildings take on a beauty in the rain. Same applies throughout Scotland - no parched look this year rather lush and green 

10 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So now you think you are docked there, but the "port authorities can change" it – and then Azamara will get the blame!  This is why they don't announce in advance.

I think sharing in advance with the appropriate caveats is absolutely the right thing to do to help with planning. Azamara cruisers are a realistic lot. They understand about the port authorities. Not announcing is a “we know but we don’t trust you to know” attitude if that is the cruise lines reasons. 
Id rather the cruise lines shared with caveats their actual expectations rather than rely on people’s guesses on forums 

39 minutes ago, chill6x6 said:

Quick question!

 

My itinerary says Explora I arrives back to MIA at 7AM.  Any reason we couldn't be on our way to the airport by 8AM?

 

Thank you!

Very very marginal 

I always thought it was brave channeling all emails to one mailbox. Maybe they’d underestimated how many folks were struggling still with issues. Let’s hope it sorts for you soon. 

59 minutes ago, Poppy45 said:

We have just disembarked Explora 1 and have been told that Anthology will be replaced with an Italian restaurant. When the guest chefs are onboard it is very popular but demand is very lackluster otherwise.

Thanks that’s great news - is this for Explora 2 or both ships?

1 hour ago, Squiz58 said:

Noticed this morning that the Athens to Dubai, Dubai to Dubai, and Dubai to Singapore cruises have all changed to “pricing unavailable”

Viking cancelled their equivalent trips yesterday 

Thanks a lot. Sounds ideal. Were the boat tours included ones or did you branch out on your own/buy the added tour from Viking

Packing is as planned which is great to get reassurance. We can do rain, we have webbed feet living here 😂

18 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

Does your phone support eSIMs?  If not, then it may be worth replacing it with the savings you will make.

An eSIM typically supports data but not voice and costs a tiny fraction of your home carrier's roaming costs.  I paid less than the equivalent of $20 for a 30 day bundle of 10GB data.  Even tethering my laptop, I used less than half of that in 10 days of cruising.  There are may options available from multiple suppliers.

 

Phones will let you use your 'home' SIM for voice simultaneously with an eSIM for data, so you can remain in voice contact for emergencies.

Excellent advice - I used Airolo on my Japan intensive. Because we were relatively near land most of the time it also provided very good WiFi on a lot of the evenings whilst moving between ports. Like @fruitmachine I paid a low price. I went for 50gb for 30 days for €25 as we were using it as a navigation system during our land based trip. However we could have had a lot less. Even allowing for uploading all our photos and videos we only used 15gb 

13 hours ago, longboard55 said:

It offered more than a floating buffet

The Emporium on Explora is unlike any “buffet” you have seen before. It’s wrong to call it a buffet. It’s more a la carte on demand in a casual setting 

12 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

When we did this itinerary last Nov/Dec they brought several troupes of native performers on board at various Hawaiian and Polynesian ports.  Each displayed a different style of singing / dancing / drumming.  There were feasts on deck at night (at one roasted an entire pig) as well as performances in theater.   Very entertaining.

We too are doing this itinerary in January. Thank you for your informative post. Two quick questions- am I right in assuming I pack layers for all weather conditions and  for non snorkelers what’s the one thing you would say “you must do”.  Thanks 

41 minutes ago, woodards said:

So if I have Premium and want to move to Ultimate I pay $8 per day minus 20% for Discover plus discount?

 

Thanks.

Yes that was certainly our experience (our discount was 25% as platinum so we paid $6 a day each)

Great balanced review thanks. For us Sakura tastes were great because we can only manage mild. I think next cruise we will ask them to go light on spices as they (rightly) may have turned the dial up on spices based on feedback. 
Glad you enjoyed your adventure 

9 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I've sailed with Carl, but my personal favourite hands down is Captain Johannes. Extremely customer focused. I guess we all have our favourite, but let's face it. They are all great. 

 

Phil 

There are also two relatively new Captains Kresimir and Dario both trained by both Captains Johannes and Carl and also by Captain G and Captain Antonio. Their approach is also equally customer focused but with a modern twist. I’d say the captaincy of all Azamara ships is in great hands - not just Onward 

37 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

But you can get the Atlas cocktails on all the other ships!

And I found them much better mixed on both Quest and Journey albeit without the theatrical show that Onward had 

We first stayed in an OT2 then a Premium Penthouse. Decided the Penthouse wasn’t worth the upcharge so our next two bookings are in an OT1 and OT2 based on availability at the time of booking and our preference re location. 

Some of us were trying to use that pool when Mr Green Suit was posing and his minders were shooing us away. The problem is these people come with an extensive retinue, so easy to spot.  They take over bars (inside and out) and are very noisy In restaurants. On the same cruise we’d a woman constantly having bar drinks remixed and poured whilst she filmed them or walking around filming and talking into her iPhone but unaware she was about to bump into guests etc 

Not in Southampton but we had to move our bags ourselves “for security reasons”. I think the only people who can accurately answer are “on the ground” in other words guest relations once onboard 

57 minutes ago, Millerhm01 said:

Interested in taking a 12-15 day cruise in early 2026 focusing on South Africa, and I sort of like Azamara's recent S.A. itineraries for '24 and '25.  However, while most of Azamara's 2026 sailings throughout its fleet (3 of the 4 ships) have been released, none are scheduled to go to the typical ports in South Africa. Wondering if anyone has heard any gossip on the Azamara Journey, whose 2026 sailings have not yet been released?  Any thoughts on why that is? Any buzz on when its sailings will be released, and is it likely that South Africa will among its destinations? Thanks. 

Journey is going to be in South Africa over winter 2025/6 according to the CEOs webinar when she highlighted a new cruise itinerary to the Vanilla Islands and mentioned it could be back to back with a South Africa cruise and/or safari.