uktog

I think the fridges are there - it is just now suddenly they are empty and there is no explanation to guests about why or how to have them stocked up. Interesting the response given to @nonrev1, we were in a veranda on Journey September and October 2022 and had both ice and sodas, on Onward November and December 2022 we had no ice but still had sodas. I do not buy the "losing control of inventory" story - sounds like a head office line the assistant HD was told to use. They did not seem to have inventory issues in the past, we are talking about very long dated items and other competitor cruise lines at the same price point or below manage to keep guests preferences fully stocked without issue.

Sorry different agents different messages yet another problem! And I’m not wasting any more time ringing up - never used to have to, they’re not open until 10 so does not suit my work patterns and the response times and rates are inconsistent. And don’t start me on response times to emails after ringing up and being told to put it in writing!

Yes but the point is, its very hard to find a brochure if indeed you can find an accurate one and many of us haven't got the option to call during the day to make bookings in the off chance the OBC will be applied - and when you are in a situation where the OBC only covers part you are faced having to pay the whole amount and hope it can be adjusted later on. The Japan information is incomplete so you cannot make a sensible plan based on what is there. Lets just say - it works for you, it most certainly does not work for myself and others and leave it at that. Until Azamara gets back to at least the functionality we enjoyed before the IT migration, many will be unhappy and some will move away

Thanks for the suggestion, I suppose I have resisted as it means something else to carry over and above the iPads that have to come for work. I have tried Kindle on the iPad and it just did not work for me, I will look again at the Fire though before our Antarctic trip (though it looks like Quest will still have the library then)

Thanks, Im not a kindle reader - too much eye strain - so take books with me (and leave in the library) - usually very recent hard back titles. I was really disappointed in the selection on Onward, they are going to struggle to have as much as was on the ships with proper libraries as they do not have the same amount of shelving. Like food what represents good books is subjective!!

Be aware on Onward there is no longer a library as such although there is still a reduced selection of books available to borrow in the Living Room and for travel books The Den, Rumour has it the conversion of the library to a bar will go ahead on the other vessels during their next dry docks whenever that is.

It’s so frustrating in the past I could start more detailed planning 6-9 months out. Our Japan intensive next Spring will be a “one and done” so I want to get the plans right for us. Before the website debacle you could even see all the planned excursions for our trip. Now it’s work around of work around and I’m not even sure if what’s shown as excursions is remotely correct And heaven forbid I should actually try and book anything!

Thanks for your very fair assessment. Your experience with the dining very much reflects our more recent dining onboard, something is just not right with the depth of flavours and seasoning across all the ships. The crew are indeed wonderful but not everyone wants to bank solely on that when choosing what line they go on.

We’ve always had our ice bucket filled until our last cruise. @nonrev1 is right. Attendant never said “ask me”. How would new cruisers know. We did ask but it was hit or miss if we got and often only a few cubes. There were sodas in our fridge- not stocking the minibar would be an unacceptable cut back if that’s a new policy. If you asked did they keep it stocked up? We often have sodas on the balcony mid afternoon it’s something we enjoy just being able to grab one when we feel like it

Wish I’d gone to KBs school - never had dinners there that I had on Viking (and in the one case where there was an issue in V at least I could get it put right as it was perfectly) Interesting @Mrs Miggins the issues shoreside at Azamara for me and my travel agent are too great just now though we do still have two booked for early 2024. Our upcoming Viking Ocean is New York to Greenland to Iceland then we have two rivers and an Ocean in early 2025 all of which we are happy with the per day price which is what we do our comparison on having created a like for like calculation.

Thank you. We’ve over 700 sailing days under our belts but only one on Viking (others being Celebrity, Azamara and two lapses in due diligence- MSC and NCL). There were things we did not like on our first Viking trip but that we believe was due to how we coped (or did not) with their strict Covid protocols. However we saw enough to book two more with Viking - the first coming up very soon. Our last cruise was on Azamara and was a huge disappointment, maybe we remember too much from their good old days just as some here remember their “good old Viking days” through the same rose tinted lenses. So we are really looking forward to the end of the month. We understand it’s not “our private ship” but somewhere we share will 900 others and some things will not work for us that do for others. We also know service will drop somewhere along the line in the 15 days but then, I’m sure I drop the ball elsewhere on something more often than every 15 days. Nothing is going to beat being fed, watered and have our brains occupied by new people, environments, thoughts, sights and sounds for that time. Thank you to everyone who has answered my newbie questions whilst we get set to go!

Are they a paying passenger or a travel agent/influencer? And what size of rooms? I’m reading all these glowing reports and stories of wonderful relaxation but they are from travel agents in big suites Id like to think that it is pretty easy to get reservations (they’re not sailing at capacity) and that the first day was just “teething issues” but need confirmation from “ordinary punters”

100% agree- I also find it annoying that those people who were cancelled were sorted out immediately and people like us, “real cruisers” have never been contacted or sorted out. Id love the view of people who aren’t agents or influencers and paid for their cruises and who focus on real “value”.

No but deck lights didn’t distort the view at all These are all deck view’s including some in port in tromso

Thanks these menus do look lovely

If anyone in the UK is waiting for a refund to arrive it has now come to light that giving Explora your sort code and account number is not enough. Although they never came back on that to my agent it appears that they need your IBAN SWIFT number and the BIC code for your bank account. Your bank will be able to give you that if however you do online banking, you will find it in your bank account details page. hopefully now they have my full bank details, including these codes the money will be with me in the next week.

Not sure I follow - but wandering around with your own bottle is not very "Azamara" and I certainly would never take it to the Cruise Critic Social. As I say, own bottle = own balcony for me (or in the dining room with the appropriate corkage fee if they charge it)

B2B not getting another - totally unfair (affects us in November) Given when we booked NO limitation was indicated of this nature we will be challenging that shoddy treatment of b2b guests

It was cruise only. I am very happy with the efforts being made by the agency at the highest level and believe we will have a resolution soon. The response by Explora is not impressive

@LuiK I think part of your problem is the number of travel agents and influencers onboard have snagged all the venues either through some pre cruise communication which did not get passed on to the wider guest group or through separate arrangements they made. I know there is also a "travel industry networkers conference" onboard which includes guests from competitors. Our cruise on 17/07 had certainly not communicated any pre booking dining options to us even after we had done on line check in (we got our official cancellation notice on 10/07). Looking at the numbers are you saying they are only doing one table turn a night - most ships even in their speciality restaurants do an "early" and "late" rotation of tables which should double the capacity and reduce the numbers feeling the need they have to go to the buffet. Even on established lines, the first two nights there can be slight delays in getting tables until the pattern for that cruises diners shakes out. We have cruised MSC Yacht Club - we never got a dedicated table or wait staff (would have been v v useful given food allergies) and certainly had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table, but we accepted that wait and they came downstairs and collected us from the lounge.

or just get a bounty and sit on it 🙂

My point about ABTA is for the non UK board members who do not understand that paying the agent rather than the cruiseline is no more risky unlike in the USA. I have every confidence I will get my money back, I have so many options open to me (the cruiseline, the agent via a S75 or even my very comprehensive travel insurance.) My real beef is that the initial words by Explora have been hollow (aka we recognise the high value of our cruises and that guests will want to make alternative arrangements elsewhere so we will be paying immediately etc) Having made those very alternative arrangements using a credit card the card payment date is nearly upon us yet there is no sign of the refund. My second beef is how poor the “compensation” is compared to what was paid elsewhere by Explora for much less disruptive cancellations. It is also poor in comparison to other lines including those they are pitching themselves as being “above”. There also seems a lack of transparency as those more closely connected to the travel trade are indicating they got much more than the stated offer. My travel agency, a major seller of cruises in the UK, is dealing with this at Head Office level. I too have now separately but in conjunction with the agency submitted my own letter of disappointment. I just hope the refund is here promptly so I don’t have to break into a savings plan (don’t do credit card debt!) and that Explora can still convince me they are different - in a positive way. I hope my next post is good news

Yes that really disappoints

Both our river and ocean cruises are higher but we had heard on the grapevine there were to be increases on 1 August

We prefer to be on the decks with others at sail away - could never wander around with my own bottle during that 🙂 Nice though if you are on your balcony