ashstreet

Well, I have 2 back- to-back cruises on the Journey starting August 17th, and I certainly hope that these cruises are better than the pre-cruise experience. i have little sympathy for the company’s computer issues. A big conglomerate called Sycamore owns Azamara, and should be much more efficient. At this point, these 2 cruises with Azamara will be my first and last. This past spring, I spent 21 nights on the Royal Caribbean Explorer of the Seas, and even with missing a port due to weather, the whole process ran smoothly. The way I see it, a cruise is not upscale if doing simple transactions become a headache. I am trying to keep an open mind, but am not optimistic. Frankie (ms) in Victoria BC

message from ashstreet: I am not on this sailing, but 3 months ago the hotel receptionist in Civitavecchia gave me the name of a pharmacy. I went there and was sent to see a doctor 2 blocks away. Very easy process compared to the hassle and cost of getting this in Canada. You might want to e mail the hotel ahead. frankie (ms) in victoria bc

Message from ashstreet: One person’s opinon: Generally, people are so lovely on cruises, but I never understand why people need the Cruise Director, or for that matter, any officer, staff or crew member to pay attention to them or to have to listen to their every thought re the ship we are on, or re their previous cruise experiences. These employees deal with thousands of people over the course of a contract, have long work days with a million things to do. So if someone says “good morning”, maybe we need to respond with a polite, short reply and leave it that. …unless we are at a Captain’s Club cocktail party where they have a bit more time for a wee chat. On my previous Celebrity cruises, the Cruise Directors have been Giuseppe Moschella (twice), Alejandro Tortorelli , Steve Gayda and Sue Denning. Their styles are very different but they are all terrific, kind and talented. It has never occurred to me to check who the Cruise Director,… or other officers…are before I go on a cruise, but I will be delighted if any of the above CD’s are on any future cruise. Not saying I am correct, and didn’t start out to write such a long commentary, but all I wish for everyone is that we stay well and have the privilege of doing many many more cruises and vacations. We who have done many cruises are so fortunate….gratitude is a good thing! Frankie (ms) in Victoria BC

Message from ashstreet: I have already done a review on Cruise Critic, so this is probably redundant.However….. Did both the April 23 and May 4th ,2022 cruises to Hawaii and back to Vancouver , and I cannot praise Captain Leo, charming Cruise Director Sue, Activity Manager Kristine and the entire crew enough. What on earth do passengers want? Many of the passengers did not wear masks until forced to do so, “social distancing” was a foreign phrase to most people, the pandemic is not over, so why the surprise that eventually there was Covid on board? Re the barnacles, maybe someone at head office dropped the ball not dealing with this on time, maybe it was a matter of not being able to get labour to fix this,….but missing a day in Hilo and a day in Maui is not a tragedy. These were the first sailings for the Eclipse in over 2 years….and I wish I ran my life as well as the members of the crew did their jobs. So, everyone doing the 7-day Alaska cruises this summer is very fortunate and should enjoy every minute. i will think of you all as the Eclipse passes through the Strait of Juan de Fuca . frankie in victoria bc