JIMinNC

3 hours ago, Wendy The Wanderer said:

I did the survey yesterday.  Interesting, although since I know so little about Ponant, some questions I just couldn't answer properly.

 

Same here. 

 

Given that a couple of questions were worded somewhat awkwardly (like a poor translation), I am assuming this questionnaire may have been initiated by Ponant to gauge how their brand is perceived by Paul Gauguin's customer base. It sounded a lot like some of the questions a company I used to work for would have asked when we were working on an acquisition and trying to consider how their customers viewed our brand.

 

I know they said in the announcement that PG would be operated independently, but companies often say that in the immediate, initial announcement, only to merge operations and eliminate the other brand after a transition period.

My wife and I just received a survey from Paul Gauguin, with lots of questions about perception of Paul Gauguin and also similar questions about perception of Ponant. One series of questions asked how likely and at what price you would be to book a French Polynesia cruise with Ponant and another series of the exact same questions about Paul Gauguin. Seems like they are trying to evaluate the brand reputation of PG vs Ponant.

On 8/28/2019 at 11:09 AM, lovestx said:

Thanks for taking the time to share this detailed review/Trip Report.  I had read it earlier as we began to plan our PG cruise but read it with even more interest as we prepare to embark on PG for the Society Islands and Tuamotus on October 2.  VERY helpful.  We will arrive two nights early to get over East Coast jetlag and will stay at the Intercontinental.  Our cruise is 10 days long, we are staying in a C balcony cabin and we are staying four nights afterwards at the Hilton Moorea.  Great minds clearly think alike!

 

I hope you and others won't mind answering a few additional questions:

 

1.  I understand that it is important to make good use of our time when we first board to make dinner reservations for La Veranda and Le Grill (for the Bora Bora overnight I believe) and to get our snorkeling equipment.  Would you agree that we should do both of these things immediately upon boarding?  Anything else we should attend to?  Marina reservations?

 

2.  Given that we have booked almost all of our excursions with PG or with private operators that we will pay with credit cards, did you find that you needed much extra cash?  We will probably eat off property in Moorea more often so I know that will make a difference.

 

3.  We have booked an overwater bungalow at the Hilton.  We are HHonors Gold.  Do you think you got an upgrade to a better location?

 

4.  We were sorry that you got to the airport at 6 p.m. for a much later flight?  Hoping we might be able to go over to Papeete a bit later.  We have Premium Economy seats on the way back.

 

5.  Any advice for getting upgraded to PE for our flight down?  

 

I know that's a lot to ask.  Anything you might be able to offer would be greatly appreciated!

 

1. I went to get snorkeling gear right after the lifeboat drill after embarkation. Highly recommend Le Grill outside dining for Bora Bora overnight. Wonderful. We were in Category B, so our butler made the La Veranda and Le Grill reservations for us. Sooner is better.

 

2. We went to the ATM for local cash at Papeete airport right before we boarded the PG bus to the Intercontinental. We got about $250 US in XPF currency. We also had about $200 US dollars. That was enough. We used cash for taxis, a few local vendors, and other miscellaneous stuff. Came back with 1000XPF (which is about $10US) and some leftover US $$. We ate all of our meals on site at the Hilton. The off-site dining options seemed limited, but we are used to really nice restaurants in Hawaii and other spots, so some of the more rustic Moorea spots didn't really speak to us when we drove by them in taxis or when we were on the ship's tour of Moorea.

 

3. We booked a "Panoramic Overwater Bungalow" at the Hilton Moorea, and that is what we got. My wife is Hilton Honors Diamond and I am Gold. The only upgrade from Panoramic is whatever category they use for the ones at the very end of the piers, and we did not get upgraded to that, but there are very few. Our bungalow was almost at the end of the pier, so maybe we just got one of the better Panoramic Bungalows.

 

4. The key to when you go from Moorea to Papeete is dictated by the ferry schedule. We took the last ferry from Moorea (as I recall it was around 4 or 4:30 departure). We were on Terevau, but there was an Aremiti that left at about the same time. So, I'm not sure you can opt to get there any later. By the time we got off the ferry in Papeete, found a cab, and got to the airport, we got there about 5 minutes before ATN opened their check-in counter. We booked Premium Economy for the return flight, but since ATN changed equipment for our flight back to the A340 which doesn't have PE, we got a free upgrade to Business Class, so we got a free pass to their VIP lounge. That was great and helped pass the time because one of the couples that we met onboard the PG was there also, so we chatted and had snacks/drinks until flight time. It would have seemed like a longer wait if we had to wait in the boarding area. 

 

5. We booked PE, so have no idea on how to upgrade.

 

The dry season in French Polynesia is roughly May through September. The wetter season is November through March. I believe April and October are somewhat transitional months.

 

We had great weather for our recent seven night Society Islands cruise June 8-15. Nothing more than a passing tropical sprinkle or two on a couple mornings. Most days were sunny to at most party cloudy. Our day on Motu Mahana was maybe closer to partly to mostly cloudy, but we still had a good amounts of sun even that day. Our first day on Moorea had a few clouds/showers around that morning, but sun was out by afternoon.

13 hours ago, Doubt It said:

To the OP, what cabin number were you in.

 

I am very noise sensitive and have difficulty sleeping - so a quiet cabin is critical for me.

 

Thanks

 

We were in 805. We had no noise issues at all. Very quiet. We're not super early risers, but were up most mornings in time to grab breakfast before 8:30 or 9 am meetups for ship shore excursions.

1 hour ago, Pam said:

My son-in-law has problems getting time off in June, and I refuse to fly out of Anchorage if I can avoid it, so our choice was June 24, Seward to Vancouver.  We'll spend a couple of days in Vancouver before flying home on July 4th.

 

We chose that same voyage. My wife's birthday is June 24, so we figured it would be better to do southbound so we could be on board for her birthday rather than doing the immediately preceding northbound cruise and having her birthday being the disembarkation day.

18 minutes ago, NCCruzQueen said:

Hi Jim,

 

I book cruise travel with a luxury cruise travel agent.  You can google and find a list of excellent, well-known agencies.  On our April 2020 34 night cruise, we have $600 in OBCs (Onboard Credits) from our TA's travel network.  On our August 2020 12 night cruise, we have $400 OBCs from the same network.  On our January 2021 10 night cruise, the same network provides us with $400 OBCs.  

 

Many TAs are apart of different travel networks that provide these credits to travelers.  It's there for the taking.  Not all travel agents or cruises provide these benefits, but they make cruising a bit nicer.

 

I also book land travel online using hotel points.  These onboard credits are just one reason I use a TA.  

 

So far we've managed to get pretty lucky with OBC, even with direct bookings. Our only recent TA booking, last fall's Azamara 8 day western Med cruise, came with $1800 of OBC, but only $200 of that came from the TA, the rest came from Azamara. Based on my pre-cruise shopping, that would have been available to us on a direct booking also. That was our first cruise in 11 years, so we opted to go the TA route, but after seeing the limited value provided by that agent/firm, we booked this year's Paul Gauguin cruise direct. We were able to get PG to add two promos to our booking and we came away with $600 OBC for the 7 nt June cruise. For our Greek Isles Cruise in fall 2021, we booked direct with Azamara and have $1100 OBC on that one, all from Azamara, but $500 of that was compensation for a major itinerary change that forced us to move our cruise from fall 2020 to fall 2021. Having OBC on Azamara is important as they are not quite as all-inclusive as Regent and even PG. We don't have any OBC for our June 2020 Regent Alaska cruise, but with Regent being so all-inclusive, that is less of a negative.

2 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

Sounds to me you had a TA problem.  You might want to consider trying new one that has connections with the lines you are interested.  We've never experienced any of the problems you mention above with ours for either Regent or Oceania...and has been proactive with shedule changes, stateroom selections and requested changes, and much more, in addition to providing OBC and/or rebates, and PPG, not offered by the cruise line directly.

 

 

Our market is dominated by two large multi-location TA organizations. There are other smaller independents but they have very little visibility in the market, so it's hard to evaluate them and know their expertise. I do know a few of the smaller ones focus on group travel, but obviously not all. Trying to sort out online agents seems even more of a crapshoot, especially when it's so easy to just DIY.

 

In any event, our travel plans are more or less set through 2021 with Regent Alaska in summer 2020 and Azamara Greek Isles in fall 2021 already booked. Our other trips will revolve around our Marriott and Hilton timeshares, Marriott Bonvoy points, Hilton Honors points, and AAdvantage miles. TAs can't help much with that. If we book any cruises for 2022 and beyond, maybe by that time we'll learn of a TA that can provide some value. Open to try if that's the case.

3 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

 

That is fine.  I just don't like to see so much money left on the table.  Our TA also looks out for price decreases and/or promotions on a daily basis and keeps their customers informed.  They have their own contact people at Regent that they work with on flights, etc. which has worked out perfectly for us.

 

We tend to do our own thing in terms of planning (and yes - even selecting our own suite).  We only contact our TA to book the cruise and assist with the flights that we have selected ourselves.  If there is a problem, of course we contact them as well.  The amount of money we receive in rebates icing on the cake. 

 

 

 

I'm sure our perspective is impacted by the fact we've never had good service when using a TA - frustratingly long waits for email replies and call backs, obvious input/clerical errors, finding better deals ourselves than what they said was the "best" deal, etc. If I have to double check everything they do, why not do it myself from the start...

2 minutes ago, Travelcat2 said:

Strongly agree with what Bill has posted.  Luxury TA's that give rebates give back a percentage of your cruise fare plus OBC's (on some itineraries).  It is definitely worth booking with them.  Plus, if you book with a TA, they are looking out for you and will not recommend a suite in a bad position (for instance, under the pool deck or other areas that are noisy).  Regent has to fill all of their suites so they may not be looking out for what is best for you. 

 

We just prefer to eliminate the middleman. We picked our suite based on the info in this forum, looking at the ship's deck plans, and avoiding those obvious problematic locations.  

27 minutes ago, UUNetBill said:

I'm not sure why you don't use TAs any more - it's actually in your best interest to use one who's familiar with the Regent brand and many will send you a rebate check or help you get OBCs you wouldn't otherwise get.  But that's not what you asked...

 

The 270 day clock (and any other clocks, for that matter) are triggered from the sailing date, regardless of any pre-cruise bookings.  You'll get mo' better answers on the Air Deviation thread but since you're booking directly with Regent, I'd go ahead and call them and have them walk you through the dates, options, etc.  Get the info straight from the horse's mouth, as it were.  

 

Enjoy!

 

We used a local travel agent for an Azamara Mediterranean cruise last fall (that was our first cruise in 11 years), and felt they added very little value - a small additional OBC and a small savings on air fare. We wound up booking our pre/post-cruise hotels ourselves because the prices we got through the TA were no different than what we could get through marriott.com. For our Paul Gauguin cruise earlier this year, we did it all ourselves direct with PG, Air Tahiti Nui, and Hilton and much preferred the direct approach and eliminating the middle-man. It's so easy to just book things online on your own, I see no reason to filter everything through a third-party like a travel agent. We booked our Regent cruise last Friday night and filled out all the forms online in less than 15 minutes. No need to wait for a TA to reply to messages or emails, which was always frustrating when we used the TA for last fall's cruise.

 

Thanks for the clarification on what date the 270-day clock is based on. I'll probably reach out to Regent in the next week or so just to confirm exact dates and best process. We know when the pre-cruise starts, so we know when we'll be flying in to Anchorage, but we still need to decide how many nights we're going to stay post-cruise in Vancouver (one or two) to get our return date. We'll be booking our own post-cruise hotel.

Thanks, I started reading the deviation thread at the top of the page, but it is so long, it is a bit imposing to get through, so that's why I posted the question. Still slowly going through it.

 

We don't use Travel Agents any more, so I booked direct with Regent online. I guess my biggest question is when do I need to reach out to Regent? I read I can't do anything until 270 days out, but is that 270 days from cruise departure or 270 days from the start of our pre-cruise tour (we are doing the Denali tour pre-cruise, so will need to fly in about four days before ship embarkation. I know the flights that I want, so hopefully Regent will have space on those flights. We live at a big American Airlines hub city, so AA seems to offer us the best options with the most direct routings.

We just booked our first Regent cruise this weekend - next June for Alaska - and am looking to educate myself on the whole air deviation issue. We are still about a month from the 270 day point, so I need to get it all figured out before then. All of our other trips and cruises on other lines we have handled our own air, so this is the first time for us to use included air.

 

We are doing the Denali adventure pre-cruise (we embark in Seward) but may spend one or two nights post-cruise on our own in Vancouver. We'll probably just use our Marriott Bonvoy points there instead of paying Regent their exorbitant rate for what appears to be their only option - the Trump hotel in Vancouver. Can anyone suggest a thread or other source to understand the best way to play the air issue with Regent?

Thanks for the input. Between Wednesday when I posted my question and tonight, three of the cabins we were considering in Concierge Suite category D and E must have been booked because they disappeared, so we opted to just go for Penthouse Suite C on Deck 9. Made the deposit online on suite 903 and doing Denali pre-cruise.

 

Thanks again. Looking forward to our first Regent cruise. We did Azamara Mediterreanean last fall and Paul Gauguin French Polynesia a couple months ago.

After deciding in post #9 above to probably delay our Alaska cruise until 2021, we're back considering it for June 2020.

 

As I mentioned, most of the best cabins are taken, so we're trying to determine if what is available will be acceptable or not (i.e. noise or other issues). Since the consensus is side of the ship doesn't matter, of these general cabin locations, which would be preferable for Alaska on the Mariner. We're preliminarily looking at Concierge Suite D or E:

 

1) midship Deck 10 under the pool deck

2) midship Deck 8 above the tenders/lifeboats

3) aft Deck 10 under La Veranda

 

Might give some consideration to a Penthouse C, and if so would likely be Deck 9 more toward forward. I'm assuming that's better than any of the above, but we may decide to save the $$ and go with D or E, so need some input on which would be the best option.

4 hours ago, DavidTheWonderer said:

When we first sailed on the PG in 2000 there were a fair number of French passengers on board, in sufficient numbers that French was the second language of the ship. Now the French are not present in greater numbers than other European countries.  Perhaps with Ponant that will change.

Here is a cringe-worthy story about this.  In 2003 you will recall that there was a large anti-French sentiment in the US, largely because France refused to get involved in the Iraq war adventure.  So, "French fries" became "freedom fries", etc.  At that time the PG was French flagged, the ship's crew including the Captain were French (not the hotel staff), and course French Polynesia is a French protectorate.  And we had a fair number of French passengers.  So at the sailaway party the Captain welcomed the passengers in English, and then in French.  When he started the French welcome a small but loud handful of Americans started to boo.

 

...and people wonder why people from other countries are often annoyed by American tourists. A few bad apples like these give us all a bad name. It was also enlightening (and somewhat troubling) to see how America is perceived by others now, talking to other passengers from around the world on our fall 2018 Mediterranean cruise and our June PG cruise. 

2 hours ago, SWFLAOK said:

Where did you find information on booking a day room through IC without booking their airfare? Anyone can stay at the IC for a fee for day use, but there's no day room, and no transfers. Transfers are based on when the flights that they arrange come in, so if you're on a different flight, I see no reason that they would give you a private transfer. I'm not sure what meet and greet you're referring to. We haven't seen one of those our hotel and have only booked our airfare through PG.

 

I'm not sure if PG offers a package that's just a day-room specifically, but if you book ANY offered pre- or post-cruise hotel package from PG, they will provide transfers even if you do not book your airfare through PG. You just give them your flight arrival/departure information and, as long as you have bought a pre- or post- hotel package, you are transported just like the people who actually bought the air fare from PG. We did our own air fare last month, but booked a two-night pre-cruise package at the IC Tahiti and all transfers were included and they were waiting for us at the airport when our flight landed. We did our own thing on the back end, so no PG transfer, but had we booked a post cruise hotel through PG, they would have provided transfers to hotel and then to airport. What I don't know is if they offer a package that's just a day room and doesn't include an overnight.

I agree with David that seeing more of Moorea versus just spending the day at a hotel is what you should do. We cruised last fall on Azamara in Europe, but spent 7 days on Paul Gauguin last month.  You need to see the Belvedere lookout, you need to see the scenery on the island. Take a snorkel excursion - you can swim/stand with stingrays and reef sharks in shallow water and see hundreds (thousands?) of beautiful fish. So many activities other than just sitting on a beach or going to a hotel. French Polynesia is a beautiful place - we love Hawaii and go often, but Moorea and Bora Bora are more beautiful and more unspoiled.

 

 

 

We booked our RT air on our own, but since we bought a pre-cruise package from Paul Gauguin, we still got the transfers from airport to hotel and hotel to the pier. It was simple. We booked our post-cruise on our own since we wanted the Hilton Moorea and PG didn’t offer that property in their packages, so we were on our own once we got off the ship. 

 

So if you are planning a pre and/or post hotel package through PG, you can book your own air and still get the transfers. 

3 hours ago, Ritza said:

I agree  We paid for the upgrade then once on the ship found out lots of people received free upgrades to suites from insides etc.  crazy and because of consolidators.  I think if you book early you should get the upgrade for free.  No charge.  All ships are doing this upgrade bid just for the extra money.  Not thinking of their loyal guests at all.  Greed. 

 

I disagree that "Greed" is the issue. Azamara's parent company RCL is a publicly-traded corporation whose stockholders want the company to maximize profits so the stock will go up. I don't own RCL stock, but I know that's how I want every company I do own stock in to behave. RCL only trades at about a 12 P/E ratio, so the market isn't valuing it as a "greedy" company, it is trading at a below-average P/E.

 

Companies have to strike a balance between rewarding loyal customers and foregoing revenue opportunities to do so. I think RCL/Azamara know they need to keep their best customers happy, but they are also constantly challenged to be sure that revenue keeps growing at a rate that keeps their stock rising and their shareholders happy. It's not greed, it's a delicate balancing act.

15 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

JMO is complete nonsense. Sorry. We can all do what we want, but please don't put down those who sometimes want to do a ship tour. It can be the answer for many who don't want to go private with a small group not even known to us. And frankly that isn't what is being discussed here.  

 

Phil 

 

I agree with this. We did all ships tours on our Barcelona to Rome cruise on Quest last fall, and we enjoyed every one. The day trip to Cinque Terre was terrific as was a trip to a Tuscan winery. Most of our tours were 10-20 people or so. The day trip to Pisa/Florence was probably 25-30+ people total and not very in-depth in Florence, but we knew that going in and viewed it as a good preview of Florence for a future land visit. We had nice small group walking tours in Valencia (a bus ride from the port to the old city) and Ibiza as well. Our bus tour in Monte Carlo hit enough of the highlights in Eze, Nice, and Monaco to give us an overview of that area. All of our guides very very knowledgeable. So, as they say, YMMV.

38 minutes ago, Werangels said:

 

What I found deeply disturbing is the young man selling on the cruise desk did not know who Bonnie is and when I tried to explain that cruises get taken off line for alterations ie charters, port changes, etc he disagreed with me and asked me where my information was from.  I told him here and Bonnie and he had no clue at all who Bonnie is?  How can that be?

 

 

 

 

Azamara is a pretty big company with a lot of employees, and is a part of an even bigger company. Having worked for a big company, it does not surprise me at all that an employee on a ship would not know an employee that works for the corporate offices.

Our favorite island was Bora Bora, mainly because of that amazing lagoon. The shades of blue in the lagoon are incredible:

 

 

We did the ship's Lagoon Excursion with Polynesian Feast. At our first snorkel stop, I snorkeled with

black tip reef sharks and lemon sharks:

 

  

 

At stop number two, there were stingrays, more sharks, and colorful fish:

 

 

 

 

Then there were more fish at stop number three:

 

After snorkeling, it was time to head over to Maohi Nui's motu for lunch:

 

On the way, a young jet skier used our wake to show off:

 

After arrival at the motu dock, it was time for pork, fish, chicken, and lobster:

 

 

On Bora Bora Day 2, we took a morning island tour via Le Truck:

 

 

We spent a relaxing afternoon at Paul Gauguin's Bora Bora motu

 

Leaving the lagoon as the sun set, we were treated to a Bora Bora moon:

 

 

Our final stop was the beautiful island of Moorea. We anchored in Opunohu Bay::

 

 

Our land tour on Moorea Day 1 had some great scenery:

 

Our Lagoon Discovery with Snorkeling excursion on Day 2 featured more sharks, rays, and fish:

 

 

 

 

After disembarkation, we hopped the ferry right back to Moorea and checked into our overwater bungalow at the Hilton Moorea Lagoon Resort & Spa:

 

 

 

It had been misty and cloudy when we went to the Belvedere lookout on the ship's tour, so we hired a taxi to go back on a sunny day during our stay at the Hilton:

 

The Polynesian Buffet and Show at the Hilton had some very talented fire dancers:

 

The snorkeling off of our deck at the Hilton was not bad:

 

 

As Crosby, Stills, and Nash said:

When you see the Southern Cross for the first time 

You understand now why you came this way

 

It was a fantastic trip. I hope you have enjoyed the photos and they help you remember your last cruise - or  look forward to your next - on the m/s Paul Gauguin.

Finally had time to go through almost 3000 photos from our June 8 Paul Gauguin cruise,  so I thought I would supplement my earlier review with some visuals. After deleting and editing, I wound up with about 600 keepers. Here are just a few of those.

 

Our transport for our trip to PPT was Air Tahiti Nui's 787 Dreamliner "Fakarava":

 

While in Papeete pre-cruise, we spent an hour or two at Le Marche:

 

Our first Tahitian sunset:

 

In Maroe Bay, Huahine:

 

 

 

Our guides for the Huahine by Boat and Jeep tour:

 

Executive Chef Paul Ellis demonstrates how to carve a Moonfish:

 

Bora Bora as seen early in the morning from Taha'a:

 

One of our favorite days was Motu Mahana. We were welcomed by Les Gauguines & Gauguins:

 

The floating bar was unique, but a strong current that day kept it ashore most of the time:

 

Motu Mahana is an island paradise:

 

Throughout the cruise we enjoyed great music from Santa Rosa Band:

 

That's it for Papeete, Huahine, and Taha'a. Back in a bit with Bora Bora and Moorea.

 

I'll chime in to provide the OP with the perspective of someone who is NOT as an experienced/frequent cruiser as most on this board. First, here are my general thoughts:

 

1. Message boards tend to amplify the negatives more than they do the positives of anything, so IMHO, always look at message board postings in that context.
2. If you read ANY of the boards on CC, you will find complaints. So, see #1 above.

Now as far as Azamara itself and how it compares to our only other recent cruise experience:

1. We've done one Azamara cruise, a Barcelona to Rome cruise last fall. We were thrilled with the experience, although we were in a Club Ocean Suite, so can't address how sailing in a smaller cabin might have impacted our experience/opinion. Because we were in a suite, specialty dining was included. We bought a beverage package so we wouldn't have to deal with the included/not included question.
2. Our only other cruise is a just-completed French Polynesian cruise on the m/s Paul Gauguin. The Gauguin is a little more all-inclusive than Azamara in that all alcohol is included and specialty dining is free for all cabin levels, but it was also more expensive for a smaller cabin. Our cost for the 478 square foot Club Ocean Suite on Azamara was about $1600/night versus about $2000/night for a 250 square foot Veranda Suite on the Gauguin. Both cruises included butler service. Both cruises had comparable food and service on board, although I would say the specialty restaurants on Azamara were maybe just a notch above Paul Gauguin's two specialty options. Otherwise, the two cruises were comparable, although we absolutely loved the smaller size of the Gauguin (only 322 passengers). Having now done Azamara and Gauguin, I can say with confidence that we will probably never sail on a bigger ship. We love the smaller ship experience. We feel Azamara was probably the overall better value, but French Polynesia was incredible, and Paul Gauguin does that better than anyone else. 
3. In our opinion, the Azamara Mediterranean itineraries are superior to virtually every other cruise line we have shopped. They generally stay in port longer and have a more immersive feel to them than the other itineraries we shopped. They also seem to offer a greater variety in Mediterranean options than the others. The immersive experience we had on Azamara last fall was what drew us to choose Paul Gauguin for French Polynesia, since they offer a similarly immersive experience there.
4.  We like Azamara's informal "Country Club Casual" dress code. We would be hesitant to consider Silversea and other more formal luxury lines because my understanding is they still have formal nights and men must at least wear jackets almost every night.
5. We loved our shore excursions on Azamara last fall. We had a large OBC, so only booked ship's tours. We did one tour each day, and every tour was well organized and the guides were very informative. Our day trip to Cinque Terre from Santa Margherita, Italy was incredible and our afternoon tour of a Tuscan winery was so memorable. We bought several cases of their wine and had it shipped home.
6. Our Azamazing evening was a Cirque du Soleil- style performance in Valencia, Spain and was very well done.
7. We will be sailing again, and are booked now on a September 2021 cruise from Rome to Athens on the Pursuit that hits the Amalfi Coast, Sicily, and the Greek Isles. We were originally booked on an October 2020 Greek Isles cruise, but a change to the Journey's dry dock schedule forced Azamara to change the itinerary for that cruise. They allowed us to re-book and gave us $500 in OBC as compensation. It would have been $1000 in OBC had we found an acceptable itinerary from a list of specific cruises, but none of those options worked as well for us as the one we chose, so we decided to choose the best itinerary rather than letting the higher OBC push us in another direction. We felt their offers were very reasonable.

Is Azamara perfect? No. Their website can be clunky and hold times at their call center can be long, but as long as they keep coming up with great itineraries, we'll continue to cruise with Azamara.