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Hi Cruisedreamer, Here is a list of the signature drinks for the different Oceania ships. I would imagine they've come up with one for Vista by now. Regards, Paul

In the offer email I received it specifically states the following; “Guests who choose to participate in the Offer will retain the normal cancellation policy, and the refundability of the cruise fare will not be impacted.”. Perhaps you or your agent should call Azamara again to clarify which of the following is accurate - what they wrote in the offer or what they said to your agent. Regards, Paul

I came across a B.B.C. article on the sinking of the Oceanos a couple years ago. I had never previously heard of the ship or its demise but found the account quite interesting. Here is the link to the B.B.C. article. Regards, Paul The guitarist who saved hundreds of people on a sinking cruise liner (bbc.com)

I haven't been to Tristan da Cunha before, (although I visited St. Helena on Azamara last month) but just looking online it appears to have a small harbour. Calshot harbour appears to be large enough to accommodate a tender providing the sea conditions cooperate. At the end of January this year I was on a different Azamara cruise with port calls at Easter Island and Pitcairn Island. We were able to tender ashore at both places but it was a near thing due to borderline sea conditions. There were no ship excursions offered for our visit to Pitcairn but the ship supplied maps showing points of interest we could walk to. Most of the 47 residents set up souvenir and handycraft stands either on the ship or at the harbour. All the small, lightly populated, remote islands I've been to appear to have a small harbour to accomodate fishing and rescue boats. I hope you are able to make it ashore at Tristan. Regards, Paul

I was recently on Pursuit and thoroughly enjoyed the Rijsttafel held on March 3, 2024 at the Patio. The variety of food was impressive and very tasty. Regards, Paul

White Night on Pursuit in The Gambia and lobster tails are back! Regards, Paul

You assume correctly. I boarded Pursuit a few hours ago and dropped by the Pool Bar and upgraded to the Ultimate package. The transaction, including the application of my loyalty discount, was completed in a couple minutes by a barman using a tablet. I’ve attached the advertisement for beverage packages from today’s Insider. They well could be testing the waters but there has to be a better way then upsetting all the guests considering an upgrade on one ship. Regards, Paul

I just purchased the Ultimate beverage package on Pursuit for $26.95 USD per day with a 20% discount on that price for my Discoverer Plus loyalty level. Regards, Paul

Hi, That’s Pursuit and I’ll be on her for an 18 night cruise sailing tomorrow for Grand Canary. Regards, Paul

I just completed a BtoB on Onward and upgraded to the ultimate beverage package on both segments for $26.95 per day with 20% off that price for my Discoverer Plus loyalty level. I first noticed the upgrade price for the ulitmate package had been increased by $3.00 per day to $26.95 in November last year when I received an email from Azamara. Why would they implement another, more severe, price increase 3 months later? Regards, Paul

The “United Nations” team will have at least 3 vacancies starting in Tahiti and there are 4 New Zealanders remaining on the team. Regards, Paul

Hello. I’m currently on a BtoB on Onward from Fort Lauderdale to Tahiti and have enjoyed the cruise immensely. I’ve met and befriended many folks on the full world cruise and enjoy their company. I’m part of a progressive trivia team with six world cruisers and play trivia in the Den and the Living room almost everyday sitting anywhere seats are available without issue. I have had no negative experiences doing the first two segments of a world cruise and believe I’ve benefited from Azamara upping its game for these great itineraries. Here are a few pics from our last port-of-call at Easter Island. Regards, Paul

Here’s one from today on Onward. Regards, Paul

Here is today’s activity list for Onward. As you can see there are plenty of options on a sea day. Regards, Paul

I’m not sure what the poster’s source is but my source is Oceania. They cancelled Riviera’s Middle East/Red Sea cruises scheduled for November and December 2024 and replaced them with month long cruises from Barcelona to Cape Town and Cape Town to Singapore. I booked the 32 day CapeTown to Singapore cruise shortly after the new itineraries came out around the beginning of last month. Regards, Paul

Hi Toni, I’m currently on Onward and a short time ago I showed your post to one of the nurses in the medical centre. He read it thoroughly and thanked me for sharing it with him. He advised there were no known cases of Covid on Onward at this time. He also noted that based on your timeline anyone else onboard would have displayed symptoms by now unless they were asymptomatic. I hope you and your husband are feeling better soon. Take care, Paul

That vessel appears to be the Chinese guided missile frigate Linyi. Isn’t there enough tension in this region already? Regards, Paul

I have been on 16 Azamara cruises and on the majority of them there have been no children onboard. On occasion a small number of children (2 or 3) will be on a cruise and more often then not they will be the kids of one of the ship's officers. As you've noted there are no clubs, activities or facilities for children onboard Azamara ships. I think your kids would probably better enjoy travelling on a cruise line geared more towards youngsters. Regards, Paul

I was on Pursuit for a cruise from Istanbul to Athens in May this year. When I got to Galataport it was one of the quickest, hassle free embarkations I had ever experienced. From the time I arrived at the terminal until I made it onboard was approximately 20 minutes. There are a number of factors capable of impacting your embarkation experience. Regards, Paul

Although a rare breed, long haul business class Aeroplan rewards are still out there if you're patient and persistent. A couple days ago I booked an Aeroplan business class reward from Dubai to Kelowna for 80,300 points and $44.70 in fees for a November 2024 trip. Fortunately I'm traveling alone since there was only one seat available for this number of points. After making my booking I checked the same itinterary and it was now available for 256,000 points. My itinerary was routed DXB-YVR-YLW and I noticed one seat was also available on the same day for 80,000 points on a DXB-YYZ-YLW routing. The different flights have scheduled departures from DXB within 35 minutes of each other and the final flights of the itinerary are scheduled to arrive at YLW within 34 minutes of each other. This would have allowed a couple to book two 80K business class rewards if they didn't mind traveling separately. Regards, Paul

I had to renew my passport recently and it was very simple. I booked an appointment online at Service Canada in Kelowna for October 18th. A week prior to my appointment I walked into the local BCCA office and had the required photos taken at a cost of $10.08. I arrived for my appointment a few minutes early with my completed renewal application and my photos and was on my way out within 20 minutes. I retained my old passport after a few holes were punched through it. My new passport was delivered to me on November 6. Regards, Paul

I've had mixed results with Azamara's best price guarantee this year. After final payment: In early March 2023 I noticed the fare for an oceanview stateroom was now the same price as the interior stateroom I had booked and the interior stateroom price had been reduced in price by approximately $600 CAD for a cruise departing at the beginning of May 2023. I had my travel agency contact Azamara to see if I could either be credited OBC for the amount of the reduction for the interior price or be upgraded to the oceanview at no cost. Azamara would not give me the OBC but did upgrade me to the oceanview stateroom at no cost. Before final payment: In October 2023 I noticed the fare for a March 2025 booking had been reduced by about $3,000 CAD. I had my travel agency contact Azamara and my booking was repriced at $3,000 CAD less then the original booking. Currently, the fare for my category stateroom is even higher then the original booking price. After final payment: This past week I noticed the fare for a V3 verandah stateroom was only $600 CAD more then the fare for the interior stateroom I've booked on a February 2024 cruise. I had my travel agency call Azamara to see if I could upgrade my booking to a V3 stateroom by paying the $600 CAD difference reflected in the current Black Friday double upgrade sale. Azamara told my agent I would have to cancel my original booking and incur the current penalties (which I believe are 25% of the fare or more) and rebook. I declined to do so. It appears the way Azamara handles change requests for post final payment bookings has changed between March 2023 and now. The other possibility is some of the numerous new staff brought onboard are not interpreting the policy correctly. Regards, Paul

The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) has a compensation fund that gives limited coverage (up to $5,000 per person per booking) to consumers who incur a loss due to the failure of a travel agency, airline or cruise line provided the booking was made through a member agency. I was able to recover the amount of my deposits for 2 cruises through TICO after Crystal's bankruptcy. The credit card payments I make through my travel agency also go directly to the cruise line. Regards, Paul

I'm a solo traveler and I was on an O cruise for the first time this past summer in a solo stateroom on Insignia. I usualy cruise on Azamara but at the time I booked the O cruise they didn't offer a similar itinerary. I believe the solo staterooms on Oceania R class ships are all obstructed (deck 6 tender view) oceanviews The cost was approximately 150% of the fare for one person on a double occupancy booking. The cruise was great and similar to Azamara in many ways since they only operate R class ships. The only advantage I found on O was the cuisine was generally superior to what I'm used to on Azamara. As a solo traveler I have found the fare advantage to be much better on Azamara. I have been able to book many cruises (verandah, oceanview and interior staterooms) for 125% or 150% of the one person fare for a double occupancy booking. Azamara doesn't have dedicated solo cabins and I have never been relegated to an obstructed oceanview stateroom. Regards, Paul

I received an email from Azamara this morning promoting their different beverage packages. It appears they have increased the cost of the Ultimate and Premium packages by $3.00 per day each. At least they have kept the loyalty level discount. Regards, Paul