islandwoman

Do HAL and Princess have reciprocal loyalty levels?

Some cruise lines place Bibles in passenger cabins. You can probably save that room in your luggage.

This is the first I've heard of reciprocity with MSC. Please explain how that works or post a link.

The end of Azamara - Celebrity Reciprocity is February 1. I received the email (below) today. It appears that there isn't much time left for those who haven't yet sailed Azamara but want to retain their status. And any PUPs we earn from now on will not be included in our Azamara accounts. After February 1st, you will no longer earn cumulative points and have reciprocity with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean International. We are mindful that it can take some time to adjust, but this is great news for all of us! Having our own loyalty program will allow us to more effectively implement your loyalty program suggestions and improve pre- and post-cruise guest experiences. We have a few reminders to share with you: We are happy to announce that you will get to keep the same loyalty account number! Your loyalty status will be retained in the new Azamara system for past guests who have sailed on Celebrity and Azamara. We will honor the loyalty points earned on any Celebrity sailing that concludes on or before February 1st. Thank you for your continued support. We will continue to share more details with you as we move forward.

We leave it on the ship. We have the same cabin on both cruises. But even if we didn't, we could still leave our luggage onboard and the cabin attendants would move it to the next cabin for us.

We are doing a B2B and so have no need to get to the airport in Athens. We have the whole day in Piraeus until all-aboard. The ship sails at 5 PM. Do you still recommend doing sightseeing in Athens, or going to Corinth? If Corinth, a rental car or a tour? I must say though, I haven't been able to find any affordable tours that would get us back to the port on time, yet.

We will be in the Port of Piraeus on May 28 from 5 AM until 5 PM. We have been to Athens previously and would like to tour somewhere else in Greece this time. Please post any ideas you might have for a trip from the port that would get us back before the ship sails. We are interested in ruins, country-side and almost anything else except shopping.

I have sailed on the former R-class ships several times. Once from Australia to Europe on the Ocean Princess, once on the Ocean Princess from Singapore to Europe, once on the Pacific Princess from Fort Lauderdale to Northern Europe, and once on the Azamara Onward from Ft. Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean. I agree that these small ships rock and roll more than the big ones and sometimes I have had to take seasick meds. But I never noticed creaking. Maybe that's because we always sail in cabins low and midships. Janet&Carl, Where was your cabin?

Does Azamara handle entry visas in any ports? Every cruise line I have sailed with so far has arranged entry for their passengers with the exception of those few ports of which we were notified, well in advance, to obtain visas on our own. We are booked on the Azamara Quest Spice Route in May 2023. So far we haven't heard a word from Azamara about entry requirements for any of the ports. Azamara's website says, "It is the responsibility of the guests to obtain information on countries that require visas on your voyage and land program, and then to obtain the appropriate visa. Please contact the Embassy (Consular Services) of each country on your voyage or the visa service of your choice for specific visa requirements, information, forms and fees based on your nationality." This would imply that we have to individually obtain visas for all 5 countries that the Quest will be visiting. Am I interpreting it correctly?

OK. I choose "seeing more of the World, with numerous ports having overnights" by taking 180+ days to circumnavigate the globe. Which cruise lines do that?

And try the included wines first. We were very happy with them on our recent Azamara Caribbean cruise. I can't tell you specifically what they were, because they were all Azamara labels. But they are identified by the variety and region. Once or twice I had a glass that I didn't like, but when I ordered the same wine at a different bar, it was fine. I think if you get one you don't like, it might have been stored or shipped improperly. So don't make a decision based on one glass.

I have question about Azamara shore excursions. We booked several online for an upcoming cruise. Nowhere in the description could I find what times the excursions would be, although there was "duration" information. After we booked, the shore excursions appeared on our calendar along with their times. Would these be the only times that these excursions will be available or does Azamara just assign passengers to an excursion time? One of our excursions turned out to be 7 AM to 12:30 PM. This seems unreasonably early given that the ship will be in port until 6 PM. Also, several other excursions that we booked are at inconvenient times. Can we change the times without losing the excursions? If so, how? And how do we find out what other times might be available?

I just wish that Azamara's "World Cruise" actually sailed all of the way around the world. Starting in San Diego and ending in Southampton does not seem like a world cruise to me.

When I implied that lounge hogging was severe on Carnival Caribbean cruises, I didn't mean to insult the passengers. What I was trying to get at was the crowding - too few lounge chairs for the number of passengers. I have also noticed table hogging in the buffet and chair hogging in the shows.

How about the cruise lines provide more chairs? Or better yet, build ships with fewer passengers to public spaces? I was recently on a Princess ship that had refurbished to add extra cabins where there used to be a second theater. It cut down on the number of programs that could be offered and made all of the other public spaces more crowded (more passengers per public space).

Have you noticed the chair hogging on a Carnival Caribbean cruise 🤪

https://www.azamara.com/de/loyalty/azamara-circle/member-benefits?_aiid=14597&teng=go&beng=g&deng=c&peng=&ieng=&kieng=&cieng=&cpieng=17143435092&feng=&cleng=CjwKCAiAwomeBhBWEiwAM43YIBfag14s3nRbEmVyQXT_dwLsNf-GD7CNR6dQPADf2-tZXOfy5AJAZxoCMoUQAvD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=performance_max_non_brand Scroll down until you find "Reciprocal Benefits"

Of course. As soon as there is information about PUP, someone will post it here. I expect that in about 5 days people will start posting that they have received the points they earned in December. And as soon as someone receives another opportunity, they will post it here too. In the meantime, why not discuss related topics?

So what is it called for cruise status?

Frequent Fliers looking for status call this (on planes) a "mileage run". DH and I took a short Eastern Caribbean cruise on Azamara in December 2022 for such a purpose. It moved us up one level on both Celebrity and Azamara, plus it protected our Azamara status against the separation coming in February and it was a whole lot more fun than paying extra for unearned benefits on our next long cruise.

I always leave my laptop out because on most ships, the safe is too small to lock it away. It never occurred to me that the cabin stewards would risk their jobs by stealing. There are many passengers' possessions that could potentially be stolen and sold on the black market, if the cabin stewards were so inclined. If that happened, the steward would be out of a job and the cruise line soon out of business. As for security of data on a device, my laptop is password protected and I always turn it off before leaving the cabin.

DH and I will be sailing in a Continent Suite for the first time. Do we get "English Butler Service" or is that only for the Spa, Ocean, and Owners suites?. I also see on azamara's website "Our butlers are remarkably adept at tending to the details that make you relaxed and happy. Think of your butler as your personal valet, party consultant and planner, wine expert, mixologist, afternoon purveyor of fabulous treats, reservations specialist, and all-purpose support system." What does that mean? What does a butler actually do? I've never had a "personal valet" or any of those other specialists for that matter. If we don't buy the upgraded drinks package, what use would we have for a "wine expert" or "mixologist"? How many suites does one butler serve?

When does Azamara credit Azamara Circle points? I returned from my first Azamara cruise on December 22. Just today, it appeared in my "past cruises" list with an indication that it was worth 50 points. These points should qualify me for the next loyalty level. But they have not been added to my total and I am still at the loyalty level that I was before the cruise. How long should I wait before contacting Azamara?

Are you suggesting that the ship that Holland America uses for the Grand Africa (in 2023 the Zuiderdam) might be sold and therefore the Grand Africa will not sail beginning in 2024?

I'd like to add that Azamara's fares include gratuities. Viking's do not. That's worth, according to viking's website, US$17 per person per day. Viking's fares, on the other hand, include one shore excursion in every port. When comparing costs, it would be useful to take gratuities and shore excursions (if you use ship's excursions) into account.