mrobinson

On 1/16/2024 at 7:43 PM, pinkhatlady said:

Not me, I would do the later time. Recently our cruise was delayed because of weather and we did not disembark on time. The later time gives you breathing room. 

That is probably what we will do, I don’t want to worry about missing a flight

We will be returning to Athens from a Celebrity cruise in mid Sept. We will then be flying from Athens to Paris.

Our ship schedules says docking at 5 am but I realize they don’t let people off ship that early. We will be self disembarking with our suitcase.

I am trying to figure out if we should book 10:50 am flight ( we are checking a bag) or play it very safe and book 1:50 pm flight.  Those are our only flight time choices. We are willing to take a taxi to the airport , which I understand can take an hour.

i worry that the 10:50 might be cutting it too close depending on how soon we can get off ship. But it would get us to Paris a lot earlier.

Appreciate any advice. Thank you.

On 9/18/2023 at 7:51 AM, uktog said:

It does indeed have a laundry room on Deck 7 - enjoy 

On 9/18/2023 at 7:43 AM, Bo1331 said:

First time on AZ going to Croatia in Oct.  Does the Pursuit have a laundromat instead of their service.  Brochure said yes but asking if it’s true.  We’ll be away for 3 1/2 weeks total and don’t want to pack everything.

We are on probably same cruise in October. We will be traveling for a month so will be definitely using the laundry room.

11 hours ago, jwlane said:

Guess I could've added some photos---better late than never!

Thanks 

4 hours ago, kml246 said:

Boarded Onward today in Fusina. Check-in was easy in Venice at Station Maritima. First got our luggage tags and dropped off luggage. Took about ten minutes. After a short wait in the terminal we picked up our cruise cards. Unfortunately, as expected, they didn't show our loyalty level. They said to see Guest Services after boarding as there wasn't anything they could do there. 

 

We then waited on a line for a bit less than fifteen minutes to go through security before boarding the bus to Fusina. 

 

The bus ride to the ship took about twenty minutes. Upon arrival we were directed to the Cabaret Lounge to complete check-in. After that, we could go to our cabins. 

 

Afterwards, I went to Guest Services to have the loyalty level corrected. A lovely representative said we were showing as Adventurer (me) and Preview (Nan) when we are both Discoverer. After a few minutes in the system to confirm we are Discoverer, she updated our profile, and printed us new cards. Very little effort. 

 

OBC is not showing, yet, but should be updated by mid-cruise. She confirmed that if you paid for any extra by credit card, OBC will be used first to settle your account and excess credit card payments will refunded. 

 

First day was pretty stress free and the staff  is great. 

 

Kevin

 

Thanks for the information. Are you also returning to Fusina? We have an October cruise out of and returning to Fusina so interested in the disembarkation process and how long it takes to get from ship to Maritime Terminal. 

1 minute ago, jwlane said:

Clean, great location, awesome rooftop bar (sunset---WOW) , kind of funky, great value. 

Thank you very much- I went ahead and booked it

On 5/13/2023 at 7:09 PM, jwlane said:

We enjoyed Hotel Attalos.  Convenient location, great rooftop bar area.

We are looking at this hotel. Any issues at all with it?

13 minutes ago, federalexpress said:

 

If you wanted to dress casual/wear shorts, but still want a table service dinner rather than a buffet, Patio is a good choice. Simple but tasty grills, partly outside, but with heaters if needed, and while busy at lunchtime, tends to be pretty quiet in the evening. No extra charge either.

Thank you for the info

This fall will be our first cruise on Azamara. What is the dress code for dinner in the dining room. Are short allowed for men. We are used to Princess and Celebrity where long pants are required for dinner.

we usually dress nice but are trying to minimize our packing so just wanted to know options.

thanks

8 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

I think you can "look but not touch" online!

I never got the email, but from what was posted elsewhere I think it said that you can use OBC to book excursions, but that this was only possible by calling Azamara or your TA. 

 

Near the top of the summary page also has a similar statement: 

 

They good news from my experience at the end of last week was that Azamara answered the phone in less than a minute.

Thank you very much for the information. I called Azamara directly- only had to wait 25 minutes. The rep was very nice and actually confirmed that they have the correct OBC for us (it was wrong a couple weeks ago), She booked the shore excursion using our OBC. Also answered some other questions regarding online check in. She said try to do the online checkin but if it doesn't work- don't worry just come to our port and check-in.

This is our first Azamara cruise and I was getting a bit nervous about them due to all the website issues. I am now feeling very comfortable and looking forward to the cruise.

Thanks for everyones help.

4 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

I think you can "look but not touch" online!

I never got the email, but from what was posted elsewhere I think it said that you can use OBC to book excursions, but that this was only possible by calling Azamara or your TA. 

 

Near the top of the summary page also has a similar statement: 

 

They good news from my experience at the end of last week was that Azamara answered the phone in less than a minute.

Great - thank you. We will contact our TA and see if they can book them for us

We are on the Pursuit in Oct on the Croatia trip. I have some OBC (amount not showing online yet) and want to book an excursion online.  I thought I had seen email or read online that we can now book shore excursions using our OBC.

Is there anything special that we need to do or just select the excursion and click BOOK?  Is it going to ask for credit card or will it take it from my OBC - which they don't seem to have amount listed.

New to Azamara and just wondering how best to handle it. Thanks

So after our cruise in October we are taking a train from Venice to Bologna. We want to buy tickets ahead of time but are struggling to figure out what time to book them for.

Am I correct in assum,ing that all luggage will have to be collected at the port terminal. I am used to self disembarking with our luggage on other cruises. So we wouldn’t be able to take our luggage on the coach transfer from the ship?

I believe from Venice terminal we can take people mover and then walk to the train station- so need to allow time to do that.

This is our first time to Venice so not sure how much time to allow to get from ship to train terminal. Anyone have any insight would be appreciated.

We did the Cassis and Bando wine excursion with them from Toulon last year. We enjoyed the 3 wineries we went to and had lunch on our own in Cassis. Tour was a good mixture of wineries and also seeing the countryside.

I would recommend them and book them again.

Any idea how long to allow to get off ship and get transported from  Fusina to Venice cruise terminal. After the cruise we are taking a train from venice to Bologna to spend a few days.

I want to book train tickets but not sure what time to book them for- want to allow enough time to get there from cruise

On 5/19/2023 at 6:22 PM, cruisergal 1 said:

We just came back from our Mediterranean cruise last weekend and used Italy tours.eu for Marseilles,  France, and Florence/Pisa. We thoroughly enjoyed both tours. Our tour guides were wonderful, very friendly, outgoing , gave us lots of interesting information, action filled. We would definitely use this tour company again, and recommend them. I have mobility issues and they showed great concern as to how I was doing, very considerate. The cost was very reasonable for what we got. They were very long days, but few saw lots!

Which of their tours did you use for Marseilles. We will be there in October

5 hours ago, insidecabin said:

Start with the TAs and check them all going forward.

 

March April May June are the ones I am following.

 

We were on the sky 28 March  so have first hand after a TA.

 

following for our later Emerald.

 

Everything is OK till they start testing people which can happen as some will get sick or a port says test people

Agree - they tested us about 4 days into our April 16 Emerald TA . We saw some people removed from public areas when their test came back positive and crew members with their tablet started tracking them down on the ship. After we went to Azores there were a lot more cases and then by the time we hit Bilbao cases were very heavy and the captain started requiring masks indoors. There were so many cases that they ran out of quarantined cabins and started quarantine people on their own cabins. Easy enough to tell since their doorways were blocked with a low table that the crew used to leave their food on. When they tested the people flying out on disembarkation day - it was a mess and results didn’t come back quickly. Sone people didn’t find out until they were at the airport that they were positive- including our relative. There were 2 hotels they used for quarantined people- IBIS and Radison Blu. Luckily people got the Radison. They were multiple buse loads of people taken to the hotels. Also more people arrived during the 10 day quarantine period from other Princess cruisies

5 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, what we’re the cruise dates on the Sky and Emerald cruises you are referring to? I’d like to read them if possible.

I was on the April 16 TA emerald cruise and there were hundreds of cars. Part way thru the cruise they handed out K95 masks and everyone was required to wear them inside. Hundreds were taken off cruise when it docked on Southampton and takes to the Covid hotels including one of our friends and a relative cruising with us. We stayed on ship for the B2B British Isles cruise. Even though everyone was required to wear masks on that cruise the majority did not wear masks and the crew did not press it.

7 hours ago, junglejane said:

I'm anxious to see some reports about how disembarkation testing is handled for cruises ending in Southampton, especially for those of us with same day flights to the US. The Princess FAQ's for Southampton cruises says: "If a negative COVID-19 test is required for re-entry into your home country, Princess will cover the costs of tests, provided guests can show proof that their flight arrangements are the same day as they disembark the ship. Guests will need to make their own test arrangements if onward travel is not the day they disembark."

 

That doesn't really explain the logistics of how it works. Do they conduct tests onboard for those with same day flights, or are we on our own and they'll reimburse?

They conduct the tests onboard. I am on emerald princess now and we dock in Southampton tomorrow. They tested passengers this morning and some are still waiting for their e-mail results. We are staying in London for 6 nights so we are responsible for our own testing

5 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Probably should have said 10.

 

That 9 key is just too close to the 0 key.

Yes should have been 10- sorry about that. 

16 hours ago, spunks said:

Hello...posting from the Emerald Princess. All I can advise you of if you think you are getting conflicting info now, wait until you get on board. Nobody seems to know anything. We get letters that are incorrect even before being sent. The senior staff at guest services gives conflicting info from the medical staff. Theedical staff gives conflicting info from the Dr in charge...

 

I tested positive 8 days into our cruise on the 3rd time tested on board. I was told I would be put off in Southampton,then told I would stay on, then told to get off, then told to stay.....over and over. No one seems to know the protocols.

 

Ask the many many that missed flights home because they could not get Princess to give them test results.

I am also on Emerald Princess  now and previous cruises. Above is very accurate 

11 hours ago, mellon1 said:

Oh my!  We want to go so badly in 2023 for 50 days and was ready to do it, but now, we could get there and then not be able to continue.  Doctor mentioned to me very recently not to get on a ship now as all the dining room/staff on the ship have seen so many passengers each sailing and those numbers are always increasing.  He said chances of getting covid are extremely high.  Ughhh.  Not what I wanted to hear.  No wonder the doctors ask you during your exam if you have been depressed!  WTH!

 

Truly appreciate you posting this to keep us all informed.  Thank you.

I just read an update from the cruise critic roll call organizer on our April 16 roll call ooat

She said 2 buses were take. To the IBIS hotel - there are 50 rooms occupied by Princess and 8 cruisers from Celebrity. Some of the people left IBIS and booked different hotel since the rooms are right for a couple. IBIs wasn’t aware that Princess was covering cost for first hotel so they are putting cost of hotel on their own. Credit cards. There weee 5 buses if people taken to Radison Blue. Everyone has to stay 19 days ans then test negative to leave. They aren’t able to change airline reservations until they either test negative or have the sixties certificate of recovery. But no one has been notified how to get the certificate of recovery 

5 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

Thanks.  Very interesting observations!  I didn't go wandering the halls looking for red lights or overdressed crew, of course.

We didn’t go looking for them but just noticed it while walking to find available laundry

5 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

I just got off the Majestic on Saturday and I have a slightly different view of things:

• Since masks and social distancing were only recommended and not required, I didn't expect the crew to do much
• I did find some crowded spaces, but when I really wanted room, I could find it easily enough.  The ship was around 70-75% full of passengers.
• Considering the crowd Princess attracts, I didn't hear an extraordinary amount of coughing, with one exception - one of the people next door to me coughed some for whatever reason.  But after day 4, there was no more coughing from that cabin.  You can insert your own conspiracy theory here.  
• I didn't hear any COVID-19 related announcements, which doesn't mean there weren't any
• I didn't see or hear of any hazmat-covered employees, nor did I ever find out where the current "red zone" happened to be.  Again, don't read too much into it.
• I tested myself yesterday - NEGATIVE.  I hope yours turns out the same.  🙏  I never had any symptoms, so I probably won't bother testing again unless I develop some.

On emerald it was obvious that most of deck 12 was for isolated Covid. You could tell by the locked doors to the halls . We also noticed when walking down mid ship stairs when they ended closing off more portions of Deck 12

if you were exposed , eg cabin mate tested positive but you were negative you had to stay in your room for 24 hours and the red light next to your door was on. We would see more and more of them appear walking along the halls. Our traveling companion had it on get door because she called medical for a test but was negative abs she had cold . She was retested after 24 hours and was negative and red light removed from her door. But then tested positive at airport

9 hours ago, delondin said:

As England has  stopped testing as such and isolation is only a recommendation, Southampton  may not need to know numbers etc. 

we were about an hour late getting off ship in Bilbao. Everyone was thinking that Bilbao was concerned about our Covid numbers since that is about when the numbers really climbed