azjoy

Cabins in the center and on lower decks (4 and 6) tend to be less affected by rough seas. We've only stayed in Ocean View and Balcony cabins. I think the bathrooms are the same size, as Grandma said "small but adequate". I believe the old Azamara website listed the square footage and there was a difference but I don't remember how much. The light from the balcony makes the cabin seem much larger and cheerier. I prefer the Balcony cabins but 5,000 is a big difference, in almost any currency! But depending on the length of the cruise, it might be worth it. Good luck and happy cruising!

Just before this was announced, a family member booked her first Azamara cruise. I thought I had 30 days from her booking date to submit the paperwork under the old Referral program and we were traveling so I delayed. I submitted a request through the Azamara Contact site to ask whether we would be covered under the old program or the new one (and mentioned that she had booked before the new program so I could NOT send her a link as required in the new program. The response from "Azamara Sales Solutions Team" was quick but it consisted of "Thank you for reaching out! Currently you can not get the R&R until after she sails with us!" Unfortunately, the terms & conditions state that we would automatically qualify for the VISA card when she paid the deposit, which was already done. So, they didn't answer my questions or address this catch-22 issue and they mis-stated the Azamara policy. I've already replied and will continue to pursue this, especially for my family member. I'm expecting the next communication to recommend that I address this when we board the ship for our next cruise - more than on a year away!

I started this thread and just wanted to post our final result. Success!! The Future Cruise Consultant on Journey, Tine, was very helpful and knowledgeable. We met with her on the day after we met the requirements for the new level, Discoverer+. When we explained what we wanted, there was no pushback or hedging. She agreed the free nights could be booked on the current cruise and volunteered to price the cruise 2 ways: - at the "full" price, discounting the 6 free nights - then at the current sale price. She had a spreadsheet to estimate the price using the free nights. When that came out to be significantly less than the sale price, she put the cabin on hold and sent it to Azamara pricing for confirmation. We expected it to take a long time but they responded in less than 2 days (and this was over the U.S. Labor Day holiday) with the same price she estimated. I almost ran down the steps to give her the deposit! As several others reported, it can be done on the qualifying cruise with a knowledgeable Future Cruise Consultant. If the FCC insists it can't be done, I would suggest politely but firmly asking that the policy be verified with the department manager or HQ. I've used this tactic with airlines, hotels and many other businesses. I only insist when I've verified with knowledgeable sources (i.e. the regulars on this forum!) that it can and has been done. Perhaps the agent is new or wasn't trained on this situation so this can be an opportunity for the them to learn - and help other customers.

January, 2025. San Diego - Hawaii - French Polynesia. As of 2 days ago, there were still CC suites available, but they were 8056 and aft on the port side and under the Patio on the starboard side. Not sure about forward. Check it out, would love to see you the cruise!

Thanks blag, 2ndsailing and Jazzbeau for your comments. We're on Journey and we went to 8 and told the butler we were interested. He told us 8060 was empty and showed it to us. With your comments, we are now happily booked into 8050 for our next Azamara cruise!

We're looking at a trans-Pacific cruise on Onward in 8050. Has anyone been in that suite? I'm concerned about noise. 2ndsailing mentioned a crew door opposite 8054, were there any other problems? Thanks in advance

Thank you very much! This eases my mind so now I can move onto other worries! 🙂

I know that's true for the other benefits of the new level, such as internet minutes. I was speaking about a new booking using the free nights with the new loyalty level. In 2019, we were able to a future cruise onboard and have the free nights applied to it. Has anyone tried this with the new management?

We are currently 10 points away from the next loyalty level and our next cruise is in August. We’d like to book a future cruise while on board using the free nights and the higher discount. We were able to do this under RCCL in 2019 but I was wondering if anyone has experience doing this under the new management? Thanks

Hello, We were on the same cruise (our 11th) and we also came down with COVID, missing the Azamazing Evening in Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, the fireworks in Sydney, etc. We mailed a complaint letter (yes, snail mail) to Azamara Guest Relations weeks ago but heard nothing. Tried an email last week but, not surprisingly, no one has acknowledged/responded yet. We were trying to deal with this ourselves rather than involve our TA. Now that we know Azamara has a policy for giving FCC for COVID sufferers, we've decided to get her involved. No one at Azamara mentioned anything to us about FCC! I've saved the page from their website for backup. We have an Azamara cruise later this year where we would use the FCC. Thanks for mentioning this.

We've used this particular credit on many cruises and I recall it being non-refundable. It's listed on your confirmation from Azamara and shows available in the Azamara website Cruise Planner so can be used to book shore excursions pre-cruise and any the leftover can be used on board, like all other OBC. One thing that it cannot be used for is tips for specialty dining. There are a few other exceptions for using OBC but I don't remember all of them. As for why it's non-refundable, I can only speculate that it's being provided by both Azamara and American Express, but that's just a guess on my part. My most recent use of this credit was in December on back-to-back cruises.

Thanks for the info on the sale. We didn't get the email but I found that several of the excursions we had already booked for a December cruise were discounted. BUT - I checked the "discounted" price against what we had already paid and there was only 1 out of 3 excursions where the "discounted" price was lower. So, if you've already booked excursion, I'd recommend checking your original price before rebooking. Also, the discounts were only available on our December cruise, not the one we have booked in March.

In 2017 they provided a bus to Darling Harbor. I believe the stop was quite close to the Sea Life Aquarium. But of course, that was a long time ago and pre-COVID. Would love to hear from folks who've been there in the last year since we'll be there in January.

I don’t know if you’ve already taken your cruise, but wanted to share our recent experience with cabin 439 on the Silver Whisper. The positives were, as noted by previous posters; close to midship (very little “motion of the ocean”), and close to an elevator. Unfortunately, we did experience quite a bit of noise. The first night I was awakened twice by a loud noise. It sounded like a noisy motor and it went on for a while. The second time was 5:30am and I opened the windows to see the Pilot transferring to his boat, almost directly under our window. At the next port I noticed several “doors”, one large enough for cargo, underneath our window. While in several ports, we looked out to see a large hose emerging from under our window to the dock and there was loud noise like fluid rushing through a pipe. I’m not sure if it was rushing onto the ship or off the ship – but it was loud. We didn’t even request this cabin. Originally, we were in 427 but were moved into 439 after final payment. Our request for an explanation was ignored and the location looked good so we decided to give it a try. After a week of complaining about the noise, we were moved into 658 which was much quieter. Yes, there was more rocking but we preferred it to being awakened in the middle of the night.

We've used Welcome Pickups in several cities and found them prompt and reliable. The last time we used them from Civitavecchia to Rome. Enjoy your cruise!