cpgrneyes

Just placed a hold on the Boston-Montreal voyage. Price is reasonable, it’s a new area for both of us, and we won’t have to use all our miles for transatlantic business class!

3 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

We arrived at noon and went thru some checkpoints where we got hour priority stickers. We then waited 30 minutes before we could do our check in. That done we had to wait until the passport check was ready to start. If it hadn’t been for the passport check procedure we would probably be on board a bit earlier. You can easily arrive at 12:30 and walk thru the entire procedure. It was hassle free but a few waits. 

3 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

You can easily arrive at 12:30 and walk thru the entire procedure. It was hassle free but a few waits

Thanks for the quick response! Looking forward to being back onboard — between land trips and Covid, we haven’t sailed since 2018.

4 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

The boarding process in Istanbul was seemless and we were on board by 1:15.

Hi @oddjob16 - We’re departing on Onward 10/14/23, and I’m interested in finding out how early you arrived at Galataport before boarding at 1:15. We’re in a suite, so I believe the boarding begins at 1:30, but I’ve read and watched where from arrival to walking on the ship can be a long hassle! Thanks.

1 hour ago, Dudeljo said:

Hi Bimmer09.

This year, in October, we will be sailing with Azamara from Istanbul too. 

Our itinerary is Istanbul, at sea, Kavala, Thessaloniki, Volos, Mykonos, Patmos, Cannakkale, Istanbul. 

So the blue ports will be the same as the ones you will be visiting. Never been to these ports before. I hope I will remember to write more about these ports in November, when I'm back. We will make a shore excursion with Azamara in Kavala (Historic Xanthi & Nestos River) but not in Thessaloniki and Cannakkale. 

I (hope not forget to) let you know.

Grtz, Jo

We’re on the same sailing as you, and the ports, ALL of them, are new to us, but we’ve already been to all the ports in the OP’s original post. We’ve also signed up for the same excursion in Kavala. Look forward to meeting you!

Cheryl

Since I don’t sail until October, I haven’t worried too much about the website issues since I have documentation and screen shots of my loyalty status. Since the transition, the status has been wrong/right/wrong, etc., but now everything but my OBC is fine. 

I had to make final payment a couple weeks ago, and wasn’t about to try to do that online. As others have suggested, I called when the call center opened and got right through. The CS rep sounded like he was working remotely (I could hear the dog barking!) and had to put me on hold a few times to get questions answered, but I was able to confirm my OBC and make final payment with an immediate email confirmation. I had booked a couple shore excursions but hadn’t payed for them although they continue to show as booked. CS couldn’t apply the OBC to them, but said they showed and are booked at the original price and once the website was sorted out, I’d be able to apply my OBC to them.

All is not perfect yet on the new site, but there is positive progress! Just thought I’d be another poster whose problems are almost all resolved.

On 5/24/2023 at 11:34 PM, Riocca said:

The other this week I was able to make the booking online took a while but a lot of that was my unfamiliarity with the new system, was able to get a 24 hour hold but couldn’t change the cabin the system allocated. However a quick phone call the following day got it resolved and the booking completed.

I’m booked on the same cruise and wanted to take advantage of the new offer. My TA didn’t respond to my request for two days to rebook, so I was able to do it direct online with no issue. I received a confirmation from Azamara with the cabin number I requested. Now when I look online, they have my new booking and rate, but the cabin that the system originally allocated. I’ve submitted the issue on Azamara, but will be calling soon to verify that my confirmation is correct, particularly as there are now no cabins available in the category I want. Frustrating, but I have everything printed out and trust it will be resolved before we sail in October.

20 minutes ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

When this comes up, try clicking the "Upcoming Cruises" button an second time.

I did this and mine came up.

Same with me. All the details are correct except the OBC which was issued during an Azamara special.

2 hours ago, tmacktravels said:

I can absolutely recommend https://www.taxiinvolos.gr/transfers/taxi-volos-to-meteora-tour/

Thanks for the recommendation! We’ll be there on Onward in October, and I’ve already contacted them for information. Much appreciated.

Update - the site is back to normal!

10 hours ago, jkhneuber said:

There are differences between US and UK website since i begin to look for a cruise this year. The layout from cpgrneyes have been in place on US website at least since early December. But I am from germany, maybe they have geolocation and test with non target market. The UK website is the old one, better working. 

The layout in the US website was much different before yesterday when I could actually get a price showing all the discounts included. Today, I followed through on the new booking site, and can’t even get a price. The site just asks to select from several different time periods for a call from a representative. Fortunately, I sent a screen shot to my TA Sunday to make an upgrade, and hopefully they’ll have no trouble making the change today.

My assumption - it is different than it has been the past year. Also states that Covid vaccination is required which is no longer correct. Likely just went “live” in error, but thought I’d contribute it to this thread.

Just went online to check on a price and, at least on my iPad, it looks like the booking engine is the new website, but definitely not ready for release!

20 hours ago, Aardvaark said:

We're underwhelmed with Avios as used with some airlines.  AA usage stinks.  EI is good.  We'll go with our Chase card that allows point transfer to most airlines.

Our Chase cards are our go-to cards as well. Traveling Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic and Business on Turkish Airways using the points 👍

We’re book on our first cruise since 2018 on Onward October 14 R/T Istanbul and Greece. While we’ve done land trips in Europe three times, I’ve missed sailing, and looking forward to being on Onward, having sailed the other AZ ships. We’ll be flying business thanks to points on our credit cards. My husband calls me the “mileage wh*re”!

I’m curious as to when they’ll open up the individual segments for sale, as there are some interesting ones. There is NO way I’d get DH on a cruise for 155, particularly with as many sea days as are involved!

We’re currently booked on the same cruise. I checked on a European website for cruises, and they indicate the earliest flight they recommend is 11:00, so I suppose technically it could be done. Far too much hassle and stress for me at the end of a vacation, so we’re planning to return to Athens for another night and fly home the next day.

Cross posted with Uktog, but we have the same thoughts!

Our next cruise is 10/2021, Greece and Turkey, which I’d booked last December. This April, cancelled a cruise that was scheduled to depart from Venice yesterday, and fortunately the OBC and FCC were transferred to our 2021 booking, with no $ lost. 

I’m 50/50 that next year’s trip will happen and would Lift & Shift to 2022, but there is no itinerary at all similar to the one we’ve booked with five days in Turkey. We had a previous cruise to Turkey schedule several years ago, but it was cancelled do to the political situation, so definitely hoping this one goes. 

Like others, I can live with more sanitation and masks, but not so sure about the cruise excursions only. Definitely would not work for an itinerary with many repeat ports, but other than Santorini, all our 2021 stops are new to us, so will wait and see. 🤞🤞🤞

One of our favorite ports was St. Peter Port in Guernsey, likely because it was such an unexpected pleasure! The port town itself is really lovely, and we took a private tour to the WW2 museum. After they were relatively peacefully occupied by the Germans, when the war ended a young teenager began collecting all kinds of things they left behind and opened this amazing museum (an Enigma machine!), and he still mans the entrance and loves to share stories. 

We’ve had so many ports that are off the beaten path, and it’s why we love Azamara. Hopefully, we’ll have more discoveries next year. 

I can’t believe I didn’t think of another VERY memorable evening in Liverpool at the Cathedral. It began with light opera/Broadway type male and female singers and ended with a Beatles cover band playing with the real Beatles shown on screens. Russ beckoned us up to dance, and I found myself dancing. In Liverpool. In the Cathedral. To the Beatles. Azamazing!

We loved the evening in Valencia. Having the Arts & Science center all to ourselves was wonderful, as was the varied entertainment. Hoping we’ll be able to sail on our 10/2021 Greece and Turkey cruise and finally experience Ephesus and the Azamazing Evening.

Thanks, LaurieB, for starting this thread.

I have been trying to cancel our October trip for several weeks. Azamara advised my TA that we should first transfer the FCC we had applied toward this trip to our 2021 sailing before we cancelled which makes sense. The TA has been following up weekly, and was told the following this week: “I just called Azamara to check on the status of things. They advised they are super backed up, and it can take about 4 weeks for the FCCs to be transferred. They said they are hoping by 5/22 to have all of them completed.”

AZ also offered to waive the cancellation fee if we transferred the 2020 deposit to the 2021 trip. I declined, I’ll pay the $150 total cancellation and pocket the $950 deposit balance.

I know many on this thread are in a far different and more tenuous position, but I just wanted to share the communication received on FCC.

23 minutes ago, BrendaJ said:

Looks like Chile changed their minds and will allow us to disembark in Valparaiso on Tuesday as long as we head straight to the airport and get out.   Whew!

That’s good news, and I’m glad to hear Pursuit still has a happy ship. With all that’s going on, there’s no doubt the onboard crew and management will continue to provide the best experience possible. Safe travels home!

Finally, but like Royal Caribbean, only for US departures?

https://view.email.azamaraclubcruises.com/?qs=fc27bb508e7269841d46de90ce883ed2667f21c47276bc84545b98dbae8452c309f0ddf7a96f29efbe06ba90fcb851a2dcc2d4d326b024b0afced0e986424da6d132c4996041cd675e125b77f45b3a99754ee220a4f1c6d0

12 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The absence of anything being said about Azamara makes me fearful for their future. I hope I'm wrong, but with the huge costs RCL will incur and how long it will take to recover it is quite possible that the ships will go through more than just a short lay up. I have no idea of the financials for Azamara and how much profit they now contribute to the group. 

 

Phil 

I agree, Phil. We have a Quest cruise booked in October, and I was taking a wait and see attitude before cancelling, but I’m seriously questioning that now. They have over $1,000 in deposit for that trip (and the same for a 2021 cruise), and I’m about ready to cut my losses and cancel. I’m not sure how they’ll recover from this horrific PR nightmare they’ve created.

I just noticed AZ has a new advisory - https://www.azamara.com/travel-advisory. Boarding will be denied to passengers who have traveled to or through mainland Europe in the past 15 days.