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6 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

In our experience there may not be staff available to check you in much before the earliest check-in time. Certainly on our last cruise from Civitavechia we arrived at about 11:30am for a check-in time that was advertised as from 12:00 and check-in didn’t start until 12:00 because the staff weren’t ready.

Thank you for your response. I was hoping to board as early as possible and go back out. However, if I cant drop a carryon in my cabin before 1:30 I will probably just store my luggage at the hotel and board later and stay on board. 

Do you know if Azamara docks near the end of Las Ramblas or will it be further out?

thanks for any help. I have only sailed on Azamara once so far and that cruise embarked from Lisbon. I seem to remember seeing Azamara on a recent cruise from Barcelona and it was docked closer in than Celebrity or other larger ships.

Thanks

I have one more question. Are the cabins usuallly available if you board before noon?

Thanks for the info!

I know this has been asked before but what is the earliest time you can reasonably expect to check in for a cruise on Azamara?

12 hours ago, Lois R said:

Will do,,,,,Union Square Café...…...I will have to write it down!  I wonder how far it is from my hotel...….I am staying in Lower Manhattan, near Ground Zero.

I think it is on 19 th street. Maybe near Union Square like the old one was. You will have to google. Easiest to take a taxi. Once you get to the numbered streets, every 20 blocks uptown or downtown = approx one mile. But down near ground zero streets are not in a grid so it is more difficult to tell distance. Theatre District is approx 1 1/2 miles uptown from restaurant on westside. (19th-45th). Easy walk just count the streets.

Hope this helps.

7 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Hi Anne, Oh, I will eat at the bar! If I go early I am guessing there will be a bar stool with my name on it!

If you can, please report back as I have not eaten at their new location yet. I think you will really like the food.

Anne

11 minutes ago, Lois R said:

 

Ohhh...this place looks good, nice menu!!!....I am sailing in April, should I reserve this far ahead?

It is an excellent restaurant downtown. Probably my favorite in NYC and it shouldn’t cost you $100 unless you drink alot. Be sure and try the calimari. Its the best. I would make reservations, you can always cancel.  Eating at the bar is fun too as people are very friendly but you cant make reservations for that. I also like their lamb chops. Wish I were there right now!

anne

Union Square Cafe. I Never visit NYC wihout going there. Best calimari in the world!

Very friendly to singles. I love the bar when I am alone. You must get a reservation, though. I have not been since they moved, however anything done by Danny Meyer is top notch.

1 minute ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Azamara are aware that there is an error with the Meet & Mingle registration and are trying to sort it out. It seems to be intermittent, so it’s always worth trying again after a day or two

Thank you for the info.

Is anyone else having trouble registerig for a meet and mingle? Trying to register results in an error message from the Azamara site. 

10 minutes ago, btaylor1200 said:

Thanks Anne and LuAnn.  We will be on Pursuit from Lisbon to Rome, so hopefully we will see Anne on board (and maybe play some Mahjong).  I decided to pack a travel set so I know we will have a complete set on board.

 

I appreciate all the responses!

I recommend you join the roll call and register for the meet and mingle. Maybe we can get some others interested for mahjong. My cabin number is 6052. Hope to meet you onboard.

anne

On 1/6/2019 at 12:27 PM, btaylor1200 said:

We are sailing three back to backs on the Azamara Pursuit this spring. Is Mahjong offered as an activity on board? Do they have the game sets available for passengers to use? I'm hoping I don't need to bring my own as that will mean sacrificing something else when I pack. 

Are you by chance on the April 13 sailing Barcelona to Monte Carlo? I would love to play if there is time on the port intensive cruise.

anne

There were sets aboard Journey. I would call customer relations to make sure they have them on Pursuit or can order them. Make sure you specify American mahj.

usually there are not many sea days but we played a couple days on a 10 night.

4 hours ago, mimbecky said:

I'd be interested to know same regarding the Constellation.

 

There is a set on Constellation but it has several tiles that have been creatively corrected since it was not complete but had extra jokers and flowers which we renamed. It is confusing at first but worked out in the end. As far as I know only one set was even close to complete. Not a good thing on a cruise with a lot of sea days. (Luckily ours had mostly port days).

You might call captains club and see if they can get a new set or two.

We played on tables at aqua spa café and sometimes in one of the bars that was empty. Forget which one. Better tables near aqua spa. 

Wow just looked at prices on this cruise and they have really dropped. What a great deal. I only wish I could book it but I am going to France at that time. But anyone looking for a great deal should check it out as well as the following TA.

goes to show that there are some excellent deals to be had if you have flexibility.

Norma

thanks for taking me along on the trip I booked but had to cancel. I loved Buenos Aires when I took the South America cruise but unfortunately there are often problems with flights to and from South America. I only travel in business class these days which lessens the stress somewhat but it is still not a good experience. At least you and Liesa are home safe and sound with great memories.

maybe we will meet on a future cruise. Happy holidays to you and your family.

anne

5 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Are you sure that you will not also loose your original deposit, I understand you can transfer it once to another cruise but rebooking the same cruise will that still count?..

 

 

I rebooked the same cruise for less money recently during the double upgrade and retained all my onboard booking perks (OBC and LCV discount) plus added the 10% quarterly discount which was not running when I originally booked and the extra $500 bonus OBC they were offering a week or so ago. Guess I got very lucky or have a good travel agent.

by the way, I checked this new promo just out of curiosity and it would cost me $800 more than the double upgrade. I am even happier with my price now and will stop comparing.

Debbie

with Azamara you have to monitor constantly. Some of the last minute cruises are 3-4 months ahead (but not as far ahead as you probably like). In June I lucked into a cruise that I loved about 2-3 months ahead. Many of the Med cruises are done all the time and many people have taken them so they often come way down in price. Also you have to chance a guarantee usually. Right now they have automatic double upgrades to balcony which can be good deals ( for Azamara - all is relative). Some of the cruises are also on the quarterly specials and give another 10% off. If you book onboard celebrity you can get another 6-7% off plus 300 OBC (300 more per cruise on b2b. It adds up.

i was just able to upgrade to a balcony on AZ from OV for basically no increase in price plus I took advantage of the 500 OBC special they are running now. Some of the cruises are outrageous, like Africa (I could almost buy a car) but others don’t cost that much more than celebrity.

i would not be surprised if you were able to snag a cheap Aqua cabin closer to your sail date on the Dubai cruise. I am not interested in Dubai and have been through the Suez Canal but would love to see Petra. Probably never will, though.

good luck whatever you decide.

anne

Just got off Connie a few weeks ago and thought the crew was outstanding and the food in the MDR almost on par with Azamara. I prefer the older, smaller ships with less people and classic decor althoughI have nothing against the S class, except for the size. I find more interesting itineraries on Connie, too, especially in the Med, Adriatic and Middle East..

my room steward on this recent cruise was one of the best I have ever had and the crew was the friendliest yet I have experienced on Celebrity.

Hi Debbie,

My friends had one of those aft balconies on our cruise on Connie last month and it was huge. One thing I noticed about the ship this time was how good the food was in the MDR. I was on Azamara in June and the food in the MDR was definitely comparable to that..also the staff was very friendly. Unfortunately the food in the Oceanview was still just soso, but then, there are always some good choices there too. I thought the ship looked great too but then I like the smaller ships with the older decor better than the S class.

All I can say is that I am happy I went to Israel on Connie in 2014 and 2016 as the prices are almost 3 times what I paid on those cruises. But from what I have seen, the prices on the Dubai cruise came way down this year and last year so you may get a break closer to sailing date. 

Celebrity is overly ambitious with the prices on their new cruises for 20-21 and I cant see them getting them in the long run. With some of the excellent deals you can get if you search hard on Azamara, I am looking at booking more and more with them, especially because the smaller ship experience is so much better in every way, (Except maybe the small showers lol).

i am paying less per day for my Azamara cruise next April than many comparable cruises on Celebrity, so I would definitely check them out. The deals on Last minute cruises and the quarterly le club voyages are sometimes very reasonable, and right now they have double upgrades and extra OBC, too.

anne

I have never had a problem with a taxi ordered by the hotel. And I have taken that trip from Paris to CDG countless times as I go to Paris regularly.  I have flown to LAX on the 10:40 flight several times and usually leave Paris at least 3 hours before. It takes 30-40 minutes to get to CDG depending on day and traffic. It isn’t the easiest airport to navigate if you aren’t familiar so allow plenty of time. 

If you get there early, there are always plenty of good shops and restaurants.

There usually are not too many cruises with reduced single supplements but there are alot of other specials. Sometimes you can get really good deals by booking at the last minute in a guarantee. Plus be sure to check the quarterly Le Club Voyages which are 10% off. Booking onboard gets a 300 OBC plus a percentage discount depending on what level loyalty you are at. I am aure you know that Celebrity and Azamara numbers for loyalty programs are the same and you earn points on both cruises simultaneously. 

I lucked into a great deal for a cruise I booked next April in the Med. i originally had booked an oceanview cabin but asked how much a veranda would cost wih the double upgrade special. I was able to keep my onboard credit and booking discount, plus they had added the itinerary to the Le Club voyage sailings after I originally booked, so I got that too. Bottom line, with the upgrade and because of all the discounts and deals, I actually saved a few dollars on a veranda by rebooking at the current discounts! So always good to monitor closely!

With the prices Celebrity is charging on their 2020 cruises, it is actually costing me less per day on Azamara in April but I know this varies by itinerary.

I also cruise alone and have found that Azamara is the most welcoming cruise line I have ever been on for solo travelers. The way the tables are setup, even in the buffet area, is very conducive to meeting other people IMO and I met more friendly and interesting people on Azamara than I have ever met on any other line.

hope this helps.

I was able to rebook a cruise yesterday which was originally booked onboard and keep the $300 OB booking credit and the onboard discount plus take advantage of the double upgrade, quarterly LCV 10% discount which had been added since I originally booked and the $500 OBC yesterday for Cyber Monday. Ended up with an upgrade from an obstructed OV to a V2 veranda with $500 extra OBC and basically the same price when all current discounts had been taken into account. So happy!

Sometimes you do get lucky so always check!

16 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

Just to put a further comparison into the mix...I was booked on your Azamara cruise in April and I just cancelled that for a land trip.  I'm paying $500 cdn more for the two of us for 15 nights in 4* & 5* Hotels  vs 7 nights on Azamara in the lowest category balcony...and by 4 & 5 Star, I mean like the W in Barcelona.  Cruising is getting out of hand compared with such amazing properties on land. 

Totally agree. I had originally booked the B2B from Lisbon to Monte Carlo but just cancelled the first leg and will be flying to Lisbon, Madrid and Barcelona (10 nights pre cruise hotels)  instead to board the 2nd leg in Barcelona. Staying at the Avenida Palace in Lisbon and comparable luxury rated hotels in Madrid .and Barcelona. Even with air between the cities, it is still cheaper for 10 nights than the Lisbon to Barcelona 7 night leg of the cruise. (Which is still cheaper than Celebrity in 2020).

With all the current Azamara specials, upgrades and onboard booking perks, I was able to snag aV2 balcony on Azamara Pursuit between Barcelona and Monte Carlo for about $3,150 for the 7 night cruise, significantly cheaper than on comparable 2020 Celebrity cruises. This is the price per CABIN not per person as I travel alone. Plus I have a total of $800 OBC from Azamara to spend on extras on that cruise. Booking a short cruise still lets me take advantage of the amazing business class airfares on Choice Air.

And of course the added perk of sailing on Azamara versus Celebrity is just icing on the cake.