ceejilly

Thanks ever so much 'beachseeker', 'Rocca', and 'marinaro44', all your advice and help has been taken onboard giving me a clearer picture::rolleyes:

'marinaro44', I am exactly in the situation you clearly described....moving up to Discoverer Tier at the end of the first half of a b2b next month during the current BOGOHO promotion. I’ve understood the maths and I probably book another b2b for next year which would be a 7 day and say a 11 day b2b, use the 4 free days against the 7 day and separately book the 11 day with savings. It does sound complicated because initially I wasn’t sure if it was possible to book two cruises b2b one being at full fare costs and the other being discounted. I take it they are considered as two separate bookings? Also I’ll have a chat when onboard with the LCV rep and see what she can suggest.

Again many thanks to all, your help has truly been welcomed :) :)

Craig

I need your expert help please:confused::confused:

Next month my wife and I move up to Discoverer Tier and although I understand the benefits that go with it (4 free nights) I'm becoming confused what the best length of cruise to maximise the savings offered is:confused:

Book a 7 night cruise and only pay for 3 nights, but am I right in saying the overall cost is based on the full fare only? So along comes 'a buy one and get one half price' fare, one has to work out the sums on both and decide. Also is a short cruise (7 nights) more cost effective than a long cruise (14 nights).

Is there anyone out there who has been down this road who could explain in simple english the possible financial pitfalls to clear steer of.

Thanks Azamara family in anticipation.

Craig

This was our fourth Azamara cruise.

Excellent flights arranged by Azamara BA from LHR.

Shuttle to Athens Hilton, well organised.

Athens Hilton room excellent. Since we had been to Athens on several other occasions we had dinner locally, meeting up with others on the same cruise ,at the restaurant, which was recommended by the Azamara rep. We particularly liked the small carafes of wine at 6 euros each ! Both couples we met were Azamara regulars from the UK. Neither of them had ever posted or looked at Cruise Critic. Great breakfast with lots of choice.

Shuttle and Embarkation, smooth and fast.

Champagne and lunch, rooms ready at 1.30.

 

Cruise Critic party: We met with our companions for our private tour from Livorno. Well attended with I would guess around 40 people.

 

Food: This time we went to Prime C as DH is a steak lover. We had a shared table at the only time available 7.30. It was fine but not great with the steaks being rather thin. Service was good but nowhere near as good as in Aqualina which was fabulous. Food and service excellent Our waiter Ferdinand was excellent. Patio for lunch was very good. MDR excellent, in fact we seemed to spend such a lot of time on our lively shared table that we missed a lot of the entertainment. For the first time ever we tried the Buffet (Indian) which was good. Didnt get round to the Patio in the evening, so we definitely need a longer cruise next time.

 

We liked the guitarist Teodor, also singer Nathan both in The Living Room. In fact we used this room much more than previously and found it very user friendly. It was certainly much livelier late at night than we have ever seen before.

 

Azamazing Evening in Livorno (3 Tenors) was organised with military precision. Very enjoyable but perhaps not as spectacular as our favourite which was in the Aquarium at Monte Carlo. However everyone had a great time with the three guys singing popular arias (shortened version) in the first half, then more popular songs (ie Tonight, Funicoli Funicola) plus a couple of encores.

 

Decor: Quest was looking good. I liked the lighter decor in the cabins and main rooms. I think housekeeping may not be so keen on the really light cream areas of carpet as I saw then on hands and knees with spot cleaner a couple of times outside Mosaic. Bearing in mind the carpet was only fitted a few weeks ago I hope there are some spare rolls around for the inevitable patching.

 

Ports of Call were all fine but I do share the thoughts on another thread that many of us have been to same places on many occasions and the odd addition of new ports in amongst the old favourites would be welcome. It was our first visit to Giardina Naxos for Taormina so at least we had one new place. We had previously been due to visit it on a Star Clipper cruise but were diverted to Catania, which I personally preferred, as it is not so 'touristy'. We shared a taxi from the port up to Taormina for 25 euros, which worked well.

In Santorini we tried to boat to Oia from the Quay which worked extremely well. However the line to return to the quay, for the cable car in Fira was very long. There were 4 cruise ships in that day, and I have never seen it so crowded. I see that Journey was luckier last week being the only ship in town.

From Sorrento we went to Capri, and took the bus to Anacapri, however wouldn't do this again as there was a long wait. Would splash out on a taxi next time.

For the first time ever we actually stayed on board when we docked in Civitavecchia. The weather was great and DH currently has some mobility issues. We really enjoyed our day, we also for the first time ever had a sea day on Azamara, and we liked that too.

From Livorno we had a private tour with the lovely Paolo from Unforgettable Tuscany, visiting Pisa briefly, then going to the splendid Villa Torrigiani where for once our group were almost the only visitors , finally to Lucca.

From Monte Carlo we got the 100 bus to Nice, just for the lovely ride. Then I walked around Monte Carlo to see the great changes they have to make to accommodate the Formula One race.

We took the Nice central transfer on our final day, hired a car, then spent the remaining four days of our holiday in St Paul de Vence and surrounding areas. We stayed at Toile Blanche. Had some great trips especially to Gordon and Tourrettes sur Loup. Visited the Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. DH had a fall and ended up sitting in the Cactus Garden covered in scratches. It is however a wonderful place easily visited from Nice or Monte Carlo.

I would mention that we have cruised at this time of the year before and we have never seen everywhere so crowded. In theory it was not high season, so goodness knows what it will be like in July and August.

 

Finally I would like to say the Captain, Crew, Guest Relations, Room Attendants, Waiters etc etc were all fantastic. The cruise was almost faultless. I can't praise Azamara enough. My only very small complaint was that there was no music in the cabin and in fact the TV options were poor. This in no way affected our wonderful cruise. We are booked on Viking Sea in September, but I already know that Azamara will remain our number one choice.

Hi Pam

Thoroughly enjoyed your company and Mike’s on the cruise and thanks for organising the excursion to Pisa and Lucca.

Our thoughts are the same as yours concerning the receptiveness on ports especially around the Italian coastline, saying that though, the ports may be the same but there is still plenty of places to visit irrespective of how many times one has docked in the same place.

We also stayed on board when docked in Civitaveccihia, did have a walk along the waterfront/beach but it wasn't up to much I'm afraid. Our daughter Tanya had a hoot of a time, you'll already know that by seeing her in the evening dancing the night away. It was great having her company for a long belated birthday treat, her first cruise and seeing all the crew swarming around her like bees around the honey pot only made her holiday even better but the icing on the cake had to be Monte Carlo......sorry Azamara officers, crew, waiters etc she is now concentrating her efforts around the race track now.....oh to be young again:)

Anyway, the cruise was brilliant once again especially after the major refit, officers and crew were, again, really friendly, welcoming and generally pleasant. They are all genuinely happy to meet us again and that's why we keep on returning.

Jill and I are returning to Azamara on Journey next month for a B2B from Nice to Barcelona (we found some new ports to visit:)) Enjoy your cruise on Viking Sea.

Craig

I'm not sure which cruise or cruises we are discussing here but Quest has been chartered for at least a year and a half now by an Aussie cruise agency to do a 32-day Montreal to New Orleans cruise from September 24 to October 26, 2016.

 

The same agency has also chartered Quest for a 34-day Med cruise starting the day after tomorrow. Neither of these charters is new news.

We are on the Quest, sailing dates 16May - 25May 2016, my TA has checked directly with Azamara and can confirm that this cruise has not been chartered and is still accepting bookings.

Is there anyone out there who knows the email address of Ryszard Gusmann

Azamara Hotel Director please or the best way to get in touch with him? Thanking you. Craig

Why is Oceania taking us to Lesbos on Tuesday 8th Sept:confused: We are due to port at Mitilini. Lesbos for 9 hours. If you are not up to date with the current news or on holiday on Mars then you are excused but to be serious, Oceania is taking us to a refugee base for the migrants trying to leave the Island by whatever means to get to mainland Greece. The newspaper photos coming out of Mitilini (UK Daily Mail, dated 4 Sept) show migrants rioting on the port streets, throwing stones and rocks at police who are reported to be firing stun grenades into the crowds to disperse them. Not the quiet Greek Island we are expecting!!! I for one will be staying on board for the day and questions to Oceania are going to be asked:(

Just to bring you all up to date with the concerns of Lesbos............We have just returned to the UK after sailing on Riviera (Aegean Adventure Cruise).

Oceania decided not to visit Lesbos the day after departing from Istanbul due to the 'unease' being reported from that area, instead we spent the day in Kavala, Greece.

Bodrum was still on the itinerary and although there were a few groups of refugees in the town, there was no obvious trouble.

So a wise move was made by Oceania, though made rather late in the day. Craig

ceejilly,

Your location brought back many memories. I played Luffenham Heath golf course for many years. Do you know it?

Barry

We have lived in Rutland for over thirty years now and I am aware of Luffenham Heath golf course, though not as a golfer. My activity is being a sailing Instructor on Rutland Water, teaching the disabled how to sail. Whatever your sport Rutland and it's open places is a wonderful County to live in. Craig

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3222419/Riots-erupt-Greek-island-Lesbos-200-frustrated-refugees-throw-stones-police-coastguard-officials-blocked-getting-mainland-bound-ferry.html

Thankyou Christine for your thread, I do not know how you managed to embed the Daily Mail article, I tried but failed:confused: Pictures are worth a thousand words.:)

I seem to remember the Daily Mail photo report about migrants a while back on another Greek island (can't recall which one) being proven totally inaccurate and mostly staged)' date=' so can't take the paper as a reference too seriously.

 

If you're worried then stay on board.......

 

For non UK readers, the Daily Mail makes Fox News seem rather liberal as a news source, people forget that the Mail and the Rothermere empire have a pro fascist/Adolf H/Mussolini history.[/quote']

 

I find your post rather offensive, I'm not interested in your political persuasion

just in the facts. The Rothermere empire (Lord Rothermere) had formed a friendship with Hitler, Mussolini and not forgetting Mosley long before the start of the Second World War. The modern Daily Mail is now a daily middle-market tabloid newspaper, second biggest selling newspaper with a circulation of over 1,500,000 copies and it's political stance is Conservative.

That is where the newspaper stands in the UK and a newspaper that writes honest reports.

If you think that the riots in Mitilini. Lesbos are Staged or Air-Brushed or PhotoShoped then you are mislead. With thanks to the next thread, it shows clearly the kind of activity being expressed at this moment in Lesbos. So please do not try and convince fellow cruisers that it's a figment of your imagination.

Why is Oceania taking us to Lesbos on Tuesday 8th Sept:confused: We are due to port at Mitilini. Lesbos for 9 hours. If you are not up to date with the current news or on holiday on Mars then you are excused but to be serious, Oceania is taking us to a refugee base for the migrants trying to leave the Island by whatever means to get to mainland Greece. The newspaper photos coming out of Mitilini (UK Daily Mail, dated 4 Sept) show migrants rioting on the port streets, throwing stones and rocks at police who are reported to be firing stun grenades into the crowds to disperse them. Not the quiet Greek Island we are expecting!!! I for one will be staying on board for the day and questions to Oceania are going to be asked:(

Thank you everybody with the info I asked for. I have taken on board your advice about leaving luggage unattended, because of this it may mean a long session at the airport unless we leave our luggage at left luggage within the terminal and then go 'downtown' for a few hours. Again thanks for your good advice. Craig

I need your advice please, my wife and I are disembarking Riviera on Sept 17 and our return flight to London is not until 5:35pm:confused: Instead of hanging around Ataturk Airport all day, I am thinking of a half day tour of Istanbul with our luggage left in the taxi. Can anyone recommend a good/reliable taxi company that I could book?

Oceania (UK) has advised me that there is no planned excursion available through Riviera on that day, which is a shame because in the past Azamara has laid on a short tour before driving to the airport when the situation demands. Thank you, Craig

Thanks everyone for your response to my question, I do appreciate your advice and guidance. I've decided to hope that the bars on Oceania Reviera is stocked up with my chosen tonic otherwise I'll be walking the supermarket once again:oCraig

My wife and I are soon going on our first Oceania cruise after being with Azamara for a few years. One of the (many)highlights to the experience is to enjoy a G&T prior to dinner watching the world go by and the sun setting, but I need to know the brand of tonic water served on Oceania Riviera. We are not Gin aficionados but when it comes to the tonic water it has to be Schweppes, we have been known to visit supermarkets whilst cruising the Med just to purchase Schweppes tonic.....sad or what:confused: Not to upset our American cousins but your tonic water (I think it's called Crown Club) just sucks, hence the urgency. Otherwise it will be back to the supermarkets once again or pack a few cans in our luggage. I do hope someone out there knows the answer and thank you in anticipation:) Craig

Next year we are planning a b2b in the Med, it so happens that we will qualify for the Discovery Tier at the end of the first half of our b2b. Many questions are to be asked, will we receive the extra benefits of Discovery during the second half of the b2b cruise i.e. increased discount saving and 4 complimentary nights are just a couple. I tend to think that for admin reasons due to the time delay with head office receiving confirmation of the upgrade, we may have to suck it and wait until another cruise later on. Has any seasoned cruiser had the same situation?

To bring you all up to date with our complaint directed at Azamara concerning our return flight fiasco, we have received a call from Azamara Customer Support (Guatemala). Although they (Azamara) cannot be held responsible for flight delays/industrial action nor have any input concerning overnight accommodation, they have as a gesture of goodwill given us £500 Future Cruise Certificate for the inconveniences we experienced. Well done Azamara, totally unexpected but well received.

Thanks uktog for your thoughts. I will add to your post that we have, even after our last flight experience booked a cruise for next year with Azamara. Initially our TA booked our flight to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines but I insisted that we flew with B.A Heathrow return or we do not go. A few minutes later she phoned me back to say that we are now booked with B.A as requested at no extra cost. So fellow cruisers do not take what flight is first offered....be firm:D

Having read everybody's experiences on their flights being delayed etc, I must reply with our recent experience. We booked a 'package' through our UK TA to ensure no problems would occur but here's what happened. B.A flight from Heathrow T.5. ETD 11:15/ETA Barcelona 14:25, the flight was delayed due to late arrival of incoming flight. We eventually arrived at the port to embark at around 16:15:( Unfortunately the 'welcome on board' was non existent and by the time we started to unpack it was time for the 'emergency drill'. Once sorted we slipped into 'cruise mode' and had a wonderful time, little did we know that our return flight home would be a nightmare.

Disembarked at Civitavecchia at 07:15 for a indirect AF flight to Heathrow from Fiumicino ETD 12:50/ETA Paris CDG 15:00/ETD 16:00/ ETA Heathrow 16:15.

Again our Rome/Paris flight was delayed and eventually took off late at 14:20 with the knowledge that we would miss the connecting flight to Heathrow. Nevertheless whilst on board we were advised by a member of cabin crew that we had been transferred to another flight from Paris, so all was happy or so we thought !! On landing at Paris yes we had missed our flight but the alternative flight had also left (we found out later on that this flight was going to Vienna with a connection to Heathrow :confused:

After queuing for 2-3 hours for help from the AirFrance customer support it was explained that there were no more flights to Heathrow and we had to spend the night in a local hotel (which turned out to be yet another nightmare).

ETD the following day was 07:20 which took off on time and landed at Edinburgh, yes you heard Edingburgh at 08:20 with a connecting Virgin Atlantic flight to Heathrow at 09:10. We arrived at Heathrow at 10:40 quite jaded but glad to be home. The reason for this nightmare return flight...............AirFrance pilots strike action:mad: So fellow cruisers do not only think of arriving the day before your cruise but consider your return as well. We certainly will.

By the way, we have passed on our experience to Azamara and at this present time in conservation with them.

Totally agree with you 'Spursgirl' and the majority of posts. My wife and I are fairly newcomers to cruising, in the past two years we have sailed three times with Azamara with a b2b on 'Journey' starting this Saturday from Barcelona but after that we are voting with our feet. I have instructed out TA to cancel two forthcoming booked cruises for next year with a full refund based on the changes to the loyalty programme. It's a real shame because we thought we had found our 'niche' in the cruising world having loved every minute with Azamara but now I find it hard to trust them and when that happens it's time to move on....maybe to Oceania.

Most times the Tonic (both standard and diet)on Azamara is the unpalatable 'Royal Club' brand.

It does depend where in the world the ships are, and the subsequent supply chain.

Totally agree with your comment re: Royal Club. We are not Gin aficionados but when it comes to tonic water there is only one and that's "schhh.....you know who" It was common to see us returning to the ship with a few cans of tonic after searching the supermarkets......how sad is that!!!!!! So UK G&T drinkers forget about packing a nice bottle of wine in your suitcase, instead, a dozen cans of Schweppes may be more rewarding....enjoy:):):)

Our B2B cruise starts from Venice on the 5th July, I eventually managed after numerous calls to Guatemala to have our edoc accessible to print for the first half of the B2B, but still waiting for luggage tags. The second half of the B2B (12th July) again no edoc, so yet another call to Guatemala, as we required the Air Arrangements sheet to be able to check in at the airport for the return flight. At the same time I reminded the 'operator' that I was still waiting for luggage tags and was informed that the company that supplied the tags had "ceased trading" and that Azamara would not be able to issue tags in the future:( I know that tags are available at the port, so I'm not too put out but for heavens sake I am just about finished phoning a call centre miles a way only to be fobbed off with 'their answers'. Luckily our future cruises have been booked through a UK TA and they can have the hustle. I'm sorry Azamara but is your call-centre fit for purpose:mad:

Lexdisic - Oops pressed the wrong button. I managed to find the ruling and it does seem as quoted to be per person but then says per stateroom:confused: I think it's been badly written and needs to be corrected. Reminds me of the 'All Inclusive' and 'More Inclusive' cruising debacle:(

Lexdisic -

Just to clarify :-

 

This offer is on the UK website. We are booking from UK

 

This is a full price sailing with no OBC available for it to be combined with.

 

The potential booking is not a GTY and has been confirmed that it qualifies for the B2B discount.

 

If you read highlighted part of my post it clearly says "savings per person" and NOT stateroom or lead passenger only.

 

We had decided to look at the cruises (2 x 16 days) and splurge on a suite as it will be the last of the longer cruises we take before retirement dictates we cut our cloth accordingly. With the discount that was advertised ie per person, the price fell into our budget - just.

In the grand scheme of things, £600 ($1000), is not an excessive amount of shortfall on a £14,500 ($23,000) booking (approx 4%), but it could be a deal breaker for us as it will take us over our budget. Had we have realised that the discount only applied to the lead passenger/stateroom in the first place, we would not have considered the sailings and hence we would not have had our excitement dampened by mis-leading information in the T&C's.

 

A further anomaly on the website shows "free flights or 2 for 1 offers on flights on selected sailings. The cruise only price has remained the same whereas the "free flight" price has increased :confused:.

 

CEEJILLY - When did you book your B2B ? The present promotion I am referring to is running from !st June to 31st July - did you get any other benefits? Did you see in the T&C.s if it mentioned "lead passenger discount" or just when you received the invoice?

 

Hopefully Bonnie can get this favourably resolved with the UK MD - if not, then at least get clarity on the T&C's so that no-one else is unexpectedly duped.

Lexdisic - our bookings were also made in the UK as a X-GTY booking last year with no other benefits or OBC. Having read the T&C's I cannot find the sentence that you refer to:confused: Our initial b2b was booked at the Cruise Show where we were informed by a sales rep of the b2b discount. Sorry I can't be any wiser.

Hi Bonnie

 

I am looking to book a B2B which qualifies for £300 discount per segment. Guatemala are saying to my TA that the discount is for the stateroom and is £150 per passenger per segment. I would like to draw your attention to the Azamara UK website from which I have copied the following T&C's

 

1.Extended Voyages savings are per voyage when booking consecutive Azamara Club Cruises voyages.

2.Extended Voyages savings are combinable with most other offers – some restrictions apply.

3.Savings are in GBP / EURO per person, and based on double occupancy per stateroom. Back to back savings for sailings 8 nights or shorter are £200/€200 and for sailings 9 nights or longer £300/€300 for 9 days or more.

 

There is no mention of the discount being per stateroom and no mention of £150 per passenger, but are insisting to my TA that it is. Could you please :-

 

1) clarify whether it is or isnt per passenger

 

2) If it is £300 per passenger, could you inform Guatemala that it is so my TA can book the B2B

 

3) If it is per stateroom, could you tell me so and amend what appears to be a deceptively worded document on the website.

 

This will be my first Azamara cruise if I go ahead and book, but dont really relish the thought that for booking so early (April 2016), I am being rewarded with misleading information.

 

Thanks in advance for your attention.

My wife and I have booked two b2b cruises this year, the first one booked direct with Azamara, their confirmation invoice shows a £200 b2b discount against the lead passenger for the first segment and a further £200 discount again against the lead passenger for the second segment. The second b2b cruise was booked with a well known midlands TA whose booking summary shows the exact same discounts on both segments. For clarity all segments are of a 8 day and lower duration. By virtue of the discounts being set against the lead passenger only, it infers that it is per stateroom and not per passenger. Hope this is of help. Craig