Penton

I’ve just booked a cruise (Onward 31st July) direct with Azamara. Last Friday I contacted the UK number and was quickly given a price and offered the opportunity to keep the cruise on hold for a week whilst I sorted out flights and ensured that my cat could be accommodated at her usual cat hotel. Today I rang to pay for the cruise and was immediately sent an email confirmation and the Guest Ticket booklet which contains all the necessary information, itinerary, port directions etc. and a boarding pass which I will print out and take to the port. No luggage tags required, they will simply attach tags at the port. Both calls were answered immediately and today I spoke to a very helpful agent at the new UK office in Welwyn Garden City, all so easy and excellent customer service!

I’m joining Onward next week for my fifth Azamara cruise, my second as a ‘solo’. I agree with all LT Hambone’s observations and I’m so pleased I’ve found Azamara. What really stands out for me is the friendliness of the crew and fellow passengers and the relaxed and happy vibe onboard. I’ve been on the big ships - Cunard, P & O, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Princess and Holland America and they all have their pros and cons but it would take an extraordinary unusual itinerary to tempt me back to any of them.

On 8/30/2022 at 1:15 AM, Norn Iron Man said:

I have never cruised with Azamara but your reasons tie in with why I have booked a B2B cruise with Azamara next April.  I have always travelled with RCCL but their ships are now too big and everything seems aimed at making as much as possible from each passenger.

 I started my cruise journey with Royal Caribbean in 2000 and reached Diamond Plus loyalty status, so lots of cruises with them. Have now given up the big ships and agree that they are out to make money at every turn. (I’ve also cruised with Celebrity, Cunard, P&O, Holland America and Princess).

Yesterday I boarded Quest, my third Azamara cruise. I love the small ships - friendly and helpful crew, interesting itineraries, the relaxed vibe and so much included in the basic fare. Yes the bathrooms are small in the verandah cabins but all cruise lines have their good and bad points and I really feel I’ve found my happy place in Azamara!

10 hours ago, Piaa said:

Machine on the Onward last week was broken (has it ever worked?) 

We were on Onward in May and the machine was working perfectly! As for Mr Whippy the Jersey Dairy Mr Whippy was to die for, best ever, loved that island and its beautiful beaches.

Why is pre-boarding testing required for Athens? Have just checked the GOV UK website and apart from having to wear masks on public transport in Greece I can’t see any other requirements, no proof of vaccination or testing requirements. What am I missing?

We walked over to the beaches in Argostoli and Gytheion last week and took the towels from Onward. They are great towels but very bulky and we wished we had taken our own lighter more compact beach towels with us. 

I guess it is all down to people’s expectations and priorities but we were on Onward last week and had a lovely cruise. Yes there are areas which need some remedial work but I’ve been on many other ships which have been very ‘tired’ and in need of refurbishment. The food and the entertainment was good, the hard working crew were cheerful and the service we received from them was exemplary, in my view that goes a very, very long way. 

Adrian, we were on the cruise with you so I have really enjoyed reading your entertaining posts and thoughts about the voyage. It was my second  and my friend’s first Azamara cruise and we had a fabulous time and agree with your observations.
 

You describe your evening dining at the Sunset Veranda and I think we were sat at the table next to you because I noticed the Chablis arriving and thinking that would go down well! However we were quite happy with the included wines so I didn’t feel too hard done by. As the weather was so fabulous we ate outside most of the time, venturing to the Discoveries restaurant only for the brunch and the British themed evening when the choices of food at the Windows Cafe were dismal.
 

Having had some frustrating and poor pre-cruise communications with Azamara I was feeling unsure of how our onboard experience would work out. Thankfully we found nearly everything to be very good indeed. We took advantage of the free transfer from Venice airport and found it well organised and comfortable.  We also paid for an Azamara transfer at the end of the cruise to Athens airport, again well organised and easy.

What really stood out us was the consistently good service provided by all the crew we met,  they worked relentlessly to make our time onboard happy and relaxed. The organisation and teamwork needed to put on the brunch, the Duo Violins entertainment and the White Night was impressive, especially as this was only their third full itinerary. 

We liked Korcula where we wandered around the old town. In Kotor we did a shore excursion where we had an excellent guide. In Corfu we made the mistake of paying for the hop-on-hop-off bus through the shore excursion desk and found it cost 39USD rather than 21 Euros direct, purely for the convenience of a very short ride from the ship to the port gates! Fancying time on the beach in Argostoli and Gytheion we walked from the ship to the beach and enjoyed Greek salads and local beer along the way. In Santorini we took the cable car up to Fira and then took a three hour long walk to Oia along the coastal path. It was very hot and in places treacherous underfoot but the views were spectacular and we enjoyed the peace and quiet and the gentle breeze along the way.

So overall a most enjoyable and successful cruise, looking forward to the next one in September. 

12 hours ago, Mrmatt said:

Do you know where the Randox testing takes place at Heathrow.  We will be on a connecting flight so would need to be within terminal 5.

My Randox appointment is in the car park of The Radisson Edwardian Hotel which is on the Bath Road on the north side of the airport. There may be other options but this the most convenient one for me to drive to. If you look at the Heathrow Airport website it tells you where the testing facilities are.

I have queried the timing of PCR testing with Azamara Customer Services and of course have not had any response from them after 10 days but surely 72 hours is 3 days (3 x 24 hours). So I’ve booked a PCR test for 6pm on Wednesday evening at LHR (Randox) before flying out to Venice at 8am on Thursday. I will get the result in 1 - 3 hours so will know the result before I am due to fly. Should there be any challenge that my timing is incorrect I will take a hard copy of the Azamara email dated 20th April which is the only official communication I have received from Azamara.

The lack of clarity and Azamara’s non-responsiveness is staggering and stressful just 13 days before embarkation.

Thank you Chris for all these wonderful photographs and information. We are boarding on 21st May and now feeling more confident that our onboard experience will be good. Is there furniture on the deck 6 balconies now? Just wish that Azamara would improve their communications, their lack of clarity is somewhat unnerving.

We are on the same sailing and as I understand it we are required to have either a PCR test within 72 hours or a lateral flow test within 1 day of boarding. We will be expected to provide a negative test result at the pier. As we are due to fly from the UK two days before the cruise I will be getting a PCR test the evening before we fly which falls within the 72 hour timeframe and my travel companion will get a lateral flow test done in Venice the day before we board as she has recently recovered from COVID. Just hope we have interpreted Azamara information correctly!

Thanks for sharing this information gwilli. We are also staying near Venice airport supposedly making it easy to pick up the shuttle bus there. So this is not good news but thank goodness I’m keeping a very close eye on Cruise Critic because I’ve heard nothing from Azamara about this latest change! I’m getting rather frustrated and concerned about the lack of clear communication from Azamara about the various changes they have made. Just hoping that the on-board experience will be better.

We’re on the 21st May sailing and wondering whether it is possible to dine outdoors as we love to do that whenever the weather allows. Am I right in thinking that there is no bar in the area outside the Windows cafe and are the dining offerings in The Patio the same as on the other Azamara ships?

Just trying to get my head around this new testing requirement. We are flying to Venice from the UK early on Thursday morning and board Azamara Onward in Ravenna on Saturday afternoon. My latest opportunity to get a PCR test before leaving the UK will be on Wednesday evening so I believe that will meet their 72 hour requirement. As other posters have commented  it seems pretty pointless testing so long before embarkation because 3 days is plenty of time to contract Covid!

We are on the 21st May Onward sailing and will be spending 2 days in Venice before the cruise, flights and accommodation booked independently. When I received the email from Azamara this morning I rang customer services to discuss the complimentary transfer from Marco Polo (Venice) airport to Ravenna (I had filled out the survey when I received their first email). The agent advised that we should just arrive at the airport and look for the Azamara representative in the arrivals hall, 11.30 was suggested as a probably a good time to arrive. I was told that the booking was updated but it all seemed rather vague, with no written confirmation of the update or expected departure time from Venice I’m left wondering whether it will just be a scramble to get on the transfer buses and how long will we have to wait at the airport?

I was booked on the 26th April Azamara Journey cruise from Dubai to Athens and requested a full refund on 25th March when I received an email from Azamara advising that the sailing was cancelled. 
I am so pleased to report that today I have now received a full refund. It came in three payments, shore excursion, partial fees and taxes and then remaining balance, all the figures are correct.

I was just about to give up hope and it took three emails to UK Customer Services and a phone call last week. I just want to share this news for those of you who are still waiting,  there is light at the end of the tunnel!

Thank you for your interesting review. I'm on Splendour next month and so feel very reassured that she is in good shape and that the crew are doing a good job. I sailed on Splendour around the Greek Islands a few years ago and had a wonderful time, love the smaller ships.This will be my 3rd Royal Caribbean cruise ex Dubai, love the Middle East and at this time of year it is a perfect cruise destination with blue skies and flat seas. Just hoping they open up a balcony guarantee category for single occupancy so that I can upgrade from an ocean view stateroom. The current cost for a single occupancy balcony cabin is £2090 which is outrageous considering all the wonderful offers that have been available for these cruises. Perhaps the Diamond + upgrade fairy will visit or at least call me with an upsell offer.

Thanks for the information about the dhow cruise in Khasab, sounds wonderful - must go and book it now!

Singles get double points because they PAY double.

Singles sometimes have to pay much more than double! I'm booked on an Arabian Gulf cruise and travelling solo. When an ocean view guarantee became available for single occupancy I booked it for £747 (double occupancy rate is £797). I really would like a balcony but it would cost me £2090 single occupancy, no guarantee category available. Double occupancy guarantee category is available for £1198. I cannot justify the difference in price between the ocean view and balcony cabin so just hope they open up a single occupancy balcony guarantee soon. I'm more than happy to pay double but so disappointed that solo travellers are being discriminated against in this way.

Thank you for your encouraging words Maraprince. Thankfully I'm now home again after the 3 day cruise. I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience Anthem, it certainly has some attractive features but I won't be rushing back. I thought the technology was great but I wonder if it is taking over from the personal touch. The crew seemed preoccupied with their iPads strapped to their arms but I guess it is early days for them getting used to the technology too. This was my 26th Royal Caribbean cruise and probably six of those I have travelled solo so I won't be put off by this latest experience. The most important thing that keeps me going back to Royal is the friendly and helpful crew so I've always felt welcome and to use one of Royal's favourite phrases 'a valued guest'. When they think about replacing their oldest and smallest ships I would love to see them building some more Radiance class size ships with all the modern features. Not all their guests need all the features that ships like Anthem or Oasis have to offer and personally I like to feel that I am on a ship and not just staying in a 4 - 5 star hotel.

I originally booked the 14 night Dubai to Singapore sector of the Global Odyssey cruise on Quantum later this month. After reading such poor reviews about the dining and how they were going to 'Asianise' the ship en route to Singapore I decided to cancel, this mini cruise really made me realise how right I was to make that decision.

I'm on Anthem now and have experienced the sampler menu for the past two nights in Chic and The Grande. The food has been excellent but I can understand why people are upset that they are not getting the full menu as advertised. I think some people got an email telling them that this was going to be the situation. I guess for the chefs it's much easier and really just like the old system with one menu for the main dining room. Now the guests are just sitting in several different themed restaurants.

I'm on Anthem now and travelling solo. I was very pleased to be allocated DD Classic because although I'm more than happy to amuse myself during the day I do like to meet up with people in the evening for dinner. My calendar gave me the information I needed regarding restaurant allocation, it even told me the names of the other five people at my table, it all looked perfect.

The reality is that the first night I found that none of my table mates turned up so after a lot of hassle I was allowed to sit at another table then last night I asked that if my table mates didn't turn up again I could sit at another table with people. I was taken to a table with a couple who as we approached the table said they only wanted a table for two so I was then shown to an empty table and told to sit and wait. When nobody turned up I was moved to a small table on my own. The food was fantastic but I'm afraid my experience has left me feeling pretty miserable and I won't be trying the third restaurant tonight. I'm not going to be humiliated again and will be eating in the Windjammer where the food is excellent and the waiters are friendly and helpful. The two restaurants I experienced did not provide a relaxed environment, people were constantly coming and going and the service was slow and not friendly. I appreciate that it takes time for things to settle down on a new ship but from my experience this is not a ship on which to travel solo.

I've just booked Anthem for the 30th April 3 night sailing and looking at my booking see that my dining has now been changed from 'Open' to 'Dynamic Dining Classic Late' which I am very pleased about because I am travelling solo on this cruise. Although I am happy to cruise on my own I do like to meet up with the same group of people for dinner in the evening and the original dynamic dining would not have enabled me to do that.

I'm wondering how I will be notified of the order of the restaurants and if one of them is Grande I'm thinking I will need to pack something suitably formal. Really hoping that Silk is one of them. Looking forward to this cruise to see all the new and exciting venues and features although I usually prefer smaller ships.

I'm getting on Mariner today and started out booking a guarantee cabin on a special senior/singles/loyalty offer, got an aft facing balcony on deck 6. They then dropped the prices and for £57 extra I upgraded to a suite guarantee hoping I might get a better location. Was quickly allocated a junior suite 2 cabins away from my original balcony cabin! As in Australia we are not able to change a guarantee cabin and having queried this before 'guarantee' clearly means something different in the USA. Looking at the Singapore and US RCI websites I see that we also pay more for our cruises.

This is my 3rd cruise on Mariner in just over a year and as a D+ member sailing on this ship on previous occasions I have been one of only a few with high loyalty status. Seeing that there were still 7 GS available last week I wondered if I might get a Crown and Anchor upgrade but I doubt they ever do that for singles.

I've done several cruises solo and can relate to the difficulties you experienced. I'm very happy to do my own thing during the day but meeting up with fellow cruisers in the evening for dinner is an important part of the solo cruise experience. I always ask to sit at a large table for traditional dining. On the first day I check my seating allocation and if I'm not happy with the table size I speak to the Maître D and ask to be moved. If I don't like my table mates I also ask to be moved. They appreciate that sometimes there is a mismatch and are usually more than happy to find an alternative table. I have just cancelled a cruise on Quantum where there is no main dining room and just 'dynamic dining' where you have to book tables at different restaurants every night, not good for solo cruisers. The lack of traditional dining was one of the main factors when deciding to cancel the cruise.