Riocca

On Azamara Onwards pre maiden trade cruise they had an AzAmazing Day event in Portovenere which by all accounts was quite special and very successful. Perhaps they have decided to recreate that event, there were some pictures posted on FB at the time and it did look like it was a good event.

We visited these ports on Quest last year in Bilbao there was a shuttle that took you into the city close to the Guggenheim Museum, in Porto we took a ships tour so can’t 100% say if a shuttle was provided but think there might have been.

I can remember the advice to go via Nicole in Azamara loyalty which did work but then we were inundated with RC and Celebrity emails, when we tried to stop them Azamara stopped as well. Having the same login and password for all their websites is a problem, possibly they thought it would be easier for customers, alternatively it might just be lazy web designers. Looking forward to the challenges of the new website 😁

Sad to say on this occasion I agree with you, but we can always hope.

There’s also the problem of Trade sales where agents hide the fact the booking is with the Travel Agent and not the cruise line and it’s the agents t&c’s that apply to the booking which can include all sorts of unwarranted conditions. Sad to say cruise booking in the U.K. has been a minefield for years often catching out the unwary but since covid it’s a lot worse. Cruise lines rely on agents to promote their products so in a way are complicit in some of the things that are going on, we will be continuing to book direct until things improve.

And there’s the problem communication from the Royal Caribbean web system has never been fit for purpose, we’ve had no end of problems either getting on email lists we want to be on or off of those we don’t. Fingers crossed that Azamara’s new system is an improvement, although that won’t be too hard.

Yes it’s these money grabbing changes that’s stopped us using travel agents, we’ve received good service from Azamara direct who have discovered FCC’s that our old travel agent insisted didn’t exist.

In the U.K. it’s loss of deposit which is £250 pp (unless it’s an onboard booking when the deposit is 50%) however I have noticed since the covid hiatus some U.K. travel agents have been adding their own cancellation fees.

Both, that’s how it’s been for our last 3 cruises.

It’s probably more relevant when the booking was made as Royal Caribbean remained the booking agent for Azamara until SP Cruises took over the responsibility some time in 2022 once they had obtained the correct accreditation to operate in the U.K.

Possibly the imminent change of website is causing some problems, on the 24th January we received an invitation to bid for an upgrade, we didn’t do so as the upgrade price wasn’t worth it, we’re currently in a CC suite. Today out of interest I looked at availability and there were plenty of options available so wondering if the upgrade price had reduced I responded to the email to get the message that we’re not eligible for an upgrade. If we were eligible 3 weeks ago and nothing has changed since then it makes no sense that we’re not now eligible other than bidding for an upgrade which was a RC invention maybe changing. I’m sure everything will become clear in the not too distant future.

The tipping line is on the bill because Azamara shared a common accounting system with RC & Celebrity, fortunately the new system just requires a signature on an electronic device so there’s now no pressure. As as already been said gratuities are included on Azamara so have already been paid in your fare so no need to add anything but a donation to the Crew Welfare Fund is appreciated and enjoyed by all.

Good advice, just to add the OBC is $300 person so actually $600 also the 10 biggest suites will be invited to the Best of the Best dinner hosted by the senior officers when the Executive Chef gets creative and courses are paired with fine wines. This is probably a step up from the Chef’s Table so it’s worth considering whether you want that as well.

This is already being discussed on another current thread:

RC/Celebrity changed the point system at the end of 2013 or early 2014, previously you received points based on cruise length and cabin grade. From memory it was 1 point for the cruise an extra point if it was 12 nights or more and 1 point for Concierge and above. Looking back we received 3 points for 14 nights in Aqua class and the same for 12 nights in a CC suite, while 4 nights in Aqua gave us 2 points as did 7 nights in a suite in the Galapagos. I seem to remember it didn’t seem to require many points to get you to Elite/Discover level. There was some formula used to change those points but I can’t remember how it was calculated hopefully someone will have a better memory than me. Also initially Azamara gave 3 points for a balcony cabin but subsequently changed it, possibly in 2015, to 5 but it wasn’t backdated.

Yes as it relates to the UK website 11/3 is the 11th March, I assume there are other versions of this email for other markets. As the website and booking system will be on a new platform provided by Versonix we can only hope that everything goes to plan.

Just received the following email outlining the upcoming update to Azamara’s website and booking system.

Given that such a alteration to the itinerary would qualify as a major change under U.K. legislation then the option to cancel with a full refund would have to be offered to U.K. customers at any time. In the past such changes have tended to be made more than 12 months out before flights and hotels are open for booking, however when changes have been made within that timeframe our experience has always been that Azamara have been fair with compensation or cancellation options. As to the op’s email from Azamara option 1 does say that if the new cruises price is less than originally paid the price will be reduced, it’s just badly worded. Of course if the 9 day price is the same or more than the original 11 day price i would think cancellation was the best option.

Azamara’s new owners changed the retail provider from U.K. based Harding Retail to Miami based Starboard Cruise Services and for what it’s worth not a good move in our opinion. Ships shops are never the best retail experience but we’ve always received good service from Hardings however our one experience with Starboard when Celebrity changed to them a few years ago was not good at all. The latest shop offerings are far too “designer” and poor value for money, we certainly won’t spend much time shopping onboard.

Not from the prices we’re seeing, our 14 day Christmas & New Year cruise in a CC suite on Azamara is £200 less than the equivalent 11 day cruise in Aqua class on Celebrity.

Starlink maritime coverage is still an ongoing project so coverage is patchy, this is the coverage map from their website: Pursuits location is currently in one of the areas with poorer coverage, although the speeds quoted a much better than anything we’ve experienced previously.

I found this on Azamara.co.uk the t&c’s say booking has to be between 1st January and 31st March 2023. https://www.azamara.co.uk/find-a-journey#promo=12983&sort=date-asc

I think this was always possible with North American bookings but not with U.K. bookings, long been a bone of contention.

Traditionally it’s been free pour however starting with Onward it’s supposed to be changing to measured, but would be U.K. double equivalent. Incidentally on Azamara it’s not necessary for both people in a cabin to purchase a package, also if you have a loyalty level with Azamara there’s a discount applied to the package.

Chioggia, Fusina and Marghera are all in the Metropolitan City of Venice, the local authority decided a few years ago that cruise ships would no longer be allowed to dock in the historic part of Venice and would instead use those locations. Last year Azamara was unable to secure berths in those locations and changed to Ravenna, providing transportation to Venice and Marco Polo Airport. This year they are using Chioggia and Fusina which is part of Venice so saying Venice (Chioggia) and Venice (Fusina) is correct. Unfortunately Venice now joins many places worldwide where cruise ships dock away from what is considered the main tourist areas and something we’re going to have to get used to.