Riocca

No wish to be controversial but most of the negative comments come from those who haven’t cruised on Azamara Onward. We were on the maiden so have experienced it first hand and have seen what has been done to mitigate the change of use. Firstly there is a library it’s just been relocated to the living room, admittedly books were scarce but this was a logistical issue which I think has now been resolved. Much is made of the wonderful library on Viking ships but this is in the Explorer’s Lounge so a very similar situation to that on Onward. Secondly the Atlas bar only opens in the evening so during the day it’s available as a quiet space, this was our experience and we used it on a number of occasions as did others. I think most people use the Drawing Room during the day we’ve not seen it used much in the evenings except for the Best of the Best and private functions so I’m not sure what people are actually losing. It could be used for private functions during the day as the bar is cleared down, but I think on the maiden meetings were either in the Show Lounge or an area in the Living Room depending on the type of function.

If the Premium package comes as part of booking promotion you can upgrade to Ultimate for $7 per person per day, no loyalty discounts are applicable to this price. We did this when we were on Onwards maiden, as did many others, so I can confirm this. I have heard that if you purchase an experience package then a loyalty discount can be applied but I can’t confirm this as we’ve never purchased an experience package.

We haven’t either, spoke to Azamara yesterday and it’s being chased up, waiting to apply it to an October cruise. Balance was due on Sunday but Azamara have deferred it for a week pending the FCC.

1. Upgrade from Premium to Ultimate is $7 per person per day, if two in a cabin it’s not compulsory for both to upgrade. There’s no loyalty discount applied to the upgrade amount if the Premium package comes with the booking, not sure what the situation is if you’ve purchased the package. 2. Not 100% sure as we don’t use the mini bar but I think it’s included anyway, the small bottle of wine in the room is chargeable even if you have a package. I’m sure others can give more information. 3. You would pay the whole price shown on the price list, although there’s not much other than the ultra premium spirits not included in the Ultimate package.

🍎🍏

Around these parts I’m not sure Strongbow even counts as cider 🤔

Both don’t have to upgrade and yes the wine is served in all the dining venues.

We were originally told 45 days from disembarkation and booked an October cruise based on this, originally Azamara were happy to accept the promised FCC as the deposit. I got nervous about that and a few weeks ago checked it was still ok the agent thought it might be better to pay the deposit just in case which I did. Balance is due next week and it’s looking like August before we get the FCC but the agent said we could either delay the balance or pay the balance less the estimated FCC. She did say they’re dealing with this all the time and it’s not going to be a problem.

Went into hospital for a hip injection in February and had to do a PCR test and isolate for 3 days before hand, going for another in August all that’s required now is a self administered lateral flow test reported to the NHS before attending hospital. I could see this might be a way forward, does rely on a degree of honesty but one would hope that most passengers would adhere to the rules. As regards quarantine isolation onboard this has been happening for years with norovirus without too many complaints so we may have to accept it with covid as well for some time to come.

I’ve just seen a posting on Facebook (Azamara A-Z) someone was told by their travel agent that there was an announcement due from Azamara on the 1st August regarding testing. This is also the date a number of other cruise lines are dropping the testing requirement.

Phoned at 9am U.K. time and got through in under 15 minutes most of that time listening to the multiple out of date recorded messages. I try to avoid phoning once the U.S. market starts waking up as then it can be hit and miss.

The Ultimate package can only be bought onboard.

I think we’re going to have a few months of pain until Azamara can get their own systems working and disentangled from the Royal Caribbean system. I’ve recently spoken with a couple of their new reservation/customer service agents and it’s obvious they’re struggling with having different marketing offerings in different regions. Maybe a little patience is required, it’s frustrating but when I’ve had any issues they’ve always resolved it to our satisfaction, it just may have taken a little longer than’s ideal. Having seen the new onboard system on Onward I believe that they’re moving in the right direction.

Phil, it’s on the New Ownership page on the website which lays out what’s changing, it could probably do with updating and being more specific. My question would be does it mean one Azamara sailing before the sale or does a sailing post sale also count? https://www.azamara.co.uk/loyalty/azamara-circle/transition

This statement on Azamara’s website is at odds with this, although I’m not sure how they can implement this or if they actually do. As a Captain's Club member, will I have status and points with Azamara if I have only ever sailed with Celebrity? No. To have had status or points with Azamara, you must have at least one past sailing with Azamara.

No it’s just a credit towards a full voyage internet package.

I was told the same originally, we’re 56 days on and being told it could be another 2-3 weeks maybe more as the department dealing with it are struggling to cope.

We booked direct with Azamara and received ours on the 20th June, if you booked with a travel agent the FCC will have gone to them. The FCC for the change from Venice to Ravenna is still pending and could be another 2-3 weeks as the department dealing with it is struggling. However we have been able to book an October cruise using it and Azamara are happy to wait for the credit to catch up with the booking.

Yes, U.S. outlets are 110v whilst European/U.K. outlets are 220v

Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian friends 🇨🇦

Latest Azamara newsletter has a link to the wine page of the website I’ve not noticed this page before so it’s interesting to read. Under “Sip & Swirl at Sea” it lays out the latest policy which is for the Azamara branded wines supplemented by local wines when available. We’ve not encountered the new wines so can’t offer an opinion, hopefully at the end of August on Quests Wine & Culture Voyage we’ll experience it in action. https://www.azamara.co.uk/blog/azamara-wines-onboard-ashore

A quick Google comes up with the possible reason, in the first half of this year there’s a supply issue with glass. Spirit manufacturers are struggling to get supplies of bottles so I expect that half bottles are being sacrificed for the production of large bottles. A quick scan of our local supermarket shelves confirms this quite a few well known brands missing and very few half bottles.

Just to put a U.K. perspective on the question, pre pandemic we always used a travel agent for booking and received good service and a reasonable discount. Unfortunately during the pandemic like many on this board our travel agent let us down badly holding onto refunds and adding extra changes to try and make up their losses, so we have now changed to direct bookings. To date we’ve had excellent service from Azamara direct sometimes finding discounts we didn’t know were available. A point worth considering most U.K. travel agents are very familiar with the cruise lines you mention, some even have direct access to their booking systems so are able to give good advice. However they may not be as familiar with the Azamara product and sometimes give misleading information.

Atlas Bar makes the list of top 10 Coolest Cruise Ship Bars 😁😎 https://*****/10-best-cocktail-lounges-on-cruises/

Looks like we can expect quite a few changes in early 2023 as Azamara move away from RCG. A couple of recent announcements showing the direction of travel. https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/azamara-extends-vgroup-partnership-travel-gmt https://www.azamara.co.uk/discover/what-they-say/azamara-cruise-news/azamara-partnership-versonix-seaware-set-launch-2023 There’s a new onboard system on Azamara Onward which is presumably a first taste of Versonix Seaware.