travelberlin

Hi, we are very glad that the Serenity is sailing again and we have been reading Keiths reports about his impressions of the inaugural sailing. It looks good and we are thankful about those impressions. We would also like to hear from other guests how they are experiencing the new company, the offerings, the pre cruise experience, the onboard experience, etc. I remember some Cruise critic members offered to write unbiased reports. Are any of those guests on board ? Ivi

That is a good advice. But the solo cabins are selling like fresh bread 😁. On most itineraries there are only waiting lists for those cabins. It was for me not possible to choose a better located cabin. I hope Crystal will make available more cabins with a low supplement for solo travelers. I think there was an offer like that this year for some cruises. Unfortunately this year was not possible for me to book a cruise with Crystal. Too many undertakings already and I want to rest from the stress of flying. But I am looking forward to my cruise with the Serenity in January next year. Ivi

What is not to like?my answer to that is that I guess some of us solo travelers are concerned about the location of those cabins. It would be good to have comments from paying guests who are staying on one of those cabins. Any issues? Noice? Fumes, Rocking on rough seas? Ivi

Well done. I remember those amazing prices for the first bookings. I hesitated too long to benefit from those prices. My booking already was at increased prices, but after January this year the prices increased further. When Explora cancelled my cruise for next year and offered a discount if rebooked, the discount could barely compensate the higher prices on a new itinerary. I was very disappointed about the cancellation of my cruise out of Brasil for next year. Apparently the itinerary was not selling well. Somehow, the image I had about Explora being reliable, changed. I am looking forward to my new cruise with Explora but I am not booking another cruise with them until I learn more about how their concept is working of having different restaurants and not a main one. I hate lines and I do not like limitations. For example deciding months in advance where to eat to make a reservation and only once per journey in a particular restaurant? We will see how that works for me. It will be interesting to learn the opinions of guests about the dining experiences and concept. Ivi

At the end of June, no drill. Ivi

Thanks for referring to that post. I did not see the discussion before you posted it. I an sorry to hear that the dining situation is a mess. I hope they improve it. Fortunately my cruise is only next year. We will see how everything develops. Ivi

Explora advertised the cruise dining experience as having several restaurants to choose from. Sort of „freedom to choose“. Is this running smooth or guests are unable to get a place at their preferred restaurant because of being fully booked and/or being limited in how many times they can book a specific restaurant ? Ivi

There was a cancellation of a port at Azamara during my 10 nights Mediterranean cruise. For reasons unknown we did not tender in Sanary Sur Mer. We docked in a big port about half an hour away from Sanary. It was inconvenient with shuttle buses running every half hour just at limited hours. They were full and guest fighting their access to the shuttle. Not the same experience if tendering in front of port. But Azamara provided the shuttle buses. I did not like it at the moment but after reading about cruise lines just forgetting the ports and offering a sea day instead, I have to say thank you to Azamara. Ivi

Hi, I see several posts in social media about Explora I, which are like a marketing strategy from travel agents or influencers. Are there any regular paying clients now sailing on Explora I that would like to share their honest experience with us? Those comments would be most appreciated. Ivi

I was on Azamara Onward at the end of June. I was very pleased with the friendliness of the crew and with the service onboard. Guest services specially Wresley and Maribell (both managers) were very good. I have had several excursions and from the three people working at the shore excursion desk, two of them made a very good impression. I believe their names were Fernando and Jan. I have used the Spa services for a manicure and my nails have suffered with the procedure. I am trying to get my nails healthy again. I am afraid it will take some time. People on the Spa were very friendly though. I found the condition of the ship not as good as the condition of the other ships. Some things were out of order. I had to change cabin twice due to certain issues with the cabins. I was lucky that the ship was not fully booked and they had free cabins in my category. Overall I had a great cruise. Onboard experience made me forget the pre cruise stress. I have not booked another cruise onboard though because the solo discounts have increased to 50% and even so the cruises with solo discounts were not many. But Azamara remains for me a cruiseline to book if the price meets my expectations. Ivi

Which ship? Ivi

Now that Explora is sailing, maybe some one on board can kindly tell us if announcements are made in several languages like on the MSC ships? Ivi

We had some cruises cancelled with MSC due to COVID. We booked via our travel agent in Germany but the payment was done directly to MSC. We were offered at the moment of the cancellation either a plain refund, or a rebooking option with 20% discount. We decided for the plain refund. It took about one month to come to our credit card. I am telling you about MSC because same parent company and probably similar procedures. Even in those difficult situation we did not get a problem getting our money back from MSC. I cannot say the same about the former Crystal company. I would give Explora a little time to give the refund back. Maybe 60 days. For a claim with your credit card you have some months time and you have to prove that your efforts to get your refund were not successful. If your TA has passed your payments to MSC it should not be a problem for your refund. Ivi

Thanks Terry 🤗

Keith, What is the regular champagne on board? Did you have your cobb salad yesterday? Ivi

Thanks Keith! Looking forward to read about your experience. Ivi

Azamara about 7mts x 4mts. Is the smallest pool we were able to swim every morning before breakfast. Enough for us. Our pool at home is 3mts x 10 mts. Crystal ships even make swimming competitions 😁 measured on number of laps. On one World Cruise my husband won the gold medal in his category 🤭

Internet is your friend for those details 😉

Oh! Even the small Azamara ships have pools in which we were able to swim…and of course the larger ships from companies like MSC, Celebrity, Mein Schiff… Ivi

Thank you for the beautiful pictures. It looks good 👍 Looking forward with my cruise with Explora next year. Ivi

Interesting 🤔 My husband and me are swimmers and we have always wondered why some people are just staying around without swimming. We have never heard of „pool people“ before. I have learned something new. Ivi

Thanks Keith for the explanation. Ivi

Keith are you sure about this? I have thought they were two independently issues. When I have complained with new Crystal about the amount of my certificate they said that there were independently from Moecker. Moecker told me also that they were independently from the new Crystal . Didn’t we had also that information on this board? Ivi

And from the ones they have completed, some (many ?) are those with errors 😔 so imagine how long it will take to finish this undertaking. Ivi

Thanks! It is annoying. I imagine many people are experiencing the same. We hope the assignees manage to correct the errors 🙏🏼. Ivi