150edmiston

I should also add, that like you host andy, we too are missing Bills candour, sense of fun, and honesty on this board.

David

Uktog, as a highly respected poster on this board, your words are always sensible, in tune with most of us, and are read with interest as you are a seasoned azamara traveller.

Thank you for your post. As a corespondent and observer, you have got it in one again. They actually dont care.

I for one have honestly given up on posting here. I follow the forum with vigor, but the repetitive posting of the same repetitive themes, makes me both sad and mad.

Let me share my most recent experience of the debacle and indifference that has become azamara on shore.

As part of our upcoming cruise, we have included flights, room overnight on arrival, and day room on departure. Great we thought, what a really good package.

The day room however was later noted to us as a 16.00 departure, even though we dont fly home till 23.00 on the flights that AZ had arranged. Odd. I emailed AZ asking for a short hotel extension till 18.00 and was frankly brushed off. Its 16.00, live with it.

I then contacted the hotel directly. The same day i received a mail back from the hotel to say that yes we could extend our departune until 18.00 as the room had been booked out until 21.00 by the cruise line. Pardon me??!

Another nail in the davy jones that this line seems intent on delivering.

Staggering. Crass. Intolerable and unaccaptable. We will move on, and although it may cost us more for a similar product, we will at least feel valued as customers.

All of the blurb about "more inclusive" and "well take you..." Is just that. Hyperbole, nothing less.

I am so looking forward to our cruise in a few weeks with dear friends. This is it though. Enough.

David

Is there any way to know last tender time to ship on MAR. 29? We are scheduled to depart Bali at 6pm. What time does first tender leave the ship on 2nd day, March 29?

We are docked in Benoa. Palopo and I believe Komodo also are the two islands where we are tendered to shore.

No idea of timings for the last tender back, but I would guess at around an hour before departure. First tender will be around 6am on the 2nd day.

David

It is ludicrous that it takes so long, I'm sure if it was the payment system it would be attended to post-haste. I love the on board experience and have 4 cruises booked for next year but the various admin issues take the shine off the whole experience.

The payment system via the web site is broken as well. I tried to pay a high four digit sum (in sterling) for our upcoming cruise in march, and there isn't any obvious route to do so. The option to make payments used to reside within the booking details which aren't now available. Ive resorted to contacting the UK sales team by email. Frustrating and totally bonkers from a commercial stance.

David

One of the best written, informative and objective reviews Ive read on here. We did a similar itinerary in reverse a couple of years ago and its great to see some of these sights again. Thank you for sharing.

David

Thank you flydc for your insights.

I would be interested to hear about your pre-cruise experience.

Azamara has gone to hell in an hand-basket over the last 18 months IMO (in my opinion) and whilst the service on board is consistent, and excellent, the shore side is laughable at times, and gets as much airtime on this board as anything else.

Your views would be appreciated as we are considering defecting to the other side. Thanks.

David

 

My hope, if the harp is still there, is that the door is still open.......lets hope it is

Uktog,

You could always learn to play:D:eek:

David

Thanks a lot that is very helpful - do you recall were there any small shops in the Cruise terminal at Mumbai? I know prices would not be great but just thinking in case I forget a present and remember at the last minute?

The ship docks in one of the most unattractive places you will have ever been to!! Rust buckets abound and it would be at least a 10 min walk to the port exit.

There are a few small pop up stands selling pretty much tourist tat in the big arrival barn. We bought as we didn't have time through the day as it was really intense.

If you haven't sorted a guide yet UKtog, let me know. We had the very best person who lived in Mumbai and had a house in Goa. She was fantastic, and got us into places that tourist don't normally get into.

David

Uktog, we did your trip in reverse in 2011. You might also want to consider taking a hand sanitizer with you if you are handling rupees that have "done the rounds". What we got back as change was absolutely filthy and the advice we were given was to clean our hands anytime we came into contact with it - that was from our guide who was brilliant.

I dare say from an ATM it will be new currency, but your post purchase change wont.

David

Thanks for both responses. Can you please tell me which private tour operator you have been recommended & are using. How many people are on your private tour?

Hi busybean, the company is called indo global tours. Its actually a buddy of mine who is on the same cruise that has organised this trip.

The plan is be off the ship by 8am (possibly sooner), 2 hour drive with police escort, Borobudur visit, lunch at local restaurant, drive 1 hour to prambanan with visit, return to ship @2.5 - 3hrs. Total round trip around 11 hours, and we should be back around 7pm for a 10pm embark.

I appreciate that this type of "risk" isn't for everyone, but given the time we have onshore, we believe its doable and worth it. i believe we have 8 or 9 folks on this tour which is the max.

David

I wouldn't dream of doing the Borobodur trip privately. We took the HAL excursion and as another poster mentioned, you have a police escort to clear the traffic and stop traffic at intersections.

 

The only downside with the excursion, is the volume of people at Borobodur who arrive at once:eek: I had been there previously when travelling through Java so I was aware of the traffic situation but couldn't wait to go back even if it was on an excursion.

 

Borobodur is an amazing destination and IMO not to be missed and the little train trip is fun. I think the stress involved in doing the trip privately would take away the wonder that is Borobodur. Also, bear it's a 2 hour trip each way and you would need to ensure that the operator had a reliable vehicle.

 

This is definitely one port where a ship's excursion is the way to go.

I think it depends on how long you have on-shore. We are on the Azamara Journey in March. We dock in Semarang at 6am and dont leave until 10pm, so realistically have a 14 hour window allowing for customs clearance etc. We plan to do Borobudur and Prambanan Temples in one day and have paid extra to have a police escort out of the City with a private operator who comes highly recommended.

David

OK, now you'll have me checking. I booked an "inside for the price of a balcony" for next year and pretty quickly was assigned a V3, the position of which I didn't change because it's toward the aft and to me in a good spot. I will check every so often to see if it has changed. GTYs are a mystery to me at times. Whilst I totally appreciate that you don't have control of where the cabin will be and take pot luck I don't get why they would allocate you a particular cabin in the lowest grade for that type of stateroom and then sometime later change it. Seems a lot of trouble for nothing.

 

Phil

 

Booked onboard BTW, but cabin only allocated when I returned.

Phil,

Im scratching my head wondering how some folks in the UK managed to even have this dialogue with azamara UK.

We booked gteed and were allocated v3 within 48 hrs. Since then, I have tried no less than three times to change the cabin without success, and was reminded of the UK terms where change is not possible, yet it is for our US friends on the same basis.

David

PS ~ On a side note, our cruise, 17 nts on 17th March 2014 has only @30 cabins left, but when i spoke to azamara when we booked months ago, the ship couldn't have been more than half full.

David

You will love, its a great day, great excursion, great tour guy

Thank you boatybex, we posted this on our roll call and loads of folks wanted to join. Thanks for the thumbs up on jeffery.

David

You can see Komodo dragon at Sydney zoo. and I know a few others have them in North America also at Singapore zoo......[/quote

 

I think you have missed the whole "animals in natural environments" thing (or are near as possible) here. :D:p

 

For instance, why go to las vegas when you can see it on TV?;)

I am arranging an independent tour for our HAL Volendam cruise in Nov/Dec. I'm doing it for a number of reasons...a) a smaller group, b) we get to do more than take a walk with a gazillion other passengers and c) snorkelling. The price is only a bit less than the $120. that HAL is charging.

 

We have to have all the names, nationalities and passport numbers on an official looking letter signed by the guide.

 

Here is the info I have from the guide.

 

 

 

1. Itinerary :

" Morning pick up from the Komodo jetty and will make a registration in Komodo national Park front office, then 2 or 4 km trekking in Komodo Island for searching Wild Komodo Dragons and other wild animals and spectacular Panorama from Sulfurea Hill as a best view point. Afterward, you will going to do a snorkeling and relaxing in pink beach. Lunch will be serve in our local boat. After enjoy it here, back in to Komodo jetty for your time to go back to your cruise ship.

 

 

2. Price Per Person :

 

 

• 4 Person : US$ 95.00
  
• 5-9 Person : US$ 85.00
  
• 10 - 15 Person : US$ 73.00
  
• 16 - Up : US$ 59.00
  
• For Kids Below 10 years old : US$ 30.00
  
• If more than 20 person, one free.
   
  

3. Price Include :

 

 

• Komodo National Park entrance Fee
  
• Long or short trekking in Komodo Island
  
• English speaking guide
  
• Lunch in Pink Beach
  
• Snorkeling boat to Pink Beach
  
• Snorkeling guide
  

4. Price Exclude :

 

• Komodo National Park Camera Fee ( US$10.00 per camera) & Handy cam (US$18.00 per handy cam )
  
• Snorkeling gears
  
• Snorkeling Fee US$10.00 per person
  
• towels
  
• Personal expenditures
  
• Tipping
  

5. The payment can be settled upon arrive in Komodo Island.

 

I am looking forward to hear from you,asap.

 

Best Regards,

Jeffry Buana

mykomodo at yahoo.com

We have booked with this guy for our cruise in March on Azamara Journey.

David

Hotel is in a really good location. Raffles, metro, shops, other hotels all 5 min walk. Starbucks which is also 5 min away at the metro station has free wi-fi.

Hotel is clean, modern, and typically, has an expensive bar! Stock up in the 7-11 nearby.

I would stay here again as its also pretty reasonable. Hunt around as i think you may be able to get a deal.

David

I rechecked the excursions brochure today for details of the Azamazing evening and cannot see anything listed.

Has any decision been made on this yet?[/QUOT

 

Likewise, no mention yet of the "evening" on the 17 night, 17th march 2014 asia explorer cruise. We guess its either manilla or bali, but confirmation would be good as we have lots of alternate plans for both ports.

 

Also, bill if you are lookng in, can you get UK reservations to confirm our hotel pre cruise? Currently our booking says conrad hilton singapore, but we embark from hong kong. Trivial i know, but we are hooking up with friends from the US on this cruise, and we would like to be able to make plans around location and arrival times into HK. Many thanks. David

This is a really insightful and informative "blog". Cant wait for the next instalment. Thank you again.

David

Cabin Number: 7027

Ship: Quest

Date: april 2012

Would you choose again? Yes

Is noise an issue? No

Balcony size: Normal

Comment: Good location. Close to stairs and elevators.

JLW, we did a reposition cruise from Singapore to Dubai in April on Azamara Quest. The ship is superb in every way. We stopped in Cochin and Mumbai. Check the itinerary for 2012. I believe they may also be stopping in Goa as well. The ship also goes the other way through the middle east and on to the orient to begin it's season there. Check that as well.

Good luck.

David

An Indian tourist visa is for multiple entry and costs £30 for a 6 month visa and £50 for a 1 year visa (max 180 days stay per visit), both type of visa incurs a service charge of £9.05.

The Indian Government has outsourced visa processing to VF Services (UK) Ltd and their website is vfsglobal.co.uk a 6 month mulpiple entry tourist visa through them therefore costs £39.05. There are plenty of other visa sites but they charge additional admin costs, for example onestepvisa.com charge an extra £25 for their services making a total of £64.09 and TheVisaCompany will charge £103pp!

A 6 month tourist visa is valid from the date of issue in your passport and not your arrival in India, so don't apply too many months in advance

Your passport must also be valid for at least 190 days and have two blank pages available, otherwise you'll need a new passport as well.

David

Please read through this thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1213838

 

The Grand Hyatt is NOT on the beach. The Hyatt Regency is on Dubai Creek.

 

There are also a LOT of "serviced apartments" around Dubai Marina. As posted in the other thread, my friend swears by the Dusit Residence.

 

The beaches in Dubai are not much to speak of and the water is generally nasty. IF you are looking for a true "beach" experience, then you need to go to one of the expensive hotels in Jumeriah. Asiarooms.com often has very decent prices on Jumeriah beach hotels.

Thanks Greatam.

David

Thanks Aussie Cruzer, I'll have a look on-line.

David

Hi everyone, we are crusing from Singapore to Dubai next April with Azamara. We're staying 3 nights pre-cruise in the Marina Mandarin in Singapore, and have two nights in Dubai before heading home.

The accomodation generally looks expensive. Can anyone suggest decent hotels on the beach?

Thanks

David

I'm still working on this tour and I am getting close. Has anyone ever worked with or heard of: 1. Swagatam Tours, 2. India Vision Tours & Travels, 3 Services Inernational, or 4. Creative Travel? The India Tourism Office in NYC gave me their names. I was thinking of using Voyageurs India. We'll be there in March 2011.

Put me on a boat, we are Singapore > Dubai in April 2011 on the Azamara Quest. We had a look at a trip with Deepa from Mumbai Magic (try tripadvisor for general tips), and whilst it all looked fine on paper, we don't believe we'll risk it. Plan was leave the ship at Cochin, fly to Delhi, then to Agra (4 hours drive) stay over, see the Taj and trek back in reverse through Delhi to Mumbai to meet the ship. There are flights from Cochin to Delhi, but on further investigation, nothing that we could see that was direct on the day we needed, so it was really challenging to do the whole thing and not be frantic about missing the ship. You only need a bit of a screw up and you could be making it really neat unless you have lots of time.

Try contacting Deepa through Mumbai Magic and she will provide you with info. She is really helpful and has done this trip lots.

David