ChucktownSteve

When we sailed Regent, to obtain additional specialty reservations above the pre-sailing ones,we could ask for a sharing table once onboard. That enabled them to accommodate more people and make it easier to obtain additional reservations.

6 hours ago, Pies4u said:

For clarity & completeness: The former quote - “…you are disgustingly drunk…….you will still be disgustingly ugly..” was Churchill to another MP, a famous Labour MP from Liverpool, Bessie Braddock. He was paraphrasing WC Fields from some film, I can’t recall the title.
 

 

 

"In 1934 the joke was used in the W. C. Fields film titled “It’s a Gift”. Fields portrayed a character named Harold Bissonette, and the scene with the quip occurred near the end of the film when a hostile character challenges Fields:

“You’re drunk.”
“Yeah, and you’re crazy, n’ I’ll be sober tomorrow n’ you’ll be crazy for the rest of your life.”"

4 minutes ago, -Lew- said:

 

The lounges in the photo do not appear to be located in the covered, shaded area.

My comment was based on the narrative not the picture.

4 hours ago, flossie009 said:

During our present cruise a couple have taken entitled shady lounger hogging to a new bizarre level

 

On two consecutive port days they “reserved” two loungers for the whole morning; presumably while they were on an excursion.

On their return around lunchtime they returned to their spot, decided it was too hot, even in the shade, picked up their belongings & left 🤨🙄
 

On a positive note the laundry didn’t need to process two towels and lounger covers 😉
 

As you're walking by next time, why not move their "reserved" items to loungers in the sun? Then continue on. You can't be accused of stealing anything. 😁

Just wanted to let you know I really enjoyed reading about your journey on the Grandeur.  We'll be taking a Southern Caribbean Grandeur cruise in Feb '26. Your pictures and narration really made me look forward to this sailing.  Thank you.

Hope you totally recover soon.

51 minutes ago, Grandma Gilly said:

I think you must be on a different ship to me. I am on Quest now and notice considerable cutbacks. Food is OK but the choices in Compass Rose are limited. I am not a fussy eater but I think the daily choice is poor.  It takes ages for the food at Windows lunchtime buffet to be replenished. The CR ‘every day’ menu is a lot smaller than last time I cruised with Azamara. Again, the included drinks list is very reduced. I remember when the cocktail list covered 2 pages. It is down to virtually half a page. We used to love the Azamazing evenings but we too had the Flamenco show last night. However the crew are fabulous. 

I thought the MD on Quest is Discoveries while Compass Rose is the Regent MD.

9 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

 

My favorite example of a stuffy, smug Regent passenger was the response he gave when I asked why he cruises on Regent:  "I can afford Regent.  Why would I cruise with anyone else?"  That said, I'm pleased that you found Regent to your liking.

I wasn't. It was a generalized statement but if the shoe fits.... 😁

I've also encountered some of that type of person on Azamara, Oceania and in Celebrity's Retreat.  I don't stereotype all their passengers by the actions of a few.  Everyone has their own perspective of the boxes they want ticked and the reasons they prefer different cruise lines.  To me, it's about the sailing enjoyment as my preferred vacation.

7 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Would much rather be in a "sought after" position on a corner of the stern, with a wraparound veranda and a 270 degree view.

 

Tried Regent for total of seven weeks and also Crystal.  If that's "luxury," you can have it.  Better liquor, I suppose, but cool, impersonal service, invisible officers, and too many entitled, stuffy passengers.  No thanks.  Azamara and Windstar for me.

Aft view is my first go to cabin/suite if available. 

RE: Regent

I must have been on the three wrong ships.  I didn't meet any entitled, stuffy passengers and my service was efficient and personable. Even from the Compass Rose hostess on the first sailing who I ran into on our third one after she was promoted because she was so good at service.

Sometimes people put out vibes that cause staff to be impersonal as if that's what is expected of them.

10 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It is a truly lovely suite – wonderful for dining-in and for entertaining too, and the Butlers are very accommodating.  The first time in a CW (thanks for a very reasonable upgrade) we asked the Butler to arrange a little cocktail party for our new Roll Call shore excursion friends.  He agreed but apologized that he was only allowed to cater for 6 – but he brought enough hors d’oeuvres that the 13 of us couldn’t finish it all!  We also had room service breakfast each morning – delivered twice so DW could have it early and mine was a little later.  

 

We have done 6088 on Quest and 7114 on Journey – both cabins are identical, but the balconies are deepest on deck 6 and slightly shallower as you go up [which is really only important if you want shade, as we do]  And after all the complaints about the small bathroom in the regular cabins on Azamara, I am happy to report that the CW bathroom is just wonderful:  both a bathtub and a large shower with sink, and a connected toilet room with another small sink – with another door that opens right at the entrance [so guests can visit the 'powder room' without seeing all your stuff spread over the main bathroom!]  The layout also means there is circular access around the cabin:  entrance to living/dining area to bedroom to main bathroom to powder room back to entrance.  Two people sharing will never trap the other in a dead end!

 

We used every part of the suite [except the storage – there was so much we never used all of that!]  We're booked in a CC for our next voyage, but I'm hoping we will be able to upgrade to a CW.

 

PS - are you from Charleston SC?  [Chucktown]

TY so much for the input.  I spent 35 years in Charleston, my DW 40 years before we moved to central FL in 2018. We were married on a friend's piazza overlooking Charleston Harbor 34 years ago.  I just never changed the handle.Quite perceptive of you.

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

To be fairer to Silversea, I don't sail in Azamara Insides or even Verandas – so my price comparison is to a Club Continent (CC mini suite, 266sf plus 60sf veranda = 326 sf) or (in the case of the 2022 cruise) a Club World Owners Suite (CW true one-bedroom suite, 560sf plus huge 233sf veranda = 793sf).  On Silver Whisper we had a Deluxe Veranda (mini suite, 313sf plus 60sf veranda = 345 sf). 

 

The DV didn't feel any more spacious than a CC, so I think it's fair to compare Azamara CC pricing to Silversea.  Looking at the cruise you mention, a CC is 65% more than the lowest category, which would still be far below the cost of the SS comparison (enough to cover your shore excursion costs – and specialty restaurants are included for CC and above).  So all in, Azamara and Silversea would cost about the same – and based on my comparison would provide about the same experience.  Given that choice, I would book Azamara.

Thankx for that.  I don't book inside, bottom suites or cabins either.  I was just doing an entry level price comparison to show Silversea is more than Azamara but that the included items make it that way because of Luxury vs. Premium.  Your situation is more a true comparison. 

After sailing in some suites, my question is how much cabin/suite size is enough?  I like larger accommodations but at some point, we don't need more.  We are trying the AZ CWOS this December to see how it compares to Regent's Concierge and Penthouse suites. We were able to book it for $645 pp/pn which I felt was a real value considering I love the aft views. The other two bookings are an aft P1 for the same reason.I'm just glad other people aren't gobbling them up which is why we book when the itineraries are first released.

I'm hoping AZ's service level has maintained. The onboard experience is what I felt always made it a cut above for a Premium level.

It did then, it doesn't now if you were late to the (White Night) party as outlined above. Try using your Captain's Club number for the Azamara Circle number.

This thread has certainly proven Newton's laws of motion to me.  For every reaction, there is an opposite and equal reaction. 😁

When we sailed Splendor in a Deluxe E, we had no problem getting additional reservations once onboard in any of the specialty restaurants if we didn't mind sharing.  It was 16 night Panama Canal. Sometimes we didn't even have to share but we like meeting new people.  There's such a good caliber of friendly people we've found on our three Regent cruises.

I also felt the Compass Rose MDR menus, with both every day and nightly entrees, to be superior to many other line's specialty restaurants.

I received the email but since there were too many words without grabbing my attention due to using all the marketing gobbledygook, it wound up in my computer's circular file. Maybe some day they will learn that they only have three to five seconds to grab most people's attention to want to continue reading more.  Nothing in the first few lines did that for me.

I suspect interns wrote it.  They certainly can't have been creatives.

10 hours ago, Dynacruiser said:

After reading the different opinions here, I decided that paying for an upcoming cruise a couple of months ahead of time was a low risk financial move, so I took advantage of the 10% OBC offer.

 

Of course, next week we'll get an even better promotion and I'll regret having used this one. 

I rarely regret after pulling the trigger on something.  When I made the action, I was happy at the time with my decision.  I learned that in my businesses and the stock market. Selling shares is the same way. The stock could go up; it could go down afterwards. 

I've also had the opposite happen where I put in a limit buy order a little too low trying to get greedy and it didn't execute because the price kept getting better. 

Five and seven percent weren't enough for me to be happy with the lengthy prepayment time-frame.  Ten percent was.  Let them go to 20% and I'll still be happy with the 10% I received.

6 hours ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

That statement taken out of context doesn't tell me the true story.

1 minute ago, laurieb said:

I think that many resources went away after 2020.  I hope those that are disappointed will still enjoy their cruises

Small businesses all over the world which didn't have the financial ability to wait out the governmental induced storm, unfortunately went under.

Small businesses were the most vulnerable. You know the decisions made by people who probably never had to earn a real paycheck adversely affected them?

3 hours ago, Catchum said:

I'll keep an eye out for those. There are so many ways to serve shrimp and crab but you rarely see anything interesting done with lobster. I generally just hand mine over to DH who is part Labrador.

Your DH is part Labrador Retriever?  I hope you send him for coffee in the morning. 😁 Or would that be tea?

Look on the positive side, if you're on the ship and don't enjoy the performance, you don't need to wait for transportation to leave. 😁

I'm wondering if they'll continue Azamazing evenings off the ship where the logistics still work in conjunction with the venue?  Many resources may not still be available post pandemic at some of the destinations.

56 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

I agree. I was disappointed to see that the letter came from a guest relations supervisor. I assume that “supervisor” level is the equivalent of “Director” in banking. Everyone is a “Director.” Means nothing….

Or a Car dealership sales manager? 🤣

2 hours ago, abbe727 said:

Could be a good corporate move if they’re looking to make their books look even better, and the private equity firm is looking to sell while Azumara is doing well. Who knows, either way we still look forward to our up-and-coming Cruises. Our next one is in June for my birthday. Hopefully this will just benefit everyone! 

Happy upcoming birthday.

Having been an entrepreneur, I believe it's too early to churn Azamara.  The line hasn't been built to warrant a very strong return on their investment yet.  Selling too early leaves many potential dollars on the table. They're probably just getting it to the point of implementing their growth plan.

Perhaps the promotion is a way to help fund or implement that growth strategy?

4 hours ago, pappy1022 said:

Actions speak louder than words so stay tuned. Regent had a policy in place that they didn’t enforce. This shouldn’t take long to come up with a new solution so hopefully we will see changes very soon. 

I agree. Let's hope that they're not just patronizing guests but will actually act as their response appears to suggest.

22 minutes ago, abbe727 said:

Does this make anyone else a little bit nervous? I like the idea of additional onboard credit, so I could possibly buy overpriced jewelry that I don’t need, but I don’t like the thought that maybe they’re having cash flow issues. I hope not, but if that’s the case then we’re all going to be out a lot more than the 10% they’re giving us for on board credit. Wonder why they’re doing this if all their cruises seem to be sold out? Thoughts? We cruise on Azamara two or three times a year. 

Not nervous in the least. Cash flow is important to a business. This improves cash flow at a greatly reduced cost of money. Plus it can be used to retire more expensive debt already on the books from the pandemic. Their out of pocket cost of the inflated jewelry to the vendor is not one for one when you consider the commission on sales they are paid. 

I've made it easier for you to see the official Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Double Double discipline

https://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com/the-discipline-behind-double-double/

For me it relates to Celebrity since I haven't cruised Silversea.  I've been sailing Celebrity since the early 2000's; during the five year terms of the Chandris contract where Celebrity was required to maintain the Chandris standards. After that is when I feel the Royalcaribbeanization began.

In 2005, LLP was named vice president of onboard revenue for Celebrity Cruises, moving from RCL,where her job had the same objectives. She was very successful at it.

I relate her method to the same as boiling a frog scenario. Place the frog in cool water and slowly turn up the heat. It won't realize what's happening.  For background, search the term Royal Caribbean double double program. It will explain it better.

It began with little things like changing daily bottles of water in Aqua class to only one bottle pp on embarkation. The list is long. Some worked, some didn't like removing the free hamburgers at the pool grill and replacing them with $10 kobe like burgers.

Many years ago I attended a food talk by the head chef where he explained the different cuts of meat served on the ships.  He admitted they served the cheapest cuts of meet in the buffet, a little better grade in the MDR and the "best" cuts were sold in the specialty restaurants.

If you've sailed Celebrity, have you noticed how many dutch ovens they have used in the buffet with various types of cheap grade meats concealed in heavy gravies and sauces?

They also, several years ago, went from a cabin attendant with assistant to just a cabin attendant. There are way too many examples to mention. All were before the pandemic.  But the most recent was switching out the individual butlers in the Sky Suites to butler teams. The immediate fallout was so bad that they are reversing that decision.

They had reduced the live music performances; replacing them with ultra loud DJ's permeating multiple decks through the atrium.

Celebrity touted luxury sailings, while only placing at the top end of the mass market lines, but they were actually mimicking the Royal Caribbean line way of business to attract new, younger customers who didn't know the difference.

Those are some of the reasons why after reaching Elite+ I began sailing more of the other lines. Then I eventually stopped sailing Celebrity in 2022 for the time being.  The rapidly accelerated prices combined with the totality of the cuts showed me a better pn/pp value on Azamara and Regent. Sometimes they're even less considering what's included vs. additional costs on Celebrity.

These of course are my personal opinions and observations. Other person's opinions will definitely vary.
 

Side note: my last Azamara cruise was December '21. My next is December '24. So I will see then what differences I experience. I am going with an open mind and expect changes in the past three years. I have done three Regent in the meantime.