missminnie

We stayed in 9002 in September on Quest for 10 nights.  We didn't smell it at all in the suite.  It was one the best suites we've had and really enjoyed the space and bathroom.

This is useful thread.

We're sailing from Athens later this month and we forgot to do check in until about a week or so ago.  The earliest time we were offered was 2pm.  We thought this was becuase we were later checking in.  We're used to sailing with Celebrity and Oceania since covid and they start at 11am and haven't sailed Azamara since 2019.

Is 2pm now the earliest then as we'll need to arrange our taxi accordingly?  Was hoping a little earlier as we're in a suite but if 2pm earliest, we'll enjoy Athens in the morning and grab some lunch before heading to the ship.

7 minutes ago, chemmo said:

Starboard, like yourself and the Klingons...

 

Thanks for your comment re the outdoor tub. Just as when visiting resorts and hotels you do have to make judgements about health and safety of tubs along with other things, especially if you have mobility issues or are small in stature..I will ensure when I give the tub a go my husband and son are in grabbing distance!

Ha - such a shame about the tub on the balcony.  We would have used it more had it been more like a hot tub with seats etc.  But just felt uncomfortable most of the time and had to sit cross legged or kneeling to stay without sinking.

Is the Butler still Homer and room attendant John?  We're back on this coming Saturday - look after it for us 🙂

Are you in the starboard or port side PH?  We had the starboard side one on the first sailing and it was AMAZING.  Didn't use the tub on the balcony much as not easy to stay upright as it's so deep and no grip.  

55 minutes ago, scottie920 said:

Can you advise where the Eurofins test centre was in Bristol please? Thanks

When we did ours on Wednesday, we had the choice of Bristol Aztec Hotel or The Mile Straight Sports Club in Filton (near Parkway train station).

We're sailing tomorrow and had our call back in May!  To be fair they've not been as helpful or easily contactable as usual.  Very hard to get a response from them.

Finally did after contacting Celebrity here who had to keep sending messages to Miami for them to get back to us.

Will wait and see if the requests are actually as should be once onboard.

1 hour ago, CambsCruiser82 said:

Just to add, I've had my email too! The company they are using is called Eurofins and the site isn't very helpful. Maybe they're very busy but the booking button isn't even working :D.

 

I might just go for the book your own and get a refund option.

We had the same issue.

I found if you clicked on one of the boxes above and then pressed tab it would eventually go down to the booking button.  Then press enter and it booked our tests.  That was the only way I could get it to work. 

14 minutes ago, teabear said:

Writing to the Corporate side always works - just had a call from Celebrity who have confirmed that as of now they are requiring the PCR test which has to be done WITHIN 72 hours of departure - note the difference that one word makes.   They are also in the process of finalizing ways and means to cover the costs for passengers and expect to be able to announce this next week.  Their cancellation/refund policy will apply for anyone booked who does not wish to take a test  - they are not in a position to state whether this policy (or any other it appears) will be in force after June 21st.   Not sure if any of this helps anyone but you are welcome to it.

But the wording on their website differs to what you've been advised:

Testing and Screening

All guests are required to present a negative PCR test administered 72 hours prior to boarding.

This clearly outlines that PCR test must be taken 72 hours prior to boarding - not within 72 hours of departure.  Given that we know most take up to 48 hours for results, anyone sailing on a Saturday will only have Weds AM to complete their test to ensure they get the resuts back by Friday prior to boarding just the day after.  

And what if (hopefully not!) that the results are inconclusive (as they warn you this can happen) and you have to retake the test.  There's no chance of getting that done and results on the day before sailing to prove you're negative.

Celebrity's website has been updated today and now shows in all places that a negative PCR is required 72 hours before sailing! Before it didn't show PCR was required under the UK sailings page but this has now been updated today to match the other page.  

48 minutes ago, Wichenford Wolf said:

According to someone on our 14 August roll call, this has happened because someone in US cancelled all Silhouette cruises. They should only have cancelled the cruises on the original programme to make way for the UK voyages. Celebrity is aware.

 

That someone is likely to be in trouble! Hopefully it gets resolved without all of us having to rebook.

Yes this is correct.  Not sure what the actual error was but we had the same and spoke to our contact at Celebrity.  It should have only been the original sailings but somehow some of the UK ones were cancelled in error.

We've had our reinstated but many haven't yet.  We called and got the reservation reinstated but lost our shore ex so they're trying to sort that out too.

11 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

Just noticed some wording about the Retreat Sundeck in one of the marketing pieces. It mentions 6 cabanas located above the Edge Villas. I wonder if these cabanas are then exclusive to those Villas? They are not mentioned in any of the descriptions on the Edge Villa accommodations page.

We just asked Celebrity and they confirmed that the cabanas are for all suite guests to use and not just for the Edge villas.  Hope that helps.

Yes passports are required.  I was advised when I booked that we still must take passports despite being in the UK only and they must have a minimum of 6 months remaining.

8 minutes ago, nigelc said:

 

Copy of the letter attached (sent as an e-mail) - hope it helps.

Pre- Court Letter 2.doc 29.5 kB · 2 downloads

That's great - thank you ever so much.

They have until Sunday evening to confirm when our refund has been made and then we shall issue this letter.  We wouldn't mind timescales if they had outlined these at the outset but the constant excuses are wearing thin.

5 hours ago, nigelc said:

 

Hi Lindy, I was booked on the same cruise as you and have received all of my money back just over a week ago - cabin upgrade bid and Indulgence package to my credit card and cruise/flights/hotel/transfers to my bank account via my TA. However, it was not an easy task getting them to refund. In the end, I decided to go down the "Small Claims Court" route and sent the TA the initial "letter before action", with the intention of filing a claim in I did not receive a refund within 14 days. I sent the e-mail to both the Customer Service department and the TA's Head Office - while Customer Services replied that the refund could take up to 90 days, their Head Office called me the next day to say that the full refund was being made and would be in my bank within 5 days - which it was. I guess, as they have no defence against my claim, they did not want to be liable for the extra costs of the small claims case.

Hi

Thanks for your experience.  Any chance we could see a copy of the letter or wording used?  We've got seperate issues with both Celebrity and Emirates.  Both keep saying our refund is being processed on "x" date and then when that date comes and passes, they come up with another excuse.

Ours was cancelled in the first round and they both confirmed 14 days.  We gave them a month and now 6 weeks on, excuse after excuse.  I've been furloughed which is ok but at less than 50% salary, I need those monies returned asap in case I don't go back to my job.

Thanks

12 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Did you reach out to our LCV ambassador?

Our UK office tells me the letters were sent and call-outs were made as well.

Are you working through a TA? Double check with him/her.

Hi Bonnie

Yes we did and Sandra was lovely.  Oddly enough we then received our notification overnight but they did tell us it was sent on the 18th but we never received it.

We booked direct with Azamara whilst onboard.  Our biggest irk at the moment is that they're not prorating the costs despite going from a 16 night to a 15 night cruise.  They're saying as the price has since increased - we only get our original rate.  But our argument is that our original rate was for a 16 night cruise and not it's 15 - regardless of whether the price has since increased.

1 hour ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Hi MissMinnie,

You should have received the letter on 9/18/21. (I've posted it on your Roll Call now.)

Our LCV Ambassador would like you to email her at lcvambassador@leclubvoyage.com with your booking number. She wants to research why you have not received the letter from us.

Thanks Bonnie

That was very useful so thank you for posting.

Our contact at Azamara did try to find out the info yesterday for us but he couldn't let us know as the UK office hadn't sent out any notifications as yet.  Only the North America office had notified customers - not particular impressed by that as we're all on the same sailing regardless of where in the world we live.

I'll reach out to the Ambassador with our details.

Thank you

6 minutes ago, lenoirm said:

Our TA contacted Azamara at my request and sent us this answer.

 

Your Cruise will probably be delayed or shorten as well.

If I understand Azamara convoluted message, the dry dock will be prolonged and the following cruises will be delayed.

Our TA will ask for a fully detailed itinerary (with departure/arrival dates).

 

No compensation is offered for the modified itinerary and it is not clear to us if the cruise will be shortened or not.

 

For the last 3 reservations made with Azamara, we have had changes of itineraries  or dates (Transatlantic 11/19, Suez Canal 11/20 and Japan 4/21).

Are we jinxed ? 

We love the onboard experience and the amazing crews but our patience is running thin with the pré cruise problems.

 

Yes, we know that things happen and that it is not in the near future but it is nevertheless stressful and does not gives a good image of a cruise company that aspire to reach the luxury level...

 

Micheline

 

Thanks Micheline

We booked direct and no-one has come back to us yet to advise what is happening with our cruise.  When I first contacted them to say it had disappeared for booking they told us it was an IT glitch and will be back soon.

Clearly not!  So your post was the first we heard of potential changes.  

Like you, not particularly happy about it as we cancelled another cruise to do this one for it's itinerary.

As soon as we find out, if we're not happy with the changes (if there are any) we'll be looking at alternatives.

Like you say, it's still a little way off so no immediate stress but other cruise lines will be selling out so the sooner we know the better so we can plan.

6 hours ago, lenoirm said:

Here is the answer! 

We received this notice today

 

Due to an extension to the Pursuit dry-dock period, we had to adjust the sail dates and itineraries of a few voyages and your upcoming voyage is among those impacted. Your embarkation date has been delayed by four days and is now departing Tokyo on April 11^th. 

In addition, we have modified our port stop in Kobe to be a late-night stay rather than an overnight and are removing Hakodate entirely from the itinerary due to limited dock opportunities. To replace this port, we have added Niigata, Japan, a unique, food-centric city. We apologize for this inconvenience and hope you understand that when planning so far in advance, sometimes circumstances may arise that require us to alter our sailing schedules.

Rest assured, any shore excursions purchased for this voyage through Azamara will be refunded to the original form of payment. You can receive more information on new shore excursion opportunities by logging into your Voyage Planner. Also, we understand your travel plans are extremely valuable. To ease any disruptions that may occur, you to choose to cancel, a full refund for amounts paid will also be processed to the original form of payment. 

Please take some time to consider your options and review your personal calendar. We ask that you inform us of your decision no later than October 24th, 2019. All reservations that are not changed by the specified close date will be ineligible for the compensation offered.

Thank you for your understanding. We take great pride in bringing every Azamara guest unforgettable experiences both onboard our ships and within our destinations. We can assure you that your future Azamara vacation will deliver the highest standards of service and quality for which we are known.

We look forward to welcoming you on board.

Sincerely,

 

Azamara

Thanks Lenoirm

Did you receive this by email from Azamara?  We're on the sailing before yours and Azamara keep telling us it's just an IT issue.

I've asked again today as we chose this cruise specificially for the itinerary so if changed, it would be useful to know.

Thanks for posting the photos - we've booked that suite for 2021 and good to see what it's like.  Not sure yet if we like it and may see how prices go to change to a CS or higher if there's any movement in pricing.

Love your review!

We're sailing Azamara Journey from Miami to Cuba etc up to New York next month.  We've only done 1 Azamara cruise before and it was a 5 night Monaco Grand Prix cruise so wasn't really reflective of typical Azamara we were told.

Looking forward to 16 nights onboard next month and we've booked a CW owners suite (as we tend to sail suites on Celebrity).  We had originally booked for a couple of weeks on Edge but decided to do this one instead as it was cheaper for this cruise in a good suite with flights from UK and hotels either side in Miami & NY, than 1 week on Edge!

Hope they do a brunch onboard like you had.  Looks lovely.

Hopefully I've attached this right.  These are not my photo's but was posted on another site by someone currently onboard.

Nikki ... Wish I had known before your cruise what you were planning, there as you may know by now better things you could have done.

Sorry to hear your day was not so good.

Hi Sidari

We've booked the Pirate Schooner to Turtle Cove through MSC when we dock with MSC next month. We've been to St Thomas a few times and last time on our honeymoon we did a Pirate thing quite similar and enjoyed it but it was with Royal Caribbean.

Given you seem to have some good knowledge of St Thomas and MSC, is this tour good or should we think about doing something else?

Many thanks

Laura

Thanks all. Very helpful and we're ready to book tomorrow when the travel agent calls back. Just hope the suite is still available as overnight 3 have already been booked!

Hello missminnie, and welcome!

I'm sure you'll get some good comments from this community soon.

In the meantime, at the top of our forum is a sticky thread, started by uktog, entitled Azamara Cabins (or very similar to that.) There you'll find our guests' comments on the various staterooms and suites.

We look forward to welcoming you aboard the Journey, or Quest, soon!

Thank you Bonnie.

We did have a search through it last night and found some useful info. Just wondered if one deck is better over the other. I did read somewhere that as you go up decks the balconies get smaller but wasn't sure if that was true.

Hi All

We're looking at our first Azamara cruise after sailing Celebrity Suite class for years.

We would like to book one of the Owners Suite at the aft but not sure which deck is best. We've tried searching online for photos' and reviews but not really finding too much.

Of all your experiences, are there any advantages and disadvantages of each deck? We currently have a deck 6 suite held. But the agent recommended deck 8 but that seems to be under the sunset bar.

We're looking at Azamara Journey if that makes any difference.