lisiamc

2 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Well, you're right in general, but A FEW ports require an ID in addition to the ship ID.  Nassau, Bahamas, for example requires a government ID + your ship's ID to gain access to the dock /the ships.  (Not that I'm ever going back to Nassau.)  I have no idea what they'd do if you had only the ship ID.  

My daughter and her husband were out of town, and he dropped his keys in a restaurant parking lot -- he believes they fell out of his pocket while he was securing their toddler in his car seat. 

His vehicle has the push-to-start feature; his keys were nearby + she had her keys -- so he was able to start the car and drive away.  When they stopped, he realized his keys were gone. 

Because of the Air Tag, they were able to go straight back to his keys.  

Lost luggage isn't all that common, but the stories are repeated and repeated, and they begin to "feel like more".  

I've never lost luggage either, but it's not luck -- it's that I only travel with carry ons.  It'd take a special kind of stupid to lose luggage out of your own hand.  

I think I might be unlucky. I’ve never had lost luggage in the sense of never seeing it again, but I’ve had suitcases delayed for many days, on four separate occasions. We do travel a lot, and this has been over the course of twenty years. Still very annoying, and I now have three air tags. One for my checked bag, one for my carry on, which often gets gate-checked, and one for my keys. They give me a bit more peace of mind for the next time it happens.

7 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

That was not entirely the case yesterday in Istanbul!

With both Viking and Azamara on a turnaround, folk were ending up in the wrong queue here and there, but everything worked out by the time you got to the boarding ramp 😉

Well, we have never been to the new terminal in Istanbul, so I can’t speak about that. I was answering a question about Ft Lauderdale, which we have experienced. 

14 hours ago, irisbax3 said:

We will be going straight to Civitavecchia the day before the cruise. Do you have any knowledge of hotels there. We are considering the Hotel Porto Do Roma, Hotel Borga del Mare, or B&B II Veliero. Are you familiar with any of those or do you have any recommendations? Any suggestions are appreciated.

I have never stayed at or heard anything firsthand about those hotels. In your shoes,I’d have a quick look at Booking.com and read the reviews there. Their reviews tend to at least sound authentic. Based on my quick read, I’d lean towards Hotel Porto di Roma, because everyone raved about the cleanliness and the hospitable hosts. The location is convenient for several good restaurants, and they mention that transport to the port can be arranged. Good luck with whatever you decide. 

On 10/10/2023 at 4:14 AM, Astalarasta said:

Thank you for the replies.  Gremlins indeed😂! 

 

Since our hotel checkout is at 11AM, that should give us time for a leisurely lunch and Uber to the port  by 2ish.

 

We have never sailed out of a large US port like Ft. Lauderdale, so we are not sure what to expect.  The port schedule shows several  large ships sailing the same day.  I was imagining long lines for checkin and security.

Other than driving into the port, you won’t have to mix it with passengers for other ships. Each ship has its own space in a terminal building for security, checking in, and boarding arriving passengers. Since the Azamara ships are small, there is usually not much of a queue. I hope you have a great cruise!

I’m travelling with a group of friends next week. We booked four junior ocean view cabins with the same travel agent - three guarantees and one chosen by cabin number. The non-guarantee cabin stayed the same. My friend who organised this and did all the hard work liaising with the travel agent, was upgraded to a junior balcony. Our other friends, (who are first time cruisers) and DH and I were upgraded to Aurea suites. We’re thrilled for the first-timers, but feel mildly guilty about our own good luck. This is the first time, in more than 60 cruises with several different lines, that we’ve had a free upgrade. The upgrade fairy was very good to us! 🤣

On 10/6/2023 at 11:48 PM, cuterlmt said:

I've read through a good number of the posts here and have some specific questions.

We will be staying at Albergo Santa Chiara. We are looking for restaurants for lunch/dinner in that area as we'll be staying there a few days pre-cruise. We do not drink alcohol. And we'll probably stick to mostly non-meat dishes. I don't think I can get my husband on board to eat pork cheek, although I might try it. He likes shrimp, so any pasta with cheese and shrimp, he would probably eat. Pizza is fine, and gelato of course. And if there's a fried artichoke around, I might try it. 

The hotel serves breakfast, so I imagine the only treat we might have after breakfast is one of the filled croissants I've heard about. So mostly afternoon/evening options. Husband will not eat sandwiches, but will eat bread, or pizza. We do not eat a ton of food, so we may split dishes (if allowed) or like a place that has appetizer size meals or we can opt for appetizer pasta or something.

We'd like a place that isn't too busy (if that's possible). We'll be there the 2nd week of November. 

Thank you all for sharing your information! It has been great reading about your experiences and jotting down notes for our visit.

 

As cruisemom42 says, it will be possible to get pasta with cheese, or pasta with shrimp, but asking for cheese with your shrimp will definitely get you the side-eye, and possibly an impassioned explanation of why that is a crime against food. 😁
 

For a smaller meal, it is possible to order just one or two courses. You could share an antipasto and then also share a first (generally pasta) course, or share a first course and a salad. No one will mind that you’re not having three or four courses each. Ordering something like one tiramisu and two spoons will also work well.  

Just now, blueslily said:

 

I just called and a MSC agent linked them. It was super easy. I don't usually experience the problems some people report on here when calling. So, I never dread calling. It was easier to call than for me to fuss around online. 

I have read on here, and agree, that the website is somewhat… quirky. We’ve been trying to book parking for our cruise from Ancona, and it has a page for that in with the drinks and internet and other extras. The big quirk with the parking is that if there are two people on the booking, you have to pay for two lots of parking. So one person would pay £96 for one car, but two people in one car would pay £96 each! My friend made the bookings, so I let her do the calling. She called about five days ago, and was told the parking could be booked by email. She emailed that day, but has had no reply. These things are never easy, are they?

2 hours ago, Dane1234 said:

Quick question:

How did you get the reservations linked. Were sailing in 43 days, and I don't have the option online. Did you call them? In that case which phone number did you use?

 

Thanks

We had a lucky escape! I had just started trying to use the linking page on my passenger data screen, and our travel agent messaged me to say that we were all linked together. I’ll update with how well it actually works for the table assignments. 

46 minutes ago, Illbcruzn4life said:

It is a pain with selfies. We had a lot of problems too. Finally got it all figured out and done but when we got to the port to check in they took our pictures again anyway.

 

Good luck with getting seating together. I hope it works out for you. We linked ours together 3 months befor the cruise as we had 4 cabins. We got 2 tables close to each other but not 1 table for all of us. The maitre'd d could do nothing.

Thank you. We will get our best persuasive smiles shined up in case they’re needed to melt the Maitre d’s hard heart. Although if he sees the selfies, he’ll be frightened!

@JamieLogicalthank you very much, I’ll go in and see how I get on with this. It was such a battle to get checked in, I didn’t want to click edit in case I screwed everything up! 

Hi, this will be our first MSC cruise, on Armonia on 20th October, and we’re looking forward to it. I’ve had a bit of trouble with the website, though. I did manage to get DH and myself checked in, with selfies, (which were an epic struggle!) but we got there.  

We have a group of eight, and now I’d like to link our four bookings so that we are all seated at the same dining table. I’ve used the search feature on this forum, but although people refer to linking bookings, I couldn’t see where I needed to go to do it. I’ve looked everywhere I could think of on the Manage My Booking screens, but I’m just not finding the page I need. Could some kind person please point me in the right direction? TIA.

22 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

This is the best site to track waiting times.  Currently it's under two weeks for a UK standard adult renewal. https://www.passportwaitingtime.co.uk/latest-uk-passport-waiting-times/

DH renewed his with the one-week Fast Track service. He had to fill out a paper application, make an appointment, and take it in person to a passport office. They promise it will arrive within one week, by Royal Mail Special Delivery. He dropped his off on a Friday noontime, and the new passport arrived on Tuesday! Very good service. 

6 hours ago, roger b said:

This feels like a cost-cutting exercise to me ??? Let's hope that they are able to keep up the standard that they have built up.

When you consider that this one is in Africa, where there often can be problems with weather, and you can pretty much count on problems with quality and safety of transport, especially after dark, and food hygiene issues, as uktog has pointed out, it makes sense to have this event on the ship. I’d prefer it that way, frankly. On our cruise from Cape Town to Lisbon last year, our Azamazing Evening was in the Canaries, I’m sure to avoid just such problems.
 

I attend these events to enjoy local culture, and have fun. I don’t think it would be useful for me to keep a tally of how much I think Azamara spent per person, for each event.

13 hours ago, hamrag said:

It's not Cunard, for sure!

Not to disparage ballroom dancing, but I count that as a major blessing! 😁

4 hours ago, aliaschief said:

Yes the top tier suites have the good chairs.

And the big balconies to put those nice lounge chairs on!

One of my favourite stories from dining in Italy: we ate at a lovely restaurant in the Marche countryside, and had tagliata, served with a hot stone to finish cooking it to our liking. It was delicious, but just a bit too much for DH and I. We asked if our leftover steak could be boxed up “per portare via” and it was, in a nice foil box. When we got home, I looked in the box, and we had a quite a lot more sliced steak than just what we had been unable to finish. I’m pretty sure they thought we were going to give it to our (nonexistent) dog. I looked at the large-ish packet of beautiful steak, and… cooked it up the next day into a lovely curry! We didn’t die, and it made a fabulous curry. 😁

7 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Is that second picture Azamara? I have never seen a white desk on an Azamara ship.  The green wing chair looks like Azamara, but the white desk looks a R class Oceania ship.  They painted all the cabinets and built-ins white.

That’s a CC suite. They have some white furniture. The balcony furniture is the same as a regular balcony cabin, I can confirm from my very limited experience with suites! 
 

This is a photo showing a balcony chair on Pursuit. 

I find the Onward balcony chairs fine for reading or dining on the balcony, I know others disagree! 
The first photo shows the Onward chairs, the second is from one of the other ships. The chairs are still pretty upright.

And if you don’t want to take the Ultimate package, you can also just buy a drink.

13 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

I would be much more impressed if Carol came on this board and started directly answering our questions. Considering the situation, it’s warranted.

I think having more of a presence on social media, including this forum, but also beyond it would be a great move.

11 minutes ago, Riocca said:

I suppose those of us who reside outside the USA don’t have a clue who Anna Navarro is or what the View is about so could watch it just in case Carol Cabezas says something that might be of interest, although somehow I doubt that she will.

AFAIK, The View is the American version of Loose Women (or Loose Women is the British version of The View, not sure which one was first!) if that’s any help.

20 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Guess I'll have to miss it. I don't do insta and certainly not the view.  What a bunch of hateful women.

Is that now the Azamara target? Wonder if I should cancel my two upcoming bookings; Owners Suite and V1 cabin?  I guess I'm not their preferred customer any longer?

 

Could that explain the problems they've been having during and after the transition?  They go to insta and the view but not to their customers directly. Didn't they learn anything from Bud Light and Disney? 

If I thought my ideals, my preferred TV shows, and my political leanings had to chime with the CEO, other top brass, or majority of other cruisers of any given cruise line, I guess I’d never cruise! Luckily, I’m not too bothered about all that. I’m much more concerned about the actual experience I receive on board. 😊

I know that there are ATMs on board, and when in Europe, I think one has USD, and one has Euros. Would this be of any help? There is a charge for using the machines, and they depend on a good internet signal, I’ve been told, which can be a factor. There are also bank ATMs ashore, which will likely have a better rate/smaller charge. 

3 minutes ago, aaaaa said:

Good day -- Do Azamara ships (like Oceania ships) have porthole cabins on deck 3?  They don't appear as available choices on any of the cruises that I've considered for booking.  If these cabins do exist, are they oceanview category 7?  Thanks.

The cabins are there, but I’ve only seen them used for crew, lecturers and entertainers. 

On 9/15/2023 at 10:16 AM, hamrag said:

 

All inside, outside and veranda cabins have identical shower trays which are small. Yes, they all have curtains. 

Azamara have been rolling out newer, heavier shower curtains which are less clingy than the old ones. They don’t stick to me at all, which is really nice.