lisiamc

We had made it to Discoverer Plus before they started the free nights. Even if we live to be old enough to rival Methuselah, I don’t think we will ever get to Platinum. So there are no free nights in our future, sadly.

I’m sorry to hear about your bad experiences. On a Celebrity cruise we were on a corridor once where all the cabins in the section smelled of sewage for days, and it was not a nice experience. I can definitely give you sympathy! We are probably lucky that we eat lunch and dinner quite late, so even if a cruises is full, the hungry hordes will have already eaten and gone, and we don’t experience congestion. Also the Den and the Living Room are half empty after about 6.45, so that’s lucky for us too. We also try to book cruises with as many sea days as possible, and on sea days Discoveries is open for lunch, which eases congestion. It’s a little oasis of calm on a sea day with bad weather. It also sounds like whoever organised the badly-managed immigration inspection will have learned the hard way and hopefully won’t subject others to that experience in future.

If I thought a cruise line was out to “scam” me or anyone else, I certainly would not sail with them! The conditions for booking the free nights when RCCL was administering the programme were specific enough that they were nearly impossible to arrange back then too, and of very little real value, since almost any of the promotions at the time would have made for a better deal, and they could not be combined with the free nights. I agree with Riocca that patience is required until the new loyalty programme is in place.

This is very far outside our experience with Azamara over the past 15 years. We sailed on Journey in January, and had none of the problems you mention. We have cruised seven times since the change of ownership and enjoyed each of those cruises. On 10 July we took our first cruise since the new IT system was fully implemented, and things are slowly but noticeably getting better. On our pre-cruise paperwork, we had an invoice showing our OBC, and a letter in the cabin confirming the same. The Loyalty Ambassador booked a b2b cruise for us, and it’s all under one booking number, showing deposits paid, balance remaining, early booking incentives, and OBC. He also rebooked a b2b2b cruise for us so that we could take advantage of current promotions. and saved us a lot of money. So yes, I’d recommend booking right now (with the caveat that we always use an agent) and I would also recommend sailing right now too.

July must have been a different story, because the appointment book was out, and the Future Cruises and Loyalty people were fairly busy. Part of it might have been that some very interesting 2025 cruise itineraries were released during the cruise, including cruises with ports in Greenland. We booked two for 2025, with enticing early booking discounts, and rebooked three for 2024 to take advantage of a current promotion.

Some bookings for this summer have been soft, probably because of the IT change, and maybe because of post-Covid hesitancy to travel for some older people. I have heard that some cruises for next year are selling out pretty quickly. We just disembarked from Pursuit Scotland Intensive, and we had about 50% capacity. The product received on the ships remains extremely good, IMO. We have not hesitated to book more cruises for 2024 and 2025.

Yes, we like the Excelsior also. Nicer than the included Cab Sav which is a bit perfume-y to suit me. The Mapmaker Sauvignon Blanc is very good too.

We used to be Celebrity fans, but about ten years ago, we evolved out of their target demographic. We don’t like their two-tier system, and resent being forced into Aqua Class to get the minimum level of service/restaurant/food that we enjoy. We are much happier booking with Azamara. Their minimum product pleases us much more than any of the Celebrity offerings. The small showers have never really been an issue for us in 15 years, and everything else hits the spot for us. YMMV, of course.

Quoting myself to explain that the only reason I mentioned that I’m not a Chardonnay drinker is to explain that I haven’t tried it, and wouldn’t be a good judge of the quality if I had tried it!

I’m not a Chardonnay fan, but I asked at the Windows Café bar. This was the Chardonnay available for the Ultimate package.

These are the ones on Pursuit . Red cable for easy visibility

Yes they are on Quest too. I believe there are a couple of suites (possibly on Onward?) that have different light fittings and don’t have USB ports. When we go back to our cabin after lunch, I’ll take a photo of ours. We are on Pursuit, but the location is the same, where present.

Possibly your steward didn’t point out the USB-A ports on either side of the bed? They are a bit subtle if you don’t know they are there. Two USB ports by the bed and four electrical outlets by the desk should go a long way toward coping with everyone’s electricals, surely.

On Pursuit right now, there is Fevertree, which neither of us like, especially as their light tonic is not sugar-free. We’re walking to the supermarket in the morning to get Schweppes sugar-free. Not ideal either, but it suits us better. I guess it just proves that you really can’t please all of the people all of the time!

Boarding was very easy. Our hotel wanted us to check out at noon, so we did, and arrived at the port at about 12.35. There is a terminal building, with seating and facilities for lots of people. We were able to check in right away, and boarding started at about 1 pm. The only unusual thing was the port employees urging everyone to check their carry-on bags. We resisted, and it was not a big problem. The reason might have been the short walk up the steps on the gangway. We were easily able to carry our carry-ons ups the flight of steps, but if someone was not able or didn’t want to, then checking the carry-ons would make sense.

Our (non-converting) loveseat looks just like Phil’s second photo. If it was one of the converting ones, and was as long as the regular bed, it would just about touch the desk. No one would be able to get past - they’d have to go over.

We are in 7059. I don’t think there are many cabins with the sofa beds on Pursuit - the deck plans show only six on Deck 7. The other decks are similar, by the look of the deck plans.

We seem to have a fixed loveseat/sofa. Nothing unfolds, moves or pulls out that I can find.

They did not ask us for that yesterday. It was basically passport information and credit card details.

We boarded Pursuit yesterday in Copenhagen, if anyone needs a current answer to a question.

For interest, we are currently sailing on Pursuit toward Edinburg from Copenhagen. Last night the available champagnes were Nicholas Feuillate and Tattinger. Today, it seems to be Piper Heidsieck, or at least it was at the brunch buffet.

We boarded Pursuit yesterday, and upgraded our drinks package from Premium to Ultimate. There were no special offered for upgrading on the first day.

It’s not like Azamara is doing this to be cheap. Venice is enforcing the rule that ships over a certain size can no longer dock there. It really is in the Florence/Rome category now. Many people still want to go there, but the ship can’t get all the way there, so this is the best they can offer right now. In the not-very-near future, there will be a new cruise terminal somewhere more suitable. As far as I know, you can get off the ship and stay overnight in a hotel if you want to do that. If you do, you should liaise with the front desk staff/concierge for advice about the easiest way to get back, and to let them know that you’ll be off the ship all night.

IMNSHO, providing a free shuttle from Fusina or Chioggia to Venice would be like providing one from Civitavecchia to Rome or Livorno to Florence. I don’t think it’s going to happen. I’m willing to be wrong, though! A paid shuttle, AKA Venice on Your Own, could be an option, though.

I think you’d have to walk very quickly to see everything, or even just the highlights at Ostia Antica in two hours. Rich Steves must have been in pack-in-as-much-as-possible mode on his way to somewhere else. There is quite a lot to see there. All the better because it wasn’t a disaster that put the port out of use. It just gradually silted up, and the people walked away. And you wouldn’t want to miss Vespasian’s communal toilets, would you? 😁 (No longer in use, I hasten to add!) At least half a day with lunch in the middle (there is, or at least there was, a reasonably nice cafè there) would be a good investment of time, especially if you have all day to do something interesting before your flight.