GREGAHOY

5 hours ago, GREGAHOY said:

Well-written. I agree with misdirection. An example is below (I added the arrows). A consumer using this page could be forgiven for assuming that $704 provides an inside cabin that includes drinks, wi-fi and tips. However the cost is $936, which is shown four clicks later in booking. Perhaps a simple extra sentence added to the taxes/fees disclaimer would solve this.

To add to my own post, instead of an extra disclaimer, all this needs is the word "available" after the banner. 

18 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

There have been several threads pertaining to Celebrity's  "Always Included" feature and for the most part negative comments abound. I have always been a proponent of AI, perhaps because it has not caused me consternation when booking cruises. However, there are lots of seasoned, intelligent cruisers who seem to think that AI is a form of misdirection, disabling an otherwise smooth booking process while enabling X to take away their choice. The more I read and participate in these threads, the more I have come to realize that this might be the case.

 

Whether intentional or not, X's presentation of the AI feature is at best, confusing. Beyond that, understanding where it relates and when it applies can cause frustration in that one does not feel in control of the booking process. Simply put, Celebrity is in control of what I want. I will settle for what X wants to give me. That kind of mindset among current passengers does not ensure loyalty. And, when Celebrity is looking to attract new cruisers, the easiest approach to book a cruise without doing research and reading between the lines is the one that works best.

 

I am to the point where I believe Celebrity needs to rethink this one. Fraud is a powerful descriptor and has been used by some posters in referencing Always Included. Personally, I would not want that word to integrate any part of my business. I have never had a problem with AI. However, because so many good folks find this feature to be off-putting, perhaps Celebrity should find a better way to entice it's customers while being totally transparent in that endeavor.

 

 

Well-written. I agree with misdirection. An example is below (I added the arrows). A consumer using this page could be forgiven for assuming that $704 provides an inside cabin that includes drinks, wi-fi and tips. However the cost is $936, which is shown four clicks later in booking. Perhaps a simple extra sentence added to the taxes/fees disclaimer would solve this.

On 8/1/2021 at 5:07 PM, Steelydad2021 said:

 

Ian441672’s recent Apex thread was most helpful leading up to this week and here is hoping Ian is enjoying a much deserved B2B second week somewhere on the ship.  Since this current sailing is just the Apex’s 7^th and earlier trips were at a fraction capacity, perhaps these jet lagged on-board impressions will be of some value.  Of course, YMMV and significant future changes would be expected in these times.

 

DW & I are closer to 60 than to 50, 8^th cruise (including 1 river Seine), last in 1/20 on Windstar Legend in the Caribbean.  Booked Apex last April when after a year + of gloom, we took out the map and asked “when it’s over, where to?”  Threw a dart and DW says “after your trip behind the fridge to get that dart, how about Greek islands?” (Retiring that joke now.) 

 

When X announced Greece & Israel it was like she served the smooth retsina, the danger on the rocks was surely past, call in my reservation, so long hey thanks my friend and we can sail till the bending end.  But then no Israel, sad, but happy about Dubrovnik which was on ye ole bucket list and mostly thrilled just to be traveling. 

 

Finally, after months of worry especially about passing the pre-boarding test though vaxed asymptomatic spread is a remote possibility, it was swab, wait 15 min, got hoped for results and welcome aboard.  Not so for a parent and child behind us apparently(?) the cause of the X staff hushed scurrying about in the tent on the dock.  Lots of urgent talk into cell phones and purposeful walking.  Cannot imagine the disappointment for any unlucky souls having made it that far only to be turn away.  Apparently, X handled the situation allowing 800 passengers and 900 crew set sail this week.  Perhaps this is how things will be – risks handled and life returns for all but the few unlucky but who knows? Not me.

 

Arrived at 11:15am for the scheduled 11:30, luggage efficiently checked in with directions to wait in the large tent.  The ice water was welcomed but AC’s barely cooled the 100 degree+ real feel temp.  Thanks to other CC threads, we were braced for the hot wait and had prepared all the paperwork unlike a lady in a wheelchair who got real loud when hers was not in order.    A failure to plan is a plan for failure and as the sign in the WC says, ‘no job is complete until the paperwork is done’ (retiring that too) so best to triple check the current requirements.  Saw that woman later by the pool so guess she eventually got on but she was still hollering about her bother hours later.

 

On board at 12:40 so figure 90 min to get on but that includes 15 min early arrival.  BTW one of the nasal swabbers told DW to throw out the little test # paper but others asked for it after getting the results.  Not sure if that would have been a big deal had we not kept it.

 

First thing on board was to check the ever-changing excursions status & as mentioned before in this forum, still X led excursions only on Mikonos but freedom everywhere else … for now.   Starting to notice … where are all the people? 

  

The Ship:

 

Much has been written about the Apex style but IMHO, the natural plantings, especially at the Rooftop Garden and Eden, and the eclectic art keep the vibe just shy of tacky glitz.   That massive stark chandelier comes close maybe. Clearly lots of thought, lessons learned and top $ went into everything.  Reckon they had some time for fine tuning recently too.

 

Touchless doors, little gathering seating all over usually w/ stunning views, a spacious state of the art gym, winding ramp jogging track, the Magic Carpet (engineering genius that) for speeding up tenders are all much welcome.  Fanciful chairs from wingbacks to hammock seats and pin shots of bygone starlet types from your favorite foreign movie make for an interesting mix of theming.  Still figuring it all out but that’s a good thing.  Apex big debut, a refuge to run to for skipped dimensions?  It’s definitely not an ordinary party boat.

 

Soot smell is noticeable at times at the pools but not on our room balcony.  Wifi is ship wifi.  You might use it when you feel better when you get home.   Smooth sailing on water like glass but it’s a heat wave w/o the usual Santa Anna type winds they say.

 

The staff seems genuinely happy to be working again, relieved even -- a much appreciated ethic these days … nuff said.  They set a polite example wearing masks but are not in your face so to speak about not wearing them especially outdoors and especially when its so hot out.  You can overhear it’s a topic but (hopefully) losing the maskhole ugliness on both sides … nuff said.  BTW the X branded masks provided in the room are like wearing an oven mitt, a fancy mitt but still … not a breath of air.

 

The Room:

 

A Sky Suite seemed a reasonable balance between ‘no-time-like-now’ Covid urgency and continuing offspring tuition obligations.  Balcony adds massive indoor/outdoor space for time out of mind but the sliding door seems to have a tricky airlock thingy going on.  I might have broken a piece, … well definitely.  Walls are thin though and we hear thems next door.  Better turn up the Eagles.  On whole tho, the room works.

 

This week the suites are 2/3’s booked which is much less than the last few weeks so maybe should have tried to bid something bigger but that would upset that reasonable balance.  But as a result, Luminae, for example, has been less than 1/3 full for meals.   I still ride the subway to work so no complaints about extra space but sometimes it feels like the ship wants more customers.  Not like “The Shining” earie but this boat was built for way more people and you can almost hear it long for more cruisers.  Or maybe that was just the wind howling from the sliding door which somebody failed to close last night. OK that was me but I got it figured now.

 

The crowd or lack of crowd seems overwhelmingly from the States w/ a sprinkling of UK, South Africa, Spain, Netherlands and very few under 18.   Also, maybe folks are feeling unleashed which is understandable but the inevitable few loudmouths and complainers are not always lost in a crowd and at times behave in cringing contrast to the understated crew professionalism.   “Hey, Party Boat was to the left you so-and-sos, this ain’t ____ (insert favorite party boat line).”  Mostly though folks are settling down to enjoying a proper good time and probably figured out their sliding doors straight away.

 

Food: Expectations were high and so far met, surpassed even for the Oceanview Café, which is effectively an world class cafeteria with million $ views.  They still serve the drinks there but it’s a nice not be constantly being served.  For many years now there are 2 places were folks w/ food issues could reliably feel safe; Disney (ships, parks, Adventures by D, etc.) and cruise ships … just makes vacation so much better.  All meals at Luminae so far, tre bien … no … better than tre bien.

 

Cannot really speak to entertainment but so far the random live music has been about on par with past cruises, namely, enjoyable enough for the setting but would not buy the album.

 

If you are torn about cruising, I would suggest - throw out the hardware, do it right and give it the college try.  Things may get a whole lot worse before suddenly falling apart. 

 

Just so happy X is doing this sail so far and cocktails do taste better on the water.

 

And to think, last Monday, guy on the 4 train next to me lights up a spliff.... in a closed car... at 7am. 🤪 What a difference a week can make.

Steely Dad thanks for taking the time to write this clever and informative post. Not happy to hear about noise between cabins or that the loudmouths are still to be heard. But as any major dude will tell you, any cruise is better than no cruise. 

On 7/3/2019 at 10:41 PM, jelayne said:

The footstools are gone, the jetted shower is gone post Revolution

Jelayne: just confirming that the Hansgroheshower feature with multiple nozzle sprayers is gone? This is too bad, as it was a major reason for us booking Aqua class. If anyone knows if this is across all ships now, I'd appreciate information.

Thank you Bonnie for that information!  --Greg

I'm told we are still a couple weeks away from publishing the AzAmazing Evenings for this Winter's Cuba cruises.

Check back in with me around the beginning of October. If they aren't published by then, I'll inquire for you again.

Hi Bonnie, it's October so I thought I check in again. Any word on the Azamazing Evening for the December 11th Cuba cruise?

Thanks so much,

Greg

Pinging this question again as we are also on the Dec. 11th cruise.

Wondering if by now the AZamazing evening has been decided for that cruise?

Greg

How about the Dec 11, 2018 Cuba sailing? First time AZ cruisers so not sure when I can expect to see the info online. Being a Planner I like to wrap up the details as soon as possible so I can focus on the next adventure.

Well, I think this is about as clear as mud.

Do most guests carry a list of included cocktails?

Or do they look at the menus in the bars to check what is available and included?

On our last Celebrity Cruise, the drink menus were also confusing as to what was included and what was not at certain package levels. So we went to the customer relations desk and asked for a print out of included alcohol for our package. And yes, we carried it around with us as we like to taste different liquors, liqueurs and cocktails. (I point this out since Celebrity & Azamara are owned by the same company).

The answer from Bonnie about this in general and in particular if you can still get an included cocktail made with the included drinks (e.g.Cuba Libre made with the included Silver Rum rather than Bacardi)

 

 

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Hi, does this mean that you got a response from Bonnie?

Well, sweet and dry vermouth are no longer on the included spirits list, so there goes the martini and Manhattan options

Yet the Gibson, which does use vermouth, is included.

I’m confused...how can a Martini not be included if you are willing to have it with the included gin or vodka? And the same for other drinks? Also the proofreader in me would like to point out that Bloody Mary is spelled incorrectly and Daiquiri is in a different font than the rest of the list. Very low-end like the included alcohol!

 

 

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Glad that someone else caught the Bloody Mary misspelling. And to add to what you said, how can a simple Martini not be included but a Grasshopper--which is more complicated- is? And also, you can get a Gibson but not a Martini?? (The only difference being an onion instead of olive)?? I wonder who came up with this?

In the spirit of moving forward, I would like to offer to help with some information on this board and maybe if it works, Andy would be happy to make a sticky out of the thread

 

On the Celebrity board, there is a very useful spreadsheet kept up to date by one of the cruisers where others can search for information on a cabin. Here on Azamara, we have to try and search and trawl for information and I am offering to create and maintain with say forthnightly updates a similar spreadsheet.

 

For it to work, everyone has to post information in a consistent way and also only use the thread to post information, not to engage in debate (pop over to the Celebrity board if you want to see more on how it works)

 

For Azamara, I would suggest the information should be

 

Cabin Number

Ship

Month/Year sailed

Would you choose this room again Y/N

Is noise an issue Y/N

Balcony size Normal/Larger/Smaller

Any other comments (keeping these succinct so the spreadsheet does not grow too much)

 

How do others feel about this - if you think we do not need it here, please say, I will not be offended!!!!

YES! Support. We will be happy to contribute after our cruise.

Dumb question here I think. I got the beverage package as part of the 1-2-3 promotion. So were the gratuities included in that? Meaning I never saw a cost for the package--it was free--so I also didn't see an 18% tip included.

Just an update on my experiences above and a clarification. We actually did stay an extra day after our cruise, so the lines weren't (I don't think) cruise-related.

Also it might depend on where one is traveling to. Flights to other places in Italy obviously didn't have passport issues, and perhaps flights to other EU countries have shorter lines (I'm just guessing there). Only three gates had the final passport check.

My wife and I just completed a cruise in Venice and flew out of VCE. I thought our experience at VCE would be worth sharing. For those of you who just want top line, this it it: the recommendation to arrive 3 hours before the flight is a good one.

For the details: We were flying Delta non-stop to Atlanta, on an 11:50 AM flight. We arrived two hours and forty five minutes before departure.

1: There are no electronic kiosks at Delta for check-in.

2: The check-in line was long. It intertwined with another airline making it confusing. It took over an hour and 20 minutes to make it to the counter.

3: Before getting to the ticket counter, you will show your passport to Italian authorities. This process really slowed down check in. For instance, in front of us a man had an expired green card, so that shut down movement while another official come over to resolve it.

4: If you think the priority seating line will make it faster for you, it won't. I was in economy and actually got through faster than some priority people right beside me. This is a combination of the #3 above and the fact that so many people are in priority now.

5: After the passport check, you will have another wait to actually get to the counter for a paper ticket. You will show passports again.

6: Security line is strict. I fly frequently on business so I thought I had security down. However they are much more strict on what counts as liquid, and a small Neosporin I forgot about meant I got swabbed down. My wife, in a different line, also got pulled aside and swabbed for no reason. They almost made me go to the back of the line, but I just threw stuff away. Summary: the security lines move slower.

7: There is a THIRD passport check. After getting through security (now we are at 1.5 hours), we headed to the gate hoping for time to get coffee, bathroom, maybe last minute duty free shopping. However, for international flights, there was yet ANOTHER line, this one stretching back with at least 200 people. As the woman in front of me said, "Do you think we'll make this flight?" As I got to the front of the line, many people were trying to break line because their flight was having last call.

8: It took us 2.5 hours to get from check-in to the plane. No time for coffee or bathrooms.

Just a heads-up to be prepared at this airport. I realize others might have shorter waits, but I say show up and if you breeze through, enjoy your time having a nice cup of coffee before you leave Venice.

Hope that helps someone.

Greg