combine

1 hour ago, asnaleah said:

What are the lunch options on Pursuit? Any changes for port days? 

If all the stars are aligned this represents the best days offerings for food and drink available  or any combination  depending on sea days, white nights   Azamazing evenings or  weather. The main dining room is not open for lunch  on port  days but there are often brunch/lunches there on sea days.

You will have to do a little work yourself to find the best value for your free nights, but it is doable.
 

We had 6 free nights last year and I booked whilst onboard so was eligible for my 7% discount with Discoverer Plus and  $300 obc. I was armed with the cruises we were interested in and the prices.   You have to book a cruise within one year of getting the free nights but dont have to travel within that year. The discount is on fare only, not taxes and port fees. They cannot be used on Cruisetours. There are more details on Azamara web site.

Whilst prices paid are a bit of a taboo subject ,it might be helpful to know that we booked  a 7 night Greece intensive in a V1 balcony for £385 per person . We paid for flights separately as we always do.. The price never got  anywhere near that low from when we  booked in January till when we sailed in October.  We could well have been the exception to the rule but it worked for us! 

8 hours ago, maggie777 said:

We will embark in Chioggia in Oct. What is your plan to go from Venice airport to Chioggia?

We are disembarking in Chioggia . Azamara hopefully will be doing their usual pay for transport to the airport 🤞.

23 minutes ago, terry&mike said:

You posted this in reply to my post above, but I think you intended it for all readers.

It's not applicable to my situation in that my request is to guests disembarking in Chioggia (starting in April) as to what time Self Disembark started. I'm trying to judge making an 11:30a domestic flight from VCE, heading on to the Puglia region, when I disembark there in September. 

I've visited Venice and the areas nearby on land trips in the past, so am not staying over on this trip.

Sadly I dont think any of us can help you until at least April, when Azamara starts docking there. April 22 is the first non overnight and docks at the same time as your September cruise. I personally will be disembarking there in May but its an overnighter and we can usually leave so much earlier. Hopefully guests will be able to let you know as soon as possible the set up and times of disembarkation, so ask again in a couple of months, if you haven't found an answer before then. 🤞

36 minutes ago, SandJCruiser said:

First - Can anyone post a picture or list of the included spirits, beers, etc?  Second - If there are just one white and one red  wine being offered on a given day and they are not to your liking, can you get one of the other included wines instead?

Always more than one of each type of wine. We had four reds offered in October, I believe similar with white. There’s  a sparkling and a Rose also in the included wines.

3 hours ago, lisiamc said:

One thing we already know: Chioggia is a charming place on its own merit, like Ravenna. It’s a great place to eat seafood, and worth a day or part of a day as a destination in itself. If my cruise finished there, I’d plan to see Chioggia and then if possible spend a few days in Venice in a hotel. The trip back and forth will eat up a useful part of your day.

Would agree. We would never have experienced  the wonders of Ravenna if not for the change of port and we were fortunate to have a day and overnight there at the end of our cruise.

 We are taking the same view with Chioggia with an overnight there and intend to explore the town also. Of course it helps that we have visited Venice a couple of times and I do understand that for some it would be a first time  to visit. 

Cant answer why you've not had a reply to your points  enquiry  but I received a reminder update email last Saturday re the 1st February changes, with a link to frequently asked questions. Not much has changed since their first announcement but the email stated it was now a go. Have you checked to see that they have an up to date email for notifications and you are registered.

These two cruises are the Canary Islands/ Madeira  round trip. It may be that  they are having to move ports around for whatever reason. Maybe to avoid congestion at some ports on certain days. Its a great itinerary, we did it as an 11 nighter last January.

51 minutes ago, BrendaJ said:

To be fair, this itinerary is more than a year away, so no one would likely have lost any money with flights, although it’s possible some hotel bookings are available this far out.

Its interesting that neither this cruise or the following one is on the website now, so obviously behind the scene amendments being made before it goes back online. They say prevailing rate so theres a chance this 9 nighter will be less money than an 11 nighter?  Hope all works out well. 🤞

1 hour ago, fruitmachine said:

I just want to clarify, because it's not entirely clear, and won't be at all clear to anyone reading this post in isolation... Can you confirm that the first half of your post (I've highlighted in blue above) relates to Azamara, and the second half (in red) to Oceania?

Yes I had same confusion earlier, but deleted my post !
Post #45 sets the scene from @dive4pamand the ‘horror stories’ do appear to  relate  to Oceania. 

48 minutes ago, MegCV said:

Hi, we're going on our 1st cruise with Azamara on the Pursuit for a Greek Intensive on April 24. I'm trying to get info about the dates for when the White Night and AzAmazing Evening events will be held? I would like to know this, so to plan excursions around those dates.  How can I get this info? Will it show up on the Voyage Planner Calendar (as our OBC bought excursions have)? Any input on when AzAmazing Evening dates are noticed to passengers?  Is the White Night normally held on a sea day or could they be after any port call?  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

Rhodes looks a good bet for the Azamazing evening as you are docked and transportation will be easier. The other late departure Mykonos is  tendered and near the end of the cruise and that looks promising for white night.

Hi .

There is a lot of information on the Azamara website. If you scroll to the bottom of the page and click on Loyalty Programme you can see how many points you earn  for each cabin category you sail and what level you will have attained. This level is then used for discounts if you book a future cruise onboard.

If you dont already have a loyalty number a quick phone call and they will allocate you a  loyalty  number to be used for future bookings. 

Once you  have  sailed your first cruise you are also eligible for any Quarterly discount savings, that are regularly updated on the website.

3 hours ago, islandwoman said:

But the lowly people in Verandas and outside or inside cabins are charged $35 per person.  How many are going to pay that when they've already paid for dinner in the dining room?

Not everyone in a suite who has complimentary Speciality restaurant access , uses it every night. On our first suite booking earlier this year we ate 6 nights in Speciality  and 5 in main dinning room. Our choice entirely , although we had already paid for speciality in our fare , the food was excellent in both venues and we liked the variety. 

On Quest in October the two speciality booking desks  on embarkation were not inside the Windows area as normal but were outside, port side by the sofas and near the stairs by the stage. 

16 minutes ago, HarJan56 said:

Bit upset about that. Really wanted two days down there.  Whats good to do around Porto Venere? No tours showing yet?

Hi , If you look at excursions on Apr 22 Onward , we are stopping in PV . There are only 4 listed at the moment but may give you an idea what is available. 
Also if you do a search for PV on the Azamara  web site ,there is a comprehensive port guide, which is quite helpful. 

Sometimes its not  what’s  offered on the ship , its how the cruise guests use these facilities and interact with other guests. Atmosphere and entertainment is often guest driven.

 We did a B2B in 2018. Same crew ,same entertainment staff, same chef, same weather and the difference in the 2 weeks was very noticeable. First week was a very sociable cruise, great interaction, a lot of laughs on the ships tours,  several late nights in the Living Room and it  made for a fun cruise. The staff picked up on that and it was a really good week, with the core values of Azamara at the heart and a lively but not raucous ship! Always quieter areas available for those who preferred . 

 
The second week, although a good few of us remained on board , it was  a totally different cruise.  There was not much interaction amongst guests. For whatever reason  that reflected on the  social events on board and the entertainment staff had their work cut out with lack of enthusiasm in a lot of areas.  Whilst  we still enjoyed the food, the ports etc. it was a different vibe on board , but hasn't stopped us sailing with Azamara and we are playing catch up this year.

Its a lottery with the mix of guests you will have on any cruise but I think they dictate how a cruise pans out. 

18 hours ago, RummyB said:

Looking for information on the spa services (massages and facials) offered by Azamara.  There's precious little info on the website.  Is there a brochure that someone can share?  Thanks!

1 minute ago, Riocca said:

We are booked for Onwards 4th October 2023 cruise departing Venice and received notification on the 17th October 2022 that the ship would be docking in Fusina just across the lagoon from Venice. I saw reports that Quest also due to be in Venice that day would be docking in Chioggia a little further away.

From the email it looks like Azamara will be using both locations in 2023 so should be able to provide information on docking locations for every sailing.

Interesting, haven't heard anything  yet for next May. 

3 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

Appreciate the info. How early before your cruise were you notified of the port change? Trying to plan our time. 

We were notified on 30 March for a change from Venice to Ravenna for our April 23 cruise and out August cruise. This was when the port change was notified for the whole summer season. To be fair complementary transport was provided to and from Venice airport or city and a small fcc was issued .  As a bonus we had an overnight in Ravenna,  a town we would never have visited but for the change. 
 

We will be disembarking Venice or somewhere on 6 May next  year also. We will see where we end up but I am confident Azamara will make sure we get to Venice airport somehow ! 

1 hour ago, uktog said:

No it’s asking me for details after I select category type - strange 

Indeed. That would tick me off keep having to do that. Has it been like that for a long time? 
If I got a follow up email every time I browsed , my inbox would be full…….Im always looking ! 🫢

Edit to above . The only place details are asked for is if you click on ‘ see if you qualify for offers’. When I am just browsing I never click on that option. 

8 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Maybe I‘m looking somewhere different, but through Azamara.co.uk this morning I can go through the booking process to see all stateroom category availability without having  to enter any information 

Same  here also Denise, not asked for any personal details before selecting . Just click on what category cabin I want to look at and the plan comes up with whats available.

4 hours ago, Riocca said:

U.K. system is different in that the travel agent processes the payment into their own account and usually ask for payment from the customer 4 weeks before it’s due to the cruise line. The cruise lines then take the money from the travel agent when payment is due, this is why they ask for the money early as they will cancel the booking if payment isn’t made before the cruise lines due date.

Could these automated payments made by travel agents explain why direct bookers have been forgotten about as they probably are a small proportion of overall bookings.

Fortunately our  small independent travel agent takes my card  details and the payment is processed by Azamara directly. I think this started maybe 6 or 7 years ago. They dont hold any of my monies on behalf of Azamara.

This was extremely  advantageous when covid refunds were being made as mine  came direct to me in a timely manner not via the travel agent.