TravelBugM

uktog - Excellent overview. We were with you on the first leg (sorry we missed you) - Singapore to Singapore - and we were the last diners to enjoy the beautiful setting in Aqualina. We agree with your assessment of the entertainment - probably a little harsher regarding Riviera Sounds and the new female keyboardist. Completely agree with your feelings about the service - our cabin attendants were amazing - what we have previously experienced on Azamara. The wait staff were mostly the same wonderful standard, but there are cracks beginning to show.

We are in your camp regarding another cruise with Azamara - never say never. It has been a wonderful experience, but we think it's time to seriously consider something else.

The local bus from Giardini Naxos to/from Taormina is an experience not to miss. Cheap and cheerful. You can use euro to buy your return tickets from the driver. The bus stop is a short walk to the right after getting off the tender. The "bus station" is a little longer walk into Taormina proper, maybe 10 minutes, but nothing strenuous or dangerous.

Point taken Sprusgirl, indeed it is the guests that is bearing the brunt and being ripped off.

The new pianist pales in comparison to Max. There is no comparison. Max had stage presence, great repertoire, and was a fabulous pianist. And when we ran into him around the ship, we enjoyed chatting with him.

For sometime I have been talking about the price increases and the dumbing down of the onboard experience however I think there will be enough of the Azamara 'loyalists' to satisfy the bean counters so will not make any difference however much you complain on this board.

I am in agreement with you Belfastman. At least this is the attitude AZ seems to have at the moment. But is that shortsightedness? Let's see what the long term results are.

We are just off Journey and, while we don't cruise for the entertainment, what we did experience, we felt was not good.

We caught a few songs at the end of White Nights when we came back from Bangkok and our hearts went out to Eric. He was working so hard. Aside from the young male singer (sorry forget his name which is too bad as he is fabulous) the others were not good. Wrong notes, harmonies off, bad timing, etc. It was admitted to us by the Director of Guest Relations that "they have a lot of work to do".

There is a young woman playing keyboard around the ship and with the band who looks so frightened she would cry if you said boo. She is not a good pianist and we are baffled as to why she would be hired when there are so many pianists out there.

We experienced Riviera Sounds in The Living Room one evening pre dinner. The female singers' English is not good which might explain her poor interpretation of songs. What was palpable however, was the negative vibe between the trio. No interaction whatsoever and, at the end of the set, the singer grabbed her bag and literally ran off stage and out of the room.

The opera quartet sang at the LCV Loyalty event and, while the voices were good, the choice of music was odd. We both have extensive opera experience and were unfamiliar with the repertoire. There are plenty of light, familiar opera quartets and duets which would have been familiar to the audience and more appropriate. And a short intro explanation to set the stage would go a long way - what opera, by whom, characters, what has happened thus far, etc.

In our discussion with the Director of Guest Relations he noted that the entertainment budget had not been cut, it was the same as previous. My brain to mouth filter was not on, obviously, and I told him we felt Azamara was being ripped off if this was the quality of entertainment. He also mentioned that the head of entertainment from Miami was on board and we later saw her and Eric chatting in the Card Room and heard Eric mention they needed to go as they had a meeting with the Captain. I am sure ears are being filled from top to bottom of the feelings regarding the "new" entertainment.

And the problem is, the amazing crews on Journey and Quest are receiving the brunt of everyone's frustrations which are a direct result of all the negative changes being made by the "bean counters".

We've just gotten off Quest and there was most definitely a different "feel" on the ship vs our Journey sailing last fall. The changes are weighing heavy.

Another small change which might go unnoticed by some is at breakfast in Windows there are no longer crew who roam with the coffee carafe to refill cups. If you wanted another coffee, you were brought a fresh cup (no saucer). We started getting and refilling our own cofee to ease the load of the crew.

Best posted on the Roll Call for this cruise. I believe this is it:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2587095

The Florence outlet mall is discussed extensively on Trip Advisor with many varying opinions. We opted not to go, but did visit the Prada outlet - Space - which was a great experience.

We were the last 4-some in Aqualina having dinner with the "old" furniture. We had done exactly as was mentioned earlier, both having reservations for 2, decided to combine at the last minute. The staff were removing all the chairs as we were finishing our meal. Loved the old furniture.

rabin1 - What exactly was the reason given for the cancellation?

Self serve laundry is free of charge. There is also laundry detergent which is now scent free and suitable for sensitive skin (which I have and have no problems).

There are also 2 irons and boards and a collection of laundry bins.

Usually quite a jovial spot!

I like the body wash and moisturizer. The soap bars are also nice. I have sensitive skin and have no problems. I take my own face wash, shampoo and conditioner. There's also a supply of puffs and Q-tips as well as facial tissue.

The water itself is soft.

There is also a nice terry robe and slippers.

There are luggage lockers at various stations around Lisbon:

https://www.cp.pt/passageiros/en/passenger-information/Useful-information/luggage-lockers

Thanks lahore. Happy endings are very nice.

I've just reprinted my e-Docs and the port in Singapore is now correct!!!

So, confirmed this has not been a dream. Have revised confirmation from our TA and our e-Docs have our new suite noted!!!

Roomy bathroom here we come!

Thank you all for your kind words. We are quite giddy with anticipation.

So looking forward to the "roomy bathroom"!!!

I wanted to share with everyone that Azamara has just called me directly and we have been upgraded for our upcoming cruise - free of charge! We are 5 sleeps away from leaving for our trip and this news has us over the moon!

Mark from LCV was very apologetic regarding the handling of the previous upgrade call and, when I asked if AZ wanted the return of the apology $50 OBC, he laughed and said of course not. He thanked us for our loyalty to AZ and wished us a wonderful voyage.

Azamara has redeemed itself in my eyes.

Now if they can only correct the error on our e-Docs regarding embarkation port in Singapore, all will be right with the world!!!

I am hoping this thread does not deteriorate to the point of being shut down like my previous on the same subject.

rabin1 - We were only trying to be helpful by providing past first hand experience as an alternative.

rabin1 - Why not just print your luggage tags? As I've mentioned, they really are not at all necessary.

I believe the porters also have a manifest, so will be able to confirm your cabin number.

Will try to do that. In the meantime, search the Forum as this has been discussed previously and examples posted.

We never print luggage tags. Just show our e-Doc to the porter and they print the room on the tag and stick it on our bags. No problems.

Yes, the daily newsletter is now called Insider. More compact that the previous version.

I have all the copies from our last cruise on board Journey. Was there something specific you were interested in?