| Porthole 02 May 22

THERE could have been a little bit of a crisis for some of the Australians on board Azamara Onward over the weekend as she cruised the Mediterranean.

The pre-inaugural voyage from Barcelona to Monaco has come as the ship wrapped up a USD$50 million upgrade, and supply chain issues have inevitably meant deliveries of some items have come down to the wire.

In particular something that didn’t quite make it on board were the hair dryers – not an issue for the “follicularly challenged” Cruise Weekly writer on board – but for some of the agents with more lustrous locks it could have presented a challenge.

“As with any big project such as a complete revitalisation of a ship there are challenges,” Azamara admitted in a hair dryer advisory to guests in the lead up to boarding.

However trustworthy Director of Sales, Belle Osmic, was her usual unflappable self and managed the crisis with aplomb by bringing several hair dryers on board to help out with any coiffure crises.

Meanwhile, cruise director Eric De Gray was more pragmatic, advising guests to take a selfie when they jumped on board “because it’s the best you’re going to look for the next few days”.