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First Impressions of a First Time Azamara Cruiser


ChucktownSteve
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We arrived the day before our Edinburgh, Scotland 12 night sailing. We took the 200 bus to Ocean Terminal where our hotel was. We checked in early and walked across the street to tour the H.M. Britannia. It was a nice ship, but not as nice as the Journey as we discovered later. :D

 

We embarked yesterday. We stayed only 5 minute walk from the port terminal. Even though there were no baggage handlers when we walked our checked luggage over at 10am, we were able to convince the person at the door to put our luggage next to the scanners for when they showed up. The terminal is extremely small. We went back to the hotel to check out and strolled back with our walk on luggage. It was either sit at the hotel or sit at the terminal.

 

Here’s where the best first impression was made. It was Hotel Director, Ryszard…called Richard. He and a couple of staff came down the steep gangway stairs carrying cups of cappuccino for those of us waiting to board. He didn’t just give you coffee. He interacted with the guests.

 

Because the ship has a limited number of passengers and the terminal was so small, there was no priority boarding but it wasn’t needed. We actually began boarding at 11:15; much earlier than the suggested 3:15 embarkation time. We had to carry our luggage up the gangway stairway. I took mine up then came back to grab my DW’s. As I first entered the ship, there was Richard. I explained I was going back down to grab my DW’s bag and he asked if I would like for him to have my bag sent to the cabin even though they weren’t ready yet. That was such a thoughtful thing to do. He did the same with her bag once we got into the ship.

 

Check in was actually on the ship in the Cabaret in deck 5. It went very smoothly. Richard said they embarked 300 persons in one hour.

 

Just as a point of reference, my first cruise was in 1984. We've said on several different cruise lines. I achieved Celebrity Captain’s Club Elite status so that makes me Discoverer in Le Club. My DW is Explorer.

 

From the very beginning I found not only the crew to be friendly but so were the other passengers. I never experience that level of interaction on embarkation day from both. Then I realized. This is the culture of Azamara. You can read it on the boards, but until you experience it, you have no idea how it feels. We spent a couple of hours sitting with newly made friends over drinks at the sunset bar just outside the Windows Café. They have been on more than two dozen AZ cruises so we learned a lot from them.

 

The second excellent first impression was when we met out cabin attendant, Hilda. She was so nice and we did our welcome aboard introductions and preferences. It wasn’t because she had to. It was because she wanted us to have a great cruise. We found a welcoming chilled bottle of Taittinger and a fruit bowl. I was surprised about not only receiving the bottle but the upscale brand. We’re just in a regular veranda so I wasn’t expecting anything.

 

After freshening up, we went to Windows Café for Italian & seafood night. The buffet is small but the offerings were very good. Everything was fresh and not overly sauced to hide the real flavor. There was absolutely no problem finding a place to sit along the window. We selected the Café because another line we’ve cruised has almost eliminated seafood. I had mussels, clams, calamari, tiny scallops and curry rice with lobster. Yum

 

Then it was up to the Living Room at 8:45pm to watch sailaway and maneuvering the locks. That was interesting in itself. We positioned parallel to the lock and eased to the starboard until we were centered with the narrow lock. There was only about one to two meters difference between the ship’s beam and the lock’s width.

 

Tonight it was announced that we’ll have a special visitor onboard once we dock at Gdansk. We were originally supposed to have the Azamazing evening that night but it was changed a couple of months ago to the first St. Petersburg night…probably to host the former Polish President, Lech Walesa. He’ll be doing a PowerPoint presentation on his crucial role in the formation of Solidarity and its effect on the former USSR. It will be held in the Cabaret Lounge. They’ve had to rent chairs to accommodate everyone on board to attend. Since Richard is from Gdansk, he arranged the special event. Guests are being requested to submit questions in advance for Mr. Walesa and they’ll randomly select 12 to be asked.

 

I was also told that normally they dock away from the center of town but after much negotiation, Richard was able to get them to hold up two ferries which will give us a 15 minute window to dock right in the center of town. If we don’t hit that window precisely, ten we dock at the regular industrial port.

 

Then it was time to rest up for our first sea day tomorrow. We’re heading to Copenhagen. I’m trying very hard not to compare this sailing to other cruise lines since Azamara stands on its own. Besides, it wouldn’t be fair to those other lines. J

 

BTW I realize regular Azamara cruisers already know what I’ll be experiencing throughout the cruise. I wanted to share my perspective especially with people who have booked but haven’t cruise AZ yet.

Edited by ChucktownSteve
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Thank you for taking the time to share your trip with us. I have my first Azamara cruises for 2018 and second for 2019. It's great to read the reviews of others who are experiencing Azamara for the first time. Have a wonderful trip.

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I second the gratitude for your review. First sailing on Azamara will be in January 2018, so it's great to read others' experiences. I look forward to reading more as your trip progresses. Enjoy!

 

 

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So glad it is all working for you - and you have hit the nail on the head in understanding why regular guests say it is different but find it hard to convince others. - that is until they experience it. All the staff are Ryzards in their own little way, you will get to know some real gems in the days to come. And yes, the guests are different.

 

I am glad you found boarding at our very little terminal not too stressful. We were there the last two days and were onboard for some of the time and I was mighty relieved to see that our local port security represented our city at its best when I was there - efficient, doing their job but friendly helpful and chatty - even if some found their local accents a little tricky!

 

And when you talk about guests being different, it was so sweet when at least two people yesterday stopped me when I was coming off the ship late afternoon with someone elses suitcase (long story not for these boards) to check I was ok and not having to disembark early - and did I know I could get a bus at the corner.... indeed one lady offered me the use of her daysaver she no longer needed. Did not want to say to her but actually I have a free local pass..... But that is the kindness and interaction of Azamara guests

 

Do keep enjoying the cruise and hopefully you will find a few more things that make Azamara different along the way.

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Steve... I feel like saying "we told you so" but I won't.

Glad you are having a great time on Journey and yes, we all agree that Ryzhard is someone very special.

We are having an equally lovely cruise on Quest at the moment and our weather may be a bit better perhaps. It is 34 degs in Bonifacio, Corsica today.

Hope the rest of your cruise is as good as ours has been so far.

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I tried to paste my next segment but CC has some BS verification checking boxes that have buses in them which ate up 10 minutes of my online time.

 

 

First Sea day sailing the North Sea

I awoke long before the DW. I made the coffee run to Mosaic Café. They had a nice selection of small pastry bits. The caffeine is more to my liking. I wound up making two runs today. Then up to the Windows Café for breakfast. It’s a small ship so space is a premium. I wish the space between the two serving sides was wider because when you have people lined up on both sides, it makes it hard to navigate between when people are walking in the middle from both directions while others are maneuvering out of the buffet service as well. That’s not a complaint but an observation.

 

We’re sailing at a good clip. We passed the main oil fields. You could see the rigs lined up in the distance. I attended the Senior Officers Welcome Party while the DW attended the shore excursions presentation. The regular Captain, went on vacation for this cruise. Master Captain Magnus Davidson actually lives in Edinburgh. He said this was the first time he’s been able to walk to work. It took him about 10 minutes in the rain. As soon as he hit the ship’s bridge…it stopped raining. He found that funny.

 

Following, we attended the Lech Walesa Destination enrichment presentation. It was very interesting and a good set up for when he boards later in the week.

 

Now it’s time for lunch. DW ate in the buffet. I went down to Discovery Restaurant because they had freshly made sushi. I selected the varieties I wanted as the chef was making more. Then I took the plate up to W Café to join my spousal unit (SU). Our new friends from NJ were there so we had more good conversation. There’s a lot to do but we don’t feel rushed or the need to attend everything. We are on vacation you know.

 

I walked out to the Patio where they have someone taking your order then they bring it to your table. Everything is freshly cooked, included the free hamburgers made from quality Angus beef. I was told that the hamburgers they serve in the restaurant are made from the filet scraps and freshly ground. They weren’t on the MDR menu today but I’ll watch for it. I suppose they don’t need to pretend it’s Kobe. (nuff said)

 

Tonight is prime rib in the MDR so that trumps the Indian Dinner Buffet. We moved our Prime C reservation to Aqualina later in the week. Although they were booked up already for our preferred time, the wonderful woman handling reservations squeezed us into Aqualina the same day just ½ an hour earlier. The specialty restaurants basically have two seatings that include 6:00, 6:15 and 6:30 then 8:00, 8:15 and 8:30.

 

Upon boarding, I upgraded to the Ultimate package. I received a 15% discount for being a Le Club Discoverer thanks to Captains Club. It saved me $40. I find the packages somewhat confusing though since they list only the brands of acceptable under the package but don’t give a price limit. I believe they’ve implemented a change in the packages which has them still slightly confused. IMHO the drinks prices, if you don’t have a package, are very reasonably priced. JW Black is $6.95. Three drinks a day and you break even on the best package. I like the bartender in the Spirits casino bar. He’s from the Philippines and has a very good personality. We chatted a bit since the casino bar was slow when I first went.

 

 

The ship’s décor is very tasteful and soothing. Last year’s refirb really modernized the feel. When I saw the carpet pictures online I thought they were horrible. They’re not when you look at them in perspective while in the area. They blend well, the pattern holds up and I find it appealing. Just like me, I look better in person than in a picture. ;-)

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Backing up a moment since I forgot to enter this in my first post when arriving in Edinburgh. I was lucky to find out about the bus system because someone else on my roll call emailed the hotel and they gave great information on how to get to them. As a result, I downloaded the app on both my and my SU’s smart phone. Then I bought tickets ahead of time with my credit card. I shared one of the tickets with my SU’s phone because the bus line does not allow two tickets on one phone.

All I we had to do was show the app to the driver. The purchase had already been converted by my credit card so I didn’t need and pounds. BTW I anyone needs an adult single ticket good until 23/1/2018? I’ll be happy to transfer it to you. I needed to buy it to hit their minimum purchase. But it’s not a problem. I felt the 4.5 pound pp well worth the transfer to the hotel.

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Here’s where the best first impression was made. It was Hotel Director, Ryszard…called Richard. He and a couple of staff came down the steep gangway stairs carrying cups of cappuccino for those of us waiting to board. He didn’t just give you coffee. He interacted with the guests.

 

From the very beginning I found not only the crew to be friendly but so were the other passengers. I never experience that level of interaction on embarkation day from both. Then I realized. This is the culture of Azamara. You can read it on the boards, but until you experience it, you have no idea how it feels. We spent a couple of hours sitting with newly made friends over drinks at the sunset bar just outside the Windows Café. They have been on more than two dozen AZ cruises so we learned a lot from them.

 

The second excellent first impression was when we met out cabin attendant, Hilda. She was so nice and we did our welcome aboard introductions and preferences. It wasn’t because she had to. It was because she wanted us to have a great cruise. We found a welcoming chilled bottle of Taittinger and a fruit bowl. I was surprised about not only receiving the bottle but the upscale brand. We’re just in a regular veranda so I wasn’t expecting anything.

 

BTW I realize regular Azamara cruisers already know what I’ll be experiencing throughout the cruise. I wanted to share my perspective especially with people who have booked but haven’t cruise AZ yet.

 

 

I'm glad you are having such a good experience. Yours is very different compared to our cruise that ended on Tuesday, the British Open cruise.

 

As I said in my "First Thoughts" thread, it wasn't that it was bad service. But it was no better than anything we've experienced on any other cruise line. Through the roll call we became friendly with another couple that was also on their first Azamara sailing. The wife said that based on everything she'd heard, she had anticipated Azamara would be their "final" cruise line, and she was as disappointed as I was. Well, "disappointed" may not be the correct word... perhaps surprised, because we were expecting much more friendly and personal service.

 

I did notice more of an effort by the staff, at least towards me, after I commented about the service on the mid-cruise survey. I appreciate they take the comments seriously, but I just wish I hadn't needed to bring it to their attention.

 

That being said, we booked another PerryGolf cruise while onboard for 2018. When comparing our cruise on Azamara with our cruise on Oceania, I preferred Oceania, but Azamara has some great itineraries, and this cruise is a good value with the "Nights on Us" sale. Plus of course PerryGolf only sails with Azamara. I hope next year we feel we receive the true Azamara experience that keeps so many coming back.

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I am glad you found boarding at our very little terminal not too stressful. We were there the last two days and were onboard for some of the time and I was mighty relieved to see that our local port security represented our city at its best when I was there - efficient, doing their job but friendly helpful and chatty - even if some found their local accents a little tricky!

 

 

 

.

 

 

If I can chime in, not just your local port security staff made a great impression on us two days ago.

 

We were returning on the shuttle bus and running a bit late with the goal of still seeing HMY Britannia.

 

I asked the gentleman driving the shuttle as to the most efficient route from the port entrance.

 

Descended from the bus, to our surprise an official greeted us at the port entry and proceeded to personally guide us. The shuttle driver had called ahead to enlist his aid for us.

 

In another thread, I'll have more to say about the wonderful city of Edinburgh and its citizens.

 

 

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Hey Phil, Hilda says Happy Birthday.

 

Yesterday I actually played trivia. I usually don’t. It was show tunes and I didn’t do very well but got some of the older, harder ones. I missed the easy ones.

Last night we ate in Discoveries. .It wasn’t very enjoyable. But it was our fault. We went at the busiest time and were seated near the entrance. It was extremely noisy because the low ceiling bounced everything. Lesson learned. The food was very good. We had the Prime Rib rare and shared the coconut shrimp. The dessert I had was the chocolate ganache. . Most excellent. It was surrounded by pieces of dark chocolate. I took a pic but it would eat up too much internet time to post here. Dinner service only took about an hour which was much less than I was expecting. So it was very efficient at their busiest time.

 

The entertainer last night was comedian Mel Mellers. He’s a friendly audience insulter. He was funny in a corny way but enjoyable to us. I’m sure many people would have an opposite opinion. But then again, they’d probably have higher expectations.

We’re sailing into Copenhagen under overcast skies this morning. (we’re six hours ahead of EDT) Rain is expected today when we dock at 1pm. We’re spending an overnight here so I’m sure we’ll find times that it’s not raining.

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Thank you for the ongoing review, ChucktownSteve. I have enjoyed your observations and sometimes acerbic wit on Celebrity threads and when I saw you had started a review here on Azamara, I clicked. Being as we are booked to make our first Azamara cruise on the Quest this coming Jan. 2018, I am in the target audience. My interest and anticipation are piqued.

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Thank you for the ongoing review, ChucktownSteve. I have enjoyed your observations and sometimes acerbic wit on Celebrity threads and when I saw you had started a review here on Azamara, I clicked. Being as we are booked to make our first Azamara cruise on the Quest this coming Jan. 2018, I am in the target audience. My interest and anticipation are piqued.

Same here. We have a Celebrity Millennium to Alaska next June (with kids 20 & 18) and just booked the Southeast Asia Azamara for October 2019. Always like getting perspectives from people who move from the mass market lines to boutique lines.

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68ecc21c08b836b5774460d129e52fd1.jpg

 

394bc9aa8f1d4f647d3dd1d67ec6861e.jpg

 

Two views of you leaving Leith on Tuesday night Steve - unusually clear evening, the Forth Bridges are in the background of one.

 

 

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Nice photos; having been on Journey and living in Edinburgh we came to Ocean Terminal on way home on Sunday evening to welcome everyone on board with a wave as the ship docked - unfortunately it was unable to dock at the port as it has before, so I doubt we were seen! Hope you all are having a great time.

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Nice work on the review ChucktownSteve! I'm rather envious as we were supposed to be on this cruise, staying in a lovely club ocean suite, but my husband broke his hip 2 weeks ago so we had to cancel at the last minute.

Azamara were very good with us, as was our excellent TA, and between us all we managed to negotiate moving the trip to another Azamara cruise, with some change fees. Hubby had surgery, hip replaced, well on the mend, so should be right to go soon.

 

Anyway, we have friends on the trip who we are missing greatly as we should have been on the trip with them, but I'm sure they are having fun. I'm very jealous of Lech Walesa in Gdansk - that should be interesting.

I hope you are having fun - our friends texted us to say it wasn't such a nice day in Copenhagen today - I'm sure you will make the best of it. Enjoy, and keep going with the updates, very interesting thank you.

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Teknodude, so sorry to hear the cruise had to be cancelled. I hope your spousal unit mends quickly. I’m not surprised that AZ worked with you and your TA after what I’ve seen while onboard. Great for you.

 

Today was periods of heavy rain. We did the HOHO bus from the mermaid statue stop but found out when we got off, we could have walked less to the woman who change her four sons into oxen to plow the area that is now Copenhagen. Beautiful fountain and statute just one minute’s walk from where we docked close in. We have the Viking Ocean cruise ship docked here too but we’re closer. :D

I went up for a drink in Sunset Bar and watched the lightning strikes and rain. Back in the cabin about 6pm and its so heavy, I can’t see past the first tree line from my cabin.

 

I wish I could post some pictures. The view from our cabin while docked is almost like overlooking a mini version of Central Park if you’re from the NYC area.

 

I chatted with a great couple from down under on our roll call while it was raining at the Sunset Bar. Everyone is so friendly. We have a CC roll call set up for 31 people with a St. Petersburg tour company for three full days and that has made the cruise even better with all the personal connects.

 

That’s what makes CC so good for cruisers. If you’re sailing and have not joined your roll call, DO IT.

While typing this, the rain is so heavy that even the satellite TV is going out.

 

I will admit that I have not found anything worth complaining about. AZ is that good to me. I’m no Pollyanna and am not afraid to point out things less than good. I may find something later, but at this point I’m not expecting it or anticipating it.

 

We’re going to try the Discoveries restaurant tonight, just not as late. The Windows Café is doing Mediterranean.

The internet has not been as cooperative as earlier in the cruise. I guess more people have gotten online.

 

OK back from dinner and a show. Having learned from last night’s experience, we went to the MDR at 6:45 and requested a window table, telling them that we’re willing to wait. We met some really nice people in the Discoveries Bar. Then at 7:30 we were led to our table. It was far aft right in the center with a fabulous view!!!! It pays to be patient.

 

I learned something else new. PAY ATTENTION to the Chef’s special! Say it again so you don’t forget. I don’t need to talk about the appetizers. The Chef’s Featured Dish of the Day was Tasting Beef and Veal Tenderloin!!! OMG. It was so tender I could cut it with a fork. But more importantly, it was cooked to proper temperature AND the mushroom sauce was beneath the medallions. There was no need to disguise the flavor because the meat stood on its own… unlike another un-named recently demoted mass market sister cruise line. ;-) I will always ask from now on about the Chef’s featured dish of the day! Tonight’s dinner ranks up there with some of the best at sea cuisine and it was in the MDR without having to pay extra for a specialty restaurant.

I like that Azamara doesn’t have to push their pay restaurants. They don’t diminish the quality of the other food to force it. I’ll let you know later in the week what I think about Aqualina.

We went to the show with CD Tony as the headliner. At first I wasn’t too thrilled. But within a couple of songs he won me over. What I realized was Tony is the consummate performer. He has an incredible voice and is a great showman. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t hear him miss a note either and he had a wide vocal range. Job well done.

 

I’m not trying to be a cheerleader. I’m just really enjoying what I see, do and eat.

Well now here’s the speed bump or two. If you buy the ultimate drinks package (which I believe is well worth it if you drink top shelf) make sure you carry around the sheet of brands included in the package until they’re familiar with the new packages.

 

It seems they changed the three packages to two while moving some from the middle package down and some brands to the Ultimate package. Some have been included that weren’t included in any package before. But the computers aren’t adjusted. I have ordered a top shelf bourbon and several servers at multiple bars tell me it’s not included. Then I showed them the sheet and they have to check with the supervisor. I’ve not yet been charged but I had the proof. Just a word of caution.

 

The other hiccup is the excursions. I don’t usually book the cruise ship’s excursions. But this time I did book one in Helsinki once I boarded. The pre-booking with OBC wasn’t available and we were told book it, pay cash then get on board and cancel then re-book at possibly a higher excursion price. I decided to wait and not go through the convoluted system. Well tonight I received a notice that my excursion was cancelled for lack of participation. Oh well, another lost opportunity for AZ. Maybe it will be better once they get all the kinks worked out of the new system that they’re working on. I did like the excursion dude DJ though. He has a great personality.

 

Well the weather cleared up during dinner and we got to see a sea plane taxi on the water right outside our window at dinner. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice day so we can continue the HOHO bus which also included a water tour.

 

If these posts are too long let me know and I can leave a lot of detail out.

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We have the Viking Ocean cruise ship docked here too but we’re closer. :D

 

 

I think you'll find that as a general rule -- and the same with Oceania parking farther away than Azamara. We were always at the most desirable location on our Norwegian Fjords cruise.

 

If these posts are too long let me know and I can leave a lot of detail out.

 

Not at all! Please keep on with this great review.

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I think you'll find that as a general rule -- and the same with Oceania parking farther away than Azamara. We were always at the most desirable location on our Norwegian Fjords cruise.

 

 

 

Not at all! Please keep on with this great review.

 

I think he was referring to a Viking ship and those are larger ships and I have noticed that they cannot dock in the same places as Azamara. You probably know more about Oceania, but those ships are the same size and "could" dock as close.

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I learned something else new. PAY ATTENTION to the Chef’s special! Say it again so you don’t forget. I will always ask from now on about the Chef’s featured dish of the day!

 

A new thing I noticed on my last cruse is that the Chef special and the Destination choice are now included in a seperate menu. This means you can eaily READ instead of waiting for the server to tell them. I liked this new change.

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Teknodude, so sorry to hear the cruise had to be cancelled. I hope your spousal unit mends quickly. I’m not surprised that AZ worked with you and your TA after what I’ve seen while onboard. Great for you.

 

Today was periods of heavy rain. We did the HOHO bus from the mermaid statue stop but found out when we got off, we could have walked less to the woman who change her four sons into oxen to plow the area that is now Copenhagen. Beautiful fountain and statute just one minute’s walk from where we docked close in. We have the Viking Ocean cruise ship docked here too but we’re closer. :D

I went up for a drink in Sunset Bar and watched the lightning strikes and rain. Back in the cabin about 6pm and its so heavy, I can’t see past the first tree line from my cabin.

 

I wish I could post some pictures. The view from our cabin while docked is almost like overlooking a mini version of Central Park if you’re from the NYC area.

 

I chatted with a great couple from down under on our roll call while it was raining at the Sunset Bar. Everyone is so friendly. We have a CC roll call set up for 31 people with a St. Petersburg tour company for three full days and that has made the cruise even better with all the personal connects.

 

That’s what makes CC so good for cruisers. If you’re sailing and have not joined your roll call, DO IT.

While typing this, the rain is so heavy that even the satellite TV is going out.

 

I will admit that I have not found anything worth complaining about. AZ is that good to me. I’m no Pollyanna and am not afraid to point out things less than good. I may find something later, but at this point I’m not expecting it or anticipating it.

 

We’re going to try the Discoveries restaurant tonight, just not as late. The Windows Café is doing Mediterranean.

The internet has not been as cooperative as earlier in the cruise. I guess more people have gotten online.

 

OK back from dinner and a show. Having learned from last night’s experience, we went to the MDR at 6:45 and requested a window table, telling them that we’re willing to wait. We met some really nice people in the Discoveries Bar. Then at 7:30 we were led to our table. It was far aft right in the center with a fabulous view!!!! It pays to be patient.

 

I learned something else new. PAY ATTENTION to the Chef’s special! Say it again so you don’t forget. I don’t need to talk about the appetizers. The Chef’s Featured Dish of the Day was Tasting Beef and Veal Tenderloin!!! OMG. It was so tender I could cut it with a fork. But more importantly, it was cooked to proper temperature AND the mushroom sauce was beneath the medallions. There was no need to disguise the flavor because the meat stood on its own… unlike another un-named recently demoted mass market sister cruise line. ;-) I will always ask from now on about the Chef’s featured dish of the day! Tonight’s dinner ranks up there with some of the best at sea cuisine and it was in the MDR without having to pay extra for a specialty restaurant.

 

I like that Azamara doesn’t have to push their pay restaurants. They don’t diminish the quality of the other food to force it. I’ll let you know later in the week what I think about Aqualina.

We went to the show with CD Tony as the headliner. At first I wasn’t too thrilled. But within a couple of songs he won me over. What I realized was Tony is the consummate performer. He has an incredible voice and is a great showman. I didn’t expect that. I didn’t hear him miss a note either and he had a wide vocal range. Job well done.

 

I’m not trying to be a cheerleader. I’m just really enjoying what I see, do and eat.

Well now here’s the speed bump or two. If you buy the ultimate drinks package (which I believe is well worth it if you drink top shelf) make sure you carry around the sheet of brands included in the package until they’re familiar with the new packages.

 

It seems they changed the three packages to two while moving some from the middle package down and some brands to the Ultimate package. Some have been included that weren’t included in any package before. But the computers aren’t adjusted. I have ordered a top shelf bourbon and several servers at multiple bars tell me it’s not included. Then I showed them the sheet and they have to check with the supervisor. I’ve not yet been charged but I had the proof. Just a word of caution.

 

The other hiccup is the excursions. I don’t usually book the cruise ship’s excursions. But this time I did book one in Helsinki once I boarded. The pre-booking with OBC wasn’t available and we were told book it, pay cash then get on board and cancel then re-book at possibly a higher excursion price. I decided to wait and not go through the convoluted system. Well tonight I received a notice that my excursion was cancelled for lack of participation. Oh well, another lost opportunity for AZ. Maybe it will be better once they get all the kinks worked out of the new system that they’re working on. I did like the excursion dude DJ though. He has a great personality.

 

Well the weather cleared up during dinner and we got to see a sea plane taxi on the water right outside our window at dinner. Hopefully tomorrow will be a nice day so we can continue the HOHO bus which also included a water tour.

 

If these posts are too long let me know and I can leave a lot of detail out.

 

I too am enjoying your review.

I'll pass along your observation that the onboard servers need a refresher in which brands are included on the new Ultimate Package. Thank you!

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Bonnie, it’s not so much the crew needs the refresher but that the computers need to be adjusted to include the package brand changes. When the server inputs some of the brands, it comes up as not included. Then they have to confirm with a supervisor to get the permission to serve it without charge. As I discussed with one bartender, according to the computer, the top shelf bourbon (Booker’s and Basil Hayden’s) I was ordering is priced at $7.95 and not included in the package while the Domaine Chandon Brute, is priced at $12, but is included. Too bad Johnny Walker Platinum or BLUE are not included in the Ultimate Package. ;-)

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