Just back from first Azamara cruise!

Hi everyone, perhaps some of you saw my tweets...I will post a detailed review when I get some time but for now, willing to answer questions. We enjoyed our first Azamara experience enough to book another next year! Overall impressions: service excellent, food good, included wines not very good (we found the Reds more drinkable than the whites and were very glad sparkling wine is now included), veranda cabin small and bathroom tiny (not a surprise if you know the R ships) but nicely appointed, new decor is beautiful, particularly the carpets, Living Room is a beautiful space and the Tapas is a wonderful offering. Our 30th Anniversary was feted very nicely with cabin decorations, champagne and a lovely cake presented at our Chef's Table dinner. Loved the burgers at the Patio, the Dim Sum buffet at one lunch and the soups in particular. Loved the intimacy of the ship!

sounds like you loved the ship. funny, we must know our reds. I prefer more full bodied wines than offered .than to buy a bottle or two each cruise.

Yes, I followed your tweets and was pleased to say that in some ports we served some decent weather (Liverpool)

Was this cruise a charter (Perry Golf) as I hadn't seen it advertised as a Round British Isles.

Looking forward to your review!

Eileen,

I was following your tweets and it was obvious that you were having a great time.

Don't drink white wine but thought the reds on our recent Journey cruise were pretty good. Sparkling wine was added on the cruise following ours and is a very welcome addition. Something else for us to enjoy on our Sepember voyage.

Looking forward to your review. Welcome home.

Upward UK -- We had absolutely gorgeous weather in Liverpool and we were very lucky with the weather overall -- some rain in Scotland and Isle of Man but not enough to ruin the experience (in fact, part of the experience!) And I think we actually had at least some sunshine every day of the cruise! Weather was nice enough that I spent more time on deck than I thought I would and actually needed sunscreen. Actually were able to have two room service breakfasts on our balcony while we were at sea, that's how nice the weather was.

This was not a charter -- it is was a regular Azamara Irish Seas Cruise with a Perry Golf package add on. They do this on about five cruises a year. There were about 130 people on the Golf portion. Husband enjoyed the golf very much, it was well organized (the Perry Golf team was on board) and we had several cocktail parties for the group. We have booked the Baltic cruise with the golf package for next August.

Ooh, a dim sum buffet! Looking forward to that!

As for the included wines, if they are terrible, I presume there's a selection of decent to good wines for sale at non-exorbitant prices. Or I can just have a gin and tonic, or the sparkling water that's now included. Can you get a cocktail in the dining room, or not btw?

Ooh, a dim sum buffet! Looking forward to that!

 

As for the included wines, if they are terrible, I presume there's a selection of decent to good wines for sale at non-exorbitant prices. Or I can just have a gin and tonic, or the sparkling water that's now included. Can you get a cocktail in the dining room, or not btw?

you can have a gin and tonic anytime. .either the include well gin- no sure of brand or pay for your favorite . I pay for my favorite vodka. wine is for sale- varies in price from around $45 to $112 and they have Penfolds Grange for $550. yes to water. i get bottles water with my martini's all the time.

Ooh, a dim sum buffet! Looking forward to that!

 

As for the included wines, if they are terrible, I presume there's a selection of decent to good wines for sale at non-exorbitant prices. Or I can just have a gin and tonic, or the sparkling water that's now included. Can you get a cocktail in the dining room, or not btw?

Wendy, I have always found the wines perfectly acceptable and now they offer two whites and two reds a day there is an even better chance of getting one I like. The standard pour gin is Beefeater and the vodka either Smirnoff or Finlandia. For me the mixers play a big part and sometimes you can luck out and get Schweppes. Other times it's Royal Club which is a bit sweet for my tastes. I often end up with vodka soda. Any of the included drinks from any of the bars during their opening times.

Phil

You can also have Gordons on the standard pour if you ask and they have it onboard. Just recheck before your first order if it is still included (it was in April) and then any time you order a G and T tell the server you want Gordons if that matters for you.

You can also have Gordons on the standard pour if you ask and they have it onboard. Just recheck before your first order if it is still included (it was in April) and then any time you order a G and T tell the server you want Gordons if that matters for you.

You are obviously a seasoned Azamara cruiser and I would appreciate it if you can answer a question for me as we are about to embark on our first Azamara Journey next month. I appreciate that drinks are inclusive but they only seem to mention wines, beers and spirits; are cocktails included?:)

Thanks.

You are obviously a seasoned Azamara cruiser and I would appreciate it if you can answer a question for me as we are about to embark on our first Azamara Journey next month. I appreciate that drinks are inclusive but they only seem to mention wines, beers and spirits; are cocktails included?:)

 

Thanks.

Go to the link below. This should help answer your question. :)

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/booked-guests/onboard-packages/complimentary-beverages

You are obviously a seasoned Azamara cruiser and I would appreciate it if you can answer a question for me as we are about to embark on our first Azamara Journey next month. I appreciate that drinks are inclusive but they only seem to mention wines, beers and spirits; are cocktails included?:)

 

Thanks.

The short answer is "Yes."

All -- regarding our beverage experience: the white wine we prefer is Chardonnay and even though there are two reds and two whites offered each day, there were many days when a Chardonnay wasn't offered and the few that were offered were not to our liking, my husband likened it to "Two Buck Chuck." But no worries, we always found something to drink :) either a red or a sparkling (so pleased it is now included!) I thought the included list of cocktails was very extensive -- where we sometimes purchased a drink was after dinner as drinks such as Grand Marnier, Sidecars, French 75's are additional. Although I did find an included drink that I liked for after dinner -- a Vodka Stinger which is vodka and crème de menthe, it's now a new favorite!

We also like good beer and thought we'd end up purchasing beer on board but to be honest, we were having so many good beers during the land portion of the trip before embarking as well as port visits (I think we together we tried 15 different beers total) that we ended up being fine with the Beck's.

We only ended up purchasing one bottle of wine the whole trip and our total beverage bill for the cruise was less than $100. AND the wines included with the Chef's Table were enjoyable, I encourage everyone to do the Chef's table it's a worthwhile experience and fun way to meet new people.

I hope this post does not make me sound like I have a drinking problem. We do like to indulge on vacations but not to the point where I couldn't do a 9 hour tour of Scotland the next day :)

Ooh, a dim sum buffet! Looking forward to that!

 

As for the included wines, if they are terrible, I presume there's a selection of decent to good wines for sale at non-exorbitant prices. Or I can just have a gin and tonic, or the sparkling water that's now included. Can you get a cocktail in the dining room, or not btw?

The wines are fine, not "terrible."

Yes, you can get cocktails.

You are obviously a seasoned Azamara cruiser and I would appreciate it if you can answer a question for me as we are about to embark on our first Azamara Journey next month. I appreciate that drinks are inclusive but they only seem to mention wines, beers and spirits; are cocktails included?:)

 

Thanks.

My liver has decided to post the answer "regrettably yes"

Long Island Iced Tea. Oh boy!:o. They make them strong.

Phil

".....the white wine we prefer is Chardonnay and even though there are two reds and two whites offered each day, there were many days when a Chardonnay wasn't offered......"

Unless things have changed since our last sailing, you can always request a wine and the wait staff will happily oblige.

".....the white wine we prefer is Chardonnay and even though there are two reds and two whites offered each day, there were many days when a Chardonnay wasn't offered......"

 

 

 

Unless things have changed since our last sailing, you can always request a wine and the wait staff will happily oblige.

That was certainly the case last Autumn on the Quest. I prefer Sauvignon blanc and managed to get it most days.

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".....the white wine we prefer is Chardonnay and even though there are two reds and two whites offered each day, there were many days when a Chardonnay wasn't offered......"

 

Unless things have changed since our last sailing, you can always request a wine and the wait staff will happily oblige.

I will check if this is still the case given that they have now increased the range of daily offerings to two wines of each colour, the price for that may have been no going off order. If they have the balance of the two wines right (and I suspect that will be something they are working on) we should all be able to find something that suits our palate but it will not be down to always being able to have a particular grape.

Will post back from our cruise what the position is

I will check if this is still the case given that they have now increased the range of daily offerings to two wines of each colour, the price for that may have been no going off order. If they have the balance of the two wines right (and I suspect that will be something they are working on) we should all be able to find something that suits our palate but it will not be down to always being able to have a particular grape.

Will post back from our cruise what the position is

Think you are probably right Ann that the increased choice may mean it is more difficult to have previous favourite offerings. I might still ask though very politely particularly if I know the server well.

However we now have a choice of six wines to select from, two reds, two whites, a rose and the long awaited and appreciated sparkling. Think the majority of guests would find something they would be happy to drink every day

However we now have a choice of six wines to select from, two reds, two whites, a rose and the long awaited and appreciated sparkling. Think the majority of guests would find something they would be happy to drink every day

I would think so, too. But I suspect there will be someone who won't be satisfied unless presented at each meal with a list of twenty included wines to choose from.

"Our 30th Anniversary was feted very nicely with cabin decorations, champagne and a lovely cake presented at our Chef's Table dinner."

We were on the same cruise...... Our anniversary we got decorations which I very much appreciated but no champers or cake. Were you in a suite?

"Our 30th Anniversary was feted very nicely with cabin decorations, champagne and a lovely cake presented at our Chef's Table dinner."

 

We were on the same cruise...... Our anniversary we got decorations which I very much appreciated but no champers or cake. Were you in a suite?

I see lots of cakes in Prime C. but not champagne. maybe that was special ordered by someone. cakes are pretty common on ship. too sweet for me. but the idea is great.

Sorry for the delay in posting, was out of town. I wasn't aware we got something "extra" for our anniversary but now that is nice to know. Quite frankly, it's possible that my Azamara Tweets had something to do with it (I do know that Larry Pimental and others from Azamara were following me and the champagne was sent by the Hospitality Manager). Or Perry Golf notified Azamara because they were aware as well. Anyway, it was VERY nice of them and VERY much appreciated.

My review is finally posted in the member reviews session in case you haven't had a chance to take a look!

We are booked next year for Baltic on Journey August 1, 2017. Glad we did it onboard because our category was almost sold out one year in advance!