uktog

I read somewhere that Dondra was involved in the establishment of Azamara and was part of defining the original vision.

What is described above is predominantly only relevant in the ship within a ship context and not in a smaller all suite vessel. I would only be looking for No 2, 14 and 19 in my must list I hate the "gated community" special areas exclusive use concept, I am only happy with a butler if they fully understand I hardly need them and not to be over attentive (being responsive if I call is fine), No 12 I am looking for the absolute opposite, I do not want a wham bang course, next course, next course experience, I want the same kind of evening dining experience as I get at our favourite 5 star hotel, but absolutely no need to have the same wait staff, in fact I think variety is healthy

Just to say our last river cruise was Scenic from Bordeaux - as I recall they had people leaving in taxis from 0500 as they tend not to use coaches. They do all their own handling of baggage. Loved that river cruise it was a wonderful experience (sorry to hijack the thread)

Agree we went there to an "amazing evening" equivalent on our river cruise it was very interesting and unique

A fun thing to do in Bordeaux is La Cite du Vin. Someone described it as wine meets Epcot. We spent a very enjoyable few hours there and it would tick the vineyard box in a different way. Bordeaux tram network is excellent and the one to La Cite is direct from beside the hotel. The cathedrals are also lovely Whatever you choose enjoy!

I absolutely hated Yacht Club and am delighted to learn that EJ might not be like that. For us, YC was an over promise spin but under deliver substandard experience, the butlers are not well trained and the dining room were incapable of handling food intolerances with the general food offering no better than we have seen on Celebrity on Virtuoso when we sailed I believe if you have dietary requirements, EJ can have special meals prepared by ordering in advance. What they cannot do is spin something out without prior warning. So no issue for a plain eater if need be. As I have absolutely no need for a reserved seating area either inside or outside, other benchmarks quoted are irrelevant. We are used to looking after ourselves even during our holiday so prefer not to have a butler so have made a room choice based on that. But I do suspect I am in the live to eat category so that bodes well.

Bordeaux "dockside" to the airport is about an hour. Bordeaux Airport is small and be aware if any of your flight process involves Air France, they are very inflexible about timings. There is not an actual terminal at Bordeaux ( we have come off river cruises there that disembark at the same spot) It is more a tent on the pier. Whether agents or handlers are there early I do not know Are you in Bordeaux the day before- I ask this because its a tidal river and certainly on the river boat (we actually docked three times in Bordeaux, never once did the port authorities bring us in at the agreed town. Personally I would take a night in Bordeaux, its a fabulous city we have had a few weekend breaks there - and the Intercontinental Hotel is wonderful and right in the heart of town

The future direction will be interesting

Travel Weekly is reporting Carol Cabezas has left. Dan Hanrahan is taking a leadership role with Dondra Ritzenthaler ex Celebrity as CEO https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Dondra-Ritzenthaler-to-join-Azamara-CEO?fbclid=IwAR2O9om-xsNhVgnDwA8xlNf9WxtyADEGH32Ev10NSoUydMbh7svqeecl3L4

Only 12 - she’s a lightweight 😂😂😂

I can only use my own mouse if I’m using one can never use other people’s

Spot on, not a place for a relaxing evening. It’s kangaroo dining hop up hop down hop up….. I don’t want to have to tax my brain on the plate 1 plate 2 timing logistics. If they had runners who did this for me I might be interested one night but that would be it As we didn’t like Yacht Club at all Explora may well suit us just fine, if we had read it as an extension of MSC YC we would not have even booked

But there is a trio band (not the orchestra) in the Living Room on Deck 10 every night

I dont possess 12 suitcases. Can I still cruise on Explora? 🙂

They might struggle to do that for the UK based on the fact they are running their current offer through to 5th December. Lets hope they can find a legal way to have a sale within a sale

I believe adaptations for allergies are available by pre order. Im concerned the level of adaptation we will need and wonder how easy it will be to have minor adjustments eg no nut garnish completed at the time based on the previous information and also photos of dishes. These simpler adjustments - we are not asking for a different dish - should be available on a premium line. We will report back… Pre ordering your dessert 24 hours ahead removes all the fun of spontaneous choice of venue or meal.

Sometimes Azamara have pre cruise internet offers but not seen them for a while. Dining packages (not single meals) sometimes have onboard offers but only if sales are very slow so not something you see on Day one. Personally I leave everything and do it onboard, there’s no advantage giving them funds in advance. You will have to book your dining once onboard anyway

May not have them in every market although Black Friday is possibly now more prevalent outside the US than it used to be

I think last November we’d a lot of first time Azamara cruisers who hadn’t grasped the onboard culture was different to lines they’d been on before. Clearly the staff weren’t used to this behaviour also and weren’t quite as adept at reacting to it given that.

I must be in the minority. I’ve no issue to be being given a “buzzer”. That way I can go to several places during the wait - particularly the Den - and frees up staff having to come and find you. It’s a practical solution. On Onward we had waits every night at around 1915-30 averaged 15 minutes the longest was nearer 40. The nights they’d already guessed it was longer we were given buzzers. We are generally happy with any table and waitstaff. The wait times were getting complicated as staff struggled to also fit in requests for particular staff. What kind of grated was one louder gentleman who crassly peeled off folding green items to usurp the system

I am booked through an agent but did the reservation myself

You can make one reservation for each restaurant pre boarding over the phone

I think we will be on with c600 on one leg. It’s wrong that two cruises are viewed as one to suit their system but the guest is at risk of not getting 4 reservations across the 2 venues. Fingers crossed that it does shape out ok.

Oh my goodness Safe travels and thanks for the excellent balanced feedback throughout your cruise. We may or may not be able to return the favour shortly

I’m afraid you’re going to be very disappointed. Silent disco is certainly not an Azamara thing. Basically nothing you see on Celebrity is 😀