eileenover

i agree

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'Muffin' !!! Well, you should be one of the experts on this particular thread!

Logged in with ease. Great!

We haven't taken an Az cruise yet but our first one comes up and there are a few excursions on offer for a couple of ports (well, it's not until 2020!).

We are Elite at the moment with Celebrity ----and will be Elite + after our next X cruise.

Should we see this reflected on our Az page?

We really enjoyed reading your postings! Very entertaining! Thank you so much.

Eileen & Stephen

It means cancel your specialty reservation and go to the Best of the Best.

Thanks.

My understanding is if you are in the top tier cabins (Club World & Club Ocean only) you receive an invite. The crew will know when this event is scheduled on embarkation and advise you if relevant. If you don't go, your choice but this is a perk of the cabin you have paid for. From the descriptions of the evening I have read, I would trade out the specialty restaurant for the BOB any day of the week & twice on Sundays.

Thank you.

What does 'trade out' mean?

It applies to Inside, Ocean View and Verandah staterooms. Suites, both Club Continent & the larger suites have bigger showers. Club Continent suites either have a tub with a shower over, or a glass doored shower cubicle.

 

 

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Thank you. This thread is Azamazing! I have leant so much ----feel almost ready for our first AZ cruise!

What happens if you are invited to a BOB but you've already booked a speciality restaurant?

When people book speciality restaurants when they embark, do the staff know when 'specials' will be happening and so steer you to another day?

Azamara showers are very small, with shower curtains. We now bring magnetic clips to stop the shower curtain from billowing in. I bought them on Amazon

Does this apply to all showers throughout the ship?

We did Baltics in August and weather was wonderful...this is Northern Europe so it doesn't get as hot as places like Paris that are further south. All of the ports we visited were crowded but with more adults than children. Shops and restaurants were all open and while crowded not unpleasantly so. We did HOHO buses in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Talinn and never waited more than 10 minutes. Tivoli in Copenhagen was wonderfully NOT crowded, Stockholm rained and Talinn was also NOT crowded . Berlin is always crowded! We had no trouble getting seated in restaurants and there were no lines to speak of. St. Pete is also always crowded but there's plenty of room! Been there several times and it's one of my favorite world cities, with lots to see and do...unfortunately 2 days is not enough and if you've never been there or have no plans to go back I would recommend the comprehensive 2 day tour either with shore excursion of one of the Russian tour companies, several of which are exceptionally good. It's pricey and it's physically demanding but you'll get to see pretty much everything from Peterhof to the Hermitage. If you have plenty of time I also recommend the B2B with Norway. X only does one of those (I think) per season and IMHO Norway is one of the most beautiful places we've been. We did Med in October and it was wonderful....and like previous posters, would NOT go there in August....there's a reason why the natives go on vacation in August! :cool:

We've cruised a lot in Europe (and elsewhere) with Celebrity, Princess and one P & O.

As Brits living near London, we're used to a variety of weather.

We've had sweltering heat in St Petes on one August trip and heavy rain on another there, at the same time of year.

We've also had a mix in our August visits to Copenhagen! Helsinki, Oslo and Tallinn have always been warm during our August trips. Stockholm... mmm... it rained cats & dogs on one occasion but was fine on the next couple of visits. Berlin... loved the city... but the rain! Torrential! Just bad luck!

History & Culture: living in the UK, we have stronger ties with northern Europe... but of course we love the exotic Med. If you want palaces and castles then the Baltic is a better bet ---yes, there are fab places in the Med too.

Costs: Oslo is expensive! St Petes is expensive! In fact, your $ will go nowhere near as far as it would in the Med.

Closures: a few places in northern Europe will close for a couple of weeks in August ---but very few. Go to the Med in August and you'll find a much higher percentage of places closed ----especially in the larger cities such as Venice and Barcelona. Touristy islands such as Santorini have few places closed because it is high season for them.

Queues: there will be a lot more people in the Med! The sites will be far more crowded, the noise level higher, the prices will sometimes be 'adjusted' for locals ---that rarely applies in the Baltic, with the exception of popular locations in St Petes.

If it were me, I would select the Baltic for August and leave the Med for May/June or September.

We still laugh about this one:

On a Princess ship, some years ago, we went to the top deck restaurant (Horizon Court) and found a table free. On it was a cruise card. We handed it in to a steward, got our food and started eating. An American (sorry, no offence!) woman came up to our table and asked if we had seen her cruise card. We explained that we had handed it in.

She yelled and screamed at us! The card had been placed there because she wanted to reserve it! The woman would not accept that she had left an 'open cheque' for a thief. Instead, she sat down at our table, ate her food and growled at us!

On another cruise, a X one, our MC concierge was thumped by a passenger: all he was doing was letting us move to our own disembarkation route! Poor Lawrence!

We either tip our butler or give him/her a gift that we know will be appreciated.

Also, through conversation, we find out that likes of the MC concierge and give a gift that will be appreciated.

However, on our last cruise we felt that the two concierges did little to merit a gift ---- so, nothing!

We have a similar problem!

The excursions for the Ireland/Iceland cruise 11th August 2019 have hardly any excursions posted for the stops in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It's been like that for many months!

We were on the Connie a couple of years ago: UAE across to India and back over the Christmas period.

There were some children on board ----but not that many. I guess that particular cruise is not that attractive to families....

There were some decorations up. I recall a grotto area (no Father Christmas) which looked stunning.

Children were invited to meet Father Christmas in the theatre on Christmas Day.

There was some carol singing one evening and the Christmas Eve (or maybe Christmas Day) show featured a surprise guest lowered by ropes onto the stage...

Food? Well we were in Luminae and there was nothing festive on the menu! We had the roast turkey etc brought in from the MDR ----but it was disappointing! Turkey roll! School dinners!

Oh, I nearly forgot, passengers received a little gift (one per stateroom)... we were given a glass ornament for a Christmas tree. I heard that some passengers received chocolate... mmm... I know which I'd prefer!

Would we go at Christmas again? Yes.

We just took our first AZ cruise (15 night Norway on Journey) and we signed up for two more while on board. We are long time Celebrity cruisers (only line we've ever been on before this last AZ cruise).

I'm sorry your experience has been disappointing, but I can assure you that your onboard experience will be quite the opposite. It's kind of known that the Royal Caribbean brands' websites are awful.

We were amazed at how visible the officers were on board, and how friendly and helpful everyone was. We found the food many steps above Celebrity's, and for the first time in about 7 years we ate in the main dining room. We enjoyed every meal. The specialty restaurants were wonderful too, and if you go to Aqualina please consider the dover sole. We will eat in them a lot more on our upcoming cruises. We found all the included beverages perfect, and we like good wines. We liked the smaller bar venues and didn't miss the martini bar at all. I like the smaller theatre and the '54' shows were very good. We loved White Night in the fjord and the Azamazing Evening in Bergen. I guess you could say we have found a new cruise "home."

I have to admit I can't relate to your particular issue as we just hail a cab from the hotel whenever we're on our way to port, and I can't say I've ever given the terminal or location a second thought. I can understand your situation, I just haven't ever experienced it.

I do hope your cruise is wonderful. It sounds like a great itinerary. I'll be looking for a report/review on your return.

Great news! We're X people but trying our first Az cruise ----in 2020. We've only eaten in the MDR on a Celebrity ship once in 5 previous cruises ----never again!

Hi! I also was on this same itinerary on Azamara this past April. Loved it.

You will dock far from Yangon in Myanmar, so you need to pre arrange a tour. We joined a private tour, from cruise critic, and loved seeing all the sites in Yangon. Azamara does a similiar one. Long drive into this city, which is still fairly untouched by tourism. We did the horse cart excursion there as well, which I loved, going into a different part of Myanmar.

Azamara docked in Hambantota for the first time during our cruise. Industrial, but rural port; take a tour. We again joined a cruise critic private tour with Sri Lanka Safari to venture inland to see elephant orphanage and park with free roaming elephants and other animals.

I took a private tour of Columbo, Sri Lanka, but did not find the city interesting, except for the museum. Ship excursion would be better. Some people took the tour to the elephant park and had a chance to wash elephants.

We joined Muzris Heritage Day Tours for India. We had ten others on this tour. http://www.cochinprivatetour.com/cochin-shore-tours/cochin-shore-excursions/ They had a three port special and we had wonderful adventures on all three for a great price.

Drink allot of water, as it is hot. Don't be afraid of the squat toilets as they are the norm .

And yes, you need to cover up your knees and shoulders in the pagodas and temples and be barefoot, so take a wrap or two.

This sailing covers allot of countries and it is difficult to see everything further out, so it warrants another trip. Try to see a bit of Dubai and Singapore, as they are very interesting cities. Have fun!

Lots of good advice! I would add that 'barefoot' is bit quite literal ----thick socks are allowed and recommended because the ground can be very hot and uncomfortable.

We've been on M ships twice and S ships three times. All have been Celebrity suites or above.

We loved all of the ships.

The M class were smaller, more intimate, easier to wander...

S class ships had more choice of venues but it often took longer to get from A to B. Interestingly enough, there rarely appeared to be crowds of passengers ----except when the theatre emptied and also when people thronged to enter the MDR. Clever design to avoid long, straight corridors!

Can't help you regarding poolside areas.

Entertainment: more variety on the S class ships but we also loved the musicians on the M class.

At the end of the day, we tend to think of M class as favourite uncles/aunts whilst we think of S class as go-get-it nephews and nieces!

Kula Lumpar

 

 

Hambantota , Sri Lanka.

 

Columbo, Sri Lanka.

 

Kochi, India.

 

Mumbai, India.

 

 

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Kochi: fabulous! Loved the houseboat tour of the backwaters ----about 90 minutes away from the port. Amazing! Our highlight of our cruise. we'd do it again!

Mumbai: noisy, lots of traffic, slow going... typical of Mumbai!Our city tour included the Gandhi Museum and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya museum. The latter is a cultural/science museum.

Sri Lanka: the Cultural Triangle of temples is amazing. We love history so had a great tour here but if you're not into ancient sites, this may not be for you.

Climbing up Sigiriya was incredible! There are many steps but the view at the top plus the ruins of the ancient community make it worthwhile.

Whilst the island is only about the size of Ireland, the roads are windy and the driving... mmm... if you do your own thing, hire the car with a driver!

For both, do read the internet for current tipping suggestions. Also, in Sri Lanka please remember to cover up/strip off for visits to temples. For women this means covering arms and legs but removing footwear and hats. Men must do the same too but in some temples may be required to go bare-chested. If you have balding head, a parasol is the answer!

Hope this helps.

We have booked this cruise for 2020, I just want to know has anyone done this cruise is there any advice/tips you could pass on to us . We start in Singapore then stops in Sri Lanka and India ending in Dubai.

 

 

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Sounds exciting!

Which ports are you visiting in Sri Lanka and India? We've been to both and may be able to offer advice.

You can get around this by:

a) pre paying Tips

b) having them taken daily by your OBA

 

In the last 5 yrs we have pre paid, as we used Select dining. However, you now no longer have to do this, but I have chosen this way, as I like to know that the tips are taken care of before I board, meaning I don’t have the worry of who to tip.

I agree.

However, some passengers like to tip a little extra in cash e.g. a couple of dollars for the toilet attendant who offers a good service; x dollars to a particular waitress in the martini bar so that you are always looked after...

This is a can of worms which has benn debated time and time again on CC.

For us on a 2 week cruise in Europe, we'd take about £1000 of local currencies e.g. Euro and Krone

as well as $1000 and about £500. Of course, if we're staying pre/post cruise we may take more local currency. Spare dollars can be pumped into our ship board account at the end of the cruise. It's just a quick visit ti Guest Relations.

Also, if we're doing non-X excursions, we'll take more local currency.

We like to use local money. It's fun. A few spare notes and coins end up in our photo albums of the cruise.

In 2020 we're on the Azamara Journey going down from Portugal to Cape Town. It'll be ten or 11 currencies! Serious planning ahead.

Why not use dollars some wonder?

A true story: we were on a Princess Cruise which involved calling in at Egypt. We were thirsty and bought a can of fanta for very little using the local currency. Two Americans did the same and were charged $14 for each can. Our can had cost us about 20 cents!

sorry, I should have given more info! There are two of us (my husband and myself) and we are staying at the Althea Inn roof Terrace for a few days before the cruise. then we are staying at the Hotel Traino in citavecchia the night before the cruise. so we have to get from Rome to citavecchia. I would like to get there somewhat economically but also like the convenience option. are the trains easy to use? we will have two carry ons plus one larger suitcase. thanks again!

Well, we used Romecabs.com. No issues. Prices etc arer on the website.

Others use the train and have found that cheaper than a cab ----but you'll need to walk to/from the station.

Going from the port up to Venice via Rome, we used a cab to Rome (an hour) and then had a 4 hour train ride to Venice. No problems on the train. If you can, go first class on the trains ---- not too much of an increase over the standard fare and certainly worth it for the comfortable seats.

You might find some ideas in our review of our fantastic Iceland cruise on Eclipse:

http://www.travelandcruise.net/travellove_en/Our-Trips/Eclipse-Iceland-1/eclipse-iceland-1.html

 

Enjoy!

Wow! Thank you! This is so useful! I'll post it on our roll call for others to enjoy.

Hi

There don't seem to be many excursions listed for lots of the ports ----in fact no excursions for some! Although out cruise isn't until August, there are identical cruises in May and June.

What's going on?

Any information anyone?

I would add that the concierge in Michael's Club also deals with any issues for you ----it saves queuing at Guest Relations and cuts a lot of other corners.

Also, some of the entertainers are invited to perform to a suite audience; a good concierge encourages suite guests to come along and enjoy the intimate gathering.

Hi Ian

We too were top of the Princess loyalty scheme. Lots of cruises with them over the years. We usually had OS. However, we changed cruise lines to Celebrity (X) about 6 years ago and have never looked back!

Now we book Celebrity Suites and Reflection Suites.

Good points: Luminae suite-only dining, Michael's Club, perks (they get better the better the suite!), ship decor, the food in speciality dining venues, the service both in the restaurants and around the ship, the entertainment away from the theatre, the embarkation and disembarkation.

Not as good as Princess, in our opinion: the excursions.

We loved the smaller ships of the Princess fleet: Pacific P and the old Royal P. Also, the old Crown and Regal Princesses.

After 6 cruises on the X Silhouette (we're on her again next year), Constellation and Reflection, we are very unlikely to return to Princess. We do have an Azamara cruise booked for 2020 ----but the ports were the deal clincher: along the west coast of Africa from Portugal to Cape Town. We'll be quite happy to return to X.

We were on both the Connie and the Reflection last year. Our suite, on both occasions, was fabulous! The food/service in Luminae and Murano was excellent!

Michael's Club was better on the Connie because the concierge was far better ---- the two on the Reflection were rather desk-bound!

Decor on both ships was fine. Entertainment was great ---though we don't do the shows!

Enjoy your cruise on the Connie!