takemewithyou

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I thought the bed was a little too firm too, but I still got a good nights sleep. The pillows were nice, much like Azamara’s

Yes, the beds are firm.  If I remember correctly, the cabin attendant put a comforter on as a pillow topper and that helped.  I much prefer the Azamara beds.  

I don’t remember the pillows, but don’t remember having any trouble so they must have been ok.

I did like the bathroom and the heated floors.

17 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

It was 10 nights and we didn’t miss any ports.

That’s good.  We missed two ports on a shorter cruise on Viking.  We felt similar to the way you felt about the food and the included excursions.
Another common complaint are the beds being very firm.  How did you find them?

3 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Just off the Viking Mars Classic Panamá Canal sailing. I agree with a lot of @uktog’s positive points about Viking. Mars is a beautiful ship, brand new, and even with a full sailing, it never felt crowded, even on sea days. We were a little disappointed in the food, however, although I know this is both subjective and can vary from chef to chef and ship to ship. The Chef’s Table was good, although the salmon substitute I had was over cooked. Nothing really outstanding in the main dining room and my pasta of the day in the Italian specialty restaurant was just ok. As Ann said, the Pool Grill has a nice salad bar, but there is no table service. The included wines were hit or miss, but I had the SS package so had more options. They were out of a couple of the Chardonnays, but I could usually find something drinkable by the glass.

The main pool has a retractable roof, which in spite of several nice days, was only opened once, and it was unbearably hot on a warm day when closed. We much preferred the open air aft infinity pool deck. But getting bar service there (or on the main pool deck) was a challenge. 
The bars had solo or duo classical performers, at volumes you could speak over, which made for a pleasant cocktail hour. We only went to the “nightclub” once and didn’t enjoy the band, so we left. The guest speakers were a mix, all pretty good, including marine biologist, Dr. Greta Aeby, who was on our last Azamara cruise. 
The included excursions were pretty basic and lining up outside for excursions is the one time we really felt like cattle being herded!

We never met anyone other than people from the US, although everyone was perfectly friendly. I do prefer the more international mix on Azamara.

Would we book another Viking cruise? Probably, if the itinerary appealed and the price was right. But for now, I’m looking forward to my next Azamara cruise.

How long was your cruise and did you miss any ports? 

33 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Every time I looked at V prices, they were not only higher than O, they they were higher than SB and in some cases SS. With all due respect to V.. To me those prices are absurd. So the pricing is NOT a tie. Far from it.

 

I cannot comment on the comparisons because I was never on V. But do want to comment about three things.

 

First, the elevators. Having 6 elevators on a ship that size is pretty standard I believe. Riviera is the same size, we never had any issues with the elevators.

 

Second, the following comment: "My bed on Viking was almost unusable. It was way too hard for me."

 

What can I say? I can tolerate broken elevators, lack of Promenade Deck, too much music (we actually thought there is not enough live music on the Riviera), waiting 3 days for my laundry, bad furnishings etc.. but if my night sleep suffers because of the bad bed, everything else is insignificant. To me, this alone would be a deal breaker and I would never return to a ship that has bad beds. Comfortable beds, mattresses and bedding are more important to me than all other factors combined. But that's just me, we all have different priorities. 

 

 

We took one Viking cruise….it was a good opportunity to try out Viking as it repositioned from Vancouver to Los Angeles.  We paid a lot of money for a PV.  Loved the heated floors in the bath, the layout of the cabin.  But one of the reasons we went with a PV was because we had read the lower level cabins have very little storage.  
 

Before we left, I read the Viking forums and read remarks about the very firm mattresses. …..not something we like and depending on how firm they are, can not tolerate.  Some people even recommended to bring mattress pads to put on top of the bed!  Really?  
 

We were so concerned that I talked with Viking and got the name of the mattress brand and found a furniture store that carried them so we could try them out.  We did that and hoped the mattress on the ship would not be any firmer than what we tried. ,we made it through the cruise, but the bed was not great. Oceania had (on the one cruise I have been on) the most comfortable bed I have ever slept on!!  I can see why some passengers come home and purchase the mattresses and the fabulous bedding!

Our verdict on the Viking cruise?  Never again. For quite a few reasons we will not book again with them.  We found the food to be mediocre, the “included shore excursions” were not good and one was a disaster, and we missed two ports….both for weather reasons.  One of those missed ports we really didn’t see a weather reason as to why we missed it. We also did not like the Scandinavian design of the furniture.  It is a clean look but doesn’t function well as it is very uncomfortable! 

So about these pizzas….are there any alternative crusts like Cauliflower?  
I looked at the pictures…..perhaps I need to go look at the copy of the menu again on your website.  Those pics look like it’s a pretty thick crust.

I prefer thin crusts and preferably cauliflower, even though I am not gluten free.

21 minutes ago, LMADAMS91 said:

No, we are on a 9 night Panama Canal cruise leaving on 12/13.

Ok, I was going to invite you to join the roll call for the Christmas cruise. 

I was waiting to see if someone else might answer your question, but I do not believe Azamara opens those dividers for people, but I am not certain.  
let’s see if someone else knows for certain.

2 hours ago, LMADAMS91 said:

We have our first Azamara cruise booked for December '24 on Journey. We have three side by side staterooms on deck 8. Do the balconies open up so they can be connecting?  I know some of the Princess ships have doors between balconies that can be opened by request for groups sailing together. Thanks!

Are you on the 16 day Christmas cruise?

25 minutes ago, DrKoob said:

A Culinary Experience

This is a short bonus post for anyone who, like me, likes to cook. Vista has a culinary center on deck 14 forward that ranks with any facility that I have ever taken a cooking class in.

 

Prior to the cruise, I signed up for the only cooking class available in the online reservation section for our cruise. I had hoped to do a few classes, but the one I ended up taking was all that was available for pre-cruise booking. We later found out from the instructor that there are usually spaces left for some to book on board and that there are cancellations as well. So, if you aren't able to reserve the class you want or as many classes as you want, check with the reservations desk on Deck 5 when you are on board. Happily, the one class I signed up for, Cathy, signed up for as well—so I had a cooking buddy.

The cost for the class was $79, and that included two hours of instruction by our amazing teacher, Noelle, cooking and having fun, as well as eating what we made. To say that this class was well organized, that the facility was impressive and that the instructor was excellent would all be a gross understatement. All those things were true.

 

Our class was called "Lovers Together" or something like that. Cathy and I kept teasing Mike and Kathleen that they better come up and keep an eye on us. But the "Lovers" the class description referenced were the wine pairings—when wine and food are "Lovers." I know—stupid marketing speak. Just say Wine and Food pairings.

 

I would guess by now you get the fact that this class and facility were top-notch. Forget the fact that we are on a ship; I would take classes here (at a great price) at sea or on land—just an amazing experience. If you like to cook, take a class on an Oceania cruise. You won't be disappointed. Another great thing about these classes is that Noelle had three assistants who would set us up with everything we needed for the next course and clear out our refuse from the previous course while Noelle would have us come forward for instruction.

 

I put some photos on my blog at jimbellomo.com if you want to see them. 

 

After photography, cooking is my second favorite hobby, and I love experimenting and taking cooking classes. These were great. The instructor was super helpful and answered all our questions, including helping us with possible substitutions. That's a great teacher—willing to adapt.

 

I loved the classes so much on my first O cruise, that I knew to book very early and I have  3 coming up on my TA.  can’t wait 😛 

I suppose, if someone had a big suite and wanted to offer up their suite for a party, you could host a Cruise Critic gathering there and the butler would help supply appetizers, etc.  It would have to be planned with the butler and done on some other day, rather than on embarkation.  Individual invitations could be sent to cabins if participants were willing to give out their cabin numbers.  It’s a lot of work and effort to organize.

On my Pursuit cruise in June,  Ireland Intensive, we didn’t sail the first night.  We overnighted in Dublin.  I wasn’t sure how that would impact attendance.  I think it did affect it somewhat, but we still had a good crowd.

I do agree that if the weather is good and you are sailing out of a scenic port, the meet and greet being held at that time of sailaway, is not good.  People want to be out on deck.

At this point, Azamara is just doing the perfunctory gesture of putting out a time and offering a place to meet in the newsletter.  That is it.  Many other cruise lines don’t even do that.  So, that’s why I say…it is what it is.  
 

And yes, I remember those earlier meet and greets where officers were there and the Hotel Manager or Cruise Director used to lead the event, but those days are gone.

6 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Well, at least they reserve a space!

It’s sort of like how they provide a time and space for other get togethers, like singles, Friends of Bill, LBGTQ+, etc.  These are unhosted passenger led groups that are given a place and time to meet.  

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

A few years ago Cruise Critic had a Q&A with Larry Pimentel and I asked him why he had decided to change the name of the cruise line to Azamara Club Cruises, and specifically what the word 'Club' was meant to imply about the experience for passengers.  While I had great admiration of Larry as the Azamara CEO, his answer to my question was non-responsive.  So I concluded that no one knows (or ever knew) what it was supposed to mean.

 

But, as with many website changes, they haven't done a thorough search and replace operation.  Go the the https://www.azamara.com/our-ships/suites-and-staterooms page.  The name of each suite has been changed to eliminate "club" – but click on the 'view Features' button, and there is the old name!  [Plus, the Department of Redundant Redundancy has added "stateroom" after "suite" !!!]

 

I never liked the “Club” designation ,on the website either.  It’s interesting they removed it from the Header, but then, as you noted, it’s still in the body of the description! 
It is interesting that Larry P never answered your question on it, either! 

48 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

So the question remains:  how do you get Azamara to provide the space/time and list it in the Insider?  Is there a website link that still works to get this going?  Or some other way?

 

[Neither of the suggested methods in the old Sticky threads works anymore.  If there is a new way, I will update the Stickies for each ship; if not, I should delete those posts.]

No, there is no way that I know of to coordinate this!

As I have said, Azamara always provides a space and a time.

It is on embarkation day and it is 5 pm generally.

It IS listed in the insider.  
Tell your roll call members to keep an eye on the Insider and show up for the time listed in the Insider on embarkation day.

It is what it is……!

Edited to add:  @ GrandmaCruising ‘s info, that you show, is outdated.  there is no way to register anymore since Azamara updated its web site.  And since you can’t register anymore, there is no invitation to the Cruise Critic party or social anymore!  You just have to show up at the time listed in the Insider on embarkation day.

22 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Cruise Critic dropped its assistance during Covid and has never brought it back.  There used to be a back-door way through the Azamara website (pre-RCG split) but I don't think that was coded into the new website [and maybe Seaware doesn't offer the function?]  So it's good to know that @takemewithyou managed to make it work!

Yes, at least they still provide a mention in the Insider for a time and a space on embarkation day and that is it.  It’s up to us, as Cruise Critic members to make something of it, or we will probably lose that.  
 

If you have an active roll call, and in my experience that takes some work on at least one members behalf to keep the roll call going, (by keeping track of the people posting on the roll call and updating the list once weekly)  then you can actively promote the current time and space that Azamara is providing and make the best of it. Once you board, if you happen to meet the beverage manager, or seek them out, you may be able to make the experience flow even better….icing on the cake! 

5 hours ago, tgg said:

How did you arrange this with Azamara before the cruise? Who did you contact?

I wish you good luck  with that.  Don’t think you can find anyone to handle that.  Azamara is no longer involved in meet and greet.  You are on your own.  Make it what you can on your own. 😀

1 hour ago, tgg said:

If you've planned a M&M recently, I'd appreciate your help. We have 24 people (so far) on the Dec. 12 Onward sailing who would like to get together.

 

Who did you contact shoreside?

What time did you choose?  After sailaway, during sailaway, first sea day?

What location were you given? Did you have a choice? (The Library on Onward is gone.)

Of the people who signed up, how many attended?

Was there someone to serve drinks, snacks?

 

I'd appreciate help with any details I've failed to ask about.😃

 

Thanks.

Toni

 

 

@tgg

My roll call was very active for Pursuit Ireland Intensive in June.  We had a really good response from everyone.  Probably 40 people were there during the duration of the meet and greet.  I just went with the time that Azamara sets up on embarkation day.  Believe it was 5 pm.  It was in the Living Room opposite from the card area.  That was a good space for us…..better than the card room! 
 

I happened to meet the Beverage Manager that day, by chance.  She was very friendly and I told her we had a meet and greet up there at 5 pm.  She said she would make sure they were ready for us and offered to have special cocktails made up.  When I arrived they were all on trays, along with red and white wine.  She also had extra servers up there to take care of us.

It made for a very nice party.  I had brought name tags.  Snacks were the usual appetizers supplied in the LR pre dinner.  So you might seek out the beverage manager that day.  We never had any officers or CD that showed up.

5 hours ago, Denfox said:

Just got off Quest in a CC suite. We were just given the choice of a single spirit and got a 1l bottle (gin in our case). Butler kept us well stocked with plenty of mix, water, ice and limes.

 

Very much enjoyed our first cruise with Azamara.

Thanks for your first hand report!

I wonder how that would work if the couple can’t agree on one type of alcohol.

I like gin and DH likes rum…….we couldn’t be farther apart..! 😀

 Wonder if we could have two smaller bottles to accommodate for each others preference? 
I guess we can just ask and see what can be done?

I much preferred the 4 small bottles that offered a variety.

@sofietucker I wanted to add that my experiences have been recent….last sailed 6/23 and before that 12/22.  
 

Azamara has never lost one of my bottles that I had left with them for storage.  It’s always been retrieved pretty quickly when I requested it.  It is stored by your cabin number.

3 hours ago, sofietucker said:

So I'm appealing to the collected expertise here for some questions re: wine etiquette at dinner on board ship. This is especially in regard to the wine we may bring aboard, and the complimentary wine in our stateroom:

We have already been informed that it's "not done" to bring a glass of wine with us to dinner--unless we purchased it (as part of our package or not) at a bar. But not from our room.

 

1. What about taking our bottle away with us, whether from the dining room (where we either bought the bottle on the spot or paid the corkage fee, albeit a screw top Molly Dooker,  or whatever)? Maybe we want to savor a glass later "at home" without having them chase down the bottle in storage. (Oceania was forever losing our bottles.) We have taken away partially-full glasses from time to time, which they transfer to regular bar ware to save their Riedel, lol. Fine. But no bottles so far.

 

2. Much is made in the world of wine about letting it breathe after opening. There's an endless array of decanters, pour tops, etc. We use some of those methods at home--including those titanium "breathable" glasses--depending on the wine, and find they can make a considerable difference. But at virtually any restaurant, and at the Chef's Tables/wine tastings we've attended over the years on a variety of cruise lines, the pattern is: present the wine at the table, open it, pour a sip, pour glasses. The expectation is to drink it pretty much immediately: vigorous swirling is the only option for aerating the wine. (Examining the cork is no longer done--and at least on Az Quest, it's placed right back in the bottle. So no breathing by letting it sit either.) In our stateroom, we may use one of our aerating pourers, and then when we're finished, we'll use one of our vacuum stoppers to stop it from oxidizing until next time. Has anyone every brought, along with the bottle you bring or order, one of these tools? We've not seen such--but on O last winter, we sat next to a guy who regaled his table with a lengthy description of his home aeration system...

Thoughts?

You can certainly take your bottle that you didn’t finish along with you …to a venue or back to your room.  I do that all the time because my spouse doesn’t drink wine, so I never finish a bottle at a meal.  II also have them store my wines sometimes for another night.  I do use a vacuum device to preserve the wine.  I have that I’m my room.  I take the bottle away with the cork and then switch to the cork in my cabin used with the vacuum device.  I also have a travel aerator that I bring along to use in my room.  I have never taken it to the restaurant, but you certainly could.  

I would say you need to make friends with the sommeliers onboard.  You can certainly request that they decant your wine before your meal, especially in a specialty restaurant so it can breathe.  They could have the wine ready at your table for you because you have a reservation there.  Otherwise just bring your aerator and ask them to use that to pour, if you dine in Discoveries, Patio or Windows where you do not have or need a a reservation.

Also, you do have some liquor provided in the room.  It used to be 4 small bottles (like 375 ml size) that were provided.  Now some report you will be provided with one larger bottle.  Mixers are in mini bar.  Mixers are free.

18 minutes ago, LoveChops said:

Hi everyone,

 

We are looking to book a CC Suite on Azamara Quest next year to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. We've cruised a few times with Regent Seven Seas and I'm curious to see how this cruise compares (other than the included shore excursions).

 

Hoping someone can help with a few queries:-

1) The website says the suite comes with speciality dining - is this unlimited reservations or are we restricted to one visit per restaurant?

2) Is the mini-bar in the suite free or is this payable?

3) If you have experience in this suite category could you advise of any other inclusions that make this special?

4) Can your Butler deliver drinks to the suite free of charge if we have a drinks package?

 

Thank you everyone for you help!

 

 

You can go to a specialty restaurant for dinner every day, if you wish….need to make reservations.

One nice perk is that suites can go to Aqualina specialty restaurant for breakfast.

As to drink questions, someone else will have to answer those for you.  I have never tried to have drinks delivered to the room because the bars are so close….I just bring one to my room.

36 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

I just breezed thru the results of the Best Of for the Mid Sized Lines and was very pleased to see Oceania CLEAN HOUSE. No one said O was perfect but Best Overall, Service, Dining and Accommodations suggests they are doing something right.  I prefer to look at things from a positive perspective and not dwell, rant or rave about the negative.  I share my experiences and humble opinions.  When we have negative experiences, we share it with O; be it in meetings with Maitre d’s, Restaurant Managers or F&B Dir., ship surveys or even letters to the O executives. They can not fix what they do not know to be wrong and we find them to be committed to Excellence. 

Thank you to all the guests who have moved on from the mass market lines and found the Oceania niche and appreciate the value we get with each and every Oceania cruise.  Congratulations Oceania, you deserve the accolades. Again, JMHO. 

Vista in two weeks, 🙏👍😇🤞🛳️❤️
Mauibabes

@mauibabesCan you provide a link to the results?  For some reason I can not seem to locate them. Thanks!

I guess I have been lucky.  My roll calls on Azamara have been active, but I worked to make it that way.  I posted regularly….not every day, but at least weekly.   I offered to maintain a list of all participants and I updated it and posted that weekly. I frequently posted the expected date and time of the CC gathering onboard and reminded people to watch the list of events on the first day aboard so that they could meet all the participants.  I have either printed name tags or brought the supplies so people could fill them out themselves.  It seems that once someone offers to do these things, people respond and participate.  Conversation begins on the roll calls and continues.

1 hour ago, wjfan417 said:

There was only one other couple at the Meet & Mingle on the current Pursuit voyage. Lots of drinks and appetizers though! They even waited until slightly after Sailaway (1/2 hour) to hold it.

Did you have an active roll call?

3 hours ago, DreadPirateRobert said:

 We were on the Ireland intensive in June as well. While it might have been nice to have had a sea day mid point I wouldn’t trade any of the port stops for the experiences we had. There was so much to see and do. We loved the overnights and the longer times in ports. Loved Azamara so much we’re doing B2B Scotland intensive and a repeat of Ireland in 24.

Hi DPRobert!  Great to hear from you!  It was nice meeting you and it was a great cruise!  I would recommend the Ireland Intensive cruise to anyone.  I think Scotland would be great to see, too!
 

Another part of the Destination Immersion that I enjoyed on this trip was the local food dish that was featured each day in Windows.  There were some authentic Irish dishes offered that passengers might not have had a chance to try onshore.  They were offered at both breakfast and dinner.