Happy Canadian

3 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

You pay the full price because their included drinks are not based on value, they are a list. That said if a cocktail can be made with an included spirit, you can ask for them to make it with those spirits & it’ll be free.

Thanks for your prompt response! I suspected as much since I didn't see a value. BTW We are multi-line and multi-time cruisers but this will be our first  Azamara. I appreciated your newbies posting. We took advantage of the B2B OBC which we didn't know about previously.

General question. If you have the basic included package and want a cocktail or glass of wine "off the list". Do you pay full price or the difference?

On most cruise lines, the basic included package has a ceiling of $11 to $15. If you purchase anything over that price you are charged the difference. How does Azamara deal with this? We sail next month on Pursuit, B2B Barcelona to Capetown.

We were on Glory in February and had the same great wait staff. Wonderful to see their photos! We often sail B2B as well. It's the flights from Canada that are expensive not the cruise! We are booked for the Glory again next January (another B2B)

Danielle

Thanks for the feedback and I will make a note of the names and post. We aren't actually back home until early June so don't be disappointed if you don't hear from me until then.

Documents came today - I must admit I was expecting a nicer package given the cost of the cruise. Seabourn had a very nice package for the cruise documents and I guess I was expecting something similar from AQ.

Danielle

in just 2 weeks we will be leaving for New Orleans and our new adventure on the America Queen. the documents arrived today and now the excitement is growing!:D I want to take this moment to thank all of you for providing excellent information to my questions.

 

I think for our first time on AQ we are not going to do any of the optional trips but take it slow and wander about at the ports we stop at.

 

If anyone is interested, I'll do a short quick review upon our return.

 

happy river cruising everyone!

I wrote to you on another thread and see you are sailing at the end of April. My aunt and I will probably be on the sailing after you (leaving from Memphis). I would be very interested in your review. We will be in cabin 504 and am wondering is the deck area in front of our cabin is accessible or not (on the brochure it looks as if it might be blocked off).

We have prebooked a number of the optional tours and would be interested in anything fellow passengers say about the tours.

Enjoy.

Danielle

this sounds fabulous and we were thinking about the Snake River if we like river cruising. we have some friends that want to do a river cruise and have looked at National Geographic. We are doing a short cruise in a few weeks on AQ and if we love it as much as big ship cruising, may have to take turns doing a river cruise and for me a big ship. OH WHAT A GREAT IDEA THAT IS!!

When are you sailing on the AQ? My elderly aunt and I are on the May 3 sailing out of Memphis.

Danielle

Hi Danielle,

We are booked on this cruise from Nairobi to Singapore. I have been meaning to put this cruise on the Roll Calls. Will do so now. Nice to make contact with someone else going. Like you, I believe it is sold out. Have you travelled on this ship before?

Kind regards,

Jean

We have not sailed this ship before but could not resist the itinerary. My DH has always longed to visit the Seychelles and Maldives and will be travelling in India (my wish-list destination) after Sri Lanka. We were originally going to book the B2B but decided on India instead.

We have sailed on small and large vessels in the past. Several river cruises in China, Vietnam and Europe as well as many Caribbean, Med, Baltic and transatlantic cruises.

We have been doing some research and note that we need Visas in every stop. The visas are available "on arrival" and am waiting to hear from Voyages if this is handled for all passengers onboard ship. At an average cost of $50 per person per stop, I now see how we will be spending our OBC! I am also interested in seeing how they many the safari drives. The animals will see a convoy of 100 vehicles several miles away.

Looking forward to sailing (and meeting you!)

Danielle (and Terry)

I thank you so much for your replies.:)

 

I think I can handle this. It sounds like it's more my speed. I just need to add something different to my Caribbean cruises to break up the monotony.

 

I'm considering either Dec. 18, 2014 (Africa to Asia) or April 4, 2015 (Voyage To Ancient Wonders)

 

Thanks again,

 

Barbara

Wondering if you booked. My DH and I are booked on the Dec 18, 2014 Africa to Asia. I believe it is now sold out!

Danielle

My aunt and I are sailing Memphis to New Orleans May 2. I would appreciate hearing your comments on your trip prior to our departure.

We are new to American Queen (although we have done many other cruises in Europe, So Amer, Australia).

 

Wondering if anyone has done this "big band" cruise and can help us know what to expect. For example, should we do the ship's excursions or are the hop-on,hop-off buses enough?

 

Thanks,

ddcruiser

Not much activity on the American Queen thread! My elderly aunt and I are schedule to sail Memphis to New Orleans in May. I see that you have already sailed. Comments?

link to news release about Seuss at Sea

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5646

Excerpt from news release:

The line currently has plans to test the concepts on four ships: Carnival Glory in December, Carnival Liberty in January, and Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration in February. If the new menu items win over passengers on sailings in the early part of 2014, the new concepts are slated to go fleetwide through the remainder of 2014 and into 2015. Gulliksen says passenger feedback will be collected via onboard focus groups and post-cruise passenger surveys.

Sample menus:

http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/CarnivalCruiseLineMenus.htm

Best snorkelling is at the very far end of the beach - past all the villas and cabanas. The last time we were there I thought there might be some possibilities to the left as you exit the tender but since we usually rent a cabana we usually walk to the very end of the beach. It is a bit of a walk but still the best snorkelling

See attached map, area indicated by the horseback riding.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1875986

BTW take time to walk out to the sting ray enclosure - Watching participants who signed up for the "swim with the sting rays" is a fun way to spend a half hour.

I have "done" three to an inside cabin on a couple of occasions - myself, my mother and her 87 year old sister! We carefully select the cabin (early booking required) and pay close attention to the deck plans.

Using the spa shower as suggested by a few others is a big plus (one guess who used it); I tip the cabin steward at the beginning of the cruise to make up the sofa bed daily so we can use it as a sofa (did not like the idea of having everyone sitting on my made-up bed throughout the day); closet space and drawer space was workable - counter space was more of an issue. We resolved by giving one passenger a bonus drawer - the small one with the hair dryer (guess who?!?) I used it for anything I would have normally tossed on the counter.

I usually travel with 3M or similar removable hooks. These are great for hanging hats, sun glasses, sail and sail "carriers" etc. Also helps with the counter space issue. I also carry magnets - did you know the wall of the cabin are metal? Great for posting (and finding) the day's activities schedule and shore excursion tickets.

The one advantage of an inside is a great night's sleep! No daylight to wake you! Speaking of which, a small night light may be useful although there is often enough light coming in from under the door.

Have you been following the Carnival Liberty roll call for your sailing date? If you want excitement about your departure that is where you will find it. We are sailing February 15.

This might be of help as well...

http://www.cruisecritic.com/ports/newport.cfm?ID=41

For something different, we went to Vizcaya (see link below) Check your hotel for discount coupons as well.

http://miami.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/aa021703.htm

If you are a baseball fan, you can book park tours for the new Marlins Park.

http://miami.marlins.mlb.com/mia/ballpark/marlins_park_tours.jsp

I will be on the Sunshine in mid-June, will the menu be new or the one on zydecocruiser's web page?

Yet to be determined....

Excerpt from news release:The line currently has plans to test the concepts on four ships: Carnival Glory in December, Carnival Liberty in January, and Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration in February. If the new menu items win over passengers on sailings in the early part of 2014, the new concepts are slated to go fleetwide through the remainder of 2014 and into 2015. Gulliksen says passenger feedback will be collected via onboard focus groups and post-cruise passenger surveys.

Menus:

http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/aNew/index.htm

Thanks for the pictures and responses. Very nice. We, like many others have several of the tumblers and have small cooler bags from previous years. This beach bag/cooler bag will be a nice addition to the collection. Wish it wasn't white - we have beautiful red sand beaches here on Prince Edward Island :eek: !

When will the full rollout schedule of the new menus be available?

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5632

Excerpt from attached link:

Carnival Glory in December, Carnival Liberty in January, and Carnival Imagination and Carnival Inspiration in February. If the new menu items win over passengers on sailings in the early part of 2014, the new concepts are slated to go fleetwide through the remainder of 2014 and into 2015. Passenger feedback will be collected via onboard focus groups and post-cruise passenger surveys.

Sailing on Liberty February 15. One of our fellow CC travellers organized a private cocktail party. $24 for 1 1/2 hour open bar (separate price available for children) There is also a one hour option. As indicated by a previous poster, Carnival requires a minimum of 20 (assume adults). Our organizer had to provide final numbers to Carnival by January 30 (and payment?)

If you want more information, suggest you check the roll call for the February 15 sailing of Liberty. There is a list of beverages choices available and the traffic about cheques being sent in advance for payment. Getting the 20 was not an issue for our sailing.

If you read through the February 15 Liberty roll call posts you will see a few CC members asking about a paypal account. This would have made payment to the organizer easier.

Don't know how she pays Carnival or who she contacted to make the arrangements. Organizer has posted her email on the roll call so again if interested suggest you contact her directly.

Ship deck plans are a good representation of various cabins. I always have the ship deck plan open when booking through a TA or PVP. 2470 is definitely a winner.

Check to make sure Wifi is working before making your purchase. I learned that the hard way!

http://zydecocruiser.net/menus/aNew/index.htm

link to Western and Eastern cruise on the Glory. I suspect most menus will be the same as the new menus are rolled out. The only difference might be the Port of Call section.

I understand there is a water carafe left on the table as well as a basket of bread. Hoping I can still order the cheese plate. Sailing on the Liberty in a couple of weeks and will find out then.

It has been awhile since there was a post about the current gift. Can anyone shed some light?