Dr H

If you can pack it in your suitcase, you can bring it on board. The same liquid carry on requirement to board as the airlines, 3oz, but packed, essentially unlimited. There is no charge for in room use, there will be a corkage fee if you bring wine into one of the restaurants, but a very reasonable charge. (I have been known to sneak my scotch with me into the library for an afternoon read; forbidden fruits of sorts) I like my single malt or decent martini on my veranda, so I bring my own, and avoid the wine/booze package fees. Oh, and as a wine snob, I'm happy to report that on 2 separate cruises, the house wines served at lunch/dinner/and in between were quite good. A few duds here and there, but overall, excellent choices, so no worries about having to pack several cases of wine to enjoy proper meals. Will probably pack a few bottles of wine special dinners for our transatlantic in April. Hope this helps.

NO KIPPERS in the main dining room for breakfast! It was an outrage! No kippers on the North Atlantic, and I really was looking forward to them! I hope service has improved. Pickled herring, smoked trout, salmon, eggs benedict, but NO KIPPERS! How is a man expected to live under those conditions, I ask?

We've done several suite cruises, and asked the exact same question you have. Answer, well, not all that much. They do bring you unsolicited tea and cakes in the afternoon, which is not standard operating procedure at the non suite level, not that your room attendant won't bring you the exact same goodies if requested. I destroyed a shoe in Singapore a few years back and could not find an open shoe repair shop to get it fixed. Our Butler took care of it as soon as we boarded, had the shoe back the next day. Again, not that your attendant at a different level would not have provided the exact same service. Oh, when they DO provide these lovely extra services, they wear formal coat tails (Don't remember about white gloves, but I think they did.) Your room attendant WON'T be in tails, when the tea and cakes are delivered - to their relief.

Azamara service is superb, the crew, from the highest to the lowest, is a delight. But really, the Butler shtick is a bit of a put on. A nice put on, but a put on. Enjoy your trip, with or without your Butler! We are going transatlantic in April, sans butler I'm afraid, and are still counting the days.

Ouch! Thanks for the menu posting Bill, but I must say that I am terribly underwhelmed! The menus are lovely, but not particularly different from what can be routinely obtained in either Prime C or Aqualina, for considerably less money. Olive Oil poached (frozen) halibut does not excite me, nor does a day old bread salad with crab (the panzerella). Fillet au Poive probably should be on the Prime C menu, and I'm sure the kitchen would do it in a heartbeat if requested. Zuppa di celeriac? I don't think so... Celeriac is a grossly underused vegetable, at least here in the States, it makes a great puree, but I don't think any Italian would turn one into a soup. (I do a "French" version with chestnuts and celeriac, but it ain't Italian) To be fair, the wine selections are the "standard", superb Azamara bottles. I've had many of them (off ship, not on), and would not hesitate to recommend them in a heart beat. You can do a fantastic pairing with the menus presented.

My conclusion - if you are not a foodie, but want to splurge on a superb meal that you would never do at home, paired with some great wines, go for it. But if you are a foodie, well, you can order in the specialty restaurants, and you will figure out which of either the house wines or the bottles you wish to try. For a lot less than $190. per couple.

Lest anyone think this a "criticism" of the Journey/Quest food service, far from it. It doesn't really matter where you eat on these ships, you aren't going to go away hungry, and that certainly includes the pool grill. It is a criticism of the imagination of the people who put together these specialty menus. These could be showcase meals for the line, but alas, they are not, and certainly not for the prices they are charging. Keep the idea, rethink the menus! (Friendly criticism from a true friend of Azamara)

Krakatoa, thanks for raising the question, and make sure you get to the Gardens. Kampol, your link was appreciated, meet you on board. The old port probably makes sense for us, that is where the dry dock area is. It won't matter where I get off, but I don't want to miss the 10PM departure! Signing off,

Dr H

We are on Journey's next voyage out, which is not listed on berkshireboy's link. Of interest is that the Queen Mary 2 will be at the port in Mid-February, on an Andorra to Andorra cruise. That is pretty fascinating, because I was not aware that Andorra was a sea faring nation. (No joke, look for yourselves, you can't make this stuff up!) I suspect you/we are leaving from Marina Bay, but as Ronald Reagan used to quote: "Trust, but Verify". If it is Marina Bay, do yourselves a favor, and spend some time at the Marina Bay Gardens, they should not be missed! Best regards,

Dr H

And what's wrong with a little bit of luxury periodically? When I/we chose Azamara in 2010 for our Med. cruise, I had several small demands. One was that the ship stop at Santorini - I had to see Santorini before I died (I'm young, by the way). No big deal, I guess all cruise ships stop at Santorini, but we were there for a very long, relaxed day. Very nice perk. Boarding the ship, being handed a glass of sparkling wine with a very real, warm hello in the understated beauty of the reception area was a very nice "wow" to a first time cruiser. It is really a very beautiful ship, and I understand that we will be getting significantly more "wow" following the re-fit. The Azamara destinations seem to be wonderful, but more on that in a moment. My disappointments with Azamara, "luxury" wise: The dinner menus are highly American taste oriented, perhaps that is true of most cruise lines, I don't know, and really cannot comment because I haven't cruised very much. Personally, I would love to see a French dining flair or more emphasis on the local regional cooking. It is my understanding that Oceania provides that with Jacques Pepin indirectly ruling the kitchen. As for time in port, well, at best it is a tease. A 4-6 hour landing gives a hoard of passengers just enough time to buy trinkets, snap some pictures, and spend some prolonged moments in an area. Az definitely does better in that regard, but still, you cannot get more than a feel for the locale with a half day trip. I've "been" to Paris 4 times, each about 6-10 hours. I think it is the most magnificent city I've ever visited, and I've even been to the Louvre twice (I guess I am entitled to say "I've Done the Louvre"). But I cannot say that I've traveled to Paris, because I haven't. So destination wise, AZ is indeed fantastic, but in my book, improve on what you've already got - a bit more sea time to enjoy the amenities of the ship and the passengers, without having to engage in the frenetic rush at the ports might be in order. Actually, I will be getting that wish with our next cruise - Scandinavia-Iceland next year. Definitely more sea time, and lots of time in and around Iceland. The Azamara ships are rated 5½*, Oceania 6*. This travel maven thinks that haggling over ½* is a silly undertaking. Each line will have its advantages, each its disadvantages and both beat the hell out of commuting to work each morning. As long as Azamara doesn't assault me with the beef stronanoff from hell again (see one of my other postings), I'm sticking with them. Price, locations, amenities, size or passenger load, I think I'll do very well without that half star. But if possible, Mr. Lieber or Mr Pimentel, any chance of your getting a feeler put to Alaine Ducasse?

20 months ago, as Journey was blissfully sailing the Eastern Mediterranean, present company and DW onboard, some very demented, evil chef decided to include "beef stroganoff" on the MDR menu. It is pretty hard to mess up beef strips cooked with onions, muchrooms, in a sour cream sauce, but he did. It was the only bad, and I mean REALLY BAD, inedible meal we had during those 12 days. It was so ghastly, so awful, that the 2 of us are STILL laughing about it, as I said, 20 months later. Certainly it was the most "memorable" meal of the cruise. For newbies to Azamara who worry about the food and the wines, have no fear. That chef was drawn and quartered, after being keelhauled. I suspect he works for Costa now, or McDonalds... Food in the MDR was always very, very good, occasionally spectacular, and dinners in the specialty DRs were a notch above that. We did not leave the ship hungry. (OBTW: never had any real problem booking reservations in the specialty DRs. There was one day, late in the afternoon, when I wanted to get in and could not, but no problem for booking the next day. This was on a fairly full, lengthy cruise.) I think the greatest culinary concern we should have at this time is when the Rose wines will be introduced. And I vote for the Roses of Provence and Spain, please, please skip pink stuff from the US.

Judy, my only complaint about your posting is that we still have 14 months of waiting before we get to enjoy our Azamara suite for 11 nights of Scandinavian hedonism. We are really new to cruising, I haven't done too much homework regarding Oceania's product, I've just gotten the gestalt that it was a higher end product when compared to Az. Having been on only one AZ cruise, I have no desire to look elsewhere, and your posting just firms up my belief. Anyway, advancing from veranda to club continental apparently is a significant jump. I'm still fishing for specifics as to just what the butler does that makes them such an asset, and would love to hear more specifics from you. You are probably aware that Soovia has been mentioned on other postings, again, very, very favorably. So please, keep posting. OBTW: I am going to be copying your post, and sending it on friends who will be joining us next year. Kind of stoking the fires of envy, if you will.

I'm a physician, Internal Medicine, and am constantly asked to prescribe scope patches. I never, ever write for it. I consider the stuff dangerous, and that dizziness described is part of the side effects. As is the dilated eye pupil and blurred vision on one side, and walking into walls. Please, drink some ginger ale or eat some candied ginger! It is so much safer! I do prescribe Antivert (meclizine) which is the same drug as bonine, for nausea and vertigo. Benadryl will also work just as well. Might not have the exotic allure of a grey patch plastered behind your ear, but they work and are a lot safer.

Dr H