elusive_23

Thank you, I've got it now! It's just very weirdly located, but a simple fix -- Azamara could just change the title of the link to "Book land discoveries/check-in online". Would take 10 minutes.

AllisonJames- As someone who does a little website work at my place of employment what may seem like a simple "10 minute" fix can break a whole website and cause a huge headache. Yes, even changing a title on a clickable link.

But I do agree with everyone that the user interface could be easier to navigate. But unfortunately things like that do not happen overnight. There are so many variables that come into play when enhancing a site or changing it and for all we know a new or improved site could be in development and testing now. ;)

I visited Dubrovnik with another line (HAL) and they had a wonderful kayaking excursion that took us out to Lokrum island where the guide shared about it's history and was open to all sorts of questions about the island and Dubrovnik. Then we went to a secluded pebble beach in a cave for a picnic lunch and snorkeling. It was great to paddle around and see the city from this perspective and it was very enjoyable.

When the excursion ended we took the cable car to the top for the view which was well worth it. Then we wandered around in the walled city part for awhile. It was very hot and I was tired from kayaking so I didn't walk on the walls but there is always next time!

They have a house brand of bottled water that is quite good that is complimentary. Some people prefer the expensive Evian or sparkling Perrier and that is why they offer it. Many restaurants in Europe do the same to please those types of clientele while others are fine with free tap or "no name" bottled water. It's kind of like questioning why Grey Goose isn't included on their complimentary alcohol list... it's about cost and upsell for premium products.

My two cents coming from a 29 year old who mainly sails HAL and has 1 Azamara cruise under my belt with another one booked.

Totally not worth the cost to upgrade unless you HAVE to have a certain brand of liquor and refuse to drink anything else. What they are offering as complimentary equates to what is considered "call" liquor not the crappy "rail" liquor you might get at a standard bar. For beer I see the list is really short but I don't drink beer so I can't comment on that.

I consider myself pretty picky on drinks (husband owns a bar) and I was more than satisfied with the included spirits on my last Azamara cruise. I tried to order every single complimentary cocktail they had on their list but didn't make it very far. Their Blue Wave martini and lime Daiquiri were superb.

As to if the drinks are as creative and alluring as what is offered on Celebrity, although I have never sailed with Celebrity, I would venture to guess that they are not because almost everything on the complimentary cocktail menu are tried and true cocktails that have been around for a long time. Because Azamara offers complimentary spirits I can see why they felt no need to make up crazy new creative cocktails with intriguing names to sell/push/market drinks. Personally, I felt the quality of the drinks as well as the preparation and presentation was top notch and made up for any detriment of the missing unusual or fun drinks.

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/booked-guests/onboard-packages/complimentary-beverages

Great!

Thanks Lilybob. I have sailed with Azamara once before and they do include many things others do not such as tips, alcohol (rail and certain call liquors as well as wine and beer), bottled water, and soda. They also have 4 overnights in port and call on more ports on this itinerary. But, it is around a $2000 price jump to sail Azamara for a 10 day vs. the 7 day offerings on other lines. I suspect most people choose the line they are most familiar with but unfortunately mine, Holland America, doesn't have this itinerary.

I found the shore excursions book on the voyage page at the bottom after looking a bit harder. But am still unable to book any. At this point that is not a big deal as I just wanted the brochure!

Hello all,

I searched the forums but was unable to find an answer to this. I've only sailed with Azamara once and I don't recall when the shore excursions were "released" to view and book. I have booked and paid the deposit for the October 24th, 2016 Arabian Gulf and Emirates voyage and am unable to access the shore excursions through My Azamara. When do the shore excursions typically become available?

I should note when I try to access it (and on-line check in) on different days and times I receive this message: "We are unable to handle your request due to system maintenance. Please try again later." So either they are doing major system maintenance over Christmas or it just means those documents are not available yet.

Thanks!

-Katie

Azamara also sails a similar route and is what I just booked. I am curious as to what others say as I was debating between RCCL, MSC and Costa because of the huge cost difference.

Heck yes still going! The media can take their fear-mongering and shove it. :D

I was in Israel in October 2014 less than a month after all the Hamas bombings. Never once did I feel endangered. Same with Turkey. It obviously hurt the cruise line because we sailed at half capacity but that just meant a nice free upgrade for us as well as no fighting for deck chairs.

People will make comments about where I travel but I just tell them that I am more likely to get hit by a car than I am to be blown up by a bomb. And when they bring up the fact that it's the Middle East they get a "so what?". I was in the Caribbean in October and they caught two terrorists in St. Maarten a few days after I left that particular island.

My husband and I are looking at a 10 night Arabian Gulf and Emirates voyage in October 2017. I have no qualms about booking and going whatsoever. If something is to happen while I'm there well at least I died doing what I love.

My husband and I are almost ready to pull the trigger on this one! :D

I wish it was doing it this year as I'd be on a segment of it! The Rotterdam did the African Explorer itinerary in 2014 and isn't scheduled to do so this year. I desperately wanted to take it last year but it interfered with my Azamara cruise so I was hoping it would be offered again this year but no such luck.

In regards to the sailing schedule I think HAL must have failed to update that particular time period.

We flew into FLL on a non-stop flight with Spirit that was scheduled to leave at 1:15am the night before from MSP. The flight was delayed over 2 hours and we arrived around 5 or 6am in FLL. It was the LAST flight out so if anything happened we wouldn't fly until 7 or 8am the next day. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. We did it to save on hotel and airfare costs but we will NEVER fly in the day of or on Spirit EVER again.

I'm not sure who you are cruising with but I like to be AT the port by NOON as they often start boarding at noon or earlier. Your flight schedule is cutting it WAY too close and would hate to hear you missed the boat.

Hi there. I've only sailed on the Amsterdam so would love advice as to which ships might have a more lively scene with younger passengers during the holiday sailings. My kids are 28, 20, and 17. We are in our late fifties and enjoy deck parties, steeldrum bands, dancing in the disco (hopefully to disco, :D).

As a 29 year old who has done several different sailings with HAL I really don't think you can predict which sailing or ship will be more lively. It's just a chance you take sailing with HAL. The 7 day Caribbean sailing I did in the month of March on the Nieuw Amsterdam had the least amount of young people and was the least lively I have experienced with only 1 couple around my age. The most lively was a May 7-day Alaskan itinerary (Rotterdam) and two different October 12/14-day Mediterranean itineraries (Rotterdam and Nieuw Amsterdam). And "lively" on HAL is probably not even close to what you might experience on RCCL, NCL or Carnival. I would say there are never more than a dozen people in the age range of your kids. That being said I believe the smaller groups of people have led to a more enjoyable time with everyone being included. And if they don't mind the company of older people there are often many fun 30-40 year olds that keep the Crow's nest or Northern Lights open late as well. Personally I love HAL but I go for the quiet and relaxation and not for the parties and late nights. Good luck in your decision!

Yes of course there are different rules for such categories as juniors, trainees, people who have disabilities etc. But speaking generally about an able-bodied, adult worker, no-one can be paid less than the minimum wage, which is currently $17.29 per hour. If working casually, as a lot of hospitality workers do, there is a 25% loading on top of that.

 

This is an interesting article, although it is from 2013 and rates everywhere hopefully have increased.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/19/the-u-s-has-a-7-25-minimum-wage-australias-is-16-88/

 

If (at that time) the US minimum wage is $7.25 per hour and you say hospitality workers get paid less than that, well in my opinion that is just slave labour. :eek:

 

Regards

Jan

I don't want to divert the thread even further but with that being said I wanted to clear things up.

The U.S. has a $7.25 minimum wage for non-tipped positions. If you are in a tipped position (receive more than $30 in tips) the employer can pay you $2.13 an hour in certain states. However, pay must equal at least $7.25 after tips. This means as an employer that if my bartender does not make enough tips to average $7.25 an hour then I am obligated to make up the difference. Most places I know do not hold up this end of the bargain and it would be hard to prove they didn't without claiming your tips on your taxes (which many don't do).

Here is a handy chart to see what is required of employers to pay in the U.S.

http://www.dol.gov/whd/state/tipped.htm

As far as why anyone would take such a low paying job, well, my fiance once bartended at a place where he averaged more per hour in tips than I do at my mid-level salaried job that requires a degree! :eek:

I honestly thought the initial post was satire... until I got 3/4th of the way through. :eek:

I won't even begin to tell you how I really feel about this because I co-own a resort bar and have had far too many conversations about tipping and wages with people. :mad: We pay well above standard server's minimum wage plus they get their tips. We, as a business owner are expected to pay taxes on our server's claimed tips which I assume HAL is responsible in some way to pay/report the HSC and pay taxes on those as well. People like you are the reason why we pay our employees above minimum wage and another reason why I also have a 9-5 desk job. I assume you have never worked a day in your life in the service industry or retail. I'd like to see you be "ON" all the time and have to smile and greet everyone for 12-14 hours a day for an 8 month contract away from their family. Ship life is NOT easy. Service cannot be 100% perfect all the time. People have bad days, things go unnoticed or forgotten or don't wind up going up the chain to the proper person, or they realize what a big PITA someone is going to be and realize there is no placating them. I'm truly sorry you had a horrible experience on HAL but as others have stated things could have been prevented or quickly resolved in an efficient and most likely satisfactory manner by following the below suggestions:

1) If you are injured while onboard....have someone get a manager. Write up an injury report. DO NOT STAND AROUND IN THE LIDO...SIT DOWN TO WAIT FOR YOUR GROUP.

 

2) If your sheets are dirty have the steward change them....CALL HOUSEKEEPING. If the TV does not work properly....CALL THE FRONT DESK.

 

3) The people working on the ship are living where they work. IF THEY ARE NOT ON DUTY LEAVE THEM ALONE. If they want to chat let them come to you.

 

4) YOU ARE TOLD UPFRONT WHAT THE HOTEL SERVICE CHARGE IS. IT IS PART OF THE COST OF YOUR TRIP. Leave it alone. Can you remove the resort fee from a hotel visit on land?

 

If you have issues on the ship take it up with the department manager (you may have to bypass the front desk) if the issue is not resolved quickly and to your satisfaction. Then you can enjoy the rest of your trip.

As far as renaming HSC to something else... why when the name fits? You are on a FLOATING HOTEL and you are utilizing the all-inclusive SERVICES in that floating hotel which encompasses every staff member on board.

If you do choose to HAL again please keep in mind that your vacation is what YOU make of it and a positive attitude armed with the ability to seek out the proper help to get issues resolved can make your vacation much more enjoyable.

I think I've taken this quiz before but I took it again and received:

Madame Adventurous :D

During off-ship excursions, others haggle with merchants while you hack through rain forests. You enjoy venturing off, off, off the beaten path, whether it's a brisk ATV ride through the jungle, discovering a secluded beach, or canoeing down an isolated river. And your wardrobe often prompts the question, "Dr. Livingston, I presume?" Sailing away is just the beginning of the thrill ride.

I will definitely look for this on my upcoming cruise on the Oosterdam. YUM!

Do you find the fare you pay worth it for the service, food?

Yes, otherwise I'd go to another line or not cruise at all.

RBB- since they credit your credit card the $1500 instead of applying it to your cruise balance you could turn around and buy $1500 of shipboard credit. Basically I think cruise discount is misleading as all it is is cash back applied to your credit card balance. I assume the free cruise reward works that way as well. The free cruise benefit is even more bang for your buck than a cruise discount but you need at least 150,000 points.

150,000 points for $3,000 which equates to $50 a point.

200,000 points for $4,000 which equates to $50 a point.

300,000 points for $7,500 which equates to $40 per point.

I guess cruise discount and free cruise probably sound better from a marketing stand point than cash back rebate.

In 2013 I redeemed my points for a couple of $50 beverage cards. They were in our stateroom at arrival. The beverage package had just rolled out and unfortunately we got screwed by leaving our beverage cards on our lanyard with our ship card. Half of the drinks were charged to the beverage program and half to our beverage card (essentially making the beverage program useless). It was partly our fault for leaving the cards on there in the first place. Anyways... lesson learned.

This year I redeemed 40,000 points for $500 off our cruise. There was a bit of confusion as I thought it would be taken off what we owed HAL and would show on their site but instead was issued as a $500 credit to my credit card off of my balance.

It seems the best bang for your buck is redeeming points for $$ off your cruise (cruise discount). Especially when you have a higher amount of points to return. (40,000pts and up)

For example:

10,000 pts for $100 credit is $100 per point

20,000 pts for $200 credit is $100 per point

40,000 pts for $500 credit is $80 per point

60,000 pts for $750 credit is $80 per point

80,000 pts for $1,000 credit is $80 per point

110,000 pts for $1,500 credit is $73.34 per point

135,000 pts for $2,000 credit is $67.50 per point

(Depressing to figure that out ^)

For your casino credit or my beverage card it is 5,000 points for $50 which is $100 per point.

As others have mentioned there are other CCs that have better reward programs for travel. But the service I have received from Barclay (HAL) has been great.

I am 29 and my fiance is 31. We are taking HAL for our 21 day honeymoon.

This will be my 5th cruise with HAL in 6 years. I've only strayed once to another line. I choose HAL because of the impeccable service, the atmosphere and the port intensive itineraries. Yes, the demographic skews older but I prefer it. Personally I want to relax on my vacation and not bar hop or go do belly flops into the pool. I want to have a formal sit down dinner and meet elders that have many amazing stories and wisdom to share. I tend to relate easier to the older demographic and feel less socially awkward with them vs. people my own age as well.

Many people tell me I belong on another cruise line and that I should try MSC or NCL or any of the other "younger" cruise lines while I'm still young. Frankly I like that there are few people my age on the cruise. Depending on the time of year and the itinerary you may have a dozen people around your age or none at all. When there has been people my age I have found that most, if not all, have been wonderful people who have become good friends that I talk to on a regular basis. I even went on a date once with someone I met on board! I think it would be much harder to make friends with such wonderful people on a larger ship or line that has hundreds or thousands of people my age.

In the end though, the cruise is what you make it. I've been a part of some pretty fun and crazy antics on board with people of all ages. Not everyone goes to bed at 10pm. :D

I've come close to buying the HAL bed several times! I'm just too cheap. :D

As a 20 something, yes I have worn dressy jeans with a fancy date night shirt in the MDR but I generally try to wear a skirt, dress pants, dress or something just a bit above jeans if I can. It just seems more appropriate. My nephew and fiancé both chose to wear khakis and button ups or polos.

Considering I've been wait listed for fixed dining on all but one of my cruises with HAL I doubt they will change if it's that popular. I love fixed dining!