excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 #1 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I thought it would be fun to start this thread in the name of balance as there has been much negative chat recently here, me included. Many here agree it's about the people working on the ships that make such a difference. Post anything that has happened to you on Azamara that is truly memorable (OK, you'll never forget) and has been made possible by the crew. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted April 10, 2018 #2 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Nice thread idea Phil A few years ago we were overnighting in Mumbai on Journey. Day 1 I arrange some made to measure clothes in the terminal to be picked up Day 2 Overnight the authorities in Mumbai as they do, changed the goalposts and required us to move to a coal bunkering pier with no terminal access. I went to guest relations to ask how could I get terminal access and they discovered I could not. They asked why I wanted it and I explained why but left it at that. Now there’s another part to the story. I have no proper receipt just what looks like a raffle ticket and all I know is it was the second man on the right in the terminal. Anyway I went off on my shore excursion writing off the $35 to experience and thought no more. Imagine my surprises just as we were sailing away there was a knock at the door and there was Louise from guest relations with my handmade outfit. She had contacted the port agent, tracked down the vendors, arranged with the Indian officials (and if you’ve sailed in India you know what that would entail) got a pass to go to the other secure port area and got my outfit And that outfit travels with me every hot weather cruise to this day! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Nice thread idea PhilA few years ago we were overnighting in Mumbai on Journey. Day 1 I arrange some made to measure clothes in the terminal to be picked up Day 2 Overnight the authorities in Mumbai as they do, changed the goalposts and required us to move to a coal bunkering pier with no terminal access. I went to guest relations to ask how could I get terminal access and they discovered I could not. They asked why I wanted it and I explained why but left it at that. Now there’s another part to the story. I have no proper receipt just what looks like a raffle ticket and all I know is it was the second man on the right in the terminal. Anyway I went off on my shore excursion writing off the $35 to experience and thought no more. Imagine my surprises just as we were sailing away there was a knock at the door and there was Louise from guest relations with my handmade outfit. She had contacted the port agent, tracked down the vendors, arranged with the Indian officials (and if you’ve sailed in India you know what that would entail) got a pass to go to the other secure port area and got my outfit And that outfit travels with me every hot weather cruise to this day! Wow!:cool: Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinnamon Posted April 10, 2018 #4 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Not sure it’s quite as special as the previous story, but here goes. On our second Azamara cruise on Quest we had Phillip for our HD again. On our second night I had gone down with a streaming cold. Feeling like Plague Mary we wanted to keep away from fellow passengers to limit possible spread of the virus and sat apart from others in Windows for dinner. Phillip was doing what I assume is his nightly walk around all eating venues and he spotted us. He commented that we don’t normally have dinner at the buffet (amazing memory) and asked if we were ok. I told him of my cold and he offered to pop down to his cabin and fetch some of his own Lemsip (a regular cold remedy in the U.K.) I assured him I had taken meds and after he left we commented to one another ‘You don’t get that level of caring on other ships!’ Corinne Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upwarduk Posted April 10, 2018 #5 Share Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) TA cruise on Quest we had Phillip for our HD. At the officers brunch, I was wandering around looking for dairy free food as I am Dairy intolerant. Philip came to ask me if I had a problem, so I explained that at meal times I always pre ordered, which worked well, except for the sweet course, as I was only able to eat sorbets. He said he would have a word with the chef and have specials made for me. These were delightful. Edited April 10, 2018 by upwarduk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizboyle Posted April 10, 2018 #6 Share Posted April 10, 2018 When we boarded Journey last year, we heard a Scottish accent from a new member of the crew. We started chatting to him, Thomas, the new Food and Beverage manager, and quickly realised he had the "Glasgow patter" and was a very funny guy. Our cruise was to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and we planned to celebrate it at Chefs Table which was hosted by Eric De Gray. We then, out of the blue, got an invite from Captain Johannes to have dinner with him. We were torn what to do, and in the end, decided to stick to our original plans and sent our regrets. We went to chefs table and had a lovely evening. On retiring to bed that night we were horrified when we picked up the Daily Pursuit to see our faces splattered across the front page with the headline "SCOTTISH COUPLE HAVE BRASS NECK TO DUMP THE CAPTAIN"!!!! :o Somehow, Thomas got wind of us having "dumped" the Captain and went to great lengths to play a practical joke on us. It was only when my husband went to reception and seen the "real" Daily Pursuit that the penny dropped and we were laughing hysterically! :') I'm sure you also had a part to play in this Phil! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #7 Share Posted April 10, 2018 When we boarded Journey last year, we heard a Scottish accent from a new member of the crew. We started chatting to him, Thomas, the new Food and Beverage manager, and quickly realised he had the "Glasgow patter" and was a very funny guy. Our cruise was to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and we planned to celebrate it at Chefs Table which was hosted by Eric De Gray. We then, out of the blue, got an invite from Captain Johannes to have dinner with him. We were torn what to do, and in the end, decided to stick to our original plans and sent our regrets. We went to chefs table and had a lovely evening. On retiring to bed that night we were horrified when we picked up the Daily Pursuit to see our faces splattered across the front page with the headline "SCOTTISH COUPLE HAVE BRASS NECK TO DUMP THE CAPTAIN"!!!! :o Somehow, Thomas got wind of us having "dumped" the Captain and went to great lengths to play a practical joke on us. It was only when my husband went to reception and seen the "real" Daily Pursuit that the penny dropped and we were laughing hysterically! :') I'm sure you also had a part to play in this Phil! :D Liz, I’ve got a copy of the front of that daily. Do you mind if I post it here? It was very funny. Way too clever for me to have had a hand in it. Lol Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizboyle Posted April 10, 2018 #8 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Liz, I’ve got a copy of the front of that daily. Do you mind if I post it here? It was very funny. Way too clever for me to have had a hand in it. Lol Phil Feel free Phil. ;p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #9 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Feel free Phil. ;p I’ve blanked out the names to protect the innocent. ;) Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizboyle Posted April 10, 2018 #10 Share Posted April 10, 2018 I’ve blanked out the names to protect the innocent. ;) Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Still makes me laugh! :') Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Cruising Posted April 10, 2018 #11 Share Posted April 10, 2018 That’s hilarious [emoji23] Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFBayAreaShipLover Posted April 10, 2018 #12 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Still makes me laugh! :') Great to see some humor here on CC for a change. This great joke, glad you enjoyed your self Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizboyle Posted April 10, 2018 #13 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Great to see some humor here on CC for a change. This great joke, glad you enjoyed your self Sent from my iPhone using Forums It was a lot of fun! I'm hoping that Thomas is on Quest in June so I can plot my revenge! ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #14 Share Posted April 10, 2018 There’s been a few times I can remember, but one of the best was when Captain Johannes was Master on Journey. Those of you who have done the Mediterranean itinerary that includes Sicily and Sorrento know that if you leave early enough going from Sicily to Sorrento you can pass volcano Stromboli in the dark and may see some orange lava (its pretty much active the whole time to some degree). Going the other way from Sorrento to Sicily it’s the early morning when you pass Stromboli. On one cruise I asked Johannes how close to Stromboli we would be in the morning and was it worth getting up for. He said it would be difficult to see because we would be about 10 miles away. "That’s a shame" says I. "It would be great to see it up close like last time we were here at night". "Hang on" he says. He gets his phone out and rings Kostas, the First Officer on the bridge and asks how much extra we would have to travel to get to 1 mile. He nods his head and says "Ok, do it". So next morning I’m up at 0 dark 30 with a few others who had heard his announcement and we passed smoking Stromboli at 1 nautical mile. It was so cool. Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbqoug Posted April 10, 2018 #15 Share Posted April 10, 2018 That is one of the best practical jokes I have ever seen! I was laughing so hard that my co-workers probably think I've gone crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted April 10, 2018 This was one of the shots I got at about 6am. Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizboyle Posted April 10, 2018 #17 Share Posted April 10, 2018 This was one of the shots I got at about 6am. Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Great shot Phil! It amazes me that people actually live there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellbon Posted April 10, 2018 #18 Share Posted April 10, 2018 My birthday party last summer. Hosted by Heike and about 20 officers on turn around day. i personally hate cake but liked some dessert that Iwan had served. Iwan made a bigger one. Later I went ot my cabin and a huge cake was waiting for me. I took pictures and sent it to crew mess. Another highlight was in 2015 i was very sick and knew i needed anitbodics. The dr refuse to give them to me. He kept telling me I did not need them. I was told to go to the Mall of Asia in Manila to a drs.I had planned on going and the next thing I knew that Ruby was taking me as she did not want me to go alone. Philip knew as she got permission but I did not know she had it. within two days i felt better and sounded better after weeks being sick. talk about giving up free time with family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie A Posted April 10, 2018 #19 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Hazel and I were on Quest a couple of years ago, At the CC meeting Captain Carl told us it would be unlikely that he could tender us into Portofino the next day because the weather was forecast to be dodgy for tendering...big waves. So he was thinking of taking us just around the coast to Santa Margarita. He could see we didn't look thrilled...we like it there but have been many times. So he asked us where we would like to go? We said Genoa...we really like it there. He said he couldn't promise, but he'd give it a go. Next morning we woke up to his announcement that "we are in.......Genoa!" Later that same cruise we asked him why we were getting to Barcelona so late in the evening? We were due in about 10 pm. We had an overnight there. He said he would be slowly taking Quest from the previous port as there was no rush. We said "but we would really like to go out for dinner in our favourite Barcelona restaurant so please was there anyway he could get us there a bit earlier? With a "Captain Carl" smile he said he'd see what he could do? He got us there at 7pm and as we were rushing off the ship for dinner he shouted down from the Bridge Wing...."I got you here early girls. Enjoy your dinner." Later that cruise we were going past him on the way into the Azamazing Evening and with a very big and wry smile he asked us if the rest of the itinerary was OK with us? Can you imagine that happening on any other cruise line except Azamara? I can't. One of the reasons we love Captain Carl! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #20 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Ruby is so lovely, isn’t she? How kind is that? Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Cruising Posted April 10, 2018 #21 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Just shows how willing everyone on Azamara is to go the extra mile to make sure we all have the best time possible. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted April 10, 2018 Author #22 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Hazel and I were on Quest a couple of years ago, At the CC meeting Captain Carl told us it would be unlikely that he could tender us into Portofino the next day because the weather was forecast to be dodgy for tendering...big waves. So he was thinking of taking us just around the coast to Santa Margarita. He could see we didn't look thrilled...we like it there but have been many times. So he asked us where we would like to go? We said Genoa...we really like it there. He said he couldn't promise, but he'd give it a go. Next morning we woke up to his announcement that "we are in.......Genoa!" Later that same cruise we asked him why we were getting to Barcelona so late in the evening? We were due in about 10 pm. We had an overnight there. He said he would be slowly taking Quest from the previous port as there was no rush. We said "but we would really like to go out for dinner in our favourite Barcelona restaurant so please was there anyway he could get us there a bit earlier? With a "Captain Carl" smile he said he'd see what he could do? He got us there at 7pm and as we were rushing off the ship for dinner he shouted down from the Bridge Wing...."I got you here early girls. Enjoy your dinner." Later that cruise we were going past him on the way into the Azamazing Evening and with a very big and wry smile he asked us if the rest of the itinerary was OK with us? �� Can you imagine that happening on any other cruise line except Azamara? I can't. One of the reasons we love Captain Carl! That’s very :cool: Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookyboy Posted April 10, 2018 #23 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Tomasz is now 'hotel director' (if we are talking about the same officer) and I think he told us that he would be taking over from Philip when he (Philip) goes on vacation in April. He was 'acting hotel director' for a wee while a few months ago during which time he did very well apparently. It's great to see this sort of promotion working so well, and with Pursuit requiring staffing, there are lots of wonderful and well deserved promotions happening as we speak. Great stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lookyboy Posted April 10, 2018 #24 Share Posted April 10, 2018 By the way..... great thread and positive posts! Should have said that above. :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.E.C Posted April 10, 2018 #25 Share Posted April 10, 2018 One morning on the Quest I was being served another dried fruit breakfast bar at Mosiac. chef Fabir was next to me and in conversation I told him that they were simply delicious and i was going to personally blame him for any "excess baggage" I might accumulate on the trip. He asked for my cabin number and the following morning with our breakfast order was a plate of these museli bars and the recipe :) Unfortunately they don't taste as good when you make them yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now