First time on Azamara, what should we expect?

[punkinlr]

Thanks Jim!

DH and I are both Captain's Club on X and Crown and Anchor - so I shall read over the thread and book asap. Which restaurant do you prefer - or are they both equally as good?

 

Lee

[DrKoob]

Thanks Jim!

DH and I are both Captain's Club on X and Crown and Anchor - so I shall read over the thread and book asap. Which restaurant do you prefer - or are they both equally as good?

 

Lee

 

Lee,

We haven't tried them yet but are looking forward to it. We are great fans of the United States Dining Room on Infinity and while there we were truly well taken care of by a fabulous waiter named Christian who we are now told runs the Specialty restaurants on Quest. We are hoping he is still there. We are sure they will both be outstanding and we plan to try and eat in both of them on numerous occasions. We find ourselves with a veritable plethora of OBC on this trip. Since we are not doing any ship's excursions we may have to drink quite a few martinis to spend it all.

[punkinlr]

Jim,

 

Enjoy!!

 

We have found ourselves with quite a nice OBC piggybank! Isn't that fantastic!!

Between military discounts, recent decreases in this sailings cost, and booking bonuses, we are going to enjoy many a sail away/sunset/sunrise/ and any time in-between cocktails...

and who knows- with 40 days to go - there may be even a few more pennies dropped in before we sail!

[tawcat]

Yes we are on the roll call, but haven't seen you, hence the reference! We live in Longmeadow, originally from NY, i know exactly where Chicopee Falls is! Small world!

 

Andy, I know just how you feel, hopefully the time will pass quickly for you, except for the 12 days we are onboard:D

 

Also what cooking excursion? This is our first time on Azamara and we are beyond excited!!

 

Susiefay - we are on the roll call. And a very slow roll call at that. So far according to the rc, there are only like 4 - 5 couples sailing. Woo-Hoo the whole ship to us!!!!!!

 

PunkinLR is my DW, looks like y'all have chatted:) Longmeadow, know it well.

[Andy]

I remember something about the time frame to do this...Host Andy, et all - can you share that with us? Is it 30 days? 60? Would love to get these booked!

 

Hi Punkinlr !

 

You can make reservations between 7-60 days before your sailing. I believe you can only make 1 Specialty Dining Reservation in advance if you are a Captains Club Member. I suggest checking with Captains Club on this.

 

You asked which Specialty Dining Restaurant is better. I feel they are both outstanding. If I had to pick one ? If you enjoy Beef, I'd make Prime C my first choice. Otherwise, I'd probably go with Aqualina first. Frankly, I highly recommend both restaurants.

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy your Cruise !

[susiefay]

Susiefay - we are on the roll call. And a very slow roll call at that. So far according to the rc, there are only like 4 - 5 couples sailing. Woo-Hoo the whole ship to us!!!!!!

 

PunkinLR is my DW, looks like y'all have chatted:) Longmeadow, know it well.

 

 

 

hi to you both! Glad to see you on the roll call, welcome. It is, by far, the slowest roll call i have ever seen:rolleyes: Agree with Lee about the flying, they have taken all the fun out of it, but until we move to florida, a necessary evil:p

[punkinlr]

Hi Punkinlr !

 

You can make reservations between 7-60 days before your sailing. I believe you can only make 1 Specialty Dining Reservation in advance if you are a Captains Club Member. I suggest checking with Captains Club on this.

 

You asked which Specialty Dining Restaurant is better. I feel they are both outstanding. If I had to pick one ? If you enjoy Beef, I'd make Prime C my first choice. Otherwise, I'd probably go with Aqualina first. Frankly, I highly recommend both restaurants.

 

I hope this helps. Enjoy your Cruise !

 

 

Thanks Andy! Yes, we are Captn Club members, so I called today. You are correct in that I could only make one reservation pre-embarkation. Also had to give them our first and second choices - that being the same restaurant for a different day or same day, different restaurant. We're going with Prime C first. Yum-O! We are looking forward to dining in Aqualina as well.

[satchiesmom]

I called today to make a reservation and evidently the Captains Club person was new. First she told me I had to make my reservation online and didn't want to hear me when I told her that that wasn't possible. A bunch of dithering later she agreed that I had to do it by telephone - um, Hello? Isn't that why I called in the first place? Anyway after about 20 minutes she finally took down my choices and told me they were not reservations, just requests. And I would hear whether I got my choices in about 3 weeks. She wasn't mean spirited, just really confused. So I'm not sure where we stand but it seems we have 2 requests. Is this how it works? I'm not meaning to be negative but it seems very complicated compared to Celebrity's process. Still really looking forward to my first Azamara cruise, specialty restaurant reservations or not! :D

 

Susan

[elyob]

I called the Captain's Club to make a reservation and was told I needed to talk to Azamara. They transferred me there and I was told I needed to talk to the Captain's Club. I was transferred back and forth about 5 or 6 times until I finally found someone to talk to. Then they put me on hold for 6 minutes while they tried to figure it out. I had to make 2 choices for the time. They said I would get an e-mail confirming it, which I haven't received yet. They seem to be totally confused. When we sailed Azamara before we made the reservations when we were on board. So hoping that will work this time too.

[Marco Beachcomber]

I called the Captain's Club to make a reservation and was told I needed to talk to Azamara. They transferred me there and I was told I needed to talk to the Captain's Club. I was transferred back and forth about 5 or 6 times until I finally found someone to talk to. Then they put me on hold for 6 minutes while they tried to figure it out. I had to make 2 choices for the time. They said I would get an e-mail confirming it, which I haven't received yet. They seem to be totally confused. When we sailed Azamara before we made the reservations when we were on board. So hoping that will work this time too.

 

 

I had the same problem over a week ago. Bounced around and was finally told it was a request only and I'd be notified by email in a few days. Called back today and found out there was no request pending for me and another "REQUEST" was processed. I was told I'll receive an email within a week. I'll be onboard before then, ha. A lot of work for only one rerservation.

[maryann ns]

I was not a CC member before our last cruise so did not get to experience this run around. That is something they had better fix fast.

 

Almost as soon as we boarded in November, I went up to Aqualina where they do the bookings for both specialty restaurants. I had not trouble getting reservations. In fact we ended up eating in one or the other six times.

 

It will be interesting to see how their new policies will affect the popularity of these restaurants.

[punkinlr]

My experience with the restaurant reservations was like the those posted above....call transfered a couple of times : from Capt's Club to RCCL (for whatever reason!), back to somebody else who sounded like that had a handle on things - but I too was asked to give alternate dates and/or restaurant choice... and my email was taken for confirmation...

but now I'm a bit concerned that it didn't really happen! The rep I did speak with said that for the most part, reservations would be easy to get - as a lot of folks don't ever go to the specialty areas...Better for us!

[punkinlr]

My experience with the restaurant reservations was like the those posted above....call transfered a couple of times : from Capt's Club to RCCL (for whatever reason!), back to somebody else who sounded like that had a handle on things - but I too was asked to give alternate dates and/or restaurant choice... and my email was taken for confirmation...

but now I'm a bit concerned that it didn't really happen! The rep I did speak with said that for the most part, reservations would be easy to get - as a lot of folks don't ever go to the specialty areas...Better for us!

 

We got the "confirmation email" yesterday - disclaimers included! so, basically, we might have a reservation...and then again...we might not! This in itself is a true adventure!

[fPetrarca]

I wouldn't worry too much about getting reservations in the alternative restaurants as they are easy to come by onboard if you are flexible. Late dining is easiest as this is generally an early to bed crowd. As for the new $15 surcharge, that was about what everyone in my group tipped anyway, even when the charge was $5.

[punkinlr]

I wouldn't worry too much about getting reservations in the alternative restaurants as they are easy to come by onboard if you are flexible. Late dining is easiest as this is generally an early to bed crowd. As for the new $15 surcharge, that was about what everyone in my group tipped anyway, even when the charge was $5.

 

Thanks fPetrarca! That's great news!

We actually enjoy dinner at the later hour - easier and more relaxed pace rather than having to hurry back to the ship at the end of the day, rush to bathe and dress - no time for a leisurely cocktail and dancing before dinner if we attempt to eat at 1730. ;-)

[C2Dan]

A. Dining. There are several options for dinner on the Journey:

 

1. The main dining room. This is a fairly cramped dining room that, for some reason, is decorated to look like an ocean liner from the Twenties (think Titanic). The quality of the food ranges from excellent to inedible--try to avoid turkey dishes. The service likewise ranges from expert to inept, depending on whom you get and how busy they are. Some tables are very close together, so close that you might as well be part of the same group. Others are very nicely situated. There are no assigned eating times and no assigned tables. We never had to wait more than a couple of minutes for a table for four at 8:00. There are tables for two as well as a few very large tables.

 

2. The Specialty Restaurants. One is a steakhouse, the other has a more eclectic menu. During our 16-night cruise in January 2010, we were limited to two dinners in the two restaurants combined. It was not clear why they rationed this so tightly, since the places were half empty both nights we ate there. In any event, the ambiance, the food and the service are all vastly superior here. If I sailed on the Journey again, I would pay whatever bribes it takes to eat here more often. We were asked to pay $5 per person in gratuities, but I paid more because we were very happy with the service.

 

3. The Buffet. I would not recommend eating dinner here unless you're feeling queasy and want to avoid the somewhat claustrophobic dining room. The place is OK for lunch and does a good job with breakfast.

 

B. Dress. The evening dress for men in the dining room and the specialty restaurants is typically khakis or chinos with an open-necked dress shirt or polo shirt. No one wore a tie during our cruise; a few men wore sport coats or sweaters. There are always a few men who don't get it; so you will occasionally see jeans and/or T-shirts. In the buffet (and anywhere for lunch and breakfast), anything goes.

[Karynanne]

Thank you for your comments. We're on Journey this Friday, and are looking forward to experiencing this ship.

[maryann ns]

There is no trick to eating more often at Prime C or Aqualina: just ask. They will make the two initial reservations, but we just kept going back and getting more, sometimes on the day.