Improvements to Dining Room Service?

[makai 7]

We cruised once with Azamara, and had an absolutely wonderful cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong on the Quest.

This was in the 'early days' of Azamara, before they made all the significant changes to pricing, inclusions, etc.

 

Everything about this cruise was excellent, from the Captain (Captain Carl), the crew, the quality of the food, the ports, with a single exception.

The service in the dining room was abysmal. It was not for lack of trying. The crew all were working extremely hard, but there was a terrible lack of organization.

 

It took a very long time to receive your food, and when you did, it often was cold or not what you ordered. We enjoy a leisurely dinner, but plates would sit on the table for very long times between courses, and sometimes we 'gave up' waiting for someone to come back to ask us if we wanted coffee or dessert. This was not being impatient. After more than 2 hours we were tired of sitting in the dining room, and wanted to get up.

 

On one occasion, my DH ordered a lunch that included french fries. He asked for Ketchup. Ketchup was not kept at the service stations in the dining room. The waiter had to travel upstairs to the kitchen to return with a tiny dish- about 15 minutes after lunch was served...

 

This poor service was both at lunch and dinner, and we ended up eating most of our meals in the excellent Buffet. Many of our ship-mates held the same opinion.

 

Now I realize that Azamara has gone thru many transformations since our cruise- and we are considering another try.

 

My question is... How is the overall service in the dining room? Has it improved in the last 2-3 years? Have they finally figured it out?

[mare s.]

I've always enjoyed excellent service in Discoveries. I must admit some stations are better than others, but once we've found a good table we then always ask for the same one and we've never been disappointed.

[midwestchick]

We did not experience any problems whatsoever in 2012 or 2014. Although we did not have the same table each night (didn't ask) we never had a problem finding a table for 2. Go and enjoy your cruise. :D

[Redtravel]

I also started cruising on Azamara in 2009 when it was a really great deal. Everything was top notch.....food, service,butler,harpist,$5 cover to eat in specialty restaurants, etc. After that cruise, we longed to cruise on Azamara again. Next cruise was similar. The changes included wine with meals. Wine was nice. Prices were higher. Service was still good even though we no longer had a butler. Specialty restaurants were $15 cover. Even with the higher prices, we still felt Azamara was a good time. Azamara keeps changing. Prices increased a lot after that cruise. Recent cruise was triple the price of what we paid in 2009. The next change included higher prices with included tips, all drinks, and amazing evenings. Service was okay. Food was okay. Harpist was gone. $25 cover for specialty restaurants. Cabins were in need of new furnishings. While we did enjoy our recent cruise( ports were great), we debated whether we got our money's worth. We do not drink. In the luxury market, Azamara has some heavy competition. We leave on Sunday for our next cruise on a different line.

[BuckGood]

I also started cruising on Azamara in 2009 when it was a really great deal. Everything was top notch.....food, service,butler,harpist,$5 cover to eat in specialty restaurants, etc. After that cruise, we longed to cruise on Azamara again. Next cruise was similar. The changes included wine with meals. Wine was nice. Prices were higher. Service was still good even though we no longer had a butler. Specialty restaurants were $15 cover. Even with the higher prices, we still felt Azamara was a good time. Azamara keeps changing. Prices increased a lot after that cruise. Recent cruise was triple the price of what we paid in 2009. The next change included higher prices with included tips, all drinks, and amazing evenings. Service was okay. Food was okay. Harpist was gone. $25 cover for specialty restaurants. Cabins were in need of new furnishings. While we did enjoy our recent cruise( ports were great), we debated whether we got our money's worth. We do not drink. In the luxury market, Azamara has some heavy competition. We leave on Sunday for our next cruise on a different line.

 

Prices are still Far below the prices on other cruise lines in the same cat....ie..Regent,SilverSea,Crystal,Seaborn, Oceania...

[Henk123]

Prices are still Far below the prices on other cruise lines in the same cat....ie..Regent,....

 

It keeps very difficult to compare.

Regent suites are bigger, excursions are in, free drink assortment is better, special restaurants are free.

[Host Jazzbeau]

People seem to forget that there was a little incident in 2008 that depressed consumer discretionary spending. The cruise lines still had to sail all their ships, so prices were very soft. Now that the economy is recovering, it is time for prices to rise. This is being seen across all cruise lines. Of course as sail dates get closer some cruises with soft bookings will have dramatic sales -- but in general cabins are filling quickly and prices keep going up from release to final payment.

[marinaro44]

It keeps very difficult to compare.

Regent suites are bigger, excursions are in, free drink assortment is better, special restaurants are free.

Yes, it's not easy to compare, but Regent's prices are much higher, and the specialty restaurants allow you one reservation in each pre-cruise and after that it's not so easy. Azamara's included wines are better, IMHO, but the included drink selection is smaller.

 

Senior officers on Regent are not nearly so engaged with passengers. Yes, I know, some people don't care about that. They should stick to Regent. We didn't even get a response from the general manager when we asked that our mid-cruise comments be given to him. We speak with Heike or Ryszard every day on Azamara without having to make any special effort.

 

Our suite on Navigator was larger but no wider, so it still felt small. Club Continent suites on Azamara are four slider panels wide; Navigator's barely more than two, or pretty much the width of an Azamara veranda, so the room didn't feel very large.

 

Azamara always offers cold drinks and chilled towels or cocoa (depending on temperature at the port) while we were given nothing on Navigator, even on 90+ degree days, until we spoke with the new general manager who came onboard halfway through the cruise and suggested it to him. Then the cold drinks and chilled towels stopped after three ports.

 

I'd rather be on Azamara in a Club Continent suite than on Regent in a Penthouse. Much warmer ambiance and caring attitude.