New to Azamara, anything I should know?

[excitedofharpenden]

Yes we are in a suite, thank you. I just had a thought--most electronic chargers do the conversion in the little plug at the end, right? But with USB charging, most devices get plugged in directly--does the USB port itself handle the conversion? (Nerdy thought of the day.)

 

Yes they do. USB sockets are very useful in today's world! My universal travel adaptor has two of them as well.

 

Phil

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Okay, yet another newbie question.

 

I know gratuities are included in the fare on Azamara. We are used to this from our Regent and Paul Gauguin cruises. And we have rarely tipped anyone extra, although we have contributed to the crew welfare fund at times.

 

Do people tend to leave a little extra for particular services, or not? We are in a butler suite, but tend to be the type of passenger who really doesn't use the butler very much. Just wondering what is the norm among you veterans.

[cheznick]

hi just a little light hearted reply, perhaps you should change your name to wendy the wonderer !! lol

[excitedofharpenden]

There is no need to tip above and beyond. As you say gratuities are included. If you feel someone has gone out of their way to help you or you've had great service during the cruise then they'll appreciate the extra. It's really a personal choice. No right or wrong way to do it.

 

Phil

[Wendy The Wanderer]

hi just a little light hearted reply, perhaps you should change your name to wendy the wonderer !! lol

 

That's my husband David, who hasn't posted on this board yet, but no doubt will!

 

There is no need to tip above and beyond. As you say gratuities are included. If you feel someone has gone out of their way to help you or you've had great service during the cruise then they'll appreciate the extra. It's really a personal choice. No right or wrong way to do it.

 

Phil

 

Thanks Phil, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

[excitedofharpenden]

I should have mentioned that a sheet will be delivered to you about half way through your trip entitled "How are we doing?" which is a perfect opportunity to feed back during your cruise (both good and not so good). If anyone is a star then they will really appreciate an honourable mention there as well as the post cruise questionnaire that should be emailed to you very soon after your cruise. It really does get fed back to the crew and they can get rewarded for positive comments.

 

Phil

[ellbon]

some of us tip our butler and room people extra. i tend to do all bartenders who make my drinks and others. . very personal choice.

[wangeling gal]

We tried to tip two bartenders who had been awesome to us when we sailed on Journey in 2013. We really enjoyed their company and getting to hear about their families back home. Both politely declined, saying there was no need for an extra tip, but did ask that if we were so inclined a mention in the survey or to a manager about them would be most welcome. So we did both.

Two fine, harder working young men, (and we made them work hard ;)) you would be hard pushed to find on a ship.

A shout out to Kutut (sunset bar) & Mariano (pool bar) - not sure if they are still with Azamara, but I hope they're doing ok :)

[excitedofharpenden]

A shout out to Kutut (sunset bar) & Mariano (pool bar) - not sure if they are still with Azamara, but I hope they're doing ok :)

Yes, they are. Ketut is on Quest at the moment and Mariano is on Journey and I agree both are excellent and so many others besides. Azamara are starting to swap most of the bartenders and servers between the ships now.

 

Phil

[ellbon]

Yes, they are. Ketut is on Quest at the moment and Mariano is on Journey and I agree both are excellent and so many others besides. Azamara are starting to swap most of the bartenders and servers between the ships now.

 

Phil

 

I know the first one but not the second. i sail more on Quest. I am finding now people take money very quietly.

[marinaro44]

Okay, yet another newbie question.

 

I know gratuities are included in the fare on Azamara. We are used to this from our Regent and Paul Gauguin cruises. And we have rarely tipped anyone extra, although we have contributed to the crew welfare fund at times.

Yes, we find it hard to single out individual crew members to tip (they all treat us so well) so we now make a contribution to the crew welfare fund on every Azamara cruise. The last time we did this we had to do it with cash as we were told it could not be done with a credit card.

 

This would be my recommendation as far as tipping goes.

[beachseeker]

I know the first one but not the second. i sail more on Quest. I am finding now people take money very quietly.

 

Robin, Mariano was in Spirits on our Journey cruise in March. We spent a lot of time with him and he makes a great lemon drop martini. He was definitely a highlight for our ship experience.

Edited May 11, 2016 by beachseeker
Spelling

[ellbon]

Robin, Mariano was in Spirits on our Journey cruise in March. We spent a lot of time with him and he makes a great lemon drop martini. He was definitely a highlight for our ship experience.

 

Susan

 

i did drop in thee but not much.. spent more time on deck 10 at night.. i have not had a Lemon Drop in years. .they stopped making my favorite drink on AZ. Lycee ones.

[BBMacLaird]

We tried to tip two bartenders who had been awesome to us when we sailed on Journey in 2013. We really enjoyed their company and getting to hear about their families back home. Both politely declined, saying there was no need for an extra tip, but did ask that if we were so inclined a mention in the survey or to a manager about them would be most welcome. So we did both.

Two fine, harder working young men, (and we made them work hard ;)) you would be hard pushed to find on a ship.

A shout out to Kutut (sunset bar) & Mariano (pool bar) - not sure if they are still with Azamara, but I hope they're doing ok :)

 

Yes! Both are still with us. I see excitedofharpenden already confirmed this :)

Sorry for the delay from me.

[wangeling gal]

Yes, they are. Ketut is on Quest at the moment and Mariano is on Journey and I agree both are excellent and so many others besides. Azamara are starting to swap most of the bartenders and servers between the ships now.

 

Phil

 

Thanks For that - It's great to hear they're doing well. I agree there are many wonderful crew who make your cruise so much better:D but for that Journey cruise those two young men shone for us.

I have a friend on Quest atm - I'm sure he would of found and reacquainted himself with Ketut;)

[wangeling gal]

I know the first one but not the second. i sail more on Quest. I am finding now people take money very quietly.

 

We also witnessed this on Quest last year, but it did not impact on the level of service we received, but those giving the money were certainly more demanding and at times rude. :cool:

We (personally) didn't find the crew members as personable on Quest, as they were on Journey, but still had great service and a fabulous cruise :D

[pvkatmom]

some of us tip our butler and room people extra. i tend to do all bartenders who make my drinks and others. . very personal choice.

 

As does Robin, we tip the room steward/butler and exceptional bartenders or other service people. Especially since we almost always cruise over the Christmas/New Year's holidays and here we are having a wonderful time and the service people are away from their family and friends. As I recall, there is even a tip line space on the bill (the food itself is complimentary since we're in a suite) for the specialty restaurants, so we leave something there, too.

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks For that - It's great to hear they're doing well. I agree there are many wonderful crew who make your cruise so much better:D but for that Journey cruise those two young men shone for us.

I have a friend on Quest atm - I'm sure he would of found and reacquainted himself with Ketut;)

 

I just thought I'd share a pic of some of the team. Mariano is far left then Jacques, Elij, Martin (will be a sommelier when he returns next contract), Futardo, Kamal and Stylen. All excellent. Perhaps it's a bit embarrassing I know the names of all the bar staff! They are pretty good at knowing my favourite drink depending upon time of day too and not always alcoholic.:o

 

 

Phil

Edited May 12, 2016 by excitedofharpenden

[Lottie A]

Mariano also makes amazing Mocha coffee's ....or so I'm told! :)

[workingtocruise-59]

I just thought I'd share a pic of some of the team. Mariano is far left then Jacques, Elij, Martin (will be a sommelier when he returns next contract), Futardo, Kamal and Stylen. All excellent. Perhaps it's a bit embarrassing I know the names of all the bar staff! They are pretty good at knowing my favourite drink depending upon time of day too and not always alcoholic.:o

 

 

Phil

Thank you for the photo which brings back many happy memories.

Yes, it is always a bit of a surprise (or maybe not!) when the bars' team remember you so well!

We knew "Kamal" in his previous existence as "Roy" (too many Roys on our last cruise apparently) and, amazingly, he remembered us from about 5 years ago even though he had taken a break from Azamara!

Edited May 12, 2016 by workingtocruise-59

[darcori]

Is Darco still a sommelier on the Quest? He was an excellent waiter and now does a great job in his new role, too. His wife ( I think her name is Beatrice) works in the Land Discoveries Department… A super nice couple,

[chrisd108]

 

Ships tours are expensive, but nothing like Oceania's extortionate prices. Your roll call is a good way to join a private tour and as usual, it's best with a smaller group. If you are going to Livorno we can recommend an excellent driver.

 

We will be stopping in Livorno and would love your recommendation on a driver. Thank you!

[excitedofharpenden]

Is Darco still a sommelier on the Quest? He was an excellent waiter and now does a great job in his new role, too. His wife ( I think her name is Beatrice) works in the Land Discoveries Department… A super nice couple,

 

He was on Journey in November, not there in April. Not sure if he's coming back and yes super nice guy. You are right. Bea worked in Land Discoveries.

 

Phil

[tiggertom]

I just thought I'd share a pic of some of the team. Mariano is far left then Jacques, Elij, Martin (will be a sommelier when he returns next contract), Futardo, Kamal and Stylen. All excellent. Perhaps it's a bit embarrassing I know the names of all the bar staff! They are pretty good at knowing my favourite drink depending upon time of day too and not always alcoholic.:o

 

 

Phil

 

Great photograph, especially as it has our Pool Bar staff in it, Martin and Stylen. :D we got to know them pretty well over the last few cruises. They are all great.

[rallydave]

We are new to Azamara as well and have a question. Use a C-Pap that the humidifier uses distilled water. On other lines, they have provided distilled water either included or at a minor cost.

 

What is the policy for providing enough distilled water for our trip. Realize water beyond the bottles of generic water are charged for but, with the ship distilling water for public use, would expect AZ to provide distilled water for a medical device gratis.

 

Thanks