Ok here goes, the good, the bad and the ugly.

[ellbon]

Cunard can be -- their Berlitz rating is an average of Grill class & Britannia class. If you sail in Grill class [particularly Queens Grill] that should bring the rating to 5 stars.

 

Crystal is hurt by the small size of the dining rooms on their ships which prevents true anytime dining. Their new ships will surely by rated 5 stars.

 

That leaves the other 4.5-star cruise lines, some of which claim to be luxury -- thus my original statement about a "self-proclaimed" luxury line.

 

well, then I never have sailed on a luxury line. thought regent years ago for the MDR but do not remember a thing of rest of cruise. not sailed Seaborn or Silversea. not found a cruise i wanted at the time i was going.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[scapel]

Upon arrival at the cruise terminal we were quickly checked in and joined the ship.

That has been our experience also

 

We were offered drinks, and tried a rose,which was very good and the sparkling wine,which was not the best, In our opinion for the money a good cava or prossecco would have gone down better.

Now that is personal preference.

 

There was plenty of space in the CC suite, although I felt the bathroom was a little small, with no where to put anythng.

On our first Azamara cruise it was supposed to be a President's Cruise, but Larry did not show up. When we saw the size of the bathroom we upgraded to the Owners suite.

 

There we four bottles of spirits in the room and mixers, which was nice, interestingly, they were premium spirits and not included in the normal drinks package?!

Right and they allowed me to swap out Scotch for Blue Sapphire Gin.

 

Cocktails of which i tried three types and after that gave up, contained so much alcohol they were undrinkable. The barman was just trying to give you the most for your money. They give such personal service I'm sure if you said something to them it would have easily been fixed by diluting. The next drink, I would bet they would have remembered.

 

 

We weren't asked what was wrong with them, and gave up after a few tries. They are good, but not mind readers. You have to tell them your desires.

 

The wine was reasonable, with some of it being very good, so we stuck with that. However, I didn't feel that drinks were ever replenished very quickly, and found we weren't being asked by wait staff generally if we wanted more.

Some people don't like to be interrupted with those questions. Again crew if told your preferences should remember you.

 

 

During the cruise we enjoyed white night which was a nice night initially, but finished quite early after most people left due to what we thought was a very ill thought out dj set, it really died on its feet, which was a real shame. Agree, White Night is a Azamara specialty and on the ones I have attended there was a full band.

 

Breakfasts were fine,but a shame there were very few fresh berries and lots of frozen fruit. Didn't like the fact we were pushed towards having pre fried eggs which were on a hot plate, as they didnt seem keen on cooking those fresh. Probably just trying to decrease wait time. You can get what you ask for.

 

 

Omlettes were fresh cooked, but a bit too well done for us. Again "Cooked to Order" Speak up and they should fix it right there and then.

 

Pastries started out excellent, but latterly seemed less fresh for some reason? Again complain and see if it gets fixed, If not notify the Head of Food service while on the ship.

 

Lunches were on the whole good, with only the Az burger disappointing us, due to it not being cooked to our liking. You have to tell them your liking.

 

It is unfair to compare a premium line with a luxury line. Not sure if I have ever been on a luxury line. Haven't been on Seabourn.

I will attaché my cruise experience this time, but have been trying to remember to take out the check.

Now the best cruise experience I have ever had is cabin 7005 on the Azamara journey. This is a forward viewing cabin and we had breakfast delivered and ate with friends as we sailed into the different ports. This was our first forward viewing cabin and had concerns about slamming down in rough weather, but it was a smooth sail. The Eggs benedict and French Vanilla Cappuccino were always hot and tasty. Our Blackpool friends always got their fresh fruit.

[scapel]

On a SouthEast Asia cruise I had a Penthouse suite on the Millennium. On a stop at Komodo island, a Cruise Critic member got a group together to tour. He had 75 people and I talked to the Concierge and we had our own private first Tender to take us ashore with all 75 in our group. I thought that was luxury service, but maybe not. We divided up into groups of 10 once ashore.

[81Zoomie]

French vanilla cappuccino, really??? YUM!

[johnnycruise]

How kind of you to dissect the OP's review.:rolleyes:

[nolatravelgirl]

On a SouthEast Asia cruise I had a Penthouse suite on the Millennium. On a stop at Komodo island, a Cruise Critic member got a group together to tour. He had 75 people and I talked to the Concierge and we had our own private first Tender to take us ashore with all 75 in our group. I thought that was luxury service, but maybe not. We divided up into groups of 10 once ashore.

Komodo is regulated by a National Park Service and there are set guidelines for how many can be in a "trek" which is either the the long or short trek. The short trek is about a mile loop which pretty much ends at the watering hole where the national park services feeds the dragons so guests can be pretty much assured of seeing a Komodo dragon. The long trek takes a slightly longer trek that passes a second feeding site.

 

Komodo Island is a very dry, ugly island that happens to have some unique inhabitants. The inhabitants are carnivores which who, given the opportunity, would eat you for lunch.

 

Your CC member just coordinated basically that you would all pay and be on the short trek.

 

Komodo is a cool place to visit but I REALLY don't need to go back there ever!

 

[scapel]

Komodo is regulated by a National Park Service and there are set guidelines for how many can be in a "trek" which is either the the long or short trek. The short trek is about a mile loop which pretty much ends at the watering hole where the national park services feeds the dragons so guests can be pretty much assured of seeing a Komodo dragon. The long trek takes a slightly longer trek that passes a second feeding site.

 

Komodo Island is a very dry, ugly island that happens to have some unique inhabitants. The inhabitants are carnivores which who, given the opportunity, would eat you for lunch.

 

Your CC member just coordinated basically that you would all pay and be on the short trek.

 

Komodo is a cool place to visit but I REALLY don't need to go back there ever!

 

 

He collected all the money at the Cruise Critic party and then paid the main guide. You cannot go on this trek without a guide and I wouldn't want to be without a guide. Don't know why the forked stick, but the guide seemed to trust it. Those Dragons can move faster than you think by looking at them.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

How kind of you to dissect the OP's review.:rolleyes:

 

Yes, i thought that was interesting. Hopefully he/she will actually experience the luxury he/she isnt sure they've experienced sometime soon!

[nolatravelgirl]

He collected all the money at the Cruise Critic party and then paid the main guide. You cannot go on this trek without a guide and I wouldn't want to be without a guide. Don't know why the forked stick, but the guide seemed to trust it. Those Dragons can move faster than you think by looking at them.

That is the standard tour. They aren't allowed to carry any other weapons other than the pointy stick. You can't get off the boat without having a pre-arranged tour. The ship tour does the same thing where you are sorted into smaller groups once you tender onshore. There should have been a person with a pointy stick at both the back and front of your group.

 

Not sure what you assumed the ship tour is whether you thought it was some version of Survivor where they just let the tourist roam around and hope that nobody got eaten. Other than being on the first tender what was the perceived luxury you received that the other ship passengers didn't receive?

[Ebeth63]

That is the standard tour. They aren't allowed to carry any other weapons other than the pointy stick. You can't get off the boat without having a pre-arranged tour. The ship tour does the same thing where you are sorted into smaller groups once you tender onshore. There should have been a person with a pointy stick at both the back and front of your group.

 

 

 

Not sure what you assumed the ship tour is whether you thought it was some version of Survivor where they just let the tourist roam around and hope that nobody got eaten. Other than being on the first tender what was the perceived luxury you received that the other ship passengers didn't receive?

 

 

I read that comment as being a compliment to the Ship for reserving the group the first tender of the day so that they could all disembark together for their tour.

[scapel]

I read that comment as being a compliment to the Ship for reserving the group the first tender of the day so that they could all disembark together for their tour.

 

You are correct. This was a privately arranged tour, but complimentary first departing tender. She just led us all down to the area and we all boarded. Yes I did mean it to be complimentary to the Cruise Ship.

Very well done.

[uktog]

You are correct. This was a privately arranged tour, but complimentary first departing tender. She just led us all down to the area and we all boarded. Yes I did mean it to be complimentary to the Cruise Ship.

Very well done.

 

Sorry I do not understand your post - tendering is complimentary for everyone. And anyone with a private tour on Azamara can ask if it is possible to go on the first tender. Typically they put the excursions on the second tender or they deploy tenders dedicated to the excursions if need be. This is an area that Azamara handles very well, especially in places in Santorini

[scapel]

Sorry I do not understand your post - tendering is complimentary for everyone. And anyone with a private tour on Azamara can ask if it is possible to go on the first tender. Typically they put the excursions on the second tender or they deploy tenders dedicated to the excursions if need be. This is an area that Azamara handles very well, especially in places in Santorini

I was reporting on a Celebrity Cruise and usually first tenders are reserved for passengers with a high number of cruise points or on ship sponsored tours. Rather than get separate passes for all 75 people the concierge just walked us down to the first tender. I was just saying how nice she was to do this for us. This was not an Azamara cruise I was commenting on. If it is off topic, I apologize.

[ellbon]

I was reporting on a Celebrity Cruise and usually first tenders are reserved for passengers with a high number of cruise points or on ship sponsored tours. Rather than get separate passes for all 75 people the concierge just walked us down to the first tender. I was just saying how nice she was to do this for us. This was not an Azamara cruise I was commenting on. If it is off topic, I apologize.

 

I got it the 1st time. your group took half of a lifeboat and you wanted all of you on one boat. Plus you said Celebrity.I did not find it hard to gt on the 2st or 2nd tender with them either.nice to know you do not ahve to wait for tpours.

[CruiseAficionado]

Yes, i thought that was interesting. Hopefully he/she will actually experience the luxury he/she isnt sure they've experienced sometime soon!

 

As a first time AZ cruiser (Oct25th MSY-MIA) I read the banter in this post with considerable interest. Having experienced the luxury just this year on a 20 day Seabourn Odyssey cruise and another 20 days on Regent Navigator I look forward to comparing them to Azamara. Since I do not yet consider myself a cheerleader for either of these lines I will try to provide an unbiased evaluation. Having said that I do not know if I will be prepared to suffer the slings and arrows that my comparison might bring. LOL

 

BTW will be in a CC Suite which should compare favorably with suites on Seabourn and Regent and plan on dining exclusively in the specialty restaurants per Tilly's rave reviews.

[TravelBugM]

<BTW will be in a CC Suite which should compare favorably with suites on Seabourn and Regent and plan on dining exclusively in the specialty restaurants per Tilly's rave reviews.>

 

Curious, are the menus in the specialty restaurants on Seabourn and Regent (if there are any) the same each night?

 

As the Prime C and Aqualina menus don't change, I think I would find them boring for an entire cruise.

 

We really enjoyed the variety offered in Discoveries, Windows and The Patio.

[CruiseAficionado]

<BTW will be in a CC Suite which should compare favorably with suites on Seabourn and Regent and plan on dining exclusively in the specialty restaurants per Tilly's rave reviews.>

 

Curious, are the menus in the specialty restaurants on Seabourn and Regent (if there are any) the same each night?

 

As the Prime C and Aqualina menus don't change, I think I would find them boring for an entire cruise.

 

We really enjoyed the variety offered in Discoveries, Windows and The Patio.

 

Yes they are, however, there is not that much difference between them and the others so we enjoyed them all.

 

So you are saying maybe the difference between the AZ Specialties and the rest is not as great as Tilly states in her review?

 

Maybe we will try some of the others per your suggestion. Thanks

Edited September 28, 2016 by CruiseAficionado
add more

[TravelBugM]

We found all of the dining venues enjoyable. We liked the variety and being able to select where to eat based on the menu and how we were feeling.

 

We dined at Prime C and Aqualina. Would we pay the premium again (we were not in a suite)? Probably not. Didn't really find the value when we had such wonderful meals and service in all the other venues.

[CruiseAficionado]

We found all of the dining venues enjoyable. We liked the variety and being able to select where to eat based on the menu and how we were feeling.

 

We dined at Prime C and Aqualina. Would we pay the premium again (we were not in a suite)? Probably not. Didn't really find the value when we had such wonderful meals and service in all the other venues.

 

In all fairness I misread Tilly's comparison as a difference between Specialty and MDR instead of her actual comparison of buffets. Mea culpa.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

I did compare the speciality on AZ to the MDR on SB, as we ate solely in the specialities. As per buffet comparisons,they would be lunches and breakfasts in each cruiselines buffet. I tried to compare like with like to be fair.

I am told on good authority that the difference between respective MDRs is huge, hence my not bothering to dine there. My comparison was made as i felt the quality in the specialties was comparible to SB s MDR.

[Tillylovesseabourn]

To add, it all depends on what the individual is used to. I avoided AZ mdr, as a very trusted friend who sails SB alot with me, doesnt think it passes muster. And this isnt the first person who has said this. If you are used to SB mdr level food, i am told that the comparison must be with the specialties. Like if you are used to a veranda on SB, you must take a CC suite.

[Azamarajunkie]

To add, it all depends on what the individual is used to. I avoided AZ mdr, as a very trusted friend who sails SB alot with me, doesnt think it passes muster. And this isnt the first person who has said this. If you are used to SB mdr level food, i am told that the comparison must be with the specialties. Like if you are used to a veranda on SB, you must take a CC suite.

 

I find that a very strange comment, we have sailed on both Seabourn and Azamara, and eaten in both MDR's, my only comment about the way in Seabourn is different is the way you are hosted to the tables. I think the food quality is very comparable, with perhaps Seabourn being slightly more exotic at times. Personally I wouldn't like to eat every night in the specialities as I would find the menu too restrictive, although I do agree that the ambience is nicer as all MDR's tend to be busier places. Of course, as always food is always subjective to the individual, so I recognise that your views differ from my own due to your own personal tastes. My wife and I did enjoy Seabourn, but to be honest we prefer the value that Azamara gives us.

Edited October 3, 2016 by Azamarajunkie

[Grandma Cruising]

I wouldn't be able to eat a full meal in the 2 speciality restaurants every night - and I'd put on even more weight than I do anyway.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[tgg]

I wouldn't be able to eat a full meal in the 2 speciality restaurants every night - and I'd put on even more weight than I do anyway.

 

On our last cruise, we ate in the specialty restaurants virtually every night. There was no obligation to order "a full meal". On some nights, I ordered two appetizers and dessert. On others, I ordered an entree, soup and a salad.

 

I never left the restaurants hungry. And all my clothes still fit at the end of the cruise.;)