Azamara fan returns from Viking Sea Cruise.

[Lottie A]

I was on the Athens-Venice cruise this August. It was very port intensive.

 

The CC meet up was scheduled during sail away so we did not attend. If it had been even an hour later we would have gone to it.

 

On our Australia cruise it was very well attended, almost packed.

 

 

Thanks for the info MN Gardens. Nice to know that Viking do value CC people, but I'm sure H and I could organise something anyway. At the moment there only appear to be two other posters on our Viking RC!

 

Robin, couldn't agree more with your comments and just to let anyone know who feels it is inappropriate to discuss Viking on the Azamara forum....well we have just booked another Azamara cruise today as well! :)

It will always be our favourite cruise line, favourite crew and first choice but that doesn't stop us trying other cruise lines.

[ellbon]

Thanks for the info MN Gardens. Nice to know that Viking do value CC people, but I'm sure H and I could organise something anyway. At the moment there only appear to be two other posters on our Viking RC!

 

Robin, couldn't agree more with your comments and just to let anyone know who feels it is inappropriate to discuss Viking on the Azamara forum....well we have just booked another Azamara cruise today as well! :)

It will always be our favourite cruise line, favourite crew and first choice but that doesn't stop us trying other cruise lines.

 

Lottie- i have missed ,many CC parties as they do them at 6 at sail away. my first cruise this June they did one before we sailed and I was not even on the ship. sometimes a CC party takes better planning than first night at 6 when we sail at 10. or at sail time. i would not be indoors unless rain or freezing. that is why we have jumpers etc.

congrats on your next AZ cruise. i try to book on ship for the discounts. does not always work.

[LOP]

Lighten up, it was just a joke...sheesh:p

 

I'll be in the bar:cool:

[Lottie A]

Love the comparisons on this thread, but since it is an Azamara board and so as not to upset the moderators and users, it would be wise to make sure to mention other lines less.........

 

Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,

 

 

Lighten up, it was just a joke...sheesh:p

 

 

Oh, a joke. :D

 

Humour doesn't always translate across the pond does it?

 

OK, I'll lighten up and see you in the bar. Mine's a glass of bubbles. :)

[ellbon]

Love the comparisons on this thread, but since it is an Azamara board and so as not to upset the moderators and users, it would be wise to make sure to mention other lines less.........

 

Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,Azamara, Azamara,

 

 

Lighten up, it was just a joke...sheesh:p

 

 

Oh, a joke. :D

 

Humour doesn't always translate across the pond does it?

 

OK, I'll lighten up and see you in the bar. Mine's a glass of bubbles. :)

 

Vodka please:D

[Spursgirl]

Hi Lottie and Hazel,

Couldn't get onto the site yesterday evening. Not sure why. However so pleased to know that you have booked. I am sure you will really love the ship. We were in 3036 and more than happy with the cabin. We had calm seas and felt no 'motion' at all.

They did a cruise critic meeting and about 5 'heavies' turned up including the Captain, but didnt introduce themselves unless approached, so unlike the Azamara ones. They seemed to think that one of the roll call members should have taken charge as it was 'their' party. There were drinks and canapés and about 16 of us, but no general introductions. I am sure you could take charge or at least ask them for more input.

There are no trivia or quizzes they seem to go more for 'Lectures' on various relevant topics. Didnt actually go to any but got friendly with the wife of one of the 4 lecturers on board.

Lots of music everywhere. You will love the nightclub. Lovely barmen.

If you need more information (I am aware this is of course the Azamara site) I will publish my email.

Looking at the 29th May Azamara on Quest but seems expensive - perhaps they will have a Black Friday sale. Also looking to return to Viking perhaps on the Homelands cruise. Would prefer a strictly Fiords cruise, but they don't have that itinerary at the moment.

 

Morning Pam,

 

Could I take you up on your offer please?

 

Would you mind posting your email address as I would like to ask you something about Viking and wouldn't want to upset anyone on this Azamara thread?

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

[LOP]

Morning Pam,

 

Could I take you up on your offer please?

 

Would you mind posting your email address as I would like to ask you something about Viking and wouldn't want to upset anyone on this Azamara thread?

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

 

OMG! Please do not stop discussing this comparison on the forum, I was just playing around and had no intention of touching nerves (although I apparently did).

It is of great interest to read the comparisons and I respect the opinions especially of most of the contributors on this thread based on y'alls' (yes, I am from Texas and we say "y'all") experiences of years of cruising and balanced views of what a cruise vacation offers.

 

I am going to my corner now.:(

Edited October 14, 2016 by LOP

[Lottie A]

OMG! Please do not stop discussing this comparison on the forum, I was just playing around and had no intention of touching nerves (although I apparently did).

It is of great interest to read the comparisons and I respect the opinions especially of most of the contributors on this thread based on y'alls' (yes, I am from Texas and we say "y'all") experiences of years of cruising and balanced views of what a cruise vacation offers.

 

I am going to my corner now.:(

 

Don't go to your corner LOP....we don't mind you playing around! :D

 

However Hazel and I have booked our first Viking cruise for January and have some questions that Pam (Mrs Miggins) can answer. It probably wouldn't be that interesting to the rest of the Azamara forum though, so as she kindly offered, we will try to get in touch with her privately.

 

As to your Texan mangling of the English language, well I can forgive it because y'all know no better. Yes, that was a joke! :)

[ellbon]

Don't go to your corner LOP....we don't mind you playing around! :D

 

However Hazel and I have booked our first Viking cruise for January and have some questions that Pam (Mrs Miggins) can answer. It probably wouldn't be that interesting to the rest of the Azamara forum though, so as she kindly offered, we will try to get in touch with her privately.

 

As to your Texan mangling of the English language, well I can forgive it because y'all know no better. Yes, that was a joke! :)

 

Lottie- Personally I would be more interested than not.. I got on this line and 2 hours to try something new. i stayed here but am always willing to try something new. I tried O to make the ship my holiday vs the ports when marina was new .We all need to do that. i have friends that are so HAL they do ont know thee is better product out there for them. or maybe not.

[dcsam]

We are also Azamara fans, and enjoyed reading your review. We're excited to be cruising with Azamara this February. Azamara is our favorite cruise line. But I just booked the 22 night, Miami to Los Angeles (Dec. 15) Viking cruise. You mentioned Viking is more $, but I found quite the opposite. Though our Viking cruise is over a year away, I'll

be sure to write a review.

[Mrs Miggins]

Morning Pam,

 

Could I take you up on your offer please?

 

Would you mind posting your email address as I would like to ask you something about Viking and wouldn't want to upset anyone on this Azamara thread?

 

Thanks

 

Hazel

 

No problem

rawlins.pam@btinternet.com

Look forward to hearing from you.

Pam

[Melissaghoti]

The CC meet up was scheduled during sail away so we did not attend. If it had been even an hour later we would.

 

This is a bit off topic, but I too hate that the CC party is during sail away. My first Azamara cruise was last June and I was disappointed to have to choose between the party and being on deck. I'm afraid I'll have to make that choice again next May. Wish there was another way to do it.:)

 

Melissa

[ellbon]

This is a bit off topic, but I too hate that the CC party is during sail away. My first Azamara cruise was last June and I was disappointed to have to choose between the party and being on deck. I'm afraid I'll have to make that choice again next May. Wish there was another way to do it.:)

 

Melissa

 

Deck always wins. i have dropped in to the party but after we sail.

[Melissaghoti]

Deck always wins. i have dropped in to the party but after we sail.

 

That's probably going to be the plan, Robin, but I'll be hoping the schedule will change to allow both.

[ellbon]

That's probably going to be the plan, Robin, but I'll be hoping the schedule will change to allow both.

 

Melissa -37 cruises always been at 6 pm. and many times in the dark show room.. if we sail at 5 i might go but many nights at 6 i am unpacking. now i can go to the LR for tapas.. gee, where so i want to go? also I had the VIP party at the same time.

[upwarduk]

This is a bit off topic, but I too hate that the CC party is during sail away. My first Azamara cruise was last June and I was disappointed to have to choose between the party and being on deck. I'm afraid I'll have to make that choice again next May. Wish there was another way to do it.:)Melissa

 

Our 6 pm CC party clashed with a meeting with the Maitre'D and the chef and dining at 6pm. I am Lactose Intolerant and had already been to the dining room at 2 pm where I saw Maitre'D and notes were made on the computer.

I managed to change the card we were given on embarkation, for dinner either at 6pm or 8.15 ( first night only)

 

The card inviting me to meet the Maitre'D and Chef at 5.45pm wasn't delivered to my room until late afternoon, so I figured that was sorted, as I knew that I had to pre- order my food. What I hadn't realised was that ' tomorrow's menu' does not have sweets listed, so I missed out on those for a few days, ordering sorbets, as they were the only dairy free option. Eventually a waiter brought me 'special' which I may have learned about if I had had my meeting with the chef.

 

I did need to be at the C.C meeting as we had 2 'private' excursions organised via C.C members. One I had to pay for and last minutes details needed to be confirmed with the group leaders.

 

I just assumed that our C.C meeting was organised for 6pm as we then had 4 port days. I had read on these boards that timing would be informed via a card in the cabin on arrival.

 

Melissa -37 cruises always been at 6 pm. and many times in the dark show room.. if we sail at 5 i might go but many nights at 6 i am unpacking. now i can go to the LR for tapas.. gee, where so i want to go? also I had the VIP party at the same time.

BTW we walked straight from the CC party into dinner, we didn't wait until 8. 15pm. We were put on a table of 8, but I wasn't offered the next day's menu and I did have to ask for it on a number of occasions.

Edited October 15, 2016 by upwarduk

[Mrs Miggins]

No problem

rawlins.pam@btinternet.com

Look forward to hearing from you.

Pam

 

Hi Hazel,

havent received any email yet. Look forward to hearing from you.

Pam

[Lottie A]

Hi Hazel,

havent received any email yet. Look forward to hearing from you.

Pam

 

Hi Pam,

 

You will hear from Hazel in the next few days I'm sure, but she is rather busy right now. I will leave it to her to explain why! :)

 

Did you buy the drinks package onboard Viking Sea? I know wines and beers are included with lunch and dinner, but we are now used to the Azamara included alcohol policy all day and certainly enjoy their bubbles in the evening. I also like a G&T or a cocktail once or twice a day, so I was wondering whether I should pay as I go or buy the drinks package.

[MissyMom]

Viking Star just clipped the railroad bridge while going through the Cape Cod Canal. Guess they don't know the real height of their ships.

[Lottie A]

Viking Star just clipped the railroad bridge while going through the Cape Cod Canal. Guess they don't know the real height of their ships.

 

Actually the local pilot would have been taking Viking Star through the Cape Cod canal. I believe it was a high tide and the ship's antenna clipped the bottom of the bridge. No real damage done thankfully and of course, minor accidents happen on all cruise lines.

[MissyMom]

Actually the local pilot would have been taking Viking Star through the Cape Cod canal. I believe it was a high tide and the ship's antenna clipped the bottom of the bridge. No real damage done thankfully and of course, minor accidents happen on all cruise lines.

At high tide clearance is 135 feet. Viking said ship was 131 feet tall. Apparently not. Pilot doesn't measure ship.

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi Pam,

 

You will hear from Hazel in the next few days I'm sure, but she is rather busy right now. I will leave it to her to explain why! :)

 

Did you buy the drinks package onboard Viking Sea? I know wines and beers are included with lunch and dinner, but we are now used to the Azamara included alcohol policy all day and certainly enjoy their bubbles in the evening. I also like a G&T or a cocktail once or twice a day, so I was wondering whether I should pay as I go or buy the drinks package.

 

Hi, no we decided against it. It would depend how many drinks outside of meals you would want as it seemed expensive to us. Wine flowed very freely. We thought the prices were very reasonable and we did have some OBC due to our original cruise being cancelled. I think the cocktail of the day was $5. There were some more expensive cocktails at around $11 each in Torshaven as opposed to the more usual $7 - $9.

However Bar tenders were more than happy to serve the regular cocktails at the regular price. Somebody has posted the bar menu, but can't recall on which thread.

[Lottie A]

At high tide clearance is 135 feet. Viking said ship was 131 feet tall. Apparently not. Pilot doesn't measure ship.

 

We don't know the details....perhaps an abnormally high tide? Perhaps Viking measured the height of the ship wrong? Who knows? Apparently Viking Star is one of the largest ships to ever sail the Cape Cod canal.

 

However, as the total damage reported was some minor scraped paint on the bottom of the bridge, it hardly seems worth arguing about, particularly on the Azamara forum.

[Lottie A]

Hi, no we decided against it. It would depend how many drinks outside of meals you would want as it seemed expensive to us. Wine flowed very freely. We thought the prices were very reasonable and we did have some OBC due to our original cruise being cancelled. I think the cocktail of the day was $5. There were some more expensive cocktails at around $11 each in Torshaven as opposed to the more usual $7 - $9.

However Bar tenders were more than happy to serve the regular cocktails at the regular price. Somebody has posted the bar menu, but can't recall on which thread.

 

Thanks Pam. I just had a look at the Silver Drinks package and it seems to work out at about $30 a day. It also seems that the included daily wines have some Portuguese offerings....the only country whose wine I really dislike and that includes the Azamara Portuguese wines as well. Maybe the premium wines available by the glass on the package are not Portuguese in origin? I can easily drink three cocktails a day, so perhaps we may consider buying the package.

[Spursgirl]

Hi Hazel,

havent received any email yet. Look forward to hearing from you.

Pam

 

Afternoon Pam,

 

I did send you a mail over the weekend. Sorry you didn't receive it :confused:

Re-sent it about an hour ago