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Tips for Azamara Newbies

Grandma Cruising

By Grandma Cruising,
in Azamara

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mchell810

mchell810

Posted
Posted
22 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

Can you access Azamara's menus ahead of time, so that you can plan which nights to book specialty restaurants?

 

Other than the menus for specialties there's no way to access the everyday menus before you cruise.  When we made reservations for Prime C and Aqualina there was a list showing each night's theme in Windows buffet.  We used that as a guide (didn't want to miss Indian night) and made our plans based on that. 

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blag

blag

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

There is a channel that has the menus by date for Discoveries. Just turn on your tv and scroll through the options. You can also access your account to keep track of your spending.

We may not have this on Pursuit...

I was told by an Officer (Excursions) that I could not access my account via the TV.

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Worldtraveler22

Worldtraveler22

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On 12/24/2022 at 1:17 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

https://www.azamara.co.uk/sites/default/files/pdfs/aqualina_2019_april_2.0.pdf

Thank you for posting this.  I’m just curious…how receptive are the alternative restaurants to altering the ingredients?  I ask because little on here interests my more traditional (simple) Italian tastes.    Do they accommodate changes or substitutions?  

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luv2travel90266

luv2travel90266

Posted
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You may find the main dining room more suitable they have different items on the menu every night but also have some simple dishes. Easy to leave the sauce off  a pasta or just olive oil, Romano cheese, garlic and basil. Be specific and the staff will try to accommodate you. The premium restaurants are trying to do fine dining with a smaller menu, beautifully plated and will be more intricate recipes.  

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blag

blag

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5 hours ago, Worldtraveler22 said:

Thank you for posting this.  I’m just curious…how receptive are the alternative restaurants to altering the ingredients?  I ask because little on here interests my more traditional (simple) Italian tastes.    Do they accommodate changes or substitutions?  

In my experience (we dine mainly in the specialty restaurants), they will endeavour to adjust, but don't assume that they will provide you with something totally different.

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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They will try and accommodate you if the  issue is medical or an allergy if you order ahead because that is easy keeping an item out but they are not your private chef so are unlikely to be able to cook individual dishes just because of taste preferences. You can ask if they did agree it would be a one off not every night 

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dcl999 Great Review Rare

dcl999

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We’re first time AZ in 2024 for the Japan extensive. We’ve done quite a few Viking cruises but are tired of their itineraries. I’ve read this whole thread trying to figure out the differences. I need to get on CC from a computer instead of my phone so I can open Grandma Cruising’s spreadsheet.

A couple of questions I have missed the answers to - are shuttles to town centers provided in ports that aren’t walking distance? What’s the best way to keep in touch, keep track of minutes and keep up with online plans and bookings without unlimited WiFi? 
A lot of the comments I read are from people going from big ships and dealing with status, not as much across similar sized ships. Viking doesn’t give anything but a $200 booking credit and a cocktail party for past guests.

Dress code seems similar-we don’t book trips that require dressing up. We really enjoy their sauna and ice room on Viking so we’re disappointed that it’s an extra charge on AZ, even for the club continental suites. 

  • Complimentary access to the Thalassotherapy pool and spa deck (Club World Owner's, Club Ocean, and Club Spa Suites categories only)
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Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

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5 hours ago, dcl999 said:

We’re first time AZ in 2024 for the Japan extensive. We’ve done quite a few Viking cruises but are tired of their itineraries. I’ve read this whole thread trying to figure out the differences. I need to get on CC from a computer instead of my phone so I can open Grandma Cruising’s spreadsheet.

A couple of questions I have missed the answers to - are shuttles to town centers provided in ports that aren’t walking distance? What’s the best way to keep in touch, keep track of minutes and keep up with online plans and bookings without unlimited WiFi? 
A lot of the comments I read are from people going from big ships and dealing with status, not as much across similar sized ships. Viking doesn’t give anything but a $200 booking credit and a cocktail party for past guests.

Dress code seems similar-we don’t book trips that require dressing up. We really enjoy their sauna and ice room on Viking so we’re disappointed that it’s an extra charge on AZ, even for the club continental suites. 

  • Complimentary access to the Thalassotherapy pool and spa deck (Club World Owner's, Club Ocean, and Club Spa Suites categories only)
  •  

Yes, Azamara does provide a free shuttle in most ports where the ship docks away from the town. There are some exceptions in places where the local taxi union has an agreement with the port authority not to allow this. However because Azamara ships are small they are often able to dock close to the town.

We always buy a full Wifi package as the Wifi speed is not brilliant and you end up wasting precious minutes logging on and off. The Wifi is in the process of being upgraded across the ships, so this may change if the speed increases.

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federalexpress

federalexpress

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Posted (edited)
9 hours ago, dcl999 said:

We’re first time AZ in 2024 for the Japan extensive. We’ve done quite a few Viking cruises but are tired of their itineraries. I’ve read this whole thread trying to figure out the differences. I need to get on CC from a computer instead of my phone so I can open Grandma Cruising’s spreadsheet.

A couple of questions I have missed the answers to - are shuttles to town centers provided in ports that aren’t walking distance? What’s the best way to keep in touch, keep track of minutes and keep up with online plans and bookings without unlimited WiFi? 
A lot of the comments I read are from people going from big ships and dealing with status, not as much across similar sized ships. Viking doesn’t give anything but a $200 booking credit and a cocktail party for past guests.

Dress code seems similar-we don’t book trips that require dressing up. We really enjoy their sauna and ice room on Viking so we’re disappointed that it’s an extra charge on AZ, even for the club continental suites. 

  • Complimentary access to the Thalassotherapy pool and spa deck (Club World Owner's, Club Ocean, and Club Spa Suites categories only)
  •  

 

While I haven't been on my first cruise with AZ, that's next month, I can maybe add a little insight because my options were between Viking(which I've also never sailed on) and AZ. My impression was that Viking is probably a bit more upscale than AZ, especially given the ships are so new but that is reflected by what I found were rather higher prices for Viking.

 

My approach was to equalise that by a) booking a Club Continent Suite (which it appears you have done?), thus giving a cabin size that compares well to Viking's balcony cabins, and secondly I got a fair amount of On Board credit, $1000 to be precise. Apparently this is quite common to be offered with AZ- did you get it?

 

If so, you might consider using it towards an Indulgence package. This costs $1500, so for me is an extra $500- that is for two people. This essentially brings the cruise broadly up to the standard of a Viking cruise in various ways. It gives you an upgraded drinks package that equates in quality to what you get included on Viking(the included drinks on AZ are not, it seems, all that great). You get unlimited wifi for both of you. You get $700 shore excursion credit. AZ excursions are pricey so I'm mostly doing my own thing but I liked what they offered in 2 ports and this covers those. You get a $250 spa credit which is more than enough to cover 2 spa passes to get access to the thalo pool for your trip. You also get 5 bags of free laundry plus a chef's table for two, which is apparently a nice experience. I should add this deal works out best if you are on a long cruise- mine is 17 days- because the price is fixed and so the per day value becomes exceptional. All this largely addresses the aspects that maybe Viking do better than AZ.

 

On the wifi, I think this has historically been lousy, as is true with most ships. But I've very recently read posts indicating AZ have signed up to a new satellite system called Starlink and people have been reporting radically higher speeds, one person said over 200mbs which would be a very good land link, let alone on a ship. I'd be thrilled with a tenth of that speed. If you are not going till 2024, that should be on all ships by then. Hope this helps and enjoy your cruise.

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islandwoman

islandwoman

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I'd like to add that Azamara's fares include gratuities.  Viking's do not.  That's worth, according to viking's website, US$17 per person per day.  Viking's fares, on the other hand, include one shore excursion in every port.  When comparing costs, it would be useful to take gratuities and shore excursions (if you use ship's excursions) into account.

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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7 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I'd like to add that Azamara's fares include gratuities.  Viking's do not.  That's worth, according to viking's website, US$17 per person per day.  Viking's fares, on the other hand, include one shore excursion in every port.  When comparing costs, it would be useful to take gratuities and shore excursions (if you use ship's excursions) into account.

However if you are viewing quotes from the UK, Vikings fare includes gratuities and air fare whereas Azamara only includes gratuity.  You have to go to a further menu to see air fares.  You can do your own air in the UK, but Viking only reduces the total cost by a very small amount so its not really worth it.  

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federalexpress

federalexpress

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3 minutes ago, uktog said:

However if you are viewing quotes from the UK, Vikings fare includes gratuities and air fare whereas Azamara only includes gratuity.  You have to go to a further menu to see air fares.  You can do your own air in the UK, but Viking only reduces the total cost by a very small amount so its not really worth it.  

 

Yep, the latter was the deal breaker for me. Their upgrade costs for business class were crazy and while I could find a competitive business class fare, the cost reduction for cruise only was minimal and still made it way too expensive overall. I'd really only now consider Viking for short haul European cruises where I'm not bothered about business class.

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islandwoman

islandwoman

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When does Azamara credit Azamara Circle points?  I returned from my first Azamara cruise on December 22.  Just today, it appeared in my "past cruises" list with an indication that it was worth 50 points.  These points should qualify me for the next loyalty level. But they have not been added to my total and I am still at the loyalty level that I was before the cruise.  How long should I wait before contacting Azamara? 

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, islandwoman said:

I'd like to add that Azamara's fares include gratuities.  Viking's do not.  That's worth, according to viking's website, US$17 per person per day.  Viking's fares, on the other hand, include one shore excursion in every port.  When comparing costs, it would be useful to take gratuities and shore excursions (if you use ship's excursions) into account.

YMMV, but on our Viking Ocean cruise we found very few of these that appealed.  Mostly very basic, or forced to choose between two options that each only covered one major site [while a private tour easily covered both in depth plus more besides].  I no longer take the Viking shore excursions into account in comparing prices.  [I also find their itineraries very boring.]

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JM0115

JM0115

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8 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

YMMV, but on our Viking Ocean cruise we found very few of these that appealed.  Mostly very basic, or forced to choose between two options that each only covered one major site [while a private tour easily covered both in depth plus more besides].  I no longer take the Viking shore excursions into account in comparing prices.  [I also find their itineraries very boring.]

We have been on many Viking cruises and love them. But we booked our first AZ cruise for May. We are excited to compare and contrast!

 

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