Journey July 29 departure

[Ladys Mom]

13 minutes ago, workingtocruise-59 said:

And ours also, especially, if you are dining with those that you do not know. First of all you have to wait for the table to fill, then for everyone to introduce themselves, then for each person to look at the menu and decide on their choices.....

But. on the other hand, it is a great way to meet new people and have another specialty restaurant experience even if the restaurant is otherwise full

[workingtocruise-59]

3 minutes ago, Lady's Mom said:

But. on the other hand, it is a great way to meet new people and have another specialty restaurant experience even if the restaurant is otherwise full

We have never had to share a specialty restaurant table on Azamara. If we are flexible with  our timings we can always get a table for two.  We did ( once, and only once on Oceania) share a table and it really wasn't a success.

[marinaro44]

33 minutes ago, workingtocruise-59 said:

We have never had to share a specialty restaurant table on Azamara. If we are flexible with  our timings we can always get a table for two.  We did ( once, and only once on Oceania) share a table and it really wasn't a success.

I've never seen a shared table in an Azamara specialty restaurant...and hope never to.  A real drawback to Regent and Oceania.

Edited August 4, 2019 by marinaro44

[beachseeker]

We are a group of 8 every night and yes it is slower with a large group but there is a difference between slow and ignored.  We were ignored the first night in Aqualina.  It has been much better service since the Aqualina with excellent service and food in Prime C.  We are back in Aqualina tomorrow and I am sure we will have a wonderful experience. 

[Grandma Cruising]

12 hours ago, workingtocruise-59 said:

And ours also, especially, if you are dining with those that you do not know. First of all you have to wait for the table to fill, then for everyone to introduce themselves, then for each person to look at the menu and decide on their choices.....

That wouldn’t apply in the case mentioned by beachseeker above as they were 8 people travelling together. 

[Ithikan]

18 hours ago, beachseeker said:

We are a group of 8 every night and yes it is slower with a large group but there is a difference between slow and ignored.  We were ignored the first night in Aqualina.  It has been much better service since the Aqualina with excellent service and food in Prime C.  We are back in Aqualina tomorrow and I am sure we will have a wonderful experience. 

I hope you enjoy your next Aqualina experience, beachseeker, please let us know how you fared.  Not to offer excuses, but your group likely appeared quite comfortable with the restaurant, based on your prior visits...

I think large groups can become problematic.

For instance, during our July Pursuit cruise there were several large, multi-generational groups.  Several.  Groups of 8 and 9 and a large, I -think 29 member, group with special dietary needs.  All these groups wished to sit together at most meals, in whatever venue they mutually decided upon.  Occasionally a group would change its mind, and the 8-top that was specially set up by servers in Windows (and viewed yearningly by couples looking for a place to eat) would sit vacant while the group reassembled out on Sunset veranda deck for their family meal.

The waitstaff was consistently efficient during these set-up and break-downs.  A bit more work for them, but they are pros.

This is not to "diss" large groups who travel together - I applaud family & friends! - just a POV from the other side of the dining room.

[excitedofharpenden]

For certain, larger groups whether organised or put together will more often take longer. One piece of advice I’d give is if you are looking at a time to be out of the restaurant (Specialty or Main Dining Room) for the Cabaret Lounge for example. then speak to the waiter and say to keep service moving as you’d like to see the show.  Having been caught a few times this is what we do with good results.

 

Phil

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

For certain, larger groups whether organised or put together will more often take longer. One piece of advice I’d give is if you are looking at a time to be out of the restaurant (Specialty or Main Dining Room) for the Cabaret Lounge for example. then speak to the waiter and say to keep service moving as you’d like to see the show.  Having been caught a few times this is what we do with good results.

 

Phil

Also tell the host when seating you as they will also know the number of tables the server is handling at that time and may switch where to place you if you are not fussy about location.

[beachseeker]

We had a wonderful experience in Aqualina tonight and we made the show in Caberat.  DH and I usually travel alone on Azamara but have travelled with a group on other cruise lines and have completed over 30 cruises. We are not new to cruising nor to Azamara.  We certainly know that it takes longer with a group, we tell the waiter when we want to make the late show, and we would never make a reservation and then not show up.  On our first experience on this cruise, we had a reservation for 8 pm and at 9:45 we had only been served our first course.  The other two tables that were seated after us were eating dessert when we were served our second course.  When we left the restaurant, it was empty and after 10:30 pm. I really don’t like defending myself here but it was poor service.  There have  been numerous apologies on board and we are fine.  I was upset mostly because we are with three couples that are new to Azamara and I had convinced them to choose Azamara over Regent and Viking Ocean.  I wanted our first dinner together to be a good experience.  We have had several excellent dinners since, so all is good. 

[excitedofharpenden]

beachseeker, there is no need to defend yourself as far as I'm concerned because I too have experienced it. I just wanted to mention what I had done previously to mitigate the issue having been in the same situation.  Pleased it worked better for you after your initial disappointment. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

Beach seeker, I too am like Phil.  i am aware of some waiters in speciality restaurants who favour some guests over others and so I can totally understand your initial reaction.  I was just suggesting some ways that might help your group to make the shows.  Totally understand why you want it to be good for your friends.

[beachseeker]

Uktog and Phil, your comments did not bother me at all.  I admit I may have been a bit defensive on a couple of other posts.  I have learned so much from your posts through the years and hope to cruise on Azamara with both of you some day.  

 

Day 1 and 2 of St Petersburg have been beyond expectations.  We used a 3 day tour with a private company and so far we are extremely pleased.  And pooped!!  I don’t think we are the only ones.  The ship is pretty quiet tonight.  

We missed White Night last night.  We booked Faberge at night and did not return to the ship until after 8.  I was surprised White Night was while we were in St Petersburg.  

Going through immigration has been very smooth.  We met in Spirits at 8 yesterday and Concierge sent us down immediately and we were meeting our guide by 8:15. Coming and going has been smooth but we have yet to get a smile and our passports are tossed back to us when returning at night.  Maybe a smile tomorrow!

[BBMacLaird]

On 8/5/2019 at 1:39 PM, beachseeker said:

 I was upset mostly because we are with three couples that are new to Azamara and I had convinced them to choose Azamara over Regent and Viking Ocean.

I am sorry service at your first dinner was so slow.

I’d like to thank you for introducing Azamara to six of your friends. That means the world to us beachseeker. 

[aussie travel bird]

3 hours ago, beachseeker said:

Uktog and Phil, your comments did not bother me at all.  I admit I may have been a bit defensive on a couple of other posts.  I have learned so much from your posts through the years and hope to cruise on Azamara with both of you some day.  

 

Day 1 and 2 of St Petersburg have been beyond expectations.  We used a 3 day tour with a private company and so far we are extremely pleased.  And pooped!!  I don’t think we are the only ones.  The ship is pretty quiet tonight.  

We missed White Night last night.  We booked Faberge at night and did not return to the ship until after 8.  I was surprised White Night was while we were in St Petersburg.  

Going through immigration has been very smooth.  We met in Spirits at 8 yesterday and Concierge sent us down immediately and we were meeting our guide by 8:15. Coming and going has been smooth but we have yet to get a smile and our passports are tossed back to us when returning at night.  Maybe a smile tomorrow!

Goodluck with the 'smile' tomorrow. When we were in St Petersburg we were told by a private guide 'They're really happy people, they just smile on the 'inside'" which is how we refer to them now. When we were recently in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia on the Quest it was no different.  Makes me smile.....

[beachseeker]

Sitting in the airport in London waiting for our flight home and missing the Journey.  It was a wonderful cruise, the ports were all new and we fell in love with Brugges, St Petersburg and Tallin.  We took the ship’s excursion in Stockholm to the airport with a stop at the Vasa Museum and then a flight to London. We did get a slight smile on our last morning going through immigration in St Petersburg but we ended a toss of the passport as we came back that afternoon.

A few final thoughts. The service overall was exceptional, wonderful food in all the restaurants, great ports with 3 full days in St Petersburg, which was the reason we chose this cruise.  We lucked out and had excellent weather and going home to heat advisories is going to be hard.  I do think the included wines have declined in quality.  We had premium beverage package provided by our travel agent but upgraded to Ultimate because Jameson and Pyrat Rum were not on the Premium package but had been on our last cruise.  We had a large amount of OBC, again provided by our travel agent, so we used several Azamara excursions.  We usually book privately.  The guides were all pleasant and knowledgeable.  Our complaint was way too much time given to lunch on several tours and not enough free time provided. Everyone on our tour wanted some time to explore Brugges on their own. DH did the Arnhem excursion which was 8 hours, 1 hour each in 2 different museums, a 2 hour lunch and travel time back and forth but no seeing the sites where the action occurred. For the price, he was disappointed. We sorely missed Ed and Max on the piano in Spirits.  The piano player was good on the keys but not easy to listen to and no interaction with the passengers. Spirits did not have the vibe as it had on past cruises.  However, the Fancy Triplets were a highlight and we really enjoyed them.  Danny was a surprise for our CD and is a perfect fit for Azamara.  We hope to cruise with him again. He is very friendly and has a great voice. The singers and dancers were excellent as always and we enjoyed every performance.

Azamara is our favorite cruise line and I think Azamara may have 3 new couples that will look at Azamara again. One couple is booked to join us next May for Portugal and Bordeaux.  So until May we will have pleasant memories of a wonderful cruise.

[BBMacLaird]

So glad you and your friends enjoyed your Azamara cruise. We look forward to your return!