new to azamara - questions

[Worldsurfer]

Ports: Like most cruisers, we started with the cruise line and over time have evolved into planning our own unless the excursion takes us far from port. That said, we have booked our own Ephesus excursion so we could avoid the rug and pottery hard-sell stops. The moorings for Dubrovnik, Kotor, and Zadar are right in their lovely old towns and do not require excursions unless you are interested in something specific. I tend to think that there is no reason to do Azamara branded excursions on small islands (except, perhaps, Santorini) since the main reason to book with the cruise line is that guarantee that the ship won't leave without you if there is a delay.

Do your research (Cruisemapper.com) on the number of ships in port on the day you moor in Santorini; the challenge there is getting up to the crest with thousands of your fellow cruisers, so I advise pre-planning your choice for transportation and decide it's worth it to pay for the ship's excursion that will get you bussed to the top or wherever you might be going (like "Oia on your own). 
 

OBC: I like to have a list of services that I wish to have booked when I call - and when you call, be prepared to be on hold for an hour or more.. It is extraordinarily annoying that the website makes booking excursions all but impossible, but still we play the game..

Spa: That's been covered. 

Specialty dining: We are vegetarians, so Prime C offers nothing special for us, but we do recommend the Chef's table, especially if you are socially inclined - good conversation and an enjoyable, elevated dining experience. The main dining room has a nice ambiance and scale compared to most ships these days, and we have never been unhappy dining there. The Patio is really enjoyable for casual dining, especially in the evening. 

 

[KevintheIrishDJ]

2 hours ago, hamrag said:

It is indeed! Our experience firstly on two 7 night B2Bs in the Caribbean (Pursuit or Journey) immediately prior to Covid, and May this year (Onward) was that the MDR food was fine but never better than a 3.5 of 5 score. For food temperature we'd give a full 4.5 and my DW prefers hot food, so our experience was totally different from yours.

 

We are booked on Quest for November this year, and it's the specialties that we prefer. We buy the 3 meal package, and alternate with MDR and of course there is the White night also all of which gives variety.

We liked the MD. I was talking about Windows.

[hamrag]

5 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

We liked the MD. I was talking about Windows.

OK, my apologies, we're not au fait with what the various eating venues are called....except Prime C, which is definitely our favourite specialty.