First Time

[ScottC4746]

I am thinking of taking an Azamara cruise for my first time.

Have done RCCL before. We will be 45 and 37 when we go.

How is the service and dinning room and food quality.

[Andy]

I am thinking of taking an Azamara cruise for my first time.

Have done RCCL before. We will be 45 and 37 when we go.

How is the service and dinning room and food quality.

 

Hi Scott !

 

Welcome to the Azamara Board !

 

I havent sailed on Azamara for 18 months, but we had 2 wonderful Cruises. The service was outstanding, and the food was excellent, especially in the Specialty Restaurants (Aqualina and Prime C).

 

If you like the idea of sailing on a smaller ship, which features excellent service and cuisine, along with no formal nights (resort casual dress code for Dinner), and very limited smoking, Azamara will be a excellent choice for you.

 

If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask !

[hockeyken]

:confused:I am in the same boat ( pun intended) as the OP. Have researched the various cruise lines/ships/ports endlessly. Wife and I are looking for an eastern Med cruise for November 2010....30th anniv. Wanted to see Istanbul, Ephesus, and Pyramids. .....and lo and behold Azamara offers this exact itinerary.

 

From my research/reading it seems that all the mainstream lines have their cheerleaders and their critics, but for the most part deliver a good experience.What has my "radar" tingling is the general agreement that ALL lines have slipped a little ( not including the Luxury lines) in terms of food quality, and overall service ..... i.e. Celebrity is not what it was 5 years ago.

 

At this point, I am seriously considering Azamara even though it is more money than I originally planned for...but I don't want a special occaision lessened for the sake of a few thousand $. This will not be your average 7 days in the Caribbean. We plan to cruise for 14 days plus extra time before and after in Rome and Venice. We are both 50ish, don't care for crowds and like a relaxed elegant atmosphere.

 

Is Azamara for us? Thanks to all who respond.

 

Ken

[greeneg]

with all due respect, Ken, I think that you guys will be just fine on Azamara. Both ships are pretty much identical and the experience is essentially the same so that what is said about one is going to be pretty much true of the other although people do have favorites.

 

Having said that, the service on both ships was outstanding ( we have been on both), the crews and the atmosphere aboard just very obliging and user-friendly, the food excellent and creative. I'm not blowing Azamara's horn; we've just enjoyed both previous cruises very much.

 

My only criticism has been of shore excursions; sometimes the smaller ships have less clout with the tour operators and some of the Azamara Offerings have needed tweaking here and there. My wife and I are, to be frank, fairly independent, we try to do our port research before sailing, and we're usually able to work around any problems.

 

I think that you'll like Azamara and it should be worth a closer look.

[LuAnn]

We have been on Azamara several times (most recently 2 weeks ago) and loved it both times. We were on the Journey but I know the ships are identical in lay-out. The staff are amazing (get it? ;)) and the food, especially several weeks ago was the best...IMO. They treat each guest as a VIP and are especially helpful with Cruise Critic events and Captain Club member events. We have never done their shore excursions as we prefer to go on our own or take excursions with fellow CCer's...so can't speak to that. But we love the line and will continue to sail as time and money allows! Have a great time..no matter where or when! LuAnn

[ScottC4746]

According to their website all staterooms come with butlers. I have never had a butler in all my travels. What exactly do they do?

[greeneg]

Stateroom Attendant with a different title.

[STLCRUISIN]

We have sailed on the Quest and have a cruise booked on her this June and we absolutly love the ship. Like the other posters mentioned both the Quest and Journey are almost identical. They are elegant ships yet relaxed. The staff is friendly and warm and it's amazing that you see senior officers almost all the time including at the gang plank wishing you a good day and welcoming you back on board.

 

The food is excellent in both the main dining room and specialty dining rooms. The buffet is not too bad either. With it being a small ship it never feels crowded and getting on/off the ship is always a breeze. You'll love it.

 

Dan

[csk]

We are too, considering this ship because of the iternary, have cruised many times on Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland . and enjoy cruising. Enjoy both small and large ships,.

 

Just wondering if we would feel comfortable, we are not dressy people, so really do llike the no formal nights, also can you do the buffet at dinner. Since we have cruised so much dining is really not at the top of our list,

 

The ship has some great iternaries and that is what is making me lean toward them.

Thanks

[greeneg]

We often do the buffet at dinner, some times I just don't want an elaborate meal. There are assembled to order pasta dishes as well as outstanding oriental stir-frys. Great sushi and you can sit out back under the stars........really nice.

[STLCRUISIN]

CSK-We have had the buffet for dinner and it is very nice. At times we've been too exhausted from an excursion or just didn't want to sit down for a more formal dinner so the buffet worked out well for us. There are a variety of dishes as mentioned by the above poster and the food is very good. It's a great place to be for sailaways!

 

Dan

[ScottC4746]

This will be a first for me from what I have read on their website that none of their passangers wear tuxes. I would prefer the formal tux nights, but would actually be nice to just sit back and relax low keyed. No muss no fuss for dinner.

This brings an interesting point. Since it is open seating, how difficult for a two top?

[brian_uk]

What do they do ?..................clean and tidy your rooms but with a Tux......it is the silliest sight to behold.

 

And I agree totally that the Buffet under the stars is a great way to wind down in the evening and the dress code is even more relaxed.

 

Brian

[j!m]

very few of the pax wear a jacket for dinner, never mind a tux

 

i generally wear a jacket even though its not required, justa habit i guess

 

you will hav no prob getting a 2top (at least we have never hada prob) but we often ask for 8top, we enjoy meeting people

 

hava great cruise

[California Native]

Thanks for the feedback everyone...

We just booked our 1st Azamara cruise for

5/3/2010 Holy Land on the Quest and I've had quite a few questions myself..

including wondering about the Butler concept too

 

I've cruised on the Pacific Princess for 24 days and absolutely LOVE the size of the ships!

Buon Viaggio

[STLCRUISIN]

Scott - Never a problem getting a 2top. Just let them know when you get to the dining room each evening. They have many 2tops but if one is not available you may have to wait, at most, a few minutes in the lounge.

 

Some men wear jackets in the dining room, others wear button down or golf shirts. You'll feel comfortable any way you dress. More men may wear a jacket in the specialty restaurants but it's not required there either.

 

Dan

[Ex-Airbalancer]

what is a 2top:confused:

[Wineart]

It's a table for 2!

[ScottC4746]

Sorry...I majored in Hotel Management...that is an industry term.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

It's a table for 2!

 

OK:eek:

But how does 2top become to a table for 2:confused:

would not tf2 be easier

[ScottC4746]

OK:eek:

But how does 2top become to a table for 2:confused:

would not tf2 be easier

Easy, the table has a top. Around the top are chairs. Count the chairs around the top and you have X top. The term was around years before I got in the industry. It's like why do they call it a spare tire when you cannot travel very far on it....the phrase had been around for years when you had a real tire as a spare and not one of those silly doughnut tires...but that goes on another board. Back to the originail topic...I know it seems silly to drop one word and change another word, but that is what they decided years ago

2 top = table for 2

4 top = table for 4

etc etc

[lostatsea32]

On the Journey service was great and the food in the Discoveries restaurant and the two specialties (Prime C and Aqualina) is excellent… That is if you have time for 5 course meals, often taking about 2 hours to get through. You other option is the buffet, which was hit or miss. Variety is lacking in the buffet and the quality of food there has more ups and downs than the ship in rough weather. The staples of the buffet are the pasta station, stir fry, sushi and pizza …other than that they offer some sort of meat and potato/rice. Its basically a variation on the same theme night after night. The buffet gets old and hard to stomach at times. The sushi looks and tastes fresh some nights and others it looks like it was hastily thrown together and tastes as bad as it looks. The pizza is about the same quality as you’d expect from that frozen pizza that’s been sitting in the back of your freezer for a year. Its usually cold and congealed unless you’re lucky enough to catch a fresh one. Breakfast (in the buffet) is by far the worst meal of the day with scrambled eggs that are like soup, bacon that’s more fat than meat and French toast that cant be cut without a serrated knife. They have just about every breakfast food imaginable, but the cereal and muffins are still the most appetizing thing on the breakfast menu. Stick with the main restaurants and you should be ok.

[California Native]

4 top = table for 4

etc etc

 

 

and if you want to dine with 7 other friends...

we would be more than happy to put 2 4 tops together!

You will also hear some of us say...

Back of the House...everything as a guest, you shouldn't see

Front of the House...smiles everyone, you're on

Record or Folio ..everything we need to know about 1 guest or 1 room/cabin

Balance the Books/Beds....I'm oversold on 20 insides cabins,5 outsides cabins...let's move them to Balconys :D

Yield Management...this is tricky, still mastering it after 20 years..basically I'm forecasting how many cabins, seats, hotel rooms I'm going to sell in the future based on past trends, occupancy numbers etc etc.

also figured in my favorite color and how the earth is aligned with other planets (these are little jokes...because in reality, the whole system can be a crap shoot at times as there are always unforeseen factors)

and then I set my rates according....and if I don't sell out with my 1st or 2nd prices to make a substantial profit....then it's a SALE!

you as a traveler benefit when yield management is off kiltered

[SurfeitLE]

Breakfast (in the buffet) is by far the worst meal of the day with scrambled eggs that are like soup, bacon that’s more fat than meat and French toast that cant be cut without a serrated knife. They have just about every breakfast food imaginable, but the cereal and muffins are still the most appetizing thing on the breakfast menu. Stick with the main restaurants and you should be ok.

 

My wife and I have different opinions about the buffet, but LOSTATSEA is dead right in my opinion. I would add that the coffee is not very good out of the machines at the buffet, but the dining room coffee is excellent and expresso is an option there. On the other hand, the dining room breakfast is very good.

 

My wife and I do agree that the Journey (we have not been on the Quest) has generally the best food of any ship we've been on.

 

But I wanted to add that a great thing about the Journey is that if you're not feeling well, or you feel like staying in or dining on your balcony for dinner, you just get a menu from the main dining room, and can order right from the menu during dining room hours, so you're not restricted to the abbreviated room service list.

[critterchick]

Food, that subjective subject:

 

When we sailed on Journey, I thought that the specialty restaurants were out of this world. We ended up dining there 8 or 9 times during the course of a 16 night cruise. I didn't care for Discoveries - we ate there a few times and found that most of the food was ok. We had a couple of fabulous dishes and one that was awful. I found it to be chaotic - the waitstaff were always on the go, and never had time to explain menu items or chit chat (I realize that not everbody wants to be friendly with their servers, but I enjoy it). But I certainly didn't go hungry or want for some delicious food elsewhere!

 

The buffet was good enough for breakfast until the last few days when they ran out of several items and all four of the hot water dispensers broke. I always managed to find something tasty to eat. If you like smoothies, they make them to order at the juice bar, and offer fresh-squeezed OJ and grapefruit juice when the machine isn't broken (it was for a couple of days). I did enjoy the evening offerings up there. There is a grill by the pool as well that served freshly cooked burgers, hot dogs and gyros. They varied the offerings there. I didn't discover it soon enough.