Interview with Heike Berdos

I received an Azamara email this morning with a link to a wonderful interview with Journey's Hotel Director Heike Berdos. I'm sure everyone who has sailed on Journey with her (or on Quest when she was aboard) remembers her fondly. I've always assumed that the friendliness of the crew and the can-do attitude came from the top. Heike is amazing. I've never met a past passenger who wasn't happy to see Heike again. She know how to get things done. She knows how to listen. She is a delight.

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/club-azamara/meet-our-captains-and-crew/interview-hotel-director-heike-berdos

I enjoyed reading that article...thank you for sharing.

I've never cruised with Heike, but I think her sentiments and approach are completely shared by Phillip and Ryszard....and are what makes the "warm and fuzzy" feeling on board so wonderful.

An interesting read. Thanks for posting the link.

Phil

I received an Azamara email this morning with a link to a wonderful interview with Journey's Hotel Director Heike Berdos. I'm sure everyone who has sailed on Journey with her (or on Quest when she was aboard) r[/url]

Alas, due of illness, I will not be able to experience the Journey or Ms Berdos. If the ship and Ms Berdos reach up to the high standards of the Quest and its crew, I know that I have really missed a fantastic journey!

We've sailed with Heike many times, both with Celebrity and Azamara. While Azamara has many shining stars, Heike is one of Azamara's finest. She's the one of the best Hotel Directors we've ever met, and is the consummate professional.

Kudos to Heike on her well deserved recognition.

Totally agree with all the positive comments. We have cruised several times with Heike and she always welcomes us back like old friends - always has time for a chat and is around the ship all the time. Hoping she is on the Journey for our cruise on 3rd April! :-)

Love, love, love Heike! And she can rock some high heels.

Lovely woman who does a fabulous job. Don't know how she does it all with a smile and warmth, but she does. Outstanding. ddcruiser

Reading about Heike makes me glad that we have two cruises on the Journey booked for this year. We look forward to meeting her.

I have sailed with Hieke on many cruises, first of all on Quest back in 2009 and she was one of the people that made me go back on Azamara as she was so friendly and is always welcoming. . She is superb at her job and just back after sailing with her on Journey for the 2nd or 3rd time can't quite remember how many. She is a star.

Gareth

Going on the Quest for the first time this summer. Can not imagine a cruise without Heike. :cool: Well there has to be a first time...:rolleyes:

Going on the Quest for the first time this summer. Can not imagine a cruise without Heike. :cool: Well there has to be a first time...:rolleyes:

I have sailed with Heike and Philip. Both are great. They both do an fantastic job of making everyone on the ship feel special. Both are hands on and very visible. They mingle with the guests all the time. I am looking forward to my next cruise on the Journey. This will be my 3rd time on the Journey. We are celebrating our 50 years together. I know that a cruise on Azamara will make our celebration fabulous.

Embarrassed to say, I cannot tell you who our hotel director was on our first cruise. We were so caught up with all the ports, excursions and the newness of cruising, and thinking back, I guess I didn't know what a hotel director is. :o I actually didn't realize who Erik was until we returned. :o And I cannot tell you the same information for our X crusie. Again, we pretty much did our own thing and didn't go to any of the shows on X...we were too tired at night after being gone all day and by the time we were finished with dinner, went to Ensemble lounge for a couple after dinner drinks and some commradarie with some of our fellow cruise tour and roll call people, we were ready to call it a day...every night.

Hopefully, she'll be on one of our next cruises. :D

Certainly agree that Heike and Philip are great in their positions but let's not forget about Richard who alternates between the 2 ships while each of them are on well-deserved vacations.

Certainly agree that Heike and Philip are great in their positions but let's not forget about Richard who alternates between the 2 ships while each of them are on well-deserved vacations.

Bill, I agree. Ryszard is a really great HD. Very approachable and hard working. I'd like to see him promoted.

Phil

Couldn't agree more that Ryszard is one of the hardest working officers on the

Azamara ships. He has a great sense of humor and never too busy to stop and chat with everyone. Even when he appears to be having a fun time along with the guests during activities, you can tell he is constantly observing the entire situation and mindful of the security of the passengers. He is a prime example of why we feel a part of the Azamara family whenever we see him onboard.

Frank and Jan

We too are fans of Ryszard. He works so hard and is very visible. He is a great ambassador for Azamara. When we were on the Antarctic cruise last January and the pool deck furniture finally arrived when we were in Montivideo he was on shore directing the loading of every item by port staff on what was a very hot day. He was also a great Food and Beverage Manager when he held that role prior to this role.

Hilary

We too are fans of Ryszard. He works so hard and is very visible. He is a great ambassador for Azamara. When we were on the Antarctic cruise last January and the pool deck furniture finally arrived when we were in Montivideo he was on shore directing the loading of every item by port staff on what was a very hot day. He was also a great Food and Beverage Manager when he held that role prior to this role.

 

Hilary

Agree completely. We're looking forward to seeing him on Journey in a few hours. He is very, very special. I'm delighted to see all the appreciation for his efforts here.

Couldn't agree with you more.

Some examples:-

On our last cruise on Quest in October last year he saw my daughter and I struggling with the cases on disembarkation and carried them down the gangway for us.

When he sat with us in the buffet having breakfast I mentioned that I daily walk around the deck to get some exercise(I'm anciently old) and he asked what time I did it and offered to accompany me.

On another cruise we mentioned to him that the seats on the balcony were not very comfortable and within an hour we were given cushions to use.

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We have cruised with Azamara a number of times and with the poor onshore service that it provides and the number of changes that it has introduced, many of which we are not that happy with, we have almost been on the brink of booking with another cruise conpany but then the deciding factor turns out to be:- There will be no Ryszard. That is very important to us!!

Embarrassed to say, I cannot tell you who our hotel director was on our first cruise. We were so caught up with all the ports, excursions and the newness of cruising, and thinking back, I guess I didn't know what a hotel director is. :o I actually didn't realize who Erik was until we returned. :o And I cannot tell you the same information for our X crusie. Again, we pretty much did our own thing and didn't go to any of the shows on X...we were too tired at night after being gone all day and by the time we were finished with dinner, went to Ensemble lounge for a couple after dinner drinks and some commradarie with some of our fellow cruise tour and roll call people, we were ready to call it a day...every night.

Hopefully, she'll be on one of our next cruises. :D

LOL You are not alone-- I cannot tell you who the hotel director was on ANY cruise I have ever taken on any line nor do I care. If my stateroom is clean and my attendant does a great job, I am happy. If not, I guess I will find out the name of the hotel director.

One of the notable events on our first ACC cruise was meeting the Hotel Director in a hallway and being queried as to the quality of houskeeping in our stateroom.

We were aware then that the staff's goal was to be proactive not reactive.

We haven't had to change our mind concerning that assessment.

We too look forward to meeting Heike again, she was an amazing lady who spent time chatting with us about the ship and destinations...we are nosey and like to know everything lol...even Gary asked Johannes one night how the ship stayed afloat :eek:

I received an Azamara email this morning with a link to a wonderful interview with Journey's Hotel Director Heike Berdos. I'm sure everyone who has sailed on Journey with her (or on Quest when she was aboard) remembers her fondly. I've always assumed that the friendliness of the crew and the can-do attitude came from the top. Heike is amazing. I've never met a past passenger who wasn't happy to see Heike again. She know how to get things done. She knows how to listen. She is a delight.

 

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/club-azamara/meet-our-captains-and-crew/interview-hotel-director-heike-berdos

An interesting interview ... thanks for sharing Toni.

We experienced Heike's expertise in her field on our last cruise in November. She is an excellent Hotel Director, a consummate professional.:):)

Unfortunately, shore side follow up has faltered badly as far as acting on her letter and producing the promised future cruise discount certificate. :mad:

When over a month had passed, I sent a detailed email. A few days later I was directed to send it to another address and after doing that, an automated response indicated it may take 21 days for a person to respond.

I then followed up by phone and it seems that even after providing extra information and forwarding a photograph of the letter, it will still take 21 more business days for any action to take place.:mad::mad:

We have already lost almost two of the twelve month validity period. Looks like we may be lucky to be able to use the certificate at all.

The warm fuzzy feeling is rapidly disintegrating.:(

An interesting interview ... thanks for sharing Toni.

 

We experienced Heike's expertise in her field on our last cruise in November. She is an excellent Hotel Director, a consummate professional.:):)

 

Unfortunately, shore side follow up has faltered badly as far as acting on her letter and producing the promised future cruise discount certificate. :mad:

 

When over a month had passed, I sent a detailed email. A few days later I was directed to send it to another address and after doing that, an automated response indicated it may take 21 days for a person to respond.

 

I then followed up by phone and it seems that even after providing extra information and forwarding a photograph of the letter, it will still take 21 more business days for any action to take place.:mad::mad:

 

We have already lost almost two of the twelve month validity period. Looks like we may be lucky to be able to use the certificate at all.

 

The warm fuzzy feeling is rapidly disintegrating.:(

I've read your post here and am not fully understanding your complaint. Since I'd like to help, maybe you can elaborate? Does it have something to do with Heike? Or is it the case of a future cruise discount certificate not being honored? If the latter, any specific reason?