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woodards

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  1. True but ultimately it was advertised as an Azamazing evening when we booked the cruise including venue location.
  2. Day Six - Sea Day / Barbados Light breakfast in the room so that we could leave space for brunch! Something we have particularly enjoyed on previous cruises. Unfortunately it was a bit of a disappointment. Very little variety from what has already been on offer in Windows. Very little protein available and what was presented was underwhelming (including the reappearance of the grilled hot dog!!). Weirdly a whole load of broccoli and cauliflower in every format - salad, side and even as a tapas! Now I love my veg but it was definitely overkill in terms of the different serving options offered. In contrast our evening meal was excellent in Aqualina. Service and food very good. Both Mrs W and I chose pasta for our mains. We enjoy Italian food back home and this was comparable with some of the best we have had in local restaurants in England an in Italy. On to the destination celebration. Titled ‘Bajan Carnival Experience’. Some context - this had originally been advertised as an Azamazing Evening and we had booked our places online quite a while ago. We then received an email a few weeks before the cruise to say it had been changed/cancelled becoming a destination celebration. A little disappointed as it had been due to be hosted at the Kensington Oval which would have been very cool as a keen cricket fan! The event itself was very good (despite it being moved last minute to the Caberet lounge due to the weather). Well presented and performed with local singers, dancers and acrobats. A few other observations. Due to the demographic on board trivia events are very very popular and well attended. Now that isn’t an issue in itself but it does mean venues that we are used to using at certain times for a quiet drink or read are pretty much off limits due to noise/lack of seating. This means we have had to adjust our usual schedule to avoid the crowds! Have mentioned previously sun bed etiquette which continues to frustrate, people leaving beds unattended for ‘lunch’ for over an hour is in my view unacceptable and even worse coming back afterwards to collect belongings to go elsewhere is utter selfishness especially as the top sun deck has again been off limits due to the wind. And lastly…..for the love of god please please please if you are reading this and exhibit the following behaviour STOP. Eating food from your hands whilst walking around a buffet has never and will never be acceptable…..disgusting!!!
  3. Day Five - Sint Maarten Great day from start to finish. Started the day with an early breakfast in our room due to a 08:15 meeting time for our pre-cruise booked excursion through Aza’s website (more on that later). Food arrived promptly and as ordered. French toast was particularly delicious not something we would ordinarily choose but worth the calories. Fruit was plentiful😀 Onto the excursion. Usual registration process in the Caberet Lounge, stickers allocated and displayed followed by rapid departure to the pier. Once on the pier we had a short wait to be united with our catamaran for the morning sail, snorkel and beach visit. All very painless and very well organised. The trip itself was very good, one of the best of its kind we have done……and we do to tend to choose at least one excursion like this on a Caribbean cruise. There were only 30 of us on a the vessel which could hold over 90, so plenty of space. Crew couldn’t do enough for everyone onboard. Snorkelling was good and the beach visits even better, by which point beer and rum was flowing a plenty!!!! Once back onboard we decided to head to Windows for lunch with a level of trepidation after our experiences so far in the buffet. Pleased to report everything was much better, from service to food offerings including a very interesting Caribbean callaloo soup…..much more destination relevant!! Finally managed to get up on the top sun deck after previous days of high winds had closed access off to guests which have us a lovely quiet environment to enjoy a couple hours of sun away from the hum of the pool action. Evening meal was back in Aqualina but before that we tried the Atlas bar for the first time for a pre dinner cocktail. Very nice indeed. We both had a Mumbai hug which was vey spicy but delicious! Food and service both in Aqualina was excellent.
  4. Day Four - St Thomas This was a day of two halves. We went to Windows for breakfast. We were a little late for us, 09:00, but still an hour before the end of breakfast. It was terrible. Tables weren’t cleared. And there was no fruit. I’m not exaggerating. Mrs W was told it would be 10 minutes. She went back 15 minutes later and was told another 5 as someone was stuck in the elevator with the fruit! Another 5 minutes passed and Mrs W was then told that all the fruit had finished apart from watermelon and no one was stuck in the elevator?! It was like a scene out of Faulty Towers! Then breakfast was closed. We didn’t expect it to take an hour and not get what we wanted. Oh well it’s just fruit!!! Mrs W spoke to the executive chef and she wasn’t impressed. He apologised and asked if he could cut up some fruit for her. He just missed the point of there being no fruit for all guests. She took the opportunity to ask about the destination taste choices, but didn’t get an answer, other than a shrug. She still didn’t get her fruit! 🙄 St Thomas was wonderful. We walked into town which was a pleasant 30 minutes on a promenade path. We wondered around town and then got an open air taxi truck to Meagans Bay. It was relaxing and not too crowded. Taxis were easy to get back to ship. We had a late lunch in the Patio and demolished a very good burger. It took a little time, but service was excellent. Our Prime C dinner and service was one of the best we’ve experienced. It was excellent. Although it appears Mrs W’s concerns have been raised as the manager of Windows came to our table to apologise. We were too late for the show, but the band East Pearl are very very good and kept to entertained after dinnner.
  5. Unfortunately yes. Sat on one now. The pad helps and it’s not too bad. The view coming into St Thomas is helping.
  6. Day Three - At sea It was a very windy day. The top sun deck and walking track were closed for safety reasons. We managed half of our mile walk before the closure and it was tough going so had to abort. This meant that the pool was busy and the concentration of guests felt quite claustrophobic. I really do object to the bad behaviour of guests who reserve sun loungers. It’s just not fair to go for a long lunch and keep your bed. I would have liked to have seen some enforcement. We joined the 80s music quiz in the lounge which was fun, but again a huge concentration of guests. The Christmas decorations are all up and it’s starting to look very festive. Guests have been asked to delay their dinner to later as they are not coping with 18:00 and 18:30 dinners. We like to dine late, so it doesn’t quite explain why service is a bit stretched at 20:00. We joined the French chefs table, which was great. The food, service and company was wonderful. We had to be there for 18:30, but we didn’t finish until 22:20!!! It was a loooong dinner. I think there was a problem with dessert as it took 45 minutes arrive. My comments on lunch seem to have caused a stir. In our view, it’s adequate, but we have experienced much better previously. It’s just our view. I object to being told I’m being immersed into a destination, but the offering is fish and chips. Todays (and I quote…) “destination lunch” is a grilled sausage with a picture of a hot dog. I just think Aza could do better. Maybe conch fritters or black pepper pot. Just our view. On the Greggs comment… I just wanted to say that other bakeries are available for your UK pie needs 😉
  7. Totally agree and yesterday was Caribbean curry, but today’s local offering was fish and chips with mushy peas 😀! We’ve got a great chippy in our village which couldn’t be less Caribbean! I know Azamara once brought a Greggs on in Scotland, but a chippy in the Caribbean is pushing it for ‘local tastes’ 😂
  8. Yes agreed. But we were asked for them by the check in agent. We’ve not had to do this before, so just a heads up for people. This was just our experience, so may not be standard practice.
  9. We received a pdf ticket booklet via our travel agent which included the boarding passes. We only printed this element of the booklet and gave it to the check in agent at Port Everglades. Very straight forward in terms of the process. Worth noting if you are travelling using an ESTA into the US they did ask for a copy of that too which surprised us. Thankfully we had printed them too as it would have been challenging to bring them up on my phone.
  10. Forgot to mention that all pre booking elements were correct when we boarded. OBC updated after first night, all trip reservations that we made online prior to boarding all spot on with tickets waiting for us in our room.
  11. There was nothing when we boarded, but at the strike of advent, they started appearing. When we went to dinner, there was one tree up in the Discoveries Bar, but by the time we came out of dinner, two more appeared like a Christmas miracle! I will report on the status of Christmas cheer again tomorrow.
  12. Hi Toni We didn’t join the get together. But will try and find out for you. If anyone is onboard reading this who attended, can you answer? Currently the Hotel Director is Tatiana Morello and the Cruise Director is Eric DeGray. I believe they are on the next cruise after ours.
  13. Day Two - At sea The journey from Fort Lauderdale skirting the Bahamas has been a little rocky. Mrs W took a good 12 hours to get her sea legs and felt queasy, but drugs and crystallised ginger was readily available at reception. We tried breakfast at Aqualina and service and food quality was excellent. Lunch choices were much the same as yesterday, and no carvery, but there was a chef’s special as a replacement. Today was Caribbean curry, which tasted great. Dinner was in main dining and we had a 20 minute or so wait to be seated, but that wasn’t a problem. Again service was great today, but food we gave a 7 out of 10. The band East Pearl are very good. I have to admit that I started to fall asleep during the show ‘Grove Tonight’, so left before the end. It was a bit like a school production and I could hear Craig Revel Horwood in my head critiquing the dancing (I must watch less strictly!). The coffee at Mosiac is good quality and service is less grumpy when less busy. The pool deck was very busy as the top deck was too windy. We have noticed strange dirty looking marks on the loungers, but haven’t figured out what they are. It almost like they have reacted with something. Will find out tomorrow.
  14. Other general stuff. Our butler was very efficient. Fridge was empty when arrived and magically full when we returned later. Plenty of aforementioned Fever Tree! Internet appears to be good and consistent with speeds. Much better than previously experienced. Ship looks in good condition and room is perfect.
  15. Corrections to above as I can’t edit my post (sorry I typed it after a couple of gins)! We had lunch in Windows Cafe not Discoveries. There were no seats available so took our lunch to the patio seating area, which again wasn’t being cleared promptly. I won’t correct my grammar and spelling… the gin was good and cut with fever tree! 🙂 Had dinner in Aqualina, which wasn’t as expected. The food was great and no complaints there. The sea bass was a little watery, but I won’t start the frozen fish debate. The problem was the service. We were seated and then waited. Ten minutes or so passed and we got a glass of water. Another 10 minutes and our order was taken. Our starters arrived and we still didn’t have wine. Eventually the wine came, but we were getting a bit frustrated. Dinner then was thrown at us. We literally had a three course meal in the space of 40 minutes, with no gaps. Yes we could have said something but we were tired. Anyway we had a good night, but our first day conclusion is that service is not up to its usual standards. Let’s see what tomorrow brings…
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