uktog

I had lovely ones with caramel chips in them on Journey if I remember correctly. They also have ones with raisins

Not always. Sometimes they do drinks reception but there was nothing on our last cruise. They “morphed” the higher level event into the event where they also recognise the top cruiser. It was a really dull flat event partly because they were waiting and waiting for that person and they never showed. (It was a sea day as well!). The one event for all members was an invitation to go to either the Den or the Living Room for a special cocktail. On Journey lots of officers circulated between the rooms but on our cruise on Onward that did not happen. I think sometimes it’s down to the Hotel Director how much happens for loyalty, cruise critic etc. It was certainly important for Heike and our experience is Ryzard, Tomaz and Elisabeth are similar to that, others much less so.

We had a tendered Azamazing evening in Sorrento - we were transported up the the gardens of the Hilton hotel. It all worked brilliantly and it was one of my favourite evening. They had pizza dough spinning and huge tables of cheeses and wines as well as pizza slices. There were also wandering minstrels round the gardens The tender boats aligned very well to the buses to take us up to the hotel.

Yes, never takes long. They also make arrangements for anyone who wants to head off earlier than the planned back to back processing time

Whilst we enjoyed the view from our aft cabin we did experience a lot of vibration on Pursuit especially when it was running at higher speeds through the night against a strong current. I guess there’s lots of factors come into play - speed current wind direction wave height so no two cruises are necessarily the same. We won’t do aft verandah again, so that frees it up for others!

It varies. It’s often local from countries they’ve taken supplies on at. Never recognise the names on the bottle. The included sparkling water usually has minimal carbonation and isn’t that pleasant as it’s so flat

I’m not sure if he was onboard but in our situation the GRM did not tell him our situation though she said she did. You’re absolutely right, he solved it immediately we spoke directly to him and we realised he had not been contacted previously

Actually I think they had a genuine beef there. Azamara arranged all their travel. They were asked to wait in arrivals for three hours after a long flight so other flights would arrive and the transfer bus was full. They admit they should have just gone and got their own transfer but after over 10 hours of flying and a 7 hour time difference I’m sure I too might not have made the right decision. I did not take their comments on price paid as entitlement I took it as the kind of information their target viewing market would want to know. The rough seas were freak and I doubt they would have been so uptight about them if their cabin hadn’t had a maintenance issue and they were moved from midship to aft whilst their room dried out. I think you have to watch the whole thing to get the complete picture.

To be fair although a long video log (that is the style of these bloggers and is something their followers like) it is pretty balanced and people should watch the whole video before throwing in the towel. They should also think about all the good things the reviewers highlighted but Azamara will hopefully realise a poor experience at Guest Relations and an “off” culture there undoes so much good.

I’m wondering if they meant Guest Relations Manager. I did encounter someone in this role on Quest in August who did not reflect the Azamara I know. However we escalated the issue to Ryzard and it was perfectly handled. The manager then tried to bluff her way out of the situation and change her story but she knew we knew she was well in the wrong. Hopefully she’s getting more training and it’s an isolated misfit in the role

Usually drinks 6.30 dinner 7

Very poor form by the attendant spinning an untruth. They know they have to call the electrician. I don’t like that kind of service which I also saw on Onward

It’s nothing to do with covid Ivi it’s to do with the port authorities some enable it others are much trickier

Check directly with Azamara not all ports have the appropriate customs agents available for disembarking luggage the day before

And so unlucky with inconsiderate guests. Never had them on any floor

Having been in them and also on deck 8 I would take deck 6 out of choice. Never ever heard noise from stairs or elevators on Azamara (actually also so on Deck 7 though no cc suites by the lifts there). However I have suffered from noise above on deck 8

The crew fund I think it’s official title is the Crew Welfare fund is administered by a representative committee of all staff. It gets a contribution from the cruise line and is used to buy extras for the crew. These extras include parties excursions bingo prizes dvds computer games etc etc etc. The fund can be greatly enhanced by donations from guests. Many guests see this as a fairer way to make additional tips as all crew benefit not just the ones in your face so to speak. So the chef who cooked the meal, the laundry man who did the napkins, the engineer who keeps the temperature right etc etc etc. It’s a fund the crew love sharing in an inclusive and creative way. You can donate at guest relations and you usually receive a nice thank you note later on so you know your donation has arrived safely

Agree staff move around also it might be on the second leg there’s something special they want to do in port so we always treat each leg as separate. The only thing we do as one is the crewfund which we usually do one donation towards the end of the first cruise. By the way never noticed any difference in service on leg 2 but weren’t expecting it or really looking for examples. Any differences were due to staff already knowing our preferences

Unfortunately no

I suppose I think of our one complimentary bag each 7 days as “free” as it makes a big difference in keeping me out of the laundry room. You really miss it if you sail with lines with no perks

If it is your first cruise and it’s after 1 February 2023 there are no perks currently offered. I know it’s not the same but there is a free guest laundry on deck 7

I think back in the early days Azamaras presenters both on country information and other topics were much higher standard than now. I am not sure if it was a conscious policy decision or if they’ve taken the eye of that ball in that area.

The other reason certainly guests in the UK have an issue is that many times under the terms and conditions price drops become obc if Azamara recognise them so obc feels like real money. Hence why we did far more high value excursions etc in September and October.

That was around my experience. So so difficult to get their machines online

You can ask but I suspect they will tell you to go to guest relations to set up the package