Tips for Azamara Newbies

[scrabblelady]

40 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Thanks for that Rabo - I’ll amend the spreadsheet. It doesn’t say that USB plugs are prohibited, so I’ll leave that in. We’ve always taken one, usually in our carry on bag, and never had a problem.

Thanks as well, and sorry for the clunker tip!  I had no idea, and you just saved me some much-needed luggage space.

[Cyber Kat]

I looked for this, but I'm not having much luck with search lately.  Does Azamara do ship orientation tours on the first day?  We took one on our Viking Ocean cruise and we found it very helpful.  I had the deck plans and looked at the photos on their site, but the tour was so much better!

Edited April 4, 2019 by Cyber Kat

[Grandma Cruising]

2 minutes ago, Cyber Kat said:

I looked for this, but I'm not having much luck with search lately.  Does Azamara do ship orientation tours on the first day?  We took one on our Viking Ocean cruise and we found it very helpful.  I had the deck plans and looked at the photos on their site, but the tour was so much better!

I’ve never heard of them, sorry, but it sounds like a good idea. Mind you, Azamara ships are small enough to be fairly easy to find your way around.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[Mackdogmolly]

6 minutes ago, Cyber Kat said:

I looked for this, but I'm not having much luck with search lately.  Does Azamara do ship orientation tours on the first day?  We took one on our Viking Ocean cruise and we found it very helpful.  I had the deck plans and looked at the photos on their site, but the tour was so much better!

We had a ship’s tour (Quest) on embarkation day on our cruise last summer, which was great since it was our first cruise with Azamara.

[nordski]

8 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We had a ship’s tour (Quest) on embarkation day on our cruise last summer, which was great since it was our first cruise with Azamara.

 

In our experience there is almost always one.

 

Agree that it’s a great idea for those taking their first cruise on one of the ships.

[Grandma Cruising]

I must have missed seeing them on the programme in Insider. 

Edited April 4, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[hiccups]

48 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I must have missed seeing them on the programme in Insider. 

Me, too!  But the ships are so small, it didn't take much to learn our way around.

[jgnova]

Just as an update, the teabags I've seen are both Bigelow and Twinings.

Jonathan will post later some photos. The "coffee table" in the cabin can be raised or lowered!

 

Susan

Edited April 5, 2019 by jgnova

[Fogfog]

Very helpful thread here. 

 

1) Regarding the "free nights" perk..and that 50% has to be Azamara.. is that 50% of the nights or cruises. 

What I mean is we are looking at cruises on  Azamara 21 days or more... IS that 3x 1 week on Celebrity? Or one sailing?

Just wondering if the "free" Nights is anything we will ever see/use.  And how it is calculated. Clear as mud?

 

2) Re excursions. We are seriously looking at Azamara and comparing it to Regent (inclusive) vs Celebrity (bigger ship experience). Regent IS spendy--however  with airfare, grats, bev and all excursions etc..there are no surprises.  We loved it --yet it IS a budget buster.  We like Celebrity well enough yet want a bit more...and Azamara looks like it will fit the bill. One the sailings we are looking at on Azamara--  we cannot see anything about excursions. While private excursions are often preferred.. I can't reasonably compare what I don't know. Can someone give me an idea on the "avg" for excursions...should I "guesstimate at $100 pp per day  for ship excursions? 

 

3) The website shows the general room layouts. If I don't want a shower curtain... is that then a "club" level room?  Also is the "plus" worth it?

 

4) opinions on deck changes/retrofits for 2021?  

 

TYIA for your kind thoughts/help

fog

 

[PirateWife]

If I haven't said it before, again, make sure you download the Azamara app before sailing.  The Pursuit used this and in the future the two other ships will be using the app to show passengers their onboard charges, scheduled activities, restaurant menus, and much more.  It doesn't show how many minutes are left on your wi-fi account. This was only available by going to Customer Service when the IT person was available. It doesn't allow you to book activities. You can use it without using wi-fi minutes but this is not clear in the info available. This means everyone walks around with their cell phone or tablet on--often while walking around and not looking where they are going.  I was told that there are problems with the app by the IT expert.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

Very helpful thread here. 

 

1) Regarding the "free nights" perk..and that 50% has to be Azamara.. is that 50% of the nights or cruises. 

What I mean is we are looking at cruises on  Azamara 21 days or more... IS that 3x 1 week on Celebrity? Or one sailing?

Just wondering if the "free" Nights is anything we will ever see/use.  And how it is calculated. Clear as mud?

 

2) Re excursions. We are seriously looking at Azamara and comparing it to Regent (inclusive) vs Celebrity (bigger ship experience). Regent IS spendy--however  with airfare, grats, bev and all excursions etc..there are no surprises.  We loved it --yet it IS a budget buster.  We like Celebrity well enough yet want a bit more...and Azamara looks like it will fit the bill. One the sailings we are looking at on Azamara--  we cannot see anything about excursions. While private excursions are often preferred.. I can't reasonably compare what I don't know. Can someone give me an idea on the "avg" for excursions...should I "guesstimate at $100 pp per day  for ship excursions? 

 

3) The website shows the general room layouts. If I don't want a shower curtain... is that then a "club" level room?  Also is the "plus" worth it?

 

4) opinions on deck changes/retrofits for 2021?  

 

TYIA for your kind thoughts/help

fog

 

1) The website clearly says that you must have been on Azamara in the last 3 years and taken at least 50% of their past VOYAGES on Azamara, so that 50% of the cruises, not the nights.

2)When you click on a cruise, it should show the shore excursions, but sometimes these are only sorted out maybe 6 months or so before the cruise, especially of this is an area that Azamara has not been to before. Often it is much further ahead than that. You could look at typical excursions/prices on upcoming cruises. Their excursions are generally more expensive that independent tours arranged online. It’s very difficult to give average prices, it depends where the cruise is. For example we are doing 2 cruises this year. The first is to Norway and the excursions there are expensive because Norway is a very expensive country. The second cruise in November is a transatlantic with stops in the Canaries, Cape Verde and Brazil. Excursions on this are cheaper. For example a 4 and a half hour tour in Funchal, Madeira including cable car tickets and the toboggan ride back down in £57 (about $74) and a 4 hour tour of Salvador de Bahia is £43 ($56).

3) Yes, if you want a shower with a door rather than a curtain then you need a suite - Club Continent or above. Note though that half of Club Continent suites have walk in showers, the other half have tubs with showers over. All the inside, ocean view and verandah cabins have a shower with a curtain.

4) The Quest has been changed, the Pursuit is new so only the Journey will be changed next year.

[Fogfog]

7 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

1) The website clearly says that you must have been on Azamara in the last 3 years and taken at least 50% of their past VOYAGES on Azamara, so that 50% of the cruises, not the nights.

2)When you click on a cruise, it should show the shore excursions, but sometimes these are only sorted out maybe 6 months or so before the cruise, especially of this is an area that Azamara has not been to before. Often it is much further ahead than that. You could look at typical excursions/prices on upcoming cruises. Their excursions are generally more expensive that independent tours arranged online. It’s very difficult to give average prices, it depends where the cruise is. For example we are doing 2 cruises this year. The first is to Norway and the excursions there are expensive because Norway is a very expensive country. The second cruise in November is a transatlantic with stops in the Canaries, Cape Verde and Brazil. Excursions on this are cheaper. For example a 4 and a half hour tour in Funchal, Madeira including cable car tickets and the toboggan ride back down in £57 (about $74) and a 4 hour tour of Salvador de Bahia is £43 ($56).

3) Yes, if you want a shower with a door rather than a curtain then you need a suite - Club Continent or above. Note though that half of Club Continent suites have walk in showers, the other half have tubs with showers over. All the inside, ocean view and verandah cabins have a shower with a curtain.

4) The Quest has been changed, the Pursuit is new so only the Journey will be changed next year.

TY

Re "free nights" As a Discoverer-- I suppose this won't apply to us unless we were to sail Azamara exclusively til we move to Discoverer +  or beyond (and the 3 yr as mentioned etc) 

The language that "(Note: Only Azamara and Celebrity voyages apply.) 

is what threw me 

On the deck plans--the website indicates that Quest plans change for 2021 sailings... which again led me to believe that there was a scheduled dry dock coming (not already completed) 

 

This is why CC folks are helpful--as websites can be out of date... and lacking in information (bathroom pictures for example)

 

Smooth sailing 🙂

[Grandma Cruising]

Ah, the deck plan difference between the 2019 plan and the 2020/21 deck plan is that a number of Verandah cabins are called Verandah plus cabins on the 2020/21 deck plans. They come with a set of extras such as free WiFi minutes, a free bag of laundry, a free speciality restaurant booking per 7 days etc. - and of course they are more expensive than ordinary verandahs, but no bigger (and still have a shower curtain!)

[Fogfog]

24 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Ah, the deck plan difference between the 2019 plan and the 2020/21 deck plan is that a number of Verandah cabins are called Verandah plus cabins on the 2020/21 deck plans. They come with a set of extras such as free WiFi minutes, a free bag of laundry, a free speciality restaurant booking per 7 days etc. - and of course they are more expensive than ordinary verandahs, but no bigger (and still have a shower curtain!)

TY

Very kind and helpful.  

[Grandma Cruising]

Just thought it might be time to post the links to the Tips spreadsheet again.

Here’s the google spreadsheet link.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Deg-GaeZYLml8NN3PVwoh_jUkQ8QmYUe1wxnVAlODE

 

Here’s the link to the PDF version for those who can’t access the google one

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lndojfzf72nm0b3/Tips for Azamara Newbies.pdf?dl=0

[SoBaycruiser]

On 8/20/2018 at 9:28 AM, marinaro44 said:

 

The Patio serves a casual-dress, table-service dinner on deck 9. Menu includes lamb tournedos, beef paillard, chicken cordon bleu, and more. You can also take items from the Windows buffet to your table.

 

I have read that resort casual is the dress code for all restaurants on Azamara.  Are the patio and the Windows buffet included as restaurants?  So if one returns from an all day excursion wearing nice jeans, can they go dine in Windows or must they eat outside if they don’t want to “dress” for dinner?

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

I have read that resort casual is the dress code for all restaurants on Azamara.  Are the patio and the Windows buffet included as restaurants?  So if one returns from an all day excursion wearing nice jeans, can they go dine in Windows or must they eat outside if they don’t want to “dress” for dinner?

You can wear nice jeans anywhere on the ship, including Discoveries (MDR) and the Speciality restaurants. This is what the web site says 

“Out of respect for others, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps, bathing suits, shorts, and torn/distressed jeans are not allowed in the dining room or specialty restaurants. When dining at Windows Café, guests must wear footwear and a cover-up or shirt”.

[SoBaycruiser]

8 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

You can wear nice jeans anywhere on the ship, including Discoveries (MDR) and the Speciality restaurants. This is what the web site says 

“Out of respect for others, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps, bathing suits, shorts, and torn/distressed jeans are not allowed in the dining room or specialty restaurants. When dining at Windows Café, guests must wear footwear and a cover-up or shirt”.

 

The website has contradictory information,  I saw your quote  but I also saw this in General Information: (bold is mine)

“No bare feet, vest tops, caps, swimwear, shorts or jeans are allowed in the main dining room or speciality restaurants.”

 and a similar statement is on the FAQ page.  

 

It appears that maybe they have updated their advice in some places to say “torn/distressed” jeans but not in others.  I appreciate the clarification.

 

 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

The website has contradictory information,  I saw your quote  but I also saw this in General Information: (bold is mine)

“No bare feet, vest tops, caps, swimwear, shorts or jeans are allowed in the main dining room or speciality restaurants.”

 and a similar statement is on the FAQ page.  

 

It appears that maybe they have updated their advice in some places to say “torn/distressed” jeans but not in others.  I appreciate the clarification.

 

 

However, on our last night onboard Quest last summer, after we had packed up everything and we were dining in one of the specialty restaurants, my husband was kind of called out for wearing sandals. He explained that everything else was packed up and they let it go. He did not have jeans on and had on a nice shirt.

[Grandma Cruising]

28 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

The website has contradictory information,  I saw your quote  but I also saw this in General Information: (bold is mine)

“No bare feet, vest tops, caps, swimwear, shorts or jeans are allowed in the main dining room or speciality restaurants.”

 and a similar statement is on the FAQ page.  

 

It appears that maybe they have updated their advice in some places to say “torn/distressed” jeans but not in others.  I appreciate the clarification.

 

 

You’re quite right - Azamara are now aware of this & hopefully someone will put this right.

Edited April 11, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[jgnova]

Just a quick note. One evening as we were waiting to enter the main dining room on our recent Journey cruise (just disembarked yesterday), we saw one man turned away. He was wearing shorts. Long shorts, but not formal Bermuda shorts with other appropriate accessories. I don't know whether he would have been allowed in if they had been Bermuda shorts with appropriate socks and shirt and so forth. (I am thinking also of formal nights on other ships when a few of the Scots were wearing kilts with the right socks, jacket, etc. -- they looked grand. Almost as grand as DH in his tux, but I digress..... **smile**)

 

Susan

[Grandma Cruising]

I don’t think even ‘formal’ shorts would have been allowed - the advice does say no shorts.

[Carnob52]

Little help please.

 

What is the typical experience regarding tender schedule (assuming no inclement weather and such) when a ship tenders overnight in a port. Soon to be on Pursuit which overnights in Dubrovnik. Would like to plan for what is the latest tender back during the overnight.

 

Called call center which understandably could not provide trip specifics. Advised to look for tender schedule on board. 

[Turangi!]

Is there a nightlight in the bathroom? I can’t remember from our earlier voyages!

[Mackdogmolly]

11 minutes ago, Turangi! said:

Is there a nightlight in the bathroom? I can’t remember from our earlier voyages!

I don’t think so. We usually bring battery tea lights to use as night lights