New to Azamara - Some Questions

[Mackdogmolly]

Just now, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Me too but many we spoke to were leaving their room steward $10 for a 14 night cruise with no hint of embarrassment. 

There has been lots of chatter in the past on this very personal topic. My own preference is to take what’s left of my (refundable) TA OBC and donate it to the crew welfare fund, thereby spreading the wealth around to all of the crew who work so hard (not just the ones you see)

[lisiamc]

39 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

We also tipped wait staff and room steward and from speaking to others found we were in the minority and those that were leaving a tip for their room stewards the average was  less than a dollar a day  for a 14 night. cruise!!!  Most of the cruises I’ve been on have had tips included but I still like to tip extra especially to the room stewards. We always bring dollars specifically for this purpose. 

I always tip if tips are not included, but if tips ARE included, I only tip extra if the person went way above and beyond. Otherwise, we make a contribution to the crew fund, so that everyone benefits. Otherwise, I’d spend hours tracking down and tipping the nice person who cleans the public toilets and always wishes me a good morning, the people who work so hard in the laundry, the ones who scrub the pots and pans in the galley, etc. 

[nordski]

1 hour ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Then how do you explain before and after the tip?

In our experience, except on the first night of a cruise, arriving at 6:00 pm ensured almost a limitless choice of tables. So I would suggest that arrival time at Discoveries might be a bigger factor than a tip.

At least I would hope so. 
The only time we had to fine tune our tactic was when another couple also coveted the same two-top with a window at the back of the ship. 😀

Edited January 8, 2023 by nordski

[crzrr]

13 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

I always tip if tips are not included, but if tips ARE included, I only tip extra if the person went way above and beyond. Otherwise, we make a contribution to the crew fund, so that everyone benefits. Otherwise, I’d spend hours tracking down and tipping the nice person who cleans the public toilets and always wishes me a good morning, the people who work so hard in the laundry, the ones who scrub the pots and pans in the galley, etc. 

Totally agree!  We always make a sizable donation to the crew fund so that all benefit.

[uktog]

46 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Me too but many we spoke to were leaving their room steward $10 for a 14 night cruise with no hint of embarrassment. 

Never a subject I have had conversation with fellow passengers about during a cruise.  Must have been very different cruise if tipping amounts were discussed by many.  I too consider the crew fund the fairest way to share extra tips over and above what I have already paid for in my fair and provided of course the overall cruise experience merits this extra.  An individual would have to go over what the norm for their job to be tipped even a lowly $10.  Rarely (but sometimes) does that happen.

[MegCV]

Hi, we're going on our 1st cruise with Azamara on the Pursuit for a Greek Intensive on April 24. I'm trying to get info about the dates for when the White Night and AzAmazing Evening events will be held? I would like to know this, so to plan excursions around those dates.  How can I get this info? Will it show up on the Voyage Planner Calendar (as our OBC bought excursions have)? Any input on when AzAmazing Evening dates are noticed to passengers?  Is the White Night normally held on a sea day or could they be after any port call?  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

[crzrr]

22 minutes ago, MegCV said:

Hi, we're going on our 1st cruise with Azamara on the Pursuit for a Greek Intensive on April 24. I'm trying to get info about the dates for when the White Night and AzAmazing Evening events will be held? I would like to know this, so to plan excursions around those dates.  How can I get this info? Will it show up on the Voyage Planner Calendar (as our OBC bought excursions have)? Any input on when AzAmazing Evening dates are noticed to passengers?  Is the White Night normally held on a sea day or could they be after any port call?  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

Your Azamazing evening information should be in your shore excursion information along with the ability to sign up for it.  As to White Night, you won't find that out ahead of time.  They should have a full calendar at the desk where you can make specialty dining reservations.  

[Grandma Cruising]

24 minutes ago, MegCV said:

Hi, we're going on our 1st cruise with Azamara on the Pursuit for a Greek Intensive on April 24. I'm trying to get info about the dates for when the White Night and AzAmazing Evening events will be held? I would like to know this, so to plan excursions around those dates.  How can I get this info? Will it show up on the Voyage Planner Calendar (as our OBC bought excursions have)? Any input on when AzAmazing Evening dates are noticed to passengers?  Is the White Night normally held on a sea day or could they be after any port call?  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

Had a look at your excursions and currently there is no Azamazing evening listed. Once it is you’ll notice it because it will have a zero cost.

White night is usually on a night when the ship is late in port - looks like either Rhodes or Mykonos, but as crzrr says you won’t know for definite until you get onboard.

[combine]

48 minutes ago, MegCV said:

Hi, we're going on our 1st cruise with Azamara on the Pursuit for a Greek Intensive on April 24. I'm trying to get info about the dates for when the White Night and AzAmazing Evening events will be held? I would like to know this, so to plan excursions around those dates.  How can I get this info? Will it show up on the Voyage Planner Calendar (as our OBC bought excursions have)? Any input on when AzAmazing Evening dates are noticed to passengers?  Is the White Night normally held on a sea day or could they be after any port call?  Thanks very much.

 

 

 

Rhodes looks a good bet for the Azamazing evening as you are docked and transportation will be easier. The other late departure Mykonos is  tendered and near the end of the cruise and that looks promising for white night.

[Edinburghgirl1]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Never a subject I have had conversation with fellow passengers about during a cruise.  Must have been very different cruise if tipping amounts were discussed by many.  I too consider the crew fund the fairest way to share extra tips over and above what I have already paid for in my fair and provided of course the overall cruise experience merits this extra.  An individual would have to go over what the norm for their job to be tipped even a lowly $10.  Rarely (but sometimes) does that happen.

We asked a few couples we’d been friendly with throughout the cruise how much they were tipping their room steward as after tipping our favourite waiters in the bars we only had $100 left to tip our butler and room steward. If required we were going to leave some pounds as well as the dollars. As first time Azamara cruisers we just wanted to establish what others considered a reasonable tip on this cruise line as we didn’t want them to feel insulted if they only got $50 each. Looks like they must have been delighted as we may have been more generous than most. 

Edited January 8, 2023 by Edinburghgirl1

[hamrag]

19 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Then how do you explain before and after the tip?

You said it as it is....the tip you gave worked, couldn't be clearer! We have seen this tactic employed successfully often over the years, but don't use it personally....nor would we judge you or anyone else who does. 

 

Most of our cruises these days have gratuities included in the price, but we always tip on the final day/night. When we did so on Azamara, we did not find any crew member to be surprised or reluctant to accept or give the impression it was not part of the Az 'ethos'.

 

We didn't realise at that time there was a crew welfare fund, otherwise we would have considered that means of showing appreciation to the hard working crew. That is probably what we would do if sailing Az in the future.

[marinaro44]

23 hours ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

The problem with the tables in the back is that there is traffic going by them.

There is no traffic going by the four tables against the wall (two against the mirrored walls) in the aft corners of Discoveries.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

22 hours ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Me too but many we spoke to were leaving their room steward $10 for a 14 night cruise with no hint of embarrassment. 

I have gotten tips from $400 to $2. I am always grateful regardless of the amount.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

22 hours ago, nordski said:

In our experience, except on the first night of a cruise, arriving at 6:00 pm ensured almost a limitless choice of tables. So I would suggest that arrival time at Discoveries might be a bigger factor than a tip.

At least I would hope so. 
The only time we had to fine tune our tactic was when another couple also coveted the same two-top with a window at the back of the ship. 😀

We always arrive at 6.

 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

We always arrive at 6.

 

If you always arrive at 6, you have a very high % chance of being seated in the same area even night, it is later on it is more difficult because tables turn over at different rates

[Host Jazzbeau]

It's bad enough this is degenerating into a tipping thread – but we will not have libelous innuendo.  Back it up with facts, or keep quiet.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

37 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It's bad enough this is degenerating into a tipping thread – but we will not have libelous innuendo.  Back it up with facts, or keep quiet.

And all I wanted to know was how Blu compared to Discoveries 🙃

[norn iron]

9 hours ago, OfTheSeasCruiser said:

And all I wanted to know was how Blu compared to Discoveries 🙃

Food comparable, ambiance different. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We've also sailed Celebrity, mainly Aqua Class.  Our last cruise on Eclipse in 2019 had significant food shortages, especially vegetables.  There were also maintenance issues.  I assume it was a temporary situation, but it caused us to look elsewhere.

 

I am curious how Azamara is doing after the acquisition?  Are the fares cheaper than they used to be?  I thought it was more expensive than Oceania, but my memory could be off.  We have an Open Passage booking from our prior Celebrity cruise, so it might be time to start planning a cruise!  

[nordski]

38 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

We've also sailed Celebrity, mainly Aqua Class.  Our last cruise on Eclipse in 2019 had significant food shortages, especially vegetables.  There were also maintenance issues.  I assume it was a temporary situation, but it caused us to look elsewhere.

 

 

Interesting. Our last cruise in Aqua Class  (January 2019) was on Eclipse and, as I posted on another thread, the experience in Blu was not at its usual level. That was pre-Covid. 
Perhaps that ship/cruise itinerary an outlier but it seemed that corners were being cut.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, nordski said:

Interesting. Our last cruise in Aqua Class  (January 2019) was on Eclipse and, as I posted on another thread, the experience in Blu was not at its usual level. That was pre-Covid. 
Perhaps that ship/cruise itinerary an outlier but it seemed that corners were being cut.

 

We sailed in April 2019 from Vancouver to Hawaii.  I talked to several B2B2B people who had sailed up from South America, who were experiencing the same thing.  Knowing how loyalists can be, I would only discuss the problems if someone else brought it up first, and it was still brought up frequently.

 

1.  Missing ingredients, especially fresh vegetables.  No hummus in BLU for the bread.  They had just restocked chocolate syrup for the first time in weeks.  We ran out of maple syrup right after leaving Canada, and ran out of pineapple while docked in Maui!  Frozen mixed veggies were added to the buffet the last night, which I am not a fan of, but luckily I was able to get vegetables in port for lunch by that point in the cruise.

 

2.  Unhappy crew.  The crew were stressed and overworked, any break had to be used for sleep.  Several members vented to me about the situation.  A group of young crew tried to get off at midnight in Maui, and they groaned after being denied due to some kind of delay, claiming they never got to do anything.

 

3.  Maintenance.  The exterior of the ship looked like a rust bucket.  There were no skid strips on the steps going down to the tender.  Combined with the damp midnight air, and wet exterior, my wife slipped down the steps twice.  Instead of enjoying the sunrise on the mountain, we were in a hurry to get to urgent care.  Guest Service claimed that there were no cameras facing the tender area.

 

Sharing this on the Celebrity forum will get you roasted.  I actually got accused of shoving my wife down the stairs.  Multiple people claimed that if Celebrity's food went downhill, it was my fault alone for not fighting to change it, and now they were all going to suffer.  In 2014, the masses were threatening to leave X over the removal of fresh squeezed OJ during breakfast buffet, but when real problems start to emerge, the pitchforks come out.  I'm done with the irrational loyalty.

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by Stateroom_Sailor

[nordski]

2 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

We sailed in April 2019 from Vancouver to Hawaii.  I talked to several B2B2B people who had sailed up from South America, who were experiencing the same thing.  Knowing how loyalists can be, I would only discuss the problems if someone else brought it up first, and it was still brought up frequently.

 

1.  Missing ingredients, especially fresh vegetables.  No hummus in BLU for the bread.  They had just restocked chocolate syrup for the first time in weeks.  We ran out of maple syrup right after leaving Canada, and ran out of pineapple while docked in Maui!  Frozen mixed veggies were added to the buffet the last night, which I am not a fan of, but luckily I was able to get vegetables in port for lunch by that point in the cruise.

 

2.  Unhappy crew.  The crew were stressed and overworked, any break had to be used for sleep.  Several members vented to me about the situation.  A group of young crew tried to get off at midnight in Maui, and they groaned after being denied due to some kind of delay, claiming they never got to do anything.

 

3.  Maintenance.  The exterior of the ship looked like a rust bucket.  There were no skid strips on the steps going down to the tender.  Combined with the damp midnight air, and wet exterior, my wife slipped down the steps twice.  Instead of enjoying the sunrise on the mountain, we were in a hurry to get to urgent care.  Guest Service claimed that there were no cameras facing the tender area.

 

Sharing this on the Celebrity forum will get you roasted.  I actually got accused of shoving my wife down the stairs.  Multiple people claimed that if Celebrity's food went downhill, it was my fault alone for not fighting to change it, and now they were all going to suffer.  In 2014, the masses were threatening to leave X over the removal of fresh squeezed OJ during breakfast buffet, but when real problems start to emerge, the pitchforks come out.  I'm done with the irrational loyalty.

 

Thanks for your reply. There may be some on this forum who are rather obsessed with access to real maple syrup. Its disappearance shortly after leaving Canada would lead to mutinous thoughts. 😀

 

In general, our 2019 experience in Blu was the poorest of the 4 cruises we have travelled in Aqua Class.

 

Up until that cruise, we would compare Blu as close to what we expect in Discoveries in Azamara.

 

I believe others have suggested Blu is similar to Azamara’s specialty restaurants. That has not been our experience, but I understand that more tables have been added to Prime C and Aquafina,  so the difference in ambience may not be so marked.

 

 

[takemewithyou]

20 minutes ago, nordski said:

Thanks for your reply. There may be some on this forum who are rather obsessed with access to real maple syrup. Its disappearance shortly after leaving Canada would lead to mutinous thoughts. 😀

 

In general, our 2019 experience in Blu was the poorest of the 4 cruises we have travelled in Aqua Class.

 

Up until that cruise, we would compare Blu as close to what we expect in Discoveries in Azamara.

 

I believe others have suggested Blu is similar to Azamara’s specialty restaurants. That has not been our experience, but I understand that more tables have been added to Prime C and Aquafina,  so the difference in ambience may not be so marked.

 

 

My experience last in Blu was in late 2018, so I apologize for answering a fellow poster for comparing Blu to Discoveries Restaurant.  It seems it has deteriorated since we last sailed on X. Your experience is more recent and I trust your opinion.

 

By the way @nordskiand @Mackdogmolly,  for room service breakfast on Onward in Dec.,   we had little bottles of real maple syrup!!  We were very impressed! 

Edited January 12, 2023 by takemewithyou

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

My experience last in Blu was in late 2018, so I apologize for answering a fellow poster for comparing Blu to Discoveries Restaurant.  It seems it has deteriorated since we last sailed on X. Your experience is more recent and I trust your opinion.

 

By the way @nordskiand @Mackdogmolly,  for room service breakfast on Onward in Dec.,   we had little bottles of real maple syrup!!  We were very impressed! 

 

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

My experience last in Blu was in late 2018, so I apologize for answering a fellow poster for comparing Blu to Discoveries Restaurant.  It seems it has deteriorated since we last sailed on X. Your experience is more recent and I trust your opinion.

 

By the way @nordskiand @Mackdogmolly,  for room service breakfast on Onward in Dec.,   we had little bottles of real maple syrup!!  We were very impressed! 

We had the real stuff for our room service breakfast on Quest last June too! I was surprised and delighted!!

[Stateroom_Sailor]

2 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

My experience last in Blu was in late 2018, so I apologize for answering a fellow poster for comparing Blu to Discoveries Restaurant.  It seems it has deteriorated since we last sailed on X. Your experience is more recent and I trust your opinion.

 

By the way @nordskiand @Mackdogmolly,  for room service breakfast on Onward in Dec.,   we had little bottles of real maple syrup!!  We were very impressed! 

 

I sailed on a 4 night Infinity cruise on Halloween of 2018.  It was the same dining quality in Blu and the buffet that we'd experience in April 2016.  There was no shortage of vegetables, in fact I had endless access to asparagus for omelets and pasta stations.

 

It seems like Celebrity is trying to market themselves as luxury line these days, with higher fares.  Who knows if the 2019 problems persist, but I doubt the value would make sense for us.