federalexpress

3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Maybe the answer is not to buy the Ultimate package for the wine. If it’s better wine you’re interested in, rather than ‘fancy’ cocktails, may be better to wait until you get onboard, then see what wines are in the wine packages.

As I've posted elsewhere, I'm going to have to do that anyway. I was going to get the Ultimate package as part of the Indulgence package but although my TA said I could buy this (or part buy) in advance with my OBC, that turns out to not be the case. So I'll just have to wait to buy the Indulgence package onboard- on my 17 night trip, that is a no brainer on value for money versus buying the Ultimate package for 17 days.

I guess I'm a bit of a trainspotter when it comes to (good) wine, it's a bit of a passion and before choosing Azamara over others, I researched wine offerings carefully. Hence being a little concerned if I see the quality on offer seemingly being downgraded somewhat. It actually raises an interesting moral question: once you have committed to your cruise, how reasonable is it for cruise lines to alter the prices and/or quality of what they provide onboard? You might argue that in these hard times, cutting the quality of wine in a package is fair game (I don't!). But what if they seriously hiked the price of the add ons, for example sticking another $500 on the Indulgence package. It's a grey area I think...

Just to conclude an earlier post on this topic (may have made it on another thread), my TA had indicated I could buy the Indulgence package with a combination of my OBC of $1000 and a card top up. But when I contacted Azamara, they said no, it has to be done onboard. They described it as a 'system limitation' and I take from this that they would sooner pre-sell these packages in advance if their IT allowed it.

That leaves me with trying to book an excursion before it possibly sells out but unable to use the $700 I would get from the package. I'm minded to follow the suggestion on here, book it with my existing OBC, then cancel it onboard to restore my $1000 credit, then re-book it after I've acquired my Indulgence package. To be on the safe side, I've asked Azamara if this will work and I won't get double charged. Will update when I hear.

7 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

The heartland of Wolf Blass winemaking, Yellow Label has delivered exceptional quality for over 40 years through an outstanding range of South Australian wines.

Yellow Label Merlot offers dark fruit aromas of plum and cassis with a touch of oak spice and hints of leafiness. Rich flavours meld well with supple, varietal tannins in an approachable, medium-bodied style with a smooth, long-lasting finish.

 

Average rating on Vivino 3.3 of 5, although some sites rate it higher. Some vintages are better than others, as is the case with most wines. Average price +/- AU$12.00.

 

Ultimate package - not to my way of thinking.

 

 

Indeed, especially as it appears to have replaced the Matanzas Creek Merlot which is a much more serious (and expensive) wine.  Yellow Label is the standard of wine I'd expect to see on the included drinks package.

4 minutes ago, RW75 said:

The buffet on deck nine. There’s a reservation desk for Aqualine, Prime C and Chefs Table. 

Ah, ok thanks, understood. 

2 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

We’ve never tried switching from one speciality to another. I love Prime C, and we usually book a three-table tour, with two Prime C nights and one Aqualina. What I have noticed is that they’ve been a bit shorter-staffed, and more likely to restrict the number of tables at any given time post-Covid. Our dining time of choice is 8 pm. 

Ok well that is worth noting, maybe I need to get my reservations in fast and see if my butler has any leverage.

5 minutes ago, RW75 said:

That is the issue here. When a business wants to operate on two defined times, it rarely works as well as someone expected. 
 

My last cruise I simply didn’t bother booking.  The poor attitude at the reservation desk in Windows lost maybe $300 in revenue from me. I know that’s no big deal, but, it’s lost revenue. 
 

Managing customers and micro management of table turning is not difficult.  Equally, having more outgoing, welcoming and empathetic staff on the reservations desk may help. 
 

I have never managed to have a drink at the bar in Prime C. Always discouraged or blatantly told there is no bar service.   Perfect space to get ahead or slow down the service. 

Forgive me, what is Windows?

4 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

That has been A Thing, especially post Covid, but we are happy with an 8pm booking. If given an 8.30 booking, we just go 15-20 minutes early since we are late diners anyway. There has not been much of a problem. On Onward, we have found that the Atlas Bar is an especially nice place to bide one’s time whilst waiting for a table. The bar in Prime C is ok, but can be a bit of a desert sometimes.

This is new to me and I hadn't realised they did double sittings. Are you saying this has only happened post Covid?

I'm assuming, maybe wrongly, that if you took Aqualina and Prime C together, you are unlikely to find them both completely full at any given point. Is that fair? In which case, it ought to be possible to get a table when you want it. I'd probably be OK moving from one to another if needed. In fact don't they serve each others menus anyway on request? Which would make it less of an issue anyway.

1 hour ago, RW75 said:

Good!  Now be a little more assertive and make sure you have that table you want.

Don’t allow a few silly barriers to ruin your evening. 
Believe me when I say I hate with a passion everyone whom expects to sit down at 7.30.  That’s about 90% of people booking a table anywhere.  When it’s managed in the correct way  no one is unhappy on either side of the equation and the customer will leave happy. Expectation management is not always sensibly deployed among staff anywhere. 
Please do have a chat with the F&B manager.  Chances are you’ll end up meeting the executive chef also as I have noticed the double act approach quite often. 
 

I hear you. I can see the restaurants perspective in terms of managing orders. Maybe one could try and spread stuff around between 7 and 8pm.

But restaurants that do 2 sittings, both at hours well outside most people's preferences are, I suggest, doing more to optimise their profit (obviously less applicable on a cruise line) than meeting customer needs.

8 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

Azamara booked our flights. I asked about security and passports but they assured me it would be fine!!

The Aqualina lady ignores you and you have to specially call her over to take food order or clear plates etc. It's not just us though. She's an equal opportunities ignorer! The other waiter is lovely but is often out of the room probably collecting food.

If they arranged your flights, then that is poor. Certainly if they didn't make you aware of the potential issues.

I was also concerned to hear that you only get 6.30 or 8.30 bookings at the speciality restaurants. I personally don't like restaurants that do that and try and avoid them. I'm new to Azamara, but I'm certainly going to try and eat at my preferred 7.30pm time, at least for some nights, if necessary by doing what others have said and speak to the F and B manager.OK maybe if they are rammed that night but I think most people want to eat 7-8 so offering times that are only outside that pleases nobody.

2 hours ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

@tgg: re travel problems we were booked to fly from Edinburgh to Venice via Charles de Gaulle with only one hour to make the connection. Despite being told we didn't have to go through security or passport checks it turned out that this was compulsory. My OH was desperate and shamelessly pushed in to the tops of the queues begging to be let in. We got through just as boarding was closing for the Venice flight. We were very lucky indeed. Others were in tears. We had had to run for what felt like miles. 

 

Whoever booked you on a 1 hour connection is unprofessional, especially given the time sensitivity involved here. 60 mins is the absolute minimum connection time at CDG which means you are guaranteed a stressful time. And even that assumes it is a through ticket and the flights arrive and leave from the same terminal. If either or both do not apply, you really need to be looking at a couple of hours.

As per the above post, if you fly from non EU to an EU destination, you do need to go through passport control at the connecting airport. That makes the 60 mins minimum likely unachievable. If Azamara recommended this and booked your flights, then I agree their travel advisors are inadequate.

Mmmm. The reds in particular a fair step back from what I last saw on the website. Wolf Blass Yellow Label????

2 minutes ago, federalexpress said:

Perhaps I shouldn't be commenting because I've not even cruised on Azamara- first time will be this January-but my choice happened to be between Viking and Azamara for my S America trip. The main reason for going with AZ was that Viking pre package their flights but were totally uncompetitive on Business class upgrades and if I wanted to book myself, the fare reduction was very meagre, only £500, and I can't believe they are paying as little as that for Economy class fares between London and Santiago/Buenos Aires.

 

The Viking ships looked wonderful, I like the Scandi vibe. Azamara looks more to me like one of those ever so slightly faded country house hotels, but I like that vibe too. Like you, the smaller cabins didn't appeal, but the extra money for a CC suite still brought it in at roughly the same price as a Viking Veranda cabin so that swung it for me. Not that it's easy to tell from websites etc, but I also got the impression that AZ may be a little less formal, a bit more relaxed, which also suits me.

I forgot to add that I also got $1000 OBC which I'm using against an Indulgence package which means I pay an extra $500. That gives me $700 for some shore excursions(most I'll arrange myself), free wifi (to the extent it works) $250 spa credit, free laundry, a chef's table event and, most importantly, an upgraded drinks package, so I'll get wines at least as good as Viking, if not better. And I'm still some way below the Viking veranda price. Tbh, I think Viking is a more premium line than AZ but there are things you can do with Az to somewhat mirror the experience.

Perhaps I shouldn't be commenting because I've not even cruised on Azamara- first time will be this January-but my choice happened to be between Viking and Azamara for my S America trip. The main reason for going with AZ was that Viking pre package their flights but were totally uncompetitive on Business class upgrades and if I wanted to book myself, the fare reduction was very meagre, only £500, and I can't believe they are paying as little as that for Economy class fares between London and Santiago/Buenos Aires.

The Viking ships looked wonderful, I like the Scandi vibe. Azamara looks more to me like one of those ever so slightly faded country house hotels, but I like that vibe too. Like you, the smaller cabins didn't appeal, but the extra money for a CC suite still brought it in at roughly the same price as a Viking Veranda cabin so that swung it for me. Not that it's easy to tell from websites etc, but I also got the impression that AZ may be a little less formal, a bit more relaxed, which also suits me.

What a lovely, informative and well photographed review. Glad I found it. Might check out the itinerary, have always fancied Greece and its islands.

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

By way of comparison, here are the wine choices from Ponant last night.  Others will have more knowledge of the price points, but it all looks like South of France low-cost stuff to me:

It depends on what is being compared. They look superior to Azamara's included wines but somewhat inferior to the Ultimate collection offering, especially the reds.

On the latter, it is ironic that having rightly had our wine discussion taken off the Tips for Newbies thread, that a list of latest available Ultimate wines has just been posted on the Anyone Onboard? thread. I'd have lifted it out to here where I imagine it might be even more relevant but that's beyond my pay grade in terms of tech know how. Long and short of it, very many replacements to the website listing, mostly of equivalent quality.

Yes good call to seperate this out. I realised I was droning on about my favourite topic in the wrong thread for it.

3 hours ago, Cruiser6270 said:

Well, finally got through this morning, after hours of wasted time, holding on previous days. Said I'd completed the online form 5 days earlier but had heard nothing. Rep explained they're inundated with calls at the mo, and emails are having to take a back seat. Looks like perseverance is the answer.

 

OK useful to know. Maybe they had some short term issue on a forthcoming cruise to resolve. Or maybe business is flying.

35 minutes ago, Riocca said:

That section of the website being down is no doubt generating a lot more phone calls, especially if it affects the booking system.

Yep, that will certainly cause extra demand but I also wonder if their ability to do stuff arising from calls is compromised, in other words, it's more than just a website issue, but it's also affecting their internal systems and their capacity to actually operate.

Yep me too. I wonder if this is linked in any way to their current inability to answer calls or respond to emails.

6 hours ago, Cruiser6270 said:

Have tried calling Azamara a few times but no one answering their phones. So, we completed the online form to buy the Experience More package for our cruise. States someone will call back within 24 hrs for payment. That was 3 days ago, not heard a thing. 

 

Business must be great at Azamara if they cannot be bothered calling folk for payments.

 Same here, they really should be able to offer the transaction online, especially if they don't answer the phone.

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

When I started drinking wine, in the 1960s, cheap wine was really, really bad.  When I was studying in France in 1967 the supermarket wine was from Algeria and the labels only showed the alcohol content, which was in direct proportion to the price – "quality"? hah!!!  And cheap California/NY wine was always terribly flawed.  Now, winemaking technology has improved to the point that the worst wine in the US is merely innocuous.

There is no doubt quality has indeed improved across the board. I used to buy wines for a UK brewery in the early to mid 80's including for a Spanish brand called Corrida. One of the buyers atThe Wine Society (who are my current main suppliers of wine) recalled them recently in a 'nostalgia' themed article: 'the red smelled of drains, the white smelled like sick'. Maybe so, but we generally picked one from around 50 plus samples sent in from producers so imagine how bad the stuff we didn't buy was!!!!!

7 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I have some 20 year old collectable super Tuscans in my cellar but the French left bank Bordeaux's still are the preference. Doing tastings double blind are the only fair way to rate wines.  Quite often a $30 wine will beat a $100 wine in our tasting group. We also decant the  wines that need more age to reach their prime but still are tasting them early upon release. The purpose of a cellar is to age the wine and allow them to reach their potential. 

 

Back to the subject the taster (cruiser) needs to decide for themselves what they like and don't like and if the included package is acceptable for them.  When I started drinking wines they were "jug wines". My palate changed as I learned more and appreciated better made wines. I still have wines I buy in the $20-$30/bottle  range too which offer good value.  

I think I had the opposite journey. I started in the wine trade so drinking cru classe was, if not everyday, at least normal. Out of my price league nowadays. Today I have mainly what you might call 'jug wines' mostly from The Wine Society (UK wholesaler, not available in the US but very nice wines at fair prices). For treats, I have a bit of stuff at $20-$30, a very few more expensive. If Azamara gave me a buying budget of up to $30 for their Ultimate wines, I'd drink very well from what I buy from The Wine Society's offering at that price. Maybe better than they can do, in fact I'm pretty sure of that. About the only cru classe I now have stored in my very much smaller cellar than yours, is Batailley '10.

Agree about double blind albeit when I bought wine 35 years ago for a living, we kept it in price brackets/wine types, but then we were commercially tasting, 30-60 wines at a time so you needed a centering.

It's interesting how wines change over time in terms of quality and winemaking. When I bought wine, Clerc Milon was a minor cru classe and of minimal interest. Now I think it is one of the best of its class.Mind you, they have all improved, even the traditional laggards.

8 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

If they were wines that I wanted to add to my cellar I would have taken notes. They were quaffable but not remarkable which you would expect. I have a cellar with over 1000 bottles and this was Monday's night blind tasting with a group I am in. Hope to share a glass or two with you on a future cruise. 

sept 19 2022 blind tasting.pdf 811.95 kB · 11 downloads

Nice tasting! It's certainly true I wouldn't be expecting this level as part of a wine package, that would swiftly put any cruise line out of business.

How did you think the Italian 'Bordeaux' compared to the real thing? I guess it's hard to be absolute on comparative quality when few, if any of these wines are close to their peak, so one never knows for sure how they will evolve.

Yep I think they are back on. First time on Azamara but we apparently have some off ship show at a theatre in Montevideo.

19 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I wish now that I would have photo'd the bottles. Didn't bother keeping track. Was primarily drinking cab sauv and viognier and both were good. As a comment for the chefs table the wines served there were exceptional. That was my first trip on Azamara. My next one , a back to back I will definitely buy the ultimate package again. It wasn't a "deal" but a reasonable value so I was satisfied. Definitely nice that I didn't give a second thought to ordering a before or after dinner drink, Perrier, or premium beer at lunch. Virtually none of the wines shown on the sample were available as you heard before from others. Hopefully that might be better on my next cruise. 

Thanks for that feedback. You are clearly discerning enough for me to take on board your overall opinion, even if you don't recall the names of the wines. Interesting you should have so readily found the 'free' wines to be below par, at least according to the quality you were seeking, and found the package gave you what you were seeking. Agree that the package does take away having second thoughts about ordering something. I don't drink spirits at all but that is more out of habit and my greater lover for wine than not liking the taste. I might find myself needing the warmth of a decent single malt, like a Balvenie, when I'm sailing across to Cape Horn from the Falklands......