boss61

Stateroom Number - 6045
Ship - Journey

Month/Year sailed - January 24, 2019

Would you choose this room again Y/N -Yes. Nothing not to love, and a great value with a nice (obstructed) view of one of the lifeboats. 

Is noise an issue Y/N - No. None at all. Dead silent in terms of both other humans and ship sounds. Far enough from elevators and public areas.

Balcony size Normal/Larger/Smaller - None. A pauper's paradise. 

Any other comments - Good:  bed comfort, room layout offered surprisingly ample clothing storage, big suitcases fit under the bed, nice flat screen TV but not HD (if you are spoiled by this at home, this will disappoint).
Things I wish could be changed but they cannot be-  Bathroom only accomodates minimal toiletries, shower is oddly trapezoidal and compact. Shower curtain did not billow in on us as reported by some. Like anything, you get used to it. 
One more thing - Head of the bed is toward stern of the ship.  You cruise feet first.  In terms of ship motion this is hard to discern, unless like me, you internalize it. Big busy days will allow the zzzz's to overcome this oddity, though. 

6045 (Journey) - We loved this and would book again. Midships location minimizes ship motion. Silent at all hours in terms of other humans and ship operations. Window view not very obstructed. You can see the ocean easily enough through the windows of the lifeboat that rests just outside. See pic. Shower is microscopic but no smaller than others. Thing about 6045 is this: obstructed view makes it a good value. Lots and lots of clothes hangars too. More closet and drawer space than we expected. Our big suitcases easily fit under the bed. 

Von88, have fun.  We leave for ours in less than a week.  

We found scrolling backward through all these posts to be very helpful too.  If you have time, you may consider it.  

Von88, we're on an upcoming cruise.  We were advised on the scheduling of this by AZ roughly 30 days in advance.  We had already booked a conflicting shore excursion through AZ and it was no problem canceling that for a refund.  Booking third party shore excursions that might come to conflict, could be riskier.  I hope this helps. 

Thanks!

Hi.  I knew this but forgot it.  

What are customs and policies for tipping waiters, bartenders, cabin stewards and others.  What is included in our fare?  What is customary, above and beyond that?  Many thanks. 

Part of this depends where you are going.  AAA and your local bank at home usually provide fairer exchange rates for many currencies.  We happen to be going to Cuba, and pretty much the only place for an exchange is on the pier once we  get there.  Our local banks and AAA does not carry CUCs. We're hostage then to their system of taxes and surcharges.  One might imagine that on a ship, if one even can do it on a ship as small as AZ's, the surcharges might still be higher.  For this reason, we always check at home first for foreign currency, before we leave.  

Goot point, pun intended!

We printed ours off the Azamara web site, as the final step in pre-checkin, with no problem.  Looks like an oragami puzzle.  You get an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, with detailed instructions on how and where to print and staple them. 

 

Thanks Grandma - you too!

6 hours ago, Sandy Crest said:

How soon before the cruise occurs can you book excursions? Are they generally of good value? What do you think of the opportunity to book private excursions? 

If you are booking through AZ on their web site, you will find that you already can book shore excursions there unless your inquiry is just months and months in advance.  We're sailing AZ for the first time in about 4 weeks now, but being the Type-A planning nut-jobs that we are, we sought to book our shore excursions just as soon as we booked the cruise itself - some 9 months ago. We could not, as AZ didn't have the full gamut of options even posted.  They were revealed sequentially, but by about 90 to 100 days before departure, they all were up.  So, go book... (if you can navigate their very balky web site).

As for third party tours (we did not have the guts for this in Cuba, where we are heading), we have no idea.  Hope this helps. 

On 10/22/2018 at 8:09 AM, excitedofharpenden said:

Cabin Number 6046

Ship Journey

Month/Year sailed Sept 2018

Would you choose this room again Y

Is noise an issue N

Balcony size Normal/Larger/Smaller n/a

Any other comments Quiet.  Probably one of the better views out of lifeboat restricted window.  Wardrobe more accessible, but small cabin with no table.

Phil, you da man!  Many thanks for reviewing our cabin, upcoming in late January 2019.  So heartened that tender noise was not an issue for you.  Thanks again.  

Wow I have read this thread.  We feel we are total experts at being deceived, misled and overcharged.  Comes from being an Expedia customer.  Never, ever, again.  At this point, done is done and we're just looking forward to the cruise.  But wow.  

If we had to do it again, we'd book through a conventional TA or direct with AZ.  

Grandma, Bonnie, everyone: 

We are veteran cruisers sailing on AZ for the first time in late January 2019. We had found Cruise Critic but did not mine it for the plethora of wonderful information so many of you have shared and compiled.  Many thanks for tending to so very much of the detail!  Makes one wonder how we ever did this before the internet, but we're old(ish) and do recall!  

Thanks again.  We'll share detail here when we get back. 

Yep John, we see.  Should work well for us.  Many details need to be left as a game-day decision, from a late flight to bad weather, on down.  

Seeing you too are coming from the DC area, we airplane buddies?  Early that AM from BWI on American... 

OK and thanks.  So I am crystal clear on this, we can take a taxi or uber to the "Luggage Lounge" facility at Miami Beach, walk from there onto the Boardwalk / whatever, come back 2 or 3 hours later and pick up the luggage, and taxi from there back to the embarkation point?  Have you done this and would you think the return taxi would be reasonably available and findable?  Many thanks!

Thanks John - luggage lounge at Miami airport I take it?

Hello everyone.  We're flying into Miami airport early on a Thursday morning, for a cruise that departs from Port of Miami later that same afternoon.  We will have about 4 hours from when our plane lands until the earliest published embarkation time.  We're on a smaller cruise line (Azamara) and as such, near as we can tell, there is no automatic porter service from either our departure airport (BWI in Baltimore) or even from the Miami airport - to our cabin, for our checked baggage.  Near as we can tell, schlepping them is our puzzle to solve.  

So my question is this:  burdened with luggage for a 9-day cruise, what is the best and most expedient way to constructively spend that 4-ish hour wait?  With a food orgy awaiting us on board, whiling away the time in a restaurant was not really a first-desire go-to (and even if it were, what airport-area options exist OUTSIDE security - remember we have to get those bags reasonably efficiently).  In an ideal world, we'd want to hop onto (or hire and take) some sort of tour, with the tour provider also capable of accomodating the luggage.  Alternatively, can one get to Port-of-Miami early and park the luggage with porters there, somehow?  

We can't be the first ever to have such questions.  Suggestions appreciated!