Harrietq

33 minutes ago, ski ww said:

There is no excuse for such poor service, is it because there are so few servers working??

I don’t think that was the case as couples and groups seated after me ordered and received drinks.

6 hours ago, oakridger said:

HarrietQ, I'm upset to hear about the lousy service you got!  I will say that I travel solo almost all the time and have always had good drinks service on HAL, both at the pools and Ocean Bar/Pinnacle Bar/BB Kings, etc.  Occasionally I have had to politely wave at a server to get their attention at the pools, but they came right  over and my drinks were served shortly. I really don't think any poor service is due to your solo status or what you ordered.  Probably the crew, unfortunately, just wasn't up to snuff on your cruise on Veendam.  Just curious, who did you speak to about the  poor service? 

 

As a former waitress and bartender I am usually pretty understanding if the venue is super busy, but once I feel the service is unjustifiably slow I will make a point of going to a supervisor!  Good luck on your future cruises.  (I would love to try Viking Ocean sometime...kind of expensive for a solo)

 

~Nancy

Nancy, I spoke to MaryAnn and Hector at Guest Relations.

If you like being left alone, and I mean totally alone in bars, dining venues, cruise HAL as a solo traveler. I’m winding up the 7 day Eastern Caribbean on the Veendam.

I guess I can rate them highly for consistency. I’ve been ignored most of the entire trip.

Here’s my delicious club soda I ordered 28 minutes ago. Why deliver a Coke package drink when you can sell highly-priced alcohol? 

It’s back to Viking and Azamara for me. And yes, I lodged a complaint twice regarding service (the lack thereof) twice.

You were fortunate at immigration at BA. We sailed with Azamara in December and we were in line at BA immigration for three hours and fifty minutes. I felt so badly for those with mobility issues as there was no place to sit down. We were thankful the transfer to our ship was a car to a quick embarkation. 

I’m about to be a first-time passenger on HAL. Must I make a reservation in the MDR? My other cruise experiences (Azamara and Viking) involved showing up at the podium when hungry (as “hungry” as one gets on a cruise!😄), and being seated. We’d have to wait a few minutes at peak times, but never had to make any reservations outside of specialty venues.

I’ll be on my own for this cruise, and I enjoy sharing a table with willing fellow diners. I’m just a bit confused on the reservation system. Thanks for any direction! 

Hi!

New to HAL cruiser here. I don’t drink alcohol, but I do enjoy an occasional glass of reduced alcohol wine or beer. I’ve seen O’Douls and Buckler listed on posts about beverages, but I’ve yet to find info about the wine. Anyone know if they’re offered? Thanks for any help, and I apologize if this is repetitive info I’ve not come across. 
Cheers!

Keeping in mind other less experienced travelers might read this thread, I submit it’s a good idea to check any visa requirements (short or long term) with your home country. What works for one passenger may not be valid for another in the multinational population on Azamara. 

Speaking as a US citizen, I couldn’t agree more about taking a tour that includes a short-visit visa rather than securing a Russian visa. That spendy process is tedious, at best. 

39 minutes ago, uktog said:

It does 

Probably a change showing for later sailings 

It appears on non-mobile sites. I checked my PC and it was there. On my phone, the sliding scale offered no information about bid strength. Thanks for your replies!

Hello! Has Azamara (or plusgrade.com) removed the “weak/strong” ratings on bids? I checked on my link to an existing bid (sailing December 8, 2019) and I couldn’t see any indication of the sliding scale. Thanks for any and all insights.