excitedofharpenden

The other general point I wanted to make about the Best of the Best evening. Unless you were invited you would have no idea it was happening. Azamara rightly are subtle about such events. There's no note in the daily and it's not shown anywhere else. The only clue is "Private Function" at the door to the Drawing Room on the evening. The only reason it's known about here is from posts on the board. Phil

Just to say that the Azamara Chef Experience for the Executive Chef is nothing like them preparing a Best of the Best event. I've been and also attended Best of the Best and they aren't the same at all. No comparison. Phil

The cruise up to Nordkapp is pretty special though, not least because you cross the Arctic Circle and experience the sun that never sets (if you go at the right time of year). There was one cruise that was to go to Svalbard. I can't remember what with covid if it happened, but that far north would be very special. In my view Norway is one of the prettiest places on earth. It knocks the Alaskan Fjords into a cocked hat. Phil

It's also worth mentioning that if you have an iPhone 11 or up it will give you precision finding that gives you a much more accurate locator eg walk 20 ft to your left rather than your tag is within so many yards like I had on my iPhone without Ultra Wideband technology. Phil

Just to say that a few on this forum are in touch with some of the Azamara crew. It's worth posting here just to see if anyone is able to send a message. It might result in nothing, but worth a go. Phil

What nonsense. No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. Phil

I did do a dummy booking on the app and it was €45 or thereabouts too from airport to the op's hotel. Phil

Yes, I think this is a great idea. Phil

I book with Welcome Pickups who I have found to be excellent. Try their app for a quote. My flight lands at 17.00 so I put 17.30 as the pickup time. You enter your flight number so the driver knows and it will add an extra 60 mins waiting. It will give you a price quote and you can book there and then. What you have been quoted seems about right. Phil

Hey Floris. I hope you are ok. Haven't seen you in a while. Travelling certainly poses issues just now. I'm prepared for it with my patience hat on! Phil

That sounds just like Celebrity! Don't get me started on that one! Sorry you had such a poor experience. I was there for four days and was able to get out of the city. We had a really nice time, but concur with the rubbish and rudeness observations. I experienced similar. It's a shame. I understand Amsterdam has had an inherent littering problem and they've tried to sort it out by imposing fines. Phil

Ship Captain Hotel Director Cruise Director Executive Chef Any notes of when they are due to leave/replacement Phil

I was thinking just yesterday that it would be nice to know who the senior officers are on the ships, but acknowledge there has been lots of staff movements recently so it is going to be difficult to be accurate. I think I'll start a thread on who is where, for people to post what they know. I won't start a spreadsheet though. Phil

Normal jeans are fine in the MDR, but shorts aren't so it was probably the latter. It's good to see them enforcing that policy. I've never witnessed anyone being turned away for non-compliance, but I guess it happens from time to time. Phil

Just a word on the attire. Whilst there are some who may try to push the envelope, in all my cruises on Azamara I have never had an issue with what people have been wearing. The vast majority will dress appropriate to what Azamara request. It's one of the reasons I like the line so much. You can choose to dress up if you want to and you won't feel out of place, but generally it's relaxed and comfy. Phil

Just wondering if there are any more details of a possible event? All four ships are there from 8am until 11pm which sounds like a plan for an Azamazing evening or an event of some sort leaving that late. Fingers crossed as I've just booked Quest from Ravenna, having got off Journey there the day before. I've done a couple of tandem sailouts, but this will be quite special and after the covid delay. Let's hope it's not scuppered again Phil

Sounds very ungrateful, but having been to both the Seychelles and Maldives on Azamara I have no wish to return to either. Now that Kuda Bandos in the Maldives is (another) private resort one is faced with docking in Mali which is far from picturesque. I was shocked at how little respect the Seychelles people have for their islands. The attitude and friendliness of the place I found to be poor. Very pretty place, but took ages to get to and the seas are rough with big swells being so far from land. Phil

Good to see you Vicki. Go easy on the CO2. There's a shortage 😁. Hope you and Charlie are well. X Phil

We are getting the Eurostar home. Very simple for me as I can get the train all the way home. Fingers crossed it's simpler. I won't miss flying, but it ain't cheap. Phil

We are here until tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of your cruise! Phil

Hi Nancy. You need to buy the Airtags yourself, probably the Apple Store in Amsterdam is your best bet. I have three. They have come in very useful! Phil

They told us belt 19 at the start. That changed to 18. There was luggage everywhere, waiting for people who'd taken ages to get through immigration. Eventually the luggage came off belt 15. The Apple Airtag did at least tell us it was near! Phil

Our hotel is right outside the Muntplein stop (tram 24). Google Maps is your friend. We had no issues with the luggage. We have one large suitcase and two good size backpacks. Amsterdam is not a big city and easily navigated. Enjoy! Phil

We got the train from Schipol to the Centraal railway station. From there and depending upon where you are staying you can get the tram. All very straightforward. Trams go everywhere. Not sure how long you are here. We bought a three day pass for unlimited bus and tram which was good value which included that train journey from the airport. Phil

I’m in Amsterdam right now. We flew in on Monday. Schipol was a zoo to arrive at. Immigration was very bad and as UK voted to leave the EU that didn’t help either. Allow plenty of time. It took us 45 minutes to fly in and an hour and a half to get out of the airport.. I totally 👍 uktog's suggestion. If you have an iPhone and can use Airtag then do. It helped us as they sent us to the wrong belt. Chaos from start to finish. Loving Amsterdam though. Go and have a stroopwaffel at this place. They are the best! Phil