ccotting

Hello all:

I would appreciate your help.

We are considering an Azmara cruise after spending some years on Royal. I've reviewed some of the newbie questions but I have some that I haven't yet found answers to so I hope you all can help!

We have been told for years that our RCI status will be recognized by Azmara but the Azmara booking agent has said not for the first cruise at all. Only after we have cruised once with Azmara do we get our status. We are Diamond Plus with RCI. It's not what I understand from the web, anyone help with experience here?

The liquor thing has us confused. We are told free drinks and wine but the room is stocked with some bottles, these are free or charged? Cocktails are free at the bar with standard liquor? Yes or No?

Based on something Mr. Pimmental said recently ("Azamara includes a standard pour of wine at lunch and dinner in the cost of its cruise fare") it sounds like the best you get at meals is one glass? Or not?

Is the dinner service open seating or a set time dining?

We have our reservation on 'hold' and are trying to decide. We love the itineraries. RCI is going big ship and those ships can't get into many of the ports we are interested in.

I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Kind regards

That would penalize those of us who are Diamond and above.... We don't buy the beverage package since we get our cocktails in the lounge but we do buy a wine package to have with our dinner. If this change is final that would really make me feel they don't want to encourage us repeat customers!

We cruised in September on Rhapsody and there was no Seattle's best. It was a 'no name' brand and not at all good.....

The teas were better with other brands and selection beyond Lipton but I was very disappointed in the coffee

When we have spoken to staff in the Diamond lounge what we heard is that they are not provided tips by the corporation for that service. We usually tip on the last night for the lounge and we had one staff member on our last trip who was so thrilled she just couldn't do enough for us to our embarrassment. I would not assume that the corporation tips for any of the loyalty events.

On a recent cruise, with the drink chits added to the card, we found that when we used them in one locale (the theatre) we were given slips to sign but in other areas not. It was for inventory control we were told. In today's bar environment, there are computer systems which track sales against liquor stores to manage theft of liquor. We assumed this is the case for that situation and we tipped cash for our drinks. I wouldn't take too much about tips into the discussion of signature slips, it's good business to track usage against inventory. It keeps costs down and we pax want that!

I found this thread interesting because the Diamond Lounge machine on Legend was also broken when we sailed with her earlier this year. Our concierge advised that these machines are quite expensive (25K) and broke frequently. I am not an aficionado so I didn't inquire about replacement at the coffee shop but I do not think that any make up was offered.

It's fascinating to see how devoted some of you are!

We were on this cruise and had an aft cabin. Loved all these shots! It was a lovely cruise and we were so sad to leave her in Honolulu!

My partner received pin for d+ in the mail together with baggage tags, me nothing!

 

As for D+ amenity on board as specified in my C&A profile (bottle of wine in the DR) and confirmed by the D Concierge, I was told by head waiter in MDR, not 'on the list' of benefits & not applicable to D+. Also advised of the same by guest services. Will call C&A to ensure it's applicable for next sailing on Liberty. I know it's only 1 per household so I'm not expecting a bottle each at dinner, but I understood from the wealth of knowledge on CC that I should have got it at dinner.

I have had the same experience with the luggage tags. They said that only one of the two of us could get Diamond plus tags when I wrote C&A. I think that's pretty ridiculous. If you are a couple your benefits are halved? Didn't we both pay to travel? How expensive are the darn things anyway?

For pins, it's been on and off kind of thing. We got all caught up when one of the concierges heard on one cruise and opened a drawer full of them. I think a lot of folks don't wear them so it's not something that everyone cares about.

For our crystal block we also had to ask and was told by the LA it would come, then the LA didn't provide so after the cruise I wrote the concierge we had (the famous JJ on Radiance) and our block arrived by mail thanks to her assistance.

They spend so much time on the Pinnacle members at C&A events and nothing on the award levels for those folks below. It's backwards I think. The Pinnacles are committed fans, working to keep the Golds and up motivated to become Diamond or Diamond plus is where the marketing should be. Celebrate the pinnacles but not for a whole hour (and yes, that has been our experience on at least 2 cruises, I actually felt sorry for them sitting under the spotlight so long!).

Yep, and sitting in the hot tubs all day will tend to rot the stitching out of cheap swimwear, so we get complaints all the time that the pool chemistry isn't right.

Hey now! I've had this problem and it wasn't cheap swimwear! It's the lycra doesn't cope will with chlorine. American made quality swimwear. No judgements please and thank you!!!!

Our last cruise was Legend from Florida and when I asked, I was told that it depended on the cruise passenger make up. That if there were many South Asian passengers they would add curries to the menus and, of course, depending on other nationalities they did likewise for other types of food. So from Florida.... we didn't have much call for the curries except for devotees who asked as I did.

I agree, ask. My ancestry is not South Asian and I did love having the curries!

Does anyone have any experience RC Lime and Ginger Scrub?

 

I want to surprise my wife with a spa treatment and the couples Lime and Ginger Scrub w/Full Body Massage sounds nice - but she has sensitive skin and I wouldn't want this to irritate her skin or cause any problems.

 

Any input is appreciated.

I've done the lime and ginger more than once. It does feel abrasive a bit because it is intended to take any dead or dry skin off. The attendant makes a difference too, some are more 'vigorous' than others. I really enjoyed it though. They mix the scrub with the milk bath product to make a bit of a lotion. If she is ticklish or, her skin is sensitive all over, I would say not this treat. My face skin is very sensitive and I have really enjoyed the collagen facial, you might try that.

You are a sweetie to treat your DW this way!!

The menus, even today, look grander than they actually are. I like not having to "plan" every second of my vacation....if I want planning, I'll stay at home, and check my daily schedule!

Oh, well.

Yep, I'm with you. We were booked on Anthem for next year and we changed our booking. After reading all about it we realized we might actually have to spreadsheet our vacation. Day 1 this, day 2 excursion, restaurant booking and which show.

It all sounded too much like work!

I love the thermal suite on Radiance ships but I would advise asking the staff about whether everything is working before you put your money down. The Radiance class ships all have these facilities and they are lovely but often one or another of the steam or sauna is often having mechanical problems.

We have also found we used them most on cruises where the weather is a bit "crispy" so the Baltic or Alaska. We hardly used them on our Hawaii trip

Ask about pricing on boarding because they often have a special couples price for the cruise. We've paid $199 for both of us but I can't remember how long that cruise was for.

Hi All:

Coming from Vancouver, Chinese food is an art form here and I do miss it when we cruise. That said, what's suggested is an 'american' version of Chinese and not at all like the real thing. I would enjoy the appetizers too though, count me in.

We have had won ton rolls and spring rolls on board but I think they must be from frozen, they're usually pretty sad. Often on the menu in the Diamond or Concierge lounge with bottled plum sauce. And sometimes they do honey garlic wings. If you don't have lounge privileges you wouldn't see them, they don't seem to end up on the dining room or Windjammer menus.

I haven't seen any "real" Chinese food on a cruise with the exception of Congee which is a rice porridge and, I can't remember which ship/cruise that was. It is common to serve for breakfast. It wasn't very good congee either.... but like Scots porridge, it doesn't improve when you sit it on the buffet heater for hours so I think that's pretty expected.

I have had excellent Indian curries on board though. On our last cruise on Radiance we had lovely curries daily both in the dining room and Windjammer with lovely crisp Pappadums and raita. We last cruised on Legend and when I asked about curries was told the ship tries to take consideration of the nationalities present so if there were large South Asian presence then there is curry. On that cruise we had some very nice Malay dishes in the Windjammer and, sadly, few partook. It wasn't communicated so folks didn't try, they were shy of something they didn't know.

I try to read books that teach me about the place I'm going but it is nice to have that done through fiction. James Michener's books on Hawaii and Alaska were awesome to take to cruise. You learn the history but it's coming in a way that is so easy to read and take in. Really enhanced my holiday experience. Now I look for novels set in the places we are going.

It's hard to find Michener now and I had to haunt the second hand bookstores to find Iberia for my trip to Spain and Portugal on Explorer next year.

I haven't moved to a kindle yet..... Somehow it's not that encouraging to put that down on a soggy swimsuit.....

I love the paperback exchange and always leave and pick up, it has introduced me to some great books and wonderful authors.

And those that had done cruises that were longer than 7 days only got 7 points when RCI did the conversion.:eek: :mad:

The old point system discriminated against the longer cruiser and favoured the short hop. This is such a good point. We love to cruise and were deliberately only choosing cruises that were over 7 days, our preference was at least 11 or 12 and, under the old points system this was not appreciated.

I think the change to points by night was good but this part was not fairly handled.

We were invited to dine with the Radiance of the Seas captain. It was fantastic! We had met him the day before at the Concierge Lounge and chatted with him for several minutes.

 

The day after our dinner with him, my wife mentioned to the Concierge that we had enjoyed our dinner with the captain and asked him whether he knew how we had been chosen. The Concierge, Juan, told us that he had recommended us.

Yes, we were invited to the Captains table on Radiance and it was the Concierge who recommended us. I think various positions are asked to submit names and rationale and then there is a more senior decision maker. Maybe staff captain? Individual captains have their preferences too and express them. Last cruise we were on the Captain had his family aboard and, while we were aboard for 2 B to B, his family were also and he held no formal dinners during either cruise. It makes sense they would invite Pinnacles and also that those who have some special interest, for example, a newly wed couple, might be invited depending on the Captain's interests.

For some reason the chlorine levels seem to be higher in the hot tubs vs the pools. Its best to rinse then off well after swimming or using the hot tub. The chlorine will deteriorate the rubber in the spandex or lycra fairly quickly..

I've had this experience too and I think folks are being a bit hard on the original poster. The first time it happened to me I had a bit of a shock too. The chlorine levels in the hot tubs are quite high. If I am on a cruise where the weather is very warm then I don't see this problem as much because I use the swimming pool which is salt and has a lower dose of chlorine consequently.

In the hot tub, you are subjecting the fabric to quite hot temperatures, you have spandex or lycra in the fabric too. In my case the bottom of one swimsuit suddenly went transparent. It's the lycra dissolving.

I buy good quality suits but I have now learned to buy 'tankini' suits from a major US maker. I just replaced the bottoms on 2 of my suits. The tops are still fine but the bottoms show the impact of too much hot tub despite rinse and washing after each use and, like some of the other posters I now take lots of suits on my trips.

We have to bear in mind that the ships are working hard to avoid norovirus and so they are erring on the high side with the chlorine in the hot tubs. The men's swimsuit material is different and it doesn't have this effect. My husband has had some fading with his suits which are the 'board shorts' type but the fabric has no lycra and is more like windbreaker fabric. That seems to stand up.

We have had Tutti salad in the Park Cafe as well and not just on sea days. When in port and the park cafe is open for lunch, they have done Tutti salad too. I echo the comments of previous posters. It's my favourite. I do think they could do better with some of the dressings.... they're pretty much like kraft bottled and the Italian tastes as though it has sugar in it. But, if you ask, they will bring olive oil and vinegar (usually balsamic).

In the Park Cafe they can have some fewer choices than the dining room. They generally do a protein choice and some sailings there are no shrimp choice ever in the Park Cafe, on others they alternate ham, chicken or shrimp. So you don't always have your pick but there is always a lot of veg choice.

They use the kind that comes off with acetone and doesn't need to be filed off so it is better for you but they do charge for polish removal separately so if you have polish removal first, it's about $75 to get the old manicure off and a new one done. Suggest you only use the spa for this if desperate as this is pretty pricey!

I ask the same question about the theater earlier but no answer. Hopefully you will get a response. :)

But then if you get a drink in the bar, you can take it with you to the theatre, just extra bother really.

We are happy to see everyone so excited about this change! To provide a recap for those who don't have all of the details yet, we are introducing an expanded Crown & Anchor Society benefit that will be taking place fleetwide by Fall of 2014. In addition to the nightly receptions at the Diamond Lounge and the Concierge Lounge (for our Diamond Plus and Pinnacle guests), you now have the flexibility to enjoy happy hour at a wide selection of bars onboard. Your SeaPass Card will be pre-loaded with vouchers for up to three complimentary beverages during nightly lounge hours, so you can toast your way around the ship! The SeaPass card of each eligible Diamond, Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club member will be loaded with three (3) drink vouchers for each night of the sailing. Kindly note drinks vouchers are not valid in the main dining room, the Windjammer Café or in our specialty restaurants and expire daily. We look forward to seeing you onboard!

Thanks for clarifying. Does the theatre qualify as a venue? Also, we are sailing Rhapsody to Hawaii 5 September, will this start for them? Thanks in advance!

True. I remember the days when you could turn up the volume control for announcements. Now, the ships that have them don't seem to have them functioning. So, if we are in the cabin for the captain's announcements we open the door. A little inconvenience. Wonder why you can't control this anymore?

We were on Legend earlier this year and the PA system had been disconnected in refit, I think they are doing this with all the older ships. We were told it was because so many guests had complained about the announcements. Apparently, they couldn't manage the "off" button.... The net result was that all the cabin doors were propped open every time we were waiting for announcements about when to go down to disembark at the ports. Many didn't bother to wait and there was always a crush at the exit. Next port would have repeated announcements by the ship and the cruise director about 'please don't go down until you are told the gangway is open'. And it didn't change anything... because no one could hear the announcement anyway!

What bothered us most about this was the transit through Panama Canal. The pilot talks about the canal all through the transit. He speaks to the history, the engineering, how it runs. We had an aft cabin especially for the transit and were very frustrated we couldn't hear the informative talk. It used to be piped over the PA system (that you could turn on and off!). We have suggested to the ship that an alternative system is to put these announcements on the ship's TV channel, the one with the view from the Bridge and the map. Then we as guests are firmly in control and most folks seem to have learned how to work the on/off on the TV.

They do listen to guest complaints, sometimes it's not to everyone's benefit....

We took the Panama cruise this April and had a lovely time. In Cartagena we did the fort and that was very interesting. In Costa Rica we did the aerial tram but we mostly saw birds, I think it very much depends on the time of year and day whether you get a chance to see monkeys. The spring is the dry season. You need to check the likely weather for Costa Rica when you go to consider whether you want to be on the type of tour in the rain. The lunch for this tour was not special. We did love the rainforest cruise though. The river you cruise has an estuary area so you see both salt water and fresh water bird species. The guides were wonderful and we learned a lot about the birds and saw many types of birds.

In Guatemala we took the Antigua and coffee plantation tour. The plantation was excellent, the owner of this family business gave a wonderful tour and we were served beautiful coffee and cookies in the garden. We really liked that. Antigua would be better as the Antigua on your own I think. It is a cobble stoned old spanish style town and we spent a lot of time waiting for folks who were mobility challenged. So we didn't see a lot of the town itself as we could make only a few stops. This tour and many others stop at the jade factory. They give an interesting short talk and the prices are good for jewellery if you are interested.

Our personal challenge in port spots was the Mexican ones because we had been to Mexico many times. For Cabo we just walked through the town. For Puerto Vallarta we took a tour that had tequila tasting and city tour. The Tequila place really tried to put on a great tourist show with the tequila manufacture, traditional mexican dancers and a demonstration of classic horse "dancing" spanish style. You know it's for the tourists but they really put on a great show and it was fun.

We had a rather interesting experience with Sasha on the Legend Panama Canal cruise on 4/1/14. The first night we went to the DL, I asked for a Bloody Mary - my normal before dinner drink in DLs or CLs. It's a simple bar drink - nothing fancy - just vodka and bloody mary mix (which is just spiced tomato juice) with a couple of olives and a lime slice. DH ordered a glass of wine.

 

After 20 minutes with no drinks, we asked Sasha what was going on. I was informed by Sasha that Bloody Marys were not on the drink list for the DL or the CL on Legend. I questioned this! I pointed out that we regularly get Bloody Marys in the DL and CL on other ships, and since they had both orange juice and pineapple juice as mixers right there at the bar in the DL, why not Bloody Mary mix, which is just basically tomato juice. "Nope," he said, "we can't make BMs in either the DL or the CL. It's not on 'the list'." (And since I asked for an drink that was not on 'the list' apparently they decided not to bring DH his wine either.) So we left the DL and went to the CL where a Bloody Mary (along with DH's wine) was served within about 3 minutes with no question and no problem whatsoever! (Evidently it IS on 'the list' in the CL on Legend!) This aggravated me!

 

We are D+ so we can use both lounges, but we had friends on Legend who were D and we would have preferred to hang with them. But…I tend to be…well…a little bit contrary and stubborn at times.:eek: Sorry, it's just me.:o I like my Bloody Mary before dinner - I'm a one drink per evening kind of girl (okay okay…make that old lady) and that's what I want most nights.

 

So…the next day I got a glass of tomato juice with plastic wrap topping from the Windjammer at breakfast and kept it in our ice bucket all day. (I mentioned that I tend to be contrary and stubborn, right?) That night we went to the DL again and I told Sasha "Good news! I brought my own tomato juice from the WJ so I could get my Bloody Mary!" Guess what he said! "No, the bartender is not allowed to make a BM even if you brought the tomato juice!" Huh? So, as I am a bit contrary and stubborn, I told him to bring me vodka straight up, a slice of lime, 2 olives on a pick, a swizzle stick, and a tall glass full of ice. I made my own Bloody Mary that night.

 

Needless to say, we went to the CL, where the Bloody Marys were easily available, each night for the rest of the cruise. And we did NOT give Sasha a WOW! We probably would have given him an UN-WOW if that was possible.

(I'm glad to know he did please others on the TA, though.)

 

What do you bet it'll be a cinch to get my Bloody Mary with the voucher? I'm a happy camper - Woo Hoo!:D

Judy

We were on the same cruise with you and there were others who had difficult experiences in the same vein. We did back to back with the Caribbean cruise before the Panama transit and between the 2 cruises the hotel director changed out and with the new leader, the rules changed. We had no problem because we are gin and tonic drinkers but there were others on B to B who were used to taking 'drink of the day' and were told they couldn't have it on the transit leg. It may be a fleet change or ship specific. I know that they were short of staff for the D lounge as the staff were shared with another lounge. So perhaps that was an operational challenge specific to the ship and they made decisions about what they could manage given the staffing situation.

There is no NHL playoff coverage on board the ships. The sports come from ESPN (ABC) and all the Stanley Cup Playoffs are being covered by NBC. The best that you can do is catch a score on ESPN2.WE were on for 2 weeks and not a hockey game in any ship venue or in the cabins.

This has been our experience as well. However, if you are lucky enough to sail on Radiance, the 2 staff captains (last we know) are both Canadian and we had a special event for Canadians in the pub. The staff captain at that time provided the scores for the most recent games and posted them for the remainder of the cruise. They can get the scores at least so, if you can't watch the games, lobby for this and save your internet time!