elusive_23

Thank you for your detailed comments.

 

 

 

We also are Discoverer level ( via Celebrity sailings) but had 90 free internet minutes per person, when we were on the Quest TA. So something was amiss for you, if you were only credited with 30!

Oops looks like I was mistaken. I am at the Adventurer level. The lowest tier. My apologies for the confusion.

Hi all!

 

We were also on the LCV voyage and figured I would chime in with our perspective. My husband and I are in our very early thirties and have sailed numerous times with Holland America. This was my husband’s FIRST Azamara cruise and my SECOND. So you get the youngins and the low loyalty tier opinion. This might turn into a novel.

 

We absolutely loved the cruise. We had booked in December 2015 before it was dubbed an LCV voyage strictly for the itinerary but also because I had sailed on the Quest and while I enjoyed it I thought the refit was absolutely necessary and I was thrilled with what I saw online for the changes plus I really wasn’t excited about the other lines that offered similar routes.

 

I’d like to touch on some points from other posters without getting too lengthy.

 

Re: tables at White Night. We got there relatively early and sat right next to the reserved table for Miami and behind the captain’s tables. We were at a large round table that sat at least 6-8 people. We only had 4 at the table the whole night. We were disappointed only one couple joined us but we delighted in our conversation with them. Perhaps people thought it was also reserved or didn’t want to sit with us?

 

Re: Larry not being accessible to non-VIPs. Well… my husband walked right up to him at White Night and had a 10-15 minute conversation. He said he was a really pleasant guy and very approachable. I think they had a lot on their mind and a lot of special events to attend so the pressure was on even for them.

 

Re: Land discoveries. Yes, we encountered a problem in Qatar. We were on the Camel Racing and Museum tour that promised a visit to the Equestrian Center. Our tour was moved to the afternoon because that is when the camel training took place, which was fine. What wasn’t fine was when we boarded the bus our guide didn’t mention anything about the horses. There was quite discontentment over this by numerous people including us, as that was the ONLY reason we booked that tour. Simply put, the guide said we didn’t have time to do it and get back to the boat on time. Well enough people asked and complained that he said if we didn’t tell anyone, especially the other bus, *shhh* that we would cut our museum time short and fit in a very quick visit to the horses. Yes, we were disappointed that the stop was VERY short at the equestrian center but we were appeased that the guide fit it in. Personally we think that the tour should have been all day. Stop at the stables or museum in the morning and then the camels in the afternoon. Instead we crammed 3 things and transportation in 4 hours. My husband could have wandered the museum for hours and I could have wandered the barn and center for longer than 10 minutes. The LD in Bahrain and Khasab were on par with other excursions we have taken… some guides better than others but a good time overall. For Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi we booked the Big Bus HOHO as a package deal privately and did our own thing.

 

Re: LCV special LDs. We had booked Nights and Cool Places: Bedouin Dinner on the Dunes but ended up cancelling because I found a similar one offered through another site saving us $112. We picked up another family at a hotel and had a great time. From other cruisers we heard that we ended up with more activities at our private booking than the LCV LD. We could buy alcohol, free henna tattoos, free shisha, free falcon photo ops, free camel rides. The great part was after the driver dropped off the other family he took us on an extended tour of the city on the way back to the ship. Bonus! We took no other LCV special LDs because we simply didn’t think the cost was worth it to rub elbows with Miami staff nor for what was offered.

 

Re: Something missing. Yep, I could tell that there was something “off” even though this was only my second cruise with Azamara. Although my first cruise the ship only had 230ish passengers aboard vs. the full boat on the LCV Voyage so that may have had something to do with it. We felt the service was lacking in the drink service department at tables in the MDR as well as Patio, buffet and back dining area for the first few days. It was like they were flustered and didn’t have a system. Service at the bars themselves was wonderful. I will note that the great service I had known from my previous cruise returned very quickly after the first few days though. I had asked some staff if they were worried about all the big wigs being on board and most said they were not and seemed honest in their answer and others admitted they were very new and seemed nervous so we did our best to put a smile on their face when we saw them. The “off” thing I think was that the staff was trying so exceptionally hard to make it special and a good cruise and they knew the importance that it threw them off a bit. It reminded me of the first time I took my husband cruising… I tried so hard to make sure he was enjoying it and would return that it stressed me out and just wasn’t the same. The service from the staff was still AZAmazing but there was definitely a “wear” we saw on staff at all levels at the end of the cruise that we haven’t seen on previous cruises. I hope they all got some time off at some point! Oof!

 

Re: Lottie and “ordinary cruisers” and tier special events. What we received because of my Discoverer tier was 30 free internet minutes per person, the Welcome LCV cocktail party and an invite to the brunch/lunch. We only attended the cocktail party. When we saw what high tier guests got we thought that we would have been thrilled to take a part of any of the activities and what an honor. Something to look forward to! We really like what they offer their loyal passengers in terms of perks compared to our usual line HAL where I am 3 star. Honestly though, there were so many regular activities, enrichment lectures and long days at port that we skipped SO many things that would have been great to attend and if we had even MORE to choose from we would have been overwhelmed.

 

Re: The LCV gifts. I thought that Nicole did a FANTASTIC job with the gifts she selected. The camel is now perched on my travel shelf in my travel room as well as the special dish. The journal was wonderful and if only I had more hours in the day I would have kept a journal every day of all the amazing little things that happened. The selfie stick didn’t thrill either of us even being as young as we are but I understand the tie in with the scavenger hunt and was a nice touch to help encourage participation. On that note…

 

Re: LCV Scavenger Hunt. I am the grateful and excited one that WON it! I dutifully checked in the 3 times throughout the cruise to get my scores validated. Not everything was reliant on posting to social media and the things that were my 30 minutes of internet and the free internet in some of the ports was more than enough. The more difficult things were gathering the answers that required you to take a significant portion of the LCV special LDs or at least be adept at getting the answers. I get it, it encouraged taking those LDs. Basically there was 2 pages of things that you could gain points for onboard the ship and then 2 pages of things for in port. In the end there was only one other couple that participated and don’t get me started on what poor sportsmanship they had during the scoring and when they lost… hopefully they aren’t on CC. The scavenger hunt was new to everyone and I know the staff struggled with it which led to some confusion on certain answers and missed opportunities (selfie spot each day) but honestly it was fun, challenging and the prize was worth it. I may be biased. :cool: The prize was 50% of the LCV voyage in May or 25% off any other cruise! I don’t honestly know why more people didn’t participate. A win for Azamara as it guarantees we will be on another sailing and wins major loyalty points in our book and has us mulling over how we can afford more Azamara cruises.

 

Re: GI illness. The few times that I have cruised in the Middle East each time there was some GI or other illness that went around. I guess I just expect it now. I think Azamara was very responsive and that the captain in particular was adept at addressing it by his announcements and updates. We all had a good laugh over him saying we needed to hurry out to sea so the ship could purge itself of the sickness! There were times that I HAD to sanitize my hands 3-4x in a span of a few minutes because of what areas I went through. They took all décor and silver ware off the tables and were washing down chairs and tables between each seating. Yes, we saw passengers not adhere and that was disappointing.

 

RE: Groups on board. Yes, there was a group of doctors on a continuing education cruise that did take up certain areas but it never interfered with what we had planned. My husband “accidentally” sat in on one of the lectures by being in the Living Room at the right time and sure got to learn a lot!

 

All in all, it was an exceptional cruise and we met some wonderful people aboard. And we are looking forward to our next Azamara cruise. In the future we won’t specifically choose an LCV voyage just for the perks (maybe when we are a higher tier??) but we will continue to choose our voyages on Azamara by itinerary and pricing. I will say though that if the timing worked for us on next year’s LCV voyage in May we would definitely book it with our 50% off we received!

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Thanks elusive_23 for your review. I will be sure to share it with Senior Management.

Eek! Hopefully no one gets into trouble. It truly was a fabulous cruise and we booked our next one just yesterday!

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We're still in a glow over the trip. Going through thousands of photos to edit and post is keeping it alive!

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Thank your for your review. It sounded like a good cruise and it was interesting to hear from a non VIP about the experience.

We are booked on the LCV cruise in May ( we didn't realise it was a LCV cruise when we booked it! ) so maybe we will meet you...if you decide to go! We are certainly looking forward to it.

What a great prize to win....good for you...well done.

 

Before the May cruise we are doing an Emirates cruise on Celebrity.....at the risk of seeming cheeky I would be extremely grateful if you could email me details of the company that you booked the Bedouin trip through. We have been looking at various companies but found none that included so much!!

 

Thank you again.

Joyce........kjleitch2@yahoo.com

Joyce. I emailed you the details. Let me know if you did not receive them.

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Thanks for your comments, Elusive23; I really enjoyed reading them. Congratulations on your win; it's great that someone on here got it. I'm trying to remember you at the M&M, but it's all a blur now, aside from a couple of participants. I can't think who the group of doctors were; I'm clearly not very observant ... and not as nosey as I thought I was!

I was the brunette w/glasses in the back with the husband who thought napping was more important than the meet and greet!

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Hi all!

We were also on the LCV voyage and figured I would chime in with our perspective. My husband and I are in our very early thirties and have sailed numerous times with Holland America. This was my husband’s FIRST Azamara cruise and my SECOND. So you get the youngins and the low loyalty tier opinion. This might turn into a novel.

We absolutely loved the cruise. We had booked in December 2015 before it was dubbed an LCV voyage strictly for the itinerary but also because I had sailed on the Quest and while I enjoyed it I thought the refit was absolutely necessary and I was thrilled with what I saw online for the changes plus I really wasn’t excited about the other lines that offered similar routes.

I’d like to touch on some points from other posters without getting too lengthy.

Re: tables at White Night. We got there relatively early and sat right next to the reserved table for Miami and behind the captain’s tables. We were at a large round table that sat at least 6-8 people. We only had 4 at the table the whole night. We were disappointed only one couple joined us but we delighted in our conversation with them. Perhaps people thought it was also reserved or didn’t want to sit with us?

Re: Larry not being accessible to non-VIPs. Well… my husband walked right up to him at White Night and had a 10-15 minute conversation. He said he was a really pleasant guy and very approachable. I think they had a lot on their mind and a lot of special events to attend so the pressure was on even for them.

Re: Land discoveries. Yes, we encountered a problem in Qatar. We were on the Camel Racing and Museum tour that promised a visit to the Equestrian Center. Our tour was moved to the afternoon because that is when the camel training took place, which was fine. What wasn’t fine was when we boarded the bus our guide didn’t mention anything about the horses. There was quite discontentment over this by numerous people including us, as that was the ONLY reason we booked that tour. Simply put, the guide said we didn’t have time to do it and get back to the boat on time. Well enough people asked and complained that he said if we didn’t tell anyone, especially the other bus, *shhh* that we would cut our museum time short and fit in a very quick visit to the horses. Yes, we were disappointed that the stop was VERY short at the equestrian center but we were appeased that the guide fit it in. Personally we think that the tour should have been all day. Stop at the stables or museum in the morning and then the camels in the afternoon. Instead we crammed 3 things and transportation in 4 hours. My husband could have wandered the museum for hours and I could have wandered the barn and center for longer than 10 minutes. The LD in Bahrain and Khasab were on par with other excursions we have taken… some guides better than others but a good time overall. For Muscat, Dubai and Abu Dhabi we booked the Big Bus HOHO as a package deal privately and did our own thing.

Re: LCV special LDs. We had booked Nights and Cool Places: Bedouin Dinner on the Dunes but ended up cancelling because I found a similar one offered through another site saving us $112. We picked up another family at a hotel and had a great time. From other cruisers we heard that we ended up with more activities at our private booking than the LCV LD. We could buy alcohol, free henna tattoos, free shisha, free falcon photo ops, free camel rides. The great part was after the driver dropped off the other family he took us on an extended tour of the city on the way back to the ship. Bonus! We took no other LCV special LDs because we simply didn’t think the cost was worth it to rub elbows with Miami staff nor for what was offered.

Re: Something missing. Yep, I could tell that there was something “off” even though this was only my second cruise with Azamara. Although my first cruise the ship only had 230ish passengers aboard vs. the full boat on the LCV Voyage so that may have had something to do with it. We felt the service was lacking in the drink service department at tables in the MDR as well as Patio, buffet and back dining area for the first few days. It was like they were flustered and didn’t have a system. Service at the bars themselves was wonderful. I will note that the great service I had known from my previous cruise returned very quickly after the first few days though. I had asked some staff if they were worried about all the big wigs being on board and most said they were not and seemed honest in their answer and others admitted they were very new and seemed nervous so we did our best to put a smile on their face when we saw them. The “off” thing I think was that the staff was trying so exceptionally hard to make it special and a good cruise and they knew the importance that it threw them off a bit. It reminded me of the first time I took my husband cruising… I tried so hard to make sure he was enjoying it and would return that it stressed me out and just wasn’t the same. The service from the staff was still AZAmazing but there was definitely a “wear” we saw on staff at all levels at the end of the cruise that we haven’t seen on previous cruises. I hope they all got some time off at some point! Oof!

Re: Lottie and “ordinary cruisers” and tier special events. What we received because of my Discoverer tier was 30 free internet minutes per person, the Welcome LCV cocktail party and an invite to the brunch/lunch. We only attended the cocktail party. When we saw what high tier guests got we thought that we would have been thrilled to take a part of any of the activities and what an honor. Something to look forward to! We really like what they offer their loyal passengers in terms of perks compared to our usual line HAL where I am 3 star. Honestly though, there were so many regular activities, enrichment lectures and long days at port that we skipped SO many things that would have been great to attend and if we had even MORE to choose from we would have been overwhelmed.

Re: The LCV gifts. I thought that Nicole did a FANTASTIC job with the gifts she selected. The camel is now perched on my travel shelf in my travel room as well as the special dish. The journal was wonderful and if only I had more hours in the day I would have kept a journal every day of all the amazing little things that happened. The selfie stick didn’t thrill either of us even being as young as we are but I understand the tie in with the scavenger hunt and was a nice touch to help encourage participation. On that note…

Re: LCV Scavenger Hunt. I am the grateful and excited one that WON it! I dutifully checked in the 3 times throughout the cruise to get my scores validated. Not everything was reliant on posting to social media and the things that were my 30 minutes of internet and the free internet in some of the ports was more than enough. The more difficult things were gathering the answers that required you to take a significant portion of the LCV special LDs or at least be adept at getting the answers. I get it, it encouraged taking those LDs. Basically there was 2 pages of things that you could gain points for onboard the ship and then 2 pages of things for in port. In the end there was only one other couple that participated and don’t get me started on what poor sportsmanship they had during the scoring and when they lost… hopefully they aren’t on CC. The scavenger hunt was new to everyone and I know the staff struggled with it which led to some confusion on certain answers and missed opportunities (selfie spot each day) but honestly it was fun, challenging and the prize was worth it. I may be biased. :cool: The prize was 50% of the LCV voyage in May or 25% off any other cruise! I don’t honestly know why more people didn’t participate. A win for Azamara as it guarantees we will be on another sailing and wins major loyalty points in our book and has us mulling over how we can afford more Azamara cruises.

Re: GI illness. The few times that I have cruised in the Middle East each time there was some GI or other illness that went around. I guess I just expect it now. I think Azamara was very responsive and that the captain in particular was adept at addressing it by his announcements and updates. We all had a good laugh over him saying we needed to hurry out to sea so the ship could purge itself of the sickness! There were times that I HAD to sanitize my hands 3-4x in a span of a few minutes because of what areas I went through. They took all décor and silver ware off the tables and were washing down chairs and tables between each seating. Yes, we saw passengers not adhere and that was disappointing.

RE: Groups on board. Yes, there was a group of doctors on a continuing education cruise that did take up certain areas but it never interfered with what we had planned. My husband “accidentally” sat in on one of the lectures by being in the Living Room at the right time and sure got to learn a lot!

All in all, it was an exceptional cruise and we met some wonderful people aboard. And we are looking forward to our next Azamara cruise. In the future we won’t specifically choose an LCV voyage just for the perks (maybe when we are a higher tier??) but we will continue to choose our voyages on Azamara by itinerary and pricing. I will say though that if the timing worked for us on next year’s LCV voyage in May we would definitely book it with our 50% off we received!

Uktog- I'm sorry To hear about the Bahrain night tour disappointment. I was going to book it because I'm an amateur photographer but was worried about what actually was going to be offered in terms of photography guidance. I do know Lee Abbamonte was onboard and I thought maybe he was the photographer they had mentioned in the LD brochure. The tour was quite spendy if all you received was a bus tour and 5 minute photo opts.

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We also had an issue on one of our LDs on the LCV voyage. What the description listed for itinerary was different than what our guide outlined when we got on the bus. The whole bus was upset so he cut other things short in order to fit it in. Otherwise he may have had a mutiny on his hands as many of us only took that LD for what they cut.

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Have an AzAmazing time!

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Qatar was great! One of our favorite stops! We saw the camels training for the races, went to the equestrian center and the Sheikh's museum! We wish we had an extra day there!

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I have a similar background, so I do notice; in fact, I often rearrange furniture in hotel rooms when I feel the balance is off. The secret is to enjoy just enough wine while onboard to blur the carpets!

[emoji23] [emoji23] [emoji3] Lol at your wine comment. I was thinking along similar lines except when you've gone to wine tasting or happy hour the LAST thing you want to do is look at the carpet. It rolls like the sea and then so does your stomach but I wouldn't have any first hand knowledge about that. Ha!

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7 days is definitely not enough. I really prefer 14 or more but travel time and certain departure dates can really suck up vacation days unnecessarily. We live in the U.S. so a Monday departure seems to work well for an overseas cruise for us but if it's 14 days you still have to take an a few extra days beyond 2 weeks for travel time. I prefer to take those necessary additional days at the beginning of the work week at the end of a cruise (take Monday and Tuesday off, return Wednesday). One positive note about certain departure dates that aren't the norm is that I've noticed all of the ports seem to be less busy and have fewer ships because the schedule is staggered differently than all the other lines.

But I'm certainly apprehensive about my 10 day cruise coming up. I think it will not be long enough. We will be gone 15 days in total with an overnight before and after the cruise and 2 days travel time but it's just not the same. While it fits perfectly into a 2 week vacation time frame (10 working days) I would prefer FOUR more days on the ship!

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I would take posts you read with a grain of salt and learn from your upcoming actual experience. I had no issues ordering what was on the list provided on the website. :D

Also, as a side note as a bar owner I am VERY impressed by what Azamara has included for complementary alcohol and drinks. Many of those liquors and drinks are not cheap and are certainly not considered standard rail liquors. Be thankful they didn't stick us with Karkov or White Eagle vodka.

To comment on why Pimm's is chargeable but Gordon's isn't probably comes down to what liquor distributors they use and what kind of discount they can negotiate for large buys. This dictates a lot of what we carry in our own bar as well as pricing. Retail pricing that you see in liquor stores is different than industry pricing and mark up percentages vary greatly. Meaning Pimm's and Gordon's might be $9.99 on the shelf at your local store but the store actually paid $3.99 per bottle for Gordon's on a pallet but $6.99 per bottle for Pimm's in a case of 12.

Lastly, the reason why vermouth and certain liquors are not listed on the bar menu is because they are not ordered separately, they are considered a cocktail builder. For example you wouldn't order just vermouth, it's an ingredient included in the martini... which is on the complementary bar menu. Hopefully that makes sense.

Happy cruising!

Anywhere in Europe. Less crowds, cooler temps and easier access to all the sites! Perfect! We try to book our travel for the Fall or Spring. Fall is best of all, IMHO. :)

^^^^ Agreed! Anywhere in Europe. The year we went to Europe in June it was pure HELL with temperatures and crowds!

I'm not sure how it is set up on the K but on the Oosterdam (Oct/Nov 2015) you had to check in each time at the spa desk with your room key and get a spa key card to enter the thermal suite and the pool. You have to leave your cabin key at the desk so there is no way to just keep the spa card unless you never want back in your cabin! Also there was a sticker on the back of your card indicating you have access. Also, we never used a locker so I don't see how the reviewer can use the lack of a blue locker band as evidence that the person didn't pay. As for the spa gowns... I never even saw those!:rolleyes: I will say though that many people didn't use the spa the first few days or last few days but it was heavily used in the middle of the voyage.

We were able to watch the NFL football (Packers) at the Sports bar on our Caribbean cruise on the Oosterdam Oct/Nov 2015. They also showed other games as well and the bar was busy (sometimes packed) for those games. Great camaraderie and fun to be had by teasing rival teams. I noticed that the games were also on our cabin tv's. Not sure about on the K. Good luck to your hubby!

Thanks everyone. I know it won't be a very late night with an early call to port at 7:30 a.m. the next morning but we will bring our costumes and enjoy anyways!

Hi everyone! I am curious as to what to expect while sailing with Azamara on Halloween.

Thanks in advance!

Katie

Contrary to the other posts there WAS pool activities on the 21 day (10/11 day B2B) Caribbean cruise I took on the Oosterdam in October/November 2015. There was golf chipping contests, pool volleyball, steel drums, and a band among other things (I can't recall the rest). I think it may be dependent on the cruise director, activity director and perhaps what demographics are on that particular sailing. Our activity director Jeremy had a lot of fun things to participate in no matter your age or activity level.

Like many HAL cruisers I do enjoy the quiet pool time but these activities were never too loud or annoying (if I wasn't participating) and lasted for less than an hour at a time.

Bonnie, both the links work for me through the app on my Android phone.

We bring our refillable sports bottles with us and grab glasses of water from the lido and fill them up. You may also ask a steward and they will fill the bottle for you. As stated previously you are not allowed to fill your water bottles directly from the water machine for sanitary reasons. Our favorite spot to fill our bottles is the Dive In because of the ability to fill full glasses of crushed ice from the machine and dump those into the bottles.

I'm 30 and went on my first Azamara cruise 2 years ago. I was the youngest passenger (except the two pre-teens traveling with lecturers). It was a Mediterranean and Middle East cruise and was only filled at half capacity. I think demographics vary depending on itinerary and length, at least that's the way it seems on our usual line (Holland America). I'm not sure what kind of atmosphere you prefer while sailing but I know I definitely prefer the more mature crowd.

My husband (31) and I are booked on the Journey for the LeClub Voyage this coming October and I'm excited to introduce him to the line.

I say go for it. It never hurts to try but fair warning it might be hard to go back to the other cruise lines!

Congrats!

Maybe everyone was sworn to secrecy! :) I too am curious but looking at the itinerary and the excursions we want to take I'm not sure how we will fit any thing else in... Including relaxing!

I agree with the other posters. The crew told me I was the youngest at age 28 by around a decade on our Med cruise in October 2014. There were 2 younger on board in their early teens but they were traveling with the guest lecturers.