Kamlee

It is very exciting to hear of all the enhancements that Azamara are planning for their two lovely ships and I look forward to seeing them for myself in 2016.

 

But do other Azamara aficionados think that it is high time that management reviewed and changed the MDR menus?

 

The current offerings are ok but certainly nothing special. IMO the presentation has declined and there is no wow factor as there once was.

 

The refurbishment offers a perfect opportunity to up their game in the MDR.

 

Anyone agree?

We found that the problem with the MDR menus is that are they unchanged, except that the choice of main courses has been reduced from five to three. For example - on one day we had the choice of baked turkey roll, pork loin steak, or tamarind vegetable curry. The previously offered salmon & scallop brochette and whole roasted beef strip loin had been deleted.

In general the more interesting choices have gone. There was no venison or duck and very little lamb.

We have just found some old menus with a choice of five main courses. On our last cruise we were only offered three. That explains why we often had a problem finding something we liked.

Having just got back from the Quest we can answer our own question. Twinings tea was available, but you had to remember to ask for it and sometimes the waiters had to go to search for it.

Good quality tea should be served as standard, not only on special request.

On our recent fat east cruise on the quest we felt the food quality in Discoveries was not quite up to previous cruises. We thought there seemed to be fewer choices and no 'wow' dishes - no fillet steak (filet mignon) or lobster, very little crab. The food was well cooked and tasty, tho' and I loved the Dim Sum Brunch.

It sounds like we were on the same cruise. The dim sum brunch was very good, but the food quality for dinner in Discoveries has declined. We still enjoyed the starters, especially the soups, but the main courses and desserts were disappointing. What ever happened to the multi-component desserts we used to have?

Given the decline in food quality and the same old itineraries it looks like we may soon be trying Oceania.

When we cruised on Quest last December they were serving Fields and Selects "tea". We will be back on board in a few weeks. Have they returned to serving Twinings tea, or do we need to bring our own?

Kampol and Lee

Hello, wondering if anyone can advise if the Becks Beer offered in the complimentary package is the alcoholic or non-alcoholic version...

It's the alcoholic version.

The burgers are good too, and don't forget the wine. You will have plenty of time to eat chicken and drink beer when you get back to Thailand.

Kampol and Lee.

We are due to set sail on the Quest from Hong Kong on Dec 2nd at 8:30 pm - great timing for the light show at 8pm. Someone on our roll call has mentioned check-in is between 3 and 7 pm although we have no cruise booklet yet.

 

I just wondered if we were able to check-in any earlier and leave our luggage and then get off again to carry on exploring Hong Kong? We'll be staying at the Salisbury near the terminal (but not sure if close enough to walk to ship with luggage) and check-out from the hotel is 12 noon. I assume that we could leave luggage at hotel if necessary but it's nice to get it on board and out of the way.

 

When we embarked at Venice we could check in, leave luggage, even have early lunch & then get off but regulations were different in Istanbul (June '13) and we only found out just in time that we could not get off once we had been through passports so we left luggage at the terminal and did not check-in to the ship until later.

 

So if anyone has embarked from Hong Kong, it would be good to know the procedure - Thanks!

Do you mean the Salisbury YMCA? We will be staying there for three nights from Sunday 29th November.

We last embarked on the Quest from Hong Kong in March 2012. There was a gate to the right of the Ocean Terminal and the bag-drop was at the far end, so you really need to get a taxi.

On that trip we departed at 5pm so we just had lunch onboard and enjoyed the views of the harbour for the rest of the afternoon.

We think we should be able to check-in soon after 12. A late check-in would cause the muster drill to clash with the start of dinner in Discoveries (which is one of the muster stations).

Kampol and Lee.

We decided to re-book. After losing our original £300 deposit and $300 OBC we still saved £500.

Thanks for the link. We cruise Azamara for the first time this fall. In looking at the FAQ, I see that if you purchase the premium liquor package you may have a cocktail delivered to your room via room service. Does Azamara have an in-room liquor package? We usually purchase one when sailing with Celebrity and it comes with tonic water and nuts. Sailing RCI for the first time and they do not have this option at all. DH enjoys a gin and tonic on the balcony (as do I). Thanks in advance.

You can take your own bottle(s) of gin onboard Azamara. Your steward will keep your fridge well stocked with tonic, and lemon slices if you ask him.

My father was a POW in WWII on the Death Railway and having never been to Thailand before want to ensure if I 'cruise' that I can get to visit the cemetery and the bridge. Any Azamara Thailand cruises managed to do this? I know I can do it by land tour but prefer to cruise on Azamara!

 

Thanks!

On a day tour from Bangok it would be possible to visit the JEATH museum, the Hellfire Pass museum, and the main war cemetary in Kanchanaburi. It would be best to do his by private tour. We especially recommend the Hellfire Pass museum - http://hellfire-pass.commemoration.gov.au/remembering-the-railway/hellfire-pass-memorial-museum.php

I am able to view sailing from April through October (I think all ships).

Yes, but not on the UK website. We can book at UK prices via My Celebrity, but they are not showing the 123Go promotion.

I'm on Celeb's website and they have posted Europe 2016 itineraries for April, May and June 2016!!

They only seem to be on the US website (and only the Eclipse cruises). They are not on the UK website.

Kamlee, could you please give me the itineraries for the British Isles sailings, the end May one would be of interest to me. Thanks:)

We posted a pdf file with the three British Isles itineraries, but it was deleted. It seems that we are not allowed to post useful information on CC.

A quick Google search revealed Silhouette is chartered by one of the gay cruise companies for that week. We are not on it. ;)

We will be sailing on the Silhouette from January 25 - February 1. I noticed that the ship isn't sailing from February 1 - 8. Does anyone know if it's going into drydock, and if so, what's being done to the ship?

She is chartered for a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise.

Thank you for posting.

Could you tempt us with more link to itineraries:)

The link to the itineraries on Cruising Power no longer works. We downloaded the pdf file, but it looks like we are not allowed to post the full list of itineraries.

If someone has the 2016 British isles sailings can you please tell me the various dates?

Also, how many days for each of those sailings? Thanks

There are three British Isles cruises on Silhouette from Amsterdam. 12 nights departing on 26th May and 13th July, 14 nights departing on 6th August.

... and in Napier, New Zealand on 4th and 9th March 2017 - http://www.napierport.co.nz/shipping-info/cruise-schedule/.

... and overnights in Sydney on 19th February and 21st March 2017 - http://www.sydneyports.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/31446/Passenger_Vessel_Schedule_Final_v329_03_Nov_2014.pdf.

We just found the port schedule for Sydney - http://www.sydneyports.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/31446/Passenger_Vessel_Schedule_Final_v329_03_Nov_2014.pdf. In addition to the expected calls by Solstice, Millennium is there on 29th March 2016, 1st April 2017 and 20th November 2017.

We have just discovered this port schedule for Tasmania which shows Azamara Journey making calls in February and March 2017 - http://www.tasports.com.au/port_services/arrivalscruise.html.

 

Kampol and Lee.

... and in Napier, New Zealand on 4th and 9th March 2017 - http://www.napierport.co.nz/shipping-info/cruise-schedule/.

We have just discovered this port schedule for Tasmania which shows Azamara Journey making calls in February and March 2017 - http://www.tasports.com.au/port_services/arrivalscruise.html.

Kampol and Lee.

It looks like the Solstice is in Napier, New Zealand on 20th February 2017 (previous port Tauranga, next port Wellington) - http://www.napierport.co.nz/shipping-info/cruise-schedule/.

... and in Hobart, Tasmania on 19th December 2016, and 3rd and 27th February 2017 - http://www.tasports.com.au/port_services/arrivalscruise.html.

It looks like the Solstice is in Napier, New Zealand on 20th February 2017 (previous port Tauranga, next port Wellington) - http://www.napierport.co.nz/shipping-info/cruise-schedule/.

This sounds more like a bribe than a reward for good service to me :rolleyes: also don't like to think that other people are potentially getting worse service just because they don't make this offer.

 

Would not want this kind of thing to become the norm just to get an expected service, but that's just my opinion.

It's not just your opinion. We don't expect to have to bribe staff to get good service.