SILVERSEA lover contemplating journey

[billcrooz]

i have always been a silversea lover;but looking at itinerary for the meditteranean next year a trip on the Journey looks enticing.that being said i have the following questions; do they have anytime seating either by yourself or do they pair you up;always premium cocktails were gratis ,will i be paying?shoud I book the air myself or let them? DO I have to bring my tux? is it a big step down ?..........thanks

[uktog]

I can answer some of your questions

It is entirely your choice if you dine alone or join another group, on arrival at the dining room the Maitre D will ask you which you would prefer and meet your request.

Cocktails are not gratis, only wine

You do not have to pack your tux, it is an informal dress code on the lines of eating in a nice restaurant, so open necked shirt or smart polo shirt is all you need

You will get a lot of different views on whether you should book your air yourself, however check out, there are some good free flight deals around for Europe in 2012 if you are from the UK

[ellbon]

i did find that some men wore a suit in the spec restuarants and others did not. some people dress every dinenr abnd others looked ..

 

i book my own air and stay in a hotel the nigt before.

[tgg]

Azamara offers two kinds of air deals: Choice Air and free air. The difference is that with Choice Air you can pick your flights and with free air you are at the mercy of the flight pickers. Once you are given your free air flights, you can't change them. My travel agent said that there have been some awful free air routings, involving extremely long layovers and multiple legs - when there were nonstop flights available. I guess Azamara finds the least expensive fare and books it. You kind of get what you pay for.

 

If the free air is the only way that the cruise would be affordable, I guess people might take it. But, IMHO, they are setting themselves up for disappointment.

[Grandma Gilly]

Having just returned from the Silver Spirit, I feel I am in a good position to comment. I can honestly say that I enjoyed Azamara better. The cabins on the Spririt were fantastic, far better than either Quest or Journey and I did like the white chocolate martinis. However the crew on AZ beat Spirit hands down and although food is subjective, it was far better on both AZ ships than on Spirit and so is the service. AZ cruises tend to be less expensive than Silversea so you can afford to buy your spirits and cocktails. As previously mentioned decent table wines are served with meals and no carrying a tux and evening dress along. The main dining room is the same whereby you can eat at any time and can join another people only if you wish but you do need to make reservations for the speciality restaurants.

[little britain]

.... is it a big step down ?..........thanks

 

After Grandma Gilly's post and this comment from BalloonMan "Next spring we cruise with Seabourn again. They will have to pull-out all the stops to beat Azamara."...I think perhaps Azamara may now be considered by many to be on equal terms with the Silverseas and Seabourns of this world ;)

[Emdee]

Azamara beats the luxury lines in service except the Paul Gauguin, where the service is the best. However in inclusiveness and suite size the luxury lines are better. It is convenient to just pay the one price in the beginning and then not have to concern yourself with signing for things.

Of course Azamara can be considerably cheaper than those lines so its a bit of a cost benefit analysis at play.

[bandt]

Azamara beats the luxury lines in service except the Paul Gauguin, where the service is the best. However in inclusiveness and suite size the luxury lines are better. It is convenient to just pay the one price in the beginning and then not have to concern yourself with signing for things.

Of course Azamara can be considerably cheaper than those lines so its a bit of a cost benefit analysis at play.

 

HI Emdee

 

We both still have the French Polynesian Flu :)

 

B&T

[billcrooz]

i have always been a silversea lover;but looking at itinerary for the meditteranean next year a trip on the Journey looks enticing.that being said i have the following questions; do they have anytime seating either by yourself or do they pair you up;always premium cocktails were gratis ,will i be paying?shoud I book the air myself or let them? DO I have to bring my tux? is it a big step down ?..........thanks

 

Thanks for all the response,one more.we are looking at the Journey next Sept. through Italy and were wondering about the excursions both price wise and comfort.were the buses full all the time? Silversea makes sure that they don't overload them......thanks in advance

[Grandma Gilly]

Sorry. We always organise private tours wherever we go.

[uktog]

Our experience on excursions, which we have taken through Azamara is that they did not over fill the buses and they were generally good. Where there were gaps, it was because a general issue with a lack of English speakers locally

[izucker789]

Book your own air. They have been absolutely non responsive regarding our flight on 11/27.