Tell Me About the"Shipboard Experience"

[ignatz]

Sharing a table with a older gentleman and frequent Azamara cruiser while waiting for our room to be ready after embarkation, we were warned that the onion rings at the pool grill were awful and to not order them. I asked myself, How bad can onion rings be? Well, he was right after all. How many months or years has this been the case? How can this continue to be a problem?

 

Chicken wings and spring rolls at the pool grill were good but not the hamburgers.

 

Pizza from the carousel in the buffet was barely warm. The waffles, pancakes and french toast had all been precooked for breakfast. Lunch in the dinning room at a table for 8 resulted in cold fries for everyone who had them with their sandwiches. Remarkably, the two plates of extra fries that had been ordered at the same time were nice and hot.

 

Plenty of good meals on board but it was a hit or miss proposition. This shouldn't be the case.

[librarylady19]

Bad onion rings - I'm seriously going to have to consider cancelling now:) really, seriously, these are definitely some major "first world problems". I'm just happy to hear that the pool grill has options beyond hamburgers. Never starved on a cruise ship tho.....

Edited December 4, 2013 by librarylady19

[excitedofharpenden]

Sandi, the thing I really like about the Pool Grill is you go up and order your food from the menu, they give you a ticket which you take to your table and give to the waiter where you are sitting and they then bring the food to you when it's cooked. Very civilised.

 

Phil

[uktog]

I had no issues with the onion rings on Journey in November - maybe though I am an onion ring peasant and my standards are too low :rolleyes:

[dln929]

An onion ring tangent! How delightful. There is no hope for this but to order a plate myself, just to see how the Quest measures up. Research is ALL (and someone has to do it....)

[Kellie Poodle]

Sharing a table with a older gentleman and frequent Azamara cruiser while waiting for our room to be ready after embarkation, we were warned that the onion rings at the pool grill were awful and to not order them. I asked myself, How bad can onion rings be? Well, he was right after all. How many months or years has this been the case? How can this continue to be a problem?

 

Chicken wings and spring rolls at the pool grill were good but not the hamburgers.

 

Pizza from the carousel in the buffet was barely warm. The waffles, pancakes and french toast had all been precooked for breakfast. Lunch in the dinning room at a table for 8 resulted in cold fries for everyone who had them with their sandwiches. Remarkably, the two plates of extra fries that had been ordered at the same time were nice and hot.

 

Plenty of good meals on board but it was a hit or miss proposition. This shouldn't be the case.

 

I don't eat onion rings, hamburgers, buffet pizza, pancakes or French toast. I don't much care for fries, either.

 

I do like chicken wings and spring rolls, so I'm guessing I'll have a wonderful cruise?

[pacheco18]

Bad onion rings - I'm seriously going to have to consider cancelling now:) really, seriously, these are definitely some major "first world problems". I'm just happy to hear that the pool grill has options beyond hamburgers. Never starved on a cruise ship tho.....

 

Good attitude. I completely agree. I cannot understand why folks complain about one single offering on a ship as if it's a condemnation of the entire cuisine.

 

There are always bad, average, good and great food offerings on any cruise, no matter which cruise line you select. Add that to the fact the food is subjective, none of these posts would impact my decision to cruise on any line.

 

Also, I have found that food quality can change dramatically from cruise to cruise on the same cruise line. It's a function of the chef and chefs are rotated. No two cruises are alike when it comes to food. Sometimes quality changes from meal to meal.

 

Another issue that affects food quality is the port where the ship is provisioned. You will find great differences in the quality of fruits and vegetables, meat and fish. On both Azamara and Oceania, I have seen the chefs or their staff go shopping in various ports to compensate for less than stellar provisioning in the port of origin.

[Lottie A]

:D:D:D Sandi and Ann.

 

Do you think inferior quality Onion Rings could possibly cause the complete downfall of Azamara?

 

Unfortunately......or perhaps fortunately, my palate would not be sufficiently educated to distinguish the difference between "good and bad" Onion Rings! :D:rolleyes:

[LOP]

Don't feed the troll...

[dln929]

Don't feed the troll...

 

....onion rings! ;)

[marinaro44]

Chicken wings and spring rolls at the pool grill were good but not the hamburgers.

Clearly you are a gourmet, with a diet consisting of waffles, pancakes, french toast, onion rings, pizza, and fries. Little wonder you're a HAL fan.

 

Just so you know, burgers served at lunch in the main dining room and anytime through room service are made from the small end of beef tenderloin. Sorry you missed them. Enjoy your onion rings. Do you have them with ketchup?

Edited December 4, 2013 by marinaro44

[norn iron]

"A fellow cruiser who was as disappointed with the breakfast hash browns as I was mentioned this to head chef Fabio. Fabio's response that 2 complaints out of 500 passengers wasn't bad indicated a basic ignorance of customer service."

 

"Chicken wings and spring rolls at the pool grill were good but not the hamburgers."

 

The hash browns at Breakfast on Quest during our June cruise were the best I've eaten!!

 

Don't forget the Room Service Hamburger, its the best burger at sea, and allegedly made from the Filet Mignon trimmings from Prime C, and I probably believe that having tasted one.

[uktog]

Mind you the range of haggis on board is poor

[Willow1686]

I think it is probably unwise to claim that Azamara provides high quality cuisine; after all, a restaurant which serves chocolate desserts which have been mass created, frozen and then defrosted is not going to get any Michelin stars at all...

[Lottie A]

I think it is probably unwise to claim that Azamara provides high quality cuisine; after all, a restaurant which serves chocolate desserts which have been mass created, frozen and then defrosted is not going to get any Michelin stars at all...

 

I don't think anyone has claimed Azamara food is Michelin Star standard have they? It is very good quality catering for fairly large numbers of people though....and I have had some wonderful chocolate desserts onboard, frozen or not.

 

I agree with Ann about the range of Haggis though and they could also do something about the lack of Neeps and Tatties to go with it! :D

 

I hope Philip or Rykshard isn't reading this otherwise I may be treated to Haggis, Neeps and Tatties for my first meal onboard next June.....because that's what Azamara does! Only joking guys......please stick with the Filet Mignon! :D

[SeaBunny]

I'm surprised at the dissing of HAL, since I found little difference -- besides pricing strategies -- between the two lines: quality of service, passenger mix, and food quality were pretty much the same.

[Willow1686]

I don't think anyone has claimed Azamara food is Michelin Star standard have they? It is very good quality catering for fairly large numbers of people though....and I have had some wonderful chocolate desserts onboard, frozen or not...

 

I must disagree that it is very good quality catering for fairly large numbers of people; after all, the restaurants on Hapag-Lloyd's Europa cook for similar numbers but do manage to come close to Michelin standards.

 

Obviously the fact that Europa's catering is overseen by a Michelin starred chef makes a considerable difference; there is no way that Azamara could host a culinary extravaganza with multiple Michelin star chefs on board in the way that Europa is repeating next June. The chefs would not tarnish their reputations by associating themselves with a 'speciality' restaurant which served a dish mass produced elsewhere, stored in freezers and defrosted after many months.

 

In the circumstances it is hardly surprising that Azamara cannot even manage to serve the most rudimentary of dishes in a consistently acceptable way; if they see no problem in using mass produced frozen chocolate desserts in a restaurant which charges a $25 per head supplement then they are not going to worry about the quality of the food served by the pool...

[geocruiser]

We have been on two Azamara cruises. At home I NEVER eat onion rings or chicken wings. But you had to pull me away from them on Azamara. For me they are a BIG treat, just like bacon is. At home it is all home cooked food. In season veggie from the garden. So, chicken wings and onion rings (and hot dogs) oh boy! A treat for me!

[Lottie A]

Willow1686, can I ask why are you comparing Azamara to Hapag Lloyd? It is clearly not an apples for apples comparison. The lead in basic fare for a Med Europa 2 voyage is over £5000 pp so therefore it would seem reasonable to assume that their pp food budget is also much higher than Azamara. I find the $25 dollar supplement for Aqualina and Prime C to be very reasonable and I enjoy the food very much. That is my take on it.....you will have your own viewpoint, which I'm sure will help you to decided the best value for your money. You may wish to go for the Hapag Lloyd experience and the Michelin Chef's culinary extravaganza and I'm sure it will be wonderful, but I will stick with Azamara. I have had fantastic Chocolate desserts on Quest..... frozen or not....never asked or care, as long as they taste good and they do. I am not even that keen on Chocolate but the Chocolate Bombes have converted me.

 

Azamara food is not haute cuisine.....but neither does it pretend to be. I very much take issue with your statement that Azamara chef's "cannot manage to serve rudimentary dishes in a consistently acceptable way". Of course, food is a very subjective topic but I have to say that in my many Azamara cruises I have always enjoyed the food very much. And many people would say that I am picky. :rolleyes:

 

I am in a Cunard Queen's Grill cabin in January and I still won't expect the food to be comparable with a Michelin starred restaurant on land....And Yes, I have been to several, both in the UK and in France.

 

I have quite an amusing story to tell about a rather inebriated passenger on Quest in October who was extolling the virtues of the FIVE MICHELIN STARRED restaurant they had recently visited.....yes I know there isn't such a thing as a five Michelin star restaurant.....But it was very funny to hear this story of the incredible food they had eaten......and in a little known restaurant in a tiny Italian village too! We were stifling giggles but managed to listen to the story without laughing out loud.

 

You see Ignatz......I do get out quite a bit.....:D and I have to say that someone who thinks the quality of the Onion Rings onboard is a deciding factor in the quality of the overall food provided ......well I'm sure the wonderful Chef Fabio won't be losing any sleep over that! :D

[Texed]

Clearly you are a gourmet, with a diet consisting of waffles, pancakes, french toast, onion rings, pizza, and fries.

 

Hey, what is wrong with waffles? :cool:

Edited December 4, 2013 by Texed

[Kellie Poodle]

We have been on two Azamara cruises. At home I NEVER eat onion rings or chicken wings. But you had to pull me away from them on Azamara. For me they are a BIG treat, just like bacon is. At home it is all home cooked food. In season veggie from the garden. So, chicken wings and onion rings (and hot dogs) oh boy! A treat for me!

 

 

How are the hot dogs? I hate lunch on Celebrity ships. They never have anything in any of their venues that appeals to me, except for the hot dogs at the poolside grill.

 

If I don't like the lunch fare on Quest, I'm hoping the hot dogs are, at least, the same quality as Celebrity.

 

I wouldn't know a 5 star Michelin chef from a cabin steward, but I do know my hot dogs!

[pacheco18]

This thread has degenerated to the point of absurdity.

 

 

It's just food.

Find something to eat on the ship that you like -- if you cannot find anything on a ship that you like you should not be cruising.

Don't eat what you don't like and move on.

Don't expect ship food to rival or be comparable to food in the finest restaurants -- never gonna happen -- too many persons to be served, freshness of ingredients not comparable, control of preparation impossible

 

Those who try to impose their own opinions of food on others are wasting their time.

[norn iron]

This thread has degenerated to the point of absurdity.

 

 

It's just food.

Find something to eat on the ship that you like -- if you cannot find anything on a ship that you like you should not be cruising.

Don't eat what you don't like and move on.

Don't expect ship food to rival or be comparable to food in the finest restaurants -- never gonna happen -- too many persons to be served, freshness of ingredients not comparable, control of preparation impossible

 

Those who try to impose their own opinions of food on others are wasting their time.

 

Well said

[pacheco18]

Luxury is chartering a yacht.

 

Getting on ANY cruise ship with 700 plus strangers is not luxury.

[BillC]

The only time I've experienced chicken wings on Azamara was as a passed savory at a special event. Have I misses some place on the ships where I can get chicken wings - preferably Buffalo style?