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[Grandma Cruising]

Not so sure about breakfast in your room being served at the exact time you request. The breakfast request card that you fill in allows you to choose half hour slots and breakfast can come any time within the slot - or even outside the slot! We order tea & fruit juice in our cabin every morning and it sometimes arrives 15 or 20 minutes earlier than our chosen slot!

The other thing to know is that you can get tea, coffee etc at any time from the drinks station on the starboard side of Windows buffet. Very handy if you have early tours and, like us, like a hot drink as soon as you wake up.

 

 

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[excitedofharpenden]

To Cyber Kat whilst on the subject of breakfast, if you aren't up for much food one morning or are up early and going to go to one of the brunches later you can do a lot worse than go down to Mosaic Cafe and grab a cuppa and snack. They'll have mini croissant, quiches and sausage rolls and breakfast muesli cakes amongst others. Sit there and watch the world go by!

 

Phil

[uktog]

Agree Phil though mini croissants and muesli cakes have not been in evidence on Journey this cruise just mini quiches sausage rolls and bran muffins

 

 

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[Spursgirl]

To Cyber Kat whilst on the subject of breakfast, if you aren't up for much food one morning or are up early and going to go to one of the brunches later you can do a lot worse than go down to Mosaic Cafe and grab a cuppa and snack. They'll have mini croissant, quiches and sausage rolls and breakfast muesli cakes amongst others. Sit there and watch the world go by!

 

Phil

It's naughty but I sometimes have a little pre breakfast in Mosaic before the main event.

 

Love those sausage rolls and view them as my treat for getting up a little earlier than my travelling companions

[J.E.C]

Don't forget tapas in the living room in the evening - we would go fro a drink and a tapa before eating later in the evening.

 

Whilst the specialty restaurants are good the main dining room is also excellent.

 

On the sea days look out for the dim sum lunch in the MDR.

 

We love Mosaic Cafe and has already been said don't pay for the Nespresso capsule coffees the Barista ones are far better and free.

 

If you don't like the wine that is offered one evening, but like the one from previous evening ask for it and they will almost certainly find you a bottle.

 

Just enjoy

 

Ask fo A favourout spote of ours is the

[marinaro44]

A set of tablecloth weights like these

https://www.amazon.com/Prodyne-Garden-Dwellers-Tablecloth-Weights/dp/B00WTBVXLI/ref=br_lf_m_g4cra6dy3a966wu_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&s=kitchen

Or about 4 wooden clothes pins clipped to the bottom of the shower curtain take care of "bum cling" quite nicely.

Just take the shower head off its hook and wet the bottom two feet of the curtain after you go into the shower. This is a non-issue and I'll never understand all the fuss.

[Ithikan]

Agree Phil though mini croissants and muesli cakes have not been in evidence on Journey this cruise just mini quiches sausage rolls and bran muffins

 

 

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And the beignets! Don't forget the lovely little beignets with their dollop of custard filling. I enjoyed those on a daily basis during Journey's just-completed, Sydney to Singapore run. The mini chocolate croissants ran a close second...

[cruisinskier]

Hi Kath. Great running into you again on these boards! I have nothing to offer yet as we have yet to sail on Azamara however we do have our first 2 Azamara cruises booked for 2019 (Alaska & Greek Islands). Friends of ours will only cruise Azamara and they have talked us into it. I do look forward to seeing your cruise review!!

 

Jerry

[Cyber Kat]

Hi Kath. Great running into you again on these boards! I have nothing to offer yet as we have yet to sail on Azamara however we do have our first 2 Azamara cruises booked for 2019 (Alaska & Greek Islands). Friends of ours will only cruise Azamara and they have talked us into it. I do look forward to seeing your cruise review!!

 

 

 

Jerry

 

 

 

Hi Jerry,

 

Fancy meeting you here!

 

I was just reading your latest on your Rhine Getaway review. You really do need to ask Viking for a commission. I’ve been recommending it all over, so your effort (an I know how much effort those take) was worth it.

 

We are doing the Bermuda and the Old South. Sails from NYC which is in our backyard so no flights. Spends 3 days in Charleston, SC, then 3 days in Bermuda (our favorite) - such a unique itinerary we couldn’t resist. It’s a golf package thing, but I have been assured that we do not have to play golf [emoji16]

 

So now I’m trying to learn all there is to know about Azamara. For those who don’t know, I’m a research junkie [emoji41]

 

I’m soaking all this information in!

 

 

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[AllisonJames]

Apologies if any of these have been mentioned-

Don’t miss the Dim Sum Brunch in Discoveries, one of our favorite AZ food experiences. They usually have it on a sea day.

Hairdryer - unless they have changed them, they can be challenging to use because you have to hold down the button to keep it on, can make it difficult to style your hair. Some people bring their own because of this.

On our first cruise, we were unaware that AZ brings on local tourism reps at each port (except Russia) and they are set up at a table on 4. Really helpful as you can get a map or ask questions before you disembark for the day.

We always get the Chef’s Table plus 2 for $270 per couple. We think the price is well worth it and on a 12 night cruise that’s enough special dining experiences for us because we enjoy Discoveries very much, occasionally eat dinner at the Patio and of course there’s the White Night Buffet on deck (weather permitting) — all this gives us plenty of variety for dinner choices.

We like to take a Yeti with us no matter what cruise line we are on. That way we can fill it with coffee or water and have it up on the sundeck or walking around the ship. Even though you can get beverages all over the ship, we just find using the Yeti convenient to keep our beverages hot or cold.

I also take several different size ziploc bags with me. They have a variety of uses.

For an after-dinner drink that’s “included” in the basic AZ beverages try a Vodka Stinger — Vodka and Creme de Menthe. We like to Google all the included AZ. Cocktails our first night to find new drinks to try. You will find there’s quite a selection!

[Host Jazzbeau]

Not so sure about breakfast in your room being served at the exact time you request. The breakfast request card that you fill in allows you to choose half hour slots and breakfast can come any time within the slot - or even outside the slot! We order tea & fruit juice in our cabin every morning and it sometimes arrives 15 or 20 minutes earlier than our chosen slot!

 

Another reason for upgrading to a suite. Our Butler was always very prompt with the room service breakfast, close to the beginning of the half-hour slot. [And that goes double, since DW usually ordered 1/2 hour earlier than Moi so that we could tag-team on the bathroom.]

[excitedofharpenden]

Another reason for upgrading to a suite. Our Butler was always very prompt with the room service breakfast, close to the beginning of the half-hour slot. [And that goes double, since DW usually ordered 1/2 hour earlier than Moi so that we could tag-team on the bathroom.]

There is no reason to upgrade to a suite so your breakfast arrives on time. If I order room service breakfast in a non-suite cabin using the breakfast card it's usually delivered at the early part of the half hour time slot. I've not noticed any particular difference from a suite to a non-suite other than the butler setting up the table for you.

 

Not as a boast, but rather a qualification of what I'm saying, I've ordered breakfast on numerous occasions on a cruise and have stayed in suites and non-suites many times so have a pretty good frame of reference.

 

Phil

[uktog]

Our current suite experience is that delivery has always been in the first half of slot. No different to the accuracy of delivery point in an ordinary room so Phil is right.

Although I’m currently in a suite and enjoying it and over half our cruises have been suite based I can’t understand why people bang on about suite experiences when clearly the guest wants a verandah room which works perfectly for 80% of guests

 

 

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[excitedofharpenden]

I should add that with the room service breakfast and regardless of what cabin I’ve been in I’ll get a call about 5 minutes or less before it's delivered.

 

Phil

[village77]

We are new to cruising. Eighteen months ago we tried an Azamara cruise and we loved it so much we have enjoyed two more trips on Journey since then and have two more booked.

 

I am learning loads from this thread but am devastated to learn about afternoon tea being available in the Living Room. I have missed about fifty!

 

One question I need to ask is what is a Yeti?

 

Lynn

[hiccups]

We are new to cruising. Eighteen months ago we tried an Azamara cruise and we loved it so much we have enjoyed two more trips on Journey since then and have two more booked.

 

I am learning loads from this thread but am devastated to learn about afternoon tea being available in the Living Room. I have missed about fifty!

 

One question I need to ask is what is a Yeti?

 

Lynn

 

A Yeti is a stainless steel cup/tumbler that keeps beverages hot or cold for many hours. Ice typically will last 24 hours, and beverages stay hot for 10-12 hours (dependent on the ambient temperature, of course). There are many no-name brands that work almost as well for less than half the cost.

[Lioncub]

This is a slight aside. But can anyone answer why cruise lines cannot provide good coffee? Silversea, Seabourn and Azamara ( in my experience) are all equally to blame. Breakfast RS coffee is always disgusting. There has to be a better option than schlepping down to Mosaic or Seabourn Square etc. to get a decent coffee. We pay good money, suite or otherwise, yet the silver ubiquitous pot always offers up coffee flavoured Luke warm water, without exception. I always end up with the chore of balancing two cafe lattes and a bag full of pastries. One reason why I have now stopped booking CW owners suites! [emoji57] too far to walk!

 

 

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[village77]

Thanks for answering my query Hiccups. I think it is probably something I can live without.

 

Lynn

[Host Jazzbeau]

This is a slight aside. But can anyone answer why cruise lines cannot provide good coffee? Silversea, Seabourn and Azamara ( in my experience) are all equally to blame. Breakfast RS coffee is always disgusting. There has to be a better option than schlepping down to Mosaic or Seabourn Square etc. to get a decent coffee. We pay good money, suite or otherwise, yet the silver ubiquitous pot always offers up coffee flavoured Luke warm water, without exception. I always end up with the chore of balancing two cafe lattes and a bag full of pastries. One reason why I have now stopped booking CW owners suites! [emoji57] too far to walk!

 

On my recent Azamara cruise I ordered Capucchino every morning for RS breakfast, and it was delicious. [i don't remember if it's on the RS menu, but the Butler brought it to our CW with no problem]

[Grandma Cruising]

I have Capuchino in Windows every morning & it’s fine.

 

 

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[Melissaghoti]

The bad room service coffee is most likely the result of the quantity being brewed. It's never good and rarely fresh when it's a done by the 'urn-ful'. It was the only real negative with a room service breakfast and I'd never thought about asking for a latte. It may not be on the menu, but Azamara is always so accommodating that they'll probably make it happen.

[excitedofharpenden]

This is a slight aside. But can anyone answer why cruise lines cannot provide good coffee? Silversea, Seabourn and Azamara ( in my experience) are all equally to blame. Breakfast RS coffee is always disgusting. There has to be a better option than schlepping down to Mosaic or Seabourn Square etc. to get a decent coffee. We pay good money, suite or otherwise, yet the silver ubiquitous pot always offers up coffee flavoured Luke warm water, without exception. I always end up with the chore of balancing two cafe lattes and a bag full of pastries. One reason why I have now stopped booking CW owners suites! [emoji57] too far to walk!

There is a better option. Ask your butler to source the coffee from Mosaic. I have never had a problem with this although now drink herbal tea in preference. I know others do it because I've seen the butlers go to Mosaic whilst I've been there.

 

Absolutely the best butler Azamara had (now sadly gone to another cruiseline) was Ravin. You didn't even need to ask. He just did it.

 

Phil

[Bloodaxe]

There is a better option. Ask your butler to source the coffee from Mosaic. I have never had a problem with this although now drink herbal tea in preference. I know others do it because I've seen the butlers go to Mosaic whilst I've been there.

 

Absolutely the best butler Azamara had (now sadly gone to another cruiseline) was Ravin. You didn't even need to ask. He just did it.

 

Phil

 

Ravin was the best, we had him has our room attendant several times before he was promoted to Butler.

We did not know he had left but good luck to him wherever he is now.

[excitedofharpenden]

Ravin was the best, we had him has our room attendant several times before he was promoted to Butler.

We did not know he had left but good luck to him wherever he is now.

I think he is on Silversea now.

 

Phil

[travelberlin]

This is a slight aside. But can anyone answer why cruise lines cannot provide good coffee? Silversea, Seabourn and Azamara ( in my experience) are all equally to blame. Breakfast RS coffee is always disgusting. There has to be a better option than schlepping down to Mosaic or Seabourn Square etc. to get a decent coffee. We pay good money, suite or otherwise, yet the silver ubiquitous pot always offers up coffee flavoured Luke warm water, without exception. I always end up with the chore of balancing two cafe lattes and a bag full of pastries. One reason why I have now stopped booking CW owners suites! [emoji57] too far to walk!

 

 

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Your waiter can bring your coffee to you from Mosaic. But even at Mosaic, it helps to tell the waiter to make a nice coffee for you. It varies, but they are most friendly to accommodate if you wish a better coffee.

Ivi