Tips for Azamara Newbies

[Grandma Cruising]

I’m not on your cruise, just posting for information. I’ve never seen a pager used on Azamara. People just usually sit in the Discoveries bar, which is at the entry to the MDR & someone tells them when a table is ready.

We eat at 7:30 to 8 and have never had trouble getting a table for 2, although it has been difficult to join a shared table at that time.

[tring]

23 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I’m not on your cruise, just posting for information. I’ve never seen a pager used on Azamara. People just usually sit in the Discoveries bar, which is at the entry to the MDR & someone tells them when a table is ready.

We eat at 7:30 to 8 and have never had trouble getting a table for 2, although it has been difficult to join a shared table at that time.

 

Thanks that is good to know, I remember that bar from previous incarnations of Quest, especially as Minerva II.   We prefer to eat at a similar time to you, though always useful to be able to vary it depending on plans if in port that day.

Edited August 31, 2019 by tring

[LuAnn]

On 8/30/2019 at 9:18 AM, deysaz said:

Check-in - 11 - 11:30 - cabins usually aren't ready until 1-1:30

Just got off the Quest - no problem getting a table at 6.  Most people start coming in 6:30-7.

 

Glad you made it home ok...so much fun to meet you and play MJ!!! Thanks!!! :)

[deysaz]

On 8/31/2019 at 4:15 PM, LuAnn said:

 

Glad you made it home ok...so much fun to meet you and play MJ!!! Thanks!!! 🙂

LuAnn,

Nice to finally meet you.  Enjoyed our mahjongg time.  Maybe we'll meet up again on another cruise.  You and your husband take care.  Diane

[LuAnn]

4 hours ago, deysaz said:

LuAnn,

Nice to finally meet you.  Enjoyed our mahjongg time.  Maybe we'll meet up again on another cruise.  You and your husband take care.  Diane

 

Thanks..and "ditto"...such a great way to spend out time...crossing the Pacific!! :)

[Grandma Cruising]

In a cruise roll call bajadenny made the point that it’s a good idea to keep the embarkation day copy of the ‘Insider’ daily programme as that day’s copy has information about the whole cruise usually including when the White Night will be and information about the Azamazing Evening.

I’ve added that into the spreadsheet https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Deg-GaeZYLml8NN3PVwoh_jUkQ8QmYUe1wxnVAlODE

[debcip]

We are hoping to purchase a dining package on our next cruise. My husband prefers to drink beer or vodka and is not much for wine.  I assume that he would be able to get a mixed drink or beer at the Chef's Table, is this a correct assumption?  Thanks!

[PirateWife]

28 minutes ago, debcip said:

We are hoping to purchase a dining package on our next cruise. My husband prefers to drink beer or vodka and is not much for wine.  I assume that he would be able to get a mixed drink or beer at the Chef's Table, is this a correct assumption?  Thanks!

I laugh.  Yes, you can have a mixed drink or beer.  The only time we ate at the Chef's Table, the overseer was horribly rude because I was not drinking the wine she was pairing with the various courses.  I am allergic to white wine and do not drink a lot of red wine.  She was not going to accept that.  Finally, another diner told her to stop insisting I drink the wine.  We haven't eaten at the Chef's Table again.

[RenieRaider]

On ‎8‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 8:02 PM, MissyMom said:

...… Rolling items before putting them into the laundry bag side by side gets you 6 to 7 more items per bag....

 Wow! That's an awesome tip!

[mklions]

Hi all,

We are sailing Lisbon to Rio on the Pursuit in November and sometimes (as on other cruises) we like to chill out and have dinner selected from the main dinning room menu served to our cabin or even on our balcony, is this an option on Azamara?

Kind regards,

Mklions..

[Grandma Cruising]

33 minutes ago, mklions said:

Hi all,

We are sailing Lisbon to Rio on the Pursuit in November and sometimes (as on other cruises) we like to chill out and have dinner selected from the main dinning room menu served to our cabin or even on our balcony, is this an option on Azamara?

Kind regards,

Mklions..

Yes, you can have items from the MDR (Discoveries) menu served in your room (or balcony) during dining room hours.

Edited September 11, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[mklions]

Fantastic, thanks for that!

We are fortunate enough to have a cc suite would the dinner be served course by course by our butler?

That would be the icing on the cake!

Mklions.

[Grandma Cruising]

10 hours ago, mklions said:

Fantastic, thanks for that!

We are fortunate enough to have a cc suite would the dinner be served course by course by our butler?

That would be the icing on the cake!

Mklions.

I’ve never had a suite and only ever had room service breakfast, so can’t answer this. Hopefully someone else can.

[mklions]

Thank you HGC,

It maybe worth adding to your "tips" spreadsheet that you can have dinner served in your cabin on any evening  from the MDR menu. Thats a pretty good tip IMO.

Mklions.

[Grandma Cruising]

It is already there on line 28. The spreadsheet is now pretty big and it’s hard to pick everything up on first reading, I think.

[amp-qld]

On 8/21/2018 at 2:28 AM, marinaro44 said:

[Fitting everyone's tips on one page will be a challenge, and most first-timers are not on Cruise Critic.]

We're first timers on Azamara but have done 35 other cruises and been on Cruise Critic for years.😊

[amp-qld]

On 10/22/2018 at 4:05 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Azamazing nights are free excursions. There is one on every cruise of a week or more, except for transatlantic cruises. They are often some type of performance held in an exceptional setting - for example a 3 tenors concert in a beautiful old theatre. Although they are free, Azamara ask passengers to sign up for them so they know the numbers.

How do I find out when and what our Azamazing night is?  I can't find any mention of it in the itinerary or shore excursions.

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, amp-qld said:

How do I find out when and what our Azamazing night is?  I can't find any mention of it in the itinerary or shore excursions.

Firstly if your cruise is under a week or is a transatlantic it won’t have one. Also I understand that the cruises that were hastily re-arranged, after US regulations about visiting Cuba changed, don’t have one either.

Other cruises should have one, but at present Azamara seem to be taking a while to get them organised. Eventually it should show up in your Voyage Planner and in the website excursions list as a zero priced excursion.

[amp-qld]

2 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Firstly if your cruise is under a week or is a transatlantic it won’t have one. Also I understand that the cruises that were hastily re-arranged, after US regulations about visiting Cuba changed, don’t have one either.

Other cruises should have one, but at present Azamara seem to be taking a while to get them organised. Eventually it should show up in your Voyage Planner and in the website excursions list as a zero priced excursion.

HGC,

 

Thanks for your reply and your efforts.  We're on Quest's 11 night Arabia and India Journey so there definitely should be one.  We've got a Dubai by night tour booked for the first night before we leave Dubai so, hopefully, it won't be then.  We're just hoping that there isn't an escalation of tensions with Iran that lead to our cruise being cancelled (as P&O UK have already done).

[DRJVH]

On 8/31/2019 at 6:33 PM, tring said:

We will be on Quest in October.  I think they use pagers if there is not space in the MDR, is this correct?  Also can I ask what time(s) we are likely to need a pager if we are happy to sit at a table of any size.

 

I assume from the previous question that tables for two will not be available after 6.30pm to 7pm, but I assume it will get better if you go into the MDR later - but how late would we need to be so we do not need a pager? 

Have not long come off Quest and have never seen pagers in the MDR. If you want a table for 2 and one is not available they will ask you to wait in the Discoveries bar until one becomes available. Have never had any problems getting a table for 2 at any time. 

[Grandma Cruising]

38 minutes ago, amp-qld said:

HGC,

 

Thanks for your reply and your efforts.  We're on Quest's 11 night Arabia and India Journey so there definitely should be one.  We've got a Dubai by night tour booked for the first night before we leave Dubai so, hopefully, it won't be then.  We're just hoping that there isn't an escalation of tensions with Iran that lead to our cruise being cancelled (as P&O UK have already done).

Just keep looking in your Voyage Planner then. Don’t worry about booking it beforehand. You can book it once you are onboard.

I think P & O have only cancelled cruises on one ship that does all its cruises in that area.

[Grandma Cruising]

I’ve recently become aware that you can get 10% discount on Shore Excursions if you book 3 of them at the same time. You need to ask about this at the shore excursions desk. I’m told this may also apply to already booked excursions, but again you’d need to ask at the Shorex desk.  Thanks to uktog & tiggertom for this information that was posted in other topics.

Edited September 18, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[tring]

4 hours ago, amp-qld said:

We're just hoping that there isn't an escalation of tensions with Iran that lead to our cruise being cancelled (as P&O UK have already done).

 

We were on another P&O ship when the cancellations happened and spoke to the future cruise lady about them.  She said they were cancelled because their ships have a union flag painted on the bow and also they fly the red ensign, but other Carnival Corporation brands have not cancelled cruises.  It was also a case of needing to make a decision soon and it seemed sensible to cancel for the entire season, rather than on a rolling basis.  P&O include the price of flights from the UK in their cruises and yo pay the same even if you do not want to use their flights.  So they would have to have made a decision regards the charter flights for the season, which go from different airports in the UK.   

 

P&O have another ship due in Dubai in the spring as part of a world cruise, but that has not been cancelled as yet and will depend on the situation.

Edited September 14, 2019 by tring

[KAE27]

I just booked my first Azamara cruise after reading this entire thread tonight.  I need a getaway, and there was an itinerary that looked appealing, but I wanted to learn everything I could before booking, especially as I'll be doing it solo since my husband can't make it.  I just wanted to thank every person who's taken the time to post tips in this thread, and especially Host Grandma for posting info and maintaining the spreadsheet.  Your posts have helped me enormously!

[Grandma Cruising]

Delighted that you have found the topic helpful.