Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Tips for Azamara Newbies

Grandma Cruising

By Grandma Cruising,
in Azamara

 Share

Recommended Posts

marinaro44

marinaro44

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

We were also on a transatlantic cruise that did the time change at noon and we liked it, I do remember people complaining to the Captain in a question and answer session.

A lady said who gave you the authority to do that?, the Captain just smiled and pointed to the rings on his sleeve.

Makes sense to take an hour out of an otherwise long eastbound trans-Atlantic afternoon rather than shorten a night's sleep.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Jellifer

Jellifer

Posted
Posted

Thanks Host Grandma for pointing me toward this thread - SUPER helpful!

Boarding on 31st for my first Azamara cruise on the Quest and have a couple of questions if you don’t mind. 

- Are the soft drinks in the mini bar complimentary?

- I haven’t seen anywhere in the check in process to request bed configuration - how can I request twin beds? Or will we just ask the Steward on arrival? 

- I don’t drink alcohol. Are there milkshakes or mocktails available to order?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, Jellifer said:

Thanks Host Grandma for pointing me toward this thread - SUPER helpful!

Boarding on 31st for my first Azamara cruise on the Quest and have a couple of questions if you don’t mind. 

- Are the soft drinks in the mini bar complimentary?

- I haven’t seen anywhere in the check in process to request bed configuration - how can I request twin beds? Or will we just ask the Steward on arrival? 

- I don’t drink alcohol. Are there milkshakes or mocktails available to order?

The soft drinks in the mini bar are complimentary - it’s just the alcohol that’s not. If you have a particular soft drink/drinks that you like, you can ask your cabin steward to make sure they are in your mini-bar.


I can’t remember how we make sure we get our beds made up as a double - I think it was at the time of booking. You could try emailing Richard Twynam, the UK MD, to ask how you make sure your beds are how you want them. His email address is RTwynam@azamaraclubcruises.com. When you get in your cabin, if the beds are not how you want them, you can ask your cabin steward to change them.


There are some ‘mocktails’ in the bar menu, and you can also ask them to make any you know. I often have a ‘Virgin Mary’, which is not in the menu. I’m not sure about milkshakes as I don’t drink them

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Zephyr173

Zephyr173

Posted
Posted

Just booked our first AZ cruise, for October 2021. 
 

Thank you, Host Grandma Cruising, for all your compilation of tips and tricks. Kudos as well to the many contributors to the forum.

 

Really looking forward to a new experience with AZ, after a few very enjoyable ones with MSC.  The posts on this forum really whet our appetite for AZ’s offerings.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BBMacLaird

BBMacLaird

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Zephyr173 said:

Just booked our first AZ cruise, for October 2021. 
 

Thank you, Host Grandma Cruising, for all your compilation of tips and tricks. Kudos as well to the many contributors to the forum.

 

Really looking forward to a new experience with AZ, after a few very enjoyable ones with MSC.  The posts on this forum really whet our appetite for AZ’s offerings.

Thank you Zephyr173 for your booking. We look forward to welcoming you aboard!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)

On another thread mr_bad_example asked about the wine packages. There are 2  packages, Wine Lover which includes bottles of up tot $50 (e.g.5 bottles $180 - 12 bottles for $250) & Wine Connoisseur which includes bottles from $51-$75 (e.g 5 bottles for $315 - $12 bottles  for $630). He wanted to know if you could just pay the difference of you wanted to buy a more expensive bottle of wine. The answer given by Bonnie was that only bottles within the stated price range are covered by the package. If you want a more expensive bottle you have to pay the full price.

I will add this to the spreadsheet. Here’s the link to the spreadsheet again https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15Deg-GaeZYLml8NN3PVwoh_jUkQ8QmYUe1wxnVAlODE

If anyone can’t access this, let me know and I’ll post a link to the PDF version.

Edited by Host Grandma Cruising
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PirateWife

PirateWife

Posted
Posted

Just returned from a cruise and noticed some changes from previous cruises.  Daily fruit baskets in your room are not provided unless asked for.  This is stated on a sheet of instructions given out at embarkation but, according to the customer service rep, 100% of the passengers did not read it, including me.  Laundry coupons are no longer provided.  Complimentary laundry is loaded to your account if you are an LCV member Explorer or higher.  The ship's WiFi instructions to create an account do not work on all cell phones and will require a visit to the ship's IT expert.  According to the IT expert, this is a problem with the program.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Just now on a roll call pjpeek has said that they have been allowed to upgrade from the premium to the ultimate beverage package and just pay the difference ($6 a day). This is interesting, as I had always understood that this was not possible, and that you had to pay the full price. Has anyone else been able to do this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted
8 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

I thought that drinks were included on Azamara.  Why buy a beverage package?  Am I misinformed or are the included drinks unacceptable?

We’re always happy with the included drinks, they’re a good range including branded gin, rum, whisky, vodka etc, and you can have any cocktail you like as long as it can be made from the included spirits. Here’s a link to the included drinks https://www.azamara.co.uk/booked-guests/onboard-packages/complimentary-beverages

However some folks like particular brands or want different wines from those included.

Also if you are on a longer cruise it’s worth buying one of the Experience More packages. For example the essentials package costs $600. For that you get $300 to be spent on shore excursions plus a full cruise WiFi package ( which costs $19.95 a day, so  $329 for a 17 day cruise). You also get the premium drinks package for two - in effect the drinks package is free!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Just now on a roll call pjpeek has said that they have been allowed to upgrade from the premium to the ultimate beverage package and just pay the difference ($6 a day). This is interesting, as I had always understood that this was not possible, and that you had to pay the full price. Has anyone else been able to do this?

I asked them about this and they said they had done this many times, the last time on the Pursuit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BBMacLaird

BBMacLaird

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Just now on a roll call pjpeek has said that they have been allowed to upgrade from the premium to the ultimate beverage package and just pay the difference ($6 a day). This is interesting, as I had always understood that this was not possible, and that you had to pay the full price. Has anyone else been able to do this?

Yes. I’ve confirmed that we introduced the upgrade option very recently.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Literary Lynne

Literary Lynne

Posted
Posted
On 10/25/2019 at 7:32 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Thanks, PirateWife. I’ve added the information about fruit baskets and how to use your LCV laundry benefit on to the spreadsheet.

Think maybe that the process differs between ships as we have just returned from Pursuit (19 Oct). We weren't given information sheets on embarkation that included info about fruit baskets and we did receive LCV laundry coupons.  Have to say that the laundry was perfect. Wish I could iron shirts as well as they did!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robson1

Robson1

Posted
Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

We’re always happy with the included drinks, they’re a good range including branded gin, rum, whisky, vodka etc, and you can have any cocktail you like as long as it can be made from the included spirits. Here’s a link to the included drinks https://www.azamara.co.uk/booked-guests/onboard-packages/complimentary-beverages

 

They actually took off the list of included drinks from that page a while ago, which is a pain for those of us that haven't sailed before. I briefly browsed over it before booking a few months back and then a few days later it had vanished. 

The Premium and Ultimate drinks are still listed here - https://www.azamara.com/int/booked-guests/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

Edited by Robson1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted
32 minutes ago, Robson1 said:

 

They actually took off the list of included drinks from that page a while ago, which is a pain for those of us that haven't sailed before. I briefly browsed over it before booking a few months back and then a few days later it had vanished. 

The Premium and Ultimate drinks are still listed here - https://www.azamara.com/int/booked-guests/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

Thanks, but the link you posted took me to the same place as my link, and as you say it no longer shows the included drinks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Grandma Cruising

Grandma Cruising

Posted
  • Author
Posted
6 hours ago, Literary Lynne said:

Think maybe that the process differs between ships as we have just returned from Pursuit (19 Oct). We weren't given information sheets on embarkation that included info about fruit baskets and we did receive LCV laundry coupons.  Have to say that the laundry was perfect. Wish I could iron shirts as well as they did!

Thanks Literary Lyn, maybe that to do with the different way accounts work on Pursuit, though we had paper laundry vouchers on the a Journey in July. Maybe they’re trialling a new way of doing things. I’ve altered the spreadsheet to show it could be either/or.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail Beyond the Ordinary with Oceania Cruises
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: The Widest View in the Whole Wide World
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...