White Night question

[SoBaycruiser]

I haven’t sailed on Azamara since they added the White Night.  From pictures it looks like it would be great for a warm weather cruise.  What do they do in cold weather?  We will be doing a northern TransPacific cruise and most of the days at sea are up by the Aleutians.  Suggested clothing is something white.  I’m afraid all my cold weather gear tends to be black.  I really hate to take up packing space for something that I’d only wear once.  Am I interpreting things wrong?    Any helpful suggestions of what to expect would be greatly appreciated.

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, SoBaycruiser said:

I haven’t sailed on Azamara since they added the White Night.  From pictures it looks like it would be great for a warm weather cruise.  What do they do in cold weather?  We will be doing a northern TransPacific cruise and most of the days at sea are up by the Aleutians.  Suggested clothing is something white.  I’m afraid all my cold weather gear tends to be black.  I really hate to take up packing space for something that I’d only wear once.  Am I interpreting things wrong?    Any helpful suggestions of what to expect would be greatly appreciated.

If the weather precludes holding white night on deck it will be held indoors.  Wearing white is a suggestion, not a rigid code. Don't fret over this.

[SoBaycruiser]

12 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

If the weather precludes holding white night on deck it will be held indoors.  Wearing white is a suggestion, not a rigid code. Don't fret over this.

 

Thanks!  That’s good to know.  I won’t worry about it.

[Mr. Click]

And they try to do White Night on deck on a port evening.  It is hard for them to do it on a sea day because of the wind created by the ship's motion.  

[marinaro44]

2 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

And they try to do White Night on deck on a port evening.  It is hard for them to do it on a sea day because of the wind created by the ship's motion.  

Right.  Wind and open flames are not a good combination on a cruise ship.

[lisiamc]

For White Night, go EARLY.  Especially if you want to sit with friends, the chairs fill up really fast.  Most people love White Night, but we’re not fans.  We now make that a night to eat in Aqualina or Prime C.

Edited April 19, 2019 by lisiamc

[NC&KY]

17 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

For White Night, go EARLY.  Especially if you want to sit with friends, the chairs fill up really fast.  Most people love White Night, but we’re not fans.  We now make that a night to eat in Aqualina or Prime C.

A strong second to this posting. We tend to eat late, and we can never find anywhere to sit. All tables are already filled; or if all chairs aren't occupied, the people at the table have "spread out" a bit and they are so far along with their meal that we feel uncomfortable joining them. White Night for us is just an evening to spend quietly at one of the other restaurants.

[tv24]

If the weather does not permit on deck parties, the White Night will be held indoors.  It's not as much fun, but it still happens.  Don't stress about clothes as anything white qualifies and lots of PAX don't even try and still enjoy themselves.

[SoBaycruiser]

4 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

And they try to do White Night on deck on a port evening.  It is hard for them to do it on a sea day because of the wind created by the ship's motion.  

 

That makes sense but would be hard to do on our cruise as the latest night in port is 6pm.  The problem with a repositioning cruise... they are in a hurry to keep moving.  

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

26 minutes ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

That makes sense but would be hard to do on our cruise as the latest night in port is 6pm.  The problem with a repositioning cruise... they are in a hurry to keep moving.  

 

 

It just depends on the itinerary, the conditions and if steps can be taken to mitigate the wind.  Not long back from Rio to Lisbon on Pursuit and we had White Night as we left Cape Verde at 6pm.  It was a really windy evening so Captain António headed the ship 180° at slow speed for as long as he could so we had the wind behind us and shelter.  Once we turned round at about 9pm and it then got interesting!  On a repo with  few sea days there is usually enough time in hand to do something like that.

 

Phil

Edited April 19, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[donaldsc]

I think that White Night is very much overrated.  Limited food selection.  Impossible to find seats.  Not great ambience.  We never go to them.

 

DON

[marinaro44]

2 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Limited food selection. 

 Right.  Steaks, lamb chops, fish, lobster, shrimp tempura, salt-encrusted baked halibut, paella, every kind of antipasto imaginable, pasta action station, fresh-carved fruits of all kinds, table full of desserts, crepes suzettes... more I can't remember.  Nothing much to choose from.  Hundreds of people sitting in those seats that are so hard to find.

[laurieb]

2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I think that White Night is very much overrated.  Limited food selection.  Impossible to find seats.  Not great ambience.  We never go to them.

 

DON

Sorry I strongly disagree. We’ve always had an amazing choice of food. Huge selection of cheeses, seafood, salads. Grilled lobster and lamb chops. Desserts have always seemed more limited but I’m usually too full to care. 

Good tables do fill up quickly, but I’ve always seen availability up a deck. 

Go early and enjoy the energy, music and atmosphere; we’ve always waiting eat until later in the evening and have never not gotten a great selection of food 

Edited April 20, 2019 by laurieb

[tv24]

3 hours ago, donaldsc said:

I think that White Night is very much overrated.  Limited food selection.  Impossible to find seats.  Not great ambience.  We never go to them.

 

DON

We've always had a good time mostly because the band is set up for good dancing.  We found lots of food in many varieties.  Granted the food is set up in buffet style, but that is almost unavoidable.  We always have more than enough to eat.

[lisiamc]

4 hours ago, laurieb said:

Sorry I strongly disagree. We’ve always had an amazing choice of food. Huge selection of cheeses, seafood, salads. Grilled lobster and lamb chops. Desserts have always seemed more limited but I’m usually too full to care. 

Good tables do fill up quickly, but I’ve always seen availability up a deck. 

Go early and enjoy the energy, music and atmosphere; we’ve always waiting eat until later in the evening and have never not gotten a great selection of food 

 

We had a group of six, and waited until we had everyone together before trying to find a table, which was a big mistake.  By then, many people had been there for an hour having a drink, and it was still 20 minutes to go before kick-off.  We would have had to sit at five different tables, since only one had two spare seats, and the rest were single seats, dotted about.  So two of our party took the two seats together, and the other four of us waited for a little while with some other people to see if any more tables were going to be brought out, then gave up and went to the dining room.  The buffet looked very impressive as we left, but it was too noisy and too much of a madhouse.  I like a nice dinner, and I like a noisy party, but not simultaneously.

[excitedofharpenden]

46 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

 

We had a group of six, and waited until we had everyone together before trying to find a table, which was a big mistake.  By then, many people had been there for an hour having a drink, and it was still 20 minutes to go before kick-off.  We would have had to sit at five different tables, since only one had two spare seats, and the rest were single seats, dotted about.  So two of our party took the two seats together, and the other four of us waited for a little while with some other people to see if any more tables were going to be brought out, then gave up and went to the dining room.  The buffet looked very impressive as we left, but it was too noisy and too much of a madhouse.  I like a nice dinner, and I like a noisy party, but not simultaneously.

There is an alternative to this if you want a bit of peace and quiet. Get your food from the buffet and go and sit in Windows to eat it. Nice and quiet and believe it or not you'll get wine service because the waiters come into the bar and kitchens there.  I've done this before and then gone out afterwards to the party. 

 

Phil 

Edited April 20, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[uktog]

A few cruises ago, we went and sat on the back verandah as there was no space on deck before the official start time. (I also think some groups were saving far more seats than they needed). Anyway, turned out to be a bonus. Ok a little longer walk to the buffet and DH had to be the wine runner until a waiter realised we were drinking the same wine and gave him the half used bottle he was carrying. But what a perfect peaceful setting.  Even if DH has to be the wine runner we will consider that option again if we cannot get a seats on deck. I like the food but not the seat hogging which is now starting late afternoon as soon as the tables go out. 

Our other option is Deck 10 so long as it’s not too breezy, if the stairs bother you, you can always take yourself back up in the elevator 

[nordski]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

A few cruises ago, we went and sat on the back verandah as there was no space on deck before the official start time. (I also think some groups were saving far more seats than they needed). Anyway, turned out to be a bonus. Ok a little longer walk to the buffet and DH had to be the wine runner until a waiter realised we were drinking the same wine and gave him the half used bottle he was carrying. But what a perfect peaceful setting.  Even if DH has to be the wine runner we will consider that option again if we cannot get a seats on deck. I like the food but not the seat hogging which is now starting late afternoon as soon as the tables go out. 

Our other option is Deck 10 so long as it’s not too breezy, if the stairs bother you, you can always take yourself back up in the elevator 

 

We have used a number of methods to enjoy White Night, but never thought of the back verandah.

 

Thanks!

 

We think of White Night as opening up a number of choices. 

Edited April 20, 2019 by nordski

[lisiamc]

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

There is an alternative to this if you want a bit of peace and quiet. Get your food from the buffet and go and sit in Windows to eat it. Nice and quiet and believe it or not you'll get wine service because the waiters come into the bar and kitchens there.  I've done this before and then gone out afterwards to the party. 

 

Phil 

 

3 hours ago, uktog said:

A few cruises ago, we went and sat on the back verandah as there was no space on deck before the official start time. (I also think some groups were saving far more seats than they needed). Anyway, turned out to be a bonus. Ok a little longer walk to the buffet and DH had to be the wine runner until a waiter realised we were drinking the same wine and gave him the half used bottle he was carrying. But what a perfect peaceful setting.  Even if DH has to be the wine runner we will consider that option again if we cannot get a seats on deck. I like the food but not the seat hogging which is now starting late afternoon as soon as the tables go out. 

 

Thank you both for a fabulous idea!  We will do that next time.  

[mare s.]

White Night is one of my favorite activities!   Love the energy and the music and the Crepes Suzette (especially when Philip is in charge.)  Once in a while, we've skipped the buffet dinner and have dined early in one of the specialty restaurants and then gone outside for dessert and music.  That works for us too!   We're on the same repositioning cruise as OP, and also were wondering when the party would be since we're not late in any port and weather may be 'iffy' early on.  

 

mare

[Grandma Cruising]

23 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

There is an alternative to this if you want a bit of peace and quiet. Get your food from the buffet and go and sit in Windows to eat it. Nice and quiet and believe it or not you'll get wine service because the waiters come into the bar and kitchens there.  I've done this before and then gone out afterwards to the party. 

 

Phil 

Great idea, Phil, especially about the quiet. When we’ve joined others on a table at White Night we’ve found it hard to introduce ourselves and have a conversation because of the noise levels. Thanks for the tip!

[biggersn]

On our first Azamara cruise in 2013, we skipped the White Night Party because we thought it would be naf, but how wrong we were! On our second cruise the next year, we were all set for the White Night Party, but unfortunately it was cancelled due to weather conditions and the entertainment was moved to the Cabaret, which is just not the same as out on deck. We finally made it to the White Night Party on our New Zealand cruise last year, and what a wonderful experience it was - excellent food, great entertainment and superb ambience, especially as it got dark and the lights were shining. We sat with a fantastic Canadian couple with whom we had formed a bond on the cruise and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Edited April 21, 2019 by biggersn

[Lottie A]

Couldn't agree more biggrrsn. I love White Night too. The food is great and the atmosphere and dancing is is fantastic. Best night onboard. You won't see me in a quiet area at the back of the ship....I like to be in the middle of all the fun! 

[excitedofharpenden]

3 hours ago, Lottie A said:

Couldn't agree more biggrrsn. I love White Night too. The food is great and the atmosphere and dancing is is fantastic. Best night onboard. You won't see me in a quiet area at the back of the ship....I like to be in the middle of all the fun! 

That's why it's great to have choices depending upon how you feel on the night. I know some who will never miss it and some who never go and some of us who like the choice. 

 

Phil 

[Lois R]

Just experienced my first White Night and it was cool outside and it was fun.  I wore white Jean's and a blue and white top and needed to get a cardigan from the cabin. As for seating, maybe it was luck but I saw plenty of seats available and personally I found the food quite good. And many people were dancing after dinner.

It was a fun night (in my opinion).