First-timers on Azamara!

[uktog]

3 minutes ago, KevintheIrishDJ said:

Yes; however, you are assuming these places are still open.

They will be as guest going on ships tours need to go through them.

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

To be honest in most ports you can get leakage from the port terminal wifi and log in on your balcony

Not sure I'd trust that. I have rarely had good wifi from the ports. I remember I was in one place and kept getting a signal and then it would fade away completely. And then come back. And fade away. Took be a while to work out the excursion buses had free WiFi. 🤓

 

Phil 

[ECCruise]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Not sure I'd trust that. I have rarely had good wifi from the ports. I remember I was in one place and kept getting a signal and then it would fade away completely. And then come back. And fade away. Took be a while to work out the excursion buses had free WiFi. 🤓

 

Phil 

I've done exactly the same thing!  

[AllisonJames]

Congratulations! Our very first Azamara cruise was for our 30th Anniversary and it was a wonderful way to celebrate. We were cruising on our own and wanted to do something special that seemed celebratory and also allowed us to meet people. So we did the Chef’s Table on our actual anniversary which was great. At the end they brought out an Anniversary cake for us. And decorated our cabin and provided a complimentary bottle of champagne. if you do the Chef’s Table — beware — they serve a lot of wine with the dinner and that on top of the pre-dinner drinks just might have been a bit over the top for me!

[Mackdogmolly]

11 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

if you do the Chef’s Table — beware — they serve a lot of wine with the dinner and that on top of the pre-dinner drinks just might have been a bit over the top for me!

I made that mistake at my first Chef’s table too! Skipped the cocktails before the next one!

[SD Beach Bum]

7 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I made that mistake at my first Chef’s table too! Skipped the cocktails before the next one!

Does one sign up for Chef's Table after embarkation or can you sign up early?  Thank you.

[ECCruise]

10 minutes ago, SD Beach Bum said:

Does one sign up for Chef's Table after embarkation or can you sign up early?  Thank you.

Only after embarkation as you must when booking Specialty reservations.

They will also let you know which Chef's Table(s) will be on your sailing.  Some we have attended have been French, Italian, Arabic, Cuban and California.

Edited June 17, 2021 by ECCruise

[Mackdogmolly]

16 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Only after embarkation as you must when booking Specialty reservations.

They will also let you know which Chef's Table(s) will be on your sailing.  Some we have attended have been French, Italian, Arabic, Cuban and California.

Yes, and there are also dining packages, which are quite a good deal. I believe you can purchase those in advance, just can’t make reservations until onboard.

[Scubaaah]

On 6/8/2021 at 1:41 PM, mj_holiday said:

As  has been mentioned, the way things are going to be done in the future due to COVID are not known.  

 

I have some added information about White Night that I wish I would have realized before our first cruise.  We have been on one Azamara cruise and we have another one booked because of their great intensive itinerary for destinations.  So we have been to one White Night.  It is a very large buffet on the deck with lots of buffet stations,  lots of tables set up and people saving tables early.  DH and I are not fans of large buffets.  This one had such long lines that we really didn't know what the line we were in led to.  There was music and dancing after dinner and all had a good time.  I later realized that the main dining room was open for dinner with a nice menu.

 

On or next Azamara cruise, if White Night looks like it will be similar to what past ones were like, we will go to the dining room for dinner and come up on deck afterwards to listen to the music.

Thanks so much for this great info! 

[Scubaaah]

On 6/8/2021 at 3:20 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

Just to answer some of your questions - priority embarkation and disembarkation relates to the beginning & end of the cruise only. As Azamara ships have less than 700 passengers, you don’t need to worry about getting on and off in port, there is rarely a queue. If it’s a tender port, then you may have to wait a while but never for too long.

 

You can’t book speciality restaurants ahead, but once onboard you can book at the reservation desk on deck 9 in the entry to ‘Windows Buffet’ or in the other reservation desk which will probably be on Deck 5, either in Spirits bar or in Discoveries bar.

 

Of course as Uktog says all of this information, including everything in the ‘tips’ topic is pre-COVID, and pre Azamara being bought by Sycamore, so none of us really knows how things will work in the future, we can only talk about our past experience until cruises get started again.

Thank you so much! Yes, I was watching a video on Azamara and about it's recent purchase by Sycamore, but I guess until things really start up again no one will know. 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Scubaaah

[Scubaaah]

On 6/8/2021 at 7:26 PM, Dr H said:

Very sad you have to wait more than a year to travel with Azamara. Somewhat off topic, would you be willing to change the date of your cruise? I/we used to live in Italy, and August is the absolute worst time to go there. It is hotter than hell, mobbed with tourists, at least it used to be, and the country closes down for Ferragosto, basically everything shuts down for a month, and that includes museums. I would STRONGLY urge you to change your travel date if you can. Fall months are wonderful, the dead of winter is wonderful, and springtime is wonderful. Summer, especially August, definitely not wonderful! Okay, on to questions. Priority Embarkation. In the old days, the fancy rich people had a special check in counter, away from the riff raff. In reality, when you have fewer than a maximum of 700 passengers and about 10 check in counters, plus a lot of paperwork done on line weeks before departure, there is rarely a wait to check in and board. Our last cruise, transatlantic, there was a line at priority, and poor, humble souls that we are (Veranda, not even Veranda Plus), we had no wait at all. Now this was all pre-Covid. We think we are now going to be assigned check in times to avoid crowding. In the past, you could request a time slot from noon to about 4PM to check in; my guess is that we will now be assigned that slot. Specialty dining your big advantage in the suite. You can't pre-book, but you will be directed toward the reservation area as soon as you put down your glass of champagne after boarding. It cannot be missed, and if it is, you can call the restaurants directly, or have your poor butler do it for you. You won't go hungry, and the likelihood of missing a specific date and/or time is really, really slim. (Secret only Azamara regulars know: You can order Prime C desserts in Aqualina, and Aqualina desserts in Prime C. Don't tell anyone, please. The Prime C doughnuts with 3 dipping sauces are to die for. Our secret). White Nights. Anyone's guess... Bring a white shirt and white trousers or shorts. Show up in a suit at night in Italy in August, you are asking for a heat stroke. Excursions: if you book with the ship a) you will pay a lot more, b) get a quality trip, and C) most important, the ship will not leave without you. Many moons ago, we got stuck in unimaginable traffic  on a tour in Indonesia. We were more than 2½ hours late getting back to the ship, which was well past sailing time. The ship was held, the restaurants were kept open extra hours to accommodate us. That wouldn't have happened on a private tour. That said, we've been on some amazing private tours world wide (Tours by Locals) that have not run into any problems, and were significantly less expensive than the ships tours. Do your homework. Lastly, there is a self service laundry on board, no charge, and soap is provided. It can get crowded, but you really meet some nice people there. I did lose a sock on my first cruise about 10 years ago, which is still annoying. I'm very OCD, and I haven't lost a second sock to balance out the drawn in all these years. That's about my biggest, running complaint with Azamara. Enjoy. And seriously, change your dates if you can. We will be doing Italy intensive this October, the Sea Gods willing.  David

Thanks, Dave. Yes, well we actually did first think about going in the spring, closer to our actual anniversary date, but quite honestly the hot weather doesn't bother us. We're Floridians! And we're very used hot, humid weather. We'd rather be hot than cold, especially because we'll be spending time pre-cruise in Milan and the Lakes area. 
Also really appreciate your feedback about the ship's tours - we'd rather pay a little more for quality and the oh-so-important part about getting back to the port in time or having the ship wait for us, especially since it will be crowded when we're there. We have selected some tours in some ports by private groups, but none that will be at risk of being detained. Speaking of the ship's excursions, how far in advance would you suggest we actually purchase them? We don't want to get closed out but clearly we're more than a year away. Thoughts? 
Thanks again for all of your info! 
 

[Scubaaah]

Thank you everyone who provided such great info and answers to my questions. Really appreciate it! 
So here's another question about the Azamazing evening...clearly they hold this on an overnight or on a late night in a port. What are the chances they would choose the last evening on the itinerary? Our final stop is a Venice overnight. Do you think they would have it on that last night? It would seem that people may want to take advantage of an evening in Venice on their own/excursion, and especially needing to pack and depart early. We also overnight in Livorno and have one 9:00pm departure elsewhere. Thoughts? 

Edited June 26, 2021 by Scubaaah

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, Scubaaah said:

Thank you everyone who provided such great info and answers to my questions. Really appreciate it! 
So here's another question about the Azamazing evening...clearly they hold this on an overnight or on a late night in a port. What are the chances they would choose the last evening on the itinerary? Our final stop is a Venice overnight. Do you think they would have it on that last night? It would seem that people may want to take advantage of an evening in Venice on their own/excursion, and especially needing to pack and depart early. We also overnight in Livorno and have one 9:00pm departure elsewhere. Thoughts? 

Nothing is certain, of course, but the chance of the Azamazing Evening (or what is replacing it through spring) happening on the last night are virtually zero.

If it is an Azamazing Night, likely in Livorno, at the Goldoni Theatre, which we loved.

Review here (not ours, BTW).

Edited June 26, 2021 by ECCruise

[Riocca]

11 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Nothing is certain, of course, but the chance of the Azamazing Evening (or what is replacing it through spring) happening on the last night are virtually zero.

If it is an Azamazing Night, likely in Livorno, at the Goldoni Theatre, which we loved.

Review here (not ours, BTW).

When we were overnight in Venice on Journey on the last night of the cruise Azamara brought onboard Italian tenor David Righeschi for a performance on deck.

As Azamara normally dock at San Basilio not the cruise terminal it’s an extremely atmospheric special event with Venice as the backdrop.

 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

As you can tell there are lots of enthusiastic Azamara cruisers!  Looking at your itinerary and as ECCruise says, the Azamazing Evening if things are back to normal is most likely to be in Livorno. If it's at the Goldoni Theatre with the three tenors then that is a fun evening with the theatre to yourselves. I've also done one there with four female sopranos who were excellent too. 

 

Assuming White Nights are back on, most likely it will be Kotor if the weather cooperates. I've done one there and it's a stunning backdrop and part of it will be a slow sail out of the Bay of Kotor.  Beautiful!

 

If they bring David on in Venice as Riocca mentioned then it would be complete. 

 

Phil 

[Scubaaah]

19 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Nothing is certain, of course, but the chance of the Azamazing Evening (or what is replacing it through spring) happening on the last night are virtually zero.

If it is an Azamazing Night, likely in Livorno, at the Goldoni Theatre, which we loved.

Review here (not ours, BTW).

Thanks for the reply, that is good to know! Dear friends of ours are embarking on our ship for the very next itinerary out of Venice and we are meeting up with them for dinner. We would hate to miss either one, so whew!!! The Goldoni Theater evening sounds fabulous, thanks so much for sharing! 

[Scubaaah]

8 hours ago, Riocca said:

When we were overnight in Venice on Journey on the last night of the cruise Azamara brought onboard Italian tenor David Righeschi for a performance on deck.

As Azamara normally dock at San Basilio not the cruise terminal it’s an extremely atmospheric special event with Venice as the backdrop.

 

 

958E25DE-936C-46A9-AEA7-7E814B86F3E5.MOV 152.47 MB · 1 download

 

 

That must have been fantastic! Do you recall what time the performance started? Was it way after dinner? or before dinner? 

[Riocca]

22 minutes ago, Scubaaah said:

That must have been fantastic! Do you recall what time the performance started? Was it way after dinner? or before dinner? 

Yes, David is a regular on Azamara on Italian itineraries so we’ve seen him a few times but in Venice it’s something special. If the time on my camera was correct, and I usually make sure it is, it was a 9pm performance.

[Mackdogmolly]

11 hours ago, Riocca said:

When we were overnight in Venice on Journey on the last night of the cruise Azamara brought onboard Italian tenor David Righeschi for a performance on deck.

As Azamara normally dock at San Basilio not the cruise terminal it’s an extremely atmospheric special event with Venice as the backdrop.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the clip. My favorite opera!

we heard him on our Venice to Barcelona cruise too.

[Scubaaah]

Thank you all for your really helpful advice. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION on a different topic and this is about excursions. We've identified some of the excursions offered by AZ that we'd like to take vs. other operators. They are in our cart but if we "check out" do we have to pay for them now? Or do they get added to your final bill when the cruise ends? When we went on the Paul Gauguin we selected the excursions but we didn't have to pay for them until the final bill. Does AZ work the same way? Thanks again for any help.  

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, Scubaaah said:

Thank you all for your really helpful advice. I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION on a different topic and this is about excursions. We've identified some of the excursions offered by AZ that we'd like to take vs. other operators. They are in our cart but if we "check out" do we have to pay for them now? Or do they get added to your final bill when the cruise ends? When we went on the Paul Gauguin we selected the excursions but we didn't have to pay for them until the final bill. Does AZ work the same way? Thanks again for any help.  

When you check out, you have to pay for them now, either by CC or OBC.

You can always wait to book on the ship, hoping they are still available (usually but definitely not always) but putting them in your cart does nothing to reserve.

[marinaro44]

I like this process.  It discourages people from booking in advance every excursion they might possibly consider doing and then later canceling when they find a private tour or decide to explore on their own.  Paying when you book makes you put some skin into it.  Your payment goes back to your credit card or OBC account if you later decide to cancel...no big deal.

 

Also, this is another reason not to allow specialty restaurant reservations prior to boarding.

[bcaha]

I keep seeing dining options mentioned... Just wondering, on the evenings that the ship is in port till 10 pm do most people return to the ship for dinner or find a restaurant on land? thanks

[manc]

Most people appear to return to the ship.

 

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, bcaha said:

I keep seeing dining options mentioned... Just wondering, on the evenings that the ship is in port till 10 pm do most people return to the ship for dinner or find a restaurant on land? thanks

Lots of variables.

What is availability of restaurants outside?  How far are they from the dock? What is the general area like the port?  Varies a lot port by port.