Anybody onboard currently?

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

And as for their obsession with garnishing everything with nuts -

And it’s not like nut allergies are all that uncommon!

[Benthayer Gonbak]

3 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Agree. For awhile, it seemed to me that out in the world cilantro was in every dish. And my DH and I are among those for whom it tastes very unpleasant.

 

I remember that!  Not my favorite either.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

And as for their obsession with garnishing everything with nuts -  even DHs favourite lemon meringue tarts had to go off limits in September.  One lunch time he was reduced to Jello or ice cream for dessert.... he felt like he was back in baby school.  

 

Evenings were equally bad. Veg now have to added slivers of almonds.  

 

I was a little disappointed the maitre d response was to default to we would prefer you to pre order everything.  One of the things we liked about Azamara previously was that we did not need to do that, we could work around their regular menus so long as some one knew what was in each dish and could guide us.  He's always struggled with knowing tonight what he will want to eat tomorrow

 

The chefs obsession with "textures" and particularly nuts has been a yuk for us.

 

 

 

I tried preordering and they still wait until you show up to make it!  I gave up and used to be able to navigate most menus or just ask for sauces to be left off.  
 

For nuts though that gets tough.  Had a colleague who was highly allergic.  She ordered a strawberry dessert, mostly, and a crisp shell it was in.  The waiter said there were no nuts but when I bit into it I told her not to eat it.  I wasn’t sure what I was tasting but eventually the waiter came back and said it had almond paste in it, as I recall.  
 

On another occasion a group of us were at lunch when her eyes got puff.  She got home quickly but ended up having to call an ambulance for herself.  She had extra meds at home, and an epicenter with her.    
 

I had someone in a beef house tell me the steak didn’t have any sugar in the sauce.  It had been marinaded in ketchup.  No you couldn’t taste it but I reacted to it!  There are a lot of things that have unsuspected hidden things in them, like gluten in some vinegars etc.  (my step mother is a celiac sufferer)   What often makes sauces shiny is sugar even when the sauce isn’t sweet!  

 

 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

1 hour ago, Roel94 said:

Ann, for the record I have been on three ships..not JR..in 2022 Abd going back on Onward. One of my special orders on Quest was the old cheese soufflé and I eat it as a main. It was different every time. Always had in Prime C. Felt like different people made it.

 

on Pursuit I had Agung make it twice.Blew me away.it was perfect but made his way. Also got my hands in black truffle that he used on pasta. Again great.

 

but when I order from the menu a veggie dish and it Asian and no flavor etc I question it. Favorite is tofu with friend rice.one person one time.

 

I have no serious allergeries but those peppers are awful for my stomach. I gave up years ago the salmon burger at pool grill as I could not find out what was in it but it upset my stomach. At that point we had two ships and wonder how they all were the same. Turkey burger going downhill.

 

Will look on Onward in veggies for nuts ..now I will be looking for them..yet to see in Prime C

 

 

Our first Azamara was a  B3B.  There was a tiramisu on the no sugar added. It was the first time I had had and it was when it was everyone’s favorite.  On the 3rd cruise it came out totally different in appearance and taste.  I asked the waiter what happened and was told they changed pastry chef.  All I could say was “no kidding”!  
 

on Celebrity it was the chicken pot pie.  All three were totally  different and even in different size bowls  The first one wasn’t even a ceramic bowl!  

[tgg]

3 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Agree. For awhile, it seemed to me that out in the world cilantro was in every dish. And my DH and I are among those for whom it tastes very unpleasant.

 

Cilantro tastes like soap to me.  My husband loves it.

[Mackdogmolly]

17 minutes ago, tgg said:

 

Cilantro tastes like soap to me.  My husband loves it.

Exactly, soap. Yuk.

[Stem to Stern]

5 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

And it’s not like nut allergies are all that uncommon!

Also some people are not allergic, but they do not like having nut pieces stuck in their teeth throughout the meal.

[Roel94]

5 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

Our first Azamara was a  B3B.  There was a tiramisu on the no sugar added. It was the first time I had had and it was when it was everyone’s favorite.  On the 3rd cruise it came out totally different in appearance and taste.  I asked the waiter what happened and was told they changed pastry chef.  All I could say was “no kidding”!  
 

on Celebrity it was the chicken pot pie.  All three were totally  different and even in different size bowls  The first one wasn’t even a ceramic bowl!  

I miss so many things ling removed from menus. Yes, menus need an update but learn what people like and leave it. I love coconut friend shrimp.It was once on a starter menu with a crab cake and a 3D item. I use to get a salad and the shrimp as a main. Easy adjustment . But then it all went away. Same with the best sides in 2020 to I think 2012 or so. 
 

oh to me pre order is to hace the food there to fire up as I do not want to sit down and  eat, 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Is there an internet equivalent of TLDR [too long, didn't read] for "too many typos, couldn't make sense"?

[Benthayer Gonbak]

4 hours ago, Roel94 said:

I miss so many things ling removed from menus. Yes, menus need an update but learn what people like and leave it. I love coconut friend shrimp.It was once on a starter menu with a crab cake and a 3D item. I use to get a salad and the shrimp as a main. Easy adjustment . But then it all went away. Same with the best sides in 2020 to I think 2012 or so. 
 

oh to me pre order is to hace the food there to fire up as I do not want to sit down and  eat, 

Agreed, but I still was being told that they were still making something.  Not so much on Azamara I guess.  

[Port Power]

As someone with coeliac disease, I am very used to ordering the night before.  That way a menu dish can be made to suit.  I definitely don’t expect the meal to be precooked and instant delivery; that would be horrible.  I have always enjoyed meals on Azamara in the past, and hope next month I will be enjoying meals again.  I don’t mind pre-ordering at all.  
 

If I decide on the night that I want to go to Windows instead, I can still have my pre-ordered meal served there, or I can work around the buffet ingredients without a precooked meal being wasted.

[lisiamc]

18 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Can anyone on Onward currently verify if Windows Cafe is back to buffet fro dinner instead of the themed sit down and be served dinners that we once had?

Thanks.

We are on Onward, on the second leg of a b2b, as I write this, and there is a themed, self-serve buffet in Windows at night. We went to the Indian buffet on the last cruise, and it was possibly even more delicious than the last time we had it, pre-Covid. Because guest numbers are low on this cruise, the Patio Grill is not open at night, only for lunch.

[marinaro44]

Thanks.  Glad to hear Windows is back to themed buffets.

[uktog]

I must admit our preference was for the evening themed offerings in windows to be served à la carte. I found that more convenient than for me than having to jump up and down between courses to get my next helping of food.

 

However, I recognise that was not the view of others.  It will be interesting to see how this shapes out on Onward and we will certainly try windows one night but for us not the Indian night because that is allergy central!! 
 

Given that it is reported from b2b guests that our cruise will be sailing at near to capacity and in warmer weather,  I really do hope that the patio is open in the evening from Day 2 as that will give us the ideal compromise.

[Roel94]

I heard  Dec 12th was not full but others were.

I am not a huge buffet person but unlike Ann loved Indian Night. My problem with the plated food I was getting things I do not eat with Buttered Chicken. There are three or four dishes I like and I go back if hungry.  Same for a couple other themes. Found the food plate or I jump up never hot enough but at least I got what I liked.

[uktog]

The plated option was from a table d hote menu that you ordered from.  They also had plated samples at the counters you could look at before ordering.  It also had the advantage it was also always lovely and hot when served to you.  But so be it, if we are back to buffets thats how it is, like all things it will work for some and not for others

[Grandma Cruising]

The Patio was open at night on our recent Quest cruise, which was full.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

11 hours ago, Port Power said:

As someone with coeliac disease, I am very used to ordering the night before.  That way a menu dish can be made to suit.  I definitely don’t expect the meal to be precooked and instant delivery; that would be horrible.  I have always enjoyed meals on Azamara in the past, and hope next month I will be enjoying meals again.  I don’t mind pre-ordering at all.  
 

If I decide on the night that I want to go to Windows instead, I can still have my pre-ordered meal served there, or I can work around the buffet ingredients without a precooked meal being wasted.

I really don’t want some things Pre made, but ice cream and bread would be nice not to wait for!  if I recall correctly it was soup I asked to be modified.  Marinaded seems to not have been done either.  I’m good to negotiate that a different quick sauce be used instead.  
 

Years back, I attended a mushroom risotto demo at Prime C.  It takes about 20 minutes to make risotto so they cook it about 10 minutes, early.  The chef said that way we weren’t waiting 20 minutes for rice.

[Roel94]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

The plated option was from a table d hote menu that you ordered from.  They also had plated samples at the counters you could look at before ordering.  It also had the advantage it was also always lovely and hot when served to you.  But so be it, if we are back to buffets thats how it is, like all things it will work for some and not for others

I did have the later option but had to have two plates to get what I wanted to eat. Found some serving to big or to small depending on what it is.

fish and chips is awful at a buffet..never hot but I could eat the cold chicken.sometimes I want a baby taste to try something new.

[kool kruiser]

22 hours ago, uktog said:

I must admit our preference was for the evening themed offerings in windows to be served à la carte. I found that more convenient than for me than having to jump up and down between courses to get my next helping of food.

 

However, I recognise that was not the view of others.  It will be interesting to see how this shapes out on Onward and we will certainly try windows one night but for us not the Indian night because that is allergy central!! 
 

Given that it is reported from b2b guests that our cruise will be sailing at near to capacity and in warmer weather,  I really do hope that the patio is open in the evening from Day 2 as that will give us the ideal compromise.

Our recent cruise on Onward had about 570-580 passengers. Good news, the Patio was open in the evening, although not on embarkation day.

[Cruizer Diana]

9 hours ago, kool kruiser said:

Our recent cruise on Onward had about 570-580 passengers. Good news, the Patio was open in the evening, although not on embarkation day.

A friend just emailed and expressed confusion about testing for boarding in Miami. The boarding docs say testing before boarding is required, but the website says no testing--except for a handful of ports. We had the same situation in Amsterdam in September and there was no pre-boarding testing--as the website said.

 

I hate to even consider that we will be returning to the old protocols. My question is: Would you ask the current Onward crew if they anticipate pre-boarding testing to be required in the near future? Masking? 

 

Thank you!  Diana

[uktog]

In the case of masking I think for the next year I will always pack masks just in case. The need to wear a mask can always be brought back temporarily if need be 

 

Our documentation makes no reference to testing and we will be arriving at the terminal with no test results 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Cruizer Diana said:

A friend just emailed and expressed confusion about testing for boarding in Miami. The boarding docs say testing before boarding is required, but the website says no testing--except for a handful of ports. We had the same situation in Amsterdam in September and there was no pre-boarding testing--as the website said.

 

I hate to even consider that we will be returning to the old protocols. My question is: Would you ask the current Onward crew if they anticipate pre-boarding testing to be required in the near future? Masking? 

 

Thank you!  Diana

The boarding document has never been updated. Ignore it. 

[Cruizer Diana]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The boarding document has never been updated. Ignore it. 

Jazzbeau,

Thank you for your advice. I always appreciate your experience and recommendations.

We will ignore the testing requirement on the US passenger boarding document. 

[Roel94]

1 hour ago, Cruizer Diana said:

Jazzbeau,

Thank you for your advice. I always appreciate your experience and recommendations.

We will ignore the testing requirement on the US passenger boarding document. 

That was changed about two months ago. I was in the last groups in europe this summer that  needed testing,AU,NZ and all of asia still does.could change tomorrow