Anybody onboard currently?

[audobon_tx]

29 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I am OK if people don’t like buffets…heck, most of the time I prefer to order exactly what I want.

 

However, some people are acting like buffets were eliminated due to green considerations, or demand, and this post is making the argument they never existed. I’ve eaten buffets on Silverseas and they were fantastic, and as far as I know is considered an upper tier brand.

 

https://www.shermanstravel.com/advice/10-best-cruise-ship-buffets#

 

Maybe this will help jog someone’s memory. I have not seen any scientific evidence that a breakfast or lunch buffet is safer or greener than a dinner buffet.

 

Didn't say "never existed" but SS, Regent, and Seabourn currently convert their buffet spaces at night.  Italian specialty restaurants on SS and Regent and themed dinners (see Azamara) on Seabourn.  Haven't been on Europa 2 or Scenic so I admit ignorance on that.  I do have 30 Azamara cruises under my belt though and buffets at night were generally lightly attended.  The best things about Windows at night were/are peace and quiet, supper in less than an hour, eating outside when available, and a general relaxed atmosphere vs. Discoveries.

[mdpa]

15 minutes ago, audobon_tx said:

 

Didn't say "never existed" but SS, Regent, and Seabourn currently convert their buffet spaces at night.  Italian specialty restaurants on SS and Regent and themed dinners (see Azamara) on Seabourn.  Haven't been on Europa 2 or Scenic so I admit ignorance on that.  I do have 30 Azamara cruises under my belt though and buffets at night were generally lightly attended.  The best things about Windows at night were/are peace and quiet, supper in less than an hour, eating outside when available, and a general relaxed atmosphere vs. Discoveries.

 

Completely understand and most of this wasn’t directed at you. I simply mentioned my interest in having access to buffets again, and got push back for all kinds of made up reasons. Personally, our family has generally chosen the nice dining experience of the main restaurant or specialties during the evening.

[nordski]

48 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I am OK if people don’t like buffets…heck, most of the time I prefer to order exactly what I want.

 

However, some people are acting like buffets were eliminated due to green considerations, or demand, and this post is making the argument they never existed. I’ve eaten buffets on Silverseas and they were fantastic, and as far as I know is considered an upper tier brand.

 

https://www.shermanstravel.com/advice/10-best-cruise-ship-buffets#

 

Maybe this will help jog someone’s memory. I have not seen any scientific evidence that a breakfast or lunch buffet is safer or greener than a dinner buffet.

I haven’t seen such scientific evidence about the Azamara breakfast or lunch buffet either, nor, for that matter, the White Night buffet.

But they weren’t the events that were being discussed. The comments referred specifically to the themed buffets held each evening in Windows.

 

No scientific evidence there either, just what we observed. Perhaps you have seen more participants than we have.

 

But. I am certain that management has the numbers to help carry out a rational analysis of any of the buffet experiences.

[marinaro44]

This article has the La Terrazza venue on Silversea serving buffet at breakfast and lunch  but becoming a sit-down restaurant at dinner.

 

 https://cruisereport.com/dining-reviews/la-terrazza-restaurant-on-silversea-silver-muse

 

Regent also does this, as did Crystal before it folded.  Seabourn, too.

[mdpa]

41 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

This article has the La Terrazza venue on Silversea serving buffet at breakfast and lunch  but becoming a sit-down restaurant at dinner.

 

 https://cruisereport.com/dining-reviews/la-terrazza-restaurant-on-silversea-silver-muse

 

Regent also does this, as did Crystal before it folded.  Seabourn, too.

 

Exactly, people have been comfortable using buffets on all levels of cruises for years. No pushback because of going green, or food safety,  or better experience.. The recent change was primarily related to COVID. I didn't change the subject. I only said that I look forward to the traditional buffet again...when and where it is appropriate.

 

Not sure why this perspective is so controversial.

[marinaro44]

I think the point people are making is that passengers on high-end cruise lines may prefer, or at least are accustomed to, sit-down dinners rather than traditional dinner buffets.  Covid may have been the primary reason for Azamara deciding to serve a plated dinner in Windows post-Covid, but other reasons (e.g., waste, health, passenger preference) may result in retaining the served dinner in the long run.  Fine by me, as long as it's served in the outdoor area.

[mdpa]

27 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

I think the point people are making is that passengers on high-end cruise lines may prefer, or at least are accustomed to, sit-down dinners rather than traditional dinner buffets.  Covid may have been the primary reason for Azamara deciding to serve a plated dinner in Windows post-Covid, but other reasons (e.g., waste, health, passenger preference) may result in retaining the served dinner in the long run.  Fine by me, as long as it's served in the outdoor area.

Yes, I fully understand. My issue is if actual usage or interest dictates the change, I am OK. It it is a few people trying to get the cruise line to conform because of their safety concerns then I am not OK with it. Especially when there will remain many variations of a buffet on most cruise ships going forward. Anyone that truly has an issue has other dining options.

 

White Night- OK, Breakfast- OK, Brunch- OK, Dinner- No, this will ruin the planet, places everyone in danger from germs, the food is cold, plus I don't like it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, mdpa said:

Yes, I fully understand. My issue is...

It's clear that you have an issue, but the ground keeps shifting.  You started by saying "I suspect the buffet will be coming back..." but every time anyone suggests another explanation you attack them.  Your posts seem like the real attempt to "get the cruise line to conform" to your point of view, more than anyone (or even everyone) else's posts in this thread.  I think you have beaten this sufficiently.  Please stop.

[les37b]

On 6/8/2022 at 10:38 PM, marinaro44 said:

This article has the La Terrazza venue on Silversea serving buffet at breakfast and lunch  but becoming a sit-down restaurant at dinner.

 

 https://cruisereport.com/dining-reviews/la-terrazza-restaurant-on-silversea-silver-muse

 

Regent also does this, as did Crystal before it folded.  Seabourn, too.

 

It always has been that way in La Terrazza.

 

Buffet not self serve, but was pre pandemic. Personally I prefer this. COVID isn't the only thing than can be spread.

Edited June 10, 2022 by les37b

[audobon_tx]

3 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Buffet not self serve, but was pre pandemic. Personally I prefer this. COVID isn't the only thing than can be spread.

 

Amen.  Common cold, the dreaded NOROVIRUS, et al.

[cruisefam38]

My colds are all dreadfully common, it is what makes them so easy to share. 

[mdpa]

Well, I am onboard and everyone is friendly and service is good. I would guess less than 3% of cruisers are wearing a mask.

 

One interesting thing I learned is that Azamara employees are not required to wear a mask outdoors. As a data point, the first employee I asked about his opinion on wearing a mask said he couldn’t wait to get rid of the mask requirement. Evidently views about masking are changing very quickly.

[mdpa]

One other observation from today. This morning while in Barcelona staying at the Cotton House Hotel, we enjoyed a self-serve buffet. I don’t remember any of the servers wearing masks.

 

A light lunch was available after our boarding in Windows with employees serving the food. I noticed the ice cream station near the pool was self-serve and also had a self-serve topping station.

 

I have not had a need to wear a mask at all for the flight from Dulles, our 2 taxi rides, or boarding the ship. A very refreshing change. 

[Rosroz]

I am not keen on buffets for my evening meal but I do enjoy eating outside where possible so making it a outdoor evening venue would be great. 

Relating to masks , the sooner they get rid of them in as many places as possible the better , ,never can quite understand why people wear them in the open air,  people still get COVID despite wearing masks , after all look at the Asian countries who have been wearing masks everywhere for years now ,mainly because of pollution , it didn’t stop them having a massive death toll with this virus.. It is something we need to accept like the common cold, flu, noravirus etc. Don’t agree with all this testing either. 
I appreciate this will not  bide well with some people and I’m sure there will be some replies on this subject .

[mdpa]

Beautiful weather in Valencia and Azamara provided free shuttles into town.

 

All the staff is engaged and I we’ve had no issues getting a drink. Most of the time I am approached about a drink before I get a chance to go over to the bar.

 

We had a very nice snack delivered to our CC room this afternoon. The larger space of the CC room is making a huge difference for 3 of us getting ready for dinner, and sadly may become the new normal for our family (means I spend more money).

 

No complaints so far and the passengers seem much more laid back than this forum would indicate! Everyone I talk with has been friendly and engaging. I do believe there may be more travel agents on this cruise than normal.

[mdpa]

No wonder service has been fantastic on this Spain Intensive cruise, it is better than a 1:1 ratio!

 

I am told 418 passengers and 470 crew are onboard. We had a great onboard event last night with a Flamenco themed show, followed by Karaoke. Seems like everyone is having a great time. We arrive into Cartagena this morning, current local time is 8:10AM.

 

Service has been very good at both specialty restaurants.

[andrcan]

One thing that pleasantly surprised me on board Azamara Pursuit last week was the good quality of included wines. It looks like before our cruise they restocked the cellars by Italian wines. Their Cabernet, Merlot and Nero d'Avola were well rounded and went quite well both with meals and on their own. Same goes for Rose, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. A few bottles I brought on board from my pre-cruise trip to Priorat and Montsant were spared. Well done!

[uktog]

41 minutes ago, andrcan said:

One thing that pleasantly surprised me on board Azamara Pursuit last week was the good quality of included wines. It looks like before our cruise they restocked the cellars by Italian wines. Their Cabernet, Merlot and Nero d'Avola were well rounded and went quite well both with meals and on their own. Same goes for Rose, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. A few bottles I brought on board from my pre-cruise trip to Priorat and Montsant were spared. Well done!

Interesting, not the Azamara labelled wine which has had some pretty bad reviews.  Sounds like this was a good solution

[marinaro44]

57 minutes ago, andrcan said:

One thing that pleasantly surprised me on board Azamara Pursuit last week was the good quality of included wines. It looks like before our cruise they restocked the cellars by Italian wines. Their Cabernet, Merlot and Nero d'Avola were well rounded and went quite well both with meals and on their own. Same goes for Rose, Riesling, and Sauvignon Blanc. A few bottles I brought on board from my pre-cruise trip to Priorat and Montsant were spared. Well done!

Have always enjoyed the Nero D'Avola.

[marinaro44]

We have friends on the June 29 Pursuit sailing.  Would appreciate someone on Pursuit posting the captain, hotel director and cruise director.  Thanks.

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

We have friends on the June 29 Pursuit sailing.  Would appreciate someone on Pursuit posting the captain, hotel director and cruise director.  Thanks.

From Azamara Reminiscing on Facebook:

 

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, Riocca said:

From Azamara Reminiscing on Facebook:

 

 

A friend currently onboard said Ernest was leaving after this cruise to join Celebrity

[Riocca]

15 minutes ago, uktog said:

 

A friend currently onboard said Ernest was leaving after this cruise to join Celebrity

Yes I did see a post about Ernest going to Celebrity Edge but it didn’t mention a replacement.

[marinaro44]

41 minutes ago, uktog said:

 

A friend currently onboard said Ernest was leaving after this cruise to join Celebrity

Really sorry to see this.

[uktog]

5 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Really sorry to see this.

I agree he was really good