Further reflections Azamara vs Viking

[lisiamc]

2 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

No Whispering Angel on Journey in january. They were empty of many other wines in the package as well. 

Oh no!  We’re on Onward, so they may never have had it at all.  Sniffle. 😢

[ddpe]

You know, I feel I was a bit harsh earlier this morning - at about 6 am.  We truly did enjoy the cruise, but we have such high expectations of Azamara.  All I said was true, but did not have any of the positives stated including:  Great 3 days in Seville up river, great service in the specialties and dining room, excellent dance band in Living Room, good excursions for us.  The laundry came back perfect (has been a problem on some cruise lines), and really great future cruise rep and photographer.  We also always love the Butler, Eyud.

[Mora_2022]

1 hour ago, oddjob16 said:

No Whispering Angel on Journey in january. They were empty of many other wines in the package as well. 

Kind of happy now that I'll be in the South of France for my cruise - if they are still empty I'll shop in the ports. But it seems like the Ultimate Package wouldn't be worth the money. Is that impression correct?

Edited April 21, 2022 by Mora_2022

[oddjob16]

51 minutes ago, Mora_2022 said:

Kind of happy now that I'll be in the South of France for my cruise - if they are still empty I'll shop in the ports. But it seems like the Ultimate Package wouldn't be worth the money. Is that impression correct?

It is very individual. If the wines are good, the price for the Ultimate Package might be worth it, - for us. We usually drink wine or beer, and have the occassional Gin Tonic. We did have the package a few days on our last cruise and decided it was not worth it since the wines was not what they were advertising. We even splurged on the high end Gins and discovered they were mixing it with the cheapest tonic, so it was a bit weird.

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

It is very individual. If the wines are good, the price for the Ultimate Package might be worth it, - for us. We usually drink wine or beer, and have the occassional Gin Tonic. We did have the package a few days on our last cruise and decided it was not worth it since the wines was not what they were advertising. We even splurged on the high end Gins and discovered they were mixing it with the cheapest tonic, so it was a bit weird.

dont start tonicgate.  

[marinaro44]

39 minutes ago, oddjob16 said:

It is very individual. If the wines are good, the price for the Ultimate Package might be worth it, - for us. We usually drink wine or beer, and have the occassional Gin Tonic. We did have the package a few days on our last cruise and decided it was not worth it since the wines was not what they were advertising. We even splurged on the high end Gins and discovered they were mixing it with the cheapest tonic, so it was a bit weird.

Fever Tree 4-packs were $1 at our local job lot store this week.  Indian, lemon or aromatic flavors.  Stocked up.  They went fast.

[lisiamc]

21 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Fever Tree 4-packs were $1 at our local job lot store this week.  Indian, lemon or aromatic flavors.  Stocked up.  They went fast.

I might possibly be the only person I know who doesn’t like Fever Tree!  Even their “Light” tonic is too sugary for me.

[Grandma Cruising]

56 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Fever Tree 4-packs were $1 at our local job lot store this week.  Indian, lemon or aromatic flavors.  Stocked up.  They went fast.

Wow! I bet you bought lots at that price.

[wjfan417]

5 hours ago, oddjob16 said:

No Whispering Angel on Journey in january. They were empty of many other wines in the package as well. 

They had it on the Quest earlier this month. Of course, we may have drunk all of it!

[laurieb]

3 hours ago, Mora_2022 said:

Kind of happy now that I'll be in the South of France for my cruise - if they are still empty I'll shop in the ports. But it seems like the Ultimate Package wouldn't be worth the money. Is that impression correct?

We like our champagne!  For us the champagne alone is worth it 🙂

[uktog]

16 minutes ago, laurieb said:

We like our champagne!  For us the champagne alone is worth it 🙂

Unfortunately they had run out of the advertised champagne last week.  The substitute was not of the same calibre.  Staff tried to argue it was better - they forget you can check bottle prices on Mr Google

[tiggertom]

48 minutes ago, laurieb said:

We like our champagne!  For us the champagne alone is worth it 🙂

What champagne do they serve? Thanks

[travelberlin]

4 hours ago, Mora_2022 said:

Kind of happy now that I'll be in the South of France for my cruise - if they are still empty I'll shop in the ports. But it seems like the Ultimate Package wouldn't be worth the money. Is that impression correct?

After reading the comments on this thread, I have also got the impression that we cannot expect much from the beverages packages from Azamara. I hope I am wrong. I do like good wine and champagne. I know we can bring our own wines onboard. Is it possible to take those wines to the restaurant for dinner?

Ivi
 

[uktog]

I’m afraid re the champagne this was an area I felt bar staff were pulling the wool over your eyes. I don’t blame the bar tender, I believe he was telling us what he was told to say and didn’t know any better. 
We normally had Nicolas Feuilatte on board which retails In the UK at about £26 a bottle. Failing that Domain Chandon we get for about £16.  The substitute —much better and more expensive we were assured was Henri Cachet, most usually found in Asda for £13.  It tasted ok but not premium.  
If they’d just said sorry we have run out, here is our substitute we would have thought ok so be it, it was the telling us it was far better that got me.  

[andrcan]

23 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

After reading the comments on this thread, I have also got the impression that we cannot expect much from the beverages packages from Azamara. I hope I am wrong. I do like good wine and champagne. I know we can bring our own wines onboard. Is it possible to take those wines to the restaurant for dinner?

Ivi
 

Yes, you can bring your wine to the restaurant; there's $10 corkage fee per bottle. 

 

Conveniently, I was planning going on a wine tour prior to the cruise...😏

[travelberlin]

12 minutes ago, uktog said:

I’m afraid re the champagne this was an area I felt bar staff were pulling the wool over your eyes. I don’t blame the bar tender, I believe he was telling us what he was told to say and didn’t know any better. 
We normally had Nicolas Feuilatte on board which retails In the UK at about £26 a bottle. Failing that Domain Chandon we get for about £16.  The substitute —much better and more expensive we were assured was Henri Cachet, most usually found in Asda for £13.  It tasted ok but not premium.  
If they’d just said sorry we have run out, here is our substitute we would have thought ok so be it, it was the telling us it was far better that got me.  

The Domain Chandon is not even champagne as far as I know. It is a good quality sparkling wine either from Argentina or Chile.

Ivi

[suttonrunner]

33 minutes ago, tiggertom said:

What champagne do they serve? Thanks

On my recent cruise  (Feb/March) it was mainly Taittinger and occasional bottles of Moet.  At times  the champagne was flat and also was sometimes served sparkling wine by mistake

[ChucktownSteve]

This thread is very disheartening. Our very best cruise of all time was on a Baltic Azamara cruise a few years ago.  This past December on Quest was ho hum at best.  No wow. Lots of things not stocked or had been changed.

 

I had hoped it was due to covid, but apparently that's not the real reason but an excuse.

Glad I didn't have a chance to book a hotel or air to Greece intensive next May.  We sprung for the top suite category at an obvious premium price.  I'm now wondering if I can switch it to a basic cruise in the Caribbean so I don't lose the deposit/penalty.

I think I'll take a serious look at other lines to explore the Greek islands.  I very much appreciated getting this information now instead of waiting until I had to experience it.  TY Ann. It must hurt to see your beloved cruise line sink below your expectations.

 

It appears what I feared would happen to Azamara when I heard of the sale to a hedge fund is happening.

Edited April 21, 2022 by ChucktownSteve

[Mackdogmolly]

4 hours ago, lisiamc said:

I might possibly be the only person I know who doesn’t like Fever Tree!  Even their “Light” tonic is too sugary for me.

I don’t like it either 

[les37b]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

It tasted ok but not premium.  
If they’d just said sorry we have run out, here is our substitute we would have thought ok so be it, it was the telling us it was far better that got me.  

It's a bit like telling you how lucky you are that COVID testing will no longer be free and you will be pleased to know you can pay a bargain $59 for a £1 test. Touch of the Delboy's I think!

[Mora_2022]

12 hours ago, travelberlin said:

The Domain Chandon is not even champagne as far as I know. It is a good quality sparkling wine either from Argentina or Chile.

Ivi

It's a sparkling wine from California ...if they try to serve that to me as Champagne I'll drag them by the ear into the next wine store in France and let the owner give them the well deserved lecture about the provenance of Champagne. 

[Mora_2022]

12 hours ago, suttonrunner said:

On my recent cruise  (Feb/March) it was mainly Taittinger and occasional bottles of Moet.  At times  the champagne was flat and also was sometimes served sparkling wine by mistake

I can live with Taittinger and Moet - and there is no chance it will go flat while I am on board 😆

[suttonrunner]

3 hours ago, Mora_2022 said:

It's a sparkling wine from California ...if they try to serve that to me as Champagne I'll drag them by the ear into the next wine store in France and let the owner give them the well deserved lecture about the provenance of Champagne. 

I think the bar staff may have got mixed up with 'Moet & Chandon' with 'Domaine Chandon'. I had to return my 'champagne'  a good few times for the real McCoy.  It's all in the bubbles!

[uktog]

29 minutes ago, suttonrunner said:

I think the bar staff may have got mixed up with 'Moet & Chandon' with 'Domaine Chandon'. I had to return my 'champagne'  a good few times for the real McCoy.  It's all in the bubbles!

Unfortunately, no mix up. Moët was never an option in The Den or Living Room. 

[suttonrunner]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Unfortunately, no mix up. Moët was never an option in The Den or Living Room. 

That's a shame for you. It was definitely there when I was on for my B2B Caribbean  in March this year  as I had it.  I must have drunk it all ! There was also some Bollinger too and a fabulous one as part of the French Chef table (wine Pairings).   

I hope they have replenished their stocks when I return in two weeks as champagne is my tipple of choice on holiday, one of the reasons why I choose the Ultimate Drinks Package with it being  quite expensive by the glass.