Continuing Review of Our First Time Azamara Experience Aboard the “Onward” TA, Lisbon to FLL Nov 18-30, 2023

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

A lot of Azamara’s procedures date back to what the Royal Caribbean software system could handle which was basically booking Shorex before boarding with OBC and/or money.

Possibly with the new software the facility to make speciality restaurants before boarding will be introduced sometime in the future but they currently have more important matters to deal with. We’ve never had a problem with the system but others obviously do, although those cruise lines that offer the facility usually do it in stateroom category order if Azamara follows suit given that suites have unlimited speciality dining it could put lower stateroom categories at a disadvantage over the current system.

On Viking everyone has unlimited dining in the two restaurants but its on a space by space basis so to that extent its like everyone is in a suite.  The suite perk is they get more pre boarding bookings but everyone gets at least one in each restaurant. Explora do not differentiate on your room type - all can prebook one in each venue.  So it could well work within the Azamara existing model.

 

[hamrag]

3 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

....My point is why can't that be done online pre cruise?....

Because Az don't allow it. If that's such an issue for you, book one of the lines who do! 😉

[excitedofharpenden]

52 minutes ago, hamrag said:

Because Az don't allow it. If that's such an issue for you, book one of the lines who do! 😉

It's a complete fuss over nothing. 

 

Phil 

[Traveling Fools]

14 hours ago, hamrag said:

Because Az don't allow it. If that's such an issue for you, book one of the lines who do! 😉

 

No need to be snarky.  This is an on-going review and I am only citing one issue this "boutique" line should address.  An issue some newbie Az cruiser might like to know about.  Others (Az flag wavers) are responsible for making an it "such and issue".

 

13 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's a complete fuss over nothing. 

 

Phil 

 

Very true.

[Riocca]

Personally I prefer the current system, with Azamara there are so many things that can affect the choices of which nights to book. Things like the AzAmazing Evening, White Nights and availability of Chefs Tables, some of these things are only finalised in the pre cruise staff meeting so aren’t available pre cruise when people are trying to book. Just imagine the amount of questions that would be asked, when’s white night and what nights are the chefs tables and which ones, all these things are available at the booking desk onboard.

It also allows those who aren’t internet and tech savvy who don’t participate in CC and other forums to have simple access with staff who can give guidance.

[hamrag]

4 hours ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

No need to be snarky.  This is an on-going review and I am only citing one issue this "boutique" line should address.  An issue some newbie Az cruiser might like to know about.  Others (Az flag wavers) are responsible for making an it "such and issue".

My comment certainly was not intended as snarky! Unsure who the Az flag wavers are, but we have 55 cruises across 16 cruiselines....soon to be 58 across 18. We are not loyal to any cruiselines, and flag wavers for none! We choose for itinerary and experience, simply taking each cruiseline as we find them.

[Traveling Fools]

4 hours ago, Riocca said:

Personally I prefer the current system, with Azamara there are so many things that can affect the choices of which nights to book. Things like the AzAmazing Evening, White Nights and availability of Chefs Tables, some of these things are only finalised in the pre cruise staff meeting so aren’t available pre cruise when people are trying to book. Just imagine the amount of questions that would be asked, when’s white night and what nights are the chefs tables and which ones, all these things are available at the booking desk onboard.

It also allows those who aren’t internet and tech savvy who don’t participate in CC and other forums to have simple access with staff who can give guidance.

 

Good points.

[Whitby100]

As someone who never books above verandah we appreciate the egalitarian nature of Azamara dining bookings.  We’d be disappointed if we were shunted to the end of the queue. In fact, the lack of stuffiness is a huge draw for us to Azamara.  In the shared spaces on board there is no distinction between cabin category and we enjoy that.  On our last cruise we met newcomers to Azamara and they remarked how much they enjoyed the equality aspect over previous cruises.

[Traveling Fools]

17 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

As someone who never books above verandah we appreciate the egalitarian nature of Azamara dining bookings.  We’d be disappointed if we were shunted to the end of the queue. In fact, the lack of stuffiness is a huge draw for us to Azamara.  In the shared spaces on board there is no distinction between cabin category and we enjoy that.  On our last cruise we met newcomers to Azamara and they remarked how much they enjoyed the equality aspect over previous cruises.

 

Your response puzzles me.

 

If bookings for any on board event were available on line, any passenger, regardless of cabin status, would be able to make them before boarding.  If you are concerned that suite passengers permitted to book days before non-suite passengers will slight you from being able to book your dinning options, it is no different than bookings being restricted to time of boarding.  Suite passengers are given priority boarding privileges, meaning they will have first crack of making those bookings when they board.  That means nothing regarding dinning bookings changes.

 

Further, if your are concerned that suite passengers will eat up all available and/or choice dinning options...you need to reconsider your thoughts.  Unless my math (old math🙂) is wrong, there are only 12 suites that qualify for early dinning bookings.  Even if there were 4 passengers in each suite you are talking about 7% of the passengers onboard, or 12 tables (in regality 2 per suite or about 3%).  Considering the different dinning options available onboard and relative seating times, it is very unlikely that early dinning bookings by suite passengers, regardless if made on line or onboard, would adversely affect the ability of non-suite passengers to book their preferred restaurant.

 

However, retaining the current system will give you legs up over other non-suite passengers who don't follow CC and are unaware of current dinning booking protocols. 

 

Finally in this regard, other factors have a much greater effect on dinning preference bookings.  These include: sea days vs days in port, White Night, and AzAmazing Evening, etc.

 

18 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

In fact, the lack of stuffiness is a huge draw for us to Azamara.  In the shared spaces on board there is no distinction between cabin category and we enjoy that.  On our last cruise we met newcomers to Azamara and they remarked how much they enjoyed the equality aspect over previous cruises.

 

What does this have to do with booking dinning reservations on line, or anything else in this ongoing review?

 

This thread is my ongoing review of my first experience with Azamara.  Something perhaps people considering cruising Az with find helpful.  If after our cruise we share the same feeling as you in this regard, I will incorporate those thoughts into my overall review.

 

In the mean time, please enjoy cruising with Az.

[Whitby100]

My apologies - I was just offering a thought or two, having cruised with AZ five times with another booked.  No offence intended. 

Edited October 31, 2023 by Whitby100

[Grandma Cruising]

45 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

Your response puzzles me.

 

If bookings for any on board event were available on line, any passenger, regardless of cabin status, would be able to make them before boarding.  If you are concerned that suite passengers permitted to book days before non-suite passengers will slight you from being able to book your dinning options, it is no different than bookings being restricted to time of boarding.  Suite passengers are given priority boarding privileges, meaning they will have first crack of making those bookings when they board.  That means nothing regarding dinning bookings changes.

 

Further, if your are concerned that suite passengers will eat up all available and/or choice dinning options...you need to reconsider your thoughts.  Unless my math (old math🙂) is wrong, there are only 12 suites that qualify for early dinning bookings.  Even if there were 4 passengers in each suite you are talking about 7% of the passengers onboard, or 12 tables (in regality 2 per suite or about 3%).  Considering the different dinning options available onboard and relative seating times, it is very unlikely that early dinning bookings by suite passengers, regardless if made on line or onboard, would adversely affect the ability of non-suite passengers to book their preferred restaurant.

 

However, retaining the current system will give you legs up over other non-suite passengers who don't follow CC and are unaware of current dinning booking protocols. 

 

Finally in this regard, other factors have a much greater effect on dinning preference bookings.  These include: sea days vs days in port, White Night, and AzAmazing Evening, etc.

 

 

What does this have to do with booking dinning reservations on line, or anything else in this ongoing review?

 

This thread is my ongoing review of my first experience with Azamara.  Something perhaps people considering cruising Az with find helpful.  If after our cruise we share the same feeling as you in this regard, I will incorporate those thoughts into my overall review.

 

In the mean time, please enjoy cruising with Az.

A couple of thoughts - 

- the date of white night is not known until you board, so booking before you board means you can’t be sure to avoid it

- priority boarding is officially for all suite passengers and for all those with a loyalty level of Discoverer or above, so that’s a large number of passengers, much more than 7%,  who would might be able to make ‘priority’ dining bookings.

 

[Traveling Fools]

21 hours ago, Whitby100 said:

My apologies - I was just offering a thought or two, having cruised with AZ five times with another booked.  No offence intended. 

 

None taken

[Mackdogmolly]

On 10/29/2023 at 2:58 PM, uktog said:

Not quite, both Explora and Viking do your restaurant reservations ahead of boarding if you wish. Limited obviously and you will then add more if you want when onboard

Certainly makes for a much more relaxed embarkation on Viking and I understand it will be the same on Explora 

You can book your Chefs Tables ahead of time on Viking. Unfortunately, you can’t see the theme you are booking ahead of time! So when you get onboard, you still have to queue up to see if it is one that suits and if not, try to find another date and time for one that does. 

[uktog]

54 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

You can book your Chefs Tables ahead of time on Viking. Unfortunately, you can’t see the theme you are booking ahead of time! So when you get onboard, you still have to queue up to see if it is one that suits and if not, try to find another date and time for one that does. 

We were able to see the options on screen on our room TV. As it happened we were happy with that menu so we made no change. We decided to book two more and went about 5pm. No line and no problem getting slots. So works for some but not others. I think it helps that they can do over 100 chef table covers a night and they repeat the same table for 3-4 nights 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

We were able to see the options on screen on our room TV. As it happened we were happy with that menu so we made no change. We decided to book two more and went about 5pm. No line and no problem getting slots. So works for some but not others. I think it helps that they can do over 100 chef table covers a night and they repeat the same table for 3-4 nights 

Yes, surprisingly, there were lots of openings for Chefs Tables over the course of the cruise. The Italian restaurant was booked solid though 

[Riocca]

1 minute ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Yes, surprisingly, there were lots of openings for Chefs Tables over the course of the cruise. The Italian restaurant was booked solid though 

We’ve only done one Viking Ocean cruise back in 2019 but we had the same experience, it was impossible to get extra bookings in the Italian restaurant over those that could be pre booked with the stateroom. There were also often 45 minutes wait for the main restaurant but you could always get into the Chefs Table even as a walk up. We thought it was a great concept especially as they rotated the menu often and we could try things we wouldn’t normally choose from a menu, we did hear a few complaints that the portion size was insufficient but it was fine for us.

[uktog]

Agree portion size is great. We also did a cooking class based on one of the menus and it was clear there were very good ingredients used. 
 

Maybe we’ve been lucky on our Viking cruises (including last one that sailed virtually full) that we got several extra bookings in Manfredi. But we were eating at 8 not 6.30 

Edited November 2, 2023 by uktog

[Mackdogmolly]

I kept checking availability on the app and Manfredis was always booked solid. We never experienced a very long wait in the main dining room no matter what the hour

[Traveling Fools]

With 4 days left before we fly out of Miami to begin our quest in Morocco and Lisbon, DW and are getting excited!  We remembered the silent disco on X's Millennium and started laughing.  For those who have never seen or participated in it, it is a real hoot for both observer and participant.

 

For observers...you stumble on this scene of people moving around in what appears to be dancing. Arms are flaying, heads are bobbing, legs are shuffling....But there is no noise or music. AND, the participants are absorbed with one another and not really paying attention to those around them.  We laughed our >>>>> off!  Then we were give ear pods and instructed on how to select the type of music we wanted to hear and dance to. 

 

We then became not only participants, but also observers.  It is a funny watching the reaction of people who stumble onto the scene as it is for those who are watching and don't know what's going on!

 

I don't know if Az does the Silent Disco.  We sure hope so!

[uktog]

8 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

With 4 days left before we fly out of Miami to begin our quest in Morocco and Lisbon, DW and are getting excited!  We remembered the silent disco on X's Millennium and started laughing.  For those who have never seen or participated in it, it is a real hoot for both observer and participant.

 

For observers...you stumble on this scene of people moving around in what appears to be dancing. Arms are flaying, heads are bobbing, legs are shuffling....But there is no noise or music. AND, the participants are absorbed with one another and not really paying attention to those around them.  We laughed our >>>>> off!  Then we were give ear pods and instructed on how to select the type of music we wanted to hear and dance to. 

 

We then became not only participants, but also observers.  It is a funny watching the reaction of people who stumble onto the scene as it is for those who are watching and don't know what's going on!

 

I don't know if Az does the Silent Disco.  We sure hope so!

I’m afraid you’re going to be very disappointed. Silent disco is certainly not an Azamara thing. Basically nothing you see on Celebrity is 😀

[Traveling Fools]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

Silent disco is certainly not an Azamara thing.

 

Oh well, life goes on!

[hamrag]

35 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

......I don't know if Az does the Silent Disco.  We sure hope so!

 

🤸‍♂️🤸‍♀️ 😱

[Traveling Fools]

9 minutes ago, hamrag said:

 

🤸‍♂️🤸‍♀️ 😱

 

We seriously thought it was a Candid Camera stunt.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Traveling Fools

[djasinsk]

On 10/31/2023 at 10:33 AM, Traveling Fools said:

 

 

This thread is my ongoing review of my first experience with Azamara.  Something perhaps people considering cruising Az with find helpful.  If after our cruise we share the same feeling as you in this regard, I will incorporate those thoughts into my overall review.

 

In the mean time, please enjoy cruising with Az.

Just off pursuit.  The main dining room is great.  Did one specialty night at Aqualina.  IMO the only reason it gets full is bc the suite passengers get it for free and dine there every night to “get their moneys worth”.  There were only a few non suite passengers who used the speciality more than once or twice. 
It’s better yes, but for most just not needed to have good food and good service. 

[excitedofharpenden]

14 hours ago, djasinsk said:

Just off pursuit.  The main dining room is great.  Did one specialty night at Aqualina.  IMO the only reason it gets full is bc the suite passengers get it for free and dine there every night to “get their moneys worth”.  There were only a few non suite passengers who used the speciality more than once or twice. 
It’s better yes, but for most just not needed to have good food and good service. 

I don't think it's fair to say that. If you have paid for a suite and are able to dine every night in the Specialty Restaurants why wouldn't you?  I also think in reality it doesn't happen very often that suite guests are in Aqualina or Prime C every night what with White Night, Azamazing Evenings and themed buffets, not to mention more casual dining in Windows and The Patio. And I've never had an issue getting seated in the Specialties whether in a suite or not. If I'm in a suite I definitely don't dine in them every night "to get my monies worth" as you put it. 

 

Phil