Literary Lynne

That's great to hear. I am also booked on the 5-12 May 2018 France and Spain cruise from Southampton.:)

Thank you Sea Dog-46. That is all very interesting to learn.

I have just booked the cruise on Saphire from Southampton - Guernsey, La Coruna, Le Verdun, Bilbao and back to Southampton in May 2018. Very excited not only because we haven't visited any of those ports previously but also to be sailing on a Princess ship.

Regards

Lynne:)

So pleased to see all the positive comments about Saphire. I am going to call my travel agent in the morning and book our first cruise with Princess.

Thank you

Lynne :)

Hi All

I have never sailed with Princess before - usually Azamara or Celebrity, but am interested in a cruise from Southampton in May 2018. I can see that Saphire is due to go into drydock for some upgrading in March 2018 but cannot find what work is to be done. Does anyone know please?

Also, there are very few Saphire reviews and the ones I can find are mostly from her extensive sailing in Asia and seem to focus on the destination. Can anyone who has sailed on her tell me a little more about her general style, ambiance etc.

Thank you

Lynne :)

Agree that May/June or Sep/Oct are best for the Greek islands. Have just returned from Crete (7-14 Oct). Weather was a perfect 25-27 degrees in the daytime and evenings around 21 degrees. No rain but occasionally windy. Everything was open but owners of restaurants were saying that they shut up shop at the end of October.

Lynne

Can anyone tell me what the prices are for the different alcoholic drinks packages please?

Thank you

Lynne:)

So very sorry to hear about your loss. I can imagine how appreciative you must have felt to have received the roses. What a lovely, caring gesture.

Best wishes

Lynne

Not wishing to be a party pooper but just to let you know what happened when we found that we were on Quest with just 50 other independent cruisers and over 500 who were booked through a charter.

• There was no White Night evening and no mention of it.
  

• The food was definitely a few steps down from our previous experiences on Azamara - not sure if they were catering to a particular budget that the charter had paid for.
  

• As the charter company organised their own lectures for their guests, there were very few others provided by Azamara.
  

• There was little chance of chatting to people in the lounges before dinner etc as folk on the charter would gather in their own groups and in fact the seating in the lounge just outside Discoveries restaurant was rearranged into big groups of chairs and taken over by the big groups. I don't think we ever found a seat there.
  

• An effect of the charter group's intensive programme of early morning and late evening classes and lectures, combined with their packed daily itinerary, was that their participants were mostly tired by mid evening and so the entertainment provided by Azamara was poorly attended, including the disco, of course. One evening the entertainer moved the 15 or so guests to the front seats and he did his act on the floor instead of the stage.
  

I personally wouldn't sail on a cruise if I knew that a charter was taking over most of the ship.

We cruised on Azamara Quest from Athens around the Med last year during the last week of October/first week of November and there was no White Night at all. The weather was not ideal for holding it on deck but nothing was held indoors either. :(

Lynne

 

Just a Silversea cruise and Vegas to sort out first. :)

Hope you will write a Silversea v Azamara comparison Lottie (please).

Lynne:)

Don't see many comments about interior cabins. We've always booked balconies, but the ship is getting pricier every year and there is a port-intensive itinerary I'd like to take with a considerable savings for an interior. This cabin, close to the infirmary, is available...and seems to look a little larger than the other interior cabins. No comments have been made about the interiors on the 4th deck. Anyone have any info? And has anyone any advice about taking an interior cabin, in general? I am spoiled by Azamara and wonder if I could handle a little claustrophobia for the pleasure of another voyage. Thanks for any help!

Hi Syam

Here was my review of 4034. The room is extremely large and I would certainly choose it again.

We had an inside room this time - 4034, which is wheelchair accessible, midships on deck 4. It was a huge room with a very large bathroom. The shower could fit 3-4 people standing, so no clingy shower curtain this time. The shower could be in the normal, overhead position, hand held or directed at waist level downwards. The basin could be raised or lowered to accommodate a wheelchair, so it was all very well equipped for wheelchair users. Due to its position, this room is great if the seas are rough. Very quiet with little motion, near to Guest Relations and the Medical Centre and one floor up to the Mosaics cafe, Discoveries Restaurant, shops and Cabaret lounge.

I think I would always sign up and go to the event. We went to Ephesus but as it was raining, the event - a short classical concert with drinks but no nibbles, was held in a concert venue on the site. It was well handled and back on board afterwards there was a really lovely buffet available.

Lynne :)

On our cruise last October, there wasn't a White Night party at all. No mention of why there wasn't one either. Disappointed!:(

I wondered if it was because the cruise was mostly sold out to a big group.

Lynne

I was probably one of those folk who you refer to as noting that the food wasn't wonderful. We were on board Quest from 23 October to 1 November last year and although we were independent travellers, I understand that over 500 others on board were all part of a large group. On our previous cruises with Azamara we had absolutely raved about the wonderful food but the truth is that this time it was all just mediocre.

I wondered if the amount the chefs had to play with was less than usual because of the large group booking, although I don't know, of course - just trying to work out why it was so different to our previous experience.

Someone on a cruise just after ours commented on some of the dishes on the menu and I thought that if those mentioned had been offered when we were on board, then I would have chosen them, but I'm sure they weren't. Again, was it a different, pared down, menu on our cruise?

I know that some things were definitely cut back on, eg, no White Night Party.

I love Azamara and would sail with them again, at the drop of a hat, but I would need to convince myself that there wasn't a large group on board, but how you ascertain that when you book, I don't know.

Lynne :)

That's very interesting news. Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks for posting.

Lynne :)

Great thread!

I loved reading Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone when cruising from New York up to Quebec. The scene when the protagonist comes eye to eye with a beached whale at Cape Cod still stays with me.

Two other favourites are:

Victoria Hislop's The Island (about Spinalonga, the leper colony off Crete)

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's Shadow of the Wind (set around the Cemetery of Forgotten Books in Barcelona).

Keep suggesting please..

Lynne :)

That is really good to hear. Well done Azamara.

Lynne :)

Hi Bonnie

Although I don't know how to do a screen shot, here is the information that showed for me (from the UK) on the Edit Membership page of Le Club Voyage. I cut and paste it below:

Please update your Le Club Voyage membership information.

There was no drop-down menu.

We are sorry, Edit Membership is only allowed for United States guests.

Lynne :(

Hi Phil

Glad that you are having such a wonderful time. My review of our recent cruise on Quest has just been published on CC, in the Review section. I reported on an immaculate Quest, in great condition. The only signs of wear that we saw was, unfortunately and greatly surprisingly, the brand new deck furniture. When the lovely pads were removed in the evenings we noticed that the mesh that forms the base was already torn on several sunbeds.

Look forward to following you on your journey.

Have a great time!

Lynne :)

I don't mind how many I receive as long as they are short, to the point and contain important announcements or more especially, enticing offers.

I just got off Quest and now have the post holiday blues, so please send me a great offer very soon!

Lynne:)

Disembarked on Saturday 1 November and returned home to find survey in my inbox. All done and dusted!

Lynne:)

Room 4034, Inside 12, on Quest

Deck 4, midship, so great position if the seas are rough.

Accessible room which was very large with lots of space in the room and a huge bathroom to accommodate a wheelchair, if necessary. No problem with clingy shower curtain as the shower would accommodate three people standing (not that it ever did, of course!). Limited storage space in bathroom - just a large mirrored bathroom cabinet above basin. The basin can be lowered or raised to accommodate a wheelchair. The shower can be accessed in the normal overhead position, hand-held or as a mixer tap at waist level.

Sail date: October-November 2014

Choose Again? - Definitely, if we were to choose an inside room again.

Noise? - None at all

Wow - you have all been busy reporting your own experiences here since I've been away on the wonderful Quest.

Happy to say that we made our trip to Athens with BA very well. The flight was only delayed by a couple of hours in the end. It was an interesting cruise and I'll report back on it very soon. There was a very large group on board of almost 500 and around 50 independent travellers, of which we were 2 (if the figures we were told were true).

Thanks everyone for your good wishes and great advice. We heard onboard the Quest some stories of protracted air journeys organised as part of the complete Azamara cruise/air package and guests saying that they would book their own flights next time.

Lynne :)

Thank goodness we booked our flight to Athens a day before the cruise begins. We just heard from British Airways that due to Greek Air Traffic Controllers our flight is being delayed.

Let's hope it is just delayed and not cancelled. At least we have a day's grace if it is.

:( Lynne

Thank you Sleep7 - So sad when your review came to an end! I loved your style of reporting and your pics. Your happiness is contagious.

Did you see anything of Roses? I know you docked there but went on the fascinating excursion. It was the first place I ever visited abroad. I was 14yrs old and went with my parents in the 60s. It was called Rosas then. I keep looking at next May's cruise which calls there, wondering whether to book it.

Glad your return journey was stress-free.

Lynne :)