CynthiaP

On 4/20/2024 at 6:28 PM, oceanpark said:

I booked Buenos Airs to Bridgetown in February and am having second thoughts about this cruise.  I would love to hear from anyone who has cruised on the Amazon and their experiences with regard to the ports, shore excursions and the amount of bugs as it will be the rainy season.  I have been on safari in the rainy season and experienced lots of bugs and want to be prepared.  It’s interesting that Azamara isn’t offering the Amazon in 2026.

 

We’ve done two trips on the Amazon. The first in January 2020 aboard the Delphin II with Nat Geo/Lindblad. The second February/March 2024 on Silversea Nova. 

Neither trip required proof of yellow fever vaccines. We got that vaccine a couple of years ago for Africa and had the information with us just in case. We didn't use bug repellent on either trip, but we wear long sleeved shirts and long pants to help avoid the sun. The Amazon is very near the equator so the sun is fierce. That said, this spring there has been a major outbreak of Dengue fever in Brazil. From what I've read it was around the capital of Brazilia.

The deep rain forest, monkeys in the trees, cobras in the water, and macaws flying overhead still exist. You need to find an excursion/adventure that uses a vessel such as one of the Delphin ships or something similar. Nat Geo, Smithsonian, and others have these. The boats leave out of Iquitos and hang out in the Pacayama Reserve. They don’t go into the really wide part of the Amazon with cities or towns. The boats dock at night somewhere along the rivers edge. There is alcohol onboard, but the entertainment is an evening lecture about what to expect the next day. Once in a while the staff gets out guitars for a concert. The ship is very comfortable, but does have marine toilets (toilets don't flush, paper goes in a wastebasket, which is probably where the description wastebasket comes from). You spend your days going down small rivers on/off the Amazon on small boats with a guide and driver, both equipped with machetes because sometimes the rivers get blocked with debris. You may or may not see pink dolphin on one of the excursions. When you visit a small village, the only touristy thing is that the adults have crafts on tables that they’ve made that were available for sale. The kids loved taking selfies with us but weren’t involved in selling anything. We had a someone from the village tell us about the village and what goes on there. You see an incredible amount of wildlife - birds, monkeys, snakes, iguanas, toads. Depending on how much water there is, you may be able to do some hikes. It’s very interesting and we have the best pictures from this trip.

The Silversea Nova was completely different, but we still had a good time. We boarded in Rio and took it all the way to Fort Lauderdale. This was two segments of the Grand Voyage that circumnavigated South America. We went 1,000 miles down the Amazon. We stopped at the larger towns and cities like Manaus and Santarem. You can take an excursion that guarantees that you will swim with pink dolphins. We didn’t take this one; we won’t support inappropriate treatment of wild animals. The Nova had flush toilets, more restaurants and bars than I can remember, pools, and excellent entertainment. It also had a fabulous lecturers, one of whom  spends her time on research boats on the Amazon that looked like the Delphin boats but were in worse shape. There was one stop at a small village. Just the opposite of the Nat Geo visit. This time there were children who held sloths or birds or some other animal and they were showing them to the cruise passengers and asking for money. There were locals with small boats that were charging to take the cruise passengers further upstream from the village. That was the worst excursion of the trip to me as I felt the children were being exploited.

If you have the time and inclination, I’d suggest taking both types of cruises in the Amazon since they are so different. 

Yes, we were on Sea Cloud in the Caribbean. We were in stateroom 7. Fabulous experience. Hope to do it again some day, maybe the Med next time. Let me know if you have any questions.

6 hours ago, amyhphoto said:

I am torn between taking the Pursuit Italy vs Journey Greece intensive cruises in mid June. I would love any feedback on either the differences between the ships and ports or personal experiences on either ship to help me choose. I am interested in exploring the ports as much as possible by foot and doing some strenuous hiking/adventurous excursions. Thank you for any advice. 

I've never been to Greece so can't comment, but been 5 times to Italy. I'm not sure what your idea of strenuous and adventurous is, but I wouldn't find any ship's excursions to be to that level. When the excursion is labeled strenuous that seems to mean you have to walk up 6 stairs and a half mile. If you want to cruise and hike then I'd recommend looking for private excursions.

Frankly, it sounds like you might like a land tour. There are several companies that have hiking or adventurous itineraries. We did a hiking tour of Tuscany and Cinque Terra with Nat Geo about 6 years ago and really enjoyed it. We did a some short hikes in Switzerland this past July. There are many travel  companies that offer hiking tours. Just do a search for hiking tours and the name of the country.

It will be hot in either Italy or Greece mid-June. If you're bothered by heat, a popular hike in Europe is around Mont Blanc in France. It takes about 10 days. There are lots of hikes in Switzerland. I'm afraid my strenuous hiking days are over so do as much hiking as you can while you can! You can always do cruises later.

According to the e-visa website, Brazil will accept other forms of evidence of finances:

• Printed bank statement showing transactions for the last 30 days and showing balance of US$ 2,000.00 or proof of income or credit card statement, or
• A letter from the cruise line confirming that the visa applicant has purchased a cruise ticket, or
• An individual proof of payment for a cruise ticket.

Has anyone used one of the other forms? Was it successful? For example, it seems that confirmation of payment in full for the cruise is acceptable and that is on the invoice.

We were on an E class last summer and dined in Luminae but often ordered the french onion soup and escargots from the main dining room menu. Maybe they've changed that? Although I think when you are in a suite they will try to honor requests (within reason 🙂).

You may also want to look at the Azamara Japan Intensive itinerary. We did this route last spring and it was fabulous and we sailed in the inland sea - and we got lucky and were there when the cherry blossoms were out. However, the Silver Sea stop at Hokodate is an unusual stop for cruise ships and would be very interesting.

Enjoyed the reviews and pictures and appreciate all of your hard work on the CC boards.

Eva Peron was buried in Recoleta Cemetery in a heavily fortified crypt in the Duarte family mausoleum in the 1970s. The voyage of her body after her death in 1952 is very interesting and at one time she was buried in Italy. Juan Peron is buried in Buenos Aires in a different cemetery.

I'm going to talk with our Travel Agent. In the past she's been able to move our deposit to another cruise. The question is do we want another Azamara cruise given all the issues we've had. We're taking AZ around Japan in a month. I might wait to see how that goes before I decide what to do. If there are issues again.... I don't know.

You're right! I'm so glad you posted this information! I checked the ports listed in My Account for this cruise and it's not there. We weren't notified either, but we booked through a travel agent and she usually gets the notifications first.

The only reason we booked this cruise was Ascension Island. Our Dad was stationed there during the war for almost 4 years. He was in the Army Air Corps because he was a watchmaker and serviced the airplane instruments. The planes flew over the Atlantic searching for German ships and submarines. He took a lot of photos while he was on Ascension and I've been looking for a way to get there for several years. This is really disappointing. If this holds true, we'll cancel.

We were on an AZ Med cruise last fall. About two weeks before the cruise, we were notified of the cancellation of an excursion we had booked. Fine, we had 2 weeks to figure something out. But during the cruise, we were notified of another cancelled excursion 2 days before the port. Went to shore excursions and there was a long line of people. The lady in front of me had her excursion for the next day cancelled. When I finally made it to a service rep she told me the excursion was cancelled due to lack of interest. So Azamara turned their problem into my problem! Nice for them, they weren't out any money because I was using OBC. But then I had a problem - either select what was left of ship excursions or figure something else out.  

I decided to limit Azamara cruises only to those that have an itinerary I can't get elsewhere. So as of right now, we don't have another AZ cruise until 2024. And I'm watching other ships to see if some of them have a similar itinerary. There are a lot of ships in the sea.

Hi goodvino808, we're neighbors! We're from Northbrook!

We've sailed the Caribbean during November/December/January/February for the last 10 years on various sized ships - Celebrity, Windstar, Lindblad and Sea Cloud. We returned from a 2-week Windstar on Sunday. Most of the trip was normal, comfortable seas. Beautiful warm and sunny weather. But the last couple of days of the trip as we moved from Columbia to Barbados, the seas were a little rougher and there were two ports where we couldn't tender. So the odds are good you will have a comfortable "ride", but you never know. The BBC World gives worldwide weather reports and they were commenting on the strong winds in the Caribbean during the couple of days we had rougher seas. Not really bad, but I took meclazine just in case so I wasn't bothered at night.

Have a good trip!

I understand your concern. We went to Machu Picchu several years ago as a post-cruise excursion with Celebrity. At that time, there were not the widespread and violent protests which occurred just very recently. On our trip, there was a small street protest in Cusco, but there were more protests in the countryside. We had to get up at 3 am to take the tour bus from Cusco to Machu Picchu; the tour guide was hoping that the rural population would not yet be up and protesting. Nevertheless, we encountered roads blocked with boulders and other debris, at times having to get out of the bus so that it could ride over the boulders and then re-boarding. We were only a few miles from Machu Picchu going down a 4 lane-wide road when we noticed the vehicles ahead turning around. Then we saw the people who were marching down the road across the whole 4-lane width. They were running to the sides of the road and picking up stones, presumably to throw at the vehicles. Our bus turned around and went down back roads, at one point getting into a traffic jam of vehicles. We made it to Machu Picchu, and it was absolutely fabulous. But we did encounter fires and boulders in the roads on the way back to Cusco. We all credited the excellent Peruvian guide and driver to get us there and back safely, but it was unnerving.

On December 14, the current president of Peru declared a 30-day national emergency. While I don’t think you will be harmed by any of the Peruvian protesters, I can’t see how your trip wouldn’t be disrupted to some degree by the domestic situation in Peru. Obviously, the train tracks have been damaged. There may be some museums, restaurants, etc. that are closed. You may have to leave Cusco at 3 am, like we did. Only you and your family can decide whether it is worth it or not. Azamara isn’t going to do anything to help you.

If you do go, I hope that you know that it’s common to experience physical issues due to the altitude. Your hotel will offer oxygen tanks and recommend that you use it for 5 minutes before you go to sleep. Take it and use it, as you may not realize for a day or two that you have a headache or tummy troubles caused by the altitude. It’s just easier to do the 5 minutes at night to head off any problems before they come up.

Can you talk with the hotel manager and get your cabin changed? You shouldn't have to spend your money and holiday worried about getting sick and not enjoying the balcony.

The pamphlets for cruise excursions are available online: https://www.azamara.com/ebrochure/

7 hours ago, midwestchick said:

We'll be flying home on the 10th and I understand how bad things are at the Amsterdam airport. Supposedly we have to be there 4  hours before our flight. Have things gotten any better or are they still struggling with a lack of staff?

 We returned home from a Celebrity Apex Baltic sea cruise on July 20. I recently posted the following on the other board in a discussion of only carry-on v.s. checked bags. I would emphasize is that we flew United out of Chicago and both arriving and departing the plane is parked away from the terminal and we were transported by bus from the terminal to the plane so you need to use a staircase. You cannot arrive at the airport more than 4 hours before your flight. They check on this when you enter the terminal. I don't recall at arrival the Passport control line to be so very long that it made an impression. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to help.

We're Schiphol survivors, too! We returned home last week from an Apex Baltic cruise that sailed out of Amsterdam. When we arrived In Amsterdam and walked through baggage claim (with our carryons and backpacks) it was shocking to see luggage lining the walls about 6-7 bags high all the way around. When we departed at Schiphol you almost couldn't get into the terminal there were so many people waiting to go through check-in. We had our boarding passes on our phones, so we only needed to find the opening to security (priority access which cut down on time) and then passport control. It only took us 1:15 to get to the gate.

A downside to traveling light is that the plane was parked away from the terminal, so we deplaned and boarded via a staircase. Robert takes the two carryons and I take the two backpacks and in a minute or so we're on board. It's good exercise!

On 7/29/2022 at 6:07 PM, montythecat said:

Agree with the suggestions for South Pacific and the Madagascar, Seychelles, Reunion etc, 

trip perhaps starting or ending in Durban or Cape Town. I also like the idea of an extended Alaska

cruise taking in The Aleutian Islands. Spitsbergen please along with Alesund and The

Lofoten Islands. Final thought, Chile (Santiago/San Antonio) to Buenos Aires which would include 

The Falklands (and maybe Antarctica).

AZ has trips out of Cape Town. There's at least 1 in 2023 and we're taking one in 2024. They go up the west coast of Africa, which is quite unusual. I wanted the one in 2024 because it stops at St. Helena and Ascension islands. My dad spent WWII on Ascension island. He was a watch maker and he was in the Army Air Corps maintaining the airplane instruments. The planes flew over the Atlantic looking for German boats and subs. I never thought I'd have a chance to go there, so I'm very excited.

On 5/23/2022 at 9:16 PM, Xcelsior said:

Seychelles/Madagascar/Reunion Islands

In March 2020 we were on a cruise out of Cape Town that after a couple of stops in South Africa, was scheduled to stop in Madagascar, Reunion, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, India and end in Dubai. We did the South Africa ports, Madagascar wouldn't let us dock, we made Reunion (hiked) and Mauritius (snorkeled). Sri Lanka let the ship dock so that it could take on fuel and provisions. They wouldn't let anyone, even the ship's crew, get off the ship. The supplies were put on board by Sri Lanka workers. We couldn't end the cruise in Dubai because the port was completely full of cruise ships. We ended up docking in Muscat, Oman and flying to Dubai.

We were supposed to do a back-2-back around the Persian Gulf.

A lot of disappointed passengers, and a big mess getting home for some folks, but generous FCC for the cruise and a refund for the second cruise. I'd like to see Azamara do both of those itineraries again.

4 hours ago, mauimary said:

We did it!  We just got off of the Beyond this am after a 9 day cruise and a previous 1.5 week land trip.  We never have done this before but decided after we found out what it was going to involve trying to check luggage and standing in four hours worth of lines coming from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam to Barcelona. Check in lines for luggage we’re huge and long.    After seeing so many huge piles of luggage waiting to find and catch up to owners it really makes one think about these things. Lots of people are missing luggage. 

  We made it work with very careful coordinating of outfits and some very simple dress clothes for the dining room.  We did send out laundry and washed a few things by hand.  We even ended up with a few things we didn’t wear.  DH for the first time did not take a sports coat.  Only two prs of shoes for myself.  The nice part is we had all our stuff and we had plenty of clothes.   It was fast to be able to just walk off and not wait to collect luggage.   It can work if you really want it to!!!

We're Schiphol survivors, too! We returned home last week from an Apex Baltic cruise that sailed out of Amsterdam. When we arrived In Amsterdam and walked through baggage claim (with our carryons and backpacks) it was shocking to see luggage lining the walls about 6-7 bags high all the way around. When we departed at Schiphol you almost couldn't get into the terminal there were so many people waiting to go through check-in. We had our boarding passes on our phones, so we only needed to find the opening to security (priority access which cut down on time) and then passport control. It only took us 1:15 to get to the gate.

A downside to traveling light is that the plane was parked away from the terminal, so we deplaned and boarded via a staircase. Robert takes the two carryons and I take the two backpacks and in a minute or so we're on board. It's good exercise!

Traveling with too much luggage is hard, traveling light is hard, pick your hard.

17 minutes ago, hrhdhd said:

I brought a 26" bag on my Rick Steves tour in 2012. I managed it on my own and it was less of a burden than the guy who'd just had knee surgery, used a walking stick, and kept telling the guide to slow down. 😊

 

ETA: Rick Steves wears one shirt and has people to carry his camera equipment. He may travel light; his crew brings all the stuff.

RS has two people in his crew, a sound man and a camera man, who have enough of their own equipment/clothes to carry. RS carries his own luggage, including computer. He uses one carry-on size backpack and a smaller daypack as a personal item. There are videos of RS and his crew going to and traveling around Europe to make the shows. He has explained how it works on a Monday night Travel Show. He wears one shirt for all of the takes for one show in each stop so that when the show is edited there is consistency. He probably takes two shirts and uses the laundry. 🙂

Comparing the burden between yourself and a 26" bag to someone who recently had knee surgery isn't an appropriate comparison. 

 Whether it's expensive or not depends on what it costs at your home salon. I live in a suburb outside of Chicago and back in 2019 on the Quest I had a single color and thought it was very reasonable compared to what I pay here. I don't remember what it cost, but no way could I get a single color and blowout for $125!  🙂

15 hours ago, califsealion said:

 

I did this trip several years ago and we definitely had some rocking going around the tip of Baja.  I know in the past, they have left out bowls of meclizine and ginger candy to help, I'd guess this is probably still the case.

Good to know! Thanks!

Thank you! We're scheduled to do Nat Geo Baja at the end of March. Things can change in two months, but I'm looking forward to being somewhere other than our house and have someone else do the cooking! This will be our first trip since March 2020 (snorkeled off Mauritius in the Indian Ocean). We've had a few trips canceled due to covid.

We've done Lindblad/Nat Geo a few times and I was thinking about how choppy the Pacific might be in that area. No harm in packing some dramamine and ginger. We're also very interested in photography excursions. Did they ask passengers to share photos?

I've always disliked having to pay tips at the end of the trip. Not crazy about all included ships, but staff tips shouldn't be optional like drinks or internet and should just be added to the trip cost.

Did you wear wet suits for all the water excursions?

Thanks again.

Tropical Snorkeling reports on their own tests and results of several reef safe sunscreens:

https://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/best-snorkeling-sunscreen.html

44 minutes ago, bunnybee said:

I agree that once the CDC came out with the guidelines, a full refund should have been available.  It's an incredible headache all around to have these FCC to deal with for both parties.  A cruiser is going to cruise.  There is no need to hold the funds hostage. It just creates stress and animosity, which is the opposite of the goal when arranging a vacation.

The cruise line doesn't care! We're past our refund date for a spring 2021 cruise that Celebrity cancelled. It's my fault I lost track of the final date to request a refund, but we never received a reminder notice from Celebrity, either. We scheduled a cruise for July (we need to use the FCC by 12-31-22), and if we miss that, then Celebrity gets to keep the $20,000 cash that we had paid. And they don't have to do anything fort it. After the deposit, I had been paying $900 a month for the cruise. Learned my lesson, I'm never going to pay the balance until the final payment date. Hoping things are better in the summer months.

Our last trip ended on March 15, 2020. We were in the Indian Ocean on another cruise line. We're supposed to do a Wind Breeze cruise in Tahiti on January 16 - and I'm doing nothing but agonizing about it. We said that since we're vaxed and boosted and have N95s that we'd go unless someone closed their border. I don't think the U.S. will do that because of the political climate, but I think it's a real prospect that Tahiti would. Tahiti just changed its testing requirement on December 24 that is effective December 28. I haven't seen any mention of this on the websites of the companies that regularly cruise in Tahiti. It's the holiday season, and what if people (passengers and travel agents) aren't paying attention to the CC boards where it has been mentioned? There are no at-home tests available because of the holidays, but will it be better in January? There's rarely an appointment available at the CVS/Walgreens. Windstar is now recommending a PCR test before a cruise. It's taking 5 days to get PCR results. And on and on and on. At this point we'd have to take a future cruise credit. If Tahiti doesn't pull the plug, we'll probably make a final decision about 10 days before we leave on January 13. Until then, I'll be here fretting!