Cruising Librarian

When one of the Azamara ships next berths in San Francisco, I'd like to get a look-see since I have been on and off about sailing this line. Would love to see for myself. And, I'm very interested in cruises embarking or disembarking in SF.

Let your travel agent know you are interested in ship visits. My Bay Area TA has snagged several onboard invites for DH and I, we have only been able to take her up on 2 so far. It makes for a lovely day, even if there is a sales pitch involved:). And in the case of our Azamara visit, it clinched the sale and we got an additional $500 OBC by taking advantage of that specific offer.

We also love sailing in and out of SF-we booked the Mariner to Alaska in 2016 primarily because we can get on in SF-just a cab ride away. I figure out who is sailing in and out of SF by using the search engine at vacations to go (all one word) dot com- they have a departure port option and i've found most of the ships i'm interested in sailing included in their database.

I would suggest a morning or afternoon at the motu that the PG leases/rents in Bora Bora. Drinks and snacks available but no loungers or restrooms. However, the view of the island from the motu is fabulous-one of the best on the trip IMHO.

Also very interested to read your impressions and will be looking for your further comments. We are on the Barcelona-FLL transatlantic in November on the same ship. We were invited onboard the Azamara Quest when it was docked in SF last spring and were impressed with the ship and amenities. The onboard visit and attractive pricingmade the decision to book Azamara this year instead of Regent much easier.

Another Bay Area librarian here, OctoberKat, have followed your thread with interest. Glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Navigator, and will look for your reviews on your upcoming cruises.

I'm sorry to hear you cancelled your Azamara cruise. We had lunch (and a gentle sales pitch) on board when the Quest was in San Francisco last February

and thought the ship was very nice. It is one of the "R" ships and they have many afficenados in the cruise world. We booked a transatlantic for this fall and I've been following the Azamara CC board and reviews with interest. They are much better than the Regent reviews and we have met many people on our Regent cruises who have sailed on the line and recommend it. We like Regent alot, but the prices have skyrocketed in the last couple of years and although we have one booked in 2016, it might be our last. Our on board experience is like yours, nice but "luxurious". We thought we'd give Azamara a chance for about half the cost (albeit in a slightly smaller cabin). Cost is an important factor in our "value" equation---we don't have a huge travel budget.

BTW, one of my favorite cruise memories was on the Navigator. We sailed into San Francisco at dawn and as we sailed under the Golden Gate, the north side of the city glowed pink and gradually came into beautiful focus.

Again, thanks for sharing your cruise with us and enjoy your upcoming travels as well!

Thanks for sharing your lovely video. I especially liked the underwater part and thanks for identifying the fish! I've bought a couple of cards over the course of travels there but I never can match them up very well:)

Centrally located, about a mile walk to Sagrada Familia (not sure of what your definition of walking distance) and does offer Family style rooms that sleep up to 4. Our room was spacious, quiet and well appointed. Staff were helpful.

Also enjoyed reading your review and revisiting the lovely locations in my mind. Thanks for taking the time. I agree about the coffee-we substitute cappuccinos and manage to get by:)

Our carry ons were weighed both ways in September.

IMHO it is a sad state of affairs when the President of the company has to intervene to get this done. Why wasn't the dining room manager able to make this happen for the celebrating couple? Does not give one confidence in the onboard experience at all

Next time I will book the Motu picnic with Marc in Huahine

http://www.huahine-nautique.com/

We were there only a few hours, and did a short snorkel tour with his company. Others with us had done the motu picnic previously and highly recommended it.

We did a cruise in Greece last year on the Regent Voyager. It has about 700 passengers, so twice the size of the PG but with all balcony suites and all inclusive liquor, excursions, and gratuities. And it should be noted, Windstar doesn't have balconies and is not all inclusive.

We had a great cruise, but next time I will definitely pay much more attention to port information. Even though you are on a small(ish) ship, when you port the same day with mega ships, the port experience is definitely less enjoyable. For example, the day we were in Santorini, there were also several other ships totaling 10,000 passengers there. This happened at almost every stop, and the main attractions were mobbed, even in November! When I checked the web site just before cruising http://ports.cruisett.com/ I saw there were no ships scheduled to arrive the day before or day after in Santorini. I just checked next fall and on Sept, 17, 2015 and some other days , the Wind Star will be in port with 4 other ships totalling 7,086 passengers, but several other days a Wind star vessel will be the only one in port. http://ports.cruisett.com/schedule/Greece/805-Santorini_Island/September_2015/

So, IMHO, I would look just as closely at the port experience as the ships to enjoy Greece. I would consider Windstar, but also would look closely at Azamara and Silversea if I were to go again.

And off topic but definitely related the to PG< I did have a chat with one of the PG corporate representatives on the reunion cruise about this topic. The day we departed Papetee there was a Carnival ship in port. We met a couple of cruisers on that ship at the IC and asked about their itinerary, and were relieved that they would not be in port with us along the way. So many people on those small islands:) When I mentioned this to the PG rep, he said they go to great lengths to ensure the PG is in port alone as much as possible, sometimes changing their itinerary but most often working with other cruise lines well ahead of schedule. With 41 days on board the PG, we have only shared ports (besides Papetee) twice, both times in Bora Bora, once with the Island Princess and this time with Windstar vessel. You could really feel the impact with the Island Pacific when doing excursions. .

TA told me she is unable to book lowest fare even with under the "guarantee" status (no room assignment) option. We have taken that option before to get the H fare on the Mariner. Her explanation is close to dabear's but I suspect the real reason is more aligned with extra revenue as gnomie suggested.

I don't like being sent emails and brochures inviting me to book the "preview collection" 2 weeks before and then being told the lowest fare is unavailable the FIRST day bookings are available. My TA is still working on it, but this kind of BS right at the start is not what I expect from Regent and is just enough aggravation to cancel the booking if I can't get the advertised price.

Has anyone successfully got an "h" cabin on any of the new sailings?

I asked my TA to book an H cabin on the SF-Vancouver cruise May 2016 on the first day reservations were available. She was unable to reserve a cabin because they had "all been scooped up" by other travel agencies and none were available. I've had a funny feeling that this would be the case ever since the new itineraries came out and the "H" categories on all the 2016 cruises were listed as "guaranteed" Still listed as guaranteed on the website, I might note.

Anyone else booking these last couple of days have this experience on a 2016 itinerary? I have a "G" on hold but probably will not keep it.

BTW, I have been able to get the lowest category fare on all but one of my previous Regent cruises and that's because I booked later.

Thanks again, Strenz! I would love to be able to swim off the boat in those lagoons. In Rangiroa, I could swim right over to the Lagoonarium:)

Thanks, strenz, evening fire show sounds interesting. Are you just off the ship as well?

I do have another unrelated question. Can you really swim off the marina ? Not allowed on the Gauguin.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We were in the Fakarava group that stopped to snorkel on our way to the lagoon. the ride out was quite enjoyable, pleasant weather, all those blues, and a stop to snorkel. The snorkel stop was very clear, despite the waves, and a wide variety of fish to ogle. Then onto the lagoon---wow!--that afternoon is a beautiful memory I hope to enjoy for many years. Way back was bumpy and wet-most of us trying to stay in the shade. Definitely our favorite excursion and I will want to see more of Fakarava.

But I am confused about the ship tour vs. Ato. Is the Blue Lagoon a different lagoon that the one Ato took us to?

In Huahine, we were on Marc's snorkel trip. Second stop was in a beautiful bay, (not sure if it was Maroe or Bourayne Bay) and it was a little overcast, affecting the snorkeling. At one point I came up to adjust my mask and looked around and was overcome by the beauty of the bay and the water and had myself a moment. Will have to go back and take his all day tour as was recommended.

My biggest disappointment on the trip was not getting to do the drift snorkel in Rangiroa. Currents were too strong (again-my third try) . Also disappointed not to get into Maupiti but we certainly were well aware that was iffy.

We really appreciated just showing up to the excursions and the energy Miriam expended to make both the excursions and the unique itinerary happen. Thanks again from Therese and Rich!

Isn't French Polynesia breathtaking? We are just back from 10 days on the Paul Gauguin - it's our fourth trip and we are already planning to return in3-4 years.

I'm wondering if Windspirit passengers had access to a private motu when the ship is in Bora Bora? I'd be interested to hear what that setup is like if that is the case.

Thanks!

Yes, Laksman. We mentioned that we had seen him recently to a couple of the old timers and they all seem to think he would be happiest back on the PG, where the crew is like family:)

Concur about the state of the ship now vs. under Regent.

We sailed a 7, 10 and 14 day itineraries in 2006, 2007 and 2008 under Regent and just got off the repeaters cruise. The ship looks much better now than it did then. The stained carpets are gone, the furnishings have been updated and our cabin (316) was in great shape. And the service is just as friendly as I remember. There were a few lapses in the housekeeping department, that was a first.

In the last three years we have sailed all of Regent's ships once, totaling 45 days on board. We were very satisfied with 2 of those three cruises , but in our experience service on Regent is nowhere near as attentive as on the PG. One staff member has gone out of his way to make us feel welcome when we have seen him on the ships...we met him on the Paul Gauguin.

Also not a fan of the Regent excursions. I've had a few good ones, but for the most part they are bus tours and on the cruise I was unhappy with, they cancelled several without a logical explanation. And since they are "free" no recourse.

Am also enjoying your detailed ship and port reviews! Thanks for taking the time to write it all out for us:-)

You had some long sea days, didn't you? I can see where some passengers would have difficulty with that on the PG if they were used to larger ships - both for the motion and the entertainment offerings.

That was fun! Thanks for posting the link:)

Emdee is right, another great installment! I've read many, many trip reports and yours is exceptionally good. Maybe because I love the PG so much but I think it is that in addition to your great pictures you have written a very engaging narrative. That's the hard part, IMHO!

Glad you got to see the whales and swimming with them, too! Very cool. It must have been disappointing to not be able to share the experience with your husband. I hope he was comfortable on the ship. We met a young woman on one of our PG cruises in a leg cast-broke it just a few several before the cruise - and the crew really took care of her as much as possible...carrying her off the tenders at the motus and such.

Wow! What a lovely excursion and beautiful pictures. I especially love the picture of Ato "walking on water" I can't wait to see all those beautiful blues again.

I love the sail in and out of Rangiroa - as I recall it, there are motus and pearl farms for miles. And dolphins surround the ship jumping and playing as it goes through the Tiputa Pass.

On previous visits, we tendered to shore and then walked to a beach (take a left) where there was pretty decent snorkeling. Beach was small and rocky, next to a resort, but the water was lovely. You can also easily walk to the Pass from there-it is cool to look at it from ground level. DH and I are doing the drift snorkel on our cruise---we've been shut out twice and want to give it a try.

Thanks once more for your detailed review---it is just the tonic this board needed!

I love the coconut sequence! Persistence pays off.

Thanks so much for taking the time to post pictures and share your thoughts. I am enjoying the first installments so much and you are not even on the ship yet.

:)