curmudgeon98

Online check-in is pretty low on my worry list, especially for a small ship like Azamara. I do sympathize with all you folks dealing the system switchover pain, though. Let's just hope it's not as prolonged as the chaos of the Princess "Medallion" app; that seems to have been a multi-year zoo. By the luck of the draw, we happen to be trying a different cruise line this year and so we missed the mess. Maybe in a few months the dust will have settled.

We were on a cruise a few years ago with a scheduled Casablanca stop. Due to high wind forecasts, they cancelled the Casablanca stop and substituted Tangiers. We enjoyed our Tangier stop (probably more than we would have Casablanca); we picked up a guide at the pier and did a walking tour of the Kasbah, but I don't think we would make much of an effort to return on a cruise ship stop. For a TA, I keep my eye out for the Azores and/or Madeira as stops we'd like to make sometime.

There is often good whale watching from an aft bar during sailaway from Cabo. It's getting a bit late in the year, though.

I would agree with very flat, and docking is quite central (opposite Parque de Maria Luisa). Maybe a mile to the cathedral, a bit less to the Alcazar and pedestrian area of the old town. It wasn't hot when we were there a few years ago in April (it was quite rainy in fact). There are quite a few trees along the way for shade, but wide-brimmed hats might be helpful in summer.

It's my understanding that passenger security and check in for Fusina is done at Marittima, with shuttle to the ship. I'm not sure when (or if) that will change. Chioggia, at the far southwest end of the lagoon, apparently does passenger handling at the dock (as does Ravenna). I'm not sure about Mestre, but I suspect they use Marittima for check in.

AZ has just made the cutover from the legacy RCI booking system. I expect both the system and the agents are having significant challenges. It's an unfortunate time to be booking, but if it's the deal you want, you don't have a lot of choice. That's a nice itinerary; I wouldn't give up too easily... Of course, it's also far enough out that you could probably leave it be for a few months and check what deals they are offering for it this fall.

It's my understanding that cruise passengers aren't allowed to wander through the Fusina docks for safety/security reasons. Even if they could, it would be about a 1.5 mile walk, along roads with mostly no shoulder or sidewalk, around to the dock for the #16 water bus. Look more closely at a satellite map view of the area...

Pretty much true. Clothes than want me to advertise for them never get taken off the rack in the store. I'm sure you could find a few monogram initials or such in my closet, but nothing you could read from five feet away. It's just a quirk of mine, but I will take extra effort to avoid overtly branded apparel.

I would second those comments. Both lines are pretty good, and at the top of our list. Azamara has less lobster, and less attitude than O. We like the Az specialty dining rooms and the Chef's Table a bit better than the O equivalents, but someone else might feel the opposite. We aren't big drinkers, but I suspect we come out better paying the specialty dining on AZ and getting the drinks and tips included vs the reverse on O. I do appreciate the larger standard cabins (and showers!) in the two larger O ships, but the R-class are pretty much physically the same on each line.

Was this the excursion that has the following note under "disclaimer"? It does seem that tour options in St Barts are currently rather limited, but many catamaran sailing trips are oriented towards physically active participants as there is potential for a rougher ride and need to scramble about if the wind comes up. .............................................. This tour includes a moderate amount of activity and requires using a dive ladder to enter and exit the water. Participants should be good swimmers and in good physical condition. The tour is not available to wheelchair guests or to those with mobility concerns and may not be suitable for guests with back or neck problems. Guests must be at least 21 years of age to drink alcoholic beverages, which will only be served after the water activities are completed. Guests who take part in water activities do so at their own risk and responsibility and may be required to sign a liability waiver. The vessel and crew are not dive or snorkel certified. The catamaran has a toilet and an outdoor freshwater shower.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality and quantity of live music on our first Seabourn cruise last summer, especially considering the size of the ship (Odyssey). I could see the Tim Rice show getting pretty old by the third repetition, though. The guest musicians were quite good. I'd hate to see them messing around too much with this. A DJ would have me heading to the exit.

One more minor point for a first-timer... there are 5 or 6 separate vaporetto docks at Pl Roma, so you need to look for the correct one for your line to wait for the boat (and notice which direction it is going).

From Marittima into the city is not that far as the crow flies, but it looks like it would be awkward to walk. Probably easiest to take the People Mover tram (about 1 euro) to Plaza Roma. I'd suggest then walking across to the vaporetto office and buying a day ticket. Then take the vaporetto down the Grand Canal towards San Marco for your intro to Venice. The nice thing about having a day ticket is that you can wander and get lost, but then have a shortcut for getting back by finding the nearest vaporetto stop. You can also take the walking route from Pl Roma, but the area nearest the bus and train stations is a bit dirtier and less pleasant.

Most likely there will be shuttle busses from Fusina dockside to the Marittima (old) cruise terminal in Venice. Fusina is primarily a commercial (heavy truck) ferry terminal and has very little provision for pedestrians, though that may change as improvements are made. The vaporetto 16 doesn't go to the cruise docks currently, as far as I can tell, and there are boat and truck storage yards in the way if you tried to walk to the stop. Take a look at satellite view on maps.

Personally, I'd think this is likely a positive to Seabourn regulars. They looked at their capacity and sales (and other ships coming online), and realized they were having to stretch (selling discounted cabins) to keep the ships reasonably full. Selling into an over-saturated market means having to cut corners on the product. Keeping the ship through the timeframe where they have already sold cruises is a nice touch, inline with what you would hope for from Seabourn..

I would note that the newer Oceania ships (Riviera, Marina, and the new one coming on line soon) would be much easier to manage with a wheelchair than one of the four smaller, older ships. Wider hallways, better door openings, etc. The smaller ships (sometimes referred to as "R-class") have their charms, but accessibility isn't their strong suit; it can be done, but I would anticipate more frustration.

SeatGuru used to be a great site. It doesn't seem to have been updated in several years, though, and has some pretty stale data. Another similar site which is more current is aerolopa.com Premium economy for international seems to have largely settled into slightly wider seats and better food in addition to more recline and legroom. Many airlines also have and sell economy seats with more legroom, but I haven't seem them dubbed PE lately. Flight legs within the US or Europe would likely be in standard economy. You should have at least one checked bag per person baggage allowance regardless of the ticket. Do be aware that some international airlines are a stricter on size/weight for carry-ons than domestic US.

An SF overnight gives lots of options. Even if you aren't into the city, it makes it feasible to hit some great locations. To the north, look into Stinson Beach, Muir Woods, Bodega Bay, or Sonoma Valley, or Napa. To the south, you can hit Half Moon Bay, Pescadero, Santa Cruz, or even Monterey.

Fusina itself is a truck ferry port, and doesn't have terminal buildings to handle cruise passengers. My understanding is that for space and security reasons, passengers are checked in at the old Venice cruise terminal, sometimes called Marittima. Passengers are transferred by bus (and luggage by truck) directly to the ship from there. Marittima is at the northwest end of Venice proper near the causeway from the mainland and accessible by cab from the mainland or airport. There is a "people mover" shuttle tram that can take you from Piazzale Roma (where busses and vaporetto stop) to Marittima for a euro or two. I'm not sure if a water taxi could land you closer than Pl Roma.

We had one socket in our cabin on Onward which was a "one size fits all" which supported US, UK, and Euro plugs in a single outlet. I assume it has some smart electronics behind to auto-switch the voltage as needed. It was a little confusing in appearance at first as I hadn't seen one of those before...

Barcelona is a favorite of ours. There have been good recommendations in this thread. I wouldn't hesitate, though, to just relax and wander around Bari Gotic, Las Ramblas, and Passeig de Gracia without trying to do more intensive sightseeing on the day of arrival. Sagrada Familia is amazing, but I'm not sure I'd want to pack it in with other sights while jet-lagged. A couple of other lower-key sites would be the "Magic Fountains" in the evening, and Poble Espanol. Check hours for them if interested. We've found cabs in Barcelona to be plentiful, clean, and pretty honest. They are typically around the size of a Toyota Corolla, and prices in the core area of the city aren't bad. We've also found the Metro to be clean, safe, and efficient (though be aware of possible pickpockets on public transit and the streets).

Well, that's a bit annoying, but not surprising. To some degree, I think the cruise industry brought this on by bringing ever larger ships in to port there (like Solstice). If they had stuck with smaller Seabourn/Oceania size ships it might not have come to a head. Personally, I think the "ecosystem damage" was more talking point than reality, but that area is already overrun by hordes of tourists most summer weekends (and some other times, like the recent Crosby Pro-Am) so it's not surprising that residents are less than enthusiastic about cruise ships. Santa Cruz has a small boat harbor in addition the a wharf, either of which could probably handle tendering operations, but I suspect the swells out where a cruise ship would be anchored might make tendering too often problematic. A similar situation applies to most of the other small harbors along the coast.

We did two weeks on Azamara in Croatia/Greece last year around that time. I think it's a more relaxed vibe, with smaller ship and less crowds. The food and service were a bit better. Entertainment more limited, but less of a factor on a port-intensive cruise. Biggest annoyance is the tiny bathrooms/showers in standard cabins. Drinks in the standard inclusion were a bit limited (more so than our previous Azamara cruises). We tend to choose cruises based on itinerary and how it fits into our schedules, so we do a variety of cruise lines, but we usually look to Azamara first.

I would suggest Oceania Regatta would be the most challenging for accessibility. The older "R-class" ships of Oceania and Azamara have tighter hallways, more "step-over" threshholds, and manual heavy doors. It can still be done, but not as easily. On the Oceania line, the Marina and Riviera (and the new ship coming later this year) are much more accessible, but those aren't in Alaska. Odyssey would be more accessible than Regatta. The itinerary may be more oriented towards smaller ports with tendering, or zodiac expeditions, though.

NCL is a line that is really obnoxious on tips for drinks packages. They often throw the drinks package in for "free", but then charge a hefty percentage of the overpriced list price of the package that ends up $20 or more per day. Part of the reason we were "one and done" with that line.