cavaaller

Sorrent This is the first Tender Port I experienced with Azamara so I was a bit anxious not knowing what to expect. We anchored at 7:45 and the first tenders (excursions only) left at that time. The first non excursions tenders were supposed to leave at around 8. We took our time and went to the Den (deck 5) at around 8:45. There were some people waiting already but no crazy queues like we experienced on other cruise lines. When the tender boat came, the organizer counted, how many passengers she could accommodate and put stickers on them. We then went downstairs to Deck 3 and straight on the tender boat. The whole process took about 15 Minutes. It was extremely civilized and well organized. Well done Azamara! Once ashore we found our way to the stairs up to the old town. There was the option of taking the escalator (1,10 E/pp) but the morning was still young and we still had energy. This is where you leave the tenders (top right hand side) and then go to the escalators: (you see people taking the stairs on the right) this is where you follow the stairs (you take the stairs up to the arch, turn right and are right in the middle of the old town) The stairs lead you directly to Piazza Tasso with the main shopping street, restaurants and cafes. This would be, where the escalators drop you off: (Communal gardens) this is the "beach" if you turn right from the tenders As usual, when there is the option to climb up to some mirador I cannot help myself. So inspite of the excruciating heat we went to the Hilton Hotel and climbed up the pass behind it to reach the top. We did not make it all to the top because the sun was boiling hot and it was just too steep and painful to climb. But we still managed to take in some pretty views: After two hours of hiking we were about as medium rare as our Chateaubriand from the other night so we returned to the ship. Tenders are going back and fourth constantly, even if they are not full. So we did not have to wait long.

what a sweet post, thank you so much @QueenP

I think you misunderstood... I never questioned that this has to be done, but I do not want to think about having to leave the ship. I was not criticising the procedure just anticipating the end of cruise blues.

@mj_holiday exactly! you take the cruise price, divide by the number of nights and then multiply by the remaining nights. (in our case * 3/7) what makes this really attractive is that it is not restricted to balcony cabins but can also be used if you book a suite (plus we had the onboard discount of 6%)

I know… just don’t like to be reminded that I will have to leave this ship.

that is a coincidence…😁 our cruise is in october

At the end of the promenade, we turn around and continue our walk by passing the train station and the old town. I was once researching a cruise going out of Civitavecchia and this hotel right next to the train station had been recommended to me: Hotel de la Ville

As we have the best docking position right by the Fort Michelangelo we do not need to take the shuttle bus but can easily walk. We pass the fort and turn right to follow the promenade. Temperatures are very mild and the walk is extremely enjoyable. 5 Minutes from the ship you reach the first "beach". It is no caribbean sand but the water seems clear and there are a lot of swimmers seeming to like the temperature. Right by the promenade there are plenty of cafés and restaurants with prime view and location.

Today we dock in Civitavecchia. We are not alone though - there is the NCL Escape and Epic, The Costa Esmeralda and the Oasis ots which totals in a passenger load of 20761 ^^ The shuttle busses keep coming and going... One of the shuttles goes to Lago de la Pace (free) the other one drops off at the train station (6E). If you keep the ticket you will be reimbursed for the fare via OBC.

Thank you for your comment Norwaylady. This is the insider from today. Let me know if there is anything else you want me to upload.

After dinner, we tried a cocktail in the Spirits bar. There was a very talented piano player and the atmosphere was quite lively. I had the Azamara Cocktail (going by recommendation) and DH had the virgin tropical lemonade. Both drinks were prepared very diligently and tasted great (fresh and not to heavy on the ethanol).

Yesterday ended with us enjoying the sail away out of Livorno from the terasse of the windows café. It was Indonesian night. (I will add the Discoveries Menu aswell) I do not take any photos of the buffet as there are always a lot of people that I do not want to disturb. Dinner was lovely. The waiter even hunted down my Rioja for me. Service is impeccable - very friendly and ultrarapid.

Let me update you with regards to the promised "free" nights: I made an appointment with Panagiotis from the Cruise Sales team (he is not the manager at the moment, so I stand corrected reg. my earlier statement). If you intend to book a cruise on board: Go see him. He is so nice and funny - it is a real treat talking to him. And also: He was able to work a little magic and get me an insane deal on a 7N cruise for next year. We will be going to Greece - which I love - and Santorini which I had always wanted to see and Mykonos (same). The other ports are nice as well -with the exception of maybe Kusadasi which is not my favorite port but we will definitely try and see Ephesus this time since my DH is a history buff. It is only 7N so we will hopefully add a couple of days in Athens and/or Piräus first. Should any of you have a recommendation for a nice hotel, that would be great!

I stopped by the guest launderette on deck 7 port side which is always busy

Our afternoon is spent on our balcony... It is great: Although it is really hot outside, the constant brise on the balcony makes it a really wonderful place to relax. There is always shade and ample seating/lying options to choose from. The view is good (depending on the port of course but right now we look at the sea and the NCL Epic which is not a terrible sight). I am tempted to fetch myself a cocktail once the spirit-bar opens. (I really want to try one of those Atlas-Bar cocktails). Can anyone recommend one?

Today is our second day in Livorno. Since we did not have any plans for today, we slept in and did a little shopping in via grande where I found some presents for my daughter that I am sure she will love (they had a big sale at Kiko - a make-up store). We then continued to the Old Fort and perused the streets of Livorno. Florence it is not but you still see nice buildings. I am not (too) ashamed to say that I am a fan of the series "The Medici" and I love seeing historical landmarks reminding of the mighty family. I like this little fountain we found at the beginning of Via Grande - I wonder what the little figurines represent. Back on board I had to fill out our disembarkation form... but.... I mean... really??? already??? we are supposed to hand those in by tomorrow - I really don't want to think about our last day yet. I am sorry about the horrible quality of these pics!

We spent the evening in Prime C. As usual upon entering the restaurant guests are greeted by a host - but in Prime C she is particularly charming and welcoming. You are invited to take a drink at the bar or take your seat immediately. That may be an excellent option if you are waiting on friends who might join you for dinner. We had a lovely table right by the window and a fantastic waiter (Aurelio). menu options are excellent so we had a hard time choosing - especially since the chefs special was lamb (which I adore) and broccoli soup. So I went with the special as starter: DH went with the potato soup I had the parmesan-lamb with Israeli couscous DH had the filet mignon Our dessert was the key lime cheese cake Every single dish was excellent. I added a glass of champagne (I really like the Pieper on the ultimate package) and a glass of my favorite (Rioja).

thank you for your comment @Jellifer

Meeting time was 7:45, we were back at around 1 o clock.

LIVORNO After another fabulous breakfast on our balcony we were lucky to experience one of the best excursions I have been on: Lucca on your own. For us it was just plain perfect. The bus took a little over an hour - on the road the guide told us a little about Lucca and Pisa and its history. We were then dropped of at the tourist information centre and had 2,5 hours of free time. We used this time to walk the city walls (4 km, 1 hour) This was so lovely since it was a terribly hot day and the trail on the city walls is almost entirely shadowed by trees. There was a mild breeze, we had lovely views and we enjoyed ourselves immensely. Then we perused the streets of Lucca. Loverly Shops, nice cafés and restaurants a very quaint and safe atmosphere. Not many people... everything was just perfect. Lucca is so beautiful. What struck us was that everybody seemed so relaxed - even the people that had to work - they all emitted that Caribbean "don't worry" vibe... it was relaxing. Puccinis birth house: If I had to choose between going to Florence and going to Lucca, the choice would be easy: Lucca is smaller but imho just as beautiful - and on the plus side - you can get there quicker, it is not as overrun as Florence, there are far less cars and mopeds, it is so serene. We had a lovely time.

something interesting has happened: I have received a letter from the cruise Sales team telling me that I am entitled to 4 complimentary nights if I book a 7N sailing during this cruise. This cannot be right...???? Does this mean, I book a 7N cruise and only pay for 3 Nights? This sound too good to be true. I am sure there are blackout cruises - I just hope, that some of the eligible ones will be during school breaks!?? I will definitely ask Pangiotis (Head of Cruise Sales) about this the first chance I get.

Monaco after enjoying a wonderful breakfast (thank you so much Padam!) in our room we headed ashore. I have never been to Monaco before and I didn't expect anything special from this port which is always a good thing since then you cannot be dissappointed. Weather was hot and humid (around 29 degrees C) and we went pretty early (around 8:30). My plan was to see the Exotic Garden from the outside (it is closed for all 2024) since you are supposed to have excellent views from there. Monaco is very elegant - so elegant that you do not climb stairs, you take escalators/lifts - and when in Monaco do as the romans do so we took the elevators. In the excruciating heat (I may exaggerate a little bit) it was the right decision to make. We arrived at the garden (closed, no surprise here) and enjoyed the view. we also went to the small Princess Parc. We did use the elevators but still we were soaked wet by the time we had descended to sea level. The town is lovely. Little alleys, beautiful expensive houses, very clean, very safe. we even took the escalator to see the casino: You cannot imagine the cars that were parked up there. Ferrari and Bentley were the only ones I knew by name but I can imagine it were not the most expensive ones. I am not judging - I am on an expensive cruise, I am an extremely priveleged, sheltered person - but still ... the thought that there are people who can easily afford cars like this and/or a 7 million dollar appartment in Monaco seams surreal - what have they done to deserve that? I am sure they remember to give something back... on top of the Fairmont Hotel near the casino you find footprints of famous football stars. Those are the footprints of Zinedine Zidane view from the palace (reachable by...escalator of course)

thank you @QueenP

Talking about upgrading: The internet package that is included in our suite has terribly slow speed so I upgraded it for 96 USD (9,6 USD/day) which is OK since I have a lot of OBC. Now the speedtest says : and it works great!