cavaaller

Our dinner at Aqualina was very nice. we were seated at the back with a fabulous view on Marseille and Les Calanques as we left the port. As a perfect start I upgraded my premium package to ultimate which enabled me to enjoy my Cune wine. We picked the Carpaccio and the watermelon salad as starters with spaghetti bolognaise and filetto di manzo as mains. the spaghetti were wonderful the filet was very tender and the spinach was tasty... but I did not care for the fried cake thing on top of the filet nor for the mushrooms (tasted watery) My favorite part was the dessert though. I had the most wonderful chocolate cake (torta di chocolato sense farina) which was amazing: soft, juicy not too sweet with a perfect pairing of strawberries and ice cream...very very best part of the meal! on the other hand: the tiramisu was no tiramisu really- it had some gelling agent that imho is not supposed to be used for this dish and it tasted rather bland my baileys on ice (ultimate package swell)

thank you so much (!) for pointing that out. Seems like we picked the wrong time... I thought the earlier the better... so we will have to sleep in tomorrow. Glad, you are enjoying the cruise so far...

thank you for the suggestion, I will try those next (together with the greek burger) 🙂

@Grandma Cruising thank you for the suggestion, I love lamb!

The view is so stunning, I could stare at it all day... IMG_4628.MOV

And finally Aqualina: and Prime C

Maybe someone is interested in the menus. This is the breakfast menu (RoomService):

The shops are closed while at port but I took the liberty to take a couple of pics to see if I could maybe spend a little OBC here - they do say, they accept it 😉

We then walked through the bar .... through the photo shop... to the shore excursion center - you can obviously read (or borrow?) travel guides there

On our way to the Patio we went by the "drawing room" which is such a wonderful retreat. There are tons of books that you can borrow.

So I looked at the menus (above). But perusing the menus made me want to go to the Patio Grill instead - we had the most amazing Azamara Burgers (no pics. looked like burgers though)

For Lunch we wanted to order Room service and eat on our terrace.

Marseille - Vive la France (National Holiday 14.07.) Marseille welcomes us with sun, heat and excited security/police officers and many, many expectant French people and tourists. We dock right in the middle - at Vieux Port - only 2 steps away from the Cathedral. The cathedral reminds me of the Duomo in Florence - it was built around 1850 and it is rather beautiful. We walk through "Le Panier" (a lovely part of Marseille) and stroll through the Old Harbour. There are so many people busy making preparations for the parade tonight - so many security guards sealing off all the streets. Everybody is busy but no body really seams stressed - just excited. It is a nice vibe. Shops are closed (except for supermarket and tourist traps). It is extremely hot but walking through the lille streets you always find shadow. The French flag is at every corner. We step into the Galeries Lafayette to buy some Savon de Marseille (famous soap) and some French wine, we marvel at the yachts in the harbor and soak in the southern atmosphere. This morning we had breakfast in Windows Café and were a little overwhelmed (that is negatively surprised) by the amount of people at 7 in the morning. The ship is fully booked and it is a striking contrast to our experience last year in April when it sailed at around 40%. Once you adjust though, it is still the Azamara experience: Yes, every table is occupied but somehow the buffet does still not have "lines" like on the big ships. Getting off (and on) at port still was like walking out of the door (no line, no sweat, just noooo comparison to MSC/Celebrity). The only place where we wait to be served is at Mosaïc café. The wait is worth it though. The barista are amazing, the coffee is wonderful.

What a coincidence Bea, you also have the Horse-Show? Have a great cruise!

yes we did. there was only one person before us (we boarded in group 2) so no lines. the booking process was really quick (I had chosen the dates beforehand) maybe 3 minites?

@java spot, @roberts2005 @aliaschief @Grandma Cruisingthanks for replying! Rooms were ready at a quarter to two. But then... Did this ever happen to you: You get into your room and start your usual wipe-down only to realize that both of the toilets have very obviously (I spare you the details) not been cleaned AT ALL. While I do understand that this can absolutely happen, I also know that on turnaround day, they have a huge amount of work and that sometimes, there is a cleaning team so that it was probably someone other than my cabin steward that neglected to flush but ... I egoistically (!) hate that this happens to me, the biggest living germaphobe. This is my definition of an ICK moment. Needless to say that I used up all my alcohol wipes on the whole suite it somehow leaves me to wonder – if they don’t clean the toilets on turnover day… what else… So kind of a bad start. Also: no slippers in room, bubbly not on ice (but maybe they wait for me to give the go?)… I know, I am cranky now… Otherwise – stunning suite!

thank you @Riocca excellent news… let’s go and upgrade to the ultimate package then

wow. I would have hated that! Did you still have a nice cruise if I may ask?

we are waiting for the announcement that the rooms are ready which is supposed to happen at 2 o clock.

So … Question for experienced cruisers. if they list a wine in the menu of the den, is it possible to order this wine in the restaurants aswell?

And those are the included drinks resp. those in the upgraded beverage packages. Alas: not spanish wine - 😔 I will have to do with champagne then - oh the horror Scanned Document 2024-07-13 at 13.11.54.pdf

lunch is served in windows buffet, I had the most amazing vegan dish with a little salad on the side. this is the dinner plan for our journey:

Baggage drop off started around 10:30, check in 11:30 boarding 12:05 and 2 minutes later we are on board… let the vacantions begin

WTC South Terminal. Perfect dock