the mice

Hi Roger b, So sorry that I completely forgot about posting back about how our day went in Mallorca. We were traveling for a couple of weeks after that port stop and I caught an upper respiratory infection about 3 days before coming home that wiped me out for weeks. Anyway.... We had a great day in Mallorca. We took the ship's shuttle to below the cathedral and walked to the station and got the 10:10 train. Train was packed!! Walked a bit around Soller, into the cathedral, so we didn't get the tram down to the port until 12:30ish. Had lunch, walked around the port a bit and headed for the bus. By the time we found the bus stop, we had just missed the bus to Palma by 5 minutes (2:15? memory a bit foggy now) and the next bus wasn't for an hour. There was an earlier bus that takes the mountain route, but actually arrives in Palma about 30 minutes later. Since it was hot, when the earlier bus came, my husband said "let's go and ride in the bus instead of sitting out here in the hot sun". So we did. We had the front seats on the right side with a view out the window. It was one of the best things we did - so scenic, lots of fun with the bus taking the curves, cars having to back up. What a blast! We loved it. When we got back to Palma we walked some more, visited the Arab Baths and arrived after the cathedral was closed. Oh well, we still had a fun day, and my husband was not at all sorry to have missed another church. 😁 I used my telephoto zoom and got some shots through the open doors. By the time we got back we had missed the last shuttle to our Azamara ship, which was a little crazy since the last shuttle was 5:30 and the ship was in port until 10pm. However, I saw another bus at the shuttle stop so we walked over to check it out just in case. Turns out it was a shuttle for a Celebrity ship and the driver decided to let us take his shuttle and even dropped us off at our ship which was at a different docking place in the port. Thanks for all your help in explaining the transportation. It was a great help. And we had a great day.

We were on a B2B in late Oct-Nov. On the first leg we had about $600 in OBC and $1700 on the 2nd leg. On the first leg we booked 2 excursions, a upgraded internet package and a specialty restaurant to use it up. We don't drink so beverage packages don't figure into our spending. We also checked out the shops on this first leg to figure out how we might use our OBC on the next leg. The choices in the shop were limited at best, and in many cases, overpriced. Especially in the jewelry shop, which had few customers. On the 2nd leg, most of the excursions offered were not very appealing. We booked a 3 table specialty dining and 3 shore excursions. We also arranged for a private transfer at the end of the cruise. It was booked at an exorbitant rate but our OBC was covering it. (turns out they sent a luxury van for 6 when we only needed a less expensive sedan for 2). We still had hundreds of OBC left. We were notified of a cancellation of one tour at the beginning of the cruise, and a substitute excursion was cheaper, so our remaining OBC pot increased again. On this leg it appeared that most of the ship also had lots of OBC. And we had several late nights in port, so the shops opened very late. I decided to go early in the cruise to buy a certain Coach handbag, hoping it would still be available. People were hovering around the shops and literally stormed in as they opened each night. That was a bit unsettling for an Azamara cruise. The night I went, they had rearranged most of the merchandise from the night before, but I was able to purchase the Coach handbag I had decided to buy. It was the same price as Coach sells it for in the US. However, we had a port change near the end of the cruise, resulting in another cancelled shore excursion, so more OBC back in our account. Luckily, the shops were still going to be open that night. We bought a shirt for my husband (yes, overpriced), and some L'Occitane product (same price as in US). All OBC spent. Only the Coach bag met the VAT refund threshold, but after Azamara's cut and the airport refund office cut of that (still confusing), I did get about $53 USD back. Would we prefer lower prices to all this? Yes, we would. The amount of OBC Azamara handed out last year in some promotions was crazy. How to use it becomes a challenge. And as far as using OBC for shore excursions, we found many of the options on our cruises to be mundane and overpriced, so we booked a number of private excursions. But we also weren't about to leave the OBC on the table, so to speak. Was the merchandise "free"? Well, in the sense of "use it or lose it", to us it was.

We did Aus/NZ B2B and for the NZ cruise, all our shorex were private tours with small groups arranged on CC. Some of our fellow cruisers used Viator and seemed to do some of the same things we were doing. It was all easily arranged and reasonably priced.

Ship - Onward Cabin Number - 6064 Month/Year sailed - October/November 2022 Would you choose this room again? - Yes Is noise an issue - No, very quiet. Balcony Size - standard balcony Fairly close to stairs and elevator, and guest laundry on deck 7.

We were on Onward last month on a B2B and IIRC the laundry special was $40 for the bag - same offering on both cruises. We had 1 bag of free laundry each leg. I rolled everything very tightly and added up the per item price of what I stuffed in the small laundry bag. It was some slacks, a lightweight sweater and a lot of shirts (1 polo and lots of tee shirts - no socks or undergarments, which I do by hand in the sink). Just for the heck of it, I added up the per item price and it would have been much less than $40. So the "special" might be more than the regular price depending on what you cram into the bag. A tip: there is a hanging rod in the closet above the mini-fridge which does not have enough clearance for hanging clothes. However, when the closet door is closed, due to the heat generated by the fridge, it becomes like a warming cabinet. I found that my and my DH's socks wouldn't fully dry overnight on the line in the shower, even after rolling them up in a towel to remove excess water. So I put the still damp socks over the rod in this closet and they finished drying very nicely. There is also a rod on the inside of that closet door (tie rack?) that can also be used. I found this very handy during our 15 days onboard. I also used the free laundry room two or 3 times (we pack light) and of the 12 machines (6 washers, 6 dryers), usually 5 were out of commission each time, either marked "out of order" or "undergoing maintainence".

Just returned home from a cruise this week. Used Bonjour Provence from Marseille. They are a small company and sometimes it took a couple of days for a reply. However, when I communicated with them while on my trip I got a response right away.

We were also in Barcelona on a recent cruise and were docked at Moll Adossat Terminal C, not at World Trade Center. We were overnighting before disembarkation day, which for us, on a B2B, was turnaround day for the next cruise. Since we had a private tour on the first day with pickup at the port, we didn't pay attention to any shuttles offered by the ship. However, the next day, since it was disembarkation/embarkation, the only shuttle was the Cruise Terminal shuttle bus that stops at the various terminals on Moll Adossat. We were the first to board the bus we took in the morning, but as it made the rounds to an MSC ship, it was packed. It is 3 euros one way, 4.50 round trip cash only. Helpful to have exact change. Returning to the ship, there were crowds of pushy people jamming the cruise shuttle buses. Glad we gave ourselves an extra hour before all aboard to return to the ship.

Used them for a transfer from our hotel to the port. 3rd time using them. Flawless every time. First time was back in 2009 with an airport pickup to hotel in Rome and then, a day later, transfer to the port, shared with others staying in a different hotel. Second time was transfer from city hotel to an airport hotel. This time was another transfer from hotel to the port. Driver was a bit early, offered us water, drove smoothly and made our transfer to the ship as seamless as possible. Payment by credit card. Easy-peasy. Highly recommend them for transfers. If we return to Rome, we will definitely use them again.

And 4 stories! We have a 4 story townhouse - those stairs can be a workout. Hope this has an elevator included since this will be $$$$. Four Seasons is considered the pinnacle of service and luxury in the hotel space, so this is interesting. I think its slightly bigger than the Ritz Carlton Yacht, but with fewer staterooms.

Thank you for this info. But we have decided to move to the Le Meridien in Nice since we have free night certificates from Marriott that will otherwise expire and have they more value than the one we have from IHG (for the Holiday Inn). We can use that one back home in the US. We will go to Monaco on one of our port days in Nice and then at the end of the cruise. we disembark in Monaco/Monte Carlo, not Nice. We will use OBC (we have lots - hard to use it all) to arrange a transfer to Nice, instead of staying in Monte Carlo and then paying for a transfer out of pocket. We will spend 2 nights in Nice, which we've been to before, and don't mind walking (without luggage!), so will explore more of Nice and go to Antibes. We will probably just treat ourselves to a cab to the airport since we have to go early morning for our flight. But I do appreciate all the helpful information I have received in response to my post. CruiseCritic is such a great resource.

Thank you for this info!!!!! I realized this is for the Oct. 21 sailing which we are on so I just made the change in our Voyage Planner. The last time I saw flamenco in Spain was back in 1970 on a student tour and we were inches from the dancers - a bit intimidating to a bunch of 17-19 year olds! This looks like a very nice venue. We are also on a B2B but starting with this cruise. The 2nd leg still has a Destination Celebration and it's one that doesn't sound like our cup of tea - French Bal Musette (First gaining popularity in the 1880s, bal-musette is a style of French music and dance that features a variety of waltzes, polkas and other rhythms played on the accordion.). We may skip out / or skip this altogether.

Interesting. In my planning, I encountered the issue of a shortage of guides.

Thank you - I never pack anything white when traveling, especially if I am trying to go carry on only and we are traveling for a month and will have to do laundry (on land and on ship) so sending out whites could be a disaster, esp. if only 1 item. (and in NY, black is our white anyway 😉)

Thanks for the link. We did Australia-NZ on Solstice B2B with pre-cruise time in Melbourne and Sydney and post-cruise in Auckland back in October-November 2019, the last big trip pre-Covid. Wonderful memories. I'd love to go back and see more.

I was saddened to hear the news today. Back in 1976, I worked for a short time in New York City, and I remember during a lunch break I was crossing Park Avenue which is very wide with a center island. It was often not possible to get completely across in one go, so I was standing on the island waiting for the next light change when suddenly an open limousine with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip came up and turned the corner. I believe they were heading to a lunch at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. What a thrilling sight! I had been fascinated by the Queen since I was a young girl. She was truly an inspiration to so many with her dedication and service.

Thanks for this, but we have decided to move to 2 nights in Nice. It turns out, per a poster on the Azamara board, that we can use our excess OBC to arrange a private transfer there. Otherwise, we'd be paying for that on our own if we stayed the night here. Plus, DH has an aversion to lugging cases on the bus. However, this is very helpful info. I really appreciate how helpful CruiseCritic folks are! Thanks again for such detail.

Hi Hank, Azamara lists our Onward cruise as Nice and does not indicate tendering. Unlike some other ports on our B2B where there is a parentheses listing the actual port location, it has never listed Villefranche for our Nice stop. This is also an overnight port for us, so since it is a small ship, I am hoping this is correct and that we will be in Port Lympia, Nice.

More good advice!!! I figured I would have to arrange onboard. I had been struggling because we were going to spend 1 night around Monaco and the 2nd in Nice before our flight home. We want to visit the Oceanographic Museum and the Prince's Car Collection which has now moved near the port - 2 misses from previous travels. But I had booked a hotel in Cap d'Ail which is on the Monaco/France border and found out how difficult it might be to get a taxi there due to politics and the taxi drivers themselves. Plus not much choice of restaurants in that area. And we would still have to arrange a private transfer to Nice for the 2nd night. So, based on advice on the ports forum, it was suggested to just go to Nice for the 2 nights and train or bus back to Monaco to see what we wanted to see. Using OBC for the transfer basically "seals the deal". You are such a wealth of good info. Thanks again.

Uktog, Thank you so much!!! I was thinking I would have to book an expensive private transport and then try to spend the OBC on a lot of not-so-great merchandise in the shop. Now I only have to spend on somewhat less not-really-wanted stuff 😉. This is so helpful. Thanks again. And, of course, if they won't let me do this, I can still book a private transfer while on the cruise. Fingers crossed that won't be necessary.

Even after booking a couple of excursions (pretty poor offering for others), we have a lot of OBC (more than $900 USD) on our Onward cruise that disembarks in Monaco on Nov. 5. We will probably buy a dining package, but that will still leave us with a lot of OBC. Shore ex currently lists only a tour of Nice with airport transfer for afternoon flights. Unfortunately, we are going to stay 2 nights in Nice rather than go to the airport. Since you can book a private car to the airport via Shore Excursions, is this even an option in a place like Monaco? And if so, since it would be a private car, could we just go to our Nice hotel instead of the airport?

OK, thanks. Helpful info. Two things I had not mentioned: 1. We've been on the French Riviera before and visited Nice, Eze, Rothschild villa, Monaco/Monte Carlo. 2. Our cruise is in Nice for 2 days (1 overnight) before going to Corsica and then on to Monaco for disembarkation. So during our cruise we are planning to have a full day in Nice and a private day trip out (it's our anniversary). That's why after the cruise we were adding two days so we could see the Oceanographic Museum and the Prince's Car Collection and a day trip from Nice to Antibes which led to my previous decisions on where to stay. Thanks again for your advice.

We are quite active and fit, but after a month of lots of walking I am never sure how my DH's knees will feel. We've been known to walk 10-13 or so miles a day in Rome, Sydney, etc., but this is our first overseas trip in 3 years, so who knows. 3 years older and all that.😀 If the taxi is only $20 from a Nice hotel, that's fine. Google street view does show the tram entrance is a flight of stairs, so that's a consideration, but DH says he would do that ONCE with luggage. Do you have a recommended taxi service in Nice or will the hotel just get us one? Prebooking needed? For the Holiday Inn we have one free night certificate that will expire in a few months so we're using that. Points for the second night are quite low, so a good deal. We also used a free night certificate for the Riviera Marriott. It expires in Dec. so we'd lose it if we just cancelled and didn't rebook at another Marriott hotel. We could use it at the Le Meridien or AC Marriott by adding some extra points for one night and using points for night 2. Any thoughts? (Or we could use it by adding a 2nd night to an overnight trip we are taking near home in early Dec. and just book the Holiday Inn Nice and be done figuring this out. 😉 ) My head is spinning from a month of travel details. Thanks for all your help. Much appreciated.

The Holiday Inn is a block from the Boscolo Exedra and the tram stop to the airport is in front of this hotel. Boscolo was part of Marriott when we were supposed to take this cruise in June 2020, but not now. I was booked into the Hyatt Mediterranee but it's a walk to the airport tram and my DH won't do that so I cancelled that reservation. Would like to take the airport tram instead of another expensive taxi. We are traveling for a month and have arranged a lot of private (for just us 2) tours to avoid Covid as much as possible so we don't get stuck quarantining on the ship, so the expenses have added up. Have points with Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, IHG, and Radisson. Based on this, do you have suggestions?

Thanks for this - but are you suggesting I should just go to Nice for the 2 nights and train back to Monaco for 1 day to see Oceanographic and the Prince's Car Collection?

Updated to note - Hotel in Nice is Holiday Inn Nice on Blvd. Victor Hugo (not HIExpress) and is 1 block from tram line to airport. Just in case that makes any difference re: transport.