nordski

Thanks very much. We are faced with choosing the side of the ship we want or avoiding the tub/shower combo. I was hoping our memory was not correct,

The last time we were in a Club Continent bath/shower we were somewhat younger and shall we say more nimble. Can’t remember if the entrance side of the bath is a solid wall of the same height that allows no easier entry point. If memory serves the side of the tub is rather high and narrow. Thanks to those who have a better memory or a more recent experience.

Speaking of “care and concern”, I am so impressed with how you have demonstrated those qualities, after leaving Onward. A terrific example and reassuring for those of us who might become rather cynical in these times. Thanks for posting, Hope your recovery is speedy and complete.

it is certainly not ideal that there are these issues when you log in, and I hope that all is eventually satisfactorily resolved. As you have experienced, the cruise that we reserved two days shows, as of yet, no OBC. Your post was a good reminder that we should record the amount of OBC involved in case there is some question raised. Thanks.

Thanks for those points and once we visit Greenland you may well be right, Sisimiut may also become a goal. I totally agree that Azamara is now providing a significant opportunity to explore ports not regularly visited by mainstream lines. It’s rather exciting. And, as I have posted, I hope that these itineraries centred on Eastern Canada prove to be popular and remain viable for a number of years.

Hope it works for your cruise buddies! We liked the 2 days in Reykjavik at the beginning, the 2 ports in Greenland, and 2 days in St. John’s. Lots to see in St. John’s!

Thanks for the suggestion. Really appreciated.

I may be misunderstanding the issue so this may not be helpful, but our OBC for a cruise in June is in US$ when I log into our reservation on the website.

Thanks for your post on price protection. We just had our TA transfer our Aug 05, 2025 reservation on Quest to August 30, 2025. I am no expert on reading the invoice but I don’t see any fee for the change. I would also mention that it was handled very quickly by the Azamara office. Hope your experience is as painless as ours.

Thanks so much!!! Some wonderful choices, and one itinerary includes Gaspé (Grandfather’s home), Sydney N.S., and Trois-Rivières. I do hope these cruises are popular so that they are repeated in 2026.

Thanks for the post! Now that is a trip to dream about! I have several family members who would love that. Did you take the RV across on the ferry or rent it in Newfoundland?

The prior cruise Reykjavik to Montreal, it stops for 2 days in St. John’s, apparently has limited staterooms available, specifically no suites. No wonder Azamara is rejigging Quest’s itineraries. Will they add Sydney N.S.? Probably not. We will keep monitoring the website.

Greenland would certainly have its attractions. Even with the port change it is an attractive itinerary. Just want to see what happens on the next cruise.

Well, I was. But have to reconsider. The prior cruise visits St. John’s and at least once in a lifetime one should visit Signal Hill! But I haven’t checked stateroom availability on that cruise yet. The subsequent Quest itineraries are not posted. But what if they sail to Montreal and offer a fall tour of the Green Mountains? So many choices, I may have to defer to your judgement. Are you still committed to the Aug. 05 cruise?

The only refund mentioned specifically is of land tours already booked for that stop. I found that a bit humorous.

Thanks for your comment. You may well be right! Port schedules are showing ships docking there in 2024 and 2025, including Viking ships, but that may all be wishful thinking. If repairs are scheduled then it would seem 2 years is a lot of time to do so, although there may be issues with local marine life and geologic formations.

Just received an email regarding an itinerary change for Quest, Aug 05, 2025. I knew they were rejigging Quest’s itineraries during this summer period, but I didn’t expect that they would drop L’Anse aux Meadows, near the northern tip of Newfoundland, and replace it with Sisimiut, Greenland. For me, one of the main attractions of the itinerary was potentially visiting one of the earliest Viking settlements in North America (since it was a tender port there was always a chance of missing it). We will have to research Sisimiut. The subsequent Quest itineraries are not yet posted. I hope that this change is not too disappointing to those, like Mackdogmolly, who are also on the August 05 cruise. It may have been a priority only to a few of us.

Thanks for alerting us to this. For some reason there is no mention on our news reports. I can’t imagine what it would be like to experience this level of flooding after the summer deluge. It must be worse because of the potentially aborted plans, both personal and communal, to celebrate the holiday season. I hope that the administrative offices of the government, both state and federal, can provide the necessary support. Please keep us informed .

The reality may well be that CC gatherings may no longer serve an important role. But we will miss the possibility of a serendipitous encounter with someone we have never met, either online or in person.

Apparently to me as well. Thanks for your forbearance for the confusion I created.

Mea Culpa!!!! Mea maxima culpa!!!! Of course the Iroquois Locks are UPSTREAM! Of course if you look at a map the Locks are south of Montreal and therefore “down on the map” Doesn’t that make them plausibly downstream? Oh, of course it doesn’t. So there is no excuse. Apologies for the confusion I caused and I will retire to my room.

Interesting point about Trois-Rivières but Azamara, as it is planning, can sail all the way to the Port of Montreal which is a major transshipment centre. The port at Saguenay is a popular cruise stop and it seens to win awards in terms of “Best Port Welcome”. But Trois-Rivières would have its attractions as well.

You are absolutely correct about the draft and the length is also no issue. As I see it, the problem is the beam. The “R” ships are about 5 feet too wide for the Iroquois locks just downstream from Montreal. i have a buddy who helped attach the lines of the ships as they worked their way through the locks of the Welland Canal to bypass Niagara Falls. The Octantis was a tight fit. As a sidebar, most of the large ships on the Great Lakes are lake freighters which are generally a different design than ocean ships. They are long, deep, and narrow. When you picture the infamous Edmund Fitzgerald you should think of a lake freighter. But don’t think about what happened to it.

I absolutely agree it would be excellent to board an Azamara ship in Toronto, and I am no expert on the limits of navigation for Azamara ships. But if my Google search is correct, the Viking Octantis is about 6 feet narrower than an “R” ship and has about 3 feet clearance in the locks on the Seaway. Obviously boarding the Octantis on Toronto is a possibility, but since it is a special “expedition” ship and carries only 378 passengers the prices are a bit daunting, But maybe an “expedition” ship is in Azamara’s future sailing in the Arctic, on The Grest Lakes, and in the Antarctic, That would be a memorable “world cruise”!

The Big “O” was a terrible place to watch baseball but yes, the bittereness of the Expos being spirited away by MLB still remains. Fortunately, Montreal has other attractions.