stpie

Thank you both so much!

May I ask: For the COVID testing prior to boarding, the PG website says it has to be a PCR.  But the flight says can be Antigen or PCR.  May I ask if you did PCR or Antigen to board the ship? Thanks!

 Our TA told us that the 1/22/22 cruise is canceled but the 1/29 is scheduled to go.  

Thank you Fitstylist55 and VacayAddict.  We are divers, too, and our cruise is scheduled for Feb.  

If your divemasters just contracted COVID, that would actually make me feel more reassured for the near future cruises, at least. Difficult to know what to do, final payment is due soon.

Thank you so much for these reports!  For future trip go-ers, please update us as well, it is very helpful in these uncertain times.  I'm also interested in hearing about the new 24 hr covid test requirement and how that goes for the new cruisers.

VacayAddict, Thank you so much for this update, I really appreciate.  Our cruise is upcoming as well, and we just don't know what to do.   Your experience helps us to decide.   Wow 1/3 of crew is significant:  great to be on the safe side, yet would definitely affect the cruising experience.  Was there any compensation to travelers as a result of the shortening of the itinerary?

5 hours ago, DebbieMacG said:

Have you tried Facebook?

What would I search for on FB?  I'm not really on FB, so I don't know how to navigate.

Thank you for the suggestion, will give it a try!

Argh!  We had a wonderful (better than we could ever imagine) cruise that I need to report.  However, I'm distracted because I lost the contact info for a lovely family we just met from England.  It was raining at our transfer airport, so our luggage was drenched and the piece of paper fell apart. This family has four children, including two daughters who traveled with them. 

Their younger daughter became close friends with our daughter.  We can't remember their last names.

Any tips how to contact?  Azamara will not release contact info, which I understand.  I know their first names (and their cabin #s. They had two connecting cabins) but want to protect their privacy here.   I should have photograghed their contact info.

Bonnie, could I please ask you or Azamara/s email department to pass on our contact info to the family, so they could contact us?     My daughter is very sad that she cannot reach her friend.  

Thank you for any help!  We were in cabins 7092 and 7095.

Bonnie, our Azamara Pursuit Cruise arrives in Venice, Aug 12.  Is the port still San Basilio?  

I imagine San Basilio will have have some reconstruction. 

Will you please let us know when you find out?  Thank you!

Thank you, both, so much!  This really helps us with our planning.  I posted in Roll Call.  

8 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Usually 9:30am is about the latest leaving time.

Thank you HGC!  When is the earliest debarking time, if the schedule says 9 am?

On 3/10/2019 at 2:57 PM, BBMacLaird said:

Just got our pier assignments for Venice, and Good News! All our calls to Venice this 2019 season will be docking at San Basilio!

 

Thank you so much for following up and updating, Bonnie!

Thank you for looking into this, Bonnie.  I hope you don't mind if I ask again in a little while.  

Hi Bonnie, any updates on the Venice port locations?  Our Pursuit trip is August 3.

Thank you!

Thank you so much!  I did see this hotel in an earlier web search, and it is so helpful to have your personal recommendation!

Mine bounced back, too. Said "address not found."

I can't log in through the Voyage planner.  Says 

"The information you attempted to submit is incorrect. Please try again."  

I can go through main Sign In/Create Account tab, but it is always a little alarming when my cruise info can't found!

I have two cabins booked (same last name, same cruise), so I am always logging in and out, and the website doesn't remember my log in.

Thank you so much, Bonnie and HGC, I will await your final word.

I saw Bonnie's 2018 listing, but not 2019.

Specifically, we are thinking of Azamara Pursuit 3, 2019 from Civitavecchia to Venice. 

My TA says Marittima, but our Venice Tour guide asked port authority, which said San Basilio.  I'm confused.

I know ports can change, but knowing the location helps us plan which hotels to book nearby.

Thank you!

FandFmom, or any other person with this experience,  when you said your hotel was near San Basilio, may I ask which one it was and if you recommend it?

Thank you! Just found out our ship is docking at San Basilio, not the main port.

My TA just told me, after speaking with a supervisor at Azamara, that the website per person cabin prices are not updated for our cruise (not sure about others), resulting in the much higher final price.    The website continues to show the "old" price, which is considerably lower than current, apparently.

It's extremely frustrating that Azamara for shows a falsely lower cabin price on the website. That is deceptive and false.  Is that considered bait and switch?

Edited, will post update in a bit. 

Our cruise, too!  Please, Bonnie, would you mind to check for us, too?

On the website,  August 3, 2019 Pursuit Rome-Venice (Amalfi-Dalmatian), shows the Veranda room $3799, which was the same price as during the Double Upgrade.  (And the veranda is still priced higher than the ocean view, which is $4099.)  This cruise also shows the new Share and Save 50%+free Wifi promo.  

When my TA and I priced this it out myself this morning, we came up with a price $700 higher than our booking price during the double upgrade.  We had a V2.  Plus, we received additional OBCs originally which might not be valid now.  So, apparently, if I were to rebook now, the price difference would be even greated than $700!

Our TA was also told that cabin prices have increased.  However, as I mentioned above, the current Azamara website prices for Verandas on our sailing are the exact same as during October. 

So the 50% should be off the $3799, correct? The math on this new promo is not adding up!

Thank you for any help.

Our ship, Silversea Spirit, is smaller and was allowed to dock along the Neva River in town, at the Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment, which was beautiful and so much closer for our tours. I think there were several large ships docked at the large dock at Marine Facade. We were there three days in early August.

We were not asked to separate into ship or non-ship tours. Our cruise director warned us that it could take a long time the first day. There were 8-9 windows open. We were the only ship for this immigration center. No other ships were docked at the embankments. It took a total of 10-15 minutes (waiting in 2 different lines) for our family of six to pass, though there were passengers behind us. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits. Our CD apologized for the wait, but everyone expressed understanding. Our ship was small, totalling about 600 passengers, so it's a lot eaiser.

All other passing through (returning and evening), was fine.

Check and see if your ship offers the "Evening at Catherine's Palace" excursion. We took it from the Pacific Princess last month. It was magical. The palace was closed to all other visitors. I actually had the Amber Room all to myself for several minutes! We also had a private guide during the days for the 2 of us. She was fantastic as well. (Margarita from Tours by Locals.) My husband said it was like touring SPG with a cousin who knew everything.)

We did this as well. We heard about (and saw) the crowds at Catherine's Palace and Hermitage, so we visited these two places via the ship's tours in the evening (two separate evenings). Both were quite expensive, and fortunately we used our OBC to pay. This also allowed us to have more time in the daytime to see the many other sights. The evening tour also allowed us to take photos in the Amber Room. Apparently, photos are not allowed in the daytime.

We just returned from our Baltic Cruise, and we used Tzarina Tours, a smaller company I wanted to support. Nina was our guide for our private 3 day tour. I believe she used to work for one of the larger companies and then decided to start her own several years ago. You can email via her website, and she will give you her Whatsapp account, so you can text for even quicker replies. We were a group of 6: 2 grandparents, 2 parents, and 2 tweens. She is kind, professional, and very hard working. Her driver, Sergey, was also a pleasure. He drove a new Mercedes mini bus, which can seat 16(?), so we had a lot of room. I heard about her through reading through the replies here on CC and Trip Advisor. I remember someone saying that she was flexible about plans, and she was. As I researched different places to visit, our itinerary changed many times. When my daughter mentioned she liked stationary stores, Nina fit a stop at her favorite stationary store.

Her fees are considerably lower than the more famous companies. She got along so well with my whole family. We all had a fantastic time with her, including my kids. I did have inital reservations going through a smaller outfit vs a bigger company, but we're so glad we chose Nina. We got to know her during these three days, so the tour became more intimate and meaningful. Nina brought homemade snacks and vodka for us to try and little gifts for my kids.