cruisemuse13

If I click on the link to Azamara Roll call , in the box to the right of the topics, that says "MOre about Azamara club cruises", the link does not work. But if I go to the menu bar at the top of the page, click on Community, and then click on "forums", and then click on Azamara roll calls, it works fine.

I hope this works for you.

Nothing about giving the piano player, aka Max, a suitable venue? No plans to kill the Sunset bar- poor decision IMHO. What about the grossly oversized tables on the verandas? These belong over the side- way too big for the space and look out of place.

Yes the veranda tables are large. But the veranda only has to have space for 2 people, and the table is the right height, and a good size, for eating a meal. We enjoy a room service breakfast on the veranda.

On the Journey, in the late afternoon/early evening, we went to the Looking Glass for a relaxing drink before getting dressed for dinner. There was a large sign in the lounge saying VIP EVENT. so we sat at one of the booths on the side of the ship, near the entrance. A server quickly came over and we asked him "who are the VIPs? " He replied " I don't know, but YOU are my VIPs!" And he treated us as such with snacks, and excellent service for the rest of the cruise.

A small thing, but it felt sincere, and was much appreciated.

Thank you Azamara for listening and reinstating the free internet minutes. I don't bother much with the internet when on holiday, too busy doing other things but I do like to check in on line for my homeward flight where possible, thus saving time and hassle at the airport. Therefore I am happy with the reduced levels.

I agree with your comments. Also , the majority of cruisers are travelling with someone else, a family member, who also is likely to have internet minutes. If you each have 120 minutes, that is 4 hours of internet time combined. That would probably satisfy the majority of passengers.

Haven't been posting for a while since we just did a wonderful B2B from Southampton to Barcelona, and then 4 frenetic days in glorious Madrid..

Hi BillC. I hope you enjoyed your recent cruise. I know this is considered a "thread hijack", but I would be interested in any suggestions/hints you might have about Madrid. Since it is not a port, it does not get mentioned often. I will be on the Journey, Nov 6 cruise, ending in Malaga, and then going to Madrid for several days postcruise. I know there are several other CC members on my roll call that are doing the same thing.

If you have any comments , you could post on the main forum or on our roll call, or in the Spain ports of call. Or if you are too busy Post-cruise to respond, I completely understand. No pressure, just interest.

While I have never sailed on Azamara, I have enjoyed the cafe on X! However, with no sea days on our upcoming (and first) Azamara cruise I am wondering if I can get my beverage in a to go cup? I am not good in the morning without my Americano!:p

 

Is there any music, live or otherwise, in the evening in the cafe?

 

Thanks :)

I do not know the current state of affairs regarding entertainment, but I do know that you CAN get your hot beverage in a "to go" cup. No problem.

Thank you for your kind words. And how lucky to be on the Journey in Monte Carlo! We've never been to that city but everyone I know who has been has said it's pretty spectacular. More luxury in view than your eyeballs can take in. ;)

 

 

 

Hi Cheryl! You'll be going to Valencia, right? There's a complimentary shuttle that runs every 30 minutes and drops you off downtown at Pintor Lopez street, which is right at the edge of the old medieval quarter so it's a really handy location for sightseeing. We were there two days so one day we did our own thing and the other we went on the ships excursion "Valencia and the San Jose Caves." If you've not made any plans, I'd suggest this one in a heartbeat. The cave has an underground river and that's what it's all about--a boat ride through. Really really interesting and lovely. http://www.spain.info/en_US/que-quieres/arte/monumentos/castellon/cueva_riosubterraneo_castellon.html

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Especially the photos.:D

Very entertaining.

And I also appreciate the information about Valencia since we will be there soon.

Yes, you can request your laundry be washed in cold water.

Thank you everyone for your replies.:D

We often book city hotels on melia.com which are a Spanish company. Their hotels lack character, but they are clean, comfortable and have good service. They have different star rating hotels, so will suit all budgets. They also have a price guarantee, meaning you can't book them anywhere else cheaper.

 

The last time we were in Madrid we stayed in one of their Tryp hotels on the Gran Via. You can't get more central, but can be a bit noisy. I have also stayed in the Hotel Los Galgos in the Salamanca area, which is a more upmarket area of Madrid.

 

I've stayed in a few other hotels too, but can't recall the names. As long as you are somewhere central you will be OK as Madrid is fairly compact and public transport is good, so you can get around easily.

Thank you for the advice, I have not heard of melia.com so I will check it out.

Personally, I would take the train or fly to Seville which IMHO is Spain's most beautiful city. base yourself there and you can easily do a day trip to places like Cordoba, Jerez de la Frontera, Cadiz, Carmona. The weather is more likely to be better in the south of Spain too.

 

Yes, Madid is lovely also and you could do day trips to Toledo, Segovia or Avila etc from there.

LondonTowner, we will be going to Madrid for a few days after our cruise. I would like to stay near the center of town. Is there a hotel you would recommend? I have looked at Tripadvisor, but there are so many, it is hard to pick just one.

I think they say they will charge you ONLY if you say you will attend, and then do not cancel at least 24 hours in advance, and then do NOT attend. My understanding is that this policy is in place so that the cruiseline can make plans based on expected attendance. It seems reasonable to me.

It is just the "Florence on Your Own" basic transportation tour on the big bus so I am hoping there will still be tickets. I know it is overpriced, which is why I am hoping to just use OBC. Most of the other CC's posters on my roll call are not planning to go to Florence, but are planning other tours.

I know laundry is a touchy subject right now but I do have a basic question to ask. For the first time, and apparently the last time, my November 2014 cruise I will be eligible for a free bag of laundry. Like everyone else, we will be trying to pack lighter , for a 3 week vacation, and laundry is essential.

So for the free bag of laundry onboard, can you specify COLD wash?? Or is everything done automatically on warm or hot, and thrown in the dryer on high heat? It will certainly make a difference on what I can toss in that bag!:eek:

thank you for any replies.

Thank you both for your replies. I think I might gamble on the excursion still being available on the first day and try to use my OBC. I was not sure when the "cut off" would be for booking an excursion the following morning.

I am considering booking a Land Discovery but I would like to use my OBC. The excursion is on the second day of the cruise, at the first port stop. Does anyone know if it is possible to book an excursion on the first day of boarding for the following morning?

Hmmmm. I'm 56 years old and I'm 6'1". Not too many men approach me anymore. LOL. You have me singing "Memories." LOL. :o To be honest though, last year when DD and I were in Germany for a few weeks, I was approached a few times by mature gentlemen who told me I was beautiful. Came as quite the shock to my then 18-year-old. :D But, I never felt the least bit threatened by it.

"singing Memories".. From one 50s woman to another, thank you for my morning smile.:)

We are on our first Oceania cruise next month and have our first Seabourn cruise booked for next June plus a Celebrity one in October 2015. We had felt quite disloyal 'defecting' to other cruise lines but it will be interesting to compare them as we feel we should spread our wings now that Azamara does not seem to value our loyalty anymore.

I hope you will post your views about how Azamara compares to Oceania and Seabourn after your cruises. It is always helpful to hear from a fellow Azamara cruiser since we have similar cruise experience on which to base comparisons.

Dear Cruise Critic Members,

 

Today we will announce the new loyalty program for Azamara Club Cruises - Le Club Voyage - to our members. The announcement will start going out at 10 am (EST) on email.

 

We have added a few benefits, and removed some. It wasn’t an easy decision to replace some benefits, but we believe it’s the right long-term decision for our guests and our brand. Look at it this way: you’ll be earning points toward free nights instead of free laundry or Internet minutes. Plus stateroom upgrades, savings on select voyages, and other new benefits. As a Le Club Voyage member, we never want you to question your value to us…or our desire to create value for you.

 

Best Wishes,

Azamara Club Cruises

"A bird in the hand, is worth 2 in the bush" comes to mind with these changes. I would rather have my free laundry and internet minutes that I can enjoy now, and on every cruise, than accumulate points that I may or may not be able to use at some future date.

In the past, I have wondered if cruise critic members considering Azamara might be discouraged by the often negative threads on this forum. And here is yet another thread expressing disappointment from paying customers.

Other cruise line forums seem to be a bit more positive as I am researching other options. Azamara should be more concerned about their current customers.

I agree with the comments others have made. I appreciated the internet minutes and the laundry. since the internet is so slow, I do not want to pay for minutes and be frustrated watching the $ add up as I wait for sites to upload, or to print a boarding pass.:(

Am I correct in thinking that the old rules apply for the remaining 2014 cruises?? Will I still get my internet minutes?

All these little changes do make me rethink booking future Azamara cruises as compared to other cruise lines. My next cruise for 2015 is booked on Celebrity since a two week Caribbean cruise was less expensive than one week on Azamara.

I definitely would. It was a fun ride with some great views, and a photo op stop up in the mountains. The first train is at 10:10...the station is easy to get to by bus or taxi. It took about 1 hour and ten minutes total.

 

We opted to continue on the tram down to Port de Soller as well. It made for a nice day with some great changes. Since we did not want to cut it short, with a sailaway time at 4pm, we took a taxi back to the ship. We could have made it with a train ride back, but did not want to risk it. The cab ride back was very quick./..faster than the train for sure. ;)

 

I'll post more pics when we get home.

I am really enjoying your review and photos. Thank you for taking the time to post.

We will be in Mallorca this fall and are planning to take the tram to Port de Soller . Do you remember how much it cost for the taxi back to the ship? It would be nice to have more time to see the sights.

If you were ok on the Colorado tramway I think you would be Ok on Elba. The Colorado tramway went higher up the mountainside, and also seemed higher above the ground than the Elba cable car. Yes, the Elba cable car is open, but it is a small size for 2 people, so it was easy to stand on one end and hold the rails on both sides to feel cozy and secure.

And, yes , you do hop on when the car is on the move, which is part of the fun and entertaining to watch other people hop on and off. But there are people to assist you hopping on, and they will slow it down, or even stop it , if that is what you need. Everyone in our tour group managed without any incidents, and we did have some people with mobility limitations, and overall we were in our 50s to 80s agewise.

After the cable car, we went to a small port with a rocky beach, and a store with wine tasting and other food items for purchase. I did not see a place for beer tasting, but I did not look for one either. We did buy a bottle of a sweet Madeira type of wine for an aperitif onboard. And many people were buying some pouches of spice blends.

The tour guide told us that the beach would have beautiful rocks, but that it was illegal to take any rocks. Well, as soon as she said that , I felt like I "wanted a rock". And she was right, the rocks were all smooth, and round and different colours, but I resisted taking any,

It was a nice change of pace to be out of the city so we did enjoy the tour. I am sure you will enjoy your day, whatever you decide to do.

Thank you. Still deciding what to do and I've not canceled the cable car as of yet.

cruisemuse13...I did read that sometimes it is not clear so the view won't be a nice. Did you feel that it was terribly high up? I have a hard time with heights but do go out on a limb every so often and suck it up.

If you google "cable car elba", you will get some images of the cable car ride. I thought they looked like "birdcages" for 2 standing people and the interesting cage was part of the fun of the trip. The bars were sufficiently high that I always felt secure . The cable car never seems that far above the ground, not like the gondolas you see in the Alps, but then I am not afraid of heights.

At the start of the trip, you only see part way up the hillside, and you are not high, and then you pass a point and you can then see all the way to the top of the cable car. There is a section closer to the top that is a bit higher above the ground, but by then you have had a chance to get used to being on the cable car. The images that pop up on google show the rocky area closer to the top of the trip so that will show you the "highest" part of the journey and only you can guage if it will be OK for you.

After you depart the cable car at the top, there is a small snack bar and viewing area. There is a path to the summit of the hill, but it is uneven and no railings so I did not attempt it, but my husband did, and it was a highlight of the cruise for him. It was a nice change of pace from the rest of our activities.

We also appreciated the tour guides information about Elba, and Napoleon's influence on developing the island infrastructure. Overall, we had alot of fun. But it probably isn't everyone's "cup of tea". I hope you enjoy the day, whatever you choose to do. Happy Planning!

I was able to book the high speed train from Malaga to Madrid on 16 November so know there is a train

After several tries, I was able to buy my tickets. I am on the 9 a.m. train since it had the best price.

We took the cable car excursion and really enjoyed it. We were fortunate to have excellent views the day we were there.:D

After lunch on board, we walked into town and visited the Napoleon museum and the ship left later in the afternoon, so we had more time in port than you will have on your cruise.

If I had to choose between the activiites I would definitely choose the excursion . It was alot of fun.But that is just my opinion and others may differ.