luv2travel90266

Next year’s trip will be 3rd time in Venice 2nd time in Rome. If you are comfortable driving in Europe we wandered all through Tuscany diverting from our itinerary when we saw another beautiful hill top city that looked interesting. Italy is one of my favorite vacations.

Thank you. It helps a lot. The ride appears to be 90 min from the ship to Florence. Sound like I won’t be able to split at the Leather Factory. Probably then need to get my entry reservation for the Uffizi for 2 1/2 of leaving the ship.

Try https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search for finding the best suggestions for flights. This is my first choice when researching international flights.

Booked on the AZA Journey in Livorno April 6, 2023. I am planning the stops now. Happy to pay the premium to do the excursion with Azamara. The issue based upon my research is it is hard to get from the port to the train as the taxis refuse the short trip. Been to Florence before so want to spend most of our time there at the museum.

On the "Florence on your own" ship excursion I note they start a a leather factory. We plan to buy timed tickets to the Uffizi and have no interest in wasting time at the leather factory and store, just looking for a ride to and from the ship. It appears it is difficult to do by ourselves from Livorno as the train station is not easy to get to/from the industrial port where docked. Anyone have info on where stops and where the pickup spot is back to the ship?

Did some research and may have found the answer. It appears we are dropped off about a 20 minute walk from the Albaicin Quarter. If you have prepurchased your ticket on-line enter from the Puerta de la Justicia. Granada On Your Own _ MGM2 _ Azamara.pdf

Doing the same in March 2023 so also interested. As a note if you plan to visit the Alhambra buy your tickets in advance on-line as the tickets to the palace have entry times and sell out. Also advance tickets will allow you to avoid the very long line to enter the grounds.

No reservations in the main dining room. You are seated as you arrive. I assume if you have a special request for a specific table or waiter they would accommodate you. We had no issues with being seated as we arrived. I did enjoy on other cruise lines having the same table and waiter but the service has only been excellent from the entire crew.

I can only speak for veranda cabins but assume based upon photos that usb ports exist in all cabins. At the bottom of the wall sconces on both sides of the bed there are usb ports. your question #2 I can’t answer . I chose a 2 pm boarding and 1st thing I did was make dinner reservations with no issue.

As stated I am ok with whatever they decide and publish. There are individuals who claim they were charged $15 for corkage. For my upcoming cruises I have already located wine shops convenient to the ports and plan to pick up bottles to get me through the cruise drinking premium wines. On my previous trip I bought the "Ultimate Package" which was disappointing if you read my prior posts. If someone is charged over the posted amount I suggest speaking to the restaurant manager. I truly can't see them so shortsighted to lose a future cruiser by overcharging.

Tried it once and it was tough and gristly. Was an inferior cut and not what you expect to be served in a restaurant. Lots of opinions but other dishes from Azamara's kitchen were good to excellent so never tried again.

The difference of $10 or $15 for corkage is insignificant. Fine restaurants in my neighborhood frequently charge $30-$35 and the aged wines I cellar would cost $150-$200 if on their wine list with the 2.5-3X markup. If $10 is the amount published that should be the charge or fix the website.

There have been various comments on this board about the corkage policy. Just took this screenshot from azamara.com. Again this inconsistency doesn’t speak well for the BRAND.

The specialty restaurants are a step above the main dining room. If you are ordering steaks I found Prime C to be equivalent to any good steak house. The cuts of beef in the main dining room are inferior. Other than that I thoroughly enjoyed the food on my last cruise. There are dining packages offered at a discount but can be done once you board.

Unknown about provisions on your ship but ice will be readily available. 🤣

Along with the wine, champagne, mixers, etc.................................................

Great wat to begin a vacation is in panic running down a gangway. As you are an experienced cruiser and traveler you already know the answer to your question. Get there a day early and chill. 🤷‍♂️

Was on the Pursuit this year. They didn't have dancing lessons but there were several cruisers who were very experienced ballroom dancers enjoying an open floor. They are happy to play the music that pleases.

As a further note restaurants don’t pay retail prices for their wine purchases. I suspect cruises don’t either. Finally there are wineries that happily discount futures to generate cash that would allow Azamara to buy 100 case lots to add some variety. As said it is all about how much to pay for the wine served. There is a big difference between a $6 and $15 bottle. I suspect it wouldn’t be noticed if the cruise price was $15 more per day and better wine Was served to all. Selling these wines as an upgraded package is a poor decision as a Azamara is not considering what damage to their “BRAND” as a quality cruise line.

Azamara doesn't need to serve boutique wineries. There are wineries that have production to supply Azamara's needs and in fact there is a glut of decent wine on the makret. The issue is one of price Azamara is willing to pay and what they provide their cruisers. No one should expect a $100 Napa Cab served for the price of the Ultimate package . The cruise line needs to make a profit. There are some wines that I have found a good value price point (ie: Bogle Petite Syrah $10/bottle). Boggle''s production of their wines exceeds 100,000 cases per year, 1,200,000 bottles of wine, much of it very well priced. Their wines exceed the quality of what is currently being served in my opinion. There are lots more wineries I could suggest at the $10 pricepoint. If they need to increase the price on the Ultimate package that is understandable but what they are serving is not acceptable and no better than low end box wine. Azamara is a quality product and damages it' brand with the current wine package choices in my opinion.

I suggest you look at each of your ports and find a local and convenient wine shop. Easy to pick up a few bottles in each port including what isn’t imported home. Last night at home I opened a 2007 Rioja that is a favorite. I can buy the current release for 22 Euros in Barcelona , 1/2 the price of it in California. Suspect if they had it on board to pay 3X. Hard to drink inferior wines on vacation than I have at home.

My post #27 is incorrect. We arrive April 14th, 2023 in Chioggia . An email I received from Azamara said "we are thrilled to announce that we will be able to stay in this historic canal city in the neighboring town of Chioggia". Guess I didn't realize it was that far away. Looks like TravelBerlin is on the Journey after my cruise.

Appreciate the info. How early before your cruise were you notified of the port change? Trying to plan our time.

One note I didn’t realize on my last cruise was the chefs table included better paired wines that didn’t appear on the Ultimate Bev Package. As most of the cruises come on our shore intensive the only time I’m drinking alcohol is in the evening went back on the ship. Result was paying for the daily ultimate package fee, but not using it on nights at the chef table.

Central Venice appears to be a NO . I planned the trip so can deal with where ever we finally port but the best probable option may be a 30 minute vaporetto ride to Venice