Dr H

Interesting cruise! Looks like a recently added new route, and good for Azamara, transatlantic is our favorite itinerary with them. Sadly, we will be on a Greek B2B that week. That said, I'd be very wary weather wise. First, you cannot predict the weather, BUT it is hurricane season in the North Atlantic in October. Cunard touts the Queen Mary as the world's only OCEAN liner, not cruise ship, specifically designed to cross the North Atlantic year round, and they have weekly trips between New York and the UK. We have done multiple transatlantics with Azamara between Florida and Lisbon, the most recent brought us from Lisbon to Ft Lauderdale, landing on Nov 30. It was cold, chilly, rainy a little rough on this southern route; it was the first rough transatlantic we've ever had, and as I said, it was the southerly route. Finally, the pilgrims crossed from England to Boston(ish) in October. There was a reason they refused to make the return trip. I think if you anticipate crappy weather, and just go to enjoy the Azamara service and ship, you found yourself a great bargain. Go for it. If you want to lounge around the pool sipping a margarita in the warm sun, skip it and head for the Caribbean. Although it's still hurricane season down there too.

🤬Azamara's timing couldn't have been worse for us! We were on Quest in Nov '23, and she's looking a tad worn in spots. We will be on Quest from March 15 through April 8th, again Jun 22 through July 1, so we are missing the refurb. I promise, I won't write on the walls! Actually, we stole our April 1-8th cruise on Quest. The dry dock had been cancelled for that week, management scrambled to set up a cruise and fill it up, and we stole a rock bottom price. The good news is that we will be doing a B2B on Pursuit starting October 5 through the 19th - 3 weeks after coming out of dry dock.

Welcome to Azamara. We've met multiple solos (soloes?) over the years, and keep bumping into old friends, which is always a pleasure. Well, there was one instance when it wasn't a pleasure, but that's another story. There are hosted and unhosted get togethers, straight and some not so straight - the Azamara staff really goes out of its way to make their solo guests feel as comfortable as possible. No tables are set aside for solos per se, but the moment a group forms, the Maitre will be more than happy to accommodate you, and should you wish to dine alone, again, no problems. They are small ships, extremely friendly atmosphere, I don't think you will find any thing to worry about. Have a great time!

That is correct. It used to be four half bottles, I got a fifth of Tanqueray gin for our last suite stay.

First, we got off Onward on Nov 30, so we are pretty up to date. The mini fridge that never gets cold USED to contain mini bottles of liquor and the room came with two ancient, improperly stored half bottles of wine. All of that WAS chargeable. None was present in the fridge/area on the recent cruises. Next, there should be no problem ordering a bottle of wine from the bar for room delivery. It will be charged. And lastly, as mentioned, Azamara allows unlimited carry-on for in room consumption. If you have the space and the strength, that is probably your best option.

I have been known to be wrong before, but... Reidel makes really wonderful, self proclaimed gourmet glassware. Their non hand blown glasses are used as standard in the specialty restaurants. They make a very fancy, very expensive, very beautiful line of hand blown glassware, which includes a specialty burgundy glass. One of them sits in New York's Museum of Modern Art. It is a big, tulip shaped design. And, if I'm not mistaken, and I have been known to be wrong before, it will hold a full bottle of wine, preferably Burgundy. As I like to say, a 750ml wine bottle holds 6 pours.

Lower than I had thought, I for one stand corrected. And at $10 corkage, I guess you are now only entitled to one decent glass per bottle, everyone else in the party gets a classic tin mug.

DW and I are biased toward Italy, having lived there for almost 8 years. For us it's almost like going home, and fluency in the language certainly helps. We will be doing a B2B Athens-Istanbul-Athens in October, our first trip back to Greece in almost 14 years. UK just made some VERY interesting points about the travel in Greece, which I really wasn't aware of. From a practical standpoint, look at the prices of the cruises and excursions, as well as the local weather/temperatures. Italy is starting to get HOT, Greece is probably hotter. As for the ships and service, identical and interchangeable. Great crew, great food, small, cozy sailing. Whatever you decide, you really can't go wrong, so have a wonderful time!

I second UK's remark. Last several bookings I've made via my travel agent (which is also available in Nassau County), the quote looked nothing like the Azamara web site price. Yes, I walked away with a VERY big smile.

Three local opera singers on board. The show is excellent. It would have been better in the ambiance of a local Italian opera house, but hey... We had an early dinner in November, went to the later show, it was wonderful.

Beware! On a cruise, you will get to "see" 4 countries, but I wouldn't call that a visit unless it is an extended stay. You get a very quick taste for the country, but there won't be enough time to actually spend significant time in that country. When I travel (DW might think otherwise), I'm going for the ship board amenities, and to catch a glimpse of the country visited, a museum here, a restaurant there. Again, it boils down to what you actually want to do. Also, if you are "leaning" toward a particular line, that is your gut intuition speaking. Ask yourself just why you're leaning - your gut is telling you something - and make a decision from there.

I'm partial to Azamara. I've heard anecdotal reports of shall we say, "snobbishness" on Oceania, as in "Look how much money we have..." Don't know if it's true or not, but price wise, I wouldn't be surprised. Seriously, look at prices. Itinerary wise, we've done all of them. It's a very subjective issue, but we are doing B2B in October, Athens up to Istanbul then back down to Athens. Both are 1 week legs. Food wise, Azamara is excellent, Oceania has the reputation, but how much butter can one mortal consume in a week? (I'd love to do a week on Oceania, but they just price me out of their market) Seabourn, honestly, I know nothing. My suggestion, start dieting now, save a few dollars on Azamara, and meet up with some seriously successful, very active, and very intelligent senior citizens. And whatever you decide, please let the rest of us old fogies know your plans. (PS, Greece to Turkey, dep October 5th, if you wish to delay...)

Covid and the vaccine is opening a bucket of worms, which I shall not begin to do again. DW came down with the new covid shortly after her surgery this past summer and sadly, I a physician learned that stomach/gastro-intestinal symptoms have become very common as a post covid condition. Most resolve fairly quickly, in some people the nausea can last weeks or months, and in others... If your nausea resolves quickly, great. If it does not, contact your doctor, and you might want to consult a GI specialist to look for other possible problems that could be serious. Otherwise, welcome to the brave new world. Other than that, hope the cruise was fun and that your covid wasn't particularly serious.

Deb, thank you for your very kind words. I've been known to lock horns with folks/moderators from time to time, you've made me feel great. Sandie and I literally fell into the Japan Intensive in 2019. I was able to book (their last) Seward Alaska to Tokyo transpacific at a reasonable price, but sadly, Japan was financially out of the question. Godzilla took pity on me, somehow there was a dramatic price drop and I grabbed an inside room for the intensive just before we left the States. After 2 days the hotel director took pity on us in the Black Hole of Calcutta, and moved us into a Veranda cabin - probably one of the smartest actions with unintentional consequences for the company the man could have taken. We loved Azamara before. That little bit of unrequested generosity made us customers for life, come hell or high water. The cruise was spectacular. The tours cost a bloody fortune, both those from the ship plus those done by local tour guides. Sandie thought it a bit too intensive, cities and places began to blend into a blur. My biggest fear about going to Japan was the language - I was not excited at the thought of being both illiterate and dumb. Nothing could have been more wrong. I picked up some Kanji in days, I was able to speak some (very) simple sentences by the end of the trip. I was hearing individual words, and recognizing several by the end of the trip. Google translate is terrible, BUT, those clever Japanese have invented a universal translator gizmo that is not expensive, hand held, and does a fairly decent job of translating in both directions. It wound up costing me a fortune in a Tokyo fabric store when we went shopping, on our own. Seriously, if I could jump on board with you in March, I would, but sadly, we are flying to Rio to catch an Azamara transatlantic to Lisbon. Okay - down side of that cruise. We did with wine pairing, Chef's Japanese Table on the cruise. It was okay, but it was California dining with a mild Japanese accent, and California wines. We didn't leave the table hungry, but none of us were thrilled with the product. Be warned if they offer it again, do your homework! I'm envious, have a wonderful time. Your going to have a fantastic time, especially if they do the Azamazing Evening in Busan Korea again. David

I'll call. I just pulled up my past cruises, nothing there about future credits. Thanks for the tip! David

We were on the same cruise. Still waiting too. We haven't gotten any communication from Azamara yet.

We have upgraded several times in the past, and would consider it again, if... Our preferred cabin is a Veranda (zilch). However, over the past two years, we have both found that on port intensive cruises, Oceanview (that's ocean view, not obstructed view), is our sweet (not suite) spot. Port intensive you really don't get a good opportunity to use the veranda, at least if you are facing the port, and they tend to be a good $1000. less than the veranda. Suites are thousands more than Verandas, for a bit more legroom, a very nice bathroom, frequently with AM Deck 9 noise. Just not our cup of tea.

I think my friend UKTOG might need to heed Mack and Jazz's comment more than mine... Get a glass, take a deep breath, put your feet up, and relax. No one is accusing you or the staff of misbehavior when it comes to alcohol misappropriation! This is one of the disadvantages of a blog over a verbal conversation, it's very easy to misunderstand intent. That said, regarding Oceanpark's on board credit, it looks like the new Azamara policy of rollover OBC is going to become a very welcome change. And speaking of changes, has anyone noticed that a new "Stateroom and Suite Upgrade" package is "coming soon"? No mention of what it is or might be, but something is brewing in that department.

It's an American slang adjective, meaning "large or respectably sized". From the medical standpoint, yeah, alcohol does raise protective HDL cholesterol levels, but dissolves your liver and brain at the same time, so while I never discourage light to moderate drinking, I don't encourage it either, as in, "sure have two bottles a day with dinner and protect your heart at the same time." The standard bar tender/party planner rule on this side is that 1 bottle of wine serves 6 drinks. You can stretch it to 8 if you try, but seriously, as a rule of thumb, 6 per bottle, and do the arithmetic from there. As for the staff cheating, on Onward in November, I wound up buying a total of 3 bottles of wine. No cheating, very well stored, our sommelier Jun (I think...) was very helpful to this alleged wine maven. Oh, for the newbies, Azamara allows you to bring wine and spirits on board. You can drink in the privacy of your cabin, or there is a modest corkage fee if you choose to bring the stuff into the dining areas. There is no need to smuggle alcohol on board.

A standard, 750ml bottle of wine pours a healthy six drinks. I've found the Azamara wine list to be very good, and very reasonably priced. One of my most recent discoveries is purchasing a bottle of wine, which the two of us can never finish in one sitting, and letting the staff store the unconsumed portion. It lasts very nicely for 3-4 days. A $60 bottle of wine equals 6 drinks, or $10/glass. That is what I pay for my top shelf single malt scotches or upper tier martini. And with the very generous on board credits, it is usually included in the bus fare to begin with, without any of the liquor packages. This obviously won't work for everyone, and the packages make a lot of $$$ which helps keep the line afloat, but in the end, it works extremely well for us and it should for a lot of other folks out there. Bon Voyage!

Ultimately, the web site issues will catch up to the travel agent, but in fairness, things have improved dramatically over the past month or two. When I booked Lisbon to Barcelona, the cobbled up cruise, the cruise and its low price only showed up on the Aza site, where I booked it. Later that day when I transferred to my travel agent of choice, which cannot be named lest its mysteries and perks become public knowledge, I reached said mystery travel agent in about 2 rings, and they in turn got through to Azamara in a minute or two. No, the Azamara kinks are definitely being ironed out, but from what people have been posting, even during the worst of the problems and confusion, the quality of the Azamara cruises was never an issue. And considering how heavily booked everything I've been looking at has been, they are going stronger than ever.

Teddie, regarding the bad reviews, I've read, and seen, them. Everything bad you've heard about the IT and the web site is true. But it ends there. We've been with Azamara since 2010, and we are up to about 20 cruises with them, most recently about 3 weeks on Onward (our first with it/her/them), which dropped us off in Ft Lauderdale on November 30. There will always be complainers, disgruntled, confused, angry people out there, and the internet seems to bring them out in droves. The cruises are spectacularly good. The food everywhere is excellent. Service is excellent. Martinis on Quest were definitely better than on Onward. There is one awful waiter on Onward, and I brought him up with the Hotel Director. One, not 10, certainly not the whole staff. One. Service in the Cafe was not as attentive as it should have been, and again, I brought it up with the Hotel Director, who assured me the issue would be taken up with their next staff meeting. With the expansion from two ship to four, they had to hire a significant number of new people, who needed to be trained up to Azamara standards. But what you get is a small ship, max 690 passengers with a very large crew, people who will know your name in days, and bend over backwards to accommodate you, without having their hands in your pockets, fishing for tips. As for the drink package, we aren't heavy drinkers, but you have a choice of 4 wines at almost all times, red/white/rose/sparkling, 4 beers (including Bud Lite for those so inclined), and a relatively decent list of hard stuff. We usually walk off the ship with a $50 bar tab to cover our upgrades, which invariably is covered by our on board credit. Self service laundry is free, and includes the soap. The ship's laundry is amazing - much better than our home dry cleaner. You are in for a treat. As I like to say, worry more about getting to the ship on time than what comes afterwards. We are off to Rio in mid March for our next transatlantic and Spanish back to back. Iceland in June. And Greece and Turkey in October. We could have traveled with just about any other line out there, but we come back to this one for a reason. Have a wonderful time. David

This is their new shtick, and actually it is easier to work with. I believe B2B credits remain unchanged. If there are room changes, again, no real change to the routine - you get your new key at the B2B meeting the day before, they move you as they have in the past. Turnaround, you can leave the ship if you wish, or stay on board. Of course, the new Azamara Computer From Hell loves to list our 2nd leg as the first on the itinerary, which is driving this mildly OCD (CDO, actually) cruiser to drink, but otherwise, it is no hassle.

UK beat me to the punch. I wouldn't risk it. You won't get off the ship before 7:30-8AM. Then you have to find your luggage, and make your way out of customs, and onto some form of transportation. The ride to the airport is about 15-20 minutes, BUT you still have to get to a taxi &/or train, check in, etc. 11:30 is realistic, noon departure is much better. If possible, why not stay the day, enjoy everything in the Amsterdam/Harlem area, eat some herring, and leave calmly the following morning?

RE: My 10 minute comment. It is very fast - sign a credit card agreement, produce a passport and proof that you actually paid for the cruise, and you are checked in. BOARDING may take longer, and that's dependent on the number of folks gathered in the terminal waiting to, well, board.