lisiamc

There are some very nice beaches near Ravenna, as you say. The nearest to where the ship docks would probably be Corallo Beach. It has sun loungers and umbrellas you can hire for a half or whole day. They are doing a lot of work in the new port complex area, and I’m not sure if you’d be able to walk out of the port in that direction. If you are allowed to walk there, it’s about a 10-15 minute walk. If not, then a taxi could take you to that beach or a number of others.

The Patio wasn’t open on Onward in May, which made me sad. I’m like you, in that I find it one of the best dinner venues on the ship. We eat low carb, so it’s always a fabulous and easy meal for us. I hope it’s open on Pursuit in August.

I’m sorry to hear this too. I don’t know if it’s the same issue, but I have also been waiting on a very delayed credit. After one more prod from our travel agent, it did finally appear, with apologies. There seems to have been a lot of things that went sideways during Covid, or Covid had been used as an excuse. I hope your problem gets straightened out.

I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy your cruise as much as you have enjoyed others in the past. It does sound like some of your sources of unhappiness are things that have always been present with Azamara. The entertainment has always been a bit hit or miss, especially the comedians. On our May cruise, I actually found the food to be slightly better than I remember it pre-Covid, but that is very subjective. I do have to wonder why you seem surprised at the size of the balcony, cabin or shower, though. They are the same size they always were. I agree that some things have changed for Azamara since the change of ownership, and some not for better, but the size of the ships and the cabins are not one of them, and you must have known that the shower was going to irk you. Maybe it wasn’t such an issue in the past, because you were happier with other aspects of the cruise, and this time it was just the last straw?

I think there may be some correlation with choice of cruise line, and the number of younger passengers. When we used to cruise often with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, we saw loads of latecomers scrambling to get back in time, in Europe as well as the Caribbean. I’ve seen one in Madeira, one in Greece, one in France, and a really memorable one in Turkey, where the late-coming couple came roaring up in the back of an old bakery van. It used to be a favourite pastime of mine to hang over the railing like a big vulture and wait for the drama to unfold. I always wanted the stragglers to make it, but I enjoyed the show. Now that we mostly sail on smaller ships, our fellow passengers seem to be so much better at keeping an eye on the clock.

One of my pet peeves is that most processed/prepared foods seem to have sugar in them. So unnecessary!

Porchetta, maialino, bistecca alla Fiorentina, and a Marchigiani variant of lasagne called Vincisgrassi. I always look forward to my first cappuccino when we come back, too.

I’m glad! At the moment, I don’t think there is one for ours. 😢 Fingers crossed they might add a last-minute something.

No, I can’t either.

Oops, you’re right, it’s Pursuit! 😊

We are booked for Journey to Iceland on 7 August, and I’m not seeing anything about it on the Shore Excursions, which is where it is usually noted. I’m guessing August is a bit early to have an Azamazing Evening reinstated, unfortunately.

We had a problem with two fellow cruisers on an independent excursion a few years ago. They turned up late for everything, because they wanted everything done on their personal schedule. The rest of the group got tired of waiting, and there was heavy pressure on the guide to just leave them behind. He was nicer than the rest of us, and refused to leave them, but we were not able to do one of the planned parts of the excursion because of the two inconsiderate people.

I think it’s been a while since that charge was mentioned. We had a few years break from cruising to look after our ancient cat, and by the time we came back, that wording wasn’t used any more. Like you, I don’t remember anyone being charged or talking about being charged.

I agree. We’ve had some very enjoyable wines on board when we’ve asked the sommelier for a bottle of something a bit special. Sometimes we have found the prices to be a bit steeper than we would have liked, but they understandably want to make a profit. Some of the included wines have been pretty drinkable, but some have been notably bad. We’ve found the good ones go quickly, and the real stinkers just keep coming back for another go, because no one else seems to like them either! In the past, we’ve always been able to find something we really like in the Ultimate package selections, and I hope that will continue under the new management.

There was a lovely one on the Onward Maiden, but that might have been an anomaly, because there isn’t one (at least that I’ve seen) on our August Pursuit cruise. Maybe it depends on regulations ashore?

If it’s your first White Night, I would advise you to go EARLY, especially if you are hoping for a table with friends. They start putting out the chairs and tables in the afternoon, and snagging one as soon as it is set up is not a bad idea. The first time we tried to attend, we went half an hour early, with two friends. There were a few tables with one vacant chair, but nowhere that even two people could sit together at the rather full tables. As nice as the on-deck buffet is, we now think it is a perfect night to eat in whichever speciality restaurant is open, and join the party afterward. The main dining room is also quite civilised, or another good strategy is to get dinner from the buffet and then find a seat in the Windows cafe, on the open back deck if possible.

These days we mostly cruise on smaller ships, with a fairly well-behaved crowd. But some years ago, when we often cruised on larger ships, I witnessed many people getting left behind. I like a good drama, preferably one with a happy ending, so I always watched for pier runners and cheered them on. I’m fairly sure most of them were ashore independently, or stopped after their excursion to shop or drink a quick Margarita on the way back to the ship and lost track of time. Most of these near and total misses took place in the Caribbean, so Señor Frog might get a small share of the blame! An especially memorable race for the ship happened in Norway, when two crew members got left behind. We could see them belting down the hill as fast as they could run, as the ship sailed away. They were lucky, and were allowed to rejoin the ship at the next port. So being left behind does happen, but I would say it is almost never the fault of an independent tour company.

We are too, in August! Hopefully they will have stocked up somewhere local AND nice beforehand.

Hopefully someone with recent experience will speak up soon. I think they do have oat milk, but I’m not certain. Pre-Covid, I asked if they had soy milk, and they did, but it was a sugary barista blend. I suspect if they do have oat milk it will also be sugared, if that makes a difference to you.

I’ve had coffee beans aged in a whisky barrel, and loved them. Wine aged in a whisky barrel is just a step too far for me!

I have a black suitcase of a popular brand and size, and at least three times, I’ve stopped someone from walking off with it because they thought it was theirs. So I painted fluorescent yellow hearts all over it, and I can easily spot it at quite a distance. It’s pretty gaudy, so I don’t think anyone is going to take it on purpose, either!

We like the Ultimate drinks package and had this on our May cruise. So there was no other additional cost for us. But if someone doesn’t have the package, there is a charge per drink. The charge depends on what you order, I think.

If that’s going to be the case, I will look forward to it. For the longest time, there’s been a focus on California wines, sometimes ok, but not always to my taste, and the stuff Italy and Spain are hoping to export because no native drinkers will touch it. 😉

There have been times when I’ve been told about something I wouldn’t have thought of. Some years ago, when smoking was still allowed in cabins, we took a Costa cruise. We had a bargain rate, and could not select our cabin by number, just by type. An experienced cruiser advised me to bring a roll of duct tape. Why? If we got a connecting cabin, the smoke would seep under and around that connecting door. Well, we did, and it did! We had what seemed like chain smokers on the other side of that door. So I taped over the gaps, all the way around it, and it made a huge difference. At the end of the cruise, I just pulled the tape off, and everything was pristine again. I was very grateful to the person who gave that advice!

The “supplemented by local wines” part sounds really promising. A bit like the food menu, with reliable stand-bys always available, and more adventurous things to try as well. Fingers crossed the Azamara branded wines are nicely drinkable!