Host Jazzbeau

03 Mon Apr 18, 2022 – Keukenhof and AmaSerena We got through Passport Control in 20 minutes and our bags came right out. We had hired BagPoint.com to meet us at the airport and take our luggage to AmaSerena at the dock so we could go straight on unencumbered to the Keukenhof flower garden. I had purchased our bus/garden admission tix online, because I had been warned on Cruise Critic that Easter Monday is a legal holiday in Holland and traffic might be bad. We caught the 10:30 Keukenhof Express Bus 858 at Schiphol airport and were at the site in a half hour. Keukenhof is amazing! The tulips are magnificent. Hundreds of varieties and as many different hues spread over dozens of layouts covering hundreds of acres! There are some hyacinth and grape hyacinth mixed in but the tulpen dominate. Once they stop blooming, Keukenhof closes. We spent a couple of hours there dragging ourselves around as one flower bed after another enticed us. We were wise enough to stop for lunch, sharing a spicy chicken sandwich and a fruit cup. We visited the Beatrix pavilion which featured orchids. Nothing unusual. Mostly the variety any of us can grow on our kitchen windowsill after making a $20 investment. And they paled next to the tulips’ vibrant colors and the hyacinths’ heady scent. We made it as far as the Wilhelmina building and admitted we were too knackered to do Keukenhof any more justice. So we headed for the bus. We took a different line to the RAI station where we changed for the tram so we could be above ground to see Amsterdam as the tram made its way to Centraal Station. We walked a few blocks to our ship and were in our cabin 207 with our luggage waiting for us. We went to the lounge and enjoyed tea sandwiches and mini desserts. Back to 207 to unpack. Although the cabin was roomy enough for us, the storage space was limited. We were creative. The shower stall is roomy and doesn’t leak. The shower heads give ample water pressure which can be adjusted to the individual’s preferred temperature. Only bathroom complaint is the toilet paper. One step below sandpaper. [Actually I think it might be SuperFine grit on a flexible backing…] Before we knew it, we had no time for a much needed nap and had to get presentable to make our way to the lounge for the captain’s welcome address, etc. There were flutes of champagne and juice with some hot hors d’. We were told that we were all assigned to a table beginning with dinner and would remain at the same table with the same table mates for all three meals of the week-long cruise. [We have never had ‘traditional dining’ on a cruise before, so this was somewhat scary – what if we didn’t like our mates? – but it worked out very well.] We lucked out with a married couple from CA and a mom and mature single daughter from IL. For dinner, we followed the chef’s suggestion and all ordered the beef strip loin. Each piece was prepared to level of doneness as we requested. AMAzing! DW had a salad to begin. Four of us got the special strawberry parfait. Yummy! When comparing notes later, all six of us retired to our rooms and collapsed on our beds. The two of us slept soundly.

02 Easter Sunday Apr 17, 2022 – On the Road Again The limo picked us up at 3:45 pm and we headed to JFK. We were there before 4:30 to check our bags. That took a while as it was difficult to determine which line to stand on even after we found the Priority area. We went through security with only a brief lecture from a TSA employee and no frisking this time. Off to the Amex Centurion Lounge where we could unwind and enjoy a hot, light meal (miso apricot chicken thighs) before heading to our gate. We boarded the Delta A330-900neo (their flagship, not!) on time. Full plane. Pilot got us to Amsterdam before our posted arrival time and it was a smooth flight. We sat in Premium Select. We were not favorably impressed by the amenities. There was no lavatory in our section and we had to walk quite a ways back through the Coach section to get to one. Food was awful. Chicken marsala was dry and no Marsala had ever darkened the door of the kitchen where it was prepared. Delta’s entertainment offerings are very good, but we each managed to sleep a couple of hours. [This was our first flight with T-Mobile wireless, which is supposed to include free Wi-Fi on flights – but Delta had an apology that it wasn’t working on this ‘flagship’ aircraft…]

01 Introduction This is a blog of the Jazzbeaux Tulip Time cruise on AmaSerena from April 17–25, 2022. AmaSerena We flew from JFK to AMS on Delta, cruised through Holland and Belgium round trip from Amsterdam – then took the Thalys TGV train to Paris, cruised down and up the Seine, and ended with two nights in Paris before flying back CDG to JFK on Delta. The second cruise is the subject of a separate thread that is posted here. During the trip, Jazzbelle kept detailed notes and I [Jazzbeau] took lots of pictures. After returning home, I revised the notes to remove names [to protect the guilty, as they say…] and put it in my voice to avoid confusion. Jazzbelle became ‘DW’ in internet parlance [‘Dear Wife’]. In planning for this trip I used Rick Steves Amsterdam & Netherlands (2018) and Rick Steves Belgium (2018), as well as Trip Advisor [www.tripadvisor.com] and, of course, Cruise Critic [www.cruisecritic.com]. What follows is a day-by-day account of the trip, with a selection of pictures, followed by a Conclusion with a comparative review of AmaSerena and Scenic Gem.

Here is my long-awaited review of our Tulip Time cruise on AmaSerena from April 17–25, 2022. I was waiting to construct a blog on Wordpress with my full photo library for this trip, but sadly Wordpress has changed their rules and made it impossible for me to create new blogs in a format I like. Therefore I am switching to Cruise Critic for my trip reviews.

They do seem much more appropriate ship names for a British company than a German one...

Lots of people believe that, but I don't think you will find it in the T&C.

No, you just never learned to speak American. A poster on another thread announced that the new itineraries would be announced to Azamara Circle members on August 23 [that is, the 23rd of August. Capiche?]

It's August 23 everywhere in the world now – where are the new itineraries?

Hard to find Spectrum mentioned in the reviews of cell phone service for travelers. I did find one that mentions Google Fi – it comes in second to T-Mobile: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/wireless-carriers-international-travel-plans,review-4327.html

When you log in to your account on Azamara, do you see your Celebrity status and points? If you do, and you sail before the IT split, you will have that status and add to those points. [I don't know about Royal, as this is only a status match.]

@Daisi you can't mention that place...

I like to book my own air, but I only do so with the three US majors because they all have waived change fees and I know I can use any credits up before they expire. Thanks to the airline consortiums, I can book 'code share' flights that cover many foreign airlines this way – and still get the credits in my American/Delta/United accounts.

We switched from Verizon to T-Mobile in April for just this reason and have since used it on two trips: B2B river cruises in Holland, Belgium and France in April-May; and a comprehensive Baltic cruise in July-August. It worked flawlessly everywhere we went. When the ship's wifi was too slow, I logged my computer into the phone as a HotSpot – nice fast connection. Best part?—no extra charges! I had planned to take T-Mobile's Magenta Max for Seniors plan, but they showed me how I could include my 2 kids on a family plan and it would be even cheaper to get the regular Magenta Max plan. I do recommend Max over plain Magenta because the data roaming is more comprehensive. Also don't pass up the chance to get new iPhones for free as new T-Mobile customers! They gave us $800 per device trade ins on our old iPhones, which completely covered the cost of new basic ones (and most of the cost of my higher-end Pro). [One tip: go to the T-Mobile store and bring the phones you want to trade in. This makes the process much smoother. I signed up for the service via phone and then had to do the upgrades and trade-ins serially which really complicated the record-keeping.]

Unless they really change their attitude toward protecting the Officers from Covid, I don't see it happening for love or money.

You're welcome to them. The Power Up program will leave me at Elite Plus on Celebrity, with no plans ever to set foot on their big Boats again.

These are the same as the menus I downloaded off the (US) website yesterday.

If the business plan relied on profits from the Tapas, it is already clear that it will fail...

We're going to use them in October from Padua to Ravenna, based on my TA's recommendation. We booked a long time ago at a really good price, and I was amazed at how much their prices have gone up since [due to inflation and especially the cost of fuel]. But there is no decent train alternative, so it is was it is...

Aren't you glad you're here? I earned enough points from the Celebrity Captain's Club Power Up activities over the last few months that my next Azamara cruise will take me to Explorer Plus – and I was only notified of them about half the time, the rest I found out about on the Cruise Critic Power Up thread. Celebrity's IT system is just as messed up as Azamara's [well, duh – they're the same system!]

This should also be the answer to the many outraged posts lately "since the river levels have been so low for three weeks, why hasn't my cruise line cancelled my cruise three weeks hence?" – because, as we have just seen, one good thunderstorm system can get the ships back to sailing for a while and your cruise may not involve any itinerary change at all. [not aimed at anyone in particular...]

I have only sailed Ponant on a port-intensive itinerary, and my next booking is the same. When I have researched their website, I notice that many of their ocean crossings are offered as 'Ocean Voyages' at really low fares – leading me to believe that these are entertainment-light and mainly designed to get the ship from one seasonal location to another and pick up a little income along the way. The exact opposite of a good 'test cruise' to see what Ponant is like.

There's a difference between the rules for travelers entering Greece (e.g. by airplane) and cruise ship passengers. We have been treated like pariahs throughout the pandemic.

Once you start looking at Azamara itineraries, your bucket list tends to grow faster than you can take cruises! Welcome to the AA self-help group [Azamara Aficionados] 🤣

As we come out of the lockdowns, people keep saying 'Carpe Diem.' Why do they want me to try the Fish of the Day?

I was working at a major university when they decided to replace their homegrown business management software with Oracle. The transition was a disaster – so much so that several of us suggested they would have been better off spending the money on fellowships to sponsor COBOL programming students! But that system was far more complex than a cruise line's, and apparently Azamara is going with a vendor that specializes in exactly this type of application – as long as they don't demand too much customization [that was our downfall] if should go much smoother.