JVNYC

All of these will be available beginning December 8, 2014.

Bonnie, do you know if there will be reduced deposits for the 2017 sailings? Thanks!

The November Le Club Voyage newsletter is hitting the boxes starting today.

In it you'll find the link to the preview of our 2017 itineraries!

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/preview-voyages

 

What do you think?

Thanks Bonnie, these look great. Are these ALL available or will they be chartered out? How will we know what is safe to book and won't be chartered out?

Did you stay at a hotel prior to the cruise? Perhaps you picked them up from the hotel. I have never heard of bed bugs on Oceania. I hope that you did report this to the front desk so that IF this is the case they have taken care of it.

We had coffee with Captain Johannes two days ago on Journey. He told us that the Captain of Ocean Princess was recently on Journey for the day and he stated that a lot of work would have to be done to bring Ocean Princess up to Azamara standards but it could be done. Azamara would like to keep the ship's small and of a similar design.

The implication was that it is very much Ocean Princess as the lead contender for a new Azamara ship, but Captain Johannes also said that a slightly larger ship ....about 1000 pax or so, is also very, very likely, bringing Azamara up to a 4 ship cruiseline. We also had dinner with the Staff Captain and the talk was very much of the new Azamara ships. These are firm plans and we can expect an announcement in the next few months. It seems certain the new ships are coming but of course, it will take time.

 

We had a fabulous cruise on Journey and for those of you who know that I have always been a Quest girl, well I may have been somewhat converted! Now I have two wonderful Azamara ships to choose from.....and that will increase to maybe four soon. Happy times! :)

Thanks Lottie, very interesting. I wonder what larger 1000 pax ship he was referring to that would be available? Would anyone have any ideas on this ship?

After sailing with Oceania on my last 4 cruises (on Riviera and Marina), I thought maybe it's time to try something different. Really don't have an interest in Regent, Silversea or Seabourn. Crystal is very attractive b/c they have consistenly won travel awards year after year and have always invested in refurbishing their ships year after year. The ship looks wonderful for the ages that they are (specifically Symphony). I love the idea of a promenade deck that wraps around the ship as well. From looking at their deck plan, I agree with StanandJim, there seems to be many more nighttime venues which Oceania definitely lacks.

Back in late Aug, I decided to book a cruise on Serenity for next year but after a month I began to second guess my booking.

For me, food is very important and Crystal has raving reviews when it comes to cuisine...as does Oceania. What really weighed on my mind was that there is no buffet in the evening and no opportunity to dine with new friends that you meet...and the formality of it all. Tastes on Serenity just is not Terrace Cafe and Tastes is not open every night from what I've read. And there is no buffet option at all on Symphony. Crystal has recently changed their dress code, which is a great thing but I think people definitely dress up more from what I've read on the Crystal message boards. Have you seen the Crystal Serenity featured on the Smithsonian Channel's Mighty Ships? It focused on a segment of the world cruise and showed the insides and outs of the ship. What struck me was the formality of the dining. Women in gowns and estate jewelry. That program changed my tune. I kept thinking of Oceania and how truly relaxing it is and how wonderful the food is and how great it is to eat whenever, wherever and with whomever you wish....that is such a benefit.

I ended up cancelling my Serenity cruise and booked Marina for Sept, 2015. I feel like I would always be comparing Crystal to Oceania and while I'm sure Crystal would shine in many aspects, my gut is telling me to stay with what feels right....Oceania.

We spent 14 nights on Riviera in July and we had most of our dinners in the MDR. We enjoyed it! Found lots to choose from, in fact had a hard time choosing many nights. We were always given some of the nicest tables by the windows for 2 and sometimes 4 with friends. If I had to ask for something more than once I'm not too worried about it....I'm on vacation and happy to be sailing.

Started in MonteCarlo with an overnight, then..

Barcelona

Malaga

Cadiz

Lisbon, we did a Bikemyside tour with Daniel,,,fabulous

Porto we did a Segway, gulp

Bilbao. Wine tour

Bordeaux overnight , wine tour Medoc

Lorient, submarine museum

St-malo, rented car and drove to Mont St Michele

Southampton

You helped us with how many ships were in port.. Seven in Lisbon so we were glad we had booked in advance.

How was the weather & seas? I'm looking at a similar itinerary on Marina in September next year. Sunny days?

Next day, Palamos in Spain. The port is not exactly very exciting but nearby Girona is. Once more we took the easy route with the ship's tour (remember that long-since-departed 25% discount :o). Girona was memorable. The tour we took was memorable too, and for all the wrong reasons. We've taken well over a dozen Azamara shore excursions and have been happy with all of them. All were good, some very good, and others outstanding. This one? The pits. I was livid to the point that as soon as the tour was over I marched downstairs to Land Discoveries to say my piece. No one was there. The desk wasn't scheduled to open until 6 pm. I left a message at Guest Relations for them to call me to discuss and indeed the manager did call but we were at dinner and she left no return number. After dinner I trouped back downstairs only to have missed opening times (their fault not mine as I was given incorrect hours). What to do but go back again the next morning. Which I did. I laid everything out to the ladies at the desk only to be told that they were in no position to resolve anything; only the manager could do that. It took another try to get hold of the manager who listened and offered us a half refund for the tour, which I thought was entirely fair and satisfactory. It takes a lot of time and effort to complain and I can understand why most people do not bother. To me it was more the principle of the matter and I wasn't willing to let it go until it was resolved.

 

Of course now you're probably wondering what got me in a tizz. It would take too much time to tell but suffice it to say that I was not the only one on the tour bus displeased with the way the tour was conducted (meaning of course that the disaster was not my imagination). We had, in effect, a tour guide who could not manage the crowd she had with her in addition to including things on the tour that were not part of the description and consequently of no interest whatsoever to a good portion of the tour group. And then some. No matter. It was not the kind of tour I ever thought Azamara would offer and given our complete satisfaction with every other Azamara tour we've been on I felt obligated to complain, if only to prevent them from using this rogue tour guide again.

 

That said, Girona was wonderful! Even our tour guide could not damper our enthusiasm for it. What a city. It was a very special holiday the day we were there and we were treated to many festivities such as the traditional Catalan dancing. As I said before, the benchmark is "Do we want to come back here again?" and to Girona I say yes yes yes.

 

 

 

Hi Deidre. Thanks so much for all your wonderful posts and beautiful photos. I'm wondering if you walked around Palamos at all? I know you mentioned you weren't crazy about the port, what was it about it? There are a few cruise lines that are stopping in Palamos in 2015 so I'm curious if this would definitely a place to do an excursion. Wondering if it's not worth getting off the ship and just walking around Palamos. Thanks!

Joe

I still have the free internet minutes (LOL) and it is my LAST Azamara cruise (unless things change drastically).

 

If I don't post live I will definitely post afterwards with a brief review.

 

We leave for Venice tomorrow.

Have a great trip and look forward to hearing about your experience.

I have sailed on Nautica 5 times ands have two more cruises on Nautica coming up. It is my favorite ship.

 

I have often been greeted by name as have many of the people I have sailed with.

I have found the service to be stellar

 

I NEVER eat in the GDR because the service is unbearably slow. That is often discussed here in CC

 

If the size (and cost) of drinks matters you need to sail a line where alcohol is included -- Seabourn.

 

I do not care at all about the size of the drinks.

Thanks Laraine, glad to hear this. By the way, will you be doing a Live from Azamara Quest as I see you are sailing them this month? Would love to hear how it goes.

Joe

Anxious to hear more about the service levels as I'm eyeing Nautica in 2016. I'm surprised to hear it's really that bad??

I do hate to admit that MDR service was slow, sometimes chaotic on Riviera in July....but I overlooked it b/c I was happy to be sailing in the Med! I don't take it too seriously as I know things get busy but it wasn't the best.

I will also be following this thread with interest.

Thank you epixx! I will check them out for sure. Have you been to Tarragona by chance? Wondering if there is anything to see.

Thanks!

Joe

You are absolutely correct....that is why I said in my second line it's the same thing plus the cold items (salads, crab, sushi, etc) and the grill (lobster, etc). I should have said the main dinner entree items are the same.

Terrace is truly spectacular! I can't say anything bad about it. I'm just nervous that I'll be disappointed in Crystal since I may be comparing it to Oceania's Terrace (for lunch).

I see it differently. While the Terrace offers some of the items in the GDR each night, there are also many other choices -- including the grill, different pastas and different salads. We prefer to graze -- sample many different items -- rejecting those we do not like -- and we find the service in the GDR unacceptably slow. Sometimes the Terrace offers a theme night with items that are not available at all the in GDR. On our last cruise the chef prepared a Scandinavian buffet with fish he brought in from Iceland that was superb.

 

They are not the same to me. I know there are many fans of the GDR -- I'm just not one of them. We only eat there if we are invited by friends or an officer (and then the service is lightening fast LOL)

Ok you got me there....I totally agree...we like to graze too =)

As a side note the buffet on Celebrity is not great at dinner -- ok for breakfast and lunch. When we sailed on Celebrity we ate in the MDR (which we do not do on O) or the specialties. Nothing tops the buffet on Oceania IMO (except when it's Mexican LOL).

Then again, the Terrace buffet at dinner is the exact same thing as the MDR. When I was on Riviera in July it was the same dinner and dessert items every night....just with the added cold items and grill. So the MDR isn't that bad after all then??

We like the large ships on O or the M class on X. The space feel is about the same IMO. We are taking X next year from SF to FL. We got a free drink package and tips and as Elite get internet and laundry. We are going in Aqua for Blu and the resort casual dress. O has a similar trip but 5k more with no perks. They both are nice, we look at it trip by trip. As a side note Crystal has a similer trip for 10k more. The really big difference for me is the buffet on O, it blows away X and Crystal.

 

 

 

 

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I'm trying Crystal for the first time in June next year. Figured it was time to try something different. The O buffet is really better than Crystal? (sorry to change the subject....I love a good buffet and I can't imagine Crystal has a bad one). Thanks!

Good day all! I'm looking to plan a private tour outside Barcelona: Girona, Costa Brava, Dali.

Would you also recommend www.barcelonaexperience.com? Any other company recommended?

Thank you!

Thanks Hank. I was hoping you would reply. You always have such great info and suggestions for France. I agree...Nice it is. Now to find a good hotel. :)

Just to clarify....I'm looking for location info and not hotel info. :)

Good day all. I am sailing out of Monte Carlo on Crystal Serenity next June and wanted to find some suggestions on where to stay for 2 nights pre-cruise.

I've never been to the French Riviera other than Cannes this past July on Oceania. I'm not really interested in going back to Cannes.

Would Nice be the best place or too touristy? Antibes? Villefranche?

I would like to find a spot with great restaurants, walkable, things to see (maybe a cool museum) and safe.

I'm open to suggestions from those more familiar with the area.

Thank you!

Welcome to the new corporate world - NCL is going to do what it needs to do to make the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. There are financial gurus who will be carefully reviewing every financial statement and press release - right now NCLH is rated as a "C" with a hold status. Going forward, ALL decisions being made are for the benefit of the stockholders, NOT the passengers. While they can send all the notices to passengers that things will only improve, it won't. NCL is not some magic company (even if some people on this board believe that FDR is holier than thou - as soon as the contract is signed, he may still have an office, but he will no longer have any corporate responsibilities) that will behave any differently than any other corporate takeover. One of the few CEO's who is not motivated by the financial houses is the CEO of Costco, but he is the exception, not the rule. NCL has already made it known, they are no longer going after the American/UK/Canadian passengers who have come to expect a certain level of service. They are now looking to attract the new monied individuals in India, China, etc as their new target customer. Since they have no prior experience with Regent, there are no expectations. I have been sharing this thread with my colleagues and we laugh at how some people truly believe this is somehow beneficial for the current Regent/Oceania passenger they have this idea that things will only improve. Figure it out, it can't. Currently there is a $50M carrot dangling in front of their noses to "significant increases in revenue" - that can only happen by either cutting expenses or increasing prices. Regent is now at a point where if they increase their prices any more, it will just turn off more customers so the only way to achieve this goal is to cut expenses. Remember - it is not what the paying passenger wants - it is what will increase the value of the stock.

 

That is the finance lesson of the day - now back to work.

 

gnomie :)

Excellent post! Fully agree. You should post this on the Oceania boards as well.

These photos of the Haven remind me of a large airport club lounge...with a pool! Then you leave the lounge and enter the frantic crowded airport...or in other words...the rest of the ship. Doesn't look great to me.

Good day all. I am eyeing a fantastic Crystal Cruise from Lisbon to London that hits some great ports on France: St. Jean de Luz (overnight), Bordeaux (overnight), La Rochelle, St. Malo, Honfleur (overnight).

The cruise is May 22 - June 5. I've never been to this region before and never sailed this time of year. I normally sail in the summer months. I am hoping this is a great time of year....not many tourists and hopefully pleasant weather.

Has anyone sailed in this region that time of year? Would love to hear your experience.

Thanks!

More detail from CNN Money:

• The diversification of cruise market segments by adding upper premium and luxury brands;
  
• The further enhancement of industry-leading financial metrics;
  
• Opportunities for synergies and the sharing of best practices among brands;
  
• An increase in economies of scale providing greater operational leverage;
  
• The expansion of growth trajectory and global footprint; and
  
• The opportunity to complement Norwegian's new build program with the existing Regent order that provides measured, orderly capacity growth through 2019.
  

Ah...found them...thank you. Are the new itineraries part of the 50% off second guest promotion? I'm not seeing the promotion listed on these. Thanks!