roaming_kiwi58

We were on Oceania Nautica (same size as Insignia) in March and we docked at the International Cruise Terminal, near the Bund.

A good explanation of Shanghai cruise terminals is here:

https://www.chinahighlights.com/shanghai/shanghai-cruise-port.htm

I received the survey via email, but could not access it via the link in the email. The screen just quivered when I hit the Begin Survey button. Had to use Bonnie's link, which worked.

I do wonder how much notice Azamara take of the responses to these surveys, given some of the changes which have been happening.

The sounds in NZ - Dusky, Doubtful & Milford, etc, are pretty spectacular in all weathers! We have seen them rain and shine. Yes, as rka cruiser said, they are great on a sunny day, but when it is raining the sides of the fjords are alive with waterfalls, and it makes an amazing sight.

So, GeezerCouple, if you do manage to get to that part of NZ and you don't get the best weather (and they do get a lot of rain down there), don't be disappointed - you will still get some great views. Worth the trip IMO!

Yes, digitl, you are right, I got my dates wrong! I meant December 2018/January 2019!

We have booked the cheapest cabin on Hurtigruten, 18 months in advance of the trip. We never book for the cabin anyway, as we don't spend much time there, so there is no way we would have considered one of the more expensive options. This upcoming Hurtigruten cruise is still 3 times what our HAL Zaandam cruise cost us in 2015.

We were disappointed with the Chilean fjords. We have seen much more spectacular scenery elsewhere in the world, including here at home in NZ.

I do not expect anything will ever compare with Antarctica.

Whichever way you can manage it, drive by or expedition, just do it!

A few years ago we did a Holland America cruise on the Zaandam, from Santiago to Buenos Aires, which included a stop in the Falkland Islands and several days cruising along the Antarctic Peninsula. It was brilliant! The captain did his best to catch the good weather in the right places and we had some truly stunning views along the Antarctic Peninsula, on some gorgeous days. We also had a marvellous day at the Falklands. The onboard lecturers were superb. It was a trip we will always remember.

It got us hooked on Antarctica, and we are now booked to return, this time on an expedition trip with Hurtigruten, in December 2017/January 2018. This trip includes South Georgia and Falkland Islands. We are just hoping for good weather and no mishaps, as we will not be doing the exhibition trip again!

I know many people say the "drive by" is not worth it, you need to do the exhibition trip, but there is a whale of a difference in price! I would do the "drive by" again without hesitation. Of course we are hoping for a real "trip of a lifetime" on the expedition cruise, but I am expecting to still want to return again, even if it is just another "drive by". We do not travel for the ship, but for the places we visit, or just see from close by!

However you choose to get there, Antarctica is a truly memorable destination!

Just a comment on the question and various responses about charging of devices.

On our last Azamara cruise (over Christmas 2017) we were specifically told not to leave laptops. phones, cameras etc charging in the cabin unattended, because of the fire risk. The staff were instructed to disconnect any unattended devices they came across.

We just disembarked in Yokohama a couple of days ago.

We were required to vacant our cabins by 8am and disembark the ship by 9am.

As far as I recall, this was the same timings as on other Oceania cruises we have done.

Not just in Europe - we are in New Zealand and both my husband and myself have received all (I think!) of the surveys Azamara have sent out lately.

We are in Christchurch, NZ and yes we did get the itinerary survey - one each to my husband & myself.

We have had Azamara surveys before too, so the Australia/NZ market is not forgotten!

It seems to be working now - I have just got through the whole survey with no issues.

As much as I wanted to, I could not answer the survey, as it just kept deleting my previous responses when I moved on!

No photo required. Fee just appeared on our account. The night before our first Vietnamese port a landing card was delivered to our cabin. We had to (sometimes) show this when disembarking, and then again returning to the ship. At the first port, and at one other port they got stamped. But the Vietnamese authorities were inconsistent and did not always check them. When we returned to the ship for the last time in Vietnam we had to surrender the landing cards.

We were in Vietnam late December 2017 on Azamara Journey. The charge for a Vietnamese visa on board was US$6 per person. We are NZ passport holders, but as far as I know it was the same fee for everyone.

Thanks for your post uktog. Yes, people can definitely make a difference to a cruise experience!

We were on this same Azamara Journey cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore, so I am just adding our experiences to this thread.

I agree that the officers were excellent, as usual. During the period of enhanced sanitation procedures everyone worked very hard. However we often encountered wait staff, particularly in Windows, who appeared bored and gave us the impression they wanted to be anywhere other than onboard the Journey.

We always enjoy the food on Azamara, and this cruise was no exception.

This is the second Christmas in a row we have been aboard Azamara and both times the impressive display of gingerbread houses amazed us.

While we enjoyed much of the entertainment it is time for fresh material, as we had seen some of the guest entertainers perform exactly the same show before.

Yes, there was an issue with some guests and their alcohol consumption. But we did not consider it to be a major problem.

The advertising in the UK is clearly different to that in NZ. At no stage did I ever see mention of fireworks in Ho Chi Minh City.

However, the departure time from Ko Samui did change. It was 4.00pm when we booked this cruise, but changed to 2.00pm on board.

On several shore excursions we were accompanied by a disabled guest. Unfortunately this guest always sat in the front row of the bus and always got off the bus first. This did have an impact on timing. Some of the tours even had a note to say that guests in wheelchairs should not book the particular tour, but Azamara still accepted the guest in question. At the same time I would not like to think a disabled person is stopped from travelling, and they are brave to still embark on these endeavours. But there has to be a balance to minimise the impact on fellow travellers. So maybe reduced group numbers is the answer.

Agree that the guests that complain about boring destinations have not done their research and should not be travelling!

We had no issue at all in Singapore. We left the ship about 8 and were through formalities in about 10 minutes, heading to the MRT station.

We were also on Azamara over Christmas/New Year 2016. We were on a B2B, and noticed the distinct difference between the guests on the first cruise and those on the one which included Christmas/New Year. This appears to be unavoidable.

We are not big alcohol drinkers (just wine with dinner) and we do not consider Azamara charge premium prices for what you get. While their prices have risen, so have the prices of many other cruise lines. Deals are still to be had on Azamara, such as the 50% off second guest. Indeed we booked another cruise while on board Journey, and have an eye on the pricing of 2 more. But we also are due to go with Oceania in March 2018. Not very impressed with our previous 3 cruises with Oceania, but the itinerary and timing suited us. A HAL cruise we did last year worked out very expensive by the time they had added on all the extras, and the experience was mediocre.

So Azamara remains our first choice when it comes to cruises.

There have been previous questions about Asian port shuttles, but no responses, so I will try again...

Any info on possible shuttles in:

Shanghai, China

Xiamen, China

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Keelung, Taiwan

Ishigaki, Japan

Naha, Okinawa, Japan

Nagasaki, Japan

Hiroshima, Japan

Kobe, Japan

Yokohama, Japan

Thanks in advance

4045

Journey

Dec 17/Jan 18

Definitely choose again - have already booked another cruise in 4045 on Quest!

No noise issue

Convenient location for guest relations, getting on & off ship, Mosaic, Discoveries.

Have just received our feedback surveys for our Journey sailing, which finished 7 January, to be completed by 17 January.

We also disembarked Journey on Sunday and have not received the survey either. On previous cruises we have always received them the day we disembarked. We would also like to provide feedback!

No we did not tender to the Bai Chay Wharf. We tendered to Hon Gai - to what seems to be referred to as the old ferry terminal.

Azamara provided a shuttle into Hon Gai city, which took about 10 minutes to a drop off at the Vincom Centre. This was near the local market, the Long Tien Pagoda, the Cong Vien Hoa Halong Park, and of course the Vincom Centre, which is a large shopping mall (could be anywhere in the world!). I believe the museum is further on from the park, but we did not go up there. We walked back from this area to the ship tender. We could have done it in about 30 minutes, but it took us about 50 as we were stopping regularly for photos.

That was our second day in Halong Bay, which was really only a half day, due to early sail time.

On our first day there we did a ship's tour, which involved a 20 minute bus ride from the tender port to Tuan Chau Marina, where we caught a boat for a cruise around the bay and a stop at one of the numerous limestone caves. The time at the cave stop was about an hour and the total time sailing was about 100 minutes.

This was our second visit to the area, and our first visit was a land tour with several nights in Hanoi and a 2 night overnight extension on a junk in Halong Bay. Hanoi is a long way from Halong Bay and to be honest we did not find Hanoi that interesting to be worth such a long trip. We loved Halong Bay and were happy to have a short sail (compared to our last experience) there with some time on our own in Hon Gai.

Really the attraction of the area is the stunning scenery in the bay, but we noticed how much construction (roads, hotels) is going on, as the tourist numbers increase. Our previous visit was 4 years ago and the increased tourist numbers were very obvious. So maybe in time there will be more to do ashore in the close vicinity of Halong Bay.

We are in Vietnam on Azamara Journey at the moment - presently anchored in Halong Bay!

We did not require photos for the Vietnam visa. Azamara arranged the visa, and we had Vietnam landing cards delivered to our cabin the day before we arrived in Vietnam. We need to carry these around with us, every time we get off and back on the ship at our 3 Vietnamese ports over 6 days. They were stamped by an official on board as we left the ship on the first day in Vietnam and the day we leave our last Vietnamese port we need to surrender our landing cards.

I understand procedure was different for those staying ashore overnight at any port.

We were told photos would not be required for the onboard visas arranged by Azamara. I would be surprised if procedures are different for other cruise ships, but as someone else said, passport photos don't take up any space!

The "drive by" is also very enjoyable! We did the trip with HAL's Zaandam over Christmas 2015 and it was a fantastic trip - the views in Antarctica were amazing. I think our only disappointment was not getting up very close to the wildlife. I would happily do another drive by, but we have decided to go the expedition way next time, and have booked on the Fram for December 2018/January 2019. We decided if we did not do it soon we would never make it!

But it is definitely a hugely dearer option. This coming expedition cruise is costing 3 times what the drive by cost us - and we have certainly not chosen one of the dearer options!

I can understand people going for the drive by option, and it is not a "wrong" decision. My husband is still not sure about the expedition - I am just hoping that we get brilliant weather so that we are again blown away by the scenery! He will not be happy if we miss a lot due to weather, but that is the chance you take down there.

We did this trip in low water season, Christmas 2014. Our bus ride was 7 hours. There were endless road works (the Chinese building new roads) and it was a very rough trip. Extremely dusty, driving through lots of villages.

We had 2 stops. The first was at a spider farm at Skun. There were lots of complaints because there were only some squat toilets. We had another stop about 2.5 hours before reaching Siem Reap, which was slightly more civilised. A lot of people complained about this trip, particularly because most of us had not been warned we would likely not be able to sail across Tonle Sap.

This was 3 years ago, so hopefully the road has improved since then, making for a much smoother trip! It is now also more widely advertised that usually the sailing across Tonle Sap is not possible.

We still had a great trip - loved Cambodia, Angkor Wat, the marvellous hotel in Siem Reap (the Sofitel). Would have loved to have stayed longer.

We did the Zaandam Antarctica cruise a couple of years ago. We were in an OV. Personally I would not have wanted a balcony cabin. Wherever you are, you only get a view to one side of the ship from a balcony. For this trip you need to be out and about in parts of the ship where you can see in several directions. We spent time in the Crow's Nest, and a lot of time walking around outside, well wrapped up! The views are amazing, but not from the cabins, IMO.

This is a fantastic trip and it gave us the taste for returning to Antarctica. We are now booked to do an expedition cruise down there next year!

There was a just piano player in the Ocean Bar, for several periods throughout the day. We enjoyed him.

Not aware of any ballroom dancing, but I wasn't looking for it.

We also loved the light show with the cranes at Sentosa Island. Also the light show in the giant trees at Gardens By the Bay. The Marina Bay Sands Hotel rooftop has amazing views day and night.