Final Payment and it feels real good!

Today was Final Payment day for the Journey January 14th, 2019 cruise to Cuba and I made the payment even though my new "account" that has been the subject of a thread here didn't show me anything to do with accounting-like how much I owed. Unlike Princess, possessor of the best cruise line website I have had the pleasure to use, the Azamara website is lame by comparison, as is Celebrity and RCI (I'm detecting a pattern here). I used the phone to make payment and was done in a couple of minutes.

Anyway we will be sailing on Azamara to Cuba and that is the main thing as I have long wanted to visit Cuba (since 1998) and haven't heard much negative about Azamara and am itching (could be hives) to try the brand and report back with a long detailed photo and video review to fill in the blanks for others considering the brand and Cuba.

I will photograph the ship from bow to stern and report on the good, any bad and the ugly if it manifests itself.

That review will be started on January 25th when we get back from Miami and will appear on the Celebrity board that day and beyond.

Hope you can tune in at that time.

Norris

Today was Final Payment day for the Journey January 14th, 2019 cruise to Cuba and I made the payment even though my new "account" that has been the subject of a thread here didn't show me anything to do with accounting-like how much I owed. Unlike Princess, possessor of the best cruise line website I have had the pleasure to use, the Azamara website is lame by comparison, as is Celebrity and RCI (I'm detecting a pattern here). I used the phone to make payment and was done in a couple of minutes.

Anyway we will be sailing on Azamara to Cuba and that is the main thing as I have long wanted to visit Cuba (since 1998) and haven't heard much negative about Azamara and am itching (could be hives) to try the brand and report back with a long detailed photo and video review to fill in the blanks for others considering the brand and Cuba.

I will photograph the ship from bow to stern and report on the good, any bad and the ugly if it manifests itself.

That review will be started on January 25th when we get back from Miami and will appear on the Celebrity board that day and beyond.

Hope you can tune in at that time.

Norris

You will absolutely love Cuba, we did a Cuba intensive on the Quest in March and it was one of the highlight of our cruising history.

Today I printed our cruise booklets for our November cruises to the UAE and Asia, it feels more real for me now too. We will need to pay for our planned March 2019 on the Pursuit cruises before we depart for the next cruises so that keeps the momentum going for me (us). We have some more ideas and are likely to book on board for the last part of 2019, can't not have planning on the go:)....

I'm truly a cruise tragic, my work password relates to my favourite cruise company and I have a countdown app on my phone I check all too regularly. It appears to be a 'disease' and one I'm happy to suffer from.

Enjoy Cuba and look forward to your reviews.

Today was Final Payment day for the Journey January 14th, 2019 cruise to Cuba and I made the payment even though my new "account" that has been the subject of a thread here didn't show me anything to do with accounting-like how much I owed. Unlike Princess, possessor of the best cruise line website I have had the pleasure to use, the Azamara website is lame by comparison, as is Celebrity and RCI (I'm detecting a pattern here). I used the phone to make payment and was done in a couple of minutes.

Anyway we will be sailing on Azamara to Cuba and that is the main thing as I have long wanted to visit Cuba (since 1998) and haven't heard much negative about Azamara and am itching (could be hives) to try the brand and report back with a long detailed photo and video review to fill in the blanks for others considering the brand and Cuba.

I will photograph the ship from bow to stern and report on the good, any bad and the ugly if it manifests itself.

That review will be started on January 25th when we get back from Miami and will appear on the Celebrity board that day and beyond.

Hope you can tune in at that time.

Norris

Hi Norris, I loved exploring Cuba earlier this year. The people, the place, and the politics of Cuba have all left a mark on me. I plan to go back someday.

P.s. I assume you meant to say your review will be on our Azamara board, not Celebrity?

Hi Norris, I loved exploring Cuba earlier this year. The people, the place, and the politics of Cuba have all left a mark on me. I plan to go back someday.

P.s. I assume you meant to say your review will be on our Azamara board, not Celebrity?

Hi Bonnie, the review will be on the X board for a couple of reasons;

I write very long and detailed reviews and enjoy the feedback/questions etc from the people who read them. I think my Silhouette review from 2016 has about 250,000 reads by now with over 1,000 posts (50 plus pages)

I think I already know from Youtube that Azamara will be a very good fit for us and I'd like to show those on X and the Princess boards what Azamara has to offer, rather than "preaching to the converted" who may have sailed the Journey half a dozen times. I will be seeing the ship and the Az culture through fresh but experienced cruiser eyes.

As I am an avid CC reader I always look for photo and video reviews-a picture's worth a thousand words applies-but this board is lacking in that regard. I take 6 cameras when I cruise.

I will drop a link in this board to the review on X when the time comes and ditto to Princess where I have done most of my modern day cruising. I hope the readers on those two very active boards will get a better appreciation of Azamara. Luckily you now have a third ship to handle the demand when your sales skyrocket after January 25th.

I am used to ships holding 3,000 passengers but have sailed a sister to Journey with Princess in the Med and when we pulled into Sorrento to anchor the Journey was

pulling away after an overnight stay. Hey! I want to do that!

Hence my interest in Azamara.

No other cruise line was offering 3 ports in Cuba with 37 hours tied up in Havana. Some lines who go there I am unlikely to sail on. Nine nights on Journey won hands down and having made Final Payment yesterday I am just 119 days away from experiencing Azamara. Then I will tell the world (CC at least) how things went.

That's the short answer.

Cheers!

Norris

Looking forward to visiting with you Norris come January when you put pen to paper again!

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Looking forward to visiting with you Norris come January when you put pen to paper again!

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winncruiser! Nice to see you pop up here out of the blue.

As someone who reads my Princess reviews I am sure you understand my reasons for posting on the X Board. For me and my understanding of Azamara (soon to be enriched) an X cruiser seeking a more intimate and refined cruising experience should naturally look to Az first as the luxury arm of the Royal Caribbean empire. They just need to be reminded or enlightened which is where I hope to come in.

January 25th, one day after I am forced off the ship in Miami, I will begin my "Gentleman's Seafaring Journal" . I look forward to seeing you there! After that there is a long gap until I set my lucky feet on the Silhouette to the Norwegian Fjords on September 1.

Cheers!

Norris

Sounds like some fun times ahead. Enjoy!

Looking forwards to reading it. Incidentally some posters on Azamara boards do include lots of photos - did you see Alsun’s posts from the Pursuit’s maiden cruise https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2662039

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Looking forwards to reading it. Incidentally some posters on Azamara boards do include lots of photos - did you see Alsun’s posts from the Pursuit’s maiden cruise https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2662039

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Indeed I did and thanks for reminding me. I had bookmarked it as I am sailing the Norwegian Fjords a year from now and have just bumped it back on to page 1 where more people can see it.

I shy away from "live" reports for myself. I did one on the Emerald Princess in the Med a couple of years ago and the internet was so slow that my first post took 28 minutes to upload. Never again for me.

I write once I get home, usually immediately after petting the cat and my Traveling

Companion e mails me the notes she took daily. I usually have 1800 or so pics from a 7 day cruise and they help me with the chronology too.

I am very excited to visit Cuba and to do it on a new cruise line that I already have a fondness for via Youtube and the enthusiasm of the people on this board. I am familiar with the R ships via the Ocean Princess (now Oceania Sirena). The shower curtain doesn't put me off.

We are sailing aft in 7116. On the Ocean we were in an owner's suite on the corner- 6088.

Cheers!

Norris

Norris. I actually came looking for you! Remembered you had an Az in the queue. Just couldn’t remember when. So there you are [emoji568]!

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When I got home from Cuba I devoured anything and everything I could get on Netflix remotely related to Cuba, Castro and of course Hemingway. I want to go back badly.

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When I got home from Cuba I devoured anything and everything I could get on Netflix remotely related to Cuba, Castro and of course Hemingway. I want to go back badly.

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Everything I have have read and seen over the past 20 years of being interested via Cuban music, especially the Buena Vista Social Club and Afro Cuban All Stars who visited Chicago several times, has told me I have to go see it before it changes forever due to N.American tourism and the money that will flood in. I want to see it while it is still almost frozen in time-selfishly-as I am sure the Cuban working class or standing on a corner class would have wished it differently.

Thanks to someone on the X board (?) I was reminded to watch the Great Performances documentary where the singer from the Mavericks visited recently and featured my favorite Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa. Just two nights ago we watched Anthony Bourdain in Cuba (Havana and Santiago de Cuba) where he avoided the familiar sights and took to the back streets and impoverished neighborhoods with trash and rubble in the streets and ate in some homes with bare-bones kitchens operating on a tight budget. I'll see some of that perhaps as we are taking private tours in vintage cars in each port with Cubans as our guides and that will help balance out some of the tourist must-sees and glorious worn architecture .

I don't doubt for a moment that it will be the most interesting Caribbean cruise I have taken and will move me emotionally. Similarly, as a pretty happy, take the rough with the smooth, cruiser I can already imagine how much I may enjoy Azamara.

Thanks for validating my interest!

Did you eat ashore at all? We plan to as it's something I like to do. I will drink some rum that I know.

Can't wait (but the anticipation is a thrill in itself)

Norris

Everything I have have read and seen over the past 20 years of being interested via Cuban music, especially the Buena Vista Social Club and Afro Cuban All Stars who visited Chicago several times, has told me I have to go see it before it changes forever due to N.American tourism and the money that will flood in. I want to see it while it is still almost frozen in time-selfishly-as I am sure the Cuban working class or standing on a corner class would have wished it differently.

Thanks to someone on the X board (?) I was reminded to watch the Great Performances documentary where the singer from the Mavericks visited recently and featured my favorite Cuban musician Eliades Ochoa. Just two nights ago we watched Anthony Bourdain in Cuba (Havana and Santiago de Cuba) where he avoided the familiar sights and took to the back streets and impoverished neighborhoods with trash and rubble in the streets and ate in some homes with bare-bones kitchens operating on a tight budget. I'll see some of that perhaps as we are taking private tours in vintage cars in each port with Cubans as our guides and that will help balance out some of the tourist must-sees and glorious worn architecture .

I don't doubt for a moment that it will be the most interesting Caribbean cruise I have taken and will move me emotionally. Similarly, as a pretty happy, take the rough with the smooth, cruiser I can already imagine how much I may enjoy Azamara.

Thanks for validating my interest!

Did you eat ashore at all? We plan to as it's something I like to do. I will drink some rum that I know.

Can't wait (but the anticipation is a thrill in itself)

Norris

Norris, we were fortunate to travel with friends from Miami who (Mrs M) I will call her left Cuba as a 10 year old on one of the last flights in the late 60's. Her elderly father (still alive and also living in Miami) was part of the resistance and was particularly traumatized that she would even consider returning for a visit. To date, on the advice of the family, he doesn't know she returned for a visit. With the help of our guide we were able to revisit the street (and even the house) where she grew up, the hospital where she was born and the stadium where her grandfather played professional baseball. It was a very emotional time for her. To share all this and more, has been one of the highlights of my travelling life. Enough said.

Yes the food is great (as is the music) lots of fish, chicken and huge pork chops....There's lots of home base restaurants and they are called Paladares (but you probably knew that). Here's a good link - enjoy

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/feb/15/top-10-paladares-restaurants-havana

Attention Bonnie and the I.T. Boffins on the Azamara website

Bonnie I am trying to buy two tickets for an excursion in Havana- # N154, but despite having watched the video on using our OBC to pay for it-no OBC option appears, just a credit card payment option. This is leaving a sour taste in my mouth which can only be remedied with an immediate Cuba Libre- I am pouring the rum as I speak.

Is there a work-around or do I have to call on the phone? (primitive)

Norris, the disappointed in your Azamara web site.

Bonnie, I used the phone to reserve my one Azamara shore excursion in Cuba and as with my previous call was done in a jiffy so all is well-prompt, efficient service.

My excursion is at 9 pm on our overnight in Havana (January 16th) and we may be missing the Azamazing evening but that's life in the big city (Chicago).

All's well that ends well.

Norris

Norris, we were fortunate to travel with friends from Miami who (Mrs M) I will call her left Cuba as a 10 year old on one of the last flights in the late 60's. Her elderly father (still alive and also living in Miami) was part of the resistance and was particularly traumatized that she would even consider returning for a visit. To date, on the advice of the family, he doesn't know she returned for a visit. With the help of our guide we were able to revisit the street (and even the house) where she grew up, the hospital where she was born and the stadium where her grandfather played professional baseball. It was a very emotional time for her. To share all this and more, has been one of the highlights of my travelling life. Enough said.

 

Yes the food is great (as is the music) lots of fish, chicken and huge pork chops....There's lots of home base restaurants and they are called Paladares (but you probably knew that). Here's a good link - enjoy

 

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/feb/15/top-10-paladares-restaurants-havana

Thanks for the link which I will bookmark for the trip.

We have a 6 hour guided tour in a classic car via Blexie just after we dock and that night a musical excursion-Legendarios del Guajirito at the Red Room but our second day is free to wander and explore-and eat- as the ship doesn't sail for Cienfuegos until 11 pm. That excursion is the only Azamara one we have booked as we are using private drivers/guides in each city and we can tell them what we want to see and where we want to eat etc.

I don't have the personal connections to Cuba as you have had but we are excited to see the "New" in the Caribbean and to us nothing could be newer than a Cuban experience with its absence of Diamonds International, Gucci and Michael Kors which dull the shoreside experience for us. This will be a real step back in time and a voyage of discovery for us and the rich icing on the cake is getting there via Azamara and finding out if the experience is how I imagine it to be from all the videos and reviews I have read.

We are easy-going tourists who savor every moment away from work and big city life and your link will help us along the way to having a very memorable vacation.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Norris