Any experience with Azamara Black Sea Sailings?

[cpgrneyes]

I haven’t seen one in a few years, but there’s now a 14 day cruise offered in July 2020. For those seasoned Azamara cruises who have been on a Black Sea itinerary, did you enjoy it? I’m sure it will be VERY different from a Med cruise, but, other than Athens, every port will be new to us and it’s intriguing.

 

It’s pretty expensive, but I assume that’s because the itinerary is so unusual. I’ll be onboard in October and can take advantage of the LCV savings to offset some of that.

 

Appreciate any comments you may have.

 

Cheryl

[Lottie A]

We did a Black Sea cruise on Quest in 2014. It was at the time of the Russian/ Ukrainian conflict so all the ports were changed st late notice. Most of the ports we berthed at were completely unknown to any of us, including the crew.

I have to say we had enormous fun on the cruise....even Captain Carl hadn't been to most of our ports. It was quite an adventure.

 

We started and ended in Istanbul and then went to ports like Nessebar in Bulgaria, Constanta in Rumania, Trabzon in Turkey and the most memorable was Batumi in Georgia. A lovely place and we berthed in a park! Very friendly locals.

I remember going into the local bank to get some currency and a Georgian man in the queue had to sign that I was a reputable foreign woman otherwise they wouldn't have given me any local money! Some of the ports I can't even remember the name of. It was actually a lovely cruise.

 

We had lots of fun on the cruise and I would say that it was one of our most memorable Azamara cruises.

 

Russ, who has now sadly left Azamara was so great on this cruise. We laughed so much and have lots of stories to tell about it.

 

Go with an open mind and you will have a very unusual cruise experience. It's definitely not your standard Med cruise! 😄

[r&rd]

We did a similar Azamara itinerary several years ago (less Greece more Russia and Ukraine) but the current itinerary definitely has the stops we enjoyed the most. Each place was different than anywhere we had been. We did private tours in many of the places and learned so much about a part of the world we had so little knowledge of. I would definitely recommend it!

 

 

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[ellbon]

I am one of the many who was to go on a Black Sea cruise. It was canceled as many have been. At leastvLottie got to real Back Sea ports.

[Leo_On_Geo]

I sailed the Black Sea in 2013 and it remains a wonderful memory. The ports are quite different in 2020 than 2013. I went to Nessebar, Bulgaria, which was a really lovely historical town, so I am surprised that are substituting the more archeological city of Varna. Constanta, Romania was a sad town, nothing in 2013. I opted to travel to the Danube Delta; many people took a long bus ride to Bucharest. The countryside was lovely and the primary occupation appeared to be shepherd. Odessa was a lovely vibrant city. I explored the town, saw opera house, shopped at the markets, and walked the Potemkin steps. The highlight of the cruise was Yalta and Sevastopol, which will sadly be missed. In Sevastopol, I visited with family and we had the Azamazing evening that was the best one I have experienced. In Yalta I arranged a private tour that was very good. Your cruise goes to different ports, but I think any travel in this area will be very special. FYI the cost of our Black Sea cruise in 2013 was higher than other cruises at that time, so possibly the port charges may be a factor.

[Azamarajunkie]

Appreciate all the above comments, we are booked on the 2020 Cruise, but have yet to sort out our plans for each port - busy organising our October Suez cruise at the moment! Still, lots of food for thought.

[Haworth]

We did a Black Sea cruise, with a different line, in July 2011 when the whole are had opened up to tourism, sadly some of the most interesting ports are now no go areas, Leo on Geo has covered it well, in addition we were taken to the site of the Battle of Balaclava and looked down on the site of "the charge of the light brigade".

 

 

We also visited the submarine base that featured on Top Gear and now re commissioned as an active base for the Russian Navy.

 

 

If these ports ever open up again we would visit again in a heart beat, it was a great cruise.

[Globehoppers]

We enjoyed the Black Sea on Quest in 2012...although it doesn't seem that long ago. Istanbul, Varna, Constanta, Odessa, Sevastopol, Yalta, a morning cruise through the Bosporus, Canakkale, Santorini, Paros and ending in Athens. Much has obviously changed. Varna was a cultural experience and we took the tour to Bucharest from Constanta since we had been stationed at the US embassy there during the Ceaucescu era. Constanta is a prime Black Sea resort area with seaside hotel/resorts, but not much more. A good place to get our and see the countryside - AND go to the wonderful Romanian wineries. Odessa was, and still is, struggling to get out of its Soviet era. Our Quest tour guide blamed Afghanistan on the need for opium to feed the US drug habit (!). The tour through the WWII tunnels was fascinating. Of course, Crimea is out. We did happen to moor in Sevastopol during Soviet Navy Day and the Russian navy ships were all dressed out. The tour through the former underground submarine base at Balaklava was truly unique. Yalta was impressive with its history. Not mentioned previously is the cruise through the Bosporus. Under the bridge and between the ferries with the huge mansions and small boats along the shore on both side. Another real highlight was visiting Troy at Canakkale and seeing the monument to Gallipoli on exiting the straits (not to mention the Chinese naval ships that passed us going towards Istanbul...).

 

It is still a fascinating body of water to visit with very interesting ports/countries. Sadly Crimea cannot be visited and the Turkish ports have become an "official" security risk for Americans do the Erdogan.

[Dididi]

We did the Black Sea itinerary in 2013 on the Pacific Princess (same ship as the Azamara vessels, different line). Because these are unusual itineraries, they always are pricier than Med cruises but well worth it.

 

We walked around Nessebar, and took the bus tour to Bucharest (nothing to do in Constanta save going to the beach). It was a long ride but We had a very interesting visit of Ceacescu's palace with an "old school" official guide who counted the members of our group several times during the tour. It made us feel like extras on a spy movie.

 

We took a private tour in Odessa, a lovely city. We did the "Rocky arms raised" pose upon getting to the top of the Potemkin steps -- that was fun!

 

Crimea is out, which is very sad, but we're thinking about this cruise bc it goes to Georgia and a couple of new ports for us. As others have said, the sail through Istanbul is fascinating: the historical buildings, the bridges, the very fancy homes and motorboats. We had an overnight stay in Istanbul on our way to the Black Sea (not an option in the 2020 cruise), but having lunch outside (deck 9 buffet aft) as we sailed under the bridges and past Hagia Sofia and Topkapi Palace was memorable.

 

A special itinerary on the AZ Journey: a fantastic combination.

[nonrev1]

We did the Black Sea cruise with Azamara. It was round trip Istanbul. We visited two ports in Turkey, Sevastopol, Odessa, Yalta, Sochi ( just before the Olympics) , Novorostok, Constanta, Nessabar, and Batumi. It was pricey but definitely well worth it and was one of our favorites. Loved the ports and had some incredible experiences.

[travelberlin]

We did the Black Sea Cruise with the Azamara Quest on 2009. We have enjoyed every port. We were among others, in Sevastopol, Varna, Yalta, Odessa. It was long before the conflict and before Azamara increased the prices due to the addition of the “complimentary” drinks. We were able to eat at the specialty restaurants complimentary, paying just a cover charge of 5 Euro. The food was great at that time, including foie gras. If I recall properly our cruise started in Rome and it ended in Istanbul. Great itinerary. For us, this cruise showed us the importance of Greece and the Greek culture in the rising of Europe.

Enjoy it

Ivi

[BillC]

We did the Black Sea 5 years ago ( before all the problems ) and it was fantastic ! The only bummer was Constanta, which was worse that when we were there two years earlier. I'd stay on the ship if I went back. The itinerary was R/T Istanbul, which is still great but you have to be a little more careful now. The ports are really great. Go, and enjoy !

[little britain]

We dd the Black Sea on Aza. Staying overnight in Odessa and going out for dinner was incredible.

Constanta looked like a war zone (as Bill said)!

 

Glad to see they are doing this itinerary again. Highly recommended.

 

 

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