Anybody onboard currently?

[aliaschief]

23 hours ago, KirkNC said:

You out of quarantine yet?

Yes,  and at home and doing better every day, thank you.

[DS]

Yes, these wines are in place of the "two reds of the day and two whites of the day"  We had them all last cruise, but I only say the placard/listing the last night in the Discoveries menu--so I took it!   I did not find them an improvement in quality, and perhaps even a bit less diversity...  since they are Azamara private brand/boutique wines, you will have the same choices every day, cruise after cruise after cruise -- at least with the "two wines of the day" they changed between cruises.  For example before, there were usually several different Cab's ( for example) along the cruise on different nights.   Now there is only 1 - and in my opinion, not that great.

 

As to other wines for purchase, there is an extensive list but I don't have a copy available

[travelberlin]

For those who have embarked recently, did you do a COVID test at the terminal?

Ivi

[uktog]

2 hours ago, travelberlin said:

For those who have embarked recently, did you do a COVID test at the terminal?

Ivi

Yes simple antigen today 

[uktog]

Onboard Quest we tried the rose and pinotage wines and really liked them. The rose I’d have struggled to differentiate it from Whispering Angel if you’d given me a blind taste 

[barneyboy]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Onboard Quest we tried the rose and pinotage wines and really liked them. The rose I’d have struggled to differentiate it from Whispering Angel if you’d given me a blind taste 

Hopefully they’ll have the rose on the Onward next month as I like pale dry roses. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Pinotage is a divisive wine (like Cilantro among herbs) – but I like it.  All in all this looks like a reasonable wine list, and I agree with the comment that it's better to have it clearly presented so that you know all the choices.

[kool kruiser]

What wines are now available to those who have purchased the upgraded drinks package ?

 

Thanks

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, kool kruiser said:

What wines are now available to those who have purchased the upgraded drinks package ?

 

Thanks

On the website the following wines are listed in the Ultimate Package (there are no wines with the Premium Package)

“Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut (France), Prosecco Santa Elvira Extra Dry (Italy), Chardonnay Kendall Jackson Vintner Reserve (USA), Château d’Esclans “Whispering Angel” Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve (USA), Shiraz M.A.N Vintners (South Africa), Beaujolais Villages Georges Duboeuf (France), Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Errazuriz Casablanca (Chile), Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage, Sandeman Ruby, and more.”

[takemewithyou]

Not all of those were on our Dec Quest cruise.   Must have been substations.  We did not have any Kendall Jackson, white or red available on ultimate package.  It was some other CA chardonnay which I  remember thinking was probably about $10 a bottle or less at home in US.  
 

 There were a lot of substitutions on our cruise for wine and upper end brands of different alcohol.  Don’t know if that has gotten better or not.

 

42 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

On the website the following wines are listed in the Ultimate Package (there are no wines with the Premium Package)

“Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut (France), Prosecco Santa Elvira Extra Dry (Italy), Chardonnay Kendall Jackson Vintner Reserve (USA), Château d’Esclans “Whispering Angel” Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve (USA), Shiraz M.A.N Vintners (South Africa), Beaujolais Villages Georges Duboeuf (France), Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Errazuriz Casablanca (Chile), Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage, Sandeman Ruby, and more.”

in US.  

[OregonGal56]

On 4/3/2022 at 4:16 PM, Killin Time said:

We just got back from our 8 day Spanish intensive on Pursuit. It was the first passenger cruise since Covid. There was a prior shakedown cruise right before us but it was not paying customers. 
The trip was fabulous.
Food was better than I remembered with some lighter options in Discoveries for dinner. I particularly enjoyed a prosciutto wrapped piece of fish over risotto and also a lightly seared piece of tuna entree. Our meal in Prime C was excellent and my fillet was perfect. The menu in Prime C is a lot more constrained than I remembered but what we had was good. the lunches at the buffet were also good with interesting composed salads such as spicy Thai pork salad, Greek Salad etc. I particularly enjoyed the luncheon soups which had excellent flavor. Desserts as always were decadent. 
Tanya the cruise director has assembled a top notch group of performers on board. The band Lucky Cham is a talented group of South American musicians. The lead singer is a charming young woman with a phenomenal voice. All the other musicians, singers and dancers were great and gave lively performances. The flamenco dancers who came aboard in Seville were really incredible and seemed very authentic. It was quite the experience. White Nights had to be moved indoors due to the weather but it was still a lot of fun. 
Boarding was somewhat slow but the facilities at Lisbon were rather small so it wasn’t easy to process so many people but it went as well as could be expected. I heard that 4 individuals did not pass the pre boarding Covid test which must have been very disappointing for them. My husband and I did not have a pre boarding visit in Lisbon like we usually would just so we could avoid any pre cruise exposure. The cleaning protocols are robust so it takes longer to turn the rooms around. We had a very charming welcome aboard by a group of managers and crew. Then a brief safety lecture and we were escorted to our rooms to pick up our keys. 
I want to give a special shout out to Heike who is the hotel director, to Tanya the cruise director, and to Lee who is the assistant cruise director. Heike had the ship in first class order with sparkling customer service from her entire team. The staff were glad to be back at work and they treated the guests with impeccable service. Tanya was vivacious and energetic and Lee was always thinking about how to make the guest experience better. 
If you have enjoyed Azamara in the past, you will not be disappointed in your return. We had a great time and it seems like our fellow passengers enjoyed their trip as much as we did. Thank you Azamara!!!

Great info, thanks! We are on the Quest Spain Intensive leaving May 8th from Italy. Did you do a 72 hour test before embarkation? If so, do you know if they accept a "home" test, or if it has to be from a lab or pharmacy?

We are arriving in Italy about 6 days before our cruise, am a little worried about possible exposure, but we are getting our 4th shot tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

Also, did you do any of the ship excursions, if so, what is worthwhile? Last question, was many people actually wearing white for "white nights"?

Thanks for any addition info!

[kool kruiser]

21 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

On the website the following wines are listed in the Ultimate Package (there are no wines with the Premium Package)

“Champagne Nicolas Feuillatte Brut (France), Prosecco Santa Elvira Extra Dry (Italy), Chardonnay Kendall Jackson Vintner Reserve (USA), Château d’Esclans “Whispering Angel” Rosé, Cabernet Sauvignon Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve (USA), Shiraz M.A.N Vintners (South Africa), Beaujolais Villages Georges Duboeuf (France), Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc Errazuriz Casablanca (Chile), Fonseca Late Bottled Vintage, Sandeman Ruby, and more.”

Thanks. Yes, saw this but wondered if this was still the position, as another thread indicated that the website was not always up to date.

Can't speak for all selections but the Beaujolais is pretty decent. Shame the Chilean Sauvignon is not a New Zealander but hey ho...Looks like the ultimate package for us.

[uktog]

Onboard Quest now. All going pretty well. A marker for future guests disembarking in Barcelona late departure is not available everyone must be off by 9 am. The only tour is for guests with flights after 1730 so those of us with mid afternoon flights are in for a day of sitting around waiting for check in to open ☹️

[wjfan417]

On 4/5/2022 at 3:34 PM, DS said:

Yes, these wines are in place of the "two reds of the day and two whites of the day"  We had them all last cruise, but I only say the placard/listing the last night in the Discoveries menu--so I took it!   I did not find them an improvement in quality, and perhaps even a bit less diversity...  since they are Azamara private brand/boutique wines, you will have the same choices every day, cruise after cruise after cruise -- at least with the "two wines of the day" they changed between cruises.  For example before, there were usually several different Cab's ( for example) along the cruise on different nights.   Now there is only 1 - and in my opinion, not that great.

 

As to other wines for purchase, there is an extensive list but I don't have a copy available

After 4 days of the included wines, we upgraded our beverage package to have more options-which we’ve never found necessary to do before.

[audobon_tx]

In Civitavecchia just off Pursuit after 7 nts from Barcelona.  Best food we have ever had on Azamara.  Entertainment very good.  Service was great.  Wifi was abysmal. 

 

We had 236 pax.  We heard that the next leg to Ravenna will have 480 +/- pax.

 

No restrictions on shore activities in Spain, France, Monaco, Italy.

 

But it has been COLD and windy most places.

Edited April 9, 2022 by audobon_tx

[HalifaxYorksCruiser]

1 hour ago, audobon_tx said:

In Civitavecchia just off Pursuit after 7 nts from Barcelona.  Best food we have ever had on Azamara.  Entertainment very good.  Service was great.  Wifi was abysmal. 

 

We had 236 pax.  We heard that the next leg to Ravenna will have 480 +/- pax.

 

No restrictions on shore activities in Spain, France, Monaco, Italy.

 

But it has been COLD and windy most places.

Good to hear that there are no restrictions on shore activities in Italy.

[Mrs Miggins]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

Onboard Quest now. All going pretty well. A marker for future guests disembarking in Barcelona late departure is not available everyone must be off by 9 am. The only tour is for guests with flights after 1730 so those of us with mid afternoon flights are in for a day of sitting around waiting for check in to open ☹️

So glad you made it.  We board in Barcelona next Saturday.  Shame about the WTC as I was hoping to have a quick walk around.  They say there will be shuttles from the Cruise Terminal but we have to be back onboard early for a 5 pm departure so possibly no time.  We are on an early flight from Heathrow and hope they let us board early or at least look after our bags whilst we board the shuttle.  Surely they would look after our bags ?

Edited April 9, 2022 by Mrs Miggins

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, Mrs Miggins said:

So glad you made it.  We board in Barcelona next Saturday.  Shame about the WTC as I was hoping to have a quick walk around.  They say there will be shuttles from the Cruise Terminal but we have to be back onboard early for a 5 pm departure so possibly no time.  We are on an early flight from Heathrow and hope they let us board early or at least look after our bags whilst we board the shuttle.  Surely they would look after our bags ?

I would not bank on it. Certainly in Lisbon dropping your bags was part of a process which took you from stage to stage through embarkation. It was far better than Viking. The testing was done discretely (no stand over there and keep spitting) and no quarantine in you cabin for hours malarkey 

[Baynanno1]

12 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

So glad you made it.  We board in Barcelona next Saturday.  Shame about the WTC as I was hoping to have a quick walk around.  They say there will be shuttles from the Cruise Terminal but we have to be back onboard early for a 5 pm departure so possibly no time.  We are on an early flight from Heathrow and hope they let us board early or at least look after our bags whilst we board the shuttle.  Surely they would look after our bags ?

 

The new thread "Barcelona Port" would seem to indicate looking after bags is probably not an option.

[zipcruise]

Could someone please tell me, where Azamara docked in Livorno? Did you need a shuttle from port to town? Thank you so much in advance.

[glanders]

4 hours ago, zipcruise said:

Could someone please tell me, where Azamara docked in Livorno? Did you need a shuttle from port to town? Thank you so much in advance.

Hello. This past week we docked in the "new (very much working) port" due to expected high winds, which did happen upon departure. Some hours were really rough on the way to Rome. Shuttle buses were provided on the half hour except during lunch break 12-2 where they ran every 45 minutes. Bus dropped in the center of town. The captain apologized for not being able to dock in the usual, old port.

Edited April 10, 2022 by glanders

[NC&KY]

On Pursuit now. 500 passengers. Aqualina and Prime C both open with separate menus. Dover sole is NOT on the regular menu but available readily by special request. Agree with earlier post; WiFi worse than usual.

[roberts2005]

1 hour ago, glanders said:

Hello. This past week we docked in the "new (very much working) port" due to expected high winds, which did happen upon departure. Some hours were really rough on the way to Rome. Shuttle buses were provided on the half hour except during lunch break 12-2 where they ran every 45 minutes. Bus dropped in the center of town. The captain apologized for not being able to dock in the usual, old port.

How far was the drop off point from the train station?

[zipcruise]

5 hours ago, glanders said:

Hello. This past week we docked in the "new (very much working) port" due to expected high winds, which did happen upon departure. Some hours were really rough on the way to Rome. Shuttle buses were provided on the half hour except during lunch break 12-2 where they ran every 45 minutes. Bus dropped in the center of town. The captain apologized for not being able to dock in the usual, old port.

Thank you so much, I’m planning my excursion to Firenze, so I can check the way to the train station on google maps.

[Pittsburgh14]

Italy seems to have stopped the restriction of needing cruise passengers to book a cruise sponsored excursion but Azamara’s website still makes it sound like there may be ports in Italy that require a ship sponsored excursion.  Makes it sound like you can’t even get off the boat and get to the area where private excursions would pick you up or where you could get public transportation.  When Azamara says shuttles will not be provided, are they speaking of shuttles from ship to pick up areas or shuttles to the actual destination town?  We read that with some docks, you cannot just walk on the dock for safety reasons.