Azamara Quest - Mediterranean Cities, October 28-November 4 2021

[Bimmer09]

On 12/26/2021 at 4:03 PM, MisterMet said:

That "burger" doesn't exactly look like one you'd get at a Johnny Rockets or an In n Out does it?  I'm sensing a theme here Norris?

LOL Trip!

The burger was the result of one of two things (1) they were out of burger buns (2) they were out of their minds.

Great to have you reading along!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

On 12/26/2021 at 5:08 PM, silkismom said:

Such sweet kitties.

Yes indeed they are but sometimes a handful. The male cat has found a new favorite spot and obscures the subtitles when we watch foreign movies....

 

The female cat does more normal cat activities...

 

The cats put on a Cirque du Soleil show 3 times daily-very acrobatic !

Norris

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Norris we have completed our cruise to the Southern Caribbean on HAL and began our review here yesterday . Cheers , Joe and Pat

 

 

[Bimmer09]

2 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

Norris we have completed our cruise to the Southern Caribbean on HAL and began our review here yesterday . Cheers , Joe and Pat

 

 

 Joe (and Pat) thank you- I will enjoy a nice long read with stellar photos and video!

I am always keen to see what HAL has to offer.

Cheers!

Norris

[Walt fan]

Just popping in to wish you and Carol a peaceful, blessed and healthy 2022. Love the pics of your new cats! They keep life interesting.

[MisterMet]

Norris,

 

What a fantastic trip and review!  Right up there with the best you've ever done.  Wonderful ports, sights, and pictures.  Thank you for all of us CC members who look forward to reviews like yours.

 

Trip

[Bimmer09]

23 hours ago, MisterMet said:

Norris,

 

What a fantastic trip and review!  Right up there with the best you've ever done.  Wonderful ports, sights, and pictures.  Thank you for all of us CC members who look forward to reviews like yours.

 

Trip

 

Trip, thanks for the kind compliments!

I'm glad you followed along and hope you enjoyed seeing what Azamara has to offer in Covid times.

My next review is  16 months away- 10 days Alaska on Princess May 2023. I'll drop a link to it here at that time so keep your notification turned on for this thread.

Cheers!

Norris

[norn iron]

On 1/17/2022 at 4:13 PM, Bimmer09 said:

 

Trip, thanks for the kind compliments!

I'm glad you followed along and hope you enjoyed seeing what Azamara has to offer in Covid times.

My next review is  16 months away- 10 days Alaska on Princess May 2023. I'll drop a link to it here at that time so keep your notification turned on for this thread.

Cheers!

Norris

 

Norris,

I mentioned in this thread a few weeks back that I know Kelly Wilson the ex MD of Kelly's.

I spoke with him this evening at the Ulster V Clermont rugby match (Ulster won!!) and asked him if he remembered a Captain Adair from Portavogie?

Quick as flash Kelly responds, "there where two Captain Adair's from Portavogie"

One escaped his memory, although he said it would come back him around midnight.

The Captain he remembered was Captain Frank Adair who captained the Ballyrush.

He described him as "Always in a three piece suit and a trilby"

 

Hopefully this is a happy recollection of your father.

[Bimmer09]

18 hours ago, norn iron said:

 

Norris,

I mentioned in this thread a few weeks back that I know Kelly Wilson the ex MD of Kelly's.

I spoke with him this evening at the Ulster V Clermont rugby match (Ulster won!!) and asked him if he remembered a Captain Adair from Portavogie?

Quick as flash Kelly responds, "there where two Captain Adair's from Portavogie"

One escaped his memory, although he said it would come back him around midnight.

The Captain he remembered was Captain Frank Adair who captained the Ballyrush.

He described him as "Always in a three piece suit and a trilby"

 

Hopefully this is a happy recollection of your father.

 

Indeed it is.

Thanks for remembering to ask the question of Mr Wilson!

He may have the wrong ship- my dad last captained the Ballyrush's sister ship the Ballyrory which he picked up at the builders in Aberdeen November 1962.  He sailed her until 1979 when he retired .

I think he did sail the Ballyrush when the Ballyrory was in dry dock and he relieved the captain on the Rush for vacation. 

After retirement he was asked by some Portavogie trawler captains to bring their new builds over from Aberdeen  as he knew the dangerous waters.

 

 

He had sailed several Kelly ships prior to that including the Ballyloran (built 1958-Diesel powered)

 

The first ship I got to sail on during my summer holidays was a steamship-the Ballygally and there I got to see the stokers furiously shoveling coke/coal into the massive furnaces  to heat the boilers. Days gone by.... there were no containers then (late 50s early 60s) and the ships in Liverpool and Preston, to name but two, used cranes and derricks to unload cargo in giant nets. To load coal into my dad's ships a train full of coal would pull up on the dock and a crane would lift each wagon in turn,  a crew member with a long pole would release the pin holding the wagon door closed and the coal would spill out into the hold where there were few men who shoveled it to fill the sides rather than have a pyramid of coal wasting space. Exciting to watch for a kid!

Steamship...

 

I got to sail several times during the 1960s and visit ports in England, Wales and Scotland and saw new places in Northern Ireland when we unloaded. My love of ships of all kinds grew since I was 5 or 6 years old and continues to this day.

 

Thanks again for reminding me!

Norris

 

[Bimmer09]

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL

As you know we spent the first day of our vacation in rainy Newark and not sunny Rome thanks to bad weather in Chicago and our Newark- Rome flight taking off without us.  We spent an unplanned $900 + on hotel, meals and a very expensive extra Covid test. Then when unpacking in Rome Carol found her suitcase had been rifled through and a pair of prescription Rayban sunglasses missing.

 

Although we thought United Airlines would just offer an apology when Carol submitted a claim recently they sent her a check to cover every dollar incurred in missing our flight ($900+) and are sending a Flight certificate worth $480 to cover the sunglasses. This will expire in 2 years so we will use it against our tickets to Anchorage in May 2023.

 

Carol had kept all pertinent receipts. United Customer Service renewed our faith in them.

 

A Happy Ending!

Norris

[sunny-leah]

Norris and Carol,

Thank you so much for the wonderful review!!
I found it last week and and just finished. 
I have actually read and enjoyed all your reviews. 
I’m so sorry I have never taken the time to thank you. 

My husband and I have enjoyed many different cruise lines and destinations.  
Princess - Alaska

Celebrity - Baltic (14 Day RT London)

HAL - Caribbean 

MSC - Caribbean 

Royal - Caribbean 

Carnival - 3 Mediterranean (12 Day RT Rome 2 times, and 14 Day RT Barcelona 1 time, and too many to count Caribbean cruises. 

Many of our choices are due to cruising with family and friends. 

We did a Rhine River Cruise beginning in Amsterdam and debarking in Strasbourg, France, and then continuing on to Switzerland, staying in Lucerne 2 days, and then flying home from Zurich. 

Thank you again and looking forward to many more Bimmer reviews. 
 

Linda 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

18 hours ago, sunny-leah said:

Norris and Carol,

Thank you so much for the wonderful review!!
I found it last week and and just finished. 
I have actually read and enjoyed all your reviews. 
I’m so sorry I have never taken the time to thank you. 

My husband and I have enjoyed many different cruise lines and destinations.  
Princess - Alaska

Celebrity - Baltic (14 Day RT London)

HAL - Caribbean 

MSC - Caribbean 

Royal - Caribbean 

Carnival - 3 Mediterranean (12 Day RT Rome 2 times, and 14 Day RT Barcelona 1 time, and too many to count Caribbean cruises. 

Many of our choices are due to cruising with family and friends. 

We did a Rhine River Cruise beginning in Amsterdam and debarking in Strasbourg, France, and then continuing on to Switzerland, staying in Lucerne 2 days, and then flying home from Zurich. 

Thank you again and looking forward to many more Bimmer reviews. 
 

Linda 

 

 

 

 

 

Linda, thanks for the response!

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed this review and have read my others over the years.

We haven't done a river cruise in Europe yet but have done many land vacations there. Here's a pic from our hotel room in Lucerne which is my nomination for most beautiful place we have visited. Richard Wagner was the lure.

 

A highlight, apart from visiting Wagner's lakeside home, was having lunch on the top of Mt Pilatus on a sunny afternoon. 

Thanks for coming out of the shadows!

 

Norris

[dani negreanu]

Happy Birthday, Norris,

 

Wishing you many happy returns (to cruising, to the Bayreuth festival, to land trips) along with Carol 💐

[Bimmer09]

1 hour ago, dani negreanu said:

Happy Birthday, Norris,

 

Wishing you many happy returns (to cruising, to the Bayreuth festival, to land trips) along with Carol 💐

 

Dani-thank you for the kind wishes and for remembering my birthday!

The Festival in Germany hasn't been confirmed yet but we are hopeful...

Cheers!

Norris

[Walt fan]

Happiest of birthdays to you Norris!! Enjoy your day!!

[Ichiban Nekko]

 

Hello @Bimmer09 and @Deck Chair Queen,

 

After several days, I have completed all 30 pages of your amazing review/GSJ. Your writing and photographs took us along with you – even if it is more than 4 months since you returned home. I also forwarded the link to DH so he could take it all in at his leisure.

 

However, may I humbly suggest you get with Azamara’s Marketing people to request (demand?) commission. I noticed more than one person made comments that they were thinking about trying another line and that your review was nudging them toward Azamara. We quickly joined that queue.

 

Well. Long story short: your fabulous writing and photography (and musical references) culminated in us booking a very similar itinerary on Quest for October 2023. Thank you so much for all the information you shared. Your start was horrific, but you did get to Rome, with your sense of humor intact, a feat in itself.  This episode is so instructional: DH has agreed that perhaps more than one day in Rome would be wise. After all, if all goes well, Rome awaits, which is not exactly something to fear. Your hotel/restaurant/touring ideas & comments for various ports have been bookmarked. We also have taken note of your comments about not wanting to head for the airport after disembarking. After drinking in your photos of Barcelona, we agree that this is stellar advice and are adapting our plans accordingly. 

 

And it was truly delightful to read the epilog about United coming through for you after all.  Thank you Sir Norris & Lady Carol for your public service.

 

Thanks again and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you both,

-Cat & Dave

 

[Bimmer09]

21 hours ago, Ichiban Nekko said:

Well. Long story short: your fabulous writing and photography (and musical references) culminated in us booking a very similar itinerary on Quest for October 2023. Thank you so much for all the information you shared. Your start was horrific, but you did get to Rome, with your sense of humor intact, a feat in itself.  This episode is so instructional: DH has agreed that perhaps more than one day in Rome would be wise. After all, if all goes well, Rome awaits, which is not exactly something to fear. Your hotel/restaurant/touring ideas & comments for various ports have been bookmarked. We also have taken note of your comments about not wanting to head for the airport after disembarking. After drinking in your photos of Barcelona, we agree that this is stellar advice and are adapting our plans accordingly. 

 

Cat, thanks so much for your kind comments!

I'm glad you took the time to read the whole thing and that you were inspired to book a similar Azamara cruise on the strength of what you saw in my GSJ.

Yes one day in Rome is not enough- make it three if you have the time. Ditto Barcelona! I see you are visiting Menorca and Mallorca too. 

That far in the future I hope that Covid has relaxed its grip and you won't have to take as many tests as we did. That aspect took some of the shine of the experience but we were very glad we did the cruise and renewed our acquaintance with Azamara.

You'll be treated to some beautiful fall color in the last week of October, especially in Italy.

We don't have another cruise booked until May 2023- Princess to Alaska 10 day cruise/tour. No doubt before that we will have chosen a follow-up. I have been looking at Azamara Dublin to Iceland with 2024 in mind (if they do one then).

Thanks again and Happy Planning!

Norris and Carol

[donswife]

Hi Norris!

 

I just dug out and skimmed through your Diamond Princess review!  We have some FCCs that we have to use by the end of 2022, and when the west coast itineraries opened up, I grabbed a Caribe Vista suite on a 5 day to Cabo, for about the same price per night as the club class mini suite we had booked on the Majestic for a 4 night coastal.  DH is much happier in a full suite.  Hoping we actually get to go!

[Bimmer09]

Donswife- I'm happy you read my Diamond Princess review. She became my favorite Princess ship but was eventually sent to the Asian market.  I chose her sister ship Sapphire Princess for our Alaska May 2023 cruise over a Royal Class ship as I imagine that class of ship will be gone during this decade.

 

The full suite is a fine experience so I hope you go too and savor it!

 

When do you sail?

 

Norris

[donswife]

4 hours ago, Bimmer09 said:

Donswife- I'm happy you read my Diamond Princess review. She became my favorite Princess ship but was eventually sent to the Asian market.  I chose her sister ship Sapphire Princess for our Alaska May 2023 cruise over a Royal Class ship as I imagine that class of ship will be gone during this decade.

 

The full suite is a fine experience so I hope you go too and savor it!

 

When do you sail?

 

Norris

The Diamond Princess is September 6, 2022, just 5 days to Cabo.  We have had window suites 3 times, and this will be our first full suite with balcony.  DH loves the special suite breakfast.  I found a great deal too good to pass up.  In October, I have a 4 night on the Sapphire in balcony cabins with my daughter and M-I-L (hopefully we will get to go), so I get to try both Japan built sisters while they are in range for my current station in life 😎.  I am looking forward to wide promenade decks with loungers!

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

[Bimmer09]

13 hours ago, donswife said:

The Diamond Princess is September 6, 2022, just 5 days to Cabo.  We have had window suites 3 times, and this will be our first full suite with balcony.  DH loves the special suite breakfast.  I found a great deal too good to pass up.  In October, I have a 4 night on the Sapphire in balcony cabins with my daughter and M-I-L (hopefully we will get to go), so I get to try both Japan built sisters while they are in range for my current station in life 😎.  I am looking forward to wide promenade decks with loungers!

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, those wide promenade decks haven't been seen since 2004 on Princess and I love the covered bow on deck 8 so you can do a complete circuit of the ship under cover. I also loved the 4 separate dining rooms-the Savoy, Vivaldi, Pacific Moon and Santa Fe with their varying decor. She's had a sushi restaurant installed since her Japan days too.

Unique to the Japanese twins is the Wake View bar which is down a spiral staircase at the back of Club Fusion and lives up to its name.

Breakfast in Sabatini's (suites only) is the best way to start your day. Quiet, relaxed and great service. You should try the Ultimate Balcony Dinner for a unique experience worth every penny. You'll have the weather for it.

 

You'll enjoy these spacious ships. Built in 2004 they won't be around forever.

 

Thanks for your response!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

For those of you who recall me talking about hoping for tickets for this year's Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany while writing this account, I am Over-the- Moon Happy to report that we have our tickets, have booked our flights, hotels and rental car capable of burning rubber on the Autobahns and are heading to Germany July 27 and returning August 8th.

Life is good!

P.S. Carol is on her fainting couch at this news. Has a touch of "the vapors".

 

Norris

[ROWSE]

On 5/22/2022 at 6:58 PM, Bimmer09 said:

For those of you who recall me talking about hoping for tickets for this year's Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany while writing this account, I am Over-the- Moon Happy to report that we have our tickets, have booked our flights, hotels and rental car capable of burning rubber on the Autobahns and are heading to Germany July 27 and returning August 8th.

Life is good!

P.S. Carol is on her fainting couch at this news. Has a touch of "the vapors".

 

Norris

So excited you get a dream come true!

Just started on my review of our wonderful British Isles cruise in case you want to follow along..

 

[Stem to Stern]

Hi Norris,

 

I have a question about Azamara ships and I tried searching, but to no avail.  I know you can answer this for me.  Is the portside forward section of the pool deck the ONLY designated smoking area on board Azamara ships?  No other outdoor areas?

 

This is taken from Azamara's smoking policy on their website:

 

Our ships have a designated smoking area, located on the portside forward section of the pool deck. The smoking area is clearly marked. For our guests' comfort and health, all other areas of the ships are non-smoking, including public rooms, restaurants, pool decks, staterooms and suites, verandas and halls.

 

Cheers!

Paul

[marinaro44]

33 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Hi Norris,

 

I have a question about Azamara ships and I tried searching, but to no avail.  I know you can answer this for me.  Is the portside forward section of the pool deck the ONLY designated smoking area on board Azamara ships?  No other outdoor areas?

 

This is taken from Azamara's smoking policy on their website:

 

Our ships have a designated smoking area, located on the portside forward section of the pool deck. The smoking area is clearly marked. For our guests' comfort and health, all other areas of the ships are non-smoking, including public rooms, restaurants, pool decks, staterooms and suites, verandas and halls.

 

Cheers!

Paul

Yes.  Only.