Live! Azamara Quest May 16-31, 2009

[critterchick]

how did you book the godfather tour? just rented godfather 1 and 2 - in anticipation of our august 9th trip - and saw your post. What other tours did you take? Ship or private? Thanks for the info.

 

We didn't book a "godfather tour" per se - we just happened to go to Savoca. I forgot to mention that we also went to Taormina, which is crowded and commercial, but pretty. go to ladolcevitatours.com and Fabrizio can book it for you.

 

We took all private tours. Azamara is a rip off when it comes to excursions, IMHO. Had we taken their van tour of the Amalfi coast, for example, it would have been $345 PER PERSON. We paid E560 for the whole van, plus E390 for lunch, for 8 people, so half the price, and we could do what we wanted.

[HRHPrinceJim]

Hi Jean,

 

Yeah, I found your "Live" post! It's good to hear from you and know what you've done so far.

 

By the way, for my Radiance cruise next April, I discovered the other night that 1604 was available, so I jumped on it. :D

 

Talk to you soon! Tell Don I said HI.

[emcee207]

CrimsonBird, It is called the "Godfather" tour only because they go to Savocca where the bar/restaurant owned by Appolonia's father is. The famous scene when Michael and his two bodyguards go there so Michael can talk to the father. They also go to the church where they were married. But there is fantastic scenery along the way, stops at other places and then go to Taormina where there is shopping and the roman amphitheater.

We did not book the trip, went with others and that is a whole other story I can't get into here.

Go to the "Ports of Call" board and do a search of Taormina, or the Godfather tour and lots of good info will show up. When I researched last year for our cruise most of the best info re: tour guides, restaurants, etc came from that board. Very very useful tool.

 

There are also lots of restaurants lining the bay where the ship is tendered. We had a nice seafood lunch there.

 

The two pics attached show the Quest in the bay. One from one of the towns we stopped at and the other from the amphitheater. The views all around this area are fantastic.

[crimsonbird]

crimsonbird, it is called the "godfather" tour only because they go to savocca where the bar/restaurant owned by appolonia's father is. The famous scene when michael and his two bodyguards go there so michael can talk to the father. They also go to the church where they were married. But there is fantastic scenery along the way, stops at other places and then go to taormina where there is shopping and the roman amphitheater.

We did not book the trip, went with others and that is a whole other story i can't get into here.

Go to the "ports of call" board and do a search of taormina, or the godfather tour and lots of good info will show up. When i researched last year for our cruise most of the best info re: Tour guides, restaurants, etc came from that board. Very very useful tool.

 

There are also lots of restaurants lining the bay where the ship is tendered. We had a nice seafood lunch there.

 

The two pics attached show the quest in the bay. One from one of the towns we stopped at and the other from the amphitheater. The views all around this area are fantastic.

 

I can't tell you what a laugh my husband and i got when reading your post about poor Appolina, her father and the wedding - as, just last night, we watched (rewatched) the movie so everything was fresh in our memory. Tonight we have Godfather 2....and have ordered Godfather 3.....nothing like cinema research. Thank you for the info about going to "ports of call" - so much info - i'll have to get busy. I see that you went with others, however did you use a guide???? Or go on your own???? Was your group from the ship? Are taxis or vans readily available once you leave the boat.....at this stop or at any others? Anything you can recall would be helpful. Thanks so much for your help.

[Jancruz]

Go to the "Ports of Call" board and do a search of Taormina, or the Godfather tour and lots of good info will show up. When I researched last year for our cruise most of the best info re: tour guides, restaurants, etc came from that board. Very very useful tool.

 

There are also lots of restaurants lining the bay where the ship is tendered. We had a nice seafood lunch there.

 

.

 

Can you tell me how to get to the Ports of Call boards?

Thanks,

Jancruz1

[crimsonbird]

We didn't book a "godfather tour" per se - we just happened to go to Savoca. I forgot to mention that we also went to Taormina, which is crowded and commercial, but pretty. go to ladolcevitatours.com and Fabrizio can book it for you.

 

We took all private tours. Azamara is a rip off when it comes to excursions, IMHO. Had we taken their van tour of the Amalfi coast, for example, it would have been $345 PER PERSON. We paid E560 for the whole van, plus E390 for lunch, for 8 people, so half the price, and we could do what we wanted.

 

Thanks for the info....and I agree with you completely about the ship's excursions. When I looked up Fabizio, there is no mention of Sicily tours.....so, how did you happen to go to Savoca? Was there any way to do this tour on your own? Also, what did you do in Olbia...? Anything other than beaches? joan

[BurBunny]

Can you tell me how to get to the Ports of Call boards?

Thanks,

Jancruz1

 

Jan, from the main Cruise Critic boards listing, scroll down until you come to Ports of Call. Select Europe, then select Mediterranean :)

[Jancruz]

Jan, from the main Cruise Critic boards listing, scroll down until you come to Ports of Call. Select Europe, then select Mediterranean :)

 

Thanks..we look forward to meeting you on the August 9 trip!!

Jancruz1

[BurBunny]

Thanks..we look forward to meeting you on the August 9 trip!!

Jancruz1

 

Looking forward to meeting you as well!

 

Off to my Rosetta Stone Italian lesson for the day...

[vintagebabe]

Hi there,

 

We are going on the Quest in October for Sorrento Stopover. It stops in Ravenna also. Didn't sound like you were impressed with Ravenna at all. Did you go into the town at all? Was Bologna very far from Ravenna, and would you recommend going there as opposed to Ravenna. I had read somewhere that Ravenna was known for its beautiful mosaics.

 

Terri

[critterchick]

Thanks for the info....and I agree with you completely about the ship's excursions. When I looked up Fabizio, there is no mention of Sicily tours.....so, how did you happen to go to Savoca? Was there any way to do this tour on your own? Also, what did you do in Olbia...? Anything other than beaches? joan

 

We haven't been to Olbia yet, but will just wander there, I think. We had such a great time with Fabrizio in Rome that we asked him about Sicily and he arranged it for us. If you email him he can do it in advance.

 

Hi there,

 

We are going on the Quest in October for Sorrento Stopover. It stops in Ravenna also. Didn't sound like you were impressed with Ravenna at all. Did you go into the town at all? Was Bologna very far from Ravenna, and would you recommend going there as opposed to Ravenna. I had read somewhere that Ravenna was known for its beautiful mosaics.

 

Terri

 

 

You didn’t read my post closely enough, then. :) Ravenna is gorgeous. It just doesn’t warrant an overnight stop. We also did Bologna and it was like a mini Milan, but not fascinating to me (your results may vary).

 

Venice, on the other hand is worth 2 nights. We were off for 12 hours yesterday. We walked to San Marco (they have a shuttle but it’s a ripoff at $15pp when the other lines have a free one to Piazzela Roma where you can purchase a 24 hour vaporetto pass for 16Euro), took the Secret Itineraries tour, then took the vaporetto to the Lido, Burano, Murano, back to the main island, had dinner and then walked back to the ship at 10 pm, perfectly safe.

 

Today we were in port until 2 (the power of Cruise Critics whining got us an extra 2 hours), so we took a vaporetto ride around the Grand Canal and arrived in San Marco just as a regatta was starting. I don’t know what the holiday/event was, but we saw rowing and gondola races – great fun! We took a walk to the Castello district, where the locals live, and were pretty much the only English speakers, so I got a lot of practice speaking Italian.

 

We had dinner with the Captain tonight and it was great fun. The comedian sucked – totally Borscht Belt humor (50s).

[cruiseyguy]

I really don't like the term "ripoff." It's not a "ripoff"--they're not trying to cheat you. They are providing a service that they don't have to--use it or not. Your choice.

[cruiseyguy]

BTW-Bologna is not a "mini-Milan." It's a fascinating, historical city--much beloved by many.

[firefly4423]

thanks for sharing live, Its great to hear what goes on during a cruise youre not on!

[crimsonbird]

We haven't been to Olbia yet, but will just wander there, I think. We had such a great time with Fabrizio in Rome that we asked him about Sicily and he arranged it for us. If you email him he can do it in advance.

 

 

 

 

You didn’t read my post closely enough, then. :) Ravenna is gorgeous. It just doesn’t warrant an overnight stop. We also did Bologna and it was like a mini Milan, but not fascinating to me (your results may vary).

 

Venice, on the other hand is worth 2 nights. We were off for 12 hours yesterday. We walked to San Marco (they have a shuttle but it’s a ripoff at $15pp when the other lines have a free one to Piazzela Roma where you can purchase a 24 hour vaporetto pass for 16Euro), took the Secret Itineraries tour, then took the vaporetto to the Lido, Burano, Murano, back to the main island, had dinner and then walked back to the ship at 10 pm, perfectly safe.

 

Today we were in port until 2 (the power of Cruise Critics whining got us an extra 2 hours), so we took a vaporetto ride around the Grand Canal and arrived in San Marco just as a regatta was starting. I don’t know what the holiday/event was, but we saw rowing and gondola races – great fun! We took a walk to the Castello district, where the locals live, and were pretty much the only English speakers, so I got a lot of practice speaking Italian.

 

We had dinner with the Captain tonight and it was great fun. The comedian sucked – totally Borscht Belt humor (50s).

 

Thanks for the great info.....I'm so glad that you were able to walk to San Marco from the boat - we'll definitely do the same. If the other cruiselines are not charging....Azamara should certainly do the same. Did you then purchase the 24 hour vaporetto ticket....or was that not necessary? I guess it will depend on whether or not the travelers on August 9th can pursuade the captain to do the same and lengthen our stay in Venice. What did you think of the secret Doge's tour? We've been to glorious Venice before and have been inside the palace.....so, from a practical standpoint....would you recommend it or not? If you do, how did you book the tour? We want to visit Murano, and some of the other outlying locals if time permits. We value your opinion....and candor. Joan

[BurBunny]

Thanks for the great info.....I'm so glad that you were able to walk to San Marco from the boat - we'll definitely do the same. If the other cruiselines are not charging....Azamara should certainly do the same. Did you then purchase the 24 hour vaporetto ticket....or was that not necessary? I guess it will depend on whether or not the travelers on August 9th can pursuade the captain to do the same and lengthen our stay in Venice. What did you think of the secret Doge's tour? We've been to glorious Venice before and have been inside the palace.....so, from a practical standpoint....would you recommend it or not? If you do, how did you book the tour? We want to visit Murano, and some of the other outlying locals if time permits. We value your opinion....and candor. Joan

 

Joan, even if we're not able to extend, I do think the 24 hour vaporetto pass is an excellent idea. While you *can* walk anywhere in Venice, as you know, shortcutting on the vaporetto saves time or wear on tired feet, especially when wanting to cross from one side to another when you're somewhere other than at a bridge. We should also have the benefit of the free shuttle the port operates on Saturday, Sunday and Monday (usually) which runs from the port to Piazzale Roma, which is a vaporetto stop. Not sure if the current itinerary had that benefit as they were there on a Tuesday and Wednesday, I believe.

 

The Secret Doge's tour is excellent. While the palace itself is wonderful, the Secret tour adds an entirely different dimension and you get a feel for the actual working of Venice under the Doges. You barely see the public areas of the palace, though you're free to remain afterwards and view the main halls. When I was there last, I booked by telephone (very quick and efficient, so not terribly expensive) at 011-041-520-9070 (from the US), but I understand you can now book online at http://www.museiciviciveneziani.it. Cost is 16 Euro, and English tours are at 9:55, 10:45, 11:35 and 12:25.

[critterchick]

BTW-Bologna is not a "mini-Milan." It's a fascinating, historical city--much beloved by many.

I really don't like the term "ripoff." It's not a "ripoff"--they're not trying to cheat you. They are providing a service that they don't have to--use it or not. Your choice.

I think Milan is a fascinating and beautiful city, and Bologna reminded me of it. No need to get your knickers in a twist. And many people on the ship told other passengers that the walk to P. Roma is very far from the ship and can't be done easily (true if you're mobility impaired, but it's an easy walk if you are not). That to me is cheating.

Thanks for the great info.....I'm so glad that you were able to walk to San Marco from the boat - we'll definitely do the same. If the other cruiselines are not charging....Azamara should certainly do the same. Did you then purchase the 24 hour vaporetto ticket....or was that not necessary? I guess it will depend on whether or not the travelers on August 9th can pursuade the captain to do the same and lengthen our stay in Venice. What did you think of the secret Doge's tour? We've been to glorious Venice before and have been inside the palace.....so, from a practical standpoint....would you recommend it or not? If you do, how did you book the tour? We want to visit Murano, and some of the other outlying locals if time permits. We value your opinion....and candor. Joan

I am nothing if not candid, LOL.

We did purchase the vaporetto pass, and I think it’s worth it if you’re planning on taking more than 3 rides even on one day, since the single ride price is 6.50 Euro - I think you can buy them in 12 hour increments, but as I recall, the 12-hour and 24-hour were only 3 Euros apart in price, so we did the 24 hour pass. The walk to S. Marco was long and we got lost, which is half the fun in Venice. We bought the vaporetto pass after lunch so we'd have the full 24 hours. Totally worth it for us.

The Secret Itineraries was interesting, although our guide wasn't as good as some others that we had in other cities. If you are going to see the Doge's Palace, then for an additional 3 Euros it's quite worth it. I don't think I'd pay 16 Euros just for that part of it, though.

Yesterday we were in Dubrovnik: what a lovely city! We tendered in, which saves time as the commercial dock is about an hour's bus ride from the city center and the tender dropped us right in front. We walked the perimeter wall around the old city (puff, puff), and were afforded spectacular views of the city and the lands beyond. We then found a restaurant down a relatively quiet alleyway where Don had pizza and I let the waiter talk me into a local calamari dish that was terrific. And quite the bargain after the prices in Venice - 4 beers plus our meals were about 25 Euros. The onboard guide (Az provides a hospitality guide in each port, a very nice touch for those who have no firm plans) told us that they would not accept Euros for the wall-walk, so we converted 20 into about 145 Kuna. As it turned out, the onboard person was incorrect, so there's no real need to convert. Oh, well, we spent them all.

We returned to our cabin to find it baking at about 85 degrees. Maintenance came within 5 minutes, fiddled with the thermostat dial (which spins round and round but never stops) and it didn't work. So the A/C tech came, reset the thermostat and we cooled down in a couple of hours. Ahhhhh. We took advantage of the port specials – I had a trio of treatments, a milk something, neck & back massage and a pedicure, while Don had the hot stones. My pedicure was terrific (I’d had a manicure the day before) but the other treatment was only so-so. The tech started to try the hard sell and I cut her off. At least she went down without a fight.

We had dinner last night in Discoveries and it was again a superb meal. I continue to be amazed at how much better the food is on Quest than it was on Journey in December. I'm still fighting the half & half battle (to put in my coffee), and am mostly winning.

Today is a sea day and we’ve attended the Select/Elite wine tasting and I went to “how to tie scarves to make your one dress look like 5”. The officers served lunch at the pool grill and now I’m here. I had to sign off briefly because the Captain announced a dolphin sighting and we had to go look, of course.

[critterchick]

So the rest of yesterday was very restful - we had a bottle of wine at Windows in the late afternoon, where I made friends with a resident butterfly. Then we attended the Captain's Club party, cheered the Captain for our extra hours in Venice and all the other terrific things that this ship has to offer.

 

The day's highlight was passing by the Stromboli Volcano, one of 4 active volcanoes in Italy. We passed it on the way to Ravenna, but I was sound asleep as it was about 1:00 am or so. This time it was daylight, so we didn't see the lava flow, but she did oblige with a few small eruptions. Fascinating to behold!

 

We dined with friends in Prime C and I was a wee bit let down by the experience. There was a wine pairing dinner going on, and they kept taking our waiter to help out (17 of them), so the service was a bit slow. We had our Sicilian wine and our friends' Croatian wine (they aren't terribly vigilant about taking it away, although some have had their wines nabbed). We shared with the My entree wasn't cooked as ordered so it went back twice before they got it right. They didn't present us with a voucher as a result, but since it really wasn't the waiter's fault we tipped him cash. We then went to the Looking Glass for a bit of dancing and off to bed.

 

This morning we’re passing up the coast of Sardinia on our way to Olbia. It’s a gorgeous ride. I’m finding that the portside cabins are getting some spectacular views, although starboard did better coming into Venice. Either way, there’s plenty of room on Decks 9 and 10 for viewing.

 

More later!

[Jancruz]

I am so excited to be on this cruise in August..I love your posts, thanks so much for keeping us so updated..

Jancruz1

[Eddiesmom]

Jean, I'm sailing in "spirit" with you. Sounds like you and Don are having a wonderful time. Keep up the good work with the wine and gelato!!!;)

[critterchick]

Well, the cruise is over, boo hoo! I have never had a vacation pass by so quickly! With only 2 sea days on a 14 nighter, we barely had time to breathe! I'll post something more organized when we get home (we're still in Rome), but just to finish off the last three days:

 

Olbia (Sardinia): it's a pretty town, but there isn't much to do right in town. The cabs wanted about 120 Euros to take people to the Costa Smerelda, where all the resort hotels are. We just took the complimentary shuttle into town, walked around, had a fair lunch and then walked back to the ship (it takes about 20 minutes at a leisurely pace. I didn't talk to anybody who took a ship's tour, so can't report on those.

 

La Spezia - my favorite stop! We walked to the train station (about 20 minutes) and took the train to Monterosso, the northwesternmost of the Cinque Terre towns. There is also a boat that will take you there for about 6 Euros, I think, and it's right by the tender stop.

 

We then hiked the trail from Monterosso to Vernazza, and it's a killer. We passed on man who had collapsed, and waited to make sure that his companions were able to get help from somebody who spoke English before we kept on going (I saw them in the evening in La Spezia, and he had recovered fully, thankfully). We had lunch in Vernazza, then took the train to Corniglia (that's another difficult hike that we had already done in 2005). We then walked the last two trails, which are easy ones, to Manorola and Riomaggiore, and had a glass of wine while we waited for the train back to La Spezia.

 

We ran into some other shipmates and we all had dinner at a sidewalk restaurant in town. I ended up with the best pasta dish (seafood) and a good entree (grilled pork), but I couldn't do them justice and the portions were huge. We then strolled back to the ship a little after 9:00. We were among that final 50 to return (we had a midnight sailing). After we washed up from the day's exertions we just fell into bed, so I haven't a clue what the evening's entertainment was.

 

Livorno, the final port: We awoke at 6:30 to find out that our Aqualina reservation for 2 at 8:15 had been changed to Prime C, party of 4 at 7:15. Since were were going on a private excursion and didn't have time to fix it, we just rolled our eyes (they messed up all but one of our reservations on this trip) and took off. We were supposed to tour with Unforgettable Tuscany, but due to a communications snafu ended up in a private taxi with Luigi, who was earnest and willing, but not the greatest tour guide. And his cab was painfully small, not built for the American body, at least not in the middle front seat to which I was relegated. But Siena and San Gimignano were spectactular, as was the winery we visited later. We were back onboard by 5:00, and watched the last few excursion busses follow us in. One was late, so we left a little after our scheduled 6:00 departure time.

 

We did manage to get our reservation changed to Aqualina, and had a tasty meal. The service was slower than usual, perhaps because a party of 6 seated at 8:30 "had" to get to the show at 9:45 and their order pushed everybody else's aside. Oh, well. We were too tired to care at that point.

 

We spent the rest of the evening saying goodbye - to Angelo and Olga in the Casino Bar, to Stefania and Ermina (cellarmaster and sommelier, to whom we gave a few bottles of wine that we had purchased in Siena), our cabin team and assorted others who helped make this cruise so wonderful.

 

This morning we finished our packing (everything but the mask fits into our carryon, so I'm hoping we can get that item onboard without too much trouble) and headed to our Rome Cabs driver. When we left the ship, the senior officers were there to say goodbye - the Captain and F&B manager were at the Seapass station, Sue Denning was at the door, Mary Amanda (harpist) was on the ground. I have NEVER seen a single ship's officer, never mind the Captain, do such a thing. It was yet another brilliant touch that left a hugely positive last impression of a brilliant cruise.

 

I've read many posts about "who's the Captain" and "why do you care". I give Captain Karlssen (whose name I will eventually spell correctly, LOL) full credit for the Quest crew being as topnotch as it is. I have no real complaints about this cruise, other than the horrible coffee (and not enough half & half for it) and some recurring problems with our airconditioning (which were fixed promptly, even last night). I was told by others that the entertainment was so-so. I saw only a couple of things early and ended up not going to much else, so my initial response is that it probably could use some improvement, but my sample size wasn't significant.

 

We're at the Westin Excelsior in Rome (on points, our room has a rack rate of 1,254 Euros a night) and will depart for the airport early tomorrow. We had a walk, lunch, gelato, another walk and now it's naptime until dinner. Gee, I can't wait to get home and back onto my diet.:rolleyes:

 

See you all from the States!

[cruzemaven]

Critterchick, Thanks for all your updates...sounds like you had a great time. But it seems like there is a problem with reservations at the alternative restaurants with other posters commenting that they were unable to get reservations and your comment-"they messed up all but one of our reservations on this trip" . My question is, at this point, why should Azamara have these problems with their reservations? I can understand glitches in the beginning...but that should have been worked out by now. We are going on the Quest in less than two months and we're keeping our fingers crossed that whatever dinner reservations we make will be honored.

[disneyfan1313]

We are still in Rome for a few days after being on the best of italy as well. I will be posting some of my thoughts (overall pretty good, but not sure I am sold on Azamara as a brand...) I just wanted to chime in on this..

 

 

"The really good news is that, following our request for more time in Venice at the wonderful CC party that the ship threw for us (the Captain and all senior staff were in attendance), the Captain called Miami and they figured out that we could have an extra two hours there. So now if it all works out we'll be leaving at 2:00 instead of noon, which is wonderful news. Talk about responsive!"

 

I heard a few folks mentioning this - in asking some of the other staff (security staff, guest services, etc) they said the 2 hour decision was made at the begining of the cruise at the request of the Venice port due to the regatta and other events happening that day. I wonder if it is a case of them taking credit or if it was really their doing.. we probably will never know!

[crimsonbird]

We are still in Rome for a few days after being on the best of italy as well. I will be posting some of my thoughts (overall pretty good, but not sure I am sold on Azamara as a brand...) I just wanted to chime in on this..

 

 

"The really good news is that, following our request for more time in Venice at the wonderful CC party that the ship threw for us (the Captain and all senior staff were in attendance), the Captain called Miami and they figured out that we could have an extra two hours there. So now if it all works out we'll be leaving at 2:00 instead of noon, which is wonderful news. Talk about responsive!"

 

I heard a few folks mentioning this - in asking some of the other staff (security staff, guest services, etc) they said the 2 hour decision was made at the begining of the cruise at the request of the Venice port due to the regatta and other events happening that day. I wonder if it is a case of them taking credit or if it was really their doing.. we probably will never know!

 

 

Funny about the regatta - I'm suspicious too - well, we will know in August, because I'm sure the folks on our cruise will want the extra two hours also. The mystery should be solved then. One question - Do you recall if the Azamara $15 fee for the shuttle was good for both days in Venice? Thanks.

[BurBunny]

Funny about the regatta - I'm suspicious too - well, we will know in August, because I'm sure the folks on our cruise will want the extra two hours also. The mystery should be solved then. One question - Do you recall if the Azamara $15 fee for the shuttle was good for both days in Venice? Thanks.

 

They'll have a much harder time telling us "no" after extending in May, however. They definitely won't be able to use the excuse that they don't have enough time to get to Dubrovnik if they extend :D