QueenP

Thank you for sharing your adventures, I will be following along with interest!

Would someone currently on Quest mind posting the room service menu?

I heartily agree! I have never waited in a line to board.....I just go around 4pm. I'm always in my port city earlier than  the day of departure, so I just enjoy the day there, then hop on board later. Civetevecchia was a walk on! Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy NZ world cruisers!

From my perspective, I have just booked an Eastern seaboard with Az for 2025. Their price was nearly half that of Viking for a similar cruise  but with several more ports. I booked with great joy! I've been waiting for Az to sail in Canada and the US for a long time, now fingers crossed nothing changes.

I'm a 'walk around the town' kind of person. In the ports I've been to from your list, Mykonos, Rhodes and Santorini are all walk around town ports. If you want to go to Oia while in Santorini, the boats right where you tender will take you there, then you can catch a bus back to Santorini once you have had a wander there (very easy). You will need a tour if you want to see Ephesus (highly recommended).

I also contacted my travel agent immediately. Could not be more thrilled!

Welcome to New Zealand Pasadena Dave! Hope you enjoy your stay here 😁

You truly don't need to tip tour guides, but if they exceed expectation they will appreciate it! Hope the weather is ok, it's pretty unsettled right now. Looking forward to reading about your travels.

13 hours ago, Over from NZ said:

The scenery, flora and fauna will be there.. but the instagram scenery ain't near the ports where cruise ships go lol. Christmas day.. Maccas or the local service station for a pie will be as good as it gets haha

Lol exactly!

My fingers are crossed....I've been waiting for Az to do Canada New England for such a long time! I woukd be thrilled if they stayed on the Eastern seaboard!

Lol all of NZ is closed on Christmas day, if you were ashore you would just be wandering around a completely empty city.  Better to enjoy a sea day 😄

What kinds of things do you like to do and see? Auckland is a very spread out city with long drives between points of interest and not particularly good public transport, so you'll have to be sure about what you want to do before booking extra time (NZ also v expensive, sonething to keep in mind).

How is the Christmas decor?

23 hours ago, KBs mum said:

The only way to get a decent cup of tea is to ask for a kettle in your room, take your own tea and make it yourself. Teapots can be got on board. 

Reports on the scones are mixed, we have tried the pastry components and are not particularly impressed

 

 

 

 

Can you get milk in your cabin for your tea?

 I would love to hear about your experiences on the cruise and what you do once you depart! 🙂

7 hours ago, OneSixtyToOne said:

No you cannot. It is a prohibited item.

Ok thanks, that's annoying as I want it for the rest of my holiday which will be on land! But I get why.

Can you bring your own kettle? I finally bought an American one this year, because American hotels only ever have the ubiquitous coffee maker. It was so nice having a proper jug and all getting our teas at the same time! I know that no tea or coffee makers were allowed on Azamara, but it seems you are allowed on Viking?

I am also interested to hear what you think Norris, so yes, please do link to this board.

I totally agree, every time Azamara ask where we'd like their itineraries to go, we say Canada New England, but I can't understand why they won't go there. I'll be going with my niece, she really wants to see Boston and New York, we'd both love to see PEI, and I'd love anywhere in New England! Plus Quebec of course.

Viking don't go to PEI or Maine, but most of their destinations are what we are looking for.

I'm worried that Seabourn is too formal? Although I've had them on my radar for a while too, and they do go to PEI.

I haven't actually seen Oceania itineraries, I'll have to check them out too.  We are looking at Sept/Oct 2025, as my niece has to save up 😄

We leally want to do Montreal to New York. I looked at recent Oceania reviews and there's a lot of really negative ones! I thought they would be most similar and I love the R ships, but....sheesh! That's why I thought I'd ask Az veterans, because I trust their judgement, Az being the perfect fit for me. Anyone done a Viking cruise in the region?

Chucktown Steve I hope you don't mind me hijacking, but I have a similar question. I want to do a Canada New England cruise, but frustratingly Az just won't do this itinerary. Have any Az regulars done this on another line, and if so how did you find it? Any recommendations?

Before cruising at all, I researched all the cruise ships in the market and chose Azamara as our best fit. I was proved right, it was the perfect fit for us. I was around 40 then, I'm 50 now. The niche Azamara provides is not an age based niche imho. It is appealing to a certain market, and irrespective of age there are plenty of people who want a quiet ship that goes to great ports, has good food, some excellent guest entertainers and a ship on which you do not have to wait in queues! Add to that a happy staff and warm, inviting ambience and you have our desired product.

We caught a boat to Vernazza and Manarola, then came back to explore Portovenere in the afternoon. It's lovely, but might not be a whole day's entertainment on it's own?

Portovenere is pretty, the ferry is likely to be the local one which pops into all of the 5 towns. It's not particularly spectacular except when coming in to each port and they have a long siesta in the middle of the day where the ferry doesn't run.

Loved reading this thank you! The Trinity Library looked incredible, and loved the shot of Jimmy's house 🙂. For those of us who aren't cruising at the moment, reading such threads as yours is a joy!