Aardvaark

Let your TA handle it.

We recently made 4-star.  We tried the Neptune Suites & Lounge.  Nice.

But overall, the things that we loved in the past are gone.  Wine stewards vice waiters-by-the-glass. Classical music. Sip-n-savor.  Etc., etc.

The Crow's Nest was a sociaable drinking place, now done in by latte drinkers who sulk.

We'll try one more, doing a TA back home.

If it's as we saw this spring we're back to Azamara.

We used Rotterdam V in 1995 to Alaska, Rotterdam VI in 2014 in the Carribean, and next month we'll do Rotterdam VII.

However, it's very unlikely we'll still be around for Rotterdam VIII.

But if we must stay in a city, we prefer Rotterdam.  Catch the train at AMS, off at Rotterdam Centraal, walk across the plaza and check into the Marriott.  

They call the area Centrum for a reason - it's in the center of things.  And an easy taxi ride to the ship.

Last Netherlands cruise was out of IJmuiden.  We decided to have a few days locally pre-trip.  We stayed in a rental condo in Zandvoort, a pleasant town on the North Sea.  

It was great.  The people are friendly & everyone speaks English.  Sitting at an outside table on the town square (circle) with a glass and chatting was nice.  And we all applauded the newly-married couple coming out of the hall.

It makes you feel part of the town and the country.  

Deck 5 midships.  Vista Suite as far as possible from the elevators.

Ex:  5120

Zuiderdam's cruise to Greenland just ended at IJmuiden.  We were unable to penetrate the ice fields blocking the southern ports.  Compensation of $100 per person was given.

We were able to get into an isolated fjord for picture-taking of an abandoned mining village and fjord scenery.

The same storm came with us from Greenland to Scotland.  A gale kept us out of Stornoway for a most of a day; we got in when it calmed, but Portree had to be dropped.

The North Atlantic can be a ***** at any time of year.

On 4/24/2024 at 7:30 PM, Tom47 said:

Hi

We have never cruised on HAL and are planning on booking a 2025 Alaska cruise/land tour with Denali and Yukon.  I have identified 2 ships, Zaandam(older and smaller) and  Koningsdam(newer and bigger).  I have read some posts on this board that the Lido on current Koningsdam  cruises is crowded and understaffed.  Is this true across the board on all HAL ships?  Any thoughts pro or con?

 

Either ship will do just fine for the cruise.  On the land portion you'll be accompanied by hundreds of tourists.  You'll stay in nice places with hundreds of tourists.  You'l ride school buses at Denali with tourists, similar to the cruise.

If you have the time and money, get off the beaten track.  Fly out to Nome for a couple of days, and to Kotzebue, just above the circle, to see Inuits' lives.  If your tour ends in Anchorage, rent a car to go to Homer for a day or two.  Perhaps a day in Kodiak.  

And if you can't do it on one trip, remember what you're missing so you can do it the next time.

Best wishes for your discovering.

Yes, at normal times of the day.

Whatever happened to "Sip 'n Savor"?  One of our faviorites.

We wanted on this cruise to see new places (Greenland) and to visit a place we loved when we were RVing, namely L'Anse Aux Meadows, and the greatest restaurant in the the region, the Norseman. 

Since we've seen enough of Quebec,  we canceled the cruise immediately.   

On 3/23/2023 at 3:05 PM, b_short said:

We wanted to get V1, and the only staterooms left were either next to the elevators, or next to the laundry room. We know we definitely do not want to be next to the elevators, so we chose laundry room.

We've used cabins all around the laundry and never had a noise issue.  We did Singapore to Athens earlier this year - if you want to see our trip diary, use "https://o1c.net/2023-RTW/" .  Enjoy!!

On Onward, there are four cabins directly behind the bridge two to port, two to starbord.  We're in "8802", supposedly a P3 verandah.  Has anyone done this one?

Please continue your comments - we're on Onward's next leg, in cabin 8802.  Twill be our eighth Azamara cruise, first on Onward. 

We were assigned 8802 on Onward.  I'm not sure what to make of it from the deck plans.  At least it's under suites, not the weight lifting area.

5 hours ago, woodlander1 said:

It shouldn’t be this hard Azamara …………

 

Amen.

We enjoyed the Augusta Lucilla Palace last year.  Couple of blocks from Rome Termini, lots of good restaurants and trattoria.  No matter where you stay in Rome, you're going to use taxis to get to where you want to be, but they're not overly expensive.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Augusta+Lucilla+Palace/@41.9000645,12.4974977,18.54z/data=!3m1!5s0x132f61a5b42bca45:0x2a48d99c2b675ea2!4m18!1m8!3m7!1s0x132f6196f9928ebb:0xb90f770693656e38!2sRome,+Metropolitan+City+of+Rome+Capital,+Italy!3b1!8m2!3d41.9027835!4d12.4963655!16zL20vMDZjNjI!3m8!1s0x132f61a5a49d66f7:0xc8c2d52d54a4cd72!5m2!4m1!1i2!8m2!3d41.900112!4d12.497746!16s%2Fg%2F1vff2p8_?entry=ttu

9 minutes ago, RonWL said:

Back in late November, early December of 2022 we cruised on the Quest - our very first Azamara cruise - and loved it.  We're going on Azamara again in March (2024) - this time on the Pursuit.  The only negative we had with the Quest was very poor internet service.  Even the crew admitted it was very bad, and we were told that a serious upgrade was in the works.  Does anyone know if that was done for the Quest and, more importantly (for us), is the internet service on the Pursuit good?

We did Quest 5/5/2023-6/2/2023.  The Wifi service was notably better than it was during our 2022 Italy cruise on the same ship.  I'm told it was the change to Starlink vs the prior satellite service.  No idea what Pursuit has.

7 hours ago, DS said:

Dear Azamara cruisers,

              No one has reported being on board for almost two months—I believe that some of you have been, or, are on board.

              Those of us who sail in the future would welcome pleasant tales of Azamara voyages.   At the present all we see is postings on other forums about web site issues, communications issues, payment issues, etc. etc.  We all know that the true Azamara experience is onboard, not with Miami.

              Please give us some comforting information!

Currently aboard Azamara Quest, tied up for the second day of two in the port Safaga, Eygpt, on the Red Sea.  Captain Johannes Tysee and his people are doing a marvelous job of keeping us happy, well-fed, and active (if we choose).  The staff are the friendliest people, as they have been in the past.  Food is very good, complimentary wines are modest but very drinkable Australian and NZ blends.  There are about 680 persons on board, the majority being Australian, then US, then UK, then NZ and Canada.  The Patio is open for almost all meals, very enjoyable in this latitude.  Entertainment is by the Signature Singers & Dancers, augmented by specialists who rotate on and off at each port, providing diversity.  This 23-day cruise started in Singpore, then Sri Lanka, India, Egypt today, followed by Jordan, Israel, Crete, and disembarking in Athens.  We're having a fine time but have probably gained weight.

7 hours ago, StLouisCruisers said:

Today's quote is great and actually sounds like a toast.🥂  As for the menu suggestion, I love regular lasagna but I understand vegetarian lasagna is necessary for those who don't eat meat.  The drink I have never heard of and I have no idea what the wine is.  Help, Dixie@summer slope and Ann @cat shepard!!  The port today is a brand new one and probably not one many of us have traveled to.  Saint-Denis, Reunion Island.  Therefore I don't have a link today and am crossing my fingers we get some photos from someone!  I'm sure they will be very interesting.

 

Reunion is a delightful island and administrative district of France, 500 miles east of Madagascar.      " Forged in the fire of two impressive volcanoes, Réunion is located 500 miles off the coast of Madagascar. The quintessential island paradise, Réunion satisfies the curiosities of even the most well-traveled explorers with its towering peaks, lush rolling hills, and thrilling new adventures and possibilities at every turn. ".  

My nose overfloweth.  High Pollen count as trees begin spawning.  Should be near 80*f this afternoon.

2 hours ago, Nuts4pi said:

We are US citizens & will be visiting Angola on March 10, 2023 during our 21-Night Journey voyage. We can't seem to get a straight answer as to whether or not we need a Visa, even if we stay on board! The travel websites all say yes (no exceptions for cruisers) but Azamara said no. What is the real answer?

As always, confirm with the country.  They make the rules.

On 12/4/2022 at 10:53 AM, Twiga said:

Azamara is just beginning to have the Azamazing Evening off ship.  It takes a lot of planning, so it may be closer to sailing that they post it.  Last month on the Quest our Azamazing Evening in Aqaba was one of the first post-pandemic.  The venue was changed after it was posted by Azamara on the excursion list.  Things are still changing. Keep checking.  My guess is that it will be posted soon, maybe in January, but maybe later depending on the itinerary.

I just discovered our AzAmazing evening is scheduled (10 May) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, for the 5 May 2023 Spice Route departure from Singapore.  Looks good.

On 1/1/2023 at 10:57 AM, cpgrneyes said:

Our Chase cards are our go-to cards as well. Traveling Upper Class on Virgin Atlantic and Business on Turkish Airways using the points 👍

Flying non-stop San Francisco to Singapore on a Singapore Air A350.  Sixteen hours.  

We're underwhelmed with Avios as used with some airlines.  AA usage stinks.  EI is good.  We'll go with our Chase card that allows point transfer to most airlines.