Twiga

We were in Aqaba and then Eilat on the Quest in November 2022. The Azamazing Evening was in Aqaba. Azamara adjusted the time of their tours to Petra to return to the ship by about 5:00pm so that everyone could go to the Azamazing Evening. We were on a private tour to Petra. We got off the ship immediately once it was cleared in Aqaba and met our guide. We had told the tour company beforehand that we wanted to return by 5:00pm and we did. The Azamazing Evening was outdoors at a beautiful golf club and the show was fantastic! I would recommend going to Petra from Aqaba.

I just did the Miami to Panama City to Miami on Sirena (plus a 7 day cruise beforehand) in January and February 2023. The Canal transit was amazing! (Even though we have done it before.) We had fabulous enrichment lectures with Sandy Cares, an excellent lecturer on history and culture of the Caribbean. She must have given 5 or 6 or more lectures. On the Canal transit days there was a Panamanian lecturer onboard who was fantastic! He commented on and explained what we were seeing. He was transmitted throughout the outside (non-stateroom) areas on the PA system. It was wonderful! It was really fun to watch the Canal in both directions. We took a wonderful ship's tour of Panama City on turnaround day.

The light is built into the mirror/cabinet over the bathroom sink. It is very nice.

In category B1 there was a very nice night light in the bathroom.

Where? Miami? We had a delay in Miami three weeks ago as it took a long time for the ship to be cleared by the authorities before disembarkation could begin. It was almost 9:00am before anyone was allowed off the ship.

We were on the Quest in October-November, Athens to Dubai. The Chef's Table choices were French and Italian (delicious!). But no Arabian dinner! We were in the Mid-East! We asked for it, but there was no interest. I couldn't believe it.

On the Sirena this month room service came with a card on the tray that said DO NOT LEAVE TRAYS IN THE HALL.......CALL ROOM SERVICE TO HAVE THE TRAY REMOVED.

Yes, the 20% was added to the price of the bottle on our Sirena cruise this month.

I second everything @PaulMCO said. We were there in November 2022. Muscat, Oman was great, as was Dubai. Lots to see in Dubai. Make reservations to see the Museum of the Future in Dubai. Dinner at the Dubai Mall was great to see the dancing fountains.

We just got off Sirena last week. We always tell the wine server that we have the House Select beverage package when we first order, although they do not take our cards until the end. Our wine was always refilled before the glass was empty. The pours were very generous. Usually the wine servers/sommeliers remembered us after the first time.

I disembarked the Sirena this week after B2B2B cruises. On each leg PH suites were called about 1:30pm and B1 and lower cabins were called after 3:00pm. That is a long time to wait if you board at 11:00am. If you are not in a top category, I would take the often repeated advice of @pinotloverand have a nice lunch in port, then board the ship later in the afternoon. The terminal in Miami is freezing! Be sure to have something warm to wear while you wait to board.

I got off the Sirena today after a B2B2B. On the first leg the muster drill was a 2 minute check-in at Baristas, then watching the video in our room. The second leg was the first in-person muster drill. We met in the Grand Dining Room. However, there was no organization as to which section you were to go to (B4, B5, B6, etc.). It took a long time for everyone to find their section and check-in there. It would have helped if the cruise director, in her announcement about the muster drill, had said where to go once at your muster station. A crew member then explained the emergency instructions, life jackets were put on, then we all went back to our rooms. On the third leg, it was much the same, but the crew member said we would go stand under our assigned life boats. But after the life jacket demonstration the cruise director ended the drill and said we could go back to our rooms. I wish we had gone to stand under the life boats as I doubt many of the passengers could follow any directions in the case of an emergency, much less find the appropriate life boat.

Yes, it is true that the town you see is not where the villagers live. It is a convenient place for us to meet the villagers, who come from many villages, to meet the ship.

We were on the Regatta in November 2016. We took the ship's excursion to The Boi Bumba show in Parintins. It is a fabulous Rio-type carnival dance and song show. Book it early as it will sell out! Do not miss it!! If you stop at Boca da Valeria, be sure to get off the ship. It is a wonderful tiny village. The children greet you at the ship and take you by the hand into the village. Other children have pets (sloths and birds) along the path or are dressed in costumes. For $1 you can photograph the children and pets and hold the pets. You can also take a boat ride for $5. We bought school supplies at home, put them in gift bags, and gave them to the children. Some passengers bring soccer balls. The crew donates lots of clothes. All of the gifts and money are then pooled and shared by the villagers. It is a truly wonderful experience!

We are also on the Sirena now, plus the preceding cruise. The "muster drill" on the first cruise was a two minute talk by a woman at Baristas. She recorded our stateroom number and we left. As @RetiredLifersaid, we had a full drill, minus gathering under the lifeboats, on this current cruise. I was told by a crew member at the drill that this was the first muster drill using the pre-pandemic procedure. As usual, it was chaotic with many passengers wearing their life jackets or trying to put them on while they walked, instead of carrying them (which made navigating to the correct meeting place difficult).

I booked an excursion from our ship in Kusadasi to Ephesus with Levent Solmaz for October 25, 2022. It was very easy to make arrangements by email with Levent for this tour. In planning this tour, he responded immediately to any questions I had and tailored the tour to our requests. He met us at the port at the time we had arranged. He had a very comfortable Mercedes van for 12 people just for the four of us. We went straight to the gate at the top of Ephesus and Levent began telling us about the ancient city. We also walked through the Terrace Houses. He was very knowledgeable and interesting. He had a binder of photos and drawings that he used to explain what we were seeing. That was very helpful. It was our second time to Ephesus, but I learned a lot of new things from Levent. He carried a large container of cat food and fed the cats that lived in Ephesus. He had names for them all. It was fun seeing the cats, as well as the ancient ruins. Everything about this tour was fantastic! Levent organized the perfect tour for the four of us. I highly recommend Levent Solmaz as a tour guide. You can see his web site at https://leventsolmaz.com/discover-turkey/

We were on the Quest last month. The hotel director said that Azamara is planning to get Starlink, but he didn't know when.

It's been four years since I was on the Sirena. I'm looking forward to being onboard her again. I can't wait for the sunny and warm Caribbean weather. See you then!

This is the cruise package I received last week. Inside were two booklets, one with cruise information and the other with excursions.

On December 12th I received a very nice package of "Official Documents" for my January 11, 2023 cruise on the Sirena. It is a much nicer package than the old "blue book." It contains two booklets. One is "General Travel & Onboard Information." The other is "Shore Excursions." I like having the shore excursions in a separate booklet. The folder has nice luggage tags. Last February 2022 we did not receive any pre-cruise package for our Marina cruise.

I sailed from Athens on October 29, 2022. The previous two days were about 72-74 degrees. It was very pleasant. There was some wind on the 28th.

@jhoo the luggage was stored with the port agent. In Ravenna the agent's office was in downtown Ravenna, not at the port. We had SmartTags in our luggage and our friends had Airtags, so we could see exactly where the luggage was at almost all times. We sent our luggage 3 weeks ahead of boarding to be safe. It stayed at the same location until the day of boarding.

We stayed at the Hotel degli Artisti in Rome for a week in 2018. It was fantastic! It was everything schelercamus said. I highly recommend it.

We used Luggage Free for a cruise on Azamara from Ravenna on October 17, 2022. Fantastic experience! We decided to ship our large suitcases from California to the ship because we were to fly through Amsterdam and didn't want to risk lost luggage. It took only four days from pick up to delivery to the port agent in Ravenna. Our suitcases were delivered to our stateroom shortly after we boarded. I will definitely use them again, although pricey (about $580 for two 26-inch suitcases with a first time 10% discount). The only negative is that you cannot ship any liquids or electronics, among other things. That made it difficult to put all of the liquids into a one-quart bag for TSA requirements. With some creativity, we managed!

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.