aliaschief

It’s a warm day in Bordeaux. We have been on a wine tasting private of the Saint Emillion wine region today. Three wineries and a very nice lunch. Vineyards as far as one can and more around the bend. One vineyard had some wine that was 76 years old that they had on very special occasions. Still full from lunch so not sure what the plans for this evening other for now just taking a break. Tomorrow we tour and check out Sauternes. Thanks for the reports.

When they say our ship is small enough to dock in town. It’s true. We had a great dinner in a specialty restaurant and a superb after dinner show. Outstanding talented musicians and entertainers.

Asked the Captain whether Journey is now equipped with Star Link. Answer yes. Another guest stated it was a lot better on Onward. Answer was Onward has better up to to date technology and computers on board. That being said, at times I have been able to watch video streams, post pictures online. It’s much better then what we have experienced in past cruises.

@Horizon chaser 1957 Not trying to sound snarky or directive but now that mask supplies, post Covid are available; why not purchase a mask with most protection such as K9 or better. Cloth mask in the beginning, when we had no mask were available offered minimal protection.

A beautiful day and sailing experience sailing up to Bordeaux on the River Garrone.

Bon Voyage!🛳🍾

Good morning/afternoon. Cruising along on a glassy Atlantic at 10 knots heading for our 8 PM arrival in Bordeaux. We will have a two night stay in Bordeaux. Many are moaning about packing so it’s nice not to have too but inevitably it will be our turn. Heading for a meeting for those continuing on tomorrow. Thanks Rich for faithfully getting the Daily started.

As we near the end of our first back to back on Azamara Journey I’m happy to report it’s been a fantastic cruise. The ship looks great and the crew has been outstanding. Great food and timely service. The entertainers are so talented and entertainment has been top notch. Best part of cruise is that we don’t have to disembark tomorrow and we get to enjoy our Intensive France cruise on the beautiful and very well run Azamara Journey. A great cruising experience.

Buenos Noches from Bilboa, Spain.

Beautiful day of touring the Riojos Wine Region in the Basque area of Spain. Beautiful countryside, quaint towns like LaGuardia. Small family owned wineries with 5 century old cellars Most importantly very good vino.

Just arriving In Bilbao, Spain. Our last port in Spain. Next port will be Bordeaux, France and we get to stay on. Bilbao with its high rocky cliffs is a pretty sail in. We have a private wine tour today and will have a ten PM departure. Tonight is White Night Party and BBQ around the pool. Lot’s of fun and majority of guest wear white. Devon one of our crew singers put on a fantastic performance with evening of tribute to Michael Buble last night. Thanks for the reports. Bruce

I’ll second that.

Our excursion today takes us to the small city of Santiago. For ages Christians have walked here to pay homage to Apostle Saint James whose remains (ashes)are in a crypt in Santiago Cathedral. It still has over 400,000 walk here on pilgrimages every year. Around 20% do it for religious reasons and the rest do it for the great hike that ends at the cathedral square and hugging the statue of Saint James. All day long you can see backpackers arriving. We talked to one and he had been walking for eleven day. We have our last port in Spain tomorrow in Bilbao, Spain. Thanks for reports. Bruce

This ship has such a beautiful library. Unfortunately they will be replaced eventually by an upscale spirits bar. No casinos on Azamara as they spend so many overnights and late departures they were removed as not cost effective.

We arrived in beautiful Vigo, Spain around noon and here to 8:00 PM. Our culinary team prepared a fantastic brunch for us. Fortunately didn’t eat enough to hamper on trying out Vigo’s Oyster Alley. There we enjoyed huge freshly shucked oysters, razor clams and butter baby scallops. So fresh and delicious. It’s turning into a glutinous day as we have reservations at tonight’s Arabian themed Chef’s table. Tonight we sail to La Coruna, Spain. Before this cruise is over we will have pretty much sailed around Spain. We end in Bordeaux but will stay on for the Intensive France cruise. Thanks for the reports. Bruce

Pretty impressive sight tonight at sail-away. Lisbon has it’s own Redeemer. @catmandoHappy Birthday and you can quit the smoking.

Good morning. Just visited the medieval city of Obidos , Portugal with ancient fortresses walls, churches and too many visitors. Now riding back to ship and will sail at 4:00 PM for Vigo, Spain. There is a planned sail away with live music and local culinary treats for sampling. It was an early start today so maybe a Power Nap is required. Thanks for the reports and have a great weekend.

Bingo! I think you may be on too something.

My wife and her sister went on a cruise with this offer last year and have never spent a dime in casino. We got the same offer in an E-mail this week.

A afternoon at Fatima. One the most revered pilgrimage places for Catholics. It is here the Blessed Virgin appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. The large Oak tree over 100 years is where they saw Blessed Virgin. made a mistake earlier. We stay in Lisbon tonight but leave at 4:00 PM tomorrow.

Buenos Tardes, We are just arriving in Lisbon. A beautiful day and will be headed to Fatima after we dock. We just had a BBQ lunch on pool deck served by officers. Whole roasted pig, fried chicken, spare ribs cooked on charcoal Weber grills all while the house band performed a set. Super talented musicians. Last night the band leader put on a piano performance that was equal to any guest performer. He was followed by our cruise director who is a great singer. Our tour to Fatima is seven hours long and seeing we’ll miss regular dining they will keep the buffet open for us. We are here for two nights before heading to Vigo, Spain. Thanks for the reports and postings. Bruce

Really enjoying our peaceful sailing down the Guadalquivir River in Spain. Fifth largest river in Iberian Peninsula and the second longest river with it’s entire length in Spain. Reminds me somewhat of the Mississippi with brown waters and one can see it irrigates a lot of fertile farm land. Occasionally we pass a city but mainly extensive agricultural fields.

Good morning or in my case afternoon. We left Seville at 1:00 PM. Enjoyed sunning and soaking in the Spa Sanctum this morning. The Weber charcoal grills were going strong for lunch with various sausages, thin steaks but I had the Azamara hamburger. About an inch thick and so large I had to eat with fork and knife. Beautiful day to cruise down the river. Amazed we went through small drawbridge and we have just gone through the lock. We just finished a wine tasting so the big decision is to sit on balcony and enjoy the river or siesta. I believe a short siesta may win. Band for sail away recently finished but had the pool deck rocking with some good Jimmy Buffet Classics and Rock and Roll. Now it’s just the gentle sound of the ship slowly gliding through the water. Our Spanish musical group last night was enjoyable entertainment. We arrive Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow afternoon and will go on a long tour to Fatima. Thanks for the reports So Blessed to be able to have such wonderful experiences. Bruce

Bon Voyage!🛳️🍾

Presently on Journey and WiFi has been slow. Sure not the outstanding speed we had on Onward earlier this year. Right now we are docked in Seville and it’s slow.