yogagal47

Our most recent cruise was on Celebrity Apex. Even staying in the retreat which was nice, I was left with a feeling of-"do not want to do this size ship again any time soon!

We have actually actually booked a cruise to the Brazilian Amazon on Sirena. The access to that spa deck was always a plus for us on Azamara. Then the concierge suites got way too expensive, and we had to downgrade to just a regular balcony cabin and lost that access.

As I am new to this cruise line, how do I find out when Reservations will open for Concierge veranda class?

Our son lived in Brazil for 4 years so we have been to Rio a number of times and enjoyed it. Also we have cruised Azamara Rio to BA. I will check out that cruise however. 22 Days is a bit long for us though..I do appreciate all of the input on this board.

As I stated in my original post, we are looking at an Amazon cruise on the Sirena. We would want a veranda cabin, but the only ones available are both gty. Are you saying that if we book that category there is not actually a guarantee that we would even be on the cruise? It has always been my understanding on other cruise lines that if you book a guarantee, they will simply be assigning you, your cabin, maybe right before the cruise. I was under the impression that you would be up in the air as to whether or not, you were even on the cruise, and therefore could not book excursions? If that was the case, I would not do it because then we would not be able to go ahead and book flights, knowing that we might not even end up going on the cruise. That just seems ridiculous. I do appreciate your positive outlook on this cruise line and since we like Azamara, I’m sure we would be happy.

Thank you for all these helpful responses. Our TA is going to call now to see if the listed guarantee cabins are really available for the veranda categories posted on the website for this cruise. We don’t mind taking a chance on a guaranteed cabin.

we are looking at a cruise on Sirena-Amazon Trailblazer to the Brazilian Amazon. I am confused as to what is included on OCEANIA if you just book without airfare. Are wine and beer extra? What about wifi? The Oceania website does not really make it clear what they include in the cruise only fares. Thanks for any help. Also-there are some truly terrible reviews for Sirena on Cruise Critic. Is this sour grapes or a concerning trend? We have hear such good things about the cruise line-sometimes from people we have met on Azamara Cruises!

Pretty sure we were so advised/ hotels too. Check with your healthcare provider before you go and make sure you have medication’s to treat Travelers diarrhea including antibiotics, just in case. Also, there is a product called drip drop-you can add it to bottled water for hydration(similar to Pedialyte for kids).

We did not become ill after the night we ate there, but it was a lot of grilled food, and very smoky. On another night, a large group that was traveling together from Florida had a meal there and two of the people in the group became extremely ill from some sort of food poisoning. Ultimately they had to bring medical personnel on board to treat them with intravenous, fluids and medication but it was pretty terrible. Personally, I am not convinced that it wasn’t from drinking water if they had mistakenly brush their teeth with tapwater or drunk a bit of it, that could’ve made them ill as well but ultimately it was attributed to the meal. I don’t recommend for the food!

Thanks for this detailed day by day report! We look forward to our first Apex cruise January 3rd.

Thanks for that helpful info-really does sound like you had a wonderful day! Since my friend and her husband have not signed up for any excursions, it might be worth doing this one since the four of us could be together at the beach.

Did you find there were lots of young kids there(we will not be with them on the cruise)? Also-rResort for a day website says "wheelchair accessible." Our friends want to join us tho they would likely show up a bit later to have lunch and maybe sit in the shade for a bit. This does sound like a nice option.

Does anyone have a suggestion for a nice place to have lunch on the beach where you can also swim? we need a place where my friend can join us (just for lunch) and can use her mobility scooter to get in. she does not need to go on the beach. I'm concerned because we are in port on January 10 and there will be a large number of big ships there that day

We did a two week cruise in 2018 that went from Edinburgh to Copenhagen, mostly visiting Norway ports including many of the fjords. There was a lovely family on board with 4 kids- a few grade schoolers and a few middle school age. They love Azamara. This was not their first cruise with the line. They were very active in every port. They seemed to be having a wonderful time. They attended all the shows in the evening and the performers got to know the kids and were super engaged with them as they did lots of the onboard game activities as well. Many families enjoy spending time with their kids on this type of trip and are not looking for glitzy entertainment or kids clubs for them. Good luck whatever you decide.

In Thessalonika we walked along the boulevard and did a museum with a tower you can climb. Then we walked to the Jewish museum, which was fascinating.. afterwords we found a nice café, and had lunch. Very easy city to do on your own.

On our Greece intensive cruise in June 2022 a friend did that excursion and thought it was pretty mediocre. My husband enjoyed strolling around Kavala, going up to the top( fortress) to see the view, and stopping for beers at a café that gave us a great view of the ship. It was a very pleasant experience to do on our own.

I am confused about all this talk of Celebrity cruises. I thought the two lines have been separated. Why should cruises on Celebrity in 2023 earn points toward status on AZ?

Just did that-thanks. I see the cruise booked for April 2024 and the packages included but there is an issue with the OBC. Even got a message that popped up that I needed to have my travel advisor or AZ help. Since the cruise is not for 10 months out I suppose I will wait on it.

If my log-in attempt fails how can I even find out if I have accurate info? I filled out the form but now what???

On the Azamara tour we did in June ‘22 we visited several monasteries at Meteora. In my opinion, none of the walking we did qualified as hiking. In some cases, there may have been a few steps up and then of course you have to walk around the monasteries themselves. But this was definitely not a hiking tour. The monasteries each tour visits changes from day today, depending upon what is open. The day we went we actually visited monasteries that were run by nuns. We had to cover ourselves, and at one facility, they even made me buy a rap to put around my hips when I already had slacks on! This is a long bus ride both ways, but it is quite spectacular.

Athens to Dubai 4 times! Wow! I am getting excited for our April '24 Singapore to Dubai cruise. Have you ever done that? Also-do you happen to know if AZ has decent options for vegans? Do they still do the buffet at dinner time? Asking for a friend who is a vegan, loves to cruise and finds buffets work best for him. Thanks. Julie in Denver

So interesting that the poster never answered your question...

On our recent Reflection cruise the sky suite tub/shower was not so easy to enter as I was dealing with a recent ski injury. Also the step from the bathroom was tricky so we were often warned about it.