oneadam12

Is Azamara waiting until after this November's USA elections to hope to get back in the Cuba market?

A group of us are doing an Avalon Rhine cruise this fall.  Question, should we book our included shore excursion ahead of time or wait until we board the boat?  Also, does Avalon ever cancel included excursions for reasons other than weather or political unrest?

10 of us are also booked on the Rhine with Avalon in October. We're counting on NOTAMERMAID to provide good water levels and great weather!  (But seriously, a big thank you to Notamermaid for all your updates, been following you for over a year)

From the Avalon  'Know before you go-Europe' site (paraphrased)

You can board at any time on embarkation day but your rooms may not be ready until 4PM.  You are free to leave you luggage and tour on your own.

Part of a January 19, 2019 NY Times article:

"It’s early to make a final judgment on the wines of 2018, even for Mr. Dirksen, a critic for Vinum, an industry publication. But he nodded his head approvingly. Here, and almost everywhere else in the country, German winemakers are celebrating what they believe will prove to be a banner vintage.

“It’s not just good,” said Roman Niewodniczanski, one of Germany’s most celebrated vintners and the owner of Van Volxem. “It’s grandiose!”

What proved to be the country’s hottest, driest spring and summer on record were disasters for many German farmers, river boat captains and foresters. But they were a blessing for winemakers, leading to a record harvest — Mr. Niewodniczanski estimates his output will be up 20 percent or more on last year — while also imparting a high must weight: the all-important measure of a grape’s sweetness."

8 of us have booked an early October, 2019 Rhine River cruise, Basel to Amsterdam.  We did purchase "cancel for any reason" insurance.  We hope for a fair amount of winter snow and spring rain!

We have 10 of us who are planning a fall, 2019 Rhine River cruise. 1/2 of us want to go in early October because of better prices. The other 1/2 wants to go in early September for the better & warmer weather. What should we choose?

The four of us just returned from a wonderful 10 day Lisbon to London cruise. Will post a review when I get back to New York time. But in the mean time thanks to all the Cruise Critic contributors for your suggestions. They helped make for a great time. Also thanks for for the Journey's crew. Wow, they go out of their way to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Bill, Sharon, Elise & Emily

So, the last few days have been lots of fun, first cancelling our Porto tour, then adding a tour in Vigo. This afternoon the reverse, cancelling our Vigo tour, then adding our original Porto tour. Thank you Tours by Locals. Looking forward to one (or 2) of those complimentary drinks!

We will be sailing on our first Azamara cruise from Lisbon this June. We would like to attend the "mix and mingle" but were wondering what time they usually have these? We do have a full morning in Lisbon prior to boarding. I'd like to attend this event but am worried we would be too tired if its scheduled as we set sail. Also, I don't want to sign up then blow it off. Thanks, Bill

I also had trouble booking a shore excursion and Amazing Evening on line. My TA called for me and booked with no problem. The TA reported that the Azamara call center person was friendly and very helpful. Five months to our 1st Azamara cruise, excited!

Did I miss it or misread the original schedule? I thought that we were to dock in Greenwich at 1:00 pm, now I see that it is 5:00 pm. This is disappointing as we had plans in London that afternoon. By the way, we could live with the change from docking at London Bridge to Greenwich.

Bill

All:

Thanks for your suggestions. The Journey docks the day before we are scheduled to board. So it sounds like we may get lucky and be able to leave our luggage.

Bill

We'll be sailing from Lisbon next June but arriving there a day early. I realize that I can not go to my room early but, on the day we sail, can we drop off our luggage at the ship, do a walking tour, then board the ship in the afternoon? For that matter, can we also complete the embarkation process early? Thanks, Bill

New to Azamara, joined My Azamara last week. Have tried several times to log in and each time got a temporary out of order message. Not overly concerned, our 1st Azamara cruise in not until June, 2018.

Thanks to all who replied, lots of choices! I'll share them with the others cruising with me (wife, daughter and grand daughter) for their input. Bill

We are new to Azamara and have booked a June, 2018 cruise on the Journey starting in Lisbon. Looking for hotel recommendations in Lisbon. Thanks, Bill

More questions to follow!