nordski

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Montreal to NY with those stops (plus the usual ones in Nova Scotia and New England) would be terrific.  [But based on your last sentence, you probably don't want to go to Montreal anymore since the Expos left...]

The Big “O” was a terrible place to watch baseball but yes, the bittereness of the Expos being spirited away by MLB still remains.

Fortunately, Montreal has other attractions.

48 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

It would be great if Azamara used their small-ship size and longer itineraries to include ports that don't show up on every mega-ship CA/NE cruise!  I'm thinking of these:

 

Add Sydney N.S, and that would be amazing.

Not certain about navigating the St. Lawrence Seaway to Toronto. And without Ohtani who wants to go to Toronto anyway. 😀

1 hour ago, QueenP said:

My fingers are crossed....I've been waiting for Az to do Canada New England for such a long time! I woukd be thrilled if they stayed on the Eastern seaboard!

It would be outstanding if ports included Sydney Nova Scotia allowing access to Louisburg and Cape Breton, especially in the autumn, and St. John’s Newfoundland.

Thanks for posting this. With Geert Wilders attempting to form a government in The Netherlands, the first suggested tour in Amsterdam would be very interesting and topical.

Overall the tours look like a good addition for “Destination Immersion.” Well done!

I very much appreciated your suggestion re: Air Transat as that airline is not offered through my CC points system. 
 

Unfortunately its flights are somewhat limited in May/June and don’t match our needs.

I created a separate thread to reply because I was in concerned about hijaking the original.

Thanks again. Maybe Air Transat will fit into our future plans.

1 hour ago, d9704011 said:

Oops... sorry qbout that.  I had the idea you wew looking to get to Toronto and that's not likely the case.

See my separate post

On 11/16/2023 at 5:48 AM, cruiseaholic78 said:

Book as soon as you possibly can as prices will definitely not go down, I booked our return flights to Asia in January and they are now double. You could also consider flying into Paris and taking the train as direct flights could be hard to find.

You might br able to choose refundable flights so you can cancel if prices do go down but as you said with the Olympics this is unlikely to happen.

Taking the above into consideration you might also look at booking your hotels sooner rather than later.

Happy planning Rosalyn 

Not the OP, but thanks so much for your suggestion. Finding suitable flights out of Bordeaux next June has been a bit of a hassle. Never thought of a train to CDG.

11 hours ago, Docbizarro said:

How does one book airfare through Azamara? They list it as an option but have no links or guidance of how to actually book it.

 

Second question is, if you do so, does it provide any protections, like helping you get to the ship the next day at a different port due to flight issues?

 

We're doing an Italy intensive cruise this summer, and most flight options that work geographically and time for us have us arriving early morning the day the cruise leaves. If we can book flight through Azamara and they provide protection and allow us to board the next day if the flight is delayed it would really ease our anxieties (since the ship will docking in Italy at 8am the next day).

 

I'm well aware the typical cruise guidance is making sure you arrive at least a day before the cruise, but with my work and flight options it really isn't an option this time.

 

thank you!

According to the Azamara website there will be help provided if your flight is delayed providing you reserved through Azamara Air. This help could include delaying departure of the ship.

Recently I tried to use the Air programme by calling the reservation number. Unfortunately, the agent I talked to was rather unhelpful. If I was more determined I would have called back to get a different agent.

That agent also suggested that I could use the website to access Azamara Air. I have yet to discover how to do so. I would utilize the phone number.

Best of luck! I hope you let us know if your questions are answered. And have a great cruise!

3 minutes ago, crzrr said:

They were excellent and very easy to work with.  We did the Bilbao tour for cruise ship passengers.  The private guide in the Guggenheim was an add on which was very reasonable and so worthwhile.  The food tastings were sufficient to be lunch.  There were 8 of us (the largest # that they can accommodate) and we had an incredible day.  

Thanks for helping me out. 
 

Your praise speaks well for the quality of the tour  and its options.

4 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Well, you got me there! 🙂

Not really! I appreciate the special time of year when you are “boiling down” the sap. Always a significant event!

10 minutes ago, crzrr said:

We just did the Wine and Culture cruise in September that stopped in Bilbao.  We arranged a private tour that included a private guide in the Guggenheim.  It was fabulous.  Saw and learned things that we never would have noticed on our own.  The company was Best of Basque and it was a great tour.

We are on the Montreal to Iceland cruise as well.  Looks to be a great itinerary.

Many thanks!

I am researching it now! I gather that the Guggenheim visit was part of a wider itinerary. 
 

The company, from their website, appears very professional.

23 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We ARE on the Montreal to Iceland cruise! Would be great if you were too! Wrong time of year for a maple festival though!

We are looking at both the Onward and the Quest Spain intensives in September. Both are a little pricey. I am probably going to wait until my February cruise and book something onboard.

 
Apologies for missing the Quest itinerary. Portimao would be interesting because I can’t recall any itinerary where it was included. I am certain that flying to Lisbon would offer more choices than to Bordeaux and thus some savings as well.

A “little pricey” is a kind euphemism but I hope you see some sales and booking on board should provide some relief. I look forward to your  choice.

A small disagreement. I respect your point, but I maintain that it is never the wrong time for a maple syrup festival. 😀

7 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Sorry about the heath issues. That is probably in store for all of us sooner or later. We are looking at a similar cruise in September on Quest, which is why I was asking. Sorry to miss you once again!

I checked the listings and wonder if that cruise is on Onward, or am I looking at the wrong cruise?

The Onward itinerary is equally exciting. A highlight for us would be Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao. Gehry’s architecture has had little impact on his hometown, Toronto, so we must travel to see it.

We have also enjoyed the overnight in Seville on another itinerary and it is a marvellous experience. All the other ports we would love to return to, well maybe excepting Gibraltar,

i don’t think you will regret this cruise!

As for our health, our issues are minor compared to others. But I do have thoughts about signing up for a maple syrup festival while sailing Montreal to Iceland. I believe you are on that cruise.

32 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Which cruise are you on that ends in Bordeaux, @nordski?

It is the thirteen night Spain Intensive on Quest that leaves Barcelona on May 28th 2024 and arrives in Bordeaux on June 10th.

We took a similar cruise but it ended in Greenwich. We absolutely loved that itinerary and this schedule is somewhat similar. I believe uktog may have been on that earlier cruise. 
 

Unfortunately health issues have limited our cruising, but we are optimistic about this opportunity. Fingers crossed.

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Just to say our last river cruise was Scenic from Bordeaux - as I recall they had people leaving in taxis from 0500 as they tend not to use coaches.  They do all their own handling of baggage.  Loved that river cruise it was a wonderful experience 

(sorry to hijack the thread)

Off topic, but we have plans to be on Scenic on the Seine next autumn. 

1 hour ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Last June we ended our Azamara cruise in lovely Bordeaux.   Our BA flight was at 12.45 and we were on the last coach departure to the airport at 9 am.  The transfer was booked onboard using OBC.  There had been several other coaches leaving much earlier.  The debark was seamless - just picked up cases and onto the coach.  We had arrived in Bordeaux the previous evening.

 

Next July we are again in Bordeaux on a Scenic River cruise and are booked on an 09.30 flight from BOD.  Obviously Scenic are not expecting problems and they run cruises from Bordeaux regularly.

 

The airport is a short distance away - and of course you could book a taxi.

 

However Bordeaux is lovely so an extra day there would be great. 

Thanks!

1 hour ago, PirateWife said:

I have rarely talked to customer service over the years we have been cruising with Azamara. However, this spring/summer we had an issue and I called many times. However, I now believe most of these issues were caused by a new TA assigned to us who was not familiar with Azamara or us. Customer service from Azamara has been great in the last two months. Questions have been answered, refunds on cancelled excursions have been paid, and transferring to a new TA has been expedited.

I called AZ yesterday about flights. Once I got through the instructions the call was answered within seconds.

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

If you prefer an immersive art experience to wine, consider this in Bordeaux:

https://www.bassins-lumieres.com/en

Thanks. That looks promising!

Thanks so much for that information.! We are in port for two days but realize that leaving the ship on the first day might be problematic. As I understand it the ship docks downtown so a tent makes sense and seems rather haphazard in terms of services.

Your suggestion of staying in the city is valuable. Unfortunately neither of us are wine connoisseurs and visiting estates is not a huge priority. But we can do some research.

i will look into booking The Intercontinental. 

As usual your response is hugely helpful. I had forgotten that river cruises also docked there. I may post on that forum.

I realize that Azamara only visits Bordeaux several times a season, but I would appreciate any descriptions of the process of debarking there, especially times of leaving the ship.

Our flight has been moved to 10:30 am and that is one half hour earlier than Azamara recommends The alternatives are some arduous flights that day or staying in the city to depart the next day.

Thanks for considering this.

13 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I never understood the fuss surrounding the harpist. Saw her and very nice, but insignificant to me. I've always found plenty of live music to listen to around the ship. 

 

Phil 

I was always impressed with the presentation and performance skills of Mary the Harpist, but she was from Montreal and seemed to always include examples of Canadian works when we were nearby.
She was very personable and we miss her.

The other harpists tended not to share her rather magnetic personality and are not a huge loss in our view.

20 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Misty autumn day for our walk today. The Humber Bridge just seemed to melt away as we walked underneath it

 

Once the sun pierced through the cloud it became a glorious morning.

Impressive! And your words helped me envisage the changes in the appearance of the bridge. Thanks!

Coincidentally, I was organizing a closet and found two Azamara baseball-style caps. The earliest brandishes the title “Azamara Club Cruises”, the latter, bought five or six years ago, omits the “Club”. 
Perhaps the former will accrue some value as a limited edition.  😀

I always thought the “Club” appellation served two purposes. One was to distinguish Azamara from its ill fated relationship with mass- market Celebrity. The other was to reflect the indoor design  of the ships which, no doubt incorrectly, I thought to represent the atmosphere of an Edwardian men’s club.

Those with a better background in interior design will probably find this risible,

3 hours ago, cruisemom42 said:

This has happened in the past, unfortunately often with Israel, during the nearly two decades I’ve been on Cruise Critic. 
 

The gist, for US customers at least, is that if the ship sails it is not considered to be a cancellation. In the terms of the contract is wording allowing the cruise line to change the itinerary at ANY point.

 

That said, often cruise lines have offered some sort of compensation for the change in the form of a FCC or partial refund of the current cruise. Since Covid, with lines struggling, who knows what might be forthcoming…or not.

 

It is a common saying here on CC’s ports of call boards that if the main reason for your cruise is a single port or destination, you’re better off taking a land tour.

 

I hope things work out in a satisfactory manner. Clearly in this case there is little Azamara could other than change their plans. If they canceled the entire cruise, many who have already requested time off, made plans, booked flights etc would likely be unhappy.

Your fourth paragraph is spot on! Good to see this important point reinforced.

1 hour ago, BrendaJ said:

Thank you for the very comprehensive and fair review.   You made me really want to try Viking.   However, from Canada, their prices are extremely high.  Doing a comparison between Azamara, Seaborne, Silversea and Viking, Viking’s price per night for similar itineraries was higher than the other three in many cases.   The only itineraries where Viking was a bit cheaper were transatlantic.

 

From what I can tell, Viking does not include gratuities.  If that is true, that must also be added to the Viking price per day, as well as basic cocktails, if that is something you enjoy.  For the prices I saw, I’m probably more likely to try Seaborne than Viking.   I don’t know all that much about Seaborne other than they are a luxury line, and some of their ships are definitely older than Viking’s.  Viking does appear to have some unique itineraries, including some cold weather trips that I would find very interesting.   I do like the idea of included excursions, although in many cases, a short bus tour or walking tour would not be what I would select.

 

I’m curious about the technology available on Viking, seeing as they are newer ships.   Celebrity’s Edge-class ships have some really fabulous technology.   They have a phone app that allows you to do the following:  check in, view the daily itineraries and excursions before and during the cruise, attend a virtual safety drill, view deck plans, track your spending, unlock your cabin, control the cabin temperature, television, window coverings and lighting, make restaurant reservations and view menus, and send messages to fellow passengers.   For me, it was a game changer.  I’m curious if Viking has similar technical treats.

 

In any case, if the price differential stays the same, I’m unlikely to try Viking in the near future, as appealing as it seems.

As you probably know, Viking has an “expedition” ship on the Great Lakes. “Expedition” because it must be smaller than their regular ships in order to navigate the Welland Canal. Despite the fact that we have visited many of the ports and sights on the itinerary, we thought it would be interesting. Checking the prices put an end to that interest.

i appreciate your comments on the Edge class as some other posters are quite critical.