nordski

We have used the “free” nights successfully in order to save money, but it does require considerable research and also knowledge of itineraries that are least likely to be discounted.

Agree! It is certainly one of the most valuable threads on this forum. Your commitment really increases its value.

That showed great determination on the part of both you and your training partner.

Here the road race regulations refer to temperature and relative humidity. I am guessing at that temperature you experienced few runners, if any, set a personal best! Some of my best memories of travel in Europe are of early morning runs as a town/city awakes and the citizens undertake their regular routines. Always enjoyed watching Captain Carl heading out for a run at a port. Sometimes with other officers in tow.

Well, perhaps it was very poor judgement that led US to imagine it. So the next year the organizing bodies passed a regulation that no competitions could begin if the temp was below -20 C. I believe you have a cruise planned so those thoughts will help you abide these winter conditions. And I imagine HostJazzbeau may well be sitting under a palm trip, sipping a glass of wine, and chuckling at our misguided choices.

Once again you have defeated us in the 2023 winter sweepstakes. I once participated in a ski race were the temp. was -40 C, and at that point you don’t need a complicated conversion to Fahrenheit or vice versa. This was the temp. on my grocery run yesterday.

Thanks for the invitation!!!!! And, indeed, if we make the trek we will take up your very kind offer. We have snow in the forecast again for tomorrow so things are looking up.

Deck 5 is an ideal location for a quiet read, relaxation, and easy access to Mosaic. We have never experienced intrusive music there. Friends of ours insist that we stay quiet about it, so that it remains as it is.😀

Thanks!!!! We need to think about this as well.

We are getting your share right now and more coming tomorrow. If Santa is still ignoring you, then Stowe, Vermont, is not too far away and you can find resorts at almost every price point, including the very expensive but perhaps evocative Trapp Family Lodge. Would be interesting to compare the lodgings, meals, and drink offerings to those of Azamara. Mackdogmolly is a much better source on this.

Ahh, but being of great ingenuity we have discovered that a glass of dry sherry in front of the fireplace is a delight after snow removal. Perhaps even better if the task is accomplished by others. And what on earth can you do with your skis and all that sand?

Let it be noted that on Jan 25th, the “Phony Winter” aka “The Silence of the Snow Blowers” of 2022/2023 finally came to an end in this area. No longer staring at brochures of cruises in the Caribbean nor thinking enviously of conditions in Vermont. Unbelievably late.

It is certainly about an hour. To be 2 hours would seem to involve a serious traffic problem. That could happen but not likely. It never hurts to factor that possibility in. RomeCabs has a lot of fans and they have never disappointed us.

Hotel Antique Figure is also close to the railway station although across the canal, so you need to maneuver your luggage over a bridge. It continues to be highly rated.

We had the same experience on Pursuit when it was travelling the longer distances of an itinerary.from Venice to Rome. Although it was a limited problem, like you we will forgo the rear verandahs on that ship.

So maybe travelling East is the correct solution. 😀

Ahhhh, you have identified one of my transitory fantasies, to follow the great Amundsen’s feat in skiing to the South Pole. That is not going to happen. Instead, I was alluding to an earlier discussion here as others suggested being in the world of winter snow should be avoided. I disagreed. As I awaken to another day of freezing rain/drizzle then is Florida such a bad alternative? I still think so, but my commitment to that belief is wavering. Perhaps we can think of Caribbean cruising.

If this keeps up we may have to consider moving further North or, Heaven forbid, further South.

Those don’t look like Muskoka (Adirondack) chairs. So what kind of home and garden store IS that? The clientele do seem suitably dressed. Perhaps a good guideline for eating in one of Azamara’s specialty restaurants? And the elegant smoking style is impressive but now forbidden in most areas of a ship. We are experiencing the worst winter for nordic skiing I can remember and downhill conditions have been rather poor. Really hope this isn’t a sign of things to come.

Perhaps my judgement should be suspect since our cruise was in 2020 not 2019. I apologize and hope that mistake did not confuse people.

Thanks for your reply. There may be some on this forum who are rather obsessed with access to real maple syrup. Its disappearance shortly after leaving Canada would lead to mutinous thoughts. 😀 In general, our 2019 experience in Blu was the poorest of the 4 cruises we have travelled in Aqua Class. Up until that cruise, we would compare Blu as close to what we expect in Discoveries in Azamara. I believe others have suggested Blu is similar to Azamara’s specialty restaurants. That has not been our experience, but I understand that more tables have been added to Prime C and Aquafina, so the difference in ambience may not be so marked.

Interesting. Our last cruise in Aqua Class (January 2019) was on Eclipse and, as I posted on another thread, the experience in Blu was not at its usual level. That was pre-Covid. Perhaps that ship/cruise itinerary an outlier but it seemed that corners were being cut.

If a boutique hotel suits your purposes, then it would be hard to find a better choice than the Fierro Hotel in the Palermo district. Excellent rooms, service, and breakfast. We were there in 2019, but the reviews on Tripadvisor remain very positive. Would go back in a heartbeat.

In our experience, except on the first night of a cruise, arriving at 6:00 pm ensured almost a limitless choice of tables. So I would suggest that arrival time at Discoveries might be a bigger factor than a tip. At least I would hope so. The only time we had to fine tune our tactic was when another couple also coveted the same two-top with a window at the back of the ship. 😀

Several years ago we were on an itinerary that included many of those ports you will visit in May and June. One of our favourite cruises. So much so that we are looking at the May 2024 cruise.