bjb1957

Azamara Journey 

March 1, 2019

World CLub Owners Suite 6068

Magnificent! Some noise due to vibrations first night cruising. This room is in close proximity to the engines, hence the vibration at full cruising speed. Huge balcony, huge bathroom, no issues.  

I just booked a couple of excursions with Shore Excursion Group and then after the fact read some reviews. Very nervous now if I made the right decision. Did you end up booking anything through them and if so, how did it go?

I have not booked with them for my Asia cruise as others have posted private tours and I have joined them. I used them 4 times while I was in Europe. One time there was a little confusion about the meeting point on the pier but eventually we found the guide. They were accommodating, none of us wanted to go to a factory that was in the excursion so the guide took us to a scenic place where we could take some fantastic photos.

I bought a king sized comforter in China, it is on my bed right now. I did not buy the duvet cover for it as I found them to be very expensive. I also bought an embroidered silk picture from a street vendor. I probably is not made of silk but it is very, very pretty so I didn't care. I also bought a hand painted fan. It is on the wall above my king sized bed instead of a headboard. I paid $150 for the comforter, $20 for the picture and $75 for the fan. The comforter was in plastic that had the air removed so fit in a suitcases so did the picture. The fan was packaged in a square "tube like" box about 3 ft (1 meter) long.

Bumping this up to the top since no replies have been posted. I still haven't booked anything with this company but are seriously considering it. Would like feedback from anyone who has used them.

Why not ask your travel agent about Shore Excursions group? I know that my agent has a link on her website so that tours can be booked that way. You might also try Shore Trips but I don't know f they have tours in that part of the world.

I just went onto their website. You are correct, they only have hotels listed. Too bad, it was a great service and very reasonable.

I am sure they go to the cruise terminal from the airport.

We booked the Schipol shuttle from the airport to our hotel on May 7, 2016. You need to put in your destination and the price will appear. You will have to prepay for the ride. We found the pickup area inside the airport very easy to find, the driver very courteous and the vehicle clean. I would highly recomend there service.

I have also tried contacting the Chinese Consulate in Toronto. No luck there. I also spoke to a company that sells visa and they said that they would ask at the Consulate the next time they took passports in for processing. This is done on a weekely basis...on a Friday. When I called the visa person back she wasn't avialable, it seems like they have offices in Toronto, Montreal and perhaps other places in Canada. Each person I spoke to said they would follow up but of course they are in the visa business so I didn't hold my breath. I am hoping that Celebrity will come to notice the new visa rule and post that if we are in transit (I fly to Canada from Shanghai on the same day we arrive in port) that we don't need the visa. I visited China for a month in 2013 and it was a big headache getting the 30 day visitor visa that was required (at the same $100 price) that we need now. This reminds me of a Princess cruise that we took that stated that we needed a yellow fever vaccination since we were going to Devil's Island. We got the shot at a great expense and of course a risk of side effects and then Princess back tracked and said we didn't need it. Fingers crossed for a positive decision from Celebrity.

Has anyone been on a Celebrity (or any other) cruise that visits China? I know the new transit visa has been extended to include Shanghai port and I don't want to go through the hassle of getting a Chinese visa if I don't need one. The new visa started January 2016. Anyone?

I would like to get from the Schipol airport to the WestCord Fashion Hotel. Does anyone have a website or information on how I can do this? I will have luggage to bring with me so must consider the logisitcs of public transportation.

I think there's no English version of that website. Which date(s) and adress, I will look it up for you!

I went to this site and clicked a small flag icon in the upper right corner. I got English descriptions and pricing.

John you are amazing. Where do you find all your info? Three of the four Epirotiki ships that we were on sunk. We were also on the Pegasus which I understand was originally a ferry boat built in BC Canada. I don't know if I mentioned but we were on the Jupiter the last trip before the school children were on her. A tour company called Regent Holidays used to charter the whole ship from Epirotiki and chartered a plane leaving from Toronto. Most passengers were Canadians They chartered before going out of business the Azur, Oceanus, Jupiter, Pegasus.Triton Bolero and Melody All for caribbean cruises. We have been on the all.

Thanks again

Ontario Cruiser

I think that my second cruise was on Epirotiki, on the World Rennaisance. It was indeed offered by Regent Holidays and we took the package departing Toronto that included the airfare as well as an overnight prior to the cruise. Our hotel was up on a hillside with a very nice view of the ocean. In the morning I took a city tour while my husband lounged around at the hotel. When I got back he informed me that something was not right, that there was a lot of packing and unpacking of the luggage on the bus that was to take us to the pier. When we arrived at the pier there were 2 Epirotiki ships, the World Rennaisance and the Pegasus. We were instructed to indentify our luggage that was set out on the pier. If the luggage was on the left side of the ship we were to get on and turn left, if on the right side get on and turn right. Ours was on the left side, as we boarded we were served free drinks and snacks and asked to make ourselves comfortable. I said to my husband that something was up...why the free liquor? Anyhow, we were told that the ship that we were supposed to go on had sank and that we could either go on the World Rennaisance or we could go home! The Pegasus was at capacity and so we were told that we would be upgraded on the World. Then we were told that the World was not doing the same itinerary as we had booked! So we took the upgrade (a huge outside cabin) and went on our mystery tour. As this was a repositioning cruise we spent a lot of days at sea and still laugh at the 2 forms of entertainment that were offered to us in the evening....1 professional ballroom dancing couple and the crew that did skits for us every night for 14 days. Just thought that I'd share our Regent holiday with you!

John you are amazing. Where do you find all your info? Three of the four Epirotiki ships that we were on sunk. We were also on the Pegasus which I understand was originally a ferry boat built in BC Canada. I don't know if I mentioned but we were on the Jupiter the last trip before the school children were on her. A tour company called Regent Holidays used to charter the whole ship from Epirotiki and chartered a plane leaving from Toronto. Most passengers were Canadians They chartered before going out of business the Azur, Oceanus, Jupiter, Pegasus.Triton Bolero and Melody All for caribbean cruises. We have been on the all.

Thanks again

Ontario Cruiser

I think that my second cruise was on Epirotiki, on the World Rennaisance. It was indeed offered by Regent Holidays and we took the package departing Toronto that included the airfare as well as an overnight prior to the cruise. Our hotel was up on a hillside with a very nice view of the ocean. In the morning I took a city tour while my husband lounged around at the hotel. When I got back he informed me that something was not right, that there was a lot of packing and unpacking of the luggage on the bus that was to take us to the pier. When we arrived at the pier there were 2 Epirotiki ships, the World Rennaisance and the Pegasus. We were instructed to indentify our luggage that was set out on the pier. If the luggage was on the left side of the ship we were to get on and turn left, if on the right side get on and turn right. Ours was on the left side, as we boarded we were served free drinks and snacks and asked to make ourselves comfortable. I said to my husband that something was up...why the free liquor? Anyhow, we were told that the ship that we were supposed to go on had sank and that we could either go on the World Rennaisance or we could go home! The Pegasus was at capacity and so we were told that we would be upgraded on the World. Then we were told that the World was not doing the same itinerary as we had booked! So we took the upgrade (a huge outside cabin) and went on our mystery tour. As this was a repositioning cruise we spent a lot of days at sea and still laugh at the 2 forms of entertainment that were offered to us in the evening....1 professional ballroom dancing couple and the crew that did skits for us every night for 14 days. Just thought that I'd share our Regent holiday with you!

mine was in 1979, on the carnivale by of course carnival. I was 20 and went with 3 other girls. we had an outside porthole. We paid $425 each. We sailed from boston to bermuda and we left at midnight. How is that for my memory? :p

My first cruise was also on the Carnivale, it was in 1981. I went with a female friend and we were booked into an inside cabin with 2 other women who we did not know....and had 2 sets of bunk beds! Our TA neglected to inform us that we were booked into some kind of singles cruise! The cabin had a pole in the middle of it, like a support beam that you would find in your basement, and you probably had the same line-up that we encountered for the bathroom.We departed from Miami and I remember going to St. Thomas because I remember buying duty free liquor. I was 23 years old and the cruise cost me $999 with airfare from Canada. I guess Carnival had the market on cruises back then...especially for those of us in our 20's. Were you on a singles type cruise?

mine was in 1979, on the carnivale by of course carnival. I was 20 and went with 3 other girls. we had an outside porthole. We paid $425 each. We sailed from boston to bermuda and we left at midnight. How is that for my memory? :p

My first cruise was also on the Carnivale, it was in 1981. I went with a female friend and we were booked into an inside cabin with 2 other women who we did not know....and had 2 sets of bunk beds! Our TA neglected to inform us that we were booked into some kind of singles cruise! The cabin had a pole in the middle of it, like a support beam that you would find in your basement, and you probably had the same line-up that we encountered for the bathroom.We departed from Miami and I remember going to St. Thomas because I remember buying duty free liquor. I was 23 years old and the cruise cost me $999 with airfare from Canada. I guess Carnival had the market on cruises back then...especially for those of us in our 20's. Were you on a singles type cruise?

I have been to Costa Rica, Columbia and Venezuela and have not had any yellow fever shots.

Hi Gixer....

Just a quick question, can I use U.S. dollars in the stores or do I need to buy some British pounds?

I cruised the Carnivale in the early 80's. My first cruise ever! I went with my work girlfirend, Jean, and we shared a cabin with 2 other young women that we had never met! Jean had the lower bunk, I had the upper bunk. The cabin was "in the basement" of the ship and had a support pole right in the middle of the cabin. And I remember the price, $999 for this 7 day cruise including airfare. That was soooo expensive back then, I was making $4.30 per hour! What a hoot!

I am looking forward to a visit to Port Stanley on Friday, April 4. We will be in port from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This will be the last visit from the Norwegian Dream.

I am wondering if I am too late to see any penguins? I have read the posts here about the weather for all months except for April. Can you help me with what kind of weather I should expect?