Mrs Miggins

Option 1 sounds stress free.

Venice to Heathrow is a short hop ! 2 hours - done this numerous times - always in Economy. Perfectly fine ! Airport in Venice much better than it used to be.

Interested to see the reaction on the Viking board but cannot see the review. Perhaps not posted yet.

Having completed 4 Viking and many more Azamara I agree with more or less everything in this review. I would also mention the wonderful free Spa on Viking. Far far superior to the rather sad offering on Azamara. However we did really like the mix of Nationalities on Azamara. On our Viking cruises there were a small handful from the UK, the great majority of the rest were from the US with some Canadians. Whilst I love both Nationalities, especially the Canadians who seem to be laid back, uncomplaining and good fun, I do like the greater mix I have found on Azamara. We have not booked on either Viking or Azamara at the moment but I am looking forward to our 4th Scenic river cruise next July. I would be happy on either when we find an itinerary and a price we like. A combination of the Viking ships with most of the rest Azamara would be my ideal.

In Bordeaux in June and a new Silversea ship right in the middle of town. Journey was docked a little further back. Silversea ship (can't recall the name) looked very splendid.

On further investigation I see David Duff was the subject of a thread in October 22 and several from the UK, including me, welcomed a boost to Azamara in the UK. Since then I do not recall any mention of him and indeed I had completely forgotten about him. Perhaps those in the UK that have ongoing concerns with Azamara should try him as a point of contact. Since he is speculating about new builds he may actually know what is currently going on within Azamara.

David Duff. UK Managing Director ? I had no idea, I have never heard of him. He obviously likes to keep a very low profile as far as the paying UK clients are concerned.

We were on Journey Spain Intensive in June. Apart from a problem with one shore excursion we had a great time. Very similar experience to our previous Azamara cruises. I do not recognise any of the issues highlighted by Carnevale. Perhaps the itinerary and the weather impacted the "getting off and on the ship". This has never been a problem with Azamara for us.

Also the service in the UK was sadly diminished when Richard Twynam left. I thought it was a good move when he started working for Scenic/Emerald as we love Scenic cruises. However he was only with them for a few months. Wonder where he is now ?

I loved Star Clippers. I am a non smoker and never experienced any issues.

The evening is a lovely experience, Not to be missed.

There few regular taxis in Greenwich, the locals usually use Uber, however the large influx of passengers from a cruise ship is a relatively unusual occurrence. There are only 3 more Viking ships between now and early September plus one other cruise line in September. Nothing else scheduled for the rest of this year. There is never a long line of black cabs waiting for customers. The area adjacent to the pier is mainly traffic free (thankfully for the locals) and the roads in Greenwich are extremely busy with local busses and cars. It is a very busy area with tourists, locals, day trippers etc visiting wonderful Greenwich. Therefore if you want a private ride to Gatwick, Heathrow or central London you must book ahead if you have not secured a Viking transfer. Make sure that the company booked is familiar with Greenwich and they suggest a pick up point. One of the problems onboard is the local knowledge about the ports visited is often poor, they never seem to know about local events for example. This is especially true of the areas less visited like Greenwich.

https://survey.alchemer.com/s3/7463754/Cruise-Brand-Q3-23-PG?id=506497 This is the link.

Ok so it worked on Firefox ! Weird questions - Last ones were about cruising in groups and also special work onboard section utilising various different spaces for meetings etc. Think they need to get the wi fi sorted first.

Didn’t work on my Mac but will try again. I was wonder whether these third party surveys actually have any value If Azamara are looking for customer feedback then they only have to read Cruise Critic .

Just received a email inviting me to complete a survey. Copied the link provided and it took me to a site called Cruise Brand Q3 23 PG. Filled in first two pages, age etc and number of cruises/other vacations. Page 3 invited to rank different wishes and experiences. Select 4 from a list of 10. Guess what - that proves impossible to fill in - or select any of the options. Is it just me ? Or is it just another Azamara mess ?

My perfect Ocean Cruise would be onboard a lovely Viking Ocean ship, but with absolutely everything else provided by Azamara. (including the passengers!).

I agree entirely.

Hope you liked Scenic as much as we do. Are you going to do a review ?

Really interested to read your reviews. I do think that Azamara and Viking are a good fit for many. Your extensive cruising knowledge is invaluable. I certainly do not trust negative reviews from those who appear to have limited cruising experience or an "axe to grind" We are indeed fortunate to have a wide choice and if one company doesnt fit then there are many others to try. Have never tried Viking River but really do like Scenic.

Interesting read and I really hope you enjoy your 2nd Viking cruise. Which itinerary? We have done 4 Viking cruises and many more Azamara. We had a discussion yesterday about plans for 2024 and have probably decided that despite the website issues and one very poor shore excursion, Azamara is probably a slightly better fit for us. Nevertheless Viking is a class act although our last cruise was certainly a step down from previous experience. One major factor in Azamara's favour, in our opinion, is the great mix of nationalities. In addition the shipboard experience seems more flexible. Viking do many things very well and the ships are beautiful, but it is very formulaic especially in regard to menus. Viking also seem both from our own experience, and from comments on this board, poor at finding alternative ports at short notice. However we are still looking but at the moment the pricing on Viking seems very high compared with Azamara or Oceania. We would happily book again if we could find an attractive itinerary and price.

Just wondering what happened to Richard Twynam. He did join Scenic, which pleased me because Scenic is another favourite of mine. We are going to a Scenic presentation in a few days and I enquired if he would be there but apparently he has departed Scenic after just a few months.

The key card fits beautifully into the back pocket of jeans !

These places are not banning tourism in general but they do not want fleeting visitors from huge cruise ships who contribute very little to the local economy, possibly buying a coffee before returning to the ship for dinner. Venice will continue to have visitors who spend money in the hotels, restaurants and high end shops. Also of course there are the environmental concerns, particularly in Venice. Anyone trying to book museums in Amsterdam knows that there is a whole world of tourists out there ready to enjoy them. Apparently there are 1291 flights per day at Schiphol Airport !