tidespring

Take the elevator from the quayside to the top of the town, then a short walk to the bus station for the bus service to Son Bou beach. Timetables etc are online .

52 minutes ago, Roel94 said:

We were screwed! You are not here.

everyline I know grestnports from India and for some insane reason we are going to Dubai . We are missing  great pets 

For goodness sake. Please read your messages before you press send.

The trouble is that the cushions are formed for the seat, the back of the chair, I found cut into and aggravated my back.

Yes indeed. We disembarked from Onward in Barcelona last Saturday. Still have the uncomfortable chairs on the balconies and next to the pool bar. Not so bad on the bottom but certainly painful on the back. One of the minor faults with this ship, out of the three different Azamara ships we have sailed on.

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Not quite and whilst what Riocca says is correct on some cruises and routings it’s certainly not the case for ex Scotland flights on every cruise. They do not secure flights sometimes until after final payment. I’m looking at 6 cruises in the middle of next year, they cannot give me the flight options on any. I’ve also had flights changed I booked on the basis it was BA through Heathrow only to find I had a KLM Amsterdam nightmare. 
Flight information often doesn’t come until they ticket it at which point any cancellation would involve penalties. 

So you have the dilemma either risk it unbundled doing the flights yourself or let them do it and get crazy offerings like Nippy Sweety had. Technically 1 hour is the minimum transfer in Paris so it can be ticketed but it’s stupid, stressful and crazy. You just need the flight out of Edinburgh to be 5 minutes late or parked on a remote stand as often happens and you’re stuffed. 

Spot on.  When my cruise and flights were booked last year for this cruise it was BA Manchester to Heathrow on to Venice. Then 4 months ago changed to Air France . Out via Paris. Flight times changed a couple of times and one week prior to travel we were emailed final flight timings. Surprised to find us booked business class on the outward flight. Not what we paid for. I suspect the flights were only booked last minute and these seats were the only ones unsold.

14 hours ago, uktog said:

Azamara offer flights to all destinations ex UK based on a range of regional airports as well as London Manchester and Birmingham. Ex Scotland I suspect due to driving to minimum cost they never offer the transit point in the UK (eg London Heathrow) preferring to take you out via Amsterdam or Paris even got Miami which is crazy as you have to clear immigration and security to make your connection. 

The Azamara offerings with flights only really work if you are travelling from London Manchester or Birmingham. 
Unlike choice air,  UK guests who book a cruise with flights through  Azamara have to accept the flights and routing they are given. We cannot call and ask for anything better. 
 

That is why I never book cruise and flights as a package either from Azamara or a travel company. 

I have gathered so much information and knowledge from yourself and others on this site over the last few years. I will definately in future book my own flights seperately in future. Currently on  Journey in Corfu.

We flew Air france Manchester to Venice changing in Paris with only 1 hour 30 transfer time. We only just made the connection. On our last Azamara cruise in 2019, the travel agent was able to book us direct flights out to Rome with Jet2, private transfers, and on disembarking from Barcelona direct flights home with Tui after a night in a Hotel.  Now they seem to be saying if you want an ATOL package the flights have to be booked through Azamara. I am not sure why this is so.

We are both enjoying our cruise apart from a few niggles. We were due 35% discount on a full voyage internet package which was not applied until I queried it. We were charged $37.00 last night in Discoveries last night for a bottle of wine we had not ordered plus a tip of $6.00. I queried this and $37.00 was refunded but not the tip. It is only $6.00 but its the annoyance that counts. Everything I have actually bought I have handed over my card and signed for so what allows such a bill to be created without my signature.

Other than these minor points we are enjoying the cruise.

Regards Ravenna shuttles. See post 1528 by Beatnix on tips for Azamara newbies thread.  Beatnix informed us that there are regular shuttle services.

Just now, tidespring said:

 

Thank you for the update regarding Ravenna. I will be boarding Journey there on October 6th this year. Could you tell me if the Shuttle to Ravenna from the ship is a complimentary service from Azamara?.

6 minutes ago, yogagal47 said:

Our only test requirement was for boarding. I believe they offered a test for those who might need one to return to their home countries but for the UK and US I know it was not needed. We flew out of Athens that afternoon and overnighted at a Heathrow Airport hotel before catching a morning flight back to the US. We tested ourselves when we arrived home once we learned of several people on our cruise testing positive. We had covid unfortunately.

Thank you very much for the info. Sorry you were unwell, and hope it has not deterred you from going again.

9 hours ago, Hamwen3839 said:

But to show how confusing it is for Greece this is a quote from the official Greece tourism site

Furthermore, as of Sunday 01.05.2022, all travellers arriving in Greece, regardless of their country of origin, are no longer required to display a valid certificate of vaccination or recovery from COVID-19, or evidence of a negative test result from SARS-CoV-2 infection (PCR or Rapid Antigen test).

For Passengers on a Azamara cruise visiting several ports in Greece, and ending in Athens, does this entail having to take a test to leave the ship to travel home.

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

On my Quest Lisbon to Copenhagen cruise last month (only 310 pax) also few  people masked. Captain Tysse did not mention any COVID cases, but I saw a crew member in full haz mat gear on deck 7 on one occasion, so I wonder. The Patio was never open for dinner, sadly.

You did survive though.

Could the seats being sold to others, possibly be because the OP deliberately booked the two seats, window and aisle, hoping no one would take the middle seat?. This can cause a lot of problems for the airline and others who may want for example three seats together, or two aisle seats. Just a thought.

Jules of the Seas. Thank you for the info already supplied. Could you please let us know if independent shore excursions are being allowed in the Canaries. I am due on the cruise 29th Jan. Many thanks. Richard. 

This is my concern also. I am assured though that if things are looking too restrictive nearer the date we can move our cruise to a future date. I have to say though that having been to most of the ports before, I will be happy to just cruise, and do the occasional ships tour, suitably masked. 

1 minute ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I'm looking at one 18th January on Journey. I am due on the Spain intensive cruise at the beginning of November and keeping my fingers crossed that we can tour independently.

 

Reports I've had from a few friends on the ship at the moment are that it's a bit of a pain to use the ship tours. Public restrooms only and too many people on the tours are using their masks as chin straps instead of wearing them correctly when they are supposed to. 

 

Phil 

Thanks for that Phil. I have just booked the 10 night cruise on Journey from Gran Canaria. This will be my second Azamara and really enjoyed my last on Pursuit.

We are desperate for some winter warmth this January, and do not want to travel to the Caribbean. We quite fancy a Azamara Journey cruise round the Canary Islands. Do we have any info regarding freedom to tour on your own during port calls.

2 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Do you perhaps have some inside information that no one else seems to be privy to?  The mass exodus?  "Three old ships" that are filled (at a pretty good per diem) on every sailing?

 

And Azamara has never had all 3 sisters sailing in India at the same time.  I don't think that would be a good business decision. 😉

I think that the poster refers to the indian scrapyards.

Just returned from Kusadasi last Wednesday, with Jet 2, the flights were full in both directions.

It was booked direct with Tui online.

Phone call from Tui came on the 17th of March followed immediately by an e mail stating my refund would be processed by 18th of March. This of course never happened. I was never able to get through on the phone or by any means after this.Hope this helps others.

It was not my intention to make anyone jealous, just to inform. I am not a vendor of fake news, and I certainly will not be posting my bank statement online. Why do you have to post in such a provocative way?

Refunds are happening. See my comment on Tui Coronavirus thread. Thanks.

Just wanted to let people know that the refunds are slowly getting done. My case was not a cruise this time but a Madeira holiday for 23rd March. Cancelled a week before travel due to the company cancelling . Phoned at home by TUI a week or so later and offered re booking but asked for a refund. Received an email that same day stating the money would be in my bank by 18th March, which never happened. Yesterday 27th April, the money was refunded to my account. Don't give up hope. 

My wife is busy packing the suitcases for our leaving Pursuit tomorrow in Barcelona. I am sitting on the balcony of our deck 7 cabin. We are in the penultimate port of a 10 night cruise , Islands of the Med which began on 17th of July. We have cruised many times before, with P&O, Celebrity and Marella. This was our first Azamara cruise.

We flew from Manchester Uk on the day of the cruise with no delays, and had a private transfer to Civitavecchia, arriving at the terminal around 12 pm Lunchtime. from stepping out of the limousine to having lunch in the buffet took no longer than 15 minutes. The process was painless. Cabins were ready at 2pm and we found ours easily this being such a compact and easy to navigate ship.We were very happy with the cabin, and despite the horror stories I had read on here about the shower, we had no problems using it. The curtain will not cling to you and the whole of the bathroom is one big wet room. You will not flood the cabin. We were introduced to Andre our cabin steward and his assistant. We declined the offer of fruit or ice daily but asked for the cans of coke and sprite etc in the fridge to be changed to Lite and this was done.

I will not talk about the ports of call as we have done most of them before, and we did not do any Azamara trips, just doing our own things each port.I had though forgotten how hot the Med gets in July and would choose to go earlier in the summer next time.

We dined each evening in the Discoveries main restaurant, and always enjoyed the food, and the service was always very good. Breakfast was each day in the windows cafe, with a large choice and always hot and well presented. The toast ladies had the job off to a fine art. Never a queue to get your bread done. We alternated for lunches between the Patio or the buffet. I can recommend the Patio , as the service was always good with friendly staff. The greek Lamb burger was especially good. Overall I would place the food as good as Celebrity and the service as good as Blu on Celebrity.

We enjoyed the stress free environment on board, the pool deck and public areas free from loud music. We also enjoyed being able to turn up to any entertainment a few minutes prior to its starting , and being able to be seated. The ship never seemed crowded in any room or venue. We found all the passengers to be pleasant people from many different countries and backgrounds.

I am being chased at the moment to assist with the packing but will finish by saying , we really enjoyed the ship and cruise and will consider booking again. We disembark in the morning and are staying in Barcelona for two days but I am happy to answer any questions.

Richard. 

Richard.