delgados129

Since it appears like the Zaandam had its Nov 17, 2020 itinerary re-worked (according to this thread) anyone know if the published itinerary for Hawaii portion not including a scenic cruise by the Kilauea Volcano is an oversight?

I have an email into HA, but haven't heard back yet.

Roy:

That's actually a very good, 'out-of-the-box' alternative to accomplish the same thing.

Thanks for the replies, but I'm interested in the specific itinerary noted in the original post description: Start in Rio (cruise terminates here), go to Iguazu, end in Buenos Aires.

Has anyone done a post cruise land tour (HAL, other cruise line, private) from Rio to Buenos Aires via Iguazu Falls? Would be interested in experiences.

Are shuttles to Casco Viejo and/or city center being provided at the port?

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/fuerte-amador-panama-city-panama-cruises

 

...But I've heard the same quality from cover bands on RCI, Celebrity, and even the casino band on Carnival. In fact, largely because of the venue, I think RCI's Oasis Class cover band in Dazzles is better than HAL's BB King band. I think HAL cruisers are so smitten with BB King because their previous cover band (HAL Cats) was so terrible.

 

But again, this is just about a cover band....

I'll concede the point when a link to a video is provided from another cruise line showing a

Yes they are great but I think you may be missing the point. Not everyone likes the "Blues" so HAL needs to cater to all age groups. The Billboard Onboard is nice but I have to agree with many, the Show Lounge entertainment is just okay, IMHO. We love many things about HAL but after three Princess cruises I have to say that their entertainment is much better, again IMHO

 

 

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The assertion was:

"...One thing we find in general is that HAL entertainment is not great, it is very dated."

The B.B. Kings All Stars are great and the farthest thing from "dated".

See the Cruise Industry News article entitled 'Holland America Expands B.B. King's Blues Club to Five Ships':

It depends on the ship, the itinerary, the length of cruise, and date of cruise.

 

HAL ships are different than each other. Some old, some new. They have different amenities.

Demographics are different on longer cruises, cruises outside of popular vacation periods.

 

Some ships have multiple alternate dining venues. If you like to dine later in alternative venues you may want to check the hours of operation on HAL. Our experience is that they tend to close/have limited hours compared to many other cruise lines.

 

One thing we find in general is that HAL entertainment is not great, it is very dated. It is hit and miss on other cruise lines but if we book HAL our expectations on entertainment are generally low.

HAL has the best live entertainment on the seas with the B.B. King All Stars!

Here's an example

You can search for more on YouTube.

Confirmed on Azamara's website: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/find-a-voyage?destination=&date=january-2018&port=MIA&ship=&sort=date-asc&op=Search+Voyages

Update notice from travel agent:

[We] received the following itinerary change in regards to your Azamara Quest sailing on January 4, 2017.

January 5, 2018: A day at sea has been replaced with a call to, and overnight in, Havana, Cuba.

January 7, 2018: Cartagena, Columbia has been replaced with a day at sea.

January 8, 2018: Cartagena, Columbia has been replaced with a day at sea.

Sounds fun. What port did you do this? How many people were on the jet boat?

This was an excursion that strangely enough was not in the original schedule. We learned about it on-board. It was called 'High Country by 4 X 4' out of Akaroa, NZ.

We started off in a heavy duty 4 X 4 to the site where we first did the speed boat. The guide/driver told us the weather had just broken a few days earlier and we ended up with perfectly blue skies.

After the exhilarating river ride...about 1 hour...we had a nice buffet lunch. Then we toured a private sheep ranch in the 4 X 4 heading up to the top of a small mountain.

Then back to the ship.

I would highly recommend this excursion.

Go on a jet boat (http://www.newzealand.com/us/jet-boating/ ) . We tried it this past March on an Azamara excursion and LOVED it.

Bonnie:

Last year you provided the following details for Quest's Sydney Berthing: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48729951&postcount=83

What details can you provide for Journey's Feb 19 to Feb 20 visit?

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm unsure if this is brand new, but I came across an excellent & very informative blog on Azamara Cruise Director Tony Markey.

 

Here's a link to the blog : https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/life-onboard/crew/meet-our-captains-and-crew/cruise-director-tony-markey

 

Enjoy !

Thanks. Sparked my interest and I stumbled on this excellent 'Meet Our Captains and Crew' page: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/life-onboard/crew/meet-our-captains-and-crew

CAPT just announced tech problem with one pod. Delay in departing "The Rock".

Keep us updated....

• The Quest will take 39 hours (5:30 PM 6/13/2016 to 8:30 AM 6/15/2016) to cruise from Amsterdam to Copenhagen (see: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/voyage/1465617600/12-night-london-to-baltic-voyage )
  
• It's about 335 Nautical Miles direct; Amsterdam to Copenhagen (see: http://www.prokerala.com/travel/distance/from-amsterdam-netherlands/to-copenhagen/ ), but maybe twice that by sea reviewing the map on the site.
  
• To travel that far, the ship would average about 17 knots. It's cruising speed is 18 knots (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azamara_Quest )
  
• Update: Found a better web site showing actual sea distance (643 Nautical Miles) with a calculator showing that the journey takes about 1.6 days at 17 knots, (see: http://ports.com/sea-route/port-of-amsterdam,netherlands/cmp-copenhagen-frihavnen,denmark/ )
  
• Finally, Azamara appears to list the cruises that do go through the Kiel Canal, and the June 11, 2016 Quest cruise is not listed. The cruises that are listed are all in 2018 (see: https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/kiel-canal-germany-cruises )
  

While Azamara has been very active on this Board [thanks Bonnie!], neither they nor RCI have to my knowledge shared their business vision for AZ [as for instance Crystal is doing ad nauseum ;)] So it's all wild guesses here. And I'll add mine: Celebrity is getting at least two new builds over the next few years and most people on the Celebrity Board [not all, but most] prefer the newer S-class to the older M-class. It would be logical to continue building the new EDGE class up to 4 or 5 ships and refurbish the M-class for Azamara. You could easily convert some of the cabins on the lower decks for additional crew and staff, thereby getting the ship up to Azamara staffing standards -- and that would also reduce crowding in all public venues. Those ships used to deliver the much-lamented higher standards of food and service, so they can easily support the Azamara level. They are beautiful and classy ships, and I think they would allow Azamara to bring its ultra-premium/near-luxury experience to an innovative number of passengers -- with economies of scale that would keep prices down.

New Ships for Azamara Club Cruises?: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4351

Cruise ship Azamara Quest 'hit rocks in Marlborough': http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/76648856/cruise-ship-azamara-quest-hit-rocks-in-marlborough.html

Cruise ship Azamara Quest sails close to rocks in Marlborough: http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/news/76317744/maritime-new-zealand-makes-enquiries-after-luxury-cruise-ship-azamara-quest-sails-close-to-rocks-in-marlborough.html

You're dropped of at a seaside shopping area near the Công Đoàn Hotel. At least that's where it was for us back in 2013. Hope that helps.

Just booked multi-city flight for next year via Choice Air saving $700 ($2,500 Choice Air (including booking fee) vs. $3,200 all other options researched).

Only complaint is not an issue with Choice Air, but with the Virgin Atlantic flight of the trip. Virgin doesn't allow you to pick seat assignments like Delta or Air France without charging an early assignment fee.; talk about nickel-and-diming. Takes away from the booking/travel experience when the complete booking is under the Delta 'banner'.

Evidence for consideration:

Two February of 2017 sailings on the Journey have gone up $1,100 each per stateroom since their original pricining in January 2015; apples-to-apples; promotion-to-promtion comparsion.

One of the sailings has almost 90% of it's Verandas sold already (and ALL of its suites sold out) as determined by an analysis of the number of staterooms available for booking compared to the total number of veranda staterooms. Interesting for a sailing more than 1 year away.

YMMV, but pricing is more than likely demand driven like most industries.

Just got a copy of the 'Welcome to Pinnacle-class cruising: MS Koningsdam' in the mail. Came with the Summer 2015 edition of the Mariner.

It's a visually beautiful and information-rich brochure. Looks like they've done a 'dam' good job on the new ship.

I am going on the 23rd June 2015 sailing on the Azamara Journey. Should I book shore excursions with Azamara or is it better value to book independently?

I would strongly recommend using the ship's excursions if there's anychance that weather will alter the port calls. That was the case with a recent Antarctica trip.

The excursion team took care of all the rescheduling logistics. Would have been extremely difficult with a private excrusion.

Background: 6 HAL (Alaska, New England/Canada, 4 Caribbean), 3 Azamara (South East Asia, Southern Europe, Antarctica). Future booked: Azamara Northern Europe and South East Asia/Australia-New Zealand back-to-back).

HAL offers a very good value when you factor in the excellent specialty restaurants and world-class, outstanding entertaintment like the B.B. King All Star Band. If you're looking for a quick (7 day) mid-winter break in the Caribbean, a HAL cruise with the B.B. King All Stars is the best value on the seas.

Azamara is great for port-intensive cruising and personalized service. The lecturers they hire for the onboard seminars are very knowledgeable. Quality of the food in the main dinning room is on par with that on HAL's specialty restaurant. The Chef's Table dinning experience is extravagant and surpasses HAL's Le Cirque's evening.

So, the Azamara vs. HAL question should not be considered a zero-sum, either-or question. Both should be considered as part of a 'diversified' portfolio of travel options. They each deliver good value on the experience they advertise.

Royal Caribbean (the parent company of Azamara and Celebrity) apparently encourages cross-future bookings while onboard.

One of the incentives for booking a future cruise while on a Celebrity ship is:

• "For this cruise - receive onboard credit up to $500 per stateroom"
  
• This is further emphasized on the flyer made available to Celebrity guests with the advertisement of "Receive up to $500 Onboard Credit RIGHT NOW! And get 123Go on your next cruise."
  

The policy for Celebrity 'FutureCruise Vacations' can be found here: http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/14037573_CEL_Cruise_Now_Form_Future_Cruise.pdf

The small print refers to this as an "Instant Onboard Credit". However, the "Onboard Credit RIGHT NOW!" is not a benefit an Azamara guest, booking a future Celebrity cruise while on an Azamara cruise, can take advantage of; per Azamara and Celebrity guest relations.

This is a hole in the otherwise well intended policy to encourage loyalty amongst the Royal Caribbean family of cruise lines.

Both the spirit and letter of the policy should be structured for guests to realize its full benefit regardless of the ship they're on at that time of the booking.

The B.B. King's Blues Band performances during the Eurodam's first Carribbean sailing was some of the best entertaintment you will find on or off a cruise ship.

Several nights were standing room only in the Queens Lounge. Old and new school funk, R&B, soul, gospel...they were a dynamo and the entertainment hub of the ship. If you were to be blind folded, put on th ship and brought to the perfomance, you would swear you were on a Carnival ship with all the dancing going on. The musicians were excellent perfomers and entertainers...15 on a scale of 1 to 10.

Besides the itinerary, having this band on my next cruise will be a top consideration.

See: http://www.hollandamerica.com/pageByName/Simple.action?requestPage=bbkings_bluesclub