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Wow, Norris, I have enjoyed every photo and comment on this journey to Cuba with you and Carol.  It prompted me to watch the Cuba Libre series which I found really interesting.  Thank you so much for your time and effort to do this review, I am sure everyone appreciates your comments, and I for one, have certainly used your hints and recommendations when touring.  I don't read the X board, so can you always please put a comment on Princess so that we know a review is up on the X board from you.  We are off to Japan in a few weeks on the Diamond Princess, first time to Japan, so very much looking forward to a new destination.

Enjoy being home

Pat

I have enjoyed all of your posts and the adventures you and your beautiful wife have had, and am truly heartbroken for your loss and to finish your world cruise this way.  So many wonderful memories stored in your heart forever.  Please take good care of yourself.

Loved the Havana videos Norris, and as a result, I watched some youtube of Cuba history and why the colourful old cars are there, so have had a history lesson today.  I had no idea of the amount of vintage cars there, what an impact the tourist industry has in Havana now that it has become a destination.   So looking forward to the rest of your story.

I note that you said Cuban cigars were brought back on board, even though there is a dedicated smoking section on the ship, obviously the cigar smell must waft around the ship - did this occur?  Or can you not smoke them onboard?

Pat.

5 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

uktog, there will be a summary-that's what the Epilogue section will have. Putting one up now would be like saying "the butler did it" to the crowd waiting to access the theater. Those who don't want to "wade" through this can always come back in 5 weeks or so and read the Epilogue. I think that those who are thinking of trying Azamara will get a clearer picture of the brand experience by reading it all as it unfolds and seeing the photos. As a reader of reviews when someone says "we didn't like the food" and then move on I want to know "what was wrong with the food?"

I plan to give a full account of my experience on board and show photos from Cuba that haven't been seen on the Az board or maybe any CC board. I hope you will read every page to come and find benefit.

 

It is being written chronologically so I won't say  much about Azamara until I am in Terminal J which should happen tomorrow. It only takes readers a few minutes a day to read what I write (it can take me hours to prep the photos/videos for each post) and I hope from the detailed way I write that current non-Azamara cruisers will form a fair impression of what booking Az gets you.

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

With Norris reviews, it is not so much about the destination, but the journey he takes, across the ship, ports, food, people and places, the valuable travelling hints he gives, and his wonderful delivery.  Believe me it is worth the time taken to read.

Pat 

Made it across!   Your dinner bill converted to $Aust, - had put it on my list of Norris recommendations but I think I would be divorced or overboard or had my drink card taken away if I asked to go there!  But then again if Norris said it's good then trust him! 

Cant wait to read the rest 

Pat

Coming right over, thanks for reminding us. 

Hope you are both well

Pat

We just got off the Diamond Princess cruise, and in the port of Phuket they issued us with a photocopy of our passport which we had to carry with us when ashore along with our cruise card.  The ship said that spot checks were being completed in Phuket, but saying that, we were not asked,and didn't meet anyone who was.  But the ship will do the photocopies for you.

Pat.

Oh my, that is decadent! Maybe one day I will end up in one of these - here's hoping!

Hi,

We just got off the Sun Princess yesterday, after doing 4 day cruise out of Fremantle, WA.  The ship was lovely, clean and well maintained, certainly not one of the newer ships, but it is kept very well.  The staff were amazing, food in dining room (we had traditional dining at 7.30pm) was really good, plenty of choice,  and the few times we used Horizon buffet around lunch time, it was clean, plenty of variety.  Burger bar around pool was good too.  The mattress and pillows were amazing, like sleeping on a cloud.  All furniture in Wheelhouse Bar was new, and no issues with carpets anywhere.  The crew were continually doing maintenance, which is normal on the ships anyway.  I wouldn't hesitate to book another cruise on the Sun. Hope that helps!

Thank you for such a wonderful review, and delightful photos. We are intending a train tour and cruise next March to Japan, 20 days in total, so loved reading your review. Thank you so much for the time you take to give so much information.

I have no idea what the actual numbers are but there sure seems to be a lot of Australians on the ship. I'll be honest, I don't know how someone even finds out what the actual demographics of the passengers is. Is it published somewhere?

Often the cruise director or Captain will announce the numbers and countries represented on the cruise at one of their briefings.

Keep enjoying!

Thanks John for the KL details. Do you know the numbers and nationalities aboard for this cruise?

Keep enjoying!

Pat

Hi John, could you tell me if the mall that you go to on the shuttle at KL is very big, is it little shops or a department store, is there a supermarket there? Do you have to pay for the shuttle?

Keep enjoying, loving your posts

Pat

Hi, checking in, this cruise is on our agenda so looking forward to all your tips Norris, I have used your recommendations for hotels in Rome and sites around the Med, so have pencil ready to take notes!

Pat from Australia

Hi Norris

Just remembered you were going on another cruise, as I was wandering through CC, the light globe went off - yes Norris - time to go again, so cap in hand I am late, so will head to page 1 and catch up, no doubt your review is as awesome as ever - will definitely report back if it isn't!! We have booked another cruise, first time on RCL in June 2017, just a short 5 day Asia tour from Singapore, at least it is only a 5 hour flight from Perth, rather than the long European haul. Doubt whether RCL will measure up to Princess or HAL, but for the price - why not try it.

Hope all is well with you both.

Pat

We just did B2B on the Koningsdam, and you had to go to both drills. It was compulsory.

We were on the Koningsdam in Oct, and while the Lido hours were unusual (we are used to Princess where it is operational almost 24 hours per day) the quality of food served was fantastic.

We particularly liked the glass screens, so no one could serve themselves, and the separate sections for different food, although you had to go from one queue to another if you wanted something from a few sections.

The staff worked very hard to clean given how busy the Lido is.

I was surprised that dinner service finished at 8.30pm, early for anyone who wants to dine a bit later.

All in all, we were very impressed with quality of food in the Lido.

With the first show, was there time to get to late dining, then, or was late dining expected to see the 10:00 show?

We had the 8.15pm fixed dining time, on a table for 5, and struggled to meet the 10pm show unless we missed dessert! So we tended to go to the 7.15 shows, which finished at 8pm and then went to dinner.

Overall we found the dinner service slow, and the waiters would say that too many tables were allocated at the same time, making their jobs difficult to meet service standards, and you could see that. They don't have one dining room for fixed and one for anytime, it is all mixed, so people were coming and going all the time.

Fantastic food, fantastic staff.

Thank you for all of your updates. We will be on the Koningsdam in January 2017 and I am in the process of making speciality dining reservations. Could you please tell me what are the current show times so I can book accordingly. Thank you.

Hi,

We are just off the Koningsdam, and show times in the World Stage were 7.15pm, 8.30pm and 10pm. Some special events they changed the 7.15pm to 7pm.

Fantastic ship.

Pat.

Hi

We were on the Sun Princess in April, after dry dock, and while there were a few issues it is a lovely ship and the staff are beyond great. Yes it is a smaller ship than the Diamond, and Ruby, which we have done too, it has new carpet and furnishing in a lot of the venue spots, which have given it a fresh new look. The new restaurants, Share and the seafood, were empty most of the time, they were giving you reduced prices to try them, but why would you when the MDR is fantastic. There were not a lot of tables for 2 in the MDR, we don't mind sharing to meet others, but the lack of tables for 2 was quite a concern for a lot of people.

Our bed was lovely and new linen great.

A lot of excuses for the issues post dry dock were that they were having trouble restarting after the 2 week dry dock, which I find hard to believe, this ship seems to have the same issues on each cruise. It didn't stop us having a great time.

Toilets and aircon are often consistent issues with most cruises, we have been lucky not to have had them.

The Sun, Sea and Dawn are the same layout, I believe.

Those that had taken the beverage package, found that initially they got good value, but as the days went on they struggled to drink enough to meet the cost. It is quite costly when you work out the overall trip drinks cost. I believe both people in the cabin have to take it out, not just one person.

Hope that helps.

Pat

Hi

We did the ferry to Oia and bus to Fira, and it was all great, yes, some queues, particularly at the cable car going down, so you must plan for that, but the ship staff were managing the queue to ensure boats leaving first had their passengers down. Going around to Oia by ferry is definitely the way to go, as it eliminates the going up issue, and we found the buses to be very organised, I guess it just depends on the demand on the day. We booked our ferry tickets online before we left, but I wouldn't do that again, as you can judge the earliest leaving ferry and buy those tickets. You can't miss it when you get off the tender.

A ship tour goes to a different drop off point, so I guess the less hassle getting off, but they all come back down the cable car, so you cannot allieviate that. Just go with the flow, and enjoy, it is a beautiful island.

Pat

Thanks everyone, great feedback.

Pat

A card free of overseas transaction fees is the best bet.

I have been trying to find one, but they all seem to have 2 or 3% fee, unless you mean a travel cash card?

Hi

We will be in Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo, for 3 nights at each, all of which have different Kroner. Do we need to have the different Danish, Swedish and Norwegian Kroner or do they take euros? I am thinking of simple purchases, coffee, snacks etc.

thank you for your help

Pat

Both ports are very easy to access and DYI.

Rhodes is lovely to wander around, short walk from port, and Mykonos is simply beautiful, short walk to the windmills on the hill, and then fried sardines for lunch in the cafes along the waterside, simply beautiful. Depending on whether the ship is a tender or in port at Mykonos does make a difference, the port is further away whereas they tender right into the centre of Mykonos.

enjoy both.

Pat