Jay19

I can understand it for Ravenna - if I google distance from Ravenna to Venice it says 143km which is hardly close by. Chioggia to Venice on the other hand comes up at 52km so less than Rome to Civitavecchia at 80km which everyone is used to and accepts. You can even get a vaporetto from Venice to Chioggia and it doesn't get much more Venetian than that. 😀

Thanks so much for your kind comments. I'm not sure what ports you are visiting but our itinerary was Chioggia, Koper, Opatija, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Sibenik. At Koper we decided to do a morning tour to Piran that also included a stop at the village of Padna. There was a farmer's market at Padna and the opportunity to taste some of the local produce which many of the people on the tour seemed to enjoy. Piran was very enjoyable but very crowded. There were loads of buses in the parking area and a Viking ship was also tendering right nearby. The guide walked with our group to the main square and then offered the alternative of going with her up a fairly steep walk to the Cathedral, or spending time on our own and meeting back at the bus. Since we will always take the opportunity of doing things ourselves that was our option, we still went to the Cathedral which had lovely views back over the town but also had plenty of time to wander around the rest of the town on our own. In the afternoon we spent time in Koper which was easy to get around on our own. In Opatija we had booked a shore excursion to Trsat and Rijeka and to be honest that was one we didn't particularly enjoy as there wasn't a lot to see and we spent a lot of time just standing around while the guide talked. Zadar we did on our own, it is a very easy place to walk and a very interesting town with lots to see. It was probably our favourite port of the trip. We had been to Split before but the tour we had booked to Salona was cancelled so we went into the Old town and to Diocletian's Palace. You can spend ages just wandering around and again it is very easy to do on your own. Again we had been to Dubrovnik before but this is the first time we had tendered. That worked out very well for us as we planned to go to Lokrum Island and the ferries leave near to the tenders. We were early enough that we were able to walk through the Old Town first with not many people around, and then got the ferry across to the Island. There is a very pleasant walk through a botanical garden and the remains of an old monastery and you can also do a very steep walk up to an old fort. We did that but it was hard work and getting down was quite slippy. We spent several hours there and there were quite a lot of people by the time we left. We had also been to Kotor before so did a tour to Perast and to the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks. There were lots of groups there and it was very crowded but very interesting. We also visited a church in Perast and then had a little free time in the town before heading back to Kotor. The tour included a walking tour in Kotor but as we had done that before we just headed back to the ship for lunch and then went for a walk in the afternoon. A lovely place and very easy to do on your own. I think the most enjoyable thing about these ports is that most are very easy to do by yourself and there is lots to do and see. I hope you have a wonderful time!

It was a great trip, probably the most relaxing ever with the exception of the airport experiences which are better forgotten! 😀 Yes, we did go to Venice for a few days after the cruise. We looked at a couple of alternatives but in the end decided to just take the ship's transfer to Tronchetto as being the easiest and that worked out well. We were the last group off the ship at 9am and the bus trip took around an hour. The bus dropped us right next to the People Mover and there was an Azamara representative there to help if necessary. We just got the People Mover to Piazzale Roma and as the hotel we were staying at was a few minutes walk across the park it was very easy. Sibenik is not very big and our time there was actually the shortest of the cruise as we were leaving at 3pm, presumably to allow enough time to get back to Chioggia. One thing I would mention is that the sail in and out of the port is quite interesting as you go through a narrow channel so worth watching. We like to just wander around on our own where possible and these smaller ports are ideal in that respect. One thing I found very helpful was that you now receive a package containing information sheets on each port and a street map right at the start of the cruise which gives plenty of time to plan ahead. We started out along the waterfront, headed up the hill towards the castle and a small but pretty garden and then back down to the area around the Cathedral. In hindsight we should have gone to the Cathedral first as by the time we got back down there were a lot more people, including a tour group from Viking who were not in the port but obviously somewhere not too far away. After that we just wandered around the little cobblestone streets enjoying the buildings and the local shops. Hope that helps and that you have a lovely cruise too.

We have just returned from a b2b on Quest, Athens to Chioggia (Greek Islands) and r/t Chioggia (Croatia intensive). These were our first AZ cruises in 5 years and it was great to be back. While most of the senior staff, with the exception of Ryszard, were unknown to us, they seemed very pleasant and communications from the Captain were excellent. It was wonderful though to find several crew who remembered us and welcomed us back. Service in general was excellent with only a few minor exceptions. We were lucky in that we had very few problems with IT prior to the cruise and any issues we did have were dealt with by our excellent TA. We had ended up paying for some shore excursions rather than using OBC but once on board a quick phone call to Shore Excursions dealt with this very quickly and satisfactorily. I only needed to go to Guest Relations once, it was a short wait and staff there were very helpful and pleasant. The cruises themselves were excellent, weather was great, if a little hotter than we expected, and seas were calm. Best of all, after our experiences with Oceania where we missed ports on all four of our cruises, we went everywhere we were supposed to! While there were a few ports that were crowded thanks to mega ships, most of our stops were small ports and we were often the only ship there which was lovely. Santorini was the worst, despite Azamara switching two ports around to try and be there with less ships, other lines obviously had the same idea and the total number of passengers ended up being about the same as the original day. We have been there several times so didn't bother even getting off the ship, it was a lovely peaceful day. One lady I spoke to told me the wait for the cable car to go up was an hour and 3 hours to come back - why any cruises bother to go there any more is beyond me. We loved Monemvasia, Syros, Zadar and Sibenik in particular but most of the ports were lovely and it was great to be seeing some new to us places. Food was very good for the most part and we especially enjoyed the specialty restaurants. The Patio was lovely for lunch and we had dinner there a couple of times as well. Discoveries was fine, no waits for tables and service was excellent. We didn't go to Windows much at all, just a few lunches. We have never been fans of self service buffets, but particularly so since Covid, so only chose things that were served by the crew. We feel that Oceania has the edge here as their buffet is always served entirely by the crew but that's just a personal view. We had intended upgrading our drinks package but ended up not bothering and just having the included wines which suited us fine. We now have 3 more Azamara cruises booked and looking at one more for next year. They may not be 100% perfect but then we've never been on any cruise that was. We were just very grateful and happy to be back on board again and thank all the crew for making it such a great trip!

Thank you. We booked the Azamara 2025 one as soon as it came out, something a little different. We did the Hawaii one years ago before we discovered small ship cruising, very enjoyable apart from so many sea days which we struggle with. You'll never find us on a TA that's for sure! 😄 Hope you have a great time and thanks again for your reply!

Thanks for your very interesting review. We have not considered Viking because of their upfront payment policy, however I was interested in your comment in another thread that you have booked 3 itineraries that Azamara does not do. Would you mind sharing details of those? Thanks.

Thanks Phil and lisiamc for your comments. I've now changed the transfer to hopefully arrive about 12.15 or thereabouts. We don't mind waiting if necessary but will hope to be as lucky as you Phil!

Thank you very much, that's very helpful. Much appreciated.

Thank you! I thought that is what I had done but obviously not. Only one coffee this morning. ☹️

Sorry, I tried to quote the start of your review and somehow my question didn't show as separate.

We will be boarding in a few weeks for b2b cruises with many of the ports in your review. I have used both your review, and the one from Host Jazzbeau, to work out plans for the ports and I'd like to thank you both for providing so much extremely helpful information. It is some time since we sailed Azamara and I hadn't realised that they had changed the boarding times. We plan on staying at the Holiday Inn at the airport as you did, and also booked with welcome pickups for the transfer to the port, however I now realise I booked a time that will be too early. Would you mind telling me what time you suggest I change to? Our boarding time shows as 1.30 onwards - do you think this is realistic or are people still arriving earlier? I'm happy to abide by this but don't really want to end up in big lines if everyone turns up together. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I have to agree with you. We have now done 4 O cruises and enjoy the ships, the service and the food but we do think that the standard has dropped somewhat post Covid. Our biggest problem has been that on all 4 cruises we have missed ports and/or "cruising highlights" such as Hubbard Glacier and Prince Christian Sound. On our last cruise a few months ago (12nts) we were advised ahead of time that we would lose a total of 5 hours from the various ports, but we also missed a port along the way and ended up with an extra sea day. Reading the various reviews and threads on the O board it is obvious this is not an isolated case, some people have also reported being told about port times being cut short after they board the ship. We do understand that there may have to be changes or cancellations to ports along the way but on Azamara we have always felt that every effort was made to find a suitable substitute. On Oceania we feel we are more likely to end up with another sea day or arrive a bit earlier in the next port of call. Perhaps we have just been unlucky but we were sufficiently annoyed after the last cruise that we cancelled our next O cruise and have booked 3 Azamara instead. I can't say we've been happy with the website issues although our accounts have largely been correct from the beginning thankfully. Booking shore excursions using OBC has been awful and we have ended up just booking and paying for what we wanted after being told we could get this sorted out on board. Hopefully that will be the case and we can then enjoy being back "home".

Our upcoming Alaska cruise also has shortened port times, 5 hours over 6 ports as far as I can see. For this cruise it doesn't bother us as we have been lucky enough to visit these ports several times, however we do have 3 other O cruises booked where port times are very important. We usually cruise for itinerary and length of time in port and in the past have sailed both Azamara and Oceania. Since it seems we can no longer be sure that port times will not be shortened on Oceania, I have located replacement cruises on Azamara and will be swapping. We are are also looking at Explora Journeys.

White Night on Azamara is a dinner buffet with a wide choice of food, including BBQ. After the dinner there is live music and dancing and it generally ends around 10pm. The MDR is open and, as I recall, one of the specialty restaurants for anyone not wishing to participate. Some people prefer to have dinner in the MDR and then join in for the music but it is widely enjoyed.

I must admit I am not a fan of self service buffets and that was even before Covid. I far prefer Oceania's approach of having the crew do the serving but I know many people disagree. Anyway I do appreciate the replies and comments so thanks to everyone.

Yes, that was definitely my thinking. Of course we hope quarantine will not be required but know that neither of us could cope with being in an ocean view cabin for days with no ability to get fresh air or even have much of a view. I appreciate you confirming that you were able to stay in your balcony cabin. Thank you.

Thank you, that is very reassuring.

We are booked on an Azamara cruise for next spring and will have to make our minds up shortly whether or not to go ahead. The one big dealbreaker for us would be if Azamara still uses the ocean view cabins on deck 4 for Covid quarantine. I have seen no mention of this in recent posts and wonder if anyone who has been on board lately could tell me what was happening with anyone needing isolation. Thanks.