Traveling Fools

Consider booking with Paul Gauguin. They are considered a local company and do not seem to experience the difficulty maintaining their published itineraries other lines with larger ships have. Passengers who have previously sailed with them with whom I have had face to face conversations with all raved about them.

Thank-you Croooser. On Jan 17th we returned from an NCL cruise DW and I took our daughter, husband, and 2 children on. We booked suites in the Haven. In the past, we have been big fans of NCL and the Haven. But, this last cruise with NCL was a bit of a disappointment. Enough so that DW and I are are reconsidering our relationship with NCL. We have also been big fans of X and have a Greek intensive booked with them this Sept to celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. The only reason for booking with X is they were the only line whose itinerary was what we wanted and matched our anniversary date. Since returning from our Azamara cruise, DW and I have discussed how we rather enjoyed the size of the ship and ,with one exception, the friendly, unpretentiousness of our shipmates. We also liked the food. We have concluded to lean toward Azamara when considering future cruises.

Gary, I appreciate your wisdom and the manner in which you express it. However I believe there are occasions when the sugar and honey approach just doesn't work, forcing you to "'fight for your rights". And, when that doesn't work, realizing that principles compel you to reconsider continuing your loyalty to a brand. This happened to me and my family on our very recent NCL cruise. A brand I know you are very familiar with. In January, DW and I booked and paid for a deluxe owner's suite and adjoining 2-bedroom family villa and invited our DD, SIL, and 2-Grands on a cruise. Both suites were in the haven. All on-board expenses for both suites, including ship sponsored shore excursions were put on our suite's tab. There was a $500-600 issue regarding specialty dinning packages that came up that could have (should have) been resolved through the concierge and hotel manager. It didn't happen. This is when the "principle of the thing" factor kicked in for us. We have written a polite letter to the NCL corporate office seeking satisfaction. If we don't receive it, "the principle of the thing" will compel us to reconsider our past loyalty to NCL. In this instance the brand happens to be NCL, it could have just as easily have been any cruise line. Will I go to the NCL board and post a never again thread. No. But I will post a thread informing NCL cruisers of what to be aware of. JRW

Wow, if you have the Prestige Select beverage package is that extra cost absorbed or doe O add it to your bill?

\ Thanks for the reassurance!

This just happened to us on the Epic. Same thing happened to us in November aboard Azamara's Onward. It dampens the value of the PP package and borderline makes the advertisement for the PP package misleading and false. It is ridiculous to know I can drink Johnny Walker Blue label all day in the Haven lounge, but then have to pay $30.00 for a wine NCL pays $5 bucks for. Yes. A staff member with a Haven sign will guide you to the express line. Same holds true in the afternoon shoreside when tendering.

Bill & Mary Ann, Thank-you for your very thorough review of cruising up the Amazon River and back. We are booked on a March 2023 Amazon cruise aboard Oceania's Marina and have been concerned low river levels would cause Oceania to reroute the Amazon River portion of the cruise. The dimensions of the Zuiderdam and Marina are similar, so I'm hoping the Marina will be able to navigate the Amazon.

Hi There, We are booked on an Amazon cruise aboard Oceania's Marina in March and are concerned Amazon River water levels might cause Oceania to reroute the ship as Viking has done. Did your ship encounter any problems navigating the Amazon to Manaus?

Yes, Thanks so much!

When will you be there?

Stay in the Miraflores area. It is safer at night than the historic area. I think there is a Marriott in Miraflores.

It was 51 years ago the end of this month (Jan 2024) when the Draft ended and the all volunteer force was enacted. In 1980,18% of the population were veterans. In January 2023, that number dropped to 7%. First off, Thank You for your service! I am certain the number of women who are veterans today FAR exceeds the number women who were veterans in my era. I still remain a man and am one of those ancient veterans older than 70. I'm just not that hunched over old fart you see walking around.

Does anyone know the name of the Concierge currently on the Epic?

We departed Port Canaveral on Sunday, Jan 7th from Terminal 3. Step One-Parking: We entered the ground level of Cruise Terminal 3's garage and with the help of a steward unloaded our baggage. If you are traveling in a group, you have the option of some of your group remaining near the elevators adjacent to the parking garage, having them remain in the car with you. The parking manager informed us Terminal 3 is used primarily by Carnival and they had two ships that had departed the day before. Therefore the garage was full and we would be be directed to an adjacent open parking lot. What this meant for us is that instead of driving up into the Terminal 3 garage, we looped around an onto the exit/entry ramp of the adjacent Terminal 2 garage where we formed up in three lines of vehicles. The lines of vehicles did not move until parking fess were paid to attendants who walk up each line of vehicles taking payment. Once payment from all vehicles was made we seamlessly merged together and entered the adjacent open parking lot and parked. A shuttle picked us up and drove us back to Terminal 3 and let us off near the elevators. Step Two-Checking-In: You can either take the stairs or elevator up to the terminal level. As you enter the terminal, the Haven check-in line will be directly in front of you. (For us, this was a choke-point goat rope. The Haven check-in line was long with only 2-shore staff attendants processing guests. Initially the adjacent and lineless Priority Check-in station consisting of up to 4-shore staff attendants refused to check-in Haven Guests. It took a shore staff manager to direct them to process Haven guests.) Step Three-Security: After checking-in, you will be escorted by a shore staff attendant to a security station used only by Haven and Priority Check-in guests. It was easy and quick for us. Step Four-Shore Side Haven Lounge: After clearing security, you will be escorted by a shore staff attendant to the Haven Pre-Boarding Lounge. There is comfortable seating, snacks, and soft beverages available for you while waiting. At this step, you fall under control of SHIP staff. You will be escorted aboard and to an express elevator that will take you to the Ship's Haven Lounge. Step-Five-On Board Haven Lounge: Once in the Ship's Haven Lounge you will be greeted by members of the Haven staff who will offer you a tour of the Haven. The Haven Bar will be open and you can order beverages of your choice. You can leave your hand carry luggage in the lounge. For us the Haven Restaurant began serving lunch at 12:30. For us, the entire boarding experience (Step 1 to 4) took close to an hour. Most of the time was spent waiting for our group of vehicles to be processed, parked, and shuttled back to the terminal and at the check-in choke point. All our other boarding experiences (all Haven or suite), including bag drop-off and parking have taken much less time.

And for breakfast. Got off the Epic Sunday the 14th. On embarkation day, lunch was served in the Haven Restaurant.

FYI...The protocol for the Yellow Fever shot has change. It is now a one and done type of shot. Ergo, if your inoculation record documents you have had the shot, you no longer have to get another one.

Toni, Very sorry to hear of your bout with COVID. I'm glad you seemed to have recovered. Joe

Retuned Sunday the 14rh from an NCL Caribbean cruise..in the Haven with an Premium (Ultimate) Drink package. While I could order as many Jonny Walker Blue drinks as I wanted. Some wines were sold by the bottle only and were not included in the Premium package. However, they were offered in a separate Wine package. Another example of a slight of hand, Nickle and Dime you misrepresentation of what is exactly not included in a beverage package.

Trust njhorseman....We have an Oceania Rio-Miami (Amazon River) cruise booked for March and were informed 2-days ago by Oceania that the visa requirement has been postponed for 90 days.

Tuesday, November 28th and Wednesday, November 29th At Sea Aboard the ONWARD Our last two days at sea were very similar to the previous sea days. The exception being we were blessed with really calm seas! One event worth noting was the bridge tour we were invited to attend. It was hosted by our Captain and without question was the absolute best one we have ever been on. It truly left an impression on us. The last floor show of the trip was also memorable. Not only did Mother Nature bless us with calm seas, she gave us two fantastic sunsets. Thursday, November 30th Disembarkation at Port Everglades Disembarkation at Port Everglades was painless and short. It didn’t take long at all for us to clear Immigration and Customs. While on board, we purchased a transfer from the ship to MIA, where we had parked our car. The large bus was less than ½ full so there was plenty of room for all of us. We encountered some rush hour traffic, but nothing to grumble about. We were let out of the bus at the American Airline terminal and only need to cross the street to find our car. When we parked no parking ticket was dispensed from the machine. As a Florida resident with a Disabled Veteran license plate, I don’t get charged for parking at airport or cruise ship terminals and anticipated a battle with the parking authority regarding the number of days we had parked in their facility (not that it would matter). When we entered the parking lot DW had inserted a credit card into the parking ticket dispenser. We did not know that between recording our CC and license plate number our date and time of entry into the parking facility had been recorded. Had we not required the assistance of a parking attendant to confirm my VA status and process our parking data, all we would have had to do would have been insert the card we had used to gain entry and our account would have been automatically charged based upon the data recorded when we had entered. In other words, no ticket was required to have been dispensed. Our drive home was traffic free and uneventful. I’m still puzzled why it has taken so long to reestablish a sense of routine. Returning home to prep for the holidays, etc. probably has had a lot to do with it. What’s next? We (me, DW, DD, SIL, GD, & GS) leave here at 3 this afternoon for a road trip to Port Canaveral where tomorrow we will board NCL’s Escape for a week of fun in the Caribbean. Our Impressions of Azamara While able to pay for an upgraded beverage package and bundle of Chef's tables on-line pre-cruise, actual dining reservations could not be made until after boarding. Reservations were made at a single table in one of the specialty restaurants on a first come first served basis. Azamara needs to address this issue and implement a system that prioritizes the level of accommodations booked and loyalty status. Check-in was quick. Boarding (regardless of class of cabin/suite) did not start until 2:00 PM. And done by class of cabin/suite and loyalty status groups. It was quick and easy. We liked how the safety briefing was conducted by boarding groups rather than a post boarding goat rope consisting of all passengers. The briefing by group is probably more efficient that a general post boarding briefing. We liked the layout and size of our suite (same class as a RS). The balcony was spacious and when the seas were calm was a great place to enjoy the sun and ocean. With one exception, we found our fellow shipmates to be friendly, congenial, and unpretentious. That adult attitude contributes to a more enjoyable experience. The crew were astonishing and took no time remembering our names and preferences. Our butler and cabin attended were always there for us and did a great job! This was the first cruise we have ever been on where we noticed the CD actually doing something other than being that annoying voice on a microphone that interrupts the movie you’re watching and being an integral part of the stage entertainment. While on board entertainment can't be compared to big ship Vegas style reviews, it far surpassed what we experienced on Oceania. Could be because the CD was involved. The food was good to great. The Italian Chef's Table wasn't worth the money paid for it, but the French Chef's table was excellent. The best of the best dinner was phenomenal! We have had two really fantasticate Captains on our cruises. The first was on our TP crossing from Japan to Vancouver in 2017 aboard the Millennium. The second was aboard this cruise and he topped the Mille's Captain. Captain Smith was involved with the passengers and conducted the bridge tour...the most comprehensive one we have been on! Onboard shopping was limited and didn't provide the distraction the number of shops found on larger ships does on sea days. On Azamara, regardless of if you have a beverage package, there is no restriction on bringing alcoholic beverages aboard, either at the time of initial boarding or at ports of call. Disembarkation was a breeze. Would we consider Azamara again? Yes. We have another cruise booked with them in February 2025. Would we recommend Azamara, Yes.

I failed to mention White Night, White Night was held on the evening of Nov 24th at sea. This was our first White Night so we really didn't know what to expect. We both dressed in white and about 10 minutes before it started we went up to the pool deck. Bad on us for not anticipating a majority of the passengers had already staked out tables. Yup, all the prime tables and most of the others were already taken. And guests were already queuing up at the food service tables. Things were getting crowded. We chatted with the Captain and other staff we had met. The Captain was standing behind a Weber Grill grilling away. We were quite impressed. Anyway, given we had missed the White Night boat, so to speak, we ambled on to eat else where. In a way we lucked out because the skies opened with a drenching rain forcing operations on the pool deck to be shut down.

Sunday November 26th to Monday November 27th Hamilton, Bermuda I forgot to post the recipe for the French 75: Sunday, November 26th Woke up as we were entering Hamilton Harbor. DW was up before and out on the balcony with a cup of coffee. Waters were smooth and as we approached the dock, we wondered what direction we would be docking. As we entered the turning basin, the Captain engaged the bow thrusters and we pivoted around and docked on the starboard side. It was Sunday morning and Front Street was empty. Before disembarking, DW and I ventured up to Aqualina for breakfast. It was excellent. After eating and being given the all clear to go ashore, we did just that. Once ashore, I almost turned around to go back to the suite to get the Bonny. The land wasn’t stabilized causing me to walk like a drunken sailor. Because it was Sunday, not very much was open. We walked up Front Street for about a quarter of a mile before turning around. I had noticed what appeared like the proverbial Tee Shirt Shop on one of the side streets we had passed. We walked to it and joined the crowd from the ship buy souvenirs of our visit to Bermuda. We got a couple for the kids and headed back to the ship. Along the way we saw some people driving around in small side by side hard top enclosed electric scooter and immediately knew we had to rent one. DW took our plunder up to the suite, got her driver’s license and came back down. We hailed a local, friendly cab driver who dropped us off at the “Current” rental kiosk for the scooter. All we had to do was download their app, place our reservation, determine how long we wanted to rent the scooter, check-it out, and we were on our way. Of course, there was an employee on site to help us throughout the process. DW had lived in Bermuda in the late 60’s and wanted to revisit old stomping grounds. See knew her way around the Island and we were on our way. We drove to all the nooks and crannies on the Island and stopped to view from the street one of the places she and her 1st had lived. The primary tenant then had been the GM in Bermuda for what was then known as BOAC (British Overseas Airline Company). Here is a link to an old listing for the place: https://www.facebook.com/ThePropertyGroup.Bermuda/posts/for-sale-willoughbyprice-3395000built-in-the-early-1800s-this-baileys-bay-landma/3658147870934123/ She and her husband rented an apartment belonging to the house. I was able to take this photo of the Onward from across the harbor where we were docked. We stopped at the Shipyards and had lunch at Bone Fish ($60.00 for fish and chips). There was a large NCL ship at dock and some of its passengers were inside the restaurant. They were waiting for their orders and had to eat them on their way to the ship as it was getting ready to depart. They told us it was late arriving that morning and had a 2 PM departure time. Why even stop?!? After eating we began our drive back to Hamilton, but stopped along the road next to the airport to watch what turned out to be a military C-17 coming in for a landing. After all that excitement, it was back to the rental kiosk where we turned in our scooter and then returned to the ship. Our cruise out of Hamilton Harbor was relaxing and interesting. Once clear of the dock and into the main channel, the channel narrowed and meandered, taking us out to sea. We toasted Hamilton as we left. Dinner was at Aqualina. I can’t remember what DW had, but I ordered another Veal chop. We both thoroughly enjoyed dinner. Afterwards we met friends at the Atlas where we enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Sunday, November 19th to Saturday, November 25th At Sea Aboard the ONWARD Sunday, November 19th, At Sea I failed yesterday to name the offices of the ship: Captain Carl Smith, Hotel Director Tatiana Morello, Staff Captain Daniele Epuras, Chief Engineer Hans Jense (who had his parents on board), Human Resources Manage Valerie Contreras, Cruise Director Eric De Gray, and Concierge Kathja Romantico. Sometime last night the ocean became very angry! Our ship was tossed around and bounced up and down with enough force you could hear the ship slamming back into the ocean. During the day, the ocean kind of smoothed out and you could walk around. Today I encountered a very rude couple, that if reading this review should be embarrassed of themselves! The weather was nice and warm, so at lunch I went onto the Sunset Veranda to wait for a table to open. There was one fellow in front of me who, after 5 minutes, was able to snag a table. I had to wait longer for one to open. When it did, a couple younger than me walked out of the Windows Café, right by me to claim it. I explained to them I had been waiting and was next in line for an open table. They rudely dismissed me and sat down. I mentioned their lack of courtesy and etiquette and walked back to wait for another table to open. As the wife, or female companion, was walking into Windows she told me I could join them. Knowing I wouldn’t enjoy sitting with them and that I was waiting for others to join me, I declined the invitation. Because this was my first Azamara cruise I began wondering if what I perceived to be a better than thou attitude would be the norm of other passengers. Something I witnessed on an Oceania cruise. Fortunately, they turned out to be the rare exception and everyone else we encountered were friendly and outgoing. Heavy swells were causing motion sickness with DW. I encountered a couple of our former travel companions who shared that their spouses were also suffering from motion sickness. I began noticing many other passengers wearing patches behind their ears and others wearing bands on their wrists. I went to the small store and found their motion sickness remedies, Bonnie, patches, and wrist bands. I then went into a state of sticker shock when read the price tags. The price for the wrist ban was $25.00. Bonnie was around $12, so I bought it. An hour or so after taking it, DW began to feel better. While exploring the ship, I encountered and met Dr. David and his wife Sandie. Dr. David is a frequent poster on the Azamara page and is the veteran of many Azamara cruises. Checked in at Guest Services to see how much OBC we had. I was thrilled to find we had over $1,300. Gave us lots of options on what to spend it on. I went to charge my tablet and couldn’t find the charger I bought in Lisbon. I checked all the surface areas in the suite and all our stowed luggage with no luck. It was perplexing to think I left it our Lisbon hotel room! We had an excellent dinner in Aqualina. DW wanted to order a glass of the German dry Riesling but was told she would have to purchase the entire bottle ($30 plus). We reminded the sommelier we had the Ultimate Package. He informed us the Riesling was not part of the package. I was disturbed learning that. It was my impression that upgrading to the Ultimate Beverage package included all premium drinks and wines. Later I checked what was and wasn’t offered in the Ultimate package and found Reisling Kabinett, Mosel (Germany) was in fact listed as an included wine. That was one of my specific reasons for upgrading to the Ultimate Package. Oh, and by the way, I also was charged extra for ordering a Grappa. I guess, unlike other cruise lines, the Ultimate Package isn’t all that Ultimate! Afterward dinner we went to the Den for drinks. We arrived in time to snag the ending set of Piano Sing Along with Bob. We were given song books and asked to join in. While Bob took his break, we got to know the people sitting next to us at the bar, as well as the bar tender Wayan. Reminded us of when we lived in Tokyo and the Last Friday Night at Air's Lamp Light Bar. Jesuit Priest Father Bill Curry would arrive at about 9 PM, hand out his song book and we would all sing along through the early Saturday hours. Ari's was always jammed pack with ex-pats and you had to get there about 5:30 to get a seat and table, or seat at the piano. After two sets with Bob, we decided to retire for the night. Monday November 20th, At Sea Once again, the seas were very angry. I take meds to sleep, but I could still feel the movement and subliminally hear the ship slamming back down into the ocean. DW, who doesn’t take sleep meds, found she couldn’t sleep and went into the living room to watch TV. Sometime after 7 AM (that’s when coffee was delivered), the ship hit a really big swell that knocked over a cabinet and caused a full cup of coffee to fall off the table, breaking both the saucer and cup. Rough seas were the norm for the day making it a hold onto the banister day. Our room attendant and a maintenance man arrived at our suite at about 9 to screw the cabinet that tipped over to the wall. Good thing the cabinet fell over as I found my tablet charger. It had slipped behind the cabinet on Saturday night when the heavy seas cause it to begin shifting. I knew I had packed the damn thing and was certain I had plugged it into one of the European sockets. What a relief! We have decided to eliminate a full breakfast from our daily routine and instead opt for coffee and Danishes in the morning. Followed by a lite lunch and a full dinner. Our systems just can’t metabolize three full meals a day aboard ship. This afternoon it was lunch at Windows Café with an ocean view table and didn’t have to pay extra to get it. In the afternoon DW and I spent some of our OBC playing bingo hoping to win a cruise. It didn’t happen, so we had coffee, returned to the suite and took a nap. Tonight, was the French Chef’s Table. It was excellent! Tuesday November 21st, At Sea Seas remain rough and the bough of the ship continues to rise from the sea and SLAM back down. We encounter heavy squalls of rain soaking all uncovered areas of the ship. Sometimes the rain peppers our balcony sliding doors as if it was shot from a cannon. We spent some of our OBC on a massage for DW and haircut for me. DW insisted I schedule a massage, which I did for the next day. For lunch, we went to Discoveries. They served a Mexican style buffet being served by the ship’s senior staff…Captain included. It was very good! Dinner tonight was the Italian Chef’s Table. They didn’t start the service for over 30 minutes after we were seated. Found out they were doing two chef’s tables simultaneously: our table and a table in Prime C. DW and I were disappointed with Italian Chef’s table. We found the food somewhat bland and nothing special. The wine pairings were good. Plus, service just drug on and on. We were there until after 10. After dinner, we had a couple of night caps in the Den before calling it a night. Wednesday, November 22nd, At Sea I was up earlier than usual to have coffee and a Danish before going to the Spa for my massage. The masseuse worked on me for about 90 minutes and I left feeling very refreshed. We ate our lunch at Windows. Enjoyed a coffee at Mosaic and spent some OBC shopping. We were honored to have been invited to dine with the senior officers at the Best of the Best dinner. Not only was the meal sumptuous, but the service was also immaculate! The waiters were all synchronized whenever they placed a course in front of us. Just like to see in Downton Abby! We thoroughly enjoyed our tablemates sitting across from us. We hit it off and laughed about different things all through dinner. We ended up either meeting for cocktails and sharing a table with them at dinner, or meeting for drinks pre or post dinner. It was a most enjoyable evening! After dinner, we slipped into the Cabaret Lounge and caught the last 20 minutes or so of the evening show. What we saw was very entertaining! Thursday, November 23rd, At Sea Another routine day at sea. The seas remained very rough, prompting us to remain in the suite most of the afternoon reading and taking it easy. Before dinner, we had cocktails in the Atlas bar. This was our first visit there and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Dinner tonight was at Aqualina. Here is a link to the menus for both Aqualina and Prime 😄 https://www.azamara.com/our-ships/onboard-dining We shared a table with two our Enrichment Journey tourmates. Other than Tuna Tartar, I can’t remember what DW ordered. I also ordered the Tartar, can’t remember what in between that and the veal chop I ordered. We both ordered the hazelnut souffle for dessert. Both of us thought the entire meal was excellent! After dinner we slipped back into the Atlas bar for drinks. We found our newfound friends from the Best of the Best dinner and spent the remainder of the evening drinking, talking, and just having fun. Friday, November 24th, At Sea Seas continue to give us all a roller coaster ride. Though nothing could be done about them, everyone was becoming dreary of that ride. No change in our daily routine. Had pre-dinner cocktails at the Atlas Bar where we joined up with our new friends. Dinner was the second French Chef’s Table I had booked. Once again, it was excellent! Saturday, November 25th, At Sea Seas started to lay down in the afternoon and into the evening. Must have had something to do with our approaching Bermuda. Typical day. Pre-dinner cocktails at the Atlas bar. We met up with two of our favorite Enrichment Journey traveling companions. They had always talked about having a French 75. As they were the cocktail of the day, I ordered each and me one. DW stuck with wine. While I drank mine, I didn’t particularly care for the taste and shifted back to Macallan. Dinner was at Prime C. DW and I enjoyed a chateaubriand. It was excellent as were the appetizers (Tuna Tartar and Tempura Shrimp), Lobster Bisque, sauteed mushrooms, steak fries, and the Cholate Fondu. After dinner, the four of us went to the Cabaret Lounge to enjoy the floor show. Again, unlike Oceania, I found the show to be very entertaining. I was surprised to see the Cruise Director Eric was taking an active part in the performance.

I honestly do not recall a CC get together advertised. There may have been, I just don't know. Been there done that. This was not the night to do that. DW and were both tired and just want to eat and leave. The waiter was in over his head and was talking over me when I placed the order. It was my sense this may have been his first night waiting in a specialty restaurant.