Jellifer

Thanks for all of the information here, just booked for the September 2024 cruise and very excited!

You don’t know how happy I am to see your travel report, saw it was you and my first thought was ‘I hope Poohby Joe is coming along for the ride too’ !! It’s been FAR too long since I sailed on HAL so am really enjoying travelling vicariously with you. I’m heading off on a P&O cruise for Christmas so will be interesting to see how that compares to HAL. Following along in anticipation

Pleasure! Let me know if I can help with any questions 🙂

I received the email to upgrade my December Britannia cruise yesterday and booked through a TA. Currently have a HA grade balcony on deck 9 and the upgrade minimum offers were: Suite Mid/Mid Aft £1,610 Suite £1,300 Balcony superior deluxe £710 Balcony with sofa £140 Prices are per person but sailing as a solo I’d have to pay double. It’s a no from me!

There are a lot of people on the Marella Discovery FB page that have had the same email and it’s genuine. Some kind of disconnect between 2 systems is causing chaos. If someone has booked your cabin for a 2 week cruise and you’d booked from the start of their 2nd week then you get moved. Some were saying if you’ve booked a cabin with a capacity for 4 people and there’s only 2 of you then you may get moved for this reason too.

Thanks for a wonderful report Sarah, really enjoyed it. I’m on P&O for the first time at Christmas (Brittania) and have booked the Retreat for 2 weeks. Do you have to show your card to gain entry? Do they provide towels?

I’ve just booked a 2 week Retreat pass ahead of my Christmas cruise on Brittania, £245. It was in the Spa section in the online account thingy

Thanks, removed that reply

its a big one i think, used them several times before

Thanks for your thoughts. The U.K. agent has received the money but so far hasn’t been able or willing to provide proof that they then paid Azamara back in April. They have phoned the TA multiple times and I’ve advised them to escalate to management. If they hadn’t been paid surely Azamara would have either cancelled the trip or been in contact weeks ago?

Hi My Dad is due to sail on the Journey Iceland Intensive on 28th June from Amsterdam, booked through a U.K. TA. They haven’t been able to log into their Azamara account to book excursions etc and put this down to the IT switch. They got through to someone at Azamara who said they can’t log on as their cruise has not been paid for! TA states they paid Azamara in full in April but aren’t responding when asked for proof. Parents very concerned that they will be denied boarding but I’m hoping this is another part of the ongoing IT systems issues? Does anyone have any advice on how they can escalate this to get confirmation they are paid in full and able to check in? They are spending hours phoning Azamara and their TA and getting very stressed. Not a great introduction to them for the brand. Many thanks

Cruise day 11 – Homeward bound We docked early in Ravenna and had clearance to disembark just before 7am. We walked off the ship, scanned our cards for the last time and walked down the gangway with a sad face. At the end of the Gangway was Captain Mikael and his team, wishing us a safe journey and thanking us for putting our trust in them… nice touch! Our bags were waiting for us in the empty terminal, and we walked out. Time from leaving cabins to leaving the terminal was less than 10 minutes. We had a pre-booked private transfer booked to take us to Bologna airport at 7.30 and our driver was early and waiting for us. 50 mins later we were dropped at the airport and had a short wait before the British Airways check in desk opened at 8.30am. Our flight was on time at 11.45 am and we landed at heathrow at 1pm local time. All in all it was a fabulous trip. The staff were all amazing, so friendly and could not do enough to help us. In terms of covid, we didn’t have to have any tests at all (very different to my other 3 cruises post-covid) and it didn’t impact our trip at all. Masks were not required for guests or staff and I did not hear of any cases. I have 2 more land based trips this year - better start cruise planning for 2023…. Thanks for reading if you got this far! Happy to answer any questions 😀

Cruise Day 10 – Rovinj LOVED ROVINJ!!! It is a Croatian fishing port on the west coast of the Istrian Peninsula. We were at anchor, and it was a 5 minute tender ride to the town. It is a very laid-back coastal holiday place and one I’d love to come back to. It had an Italian Riviera vibe to it, lovely. My laundry was delivered by the time we got back on board, all present and correct. There is a laundry room on deck 7 that is free to use with washers, driers and irons, and detergent is provided too. Didn’t need to use it on this trip but it’s a great place to meet people usually! Had the sad task of starting to pack my suitcase in the afternoon but then went to our final quizzes of the trip. Didn’t finish in a blaze of glory but had amassed quite a number of stamps which Nelson was happy to swap for some Azamara goodies up in the card room. Final dinner with Elmer and Ramel, and Jorge took some photos of us all, but not without taking a selfie first! Last show was ‘His Song: the Music’ an Elton John special. Lots of fun and costume changes, it was a giggle. Then the bit everyone dreads at the end of a cruise – having to put suitcases out for collection by 11pm. Beautiful view to wake up to Banana Beignets Bread & Butter pudding

Cruise day 9 – Koper Up early today for a special reason. Today for the first time ever, all 4 Azamara ships would be in port together. They met in the bay outside Koper from 6.30am and then were all docked together at the port. I was on deck before sunrise and 2 ships were already in position. The 4th pulled in formation along side us shortly after and coffee and pastries were served on deck. I believe that there were drones taking pictures of the 4 sisters and we got some pretty good views too. As well as being a first for Azamara, it was also a first for the port of Koper having 4 ships docked at once. The very BEST part of today was watching the crew re-unite with friends and colleagues from the other ships. There were so many lovely reunions on the dock, it was heart warming to see and there was such a jubilant atmosphere. I believe all staff got chance to have some time off at some point during the day, so it was smiles all around. We’d originally been scheduled in port at 8am I believe but we were the last of the ships to dock so they changed our arrival time to 10.30am. This late change meant that some guests with scheduled private tours had arrived too late to meet them. Ship’s tours obviously went ahead with later start times. Koper had less to catch my eye than the other ports but I still enjoyed exploring here. We had to go through passport control and get a stamp here. The Daily Insider did tell everyone that passports were needed but a lot of people missed this. Some were told as they left the ship but decided to wing it without them and were duly sent back to the ship after they’d made the 5 minute walk to the port gate! Tonight was the ‘Destination Celebration’ evening. What used to be an Azamazing evening when everyone was taken off the ship to experience local culture had been adapted for covid times by bringing the experience on to the ship. We had a local Slovenian Jazz band ‘Počeni Škafi’ According to Mr Google…. “Počeni Škafi (Cracked Pails) are the illegitimate children of New Orleans street music and French chanson, who grew up on the streets of Ljubljana without parental supervision. Although they have long devoted themselves mainly to original music with an emphasis on witty and moving lyrics in Slovenian” The music was very good and some of the lyrics were amusing but the local wine served was a bit rough! I enjoyed the event but hopefully Azamazing evenings proper will be back for 2023. Blatantly 'stole' this one from Azamara's FB page... we are second from the right! The idilemma of which ship to get back on!

Cruise Day 8 – Sibenik Sibenik, Croatia was a new port to me. We docked a short walk from the town and enjoyed exploring here. Croatia has Kuna as it’s currency but Euros were widely accepted. Croatia will be joining the Euro on 1st January 2023. I decided to cash in my loyalty level free bag of laundry todayso squeezed as much as physically possible into the bag for Hilda to take. I decided to cash in my loyalty level free bag of laundry todayso squeezed as much as physically possible into the bag for Hilda to take. We won one of the quizzes again today. Amanda the show dancer was the host today and she was hilarious! Really funny and engaging, we all said she would make a great Cruise Director one day. Great sunset from my balcony. Tuna Ceviche Some kind of chocolatey goodness Bananas Foster

Cruise day 7 – Kotor Kotor is one of my favourite ports. The sail in is so stunning, it almost feels as if you should be in the fjords. Started off the day with some laps and then cancelled that out with breakfast in the dining room 😊 This is the first time I’d been docked in Kotor – I had always had to tender the short distance to shore. Our sister ship the Azamara Onward was in port with us and we nabbed the dock while they were out in the bay. Cruise Director Emily and Captain Mikael were pier side to wish us all a great day.Glorious weather once again and we enjoyed exploring the narrow streets of Kotor. Spent the afternoon lazing on deck 11 catching some sunshine. Had a lovely dinner with some new found friends on the ship and then it was time for CD Emily’s show. She is a really talented lady with a great voice. At the dock in Kotor Tender point for our sister ship was just across the dock

Cruise day 6 – sea day! I just love a sea day – nowhere to be no timetable to have to stick to…. Well unless you count the Azamara sea day brunch! Held in the main restaurant from 10am – 12:30pm it is not to be missed! Lovely selection of food on offer and live music from the band, really enjoyable. Also learned about a new sport today (if you can call it that!) – Corn Hole! This was new to me and the fact I had beginners’ luck may have aided my enjoyment. The rest of the day was spent lazing somewhere reading my book (Orphans of the Storm by Celia Imrie… not the best choice to bring on a cruise!!) quizzing (we won!) and generally having a lovely relaxing time. The show tonight was ‘A Million Dreams’ and was very good.

Tonight was the ‘White Night’ party which is a spectacular deck party with live music. A huge amount of preparation must go into this – deck 9 is cleared and tables and chairs are put out. Flags and bunting are put up and a huge buffet is set up where the Patio restaurant is normally found. We went early to nab a good table and it was great to see so many people dressed in white and up for a good time. We happened to sit at a table in Elmer’s area so he looked after us with drinks and we had a great time. I’ve never seen such a feast of a buffet and it was served by some of the officers onboard. Pudding was another epic feast along with Crepes Suzette being served. There was a lovely parade by the crew along deck 10 and everyone cheered and waved their napkins in appreciation, the atmosphere was fantastic. The sunset was gorgeous too. The famous Crepes Suzette Captain Mikael addressing us during the White Night festivities

I kept losing count... I'm easily distracted 😁

Cruise day 5 – Sorrento I love Sorrento but had never stopped there on a cruise. Wehad a leisurely breakfast and then got a tender at around 10am, after the initial rush. It was pretty rocky boarding the tender but as always the staff make safety a priority and got us safely on board. We walked a short way to the lift that takes you up to the main level of the town. As you leave the harbourarea turn right and it’s a short way along there. The cost is €1.10 per person each way (cash only), or €2 return and it’s well worth it compared to having to climb up the steep steps. The views from the top are breath-taking any day but with a ship in port they really were stunning. We walked to the main square and then turned left away from the old old town. There are some really nice shops here and plenty of bakeries and places to stop for a drink. We then walked back and explored the tiny streets of the old town. Lots of leather shops and fruit stalls, and of course Limoncello. There was no queue for the tender back to the ship and the buffet was having a special pizza extravaganza with 5 different flavours to choose from…. Yum! The buffet has a great gelato bar where you can choose your favourite flavour(s!) of the day and they even give it to you in a bowl that has been frozen. There are always umpteen different sweet desserts to try and one hot dish of the day too. For the people with more restraint there is a wide selection of fresh fruit too! I met Captain Mikael Palmroos a couple of times when he was trying to choose which flavour gelato to have. I advised that he should have one of each, but he said for the length of time he is on the ship that is not a good idea!

Back on the ship we had lunch and then went up onto deck 11 to soak up some sun and sloth for a bit. Weather was really great, much better than I expected for October. The ship was quiet as many people were in Rome quite late. We didn’t do too badly on the quizzes today, redeemed ourselves with the ‘British Invasion’ music round. The show tonight was from Assistant Cruise Director Sarah Hayes performing ‘The Great American Songbook’. She was a hoot! Very talented lady and reminded me of Bette Midler for some reason. After our cruise, Emily is going on holiday and Sarah will take up the position of Cruise Director and I’m sure she’ll do a great job. Ricotta cheese ravioli Plaice Schweinebraten Black Forest Gateau Pavlova

Cruise day 4 – Civitavecchia A lot of people make the trip into Rome from here but after visiting Rome previously and having had a busy few days, I decided to make today into an honorary sea day. Well, that was my plan, but then someone mentioned how nice Civitavecchia is and easy to get to so we decided to visit the town. The ship provided a free shuttle from 8am – 7pm so we figured this was the best option. There were 5 ships in port and we were docked closest to the port gate. The bus dropped us after a short ride and then we followed the crowds through the town until we reached the sea front. It was a really nice place and felt very relaxed and old time sea-sidey. We met people from the ship who had walked in and they showed us how to walk straight back to the ship in less than 5 minutes. A lot quicker than walking back to the bus!

Dinner in Discoveries was great once again, I went for the always available steak option and asked Elmer for a sneaky bowl of chips on the side. After Eight gelato was also a yes from me. The show tonight was a real treat. Local opera singers from Florence were brought on board for ‘A Night at the Opera with David Regheschi and Maria Salvini’ This was FANTASTIC and they brought the house down. It way exceeded my expectations and everyone was raving about it. IMG_9670.MOV IMG_9670.MOV

When we got back to the ship we went to the Windows café for lunch. There is a sandwich bar where they are made to your specification and then toasted – so good! We made it to the 4pm quiz for the first time today but did not cover ourselves in glory! The quizzes are hosted by the 6 singers and dancers that are in the shows. We discovered that they do this with varying degrees of enthusiasm 🙂 As you take part in on board games and activities you can choose to collect stamps. These stamps can be cashed in on the last day in exchange for Azamara goodies. Straight after the 4pm quiz there was always a music quiz. Today’s was The Beatles and it was a lot harder than we expected. I hadn’t even heard of 2 of the songs!

Cruise day 3 – Livorno We had booked an excursion today of a transfer to Lucca so were up early and went to the Windows Café for a breakfast buffet. There was a HUGE selection to choose from – fruit,cereals, pastries, bread, eggs made to order, 3 types of bacon… pretty much anything you could think of. Oh and they had apple crumble for some random reason too! The meeting point for our tour was the Cabaret lounge at 8.15am. We were given stickers and then walked off the ship when our group was ready to leave. Our guide was very nice and explained about the area on the way to Lucca. She gave everyone a map walked us to the centre of the medieval town and then we were given approx. 3 hours to explore. I really enjoyed walking the streets of Lucca and then walking around the ramparts looking down on the city.