cruisermsoon

Having cruised with many lines over the years, I have of late concentrated my searches to three lines: Princess, Holland America & Azamara. Holland America definately betters Princess in the food department, with their buffet food very much better. Also, although the ships on both lines are getting bigger, Holland America is still mid-sized, wheras Princess, with their Sun class, is starting to get into the mega field. Azamara, although more expensive, is another class entirely. All-inclusive [drinks and tips included] and the smaller 650 passenger ships and port intensive itineraries make for a very special experience, as long as you can do without the big brassy shows and glitzy surroundings.

My introduction to the "R" ship was the Pacific Princess, and I loved it. Probably the best Princess cruise I have done. Recently went on Azamara Onward [ex Pacific Princess] an a 21-day portion of the World Cruise. The ship is even better after it's refurbishment, and Azamara of course is a superb product offered at a price that is much cheaper than Oceania [as long as you are happy on a ship that doesn't have the "razz-m-tazz" of the new bigger ships].

As someone who has done many Princess & Holland America cruises [and who will continue to do the occasional cruise with them in the future], I find that as cruise ships get bigger, more crowded, and noisier [that banal recorded music that most mass market lines play incessantly all over the ship], I have found a very acceptable alternative in the smaller Azamara ships for the following reasons: #Ships that have around 650 passengers. #Ships small enough to be able to berth at smaller more out of the way ports. #At some ports they provide a free transfer service into the town. #Virtually all inclusive, with drinks provided and no tipping. #Their Azamazing Evenings or events an added feature. Having said that, sometimes their cruises can be a bit pricey. Sometimes you need to book early, and other times wait until about 3 months before to see if there are last minute specials.

If you are arriving at Nice airport, there is a bus #80 from the airport to Monte Carlo, an hourly or 1/2 hourly service leaving from Platform 1 at Terminal 2, or 5 minutes later from Terminal 1. You can buy the tickets online or at Terminal 2 Gate 3. Timetable 2.00 2.45 3.15 3.45 etc. Arrives at Monaco Sporting Bay Hotel 55 minutes later, however closest bus stop to the port is Place d'Armes, or if you miss that one, the next stop at Princess Antoinette. Look at the map on Google Maps and you will see where the bus stops are.

Yes, a French Merlot, South African Pinotage, etc.

The current system seems to be to have a selection of wines available [3 or 4 red and 3 or 4 white and 2 rose] which doesn't change much, except that when they run out of a selection [usually the one I like] another will be substituted.

Thanks for the advice. I still think they should they should clearly post the OBC in your account to save any worries.

Azamara's back-to-back OBC offer seems easy enough, until one starts to navigate the on-line email form. In July we have booked three back-to-back cruises on Pursuit, and have found that the on-line form only allows for one passenger name, one sailing date, and most frustrating of all, only one booking number on the form. Six weeks ago I tried to get over this by filling in six on-line forms, one for each booking number per passenger, but our bookings show no OBC as yet, so I have re-sent the six emails, but this time filling them in and holding back until I could send them quickly one after the other, so that hopefully they will arrive in a bloc, rather than possibly scattered. Is there some sort of "secret" to applying for this deal, and have others also found this to be a problem? $1100 OBC is at stake, however I'm not confident that we will actually receive any of it.

One "Quiet Zone" lounge, preferably the panoramic Crows Nest type, that doesn't give you dawn till dusk inane music blasting from every nook and corner of the ship.

Late answer, however you did say "any Azamara fans?' As someone who sailed a lot with Princess & Holland America, I found as the ships got larger, more crowded, and definitely noisier, I looked around for a smaller line that wasn't astronomically expensive, and have found it in Azamara. The normal cabins are small and have very small bathrooms, so you may need a suite. It is all inclusive, however the provided wines are not the best, so you should consider the $35pd "Ultimate" package to get a better range of drinks and better wines. The ships are really nice, around 600/700 pax, itineraries are great, and they usually provide a free shuttle into ports.

Sparky 74: If the "X" is off the screen you might have to adjust the zoom to diminish the screen size.

This annoying ad pops up each time you open a new page. Easy enough to click on the exit "cross", but still annoying. Not surprised it's from NCL, one of my least preferred lines. Likely to get them new customers? Yeah, I don't think so.

Just a note about the R-class ships, which I first encountered on the Pacific Princess, and immediately became enamoured. Since then I've been working my way through the Azamara ex-R ships, Journey, Pursuit, Quest, and most recently the Onward, which is the ex-Pacific Princess one, and have become a devotee of the Azamara line, especially as the ships on other lines get larger, more crowded, and noisier!

Have a look at the Azamara 155 night world cruise on Azamara Onward, It's a lovely small ship, around 600 on board, and not as expensive as many of the other offerings. Plenty of inluded extras, like air and a generous on board credit.

Posters don't seem too impressed with the just announced 2026 program, however the 79 day South America Grand Voyage on the Quest in January really caught my attention. It has a very comprehensive itinerary, much better than most long round South America offerings I've seen from other cruise lines. As a cruiser who generally is not tempted by long itineraries like the many World Cruises on offer, this particular, very well thought out, long cruise appeals so much that I've gone ahead and placed a deposit in order to secure a place. Final payment is not until four months prior, in early September next year. Have a close look at that itinerary, and see what I mean.

Whatever the rights or wrongs of this affair, it has hit the headlines and airwaves world wide in a big way, and there is no doubt the the resulting publicity is not a good one for NCL, which already enjoyed the poorest image of the three big cruise companies.

Whatever the rights and wrongs of all this, the story has hit the headlines in a big way, and a lot of readers are going to perceive NCL in a very poor light, as the resulting publicity has some very negative connotations. I also wonder how other cruise lines would respond to a similar situation.

Grand Princess arrives back in Sydney on 22nd November 2025 and will mostly be cruising out of Brisbane until early April 2026.

At ports of call passengers were able to take one bottle 'free' on board and corkage was supposed to be charged on additional bottles. Really? I've never encountered this on Princess before, and they certainly don't advertise it. It almost sounds too good to be true.

Regarding the $179 wine package - yes, 5 wines - 2 red, 2 white, 1 rose - but no choice. You have to have those 5 wines, so if you are a red, or white, wine drinker 3 of the 5 wines are of no interest, Compare that miserable offering with the wine packages Holland America offer. Three different price structures, and a good selection of wines to choose from - yes, choice [or in the Princess case, lack of] is the key word here.

Fond memories of the Aria and Eden - what great little ships they were - gone but not forgotten.

I don't regard a repositioning cruise as a Grand Voyage. They are two very different animals. Repositioning cruises, often at discounted prices, usually involve crossing the Pacific, Atlantic or Indian Oceans with many sea days, and my conception of a Grand Voyage is one that incorporates a region intensive itinerary. They can be long, but not necessarily so. Let's compare one cruise lines' World and Grand Voyages: [overnight stays counted as 2 days]: Azamara 2024 World Cruise 155 nights 107 port days [sold out] Azamara 2025 World Cruise 155 nights 102 port days from $390pd Azamara 2026 World Cruise 155 nights 102 port days from $365pd GRAND VOYAGES: [35 to 70 days]: Europe [Nice to Amsterdam] 35 days with 1 sea day from $352pd South Africa to Portugal 37 days with 9 sea days from $365pd Canada to UK 39 days with 5 sea days from $380pd Japan to Greece 41 days with 10 sea days from $556pd Europe [Copenhagen to Barcelona] 46 days with 3 sea days from $396pd Europe [Oslo to Venice] 59 days with 4 sea days from $500pd South Africa to Italy 61 days with 8 sea days from $305pd Italy to South Africa 62 days with 9 sea days from $380pd New Zealand to Japan 62 days with 15 sea days from $355pd Greece to Australia 70 days with 10 sea days from $335pd This last one is obviously a big chunk of the world cruise, and for anyone contemplating a world cruise of 4 or 5 months, I would strongly suggest you divide it into two sections, undertaking one half one year and the other the following year.

Perhaps, but then they don't have as many sea days.

On the same ship for three months, at a fairly high price, may seem like a great idea, however if you look on the same cruise company site for GRAND CRUISES or GRAND VOYAGES, you will find shorter, but still quite long, offerings that very often have much more interesting itineraries that the World Cruises have, in locations that may be of more personal interest to you than the generally uninspired World Cruise offerings.

I know what you mean. I've always had a yearn to visit St.Petersburg, however this one probably joins my "miss list" for a very long time.