AZ's excursions/choices and descriptions

[azalice]

Azamara's shore excurions appear to be short on ideas; what is described as available also seems to be poorly explained. Anyone else feel this way? Might it be because the cruise line is small and its power to contract with providers is lacking? I am booked on the Aug.17 cruise to British Isles, etc. on the Journey. I compared the choices to some other cruise lines such as Princess and Holland America and AZ appears to me to come up short. And some of their narrative about a tour is not very well written - for example, a tour will say that you drive by and admire some buildings and then it says to be able to walk up some steps or walk 100 yards. But where are we walking and what will we see?

 

Alice

[California Native]

Azamara's shore excurions appear to be short on ideas; what is described as available also seems to be poorly explained. Anyone else feel this way? Might it be because the cruise line is small and its power to contract with providers is lacking? I am booked on the Aug.17 cruise to British Isles, etc. on the Journey. I compared the choices to some other cruise lines such as Princess and Holland America and AZ appears to me to come up short. And some of their narrative about a tour is not very well written - for example, a tour will say that you drive by and admire some buildings and then it says to be able to walk up some steps or walk 100 yards. But where are we walking and what will we see?

 

Alice

 

could you provide the actual shorex so I can read it and possibly decipher it ...

[MVPinBoynton]

could you provide the actual shorex so I can read it and possibly decipher it ...

 

I thought the same thing about our SE Asia cruise excursion offering. Very small selection. I was quite surprised and very glad we are doing private tours.

[SEASONEDCRUZER]

Perhaps the cruise line has come to the conclusion that since so many people gripe about the quality of the ship excursions, and therefore book private tours for themselves, they will offer just the bare minimum for those that do not care to book their own tours?

 

I know that I almost always book my own tours, and only book through the ship when something really catches my eye or when local tours are not offered. I find that local tours are usually much better and cost less as well!

 

JMHO :)

[California Native]

I think cruiselines are actually getting concerned about how many of us are doing DIY

I just received an extensive online survey from Princess Cruises asking me very detailed information about how I tour in port and why.

The only time we will book a shorex is if it is a port that we have significant concerns of making it back to the ship in time...

K.

[California Native]

I thought the same thing about our SE Asia cruise excursion offering. Very small selection. I was quite surprised and very glad we are doing private tours.

 

Now that you mention it, I just checked once again our shorex for 24 days in Oct/Nov that is Med and Holy Land

Amalfi and Sorrento are sorely lacking and Crete has nothing

I was hoping they would have offered Herculaneum and/or Paestum tours

[comcox]

When I had descriptions that were lacking for our recent Azamara cruise I wrote to them to get a better descriptions. I had to wait quite a while as they had to contact the supplier to get more information, but I did eventually get a very detailed one. Azamara seems to attract quite a few experienced travelers, or at least they did, who do their own private tours and unlike other cruise lines Azamara seems to support that.

 

I've also found with some cruise lines that go into smaller ports, which Azamara does, there simply is not enough tourist infrastructure to support a lot of excursions. I'm on a HAL Australia cruise this spring where I found that to be true in some ports.

[azalice]

Reading excursions for Dublin, the narrative says the following: "Close by is Trinity College. You can admire the fine buildings ------. Trinity's lawns and cobbled quads provide pleasant haven in heart of city. Note: must walk approx. 200 yards over even surfaces with 10 steps."

 

Does this mean we stare at the lawns and quads? Or do we enter part of the college? Do we see anything inside? Do we get a glimpse of the Book of Kells? The tour is called "Leisurely Dublin and Highlights."

 

Alice

[California Native]

If it doesnt say you WILL SEE or WILL DO ...then you won't

so no book of kells...they're nearby but it's not part of the tour.

admire = a drive by or get out and walk to the middle of an area and do a "spin tour" and then back on the bus

My impression regarding must walk or do steps is that if you have a stop somewhere or where the bus meets you to begin the tour ...you will have to do those steps and walk that distance

[MVPinBoynton]

If it doesnt say you WILL SEE or WILL DO ...then you won't

 

Truer words have never been written! :D When dealing with excursions, carefully read the fine print.

[Marie-Claude]

The tour is called "Leisurely Dublin and Highlights."

From my experience, tours that have 'Leisurely' or 'Highlights' often do not include visits unless specifically noted in the description.

 

Leisurely often means that you will be dropped off in an area to walk on your own for X amount of time... So you may have time to explore Trinity College, but probably not enough to get tickets and wait in line to see the Book of Kells.

 

MC

[oakdog]

I agree with you. Their description of shore excursions lacks info. Azamara seems to have a little difficulty in communication to it's clients. You can get the info if you call, but does not seem to be adequately distributed prior to cruising,.

[mare s.]

we're going on Med cruise in August and I noticed there were no shore excursions for Zakynthos. I emailed Azamara and 48 hours later received a response telling me that there would be excursions for this port and they were in the process of being finalized and would be posted at the end of February. The rep (and she even gave me her name and title) also gave me information about where Quest would be anchored and where we would be tendered to shore. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. Nice customer service.

[WooKeef]

I agree with the OP...the shore excursions are lacking and I typically do book my own excursion or do my own thing. However, on my next cruise in May I have decided to book two shore excursions because of the practicality of it. They have not even posted a shore excursion for Katakalon yet and we are just under three months from departure!:eek: