New Azamara--What Value Vs. Oceania

[Reggiefan]

Susan, I agree with your approach. On the cruise itineraries discussed above, the time spent in port at a number of ports seems limited. I will add that Azamara has other cruises where the time spent in port is considerable with the ship leaving frequently at midnight. An example is one on May 30 from Nice to Rome that looks interesting but that is only five nights (Nice, Santa Margarita, La Spezia, Livorno, Bastia, Rome). If this is the direction that Azamara is going in, it looks as though there is a niche for this type of highly port-intensive cruise.

[California Native]

Where2next, since you have taken the time to review the cruise itineraries--thank you--and have expressed an interest in assisting, I will take you up on your kind offer. My caveat is that I have no definitive plans, though I do have general ideas on which I am trying to gather information and through which I am trying to sift.

 

The general ideas:

 

1. Time. The time frame is fairly fixed. Next year. Probably April through early June. Mid- to late October is a possibility. Because of heat and crowds, I want to avoid late June, July and August. Because of the part of the country where I live, I cannot go from late August to early October because I do not want to be in Europe during hurricane season.

 

Totally agree with you with these timeframes

 

2. Place. Definitely the Mediterranean; would like to see Rome and Venice; would like Italy to be a good part of any cruise; and would like Italy to be the focus of any land trip.

 

got it, my mind is now moving towards land I have done this cities by land and cruise

 

 

3. Duration. I have a slight bit of flexibility. But ideally would like the trip to be about 14 to 15 days including the days on which we arrive and depart.

 

This narrows you to a 10-12 day cruise, you always want to arrive 1 but preferably 2 days ahead for a cruise. NEVER the day of.

 

4. Interest in cruise. Fairly high, but not a must. This is an anniversary trip. My wife cruised on a large cruise ship in the Caribbean perhaps 28 years ago and did not care for the experience. I have never cruised. A cruise that is port-intensive, that uses a smaller ship, and that does not have formal nights sounds appealing. Eventually we will try a cruise, though again it does not necessarily have to be this trip.

 

We did Italy for our Honeymoon for 3 weeks..It was actually plan B as the Star Princess caught fire and our Baltic cruise was cancelled.

 

5. Trip structure. Except for one-day trips or city walks, I have never used a tour company. However, my wife and I do not speak a word of Italian (whereas last year in France family members on the trip spoke some French and in Germany I know a bit of German). And I (and on any trip I will be the tour guide between the two of us) lack the knowledge of Italy that I have had of other countries I have visited. As a result, I am looking for some level of structure in any trip to Italy and will be looking at smaller tour companies with regard to land travel.

 

We dont speak any languages fluently...in fact our trip last year my DH and I went on a land trip to Turkey, Greece and Bulgaria..we were off the beaten path...had to deal with no English..alphabets were Arabic, Greek, Cyrillic ...we did fine!!!!! Honestly, if you know the basics

you will fine..MANY people speak English in Italy..if all else fails look for some 21 years old and younger..they are required to take English in school!!!!!

 

6. Interests. Principally the natural beauty, the architecture and the culture of the country. I have a serious interest in history, though not necessarily in classical history or the Renaissance. I have a serious interest in politics, though I am not going to spend any time looking at things governmental in Italy. And we both have only a modest interest in art museums.

 

GOT IT!

 

Here's what we did for 3 weeks in Italy by land ...other places I've been to numerous times by sea (Napoli, Amalfi Coast, Pompeii, Sicily)

http://ourpassportstamps.com/Italy_Trip.html

This is the best I can currently do.

 

So I will ask the general questions:

 

1. Does a cruise sound like a good idea for us? If so, I take it we are looking at the right cruise lines.

 

I'm not so sure at this point..You have never cruised, your wife had a bad experience....

Keep in mind, these days with cruising..you DO NOT have to do formal night, you can order room service on your balcony or go to the buffet.

On some ships room service will allow you to order of the dining room menu..so you can still get the lobster..

It is consider respectful to stay out of entertainment venues or the atrium/shops etc area if you are not properly

dressed...but that's a whole other debate or issue for another thread.

 

2. With a Med cruise, what would be your favorite itinerary?

 

I like itineraries that take me to the off the wall ports that logistically take effort to get to by land..the more off the grid the better....

but that's because I've been to the places you haven't been to yet..

So, I'm looking at this what is best for YOU not ME

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I've responded above in purple...hopefully this worked

 

 

 

 

[California Native]

A couple of thoughts...

This week or this weekend head to your local bookstore..

Go to the section where they have the big picture books..

the ones that you would set on your coffee table.

At Barnes Noble they are in the Bargain section under travel or world

Look for any having to do with Italy...

Rome, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Amalfi

When you are looking at them, see what "speaks to you"

that will help you on your path of narrowing what to do.

Go to your local library and inquire about checking

Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa videos....

Go to itunes...Rick Steves has free podcasts..there is also other travel shows that are podcasts that are FREE

Check online for your local public stations programming...look to see if there will be any travel series coming up.

These tips should help point you in the right direction.

[Reggiefan]

Thanks again for the help. I have a small stack of books on Italy at home, including the Italy book and DVDs of Rick Steves. Yes, I need to do more homework.

[Jade13]

I forgot to add after next year we have 12 more countries to visit in Europe..

but I don't think that list will be crossed of anytime soon...

we need to wait a bit longer on Belarus, Macedonia, and Kosovo

 

We've been to all the continents except Antartica..

 

and that my dear..you have me beat on!!! :D

 

Well, we have been to all 7 continents but it has taken us a long time. We do not have time to do any btb cruises.

 

Interestingly, we are taking my teenage step DD and her friend on the Celebrity Century 4 night this week and I am having a hard time getting excited except for the fact I realized we have not yet been to Mexico.

 

You might have an answer to this, but do you know of any web site with a printable check list with all of the countries? I know they change from time to time. Even better would be an excel sheet with all the countries you could download and just check off where you have been which would save the time of typing one up.

[Jade13]

 

--Azamara has a cruise departing Rome on April 17, 2011. The cruise is seven nights. The itinerary is as follows: Rome, Sorrento, Taormina, Corfu (one night), Dubrovnik and Venice (one night). I was told the base cost for a veranda cabin for that cruise is $5,340. I do not know the cabin number or the veranda level, and for my purposes at this time, the information that I received is sufficient.

 

To those who have asked questions in the last few posts, I hope this information helps.

 

Is this is the itinerary you are looking at? These ports are really standard and a lot of $$$ for 7 nights.

 

I know you gave the options of Oceania and Azamara, but you might want to look at HAL. Noordam has 10 nights round trip from Rome where you could start with a land vacation (around Italy) and/or do two btb's making it 20 nights. We did East one year and came back the next for the West. The Western Med included Tunisia in North Africa. The Eastern half included Malta which, besides Rome, was my favorite port.

 

HAL is overall our favorite cruise line although our one experience on Azamara was great.

 

On HAL you could also looking into paying for a Suite. They also have or had a 12 night in or out of Venice as another option.

 

We are only willing to pay the premium for a very unusual itinerary (such as Antarctica with Swan Hellenic and Abercrombie & Kent, or the Arctic on Silversea). Azamara has some really unique itineraries.

 

 

7 Night Adriatic Coast Cruise on Azamara Journey

from 17-Apr-2011 to 24-Apr-2011

Itinerary

 

No. of Nights: 7 Nights Destination: Europe Ship: Departs: Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

 

 

 

Date

Port/City

Sun, Apr 17

Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Depart 6:00 PM

Mon, Apr 18

Sorrento, Italy Tendered Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 6:00 PM

Tue, Apr 19

Taormina, Sicily Tendered Arrive 8:00 AM Depart 11:00 PM

Wed, Apr 20

Corfu, Greece Docked Arrive 6:00 PM

Thu, Apr 21

Corfu, Greece Docked Depart 2:00 PM

Fri, Apr 22

Dubrovnik, Croatia Docked Arrive 7:00 AM Depart 5:00 PM

Sat, Apr 23

Venice, Italy Docked Arrive 2:00 PM

Sun, Apr 24

Venice, Italy

[California Native]

You might have an answer to this, but do you know of any web site with a printable check list with all of the countries? I know they change from time to time. Even better would be an excel sheet with all the countries you could download and just check off where you have been which would save the time of typing one up.

 

 

Here you go...just go into world

http://mosttraveledpeople.com/

[Paulchili]

 

You might have an answer to this, but do you know of any web site with a printable check list with all of the countries? I know they change from time to time. Even better would be an excel sheet with all the countries you could download and just check off where you have been which would save the time of typing one up.

 

Jade13,

try this site:

http://www.travelerscenturyclub.org/

Mind you, this list is very generous and lists Alaska separate from US, Madeira separate from Portugal and so on (these are "gifts" in order that people can run up their list of countries visited).

These are aphabetical lists of the countries:

http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_of_the_world.htm

http://www.internetworldstats.com/list2.htm

http://www.travelerscenturyclub.org/

Here is another one:

http://www.worldatlas.com/nations.htm

and finally Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_territories_by_continent

Hope this helps.

BTW, we have been to over 130 countries (official list, not traveler's club list) with several new ones to come this year (we hope)

[California Native]

BTW, we have been to over 130 countries (official list, not traveler's club list) with several new ones to come this year (we hope)

 

 

There are all sorts of ways they can be counted..

If you've been to France ..do you count Tahiti, etc.

I've decided to count it!!!

If you've been to UK do you count BVI

Also, you have to decide...if your train goes through the country but you don't get off can you count it??

When we did Eastern Europe our train from Hungary to Slovenia went through Croatia, actually stopped in Zagreb

but we didnt get off..so I told my DH he couldnt count it!

He had to wait 2 more years until we actually went to

Croatia!

roughly estimating we've been to about 66 countries...

and yes I'm counting San Marino AND the Vatican...

I have passport stamps for both!!!

I need to get moving here..

we need to win the lottery so we no longer face the constraints

of money and vacation days...

and clearly I have to stop going back to other regions of the same country..

:D

[Paulchili]

we need to win the lottery so we no longer face the constraints

of money and vacation days...

 

and clearly I have to stop going back to other regions of the same country..

 

:D

 

Good luck with the lottery;) and continue to enjoy your travels as it is obvious that traveling is a passion with you and that you are very knowlegeable about it :)

[Jade13]

Here you go...just go into world

 

http://mosttraveledpeople.com/

 

Wow, and I was just looking for "Italy", "France", "Spain".

[Jade13]

There are all sorts of ways they can be counted..

 

If you've been to France ..do you count Tahiti, etc.

I've decided to count it!!!

 

If you've been to UK do you count BVI

 

Also, you have to decide...if your train goes through the country but you don't get off can you count it??

When we did Eastern Europe our train from Hungary to Slovenia went through Croatia, actually stopped in Zagreb

but we didnt get off..so I told my DH he couldnt count it!

He had to wait 2 more years until we actually went to

Croatia!

 

roughly estimating we've been to about 66 countries...

and yes I'm counting San Marino AND the Vatican...

I have passport stamps for both!!!

 

I need to get moving here..

 

we need to win the lottery so we no longer face the constraints

of money and vacation days...

 

and clearly I have to stop going back to other regions of the same country..

 

:D

 

You can get a passport stamp at the Vatican? I did mail a postcard from their post office.

[susiesan]

I think that your figures might be a little high for Azamara. We just booked a b2b for next year (great itinerary if you are looking for Italy/Greek Isles 4/24/2011 and 5/1/2011 on Journey!) We have a veranda cabin (7026) on both legs. Our total for 2 without air works out to $697 per night. We never book air through the cruiseline. If we don't use ff miles, we have found that we can do better pricewise on our own. I did a similar comparison on Oceania and I believe that it was closer to the $900 per night that you mentioned. We have taken both land tours and cruises. We enjoy the cruises because you unpack once and it is just a bit more relaxing.

 

Wow, AZ prices have skyrocketed. We did a b2b in the Med in April/May 2009, Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens. 14 days, 12 ports, 5 countries. We had a veranda cabin on deck 7 and paid $257 a night for 2 for the cabin with pp gratuities and a $200 OBC. Booked our own air. it was a great cruise. No way would I do it if the costs are this high now.

 

Reggiefan: have you looked into Star Clipper cruises in the Med?

[redshine]

Have not been on a cruise in 30 years. Want a cruise where I am not constantly having to pay for things. We also want a cruise that is upscale

[Paulchili]

Have not been on a cruise in 30 years. Want a cruise where I am not constantly having to pay for things. We also want a cruise that is upscale

 

Welcome to CC.

If you want a truly all-inclusive and truly upscale cruise, you probably want Silversea, Regent or Seabourn. If you want "upscale light" and "inclusive light", you are in the right place.

[Jade13]

Wow, AZ prices have skyrocketed. We did a b2b in the Med in April/May 2009, Rome to Venice, Venice to Athens. 14 days, 12 ports, 5 countries. We had a veranda cabin on deck 7 and paid $257 a night for 2 for the cabin with pp gratuities and a $200 OBC. Booked our own air. it was a great cruise. No way would I do it if the costs are this high now.

 

You are saying you paid $1,799.00pp for a Verandah for 14 nights with taxes and prepaid gratuities (plus $100.00pp OBC). That means the 7 night cruise was $900.00pp.

 

The 12 night (Copenhagen to Ireland) next year in August is $4,449.00pp before taxes.

 

I doubt we will see prices like that again.

[susiesan]

You are saying you paid $1,799.00pp for a Verandah for 14 nights with taxes and prepaid gratuities (plus $100.00pp OBC). That means the 7 night cruise was $900.00pp.

 

The 12 night (Copenhagen to Ireland) next year in August is $4,449.00pp before taxes.

 

I doubt we will see prices like that again.

 

Yes, that's what I ended up paying. There were 4 price drops over the course of the 11 months from the time I booked until we sailed. Each time the price went down we rebooked. We even were able to move from an inside to a veranda for less than the inside started out at.

 

I compared prices for a 12 day Caribbean cruise for Feb. 2011 between AZ and O and O was actually less than AZ even with the old pricing schedule. I booked with O. Unless AZ prices are at least the same as O I won't be sailing with them again. Too bad because I really enjoyed my 2 AZ cruises. For me, the value is no longer there.

[Susan-M]

 

I compared prices for a 12 day Caribbean cruise for Feb. 2011 between AZ and O and O was actually less than AZ even with the old pricing schedule. I booked with O. Unless AZ prices are at least the same as O I won't be sailing with them again. Too bad because I really enjoyed my 2 AZ cruises. For me, the value is no longer there.

 

Just curious what the difference in pricing between O and A was at the time that you booked?

[susiesan]

Just curious what the difference in pricing between O and A was at the time that you booked?

 

AZ Feb. 15, 2011 12 day, Cat 12 inside, cabin 4035, $2137 pp, prepaid grats

O Jan. 22, 2011 12 day, Cat G inside, cabin 4035, $1579, prepaid grats

 

I booked with O for Jan. 22. The sailing was canceled for refurb in drydock and I was moved to Feb. 25, 2011 in cat F for the same price and amenities.

[maryann ns]

I had a similar experience to susiesan for last November's cruise. I went from a porthole on deck three to a balcony with prepaid gratuities and $200 OBC for considerable less than the original price. We had a fabulous time.

 

For our next one we got a great deal with an online agent. I see that deal is gone. However if they don't fill the ships, I'm sure there will be deals.

[Redtravel]

They price decreases and OBC happened on my spring 2009 cruise. On my April 1, 2010 cruise, it did not happen. Cruise was nice, but value for money was way different from the previous cruise. The ship was 1/2 empty and was filled with lots of TAs. I know that the cruise values of 2009 were the result of the financial problems...but the travel deals couldn't be beat. It was nice at the time. Times are changing. Get ready to pay higher prices on Azamara or find an alternate way to travel. There are still some good last minute deals if you look around.

[Jade13]

They price decreases and OBC happened on my spring 2009 cruise. On my April 1, 2010 cruise, it did not happen. Cruise was nice, but value for money was way different from the previous cruise.

 

But, did you pay anything like the prices for 2011? Or, do you book late. Azamara was offering OBC and prepaid gratuities for months in 2009 for the 2010 cruises. It is hard to tell what prices people are booking at because it seems everyone on CC had a bargain.