25th Anniversary in South of France?

[cruisinskier]

Hi all. We are new to Azamara although it comes highly recommended by friends who just booked their second Azamara cruise (who we are hoping to convince to join us on this cruise!). We have started looking at 2013 for our 25th anniversary (I am a bit of a planner :D). My wife really wants to do a trip to France so we are looking at the April 28, 2013 7 day sailing of the Quest (originally we were thinking Greek Islands and Turkey but with the economic climate we are going to wait a few years for that trip). This cruise starts in Barcelona (which we really enjoyed earlier this year and would be glad to go back), spends 2 days in Marseille, a full day at each of St Tropez and Cannes, and then overnights in each of Nice and Monaco. Our post cruise plans at this early stage are to then spend a few days seeing the sights driving from Monaco to Geneva where we would then fly on to Paris for 3-4 days to end the trip.

 

I guess my questions are, given the above itinerary, is there enough of a variety between these ports? The ports are fairly close together so wondering if there is enough variety and options for an active couple (we will both be 49 at the time). We like to see local history, visit scenic villages and we typically have a fairly full itinerary in each port to see as much as possible. We enjoy lots of walking to truly see the local culture. A few hours on a beach is enjoyable but we are not "beach people", I burn too easily and spend my time thinking of the sights I am missing. :o We typically do not do many ship tours as we would rather customize port excursions via private tours or DIY to maximize our time and see the things important to us.

 

We have just started doing some research and it looks like there is lots to do in the Marseille area (Aix, Arles, Avignon, etc) and we were not able to dock at Monaco earlier this year so other than Barcelona, all ports would be new to us.

 

In addition, given the full days in port and no sea days, we are looking at an oceanview room. Any suggestions would be appreciated (inital thoughts are a cat 05 so we are mid ship on deck 4.....we will avoid the small cabins on deck 6). Also, should we be booking now or wait until there are offers of OBC, etc (do prices go up enough to more than offset any "offers")? My other concern is that with these extra long times in port and therefore less time onboard, will we really get the full advantage of Azamara service, etc to warrant the price difference? (And yes I realize that one of the advantages is these longer times in port....)

 

So sell us on Azamara and the Cote D'Azur. Thank you in advance for your advice!! We appreciate all of your input!!

[California Native]

Bonjour!

My DH and I are close to your demographic and have similar tastes in exploring that you and your wife do. We live in California close to beaches so the last thing we do on vacation is go to the beach and in the South of France the beaches there are rocks ~ no joke!

1st a couple of suggestions for research. There are DK Top 10 books on Paris and Provence/Cote D Azur. These books are our favorites because they take the things to do options to a whole other level than what you find in typical guidebooks...many more hidden gems for each region. Now if you want a really good mainstream book try Rick Steves. (Personally, we have mixed feelings about him) but if you use his books as GUIDES not as the end all be all...they can be very helpful.

2nd Honestly, If you have no mobility concerns..I'm not sure that this itinerary is the best to do on a cruise ship. You aren't moving that much and it might be easier to rent a car or take a train or a combo of the 2

These are ports that have so much to do you will be gone all day and your port times allow it. The food in this region of France is so delicious

and you will be so busy I doubt you will eat that much onboard.

I dont see how this cruise will be a good value for your money and truly give you a chance to experience the wonderful onboard AZ experience. Only you can decide.

3rd ...So you chose the cruise...Since you have been to BCN before this will allow you to finish up many of the items you wanted to do and didn't have time for. The South of France....you asked about diversity...you will have quite a bit between each port...

Also, there will be the history..either religious, architecture, art...which just mixes things up throughout the day...When in Nice make sure to attend the farmers market....hundreds of olives ..just wow! In Monaco you will get the glitz BUT also head to the Oceanography Museum that was really fascinating. If you are interested in Vintage Cars there is the Prince Rainer Automobile Museum!!! (even I loved this museum and would go back again~ if we could just swipe that beachbuggy :D)

I would also suggest a trip to Eze a charming little village and if you love Matisse there's Vence. (a bit of a tourist trap, but its your 1st time)

Also if you are in Monaco on a Friday and have time you can take the train to Ventimiglia, Italy about 30 min. away and go to the famous Friday Market..it's where I learned what tutto 1 euro meant and my scarf collection began!

you can view the information we collected onboard Azamara here...

The speciality menus have not been updated.. I just received the new ones from AZ, but haven't had time to load them yet.

http://www.ourpassportstamps.com/AzamaraClubCruisesInfo.html

http://www.ourpassportstamps.com/AzamaraClubCruisesMenus.html

We highly recommend Azamara, the onboard experience is phenomenal. As I said above, I'm just not sure this is the itinerary I would recommend that you do to REALLY experience all they have to offer as a cruiseline and the onboard pampering you will receive.

Just my 2 cents.

Buon Viaggio

Karen

[cruisinskier]

Karen, thanks for your feedback. We will definitely check out the DK Top 10 books......I have searched briefly online and yes their content and layout does appear to be a good fit for the type of info we would be looking for.

 

Thanks for your links and your feedback in regards to the cruise. I think that is the big question that I am struggling with is would we get the value from the cruise? Of course, given the ports are so close we can also pick a day and just stay onboard to enjoy the Azamara experience for an entire day. We could then double back a bit at the next port. And there is just something about cruising and arriving by water.....

 

Given we intend to do a driving trip after this cruise (possibly up to Geneva with proposed stops in Grenoble and Chamonix in the Alps), we were looking at the cruise to start the trip but there is no real reason we could not do it by car.

 

Appreciate your feedback and will check out the links you have provided. Thanks again.

 

Jerry

[California Native]

By all means I think you should do Azamara..it's just this particular type of itinerary that has me concerned if this is the perfect "fit".

I LOVE cruising as a form of traveling and have been doing it since I was a small child about 45 days a year with my mom

My DH and I do a lot of immersion land travel throughout Europe, but have begun

combining cruising with land for the harder to reach areas.

For example next year we are doing a Canary Island Cruise.

and in 2013 we head to South America going around the horn in conjunction with land travel.

So, I completly understand your desire to combine the cruise with your driving trip.

You also asked about booking in advance. For us we need to, for a couple of reasons...We've used FF miles and those are very limited and my DH needs to submit a year in advance his time off request since we take 5 weeks off in 1 big chunk. Projects that he and his team work on can be affected because of our vacations.

We wont be retired for another 15 years so what we do still needs "approval"

If this isnt a concern for you, I would suggest waiting to see if specials come out. BUT at the same time watch the cruise to make sure it's not booking up.

I think the more both you and your wife research the region, your decision will be made for you.

Azamara is such a special onboard cruise experience, it would be nice if you could experience it fully.

Happy Anniversary!

K

[Andy]

The speciality menus have not been updated.. I just received the new ones from AZ, but haven't had time to load them yet.

 

 

Hi Where2next,

 

Just as an FYI, I've already updated the latest Specialty Dining Menus, which are from August 2011. They are located on the Prime C / Aqualina Menus thread : http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=671520

 

My understanding is, those are the latest menus. Thanks !