Cruise Comments re: Greek Isles and History October 11 to 21, 2015

[nordski]

I've already posted positive comments concerning attention to dietary concerns and announcements of future Internet enhancements that were part of our recent cruise experience. Thanks to those who responded on this forum.

 

Below are the plus's, minus's and interestings for our total experience.

 

Pluses:

 

1/ At the beginning of our cruise Captain Magnus wisely altered the itinerary to avoid some bad weather, reversing visits to the Ports of Kavala and Kanakkale. This change entailed extra travel and therefore, I assume, expenses. Another example of Azamara prioritizing its clients' interests.

 

2/ Service throughout the cruise was exemplary. Wonderful to see such a high retention rate for familiar faces who add to our enjoyment.

 

3/ We experienced absolutely no pressure to upgrade our selection of drinks. Thanks to those such as uktog who had expressed concern on evaluation forms on earlier cruises, albeit on Quest I believe. Also we did not find the presence of Park West onboard intrusive.

 

4/ The ship's tours in Turkey were of high quality indeed. For example, we had a special guide to the Terrace Houses at Ephesus: a retired archaeologist who had worked on the site for 40+ years.

 

5/ There was a large American affinity group of about 300. At no time did their use of public spaces impact our enjoyment. And, in fact, we think their inexperience with the ship's facilities actually increased our opportunity for quality time on the sun deck at Windows. Veteran Azamara cruisers would have beaten us there.

 

6/ Many of the staff are truly excited about the upcoming refurbishment.

 

Minuses:

 

1/ Check In was somewhat amateurish. Perhaps this was because we were among the first to embark, and they seemed to be training new staff. The individuals looking after our luggage seemed unnervingly nonchalant.

 

2/ We'd like to see more time offered to Max diFaz to entertain at dinner time. Say, starting at 5:30. We enjoyed the offerings at this time on Constellation.

 

3/ The ship's tours in Greece were of decidedly mixed quality. The best was of Akrotiri.

 

4/ The new ballpoint pens onboard are not nearly as classy as the old ones. Hardly worthwhile "borrowing" :).

 

Interesting:

 

1/ Tony Markey told us that, under the refurbishment, there had been plans to create a greater "rake" for seats in the Cabaret. I hope that's the correct term.

However, engineering studies concerning the weight of steel involved pointed out that Journey would then adopt an interesting profile when attempting to cruise.

 

2/ The large affinity group made meeting other cruisers somewhat more difficult. And the demographics were unusual in that there were fewer UK cruisers on board. We missed them, although we did meet two delightful couples on the last few days.

 

3/ Although Norovirus is the typical concern, on this cruise there seemed to be an inordinate number of those with chest conditions. I think I have created a neologism when I called this situation a " bronchitiship"

 

4/ For the first time we were in a suite (N2). Our butler, Sooria, was energetic, dedicated and personable. A real treat. We really enjoyed the extra room and Internet minutes.

However, given our style of cruising, most of the other "perks" were largely inconsequential. I'm certain others make fuller use of them.

Thus, unless we can get an upgrade through the relatively cheap LCV programme, the suites are not good value for us. But, I will keep the gold sea pass card as a wonderful memory.

 

Hope my comments are relevant, and in particular useful to carfla7 who will soon set sail.

[carfla7]

Thanks for all that Nordski. I seem to spend spare moments in my almost OCD looking over info for the cruise next week. Should be in Nice next Saturday. You have confirmed what I suspected about the category N2 but it is still going to be an amazing treat.

I have seen (and suffered from) many chesty type infections this autumn. I hope you didn't catch anything.

Glad your experience was mostly good and hope you have another one to look forward to soon.

[uktog]

Lovely review. You have identified many of the things that make Azamara so good, we too enjoy being looked after by Sooria when we get the chance, though we are not always suite folks.

 

Interesting your comment about the guide in Ephesus. I am assuming it was a ships tour? If so that is the same person we had last year on an Azamara tour and why when people post all land discoveries are bad...you get better with private guides I say...not always

[Host Jazzbeau]

Lovely review. You have identified many of the things that make Azamara so good, we too enjoy being looked after by Sooria when we get the chance, though we are not always suite folks.

 

Interesting your comment about the guide in Ephesus. I am assuming it was a ships tour? If so that is the same person we had last year on an Azamara tour and why when people post all land discoveries are bad...you get better with private guides I say...not always

 

It sounds like the guide we had on this tour with Crystal -- clearly one of the things that the better cruise lines can do which set them above the mass-market. We're going back to Ephesus in the spring with Celebrity, and they don't offer anything like this. I'm planning to DIY, and would gladly hire this guide if I knew how to contact him.

Edited October 25, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau

[portofrome]

Thanks for your comments.

[nordski]

Thanks for all that Nordski. I seem to spend spare moments in my almost OCD looking over info for the cruise next week. Should be in Nice next Saturday. You have confirmed what I suspected about the category N2 but it is still going to be an amazing treat.

I have seen (and suffered from) many chesty type infections this autumn. I hope you didn't catch anything.

Glad your experience was mostly good and hope you have another one to look forward to soon.

 

Hope these comments help. Or do they just aggravate the OCD :).

 

Thanks for the kind wishes. My wife has succumbed to the dread cough but, so far, I am healthy.

 

All the best on your cruise next week. Hope you return with glowing reviews.

Edited October 25, 2015 by nordski

[nordski]

Lovely review. You have identified many of the things that make Azamara so good, we too enjoy being looked after by Sooria when we get the chance, though we are not always suite folks.

 

Interesting your comment about the guide in Ephesus. I am assuming it was a ships tour? If so that is the same person we had last year on an Azamara tour and why when people post all land discoveries are bad...you get better with private guides I say...not always

 

I guess we thought a butler might be rather judgmental of us like Carson on Downton Abbey :). Glad we were disabused of that notion. Sooria was delightful.

 

It was indeed a ship's tour at Ephesus. The gentleman was rather squat in stature and walked with a decided limp up and down the stairs (but his mobility was putting many of us to shame). His affable enthusiasm was infectious and compared very favourably to guides who provide a rote recitation of dates, personages and events. And then call it "history".

 

I wonder if the evaluations filled out at the end of tours in Turkey helped to create a better experience. Certainly the guides seemed very concerned that they receive a good review.

 

No such evaluations were provided on our Greek tours. However, the guide at Akrotiri shared the aforementioned gentleman's passion. It was memorable.

[nordski]

It sounds like the guide we had on this tour with Crystal -- clearly one of the things that the better cruise lines can do which set them above the mass-market. We're going back to Ephesus in the spring with Celebrity, and they don't offer anything like this. I'm planning to DIY, and would gladly hire this guide if I knew how to contact him.

 

He would certainly be a good investment.

[Lottie A]

Thanks for an interesting review nordski and so glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

Hope "Mrs nordski" will feel better soon.

 

I'm on Journey on Nov 1st....same cruise as carfla....can't wait, but sadly no Sicily this time!

 

I also agree about Max starting his entertaining at 5:30 pm.....but I fear that Max wouldn't! :D

 

We are taking him out to lunch on his day off so I'll ask him his thoughts....probably won't be printable here though!

[nordski]

Thanks for your comments.

 

You are welcome.

 

Thanks for the response.

[uktog]

Nordski

That is the same guy!

We said if all the Land Discoveries guides were like him we would certainly do many more ship run trips

However our previous luck up to Ephesus had been if there is one bad guide we get him/her

We told Heike this, she laughed

Then in a port her parents were onboard and Heike joined them incognito on a trip. As she boarded the mini coach she saw us and said don't worry your luck will change today

At the first stop she came right to us and said "oh dear it hasn't "

We laughed that whole day as it got worse and worse -Basil Fawlty comes to mind

Unfortunately for the guide at the end of the trip we saw Heike, the Land Discoveries Manager and I would assume the tour company manager in conversation and from the body language the feedback was being firmly delivered so Azamara are keeping a close eye on things

[nordski]

Thanks for an interesting review nordski and so glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

 

 

Hope "Mrs nordski" will feel better soon.

 

 

 

I'm on Journey on Nov 1st....same cruise as carfla....can't wait, but sadly no Sicily this time!

 

 

 

I also agree about Max starting his entertaining at 5:30 pm.....but I fear that Max wouldn't! :D

 

 

 

We are taking him out to lunch on his day off so I'll ask him his thoughts....probably won't be printable here though!

 

 

I'd be glad to hear the "gist" of Max's response in a PG format :).

 

Thanks for the kind wishes for Mrs. nordski.

 

Perhaps the upcoming 2018 itineraries will provide an opportunity to revisit a wonderful island.

 

Hope you can guide carfla in the nuances of Azamara. But why does that thought make me

a wee bit nervous for her? [emoji3]

[carfla7]

This lady has been in training for the cruise so happy to be "guided" by anyone especially if a bar might be involved!

[DaKa2002]

We enjoyed our first Azamara cruise, this on the Journey from Istanbul to Athens. This was the smallest ship we have cruised on to date.

Our personal comments:

All our tours in Turkey and Greece were Azamara sponsored tours. We were, overall, happy with all of the tours and the guides.

We were unhappy with the general quality of food in the MDR, although service was pretty good there.

To escape the MDR, we booked the three Chef's Tables and 4 specialty restaurant dinners (at our expense). The Chef's Table experiences were fantastic! Our small group preferred Prime C to Aqualina, yet service in both was excellent.

The Windows Cafe and Pool Bar & Grill provided good selections for breakfast and lunch with very good service.

My wife was not happy with the spa, their offerings or the service providers.

Although we saw very few of the officers of the ship during the 10 night cruise, many of the ship's servers and bar tenders learned our names by the second night, as well as our favorite drinks!

This was a very itinerary intensive trip; we did not attend most entertainment opportunities.

We also have to recognize Azamara and the large group onboard (around half the ship's passengers) for their planning of the group functions that did not impact the rest of us and our enjoyment of the cruise (IMHO).