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It Doesn't Get Any Better - Journey July '20, Black Sea. Calling My Name!

need2cruisesoon

By need2cruisesoon,
in Azamara

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BBMacLaird

BBMacLaird

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, need2cruisesoon said:

Wow just found out that AZ will be cruising the Black Sea, on my bucket list and seriously looking to book.

 

Always wanted to see Varna and Constanta. And of course return visit to the Beautiful city of Istanbul for a topper.

 

Thanks AZ.

 

 Hi Need2cruiseSoon, I agree...this is a fabulous itinerary of the Black Sea! I cruised a similar itinerary back in the 90's and it is still very memorable to me. The Steps of Odessa (actual name: Potemkin Stairs) were so impressive. I just looked online and see that they have been significantly 'beautified' since then. If I think of it I'll look for my old photo albums for a picture.

I still have various knickknacks I brought home from that region.

 

https://www.azamara.com/voyage/jr14u092/14-night-black-sea-voyage

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travelberlin "Live from...." Rare

travelberlin

Posted
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This is a very nice itinerary. As a matter of fact, our first cruise with Azamara was to the Black Sea. If I remember properly it was in 2009. Some of the ports were different though. Enjoy it. Maybe one day we will cruise again in that region.

Ivi

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need2cruisesoon

need2cruisesoon

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2 hours ago, donaldsc said:

We had booked that cruise.  However, we found another cruise on Oceania that did both the Black Sea and the Greek Islands that was better for us.  However, the Azamara Black Sea cruise is also a good one.

 

DON

 

Your cruise '21?

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john1970

john1970

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I really think Azamara have lost the plot with pricing. I can see Oceania, Crystal and Ponant who are less expensive for Black sea cruises. I know it's a very popular cruise but would you risk booking this far out at these prices? 

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

Posted
Posted (edited)
36 minutes ago, john1970 said:

I really think Azamara have lost the plot with pricing. I can see Oceania, Crystal and Ponant who are less expensive for Black sea cruises. I know it's a very popular cruise but would you risk booking this far out at these prices? 

I totally agree. I’ve just looked at it. Crazy pricing.  Wait and see it half like it did for me to Antarctica on Pursuit earlier this year.  I will not play this game Azamara have going at the moment.  I hate to put a dampener on the op, but much as I love Azamara it is never worth this price.

 

I’m taking a current screen shot from the U.K. site from just now.  We will see......

 

Phil

7F0937EC-FC6F-46CC-B179-4F4A14535C58.png

Edited by excitedofharpenden
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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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We did the similar voyage on Quest in 2009 and had hoped to revisit next year. I appreciate it’s an itinerary that will be popular and so the bottom liners will be out in force when pricing but they scared us right away, just as they did Antarctica. I will be interested to see where the prices eventually land but we’ve made alternative plans now.  As others say, crazy prices.  

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excitedofharpenden

excitedofharpenden

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1 hour ago, uktog said:

We did the similar voyage on Quest in 2009 and had hoped to revisit next year. I appreciate it’s an itinerary that will be popular and so the bottom liners will be out in force when pricing but they scared us right away, just as they did Antarctica. I will be interested to see where the prices eventually land but we’ve made alternative plans now.  As others say, crazy prices.  

They did the same with Antarctica saying it was a limited trip they hadn’t done for a while and the ship wasn’t even full for the sailing.  I know it’s a different part of the world, but all the same.  Booking an itinerary to the Black Sea this far out would also make me unsure as to what it would eventually become. It’s not a stable part of the world.  

 

Phil

Edited by excitedofharpenden
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Bloodaxe

Bloodaxe

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2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

They did the same with Antarctica saying it was a limited trip they hadn’t done for a while and the ship wasn’t even full for the sailing.  I know it’s a different part of the world, but all the same.  Booking an itinerary to the Black Sea this far out would also make me unsure as to what it would eventually become. It’s not a stable part of the world.  

 

Phil

 

I would love to book this cruise but no chance at these prices, will wait and see if things change, if not so be it.

Also looking at other Azamara cruises but have no intention of ever booking early again.

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Azamarajunkie

Azamarajunkie

Posted
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12 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I totally agree. I’ve just looked at it. Crazy pricing.  Wait and see it half like it did for me to Antarctica on Pursuit earlier this year.  I will not play this game Azamara have going at the moment.  I hate to put a dampener on the op, but much as I love Azamara it is never worth this price.

 

I’m taking a current screen shot from the U.K. site from just now.  We will see......

 

Phil

7F0937EC-FC6F-46CC-B179-4F4A14535C58.png

Unbelievable!  We booked this cruise when it was first released and have a Club Continent for less than the current price of the Interior stateroom, and we thought that was a lot at the time!  There have already been three ports of call changed since then. 

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hubofhockey

hubofhockey

Posted
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The Azamara prices don't appear to be sustainable, but that cruise is only 9 months away.  

1 hour ago, Azamarajunkie said:

Unbelievable!  We booked this cruise when it was first released and have a Club Continent for less than the current price of the Interior stateroom, and we thought that was a lot at the time!  There have already been three ports of call changed since then. 

 

It must be selling well.  The itinerary still looks outstanding, but that current price point is incredibly high.  Maybe it is at one of those points in between promotions and will come back to reality soon enough.  

 

Agree with my friend Need2CruiseSoon that this is an itinerary that is on "the list".  I want to see how we like our first AZ cruise, which starts in 10 days, and then maybe we'll look to do more.  That Oceania itinerary referenced above is not good for people still in the workforce because it's 24 days.

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need2cruisesoon

need2cruisesoon

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8 hours ago, Azamarajunkie said:

Unbelievable!  We booked this cruise when it was first released and have a Club Continent for less than the current price of the Interior stateroom, and we thought that was a lot at the time!  There have already been three ports of call changed since then. 

 

What ports have been changed, can you enlighten?

 

Also, I think pricing is high because this is one of the very few cruise lines to do the Black Sea, what other choices are there for next summer?

 

Hub, hope you have a great cruise with AZ you must me pumped as only 10 days out...

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Azamarajunkie

Azamarajunkie

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4 minutes ago, need2cruisesoon said:

 

What ports have been changed, can you enlighten?

 

Also, I think pricing is high because this is one of the very few cruise lines to do the Black Sea, what other choices are there for next summer?

 

Hub, hope you have a great cruise with AZ you must me pumped as only 10 days out...

Skiathos, Trabzon and Kavala were deleted and Istanbul added at the beginning and end of the cruise, followed by an extra half day in Piraeus before disembarkation, all these changes for us personally are a minus as the deleted ports were firsts for us, and we’ve already done Istanbul a number of times before and have no added benefit for us. However I recognise that for some the opportunity to visit Istanbul is a plus.  Also not sure what benefit there is to a half day and overnight in Piraeus is as most of our previous Med cruises have started/finished there and we are already staying in Athens prior to the cruise.

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need2cruisesoon

need2cruisesoon

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14 minutes ago, Azamarajunkie said:

Skiathos, Trabzon and Kavala were deleted and Istanbul added at the beginning and end of the cruise, followed by an extra half day in Piraeus before disembarkation, all these changes for us personally are a minus as the deleted ports were firsts for us, and we’ve already done Istanbul a number of times before and have no added benefit for us. However I recognise that for some the opportunity to visit Istanbul is a plus.  Also not sure what benefit there is to a half day and overnight in Piraeus is as most of our previous Med cruises have started/finished there and we are already staying in Athens prior to the cruise.

 

Wow, thanks.

 

I Googled all those ports and they look amazing (2 Greece, 1 Turkey) that really is a bummer.....

 

I'm sure they'll be others as well as we get closer.

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donaldsc

donaldsc

Posted
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5 hours ago, Azamarajunkie said:

Skiathos, Trabzon and Kavala were deleted and Istanbul added at the beginning and end of the cruise, followed by an extra half day in Piraeus before disembarkation, all these changes for us personally are a minus as the deleted ports were firsts for us, and we’ve already done Istanbul a number of times before and have no added benefit for us. However I recognise that for some the opportunity to visit Istanbul is a plus.  Also not sure what benefit there is to a half day and overnight in Piraeus is as most of our previous Med cruises have started/finished there and we are already staying in Athens prior to the cruise.

 

That was one reason why we cancelled the Azamara cruise.

 

DON

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