Azamara Cruisers - How are things where YOU are

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, nordski said:

All of us need to keep our fingers crossed! But you must be proud to potentially play a positive role in your state.

 

Thanks for posting here. It is a respite from the rancour sometimes found on other threads, often reflecting a rancour all too prevalent throughout our societies.

 

 

Thanks Nordski. I am happy that I can help. And I love returning to the Azamara postings, for the reasons you stated. So longing to be cruising again though!

Betsey

[Grandma Cruising]

Thanks for your good wishes Mackdogmolly. I’ll post pictures.

[uktog]

Unfortunately Greece is on our banned list as is Portugal so we decided it was pointless waisting effort trying to find foreign trips and so had a brilliant 10 days on the islands of Scotland.  

 

So safe, I have never seen such care being taken on the mainland but it did not impact on our enjoyment.  The service was better than on any cruise ship - and that was just in local small boutique hotels or b and bs, the biggest one was stayed in had 20 rooms.  

Food was outstanding, lobsters and venison were standard (sadly its very hard for the fishermen to get anything to their main European markets so we were doing our bit to help them).  

 

All this is around 2 - 3 hours drive from Glasgow or Edinburgh so once our borders open up  I would encourage land trips to be thought about in Scotland.  The per day rate including all the other expenses (wine, food, drams, entrance fees etc) was less than 50% of an Azamara inside room

The beach by the way is Calgary Bay - the original calgary that is

 

 

[Bloodaxe]

Beautiful pictures UKtog, we are also only planning to stay close to home for the foreseeable future.

No inclination to fly, any cruises will have to be round trip Uk which would probably rule out Azamarna

Probably Wales or Scotland next year.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Bloodaxe

[nordski]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Unfortunately Greece is on our banned list as is Portugal so we decided it was pointless waisting effort trying to find foreign trips and so had a brilliant 10 days on the islands of Scotland.  

 

So safe, I have never seen such care being taken on the mainland but it did not impact on our enjoyment.  The service was better than on any cruise ship - and that was just in local small boutique hotels or b and bs, the biggest one was stayed in had 20 rooms.  

Food was outstanding, lobsters and venison were standard (sadly its very hard for the fishermen to get anything to their main European markets so we were doing our bit to help them).  

 

All this is around 2 - 3 hours drive from Glasgow or Edinburgh so once our borders open up  I would encourage land trips to be thought about in Scotland.  The per day rate including all the other expenses (wine, food, drams, entrance fees etc) was less than 50% of an Azamara inside room

The beach by the way is Calgary Bay - the original calgary that is

 

 

Thanks for these wonderful pictures.

 

We were supposed to be cruising around Scotland in August, and these photos will encourage us to look for another opportunity to do so. We will also certainly consider your positive words about travelling by land.

 

Although, this week I saw a video of a traveller hiking in the Highlands wrapped in a raincoat and experiencing a significant, blustery, rain storm. But he assured viewers that he was having a good time! 😄

[nordski]

4 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

Beautiful pictures UKtog, we are also only planning to stay close to home for the foreseeable future.

No inclination to fly, any cruises will have to be round trip Uk which would probably rule out Azamarna

Probably Wales or Scotland next year.

 
This is off topic, except it might be relevant to you and Grandma Cruising as residents of Yorkshire.

 

Were you aware that as part of the industrial unrest that erupted in your area in 1911, particularly in the city of Hull, there were  also “school strikes”? And these walkouts spread across much of Northern England.

 

I’ve just finished reading an interesting article about these strikes, and if I really start to feel sorry for myself because of missing out on cruises a good antidote is to read about the nature of the “Council Schools” and  working conditions on the docks in port cities like Hull.

[Grandma Cruising]

13 minutes ago, nordski said:

 
This is off topic, except it might be relevant to you and Grandma Cruising as residents of Yorkshire.

 

Were you aware that as part of the industrial unrest that erupted in your area in 1911, particularly in the city of Hull, there were  also “school strikes”? And these walkouts spread across much of Northern England.

 

I’ve just finished reading an interesting article about these strikes, and if I really start to feel sorry for myself because of missing out on cruises a good antidote is to read about the nature of the “Council Schools” and  working conditions on the docks in port cities like Hull.

Thanks for that nordski. I didn’t know that, even tho’ we live only about 7 miles from Hull. I’ve just been looking it up and found an interesting article https://www.historyextra.com/period/20th-century/the-1911-schoolchildren-strikes/

 

Lovely photos, Uktog. I’m glad you had a good time.

[Mackdogmolly]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

Unfortunately Greece is on our banned list as is Portugal so we decided it was pointless waisting effort trying to find foreign trips and so had a brilliant 10 days on the islands of Scotland.  

 

So safe, I have never seen such care being taken on the mainland but it did not impact on our enjoyment.  The service was better than on any cruise ship - and that was just in local small boutique hotels or b and bs, the biggest one was stayed in had 20 rooms.  

Food was outstanding, lobsters and venison were standard (sadly its very hard for the fishermen to get anything to their main European markets so we were doing our bit to help them).  

 

All this is around 2 - 3 hours drive from Glasgow or Edinburgh so once our borders open up  I would encourage land trips to be thought about in Scotland.  The per day rate including all the other expenses (wine, food, drams, entrance fees etc) was less than 50% of an Azamara inside room

The beach by the way is Calgary Bay - the original calgary that is

 

 

Lovely pictures, Uktog. Looks like a wonderful trip. The ocean is about a four hour drive from where we live in Vermont (coastal Maine and Massachusetts), but depending on the week, there are “hot spots” in resort counties and we would have to quarantine upon return. So, we have just stayed put. Not that quarantining would look that different from our normal routine these days! Really hoping next year will look different!

[Werangels]

On 9/4/2020 at 6:59 PM, Grandma Cruising said:

Yes, as we were walking around the gardens I could imagine all the people who would have strolled around them.

 

We fly to Kalamata from Manchester, then hire a car to drive down the western peninsula of the Peloppenese to get to the little village of Chrani where we stay. We stay at a small hotel apartment owned by a wonderful family who are very welcoming and can’t do too much for you.

 

Our schools are going back soon - next Wednesday in our area, so it will be interesting to see what happens then. Where we live is pretty good, but Leeds, 45 miles away, is a hot-spot at present and is in danger of going into a local lockdown. We certainly are learning more about COVID, but neither our politicians, nor some of our population, seem to be taking appropriate actions.

Hope you have a lovely time.  We arrived back from Corfu on the 26th.  We decided if we were going to take any risks we would prefer to go somewhere we know and know we will have no problem social distancing.  Booked front seats on the flight, masks, visors, hair turban, etc....  Everyone was well behaved and we found the Corfiots to be excellent in their safety and hygiene measures.  

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, Werangels said:

Hope you have a lovely time.  We arrived back from Corfu on the 26th.  We decided if we were going to take any risks we would prefer to go somewhere we know and know we will have no problem social distancing.  Booked front seats on the flight, masks, visors, hair turban, etc....  Everyone was well behaved and we found the Corfiots to be excellent in their safety and hygiene measures.  

That’s great to hear, Werangels. Glad you had a good time.

[nordski]

This tree is always first to display its autumn colours and it serves as a sentinel for the change that is about to become more noticeable.

 

We are now in the midst of a rolling transition of students returning to education. In general, about 70% are physically entering school buildings while the rest are online for their teacher contacts.

 

Our fingers are crossed that all goes well, but the number of cases has now trended in the wrong direction for about a week.

Edited September 16, 2020 by nordski

[Grandma Cruising]

Well, we got to Chrani this afternoon. The journey was reasonable, although Manchester Airport was quite busy, with 7 flights leaving from Terminal 1in the first hour of flying. It took us over half an hour of queuing to get through security, and I have to admit to feeling a bit panicky. I think it was because that was by far the highest number of people we’ve been near since mid-March! The flight was fine, everyone wore their masks, and we had three seats for the two of us.

I promised some photos, the first is the view from the plane as we were over the Pelopennese (southern Greece) and the second is the view from our balcony.

 

 

[mamacampesinos!]

58 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Well, we got to Chrani this afternoon. The journey was reasonable, although Manchester Airport was quite busy, with 7 flights leaving from Terminal 1in the first hour of flying. It took us over half an hour of queuing to get through security, and I have to admit to feeling a bit panicky. I think it was because that was by far the highest number of people we’ve been near since mid-March! The flight was fine, everyone wore their masks, and we had three seats for the two of us.

I promised some photos, the first is the view from the plane as we were over the Pelopennese (southern Greece) and the second is the view from our balcony.

 

 

Have a lovely time Denise

[Mackdogmolly]

4 hours ago, nordski said:

This tree is always first to display its autumn colours and it serves as a sentinel for the change that is about to become more noticeable.

 

We are now in the midst of a rolling transition of students returning to education. In general, about 70% are physically entering school buildings while the rest are online for their teacher contacts.

 

Our fingers are crossed that all goes well, but the number of cases has now trended in the wrong direction for about a week.

Gorgeous tree! You are way ahead of us with the color! Schools are back here in Vermont too, with mostly a hybrid of in person and online attendance. Knock wood we have not had a big surge in cases!

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, mamacampesinos! said:

Have a lovely time Denise

Yes have a wonderful time! I would be nervous at an airport too! Your resort looks just beautiful!!

[Ithikan]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Yes have a wonderful time! I would be nervous at an airport too! Your resort looks just beautiful!!

 

Yes, Denise, the photos certainly appeal!

You said you've visited the area before, and I wonder, what do you think of Pilos, opposite you on the Ionian Sea?  We love the Peloponnese and that area features some enticing, ancient ruins...

[Baynanno1]

@Grandma Cruising Have a wonderful time Denise! Looks delightful.

 

@nordski I hope all your students remain safe and healthy and that the swing in the wrong direction of the past week does not become a surge as happened in Victoria (Australia) a couple of months ago.

[Grandma Cruising]

6 hours ago, Ithikan said:

 

Yes, Denise, the photos certainly appeal!

You said you've visited the area before, and I wonder, what do you think of Pilos, opposite you on the Ionian Sea?  We love the Peloponnese and that area features some enticing, ancient ruins...

We have been here twice before. We’ve driven through Pilos, but not stopped there. It looks to be quite a large town, quite pretty. There are some very expensive resorts near there with golf courses etc. There’s also the Navarino Dunes.We didn’t stop and walk there because it was very hot the day we drove up there. I agree about the ruins, we really enjoyed walking around MethonI Castle.

[Grandma Cruising]

13 hours ago, nordski said:

This tree is always first to display its autumn colours and it serves as a sentinel for the change that is about to become more noticeable.

 

We are now in the midst of a rolling transition of students returning to education. In general, about 70% are physically entering school buildings while the rest are online for their teacher contacts.

 

Our fingers are crossed that all goes well, but the number of cases has now trended in the wrong direction for about a week.

What lovely colour.

 

i hope you and your students are all doing OK.

[Grandma Cruising]

Just our luck to be in Greece when it is due to be hit by a pretty bad storm. The wind and cloud have started already and apparently we are likely to have torrential rain all day tomorrow and for half of Saturday. This morning we had a country walk and then sat at a beach bar watching the very strong waves. The beach bars have cleared away all their chairs and umbrellas in preparation for the storm.

[Werangels]

6 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Just our luck to be in Greece when it is due to be hit by a pretty bad storm. The wind and cloud have started already and apparently we are likely to have torrential rain all day tomorrow and for half of Saturday. This morning we had a country walk and then sat at a beach bar watching the very strong waves. The beach bars have cleared away all their chairs and umbrellas in preparation for the storm.

The rains arrived in Corfu a few hours ago but they appear to be on the edge of cyclone ‘lanos’ and you are far further south east in Crete.  It had already hit Zakynthos, Cephalonia and Ithaca in the Ionian islands a few hours back when I heard about it.  This is interesting.  Keep safe.   https://www.windy.com/?37.160,20.720,7

[nordski]

I found this interesting.

 

A good friend who now resides in Antwerp flew into Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Thursday.

 

Upon arrival, she was offered this deal if she took the Covid Test offered at that facility. A discount of 20% from Air Canada and, since she must quarantine for 14 days, one free month of a streaming TV service (Crave). It was a good deal; she took it.

 

In other flight news, we no longer have inexpensive direct service to Manchester, England. A couple that we know have flown to see the grandkids in Liverpool, but had to do so via Glasgow and connecting to Manchester.

 

Air Canada is still struggling to provide a semblance of their former routes and service.

[Grandma Cruising]

We did get hit by ‘medicane Ianos’ (medicane is a hurricane in the Mediterranean, apparently). However we were pretty lucky as we had no flooding or trees down. From the Greek news on TV it looks to have been pretty bad a few miles away from us in the north of the Pelopennese.

Here are a couple of photos - the second one was when we got stir crazy and decided to go out for a walk in a break in the rain. We got half an hour away when the heavens opened again.

Thanks for the link to Windy, Werangels, what a great app!

 

[nordski]

Grandma Cruising, glad to hear that the worst of the storm missed your location.

Looking forward to more info and photos once the weather really improves.

[Mackdogmolly]

7 minutes ago, nordski said:

Grandma Cruising, glad to hear that the worst of the storm missed your location.

Looking forward to more info and photos once the weather really improves.

Yes, hope there are blue skies for the rest of your holiday!! 😎