Azamara Quest - Mediterranean Cities, October 28-November 4 2021

[TreacleScone]

Buongiorno/Bonjour/Hola/What’s the craic?

 

Better (fashionably) late than never, I hope. This is perfect timing as I have a week of sick leave and I’ve already completed Netflix so lots of time devote to catching up and keeping up with your latest  adventures. 

Edited November 15, 2021 by TreacleScone

[Bimmer09]

1 minute ago, TreacleScone said:

Bonjour/Hola/What’s the craic?

 

Better (fashionably) late than never, I hope. This is perfect timing as I have a week of sick leave and I’ve already completed Netflix so lots of time devote to catching up and keeping up with your latest  adventures. 

Ladies and gentlemen-allow me to introduce my bonkers niece.

Welcome Julie!

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

The weather hours later at 12.45 p.m. I have an excursion to St Paul de Vence in 30 minutes. Eek!

 

Carol has decided against it as the steep cobbled streets are likely to be very slippery

and visibility up there will be very poor. It's miserable to do an excursion to a beauty spot from under an umbrella.

 

[Baynanno1]

3 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

The weather hours later at 12.45 p.m. I have an excursion to St Paul de Vence in 30 minutes. Eek!

 

Carol has decided against it as the steep cobbled streets are likely to be very slippery

and visibility up there will be very poor. It's miserable to do an excursion to a beauty spot from under an umbrella.

 

😒 so sorry that Nice turned on lousy weather for you 😢

When that happens to us, I say we will just have to go back another day . . .

[Bimmer09]

I guess it was fate? I decided rain or no that I should go to St Paul de Vence so I got myself down to the Cabaret Room for the muster at 1.15. Where is everybody? The only people in the room were 4 musicians on stage making an odd sound.

A Baroque Quartet my ears and instant depression told me. Sad music from a period in history  where it seems the sun never shone, the seas were full of rotten fish, men wore tights and cod-pieces and began each sentence with "methinks" only to be beaten with cudgels by ruffians with just one brown tooth in their unshaven boil-ridden face.  Minstrels played on sackbuts and recorders  yet didn't get the beating they richly deserved. I'll give you "Hey Nonny No"...!

Do I like baroque music???

I'll have to get back to you.

 

I flag down a passing crew member to ask if they know where the tour is meeting. She doesn't know but leaves me on a tour of deck 5 to find out. We decide to go to the gangway to ask Security. Yes they were here just 5 minutes ago. I dashed off the ship with my umbrella and met an employee who said the coach had just left. They had met on the dock at 1p.m. Oh well. It was not meant to be. I missed SPdeV in 2015 due to heavy rain....next time for sure!

 

I forgot to tell you that this morning in the Living Room we had our temperatures checked-required by the Spanish authorities.Same thing tomorrow too. 

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Carol didn't join me for lunch at the Patio. The rain was easing now at 1.20 or so. I was Jonesing for a hamburger. When you close your eyes and dream of a bacon cheeseburger you imagine that pillowy soft bun, maybe with some seeds on top, enveloping that juicy seared meat, with melted cheese, bacon strips, tomato and lettuce.

Oh yeah!

What in the world is this thing??

 

Looks like Pumpernickel bread, toasted and crunchy. Not a pillowy soft burger bun sold in billions each day on this planet you call Earth. 

 

I was so hungry I ate this "hamburger" but this was a massive fail in meeting

expectations.

Carol texted. Sun was out and she wanted to go for a walk. Great idea. The Captain had spoken over the PA -Coastguard advising of strong winds later so ship will leave harbor 2 hours earlier at 6 pm. My window for enjoying Nice is shrinking.

[lola2013]

1 minute ago, Bimmer09 said:

Carol didn't join me for lunch at the Patio. The rain was easing now at 1.20 or so. I was Jonesing for a hamburger. When you close your eyes and dream of a bacon cheeseburger you imagine that pillowy soft bun, maybe with some seeds on top, enveloping that juicy seared meat, with melted cheese, bacon strips, tomato and lettuce.

Oh yeah!

What in the world is this thing??

 

Looks like Pumpernickel bread, toasted and crunchy. Not a pillowy soft burger bun sold in billions each day on this planet you call Earth. 

 

I was so hungry I ate this "hamburger" but this was a massive fail in meeting

expectations.

Carol texted. Sun was out and she wanted to go for a walk. Great idea. The Captain had spoken over the PA -Coastguard advising of strong winds later so ship will leave harbor 2 hours earlier at 6 pm. My window for enjoying Nice is shrinking.

Sad looking excuse for a burger...and eight (8) fries???  Wrong...just wrong!

[Bimmer09]

Things were finally looking up!

 

 

 

 

Blue Sky!

 

 

Edited November 15, 2021 by Bimmer09
poor photo software

[mchell810]

9 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Carol didn't join me for lunch at the Patio. The rain was easing now at 1.20 or so. I was Jonesing for a hamburger. When you close your eyes and dream of a bacon cheeseburger you imagine that pillowy soft bun, maybe with some seeds on top, enveloping that juicy seared meat, with melted cheese, bacon strips, tomato and lettuce.

Oh yeah!

What in the world is this thing??

 

Looks like Pumpernickel bread, toasted and crunchy. Not a pillowy soft burger bun sold in billions each day on this planet you call Earth. 

 

I was so hungry I ate this "hamburger" but this was a massive fail in meeting

expectations.

Carol texted. Sun was out and she wanted to go for a walk. Great idea. The Captain had spoken over the PA -Coastguard advising of strong winds later so ship will leave harbor 2 hours earlier at 6 pm. My window for enjoying Nice is shrinking.

 

That burger looks like they are trying to use up dinner rolls!  And the fries aren't making it either! 

 

Glad to see the sun came out in Nice after all.

[Bimmer09]

We rounded the marina basin. A city tram came along . European countries have such good public transportation. This one goes out to the airport.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nice

 

We didn't get to see much of Nice alas. I had watched 4K walking videos and was itching to follow in those footsteps among the markets and cafes, past the Opera House and to the park at the summit of Colline du Chateau, the big rock outcropping we could see from our balcony. We did manage to climb the stairs halfway up the hill-the elevator was closed as it was a public holiday.

 

 

 

 

as we came down the sky changed its appearance and it was time to head back already

[peyroutous]

Norris….quelle surprise we rented an apartment at the top of this street a few years ago and ate in Les Pecheurs a few times. Good burger bar at the top of the street.  Le Vieux Port has some typical little independent grocery shops and convenient to walk to the centre. Good tram link to Nice airport.  You do need to get back to Nice it’s a beautiful and vibrant city

 

Edited November 16, 2021 by peyroutous

[Bimmer09]

I'll be damned if I get back on that ship without speaking to a French person I said shaking my fist at the sky! Carol understood. Back in Chicago I yearned to sit at a French cafe, a Pernod and an espresso at hand, my beret at a jaunty angle, my blue and white hooped tee shirt with traces of ash from my smoldering Gitane cigarette. My waxed Salvador Dali mustache twirled between my fingers as I watched the people passing by, their rosy-cheeked children propelling a hoop with a nudge from a bamboo stick on their way to a patisserie or a boulangerie to buy some er, um, boulanges.

I hear jaunty happy French accordion melodies in my head all day long.

 

We stop at a cafe along the harbor. An employee is talking to some customers who are leaving. We stand and wait but aren't acknowledged so we move on. We are passing one and a guy (un homme)is clearing a table and smiles and gestures for us to come in.

That's better!

We take a table outside as it isn't raining and from here on in I get to speak French with a happy peppy young guy who waits the tables. For Carol an espresso and for me a Pastis, something I have never had before but Rick Steves likes it.  I ask to use the restroom and am invited inside.

 

A small restaurant but the restroom had motion sensitive lighting, was super clean and had a Dyson Blade hand dryer and a posy of flowers on the sink. Top notch!

 

The friendly and efficient young server

 

All contact in French and my heart sang. Asked for an ashtray so I could enjoy a smoke with my Pastis. It tasted like Sambuca (Liqorice) but I had a glass of water to cut down the alcohol. Potent!

About to live the dream

 

 

Au revoir!

[Bimmer09]

17 minutes ago, peyroutous said:

Norris….quelle surprise we rented an apartment at the top of this street a few years ago and ate in Les Pecheurs a few times. Good burger bar at the top of the street.  Le Vieux Port has some typical little independent grocery shops and convenient to walk to the centre. Good tram link to Nice airport.  You do need to get back to Nice it’s a beautiful and vibrant city

 

 Indeed I do need to get back. We were cheated of getting to know it this time. The 4K walking videos showed a beautiful city. The Cours Saleya market had me salivating. The Opera House, those cafes and parks and fountains and palm trees!! Encroyable! I have only been in France 4 times: 1978 drove from Le Harve all the way down to Hendaye on the Spanish border. 2003 picked up my car at the BMW factory in Munich and drove around Western Germany popping into France for a few miles, know not where but I couldn't hear any accordions over the exhaust, 2007 touring in Germany spent 2 days in Turckheim and Colmar in Alsace and now this visit to Nice. Pathetic but I will get back to France tout de suite!

[Bimmer09]

Carol just sent a candid picture she took of me staring out over the sea in Nice during our walk

[peyroutous]

Pastis is aniseed based apero (aperitif) and the French usually add a dash of water to their glass.  The well known commercial brands are Pernod and Ricard but well worth seeking out the smaller offerings from the Marseilles area. Cassis is another gem in this area and well worth a visit.
 Reading your blog + the photos has been very informative and amusing and we can hit the ground running when we board the Journey next month.

Edited November 16, 2021 by peyroutous

[Walt fan]

Norris (and Carol) goodness Page 12 but I found you! I have a note from my mother for my late arrival. You got to go on your cruise! I somehow remembered way back in my mind you were debating on whether to go and it was booked around Halloween. I am loving all pics and GSJ commentary of course. I am all caught up with only 2 glasses of wine (Pinot Grigio) and so looking forward to all that comes. Life is good.

[Bimmer09]

8 minutes ago, Walt fan said:

Norris (and Carol) goodness Page 12 but I found you! I have a note from my mother for my late arrival. You got to go on your cruise! I somehow remembered way back in my mind you were debating on whether to go and it was booked around Halloween. I am loving all pics and GSJ commentary of course. I am all caught up with only 2 glasses of wine (Pinot Grigio) and so looking forward to all that comes. Life is good.

So glad you found me here!  There are so many Princess people who used to follow me and the link I put on Princess is being seen by very few of them. Maybe they'll find it when its over and I have moved on. I have been writing all day every day and am half way through (ish) in just 8 days. It helped that I was jet lagged when I got home and was waking up at 4 a.m LOL and this Illy coffee Carol buys really fires me up.

 

My next review is our first Alaskan Cruisetour in May 2023 and that will be on the Princess Board which gets a lot of traffic. Its a long time to wait but summer 2022 is for Germany and Wagner. Alas Germany and Austria are untypically in the Covid weeds right now.

 

Although we had mishaps and had to jump through hoops we were glad to have gone to Europe and enjoyment exceeded headaches. Kudos to the crews on the ships at sea! 

 

4 flights, 2 of them long-haul (but in Business Class)5 Covid tests, lost luggage and having only one day in Rome tested us. Once we were on the ship it was sunshine and lollipops and rain in the case of Nice.

Great times in Marseille (Avignon) Barcelona and Dublin awaited.

 

Welcome aboard!

Norris

 

 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

We walked 3.5 miles that day according to Carol's fitbit but that would include walking around the ship from A to B. Several folks were up each morning doing laps above the Pool Deck. Not us however.

My morning exercise consisted mainly of getting up from my seat in the smoking section to open the heavy wooden deck door for those carrying two cups of coffee. One a very nice English gentleman who always said "thank you ever so much, very kind of you". It was my pleasure when someone has manners that good.

 

The sky looks foreboding but I don't recall it raining again. That's partly due to a two hour nap I'll admit.

The ship in port was very quiet and there was no movement. While I am napping I'll show a few more pics of the interior for those intrigued by Azamara.

[LT Hambone]

Norris -

 

 

Sorry to hear that you missed out on your shore excursion, I feel bad for you and Carol. SPdeV was very nice, and with the clearing weather you would have had some great pictures.

 

Enjoying your posts! We were off the ship every morning by 8 and didn't return until 6. We usually ate in Windows, and missed a lot of what the ship had to offer. Your posts are showing us everything we missed out on (like those lava cakes, how did we miss those ?!?!?) - feels like you were on a sperate cruise than the one we were on!

 

Can't wait to hear about Marsaille!

[Kitekat]

We were in cabin 7116 before you (two previous cruises). The hot water was, well, not very hot... so we asked if something could be done and ... voila! Glad you, too, enjoyed the benefit of the maintenance crew.

 

And also - sorry about my DH bombing your opening video as we moved next door. We tried to stay in 7116 but we were told quite firmly that it was booked and that they were not going to boot anyone out except us! 😀

Oh and he's almost as nosy as me and loves to see what's going on from the balcony.

 

So sorry you missed seeing more of Nice but it was shockingly bad weather. 

Edited November 16, 2021 by Kitekat

[Bimmer09]

THE LIVING ROOM

Every ship should have a forward facing lounge for relaxation and entertainment.

It was the scene for our temperature checks and for our Covid tests in Barcelona.

As you can see there is a band and a DJ booth for the night owls. A dance floor and a bar. Great tapas are also served here in the early evenings.

 

 

Tile dance floor on the Quest

 

Wood on the Journey

 

Ocean-facing seating along the side (A. J)

 

DJ booth. I am sure you love music as much as I. My favorite genres are that nice music you hear when you are in an elevator-you know the tunes I mean with the nice man playing the soprano saxophone. I also love any music you are lucky enough to listen to when you call a big company and they put you on hold. Yes that saxophone man plays some shows there too. I like hold music so much that when the voice repeatedly tells me "your call is important to us" I get a warm feeling inside. If she says the wait time will be 45 minutes I want to jump for joy. Sometimes I'll even hang up and go to the back to the queue to hear even more excellent music. Music sounds best through a minuscule iPhone speaker I think. Would you agree?

 

Bar decor

[Bimmer09]

31 minutes ago, Kitekat said:

We were in cabin 7116 before you (two previous cruises). The hot water was, well, not very hot... so we asked if something could be done and ... voila! Glad you, too, enjoyed the benefit of the maintenance crew.

 

And also - sorry about my DH bombing your opening video as we moved next door. We tried to stay in 7116 but we were told quite firmly that it was booked and that they were not going to boot anyone out except us! 😀

Oh and he's almost as nosy as me and loves to see what's going on from the balcony.

 

So sorry you missed seeing more of Nice but it was shockingly bad weather. 

Hey neighbor! Sorry you had to move. We had 7116 on the Journey and so when we booked another cruise while in Cuba we chose the same cabin. That was 34 months prior-we had dibs! LOL.

I always tell people who stray into a shot to stay. It certainly wouldn't ruin the shot for me. It's all happening live.

Hope you enjoyed the Quest as much as we did given the restricted offerings compared to Az of the past.

Norris

[Kitekat]

6 minutes ago, Bimmer09 said:

Hey neighbor! Sorry you had to move. We had 7116 on the Journey and so when we booked another cruise while in Cuba we chose the same cabin. That was 34 months prior-we had dibs! LOL.

I always tell people who stray into a shot to stay. It certainly wouldn't ruin the shot for me. It's all happening live.

Hope you enjoyed the Quest as much as we did given the restricted offerings compared to Az of the past.

Norris

We liked it so much that we booked a couple of cruises B2B around South America in 2023 and claimed it for ours again!

 

Only our second time on Azamara (previously in 2018 on Quest) but stayed for B2B2B with this one our last. Italy was frustrating with their restrictions but we took excursions would not have done otherwise. Loved every last minute. 

However, this is the first line where I have (more or less) liked the coffee, although it did seem to vary day by day. Regent, X, P&O - yeuk!

[Bimmer09]

As I said to Kitekat above we had booked 7116 in January 2019. It was for a cruise that was going to feature all 3 Azamara ships (now 4 since Pacific Princess was bought and spiffed up as the Onward) meeting up in the port of Koper. We had booked the Pursuit for the delicious itinerary which was thus:

 

The meet-up as I recall was October 10 2020. That got canceled and we had to pick another for 2021 which is when we landed on the Med Cities one as we had a need to return to Rome and Barcelona. Venice is now off the menu but we had the fantastic experience of joining the Ocean Princess there (now Oceania Sirena) in 2014. The sailaway I managed to capture on video for posterity.