AZ Cordoba excursion

[Skicruiser55]

Has anyone done the AZ Cordoba excursion from Seville?  Also I’d like to hear feedback from anyone who has done AZ excursions on the Spain Intensive itinerary.  Our rollcall  for Quest April 2022 is very quiet and usually we do group private tours but not seeing that for this cruise.  

 

Kathy  

[ECCruise]

Since we did the last Spain intensive in November, would love to help with Azamara excursions but with the exception of "Granada on Your Own" (which was fine but only transportation to Granada) with AZ, we did everything on our own.  Rented cars in Palma, Malaga and the 2nd day in Seville (where we drove to Cordoba and explored the city).  Valencia we took the city bus into town (since you dock a fairly good distance away) and Cartagena, where you dock right at the foot of the city, did a whole list of things (starting with the incredible Museu Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica – The Underwater Archaeology museum). 

[AJCM]

3 hours ago, ECCruise said:

.  Valencia we took the city bus into town (since you dock a fairly good distance away) 

Didn’t Aza provide a shuttle bus to outside the old part of town? We had a very good shuttle trip a few years ago

[ECCruise]

9 hours ago, AJCM said:

Didn’t Aza provide a shuttle bus to outside the old part of town? We had a very good shuttle trip a few years ago

Currently, Azamara is not doing shuttles in any port. 

Hopefully they will return to offering them in the future. 

[audobon_tx]

13 hours ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Has anyone done the AZ Cordoba excursion from Seville?  Also I’d like to hear feedback from anyone who has done AZ excursions on the Spain Intensive itinerary.  Our rollcall  for Quest April 2022 is very quiet and usually we do group private tours but not seeing that for this cruise.  

 

Kathy  

 

We did the Quest ship excursion from Seville in November.  It's worth doing.  A long bus ride each way and not for people with walking issues as it is a 3-4 hour walking tour.  The former mosque and the  cathedral (still in use) built inside of it (instead of on top of it like many in Spain) is the highlight. Good lunch included.  

[G2G]

13 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Since we did the last Spain intensive in November, would love to help with Azamara excursions but with the exception of "Granada on Your Own" (which was fine but only transportation to Granada) with AZ, we did everything on our own.  Rented cars in Palma, Malaga and the 2nd day in Seville (where we drove to Cordoba and explored the city).  Valencia we took the city bus into town (since you dock a fairly good distance away) and Cartagena, where you dock right at the foot of the city, did a whole list of things (starting with the incredible Museu Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica – The Underwater Archaeology museum). 

Thank you for that information, I'm also doing the Spain intensive cruise. How long was the bus journey in Valencia?

[ECCruise]

11 minutes ago, G2G said:

Thank you for that information, I'm also doing the Spain intensive cruise. How long was the bus journey in Valencia?

If you are docked at the far flung pier where we were, the port requires a free shuttle that takes you to the terminal at the other pier (you may actually dock there and not need the shuttle).  From the terminal, the city bus stop is across the street.  Bus 4 will take you to the central city (Placa de la Reina, e.g.) in about 20 minutes.

IF the Valencia Tourist kiosk is open in the terminal (it was closed when we were there) you can buy a Valencia Tourist Card, which we've used in the past, which will get you unlimited transit rides, a couple of free tapas, free and discounted museum entries and some other goodies.

[audobon_tx]

22 minutes ago, G2G said:

Thank you for that information, I'm also doing the Spain intensive cruise. How long was the bus journey in Valencia?

 

Can't recall exactly.  Hour and a half to two hours from Seville to Cordoba.

Edited January 30, 2022 by audobon_tx

[ECCruise]

Just now, audobon_tx said:

 

Can't recall exactly.  Hour and a half to two hours.

I think maybe you are referring to the trip from Seville to Cordoba.

 

The Valencia city bus is only about a 20 minute ride from the terminal to central Valencia.

[audobon_tx]

1 minute ago, ECCruise said:

I think maybe you are referring to the trip from Seville to Cordoba.

 

The Valencia city bus is only about a 20 minute ride from the terminal to central Valencia.

Yes

[Skicruiser55]

Audobon_TX

Does it go inside the Mezquita?  Thank you for your information.  It really helps with making decisions.  I just wanted to make sure since it’s a pricey tour it’s worth it.  

[audobon_tx]

2 hours ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Audobon_TX

Does it go inside the Mezquita?  Thank you for your information.  It really helps with making decisions.  I just wanted to make sure since it’s a pricey tour it’s worth it.  

 

Yes.  

[G2G]

19 hours ago, ECCruise said:

If you are docked at the far flung pier where we were, the port requires a free shuttle that takes you to the terminal at the other pier (you may actually dock there and not need the shuttle).  From the terminal, the city bus stop is across the street.  Bus 4 will take you to the central city (Placa de la Reina, e.g.) in about 20 minutes.

IF the Valencia Tourist kiosk is open in the terminal (it was closed when we were there) you can buy a Valencia Tourist Card, which we've used in the past, which will get you unlimited transit rides, a couple of free tapas, free and discounted museum entries and some other goodies.

Thank you, that's really helpful

[laurieb]

On 1/29/2022 at 8:09 PM, AJCM said:

Didn’t Aza provide a shuttle bus to outside the old part of town? We had a very good shuttle trip a few years ago

From where we docked in Valencia in November there was a compulsory shuttle from the ship to the port entrance. From there you would be on your own to get into the city.  

[MouseBerry]

Hi,

we will be on the Pursuit in June and call in Malaga. Wondering if small ships like the Azamara ones would/have to use the big outer piers or the smaller ones next to the city center. Any info about how it was in the past?

 

It's our first cruise with Az and actually the first one on such a small ship. We were on Oceania and MSC Yacht Club before. 

 

cheers

MouseBerry

[uktog]

In 2018 it was the pier near the city centre but you can never guarantee what you get! 

[audobon_tx]

5 hours ago, uktog said:

In 2018 it was the pier near the city centre ....

 

Ditto, November 2021

Edited February 16, 2022 by audobon_tx

[OregonGal56]

On 1/29/2022 at 3:50 PM, ECCruise said:

Since we did the last Spain intensive in November, would love to help with Azamara excursions but with the exception of "Granada on Your Own" (which was fine but only transportation to Granada) with AZ, we did everything on our own.  Rented cars in Palma, Malaga and the 2nd day in Seville (where we drove to Cordoba and explored the city).  Valencia we took the city bus into town (since you dock a fairly good distance away) and Cartagena, where you dock right at the foot of the city, did a whole list of things (starting with the incredible Museu Nacional de Arqueologia Subacuatica – The Underwater Archaeology museum). 

We are doing the May 8th Spain Intensive. Already bought Alhambra tickets. Spain Day Tours is not sure if they will do a small group from Malaga yet as only 4 have signed up (need 10). Options are the ship "Granada on your own" or renting a car from the Malaga port. If you rented a car there, did it work out ok? Did sign up for the ship Granada on you own, but as it is an 8 hour excursion, and almost 3.5 hours driving, doesn't leave much time for Alhambra and Granada (in port from 8-10). Thanks for any more insight!

[ECCruise]

7 minutes ago, OregonGal56 said:

We are doing the May 8th Spain Intensive. Already bought Alhambra tickets. Spain Day Tours is not sure if they will do a small group from Malaga yet as only 4 have signed up (need 10). Options are the ship "Granada on your own" or renting a car from the Malaga port. If you rented a car there, did it work out ok? Did sign up for the ship Granada on you own, but as it is an 8 hour excursion, and almost 3.5 hours driving, doesn't leave much time for Alhambra and Granada (in port from 8-10). Thanks for any more insight!

Couple things.  We did "Granada on Your Own" from Motril, so the travel time each way was about 2 hours or less.  Also, people who were booked in Alhambra took that tour, which was NOT scheduled to stop at Alhambra.  After lots of negotiation (and about 40 minutes of lost time) the tour operator agreed to drop them off at Alhambra.  Unfortunately, it was too late for some of their entry times (and others never even had bought tickets in advance so couldn't get in). 

 

In a separate stop in Malaga, we rented a car and drove to the Pueblos Blancos, intending to visit Ronda and at least one of the other White Villages.  Ronda was very picturesque but also very tourist clogged, which prevented us from visiting any other of the villages.  We will be back later this year so will do that then.

[wjfan417]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

Couple things.  We did "Granada on Your Own" from Motril, so the travel time each way was about 2 hours or less.  Also, people who were booked in Alhambra took that tour, which was NOT scheduled to stop at Alhambra.  After lots of negotiation (and about 40 minutes of lost time) the tour operator agreed to drop them off at Alhambra.  Unfortunately, it was too late for some of their entry times (and others never even had bought tickets in advance so couldn't get in). 

 

In a separate stop in Malaga, we rented a car and drove to the Pueblos Blancos, intending to visit Ronda and at least one of the other White Villages.  Ronda was very picturesque but also very tourist clogged, which prevented us from visiting any other of the villages.  We will be back later this year so will do that then.

Where did the “Granada on Your Own” drop you off in Granada. I’m booked on it next month from Malaga but want to see the cathedral and Royal Chapel-we visited The Alhambra last time we were there.

[ECCruise]

55 minutes ago, wjfan417 said:

Where did the “Granada on Your Own” drop you off in Granada. I’m booked on it next month from Malaga but want to see the cathedral and Royal Chapel-we visited The Alhambra last time we were there.

We were dropped off at Plaza de Mariana Pineda.

[Skicruiser55]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

We were dropped off at Plaza de Mariana Pineda.

Did you do this recently?  How far was it to get to Alhambra from where you were dropped off?  

[ECCruise]

20 minutes ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Did you do this recently?  How far was it to get to Alhambra from where you were dropped off?  

November.

No idea how far Alhambra was from that point. Our focus was the city since we'd been to Alhambra before with Spain Day Tours.

[Baynanno1]

1 hour ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Did you do this recently?  How far was it to get to Alhambra from where you were dropped off?  

https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Pl.+de+Mariana+Pineda,+18009+Granada,+Spain/Alhambra,+C.+Real+de+la+Alhambra,+s%2Fn,+18009+Granada,+Spain/@37.162729,-3.6021251,14z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0xd71fcbc11dd0c71:0x384868a2464226!2m2!1d-3.5972562!2d37.1721136!1m5!1m1!1s0xd71fcb7977fb93b:0x808dd1ef1221a27f!2m2!1d-3.5881413!2d37.1760783!3e0

Well that's longer than I thought it would be! (but it works fine)

According to the map, about 2.4kilometres

On a ship's tour I do recollect quite a walk from the parking area to the actual entrance.

 

Two points to consider  :

1. entry times are adhered to quite strictly, be a bit early to various points

2. at one entry point people were being asked to produce passports, which was a surprise to us and our guide, also to Azamara when we returned, as they are usually very much aware of all requirements on any given tour. Our tour group was not turned away, we may have produced our ship keycards, but can't quite remember.

Edited March 15, 2022 by Baynanno1
additional information

[Skicruiser55]

Thanks Baynanno - I google mapped it too and was surprised at the distance away from Alhambra.  We have an 11am tickets already purchased so we will have to make it quickly to be able to make that.  On the AZ tour website they said the earliest reservation to make should be 10:30am so I am hoping we’ll make it without issue.  We got messed up years ago on a Florence On Your Own tour when we didn’t make our reserved time to the Uffizi (we had a couple people who decided to shop when we made our potty break stop and held everyone up).  Needless to say I was not happy with them.  It made for a long bus ride home.  

I appreciate your feedback.  

Kathy