10 Night Spain Intensive Voyage Mar 25 - Apr 4, 2023

[mj_holiday]

Review -  10 Night Spain Intensive Voyage 

We just got home from this great cruise and will try to do it justice with this review.  This was our second Azamara cruise and it had a great itinerary.  Also, we cruise quite a bit with Regent Seven Seas, so at the end of this review I will attempt to make some comparisons between our experiences on two cruises post Covid. 

We flew to Gran Canaria two days before the cruise.  I had our TA work with Azamara for flights (business class) and hotels for before and after the cruise.  I usually book our hotels, but I started seeing the same name on two different islands and was worried I would book something on the wrong island. 

We caught a taxi at the airport, and I showed the taxi driver the name of our hotel “AC Hotel, Gran Canaria”.  She took us to an intersection next to a blank wall with some doors on it.  I paid 32Euros and tipped because we also had a lot of luggage.  We unloaded everything and DH sat on a bench with the luggage while I went to find the hotel.  The taxi driver saw me looking at the wall and honked and pointed to a small speaker, when I finally saw it, I pushed the button several times and someone spoke to me in Spanish (I do not speak Spanish).  I said I was looking to check in to the hotel.  A few seconds later a lady came down the steps by the wall and started pushing a button on the wall and opening the door to look in. The taxi driver left. Then suddenly behind the door was an elevator and she loaded our suitcases and asked if we could do the steps (about 20), and we said yes.  We went up the steps and there was a door up there and behind it was our luggage. 

 

We checked in and had a lovely room with a view of the harbor.  Breakfast and dinner were included.  Dinner started at 8pm.   Because we had a view of the harbor, we were able to see the Onward the next day when she showed up next to a very large P&O ship.  Breakfast and dinner were nice, but almost all the seats were very low and hard for us seniors to get out of (this will be a theme). 

We went for the Hop on Hop Off bus the next day and found a very long line (because of the P&O ship) but we had time and went to stand in line.  Two ladies (older than us) got in line behind us, and we had a nice conversation as we waited, they were on the P & O ship.  Over the next 20 or so minutes, these ladies managed to get in front of us and also the people we were behind.  I kept thinking they would notice this and get back behind us, but they didn’t, and I am too polite to say anything.  Well, the top of the bus filled up right in front of us.  Oh well, they were old, but we will never let that happen again.  After the ride around we went to the neighborhood behind our hotel that we saw from the bus.  We had a couple of drinks and then went to another place and had lunch.  

 I had paid for a transfer from the hotel to the ship, but at check in the hotel didn’t know anything about it.  The guy at the hotel desk basically said the port is just down the street.  I emailed our TA about this and got a number that was to Royal Caribbean, which I thought wouldn't work but waited on hold anyway.  When the phone was answered I explained what I needed, I was asked if I got a welcome letter when I checked in which we did get, but it didn’t say anything about a transfer. He thought he could help us and found the reservation and called the transfer company and was told they would start between 9-10 the day of boarding.  Well, that wasn’t the time I wanted but I knew we were getting a transfer.  Later that day, I talked with a different person at the front desk, and she pulled out a notebook with a real welcome letter to us and defined the transfer at 12:15, which was better.

[mj_holiday]

On Embarkation Day we were up and out of our room by 11am and waited for our transfer.  Yes, it looked like the port was just down the block but getting to the correct lane getting to the ship involved quite a bit (don’t know if walking would have had a shortcut). Our check-in was very quick.  Someone took our luggage and then we were shown where the Suite guests check in and after that we sat and not even long enough for me to get a cookie eaten before we were called to embark.  We went on board and went for a safety briefing, and then up to Windows for lunch. After I made reservations for specialty restaurants and DH went and bought Premium drink packages.   

We got to our suite.  This was our first Club Continent Suite, and the size was just great.  I was disappointed about the table since it was not as high as I thought I saw in pictures on the web.  It was not high enough for in suite eating.  The chair was very low (difficult to get out of) and the chair with the desk area was of normal height.  The storage was just great.  The bathroom was small but workable, but the shower was walk in and nice size.  The Butler came by to introduce himself to us and gave us a spirits list to choose one liquor for the room.  DH couldn’t decide at the time so I asked for a bottle of Red wine and some club soda, and he brought a nice bottle of Pinot Noir.  A couple of days later DH decided he wanted a bottle of spirits, and we asked the Butler for one and he said he would have to ask his manager since we had gotten a nice bottle of wine.  Then Jim Beam showed up that afternoon. It was my understanding that any beer in the frig was not part of a drink package and would get charged to our account. There was no ice in the champagne bucket and Butler said he would ice it when we decided we wanted it.  Other interesting things about the suite: There was no alarm clock, there was a magnifier mirror in the bathroom, but it was a tad too tall for me to use, if I adjusted it down toward me there was no light. There is no separate sitting area where I can have a light on to read while DH sleeps. The suite had only one phone. The bathroom had two outlets, one for shaver and the other a European 220 outlet. The lights of the suite cannot be turned off from the bed. 

While getting situated in our suite our steward came in and told us that security wanted to see one of us.  I went with our steward down to deck 4 to security not knowing what the issue was.  I met with the security supervisor in the area where they x-ray luggage, and he showed me the x-ray image (it was DH’s suitcase) and I saw the Gurber multi-function tool DH likes to pack.  I opened up the suitcase and got the tool.  Security measured the knife in the tool, and it must have been just shy of too long. He gave me the tool and explained it was not to leave our suite and especially not take it on shore because that could get us (DH) in trouble. 

[mj_holiday]

Every morning I would call our Butler for coffee and he showed up right away, I teased him about standing outside the door with our coffee waiting for me to call.  Both our butler and suite steward were very responsive to us.  We got laundry back quickly, and the club soda was always replaced each afternoon (except the last day).  One afternoon while on shore DH noticed he did not have his camera’s lens hood.  After we got back to our suite, our butler came in and gave Brad his lens hood, apparently it had been left on our room service tray and they found it after they had taken our coffee tray. 

Windows buffet: We ate there for breakfast everyday but the seaday brunch buffet in Discoveries and for lunch several days.  Windows had a nice selection for both breakfast and lunch.  We could always find something that we liked.  The tables do not have tablecloths for lunch or breakfast, just placemats, which In My Opinion (IMO) didn’t get cleaned very well.  Many times, I saw crew members just brush the crumbs off the placemats.  One day I saw a lady sit down and lift the placemat and saw enough crumbs or whatever there that she called someone over and they cleaned it.  Only the last two days did I see someone cleaning under the placemats with a wet towel.  I also feel the tables are too close together and would have liked someone to help me find a table when I came in if it was crowded.  For dinner, Windows had a different theme each night like German theme, Thai theme, Indian theme.  We ate there one night and found the food also very good. 

Discoveries Main Dining Room: we ate there 6 evenings on board.  We found the service very good, and the food was also very good.  We could always find something (usually 2 or 3 things) we liked.  Once seated, we were first greeted with a breadbasket and a dish containing butter, pesto, and hummus, for us to munch on while we decide.  We were then asked what wine we wanted before we ordered (or knew what we wanted to order) which I found backward.  The wines included were Azamara labeled varieties of Merlot, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio.  They were good wines, but I did get bored with them by the end of the cruise.  After we ordered we had a nice pace for our meal and enjoyed everything we ordered.  When ready for dessert, we were each given a dessert menu and after we ordered we were given a small plate of some petit fours (except the last two nights, we didn’t get any???).  There was a good variety for dessert, and we indulged every evening.  A table for two was a very nice size, but the tables for two were very close together.  You almost felt you were obliged to talk to the people next to you.  While not bad, it didn’t feel like a nice intimate dinner for two. 

We ate in Prime C twice.  Each evening there was a nice selection, and the meal and service were very good.  There was also a selection of side dishes, you could order, like baked potato, grilled mushrooms etc 

We ate in Aquilina once. The menu didn’t excite us.  It was a nice meal.  The food and service were very good. 

On the only Sea Day there was a rather large brunch buffet in Discoveries which we went to.  It felt very crowded, and we had a hard time finding a place to sit.  There was no one helping us find a table.  There was a great variety of both breakfast and lunch items, but it was very hard to get to the food to serve yourself.  I found standing in line for made to order eggs to be bothersome for me.  Here are several people crowded in front of the table where the eggs are being cooked with a hot skillet.  Wouldn’t take much of a bump for someone to end up getting burned by the skillet.  Service for drinks was not what we were used to on the cruise. 

The Tapas in the Living Room in the afternoon were very nice, there was a nice selection.  There were several days when we didn’t get back to the ship for lunch and were able to get something to hold us until dinner in the Living Room.  Here also, there were very low chairs that were difficult for us to get out of. 

Even though the places we ate at throughout the cruise had some very good food selections, I do not remember seeing any lobster or crab legs on any menu.  With our suite turn down each night (exempt the last night) we got two little Petite Fores that looked to be cooked on board.  Very good. 

Azamazing evening was truly worth the effort it took for everyone.  There was great organization getting us on buses to take us to a performing arts building.  We saw a performance of Carmen for Flamingo.  Truly amazing. When we first got to the place of the performance, we were given samples of local sherry, which many people didn’t seem to like.  The music and dancers were just great.  The performance lasted an hour, and we were then taken back to the ship. 

[mj_holiday]

The ports of call for this trip were great.  Some research before we left home identified that all the ports were fairly close to town, so we could do our own thing as we decided based on weather, how we felt etc. 

Our first port was la Palma, we walked into town. We walked around the small town doing some shopping and visiting the local tourist office to learn about a procession and celebration they have with a dwarf Napolean.  We stopped at a local outdoor café and had a couple of beers while we people watched. 

The next port was San Sebastian De La Gomera.  There were several taxis when we got off the ship. The one we talked with had tours for 1, 2 and 3 hours with prices listed.  We took the 1 hour tour to the National Park.  It was a beautiful drive (I should have taken motion sick meds) as we went round and round the various hills to the top of a national park.  Just beautiful vistas.  When we got back to the town, the driver showed us the best place to go in town before going back to the ship. 

For Lanzarote Port we talked with a taxi driver who had a tour for us to the Volcano visitor center and then some wine tasting.  The drive to the visitor center took about 45 minutes and when we got close, we could see a really long line to get into parking spaces.  But taxis are allowed to go to the front of the line.  We got a close space to the visitor center.  We then got on a bus for a ride through the National Park with some very interesting terrain.  Back at the visitor center here were a couple of demos.  One where the person took some scrub brush and put it in a hole in the ground.  Pretty soon the brush caught on fire.  Our driver took us to the side of the demo area and picked up some small gravel and put it in our hands; the gravel was very hot.  Another demo was the person throwing a bunch of water in a hole and after several seconds the water vapor made a bang and came up out of the hole.  There was a place in the restaurant where they were cooking chicken over an open pit and the pit was being heated by the volcano.  

After the volcano we were taken to the wine area of the island.  The vineyards here are very different from anything we have seen in the states.  The vines were planted in the dirt under the volcanic rocks/gravel.  Then the gravel is used to make a half circle around the vine to protect it from the wind.  Since there is no (or very little) rain on the island the vines mostly get their water from the volcanic rocks/gravel absorbing the moisture from the humidity.  Definitely a lot of work.  We had a small tasting, and I bought a bottle of dessert wine for us to have in our suite. 

[mj_holiday]

Gibraltar – we had been here before and visited the Monkeys.  We took the shuttle into the village which mostly consisted of duty-free shops.  We heard lots of opinions about Brexit from the shuttle driver on the way in. We stopped at a local café and had a couple of beers before heading back to the ship. 

Seville – we spent two days here. Seville is 60 km up a river from the ocean.  The ship had to go through a lock and then turn around to back the rest of the way since there was no room to turn around near Seville.  We took a horse and carriage ride around the Plaza de Espana and city streets nearby.  The horse was not affected by all the cars or the horns, Chickadee was her name.  The driver gave us lots of interesting facts about the area, but it seemed to us that every building he talked about he said was built in 1929.  To us from the US, 1929 was the year of the start of the great depression, not a year to build magnificent buildings.  Maybe that was the only date in English the driver knew.  (We later learned that Seville hosted a World’s Fair in 1929 and that was what all the building was about). 

On our second day we walked into town and just happened to find the Hard Rock Café.  We sat outside and people watched.  We walked through the park again; it was a beautiful place. 

Sailing from Seville back to the ocean was an interesting thing to watch.  The ship had quite a wake and there was a car parked way to close on the shore.  The wake lifted the car and turned it over as we went by. 

Cadiz was our last port before Lisbon.  We took a Hop On Hop Off bus around town and found an area we went back to.  This was Palm Sunday and you could see lots of people carrying palms as they walked from church.  The weather was very cool in the shade and very warm in the sun.  The plaza that we were in was getting ready for some kind of procession.  We sat for a couple of hours but it was getting too close to all on board so we could only imagine what the procession was like.  They had many chairs set up and we assumed it would be a Palm Sunday procession.  There even was a couple of TV stations set up for it. 

As we docked in Lisbon, we could see what we thought was the old town.  We later learned that there were several of these areas with very narrow streets and they are identified by neighborhood names.  We walked into the old town area near the port.  We stopped at a small restaurant and had a lite lunch.  The area was not level.  All the tables outside were on different levels.  A very fascinating place to stop at and we found our way out. 

[mj_holiday]

We disembarked the next day and had a transfer to our hotel arranged and when we got out of the port building there was our driver.  We spent two additional nights in Lisbon, taking the Hop On Hop Off bus all around town on a couple of different routes which were very interesting.  One route was through the Castle district, very narrow streets and hills.  They used a smaller bus to be able to get through the streets, what an E ticket ride that was. There is way more than you can see in a week.  Lisbon is a beautiful town with some great food. 

It was a very great trip and we are so glad we took it. 

 

 

Differences between Azamara and Regent Seven Seas. I will discuss my opinions about the differences between Azamara Onward and RSSC Voyager which we had recently been on. 

Suites – We booked a Club Continent Suite because our first Azamara cruise in a Veranda cabin was just too small.  I thought we would miss the walk in closest that Voyager had but we didn’t because there was plenty of space for handing clothes and plenty of drawers for other items.  More drawers than the Voyager had. 

Even though we had a bottle of wine and some Jim Beam in our suite we both really missed having the included in suite bar set up that is offered for RSSC (two bottles of wine or liquor and beer of your selection in the frig).  Many time we would get back to the suite after being in town and want to freshen up and have a beer while doing so.  We probably could have had room service deliver the beer, but then we are waiting for that before getting changed etc.  So this could just be that I haven’t figured out what it takes to have a cold one when you are getting back to your suite to get ready for dinner. 

Included beverages – I missed the all inclusive of RSSC where there were very few “top shelf” items that weren’t included.  This meant one day you could have a French white Burgandy and the next day you could get a white wine from Franconia.  RSSC had several selections of NA beer along with a wide variety of regular beers.  With Azamara you get to decide what kind of drinking you are going to do and whether or not to buy a package and what package.  And then throughout the rest of the cruise you analyze (at least I did) whether you had made the correct decision or not.  

Enrichment lectures – On Azamara there were a couple of talks, on shore excursions, on IPhone usage for photo taking and some self-help healing.  I went to the one on photo taking with Smart phone and learned a couple of things about my camera, but it ended with an announcement of the next 3 photo classes that had a fee (but didn’t say how much) and the health discussion also made sure we knew that she did this or that for people that come to see her.  On every RSSC cruise we have been on there have been at least 2 sets of enrichment lectures and one set will be focused on things about the area the cruise is going to. 

Laundry - RSSC takes care of all laundry.  Azamara - you basically get one bag per week, and we are great at really stuffing it.  We needed to do a 3rsd and 4th bag before the end of the cruise.  We were not charged for these.  I found deep in the literature that your one bag per week (for loyalty)applies to each person. 

The Windows lunch buffet was very good and I always found something to my liking.  RSSC La Veranda lunch buffet did not excite me at all.  Several times I couldn’t find anything I wanted and some times when I did get something, it was cold by the time I got to our table.  But I missed having someone helping us get a table when crowded, and someone offering to carry a plate to our table as they do on RSSC. 

Included wine served in Discoveries was poured by the servers, I am not sure I saw anyone that was a bar server.  RSSC have specific people getting wine orders and drinks orders. 

Several events on Azamara come with a price but it seemed like half the time the price was not in any literature to know before you sign up. Of the few things extra on RSSC, the price is listed with the event info. 

End of cruise survey – For RSSC it had to be completed before you left the ship.  For Azamara you will be sent a survey to your email after you get off the ship and you have 7 days to complete it. 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, mj_holiday said:

I was disappointed about the table since it was not as high as I thought I saw in pictures on the web.  It was not high enough for in suite eating.

Those tables are adjustable. There is a lever underneath that allows you to raise or lower it.

[Mackdogmolly]

Thanks for your comprehensive review!!

[cavaaller]

Thank you for taking the time to write this great review!

[mj_holiday]

11 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Those tables are adjustable. There is a lever underneath that allows you to raise or lower it.

Thanks for the info. Will remember next time.