ONWARD and Upward.. our Azamazing "Italy Intensive" Week - April 22 to April 29, 2023. Full Trip Report With Tons of Pix.

[Sleep7]

26 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We’re starting to think about a river cruise too!

🤗Oh they are just wonderful! A different experience than an ocean cruise but equally fantastic!

We have been on the Rhine, the Danube and the Seine and just a few weeks ago a Tulip Time cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels.  They are so relaxing as there are only around 100 people on the ship.

I wrote a blog similar to this Azamara one on the River Cruise boards about our Tulip Time cruise. 📝

[FetaCheese]

Hello my friend from Viking board.  Thanks for your well written review and wonderful photos.  Great to hear that AZ was so fine, especially since new ownership.

 

Took an AZ TA, Journey, way back in 2008, when it was like a spinoff of X. Lots of X crew and staff that we remembered from X.  It was very nice then, but have not been back (no issues).

 

Your detailed review has gotten me interested in taking a look for a future voyage.  Since restart, took 2 V cruises.  Next up is O (R ship, like you were on).

 

Thanks for the link from V board.

[Sleep7]

12 minutes ago, FetaCheese said:

Hello my friend from Viking board.  Thanks for your well written review and wonderful photos.  Great to hear that AZ was so fine, especially since new ownership.

 

Took an AZ TA, Journey, way back in 2008, when it was like a spinoff of X. Lots of X crew and staff that we remembered from X.  It was very nice then, but have not been back (no issues).

 

Your detailed review has gotten me interested in taking a look for a future voyage.  Since restart, took 2 V cruises.  Next up is O (R ship, like you were on).

 

Thanks for the link from V board.

🙋‍♀️Well hello to my old pal FetaCheese from the Viking Board too!

Thank you so much for your sweet compliments.. it truly means a lot.

Wow.. you really sailed on Azamara in it's infancy.. I think it just began in 2008.

It's funny that you mentioned it as a spin off of Celebrity.  Our "Discoverer" status with Azamara is because of the cruises we had taken with Celebrity.

It was (and still is) a nice perk.😊

I hope you will write a review of your O voyage.. I would love to see what cruising with them is like.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and post back on this thread.

Enjoy your future cruise!!!🤗

[FetaCheese]

18 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

🙋‍♀️Well hello to my old pal FetaCheese from the Viking Board too!

Thank you so much for your sweet compliments.. it truly means a lot.

Wow.. you really sailed on Azamara in it's infancy.. I think it just began in 2008.

It's funny that you mentioned it as a spin off of Celebrity.  Our "Discoverer" status with Azamara is because of the cruises we had taken with Celebrity.

It was (and still is) a nice perk.😊

I hope you will write a review of your O voyage.. I would love to see what cruising with them is like.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and post back on this thread.

Enjoy your future cruise!!!🤗

We're Elite on X. Good to know AZ still giving equivalent loyalty status.  That would be great.  Will have to start investigating AZ.

Edited May 2, 2023 by FetaCheese
Clarity

[Sleep7]

1 minute ago, FetaCheese said:

We're Elite on X. Is AZ still giving equivalent loyalty status?  That would be great.  Will have to start investigating AZ.

That's a great question..

I think that you had to have cruised on Azamara at least once before February of this year to still have your Celebrity status matched. I would double check on that though.

I googled it and here is some info about it.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/azamara-celebrity-royal-caribbean-cruise-loyalty-reciprocity/

[stargazer618]

Hey there! Great review! My family and I will be on a very similar cruise next year. We will be sailing on the Pursuit which I saw you had mentioned you had sailed on before. How does Pursuit compare to Onward? Are they pretty similar or are their some significant differences that you can point out for me?

 

I love seeing all of the things you two did at each of the ports! It really looks like you took full advantage of the locations you were at!

[Sleep7]

45 minutes ago, stargazer618 said:

Hey there! Great review! My family and I will be on a very similar cruise next year. We will be sailing on the Pursuit which I saw you had mentioned you had sailed on before. How does Pursuit compare to Onward? Are they pretty similar or are their some significant differences that you can point out for me?

 

I love seeing all of the things you two did at each of the ports! It really looks like you took full advantage of the locations you were at!

👋Hello stargazer618!

Thanks so much for reading my review and for your sweet compliments.🤗

We really had a fantastic time.. you are in for a genuine treat when you sail on the Pursuit.

The Pursuit and the Onward (as well as the Quest and the Journey) are all just about the same ships.. the cabins, the public spaces, the dining areas, the pool deck, etc.  All 4 ships started life as part of Renaissance Cruises and when they went out of business Azamara bought the Quest and the Journey.  Then later the Pursuit and now the Onward.  They were all redone to be identical.

There are small differences between the four ships but very minor so "what you see" in my review is "what you will get" on your upcoming cruise on the Pursuit.👌

Enjoy it all!!  Thanks again!

 

 

[koconnor214]

Awesome review, Sleep7! Loved reliving the cruise and viewing your photos. It was great meeting the two of you; hope to see you again on an upcoming Azamara cruise sometime!

[jmklade]

Thank you Sleep7 for the great review.  My wife and I are taking a 9 day Western Med cruise on Quest in October.  We have sailed many times but never on Azamara (RC and X).  Thank you for restoring my faith in Azamara after all the IT glitches.  I had heard that all was well on the ships once people arrived, but it is nice to have somebody confirm that.  I am very much looking forward to this trip and I also believe we are supposed to have the same Azamazing experience in Livorno as you did.

[Sleep7]

😍

1 hour ago, koconnor214 said:

Awesome review, Sleep7! Loved reliving the cruise and viewing your photos. It was great meeting the two of you; hope to see you again on an upcoming Azamara cruise sometime!

 Oh thanks so much Karen!!  Your post is so sweet and complimentary.

It was just lovely to meet you and your friends on the cruise!

I'm so glad that looking at the pix brings back the smiles of such an awesome week.

Hope you had an easy trip home and that we cross paths again.🤗

[Sleep7]

24 minutes ago, jmklade said:

Thank you Sleep7 for the great review.  My wife and I are taking a 9 day Western Med cruise on Quest in October.  We have sailed many times but never on Azamara (RC and X).  Thank you for restoring my faith in Azamara after all the IT glitches.  I had heard that all was well on the ships once people arrived, but it is nice to have somebody confirm that.  I am very much looking forward to this trip and I also believe we are supposed to have the same Azamazing experience in Livorno as you did.

👋Hello jmklade!

You are so welcome.. thanks so much for taking the time to read my review and for your kind words.

I actually know exactly what cruise you are going on in October! We were going to book that cruise but then I found this one in April and booked it instead as 7 days is better for us than 9 days.  October is such a lovely time in the Med.. true weather perfection. Great choice.😃

I'm glad that my "boots on the ground" reporting put your mind at ease that all is well on the ships even if their IT situation is very frustrating right now.

Going on your first Azamara cruise is the BEST!!! Everything is so new and exciting and in my opinion is a huge step up from RCL and X.

Enjoy every moment!!!🙋‍♀️

 

[jmklade]

1 hour ago, Sleep7 said:

👋Hello jmklade!

You are so welcome.. thanks so much for taking the time to read my review and for your kind words.

I actually know exactly what cruise you are going on in October! We were going to book that cruise but then I found this one in April and booked it instead as 7 days is better for us than 9 days.  October is such a lovely time in the Med.. true weather perfection. Great choice.😃

I'm glad that my "boots on the ground" reporting put your mind at ease that all is well on the ships even if their IT situation is very frustrating right now.

Going on your first Azamara cruise is the BEST!!! Everything is so new and exciting and in my opinion is a huge step up from RCL and X.

Enjoy every moment!!!🙋‍♀️

 

Thanks, looking forward to it.😀

[Mrs.Dukes]

Thank you Sleep7 for sharing this awesome cruise report with us. I really enjoyed reading it. Haven’t been to Italy in a long time, definitely need to consider a trip like you took! You are brave flying in from JFK on the day of the cruise, but totally understand the vacation time limits as my husband is still working too. (I have happily retired!)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Removed posts raising confusing about keeping Azamara loyalty.  Azamara has always said that as long as you have cruised at least once on Azamara, ever, you will keep all your points and your level from all your Azamara and Celebrity cruises.  

 

[Azamara never mentioned points from the Celebrity PowerUp activities, but my account shows all of those through September 2022 as well as the correct point total including all my cruises from Celebrity going back to 2012 through the latest, Azamara in October 2022.]

[Sleep7]

12 hours ago, Mrs.Dukes said:

Thank you Sleep7 for sharing this awesome cruise report with us. I really enjoyed reading it. Haven’t been to Italy in a long time, definitely need to consider a trip like you took! You are brave flying in from JFK on the day of the cruise, but totally understand the vacation time limits as my husband is still working too. (I have happily retired!)

👋Good morning Mrs.Dukes!

Well thanks so much for your sweet compliments and I'm very glad that you enjoyed reading my trip report.  It was truly fun to write and brought back the lovely memories of last week.

I'm honored it lit a revisit Italy spark in you.🇮🇹

Yay for being retired!!

Thanks again.😃

[Sleep7]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Removed posts raising confusing about keeping Azamara loyalty.  Azamara has always said that as long as you have cruised at least once on Azamara, ever, you will keep all your points and your level from all your Azamara and Celebrity cruises.  

 

[Azamara never mentioned points from the Celebrity PowerUp activities, but my account shows all of those through September 2022 as well as the correct point total including all my cruises from Celebrity going back to 2012 through the latest, Azamara in October 2022.]

🙋‍♀️Thanks for clearing that up Jazzbeau.. I appreciate it!🤗

[FetaCheese]

1 hour ago, Sleep7 said:

🙋‍♀️Thanks for clearing that up Jazzbeau.. I appreciate it!🤗

Thanks Jazz.  Sorry to all for my incorrect info.

[Bloodaxe]

20 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

👋Hello stargazer618!

Thanks so much for reading my review and for your sweet compliments.🤗

We really had a fantastic time.. you are in for a genuine treat when you sail on the Pursuit.

The Pursuit and the Onward (as well as the Quest and the Journey) are all just about the same ships.. the cabins, the public spaces, the dining areas, the pool deck, etc.  All 4 ships started life as part of Renaissance Cruises and when they went out of business Azamara bought the Quest and the Journey.  Then later the Pursuit and now the Onward.  They were all redone to be identical.

There are small differences between the four ships but very minor so "what you see" in my review is "what you will get" on your upcoming cruise on the Pursuit.👌

Enjoy it all!!  Thanks again!

 

 

 

Not quite correct, after Renaissance went out of business in 2001 the 8 R Ships had various owners before Royal Caribbean bought the cruise line that owned Journey and Quest in 2007, they were to be part of Celebrity.

We booked our first Celebrity Journey cruise in early 2008 but by the time that we sailed Azamara had been created.

Pursuit and Onward were both Princess ships until Azamara bought them recently, the other 4 R Ships are all now owned by Oceana Cruises.

 

 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Bloodaxe

[Sleep7]

1 minute ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Not quite correct, after Renaissance went out of business in 2001 the 8 R Ships had various owners before Royal Caribbean bought the cruise line that owned Journey and Quest in 2007, they were to be part of Celebrity.

We booked our first Celebrity Journey cruise in early 2008 but by the time that we sailed Azamara had been created.

Pursuit and Onward were both Princess ships until Azamara bought them recently, the

other 4 R Ships are all now owned by Oceana Cruises.

 

 

Ahh.. so interesting.

Thanks Bloodaxe!  I knew there was more to the story than what I wrote so thanks for filling in the blanks.🤗

[Host Jazzbeau]

There's a great article about Renaissance Cruises and its ships on wikipedia:

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

 

[Sleep7]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There's a great article about Renaissance Cruises and its ships on wikipedia:

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

 

Thanks HostJazz!😊

[kozycz]

Thank you so much for your awesome review! I know it took time to write this review and it is much appreciated. For those of us cruising in the next few months, it was reassuring to know that despite all the website issues, your trip was phenomenal. Our last cruise was November 2022 and we cannot wait to be back onboard. Reading your review gave me all the feels of actually living the experiences. Awesome writing! And it was a read that I didn’t want to end! I’m so glad you had a wonderful vacation; Azamara has never disappointed! 

[Sleep7]

33 minutes ago, kozycz said:

Thank you so much for your awesome review! I know it took time to write this review and it is much appreciated. For those of us cruising in the next few months, it was reassuring to know that despite all the website issues, your trip was phenomenal. Our last cruise was November 2022 and we cannot wait to be back onboard. Reading your review gave me all the feels of actually living the experiences. Awesome writing! And it was a read that I didn’t want to end! I’m so glad you had a wonderful vacation; Azamara has never disappointed! 

🤩Oh my goodness kozycz! Your post truly made my day.  Thank you so much for your incredibly sweet compliments on my review.  I'm so glad that it has reassured you that your upcoming cruise will be as AZAMAZING as ALWAYS. It was so fun for me to capture every moment big or small last week and relive it by writing and rereading my posts.  Shout out to DH who knows "the camera eats first" and that all food needs a pic before anyone digs in. 😁

Thank you again.. I'm TRULY touched.

Enjoy every moment of your cruise!!😃

[Sleep7]

👋Good morning! 

Just had a little update and heads up for the shoppers out there.

I am having an issue with my VAT refund and Global Blue due to the ever changing (and eventually improving) world of VAT refunds.

To modernize and streamline the VAT process many European airports are now using automatic machines to scan your form on, which when you get the "green light" you don't have to send your form in for a refund.  It's just automatically credited back to the credit card you purchased the item with. 

When we were in FCO on our way home I went to the customs area and first scanned my form at the machines but it wasn't accepted.  I luckily ran into a Global Blue Rep there who brought me over to the customs agent who stamped it and then she added it to the stack of forms she had in her hands that she was going to send into Global Blue.  Since she couldn't make a copy for me she told me to take a picture of it which I did.  Turns out if you buy your items in one country (Monaco/France) and fly out of another country (Italy) the automatic machines won't work and you will need the traditional envelope that the store usually provides you to mail the forms back to Global Blue. I didn't have the envelope since my saleslady thought we were flying out of France. 

Since it's been almost 2 weeks and my form isn't in the system yet I did fill out a Global Blue inquiry form online but haven't heard back yet.

Just something to keep in mind if you are planning on claiming a VAT refund when you leave Europe and have purchased your items in one country but  leave from another. 

I have received many successful refunds in the past.. each process a little different but they all ended up back on my credit card in due time.

I will post again when I have an update.👍🏻

 

 

[Sleep7]

 

 

😁Still waiting to hear back..