No info on shore excursions?????

[LuAnn]

Called today and rep said shore excursiona would not be posted until the beginning of March. LuAnn

[woz111]

We will be aboard the Azamara Journey cruise. The cruise departs 10/9/08.

Most reviews regarding shore excursions that are sponsored by this cruise line all agree that they are all over-priced. What options are available for ports such as Dubrovnik, Split, or Venice? This will be our first European trip and would to start making some advanced plans.

 

woz111

[LuAnn]

We will be aboard the Azamara Journey cruise. The cruise departs 10/9/08.

Most reviews regarding shore excursions that are sponsored by this cruise line all agree that they are all over-priced. What options are available for ports such as Dubrovnik, Split, or Venice? This will be our first European trip and would to start making some advanced plans.

 

woz111

 

We did Dubrovnik and Venice "on our own"...walked/boated into town..got tourist maps once there and did research here on Cruise Critic..look under the cruise message boards, Ports of Call, and the Med. area..should find some reviews from other members re private tours etc. Another good web site is tripadvisor.com..you can research by city and find out what to do and who has done what previously. I have not been to Split (don't even know where it is :o ) so can't help you there. Good luck, have a wonderful time and let me know if you need further help! LuAnn

[woz111]

Thanks for the info. We are really excited about our trip. The info you provided should helpout with tour options.

 

The city of Spit is located in Crotia. I have not been able to find much information about this place. However, we have some time to do the research.

 

Thanks again,

 

woz111

[relayforlife]

Folks on our April 26 cruise found the following excursion for Split.

 

Sebastiano

Coop. Sicily Life

Via Salita Branco 1/8

98039 Taormina ME

mobil phone +39 3284137533 - 3471293107

fax +39 0623317599

info@sicilylife.com

www.sicilylife.com

 

He has offered a full day tour:

The entire price of EURO 190,00 for 1/2/3 persons, 220,00 for 4, 240,00 for 5/6 persons, 260,00 for 7/8 persons, includes a private deluxe auto with English speaking driver/Guide.

 

The other person filled his tour in less than a day. I was able to book a second vehice. Can let you know after our excursion on April 29 how it was.

Marilynn

[katiebeth]

I just checked the tours available for Florence (we overnight on our June 21st sailing) and there are 9 tours available (two of which involve a Florence/Venice overnight at $1695.00 double or $1895.00 single) and a third is a $1695.00 Hot-Air Balloon over Tuscany.

 

We have been to Venice so are not interested in the Florence/Venice excursion. This leaves six tours to choose from over a two day period. There is only one mild tour that my elderly parents would able to select from for the two day period. It is a Pisa Tour which I am sure they will take. (4 hours with not a lot of walking required). However, unless they want a 9 and 1/2 shopping excursion to Florence on the other day (involving and hour or so stop at a leather factory ...been there done that ......but no thanks!! LOL)

 

My immediate family of four will be o.k. because we can do any tour in terms of activity level. However, the selections are very limited. I am concerned that if this is all they have to offer in a major major city, what the options will be in many of the lesser known ports on our cruise.

 

We have been to Florence before on the Millennium (only one day) and if I had to guess there were at least 15 or 20 tours available. (probably 3 or 4 being mild level of activity).

 

We are not big on booking independent tours (although, we have on several occasions while cruising in Europe) because we have a couple of bad experiences. (even with highly reputable companies that have come with good recommendations).

 

I am hoping that Azamara will be adding some more options to the excursions prior to the European sailing. Otherwise, my parents, unfortunately may be spending more time onboard than anticipated.

 

I am curious if those who have sailed with Azamara before feel that they had adequate and varied excursions to choose from.

 

I have to say that we have always felt that Celebrity offers a nice and abundant number of excursions. It has come as a great surprise to see how limited the offerings are for Azamara. I am also surprised that they are offering no private 4 to 8 hour excursions with a driver. Celebrity usually has several of these type excursions available at many of the European ports.

 

Thanks

Nancy

[joandbun]

HI everyone

Yes tour choices do seem limited for the European cruises. We have seen florence & pisa so want soemthing different this time. Our itinerary stops overnight in Venice so why do another (expesnive) overnight Florence/Venice trip? Had hoped for a Siena option out of Livorno but they only offer Lucca with wine tasting as an alternative destination & not into the big shopping bit really.

for some folks on our Sept sailing it will be the first time to Itlay or Europe so florence & Pisa will be more important to them which means getting together for a private tour to other places more tricky. May end up taking the Lucca option - which I belive is a fab place & is on my list of places to see but I wanted Sienna this time. :mad: - stamp foot! :rolleyes:

 

On the other hand we are keen to try out the excursion to visit the Ferrari place out of Ravenna. Both like to watch the Grand Prix.

 

Some detailed research is required for private options too.

jo

[Susan-M]

We have been to Florence before on the Millennium (only one day) and if I had to guess there were at least 15 or 20 tours available. (probably 3 or 4 being mild level of activity).

 

 

Hi Nancy,

With Quest having 1/3 the passenger capacity of Millennium, it doesn't seem surprising that the number of shore excursions are that much fewer, but I agree that it makes planning more of a challenge when you are relying on cruise excursions. It's always helpful to be able to see the excursion offerings before booking a cruise but of course, that hasn't been the case to date for many who have booked Azamara cruises.

[Cruise Junky]

Had hoped for a Siena option out of Livorno but they only offer Lucca with wine tasting as an alternative destination & not into the big shopping bit really.

 

That was the one that frankly shocked me. There's no excursion to Siena or San Gimignano. Only a cooking class in Volterra.

[katiebeth]

I wanted to post on this thread, as well as the one I started about shore excursion options in Europe this summer.

 

Per Host Andy's suggestion, I called Captain's Club and had them transfer me to Azamara (specifically asked to speak with someone who knows about shore excursions). The person I spoke with was very helpful and told me that the brochure that is currently available on their website is not complete. On our cruise for example (June 21st) the only excursions showing now are for Florence, Sorrento, and Monte Carlo. She said that the remainder of the excursions for the other ports will be downloaded by the end of this month.

 

I also specifically asked her if additional tours will be added to the ports that are currently showing a list of excursions, and she said yes. So, hopefully there will be more options in these ports than what they are currently showing.

 

So Joandbun, there is still hope!! Maybe there will be some excursions offered to Siena or San Gimignano (which I would personally like to visit, as well). Jo, you may want to call Azamara and confirm yourself, but this is what I was told. I recommend, Host Andy's suggestion to me, which is to call Captain's Club and have them put you thru to a representative at Azamara who knows about shore excursions.

 

Happy Sailings,

 

Nancy

[joandbun]

Nancy - Many thanks for the info. :D . I do think the options are limited right now so it will be good if they come up with some extra trips.

Maybe I'll try & call Az too.

jo

[katiebeth]

well, it looks like the shore excursions have been finalized. I am sorry to report that they are very limited and nothing has been added to Florence ...... nothing to San Gimignano or Siena. In some of the smaller Greek ports, they are offering only two excursions. I am concerned that in many ports there are no mild tours offered at all. This will be a a problem for my elderly parents. I am not sure what if any private tours I will be able to find in some of these smaller ports.

 

I understand that this is a smaller cruise line, but even so, the limited offering of shore excursions is really disappointing.

 

My immediate family will be fine because we can do a wide range of excursions, but my parents (my mother has limited mobility) are going to have very very few options (and none in many of the ports).

 

 

Nancy

[Hlitner]

I have been very critical of Azamara's tour offerings (not to mention the awful service from their customer service folks in the home office). However, do not despair about the lack of decent European tour offerings. Think of it as an opportunity. We have been traveling in Europe for over 35 years (land and more than a dozen Med cruises) and have not used a ships' tour in over 25 years. If you are uncomfortable doing things on your own, simply arrange for private tours where you almost always get more for your money and avoid the cattle-like large bus tours. A good starting point would be the cruise critic Roll-Call board for your cruise where you can try to get together with other similar minded passengers. The internet also makes it easy to find private tour operators, hire a car/driver, get train schedules, or even rent a car (we love to rent cars in many ports). You can also get a lot of specific port advice on the Europe board regarding options in each port. The sad thing about Azamara's tour offerings are not only the small number of choices, but that they seem to often ignore some of the best options.

 

Hank

[Luckyladym]

We also were disappointed in the poor variety of excursions offered by Azamara.

We were on the Quest in January...and had selected that itinerary because it included ports to which we had never been in trips to the Caribbean. For example: in Puerto Rico, rather than docking in San Juan, the Quest stopped in Ponce and Mayiquez. Aha, we thought, new ports, new things to do!...what in reality happened was new ports, and little to do unless you were interested in beaches and snorkeling.

Logic now tells us that these are seldom visited ports precisely because there is little to offer by way of excursions...minimal daily tourism...and lack of experience. All the ships stop in San Juan because there is much to do and see.

 

I wonder how many passengers would want to go to cities other than Florence when the ship stops in Livorno? And are there tour operators there that can economically offer tours to the smaller cities and towns.

 

Sounds to me that self-arranged tours are the way to go. At least until Azamara has more than six months experience in some of these ports.

 

JMHO

Marilyn

[katiebeth]

I thought I would post Azamara's response to my e-mail to them concerning what I believe to be an inadequate offering of shore excursions on our June 21st sailing on the Quest (Athens to Rome). IMHO the excursions do not live up to their claim that they would be offering an "immersion" type of shore excursion experience. In addition, I indicated that I was concerned that in several ports there is nothing offered for persons with limited mobility. My parents who are in their late seventies will be traveling with us and my mother has some mobility issues.

 

In the e-mail I indicated that both my husband and myself are Elite Captain club members( as well as my parents), and have cruised with Celebrity 3 times to Europe in the past four years and have always had an abundance of shore excursions to choose from. I was not saying this because I expect any type of special treatment, but wanted to let them know that we are loyal and frequent Celebrity cruisers. I was hoping that they would like to know our thoughts on our experience thus far with Azamara. Obviously, as you can see from their response, the fact that we have been loyal and frequent cruisers with Celebrity (we have also sailed RCCL several times) does not seem to matter at all. They are clearly not open to any type of suggestion with regards to excursions. I must say it is rather disappointing.

 

From: AzamaraCustomerService@celebrity.com, AzamaraCustomerService... [Add to Address Book]

To: Nancy

Subject: Re: Disappointing Shore Excursions

Date: Mar 3, 2008 8:18 PM

 

Dear Nancy,

 

We apologize that the Shore Excursions offered through the Cruise line

are not what you were expecting. The contacts that were set up through the

local tour company are finalized, we would not be able to make any

exceptions

our add any additional tours.

 

 

Thank you for contacting Azamara Cruises.

 

I purposely left out the representative's name because I did not think it would be appropriate to post.

 

Anyway, I am not exactly "feeling the love" (LOL) from Azamara.

 

I think I would feel a lot better about the situation if they would have said they valued my opinion and would look into my concerns and try to add some additional excursions if feasible.

 

Nancy

[cruiseyguy]

Katiebeth-It is what it is. Maybe more research on your part before you booked your cruise and bought all those air tickets would have spared us your many posts and threads. Try some independent tour operators. Stay on the ship. Whatever. But please, give it a rest. And have a nice cruise. Thanks.

[Cruise Junky]

Katiebeth-It is what it is. Maybe more research on your part before you booked your cruise and bought all those air tickets would have spared us your many posts and threads. Try some independent tour operators. Stay on the ship. Whatever. But please, give it a rest. And have a nice cruise. Thanks.

 

Little rude don't you think? If you don't want to read her posts, you could always skip them! I was looking at Azamara for next year and I'm glad she's posting the issues she's having. There's a lot of cheerleaders on this board that everything is always sunny with Azamara, it's nice to read a little from the other side.

[cruiseyguy]

Didn't mean to sound rude, just frustrated. Many of katiebeth's issues seem to have been personal ones that could have been resolved and/or answered with a little research on her part and did not bring something new to these boards.

[katiebeth]

Dear Cruiseyguy,

 

I just wanted to clarify that I was not able to research what Azamara was offering in terms of shore excursions prior to booking my cruise because the excursions were just finalized and made available on their website this past Friday (Feb. 29th). Others on these boards (besides myself) have indicated that they too are surprised by the limited options.

 

I was hoping that by posting Azamara's response back to me that it would be helpful to others to know that "it is what it is".

 

Dear Cruise Junky .... hopefully some of these issues are related to the fact that Azamara is new and still haven't worked out all of the kinks. Most of the posts from those just returning from recent sailings seem to indicate that things are certainly improving. I will post when we return from our cruise in June. I am glad my posts have been helpful to you.

 

Happy Sailings,

 

Nancy

[joandbun]

Hi Nancy - I agree this is disappointing.:( & their response seems very abrupt. I am rather underwhelmed by the choice we have for our Sept Best of Italy cruise. Most on our roll call thread also are disappointed at the choices. No Siena & the 2 day florence to Venice seems a waste as we spend an overnight in Venice anyway. We booked this cruise March last year, before Az was born - ie when the Quest was still part of Celebrity so you can imagine it has been very interesting to see how things have been developing.

 

Az have jsut announced he 09 itineraries & are promising marvellous excursions so I feel we have missed out this year.

Rigth now it seems to be just me on our roll call cruise who wants to visit Siena & a private tour for 1 going to be too pricey.

 

Ah well, roll with it & see how things shuffle down

 

jo

[katiebeth]

Dear Jo,

 

I really have to agree with the overnight to Venice from Florence, particularly since your itinerary already calls on Vencie. Our itinerary does not, but I would think that those wanting to visit Venice would select a cruise that included it on the itinerary rather than pay the $1600 to go there from Florence. The hot air balloon ride over Tuscany at $1600 per person seems rather odd as well .....just seems like a lot of money and I would be surprised if that is a sell-out. So as you know, that leaves about 4 or 5 other excursions to choose from over a two day period. Just seems they are missing the mark.

 

I did see the 2009 itineraries and they do look really terrific. They must be planning on "beefing up" the options for excursions as well.

 

I will report back after my June sailing. I do hope you have a wonderful cruise and can somehow manage to get to Sienna.

 

Happy Sailings,

 

Nancy

[joandbun]

Thanks Nancy. I am certain we will still have a great cruise & I will be keeping an eye on the boards for feedback:D

 

Enjoy!

jo

[John&Betty]

Hi all,

 

When I started this thread I was irked at the lack of tours in Split and Koper. Not because I wanted to book a ship's tour but because I wanted ideas as to what to do on our own. I believe, as Hank does, that you can do more in greater comfort and for less money if you book a private tour from a local company.

 

It takes around six people to do that economically and the roll call boards are the place to find other people to share with. Our roll call thread has produced several private tours shared by 6 or 8 people that have never met before meeting on the CC board. It's fun to see how well it works.

 

John

[gosport11]

hi in some of the less visted ports you will struggle to find a private tour ,checked azarma website for 10 may 8 pages of tours 6 if you take away venice n rome graham ps have you tried other cos web sites ie po and see what they offer graham

[gosport11]

try www.vistsplit.com graham