Port information please

[Debchgo]

BJC...We are on the same cruise as you. I have taken many cruises over the years and I would highly recommend not booking through the ship. They get a kick back on everything they book and it is way over priced. For example, in Sorrento for less than the price of 2 people on the pompeii & Amalfi coast including Amalfi/Ravello/Positano & sorrento we highered our own tour guide. He will pick us up at the ship, take us to everything mentioned above in a new Mercedese Benz. The only thing xtra we have to pay for is enterance into Sorrento which is euro 11 pp. It is going to cost us euro 300 for the entire day 8-6. We are now in the planning stages for Rome...We are going to set up a train ride to Rome euro 9 pp each way then we have a guide...hope this helps

 

Tory707-

 

Who did you book your tour of Amalfi/Ravello/Positano & sorrento with? I am looking for a similar tour.

 

Thanks!

[rsfriedm]

We are on that ship as well. How many of you are going for 300 euro? Great deal for a group. When my kids were young I hired a guide but when it is only two I don't find a savings. Love to be part of a group if anyone is interested.

[tory707]

http://www.carsorrento.it/

This tour is private just my Wife & I. If you book through them please tell them that John C who is booked the same day/same ship referred you.

[minniemax]

My husband and I are on the same cruise. We also plan on doing some of our own touring due to costs and not always enjoying being on buses. We have decided to do a private tour when we land in Sorrento - a car will pick us up for a tour of Amalfi coast and Pompeii. That will be our one splurge, although actually it is not much more than the group tours offered by Azamara - our travel agent here is arranging it. Maybe we will meet on the cruise. Sounds like we are all about the same age (me, 56, husband - 60). Transplants from Wash.DC to Florida - still working.

[minniemax]

We were also thinking about the train to Rome - have you found any good web sites or info regarding getting to the station from the ship; reliability of train times, etc. We would rather be doing smaller tours or exploring independently.

[minniemax]

We were also thinking about the train to Rome - have you found any good web sites or info regarding getting to the station from the ship; reliability of train times, etc. We would rather be doing smaller tours or exploring independently.

[minniemax]

Hi. A small group tour in Dubrovnik sounds like a good way to go and we would be interested in something like that. By the way, I apologize for any duplication in my responses to posts on this forum - I am fairly new to the cruise critic forums and learning my way around.

[BJC]

For some time now I was beginning to wonder why there were only two of us on this cruise, however I am glad there are now more responding.

I will post this on both the Roll Call and the general Azamara Thread, might I suggest that we all respond in the Roll Call Thread that way we don’t miss anything.

Also don’t forget to register for a CC Connections reception.

As for Shore excursions this is what we have organised for ourselves, just to give you an idea, also we have found any number of websites that will give you maps and information on out Ports of Call, a good one is the Princess Cruise site, where they have a range of fact sheets available, like Celebrity have but which you can only get on board, smacks of them not wanting you to know too much in case you go off on your own and not use their Excursions!

Venice (day 2) – Azamara Walking Tour of Venice - 4 hours, we did this because we were concerned that apparently it is very easy to get lost, and as this was our first time we didn’t want to miss out on all the sights, and as we are doing this in the morning and we finish in the Piazza San Marco so will spend time afterwards doing our own thing.

Koper – At our own leisure, and here I believe we will be docked within walking distance of the “Old Town” so armed with a map we will simply walk around and take in the sights.

Split – Azamara Walking Tour – 2 hours, decided to have the guide show us the places of interest, and then we can go off and do our own thing afterwards.

Dubrovnik – At our own leisure, and here I believe we will be docked a bit of a distance from the “Old Town” so am hoping that they (Journey) will have shuttle buses, if not will share a Taxi with someone, so again armed with a map we will simply walk around the Old Town and Walls and take in the sights.

Bari – At our own leisure, and here again I believe we will be docked within walking distance of the “Old Town” so armed with a map we will simply walk around and take in the sights.

Sorrento – Here we hope to do an independent tout of the Isle of Capri, and hopefully when we are tendered in they will drop us on the wharf where the Ferries leave from?

Rome – Azamara Etruscan Scenic Drive – 4 hours, decided to do this tour as we spent time in Rome before and after our last Cruise on Galaxy, and the port is miles from anywhere, having said that the Train service is good but depending where they dock it could be a 40 minute walk from the ship!

Monte Carlo – Again we are doing our own thing here, we will spend most of our time in the old city of Monaco rather than at the Casino end of the bay, again I believe we are tendered and that they will drop us at the wharf just below the old city, with a nice walk up through the Gardens.

Marseilles – Azamara Aix-en Province – 4 hours, which I am informed is a lovely city and well worth the bus ride, after which we will wander around Marseilles for a while.

Barcelona – Azamara Montserrat Tour with Hotel Drop Off – 4 hours, mostly because we would like to see Montserrat and also so that we can get dropped at our hotel for a couple of nights stay.

Anyway that’s what we are up to, as you can see we like to get about on foot and look at the old cities and steep ourselves in the history as coming from Australia where we only have just over 200 years of history on display, as such places with thousands of years history is quite a novelty to us!

Anyway hope this helps, and please if you want to contact me please do so in the Roll Call thread, thanks.

Not long to go now, looking forward to the Cruise.

Regards, Bruce

[tory707]

Minniemax...I am still trying to figure out the train for Rome. We have a private guide for there also but we need to find a way there. Not sure if we can buy our train tix when we get there or should we buy them ahead of time. If we buy them ahead of time (which we want to do) I'm not sure how long it will take to get off the ship & over to the train station. Any suggestions?

[Lobbylin]

 

Venice (day 2) – Azamara Walking Tour of Venice - 4 hours, we did this because we were concerned that apparently it is very easy to get lost, and as this was our first time we didn’t want to miss out on all the sights, and as we are doing this in the morning and we finish in the Piazza San Marco so will spend time afterwards doing our own thing

 

Dubrovnik – At our own leisure, and here I believe we will be docked a bit of a distance from the “Old Town” so am hoping that they (Journey) will have shuttle buses, if not will share a Taxi with someone, so again armed with a map we will simply walk around the Old Town and Walls and take in the sights.

 

 

 

Venice - Take a look at this link for info on the vaporetto boats - take the No1 Vaporetto http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vaporetto_routes2_table.htm up the Grand Canal from Piazzale Roma to St Marks Square for a very cheap 30 min tour - get a seat out on top for wonderful views!! 6.5euro pp for a single journey or 14 europp for an unlimited 12hr pass on the vaporaretto. You can then use the pass to go to Murano etc to watch the glass blowing (factories give free tours)

I promise you cannot get lost if you have a decent map of Venice. Look for the back streets that lead from the Rialto area to St Marks Square for a lovely walk.

http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/vaporetto_routes.htm

 

 

 

Dubrovnik - Head straight to the old port area within the city walls and take one of the local boats to Cavtat - which is a beautiful waterside town about 20 mins by boat, then return around midday to explore Dubrovnik at your leisure. Boats to Cavtat leave every hour and return every hour or so. I think it was 14euro pp return - well worth it and much cheaper than the ship's tour to Cavtat.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cavtat_village.JPG

 

Have fun!:)

[rubinstein2r]

We did the Quest June 7-21 from Civitavecchia to Athens. Some of the ports overlap. We took a train from Rome to Civit... It was an easy ride and the walk from the station to the port was only a few easy blocks. Sorrento was one of the few ports where Azamara provided a shuttle.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

--Myra in AZ