Azamara Quest-Ancient Empires-31st Oct 2009

[mikelam]

Anyone else on board for this cruise?

 

Mike&Lam

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

We will also be on this cruise and we are very much looking forward to trying out Azamara as we have really enjoyed our previous cruise on Oceania (which have a fleet of identical ships). Have you cruised Azamara before?

 

We are also being joined by my mother from New Zealand and my sister who lives in Brighton, UK.

 

We look forward to meeting you on board.

 

Cheers,

 

David (aka Kiwifruit) & Dougal

[mikelam]

Hi David & Dougal,

 

Welcome on board. My name is Lam (HK) and my partner is Michael (UK). This is our first time on an Azamara ship, but we have cruised with Celebrity seven times on their larger vessels.

 

Lam

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Lam & Michael,

 

We look forward to catching up with you onboard. I have spent a lot of time in Hong Kong in my former job and loved staying up there for an extended period.

 

We have cruised on a number of larger cruise ships including Celebrity Summit but we have come to prefer the smaller size ships as they are more intimate. Other than the size of the ship the biggest pro is the dining which is greatly superior to the large cruise ships. On the negative side the entertainment is a bit limited and shows are more cabaret than Broadway but this doesn't really worry us given that the itinerary is so port intensive.

 

David & Dougal

[mikelam]

Hi Guys,

 

When we plan our cruise, we base it on the itinerary rather than the size of the ship. We have been with Costa cruises a few times, P&O once (never again) and, ever since, Celebrity. In total we have been on 11 cruises plus a Nile cruise.

 

When we were on our East Mediterranean cruise in 2007, we met a couple from Melbourne. In 2008 we were on the Australia/New Zealand cruise and, when we docked in Melbourne for a day, they came and picked us up and we had a lovely day in your city. Nice folk down-under.

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Glad to hear you enjoyed your visit to Melbourne. We live very near to the pier in Melbourne where the cruise liners dock and enjoy watching them sail in. It's such a pity that neither Celebrity nor Azamara are cruising Australia/New Zealand this year.

 

We also chose this cruise based on the itineray as many of the ports are new to us, with a few old favorites thrown in. I do envy you living in Europe and being so close to the action. We don't relish the thought of 23 hour flight but it's all worth it once you get there and at least we have the advantage of returning to summer once the cruise is over.

 

Have you signed up for the Cruise Critic party on this cruise? I don't know if Azamara schedule FOD meetings but I doubt it given the size of the ship.

 

Cheers,

 

D & D

[mikelam]

Hi Guys

 

If we manage to cope with another long flight, we would love to explore more places in Australia/New Zealand plus visit Fiji, Hawaii etc.

 

We have signed up for the Cruise Critic party; FoD, we shall have to wait and see – we had it on our last cruise everyday, although only one couple turned up on the first night, so we didn’t attend for the rest of the cruise. We had cocktails with the guys everyday and we are making our first transatlantic cruise with them next April.

 

Are you flying directly to Athens? We are not stopping for an extra day in Athens and Rome as we have done it all before. We love Istanbul, docked in there twice, but this time we may consider visiting some bars. Normally we organise our own excursions but in Alexandria, we may consider joining either the cruise excursion or a local tour company although we still have not decided whether to go to Cairo or stay in Alexandria – decisions, decisions! When the ship docks in Sorrento we will just catch a ferry to Capri and make our own way around. The rest of the ports are still under review re excursions.

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Because of the length of the flights we will probably spend a couple of nights in Athens prior to the tour to get over the jetlag although we plan to fly out straight after the cruise. We have found from Civitavecchia its just as easy to fly out of Pisa as opposed to Rome and will probably connect through London (or Frankfurt) to get Qantas flight home.

 

Like you we rarely take the ships excursions but rather prefer to do our own thing. In Chios and Limassol I think we will probably hire a car and drive ourselves around but we have not really planned anything for the Turkish ports. We have been to Istanbul and Kusadasi before but I really don't know much about the other ports in Turkey.

 

In Alexandria we will most definitely go down to Cairo to see the Pyramids, Cairo Museum etc. I have spent time in Egypt previously but it's new to Dougal and my folks. I think we will probably arrange private tour as they seem to be quite reasonably priced (US$95 pp) and we're not that keen on big coach groups.

 

It sounds like you guys enjoy cruising as much as we do, we have met some great friends over the years, many of whom we still remain in touch with.

 

D & D

[mikelam]

Hi D&D

 

Most likely we will stay in Alexandria. Did you get your quote from Ramesestours Company? We may try to get the quote from them for Alexandria tour.

 

We have never been to Limassol before. Unfortunately we arrive on Sunday and have only half of day (7-1) to see the city.

 

The following links may provide you some information at the area:

 

Antalya

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/med/Antalya/index.html

Bodrum

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/Aegean/Bodrum/index.html

Fethiya

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/go/med/fethiye/index.html

 

Happy searching.

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Less than 10 weeks now so the countdown begins. Just found out that one of our flights has been cancelled so waiting to find out how the airline (Etihad) intends to rectify it as initially they had transferred us to a flight arriving into Athens a day after the cruise departs ;-)

 

In Limassol I tink we may actually do one of the ship's excursions given the limited time available, not that I'm convinced there is that much to see there.

 

Are you enrolled in the Celebrity Captain's Club? If so you can make an advance booking for the speciality restaurants which we have already done. Not sure how much of an advantage that is as we previously found on Oceania that you can often get in even if you don't have a reservation.

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Less than 10 weeks now so the countdown begins. Just found out that one of our flights has been cancelled so waiting to find out how the airline (Etihad) intends to rectify it as initially they had transferred us to a flight arriving into Athens a day after the cruise departs ;-)

 

In Limassol I tink we may actually do one of the ship's excursions given the limited time available, not that I'm convinced there is that much to see there.

 

Are you enrolled in the Celebrity Captain's Club? If so you can make an advance booking for the speciality restaurants which we have already done. Not sure how much of an advantage that is as we previously found on Oceania that you can often get in even if you don't have a reservation.

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[mikelam]

Hi Guys,

 

Summer is over in UK. Autumn chill is here. Our holiday season countdown begins.

 

Hope you have sorted it out your flight problem.

 

We have not yet decided which day to go to the speciality restaurants. Mike does not eat sea food so we will only go to Prime C restaurant.

 

In Limassol, we may just catch the local bus, no.30 to the old town area.

 

We are going to visit Berlin for a weekend break in 10 days time, so as soon as we get back, we will start looking into the shore excursions.

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Only eight weeks now and counting ;-)

 

We have finally sorted out our flights and we are now flying via Abu Dhabi and Larnaca and arrive in Athens three hours later than originally scheduled but still quicker than the alternative of flying via London or Frankfurt.

 

We are spending a night in Athens at the Hilton before the cruise to catch up on some sleep and my sister will join us there. You may well find yourself on the same flight as my sister ..... when are you arriving in Athens?

 

With regards Aquilina, I checked out the menu as I'm not a huge fan of seafood myself but there were plenty of non-seafood alternatives so Mike may not have too many worries.

 

Have a great time in Berlin, it's always a fun city.

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[mikelam]

Hi Guyz,

 

I just checked on the Cruise Connections Party as of 5th Sept we are up to 89 people signed up! It is rather a big group for a small ship.

 

We are flying out from Heathrow on 31st direct to Athens.

 

The service in the Captain’s Club office in UK is terrible, so far we are unable to contact them to reserve speciality restaurants in advance, and we have emailed to US head office since Monday but still have not had a reply!

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

90 people for the Cruise Connections Party is a huge group for a ship this size..

 

With regards the Captain's Club we just called them in the US and they couldn't have been more helpful with dining reservations done in a couple of minutes.

 

Flying in the day of the cruise really isn't an option for us as we need contingency plan in the event our flight from Australia is delayed. Not such a problem for you guys as there are multiple daily flights to Athens.

 

It's a nice Spring morning here in Melbourne........

 

Have a great time in Berlin !!!!

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[Kiwifruit]

Anybody else joining the four of us on this sailing?

[mikelam]

Hi Guyz,

 

Finally we have received our cruise documents today. Less than 3 weeks to go, can’t wait. We are looking forward to meeting you guys.

 

M&L

[Kiwifruit]

Hi Guys,

 

Just two weeks and we will be winging our way to Athens .... not really looking forward to the flight (24 hours on a plane is way too long) but I'm sure the cruise will make it all worthwhile ;-)

 

Look forward to catching up with you both onboard !!!

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[newmexone]

There are another 4 of us also on the cruise. MaryLynn and Ellen and Madeline and Cynthia. Madeline and Cynthia are friends who have partners not into cruising. This will be our first cruise on a "large" ship in many years - yes I know the Quest is small by cruise ship standards. We just returned from a cruise on the Danube which we really enjoyed. We hadn't planned on back to back trips, but the deal was too good to pass up. We'll look forward to meeting up with you on board.

[Kiwifruit]

Welcome Aboard ;-),

 

While we haven't cruised on this ship before we have cruised on Oceania previously in the Mediterranean and the ships they operate are almost identical in all respects. We find the size of the ship to be great and not as impersonal as the large cruise ships and I'm sure you will enjoy it. It's a great itinerary too.

 

Like us, you no doubt have a long flight to get to Athens are you planning time there before the cruise?

 

Look forward so seeing you all onboard.

 

Cheers,

 

D&D

[mikelam]

Hello,

 

Welcome on board. This is the smallest cruise ship we have been on. I have read so many good things about this ship. I hope everything up to expectation.

 

We are looking forward to meeting you all.

 

L&M

[Kiwifruit]

Are you all registered for the Cruise Critic "Mix & Mingle"?

[newmexone]

We are getting really close to heading out. We leave on the 29th and will arrive in Athens on the 30th. We plan on staying at a hotel near the port and doing some exploring the morning and early afternoon before we embark. It will be a long trip as we go from Albuquerque to Dallas to Madrid to Athens. While living in the Southwest is great, traveling outside the States is always a challenge.

 

We have all signed up for the Mix and Mingle and we'll look forward to catching up with you on board.

[Kiwifruit]

We also leave on the 29th Oct via Abu Dhabi and Larnaca and then spend the night before joining the cruise in Athens just to get over some of the jetlag. We will probably visit the Acropolis the following morning and have lunch in Plaka before heading to the ship.

 

Mike and Lam are so lucky as it's just a short hop for them across to Athens ;-)

 

See you all soon !!!!

 

Cheers, D&D

[newmexone]

I had an e-mail this am from a friend who is doing the cruise in reverse and will be disembarking in Athens when we get on the ship. He said it has been wonderful - fewer than 700 guests and 400 crew. He said the French Chef was excellent as were the amenities on board. We're even more excited about the trip after his note. See you on-board.