Review - June 14 2009 Black Sea Cruise - LONG

[tgg]

This was our 4th Azamara cruise, the second on the Quest. We feel that Azamara provides both a great cruise experience and great value for the money. If not, we would have stayed with Oceania.

 

Fellow Passengers

Celebrity seems to be casting an ever-widening marketing net to find people to fill their Azamara ships. We met people from Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Germany, Italy, Canada, France, and Hong Kong among other places. There was also a wide age range. There were a few multigenerational families, families travelling with kids (all perfectly behaved), adults travelling with an elderly parent, as well as some gay couples. The Germans seemed to keep to themselves while everyone else mixed.

 

The Ship

I’ll just say that the ship is in great shape.

 

Things that Work Well

* Service in the specialty restaurants was wonderful. They are also blissfully quiet.

* Our cabin was kept spotless by Alwin and his assistant Victor. It didn’t matter whether we went to breakfast early or late, the cabin was completely serviced by the time we got back.

* Sue Denning, the Cruise Director, greeted us by name. With more than 600 people on board including 90 people who have sailed with Azamara before, I can’t imagine how she does it. I was impressed.

* The captain takes all his meals with the passengers. This allowed a very interesting conversation at lunch one day. The ship’s officers are out and about all the time.

* I was the original poster of a question on this board about changes in the CruiseCritic party. I’m happy to say that it was as elegant as ever, and it is a great way to meet the ship’s officers as well as your fellow roll call participants.

* Embarkation and disembarkation were effortless.

* Tenders operate efficiently with either no lines or very short lines.

* We found the food quality excellent, with very few exceptions. The chocolate desserts are fantastic.

* Sue Denning’s show was extremely well received. Not only can she sing, she is also very funny.

 

Things that Need Work

 

* Service at breakfast needs lots of work. Some days there was coffee served by a waiter and other days people were lined up at the coffee machine to get their own. Dirty dishes spent too long sitting on the table waiting to be cleared. Many waiters looked bored and uninterested. Others were cheerful and provided great service.

* If you’re going to have live plants, they have to be taken care of. Being greeted by limply hanging yellowed leaves and plants that obviously have not been watered and are just hanging on is not pretty.

* Entertainment quality was all over the map. Singer Cheryl Sinclair was wonderful, comedian Allen somebody should have been put off the ship after the first five minutes of his “act”. His material is older than he is.

* In-room television programming was minimal. It would also be nice to have a music channel or two.

* TV shipboard account status screens were incorrect.

* Some coffee and juice machines on deck 9 broke and were out of commission for the rest of the cruise.

* Instead of the nice fresh blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries on the Journey, the Quest had frozen berries that were barely defrosted at the beginning of the cruise. They were a soupy, sodden mess. I switched to fresh pineapple and melon.

 

Ports

 

Athens – We arrived early morning the day of the cruise and, following helpful instructions from a CruiseCritic poster, we took the express bus (X-96 and easy to find) from the airport to Piraeus. The cost was 3.2 euros. When we got to Piraeus, we probably should have taken a cab to the ship because it was docked quite a distance from where we were. However, we love to walk and had lots of time so we walked. We had worked off lunch by the time we got there. Had it been 10 degrees warmer, we would have taken the cab.

 

Varna – We walked to the Sea Garden, hoping to visit the Maritime Museum, which was closed for renovation. However, there was a lot to see outside the Museum of WW I vintage. We walked through a residential neighborhood and accidentally ran across the Roman Baths. From there we walked to the Opera House and Cathedral and then back to the ship.

 

Odessa - The ship was greeted by a 15 piece band. We took the half day ship’s tour of Odessa, although this is a really easy city to tour on your own. The opera house seen from outside is spectacular. The architecture is interesting. It had been 104 degrees two days before we arrived, but in the 80s when we were there.

 

Sevastopol – We were again greeted by a band. The first thing we learned is that the name of the city is pronounced Sev uh STOW pull rather than Suh VAST a pole. We had arranged a private tour through Intourist with two couples from our roll call. The Intourist guide was wonderful. Here is our itinerary:

 

09.00 – Departure to the city centre for a mini walking tour

09.10 – 09.40 – a walking city tour

09.40 - Departure to the museum “Panorama”

10.00 – 11.00 – A visit to the museum “Panorama”

11.10 – Departure to Chersonesus

11.30 - 12.30 – A guided tour of the ancient city + a visit to Prince Vladimir Cathedral

12.40 - 13.20 - A drive toBalaclava

13.20 - 14.20 - Lunch (a la carte) at the restaurant ‘Balaclava’

14.30 – 15.30 -A visit to the Balaclava Submarine Base museum

15.40 - Departure to the Sevastopol port

16.30 - Arrival at the terminal building

 

6 pax - $95 each

8 pax - $80 each

10 pax - $72 each

 

The tour would have been perfect except that I had arranged for the guide to pay for lunch and have it added to the price of the tour, which we were told had to be paid in US cash. However, she claimed that she had not been told and had no extra money to do that. So everyone paid with credit cards. The restaurant overlooks the harbor and the food was good.

 

Yalta – The same guide and driver met us in Yalta. The guide seemed surprised that there was so little on the itinerary for the day. I assumed it was limited by the driving distances.

 

09.00 - Departure to the Livadia Palace

09.30 - 11.00 - Interior and grounds tour of the Livadia Palace.

11.00 - Departure to the Swallow's Nest Castle

11.30 - 11.50 - A photo stop at the Swallow's Nest observation platform

12.00 – 13.00 – lunch (A la carte) at the café “Elena”

13.00 - Departure to the Vorontsov Palace

13.15 – 13.45 - A tour of the Vorontsov Park

13.50 - 15.00 - Interior and grounds tour of the Vorontsov Palace,

a photo stop at the southern façade of the Palace

15.10 - Departure to the Yalta Port Terminal

16.00 - Arrival at the Port Terminal

 

 

6 pax - $74 each

8 pax - $70 each

10 pax - $62 each

 

The guide added a stop at an interesting church on the way to Livadia Palace, the site of the Yalta conference. All went well until it was time for lunch. I had read about Elena Restaurant on the internet and wanted to avoid it. I had told the Intourist person who was booking the trip that we wanted to stop for a very casual, quick lunch and have more time for sightseeing. Instead, at 11:30 we pull into Elena. I’m sure that the tour companies are paid to stop here because it was overrun with shops and bus tours. It took 1½ hours to have what one of our group called the worst meal he had in two weeks. Again, our guide claimed that nobody had told her about our wish for a quick lunch. She said that there was no other place to eat. (We passed two that looked perfectly acceptable.) After lunch we went to the Vorontsov Palace. We returned to the ship an hour before we were supposed to. When I went to the Intourist office and met with Lilia, she had no comment about the itinerary changes we had made. It was very disappointing. If you are going to use them, make sure that your guide has the itinerary that you have agreed to beforehand and that you follow it.

 

Sinop – This is a small fishing village in Turkey. We wandered around the town, visited a mosque (I was wearing shorts and they didn’t seem to mind as long as I took my shoes off), and watched fishermen mending nets. A smile goes a long way here. Some people visited the old prison and found it interesting. We left Sinop earlier than scheduled because there was going to be a problem getting into Istanbul because of a boat race on the Bosporus. Having more time in Istanbul was a plus, but it really made problems for people on the ship who had to rearrange tour times.

 

Istanbul - We previously had spent 3 days in Istanbul and had seen all the “must see” sites. So we took the tram (easy to get to from the pier and the fare is about a dollar) to the foot of the Golden Horn Bridge and walked up to the Galata Tower. I guess the right word would be hiked. The streets reminded me of San Francisco. There is a great view from the top of the tower if you’re willing to pay 6.5 dollars. Near the tower is Molly’s Café, run by a lovely Canadian woman who has been in Istanbul for 11 years. Molly was outside and we stopped and chatted with her. She was dealing with the police when we first walked by, and we found out that someone had kicked in her door and stolen an old laptop. It was not the first time she has been robbed. Stop there for a snack or a great lunch. (address: Camekan SK. 10)

 

That night there was a nice Turkish buffet dinner in the Windows Café, and we watched the sun go down over the city and harbor from the outside terrace. Also that night was a folkloric show that included a belly dancer.

 

The next day we took the same tram to the end of the line just to see more of the city. We had planned to walk around whatever neighborhood we found, but it was industrial and not very inviting. So we crossed the platform and hopped back on the tram going back. We got off at the Grand Bazaar and immersed ourselves in hand-to-hand commerce. Be prepared to be badgered to distraction. Don’t get upset, it’s just the way things are done. Bargaining is expected. If you don’t like to bargain, this is not the place for you to shop.

 

Chios - We took the public bus ( 1.75 euros) to Pyrgi. The bus station clearly lists the arrival and departure times. Be sure to check the bus schedule for the return trip. I’d read about the buildings in Pyrgi (http://www.mesogeia.net/trip/xios/pirgi_en.html) and was not disappointed with what we found. It’s a very small town that you walk around. There are cafés in the Cathedral square to have lunch. An alternative is to hire a car and driver and go to Mesta and Pyrgi both.

 

Kusadasi - We’d been here before and had made the trip to Ephesus, so we walked around the yacht harbor and did a little shopping. After lunch on the ship, we walked to Pigeon Island which is right near the dock.

 

Santorini – There were 7 cruise ships in the harbor and the line for the cable car took 40 minutes. The fare is 4 euros each way. We then took the public bus to Oio. Unlike Pyrgi, It is chock full of art galleries and upscale shops, and was overrun with tourists. The best part of the trip was the bus ride because the views were spectacular. We got to see the flat coastal areas as well as the mountains.

We had read about people walking down the donkey trail to get back to the tender dock. From those reports, I’d pictured a very narrow treacherous dirt path. Not so. Lots of people were heading down and we decided to join them. The paved, stepped path is in the sun and you should have lots of water with you. The smell of donkey poo is NOT overwhelming. And the donkeys avoid you as they pass.

 

Sorrento – We’re in good shape, but not good enough to do the climb up to the town. There’s a shuttle bus (2 euros for two people one way) that is right in the tender area. We walked around town, in and out of interesting churches, and looked in some shops. We had planned to take the ferry to Capri but the weather forecast said rain in the afternoon. It turned out the forecast was wrong and the weather was lovely all day and night.

 

Civitavecchia – One of our roll call members arranged transfers to the airport through Claudio at LimoinRome, who they had used before. (http://www.limoinrome.com/ )The rates were as follows: Euro 150 (for party of 4); Euro 175 (for party of 6); Euro 200 (for party of 8) Vehicle used for transfer is an air-conditioned MINIBUS. Although he was supposed to be at the dock at 8:15 for an 8:30 transfer, he was there at 8:00. This was the most reasonably priced transfer we have ever found to Rome. We would highly recommend them.

 

Final Thoughts -

 

* It is going to be hot, hot, hot. Take comfortable clothes, preferably cotton.

* Take lots of water with you whenever you leave the ship. Don’t wait to be thirsty to start drinking it. That will be too late.

* Pack lots of sunblock. We saw several people with bad burns. Consider using your stateroom umbrella on your walks. The Japanese do this all the time.:)

* This is a fascinating itinerary. Enjoy every minute.

[Skeezics]

Thank you so much for the very informative review. Printed it and will take along with us on our Aug. 23 sailing. Takes away a lot of the mystery of some of the ports on rather to join a tour or do on a bus. So the climb up to the town of Sorrento is that bad? Thought we would walk rather than wait for the bus to fill up....but might be faster to do the shuttle. Thanks again. Barb

[uktog]

Thanks for the great review - it will be a great help for my planning for the August trip. I was surprised to see Sue Denning had moved over to Azamara - did she say how long she would be on board as it would be good to meet up with her again?

[gillianrose]

Thank you from another who has printed out your review (and bookmarked it, too). It is one of the most helpful reviews I have read in a long time. Welcome home.

 

 

I just re-read your review and I think you could have left out the comment about the Germans.

[tgg]

uktog - Sue Denning was on the Journey in February and she was leaving at the end of that cruise. I don't know how long she will be on the Quest.

[Bob and Peg]

Thanks for a great review. We leave in about a week for the July 12 sailing of this cruise. This gives me some idea of where we may not need to take tours.

 

I know it will be hot, but I don't think it can be any hotter than our Central Texas weather this past week - we set record highs 6 out of 7 days (105 & 106 F). Since we both walk while playing golf I sure hope we can take the walks we want on the cruise.

 

Thanks again.

 

Peggy

[Susan-M]

What a great review tgg ... thanks for posting it! It brought back some memories of our Quest cruise last fall during which we visited some of the same ports as you did, and I would also like to do the Black Sea itinerary some day.

 

I'm impressed that you did the walk from the metro to the ship with luggage in Athens! (We've done it without and it's a bit of a hike.) We did walk up (and down) the cliff to Sorrento ... I think you could have handled it considering your Athens walk and Galata Tower hike.:) We also did the walk down in Santorini and agree that it's not that bad ... as long as you can walk down stairs for 20 minutes. If the line at the cable car is long, it's a good alternative. Wish I had known about Molly's Cafe in Istanbul as we were at the tower as well.

 

An excellent recommendation re the bus in Chios ... the mastic villages are very interesting! We spent the day exploring by rental car there ... quite a scenic island!

 

Thanks again.:)

[Andy]

Hi Tgg !

 

Thank you for your very informative review. I enjoyed reading it. Welcome Home !

[lisiamc]

The walk into Sorrento might look more daunting than it really is. We did it last November in about 10 minutes, even with a break to breathe for a minute (a fair number of stairs to climb.) We're only moderately fit, and it wasn't bad at all. Down was better though!

 

Lisa

[tgg]

Lisa, the 20 to 25 degree difference in the average temperature in Sorrento between June and November would, indeed, make the walk easier in November. With the temperature hovering around 80, we needed to save our strength for the rest of the day. ;)

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Ahh, I remember those Intourist guides. Very knowledgeable, very regimented, completely inflexible!

 

Glad to hear the ship is still being met by a brass band in the Ukraine!

[lisiamc]

Lisa, the 20 to 25 degree difference in the average temperature in Sorrento between June and November would, indeed, make the walk easier in November. With the temperature hovering around 80, we needed to save our strength for the rest of the day. ;)

 

Good point! :p It was warm in November, but not hot. Another 20 degrees would have made a big difference!

 

Lisa

[xnpio]

@ tgg

 

We were on the same cruise but I have to tell - because weather was the same in Athens and Sorrento - I prefered to walk up Sorrento then take my luggage to the pier in Piraeus.:D- but maybe you did not have so much luggage then we did.

 

Xnpio

[world~citizen]

Great review.

 

Smooth sailing always...

[tgg]

xnpio, after the 8+ hour flight we needed the exercise. Our wheeled bags weighed less than 40 pounds and were very easy to pull. By the end of the cruise (Sorrento), we had eaten too many sweets and probably SHOULD have walked up, but couldn't face it in the heat.:cool:

 

Thanks Bill, good to have met you and Lois. Smooth sailing to you too.

[xnpio]

xnpio, after the 8+ hour flight we needed the exercise. Our wheeled bags weighed less than 40 pounds and were very easy to pull. By the end of the cruise (Sorrento), we had eaten too many sweets and probably SHOULD have walked up, but couldn't face it in the heat.:cool:

 

 

I definitely agree, because of this we walked up. :D

I am on diat now. :mad:

- But we are already looking forward to go on our next cruise with Azamara. :D:D:D

Best regards Xnpio

[BloominCruisin]

We are on the July 12th sailing, and would love some information on Sinop.

Is it worth taking a tour?

[lonestarsteve]

Hi tgg

 

Glad you are back safe and it sounds like you had a great trip.Thanks for the nice review......it will be very helpful to us in a few weeks.

 

Best Regards

 

Steve and Kate

[STLCRUISIN]

Toni - Great review and everything was right on point! It was great to have met you and John and to have spent time with you both.

 

Dan & Penny

[tgg]

Dan & Penny - John and I enjoyed the time we spent together. I'm glad you liked the review.

 

Kate & Steve - I know you're going to enjoy your next cruise. Perhaps we'll see you in the Caribbean in Feb. Maybe Gitte & Zbayette and spouses could join us and make it a reunion cruise.

[Jancruz]

Ahh, I remember those Intourist guides. Very knowledgeable, very regimented, completely inflexible!

 

Glad to hear the ship is still being met by a brass band in the Ukraine!

 

Wendy, I know you have been wanting to try this size ship and at these prices, I suggest you book something on Azamara so you can get the feel before the price goes up..I know you are a big fan of Regent as I am but I suggest you try Azamara you will be pleasantly surprised..

Jancruz1

[tgg]

We are on the July 12th sailing, and would love some information on Sinop.

Is it worth taking a tour?

 

It would be really hard to advise you on whether taking a tour is worth it. Are you interested in architecture, history, wine? Do you like to be on the go or are you happy to sit in a town square and observe the passing parade? Do you like to tour on your own or do you enjoy being on a large bus with lots of other people? I guess what I'm saying is that YOU are the only one who can decide whether it is worth taking a tour.

 

I hope you enjoy this cruise as much as we did.

[world~citizen]

Dan & Penny - John and I enjoyed the time we spent together. I'm glad you liked the review.

 

Kate & Steve - I know you're going to enjoy your next cruise. Perhaps we'll see you in the Caribbean in Feb. Maybe Gitte & Zbayette and spouses could join us and make it a reunion cruise.

 

Caribbean? Can't talk you into Asia?;)

[world~citizen]

We are on the July 12th sailing, and would love some information on Sinop.

Is it worth taking a tour?

 

This is our view, we offer it freely so take it for what it is worth.

 

Sometimes if you take a tour in every port, its gets to be less of a vacation and more of something akin to hard work. I remember a Holy Lands cruise on a different line where most pax got up at 6am to get fed and watered in preparation for consecutive 9 hour tours. It led to a lot of exhaustion.

 

You dock right in town in Sinop and you walk off the gangway into interesting stuff. I would recommend you just absorb the town on this one. This isn't a town that hustles for your money. You can have a cup of coffee and pastry in a cafe and get a sense of place.

 

There is no Ephesus here, no Grand Bazaar. No extraordinary efforts are required to appreciate it.

 

Again, just an opinion.

[ellross]

Hi Toni and Dan,

It's nice to see your great review Toni. It was great meeting you and spending time with you. Dan we enjoyed the time with you and Penny. Craig and Danielle if you read this, we miss you!!

We also had a wonderful trip. Your review was excellent.

Here's a few more details from our experiences.

 

We loved the cruise staff on the Azamara. This was our second sailing on this ship and the third on the Renaissance style ships. They are truly our favorites inspite of the miniscule showers. (if you want a big shower go to the spa).

 

Speaking of the spa. There is an area in front of the spa that has a private thalossotherapy pool and seating area. There is an extra charge to use this area. You can get a day pass or a couples pass for the 2 weeks. We enjoy this area very much as its not crowded and very peaceful. (with the exception of one day with a naked frenchman in the pool) That's a whole other story in itself. LOL If you don't like to be with the crowds at the pool take a look at this area and check it out.

 

I agree with Toni 100% on the service staff at breakfast. It was not good at all. There seemed that there wasn't an effective manager in the Windows area to make sure everything ran smoothly. Hopefully this will improve. It didn't stop me from eating there every day.

 

This is the first cruise where we only ate in the main dining room 3 times in 2 weeks. We were able to dine in the specialty restaurants 5 or 6 times, and other times ate outside. Kenny Stringer played guitar and sang there almost every night and was very enjoyable.

We were not too impressed with most of the featured entertainers that roated on and off. However the staff entertainment was very good. We were groupies in the Mosaic with Jim Badger. He is quite a talent, and very funny. Also Sue was quite talented and did her own show.

 

Here are a couple of suggestions from our experiences.

 

As Toni mentioned in Yalta we got stuck going to Cafe Elena's tourist trap restaurant. If you go there make sure you don't offer Chicken Wind!! You'll be surprised with a bad Ukrainian verson of Chicken Wings!! lol

 

In Santorini we rented a car. It was very easy driving with reasonable rates for a manual car. 30E. We were able to avoid the many tour buses and find some lovely places all over the island. If you do rent a car go past Oia and head toward Point Ammoud. This is down at the waters edge and is just heaven. There are 3 small restaurants that are family owned. We were ther around breakfast so they just brought us some wonderful cheese, bread and coffee. If you're there later you can enjoy the fish or seafood that is picked out of the water and put right away on the grill. The atmosphere was just amazing. We sat and spoke to the owner for quite a long time. Please go to Katina. Highly recommended.

 

Another highlight was in Sorrento. Our new friends Danielle and Craig had found a cheese factory that gave private tours. We invited ourselves to join them. Michelango Cheese factory has been in business for over 50 years.

This is a small family run factory. Everyone that works there is related. The tour included being right in the work room with them watching the process of making the mozzarella, ricotta and other wonderful cheeses. We even got to help form the mozzarella. After the tour we had a wondeful lunch of all of their products with wine. We were picked up close to the dock and dropped off back in town with plenty of time to explore. I believe the cost was 20E per person. If you are interested contact them at info@caseificiomichelangelo.coml This was truly a highlight.

 

For Ephesus we arranged a private tour thru Ekol. Our tour guide was a wonderful young man named Gokhan Alp. He was 24 and passionate about the history of the area. We included the Terrace Houses which was definitely worth any extra cost. Our guide is leaving for the required military service for the next 13 months but he recommended his friend Aykut Gungoi. You can request him thru Ekol.

 

When we got back from the tour we walked around town and looked for a good place for lunch. We walked a bit away from the market and found a small restaurant. We like traditional Turkish Mezes. We went into Oz Urfa on Cephane Sokak No 9 and were not dissapointed. The lunch was wonderful. He asked if he would allow him to select for us and it was just perfect. The price was extremely reasonable as well.

 

We really loved this trip, and will definitely go back on the Quest in the future.

Ellen