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Azamazing Evenings -- Yes or No


Thameside
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Hi all,

 

There is conflicting information for the Azamazing evening for our visit to Ephesus with the Journey in October.

 

The Azamara Club cruises webpage for this cruise has the following description of the Azamazing Evening:

 

But in the Shore Excursion booklet and when booking the Azamazing Evening online through Azamara this is the description we are given:

 

These are two very different evenings. Seeing Ephesus by night with an intimate classical concert in the real Odeon appeals to us much more than an entertainment spectacular in Ephesus World theme park.

 

Maybe Bonnie can provide some information.

 

It will be the latter description. Here's what I rcvd from the Tour Department:

 

"The Sept 29th Azamazing Evening (AEE) will take place at Cittantica Ephesus Park, instead of the Odeon. Typically when we're in Ephesus, we usually have the AEE at the Odeon; however, due to cold weather in September, we had to move it to an indoor venue.

 

Below is the marketing description for the AEE:

 

Experience a delightful evening at Cittantica Ephesus Park. This incredible park recreates the ancient city of Ephesus, complete with architectural replicas, costumed locals in character, contemporaneous details and interactive shows. Enjoy a welcome drink while watching in awe as entertainers perform a fire show surrounded by Roman soldiers. Live sculptures add an element of surprise to the evening and make for fun photo opportunities. Within the park, listen to the lovely strains of harp music during an introduction to Artemission, a hall built as a scaled replica of the spectacular Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Once seated, an exclusive show about Cleopatra and Mark Antony reveals the magnificence of antiquity followed by a live orchestra performance of music from the Roman era."

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I have been to NOLA by land for a week and by sea on AZ and will again.. you could spend a day at the french Quarter an another on the tram. I did the zoo, a cermentary and both UN before heading back unto the city. Nola's is still good and many others. there is a small NOLA area under ports of call here.

 

also the last S America cruise i was on the falls was only a long day tour. they never overnight there. i did the falls on a land tour. but the best way is an add on before or after cruise.

 

 

Thanks to you both so much for your comments and suggestions! No, this NOLA trip will strictly be a land tour. The special event is that my 24 year old daughter will be being proposed to by her 28 year old boyfriend. It was his idea to invite the families to attend (he's a family oriented, very sweet guy-- they both went to USC, where they were just friends for years before this romance developed). We're going out Thursday night in early October, so we can see the sights. But, we have to stay "hidden" in NOLA until Sat night and then we're all having a big family dinner at Commodore's Palace after he's asked her. Wheee!!! Both sets of parents and the fiances -to- be live in Southern California. But the groom's parents met at Tulane med school and lived in NOLA for a while when the groom was a baby. Probably too much info, but we sure are excited, as are the groom's parents as we've been friends for 6+ years and have tailgated at the USC (so cal) games together for years. My daughter is going to be so surprised!!!Laissez les bon temps rouler!:) ( And sorry to others for derailing this thread a bit)

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Thanks to you both so much for your comments and suggestions! No, this NOLA trip will strictly be a land tour. The special event is that my 24 year old daughter will be being proposed to by her 28 year old boyfriend. It was his idea to invite the families to attend (he's a family oriented, very sweet guy-- they both went to USC, where they were just friends for years before this romance developed). We're going out Thursday night in early October, so we can see the sights. But, we have to stay "hidden" in NOLA until Sat night and then we're all having a big family dinner at Commodore's Palace after he's asked her. Wheee!!! Both sets of parents and the fiances -to- be live in Southern California. But the groom's parents met at Tulane med school and lived in NOLA for a while when the groom was a baby. Probably too much info, but we sure are excited, as are the groom's parents as we've been friends for 6+ years and have tailgated at the USC (so cal) games together for years. My daughter is going to be so surprised!!!Laissez les bon temps rouler!:) ( And sorry to others for derailing this thread a bit)

very very cool. i believe NOLA is a city for love.. many are but the charm of the city leads to romance not just parties.. i love that restairant. .have some Cafe Du Monte for me.

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It will be the latter description. Here's what I rcvd from the Tour Department:

 

 

 

"The Sept 29th Azamazing Evening (AEE) will take place at Cittantica Ephesus Park, instead of the Odeon. Typically when we're in Ephesus, we usually have the AEE at the Odeon; however, due to cold weather in September, we had to move it to an indoor venue.

 

 

 

Below is the marketing description for the AEE:

 

 

 

Experience a delightful evening at Cittantica Ephesus Park. This incredible park recreates the ancient city of Ephesus, complete with architectural replicas, costumed locals in character, contemporaneous details and interactive shows. Enjoy a welcome drink while watching in awe as entertainers perform a fire show surrounded by Roman soldiers. Live sculptures add an element of surprise to the evening and make for fun photo opportunities. Within the park, listen to the lovely strains of harp music during an introduction to Artemission, a hall built as a scaled replica of the spectacular Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Once seated, an exclusive show about Cleopatra and Mark Antony reveals the magnificence of antiquity followed by a live orchestra performance of music from the Roman era."

 

 

Thanks for this heads up!

 

I hadn't noticed the change in venue for the autumn.

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Yes, it was on the Mighty Cruise Ships episode with Azamara - we downloaded the episode so we can watch it whenever we want to get excited about our Azamara Asia cruise next year:p

 

My husband and I agree on a couple of things when we travel - we love to try new things, and we refuse to feel guilty if we aren't in the mood to do something that "everyone" says we "must" do.

 

It sounds like these Azamazing Evening events are wonderful, and in general I'm quite looking forward to the opportunity. But if the night comes (well, the day before so I could cancel my reservation appropriately!) and I don't feel like going, c'est la vie. My vacation, my choices.

Edited by Hoyaheel
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Have only attended one evening(Ephesus) but it was very well organized and a lovely event. Would definitely sign up where ever it's held. I would sign up in advance and if you decide not to do it just tell the Shore Excursions people and they will cancel.

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The AzAmazing Event on Crete. When our tender arrived, the folkdancing was almost over. After some minutes we already had to move on to a so-so restaurant where we got some some food. The wine-tasting of just 1 type of wine followed and the big show ended with a probable kindergarten teacher and back on the ship fireworks during 1 minute.

"AzAmazing" will be a new word, for "amazing that it is less than nothing".

If you missed it, you had to pay a penalty! of 150! dollar.

 

I think Azamara just found an alibi to increase the cruise prizes.

 

I expect they will start a chicken extravaganza or so in the near future for it's the most served meat on board now.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

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The AzAmazing Event on Crete. When our tender arrived, the folkdancing was almost over. After some minutes we already had to move on to a so-so restaurant where we got some some food. The wine-tasting of just 1 type of wine followed and the big show ended with a probable kindergarten teacher and back on the ship fireworks during 1 minute.

"AzAmazing" will be a new word, for "amazing that it is less than nothing".

If you missed it, you had to pay a penalty! of 150! dollar.

 

I think Azamara just found an alibi to increase the cruise prizes.

 

I expect they will start a chicken extravaganza or so in the near future for it's the most served meat on board now.

 

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

 

 

 

Everyone should ignore this poster. His/her posting history is all negative - every cruise is a "disaster", food is horrible, people are horrible. He/she is just looking to stir up trouble. The Azamazing Evenings can be hit or miss, but overall consensus (including ours) is that it is a fun, unique event. Our next Azamazing Evening will be the one in Crete, and I have heard nothing but great things about it - very much looking forward to the night.

 

 

 

Michael

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Everyone should ignore this poster. His/her posting history is all negative - every cruise is a "disaster", food is horrible, people are horrible. He/she is just looking to stir up trouble. The Azamazing Evenings can be hit or miss, but overall consensus (including ours) is that it is a fun, unique event. Our next Azamazing Evening will be the one in Crete, and I have heard nothing but great things about it - very much looking forward to the night.

 

 

 

Michael

 

I heard great things about this one too. i had some good one and some ok ones. fr me it is the length of he bus ride.. if too long after sightseeing all day it is not as much fun. love the quiet of the ship some nights. .other plales i prefer a dinner in town.. i only wish they had the savories that they had in the past. .also windows has more sandwiches vs salads and things i would prefer at 11 at night. .but that is just me.

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"The Sept 29th Azamazing Evening (AEE) will take place at Cittantica Ephesus Park, instead of the Odeon. Typically when we're in Ephesus, we usually have the AEE at the Odeon; however, due to cold weather in September, we had to move it to an indoor venue.

 

Below is the marketing description for the AEE:

 

Experience a delightful evening at Cittantica Ephesus Park. This incredible park recreates the ancient city of Ephesus, complete with architectural replicas, costumed locals in character, contemporaneous details and interactive shows. Enjoy a welcome drink while watching in awe as entertainers perform a fire show surrounded by Roman soldiers. Live sculptures add an element of surprise to the evening and make for fun photo opportunities. Within the park, listen to the lovely strains of harp music during an introduction to Artemission, a hall built as a scaled replica of the spectacular Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Once seated, an exclusive show about Cleopatra and Mark Antony reveals the magnificence of antiquity followed by a live orchestra performance of music from the Roman era."

 

Yes, I noted this but booked as people seem to say good things about these evenings. I'm now going to cancel as I don't want a theme park experience to overshadow the wonderful site have seen before and will enjoy revisiting during the day.

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Thanks Bonnie,

 

Sorry for my tardy reply. We are still looking forward to this cruise but having visited Ephesus a number of times we were particularly drawn to this cruise due to the classical concert in the Odeon of Ephesus lit up in the evening. It's a shame that, despite changing the Azamazing evening to Cittantica Ephesus Park quite some time ago, Azamara is still marketing this cruise with the classical music concert in the Odeon of Ephesus itself. We are concerned that, like us, others are still finding this out only after they have booked.

 

The Azamazing Evening is a wonderful drawcard but we would not factor the Azamazing Evening into our decision for any future cruise as we did this time. We are aware that changing conditions may require changes to ports and excursions but this is different. It was already changed at the time we made our booking, yet we could not find this out until afterwards. This is still the case for anyone looking at booking this cruise today.

 

jsy said:

Yes, I noted this but booked as people seem to say good things about these evenings. I'm now going to cancel as I don't want a theme park experience to overshadow the wonderful site have seen before and will enjoy revisiting during the day.
We agree with you jsy44.
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AzAmazing Evenings—I have only been to one AzAmazing Evening function, but I thought it was something special that no other cruise line offered. Azamara goes to some extra trouble and expense to set these things up. For us as passengers not to take advantage of it is to telling Azamara we don’t care. I do care and appreciate all the Azamara does to make my cruise enjoyable and a memorable experience. So if it is a Mickey Mouse performance I will be there and laugh, but I will show my support for their efforts. I work hard, or use to, so I play hard and I don’t want to miss anything.

I used to hoot with the owl at night and soar with the Eagle during the day. Time has gone by and the owl gets sleepy early and the Eagle is really slow to get going during the day, but whatever available maximum effort that can be exerted will be there. Support AzAmazing Evenings—It is a unique experience with much good heartedness behind it.

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We have been fortunate to experience six AzAmazing Evenings. Two of these were wonderful and truly AzAmazing but all have been enjoyable and we wouldn't have wanted to miss any of them.

All of the evenings were events that we normally would not have the opportunity to experience.

The officers and crew all work so hard to ensure that each and every evening is a success and we would always attend.



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We picked this cruise partly because of the concert evening in Ephesus. Very unhappy it has been replaced with a "theme park" evening. Call it a bait and switch tactic? However, we will attend; I am not sure if the couple we are traveling with will do so.

We are still anticipating a fantastic trip!

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No way!

 

Very useful link for those who haven't realised what they're actually getting!

 

Well if they play some music that we can dance to then it would be kind of like a Mardi Gras Ball. Surely we could have fun at a Mardi Gras Ball after the King and Queen are presented.

I of course would much prefer a more original program at the original site. I wonder why it would be changed.

Edited by scapel
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We picked this cruise partly because of the concert evening in Ephesus. Very unhappy it has been replaced with a "theme park" evening. Call it a bait and switch tactic? However, we will attend; I am not sure if the couple we are traveling with will do so.

We are still anticipating a fantastic trip!

The Azamazing Evening will be September 29th. As Bonnie posted earlier, the issue is cool evenings at the end of September. This is excerpted from a web site giving average temperatures in Kusadasi:

 

"As the month comes to an end the highs and lows complete September’s decline at 27 C (80.6 F) and 15 C (59 F) on the 30th with highs as high as 32 C (89.6 F) and lows as low as 13 C (55.4 F). Rainfall completes its September climb at around an average of 18% on the 30th."

 

What we don't know is what the experience has been like at Ephesus the past two Septembers. Perhaps there were complaints about the temperature being uncomfortable for an outdoor event at that time of year.

 

Having been to Ephesus three times, I do understand the disappointment.

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