Literary Lynne

We are thinking of booking the Pursuit, 12-19 October 2019 cruise from Monte Carlo to Barcelona and noticed that it is Perry Golf cruise. Having had a disappointing experience in the past on Azamara where the majority of the ship's passengers were on a charter (unbeknown to us who booked as regular passengers), I was a little apprehensive. It seems from all your comments that my fears are unfounded and I think we will go ahead and book. 

Lynne 🛳️😀 

We also stayed at the Absolon Hotel. It is three minutes walk from Copenhagen Central Station, so it was easy to get from the airport on the train. It is also about a five minute walk to Tivoli Gardens, where we spent our first afternoon and evening - magical! There are a couple of little supermarkets very close by.  We loved the Absolon Hotel and had a beautiful, stylish corner room with sitting area. The breakfast was fantastic. Next morning, the receptionist called us a cab to the ship, which was conveniently moored close to the Little Mermaid, not way out of town where the bigger ships are moored.  Would return to the Absolon if we stayed in Copenhagen again.

Lynne    

13 minutes ago, crazyman3 said:

 

Of course, there is the 'Voyages of Antiquity' company, in the UK. Never tried them. Prices are high and the ships rather old. 

Yes, that's the one I was referring to.

Lynne

Thinking about what Ithikan and Nordski say, I would love a cruise with ancient civilisations as a theme and some inspiring lecturers on board. Would love to visit Olympia, Sparta, Mycenae, Ithica, Troy etc. There is a gap in the market for this type of cruise. I can only find one company that does this and the reviews of the ship are terrible.   

Lynne

Yes, I think it was a foregone conclusion, Phil. I hope that small ships can continue with the present arrangements at Greenwich, although not perfect. It would be lovely if small ships, like Azamara's, could once again dock by Tower Bridge. According to Captain Tysse, the only reason that this is currently not happening is because the Port of London Authority have removed the heavy duty buoys.

Lynne 

Thanks for the heads-up. Will tune in to that. Wish we had seen Eric. He was getting on board as we got off this past September.

Lynne

If they are charters but not quite full and you, as a full fare paying guest, doesn't realise until on board, like we experienced a few years ago, might find yourselves to be in a tiny minority among a huge majority. The charter was obviously scaled to a budget so the food was not good, there was no White Night Party and, of course, the charter guests had their own lectures in a lot of the public rooms, which were closed to us. There was little opportunity to get to know other guests because they arrived in their own large groups and took over the Discoveries Bar and the Mosaic coffee area by shuffling the seating together. The group had long day tours and after dinner there were only one or two in the disco, so the ship was dead by 10pm. One evening there were only a handful of guests in the cabaret lounge for the evening entertainment that the comedian got all those there to sit with him. There was a change to our itinerary which we only learned once on board, although it was always part of the itinerary given to the charter group! So disappointing.

Fortunately, our recent cruise on Journey was a complete contrast and we enjoyed Azamara at its very best.  We are just careful now, when we book, to ask if the cruise is partly or wholly a charter one.  I appreciate that this is difficult when the cruise is so far in the future.

Lynne  

A few years ago we were allocated an inside accessible cabin (4034 I recall), as that was all that was available, and the shower was so huge that it could have taken about 6 folk easily. It did, of course, have grab handles etc. The room was very large too. It didn't have a sofa, just a comfortable armchair, as well as the dressing table chair.

Lynne 

What a wonderful review and I loved your photos. It was over all too soon!

On our recent cruise on Journey the Azamazing evening was held in Amsterdam as we had an overnight stop there. It was a great evening. Everyone was taken on a canal boat ride to the Maritime museum where we could take a look at some of the exhibits before drinks, nibbles and a varied concert before being taken back to the ship by canal boat. Very well organised and well worth attending.

Lynne:)

Saw on tv last night that there is what is being called a 'Medicanne' - Mediterranean hurricane in the area. I imagine that a lot of ships and small craft will be compromised.

Lynne :(

Oh my goodness Riocca. Four yachts abandoned. That is incredible! What a nightmare of a holiday for those people who chartered the yacht. Was the weather particularly bad, I wonder?

Lynne:confused:

On our recent Journey cruise I especially enjoyed the Surf and Turf (fillet mignon and lobster tail) and also the veal chop in Discoveries. We didn't have one poor meal there. Everything was cooked to perfection and ample servings. All dinners and speciality buffets held in Discoveries were quite spectacular. On the first night of the cruise the seafood buffet was well promoted and even Captain Tysse recommended it in his welcome so, of course, many people went up to Windows Cafe where it was held. Have to say that though the food was excellent, because so many guests attended it was a bit of a free-for-all. We went round and round looking for a seat and eventually found somewhere but as others were doing the same thing we felt a need to hurry through our dinner. (We ate around 8-8.30pm).

Lynne:)

That is so heartening! Do you know if they managed to get a tow on the yacht or is it just drifting? As a sailor it made me shiver to read this but so pleased to know that the crew are safe thanks to our wonderful Azamara Captain Magnus and crew.

Thank you so much for posting about your experience on board Journey, Pirouette. As we disembarked on Monday after a wonderful cruise, I am able to 'stay on board' and extend the experience through your posts.

We too experienced some of what you describe. We heard that a third of the wait staff moved to Pursuit and it was pretty obvious that a few of the waiters were not on top form, eg instead of scanning 'their' tables to check that no-one was trying to attract their attention or that plates needed clearing, they would keep their head down and just fetch one item for one guest, hence the sometimes slow service. All were very pleasant and willing though.

We also found that Captain Tysse was very personable and we saw him every day as he walked about the ship talking to guests and asking how things were going. We found that other staff officers were conspicuous by their absence but I think that now that Heike is on board you will find her circulating and chatting. As soon as she boarded on Sunday she walked around the Patio and the pool area saying hello to people, many of whom recognised her from past cruises. I believe that Eric De Gray is your Cruise Director and we saw him board on Sunday. He has a great reputation and I imagine that now you are a couple of days into your cruise that you will have seen more of him. I know that for some folk interaction with officers is unimportant but I think it shows that they care about their guests' enjoyment.

Can't wait to hear what you are doing today. Enjoy every minute.

Lynne :)

Thanks for sharing your experiences - which ship are you on?

I was surprised that you weren’t offered any appetisers whilst waiting for dinner. Were you in Discoveries bar? We’ve always been offered peanuts and little dishes of olives and cheese whilst waiting in there to be offered a table.

Also wondered what you mean by a key folder. On all our Azamara Cruises we’ve both been given a blue plastic key holder for our own key. If that’s changed, then it has changed since July this year - or perhaps is different on the Pursuit if that’s the ship you’re on.

 

 

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We were on Journey and disembarked yesterday. Can confirm that no peanuts or appetisers were offered to guests waiting in Discoveries to go into dinner. We tended to have our pre dinner drinks in the Living Room, where nuts and tapas were provided. We asked for another key card holder as only one was initially offered.

Lynne:)

Sparkling Trio; I know some like them but for me they had no energy.

 

 

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We enjoyed listening to Sparkling Trio during the late afternoon/early evening before dinner. Seemed just right for that time of day. Hope the evening entertainment was more your thing. Enjoy!

Lynne:)

Lynne, hope you have had a great cruise. Sorry we haven’t met. I didn’t get on the ship in Copenhagen until 7pm so missed the gathering. I’ve had a really fab cruise. Wasn’t the Azamazing super? Best I’ve been to.

 

Phil

Hi Phil. Loved our cruise and wasn't it just fantastic sailing up the Thames yesterday? There were so many highlights and the Azamazing evening in Amsterdam was certainly one of them. The 13 year violinist was breathtaking!

It would have been lovely to meet you and I did keep looking at various people wondering if they were you! Hopefully another time. There are a number of cruises on Pursuit next year that look interesting but this itinerary would be hard to beat for us.

Lynne:D

Thank you so much for telling us about your wonderful experience on Quest. We are back today from the Journey and loved every minute, except sleeping! Although we turned the air con down and opened the balcony door, we woke in the middle of every night absolutely cooking. Now I realise from your post that we could have asked for a blanket instead of the duvet (which we never use at home). Also found the down pillows too hot. I suppose we could have asked for different pillows too. Hopefully, there will be a next time and we will know to ask. Glad that you had such a great time, just as we did.

Lynne:D

Ship: Journey

Stateroom: 7115 (starboard side, close to aft)

Balcony: Normal size

Noise: No issues with noise whatsoever

Book again?: Would book again without hesitation

Date of sailing: 30 August - 10 September 2018

Lynne:D

We are also currently on Journey, having a wonderful time. Did notice the group looking at a stateroom but not disturbing guests. It appeared to be an empty room. Heike isn't on this cruise. It is Fred, who unlike our previous experiences with Philip or Heike, seems to be conspicuous by his absence. Have only seen him once, standing on the pier following the Azamazing evening in Amsterdam. However, staff at Guest Relations are fantastically helpful.

Lynne:p

Just an update to say that the food on this cruise is wonderful. White Night this evening in Oslo and the weather is great, people are enjoying the buffet and having a lovely time on deck.

For anyone travelling on Journey soon. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time. We can't fault anything and the service, as always, is outstanding.

Lynne:D

Can you please tell me who the chef is on your cruise? Thank you!!

Just got on board Journey in Copenhagen. The executive chef is Iwan Pennings. Lunch buffet in Discoveries Restaurant was excellent. Seafood buffet this evening.

Looking forward to a great cruise.

Lynne:D

So in Bordeaux the ship docks right in the town?

 

 

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Yes, right in the middle of town. It's a fabulous position.

Lynne:)

Langanlady02 - Thank you so much for posting about this very special occasion for you. I am sure you felt proud, of your city, the cathedral and your connection with Azamara. What a wonderful evening it must have been.

:)Lynne