ctkathy

Alaska Dream has some good itineraries.   Alaska owned.   
 

I read some scathing reports of people not getting their money back from Uncruise Covid cancellations.   

Frederic@aol.com   Rendezvous Chateau.     
 

he took 6 of us on tours for 2 days on an Azalara Cruise.  

We board the Journey tomorrow; our itinerary was changed last minute, no longer going to St Jean de Luz. The excursions have not been updated to our new port. Can you please check on it? Many thanks

 

 

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I hope you don’t end up in Bayonne for 3 nights like we did last year. What a disappointing cruise!

If I were you, I would do it post cruise with an organized tour from Lima. I would recommend at least 5 days. Flying from Lima to Cuzco, take it easy the first day because of the altitude. Visit Cuzco on the second day and travel by train to Machupichu on the 3rd day. 2 nights Machupichu and return to Cuzco and Lima on the 5th day.

Trip advisor has probably names of tour operators who can offer you a similar or better program. Tours in english no problem.

Ivi

I would recommend a couple days in Lima to visit the Larco Museum and some of the great restaurants. Fly to Cusco but go directly to the sacred Valley to acclimate to altitude. After spending a night or two seeing the sights, take a train to Macau Pichu for either the day or stay one night. From there travel to Cusco for 2 nights and fly out from there. I used Journeyou division of Condor travel and was happy with the job they did for our group of 8. Great guides.

That's still the policy.

Thanks!

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We would like to bring on wine for our own consumption on an upcoming cruise. I've often read that Azamara doesn't limit passengers bringing on wine although there is a corkage fee for bringing it to a restaurant.

What is the current policy?

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Steve, I saw that too. I'm hoping the cruise I want will qualify.

I

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Midwest chick-- my electric toothbrush stays charged for at least two weeks so I always charge it up and bring it.

Are the tapas set out buffet style?

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There is a fairly new Doubletree right at Victoria. Try Simplyairports.com for a car service from Heathrow. I've used them many times.

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Regent Outdoor Theatre is a wonderful experience. The Ceremony of the Keys after hours at the Tower is worth planning ahead for as you must write for tickets. Just google it for details.

If you do end up stopping in Male, perhaps you could arrange a day at Kurumba which is a nearby island resort.

My husband and I were on a cruise that stopped in Galle and Kuda Bandos. For something different I arranged a day there and it was pretty enjoyable. Guests aren't given the run of the entire property, but it's way better than Male.

On the the Crystal you wouldn't be able to go to San Sebastián and that is a highlight of this area. Also it's a pain to get there from the US. Pasajes is the Azamara port near San Sebadtian.

I booked this on a double upgrade promotion. Really looking forward to the itinerary plus book ending the cruise with land stays in England and Portugal.

Does it work for promo deals too? For instance, if you book Alaska and later a promo comes on that includes free drinks, gratuities or OBC, can that be re- priced ? Some travel agents charge a cancellation fee but have better on board credit. What's the strategy for getting the best deal without paying a cancellation fee?

Many recent Regatta reviews don't show much "love" for Oceania.

Their itineraries do not work with what I want to do. I do not want to depart Seattle and they do not end or begin in N Alaska. How can you experience Denali, Talkeetna or Kenai peninsula if you use Oceania? A maybe it would work for someone who has already done that.

Don't want to turn this into a dress code discussion but, if you are not aware, Celebrity has replaced the "Formal Night" concept with a more relaxed "Evening Chic" dress concept for all sailings on/after 4 December...

 

You'll find the related Cruise Critic article here...

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/v-4/news/news.cfm?ID=6642

 

Best regards, Mike

I'm not interested n Celebrity because they do not go to Glacier Bay and Oceania itineraries during the dates I can go either leave from Seattle or do not begin or end in northern Alaska. I had to narrow down choices so Vancouver, Glacier Bay and land time in Denali and Kenai are musts.

My husband always has a sports coat and I can pack a dressier top with black pants so nearly any scenario should be covered.

We have friends who want to do the Crystal 7 night Anchorage to Vancouver, mainly because of the passenger lad, but they do not do Glacier Bay on this itinerary. They go to Hubbard Glacier instead and add Sitka, which I'd love to see. Problem for us is it would only give us 2 days in N Alaska before the cruise due to our schedule so that is out.

I would book Coral Princess for this itinerary. Princess and Holland have licenses for Glacier Bay, which few other lines can get -- and Glacier Bay is a must-have site for an Alaska cruise [iMHO]. People will tell you that Hubbard is just as good -- but Coral Princess goes there too! Also Coral Princess has many public viewing areas that are perfect for these glacier scenic-cruising days. [island Princess used to, but its recent drydock has added cabins where there were public balconies.] Coral is also fairly small for a mass-market ship, and she has a full promenade deck -- so the ambience is closer to Azamara than you might expect.

I had narrowed it down to Coral Princess, too. It goes to Glacier Bay and would let us have time in Denali and a couple other locations. It's bigger than I would like but reviews are generally good so for a first cruise to Alaska it should work. Wish they would have another good promo.

We love Azamara but wish to book an Alaska cruise. We are early 60s, active, prefer the casual Azamara lifestyle. I want to either depart or arrive in Vancouver rather than Seattle.

We have looked at info on Princess, Holland America and Crystal. Timing would be either July or August and I would like to avoid a lot of children. Would love to do an expedition cruise but the price is too much, as it is for the Silversea/Seaborn.

Also we plan on spending 6-8 days on land either before or after the cruise on our own-- not with a planned Cruisetour.

Have any Azamara cruisers had a great experience on an Alaska cruise-- any tips appreciated.

Kathy

How are these aft cabins?

Thank you Doug h. I'm kind of locked in because my son is being married July 3 and parents have a 90th birthday Aug 14 and our friends can't do it mid- late July. friends of ours cruised Alaska late August this year and had good weather. I'm hoping for same.

Thank you all for so much great information. It sounds like I should look for a Southbound on Coral.

I'm comparing Alaska 7 night itineraries on the Coral and Islander. It seems like the Southbound Anchorage to Vancouver gives you more time in ports than the Northbound Vancouver to Anchorage. We are looking at 2nd half of August 2016 for active mature adult passengers. Both ships seem to have identical itineraries whether southbound or northbound, but I believe I read somewhere that the Coral was going in for a drydock for a refresher in early 2016. Anyone have recent personal experience with either of these?

We definitely want to either start or end in Vancouver rather than Seattle and definitely want to include Glacier Bay and plan on touring from Anchorage either before or after our cruise. Holland just has had so many bad reviews lately and that's why I'm leaning towards Princess. Only other line we've sailed is Azamara, so I'm sure it will be much different for us. Thanks for any input.

We did a similar cruise on Azamara several years ago. We used Water Buffalo Tours and had a great tour/private just two people. He took us to where he was born underground during the war and he and his brother took us on motor bikes around some of the rice paddies. We did much more. A highlight of the trip.

This stop was originally scheduled for a tendered stop at Kuda Bandos. Then switched to capitol Male that proved un popular. Now it is listed as Kuda Bandos again. The shore excursions have been in changed again. When the port was changed to Male some passengers made alternate plans to visit a nearby resort.

Passengers are very confused about what exactly will occur during this day as the Azamara site has now resisted shore Excursions in Male.

Kuda Bandos is a picnic island with limited food and seating. Will Azamara set up a bar b que and bring loungers to the island? Will the Quest move to Male for the shore excursions at some point during the day?

How can passengers find out the answers to details like this. ?