alcpa1

Just as an FYI. Aruba's airport regiment can be arduous. Be prepared to stand outside in a long line as many US flights leave about the same time.

Oceancruiser2023, Welcome to Cruise Critic. Scroll down the home page and you will find a Ports of Call/Destinations forum for Europe.or the Mediterranean. Many of your questions can be researched there. A sister site that will be helpful is Trip Advisor. If you booked with Simply More reconsider taking a tour to Rome. The one day tours, while long, will hit the high spots. Logistically this is the optimum way to get a taste of Rome. Rome is not a wandering city for a day. I have not been to Argostoli so I can't help there. All the other towns are easily walkable if you can manage the terrain. Please join the ROLL CALL for your sailing. There will be other passengers who may put together small group excursions.

This should act as a firm committment from a holding company not truly aware of Azamara's unique place in the cruising industry. Perhaps the rumors of new builds now have a chance. We love Azamara just not the bathrooms!!!

Connecting cabins are notoriously noisy. It wouldn't be my choice on any ship. Have you looked at the itineraries for the newest ship VISTA? It's passenger complement is smaller than either the Marina or Riveria although the ship is about the same size. And, it's shiny new.

The original question was asked if anyone had had itinerary changes. We sure have, We will now embark from PC and go through the Canal instead of embarking from Cartagena and hitting some of the lower islands for longer port stays. This is a Sirena sailing in March 2024. We were originally scheduled to sail on Sirena in '21 from PC and ended up on the Marina for the same itinerary.

Just as an FYI............. Many cruise lines are in the same situation. We were just on an X cruise embarking in Vancouver. The same issues were persistent.

We sail both lines but have done a Marina in SA but not the Antarctic. I would seriously compare the itineraries and time in each port. For example, you want the longest port time you can get in Ushuaia. Are there multiple ports to see the penguins? What other experiences do you want? With O you now have the excursions as part of Simply More. Of course you don't have to use them but you are paying for them. We prefer to do our own excursions and the last trip we used EcoUruguay for every port in January '23. There are other companies of course. Happy planning. Either would work for me.

I too recommend the Dec. 3rd itinerary. We have done both but this is the one I never tire of. I too thought it was strange with a sea day between Aruba and Curacao. Bonaire is just a short sail between. When you get to Cartagena tour with Dora. She operates the best tours in Cartagena. She is sensitive to the needs of her clients too. If you haven't been to Aruba take an island tour that takes you all over the islands. Some tours only go to the east. Try to find one that goes to Baby Beach on the west coast. My best advice on Bonaire is to avoid the temptation of picking up salt! There aren't many signs but it's a big no no. I found out the hard way. We've been to Curacao three or four times and are finally going to take an island tour when we are there in '24. The ABC islands are famous for their water sports. You will have to choose since it's almost impossible to tour and snorkle, swim or dive in one day. Choices............. You should think about going to the Canal visitors center and museum in Panama. If you have time consider a visit to the Embera Village. There's lots of information on the Ports of Call boards. Enjoy!!!!!

If you are sailing a one way cruise think about your flights too. Sailing from Whittier/Seward and disembarking in Vancouver brings you 1500 miles closer to your lower 48's. There are also more flights with better times from Vancouver. FYI Hubbard Glacier is an ascending glacier while Glacier Bay is not. If you choose a Seward embarkation ships sail into Hubbard in the afternoon after the morning fog has lifted. Unless it's an extended cruise (more than 9 days) and you like sea days in the outer passage don't select Seattle,

Sorry to hear of your plight but dang, if you TA can't get it worked out, it's on him. Don't take it out on the crew and staff.

Thanks for the suggestions. The original itinerary did not include the canal zone. Actually we were just there on the Marina in 21. We were scheduled to be on the Sirena which to our glee, was changed to the Marina. We are traveling with friends who, while not cruise noobies, have never sailed on Oceania. We wanted them to experience O. They are already balking at the cost of the cruise anyway. As cruise planner, I didn't check Explora. They would not be comfortable on any Silversea sailing. It's going to be hard enough to keep them out of jeans as it is. We are way past RCCL.....been there, done that. We earned our loyalty + rating more than fifteen years ago. Oceania is a better fit for us. Again much appreciate your responses.

Are you traveling through the canal? Have you been to Panama City before? Have you toured the Miraflores Visitor's Center? Whatever you do DO NOT wander beyond the pier in Colon. It's nasty and dangerous. When you answer the first questions there should be some good responses.

Oh how ironic because one week ago O changed our Sirena Cartagena to Miami embarkation to Panama City to Miami through the canal. With the length of time it takes to book a transit reservation one would think (not anyone at O) that the altered itinerary would have been announced months ago. Gone are our days in Cartagena's walled city and one of our ports and an added sea day...........oh well.

We have a scheduled stop at Barbuda coming up and from the little I know there are few tour options available particularly for people with disabilities. I would also hope that the island has recovered substantially from Irma. Any suggestions and information would be greatly appreciated.

PS We were on the same cruise as Joel Barry.

We had the children of friends in Sao Paulo and really wanted to see their newest baby but they urged us not to come. They mentioned distance and, of course, the traffic. We stayed in Santos and went to the Coffee Museum as well. They opened on their closed day for tours BTW. We spent a wonderful couple of hours at the botanical gardens and toured the outskirts of the city. We hated to miss the children but in the end thought it was the wisest thing we did.

Don't bring your own extension cord. Ask your cabin steward for one.

The major cruise lines have contracts with the port into 2025. The news reports are varied and some suggest that it will just be the day stops that are banned and embarkation and disembarkions will be permitted. I am wondering about overnights since we have one on Azamara next year. The authorities are also banning weed on the streets and instituting restrictions within the Red Light District. Rowdy bachelor parties, especially British ones, are being discouraged. The Dutch want their Amsterdam back!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the notice. I will follow it closely as we are scheduled to overnight there next August on the Onward.

Welcome, We haven't been to all of the ports on your itinerary but we are taking a similar sailing next year and I have already started my research so I will join others with recommendations. The following are the places we have been: Berlin - I don't know where you are docking but it's about 3 hours by train from Rostock/Warnemunda. It's about the same by shore excursion bus. You can actually pack in some of the major sites but mostly drive bys. That's not the worst thing. I'd imagine you will go to the wall, the Brandenburg Gate, a memorial and/or a museum or two. Halfapair is spot on for Gdansk. Stockholm - The Vasa Museum should be high on your list. Wandering the old streets in Gamla Stan passing the palace and perhaps seeing the changing of the guard is another option. Stockholm has some fabulous museums and gardens. Plan part of your visit driving around the most compact part of the city. There are ferry and boat tours of the small islands surrounding the center of the city too. Copenhagen - We have been five times and during our last visit we finally got to check off our must do list. Take a canal cruise. You will see everything from a differrent perspective. If you are there late go to Tivoli Gardens. When walking avoid wandering into bike lanes. The wonderful Danes are particularly fierce when it comes to their bike lanes. There are also parts of the city where you should be aware of your surroundings and guard your valuables. London - You can never have enough time in London.There's just so much to see. Churchill's War Room is worth a visit. We always go to the theatre in London. We've seen everything from Shakespear to Phantom to Hamilton. You can venture to Windsor, or Greenwich easily. Guide books aka Google will give you a gazillion options. For a first timer plan on 4 or 5 days in London and 3 or 4 in Copenhagen before and after your cruise. Now use the Destinations/Ports of Call boards for the Baltic and England to help with your research. Join the Roll Call for your sailing. You will meet others sailing on your ship and you can plan together. Come back and ask all of the questions you might have after using Cruise Critic and other forums.

We've had mixed excursions with Viator over the years. When we do our extensive excursion planning I go to multiple sites. Some guides work for multiple third party vendors. Check out Tours by Locals and Get Your Guide. On a March-April Portugal/Spain itinerary we used three different vendors but our best two tours by far were with Get Your Guide.

I can't remember if Azamara allows a home-type extension cord. Many cruise lines do not. But they will provide everything you need. Your steward will tape down the cord. While the yellow cord is larger than a typical cord it is not big enough to trip over. By day 2 you won't even notice it. Enjoy your cruise!!!

We were in Palma in April (Holy Week) on an island trip. One day there were at least 5 large ships which we could see from our hotel window. If you want to shop anywhere on the island, be aware that many of the more upscale shops and restaurants open when they want to no matter what their signs might say. Depending on the length of your port stop, even with other ships, just plan wisely. Don't bother with a boat tour at Silas. It definitely wasn't spectacular.....interesting but not anything I would recommend. Palma is a city and there are definitely some worthy sites scattered about. Just walking the alleyways was fun and after four days we were still discovering new areas within walking distance of our hotel. I don't remember when we were in Santorini but it's been a while. The issues everyone has noted is the return to the ship. I concur.

Another vote for Overlord.. We did the same trip as Redraider1966.

Since you can no longer get that close to Stonehenge, and it will be crowded, I'd opt for Winchester. The village is walkable and not as vast as Windsor for someone sleep deprived.