Ten Days of Seafaring Bliss in the Mediterranean - Journey Sept. 3rd cruise review

[cruisemuse13]

Thank you for your kind words. And how lucky to be on the Journey in Monte Carlo! We've never been to that city but everyone I know who has been has said it's pretty spectacular. More luxury in view than your eyeballs can take in. ;)

 

 

 

Hi Cheryl! You'll be going to Valencia, right? There's a complimentary shuttle that runs every 30 minutes and drops you off downtown at Pintor Lopez street, which is right at the edge of the old medieval quarter so it's a really handy location for sightseeing. We were there two days so one day we did our own thing and the other we went on the ships excursion "Valencia and the San Jose Caves." If you've not made any plans, I'd suggest this one in a heartbeat. The cave has an underground river and that's what it's all about--a boat ride through. Really really interesting and lovely. http://www.spain.info/en_US/que-quieres/arte/monumentos/castellon/cueva_riosubterraneo_castellon.html

 

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Especially the photos.:D

Very entertaining.

 

And I also appreciate the information about Valencia since we will be there soon.

[dln929]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. Especially the photos.:D

Very entertaining.

 

And I also appreciate the information about Valencia since we will be there soon.

 

Thank you! The photos were making me tear my hair out. They're on my Flickr account which I used with no problem whatsoever when I wrote my December Quest report. Since then they've changed the format and all I can say is that it's a labor of love to include them in any Cruise Critic posts. However I can't not put them in because my eyes glaze over when I read long reports with nothing but text...:eek:

 

Rob and I love tradition. Or maybe we're just creatures of habit. In any event, the first time we ever boarded an Azamara ship we ended up at the pool deck port side for lunch and ever since, that's where we make a beeline. Now this is what the outdoor dining area on Deck 9 usually looks like (photo courtesy of Librarylady19, from her May Journey trip report).

 

 

...and this is how it looked when we boarded:

 

 

A little strange, don't you think, to have what's obviously indoor chairs and portable fold-up tables set out? However, there was indeed a method to the madness and all was revealed when we arrived in Barcelona at the end our cruise.

 

We had a good grilled lunch, same as we always do. A waiter came by our table to tell us about the beverage package upgrades but we passed on the opportunity. We'd had the package in May and found it more of a nuisance than anything else. Sure, it was nice to have so many more beers and cocktails to choose from, but it also meant that we had to carry our sea passes around with us at all times. This was fine for Rob but I never carry my pass. I can't be bothered. He keeps mine in his pocket and it's never been an issue except when we had the beverage package: no sea pass in your pocket; no drinkie in your hand. If you can't show your pass with the upgrade sticker on it, you must pay for your drink. End of story. I'd rather go with the included offerings and forgo the show-me-your-pass routine.

 

There was absolutely no pressure to upgrade to a beverage package (or any other package for that matter). We were asked upon boarding and that was it, never again. It was all very relaxed.

[dln929]

And now, sail-away! We've been to Lisbon three times now on a ship and the thrill of sailing under the 25th of April Bridge never lessens. Cooler than cool.

 

 

Our Meet & Mingle was held at 5:30 pm in the Looking Glass on Deck 10. The announcement was in our Pursuits. It was a great M&M. Tony Markey, the Cruise Director, hosted and we passed the mike around and introduced ourselves as waiters circulated with trays of goodies for us to enjoy. I remarked that I started the Roll Call and much to my surprise several people actually thanked me for doing so. Wow! that's never happened before. It was very nice. We had an excellent Roll Call and it was truly delightful to meet everyone in person. We came from all over the world--New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and more. It was mostly an English-speaking crowd with a wide array of accents. Some of us were newcomers to Azamara and others not. The demographic was skewed mostly to the retirees as opposed to our May cruise which had a more varied age range. I may ruffle feathers but I have to admit it was a bit daunting at first to be surrounded by so many gray-hairs. I'm no spring chicken myself but even still Rob and I were a good ten years younger than many of the passengers! However, it all turned out well because those "gray-hairs" turned out to be incredible people and we were fortunate to have met them. Absolutely lovely, lively, energetic and interesting people, gray hairs and all. Taught me a thing or two about making snap first impressions. I will never again be so quick to think to myself with a grimace "oh for goodness sakes this is like being in a Florida with Mom and Dad." We had a load of fun on this cruise with everyone no matter what their age.

 

Dinner that night in the Windows Cafe was the Italian Buffet but we opted to dine in Discoveries Restaurant instead. Our meal was delicious! Food is very subjective, of course, but I think we fared better with Chef Frederic in September than we did with Chef Fabio in May. I say this mainly because of the soup. I love a good soup and whoever was creating the soups on this particular cruise was outdoing himself/herself. I don't remember liking the soup as much in May. Go figure. Maybe it was my imagination but because of the soup, I fell in love with Chef Frederic. :p

Edited September 19, 2014 by dln929

[tigernut]

Three days in Lisbon flew by for us and finally it was time to pack up and get ourselves to the ship. One thing that Azamara truly delivers on is its promise to get you as close to the action as humanely possible. We've been to Lisbon before on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and both times we docked closer to Belem than Lisbon. The Azamara Journey, in contrast, was parked right at the foot of the city. It was marvelous! We took a taxi to the port, boarded, had lunch and a drink, and at 1:30 pm dropped our hand bags in our cabin and went for a last minute stroll in the city. It took us all of 25 minutes to walk from the pier to Rossio Square where I bought a beautiful pair of sandals for sightseeing. Thank you Azamara for getting me so close to the shopping! :D

 

The Journey docked opposite the Military Museum, which is the building you see in the left hand of my photo. http://www.golisbon.com/sight-seeing/military-museum.html

 

 

I think the port is called Santa Apolonia, much closer to the city than the other port and an easy walk to town. Santa Apolonia station is the blue building on the right of the photo.

 

An interesting trip if you have been to Lisbon many times before, is a visit to the Oceanarium, it's the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. Buses to the Oceanarium stop directly outside the cruise port.

Edited September 19, 2014 by tigernut

[Wacktle]

One thing about itineraries--if you see one with a port you particularly want to see, and you want to sail Azamara, don't be lulled into thinking that if you pass it up one month or year that you can catch it another, because you might not. I debated on whether or to talk about the ports we visited or just stick to the ship experience. To that end I went on Azamara's website to see if there were any other voyages to our ports, in which case it would be worthwhile to devote a line or two to describing our excursions and what not just in case it piqued anyone's interest and they too wanted to sail there. This is what I came up with: Lisbon (one sailing in '15 and one in '16), Cadiz, Port Vendres, and Palamos (none in '14, '15, or '16), Gibraltar (plenty of opportunity), Valencia (one sailing in '14 and one in '15m, but none in '16), Mahon (one sailing in '14, two in '15, but none in '16), Barcelona (eleven sailings upcoming but only one in '16). So there you go. Get it while it's hot or you might not get it at all.[/font]

 

Hi - Thanks for the reviews and the photos. Just a comment on the above - just because a port isn't on an Azamara cruise itinerary, doesn't mean a future cruise won't go there! Our Quest cruise this May was due to call at Rosas, but diverted to Palamos due to weather conditions. We found it to be a lovely little town, and weren't disappointed by the change. However, we've yet to discover what Rosas had to offer!

[dln929]

I think the port is called Santa Apolonia, much closer to the city than the other port and an easy walk to town. Santa Apolonia station is the blue building on the right of the photo.

 

An interesting trip if you have been to Lisbon many times before, is a visit to the Oceanarium, it's the largest indoor aquarium in Europe. Buses to the Oceanarium stop directly outside the cruise port.

 

Thank you so much for the tip about the Oceanarium. We were much taken with Lisbon so I know we'll be back for future visits.

 

Hi - Thanks for the reviews and the photos. Just a comment on the above - just because a port isn't on an Azamara cruise itinerary, doesn't mean a future cruise won't go there! Our Quest cruise this May was due to call at Rosas, but diverted to Palamos due to weather conditions. We found it to be a lovely little town, and weren't disappointed by the change. However, we've yet to discover what Rosas had to offer!

 

That was a lucky save for you! I'm glad it worked out so well for you. We went directly to the medieval town of Girona from Palamos. We could have gone to the Dali Museum but I'm glad we saw Girona instead. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042904104.html

[CintiPam]

Following your posts simply is such a pleasure. I am very glad that you posted a photo of the two of you. Nice to have a face to go with the all the wonderful contributions you have made on this forum.

 

Lisbon is number 1 on my to-do cities in Europe that I have yet to visit, so I am very much enjoying your experience vicariously.

 

Keep enjoyin'. :)

Edited September 19, 2014 by CintiPam

[dln929]

Our first port of call was Cadiz but we weren't due in until 10 am. We had an invitation to Le Club Voyage Breakfast at Prime C. We barely made it there by 9:30 am. Suffice it to say that someone enjoyed her wine at dinner the night before a little too much to have risen with the early birds. Those waiters are a little too expert at keeping one's glass topped. :D It was a sumptuous breakfast feast at Prime C! They really did go all out. It was both a visual and gastronomic treat. I thought the scheduling was a bit unfortunate, however. The first night on board is exhausting with the excitement of boarding, unpacking, and just getting settled in. However, there was really no other morning available for the event as every other day we arrived in port no later than 9:00 am. (Well, except for our overnight in Valencia, but we had the White Night party scheduled for that evening and I doubt after that extravaganza anyone would have been interested in Le Club Voyage Breakfast the next day.) We enjoyed our breakfast very much and I hope it was well attended. When we arrived at 9:30 am there weren't more than a handful of people still there, and yet there was still plenty of food on the tables. This breakfast has been discontinued on voyages a week or less, and given the port intensive schedules Azamara offers, I can understand why. I don't view that as a lessening of our LCV benefits, simply an exercise in practicality. So much effort goes into the breakfast event!

 

[dln929]

Too many delicious foods to sample, and wonderful ice sculpture too.

 

[ellbon]

as always enjoying the pictures of palces I have been or want to see.

the brunch use to be around 1030 or so.. I notice on my cruises they were earlier too and never went.

 

[dln929]

In Cadiz we'd made arrangements through our Roll Call for a day tour to Seville. It was a perfectly nice excursion but honestly I wouldn't have rated it any higher than the ship tours. There are those who claim that private tours are the only way to go because they're more personalized and less expensive. I beg to differ. We've been on lots of both and while some of our private tours have been memorable and outstanding, so too have been many of our Azamara tours. The same goes for price. We were lucky enough to get the 25% off discount on our ship excursions before they did away with it, but we booked a tour while on board the Journey and it was only $50 full price for what turned out to be a nearly four hour tour (and our best one ever).

 

Seville is a gracious and lovely city. Our main destination was the fabled Alcazar but had we not seen it, we'd still have rated the day a success. Our benchmark of success is when we answer the question "Do we want to come back here?" a resounding YES. Seville gets a big YES.

 

Here is Alcazar. This fountain is going to be in an episode of Game of Thrones. Our guide says they're dyeing the fountain water blue.

 

 

Back on board later that day there were several things going on, all of which we missed. We cruise so differently now than we did when we started. When we were newcomers to cruising, we HAD to go to all the shows and events. I'd have had heart attacks at the thought of missing anything! Now, we do as we please and go with the flow. It was as hot as heck when we were in Seville so instead of attending the 5 pm enrichment lecture on Gibraltar, Gateway to the Mediterranean, we parked ourselves at the pool and went swimming. Or at least one of us did. The other fell asleep. ;) Just as a note but if you're okay with missing cocktail hour or dressing for early dinner, the 5-7 pm time frame is an excellent time to be at the pool. You have it all to yourself because everyone is inside already.

 

Later that evening we could have listened to Richard Rubin the cabaret entertainer, or attended the show with the Journey singers or dancers, or attended the Captain's welcome reception but we didn't. We had a late dinner (excellent soup of course) and putzed around until 10:30 pm when it was time to trip to the light fantastic in the Looking Glass with DJ Marcio. Not a bad way to finish off the day.

[ellbon]

The pool alte in the day is great. so is the track. Funny, more peole do not sit there and read pre dinner.. I do see them at the bar.

[dln929]

The pool alte in the day is great. so is the track. Funny, more peole do not sit there and read pre dinner.. I do see them at the bar.

 

The bartenders at the bars were incredible on this cruise! All so nice and personable. When we were on the Journey in May the weather was on the brisk side and I think it made the bartenders grouchy. When the weather's good people linger at the bar and shoot the breeze. When it's cold they order and run. That must be boring for the bartenders--no one to talk with to pass the time. We didn't really catch a good vibe in May at any of the bars but in September it was all good. ;)

[dln929]

Gibraltar!!! I have an irrational love for Gibraltar. I can't explain it. It's not a particularly exciting port with all those high rise condos and shop after shop of duty free garbage (I mean, how many expensive watches does one person really need? I can cruise to the Caribbean and get them and spend less on airfare). Maybe it's because that Rock is part of my childhood. What American hasn't grown up with the image of the Prudential Insurance Rock burned in their head? Or maybe it's that Morrison's supermarket is there and I can stock up on Earl Grey and Crunchies and Knorr soup mixes and all those other English comfort foods that I'm crazy about. Whatever. I love Gibraltar. When the ship pulls into Gibraltar I'm happy and ready to go. Go where you say? Up the Rock of course.

 

Get your sneakers on because we're climbing the Rock.

 

 

It's less scary to climb the mountainside path called the Mediterranean Steps the second time around. We'd done it before when on the Celebrity Equinox transatlantic. That time we were clinging to the sides of the rock trying not to look down. This time, fear removed, we clambered up like a pair of mountain goats. Until the bottles of water ran out.

 

It was supposed to be in the high 70s F. I had checked and double checked the temperature before leaving home and that's what every forecast told me. No matter that the Pursuits that morning said the temps would be in the 90s. I Did Not Believe. I even asked Rob if I should put my weatherbreaker jacket in my backpack! Off we went like lambs to the slaughter. It was hot. Hot as hell. Miserable awful hot. And there was no shade, either. You might ask why we didn't turn back, call it a day and park ourselves in one of Gibraltar's fine English pubs. That would have been admitting defeat and this girl does not admit defeat. We set out to climb the Rock and climb it we did. We were within feet of the summit and I told Rob I was either going to a) faint from the heat b) throw up from the heat or c) have a heat stroke because of the heat. Talk about that expression "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon day sun." That was us. One of us is a born Englishman so that leaves me to be the mad dog. :o

 

We made it to the top where we found incredible views and better yet, incredible breezes! (Somewhat) refreshed, we set off down the Rock and hadn't gone very far on the paved road down when we came upon a tour taxi driver. He rolled his window down and asked us where we were going. We said, "Casemates Square." To which he said "Let me give you some advice. GET IN THIS CAR. I'm not even going to charge you. Just GET IN." Rob refused at first but I gulped and said yes yes yes. I can only imagine how sweat-drenched and bedraggled and pathetic we must have looked if a Gibraltar cabbie gave us a free ride down. Enough said. We'll climb the Rock again, I'm sure, but maybe not in the heat.

 

The Journey in Gibraltar. Bear in mind my camera has a 36x zoom on it. Which I used. ;)

 

[dln929]

I felt for this little guy, truly I did.

 

[dln929]

AzAmazing Evening in Gibraltar!!! Whoohooo! We've been incredibly lucky in that each of our three AzAmazing Evenings have been just that and this one proved no exception. It was a wonderful evening. We all got on our buses in an orderly fashion and St. Michael's Cave was only a short ride away from the ship with the added bonus of the rising full moon. It wasn't long before we were ushered into our seats in the cave and the Sea Scouts Pipe Band came out to entertain us. It was Amazing!

 

During intermission we were all invited down to the area in front of the stage where cocktail tables were set up. Wine and fancy hors d'oeuvres were served. We met a darling older couple at one of the little tables and ended up inviting them to sit with us for the second half of the performance. They had gotten to the cave early enough, like us, to get good seats but found themselves in less than desirable seats because a large church group on the cruise "saved" 27 seats in one row (yes, talk about rude and uncharitable). Luckily we had two empty seats in our row and we invited them to sit with us. It turned out to be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

 

Edited September 20, 2014 by dln929

[tango9]

Deirdre, thanks for the tips on Valencia. We were not sure what to do there. Did you go into the city on the shuttle and what did you think?

You are one brave woman to climb the Rock!!! Congrats! We are going to Gibraltar but don't think we will do that. Did you go into the tunnels?

You write such wonderful reviews, thank you. You are getting me anxious to get back on the Journey! Six weeks to go

Cheryl

[dln929]

Transportation for our AzAmazing Evening worked on a first in, last out fashion. Deck 8 was the first to leave for the Evening and got the seats towards the front of the stage. At the end of the performance, Deck 8 and lower were among the last to leave. This worked out very well for us because we were told that while we were waiting on our buses we could tour the cave area behind the stage. Fantastic! We're cave hounds so off we went, spending an enjoyable 25 minutes or so exploring until our bus arrived. It was an unexpected bonus to get an impromptu cave tour.

 

Back at the Journey we were greeted by a lovely waiter bearing flutes of bubbly. Yoohooo once again! I never saw a bubbly that I could turn down. Such was my haste to get to my choice libation that I could not spare the moment to get him in focus. :D

 

[dln929]

And the band played on. The Azamara jazz orchestra is so very talented and on top of that, they're all nice guys.

 

[dln929]

One happy girl. I thought twice about wearing my Spanish designed Desigual top because there's no love lost between Gibraltar and Spain but I wore it anyway and felt guilty about it only for the blink of an eye.

 

[dln929]

Deirdre, thanks for the tips on Valencia. We were not sure what to do there. Did you go into the city on the shuttle and what did you think?

You are one brave woman to climb the Rock!!! Congrats! We are going to Gibraltar but don't think we will do that. Did you go into the tunnels?

You write such wonderful reviews, thank you. You are getting me anxious to get back on the Journey! Six weeks to go

Cheryl

 

Thanks Cheryl for your compliment. Valencia is a wonderful city full of things to do and see. We had two days there so on the first we took the complimentary shuttle into the city and made our way to the old train station and set off to the castle town of Xativa. http://www.livingspanishculture.com/spain-tours/xativa-valencia/ We had planned to climb up to the castle ruins but the heat was really too much. Gibraltar did us in! The next day we took the ship's tour. Highlights of Valencia and the tour of the San Jose Caves. It was only $50 pp and absolutely worth it. We saw the City of Arts and Sciences from the bus and later, in the old city, got off the bus for a mini tour that brought us down streets we'd never seen on our previous visit. The guide was very good. We particularly liked that he brought us to the Central Market. What an interesting and lively place that is! The caves were really cool. It was an excellent excursion. I have no qualms about recommending it to you.

[ellbon]

you are bringing back so many happy memory's of summer of 2013.. my ship was not in Gibraltar at night but i was in the caves..I like to walk and can go up hill but not in that heat.. I was also lucky enought to sail into Seville and jsut walk eveywhere. had extra time due to turn around day and loved the park across the street. i was also there in sept and it was 90 daily.by the time you are done wriitng i will be ready to get back on a ship and Jan is a long way off. when i was on JR it was so cold it was rare to see the outdooor bars opwn but many late afternoons i saw the pool bar open and peopel sititng drinking. i was on the track walking very fast.

[Texed]

Hi Ed! I'm glad you're reading along. I hope all is well with you and that Rob and I have the good luck to sail again with you and Jacquie!!! We can hardly pass by the waffle station in Windows without thinking of you and it's such a nice association. :)]

 

Hopefully, we will get to sail with y'all again. We are on Journey at Christmas/New Year's. It is the last Azamara cruise we have booked. Maybe we will see you on Celebrity. :)

[BBMacLaird]

Hi Deirdre, lovely cruise and tour review. I'd like to chat with you offline. Would you send me your contact information via the LCV address? LeClubVoyage@azamaraclubcruises.com

Bonnie

[mara01]

So enjoying your review and photos! Very well written and great to hear you had such a good time. We love Gibraltar too - must admit we got the cable car up and walked down though. An added bonus is the gin is very cheap there!