X cruiser sails Azamara to Cuba Jan 15 to 24 2019

[Richard&JohnSTX]

Thanks Norris for your wonderful review of Azamara and your Cuba trip. It was so great that I also did then look at all your previous reviews - took hours out of my days (LOL) but totally appreciate the time and dedication you put into your documentation!

 

We have sailed on Azamara three times previously - had no intention of doing Cuba after having lived in the Caribbean for 30 years but when I saw your review I researched some of their cruises including Cuba and we are now booking the westbound TA from Barcelona starting November 5th on Journey. We have been to Barcelona before but not the stops of Gibraltar or Bermuda! The port of Key West we will enjoy again and then off to Havana. Only an overnight there but as we are just an hour drive from the port of Tampa we can find a more immersive cruise from there in the future to do even more.

 

I think Azamara owes you a special gift of sorts for inspiring so many of us to experience Cuba on Azamara!

 

Hi to Carol,

 

Richard

 

 

[Bimmer09]

22 hours ago, Richard&JohnSTX said:

Thanks Norris for your wonderful review of Azamara and your Cuba trip. It was so great that I also did then look at all your previous reviews - took hours out of my days (LOL) but totally appreciate the time and dedication you put into your documentation!

 

We have sailed on Azamara three times previously - had no intention of doing Cuba after having lived in the Caribbean for 30 years but when I saw your review I researched some of their cruises including Cuba and we are now booking the westbound TA from Barcelona starting November 5th on Journey. We have been to Barcelona before but not the stops of Gibraltar or Bermuda! The port of Key West we will enjoy again and then off to Havana. Only an overnight there but as we are just an hour drive from the port of Tampa we can find a more immersive cruise from there in the future to do even more.

 

I think Azamara owes you a special gift of sorts for inspiring so many of us to experience Cuba on Azamara!

 

Hi to Carol,

 

Richard

 

 

Richard thanks for (a) reading my Cuba thing and (b) being curious enough to read my other GSJs/reviews/ rambles. 3 more to come!

Give my love to Barcelona which was a highlight of our Emerald Princess cruise. It has already been over 4 years since we were there and no plans to revisit as yet. Our foreign travel is booked out to October 2020 (Azamara Pursuit) and who knows after that?

No check in the mail from Azamara but I was happy to compliment them on making and maintaining a good first impression and for not disappointing us.

 

Carol will read this at some point and enjoy your greeting.

Thanks so much for the kind compliments!

Norris

[Jimorel]

Norris,

I haven't been on Cruise Critic (or anything else for that matter) since the start of the year!  Your review is more than enough to draw me back to CC.  I look forward to reading and viewing every post.  Thanks in advance for what I am sure will be a wonderful experience.  I will probably never get to Cuba, but when I read one of your reviews I feel like I was there.

Jimorel

[Bimmer09]

23 hours ago, Jimorel said:

Norris,

I haven't been on Cruise Critic (or anything else for that matter) since the start of the year!  Your review is more than enough to draw me back to CC.  I look forward to reading and viewing every post.  Thanks in advance for what I am sure will be a wonderful experience.  I will probably never get to Cuba, but when I read one of your reviews I feel like I was there.

Jimorel

Well I am glad you found it before it gets too deep in the pages of the board!

I hope it wasn't illness that kept you off the boards for those few months.

Thanks for the nice compliments and good to see you in one of my reviews again.

Hope to see you in the next three!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Just an update regarding the tour company we used in Cienfuegos.

I went onto TripAdvisor today to give FerTours a great review and saw a notice saying the business is closed.

I sent an email just now to Fernando to see if he'll be opening a new business and to find out what the scoop is.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I got a reply last night from FerTours and indeed their business was closed down overnight.

If you have a booking with them you will need to make other arrangements, alas.

Shame-they were a good company to do business with.

Norris

[Onelung]

Hi Norris

 

I really enjoyed reading about your travels through Cuba, it brought back lots of happy memories as I was lucky enough to be able to go there in 1997.  Looks like a lot of building has been going on in Havana since we were there, but at the same time it still looks like it's falling down, if you see what I mean. I liked the photo/comment about buses - we saw some truly strange contraptions - two different makes of buses welded together!  The museum of the revolution has also changed considerably, when we were there it was very run down, we did, however, get to go up close to the ship as it was not in a protective case then.

 

We were on a land tour and also visited Cienfuegos and Santiago and I was really looking forward to seeing your pictures, however, for some reason from about page 17 onwards they are not showing on my computer - do you have a link to your flikker page or similar?

 

Thanks as always for your wonderful, funny and informative review 🙂

 

[Bimmer09]

On 4/25/2019 at 4:23 PM, Onelung said:

Hi Norris

We were on a land tour and also visited Cienfuegos and Santiago and I was really looking forward to seeing your pictures, however, for some reason from about page 17 onwards they are not showing on my computer - do you have a link to your flikker page or similar?

 

Thanks as always for your wonderful, funny and informative review 🙂

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read the "thing" and I am attaching the link to my Flickr albums

which also include my Chicago pictures, mainly of my neighborhood and many of them with a new lens I will be taking on my cruises (Carl Zeiss wide-angle lens).

Hope to see you in my Silhouette review in September!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/136363678@N03/albums

 

Norris

[Onelung]

Norris, thanks for the Flikker link.  It was such a pleasure to see the photos of the Valle Palace and Hotel Jagua.  We stayed there on our land tour many years ago.. It was an interesting experience to say the least! The palace was in a very dilapidated state but we climbed to the top and enjoyed a wonderful night-time view of the city, great memories.

[CruisingChick]

On 1/25/2019 at 6:18 PM, jelayne said:

 Azamara experience was below our expectations and for us not worth the Premium prices. 

We just disembarked Azamara Journey on Sunday 4/21 and felt the same way. While there were things we liked, overall we were not impressed with what we got for the price.  The service was definitely not as friendly or any better than we have had on any of our Celebrity cruises.

[Onelung]

We are doing the Fjords on P&O's Britannia in July this year so I'll await your Silhouette review with interest to see how it compares to our experience. We've sailed Silhouette a couple of times but found Celebrity service a bit lacking lately (unless you are in a suite) so decided to try P&O. Not sure how it will compare?

[Bimmer09]

12 hours ago, Onelung said:

We are doing the Fjords on P&O's Britannia in July this year so I'll await your Silhouette review with interest to see how it compares to our experience. We've sailed Silhouette a couple of times but found Celebrity service a bit lacking lately (unless you are in a suite) so decided to try P&O. Not sure how it will compare?

 

Onelung, we haven't been on a Celebrity ship since the Reflection in January 2017 which is when we booked the Silly for September 2018 ( for $10,000 for an aft Sky Suite). Then we changed that to a year later and it cost $11,000 for the same suite.

 

That was the plan until about a month ago when I was surfing and noticed a Sunset Verandah (posh term for an aft balcony cabin) next door to our S1 on the corner. Half the price of our suite and as we have two more cruises booked and some land trips I figured if we gave the suite a miss we could save enough to pay for our Sky Princess aft balcony cabin next January.

The math was compelling. Carol agreed with me. We will therefore not enjoy Luminae (which we like) nor Michael's which we have only visited once per cruise. We don't need a butler or a saved seat in the theater so we will be faced with the MDR (one crappy experience on Silhouette on our last night but it can't always be that poor) for some meals, but we will have most dinners in Murano, Lawn Club Grill and maybe one Tuscan Grille. I love the Oceanview Cafe, especially the Indian food for lunch, so won't go hungry. We may even try Le Petit Chef for dinner although it sounds like the dumbest most juvenile idea ever. Just typing that makes me think I won't bother. Daft. We'll see. We only tried Qsine once and that was a fun and tasty treat but it's yesterday's news apparently.

 

We love aft suites but on our last 3 cruises (2 Princess and 1 Azamara) we booked too late to get an aft suite and made do with aft balconies and lived to tell the tale. We also had no Luminae, nor Michael's experience but were happy campers so I am thinking that we will have a fantastic cruise on my favorite ship (Silhouette). I am imagining my review will bear that out but time will tell. We booked the cruise primarily for the Norwegian Fjord experience and will be off the ship everyday but don't expect the Celebrity food and service to disappoint in any way.

 

My older sister who lives in Northern Ireland sails P & O and NCL (in the Caribbean) but I am unlikely to sail them when I have Princess, Celebrity and lately Azamara to call upon. 

 

The Britannia is similar to the Regal Princess which I reviewed in October 2017 and a fine tub she was.

 

Norris

[senior lady]

Thanks Norris for the great review.  We sailed to Cuba  yr ago on Celestyal  Cruises and loved it.   Instead of Nassau we went to Montego Bay.     Your review brought back may great memories.   I'd love to go back.   Being Canadian, it's much easier for us to travel to Cuba.

 

[Bimmer09]

18 hours ago, senior lady said:

Thanks Norris for the great review.  We sailed to Cuba  yr ago on Celestyal  Cruises and loved it.   Instead of Nassau we went to Montego Bay.     Your review brought back may great memories.   I'd love to go back.   Being Canadian, it's much easier for us to travel to Cuba.

 

Thanks for reading it!

I am sure we will return to Cuba when we have a Government not staffed by circus clowns again. We live in the USA, a "free country" but we're not free to travel apparently which kinda puts us on the same footing as the Cubans, only with access to soft and absorbent toilet paper.

 

We can't go back often though as we have other new experiences awaiting ....Norway and the Dalmatian ports will be new and right up our alley/fjord. We are already looking at Azamara cruises to islands less traveled in the Med for 2021. But of course if we get tickets for the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, Germany, all bets are off. Our enjoyment of Wagner surpasses all

and we are very at home in Germany.

 

Cheers!

Norris

[Drysil]

Thanks, Norris, for your excellent review.  We last sailed on Reflection (our fav) in 2017 (too long!) two months after you on the same route, so I was delighted to have your careful review to follow prior to our departure.  Now we, too, are beginning to consider Az as a next line after our planned December 2020 cruise around Cape Horn on Silhouette.  It's been incredibly informative to see so much of the ship and her compliment, and I'm favorably inclined to book as a result!

 

Thanks again,

Shawn

[Bimmer09]

On 5/1/2019 at 5:24 PM, Drysil said:

Thanks, Norris, for your excellent review.  We last sailed on Reflection (our fav) in 2017 (too long!) two months after you on the same route, so I was delighted to have your careful review to follow prior to our departure.  Now we, too, are beginning to consider Az as a next line after our planned December 2020 cruise around Cape Horn on Silhouette.  It's been incredibly informative to see so much of the ship and her compliment, and I'm favorably inclined to book as a result!

 

Thanks again,

Shawn

 

Shawn, thanks for reading this and for reading the Reflection review from January 2017.

I went back to it to read it, after two years and was miffed to see that CC never reinstated all the videos when they remodeled the site last October and after page 10 the photos have disappeared. Not the eternal record I was hoping for alas.

As for Azamara, we have another cruise in October 2020 so you'll have that to read while waiting for your Silhouette cruise which I wish I was going on. Someday we'll cruise South America and see it for ourselves. It's top of my bucket list.

For those who haven't read the Reflection review and want to here is the link...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2361867-celebrity-reflection-january-14-to-21-2017/page/6/

 

Norris

[cruisequeen4ever]

Such a thorough and entertaining read, Norris! Thank you for taking us along! Can’t wait for your next blog!

[Bimmer09]

18 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

Such a thorough and entertaining read, Norris! Thank you for taking us along! Can’t wait for your next blog!

 

My thanks to you for reading it!

Next blog will start September 10 when I get back from London.

Hope you can tune in.

Norris

[Covepointcruiser]

No restriction has yet been placed on U.S. visitors to Cuba, check the State Department site.   You can also sign up for email updates for changes in travel policy.   U.S. citizens who had property seized by Cuba in the fifties are now permitted to sue.   Two families in Florida are seeing Carnival Cruises because they use piers that were annexed by the Cuban government.   Great for the families, not so great for anyone wanting to visit.   Guess there is no use in suing the Cuban government as they have little cash.   Don’t know who owned the property where the airport is, but most likely any airlines landing there may also be sued.   

[carolinagalcruise2011]

Thank you for the review and the fabulous photos of Cuba.  I felt like I was right there with you!  Hopefully one day I will get to visit Cuba but for now planning a cruise to the Mediterranean and off to read a couple of your reviews on those. 

[CoatRackOfDoom]

On 2/7/2019 at 8:50 PM, Bimmer09 said:

 

 

On Azamara there is a table already laid with placemats, silverware, water and wine glasses.

A waiter comes to take your food and drinks order and places a number on your table. The chefs get working on it and it is delivered piping hot to your table. Yes! Yes Azamara! You go girl!

 pork loin sandwich with grilled onions, tomatoes and (greatgooglymoggly!) feta cheese!! Also some crunchy coleslaw and hot crisp fries.

OMG is delicious a word?  The best pool deck food ever for me and Carol loved her chicken brochette with grilled peppers and onions. Score= 12 out of 10.

 

We'll return to the Patio again and I will return one night to take photos of some of those responsible for its excellence.

 

 

Wow, Norris! I have to concur on the Mast Grill - I've never actually eaten the food because it's singularly uninspiring. But this Patio situation is primo! Big point for Azamara.

 

Ed

[CoatRackOfDoom]

On 3/5/2019 at 9:28 AM, Bimmer09 said:

 

Up at 5.30 a.m refreshed. Starbucks for breakfast at 6.15 after packing. A well-drilled traveling machine. Check-out. Lyft. Airport 76 degrees F. Enjoy that warmth! 3 hour pleasant flight.

Off plane Chicago. Temperature  minus 4F. A swing of 80 deg F. Brrrrrr.

Taxi home (to save time waiting for Lyft). Cat ecstatic. Purr machine. No mess, no mischief.

Drop luggage. We have an opera tonight at 7 p.m so allow some time for a nap.

Begin this review within an hour of being indoors. Ending it now.

 

Thanks for reading along!!

Up next....Celebrity Silhouette Norwegian Fjords September 1-8. Review September 10.

 

Bravo, Norris! Thank you for another extraordinary Gentleman's Seafaring Journal. Hello to Carol!

Is there somewhere you've shared your thoughts over the past year + since your Norwegian Fjords cruise? As a Gentleman Seafarer, with industry experience, and a level temperament, I'm curious about how you've dealt with canceled cruises, etc. The Azamara anniversary celebration, for example; has it been rescheduled?

Ed

[dani negreanu]

On 2/16/2019 at 3:39 AM, singinalot said:

Just inserting myself here...thought you’d enjoy this sunset from Saturday night in Destin, Florida... completely irrelevant to this topic 😇

 

Is that your grandma, Crystal? 🥰

[dani negreanu]

On 2/17/2019 at 10:39 PM, Deck Chair Queen said:

 In fact it is quite tiring for me to have to pay such close attention and respond as appropriate to show I was paying attention for hours on end. (Am I the only one who feels this way about private tours?) The responsibility for interaction falls to me usually as Norris is hither and yon taking pictures. In most cases I would prefer just having a driver, actually.

 

No. Same here....😉