A 7 day Pursuit of Happiness! Monte Carlo to Barcelona.. October 12 - October 19 2019

[krs12462]

On 10/22/2019 at 7:28 AM, Sleep7 said:

Hi Melissa! Thanks for such a complimentary post! That's so sweet of you.

Always so nice to hear from a fellow "addict."😃

I looked at the future cruises for next fall but couldn't find just the right one unfortunately..

We are locked into 7 day cruises that begin and end on Saturday.  We fly home directly after the cruise because DH has to go back to work on that Monday.

Our daughter is getting married in September and then there are holidays we have to be home for so there aren't too many departure dates that work for us next year.

I did saw one cruise in October 2020 that begins in Venice and ends in Athens so that's a possibility though.🤞

 

So sorry I never got the chance to meet you onboard. We didn’t find the paper about the meet and mingle until it was too late. Of course we were one of the last couples to board the ship after a full day tour in nice so it was rush, rush, which is the story of my life! I need to hang out with you on a future cruise because you definitely know how to take things in stride and manage to get it all in! I loved reading through your blog, seeing the pictures, and learning how it is possible to relax a little and enjoy the ship while still seeing so much at every port. Just one more reason why we’ll have to book another Azamara cruise! So glad you enjoyed. We certainly loved our vacation as well. Though I do have to say that we were a little disappointed in the butler and guest relations this time. Just couldn’t seem to get answers to ant questions, such as where the meet and mingle was, and why our phone was requiring a passcode that wouldn’t let us retrieve messages. Guess we were extremely spoiled by the exceptional staff we had on the quest. Nevertheless, it was the 2nd best cruise we’ve ever taken, the first being on the Quest. Good luck with your daughter’s wedding and let us know when you are traveling again! 

[Sleep7]

Hi Melissa!

I was so sorry we never got to meet on board either.. lots of rushing around that first day I agree. 

I kept looking for somebody that looked like your pic but couldn't find you.

Thank you so much for your sweet comments on my blog.  It was so fun to write.. really brought back all the wonderfulness of the week.

Sorry there were small glitches for you but it sounds like overall you had an absolutely fantastic time too.

I am having serious AWS (Azamara withdrawal syndrome) so that cruise in 7 day cruise October is looking more and more enticing.

There is also a 7 day one from Venice that stays in the Adriatic and for me what it lacks in fascinating ports it makes up for in an almost guarantee of smooth seas which would be a big plus for Sam who gets queasy when it's rough.

I kept the future cruise 7 day itineraries handout  that they had on board and hopefully will be able to go on one of them.

Thanks about the wedding wishes too! Very exciting.👰🤵

 

[Sleep7]

Hello all!  

Back about 8 weeks and the VAT from Global Blue just showed up on my credit card.💰

So if you purchased items at the shops on board and filed the paperwork in the airport in Barcelona your refund should arrive soon.😃

[hiccups]

2 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

Hello all!  

Back about 8 weeks and the VAT from Global Blue just showed up on my credit card.💰

So if you purchased items at the shops on board and filed the paperwork in the airport in Barcelona your refund should arrive soon.😃

I'm still mad at myself for not asking before I left the ship how to handle that VAT refund form!  Even as we saw the CD as we disembarked, I thought about turning around and asking, but didn't.  At least it was only about $30, and that was from OBC anyway.

I did contact Global Blue and they said I could make another trip overseas and get it stamped 😂  They also suggested I could send it to the nearest French Embassy, but I haven't bothered to contact the embassy to see if that is actually an option. 

I need to follow up with Nationwide regarding our port cancellation reimbursement; I submitted the documentation a few weeks ago.

Edited December 6, 2019 by hiccups

[Sleep7]

Oh no worries hiccups!

Next time you will know just what to do.👌

Interesting about insurance for a port cancellation.

I had no idea there was such a thing.

Let me know what happens when you file.  

Good luck!😊

 

[Baynanno1]

Global Blue refunds are far more straightforward in Lisbon . . straight back on credit card and Athens . . cash in hand.

Still waiting on Barcelona, but I guess we have another couple of weeks to wait after disembarking on 4 November.

[Baynanno1]

Pleasant surprise . . . expected to wait a couple more weeks, but our refunds have also hit the credit card today! 😊

[Sleep7]

Hi! Oh that is such funny timing that yours was credited today too..  especially since you were lucky enough to be sailing until November 4th.😃

Maybe Global Blue empties that big mailbox once a month.. could be.🤷‍♀️

[nordski]

It is heartening to know that the Global Blue refund system is working for so many and disheartening that, once again, I’ve failed to properly negotiate the process, even though I was assured by the agent in Rome this October that everything was in order. 
 

Looks like the next time I need an intervention by those who have been successful. 😄

Edited December 7, 2019 by nordski

[Sleep7]

Hi Nordski!

Ashamed to admit I'm an "overshopper" so the 3 - 4 times a year we go to Europe I always have a VAT refund to file.

Every time it's a confusing process.. each retail store, each VAT company, each airport experience is different. Even though I have done it many times I still walk away wondering if it will ever show up.  99% of the time it does though..👍

The two major companies Global Blue and Premier have a useful refund tracker link on their websites where you put in your number and it tells you the status of the refund.

Next Azamara cruise we are on together I will be happy to take you under my VAT wing!😃

[nordski]

37 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

Hi Nordski!

Ashamed to admit I'm an "overshopper" so the 3 - 4 times a year we go to Europe I always have a VAT refund to file.

Every time it's a confusing process.. each retail store, each VAT company, each airport experience is different. Even though I have done it many times I still walk away wondering if it will ever show up.  99% of the time it does though..👍

The two major companies Global Blue and Premier have a useful refund tracker link on their websites where you put in your number and it tells you the status of the refund.

Next Azamara cruise we are on together I will be happy to take you under my VAT wing!😃

Thanks for the offer! And there is another Super Shopper on here who will help if we ever share a cruise again.

 

Fortunately for my peace of mind, at this point when the agent at the airport assures me that I have done everything correctly I remain properly sceptical.

Thus when/if the system ever works it will be a joyful blessing! 😄

But with the your aid I will be much more confident!

Edited December 7, 2019 by nordski

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for writing such a fun and informative review and for your generous use of photos!

We will be sailing the Pursuit October 3 2020 and are looking forward to that even more now.

Cheers!

Norris

[Sleep7]

Hi Bimmer!

Thanks so much for your sweet words about my cruise story.😃

That's so awesome that you are signed up for the Pursuit on 10/3.

I have been looking at the 7 day itineraries on that day and the week after on 10/10.

They all have great itineraries and it's truly the most lovely time to be in the Mediterranean.

Lucky you!

I'm patiently waiting for my husband's group to pick vacations for the second half of 2020 because I hope he gets one of those two weeks.. would love to go on one of those cruises.

Thanks again! Enjoy!!

[hiccups]

On 12/6/2019 at 12:44 PM, Sleep7 said:

Oh no worries hiccups!

Next time you will know just what to do.👌

Interesting about insurance for a port cancellation.

I had no idea there was such a thing.

Let me know what happens when you file.  

Good luck!😊

 

We received our check from Nationwide a few days ago.  Cruise insurance was around $560, and we got $400 back from the missed port.  We always buy insurance, but this was the first time we bought cruise-specific insurance that covered missed ports.  We thought based on the Mediterranean in fall, there was a chance of a missed port due to weather.  Who would have thought it would be due to civil protests!

The Nationwide cruise insurance is a bit expensive, so for our upcoming cruises, we've gone back to our usual Travel Insured policies.

[Sleep7]

Hi Hiccups!

Wow! $400? That's amazing!👏

When I first read your post about the missed port insurance you inspired me to call about it too.

Alas.. they don't cover anything like that.. just super basic things like cancellation due to illness.

We used to take out separate insurance for cruises but then found out that some credit cards have built in travel insurance if you charge the trip on that specific card.  So for the past 10 years or so we have been charging all of our cruises on this one card.

I guess since it's free they just cover the most basic of claims which is fine for us.

I'm so happy for you. 😃 That just about paid for your premium. Perfect!

 

[hiccups]

3 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

Hi Hiccups!

Wow! $400? That's amazing!👏

When I first read your post about the missed port insurance you inspired me to call about it too.

Alas.. they don't cover anything like that.. just super basic things like cancellation due to illness.

We used to take out separate insurance for cruises but then found out that some credit cards have built in travel insurance if you charge the trip on that specific card.  So for the past 10 years or so we have been charging all of our cruises on this one card.

I guess since it's free they just cover the most basic of claims which is fine for us.

I'm so happy for you. 😃 That just about paid for your premium. Perfect!

 

Well, it helped.  We always buy a separate policy because we haven't felt what's offered by the credit cards would cover what we needed.  This is the first time we made a claim on any policy, although we would have made one back in June to cover our meals for trip delay since our flight was cancelled.  Unfortunately, my DH didn't keep the meal receipts (which I should have known he wouldn't do).  Thankfully we've never needed to cancel a trip or come back early, or had an injury.

Now we use our big box credit card for the cash back, and they don't offer trip insurance any longer.  My work also offers emergency evacuation coverage, but it seems hard to separate that out from a regular travel policy, so we end up with a lot of coverage.

[Sleep7]

That's great!  I feel insurance is like an umbrella on a day when rain is forecast.  When you don't have one you need it and when you have two of them the sky stays sunny all day.😃

[nordski]

Since several months ago I had been whining on this thread concerning my failure to secure a VAT refund that had been registered at Fumicino, 

 

I must now correct the record. 

 

A few weeks ago we received a cheque in the mail from Global Blue and the sum has now been successfully deposited in my account.

 

I've no idea why it took so long for the cheque to arrive, but that may not have been the responsibility of Global Blue.

 

I'll now reduce my skepticism and may actually engage with the system again. 

 

Thanks to all the posters who were more optimistic and they were correct.

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Yay! Great success!

It's so funny how sometimes it shows up in a week and sometimes in 6 months or a very few times never at all.

Glad you got yours refund Nordski. In the words of James Bond you will "Live to Shop Another Day." 😃

[NBliving]

@Sleep7 Loved your review!  We are somewhat new to cruising and have sailed on X exclusively the past 3 years.  During this down time I am exploring what to do when we can cruise again and Azamara is intriguing.  We are booked on the X Constellation for September 2021, but am thinking about switching to an Azamara Med cruise.  Just seems like port times are too short to see what my husband and I would like to see.  Always fun to do the research!  Thanks again for a great review!

[Sleep7]

Hi NBliving!🙋‍♀️

Thanks so much for the compliments about my review and pix.

During this time of no cruising.. all we have is our memories of past ones and hopes of future ones to be!

Rereading my review really brought back that delightful week and a big smile to my face!😃

We have taken 7 one week Azamara Mediterranean cruises in the past 10 years and each and every one has been AMAZING!

We were booked on a Scandinavian Azamara cruise this June that of course was cancelled.☹️

It is truly our favorite cruise line and we feel a big step up from Celebrity or RCCL in terms of food, service and attention to detail.

Hope European cruising comes back soon..

Thinking of you in TX and hope that the situation gets better there as quickly as possible.

Enjoy the research for now!

Claudia

Here is another review of a similar Azamara Med cruise we took the year before.

 

Different ports.. same Azamara love.😍

[OnTheJourney]

On 10/21/2019 at 7:44 AM, Sleep7 said:

We are just back (October 12th - October 19th) from another absolutely A M A Z I N G week sailing from Monte Carlo to Barcelona on The Pursuit. 

I started looking at this one....yep....you have the right touch for this blogging. 

[Sleep7]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

I started looking at this one....yep....you have the right touch for this blogging. 

Oh yay OnTheJourney! So glad that you found this Azamara blog.. our last cruise before COVID.

A simpler time for sure.

Have you ever sailed with Azamara? Way back in 2010 we sailed on our first Mediterranean cruise aboard the Quest with Captain Carl.  We have had a multitude of fantastic cruises with them... a marvelous cruise line indeed!!!👏

[OnTheJourney]

13 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

Have you ever sailed with Azamara?

No....been with Viking, HAL, X, RCL, and Tauck (for a river cruise)  No other lines. X and RCL are convenient for us since we don't need to fly for cruises out of Baltimore or Bayonne. 

[Sleep7]

9 hours ago, OnTheJourney said:

No....been with Viking, HAL, X, RCL, and Tauck (for a river cruise)  No other lines. X and RCL are convenient for us since we don't need to fly for cruises out of Baltimore or Bayonne. 

Ahh... not having to fly is a huge plus.  Baltimore and Bayonne would be my number one choices too!😊