Azamara Quest In Nov from Dubia to Singapore

[shaznmike54]

This is our first cruise so we have some questions 

 

What is the dress code for meals, can the men wear tailored shorts?

do we get visa on the ship for places like India and Sri Lanker? 

is is best to pre book trips or wait until on ship?

[shaznmike54]

22 hours ago, shaznmike54 said:

We would welcome you tips as we have never set foot on a cruise before and have booked the same trip from Dubia to Singapore, shaz and mike UK late 50's couple

hantscple50@gmail.com

 

21 hours ago, RonWL said:

This is also our first Azamara cruise, but we've been on more than a couple dozen cruises previously.  Perhaps the most obvious benefit of cruising is that you unpack and re-pack only once.  Being onboard is a bit like going to a resort where everything is provided - but the venue keeps changing.  On the best cruise lines the food, the entertainment, the accommodations, the service, the lectures, the games, the new friendships....  all are fantastic.  Did I mention the sea air or the sense of exploration?  Anyway, we've been told by friends that Azamara "fills the bill," and we can't wait to find out if they are right.
Gary Bembridge's YouTube Channel Tips for Travelers is excellent.   Here are a few examples:

• 6 Top Cruise Tips for Over 50 Travellers

• 5 Little-Known Cruise Tricks That Make A Big Difference

• I Have These Unusual (But CRUCIAL) Cruise Tips For You!

• Too Many First-Time Cruisers Still Get This Wrong

 

On 2/19/2022 at 7:47 PM, Sunnyhill said:

We have just booked for this cruise.  It will be our 3rd with Azamara.   We are Chris and Irene from the North of England.  We usually try to book private tours and would be interested in joining others

Yes very interested in joining others as this is our very first cruise 🙂 sharon and mike uk

[andrcan]

Dress code is smart casual. Shorts ok for breakfast/lunch, not for dinner.

[CYNSport]

We did a B2B version of this cruise in 2016. We had to get a visa ourselves for India. This is a must do. Sri Lanka visas were accomplished by Azamara. Dubai also had a visa requirement that was needed after we deplaned. Of course, you need to check and see what has changed since then. 

 

Edited to add: I’m from the U.S., I notice you are from the U.K. This likely will make a difference. We had to get a full visa, not an E-Visa. I think this has changed.

Edited June 21, 2022 by CYNSport

[blag]

23 minutes ago, CYNSport said:

I notice you are from the U.K. This likely will make a difference. We had to get a full visa, not an E-Visa. I think this has changed.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/india/entry-requirements

UK passport-holders need a Visa for entry to India.

Anyone tried Mastercard? 😜

Edited June 21, 2022 by blag

[Mackdogmolly]

Please see the thread Tips for Azamara Newbies for lots of great information!

[shaznmike54]

thank you all

[jollyjoyce]

We too are from UK and did this cruise on Azamara a few years ago.

You need to get your own India Visa...I found it was a little bit of a challenge filling in the form but we got there !!! Did t again a couple of years later so didn't put us off lol

We did not need to apply for Sri Lanka Visa.....I think Azamara did it.

We don't need Visas for Dubai..normally visa on arrival is available for UK... or always has been on the numerous times we have flown in !!

Go to visacentral to check as this info might be out of date now.

Have a wonderful cruise, its a fabulous itinerary.

Joyce

[shaznmike54]

oh bless you Joyce 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

We did this some years back, at least India.  We were required to get visas ourselves.  Then there was an arrangement such that multiple ports still counted as a single entry.

 

However, not everything ran smoothly,  India decided to do face to face immigrations and I assume Azamara asked to do that onboard which was granted.  That part worked well.  What didn’t work well was several consulates had told passengers they didn’t need a visa.  The consulates even wrote letters stating that they would not be required to get a visa.  As you can guess the immigration officers were having none of that.  They argued too that the consulates couldn’t tell them what to do etc.  of course, passengers were upset and there wasn’t much Azamara could do.  Azamara did however give them free tours in the next port but that was a lousy consolation.  I didn’t hear whether there were other concessions, but I wouldn’t put it past Azamara to have given passengers FCCs, long before anyone had heard the term.

[Benthayer Gonbak]

I should add there was one couple that applied for the longer visa, which didn’t arrive in time.  They however had dual citizenship and had another passport.  I don’t recall if they entered India or not, I’m thinking they weren’t worried about it as the planned another trip that the longer visa was needed for. 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

We boarded in Athen so didn’t have to deal with visas at the airport in Dubai.  A word of caution.  The UAE has some rather strict rules about medications which include Tylenol PM!   There are some horror stories about seamen and expats arriving with not only drugs on the banned list, but with 90-120 days supply.  They may forgive you with 20 days supplies according to some reports, but I’d check out the list at least.  

[blag]

2 hours ago, Benthayer Gonbak said:

A word of caution.  The UAE has some rather strict rules about medications which include Tylenol PM!   There are some horror stories about seamen and expats arriving with not only drugs on the banned list, but with 90-120 days supply.  They may forgive you with 20 days supplies according to some reports, but I’d check out the list at least.  

I too, worried about this, and travelled without any of the meds on the banned list. I don't know why I bothered. When we arrived in Dubai, there were no controls! Just a totally disinterested official who glanced at our passports and waved us through.

Of course, that doesn't mean everyone will have the same experience. 

The list, by the way, is download-able (don't remember exactly from where) and contains some real surprises. Oh, and don't think you can purchase the meds when you arrive. Without a UAE prescription, forget it. We tried. 

For the first 4-5 days of our cruise I suffered withdrawal symptoms! 

The upside? I no longer take the meds I was not permitted to take into the UAE. 

[Benthayer Gonbak]

12 hours ago, blag said:

I too, worried about this, and travelled without any of the meds on the banned list. I don't know why I bothered. When we arrived in Dubai, there were no controls! Just a totally disinterested official who glanced at our passports and waved us through.

Of course, that doesn't mean everyone will have the same experience. 

The list, by the way, is download-able (don't remember exactly from where) and contains some real surprises. Oh, and don't think you can purchase the meds when you arrive. Without a UAE prescription, forget it. We tried. 

For the first 4-5 days of our cruise I suffered withdrawal symptoms! 

The upside? I no longer take the meds I was not permitted to take into the UAE. 

We had a long layover in AbuDhabi where we left the airport.  We left banned drugs in the suitcase that were still airside as we were told that was no problem, it wasn’t.  
 

as for counties not seeming to care about the protocols you’ve tried to adhere to we found that in Japan. We began in Japan and had a cruise of 60 days where some drugs were limited to 30.  We did all the work, had the spears and immigrations seemed to not know what the papers were!  My suspicion is that obvious tourist, an probably some profiling keeps most people out of trouble.  It’s still worth knowing high drugs are questionable, and to be prepared.  As I recall bipolar meds were on the UAE list, those are not drugs I would encourage anyone to stop, nor would I think that the country would like the results!