Azamara Club Cruises 2014 Deployment

YOU'LL LOVE WHERE WE TAKE YOU

Offering more late-night and overnight stays in port, the award-winning Azamara Club Cruises  announced the 2014 deployment of its twin boutique ships Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.

Up-market travelers can choose among 72 new voyages, ranging from four to 17 nights and visiting 240 fascinating destinations in 66 countries throughout Europe, the Far East, Central and South America, the Caribbean and the Western U.S. coast.

The cruise line’s new 2014 program enables guests to experience the nightlife of compelling destinations around the world that larger ships cannot reach, and includes a record-45 maiden port calls, such as the UNESCO World Geopark Langkawi, Malaysia; Maura in the Sultanate of Brunei; and the charming island-village Vila do Abraao, a favorite Brazilian getaway.

“Azamara’s staff and crew stand ready to deliver our authentic and personable service along with immersive experiences to up-market travelers,” said Larry Pimentel, president and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises. “One hundred percent of Azamara’s 2014 voyages feature late night and overnight stays in port to offer guests the opportunity to enjoy the nightlife of some of the world’s most vibrant places. There is no better way for travelers to immerse themselves in a destination than with Azamara.”

DESCRIPTION	SAIL DATE(S) 2014	ITINERARY HIGHLIGHTS
Azamara Journey 12- to 17-night East & South China Seas	January - April	Alternating departures from Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai and Chennai. Visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as Halong Bay, Borobudur, Parambanan and Sangiran.
Azamara Journey Repositioning cruise	April	Repositions via the Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal to arrive for its Europe season
Azamara Journey 4- to 14-night  Europe	Summer	voyages, ranging throughout the Mediterranean, North and Baltic Seas (some examples follow)
Azamara Journey 10-, or 12-night Baltic	July	all feature three full days at St. Petersburg, Russia
Azamara Journey 14-night Food and Wine cruise	August	departing Southampton, U.K., on August 20, which features two-night stays at Nantes (Loire Valley) and Bordeaux, France.
Azamara Quest 10- to 14-night Sea of Cortez and Central America voyages	January - April	Los Angeles, California - Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - Manzanillo. Mexico - Ixtapa (Zihuatanejo), Mexico - Huatulco, Mexico - Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala - Acajutla, El Salvador - San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua - Caldera, Costa Rica (Ports vary by itinerary)
Azamara Quest 10- to 12-night trans-Panama Canal voyages	January, March	a pair of trans-Panama Canal voyages between Miami, Fla., and Costa Rica
Azamara Quest 8-night Coastal Wine Cruise	February	Santa Barbara, California - Monterey, California - San Francisco, California - Ensenada, Mexico - Los Angeles, California
Azamara Quest 11-night less-trodden, jewel islands of the Caribbean	March	St. John, U.S.Virgin Islands - Iles Des Saintes, Guadeloupe - Roseau, Dominica - Gustavia, St. Barts - Charlestown, Nevis - Virgin Gorda, B.V.I. - Miami, Florida
Azamara Quest 15-night trans-Atlantic voyage Miami to Nice	March	Miami, Florida - Ponta Delgada, Azores - Gibraltar, United Kingdom - Cartagena, Spain - Mahon, Menorca, Spain - Cannes, France - Nice, France
Azamara Journey Azamara Quest rendezvous in St. Tropez and Monte Carlo	May 19	for the first time, guests aboard both ships can join in the excitement of the Monaco Grand Prix.
Azamara Quest 7- to 12-night Europe	Summer	mainly in the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Aegean and Black seas
Azamara Quest 11-night Mediterranean Easter sailing	April	sailing, departing April 11, offers guests an overnight at Civitavecchia, the gateway to Rome for an opportunity to attend Palm Sunday mass in the Vatican, and at Livorno for Easter Sunday in Florence.
Azamara Quest 7-, 9-, and 12-night Black Sea voyages	July - August	voyages sail from Istanbul. The August 20 voyage takes guests on a comprehensive 12-night itinerary throughout the region, including a call at Sochi, Russia, site of the 2014 winter Olympic Games.
Azamara Journey Holiday Sailings	November	depart from Spain’s Costa del Sol to the beautiful Brazil via the Canary Islands. Travelers can celebrate Christmas and the New Year as they sail from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro.
Azamara Quest Holiday Sailings	November	retrace the Spice Route to the Far East and ring in the New Year in Hong Kong.

Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles

 

Virtual Cruise with Chris

12-Night Mediterranean

& Greek Isles Cruise

Star Princess

May 30 - June 11, 2011

Our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise began in Rome, Italy with a two night pre-cruise stay.  We then took a train to Civitavecchia, Italy, where we boarded Princess Cruises' Star Princess for our cruise throughout the region.   The cruise concluded with an overnight stay in Venice, Italy.   The next morning we departed Venice for Rome via train for another day exploring the eternal city before heading home the next morning.   Click on the Blog Posts and FB Photo Albums to virtually journey with us on our trip.

	Port	Blog Posts	Photo Albums
1	Pre-Cruise Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	Our Rome Adventure Begins Day 1 Pre-cruise in Rome Exploring Palatine Hill and Roman Forum When in Rome Relaxing at Trevi Fountain Visiting Vatican Museum St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II Walking Tour of Rome from Vatican As Night Falls in Rome Rome to Civitavecchia by Train Sail Away From Civitavecchia	Rome - Colosseum Album Palatine Hill - Roman Forum Trevi Fountain Vatican Museum Line Vatican Museum Part 2 St. Peter's Vatican Pope John Paul II Exhibit Walking from Vatican Piazza Navona  Rome at Night
	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Track Excursion to Eze	Monte Carlo Off the Beaten Path - Eze
3	Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy	Off the Beaten Path Lucca Italy	Lucca - Walking Tour  Lucca - Church of San Michele in Foro  Lucca Duomo (Cathedral of St Martin )
4	Naples/Capri, Italy	Naples/Capri, Italy Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring A Lost City From Ancient Ruins to Shells in Napoli	Naples/Capri Arrival Drive to Salerno Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring Amalfi Drive to Pompeii / Lunch Exploring Pompeii Cameo Factory
5	At Sea	Star Princess Main Dining Room	Star Princess Food
6	Santorini, Greece	SantoWines Santorini Greece Village of Oia, Santorini Greece Continuing Santorini Exploration in Fira Sunset on Santorini	Santo Winery - Santorini Drive to Oia - Santorini Village of Oia Village of Fira Santorini Sunset
7	Mykonos, Greece	Images of Mykonos Kalafati Beach in Mykonos Panagia Tourliani Monastery Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice Mykonos Town Walking Tour Meet Petros - Mascot of Mykonos A Man and His Donkey	Kalafati Beach Panagia Tourliani Monastery Returning to Port of Mykonos Mykonos Countryside Mykonos Walking Tour
8	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	The Acropolis a Journey Into Antiquity Plaka The Neighborhood of the Gods Lunch at Metropolitan Hotel Athens Athens City of Contrasts Along The Attica Coast Temple of Poseidon Overlooks Aegean Sea	The Acropolis The Plaka Lunch Buffet - Athens Central Athens Scenic Attica Coast  Temple of Poseidon
9	Katakolon (Olympia), Greece	Step Back in Time to Ancient Olympia	Ancient Olympia Archeological Site
10	Corfu, Greece	Achilleion Palace Corfu	Achilleion Palace Corfu Town
11	Split, Croatia	Off the Beaten Path Krka National Park	KRKA National Park & Waterfalls Adriatic Coastal Drive to Krka
12	Venice, Italy	Concordia Disaster Rekindles Venice Restrictions Venice in Spring and Winter Sailing Into Venice by Cruise Ship Exploring Venice at Night	Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship Venice Walking Tour Part 1 Venice Walking tour - Part 2 Venice - Evening 64 photos Venice at Dusk  38 photos Venice at Night  50 photos
13	Venice, Italy to Rome, Italy Post-Cruise	Venice Cruise Terminal to Pizzale Roma People Mover from Cruise Terminal Arriving Back in Rome  Back Home from Mediterranean Cruise	Venice to Rome by Train 39 photos

As you can see from the itinerary, this was a very port intensive cruise vacation.  As usual, when we travel "over the pond" to Europe, we like to arrive a couple days early so that we can extend our time there while getting accustomed to the time change.  In order to obtain round-trip airline tickets, it was necessary to return to Rome, Italy from Venice following the cruise.   This allowed us to spend another day in Rome and also made the trip a lot less stressful since we didn't have to worry about missing our flight home.

We hope that you enjoy your virtual journey with us to the Greek Isles.   As you can see, we haven't completed all the ports of call yet, so be sure to visit again for the updates.  Even better, "Like" us on Facebook so that you'll be notified as we post more pictures and stories.

Excursion to Eze

OFF THE 

BEATEN  PATH

As we mentioned in our previous post, Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco, there are several options for exploration using Monte Carlo as your base of operations..  Monte Carlo lies at the heart of the Riviera.

Stunning scenery and charming seaside resorts are to be found in either direction along the Golden Corniche routes.

Join me as we venture off the beaten path to Eze, France, a small community up the coast, northeast of Nice and set between Nice and the city of Monte Carlo. Driving along the winding roads we have glimpses of Monte Carlo and other seaside resorts. It is early morning and the fog hasn't quite burned off, but yet we can see quite a distance. After a while we arrive at our destination.

The fortified settlement of Eze sits proudly on a huge rock at the top of a narrow winding road, with the friendly village sprawled haphazardly beneath the castle and grounds.  It is known as the 'eagle's nest' because of its location 1,400 feet above sea level.


There are many interesting sites in this charming medieval village of Eze that forms a circular pattern around the base of the old castle. We ascend the path through the village’s arched passages, stone alleyways, and ancient fountains.  Eze has many shops, art galleries, hotels and cafes for us to explore. Even in the fog it offers gorgeous panoramic views of the Mediterranean Sea. 

Along the way, we visit the charming church of Notre Dame de l’Assomption (Our Lady of the Assumption) built in 1764. Eglise Notre-Dame De L’ Assomption is situated at the heart of the famous eagle’s nest. The church stands out from the village’s medieval architecture because of its classic façade, characterized by the bell-tower. Consecrated in 1772, the church has beautiful Baroque altarpieces.

The Jardin d'Eze, known in the past as the exotic garden, offers a range of attractions to discover plants, history and traditions of Eze...

Arriving at the summit we discover the Jardin d' Eze (Exotic Garden) where all sorts of cactus plants are in bloom. There is a minimal entrance fee, included in our tour price, to enter the gardens. Our guide leaves us to explore at our own pace.

This is a multi-level garden with a winding path that leads to the peak of the hill. The panoramic views become more breathtaking the higher you go, so it was worth the climb to the peak.

When we were about to leave the exotic gardens, it started to rain gently. Just enough rain fell to make the descent from the top of the hill a bit treacherous. The hand rails came in quite handy as we made our way to the foot of the hill.

We joined our guide again at the PARFUMERIE GALIMARD. Here we learned about the art of making perfume. While this isn't a working plant, the various ingredients and machinery are on display.

There is a lab filled with every imaginable ingredient that can be blended into your own special scent. Two girls were in the process of making their own unique blends of perfume in the lab.

It's time to try some samples and make our own purchases before getting back on the motorcoach for the ride back to the pier. The images here are just a few of the ones we took. More can be found on our Facebook Fan Page in Off the Beaten Path - Eze.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco

Aerial View of Monte Carlo

Our first port of call on the 12-Night Star Princess Cruise to Greek Isles & Mediterranean was in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Monte Carlo is an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco well known for the Formula One Grand Prix Monaco and the Le Grand Casino.

Historic attractions, world-class cultural events, endless entertainment, shopping, and gourmet dining are all part of the ultimate vacation experience, and just steps from Port Hercule.

Le Grand Casino complex is a gambling facility which also includes the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo, an opera and ballet house, and the office of the Ballets de Monte Carlo. This prominent building can be seen from the ship as it is docked in Monte Carlo Bay.  We didn't visit the casino on this trip but have done so in the past. There is an entry fee of 25 Euro the last time we checked. This is the casino that James Bond made famous in films.

Million Dollar Eye Candy

Since you are reading this blog about cruising, we suspect that you like to cruise or are at least  interested in taking a cruise vacation sometime in the future.   We also suspect that you would love the sleek shapes that can be seen in Monte Carlo.  Of course, we're talking about the millions of dollars of private yachts that are on display every day in the Monte Carlo Bay.   Here are the yachts that were docked there as seen from our ship.

More photos can be seen in our Facebook Fan Page Album:  Monte Carlo

Several Touring Options in Monte Carlo

Monte Carlo is a port of call that can easily be toured on your own.   As mentioned previously, there is plenty to do within walking distance of the pier.    You could also purchase tickets on one of the tour vehicles shown above if you don't care to let you feet take you around. 

On this particular trip we ventured further, selecting one of the ship's tours off the beaten path to Eze.  The aerial view of Monte Carlo above was taken from the bus on the way to Eze, France.   The tour we selected was a half-day tour, so you would still have time to visit the sights near the pier if you wanted to.   As mentioned, this wasn't our first trip to Monte Carlo, so we opted to relax after our tour.

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Where have you explored? 

Gather your travel and food pics and join us every Wednesday night for the latest installment of #FoodTravelChat

 

Oceania 2010 European Collection

Oceania Cruises

Announces the 2010 European Collection

Oceania Cruises announced the launch of its new 2010 European Collection of Sailings in conjunction with its offer of $2,000 Price Reduction off 2 for 1 Cruise Fares with Free Airfare per stateroom on all 2010 sailings to Europe. The 2010 European Collection features 34 unique itineraries sailing to more than 130 ports ranging from 10 to 36 days in length. In addition to offering guests extraordinary value, guests sailing on 2010 European Collection voyages will receive free unlimited soft drinks and bottled water.

Select from sailings on Regatta, Insignia, or Nautica.
Oceania has three intimate and luxurious 684 passenger ships, the Regatta, Insignia and Nautica. All three are formerly Renaissance R class ships, these mid-size ships afford incomparable luxury, including cuisine that is simply the finest at sea. With only 684 guests to pamper, the 400 staff members cater to your every whim, with highly personalized service. There's a sense of warmth and intimacy throughout, so the ambiance resembles that of a private country club - casual, yet elegant.

Your European adventure can begin in one of several enchanting cities like London, Rome, Barcelona, Venice, Athens, Monte Carlo, Stockholm, Istanbul, Amsterdam, or Copenhagen.

Regardless of whether you want to depart in April or December, 2010, Oceania has a European cruise vacation that you will remember for quite some time.

More details about Oceania Cruises itineraries (on my Web site)

More details about the European Collection Promotion (on my Facebook Pages)

This is Luxury you can Afford! Take advantage of this offer before cabins are gone. Just this evening I booked the last inside cabin for a client on one of the sailings aboard Regatta. Contact me for more details - I'd love to help you plan a cruise vacation to Europe.