My wife and I have recently returned from our first experience with the Azamara Cruise Line. We had chosen Azamara Onward partially due to its image as a destination cruise line, and partially in order to give Azamara a try.  But the main reason was the particular itinerary the Onward was doing.

The Ship….

 

 

…and the Itinerary…

 

 

This particular itinerary, 7 ports on an 8 night cruise, offered us three ports that we had not previously explored: Kavala and  Thessaloniki in Greece and Canakkale in Turkey.

For this cruise we booked what Azamara refer as a V3 Club Veranda Stateroom on 6 Deck, Stateroom 6023…

*****

*******

*****

with Veranda (Balcony)….

…and ensuite bathroom…

*****

Azamara Onward accommodates 694 passengers and was acquired by Azamara Cruises in  2021 having  originally been commissioned as the ‘R Three’ by Renaissance Cruises in 1999. On purchasing the ship Azamara onward was subject to extensive refurbishment work prior to entering service in May 2022.

 

Onboard Azamara are a number of dining outlets. The largest of these is Onward’s main restaurant, Discoveries….

 

which opens for breakfast and dinner every day and for lunch on sea days.

Discoveries restaurant has no assigned seating for any meals served .

 

The buffet restaurant onboard Onward is called ‘Windows’…

******

and offers direct access to the Sunset Veranda….

 

…for Al Fresco dining breakfast, lunch and dinner….

 

 

Another casual dining venue is The Patio…

an informal pool grill option with waiter service that opens from midday until around 8.30 pm….

 

There are two specialty restaurants,   Aqualina serving a six-course Italian menu, and the steak and seafood restaurant Prime C, both of which will be covered in the ‘Dining Onboard’ section which follows later.

Considering the ship’s size there is an abundance of deck space….

******

******

******

*******

Similarly we found no shortage of facilities for social drinking and entertainment. The ship’s size obviously precludes a decent sized theatre and the largest venue for cabaret style entertainment is, surprise surprise, called the ‘Cabaret Lounge’….

 

******

*****

The entertainment venue that we tended to frequent the most was ‘The Living Room’…

 

********

Situated at the front of the ship, and with panoramic views over the bows, it offered both a good sailaway location and the only decent dance location…

…music being regularly supplied by Onward’s resident band, East Pearl…

Another nice touch at The Living Room was the availability of an interestimg selection of canapés
at regular times…

*******

We frequently also enjoyed a pre dinner drink at  ‘The Den’….

which was midships on Deck 5. Marty usually tickled the ivories in the evenings while on one occasion the resident band turned their hands to a Jazz evening…

There are two other bars on Onward which we rarely visited due to lack of any musical entertainment, The Atlas Bar….

….offering innovative artisanal cocktails inspired by a variety of unique destinations visited by Azamara ships….

and Discoveries….

*****

 

….a kind of cocktail bar at the entrance to Discoveries restaurant: this venue had very limited opening times ( 5.30 pm to 9.30 pm)

Regarding venues onboard I’ve deliberately saved the unsung hero till last, the Mosaic Cafe…

Stylish and comfortable, this is the place to find your favourite coffee. Open from 7.00 am till 11.00 pm the barista service is impressive whether for sitting in or take-away. And to add to its appeal, there was always an attractive selection of pastries and small nibbles on hand should they be required…

 

Dining on Azamara Onward

On this 8 night cruise for dinner we dined on four occasions in the main Discoveries Restaurant, three times in Azamara Onward’s ‘Speciality’ Restaurants and once on deck when we attended ‘The White Night’. All breakfasts bar one were also taken in the Discoveries Restaurant and when onboard for lunch we used either Discoveries or the Patio.

Without doubt we enjoyed all the food offerings while dining in Discoveries. There was invariably a variety of meats and fish, interesting starters and pretty good desserts.

An example or two…

*******

The Coquilles St Jacques…

 

Seared Rainbow Trout….

 

…and that old favourite, Baked Alaska….

 

Due to the ‘port intensive’ nature of this cruise we only managed one lunchtime visit to the Discoveries Restaurant which was on the only sea day. On that occasion the restaurant was offering a Sunday Brunch….

*******

******

As we are not keen ‘buffet’ people we only visited ‘Windows’ on one occasion: that was enough to convince us to take all remaining breakfasts in Discoveries…

 

 

********

Without exception this was a wise and civilised choice….

******

 

Prior to boarding we had taken up an Azamara   discounted 3 x Speciality Restaurant offer…

******

 

A minor disappointment with the speciality package was that one could not book the restaurants before embarkation. I will give more detail in my summary at the end of this review.

Once onboard I booked Prime C twice and Aqualina the once.

Prime C …

 

Azamara bill Prime C as follows…

Your choice of steak, cooked to perfection. Herb-coated rack of lamb, duck confit and Chilean sea bass—all paired with savory sides. At Prime C, you’re in for more than delectable dining. Expect an great evening with stunning views and lush décor.

*****

******

 

We sampled an ‘Amuse Bouche…

The Tuna Tartare and Tempura Shrimp….

The Crab and Lobster Cakes….

The Lobster Bisque….

The Baked Goats Cheese Tart….

The Herb Coated Rack of Lamb….

The Ribeye Steak...

On our second visit we sampled Tuna Tartare Special…

and shared a Chateaubriand….

Dessert came as Floating Island….

 

…while I chose the cheese board…

…which came pre-plated and was a great disappointment.

We fared considerably better on the evening we had booked Aqualina….

 

The Menus….

******

*******

Again, we kicked off with a tasty Amuse Bouche…

Followed by a Tartare of Tuna….

…and Pancetta Wrapped Scallops…..

 

 

The Ciappino Fisherman’s Soup…

 

Main courses included a Branzino el Limone (Mediterranean Sea bass)….

and one of my favourites, Costata di Vitelo (Veal Chop)….

…cooked to perfection….

Desserts consisted of a Duo of Tiramisu….

…and Mousse al Chocolate Amaretto….

We both agreed the occasion was quite outstanding and our only regret was that we should have booked our third night in Aqualina and not Prime C.

The final piece of the dining onboard Azamara Onward was our late lunch or early afternoon visits to The Patio having returned onboard a little too late for Discoveries…

The Patio Menu….

One of the many Burger offerings….

 

The Grouper Panini…

or, special order, Grouper and Chips…

Another delight at The Patio was the help oneself Ice Cream machines….

 

Time to look at the entertainment onboard.

As with most cruise lines the resident singers and dancers troupe were young, enthusiastic and hard working. We enjoyed both of their ‘Production’ shows in the Cabaret Lounge…

******

…and thought they were equally well supported by the resident live six piece band…

Otherwise, we tended to head for The Living Room after dinner where we always enjoyed the music, and dancing, to East Pearl…

…though I could never get my head around the odd times the cruise director programmed them in. The venue always throbbed when they were performing.

I can only guess that the diehard Azamara supporters will not appreciate that I have left the two ‘big’ entertainment evenings to last.  It’s the way I write them folks.

First up was the much lauded AzAmazing Evening.

Being newbies to Azamara we were intrigued as to what this would entail. Our understanding was that AzAmazing Evenings are complimentary  shore excursions offered once per cruise, They are  designed to offer passengers an in-depth immersive experience that connects attendees to the heart of local culture.

The AzAmazing evening for our particular cruise had been scheduled to take place on the evening of our call to the Greek port of Thessaloniki. We were coached from the ship to the stately Ceremony Hall of Thessaloniki’s  Aristotle University – the largest University in Greece…

…where we were treated to an evening of music and song provided by the 35 strong Thessaloniki Concert Hall Youth Symphony Orchestra accompanied by some 30 chorus members in a performance of ‘Alexander’s Macedonia’…

 

 

A celebration to the man who sealed his name in the history of mankind with the Oscar winning music of Vangelis  and  Stamatis Spanoudakis

 

Being a personal fan of Vangelis I could not have enjoyed the musical performance more. The venue was ideal and this was an unusual event that was inclusive of the cruise fare.

 

Finally under the entertainment  review there was the equally Azamara lauded….

As one can witness, validated by the ship’s clock, yours truly, and his lovely lady, were amongst the first to sample the delights of an Azamara White Night, on this occasion at anchor off Mykonos…

******

I have mentioned the hard working singers and dancers earlier, well here they were again about to launch into a full evenings entertainment….

 

…..after the passengers had savoured the delights of a ‘buffet’ BBQ style supper….

*****

 

*****

 

Let the party and dancing commence…

******

******

Let’s hear it for White Night….

 

A thoroughly enjoyable ‘Party Night’ even when one considers his loathing of buffet food and service.

The Itinerary

 

 

We had booked the ‘Cruise Only’ fare direct with Azamara and having done so made our own return flight reservations to and from Istanbul with British Airways.  As a precaution against flight delays we also chose to fly the day prior to embarkation with an overnight hotel stay in Istanbul.

For convenience and proximity to the cruise terminal we opted to stay in the Karaköy harbourside district: an area where funky cafes, late-night cocktail bars, a mix with traditional neighbourhood bakeries, family-run shops and a variety of hotels.

We enjoyed the evening atmosphere, lights and a traditional Turkish dinner…

******

*****

We have  visited Istanbul on numerous occasions both cruising and land holidays. Indeed, with some 5 different cruise ships, for two of those  we had actually joined the cruise at Istanbul.

This was however the first occasion we had used the newly developed Galata Cruiseport – basically a redevelopment of the older cruise terminal site which places the actual cruise terminal underground a massive complex of shops, restaurants and hotel accommodation.

 

 

Yes, the cruise terminal is under that near building and I’ve highlighted with the red arrow the ramp that passengers come up to join the ship having completed check-in.

 

 

Our Azamara joining instructions were not the best, particularly with giving directions on entering the Galataport complex. Our taxi driver had to make numerous enquiry stops with local residents before we found the correct entrance.

Once inside the subterranean terminal we joined fellow passengers queuing for luggage labels which Azimara had failed to provide to any passengers prior to embarkation day.

 

*****

******

 

Not a good start, even more frustration once the luggage had been eventually dropped off…

 

Not all available check-in desks were open. It also became painfully obvious that the embarkation order dictated in the Azamara joining letter was being universally abused and apart from those occupying ‘Suite’ accommodation, there was no checking of passengers loyalty or accommodation status.

Once eventually through check-in we emerged from the terminal depths onto the jetty ready to board…

Now let’s look forward to the Itinerary…

We sailed from Istanbul early on the Saturday evening with the following day a planned sea day as we headed towards our first port of call, Kavala…

 

That above was exactly the sight that greeted me as I emerged on deck during our early morning arrival. A joy of Kavala is that ship’s berth almost in the centre of the town with the important historical area directly above the berth….

Kavala is a city in northern Greece and is the principal seaport of Eastern Macedonia. It also serves as the capital of the district of the same name. As this was a new port of call for us we had carefully researched what was on offer: the result of which was a map of the sites of interest that we were keen on seeing in Kavala…

 

Without any doubt the icing on the cake had to be the town’s hill top castle or, equally known as the ‘Acropolis Fortress”…

 

…a landmark 15th century semi-ruined castle  at the peak of Kavala’s Panagia or ‘Old Town’ peninsular.

The route to the Castle is well signposted…

 

…and takes one on a journey through time and history. Its roads are cobbled and most of the houses have wooden balconies, and fragrant gardens and courtyards….

*****

One of the first historic buildings of note that one passes is the Imaret, a monument in itself and a classic example of Islamic architecture….

 

…perhaps better viewed from the port side to appreciate its size and impact…

 

…on the Old Town….

 

The Imaret was built in the early 19th century by Mohammed Ali, the founder of the last Egyptian Dynasty.  He wished to give something back to the town of his birth, and offered this charitable institution, which operated as a seminary (medrese) and orphanage as well as a soup kitchen for all the poor of the town, irrespective of religion. Today it is a luxury hotel, and Kavala landmark.

Pressing on we easily found the entrance to the acropolis fortress….

 

… which is divided into an inner and an outer precinct by a transverse wall. The inner precinct has the most impressive buildings including the central circular tower, gunpowder and food stores as well as a water cistern

********

*******

Two square and one polygonal tower can be seen in the walls of the outer precinct of the acropolis, while in its inner precinct there is an open-air theatre for cultural events

From the tower the scale of the old Roman Aqueduct could be clearly seen.  We had plans to visit it more closely later.

Our visit to the Acropolis Fortress complete we descended back into the Old Town and headed to the next place of interest, some 15 minutes walk from the Acropolis Fortress,  the House of Mohammed Ali….

 

Mohammed Ali’s Residence is considered one of the most characteristic surviving examples of 18th-century Ottoman architecture in Greece and is open to visitors.

…. in close proximity to his house stands  his Statue…..

…by the famous sculptor Konstantinos Dimitriadis and next door to the statue is  the Holy Church of the Formation of the Virgin….

 

That completed our time on the Panagia peninsular and so we made our way back in the direction of the Roman Aqueduct….

 

The Aqueduct of Kavala, popularly known as the Kamares, is a well-preserved aqueduct and a city landmark. While the aqueduct is of Roman origin, the present structure was built by the Ottomans in the 16th century…

Our only minor disappointment during our visit to Kavala was that one of the places of interest to us was the subject of major renovation in and around the square that fronts it, the Municipal Tobacco Warehouse.

 

The Municipal Warehouse is one of the most interesting in Kavala. It housed the company of Kiazim Emin & Cie and was built in 1910 by the businessman and tobacco merchant Kiazim Emin. The building has an Ottoman design in a style that is known as Ottoman neoclassicism, with a strong influence from the neoclassical architecture of Europe. The parapet of the roof is the most striking part of the building, upon which four crowns can be seen. Abstract representations of flowers, suns and family crests adorn this intriguing and unique facade.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Kavala and  were we to return would definitely book one of the available guided tours of the Imaret.

Our next port of call on Tuesday 17 October was Thessaloniki…

*****

 

 

Known as ‘The City of the Saints’ Thessaloniki is a World Heritage City and the Greek capital of the Balkans. A gastronomic, cultural and major centre of orthodox christianity…..

 

….where magnificent and unusual churches abound…

*******

 

Thessaloniki was the second port of call on this cruise that was new to us and once again we had prepared well with internet research. We had a plan….

 

….or two to ensure we maximised our day….

 

Indeed, we managed to achieve all target sights in a reasonable timescale with only the minor disappointment that two, (the Heptapyrgion Fortress and Trigoniou Tower) were closed on the day of our visit. Here’s some of those that we got to….

The Roman Forum

 

The Byzantine City Walls

The Trigoniou Tower

 

The Heptapyrgion and Acropolis Walls

*****

 

The Rotunda

 

The Arch of Galerius

*****

Alexander the Great’s Monument 

 

…and the Symbol of the city, The White Tower

********

 

 

We were proud of our achievement, particularly when one considers the distance from the ship to the furthest point we reached, the Heptapyrgion Fortress and Trigoniou Tower…

 

 

Thessaloniki will no doubt soon feature in my series of ‘One way to do’s’  – hence I’ve not shown all our stops.

Once again this was a most enjoyable place to visit and discover. It has so much potential and scope especially in the hotter months.

Day 5 and our port of call was not unfamiliar to us, Volos….

Volos is best known as the port most suited for excursions to Meteora which we had done on a previous cruise visit to the port.  That review can be seen by scrolling to the itinerary section of a previous blog….

Europa 2 – Raising the Bar

********

 

Prior to sailing we had an alternative plan for our time in Volos, a private taxi ride to the outstanding Greek mountain village which sits above Volos, Makrinitsa.

Sadly, eight weeks prior to our departure I received n email from the Volos Taxi firm we had booked with informing us….‘This transfer cannot be provided. During the recent flooding, the road network to Makrinitsa collapsed. You can go by car up to a point and then you have to walk next to the fallen road. It is dangerous. Furthermore there il a lot more damage that has been made. All shops/cafes/restaurants are closed. If you are offered a tour there just decline it’.

What a shame. Undeterred we decided to stick with Volos and salvage what best we could. Azamara were running a shuttle service to Volos Centre from where we grabbed a local tourist map and explored the area starting along the waterfront.

The Waterfront Heroes Monument and arched bridge

The Church of St Constantin and Helen

 

We were heading to a spot along the coast indicated as ‘The Madonna Trypa’ – one of the most picturesque churches right inside a cave above the sea and at the baseline of Goritsa Hill.

Close to ‘The madonna Trypa’ we made two discoveries. First the Statue of the Centaur Chiron…

…and secondly the shocking aftermath proof of why our trip to Makrinitsa was cancelled….

 

 

The opposite side of the bridge….

….AND how it looked prior (courtesy of Google maps)….

Our walk proved well worth it as once over the above bridge we stumbled upon  ‘The Madonna Trypa…

 

This church is dedicated to Holy Mary’s birthday.

 

 

******

The church is inside a cave at the foot of Gorica hill. It first functioned in 1892 and in 1950 the original building was supplemented by the construction of a larger property in front of the cave….

 

We walked back through the town and were pleased we passed another stylish orthodox church, The Metropolitan Church of Saint Nicholas along with its separate Bell Tower…..

 

 

Our final destination was Volos’ amazing railway station ….

According to our guide map, thousands of visitors admire the historic Railway Station of Volos every year. Designed by Italian engineer Evaristo De Chirico, the building was completed in 1884.

Renowned for its elegance, neoclassical architecture and the characteristic two-pitch roof with wooden decoration it too appeared to have been badly mauled during the recent horrendous floods….

….with sand and mud washed down from the surrounding mountains….

*******

 

Day 6 and another port of call that was not unfamiliar to us, Mykonos….

….which for Azamara Onward was a tender port….

*******

 

Please don’t be alarmed, the queues of passengers were not waiting for Azamara tenders, they were passengers onboard Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas waiting for the Sea Bus….

….to take them back to their cruise ship…

We have previously visited Mykonos on a number of occasions and our brains had been taxed on what we should do on this particular visit.

We had learned of a scenic lighthouse that was further along the coast,  walkable and which offered some interesting bays and villages on the way. The weather being glorious our decision was made.

Having disembarked our tender we followed the waterfront path past a number of local landmarks…

********

…before picking up the coast road to Agios Stefanos….

 

….which proved an attractive and popular coastal village….

Onward we continued following the main road….

…and the odd signpost to our destination, noting the odd local church ….

….before we started the climb….

*****

…our progress overseen by vigilant locals….

Eventually our destination was revealed, the Arministis Lighthouse…..

As we approached  we noted that the lighthouse was obviously included in a cruise ship excursion entitled ‘Treasures of Mykonos’….

Built in 1891 the Armenistis Lighthouse  is ideally located in the area of Cape Armenistis…

…stands as a  rich tribute to the maritime history of Mykonos and, as we witnessed, a popular attraction….

*******

Nowadays, the legendary lighthouse is managed by the Hellenic Navy’s Hydrographic Office.

For our return journey we chose an alternative route which eventually offered us a unique view across Mykonos town and harbour…..

There was a great sense of achievement when we eventually returned to the ship and my good wife’s Fitbit informed us we had covered just over 12 miles that day. On our return we could see that the staff had been busy with preparations for this evening ‘White Night’ which has been covered earlier.

 

Day 7 and another port of call that we were familiar with, Patmos….

 

*******

Once again the weather was on our side and we decided to repeat a visit the Monastery of St John at the village of Chora which sits above the port of Skala…

That’s the Monastery on the top right of the above photograph as seen from the Skala harbour side.

We then planned to return, via the Windmills,  and down the ancient centuries old footpath back into Skala.

There is a local bus service between Skala and Chora that suited our timing….

******

A single ticket is available on the bus for €1.80

On arrival at Chora we enjoyed the view over Patmos and back down to where our ship was berthed….

*******

….before making our way through the the streets of Chora…

 

….and into the Monastery….

*******

*****

*******

 

*******

 

*****

 

Those monastery bells from the exterior….

Our Monastery visit complete we headed out and across the road to the windmills….

******

…which offers a nice view of the monastery and Chora….

Directly opposite the entrance to the windmill site we easily found the entrance to the medieval  footpath we would follow back….

….and we were soon on our way….

*******

*******

*******

********

 

….passing both this small church….

…and on the opposite side the ‘Cave of the Apocalypse….

On our eventual return to Skala….

…we couldn’t resist one last climb to the Saint Paraskevi Church which overlooked Onward’s bows….

*******

********

For those not wishing to partake in such a physical exercise, a walk around the Skala harbour can also be pleasant….

…with a beach, shops, bars and some good views….

Another exceptionally good and active day, we enjoyed a few gin and tonics on the Sunset Veranda for the Patmos sailaway….

 

********

 

Day 8 and our final  port of call – a new experience for us – Cannakale….

If the truth were known, this was the port that was the deciding factor in choosing this particular cruise. I had always harboured an ambition to visit the ancient City of Troy and, knowing Cannakale was the closest port to achieve that visit, Azamara came up conveniently after googling ‘cruise ship visits to Cannakale.

Indeed, so keen was I to get to Troy, that this was the only port from which I booked a ship’s excursion…

Troy needs little introduction, an ancient city that holds an enduring place in both literature and archeology. It is best known as the setting for the Greek myth of the Trojan War,

The archaeological site at Hisarlik is open to the public as a tourist destination, and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1998. Below, the next three photographs feature uncovered parts of the ‘East Wall’….

******

*******

This next photograph illustrates where the Temple of Athena sat on the North Wall….

and, across the Trojan Plain,  in the distance can be seen the Dardanelles that Troy  strategically commanded the entrance to all those years ago before the plain silted up….

(With a little bit of camera zoom)….

Inside the great walls was the Citadel…..

Our visit to the archeological site gave us an amazing insight into the place and for anyone who may wish further knowledge of its archeological discovery I attach this link….

https://www.britannica.com/place/Troy-ancient-city-Turkey

During our visit we saw many features some of which I reproduce here….

The SchliemannTrench….

The Ramp….

….with its descriptive board….

*******

The Sanctuary 

.…with its Altar….

The Odeion

********

 

The South Gate

 

Our Troy site visit complete we were then bused the short distance to the rather unusually shaped Museum….

….set in distinctive gardens bristling with olive trees and reclaimed Trojan stone…..

The Troy Museum is  located close to the archaeological site of the ancient city of Troy, in northwestern Turkey. Opened in 2018, some four stories tall, it exhibits in seven sections of a contemporary architectural building the historical artefacts from Troy and some other ancient cities around and on nearby islands…..

 

*******

*******

It had been my plan to head into the town of Cannakale using the ship’s shuttle bus on completion of our excursion to Troy. As luck would have it the the wooden Trojan Horse at the Troy site was under reconstruction and the excursion company had decided to divert into Cannakale for a photo stop at the similar sized Trojan horse on Cannakale waterfront….

 

There were other sites in Cannakale that I wished to see. I informed the guide that I would not return to the ship with the excursion coach and make my own way back to the ship.

While the guide was unable to tell me the location of the shuttle bus pick-up / drop-off point  that was a risk worth taking. And so it proved to be. Armed with a local tourist map I set off on my exploration initially of the waterfront and the shore of the Dardanelles….

 

…and a little camera zoom….

Close to the waterfront I stumbled upon the ‘Saat Kulesi’ historical Clock Tower….

…and found myself in a very vibrant, colourful  and interesting area of the town.

Being a retired military man I was keen  to find a ‘monument’ in the town referred to on the guide map as the ‘Krupp Gun’ ….

As can be seen from the barrel end, not exactly a great distance from the waterfront…..

And here was my second piece of luck for the day: sitting a matter of yards from the Krupp Gun was a group of young lads whom I immediately identified as Azamara crew members tucking into their MacDonalds boxes. This was the spot for the Shuttle Bus.

In the knowledge of where the shuttle bus pick-up point was and already in possession of a timetable, I was free to plan my remaining time in Cannakale. I headed straight back to the waterfront and then followed it in the direction of the Naval Museum ….

*******

*******

 

….and the Çimenlik Kalesi…..

 

Çimenlik Castle was erected on the Asian side of the Dardanelles in 1452 during the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror and is accessed through the Naval Museum.

 

The museum itself is quite comprehensive on exhibits….

*******

********

******

*******

…and probably the jewel in the crown, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s official launch….

 

Çimenlik Castle consists of two parts, the outer walls and the inner castle.

*******

The outer walls are 11 meters high, 8 meters wide in places, built on a simple rectangular plan of 100 by 150 meters, and there are 9 bastions on the walls.

The inner castle contains many exhibitions and murals covering Turkish was history….

********

Set into the castle outer wall is a mosque…

*******

During my walk around the castle interior I made this interesting discovery illustrating the bombardment of the castle by the British Dreadnought Battleship,  HMS Queen Elizabeth….

******

According to Wikipedia a shell that was fired  from HMS Queen Elizabeth  on March 18, 1915 remained unexploded in the 2-meter hole it opened in the northern fortification wall, and is still there today….

My visit complete I returned to the spot from where the shuttle bus operated and returned in good time to the ship.

That evening we sailed from Cannakale and headed back up the Dardanelles for Istanbul where we would disembark the following morning…..except that there had been a change.

On the previous evening we had received on our return to our cabin a notification that we would not be returning to the Istanbul terminal from which we had departed.

Despite the late hour I headed down to customer services desk and joined the queue of similarly concerned passengers.

My particular concern centred on the fact that disembarkation was scheduled for 09.00 am on the final day and we had a flight booked for early evening. During our pre-cruise stay in Istanbul we had sourced a venue to hold our luggage while we spent the day in Istanbul. That venue was less than 100 yards from our departure terminal  and Azamara had given us no indication that there would be a terminal change. What was equally concerning was that our storage reservation clearly stated no cancellation plus, to reach it from the alternative disembarkation point would entail a taxi ride across Istanbul.

Customer services were initially reluctant to help and attempted to say that we had been informed through our cruise ticket. Fortunately I had that in my possession along with the booking details, dates and times, for the luggage storage. There was no indication of a terminal change. I stated that the least I would accept was an Azamara paid for taxi from the alternative terminal to my nominated luggage storage venue. When I requested a meeting with the Hotel Manager I was informed that she would be informed, photo copies of my documents were taken,  and I was advised to return the following day.

That day was of course our excursion day and on my return I attended the Customer Service desk. It transpired that since my previous visit an authorisation had been made to credit my account with $50.00 On Board Credit(OBC) . Following a discussion regarding my having no use for onboard credit it was agreed that I could receive the OBC as a cash refund….

 

….which I accepted.

The following morning we duly arrived at the considerably older and very poorly equipped alternative cruise terminal….

On disembarking we cleared immigration and with very little difficulty picked up an Uber

Being rather modest myself I think I made a small profit here.

Having now successfully stored our luggage we headed off to discover an area of Istanbul that had eluded us previously, Gulhane park….

******

A veritable oasis of peace and tranquility on the periphery of the main tourist area.

including above the Museum of History and Science and, below, lesser known yet interesting spots from the Byzantium era, the ruins of the Hagios Paulus (St Paul’s) Orphanage ….

Built by the Byzantium Emperor Justinian in 579 AD it was a world leader in caring for orphans.

The park is also bounded by the walls of the Topkapi Palace…..

…and the Column of the Goths….

The Column of the Goths  is a Roman victory column dating to the third or fourth century A.D. and represents the oldest monument of the Roman era still extant in the Istanbul.

Needless to say with all this exercise we couldn’t resist sampling a local delicacy, well, two  serious portions of Pistachio Baklava ….

Exiting the Gulhane Park and with a few more hours to spare we headed up towards what we soon discovered to be a seriously overcrowded Sultanahmet Meydani , The Hippodrome….

….quickly taking in the Serpentine Column….

 

….and the German Fountain….. 

before deciding to head back to Galata in search of a late lunch. We settled for one of those great tourist traps on the lower deck of the Galata Bridge….

….an easy place to get rid of all those excess Turkish Lira…..

********

********

 

Well fed and watered it was a short walk to collect our luggage and no bother at all choosing an Uber taxi to the airport for our early evening BA Flight home….

 

 

CRUISE SUMMARY

As my review title suggests, this Azamara cruise was truly the curate’s egg experience that didn’t quite live up to expectations.

We eventually had a good cruise experience  that also proved good value for money. It  could, however,  have been so much better had Azamara taken an early grip on their website which, let’s face it, still wasn’t fit for purpose after  nearly  24 months.

But first the pros. Small ship cruising has its attractions. The food onboard in general was to a very high standard and the service in all the food outlets, with the exception of Prime C, exceptional. There was always varied and interesting choices on offer with portion size more than acceptable.

Considering the size of the ship the entertainment was also pretty good and we found the provision of ship’s information above average. The itinerary was also exceptional and tender operations, where applicable, were spot on.

Considering the relatively recent ‘on purchase’ refit there was no real ‘wow’ factor in any of the internal public areas. Our cabin, while being quite adequate, was let down by the dreadfully old fashioned clingy ‘shower curtain’ facility.

Compared with other smaller ships we’ve sailed on the ‘inclusive’ drinks package lacked a reasonable choice of wines and we found it rather odd that  all liqueurs were excluded from the basic package.

The real bug bear was the pre-cruise, atrocious administration website  and the practicalities of the joining procedure instructions.

Azamara ceased being part of the Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise group in March 2021 having been purchased by Sycamore Partners, a private equity company specialising in consumer investments.

I was well aware of the change in ownership when we booked this cruise  in February 2023 direct with Azamara providing our Celebrity ‘Elite’ loyalty details at the time while making our own flight arrangements in order to avoid flying with Turkish Airlines. Indeed, the cruise only prices being offered for a direct booking 8 months in advance of the cruise were a no brainer when compared with UK travel agents.

Unfortunately once the deposit was paid and I had my confirmation by email, trying to use the  Azamara website became a nightmare. I became aware of other passengers frustrations through both ‘Cruise Critic’ and by joining an Azamara Facebook group.  Despite repeated email assurances that work on the website would soon be completed no such thing occurred, certainly not before we actually embarked.

There was a supposed facility to book excursions using On Board Credit (OBC) which was a joke. I was most keen to sign up for the ‘Troy’ excursion and eventually made contact with Azamara via email only to be charged a higher rate than that advertised which then exceeded our OBC for which I was then required to pay the balance by credit card.

Our previous loyalty status was never acknowledged. Carrying proof on embarkation day made little difference as I’ve clearly laid out the shambolic check-in procedure earlier in this blog.

And the final question, would we cruise Azamara again? Well, never say never and their destination intensive cruising would always be an attractive proposition. However, I’d certainly  need a reassurance that the initial administration and website usage had been improved. This is a holiday and the less stress pre-cruise the better the experience.

 

If you have enjoyed this review of  Azamara and would like to be amongst the first to hear of new reviews, including the new Cunard ship, Queen Anne’s Maiden cruise and a river cruise along the Moselle  plus Solent Richard’s next guides covering a number of Greek Islands on the Aegean Sea in his ‘One way to do…’ series, why not join over 600 followers by clicking on the ‘Follow’ link on the front page.

You will be alerted by email immediately a new post appears.

 

©2019 – 24 * Solent Richard’s Cruise Blog * All Rights Reserved

Duplication in part or whole without prior written consent is prohibited by international laws.

 

Disclosure to potential conflict of interest:

It is common throughout the travel industry for travel journalists and many cruise bloggers to be provided with complimentary cruises for the purpose of their reviews.

Solent Richard has no ‘conflict of interest’ as he is not an accredited journalist, he pays for his cruises, and is happy to confirm that all his reviews are his own given without fear or favour.