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Sailing Azamara

Our 12-Night Mediterranean Sailing In Photos

By CHRIS OWEN

July 8^th, 2015

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Where we began and where we ended, Istanbul to a first-time visitor is like being pulled into a film, perhaps a James Bond film that features busy foreign places where intrigue and wonder await around every corner.

azamara journey at the ready

On a self-guided walking tour of the port and oceanfront area around Azamara Journey, I connected with the local flavor of Turkish coffee the first day; quite an unusual experience I won’t soon forget. This is the kind of place where even the cab ride from the airport is an adventure as we passed iconic landmarks along the way.

the ocean calls

Or maybe it’s just large bodies of water in general that beckon to locals and draw them to it. We see it on rivers, lakes and around streams on Summer trips, wherever we go. It’s the quintessential meeting place for those who live in the area and those visiting. I’m not exactly sure who enjoys watching who more.

to think how long this place has been here

Generations have walked these shores as will generations after them, pausing to consider the day

blending in with the destination

The ambiance aboard Azamara Journey seems chameleon-like, fitting in wherever the ship happens to be for the day and into the night.

being there - enjoying the view

Docking close to city centers, positioning herself for a grand view a bit away or posing for photos with destinations, Azamara Journey made the moment in many way, especially as sundown approached.

THE FIRST SUNDOWN

Sailing away from Istanbul we experienced the first of many amazing sundowns along the way. Little did we know that they got better from this point on.

life onboard

The centrally located Mosaic Cafe is one of the few venues profiled here, perhaps because it touched passengers in different ways as its menu of small bites changed throughout the day and my double espresso was always at the ready.

I can’t remember spending as much time on deck as I did no Azamara Journey, for a variety of reasons ranging from the wonderful views available anytime from the walking track to a deck well served at all times. No one ever was in need of anything that had not been anticipated. Ever.

GYTHION, GREECE

Sailing with Azamara Club Cruises allows visiting ports not often seen by larger ships. Unique itineraries take the well-traveled passengers aboard their twin ships to places those big ships can’t get to or would overwhelm with thousands of people going ashore. The Greek port of Gythion was one of those places and served as an interesting first stop on our 12-night sailing.

easy port access is standard fare

Like many small ports, Gythion is a tender port, one of many on our itinerary requiring use of the ship’s lifeboats to get back and forth from shore. Like other small ship lines though, this is an easy process with multiple tenders sailing back and forth all day. For those to whom the thought of tendering is a deciding factor in choosing one itinerary over another, forget that. There is no clogging the stairwells waiting for the first tender to go ashore, no lines of people wanting to be first and no wasting time for a long tender operation.

a grueling and wonderful walking tour

My tour du jour (I had one booked for every port of call) was the longest of the bunch at a scheduled five hours. On a number of other lines, that would leave little time for going it on my own, a favorite thing to do in any port, on any ship, in any part of the world. That our ship would be in port until 7PM allowed plenty of time to linger at a beachfront cafe; an activity that turned out to be the icing on a very tasty cake.

direct connections

Called Medieval Wonders Of Mystras it was one of two Azamara Land Discoveries tours available. Traveling up high into the mountains, by motorcoach, we walked back down to town, stopping along the way at a number of places, with free time allowed at each. “Free time” is an interesting animal that those on destination focused cruise vacations get extremely greedy about about two tours into the trip.

exceptional moments

Direct Connections are like a very lovely legal drug that is easy to become addicted to. Still, to cover the advertised ground and enable travelers to see all they want to see, guides need to keep the group moving along. That our tour included free time throughout rather than only at the end as one might anticipate is a huge benefit and dynamic differentiating factor I hope to see on other tours as well.

history unveiled

Interestingly, as I was getting off the ship before this tour, Azamara Journey Hotel Director Heike asked which tour I was going on. When I told her, a look of joy came across her face as she said in a you-don’t-doubt-it sort of way “Oh, you’ll like that!”. She was right.

storybook images everywhere

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abundant free time on tour

Seen mid way on our walking tour of Gythion

a favorite scene - a new friend

Ending the day back at the Gythion port I stopped by H Trata cafe where I found the local flavor that defines a place to me. Seated within view of the ship until time to leave, that activity harkens back to Caribbean cruises on ships that would stay in port a longer time, wanting to squeeze every drop of fun out of the day. I miss those days as ships seem to spend less time in port and more time at sea generating onboard revenue.

the friendly people of greece

About half-way through this tour it occurred to me that this is the same country our broadcasters paint as a down and out bunch on the verge of ruin. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It sort of reminded me of visiting Haiti and Royal Caribbean’s private destination of Labadee right after the devastating earthquake. Making friends with one of the locals who worked as a cabana boy, the message was clear “Come here, we want to work and make a living”. These proud people do too and could not have been nicer to me.

I WILL RETURN HERE SOME DAY

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meanwhile, back on azamara journey

Ships services went on with business as usual. That’s the business of never saying ‘no’ and no request goes unfulfilled.
Every. Single. Moment.

kotor, montenegro

Prior to sailing with Azamara Club Cruises on this 12-night itinerary that features a number of stops in Croatia, Italy and Greece, I knew nothing of Montenegro. As we do before every cruise, some homework was in order to get the most out of each destination along the way. I came prepared with facts and figures that were verified on a walking tour of Kotor, a place Azamara aptly promotes as a ‘true gem nestled on the sparkling Adriatic.’ Still, no amount of advance study could have prepared us for this stunningly beautiful part of the world. .

THE BERGEN OF THE ADRIATIC

The lay of the land here reminded me of Bergen Norway a bit. That the Captain was Norwegian and offered to take me on a little spin around the ship in a tender sealed the deal. I will always remember Kotor as the Bergen of the Adriatic.

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korcula, Croatia

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white night

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a party in montenegro

White Night is arguably one of the most enjoyable evenings of the cruise. Also a time when the Crew Parade happens, the event serves as a catalyst that binds both passengers and crew as I have never seen done so well before.

and we danced

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and danced and danced and danced

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and the next day brought another amazing sunrise at sea

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venice - azamara style

We had been there several times before, but never like this

enrichment on the way in

Our approach to Venice was narrated by a guest speaker who wandered the deck with a wireless microphone, taking questions and providing commentary as we glided into the small port where big ships do not go

all hand on deck for a long day in venice

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i walked off the ship and into the heart of venice

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interestingly, we came at a time when it was not busy

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i walked from the ship to a lovely cafe on the grand canal in venice

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then met a new friend

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and we stayed

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azamazing evening in venice

Included on every Azamara Club Cruises sailing and highlighting that Azamara ships stay late, after others have left for the day.

a lovely concert, just for us

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box seats at the finest opera house in town

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waiting for us to return

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home

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hvar - croatia

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so yes, every port in croatia is beautiful

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azamara journey always close by

At every port of call on our 12-night Azamara Journey sailing I scheduled a tour through the ship and put Azamara Club Cruises to test. In Sailing Azamara: Expert Status Verified, we documented unique differentiating factors that make Azamara a solid choice. Travelers wishing to visit interesting places with a travel company that ‘gets it’ about destinations will find a nice home here. Still, the ships of Azamara have some unique features worthy of discussion. While moving us from place to place efficiently might be their primary purpose, what happens on board seems to sneak up on us until we realize; the ship is a destination too.

a walking tour of the town, at my leisure

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the view from my sidewalk cafe

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always time for direct connections

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waiting briefly for the tender, what a view i had

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back on the ship- fabulous sun beckoned me

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and the sun went down again

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zdar - croatia

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seeing an old friend - making new ones

In port was Star Clippers Royal Clipper, the tallest masted ship in the world. At two different cafes, I had some of the best espresso and filled croissants on the planet.

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destinations rule supreme

A wonderful example of just how committed Azamara is to destinations came in Zadar via Captain Sindre Borsheim, master of Azamara Journey on temporary assignment while regular Captain Johannes Tysse was on vacation. In other words, he was not the regular guy in charge, just filling in: Azamara style.

Scheduled to stay in Zadar, Croatia until 7:00PM by the planned and published itinerary, Captain Borsheim made the call to stay later until 10:30PM, giving passengers more time ashore at a remarkable destination. When I asked why that decision was made, Borsheim had no hesitation explaining “to give our guests more time in port”, something other cruise lines just would not do.

the sun goes down and the sea comes to life

Staying late enabled us to have dinner ashore at a great little restaurant, stick around to see sundown and experience Zadar’s Sun Salutation and Sea Organ.

we stayed late and were amazed

The Sea organ is an architectural object located in Zadar, Croatia and an experimental musical instrument, which plays music by way of sea waves and tubes located underneath a set of large marble steps.

pardon my video skills but this was amazing

I rarely even attempt video but this was just too good to pass up as locals and visitors came together, overpowered by the moment

living art

The device was made by the architect Nikola Bašić as part of the project to redesign the new city coast (Nova riva), and the site was opened to the public on 15 April 2005.[1]The waves interact with the organ in order to create somewhat random but harmonic sounds.

the best of the best

An exclusive event for invited guests on Azamara Club Cruises where the culinary team brings their best efforts, flawlessly

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the hotel director's dinner

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aqualina

Held in Aqualina, one of two specialty restaurants on Azamara Journey, the menu included and amazing octopus ink pasta

a just ending

A lovely meal with new friends in pleasant surroundings. Is there anything better?

well then there's room service

They have a new menu that looks fabulous and I had intended to try everything. I ordered breakfast once and a Cheeseburger that they cooked on a grill in the hallway along with a portable deep fryer for the french fries..or so it seemed.

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on the way to santorini, our last port

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santorini greece sits high on a cliff

I took a cable car to get up there, lost many breaths due to the view and look forward to returning some day

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up and down, breathtaking

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well maybe up is better

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beer and baklava, the unlikely breakfast of champions

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it was like leaving mount olympus

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arguably, one of the best parts

The passengers and crew of Azamara Journey turned out to be one of the best parts of the experience

not a bad one in the bunch

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Heike runs a good hotel

Always present, always proactively going after the best passenger experience, her attention to detail flows throughout the ship. I’ve always thought the Hotel Director can make or break a cruise experience. Pay too much attention to the mechanics of it all and passengers suffer. Typical of every crew member I came in contact with: they cared. There should be more caring in the world and this operation is a prime example of what happens when everyone does.

Sunsets - sunrises

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being last made us first

Every step of the way, Azamara made sure we were enjoying the cruise. How they arranged the beautiful sunrises and sunsets is hard to guess. What they did in between…well…that’s the stuff legends are made of.

Footnotes

All photos - Chris Owen

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FootNotes

All photos - Chris Owen

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