It's official: My wife Betty and I have booked the November 29, 2007, Azamara Journey twelve day cruise. We will be visiting Sao Paulo, Itajai, Montevideo, Rio, and Buenos Aires.
The pricing was too good to pass up and my wife loves the "R" class ships and I am very interested in seeing what Azamara has done with the refurb and everything else associated with the new line.
The other big plus is that my wife is from Sao Paulo and speaks Portuguese and Spanish so we won't have any language issues. At least she won't.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Well congratulations. Glad to hear it. I have been to Rio and i thoroughly enjoyed it. I suspect South America is going to become the next big cruising destination, especially since the airlines in South America are actually a pleasure to fly.
Looking forward to seeing how this turns out for you, Mike!
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
I suspect South America is going to become the next big cruising destination, especially since the airlines in South America are actually a pleasure to fly.
Oh, come on ... why not Hawaii and the South Pacific. Maybe we can both do HAL's itinerary there in 2009? Think of the neat virtual cruise report we can do!
Oh, come on ... why not Hawaii and the South Pacific. Maybe we can both do HAL's itinerary there in 2009? Think of the neat virtual cruise report we can do!
Blue skies ...
Rita:
I tend to agree with Paul. South America is less flying time for many North American cruisers than the South Pacific or Hawaii. The vast majority of countries are no longer "Banana Republics" and South America has some of the greatest natural wonders you can see anywhere in the world: Fjords, glaciers, penguins, tropical rainforest's, exotic tropical beaches, ancient civilizations, exotic wildlife and species, modern cities, wild and carefree nightlife and it all can be done in one fourteen day cruise.
Take care,
Mike
That's something to think about.
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I have done Tahiti twice and hawaii twice. They are absolutely beautiful, but I am much more personally intrigued by culture and cities. Rio is one of the most beautiful natural cities in the wolrd, unbelievable setting. And it is a very multicultural society.
Too bad about the poverty, because it (when) it recovers, like China & India have, maybe in late 2000's, it may be one of best cities in the world. Cultuirally it is like a tropical NY City with amazing beaches - what L.A> could be if it really felt like a city instead of a sprawling suburb.
I just think South America is very much under the radar of us north Americans - we hardly even ever think about it. But as a continent it is as diverse as any other, and the cities are big and interesting with a warm Latin culture. Just too much poverty, and corruption.
We are lucky to live in the USA, because no matter what, our government and society are stable (things we take for granted), but South America has a richness and style if its own, like Europe, that one needs to discover - especially the big cities of the South.
__________________
I am the editor, but I also speculate, ask questions and play devil's advocate. I reserve the right to change my mind.
great airfare you got Mike - that is amazingly cheap - tell me about the carrier, etc.
Paul the airfare is cruise air. Cruise air is not something I will usually book unless it's international or open jaw. These are the times when the cruise line can be price competitive with airfare.
I won't find out the routing and carrier until September. Then I'll probably find out that it's MSP,EWR,DFW,MIA,GWR and a total flight time of 39 hours.
If I booked on my own, one stop air from MSP to GWR (Sao Paulo) was about $1,400 at the time I booked the cruise. I will be doing a three day air deviation and staying in Sao Paulo after the cruise.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I posted a hello to you under Paul's thread... rookie mistake! (sorry, Paul!) Although my official location is Canada, I am actually residing in Salvador, Brazil this year.
In preparing for a visit from my sister and planning things for her to do and see while in Brazil, we discovered that the 11/29 cruise will give us a lot of bang for our travel buck. Don't have my paperwork handy, but we are also in a balcony cabin, can't recall if 1A or 2A offhand.
Looking forward to meeting you and Betty. Have a great summer and we'll see you in SP!
A recent review on CM's mentioned that the ship was small enough that you felt every swell - just how 'stable' is the vessel underway in moderate to normal seas??
By reading the above posts, it makes me very intersted in sailing to South America as well as trying the Azamara. I will appreciate those of you going to South America on the Azamara, to please post your reviews so I can properly plan on a future cruise to Brazil -- one of my favorite countries.
Thank you in advance.
Manuel
__________________
CRUISES
Century 4/1998
Mercury 4/2000+4/2006+7/2007
Sensation 4/2002
Infinity 4/2003
Summit 4/2004+4/2005
Carnival Liberty New Year's Eve 2007
Liberty of the Seas 5/2008+11/2009
Solstice 4/2009
Oasis 4/2010
Allure 1/16/ 2011
Equinox 4/11/2011
A recent review on CM's mentioned that the ship was small enough that you felt every swell - just how 'stable' is the vessel underway in moderate to normal seas??
I was very impressed by the smooth ride of sister MV Tahitian Princess (nee MV R4) in the South Pacific in 2003. We did find some moderate (10' to 15') seas IIRC, but nothing that I would regard as really rough (>30').
Of course, a lot hinges on whether the officers actually use the ship's stabilizers or not. The stabilizers do consume energy, both directly and through increased drag requiring more propulsion, so many captains prefer to secure them when conditions permit. During my cruise to Hawai'i aboard GTS Infinity last fall, I suspect that the stabilizers were retracted. We were rolling very gently, but it was quite noticeable visually if you sat out on the fantail and watched the horizon to the other side.
A recent review on CM's mentioned that the ship was small enough that you felt every swell - just how 'stable' is the vessel underway in moderate to normal seas??
I sailed the R1,R4 and R5 with Renaissance. I sailed the R1 and R5 in the Mediterranean and the R4 in Tahiti and I never had a problem with any motion. The highest seas we had were off of Palma De Majorca, where we encountered seas greater than twelve feet.
It was interesting to note that the Norwegian Crown was docked next to us in Barcelona and had been hit by a rouge wave the same night. It had sustained damage all the way up to the balcony cabins and even some flooding.
It is dependent on the use of stabilizers, wave heights and the persons judgment of "stability". Some people feel that if they feel the ship move it isn't stable and others feel, if they can still stand it's OK. I found it to be much closer to the first.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
By reading the above posts, it makes me very intersted in sailing to South America as well as trying the Azamara. I will appreciate those of you going to South America on the Azamara, to please post your reviews so I can properly plan on a future cruise to Brazil -- one of my favorite countries.
Thank you in advance.
Manuel
Manuel,
I plan on posting a review upon my return and also posting during the cruise. I will also have plenty of pictures pictures of the Journey and hopefully be able to speak with some of the officers and staff.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Do you need any shots, or vaccinations for your itinerary.
Cruisequeen,
We are becoming very excited about this:
We will not need any required shots or vaccinations for this itinerary. We will be flying directly from the U.S. to Sao Paulo so a Yellow Fever vaccination is not required. Children under six are required to have a Polio vaccination.
We have arranged a private tour in Rio and will be staying with family for the week before the cruise and using them as our tour guides. We will also be visiting Iguacu Falls from Sao Paulo. We are going on our own, with a rental car from Itajai.
We will also have a private guide in Buenos Aires although we have not finalized our plans there.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
Hi Mike, We did South America from Santaigo to San Francisco in March on the Golden Primcess. We plan to go again. I loved South America and found friendly people. My degree is Anthropology/Archaeology and there were a lot of nice museums.
We are sailing Azamara Journey in October to Bermuda.
We are also from Minnesota.
Leona
Great to have you aboard and part of the Cruisemates boards. We are greatly looking forward to the cruise and returning to Brasil. (I'm forced to spell it the native way)
We have our tours set up for Rio and Sao Paulo and we'll be doing our own thing by rental car in Itajai.
My wife grew up in Sao Paulo and is looking forward to getting back to Brasil. Like many people who grow up in a large country she saw little of it, outside of the city she lived in, so this will be her chance to experience more of it.
What part of Minnesota do you live in? We live about 40 miles west of Minneapolis.
Take care,
Mike
__________________ Cruisemates Community Leader/Moderator
Cruisemates Mediterranean "It's a Breeze" Cruise on the Carnival Breeze. Come along with us!! Click Here For More Information
I cruise the Celebrity Millennium to Southeast Asia.
"There is a great difference between being well traveled and just having been to many places." ~Me
I take a newsletter on South America. It gave me lots of information before our South American cruise this last March.
Go to: about.com, go under travel on the left side of the page, go to South America for visitors and it will lead you into the site. You may sign up for their newsletter. I find a lot of information.
Leona
Kiss My Azamara. :-)
Linear Mode
