The French Riviera on the Azamara Journey

The Boss

I’m in a little hot water with my boss, and in danger of having my performance review sink to even lower depths, since I have been acting a bit too “retired,” and not keeping these blogs coming at a more rapid pace.  I am clearly the minority partner in this travel agency franchise, and continue to be amazed at Esther’s dedication and commitment to her retirement “hobby,” which she works at seven days a week.   I try to throw in a quality hour or two every week or so.   This blog, and drinking and taking pictures of local beers when we travel, are my major contributions, so please put wonderful comments at the end to help justify my existence.

Our latest trip was from May 13 to May 23, 2015, on a cruise of the French Riviera aboard the Azamara Journey, a 686-passenger all-inclusive ship.  Azamara Club Cruises is the upper end of the Royal Caribbean brands, above Celebrity and Royal Caribbean.   The all-inclusive fares include a drink package consisting of standard spirits, beer and wine, as well as bottled water, specialty coffees, teas, and soft drinks; all gratuities; and a special complimentary shore excursion they call an AzAmazing Evening.    More about that later.

The pool deck - nice pool furniture.

The Journey was originally built in 2000 and owned by Renaissance Cruises.  Royal Caribbean acquired and renamed the ship in 2008, along with its sister ship, Azamara Quest, to develop their all-inclusive brand.   The Journey was refurbished in 2013, and although not grand with soaring atriums and such, was tastefully and elegantly furnished.  With under 700 passengers, the Journey is at the smaller end of the mid-size ship scale.  This offers some real advantages, and perhaps for some, a few down sides.

Main dining room.

 If you have read some of my previous blogs, you know I like to calculate the passenger-to-crew ratio.   The Carnival Breeze (4,000 passengers) came in at 3:1; the Celebrity Century (1,800 passengers) has a 2.1:1 ratio.   The Journey has a ratio of 1.68:1.   This is a big plus for a passenger, and we found the service to be exceptional.   As fairly devoted Celebrity brand cruisers, we were anxious to compare the next step up in the Royal Caribbean family, and we were not disappointed.   The crew was very attentive, friendly and professional.  At the Pool Grill on Deck 9, you can find a table and waiters will come take your order for food and drinks and deliver them to your table.  (The Azamara Burger was pretty tasty!)

The small-ship experience means no long lines boarding the ship at the start of the cruise, and getting on and off at ports, whether by tender or at a pier, was never crowded or slow.  The smaller ships can stop at ports not accessible to the mega-ships, which provides for some interesting itineraries.   Our itinerary included Palamos, Spain; Sete, France; Calvi, Corsica (France); St. Tropez, France; Cinque Terre, Italy; and Monte Carlo.   Not your typical major large-ship ports.

Doing my research in Palamos, Spain

(By the way, hot off the press!  Carnival Corporation has just ordered FOUR new ships, each of which will have a capacity of 6,600 passengers!   This will give them the largest guest capacity in the world.  Certainly an indication that the popularity of cruising is still on the rise.   But do you really want to cruise with 6,600 of your closest friends?  See my earlier blog on the Carnival Breeze.)

Esther really liked that the ship stayed in port longer, typically up until 9:00 PM or later. No rushing back to the ship, and passengers have the option to either stay in the port for dinner or go back ashore after dinner on the ship to experience the night life in the port.  

Of course, staying in port later at night cuts down on the casino hours, since the casino doesn’t begin taking your money until the ship sails, but that may have cut down on our expenses.   The casino was small, but lively, and we really rarely had any trouble finding seats at the tables or slot machines.

The specialty restaurants on the ship were excellent, and we also signed up for the Chef’s Table.  Although the Chef’s Table food and wine were good, we were not impressed with the venue, which was in the bar area of the steak house specialty restaurant, which was noisy and not at all private.  Perhaps another small drawback of a small ship.

The best thing about the all-inclusive fare is never having to sign those chits for drinks.  We probably drank more than we would have if were paying by the drink – not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing……

The cruise departed from Barcelona, and we arrived at the airport at 9:00 in the morning.   To pass the time before we could board, and to have a place for our luggage, Esther arranged a half-day tour of the city.   Our guide picked us up at the airport and dropped us off at the port.   This was our second visit to Barcelona, so we got to see things we hadn’t seen the first time, including Montjuic, the Olympic Stadium, Park Guell, and of course, the Sagrada Familia.   The Sagrada Familia is the cathedral designed by the eccentric architect Gaudi, and has been under construction for about 100 years.  And we thought it was bad when our bathroom renovation took 3 months! Gaudi’s buildings and work are pervasive in Barcelona, and are recognizable by the intentional lack of symmetry, straight lines and corners.   When we arrived at the port, we just turned over our luggage and walked aboard.  So much easier than the long lines associated with checking in and boarding on the big ships.

The Sagrada Familia - STILL under construction.

Park Guell - Esther thought it looked like a Dr. Seuss town.

We enjoyed the cruise destinations, which with the exception of Monaco, were typically small, charming villages along the sea.   We had no tours set up for Sete, so we set out on our own.  One of the landmarks is a small 16^th-century chapel at the top of Mont Saint-Clair, which we were told was an easy walk, with only a few steep stairs at the end.   Apparently, we looked like Olympic athletes to the woman who told us that.  About an hour, 550 feet in elevation, and what had to have been 400 steps at the top later, we arrived panting with burning thighs.  The views were awesome, though, and Esther’s FitBit was flashing like crazy!
  

Just a few steps..... 

The steep climb - to get to the steps!

Sete was also the destination for the Journey’s AzaAmazing Evening.  The AzaAmazing Evening is supposed to be an opportunity to experience the best of local culture in a unique way.   Our AzaAmazing Evening consisted of a nearly hour-long bus ride into the French countryside, to an abbey.   Since there were about nine buses, I’m guessing about 350 passengers signed up.  To be fair, the abbey was a beautiful setting.  However, we were told we would have 20 minutes to look around and enjoy the appetizers and wine, before we were to take our seats in the church for the performance.   Felt a little rushed, the food was mediocre, and the wine wasn’t as good as the food.  Since we were Bus 7, out of 9, we didn’t have to wait on our folding chairs in the church more than 20 minutes or so.   

Waiting for the show to start.

The performance consisted of a stringed orchestra playing classical music for about 20 minutes, followed by an opera singer who performed four numbers that sounded AzaAmazingly alike.   I know I am showing my total lack of culture here, but it was BORING.  And based on later conversations with other passengers, I think about 300 of them agreed with me.  

As is now our custom, we chose a couple of private tours over the large cruise line excursions, including a trip to Cannes (right at the beginning of the International Film Festival), and to Mougins, a charming village in the hills known for its culinary excellence. 

Cannes Film Festival - with new friends from the ship.

Me and Esther with some old friends.

Mougins - very charming village in the mountains.

But for me, the highlight of this day was kind of a throw-in stop at the Rhone American Cemetery and Memorial in Draguignan.   In less than a year, Esther and I have now visited three of these beautiful American cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission.   Last year, we visited the one in Luxembourg, then went to the cemetery in Manila, Philippines in March.   This one in Draguignan is actually the smallest of the 25 American military cemeteries, with only 864 graves, but maintained the beauty and meticulous care common to each one we have visited.   On the way back to the van, we poked our head into the Visitor building, and met Alison Libersa, the cemetery’s interpretive guide.   She spoke with us for nearly an hour, telling fascinating, detailed stories about the lives and deaths of “her boys,” and the history of the cemetery. 

The Rhone American Cemetery.

Calvi, a small village on the northwest coast of Corsica, was something of a revelation.  Corsica is the fourth largest island in the Mediterranean, and belongs to France.  The ship docked immediately adjacent to the Citadel, and from our stateroom balcony we could see the long beaches with snow-capped mountains in the background.

Snow-capped mountains in the background - sandy beach in front.

The Citadel in Calvi.  The Journey docked right next to it.

 Got a lot of FitBit steps walking to the top of the Citadel and along the waterfront.  Local rumor has it that Christopher Columbus was born here, although historians say he was born in Genoa, Italy.

More research in Calvi

Cinque Terre is a collection of five villages essentially built into the steep cliffs along the sea in northwestern Italy.  The ship docked in Porto Venere, where most passengers boarded a water ferry to the villages. 

We missed the first ferry and instead of waiting for the next one, hired a taxi for the day with new friends Crystal and TJ, and he drove us out to the furthest of the five villages, Monterosso.   The drive in itself was an adventure, but a mildly nauseating one, that took over an hour on extremely winding roads.  We also drove to Riomaggiore, and had lunch in Manarola.   All of the towns are very picturesque, and you just don’t see villages like this in Virginia.  

Riomaggiore -one of the five villages of Cinque Terre

At our request, our driver also took us to a small winery, and then a cliff-top bar overlooking the Mediterranean. 

The cliff-top bar on the way back to the ship.

Our driver for the day.

In Monaco, our private tour included a visit to the Fragonard perfume factory.   Men, if at all possible, find a way to avoid this – fake an illness, whatever.   I’m not sure the women even enjoyed this much, but it seems to be a “must-see” stop.  The factory was not at all interesting, and a short tour empties you into the large gift shop. 

Right after the perfume factory, we continued to Eze, the mountain-top medieval village.  This is definitely worth seeing, with its location and narrow cobblestone alleys winding through the village, and some amazing views.    However, I’m guessing in medieval times there were significantly fewer restaurants, art galleries, gift shops and boutique hotels located in town.

The streets of Eze

Turns out we arrived in Monte Carlo a few days before the Monaco Grand Prix, the Formula 1 car race through the streets of the city.   Our guide drove us along part of the race course, and we saw grandstands and all the racing team tents throughout the city.  It was our second visit to Monte Carlo and we had visited the Grand Casino the last time, so this time we saw the palace, the changing of the guard, the cathedral, and spent a few hours walking the streets of the old town on the hill, as well as around the marinas filled with unbelievable mega-yachts.

Azamara Journey in the background - Windstar on the right, and a private yacht owned by a Russian on the left!

A view of Monte Carlo from the "rock" - look closely to see the blue grandstands for the Grand Prix set up in the middle of the photo.

The cruise ended in Nice, and Esther and I spent two extra nights there.   We walked all over the city, drank beer and wine and ate pizza and crepes at the outdoor cafes, collected a chip for our collection at one of the casinos, and saw the tourist stuff – the flower market, Old Town, Cimiez, and the English Promenade, which runs along the beach.  We even saw an exhibit of Sylvester Stallone paintings at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.   Stallone?   Well, the French thought Jerry Lewis was a genius......

The Promenade Anglais and the beach.

The Flower Market in the Old Town

The Hotel Negresco

More research

We made new friends on this trip – Carole and Barry, Mel and Barbara, Bob and Leah, Nina and Brad, and Crystal and TJ, among others.  Meeting fun and interesting people is one of the most rewarding things about our travels.  We would be happy to do another cruise on Azamara Club Cruises, as we had a wonderful time and enjoyed the all-inclusive features, and the smaller ship atmosphere.   The entertainment and activity choices were more limited, though, and we didn’t really see much difference in service or food quality compared to Celebrity, our go-to brand.  If you can get the beverage package as a perk on Celebrity, the higher price tag for Azamara may not be as good a value.

As always, your feedback and comments are encouraged.  Next up for us:  Alaska!