Azamara Onward was commissioned by Renaissance Cruises, along with the other ships in the current Azamara fleet, and started life as R3 in 1999, later becoming Pacific Princess. These ships named R1 – R8 were all built at the shipyard of Chantiers de l'Atlantique in Saint-Nazaire France and were designed, internally and externally, by British Designer John McNeece. Maybe the concept of niche’ boutique size cruise ships was ahead of its time, as the well respected Renaissance went into bankruptcy in 2001. All of the ‘R’ ships 1 – 8 are still in service with cruise lines around the world, Azamara and Oceania owning the majority.
P1060092 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060051 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrSo now we have all been on Azamara Onward for 24 hours, what are our first impressions?
Apart from the overall ambience of the ship, the first things that becomes obvious is the service and quality of food. We only use the buffet for breakfast, and somewhat lesser for lunch. Firstly, there was no need to ‘hunt the table’ before going for food, more than enough tables for everyone. No queuing for tea, coffee or juice, as the moment you sit at a table, a waiter was there asking for your drinks order. Incidentally, the coffee was excellent, made from those multi choice vending machines, and the orange juice freshly squeezed.
We had every intention of celebrating our 50th at a Speciality Restaurant, but the menu’s and food choice in the MDR was like eating in a Speciality Restaurant every night. It really was that good.
At lunch time there was an on deck grill, burger bar to you and I, but the quality and presentation was something else, all served on deck at a white clothed table with a full set of wine glasses. The waiters top up your glasses with such regularity you become scared to take drink!
At night the buffet becomes a No Charge Al a Carte’ Restaurant with a different theme every night. We didn’t try it so I can’t comment, but you can bet your boots it was good.
Day 3 Split
Of all the years of cruising I had never been to the popular Croatian port of Split, so this was first for me. The ship docked at the end of the main street for the short walk into town and turn into an alleyway off the main street to enter the Catacombs of the Diocletian Palace which are now used for market type stalls.
P1060021 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060022 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060025 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrSplit was an interesting port, somewhere I would look forward to visiting again on a future cruise, and had it not been so darned hot, I would have taken a taxi tour of the local area as there appeared to be some worthy places to visit. The temperatures everyday are knocking on the door of 80Deg F, so an air conditioned cabin had far more appeal.
P1060030 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrDay 4 Kotor
Yet another seriously hot day as we sailed into what must be the prettiest sail in of the Med. The scenery is very reminiscent of the Fjords, fabulous. Having been here a couple of times before, and done the ‘Walled City’ twice, we opted for a boat tour. We negotiated a trip to Perast, an idyllic little village some miles north of Kotor, then onto Our Lady of the Rocks, a stunning little church, now museum, on its own little island, then onto the WW2 submarine pens blasted from the coastal cliffs.
P1060077 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrOur high speed launch.
P1060065 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrPerast
P1060053 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060057 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrOur Lady of the Rocks
P1060075 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060074 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrInside the church, now a museum, the guns were used to fend off the pirates from the wealthy residents of Perast
P1060078 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060080 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrThe submarine pens, the overhanging ‘rocks’ are dummies to fool the airborne attacking enemy.
Day 5 Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik was the only port on my ‘Done To Death’ list, and like our last visit here we were tendered directly in to the Walled City. We decided to take a boat to Cavtat (pronounced Sevat) as we did on our last visit. The boats run an hourly service throughout the day for the 40 minute trip @ €20 Return. Cavtat is a charming one street town with restaurants galore along the front, all offering lunch deals at competitive prices. We did what most cruisers do, blokes sit at a bar, women do the shops, then all get together for lunch. For those like me who have tired of Dubrovnik, a trip to Cavtat is worth the effort.
P1060100 by Wilba Cruise, on Flickr
P1060098 by Wilba Cruise, on FlickrWell that’s all for today folks, but there’s more to come……………..Wilba
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