2025 September 18; Fusina Venice, Italy.

As part of our plan to sail with as many cruise companies as possible, outside HAL, we had Azamara next on our list. So we selected the Azamara Onward which offered a cruise from Venice along the Croatian coast. Apart from Dubrovnik and Split it visits mainly the small ports that are only operationally suitable for smaller ships. The Onward with a tonnage of 30,000 and a capacity of 684 lower beds is a perfect size for these ports (smaller is of course even better). We had booked a Verandah+ cabin, nbr. 8800 which came with a number of extra amenities, which I will explain later. Basically it means it is a Verandah size cabin with some Continental Suite amenities.

The Azamara Onward, ex Renaissance 3 or R3 and ex Pacific Princess.

So we made the expedition from the coast of Norfolk in England to Venice which was fraught with challenges. The flights the day before from our local airport, Norwich International, had been cancelled due to bad weather which would mean congested flights the next day. Then on the day of flying, the ground staff at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam went on strike and thus our flights had to be rebooked. So instead of having a leisurely flight with 3 hours transfer time in Amsterdam in mid morning , we  had the late afternoon flight with a 55 minute transfer time (and having to go through border control) to make the flight to Venice. And how good Amsterdam luggage handling might be, 55 minutes is rather short.  But on arrival Amsterdam the Venice flight was delayed with 30 minutes so we were in business. And yes on arrival Venice, the luggage was there and we made it to the hotel by midnight.

The next morning, our pre arranged transport was waiting at 11.00 hrs. and we drove to the ship. For those who are planning to take a cruise from Venice, the ports now used are a bit complicated.  Since the mayor of Venice decided that only cruise ships under 30.000 tons are allowed to sail through the Grand Canal to the Cruise terminal there, it can be confusing as the ships “claiming to be calling at Venice” are now spread out over ports in the area.

The ships over 30,000 tons are now going to Trieste (2.0 hrs. to the North of Venice) or to Fusina (30 minutes to the south) or to Chioggia (50 minutes to the South) or to Maghera (about 30 minutes to the South) , all measured from the airport.  Azamara has been dilly-dallying between Chioggia and Fusina for a while but now seems to have settled on Fusina.  The problem here is that they have opened a nice, small cruise terminal but then the port closed off the direct access road to it, to create storage space for imported trucks and vans. Thus with the paperwork now comes the instruction to go to the ferry terminal. What they forgot to tell on the paperwork is that, you drive to the ferry terminal, then keep to the right, drive through a special lorry gate (for the overflow of the ferry terminal lorries not yet boarding) and then via quite a bad road to the terminal. Luckily our taxi driver had experienced this before and navigated skillfully between the juggernauts waiting to be called for the Ro-Ro ferry and got us to the terminal.

The Fusina terminal. Nothing fancy but it is cool and spacious. The far corner opposite is where the priority guests were assembled.

Then more confusion. We had as part of the package, priority boarding, but at the pre-check (where they take your luggage) we were not on that list. Luckily we always carry all the relevant paperwork with us and my Lord and Master went to battle. After being bumped from one check -inn staff to the next, with ever more important people getting involved, they finally realized that they had made an oopsy, somewhere. Thus we were ‘”prioritized”. The priority boarding did not work as intended because when all the “priorities” lined up, a bright spark also opened up the joining line for rest and thus half of the desk ladies could not serve those who were supposed to be served on priority basis.

In the end it did not make that much difference as there were not that many priority guests with only 200 guests in the terminal and with 15 check in staff it went fast anyway. But the principle was not adhered to, —-priority guests first—-  as that is what you pay for and when you built up seniority.  In total there are 624 guests onboard this out of the 684 lower beds, so a 90% occupancy rate. The rest of those guests trickled in the course of the afternoon. Most of them coming directly from the airport. One group of guests had rented a car and ended up at the wrong Ro-Ro terminal and could not get out anymore. I think they were stuck in the line up for ticket & passport control and that is a bumper to bumper one way line up. So the agent was getting involved and that went with a lot of “Italian” drama on the phone towards what I thought were Americans stuck in a European car and now marooned in a Ferry terminal serving Greece. We did not find out if they made the ship or not before sailing.

Once on board, you are at once directed to booking the specialty restaurants. Not a bad idea if you want to book as with the pre booking options there were not many slots left. Many people had booked in advance , but if you had a complimentary voucher like us, you have to go and confirm date and time. The wait was not long and as welcome champagne was offered when coming on board, it was not much of a “challenge” to wait. Then when we came to the cabin, we found out that we were not on the onboard accounting system on the TV, so we could not watch the safety video. The welcome letter was for Mr. & Mrs. McCarmel and that was definitely not us. So not a good way to start to appreciate Azamara.

The Azamara Onward is small, compared to what is the norm nowadays, and for me a real throwback to the start of my sailing days with the Statendam (IV), Rotterdam (V),  Nieuw Amsterdam (III) and Noordam (III). But all was there that was needed. After a quick look around, we found a number of other discrepancies between what we booked and what we got. More about that tomorrow.

The small “newbies” introduction. Hard to see the faces against the sun light in
‘The Livingroom”. But from left to right: Food &Beverage Manager, Captain, Hotel manager, the Cruise Sales manager in the foreground and the Cruise Director to the right.

A nice thing, and something I have never seen before, was a brief introduction for cruisers new to Azamara and where the Cruise Director introduces, the Captain, Hotel Manager and the Food & Beverage Manager. They each gave a short speech to explain the main differences of Azamara compared to other companies. A full staff introduction is then done the next day. This is a port intensive cruise, with a port each day, so on board activities are limited and thus we have to wait and see what is offered outside going ashore.

Then it was time for boat drill and here again a throwback to the old days. No finding your lifeboat /Muster station at your convenience before sailing time; no, we all marched at the same time to one of the two Muster stations. (Show Lounge and Dining room) and yes, they still used clipboards and yes there was a final clipboard for the Muster station leader to call out those who had not raised their hands the first time. But we were all there and then we got the regular instructions over the P.A, wash your hands and you are not allowed to have a kettle (water cooker) or iron in your cabin. We have this cruise apart from 424 Americans also 64 British on board and they do tend to bring a small boiler with them to make their beloved “cup of tea” in the mornings as the water supplied by room service is always not hot enough. (Compliments to Azamara, if you order Room service, the water is piping hot)

Although Venice is old and scenic, nothing around it is. So we had a beautiful view of the largest refinery of Europe (in the 1960s according to the taxi driver) and in the foreground the ferry terminal, which you have to skirt on the right hand of the road to avoid ending up in the Ro-Ro  boarding queue.

The first evening the ship hyped up going to the Lido restaurant, called the Windows Cafe for a special Seafood dinner. We went and it was very good but I think that part of the hype was, to reduce the pressure on the main restaurant during the first night. They already have a sign outside the entrance, with moderate (18.30) busy (1930) and moderate (20.30). The busy moment is due to the fact that the show (only one show) is at 2100 hrs., so if you want to see the show, you have to go to dinner at 19.30 at the latest. Azamara,…………If you only have one show, why not at 21.30 ? Entertainers are not known for wanting to go to bed early……………….

We went the show at 21,00 hrs, called the “Cruise Directors Variety Show”. And now we come to small cruise ship cruising, although it is not negative. The show team is made up  of the Cruise director, the Asst. Cruise director, the 4 singers of the cast and the two dancers. They all did an act and they were all very good. And they were backed up by a 6 piece band and that for a small ship. Very impressed.

After the show, there was a band in the crows nest, called “The living Room” on this ship and they were the same band who played on the outside deck during sail away. There is a  piano player in “The Den” which is a midships lounge with a bar but also acts as a shore excursion lounge and future cruise sales. Behind the Bar is a wall and on the other side is the Photo shop.  I will describe the rest of the ship in the coming days but one thing that stood out is that there is no Casino on board. Hopefully this is  a trend that will continue as Viking Cruises also has no casinos.

Tomorrow we are in Opatija in Croatia. This used to be the Holiday resort of the aristocracy in the good old days when Croatia and surrounding areas was still part the Hungary-Austrian Empire before WWI. Expected weather tomorrow: Sunny, 28oC / 82oFand  no wind.