Amazing Azamara cruise from Portugal to Barcelona
(140 Reviews)
100% Recommended
Sheri Langwald
Bloomfield Hills, MI
All-Inclusive Travel Specialist
All-Inclusive vacations are wonderful to experience, I love planning them. I really believe these are some of the best types of vacations. There are so may diverse types of All-Inclusive resorts these days and because I book so many of them I can...
All-Inclusive vacations are wonderful to experience, I love planning them. I really believe these are some of the best types of vacations. There are so may diverse types of All-Inclusive resorts these days and because I book so many of them I can help you narrow down which type of All-Inclusive resort is right for you.
There are many different types of rooms & some resorts also have Club Level rooms which offer additional amenities such as private check-in & check-out, access to an exclusive lounge, a private pool, a dedicated concierge or butler service & other enhanced amenities.
There are wonderful All-Inclusive resorts for families with water slides, daily activities, evening shows & also babysitting for an additional fee. I especially like Adults Only All-Inclusive resorts for honeymooners or adults who just want to get away & enjoy a romantic relaxing vacation on a tropical beach.
When I book an All-Inclusive resort the price includes round trip flights, round trip transfers, all meals, beverages, daily activities & nightly shows. The only extras are spa treatments, non-motorized water sports or excursions. Some resorts also have an up-charge for a specialty restaurant or for private dinners on the beach.
There are many All-Inclusive resorts, let me help you choose the perfect one!
Can Be Reached At
1-248-203-0022
From September 5 - 14, 2019 I went on the 9 nights Iberia Intensive Voyage on the Azamara Journey. It was such a wonderful cruise from start to finish. Azamara is one of my favorite cruise lines because their ships only hold 700 passengers which makes for a much more intimate cruise. Staffers get to know your name & preferences. I have a nut allergy & the first day someone in the Windows Cafe where we were having lunch called the head chef over who went over in detail what nuts I could & could not have. Whenever I sat down to dinner our waiter already knew about my allergy & made sure everything I ordered was nut-free. The ship only has 11 decks so it is very easy to maneuver around the ship and remember which public rooms were where! We ate at both specialty restaurants, Aqualina & Prime C which were both delicious & worth the up-charge.
Our first stop was Portimao Portugal where we went on an excursion to Lagos & saw the beautiful grottos that they are known for. We then walked around the old city which was surrounded by an old wall,fortress & a moat.
The second stop was Seville, we had to go through a lock to get there which was pretty cool. We arrived in the evening & spent the night & next day there. We walked around the city then went to a Flamenco show with an amazing guitar player & traditional dancer. The next day we toured the Royal Alcazar & also a private palace, both were pretty incredible to see.
We also went to Gibraltar which is known for the wild monkeys there, the tail less Barbary Macaque monkeys. They were fascinating to watch, especially the babies and their mothers & how playful they are. One monkey actually jumped on someone & stole his baseball cap & sunglasses, it was hilarious. We saw St. Michael's Cave which had unbelievable stalactites & stalactites with colored lights all around making it an incredible sight. We saw the Rock of Gibraltar where they had many sieges over the years, one being The Great Siege was when the British fought the Spanish in the late 1700's & won. There was 30 miles of cave inside.
Our AzAmazing Evening was back in St. Michaels' cave, there was a live concert with a 10 piece band & wonderful singers complete with stadium seats,yummy food & drinks.
The next day was our day at sea & then we went on to Palma de Mallorca, Spain. We did an excursion to the Drach Caves & the ride there was so picturesque, passing huge mountains up to 4500 ft. high. The caves are about a mile long, walking though them we ended up at a seating area and floating towards us in the water on boats were musicians playing classical music, another amazing moment! On the way back we stopped at a Majorca pearl store & I bought a beautiful pearl bracelet.
That night was Azamara's famous White Party on deck. They had food & drinks & everyone was having fun dancing the night away.
Unfortunately the next day we were supposed to arrive into Valencia but they had very strong winds, a little over 40 mph so we instead went to the island of Menorca. We docked in the city of Mahon which was beautiful, lots of winding streets & cute independent boutiques. We walked around & had lunch at an outdoor cafe.
The next day we arrived in Barcelona & we did a tour of a winery. There were 10 of us & the drive out there was beautiful, lots of green & rolling hills. The Pyrenees & Montserrat mountain ranges were in the background. The winery was organic & they use a big machine to harvest the grapes instead of by hand. We tried cava which was their version of champagne. When we returned we walked around the city, Las Ramblas is highly overrated, we liked the Gothic Quarter & saw the beautiful cathedral there. We were excited to spend the next few days there after the cruise ended exploring all things Gaudi.
We got massages on the ship which were great & I even won at bingo! We spent most nights in the Living Room before dinner having a drink & appetizers which was very nice & relaxing. Azamara really does a tremendous job, their times in ports really give you enough time to see the highlights & their service is second to none.
I highly recommend Azamara, I have such wonderful memories of this cruise!