Aug. 2015 A trip to Loutraki, Greece before we go back to the US

At the end of our cruise we planned to stay one night in Athens before we drive to Loutraki.
Every time we go to Greece we have to go in the Corinth area to visit our family. Usually we stay closer to Kiato but this time we thought we would stay in Loutraki which was a little more geared to tourists.
We chose to stay at the Club Loutraki Hotel and Casino where we booked a sea view room.
The room and facilities and restaurant were all very good.
There were several outdoor pools, beach access and warm indoor soaking pools.

Our mistake was to book and stay on a weekend before Panagias so the place was packed with families.
Monday when the families left the beach was not so crowded nor the town.

From Loutraki we took two day trips to go visit the family driving on the National Highway which is still under construction. However it was ok to get where we needed to go.
At the end of the day back to the hotel for an afternoon dip and some sunbathing.

This short trip was our last Greek experience before we had to fly home.

We had a good time here and probably will stay here again.

July 2015 summary/thoughts about our 18 days aboard the Azamara Journey

We selected the Journey for our summer vacation cruise because of the itineraries and that we could sail from Piraeus and return.
We had heard much from travel agents and other cruisers how special Azamara ships and the experience so we took advantage of a special offer and booked the two cruises back to back.

Two of the main things that travel agents and cruisers mentioned as the reason they went on or wanted to go on an Azamara cruise was the tips were included and free wine, beer and liquor.

These were not our reasons for selecting Azamara cruises however.

Things we liked-
The amazing evenings - one per cruise. They were truly special.
Small size ship allowed visits to ports not visited by larger ships.
Small size allowed easy access to all decks and common areas.
Specialty dining rooms- We had at least 6 dinners here. The service was perfect and food delicious. Here we tipped the waiters extra for such good service.
Buffet on 10- When we did not eat dinner in the Specialty dining room we ate here. Most nights were themed and the food pretty good.

Things that could be improved-
Dinner in the dining room- menu not appealing; open seating (no fixed hours for dinner seating).
The buffet on 10 was usually pretty good but some of the ethnic dishes were not prepared properly.

Entertainment- small theater and the acts were performed by mainly English entertainers probable to cater to the majority of the passengers who were British, Scottish or Australian.

Tips included policy- 
Since the waiters were going to be paid by the standard tips included in the fare, they looked sad, sullen and put upon since they knew there would not be a chance to earn a bigger than standard tip or extra tip. For example on a regular cruise with fixed seat dining the waiter and asst waiter would get to know the passengers and their likes and dislikes and could earn a large tip at the end of the cruise.

Open seating waiters on the Journey served everyone and did not cater to the likes and dislikes of a diner as them may only serve them one dinner.

Same with bar waiters- prepaid tips no chance for more tips. Plus with free drinks the waiters really worked pouring bottles and bottles of wine at the bar and at dinner.
On a regular cruise on Celebrity the waiter would earn a tip on every drink served.

Free liquor-
Waiters were so busy on the pool deck running around pouring wine it was hard to get one to get us a glass of water or a cup of coffee.
We noticed several passengers who were never without a beer bottle in hand whenever we saw them day or night.

Summary-
I would consider going again on Azamara depending on the itinerary and the fact that both ships will be refreshed/remodelled by June 2016. We saw some drawings of the new common areas and cabins and they look nice.

Island of Hydra, Greece July 29, 2015 our last port before heading to Athens

I do not know why Azamara picked this as a place to visit as it is so close to Pireaus (Athens)- maybe for its charm not having any cars or motorbikes on the island.

Again we awoke to a forecast of 90's with humidity. The sky was clear and sunny.

Since Hydra town has a small port we were tendered into town. The port is typical shape of a horseshoe. We started walking in one direction of the promenade and then turned around and headed into the center of the town.
We passed cafes, restaurants, and some tourist shops.
Since there are no cars or trucks all goods and merchandise is moved by human powered dollies or mule.

There were many owners with mules available to give tourists a ride around the town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(island)

Not much to see or do so after lunch and another walk of the promenade we got on the tender and boarded our ship.
Tonight is our last night on the ship and tomorrow we sail into Piraeus to disembark, thus ending out 18 day cruise.

July 28, Mykonos

This is a stop on the second portion of our back to back cruise. I always enjoy visiting Mykonos and always discover something new here.
Weather is sunny and the forecast is 95 degrees. When we were here July 19 the weather was in the low 80's and there was a light breeze.

Today the ship was moored near the downtown pier so we were tendered into town which was fine as it is easier to get on and off our ship. The ship is leaving at 11:15 tonight leaving us the option to go ashore for dinner or for a stroll.

We walked around the seashore part of town and discovered a new bakery and some new restaurants near the bus terminal.

Walking back towards the center of town we stopped at a cafe for a coffee and croissants.

Afterwards we headed into the maze of streets/lanes to sightsee. We stopped at an art gallery to look as some paintings of scenes of Mykonos on old boards. We decided to buy a smaller one that would fit in our suitcase so we could take it home with us rather than having it  mailed.

The owner had a very friendly dog who immediately became my new friend.

Once we completed our transaction we asked for a recommendation for lunch relating the story our friends told us about the great seaside restaurant. He gave us the name since our friends could not remember it- Madoupas- on the promenade.
We ambled down through the narrow streets to get to the promenade and started looking for Madoupas. Once we found it the waiter seated us and gave us menus.
Since one of our friends liked the sausage I ordered that as my entree along with an appetizer for us. My wife ordered the pork chop.
The food portion was good sized, the food tasty and very enjoyable. I gave Madoupas a 5 star rating on Tripadvisor. If we ever visit Mykonos again we will dine at Madoupas.

We headed back to the ship to rest before dinner. Afterwards since it was early- 7pm- we decided to go ashore again and to find a place to watch the sunset. The best spot was near the windmills so we headed there. We found crowds of people there along with people crowded in tavernas and restaurants also waiting for the sunset- including Greek visitors.

It is always amazing to see the sunset on the Greek islands!

Afterwards we headed slowly back to the pier to take our tender to our ship.
Tip
We asked one shop owner where to find a bakery and he told us there were none in town- Big lie- walking around we found several along with the one by the bus terminal.
good fast food Gyros - best gyros are the stands by the bus stop in the center of town. Lots of little stores here too along with the scooter and atv rentals.

July 27, 2015 Santorini

We have been looking forward to this visit in Santorini. Instead of going into Thira as we have in the past we planned to visit Oia which is on the tip of the island.
Our tender took us to the shore below Thira where there are shops and tour offices for ferries to Oia.

 We bought tickets for the trip to Oia which lasted about 20 mins by sea to the port.
There we walked up to catch a shuttle to the town.

Once in Oia we were overcome by its beauty and regretted not coming here before on previous visits to Santorini. We walked along the main street lined with shops on one side the the sea view on the other. It was 90 degrees and some humidity at 11 am.

After walking around we stopped for lunch and to take a break and plan our next stop.

Since it was now 1pm we decided to take the local bus to Thira to sightsee and take the funicular down to the port to catch the tender to the ship.

Since we had been to Thira several times we knew our way around so we had no problem getting around. I spotted a gyro restaurant and loukamada shop.
Since I had a craving for gyros and loukoumades I headed down to the shops to get some.

I ordered my gyro plate and the waiter recommended a loukoumades shop around the corner- different one than I planned to go to- so I headed there and the server made a fresh batch for me to take with me .

I then went back and got my gyro plate and my wife and I went to the funicular stop to take it down to the port.
Since we had time we stopped for a cold drink and some window shopping. I discovered the place where the mules lined up and asked permission to take photos with them.

(the only way from the port to the top where Thira is located is by walking, funicular or mules).

Afterwards we got  on the tender to the trip to the ship.

It was lucky that I got my food to go. The security folks allowed me to bring it on board and I stashed it in our cabin. It was lucky that I did bring the food as the special buffet was not very appealing. My wife ate at the buffet and later I went and ate my gyro plate for dinner. We shared the loukamades which was our dessert.
Most of the buffets and special buffets were pretty good but tonight's was not.