Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as we'd love to know your thoughts and value your feedback (oh and also we’d LOVE to hear from you). R&H x
Your hour-long vlogs always wind up being my favorite ones. I feel I’ve been on the adventure so immersively, with all the wonder and whiplash of a culturally enriching - as well as exhausting - life-changing experience.
I always enjoy your videos but this is the best yet! Great variety from the oh so beautiful coastal walk from Portofino to the noise and excitement of the Monaco Grand Prix! Thank you!
We are big fans of yours and Helen's. After watching this video, immediately visited the Azamara website and looked for this cruise in 2026. The cabin we prefer was available and booked it right away. Plus, we added the previous for a b2b. Well done!!! Thanks for posting this. On the other hand, we were already booked for the Singapore to Dubai cruise in 2026, so we watch your series on the Spice Route. Long story short... we cancelled that cruise (not our style). In short, the Grand Prix replaced the Spice Route and it is all thanks to your wonderful videos. Keep it up. Cheers!!!
Wow, that’s amazing. Though have to say we absolutely loved our Spice route cruise too. Thanks for watching and for your ongoing support of our little channel 😍
Thank you Richard and Helen. I found you on RUclips some years ago when doing my research for our first Azamara cruise (Rio carnival 2020) and have always enjoyed your videos..and always been rather jealous, adding more and more ideas to our bucket list ( with my own beautiful Helen). Our last four cruises have been on Virgin but I am now convinced it's time we booked our 3rd Azamara cruise for 2025. Good to see Helen in front of the camera more and more as well.
What a lovely treat to wake up on a Saturday morning to see a new Rich & Helen video! Such a good mix of virtual tourism and cruise ship review. Perfect thing to enjoy with a coffee and croissant before getting on with the day :)
Thanks for another great adventure....hope it continues for a long time to come. Love watching your video's. Sadly, my mother who was severely sight impaired and who I took cruising regularly, passed away quite suddenly just 5 weeks after disembarking the Queen Anne in August. We had the most wonderful cruise, she got to try on a $360,000 tiara, she danced the night away until gone midnight to the silent disco, and we were treated like royalty by the Queen's Grill staff. We loved cruising and she loved listening to your video's as she loved your narration and way of making you feel part of the journey. Thank you.
Oh stop it!! That's just ridiculously fabulous - from start to finish - in fact for me the start would be my favorite rather than the finish as that's not really my thing, but what an amazing experience! You never mention if you swim on board - for me that would be a daily essential - especially on a ship day when everyone else has gone sightseeing.
Aww, thank you 😊 Helen does often use the pool for an early morning swim but ok this trip we had so many port days and were quite active so she didn’t actually use the pool. It’s a nice pool though given the size of the ship 👍
Been watching your videos for a while and I was thrilled to see you did this trip. I was on Silver Spirit (12 nights Rome to Barcelona) and I paid even more for my race weekend excursion than you did 😱 I was on an apartment balcony above your grandstand. I didn't sell a kidney but I did pretty much wreck my retirement - and it was worth every penny! My favourite driver crashed on lap 1 during the race, and the rest of it was not the best in F1 terms, but an incredible experience nonetheless. Drank champagne for 2 days, including a celebratory toast for Charles Leclerc's win. Was amazing to hear all the boats honking their horns for ages! PS - you had much better weather in Portofino/Santa Margherita than we did. We were scheduled to go to Sestri Levanti too, but the sea was too rough for the ferry crossing. Was the one day it wasn't gorgeous, but overall a wonderful trip. Definitely bucket list worthy.
Sounds like you had an amazing time! Although costly, you have a wonderful memory to last a lifetime ❤️ Thanks for watching and for your lovely comment 👍
I do think these ships seem to be ageing really well, but I'm not convinced I'd want to spend the money Azamara are charging to experience a 20+ year old ship. That said, they do look absolutely beautiful, and really well maintained. As for the Grand Prix, I'm keeping that one on my bucket list! Also, I see you're a stones throw away from 60k subscribers - amazing!
Great review, although if going to the Monaco Grand Prix I just don't see why you'd pay for the extra expense of a cruise, and then the hassle of having to be tendered in and being bussed from Villefranche, when you could stay in an apartment in Monaco, or in the surrounding French suburbs and walk into the Grand Prix. You showed the tickets which had a face value of 850 Euro or 919USD but said the shore excursion cost was 1500 USD each. Again, that is a lot to pay for something you could just walk to from accommodation in the Monaco surrounds and pay only the 850 Euro entry price.
Unfortunately, the face value price on the ticket is not the price you pay (a minimum add on would be a substantial booking fee). We tried to buy tickets for a similar stand (albeit quite late in the day but still a month or so before the race) and the cost was around 1200USD and the view wasn’t as good so we decided to go with the cruise excursion as they have bulk buying power and as such manage to get seats with a good view. As for staying in Monaco over Grand Prix weekend - good luck with that 😆 You would have to book it years in advance and it would cost a considerable amount more than the cruise 😆 Thanks for watching and we’re glad you enjoyed it 👍
Always great quality videos here!! We also did an obstructed cabin.. we also found the fridges useless and the tv was so close to the door when we opened it we kept thinking we were going to hit the tv!😂 glad they’ve changed those shower curtains on every ship now. We miss Azamara!! One of our favourite cruise lines for sure. The f1 cruise would be the dream!😍
We were there in May. The Grand Prix is at the end of May and was our last port of call before disembarking in Barcelona. We were very lucky with the weather and the seas which were very smooth 👍 Thanks for watching.
Having completed four Azamara cruises , I agree they offer good value for money. Accept the fact they are older ships , but the overall package delivers . IMHO :)
Aloha! In Hawaii, we sear our Ahi steaks leaving them raw in the interior. The well done tuna you had would be sent back to the kitchen by most diners here. OTOH, everything else on the ship looks good.
Personally, even though I (Helen) know that’s how tuna is supposed to be served, I would send it back if it was just seared, I really don’t like to like that - this was perfectly cooked for me. Rich likes it much less cooked than I do.
@@visitwithusI’m with you. Raw fish in the cente, even pork or chicken would go right back or I wouldnt eat it. I literally ‘gag’ with stuff like that. Even meat needs to be medium at least. Never blue or rare.
Hi Rich and Helen. While you were in the spectators seats, E Sysman Yachts (The Yacht Show) was down in the pits and behind the scenes, giving a tour of all the action from within. He is a great Formula One junkie and a Car/Yacht Creator. He was touring all the very UBER Expensive / HUGE yachts in the harbor.
We are planning to do a similar itinerary in 2026. I would love if you expanded on what was included in your excursion for $3,000USD. Just the seats and transportation?
Thanks for watching. The excursions cost was for seats in K stand, a program, transportation to Monaco (in our case from Villefrance) and an escort to the stands. Don’t be fooled by the face value of the tickets, when we tried to buy some they were a lot more than this in actuality. Maybe if you are well organised and plan in advance you would be able to buy your own tickets and then just use the cruise transfer to Monaco which was obviously a lot cheaper (quite a few people from the ship did this) 👍
Thank you so much for watching! It really does mean the world to us! Please give this video a THUMBS UP, please SUBSCRIBE and please leave us a comment too as we'd love to know your thoughts and value your feedback (oh and also we’d LOVE to hear from you). R&H x
Your hour-long vlogs always wind up being my favorite ones. I feel I’ve been on the adventure so immersively, with all the wonder and whiplash of a culturally enriching - as well as exhausting - life-changing experience.
Glad you like them. Thank you for all of your support 😊
I always enjoy your videos but this is the best yet! Great variety from the oh so beautiful coastal walk from Portofino to the noise and excitement of the Monaco Grand Prix! Thank you!
Thank you so much Deborah 😊
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for watching.
We are big fans of yours and Helen's. After watching this video, immediately visited the Azamara website and looked for this cruise in 2026. The cabin we prefer was available and booked it right away. Plus, we added the previous for a b2b. Well done!!! Thanks for posting this. On the other hand, we were already booked for the Singapore to Dubai cruise in 2026, so we watch your series on the Spice Route. Long story short... we cancelled that cruise (not our style). In short, the Grand Prix replaced the Spice Route and it is all thanks to your wonderful videos. Keep it up. Cheers!!!
Wow, that’s amazing. Though have to say we absolutely loved our Spice route cruise too.
Thanks for watching and for your ongoing support of our little channel 😍
Thank you Richard and Helen. I found you on RUclips some years ago when doing my research for our first Azamara cruise (Rio carnival 2020) and have always enjoyed your videos..and always been rather jealous, adding more and more ideas to our bucket list ( with my own beautiful Helen). Our last four cruises have been on Virgin but I am now convinced it's time we booked our 3rd Azamara cruise for 2025. Good to see Helen in front of the camera more and more as well.
Thank you ☺️
What a lovely treat to wake up on a Saturday morning to see a new Rich & Helen video! Such a good mix of virtual tourism and cruise ship review. Perfect thing to enjoy with a coffee and croissant before getting on with the day :)
Hope you enjoyed it 😊
Thank you for watching and supporting our little channel ❤️
Absolutely amazing. The ship is amazing for its age. I loved seeing the Grand Prix with you. Monaco is so fantastic.
It really is a fantastic day.
Thank you for watching, glad you enjoyed it 😊
Thanks for another great adventure....hope it continues for a long time to come. Love watching your video's.
Sadly, my mother who was severely sight impaired and who I took cruising regularly, passed away quite suddenly just 5 weeks after disembarking the Queen Anne in August. We had the most wonderful cruise, she got to try on a $360,000 tiara, she danced the night away until gone midnight to the silent disco, and we were treated like royalty by the Queen's Grill staff.
We loved cruising and she loved listening to your video's as she loved your narration and way of making you feel part of the journey. Thank you.
So sorry to hear about your mother. But what lovely memories you have of your time together 🤗
Thanks for watching and supporting our channel 😊
Couldn't help but notice the (ironically) solid wall of MSC Cruise banners directly across from your grandstand seats.
@@_echobravo Ahh, the power of advertising (and having truckloads of money to do it) 😂
Oh stop it!! That's just ridiculously fabulous - from start to finish - in fact for me the start would be my favorite rather than the finish as that's not really my thing, but what an amazing experience!
You never mention if you swim on board - for me that would be a daily essential - especially on a ship day when everyone else has gone sightseeing.
Aww, thank you 😊
Helen does often use the pool for an early morning swim but ok this trip we had so many port days and were quite active so she didn’t actually use the pool. It’s a nice pool though given the size of the ship 👍
@@visitwithus it was an amazing trip for sure!
Lovely video, footage and narration are very pleasing indeed. Thank you❤
Many thanks ☺️
This is your best voice over yet, you keep getting funnier!
Thank you ☺️
What a cracking video! You really do take us along with you. Always a great vibe on Azamara, takes some beating. 🙏👍 OTBC!
Indeed 👍
Thanks for watching. OTBC!
Superb review. Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip.
Thank you for watching. Glad you enjoyed it 😊
Well done as always, thanks, Jim
Thank you for watching Jim 😊
Been watching your videos for a while and I was thrilled to see you did this trip. I was on Silver Spirit (12 nights Rome to Barcelona) and I paid even more for my race weekend excursion than you did 😱 I was on an apartment balcony above your grandstand. I didn't sell a kidney but I did pretty much wreck my retirement - and it was worth every penny! My favourite driver crashed on lap 1 during the race, and the rest of it was not the best in F1 terms, but an incredible experience nonetheless. Drank champagne for 2 days, including a celebratory toast for Charles Leclerc's win. Was amazing to hear all the boats honking their horns for ages!
PS - you had much better weather in Portofino/Santa Margherita than we did. We were scheduled to go to Sestri Levanti too, but the sea was too rough for the ferry crossing. Was the one day it wasn't gorgeous, but overall a wonderful trip. Definitely bucket list worthy.
Sounds like you had an amazing time! Although costly, you have a wonderful memory to last a lifetime ❤️
Thanks for watching and for your lovely comment 👍
I do think these ships seem to be ageing really well, but I'm not convinced I'd want to spend the money Azamara are charging to experience a 20+ year old ship. That said, they do look absolutely beautiful, and really well maintained.
As for the Grand Prix, I'm keeping that one on my bucket list!
Also, I see you're a stones throw away from 60k subscribers - amazing!
Thanks Fraser. And you really should try them, in our opinion they are one the best small ship cruise lines around 👍
Enjoying your latest, on my favourite cruise line, from the thermal spa on Westerdam. Keep up the good work.
That’s fab! Hope you’re enjoying the spa (and the video) 😂
This looked an absolutely fantastic cruise. Expensive, but what an experience!
It really was 👍
Thanks for watching 😊
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
Thank you for watching Karen 😊
Great review, although if going to the Monaco Grand Prix I just don't see why you'd pay for the extra expense of a cruise, and then the hassle of having to be tendered in and being bussed from Villefranche, when you could stay in an apartment in Monaco, or in the surrounding French suburbs and walk into the Grand Prix. You showed the tickets which had a face value of 850 Euro or 919USD but said the shore excursion cost was 1500 USD each. Again, that is a lot to pay for something you could just walk to from accommodation in the Monaco surrounds and pay only the 850 Euro entry price.
Unfortunately, the face value price on the ticket is not the price you pay (a minimum add on would be a substantial booking fee). We tried to buy tickets for a similar stand (albeit quite late in the day but still a month or so before the race) and the cost was around 1200USD and the view wasn’t as good so we decided to go with the cruise excursion as they have bulk buying power and as such manage to get seats with a good view.
As for staying in Monaco over Grand Prix weekend - good luck with that 😆 You would have to book it years in advance and it would cost a considerable amount more than the cruise 😆
Thanks for watching and we’re glad you enjoyed it 👍
Always great quality videos here!! We also did an obstructed cabin.. we also found the fridges useless and the tv was so close to the door when we opened it we kept thinking we were going to hit the tv!😂 glad they’ve changed those shower curtains on every ship now. We miss Azamara!! One of our favourite cruise lines for sure. The f1 cruise would be the dream!😍
Thank you ☺️
Great video. Which month did you sail and was the seas stormy and rough as prone to motion sickness. Thanks.
We were there in May. The Grand Prix is at the end of May and was our last port of call before disembarking in Barcelona. We were very lucky with the weather and the seas which were very smooth 👍
Thanks for watching.
Having completed four Azamara cruises , I agree they offer good value for money. Accept the fact they are older ships , but the overall package delivers . IMHO :)
Totally agree 👍
Thanks for watching 😊
Aloha! In Hawaii, we sear our Ahi steaks leaving them raw in the interior. The well done tuna you had would be sent back to the kitchen by most diners here. OTOH, everything else on the ship looks good.
Personally, even though I (Helen) know that’s how tuna is supposed to be served, I would send it back if it was just seared, I really don’t like to like that - this was perfectly cooked for me. Rich likes it much less cooked than I do.
@@visitwithusI’m with you. Raw fish in the cente, even pork or chicken would go right back or I wouldnt eat it. I literally ‘gag’ with stuff like that. Even meat needs to be medium at least. Never blue or rare.
Hi Rich and Helen. While you were in the spectators seats, E Sysman Yachts (The Yacht Show) was down in the pits and behind the scenes, giving a tour of all the action from within. He is a great Formula One junkie and a Car/Yacht Creator. He was touring all the very UBER Expensive / HUGE yachts in the harbor.
There were some pretty impressive yachts 🤩
Thanks for watching 👍
Our favorite line is Windstar for F1👍👍 will consider Azamara. Many thanks 😊
Thank you for watching 😊
ONe wonders when all these "R" class ships that Amazara and Oceania have will finally go to Turkey for scrap?
Not anytime soon. There's a reason Azamara went from 2 to 4.
We tend to agree with the comment below, there’s a few more years in them yet 👍
Thanks for watching.
We are planning to do a similar itinerary in 2026. I would love if you expanded on what was included in your excursion for $3,000USD. Just the seats and transportation?
Thanks for watching.
The excursions cost was for seats in K stand, a program, transportation to Monaco (in our case from Villefrance) and an escort to the stands. Don’t be fooled by the face value of the tickets, when we tried to buy some they were a lot more than this in actuality. Maybe if you are well organised and plan in advance you would be able to buy your own tickets and then just use the cruise transfer to Monaco which was obviously a lot cheaper (quite a few people from the ship did this) 👍
@@visitwithus thank you! Much anppreciated. Our ship will be tendered in Monte Carlo. May 2026. So we’ve got time to explore options. Happy cruising!
I was glad you didn’t wear “The Wrong Trousers” with all that cheese!
Cheese Gromit 😂🧀
Thanks for watching.
@ You ‘get me’ Rich 😁
That montage 😂
@@traceybartlam7737 We all do it, eh? 😆
I never got the appeal of the leaning tower but to each his own
We had never really spent time in Pisa itself which is a lovely city and sadly overshadowed by a leaning building 😂
Thanks for watching.
I think Richard should try his hand at narrating bedtime stories. Fab voice!
Haha, thank you ☺️