Detailed Itinerary
Embark Azamara Quest from 1:00pm onwards. All aboard 4:30PM.
Welcome Cocktails & Briefing this evening. Meet your fellow participants and PerryGolf’s staff.
Overnight: At Sea
Today it's time to relax and reset. Make your reservations early for The Sanctum Spa, a world-class wellness facility offering a full range of health, beauty and restorative treatments. Complimentary fitness and nutrition classes are available along with a fully equipped gym on Deck 9 offering magnificent sea views. There's room for everyone on the Pool Deck both in and out of the sun. Service to your lounge chair is available from The Pool Bar where the attentive staff is always ready to offer an inclusive cocktail, beer, bottled water, soft drink or fresh towel. The Patio restaurant serves casual fare during the day then completely transforms itself into a sit-down al fresco dining experience at night with table linens and candles. Elegant specialty dining is available for beef at Prime C and Italian at Aqualina. Windows Café serves casual buffet dining with every imaginable choice indoors and out at the sensational Sunset Bar.
What a way to spend a day!
Overnight: At Sea
Morning at sea, before afternoon arrival into Edinburgh.
SIGHTSEEING: Edinburgh - the inspiring capital of Scotland - is a historic, cosmopolitan and cultured city. The setting is striking; a city perched on a series of extinct volcanoes and rocky crags which rise from the generally flat landscape of the Lothians with the sheltered shoreline of the Firth of Forth to the north. Edinburgh Castle dominates the city-center and from its ramparts you can look down on medieval lanes that hold over a thousand years of history, mystery and tradition. You will also see a modern, dynamic capital where international festivals attract the world's leading performers, galleries display cutting-edge art, and bars, restaurants and clubs create a lively, cosmopolitan atmosphere with a distinctly Scottish twist. No visit to Edinburgh would be complete without a walk up the Royal Mile, which stretches from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland, to Edinburgh Castle. The route is lined with tourist shops but be sure to explore the narrow alleys called closes that lead off the Royal Mile.
Enjoy Edinburgh on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Port Explorer Guide - Edinburgh
Overnight: In Port – Edinburgh, Scotland
ALL FLIGHTS including GOLF LITE: Today play Archerfield’s Fidra Links. The Fidra lies on sacred ground, between Muirfield's 8th hole and the 9th at North Berwick. Since opening in 2004, it has been a welcome and respected addition to the neighborhood. The card stretches to nearly 7,000 yards but there are four sets of tees to accommodate all levels of play. The greens are large and receptive. Towering pine trees are found throughout but they define the early holes. Beginning at 12, you’ll play links style all the way in with fast running fairways, deep bunkers, dunes and striking views of the Firth of Forth and Bass Rock.
Overnight: In Port – Edinburgh, Scotland
Today attend (as a golf package inclusion) the third round of The 150th Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews. A convenient transportation schedule will operate between the ship and the championship venue.
Overnight: At Sea
Today attend (as a golf package inclusion) the final round of The 150th Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews. A convenient transportation schedule will operate between the ship and the championship venue.
SIGHTSEEING: Once most famous for its industrial character, Dundee has evolved into a vibrant art, design, music and theatre scene. It's the UK's first designated UNESCO City of Design and now has the first design museum outside of London. The new V&A Museum of Design is housed in a world-class building at the heart of the newly transformed waterfront. Visit and learn the story of Scotland's outstanding design heritage. McManus is Dundee's major museum, but don't miss the Dundee Contemporary Arts. A focal point for the arts and design crowd, the building serves as a design shop, hip café, gallery and arts cinema. Just as must-see is the Dundee Science Centre (formerly known as Sensation), a museum devoted to the senses: slide through a cut-away head on a pink tongue, before exiting through a nostril. Sensational, indeed. Down by the waterfront you can explore the Royal Research Ship Discovery, launched in 1901 to explore the South Pole. In the evening the west side of Perth offers great bars and a wonderful view over Britain's most powerful river, the Tay. Find a bench with a pint of Deuchars IPA and watch the river go by.
Enjoy Dundee on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: In Port – Dundee, Scotland
TOM MORRIS: Today play Carnoustie, host for The 147th Open in 2018. While the links is relatively flat it is exposed to the elements. A combination of length and accuracy are required as golfers face narrow corridors from the tee. Approach shots demand precision to the greens heavily guarded by steep bunkers and burns. Arguably the toughest finishing holes in championship golf, errant shots are severely penalized. Ben Hogan won The Open at Carnoustie in his lone appearance, in 1953. Tom Watson and Gary Player also hoisted the Claret Jug here.
ARNOLD PALMER & JAMES BRAID: Today play Dumbarnie Links the dramatic and exciting new kid on the Scottish golf landscape. Located 9 miles south of St Andrews, the layout plays over 345 acres, part of the 5,000-acre Balcarres Estate held by Lord Anthony Balniel and his family since the 16th century. Designed by Clive Clark, a member of the 1973 Great Britain and Ireland Ryder Cup team, the site is highlighted by a mile and a half of sea frontage featuring panoramic views over the Firth of Forth. Its dual elevations, which are connected by a flowing escarpment, provide a number of elevated tees where holes play directly towards the sea.
Enjoy Dundee on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
TOM MORRIS: Today play Castle Stuart Golf Links. One of the newest additions to the links courses of Scotland. Castle Stuart runs along the shores of the Moray Firth to the east of Inverness with wonderful views over to the Black Isle. Six holes hug the shoreline while the remaining holes are played over a terraced slope so views out to sea are ever present. Already included in the World's Top 100.
ARNOLD PALMER: Today play Royal Dornoch. The curving bay of the Dornoch Firth and its magnificent white broad beaches are backed by a narrow strip of softly contoured dune land rising in two distinctive levels, providing just enough room for parallel fairways. The ridges, hillocks, dunes and undulating links land have all the characters of the best of links courses, and most of the difficulties. Old Tom Morris was the architect responsible for extending the original 9 holes layout to 18 holes in 1886. He introduced the plateau greens which are the soul of the course, their uniqueness lies in their size and their inverted saucer shapes.
JAMES BRAID including GOLF LITE: Play today at Nairn, a renowned links course and venue of many major tournaments including the 1999 Walker Cup Matches and the 2012 Curtis Cup. As usual in Scotland for an early club, Nairn was founded in 1887, it has passed through many hands beginning with Archie Simpson’s original. Old Tom Morris lengthened it. James Braid took a turn, as did Ben Sayers, then Braid returned to top it off. Never content however, the club enlisted Mackenzie & Ebert recently for new greens, fairway bunkers and tees. Nairn is a traditional links played hard against Moray Firth which threatens on six of the first seven holes.
SIGHTSEEING: Invergordon is the deep-water port for Inverness, the capital of the Scottish Highlands and your gateway to an area of the Highlands known as the "Great Glen." Travel 20 miles north to the picturesque town of Dornoch to see its sandstone buildings, beautiful domestic gardens and tiny 13th Century cathedral. Ten miles further you'll find the fairy-tale ancestral home of the Clan Sutherland - Dunrobin Castle - one of the oldest inhabited houses in Scotland, dating back to the 13th century. The stunning formal gardens which run down to the sea are based on those at Versailles and were laid out in the 1850s. Daily displays of the ancient sport of falconry take place in the gardens. Less than an hour south is magnificent Cawdor Castle, the setting for Shakespeare's Macbeth. The 14th century home of the Thanes of Cawdor is considered one of the most romantic stately homes in the Highlands with its fine collection of rare tapestries, portraits and furniture plus lovely gardens and grounds.
Enjoy Invergordon on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Port Explorer Guide – Invergordon
Overnight: At Sea
Another relaxing day onboard Azamara Quest, enjoying its many amenities.
Overnight: At Sea
TOM MORRIS: Today play Royal County Down. Located in the town of Newcastle to the south of Belfast. No. 4 in Golf Magazine's 2017 world rankings, this is a vintage test of links golf set against the magnificent backdrop of the Mountains of Mourne. Host to the 2007 Walker Cup Match featuring a young local by the name of Rory McIlroy, and an all-star USA line up that included Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson and Rickie Fowler.
ARNOLD PALMER: Today play Royal Portrush. An outstanding course in a dramatic setting. Royal Portrush holds the distinction of being the only course in Ireland to have hosted The Open, first doing so in 1951, then again when the championship returned in 2019. The Dunluce Course is as fine a links as you will find anywhere, with the 5th being a particularly memorable hole to a green hanging on the edge of a cliff. Consistently ranked in the top 20 of the world's best courses, nearly every legend of golf has accepted the challenge of Royal Portrush.
SIGHTSEEING: Belfast in the early 20th century had the largest and most productive shipyard in the world, gaining global renown with the launch of the RMS Titanic. Located on the slipways where she was built is a stunning new museum, opened in time for the 100th anniversary of Titanic's only voyage and tragic demise. Today the city and riverfront are undergoing a 21st century transformation, but many exuberant Victorian and Edwardian buildings still sport the carved heads of kings and queens. As you explore the city, keep an eye out for 'the murals'. These somewhat troubling freelance works appearing on building walls provide insight into the period known simply as 'The Troubles'.
Enjoy Belfast on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
TOM MORRIS: Today play the Ailsa Course at Trump Turnberry. Lying on a spectacular curve of rockbound coast, the coastal scenery is magnificent especially from the 4th through the 11th. No one can forget the 1977 'Duel in the Sun' between Jack Nicklaus & Tom Watson when Watson's weekend of 65-65 edged Nicklaus by one. In 2009, the Ailsa Course hosted The Open for the 4th time when Tom Watson almost clinched the championship as a 59-year-old, losing out to Stewart Cink in a playoff for the famed Claret Jug. A major renovation was completed in 2016 which produced an impressive improvement in the club's already prominent world rankings.
ARNOLD PALMER: Today play Prestwick Golf Club one of the world's oldest clubs and whose very testing and traditional links hosted the very first Open in 1860. The winner was Willie Park from Musselburgh with a score of 174 for thirty-six holes, two shots clear of the legendary Old Tom Morris. Prestwick was home to the first eleven Opens and then held it jointly along with The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers (Muirfield). Prestwick's twenty fourth and last Open was in 1925 when Jim Barnes from the USA won. Only the Old Course of St Andrews hosted The Open more than Prestwick.
JAMES BRAID including GOLF LITE: Play today at Western Gailes, rated by many visitors to Scotland as one of its best keep secrets and immensely enjoyable. The course lies between the railway and the sea like many others in Ayrshire. Its only two holes wide, with nine played along the sea and nine played beside the railway. Variety gives Western its special character. The seaside holes are routed through classic links land with dunes, high grass and the beach. These are arguably more difficult than the the inland holes while are slightly longer with heavier bunkering. Your caddie here will often be a club member who typically cannot resist sharing the club’s story with visitors.
SIGHTSEEING: Glasgow, a reinvented industrial center in western Scotland, has solidified its reputation as a cultural hub. Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of the first names to know; he was a prodigious architect, interior designer and artist, and the city has a wealth of his work. Stop by his Willow Tea Rooms for a cup of tea and a scone. The Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum whose blue and gold inlaid ceiling, Art Deco hanging lamps and marble floors are sufficient reason to visit, let alone the impressive art collection that includes Salvador Dal's controversial 'Christ of St John of the Cross'. Glasgow has an abundance of excellent seafood dining. The Crabshakk is perfect for daily catches including ruby red langoustines. The oyster bar at Rogano in Exchange Square is where power brokers celebrate deals with a glass of Champagne and a dozen oysters in a space designed to look like a 1930s Art Deco cruise liner. At the Pot Still, an institution that dates from 1857, choose from over 450 malt whiskies like Lagavulin or Arran.
Enjoy Glasgow on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
SIGHTSEEING: The tiny Isle of Man is filled with entertaining sights and scenery. Douglas' lovely seafront is lined with picturesque hotels and restaurants and can be traversed by horse-drawn trams as it has been since 1876. There's a medieval fortress in Castletown; a ruined castle on the Isle of St. Patrick where tales of Vikings, monks, and a ghost dog abound; and the village of Cregneash, where people live in thatched cottages, speak the native Manx language, and practice traditional trades and crafts. Front gardens on residential streets are a standout, awash in colour and scent.
Enjoy the Isle of Man on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Port Explorer Guide - Douglas, Isle of Man
Overnight: At Sea
TOM MORRIS: Today play Portmarnock Links. This challenging traditional links course provides outstanding views over Howth and the Irish Sea. The first five holes heading away from the sea provide a gentle start, but then the course comes alive as the holes make their way through the dunes back towards the sea. The back nine provides a series of visually stunning links holes loaded with deep bunkers, featuring steep faces giving the course a traditional look while incorporating modern architectural techniques. Note: Golf cart venue
ARNOLD PALMER & JAMES BRAID: Today play the Palmer Ryder Cup Course of The K Club. This beautiful parkland course was designed by Arnold Palmer and hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup with all its attendant drama. Risk-reward opportunities are ever present as the course covers an area of mature woodland to the west of Dublin City to which fourteen lakes have been added. Note: Golf cart venue
SIGHTSEEING: There is a lot to see in Dublin. A good place to begin is The National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street for a well-designed archaeological collection featuring Bronze Age gold jewelry and Viking swords. The stars of the show are the 'bog people' - preserved corpses of men who were killed (presumably sacrificed) and tossed into peat bogs during the Iron Age. The preservative qualities are remarkable. Dublin is home to St. Patrick's Cathedral of course but much of Ireland's history can be read in Christ Church Cathedral, which dates back to circa 1030. The medieval crypt is full of treasures plus the belfry tour provides a beautiful view and an up-close look at the flying buttresses, as well as the chance to try bell-ringing. Dublin's booming culinary scene is found along Exchequer Street where The Green Hen has won many admirers with its combination of French atmosphere and Franco-Irish cuisine made with locally sourced ingredients. Try the pan-fried duck breast. Finally, while craft beer is certainly the popular new thing, a pint of 'the black stuff' is still required drinking on any trip to Dublin. The Guinness Storehouse museum at the St. James's Gate brewery explains how the stout is made and how to pull a proper pint at the correct 45-degree angle and waiting 119.5 seconds before topping it off. Take it up to the Gravity Bar, where the 360-degree view of Dublin is worth lingering over.
Enjoy Dublin on your own or via Azamara Shore Excursions®.
Overnight: At Sea
Disembark Azamara Quest at 9:00AM.