Azamara CruisesReviews of azamara.com

Het was op zich een prachtige cruise. Ijsland, Groenland en Canada en als hoogtepunt de Eclips op zee. Lekker eten ook, en de ontspanning was heel goed met veel variatie. Maar het schip is oud, de kajuiten klein (zeker de badkamer) en de inbegrepen items worden elk jaar minder. Heel duur (en slecht) internet en excursies.

Just back from 11 night Dalmatian and Amalfi cruise on the onward. Very disappointed with the mediocre food for a “premium” cruise company. We have had better quality and choices from the likes of Celebrity, NCL, Princess. The ship itself was comfortable with plenty of spaces to sit and enjoy a drink but it was decidedly lacking in personality. It had no “vibe” and felt pretty staid to be honest. For an immersion cruise, we felt that a little music around the deck area in the afternoon would have been nice, eg music from the region we were visiting…we had the odd 30 mins from a jazz piano player and the resident band played one lunchtime which was really good and people looked as if they were on vacation. Sadly this was the exception. The evening entertainment was slightly amateurish, we did go to a show once, but as our stateroom was above the theatre we could hear them rehearsing each night anyway. The staff were all friendly and helpful so no disappointment there, but for the very high price we paid for this, it left us wondering exactly what was it we were paying for? Certainly not the quality of food on offer..despite there being themed nights each night eg French, Italian, Indian ….the main offerings felt a bit “samey” and uninspiring. Some guests said they did enjoy the food however having sailed many times elsewhere this was not up to our expectations. The white night and Corfu immersion night was ok but again for the money we paid, not reflected in the overall experience.Desperately disappointed with our average experience and not azamazing for us I’m afraid. Would not rebook .

Cabin was like a ferry boat. Tiny nit enough space for 2. The furniture was old and tatty. Balcony was small with massive table and 2 small metal chairs. Glad it was only a week. A sofa was only suitable for one. The wash area was grim very old stained basin, 2 people would not be able to stand in it. Brown, grey and beige. So awful that we are cancelling a second cruise that was booked months ago. The rest of the cruise was okay. Azamara 2018 was superior. Dining room cutlery worn cheap and not restaurant standard.

We were allocated an “ocean view” stateroom with an unobstructed view of a lifeboat. It had no seating area and barely enough space to move on either side of the bed. It bore very little resemblance to the stateroom illustrated on the Azamara website. My wife and I could not face spending 8 nights in this tiny, claustrophobic space and we managed to get upgraded - but at a cost. My beef is that neither the company nor the travel agent gave us any advance warning. We are experienced cruisers, including 2 with Azamara, and have been big fans. This was a major letdown. I’ve been in lengthy correspondence with the company and they certainly put considerable effort in defending their position. But, it still leaves a sour taste. It’s only fair to add that in other respects, the cruise was very good and met our expectations. Will we cruise Azamara again? Not sure…..

Azamara Journey Boston to Montreal October 2024 Pre-departure admin - awful. Booked through SixStarCruises who made valiant attempts to get the correct amount of OBC showing on our account. Still not sorted on 3rd day of cruise but corrected later that day to the real amount which was double what Azamara originally credited, got $50 extra as compensation. Pre-departure service to travel agents and guests awful since private equity purchase Check-in procedure awful, clerk messed up photos, my wife looked like my identical twin brother (which I don’t have, it was my photo and I had hers!) visit 1 to guest services did not solve the problem, asked to visit guest services again but they confirmed we had already done so. Requested to visit guest services again as it was still incorrect, 3rd visit they came to us and it was then sorted. Docking at Eastport, speed too fast hit dockside damaged port bow. Next port of call cancelled as we had to move to cargo quay for repairs, plate welded to front bow, $75 pp compensation. Service good as ever, food quality good as ever but menu choices more limited than in the past. Slight drop in quality of some items, particularly gelgato( not as creamy as european gelato!) Normally take 2 or 3 excursions but not this time, way too expensive 50%-100% more expensive than other cruise lines’ similar excursions. Examples based on Princess within last 12 months Alaska day trip $150 pp, extended final day tour to SFO airport $160pp, 2/3 hour walking tour $60. Azamara—Quebec day trip $240pp , extended final day tour Montreal airport $330pp, 2/3 hour walking tour $90pp. Nice atmosphere on board small ship, with corresponding small rooms, small bathrooms & small balconies. Azamara is starting to price itself too high for what you get. We are now willing to pay more for a much better experience on other cruise lines. Last year £200pppn suite in Europe, this year £308pppn verandah.

We just finished our first cruise with Azamara Onward - a 12-night cruise along the northern Mediterian and eastern Adriatic. Prior to booking, we heard so many wonderful things about Azamare and its onboard service that we were looking forward to experiencing it for ourselves. We might have been expecting too much. My wife and I are pretty experienced cruisers. We’ve been on Viking Ocean and River, Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribean, and Virgin. We appreciate the small ship experience on Viking and Azamara more than the large mega-ship craziness of Royal Caribean or Princess, and more than the full-time party of Virgin. We’re looking for quality ship decor, attentive service, extraordinary food, entertaining shows, and informative, inspiring, shore excursions. We expected all this and more from Azamara. What we experienced was pretty average. We did have a couple of “Wow” moments; but, over 12 days of cruising there was more “ho-hum” than “wow”. We booked an Ocean Suite. It was pricey; but, it did deliver a sitting room separate from a sizable bedroom and both a full and half bath. The room was comfortable with a large balcony facing the bow of the ship. The balcony was crowded with too much furniture so there was no room to stand; but, the furniture did give us get places to relax without having to compete for a lounge chair on the pool deck. Onboard entertainment. We didn’t expect any full-scale production numbers. Onward did have a troupe of four singers and a dancer who performed several evenings. The cruise director did double duty as an occasional performer who also told bad jokes about his grandfather, and there was a piano player/singer who performed a couple of times each evening. Nothing over the top. Nothing to knock your socks off. No real wow factor; but, okay entertainment. We did have an AzAmazing evening opera performance in a historical coastal fortification that lived up to the marketing promise; but, I wouldn’t stand in line to do it again. We also had an onboard White Night party on the pool deck that included local musicians, a buffet, performances from the ship’s troupe, and a parade of the onboard crew. It delivered on the promise of a White Night pool deck party and was something different. In addition to the live entertainment, Azamara has a television in each guest room. Unfortunately, the TV is limited to one movie each day that runs in a loop. You just have to be lucky to catch it at the beginning. Similarly, there is one TV series that runs in a continual loop each day. There is no on-demand TV service. Too bad. I mentioned that we booked an Ocean Suite which included complimentary specialty dining. One of the specialty dining options that the website features is the Chef’s Table. We experienced the Chef’s Table once during the 12-day cruise. The food was good. The presentation was lovely. The $190 bill at the end of the complimentary specialty dining was a surprise. It took most of the remaining cruise to get Azamara to back off their demand that we pay for the Chef’s Table which the website claimed was included in the complimentary specialty dining. They eventually did back off; but, the experience was less than satisfying. Just be aware that if you book a suite that includes complimentary specialty dining, it does not include complimentary specialty dining. Also, the Ocean Suite included a Premium Beverage Package for both of us. Don’t waste your money. There is a wide selection of complementary beverages onboard. The Premium Beverage Package just adds a few mid-price spirits and no premium wines. I didn’t realize that in addition to the Premium Beverage Package, there is also an Ultimate Beverage Package. The Ultimate adds more spirits; but, in my opinion, isn’t worth the money. All in all, the onboard experience delivered on the marketing hype - except the complimentary specialty dining wasn’t complimentary. Other than that it was okay. It wasn’t amazing or over the top. We’ve seen much better on other cruises. The invoice we received from Azamara included detail about the cost of the room, port taxes, and airfare. It also included a line labeled "Charges" for $800. We challenged them on this because they were just padding the bill. Ultimately they backed off and agreed to refund the money. But, I would double-check everything and look for unsupported costs.