Another Azamara convert from Regent?

I find being friends with the HD, head of guest Relations has helped. knowing the head of tours has helped too. I drink more vodka than wine but i love a good red wine.

We got pretty chummy with Arthur and Rambo on our last cruise (sommeliers) and they really took good care of us. Great recommendations and they set us up with some nice extras after our tastings. Had dinner with the CD and his wife (assistant CD) a few times, too, and they helped clue us in on which shows were must-sees and gave us some good pointers at a few ports, too.

I suppose the Captain or Staff Captain would know a lot of that stuff, too, but I guess I just feel better knowing that they're taking care of the ship and crew...

If Azamara had new ships, we might give them a try simply because the officers and crew mingle with the guests!

This is the second time I read this. Why?

The ships are spic and span. Less noisier than the vibration on Voyager or Mariner. The inside is new. Both Journey and Quest had a big makeover.

This is the second time I read this. Why?

The ships are spic and span. Less noisier than the vibration on Voyager or Mariner. The inside is new. Both Journey and Quest had a big makeover.

Agree. Not sure what the obsession is with new ships. My fave is the PG, and it's in the same age bracket as the R ships, as is Navigator. The Azamara makeover, called reimagining I think, is great, beautiful.

We like to know who the senior officers are going to be as some seem to be better leaders/managers than others

The efficiency and service on board is directly related to the quality of the leadership team

As for Cruise Directors they can also influence the overall ambience and enjoyment. However their individual 'likeability' (is that a word?) is very subjective; as a couple we have very differing views on which CDs we prefer

We got pretty chummy with Arthur and Rambo on our last cruise (sommeliers) and they really took good care of us. Great recommendations and they set us up with some nice extras after our tastings. Had dinner with the CD and his wife (assistant CD) a few times, too, and they helped clue us in on which shows were must-sees and gave us some good pointers at a few ports, too.

 

 

I have gone to the CD to get show names in advance. Some I know i want to see. others I prefer dinner vs the show.I even skipped dinner to get that front row seat. never had a CD give great ideas in ports. I have other officers or crew ell me beaches etc.

 

I suppose the Captain or Staff Captain would know a lot of that stuff, too, but I guess I just feel better knowing that they're taking care of the ship and crew...

I rarely notice the staff captain around but the captain yes. they do go to eat a meal or get coffee like everyone else. Plus get off the ship for breaks.

This is the second time I read this. Why?

The ships are spic and span. Less noisier than the vibration on Voyager or Mariner. The inside is new. Both Journey and Quest had a big makeover.

Well , maybe because some people have been burned in the past cruising in old ships that had all sorts of plumbing, electrical issues, etc and dont want a repeat. Not saying Azamara's ships have those kind of issues, but all things being equal, I would rather cruise in a new ship than in old one, regardless of the "makeover".

This is the second time I read this. Why?

The ships are spic and span. Less noisier than the vibration on Voyager or Mariner. The inside is new. Both Journey and Quest had a big makeover.

IMO, an old ship, car (or person:o) can be fixed up to look great on the outside but that doesn't change their age. The Voyager had the vibration when she was new - it isn't about age. If the Azamara ships are quiet and vibration-free that is a great thing. Even ship builders do not know if there will be a vibration until she ship is mostly completed (and there are newer ships with a vibration).

It sounds as if the Azamara ships received a comprehensive refurbishment, but, did it include the plumbing? The Navigator had multi-millions of dollars put into it. They have replaced things on the inside and outside and the ship reportedly looks great (we no longer sail on the Navigator). However, there are some problems that still exist.

P.S. A bit of trivia ......did you know that on newer ships, toilets can be unblocked without anyone entering your cabin? We experienced this for the first time on Oceania's Riviera.

Well, I hope no one gets plumber trigger-happy in the middle of the night. :p

Plumbing. Whatever. We did have one small issue, and that was that, for me, it seemed like getting hot water took a while. I had to run the shower for perhaps a full minute. I have not heard of any significant plumbing issues with the Az ships, not like the Navigator's notorious and apparently-unsolvable problems with brown water.

Journey is very quiet and totally vibration-free. In fact I hardly felt we were on a ship at all.

As long as the physical plant works well, and the ship decor is in good shape, I really don't care how old the ship is. And frankly Explorer leaves me cold--I loved Journey's clean, modern decor. Just enough glitz to feel special, but not over the top.

Each of the original Regent ships have had their issues - Brown Water on Navigator, Sewage smell on Deck 7 aft of Mariner, Vibration on Voyager.

The old R ships are delightful in their layout. We've been on two of the three that Oceania had - Regatta and Nautica and they are beautiful with an old world charm and the layout fabulous. I imagine that Azamara would have similar layout. We sailed on them in Penthouse cabins and once a Concierge Balcony since we would have rarely used the room with the Baltic itinerary.

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The old R ships are delightful in their layout. We've been on two of the three that Oceania had - Regatta and Nautica and they are beautiful with an old world charm and the layout fabulous. I imagine that Azamara would have similar layout. We sailed on them in Penthouse cabins and once a Concierge Balcony since we would have rarely used the room with the Baltic itinerary.

Yep, we were very pleasantly surprised, after resisting the R ships like the plague.

I guess I haven't talked about the entertainment very much. We're not big show goers, so there's not a lot to say. People raved about the magician, and the violinist/comedian. We went to one show of showtunes by the CD, Eric, but didn't like it and left. He was a good CD, and had a good voice, but at times had an over-the-top personna that was just too much for us.

The band was very good, as David likes to say, Siglo-class, which is high praise. There were two female singers as well, and they were very good. The rock and roll performed at the White Nights was great. The band also played in the main dining room on our sea day, doing jazz, very nicely.

There was no piano bar as such, but there was a guitarist who performed around the ship at cocktail hour and beyond. He also was good.

And we had a very good enrichment lecturer, talking about ancient Rome and Pompeii.

We had a flushing issue in the second bathroom when we were in the Master Suite (or whatever it is) on Navigator; they unblocked it from outside. And I am almost positive that is what I saw people doing on Quest when I was walking down the hallway; I don't think that is something that is restricted to the newer ships. I still don't have my pictures off my phone, but when I do I'll put a link to the pictures of my suite. It was incredible!