Azamara Journey from a Regent Cruiser's perspective

I won’t do a comparison between Azamara and Regent, because we believe that enjoying each cruise line for itself makes for a more positive experience, so this thread will strictly be about our impressions and experience on Azamara Journey.

We are onboard with about 18 other people we know from Regent, so a small group, but definitely a fun one. We are on the Journey, sailing from Miami to Athens, with stops in the Azores, Gibraltar and Syracusa Italy, ending in Athens. The crossing to the Azores will take 8 days.

Embarkation was a snap, we pulled up, unloaded luggage, went thru security, waited about 3 minutes in line and then were pointed to an available clerk, and were checked in within 4 minutes and headed onto the ship. Went up to pool grill, it was packed, as was the Windows café, but we eventually squeezed into a table with some friends. Hamburger was delicious, and Frank said his Cuban sandwich was good as well. At 1:30 headed to our cabin.

Cabin is a Club Continent Suite, 8061. A bit smaller than the standard suite on Regent, but layout is nice and it is very comfortable for the two of us. I do miss the walk in closet where everything is right there, but once unpacked there is plenty of space for everything, even a couple of drawers we are not even using. Bed is very comfortable and we slept well. Bathroom has the tub/shower combo, one sink, two nice sized shelves for stuff and extra glasses which we always ask for. There is a small mini frige, and we asked for anything that had a surcharge to be removed, put in our own wine which we brought onboard. Butler brought half dozen extra bottles of water and said he would keep that supplied. Plenty of glasses and wine glasses for drinks. Balcony has three chairs and a nice sized dining table. We have a very small sofa, table and chair for the sitting area, plus a chair at the desk. Décor is soothing, with soft colors.

Public spaces are very nice, Mosaic café is lovely and they have light snacks, coffee and tea all day long. There is a small area just off the Casino and last night there was piano music there last evening. The small bar area outside of the Main restaurant is very nice as well and there was a guitar player there last night. Looking Glass lounge (observation lounge) is a nice size, probably the largest lounge onboard, and there is late night music with a DJ up there, although we skipped that last night, but will probably give it a try later on. There is also the Drawing room, which is very nice, has a fake fireplace and lots of comfy chairs and sofas for relaxing and reading. Have not yet checked out the show lounge.

Food has been great so far, as I said above hamburgers at the grill are good, there are good choices, the lunch buffet looked to have many options. We had dinner last night in Aqualina and it was wonderful. I think they change the menu out every week, and we plan to eat there again, the strawberry soufflé for dessert was nothing short of spectacular and we sucked it up like it was our last meal on earth. The service was wonderful and we enjoyed every minute of it. We will eat there again. We had room service breakfast this morning, and the room service breakfast menu has a lot of options and things that are different from your normal cruise ship in room breakfast menu. My husband had cornbeef hash benedict, I had an egg white omlette with spinach and cheese and bacon done just right. Ate lunch again today at the pool grill, it was again very good. Tonight we will be trying Discoveries restaurant for the first time.

Staff is extremely friendly, smiles everywhere, everyone says hello, good morning, etc. Our room stewardess and Butler have been most accommodating, I whined a little about my pillow this morning and Hilda brought me another one instantly that is more to my liking, our room is spotless and they have decorated it tastefully for my husbands 75th birthday, he had a card from our room attendants and they have all wished him a happy birthday verbally as well. The staff in general seems happy with their jobs,

Thank you for posting. Sounding like a nice option. Please continue to keep us up to date.

Also very interested to read your impressions and will be looking for your further comments. We are on the Barcelona-FLL transatlantic in November on the same ship. We were invited onboard the Azamara Quest when it was docked in SF last spring and were impressed with the ship and amenities. The onboard visit and attractive pricingmade the decision to book Azamara this year instead of Regent much easier.

Thank you very much for sharing this! We have booked the transatlantic on Journey for November this year, our first transatlantic. It will be good to read of your experience. Also, there have been several recent posts and reviews that have not been very good regarding the Journey. I hope you don't mind that I've referenced your post over on the Azamara board as many folks there have been asking for more recent/current reviews.

Thank you for this thread, ridolphi. I'm curious about Azamara. I had two bookings on Azamara for this year and next but chickened out and cancelled them.

I finally have a chance to read this thread. So interesting! I cannot imagine having items in our "frig" that have a surcharge. Speaking of surcharges, rumor has it that the quality of the included alcohols is less than what you would find on Regent. It is true?

I finally have a chance to read this thread. So interesting! I cannot imagine having items in our "frig" that have a surcharge. Speaking of surcharges, rumor has it that the quality of the included alcohols is less than what you would find on Regent. It is true?

Yes, the included alcohols are more extensive on Regent, but the overall experience is not nearly as warm or welcoming. Azamara's officers engage with passengers, unlike the highly-touted Regent General Manager, whose name I won't mention, who "engages" only with female members of his staff. Guests returning from shore are always greeted with a hot or cold beverage, as appropriate, and don't have to corner the GM and suggest this might be a good idea when the temperature is 90 degrees plus. They are welcomed warmly by senior management when returning, not just by surly security staff as on Regent. The warmth of ambiance on Azamara is much superior to Regent. And, oh, there are in fact alcohol brands for which you pay extra on Regent. How awful that must be for you to have to experience,

You really shouldn't comment unless you have cruised both lines, something I'm sure will never happen. There are cruise lines that are in ways superior to Regent, let me assure you. And, you would be wise, to restore your credibility here, not to be so defensive of Regent with your condescending responses to posting that praise other lines. Regent is far from a luxury cruise line, whether you admit it or not, and other cruise lines have much to offer people looking for a different high-end experience.

As a relative newbie to cruising I do enjoy everyone's comments and experience on the different cruise lines as it makes me feel brave enough to allocate a very significant chunk of my holiday fund and know that I will enjoy the experience. First cruise was with Seabourn - we both loved it and thought we were spoilt for anything else. Next we tried Oceania and do you know what - some things were better ( some things not quite as good like that shower curtain lol) and we loved it. Trying Regent in the summer and I am sure we will also love Regent. I do like the 'all inclusive' element for drinks and gratuities (hence took the alcohol package on O) not so bothered about the excursions as we like to do our own thing. Looking forward at some point to trying Silversea, Crystal and maybe Azamara. I don't know about the very big ships but never say never. Variety, as they say, is the spice of life and we should all be very grateful that we are sufficiently fit, healthy and solvent to enjoy such wonderful experiences. :)

People that jump on an, otherwise, enjoyable thread just to slam others should get a grip! :(

Rather unkind responses to someone who is genuinely interested in Azamara as many people I personally know are currently on the cruise. IMO, Azamara is in competition with Oceania and I have cruised on Oceania twice. My interest in Azamara lies with the fact that officers on Azamara are reportedly very friendly with the guests -- something that is not true about Oceania.

I stand behind my comment that a cruise line such as Azamara or Oceania should not have items in the refrigerator that have a cost. Isn't Azamara more inclusive than Oceania? I have not heard that they nickel and dime passengers previously. This is very disappointing to read.

My experience with Azamara was brilliant! I agree with the OP, the food and service excellent. A quasi-all inclusive experience at much less of a fare!

When one of the Azamara ships next berths in San Francisco, I'd like to get a look-see since I have been on and off about sailing this line. Would love to see for myself. And, I'm very interested in cruises embarking or disembarking in SF.

My experience with Azamara was brilliant! I agree with the OP, the food and service excellent. A quasi-all inclusive experience at much less of a fare!

Exactly! I will happily pay for the few ship's excursions that I feel offer better value or safer return than my privately-booked tours, and for the rare non-wine drink I order -- and pocket the difference.

Hello ridolphi, hope you will return to update this thread in which interests me a great deal. Plus you have a knack for posting which is appealing. Cheers.

When one of the Azamara ships next berths in San Francisco, I'd like to get a look-see since I have been on and off about sailing this line. Would love to see for myself. And, I'm very interested in cruises embarking or disembarking in SF.

Let your travel agent know you are interested in ship visits. My Bay Area TA has snagged several onboard invites for DH and I, we have only been able to take her up on 2 so far. It makes for a lovely day, even if there is a sales pitch involved:). And in the case of our Azamara visit, it clinched the sale and we got an additional $500 OBC by taking advantage of that specific offer.

We also love sailing in and out of SF-we booked the Mariner to Alaska in 2016 primarily because we can get on in SF-just a cab ride away. I figure out who is sailing in and out of SF by using the search engine at vacations to go (all one word) dot com- they have a departure port option and i've found most of the ships i'm interested in sailing included in their database.

Thank you, Cruising Librarian, I will do that.

The group on Journey are friends of mine (most of them are, anyway) and they are having too much fun! Their internet is slow, of course. I have another friend who is on Quest now, again with the slow internet.

If I am brave enough to do the solo thing, I have a TA booked on Quest in 2016; 16 nights in a balcony cabin for a grand total of $5,000. I can manage to have the surcharged stuff removed, and I don't have a problem paying if I want a premium beverage. I haven't heard anything about the included wines being "inferior" but I am not a scholar of wine; if I like it, I do, if not, I'll ask for something else.

Way to go, Pam!

The group on Journey are friends of mine (most of them are, anyway) and they are having too much fun! Their internet is slow, of course. I have another friend who is on Quest now, again with the slow internet.

 

If I am brave enough to do the solo thing, I have a TA booked on Quest in 2016; 16 nights in a balcony cabin for a grand total of $5,000. I can manage to have the surcharged stuff removed, and I don't have a problem paying if I want a premium beverage. I haven't heard anything about the included wines being "inferior" but I am not a scholar of wine; if I like it, I do, if not, I'll ask for something else.

Good to see you on this thread. You're right -- the group on the Journey are definitely having a lot of fun (they always do) We will be sailing with some of them next year. The price you were able to get on the Quest is wonderful. You will enjoy it.

I've read so many mixed reviews Azamara. It's good to read something positive from someone that is well traveled and is used to luxury travel. The big question will be whether or not she would book Azamara again.

If you are talking about me and whether I would sail Azamara again, why wait a year and a half? Several people that we probably both know have sailed Azamara more than once; they are at least as well traveled as I am, and probably far more accustomed to luxury travel.

If you aren't talking about me, then I will tell you the same thing.

Internet is very slow. Minutes running out. Will post more when we get home, but overall very impressed, having a great time and lots of good things to say. Sorry, but do have limited internet minutes.

Thank you for your response -- it reminds me of when I sail on Silversea - counting minutes (or in the case of Oceania - trading off internet usage with my DH). Looking forward to your review when you return home.

Internet is very slow. Minutes running out. Will post more when we get home, but overall very impressed, having a great time and lots of good things to say. Sorry, but do have limited internet minutes.

Hope your voyage was wonderful and, selfishly I hope you come to this thread to say more. Cheers!

I will, just still catching up at home. Laundry is almost done, we both had appointments this week, etc, all that post cruise stuff. I will try to post more of my thoughts this weekend.

Excellent.