Our First Azamara Cruise - First Impressions

We were in cabin 7035 for the Dec 22nd Christmas cruise and these are my impressions of Azamara, in no particular order.

We embarked at 12:30pm on the 22nd which should have been a busy time. It wasn't busy at all and we were on board by 13:00 where we went for lunch in the Windows Cafe. When we were allowed into the cabins, they were very clean. The room attendants introduced themselves and it was the start of a great relationship.

First, the elephant in the room. I am 6' 1", 230 lbs. The shower is fine. Just turn sideways and you have plenty of space.

There is also plenty of storage space in the cabin itself. Personally, I used the under bed storage for my suitcase, shoes, shoulder bag and backpack. It was also where I stored our dirty clothes bag.

This was just our fourth cruise, 3 in the last 5 years, and the first where we decorated our cabin door. Our decoration was a Christmas tea towel held up by those 3m hooks. They worked like a charm and left no marks. We were told by a number of people that they were using our door to orient themselves as we were in line-of-sight to the stairways and elevators. We will be continuing the practice as it is a great ice breaker.

I have food sensitivities and was well taken care of by the dining room staff. I can attest that even when you want to be bad, as in the case of a Christmas Log desert, the kitchen will not bring it out in spite of how much cajoling that you do. For lunch, the cafe was fine, but I would suggest that the food labeling include what is in the food and not was is included. In my case, I do not ingest egg or dairy, and it was sometimes difficult to determine what was in the food. That said, the staff was always helpful when I had questions.

We had all our suppers in the main dining room, because on the first night, we chose to sit with others. We met such interesting people and had such a great time, we kept it up for the entire cruise. I highly recommend that you take a chance and dine with strangers. This includes not only at night but during the day as well. On the first day, we shared a lunch table with a Canadian couple, and we extended the offer to others when the odd rain shower closed off the tables at the edge of the Sunset bar.

We enjoyed the cabaret style entertainment as well as the guest lecturers and teachers. The Azamazing evening and White Nights were great.

I found the included beverages and wine to be adequate for my needs and I think that I might have purchased 6 drinks for the entire cruise. It was really nice not to have to buy an extended beverage package for just a few glasses of port.

So would I go on another cruise? Yes, we booked on board for the 2019 Christmas cruise from Miami to Los Angeles.

With all the talk on how expensive Azamara is and on the competition that it faces, I feel that the choice comes down to 3 factors:

1. The staff are very good and they treat everyone the same regardless of cabin selection. They may have their bad days, but I never saw it. 6am, 6pm or 11pm, they are always there to make your day enjoyable. As I am an early riser, I would often go out and say "good morning. How are you?" to the crew on deck and at breakfast. Never once did I get a surly response. It was always "I am fine, thank you for asking".
   
2. The fellow passengers were a great experience. On Christmas day, we noticed that the stockings on the door had been filled with candy and a one shot bottle of Jack Daniels. We thought that the staff had done it. On the last night, we ran into a couple that asked us if we enjoyed the Christmas "treats". We found out that it was two fellow passengers that snuck around the ship filling up the stockings. This was a first for us. Normally we meet a few couples on each cruise, but this cruise had us meeting far more interesting people.
   
3. The ships are small and intimate. They have a great feel to them.
   

Were there some negatives? Yes, but the positive experiences outweigh the negatives.

Thank you NeverStopLearning for the charming cruise review. I hope to sail with you someday, you sound like a fun fellow passenger :hearteyes:

Thank you for a wonderful, entertaining review. We are about to embark on our first Azamara voyage and I’m sure we’ll that we will enjoy it as much as you. We very much appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts.

Thank you for the review!

Yes thank you for your review. It is a lovely reminder of the things I love about Azamara.

Great review, as a first timer on Azamara cruising in March 2018, any tips you think could see me getting the most out of the cruise. Getting terribly excited as we have less than 60 days now before we board....cheers V

Great review, as a first timer on Azamara cruising in March 2018, any tips you think could see me getting the most out of the cruise. Getting terribly excited as we have less than 60 days now before we board....cheers V

First, I would sign up for the roll call and the meet&greet on cruise critic. Best time to get to know your fellow cruisers is now.

If you are interested in the chef's table, sign up as soon as you board. It filled up quickly on our cruise and we missed out.

For the first night dinner in the dining room, take a chance on sitting with strangers. It is a great way to meet people. Also, lunch on embarkation day is a good time to break the ice with general conversation.

If you have on board credits (OBC), make sure that you use them up. Most things are included, so you can be surprised on how little you spend over the duration of the cruise (compared with mainstream and premium lines).

Be sure to check out the guest lecturers and the trivia contests on sea days. My wife enjoys trivia and that is where we kept meeting our dinner guests as well as others. Be warned, the trivia can be quite competitive, even more than the bridge group.

Wash hands often. Azamara is not immune to various intestinal bugs. You don't have to worry about the staff, but some passengers.....

A lot of people go to the living room for a quiet read and/or drink. It is very vice, but the drawing room at the aft of the ship is even quieter.

Only time that I felt the pressure of an upsell was in the spa, but it was a not a hard sell and they backed off. By the way, I believe that you can use the steam room free of charge. Before a massage, ran into several men who were just taking a steam to relax.

That's all I can think of for now....

Thanks for your review. Glad you had a great time! We have our first 2 Azamara cruises booked for 2019 and are already starting to look forward to them!

Thank you for your interest in booking Azamara Club Cruises! :D

I always advocate using a qualified travel professional...preferably one familiar with Azamara.

As for booking your air through ChoiceAir program, you can give them your frequent flyer number to earn ff points. Your agent can make sure this happens.

Wonderful review! Thanks for sharing and I hope you enjoy many more Azamara cruises. We too love to cruise and to meet interesting new people, many of whom have gone on to become very good friends.