Rare brazilgirl Posted January 12, 2018 #1 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Hello I have never sailed Azamara. I have several past Celebrity cruises (including Xpedition). HAL, Crystal, Carnival and RCI. Currently contemplating the Rio Christmas and New Year's Eve cruise which includes fireworks on Copacabana beach. Some questions: What do you most like about Azamara? Our last two cruises have been on Crystal and we loved the food and personal attention as well as no long lines or crowds to get a lounger. Does Azamara have similar positive points? The cruise is quite a lot more pricey than previous Azamara cruises I have looked at. Not sure if this is because it is a holiday cruise or the new ship. If prices futurely drop, does Azamara do price adjustments? I see this ship is a remodeled R ship. I like smaller ship size, but I also enjoy big ship comforts. Can you tell me what you like about this class of ships? What kind of entertainment can we expect on board? Has anyone every booked a family group onboard and if so, are there any special perks of bonuses for booking multiple staterooms? Are three in a room terribly crowded being the staterooms seem to be on the small side? Am reading through trip reports to get more info, but would love some input. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MNgardens Posted January 12, 2018 #2 Share Posted January 12, 2018 regarding room size- I think three in a veranda or lower room would be tight. It would be doable if all three have an easy going attitude. We did three in a Club Continent suite for 16 days. There was enough floor space to be able to move around with the sofa bed extended. The bathroom is considerably larger as well. Have you seen this compilation of photos taken on the Journey? https://www.cruisecritic.com/photos/ships/azamara-journey-410/ I was on a HAL ship in Alaska this past summer. I really didn't care for the atmosphere at the buffet at lunch. People were staking out tables an hour ahead of opening. There were long lines to get the food. Seating was crowded. I always left feeling harried. My two cruises on Azamara never felt that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted January 12, 2018 Author #3 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Thank you for the link to the photos. Will check them out. We are looking for a laid back, relaxed atmosphere with good food and service. I have no need for formal nights but I don't like feeling crowded or harried on vacation. Sounds like Azamara will be a good fit in this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted January 12, 2018 #4 Share Posted January 12, 2018 We have taken 16 cruises, but only once on Crystal and once on Azamara -- and we are going on our second Azamara cruise in three days. The food on Crystal was the best of all our cruises, but we were not wowed by the service. Azamara is tops for service (everybody gets treated like family, not just the known regulars) and IMO for itineraries (especially the country-intensive ones like the Costa Rica cruise we're about to take). The cabins on R-ships are small (and the bathrooms are very small), but the Club Continent Suites are larger in both ways. Yes, Azamara prices have gotten quite high lately -- but the BOGOHO sale helps a lot! And we have been able to rebook without penalty when a better sale comes along before final payment. (You can also get $300 OBC with an Amex Platinum card -- that pays more than half the annual fee right there.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted January 12, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted January 12, 2018 Good to know about the AMEX perk! The family environment sounds wonderful. I will look at the suite to see if we want to splurge. For those who have done holiday cruises, what differentials are there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Priya2 Posted January 13, 2018 #6 Share Posted January 13, 2018 (You can also get $300 OBC with an Amex Platinum card -- that pays more than half the annual fee right there.) Sadly, only in America (probably), not in the UK anyway! 🙄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted January 13, 2018 #7 Share Posted January 13, 2018 We have taken 16 cruises, but only once on Crystal and once on Azamara -- and we are going on our second Azamara cruise in three days. The food on Crystal was the best of all our cruises, but we were not wowed by the service. Azamara is tops for service (everybody gets treated like family, not just the known regulars) and IMO for itineraries (especially the country-intensive ones like the Costa Rica cruise we're about to take). The cabins on R-ships are small (and the bathrooms are very small), but the Club Continent Suites are larger in both ways. Yes, Azamara prices have gotten quite high lately -- but the BOGOHO sale helps a lot! And we have been able to rebook without penalty when a better sale comes along before final payment. (You can also get $300 OBC with an Amex Platinum card -- that pays more than half the annual fee right there.) Yes, but, the AMEX $300 OBC used to be the hot way to pay. However, depending on how much you are spending, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is now the hot way to pay for cruises. 3X points and you can get them to send you a check whenever you like at $.01 per point. For instance if you spend $20K on the cruise, that is 60,000 points or $600 cash you can spend as you choose vs 20,000 Amex points plus the $300 OBC you have to spend on board. With the 20,000 points being worth about $200 so $100 ahead with Chase and spend on whatever you want or put the money in the bank. The sweet spot where Chase is worth more is at $15,000 where they are equal in dollars but, Chase choice where to spend and the insurance coverage with Chase much, much better than Amex. Your choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upwarduk Posted January 13, 2018 #8 Share Posted January 13, 2018 (edited) Please be aware that there are no children’s facilities on board Azamara cruise ships. We were in a V2 balcony cabin and found the accommodation ‘tight’ for 2 adults. I’m not sure where the 3rd person is expected to sleep, as in my opinion the sofa isn’t large enough. The image below shows half the sofa. Edited January 13, 2018 by upwarduk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted January 13, 2018 #9 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Please be aware that there are no children’s facilities on board Azamara cruise ships. We were in a V2 balcony cabin and found the accommodation ‘tight’ for 2 adults. I’m not sure where the 3rd person is expected to sleep, as in my opinion the sofa isn’t large enough. The image below shows half the sofa. The cabins that can accommodate an extra person don’t have the sofa. They have a convertible chair as below. Of course this doesn’t increase the size of the standard size cabin. If you have a Club Continent Suite that accommodates a third person it will have this chair too. Phil Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted January 13, 2018 Author #10 Share Posted January 13, 2018 My children are all young adults now ... the oldest is 21 and youngest 14. They are quite good at entertaining themselves with movies, books, trivia games ( we enjoy being a team) etc. They have traveled extensively since their were very young which gives them a lot of patience I think - many long flights and layovers lol. I think Azamara would please them. The three in a room looks challenging but doable ( they are troopers). If my mother in law goes, we would have two in each room. I am most wary about the price. I could almost get two cruises on Oceania for the price of this one and three on Celebrity. A bit steep. Have to weigh the Copacabana fireworks bucket list experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
remaxlu Posted January 13, 2018 #11 Share Posted January 13, 2018 Sadly, only in America (probably), not in the UK anyway! [emoji849] Or Canada Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trend Posted January 15, 2018 #12 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Funny the AZ cruise we just finished we paid with our Amex plat. And did not get that on board credit? We are booked on that Rio holiday cruise and having just finished the cruise finishing just befor Christmas it was fun. We are Jewish but their holiday show was great and some upper officers had their children on board. It is a very casual friendly atmosphere great attention but food just ok. Gym is good but not the size of big ships, the advantage is you get in to ports others can not and stay longer. Captain is very visible and giving lots of information as well as taking part in the holiday show. They had an amazing gingerbread display and a chocolate buffet one day. Easy to get off the ship with no one pushing . People are friendly offering to share a tables did not get that on other lines. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rallydave Posted January 15, 2018 #13 Share Posted January 15, 2018 Funny the AZ cruise we just finished we paid with our Amex plat. And did not get that on board credit? We are booked on that Rio holiday cruise and having just finished the cruise finishing just befor Christmas it was fun. We are Jewish but their holiday show was great and some upper officers had their children on board. It is a very casual friendly atmosphere great attention but food just ok. Gym is good but not the size of big ships, the advantage is you get in to ports others can not and stay longer. Captain is very visible and giving lots of information as well as taking part in the holiday show. They had an amazing gingerbread display and a chocolate buffet one day. Easy to get off the ship with no one pushing . People are friendly offering to share a tables did not get that on other lines. Hope this helps. The $300 platinum OBC is not automatic. You have to tell your TA you will be paying the full (deposit plus balance of the fare with the platinum card snd then the TA has to get s code from Amex to give Azamara to add to your record and put the OBC on your account. So if you book without a TA think you are out of luck for the OBC Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellbon Posted January 16, 2018 #14 Share Posted January 16, 2018 AZ at Cmas and NYE tips any kind I have been on. Something about your new family of 400 crew. Love Cmas show but AZ is changing all their Entertainment. So we lost the great Cmas show and I am booked on a Cmas cruise. We lost our piano players too. We have no idea what is coming . But we have late nights in ports and a great crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted January 16, 2018 Author #15 Share Posted January 16, 2018 Thanks for all the kind responses... we ended up booking an Oceania Caribbean cruise. There was an almost 20K difference so we decided to visit some Caribbean ports we have not previously visited and do NYE in Miami pre-cruise. It will be our first time on Oceania, so looking forward to it. Azamara is definitely a future option. Will keep my eye out for possibilities as it sounds like we would enjoy it very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare brazilgirl Posted January 16, 2018 Author #16 Share Posted January 16, 2018 The $300 platinum OBC is not automatic. You have to tell your TA you will be paying the full (deposit plus balance of the fare with the platinum card snd then the TA has to get s code from Amex to give Azamara to add to your record and put the OBC on your account. So if you book without a TA think you are out of luck for the OBC Sent from my iPhone using Forums I did this on my Oceania cruise with my TA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bed & Breakfast Posted January 20, 2018 #17 Share Posted January 20, 2018 Hello I have never sailed Azamara. I have several past Celebrity cruises (including Xpedition). HAL, Crystal, Carnival and RCI. Currently contemplating the Rio Christmas and New Year's Eve cruise which includes fireworks on Copacabana beach. Some questions: What do you most like about Azamara? Our last two cruises have been on Crystal and we loved the food and personal attention as well as no long lines or crowds to get a lounger. Does Azamara have similar positive points? The cruise is quite a lot more pricey than previous Azamara cruises I have looked at. Not sure if this is because it is a holiday cruise or the new ship. If prices futurely drop, does Azamara do price adjustments? I see this ship is a remodeled R ship. I like smaller ship size, but I also enjoy big ship comforts. Can you tell me what you like about this class of ships? What kind of entertainment can we expect on board? Has anyone every booked a family group onboard and if so, are there any special perks of bonuses for booking multiple staterooms? Are three in a room terribly crowded being the staterooms seem to be on the small side? Am reading through trip reports to get more info, but would love some input. Thanks! We have sailed Azamara many times along with Celebrity RCL etc....loved Azamara entertainment is not as good as the larger ships due to the ship size, but the staff are amazing....they have 2 very good Cruise Directors Russ and Erik, if you can book a cruise when they are scheduled on, you have all the entertainment you need, they are terrific, I have no comment on the other CD !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinaro44 Posted January 20, 2018 #18 Share Posted January 20, 2018 We have sailed Azamara many times along with Celebrity RCL etc....loved Azamara entertainment is not as good as the larger ships due to the ship size, but the staff are amazing....they have 2 very good Cruise Directors Russ and Erik, if you can book a cruise when they are scheduled on, you have all the entertainment you need, they are terrific, I have no comment on the other CD !! The "other" CD is a terrific entertainer and a very nice man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lottie A Posted January 20, 2018 #19 Share Posted January 20, 2018 The "other" CD is a terrific entertainer and a very nice man. I agree. He is born entertainer and one of the nicest, kindest and most intelligent men I know. All three of Azamara's CD's are outstanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azamarajunkie Posted January 20, 2018 #20 Share Posted January 20, 2018 I agree. He is born entertainer and one of the nicest, kindest and most intelligent men I know. All three of Azamara's CD's are outstanding. +1 and when he is onboard with his wife Christine they do an incredible double act. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinaro44 Posted January 20, 2018 #21 Share Posted January 20, 2018 +1 and when he is onboard with his wife Christine they do an incredible double act. +1 and Christine's cabaret solo show in The Living Room is not to be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
excitedofharpenden Posted January 20, 2018 #22 Share Posted January 20, 2018 It’s also worth saying he is a very good manager/organiser who has usually done the install of the new cast. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidandjulia Posted January 21, 2018 #23 Share Posted January 21, 2018 We too must add our support and thanks to both Tony and Christine who have given us so much pleasure with their stage acts and for Tony's professional input as CD and we look forward to the possibility of being in their company again later in the year. We must add that Azamara are indeed fortunate to have three excellent CDs each bringing their own individual style. David and Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted January 21, 2018 #24 Share Posted January 21, 2018 I love the fact that Azamara have three very different cruise directors each with their own personalities, strengths and weaknesses. Anyone who understands what makes a good team will realise that a strong team comes from diversity. The one area where they are all the same, is they are all charming, talented individuals. Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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