Impressions of a first time Azamara cruiser

[Stelvio69]

We are a German couple in our late 40s (well, one of us turned 50 during the cruise) and have been on 8 previous cruises on AIDA (german), NCL, RCCL and Celebrity. This cruise on Azamara Journey, March 1st, 2019 was the first cruise after a break of seven years for us. We did this break because we did not like the bigger and bigger ships and the aspect of pollution - one can't deny that a cruise is a quite dirty way of travelling....

But undisputable a cruise vacation is one of the nicest vacations you can have and so we chose Azamara Journey for this birthday vacation. And we really had a great time! But some of our expectations were not reached.

 

Random thoughts:

 

Ship size:

Azamara ships are not really small. Small enough to get to destinations where the big ships can't go to - and that's the good thing about it. But nearly 700 passengers is still a lot and in some situations it didn't feel less crowded than on a 3000-passenger ship. For example pool deck on a sea day. If you arrived after 10 am you could not find any free sunbeds (of course not all of them occupied ones with people on them, but reserved with books, sunglasses, hats or other personal belongings. The crew did not remove this reservation stuff, I asked twice and then gave up) Or dinnertime at discoveries restaurant. We always showed up between 7.30 and 8.30 and never got a table at once, always were asked to have a seat at discoveries bar. But except of one evening there was no free chair at discoveries bar and we had to move to mosaic everytime.

 

Food quality:

Food in the main restaurant was not better than what we experienced at the mass market lines. Some things were quite good, like steaks, some other things disappointed: Shrimp in shrimp cocktail were watery and tasteless, dressing of Caesar's salad was not authentic, I tasted neither anchovis nor garlic and the Parmesan cheese was not sliced as it should have been but grated. The serving size of dishes, especially appetizers varied from two bites (spring roll) to full plates (ravioli) and you never knew before...

Breakfast in both discoveries and windows cafe was good and with very good service.

The brunch on the first day at sea in discoveries was good in variety and quality. The chocolate buffet one night at mosaic cafe looked good as well but it was so crowded I nearly couldn't grab anything. I think this is not the adequate location for it.

Tapas in Living Room is a nice add-on, we only were there twice and both times nearly were the only ones.

Aqualina was good and especially had a much nicer atmosphere with much lower noise and light level than discoveries. The food was good but in our opinion not worth the extra charge of 30$ pp. And nothing tasted like real Italian.

Both specialty restaurants were sold out very quick for the whole cruise and unfortunately I only made one reservation on embarkation day. We were on wait list for Prime C for any of the last 4 days but had no good luck. Other cruisers told us they had luck by just trying right at the restaurant later than 8.30. We did this at Prime C twice as well but they did not take us although there were at least five empty tables. In Aqualina we had better luck (and the maitre was much friendlier, too!) and so we got a table without reservation for a second dinner.

The Patio had a really nice salad bar and from burgers to sandwiches to lamb skewers to tuna wraps we liked everything we had there. We would have been there more often for dinner than just once, but there is a permanent annoying noise (I assume from the fume hood above the grill). For a quick lunch that noise didn't bother too much, but we didn't want to go back for dinner.

Room service was excellent, food was served hot and tasted good. The Caesar's salad from room service was much better than the one in discoveries, and with sliced parmesan!

 

Entertainment:

Although the singers and dancers and musicians were all really good and cruise director Eric seems to be a nice guy we didn't like the shows in Cabaret lounge. Too boring for our taste.

The ladies trio "Fancy Triplets" was technically not bad, too, but never created what I would call a good vibe. And I don't understand how the times of their performances were scheduled, for example in the living room from 5.30 to 6.30 pm and Tapas time was from 6 to 8. It would be nice to have some pre-dinner snacks with live music in the background!

Nearly every evening there was a music break from 10-20 minutes when they quit playing before the DJ started. Why?

The Azamazing evening was great. The Jamaican Reggae band "Third World" performed right at the pier in St.Maarten and they are really great. What a pity they only performed about 45 minutes.

We didn't like White Night. When we arrived at the pool deck a few minutes after 7pm there was of course no more free table; we don't mind sharing and I asked at a couple of tables where only two out of four chairs were occupied - these were all reserved for friends. I asked a waiter to find us some free chairs without any success. Finally other cruisers who mentioned that we were searching invited us to their table for 6. We didn't manage to get lobster as people in the line told us they waited for nearly 30 minutes now. The line for grilled meats was about 15 minutes. Beef and chicken was good and hot, vegetables were cold as ice. The line for desserts was very long, too - so we skipped it. The entertainment's highlight was a polonaise led by CD Eric - something we would do at a stag party or at Octoberfest style parties over here but did not expect on a higher class cruise ship. If we choose to book another Azamara cruise we definitely would not attend White Night

 

Staff:

Really very friendly and helpfull, especially our room attendents and most waiters. Officers very visible and friendly, too. Captain Johannes is a real entertainer, too!

 

Cabin:

I already commented in the cabins thread about our Aft balcony room 7121. We liked the room and the balcony but had soot and exhaust issues far more than expected

 

All Inclusive:

We appreciate that gratuities and most beverages are included. Our room attendent gave us "unlimited" bottles of water which was great, most complimentary wines were OK, the complimentary cocktails and longdrinks were adequate for us.

 

Flexibility:

We had to skip Punta Cana because of the expected swell and wind and the captain decided to go to Samana instead of Punta Cana. Big Plus, as most other ships that have to skip Punta Cana (and that seems to happen quite often) just make it an additional day at sea.

 

Again?

If price and itinerary fit we'll perhaps cruise again with Azamara. But I have to admit that we had higher expectations and Azamara did not really wow us.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Stelvio69

[BBMacLaird]

Thank you Stelvio for the cruise review. I do hope you'll someday cruise with us again, and give us another chance to wow you! If you haven't done so already, would you rate your cruise on Cruise Critic's review section for the Azamara Journey? Here is the link: https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=410

 

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review!

[crazyman3]

Thank you.

A thorough review!

 

We've booked our first Az cruise for November 2020. It's on the Journey.

 

Your comments about the lack of space in speciality restaurants is worrying... We haven't used a MDR for many years...

 

Also, your remarks about the entertainment do not fill us with confidence: we never go to the shows, preferring singers and other musicians in bars. What were they like on your cruise?

 

White Nights... mmm... sounds as if it was rather a damp squib. Anybody else with a comment about what to expect on a White Nights evening? 

[BBMacLaird]

Although I don't know what 'damp squib' means, it doesn't sound good 

I can assure you that most people LOVE the White Night party on deck. Of course, it is not mandatory to participate; there will be alternatives to the dining al fresco for anyone who chooses. 

[crazyman3]

Ah, Bonnie, a 'damp squib'... A squib was an old-fashioned firework... so a damp one is rather a non-event! A disappointment! 

I'm sure we'll give White Nights a go on our fab cruise next year.

[late2cruisin]

The key to enjoying White Nights is to get there early so you can find a good table, get in the buffet line early so you don't have to wait forever for your lobster tails/steak/lamb chops, etc.  It also helps if the weather is good and if you are docked in a scenic port! (We enjoyed one White Nights with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background)

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, late2cruisin said:

The key to enjoying White Nights is to get there early so you can find a good table, get in the buffet line early so you don't have to wait forever for your lobster tails/steak/lamb chops, etc.  It also helps if the weather is good and if you are docked in a scenic port! (We enjoyed one White Nights with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background)

Well i think this was exactly OP point. On a "luxury" ship like Azamara you should be able to come late and still easily find a table and not wait forever for your food. 

 

In our experience all three buffet events (on azamazing evening, officers bbq and white night) were very chaotic and definitely not "luxury". 

 

The food however was excellent on the white night event unlike regular buffet dinners or lunches.

[spiritoftravel]

Those who have been to white night parties, do you know if there is anything vegetarian to eat??? Would it be best to eat somewhere else and then go???? Thanks.

 

[Stelvio69]

15 hours ago, crazyman3 said:

Also, your remarks about the entertainment do not fill us with confidence: we never go to the shows, preferring singers and other musicians in bars. What were they like on your cruise?

 

 There was this Ladies-Trio "Fancy Triplets" and they performed regularly in the Living Room (before and after dinner) and poolside at seadays or sailaway. They did what I would call semi-playback or play-a-long music of well known pop music.You always heard a full band of drums and bass and rhythm section but there were just one lady playing keyboards and one with a saxophone and the third with a guitar and all alternating singing. They were really not bad, but they were not electrifying at all.

We didn't see anybody dancing while they performed, but after they quit (at 10/10.30) and after a break (a lot of folks left - why don't they do a smooth flow without stopping music?) when the DJ took over on most evenings the dancefloor was - well, not really packed but well used.

 

And there was a piano player in spirits bar, but obviously his performances didn't fit to our schedule; always when we came through spirits bar in the evening he just had a break. I can't say anything about his performances.

[Stelvio69]

11 hours ago, late2cruisin said:

The key to enjoying White Nights is to get there early so you can find a good table, get in the buffet line early so you don't have to wait forever for your lobster tails/steak/lamb chops, etc.  It also helps if the weather is good and if you are docked in a scenic port! (We enjoyed one White Nights with the Rock of Gibraltar in the background)

Well, when you're until late in port, isn't it a pity that you have to quit your land excursion so early just to be sure to get a table at White night? On a cruise line that describes itself as "destination immersive"? For most people it seems to have priority to be early at White Night, our priority was to make most out of the destination we visited that day. 

[uktog]

I agree. I noticed on our last cruise on Pursuit chair hogging started around 5 as soon as chairs were set down. 

When the weather is good and you’re in port it’s a pleasant event if you are happy with a table on Deck 10. But I agree otherwise it’s an undignified bun fight for seats. 

Its much much less upscale at crew parade since they started encouraging used napkin waving with associated flying food granules. Keep highlighting this to no avail. Why don’t we just all stand and applaud the crew and all bar service stop for the few minutes so we all turn and concentrate on the crew. 

[excitedofharpenden]

8 hours ago, ak1004 said:

Well i think this was exactly OP point. On a "luxury" ship like Azamara you should be able to come late and still easily find a table and not wait forever for your food. 

 

In our experience all three buffet events (on azamazing evening, officers bbq and white night) were very chaotic and definitely not "luxury". 

 

The food however was excellent on the white night event unlike regular buffet dinners or lunches.

Just to comment.  I know it’s too late for you now, but to put it out there as an idea.  After many White Night buffets of varying food quality and “chaos” I now go to the Main Dining Room or one of the Specialties to eat and then join the dance party afterwards.  I know it misses out on some of the open air atmosphere (especially when you are in a picturesque port), but it’s more civilised and they usually have a very nice menu in the MDR.  Just an idea I picked up from friends who now do the same.

 

Phil

[uktog]

1 minute ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Just to comment.  I know it’s too late for you now, but to put it out there as an idea.  After many White Night buffets of varying food quality and “chaos” I now go to the Main Dining Room or one of the Specialties to eat and then join the dance party afterwards.  I know it misses out on some of the open air atmosphere (especially when you are in a picturesque port), but it’s more civilised and they usually have a very nice menu in the MDR.  Just an idea I picked up from friends who now do the same.

 

Phil

We do that. We don’t have dessert downstairs so we can still enjoy crepe Suzette. The menu downstairs usually includes surf and turf that night 

[Bloodaxe]

43 minutes ago, uktog said:

We do that. We don’t have dessert downstairs so we can still enjoy crepe Suzette. The menu downstairs usually includes surf and turf that night 

 

So do we, not a fan of buffets anyway.

[combine]

Plus one for eating in Discoveries on White Night!  Have never eaten at the outdoor buffet in 9 cruises! We prefer the dining room ( yes delicious surf and turf) and then go upstairs for the music and dancing. We don’t  feel obligated to eat at the buffet at all .

[ak1004]

Good idea thank you. Is the food better in the MDR on the white night?

[Lottie A]

Well I love the buffet on White Night. The food is very good and there is a great choice. When Chef Monica is cooking the food is not just good but great.

The lobster cooked fresh there is usually much better than the MDR anyway. Just my opinion.

You can eat in the MDR any night but White Night only happens once during a cruise and it's a very special night. That's why you have to get there early to get a seat! Everyone wants to go. You might gather that I love White Night. 

[excitedofharpenden]

6 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

Good idea thank you. Is the food better in the MDR on the white night?

They have a nice menu on White Night, probably in anticipation of there not being so many diners there.

 

Phil

Edited March 16, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[ak1004]

4 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Well I love the buffet on White Night. The food is very good and there is a great choice. When Chef Monica is cooking the food is not just good but great.

The lobster cooked fresh there is usually much better than the MDR anyway. Just my opinion.

You can eat in the MDR any night but White Night only happens once during a cruise and it's a very special night. That's why you have to get there early to get a seat! Everyone wants to go. You might gather that I love White Night. 

I agree regarding the food. But some people go for long excursions on port and cannot make it on time. To find a chair after 7pm was a real struggle. 

[excitedofharpenden]

3 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Well I love the buffet on White Night. The food is very good and there is a great choice. When Chef Monica is cooking the food is not just good but great.

The lobster cooked fresh there is usually much better than the MDR anyway. Just my opinion.

You can eat in the MDR any night but White Night only happens once during a cruise and it's a very special night. That's why you have to get there early to get a seat! Everyone wants to go. You might gather that I love White Night. 

Based on my last three White Night buffets this was not the case which is why I choose elsewhere now.  The food really wasn’t that great and neither was the variety which was the main reason for me to go.   If chose any hot dishes, by the time I got back to my seat more often than not it was already cool.  I still like to go up on deck later, but I’m over the buffet now.

 

Phil

[uktog]

Now this may have been related to where we were and the ship but on the South America cruises we noted there was nothing really special being offered to eat. Yes barbecue meat on one cruise no lobster and less mains. Stir fry and pasta stations were available and tempura prawns with very long lines. Food easy warm so we moved downstairs 

In Europe and the Far East especially when Iwan is buying I’ve found more variety and specials. I love it when there is local cheeses for post dessert. 

[Lottie A]

6 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Based on my last three White Night buffets this was not the case which is why I choose elsewhere now.  The food really wasn’t that great and neither was the variety which was the main reason for me to go.   If chose any hot dishes, by the time I got back to my seat more often than not it was already cool.  I still like to go up on deck later, but I’m over the buffet now.

 

Phil

Having enjoyed a few White Nights in your company and our friends Phil I'm surprised.... but whatever floats your boat! I hope you enjoy your next one! 😄

[excitedofharpenden]

20 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

Having enjoyed a few White Nights in your company and our friends Phil I'm surprised.... but whatever floats your boat! I hope you enjoy your next one! 😄

Oh, don’t get me wrong.  I’ve had many nice evenings at WN, but the last few haven’t been so good.  Just another idea for people reading here.

 

Phil

[hiccups]

We've not been impressed with the food on our two White Nights, either.  Add in the fight for tables--seriously, it was like lunchtime in high school all over again, with the popular kids saving all the seats for their friends--and we don't plan on bothering with it again.  We gave it a second try in case our first experience was an anomaly, but it wasn't any better.