Seriously considering Azamara for first time

[Huntermedal]

Hello, we’ve cruised often primarily with Royal Caribbean and most recently with Celebrity. Our last cruise was with Celebrity in June, Western Med., it was wonderful. Food was mediocre and I understand that’s a subjective view.

Looking at Azamara Onward, October 2024 as a surprise 70th birthday present to my wife. Recent reviews have not been to complimentary, excluding the booking issues, which I’ll leave to my TA, anything I should be concerned about? I have read a fair number of posts on the Azamara boards.
thanks in advance 

Kevin

[maggie777]

1 minute ago, Huntermedal said:

Hello, we’ve cruised often primarily with Royal Caribbean and most recently with Celebrity. Our last cruise was with Celebrity in June, Western Med., it was wonderful. Food was mediocre and I understand that’s a subjective view.

Looking at Azamara Onward, October 2024 as a surprise 70th birthday present to my wife. Recent reviews have not been to complimentary, excluding the booking issues, which I’ll leave to my TA, anything I should be concerned about? I have read a fair number of posts on the Azamara boards.
thanks in advance 

Kevin

We sailed the Onward many times when it was the Pacific Princess and most recently sailed on it as Onward in Feb 2023. We enjoyed the changes and recommend it as a very different experience from the larger ships. We have always booked cabins on deck 7. We will sail on Quest this Oct .

[Dr H]

Honestly, there is no real comparison between Celebrity and Azamara. If your wife doesn't want to join you in October, I'll be happy to volunteer. Seriously, we've been on 2 Celebrity cruises in recent years, I've never heard a bad word about Celebrity from Azamara guests, and there just is no comparison between the two. Azamara is light years ahead of Celebrity.

[uktog]

13 minutes ago, Dr H said:

Honestly, there is no real comparison between Celebrity and Azamara. If your wife doesn't want to join you in October, I'll be happy to volunteer. Seriously, we've been on 2 Celebrity cruises in recent years, I've never heard a bad word about Celebrity from Azamara guests, and there just is no comparison between the two. Azamara is light years ahead of Celebrity.

I think you are right on some cruises but not on others. I know some very loyal Azamara cruisers who have gone back to Celebrity. They are not young cruisers and they have high standards re food. Aqua class seems to tick all the boxes. 
If it wasn’t for the background music we would be looking more at Celebrity for sure given the price points are so similar 

[Dr H]

My complaint with Celebrity is the physical size of the ships. DW has had some serious back issues for the past year and a half, and walking has been very difficult, to put it mildly. Going from room to MDR or Buffet was a MAJOR issue. You don't have that on Azamara. The mobs and noise on Celebrity have not been our cup of tea. There was just no escape from the decibel level on D3 up the elevator shaft to the Library area on D7 (or was it D9?)  Huge ship, huge crowds, more than our fair share of screaming, running, splashing kids, not to mention young "adults". Food was very good on Celebrity, surprisingly so at times. Alas it arrived cold more often than not, and I heard that complaint from several Celebrity addicted passengers too. Never happened to me on Azamara. Service on Celebrity, two cruises, and truly excellent both times. We got off our most recent Sydney to Auckland cruise and both of us came to the conclusion that if the itinerary was really to our liking AND the pricing was exceptional, we wouldn't hesitate to book. Otherwise, we would rather cruise less, and pay more to travel with Azamara. My 2 cents, and highly subjective of course. Oh, regarding price points, no question that Celebrity is cheaper, BUT once you add in the inflated costs of shore excursions, the nickel and diming over coffee, tea, ice cream, a glass of wine, and evening martini, or their upgraded packages, price difference becomes minimal between the two. Celebrity rooms are also larger than Azamara, especially the inside rooms. As I said, I'll travel with Celebrity again, but I will go out of my way to travel with Azamara.

[read2learn]

I have sailed Celebrity and RC for years. I took 3 Celebrity this year and each time is a bigger disappointment. Gone is the welcome glass of Champagne that was nice just for the start of the cruise excitement,shows are mediocre and food is nothing special,room service is $9.95 and gratuities keep going up. . The loyalty gatherings are a few officers and a drink. The level of service and quality of food does seem to vary from ship to ship and Captain to Captain. Royal Caribbean has once a day room cleaning,no chocolates or tote bags,etc. Menu is a country a day and limits people with gastric issues. I sail the smaller ships so I know the entertainment is more limited. That said,Azamara is in a category of its own. My first cruise left me in awe with the food,brunches,White Night,etc . I never showed my card as drinks anywhere as most drinks were included. The whole atmosphere was so relaxing . That was in Europe with about 170 onboard so I am interested to see haw my nwxt one in Dec from the US will compare. 

I agree with Dr H that when you add in the extras on Celebrity it is the same if not more than Azamara My onboard credit this cruise will pay for any excursions so it is basically all inclusive with the exceptions of wi-fi .Quality is definitely more important to me now than quantity. 

[Toronto Guy]

I have sailed 3 Celebrity and 3 Azamara post-pandemic.  All 3 Celebrity had better food and service than Azamara.  I like both ----but to say Azamara is lightyears ahead of Celebrity is a total head scratcher to me.

[ECCruise]

Haven't sailed Celebrity for a few years after 30+ and Elite+ but have 7 Azamara and 4 Celebrity (2 B2B) going forward.

 

If the current tone on the Celebrity board is even a shade of reality as to the changes that have occurred there in the last couple months, Azamara being lightyears ahead of Celebrity (which our many cruises on both would strongly confirm) would be the understatement of the year.  But the caveat here is that we really do not prefer large ships, would never even consider E-class and don't sail the Caribbean, where Celebrity is putting more and more emphasis.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

@ECCruise, like you I've done quite a lot of Celebrity before discovering Azamara. They are such different products really. Considering the two Azamara ships when they first sailed for them were going to be known as Celebrity Quest and Celebrity Journey. Thank goodness that never happened. Thank you Larry Pimentel for that idea. 

 

I became somewhat tired of the larger ships and as far as atmosphere and service for me Azamara are indeed streets ahead of Celebrity. As time went on and cruising both lines I just found the Azamara product more honest and the service more consistent.  Coupled with the more appealing itineraries and a more active and we'll travelled fellow guest and for me I ended up doing fewer and fewer Celebrity and more and more Azamara. 

 

Azamara aren't for everyone, but if you fancy trying a smaller ship with less venues, but a bigger heart then give them a go. 

 

Phil 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2023 by excitedofharpenden

[read2learn]

1 hour ago, Toronto Guy said:

I have sailed 3 Celebrity and 3 Azamara post-pandemic.  All 3 Celebrity had better food and service than Azamara.  I like both ----but to say Azamara is lightyears ahead of Celebrity is a total head scratcher to me.

I didn't say lightyears ahead, just in a different category. Food opinion can depend on main dining or use of specialty restaurants,category of cabin,etc. The OP was considering Azamara for the first time so I just gave my recent experience on both. 

[mj_holiday]

We sail Regent most of the time, but have been on 2 Azamara cruises (one pre Covid and one post Covid) And will sail with them again when the itinerary is  right, that being docking in towns/areas where you can get off the ship and find a taxi for a nice site seeing trip around the area or walk to the main city, since you are docked so close.

Yes, Azamara is not Regent, but there are also itineraries that are quite different.  The food on Azamara was very good, even in Windows,  restaurant and the service was very good.  There are a few things I do not care about, but that is overlooked for the right itinerary.

[Dr H]

MJ, without sounding facetious, just what is it about Azamara you don't care about? We've never sailed with Regent, and would like to know, I guess for a more balanced opinion of the line. Thanx.  David

[Mackdogmolly]

@Huntermedal, what itinerary are you considering?

[aliaschief]

After cruising for years and over 500 days exclusively on Hal we took a Azamara cruise. We enjoyed our first Azamara cruise so much we booked the World Cruise. Our TA presented us with a great deal on a Seabourn cruise this October so we’ll give that a try. 
After four Azamara cruises and the big one coming up we have found our happy place but will remain open to new experiences on different lines.

To us smaller ships are better and life at sea the best.

So OP give Azamara a try and enjoy.

[Dudeljo]

Hi, we sailed Royal  Caribbean 7 times, Celebrity 7 times and HAL once. Last year we took our first Azamara Cruise. A different experience because of the small ship. Of course we were prepared and were positively surprised by the entertainment. Much more than we expected. 

We liked the food, especially at Windows, by far the best buffet restaurant on cruise ships (in our opinion). The terrace outside is fabulous. 

We liked the fact that everything is included. Being Elite on Celebrity and sleeping in a suite (the cheapest one) we've got free Wifi, free specialty dining, free drinks of course and free gratuities. Yes, adding these all to the costs of Celebrity and Royal, it's a lot of money. 

The White Night Party was fantastic, one of the best evenings we ever spend on a cruise ship. 

There were just a few children onboard but since we always cruise when it's school time, we never have seen many kids, not on Royal, Celebrity and HAL. 

We must say there were also some things about Azamara we didn't like or better: liked less. 

Since we didn't need a card to get drinks, the staff didn't know our names. We're used to for instance Royal where barkeepers know our names the second day we're onboard and know what we like to drink. Here on Azamara after a week they still didn't know our favorite drinks (every day the same, we're very dull people). We were surprised to be honest. We felt a bit anonymous. 

One morning we decided to order breakfast in the room. We filled out the special form, gave it to our butler and when he showed up nearly everything he brought us was not ordered by us. We called him because we were under the impression he mixed us up with another couple but that was not the case. We needed to go away real soon so we ate what he got us. Well, half of it. 

And the staff at Patio had no clue about serving guests. One of us ordered a starter and an entree and got both at the same time when the other one already finished the entree. And it was not what we ordered. And they couldn't find any Coke Zero onboard (which is not a very difficult drink, I think). So, for us no Patio. Still enough other restaurants where we can eat. 

We liked Azamara and booked a cruise on Onward in October this year. But we also booked a cruise on Oasis of the Seas next spring because we still love the large ships too. 

So, for us it was certainly a good move to try Azamara but I wouldn't say it's much much much better than Celebrity or Royal. It's different and you must take the cruise you prefer: a large or a small ship. 

I hope you understand what I'm writing because English is not a language I use much, except on cruise ships. 

 

[hamrag]

On 8/20/2023 at 3:48 PM, Huntermedal said:

....Recent reviews have not been to complimentary, excluding the booking issues, which I’ll leave to my TA, anything I should be concerned about?....

The thing which has surprised us most, on three 7 night sailings is the MDR food is not particularly great! Not even close to e.g. Oceania dining, which is much better. With Az we mitigate this problem by booking the 3 night specialty package. White night is very good, so we enjoy that and alternate the other 6 nights between MDR and the specialties. That works very well for us, YMMV.

 

I have read what we consider unfair criticism re entertainment. It's very average, sometimes poor, but no worse than we'd expect on a smallish ship with restricted show space.

 

We have another one booked so, within the cruiseline mix we use, Az definitely has a place.

[Huntermedal]

5 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

@Huntermedal, what itinerary are you considering?

Islands of the Med sounds very interesting.

[mj_holiday]

7 hours ago, Dr H said:

MJ, without sounding facetious, just what is it about Azamara you don't care about? We've never sailed with Regent, and would like to know, I guess for a more balanced opinion of the line. Thanx.  David

After we got off Onward I did do a review with some comparison with Regent and here in a nutshell are the things I didn't care far on Azamara

The fact that there were three levels of drink packages, in the included package of course there is one beer I wanted that was in the next level and DH also found that a couple different alcohols were not on the first included level. If you pay for these instead of purchase the drink package, the ticket has a space for tipping even though tips are included in the price.  I would just rather not think about is this included or that included.

The MDR had nice sized tables for two but they were very close to your neighbors.

I just couldn't tell what/how much wi-fi was included.

Since excursions are not included with Azamara, we will be doing cruises that make it very convenient to walk off and look for a taxi etc.

We really missed the in suite bar set up (beer, mixers, etc)  Yes we could have called for room service, but then we are waiting for that instead of getting ready etc.  And there is a lot of disagreement on this forum as to what you can order room service.

There were some talks ( self healing, IPhone phototaking and about excursions) but also felt they were comeons to something that would come at a cost. The photo guy had brochures talking about his other lessons for a price and the self-healing person always reminded us that she had open appointments. I found no enrichment lectures.

These are not show stoppers, we found ways to work around/with them when the itinerary is right for us.

Stuff would be listed in the daily newsletter and annotated that there is a price, but not give the price.

 

[mj_holiday]

On more thing - I sent DH to get us drink packages after a couple of days and he didn't know, I hadn't seen the advertisement, that we would get a small discount because we were repeat cruisers with Azamara.  No one asked him if this applied.  

[aliaschief]

OP. Check out the plethora of Azamara video streams on You Tube. They can give you a pretty good indoctrination if Azamara is right for you.

[Dr H]

Fair enough, MJ. I would point out that Aza allows you to bring your own alcohol on board for consumption in your room. Excursions not included, again truly fair enough, but I'm sure the 6* lines pad their prices to cover all the extras. I hate being nickeled and dimed to death, but the bar gratuities are included, even if the bar tab asks for one. I hate tipping, we chose our first cruise ever in 1984 with Holland America because of their tipping policy. (Haven't been back with them since 1984, but that's another story.)To me, your most valid point is the MDR. The two of us usually dine together. Meeting people makes for a great table for 4, but beyond that, who can hear what Ms X is saying at the other end? This is a very real problem as far as I'm concerned with the Chef's Tables. 8 couples are fascinating, but who can hear them? So yes, you are right on that point. No enrichment lectures? You had to be on a transatlantic or a fluke. I always miss the ones I want to go to, and invariably, they are recorded and can be watched in your cabin. As for the daily news letter, Die Furher in unser family makes certain that the social director has Mah Jong sets on board, and that quilters and sewers are proved with space to do their thing. Me? I head over to the Thallasso deck. I truly hope you cruise with them again. They are fabulous people and the warmth they offer is truly genuine. And as I like to say, no, I'm not a paid cheerleader for them, but if they offer tips or gratuities, of course I'll take them! The only reason I don't work for them or seek work with them is because I won't leave my family for extended periods of time. Best wishes, hope to meet you sometime in the cruising future. David

[hubofhockey]

On 8/20/2023 at 11:16 AM, uktog said:

I think you are right on some cruises but not on others. I know some very loyal Azamara cruisers who have gone back to Celebrity. They are not young cruisers and they have high standards re food. Aqua class seems to tick all the boxes. 
If it wasn’t for the background music we would be looking more at Celebrity for sure given the price points are so similar 

 

We'll cruise either Azamara or Celebrity and book Aqua on Celebrity (M class).  Service in Blu is outstanding and more of a restaurant experience.  

 

My issue with Celebrity is their move to make nonrefundable deposits totally nonrefundable.  The workaround is booking with FCCs because losing those isn't much different than the Azamara $75 per person penalty.  Oceania just put in much tougher penalties.  To me, the risk now with Azamara, relates to Sycamore.  They need to get their software straightened out many will no longer take them seriously.  No upgrade bids, OBC missing, some ports missing on itineraries.  How long will this go on for?

 

 

 

[takemewithyou]

1 hour ago, hubofhockey said:

 

We'll cruise either Azamara or Celebrity and book Aqua on Celebrity (M class).  Service in Blu is outstanding and more of a restaurant experience.  

 

My issue with Celebrity is their move to make nonrefundable deposits totally nonrefundable.  The workaround is booking with FCCs because losing those isn't much different than the Azamara $75 per person penalty.  Oceania just put in much tougher penalties.  To me, the risk now with Azamara, relates to Sycamore.  They need to get their software straightened out many will no longer take them seriously.  No upgrade bids, OBC missing, some ports missing on itineraries.  How long will this go on for?

 

 

 

How long will this go on for?  I think you raise some good questions!

 

We have no idea!  

As an Azamara cruiser since 2009, I have to say I am extremely disappointed with the lack of communication we are receiving from the President and the rest of the Azamara team regarding this question.

Edited August 22, 2023 by takemewithyou

[excitedofharpenden]

16 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

How long will this go on for?  I think you raise some good questions!

 

We have no idea!  

As an Azamara cruiser since 2009, I have to say I am extremely disappointed with the lack of communication we are receiving from the President and the rest of the Azamara team regarding this question.

Likewise. It's become a bit of a shambles to be honest and I have little confidence in who I speak to in the UK. I decided that my July Azamara cruise would be the last I booked on my own. Next is through a travel agent and I'll  let them deal with any questions. Last cruise I was holed up in my cabin for three days and the HD onboard issued me with a certificate with follow up to be from Azamara Customer Services for an FCC. Unsurprisingly I've not heard a thing and have chased them with the auto reply we'll come back to you 7-10 working days. 

 

It's such a shame. Azamara used to be a wonderful company to deal with and now they are awful.  However, on the ships they are as good as ever. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

Don’t hold your breath Phil. I’m still waiting for a response post auto emails from June and July about two existing bookings I was entitled to lift and shift. In the end I gave up and cancelled