First Impressions of a First Time Azamara Cruiser

Like everyone else I looked forward to reading your daily reports and I'm sad there are no more.

You will just have to book another Azamara cruise so we can enjoy your posts again! :D

Steve, thanks for such a detailed page-turning account of your first Azamara cruise!

I'm another of those 5 a.m coffee seekers when on a cruise as I like to get up early to see the ship approaching port and take photos when I have the public rooms to myself. Is the coffee Lavazza brand as found on Celebrity?

I'll get my own first impressions in 520 days (but who's counting?) and assume the line won't have gone downhill in the meantime or Bonne will get an earful.:D

Norris the anticipator.

I'll get my own first impressions in 520 days (but who's counting?) and assume the line won't have gone downhill in the meantime or Bonne will get an earful

Sorry Bonnie- I left the i out of your name above. Here it is....i

Norris the tardy editor

Hi Steve- I've really enjoyed following along. Now you know why we love Azamara so much. We especially like doing the TAs where we spend a lot of time on the ship enjoying the great service.

You mentioned that V is not at the same level as you in LCV and that you are Elite on X. I'm pretty sure she should be at the same level as you. People who share an address are recognized at the level of the highest member. Give Captain's Club a call.

Hope we cruise together again sometime.

Hi Steve- I've really enjoyed following along. Now you know why we love Azamara so much. We especially like doing the TAs where we spend a lot of time on the ship enjoying the great service.

 

 

 

You mentioned that V is not at the same level as you in LCV and that you are Elite on X. I'm pretty sure she should be at the same level as you. People who share an address are recognized at the level of the highest member. Give Captain's Club a call.

 

Hope we cruise together again sometime.

Kathie, thankx hope to sail with ya too. I sailed Celebrity solo in concierge to hit elite last December so our January cruise and this one she benefited from my invitations. But now it moot since she is now discover and elite after his cruise.

Sitting on the plane to JFK ready to push back soon

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Thanks for the review - can't believe it's over for you already. Our friends from Miami on the cruise certainly seemed to have fun - we had daily updates from them as well!!, and we are excited to be joining the Journey on the 23rd in Stockholm. I hope you left some nice weather there for us! Safe trip home....

Teknodude, bring lots of money to Sweden. Hamburgers are over $20. Lol

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Flying home yesterday gave me A LOT of time to reflect on the cruise further. So here are some of my final thoughts.

Every cruise line offers included food. Some better than others. Azamara is right up there with some of the best despite a few infrequent misses.

Every cruise includes ports but with overnights in three ports on this 12 night cruise, there's more time to enjoy a more in-depth experience on AZ. Plus we either docked right downtown or AZ supplied free shuttle transportation.

Every cruise includes good crew members. AZ's are some of the best I've experienced at sea. The service and attitude are tops in my opinion.

However what really sets AZ further apart are the AzAmazing evenings and White Nights. They're unmatched in planning and execution. They are the most enjoyment I've ever experienced on a cruise.

Thus I give AZ an A++ for my first cruise with them. I know we'll be sailing Azamara again.

Thank you all for following. Happy sailing.

A warm welcome to AZ.

Copenhagen. One block walk from the ship.

A painting by the resident artist of The Little Mermaid one minute from the pier the other direction.

CD Tony doing a Tom Jones number where panties were thrown at him and he tried them on.

Our safety drill is convenient with no life vests needed. Unlike Silver Seas as we sailed out of Copenhagen.

Welcomed into Gdansk with a marching band. TY Ryczard.

Lech Walsea during the specially arranged presentation in the Caberet that Ryszard worked on for two years.

AZ knows how to really make FRESHLY squeezed OJ. :D

A small seafood appetizer on AZ. Celebrity could learn a lesson about food. Especially seafood!

A restaurant sign walking in the old town in Gdansk. Doesn't this sound like some people who have posted on various CC boards and must have visited them too?

Crystal subway columns in St. Petersburg.

A white night Conga Line around the upper deck.

Many loved to dance at White Night.

CD Tony makes a great Indian doing Y-M-C-A. Azamara is like a village isn't it?

I saw the conservatory/greenhouse from the Helsinki HOHO bus and instantly knew we had to get off and visit.

Sunrise from our veranda sailing into Stockholm.

The 17th century Viking ship which sank immediately after initial launch now in the Vasa Museum, Stockholm.

Changing of the guard Stockholm

Great photos, thanks for sharing them.

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Thanks for the pix, Chuck! May I ask you where you docked in Copenhagen? We end there on Journey next year, and I'm thinking about hotels. Of course, I know that these things vary, but trying to get an idea.

Thanks for the pix, Chuck! May I ask you where you docked in Copenhagen? We end there on Journey next year, and I'm thinking about hotels. Of course, I know that these things vary, but trying to get an idea.

We were docked between the Gefjun four oxen statue and the Little Mermaid statue. I believe our cabin on the starboard side had a view of the park across from Langelinie Pier.

We were docked between the Gefjun four oxen statue and the Little Mermaid statue. I believe our cabin on the starboard side had a view of the park across from Langelinie Pier.

Lucky you. On July7, 2016 Azamara docked at the new cruise ship port about a $20 cab ride from the city

Well done, Chucktown Steve. A thorough review, and as noted earlier, one that whets the appetite of a future cruiser.

Thank you Steve. I've really enjoyed the posts and now photos. I'll look forward to your next AZ trip.

Thank you for your entertaining and informative review and the great photos, Steve! By the way, we also used SPB tours on our Baltic cruise last summer. Our guide was excellent, and we packed a lot into our two days in St. Petersburg.

-Mary

Your review was so interesting - particularly seeing Azamara through the eyes of a newbie.

Great pix too. Seeing that chocolate cake that is in Windows on embark day, I'm wondering how I didn't succomb on my recent Quest cruise.

Thank you.

I have many more pictures I didn't post. I thought less than two dozen was enough without being overbearing. However if someone wants to see a particular picture of a location or port of call that I may have taken, I'd be happy to post it. We did a lot in St. Petersburg. Lost of GOLD.

Oh and TYVM uktog for the photos of us sailing out of Leith.

I too am sad your live review has come to an end.

Maybe you'd do us (AZ) the favor of posting a review on CC's review page for the Azamara Journey, along with a few photos? (Though maybe NOT the picture of Tony in panties! Ha!)

https://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=410

We arrived the day before our Edinburgh, Scotland 12 night sailing. We took the 200 bus to Ocean Terminal where our hotel was. We checked in early and walked across the street to tour the H.M. Britannia. It was a nice ship, but not as nice as the Journey as we discovered later. :D

Tonight it was announced that we’ll have a special visitor onboard once we dock at Gdansk. We were originally supposed to have the Azamazing evening that night but it was changed a couple of months ago to the first St. Petersburg night…probably to host the former Polish President, Lech Walesa. He’ll be doing a PowerPoint presentation on his crucial role in the formation of Solidarity and its effect on the former USSR. It will be held in the Cabaret Lounge. They’ve had to rent chairs to accommodate everyone on board to attend. Since Richard is from Gdansk, he arranged the special event. Guests are being requested to submit questions in advance for Mr. Walesa and they’ll randomly select 12 to be asked.

Thanks for the information. It sounds great. Can't wait to go on Azamara next year!

Thanks for the review and thanks again for arranging the now infamous "Chucktown Steve" 3-day SPB Tour. I would definitely buy one of those "I survived 3 days in St. Petersburg" t-shirts! When we went to head home in the Stockholm airport I was so used to following an orange SPB sign around that I joked I couldn't navigate the airport without our guide Tatiana! I'm really glad I did it once and can now understand why they had a revolution, but have no desire to do it again. If we ever go on another Baltic cruise, I think I will do the Moscow trip. Our friends said the long day was totally worth it.

Thank you, Steve. We have sailed just once on AZ and totally agree with your observations. Our AZAmazing night in Crete was the best experience I have had on over 37 cruises. The locals put on a traditional Greek wedding, complete with villagers, horse drawn carriages, local pastry, wine and line dancing that the captain started. We were treated just like a guest at a Greek village wedding. This ended with fireworks over the harbor. Our White Night party was a hoot. In fact, I just ordered new white capri pants for our March cruise to Cuba so I am ready to party. We have sailed on Princess, RCCL, Celebrity, Windstar, Holland America and Regent. Azamara is truly one of the best.

SPB got us in a lot of places with virtually very little waiting. The one exception was at PeterHof.

Did you actually look round the inside of Peterhof?

When we went to St Petersburg with SPB 2 years ago, we only looked around the outside. Our guide SPB guide ( Luba, who taught the other guides in the winter) said that the church there had been recently renovated and even she hadn't been shown around.

So next year, I would like to see the inside of the palace.