Just got off the Pursuit in Stockholm-my first Azamara cruise and sad to say my last.Will give some of my general observations.I do agree that their crew and their service is generally outstanding but there were so many other shortcomings it is hard to imagine that everything is because of Covid.Yes, things were handled very poorly at the port in Lisbon-some issues were clearly Azamara and others were the Port Personnel.(i.e. only one person for quite some time doing security checks)Anyhow not a good impression to begin with but not a big deal either-took us 2.5 hours and we showed up at our scheduled time with all paperwork-did not need Covid Test.
The biggest disappointment was the excursions and lack of shuttles particularly in Amsterdam and Copenhagen.When we asked about a shuttle in Amsterdam the young lady responded "It is very walkable."
Yes, it was-we walked 7 miles that day and were exhausted-we were tired before we even tried to find the
area of Amsterdam that we wanted to be in.We do not have mobility issues but are in our 70's and I have had both knees replaced which are beginning to give me issues so it was not easy.God help people with mobility issues.In Copenhagen we were told that getting a taxi was very difficult so we felt forced to stay at port once excursion left us there-thus,we wasted 3 precious hours that could have been sent in one of my favorite ports because we were concerned about getting transportation back to the ship and it was not walkable.The lack of any kind of port information etc. was very disconcerting -I am used to the Port talks on Windstar that are so helpful-Azamara didn't seem to care if you had information or not.We did several of their excursions to use OBC-one was terrible, the others OK.Our best 2 days were with a private guide that we hired.
The food.....average to some above average.Very difficult to get any vegetables-found it wierd nthey didn't offer any vegetable sides.Some meals came with some veggies but others did not-only way to get anything green was to order a salad.I loved all of the dining choices but after a meal in Prime C with Chateaubriand we didn't think it was worth going back to either specialty restaurant .Some meals were very good but just not a highlight like I am used to on a cruise.We had what looked like a prime rib in MDR that was so tough we couldn't cut it.The desserts were really unimpressive and we heard others saying the same as was the bread-the buffet breakfast in Windows was excellent.
Loved the ship but I love all of the R ships which is why I sail Oceania and Windstar-must confess that I have not sailed them since Covid so difficult to compare now but my next cruise will be back with them.
Very disappointed in the mask wearing-people piled in to the elevators with no thought of distancing-
We usually had our masks on but often just stepped off and walked when we felt uncomfortable.We heard more and more coughing and sure enough the last night my husband started getting a scratchy throat and we are holed up in Stockholm-I also just started feeling unwell so who knows......I know that Azamara wants the passengers to enjoy the cruise and I appreciate that but we should be informed of Covid on board-we wore our masks more than most but maybe that would encourage people to be more careful.
All in all, I enjoyed most of the cruise but it was my husband's first and he was unimpressed-guess I will have to go back and cruise with lady friends...but not on Azamara.
