We have only been on 2 Azamara cruise (both in Europe), 1 Celebrity cruise, and a number of Royal Caribbean cruises, so I am by no means an expert. We really enjoyed the Azamara cruises, the last of which was this past August. I was concerned before I went about the size of the ship after sailing on the mega ships. We found we really liked the size of the Azamara ship. The bathrooms were small (we stayed in a standard balcony cabin), but it wasn’t a problem for us. The crew were fabulous. We found the food to be very good. I don’t think the entertainment is as good, because there are much more limited offerings, but we found plenty of things to entertain us. We particularly liked it for the long time (and some overnights) that we had in the ports. Also, they generally had a convenient docking spot, and in some places, shuttles. We found the cost to be comparable on the cruises we took. I would love to sail on Azamara again!
We enjoyed the included alcohol, the wines were not great but ok, and a few types of beer were included, as well as other liquors (list of the included alcohol is on the website). We also did a package which included 4 nights at the specialty restaurants, and a chef’s table, which we really enjoyed!