Thoughts from an Azamara novice.

[tidespring]

My wife is busy packing the suitcases for our leaving Pursuit tomorrow in Barcelona. I am sitting on the balcony of our deck 7 cabin. We are in the penultimate port of a 10 night cruise , Islands of the Med which began on 17th of July. We have cruised many times before, with P&O, Celebrity and Marella. This was our first Azamara cruise.

 

We flew from Manchester Uk on the day of the cruise with no delays, and had a private transfer to Civitavecchia, arriving at the terminal around 12 pm Lunchtime. from stepping out of the limousine to having lunch in the buffet took no longer than 15 minutes. The process was painless. Cabins were ready at 2pm and we found ours easily this being such a compact and easy to navigate ship.We were very happy with the cabin, and despite the horror stories I had read on here about the shower, we had no problems using it. The curtain will not cling to you and the whole of the bathroom is one big wet room. You will not flood the cabin. We were introduced to Andre our cabin steward and his assistant. We declined the offer of fruit or ice daily but asked for the cans of coke and sprite etc in the fridge to be changed to Lite and this was done.

 

I will not talk about the ports of call as we have done most of them before, and we did not do any Azamara trips, just doing our own things each port.I had though forgotten how hot the Med gets in July and would choose to go earlier in the summer next time.

 

We dined each evening in the Discoveries main restaurant, and always enjoyed the food, and the service was always very good. Breakfast was each day in the windows cafe, with a large choice and always hot and well presented. The toast ladies had the job off to a fine art. Never a queue to get your bread done. We alternated for lunches between the Patio or the buffet. I can recommend the Patio , as the service was always good with friendly staff. The greek Lamb burger was especially good. Overall I would place the food as good as Celebrity and the service as good as Blu on Celebrity.

 

We enjoyed the stress free environment on board, the pool deck and public areas free from loud music. We also enjoyed being able to turn up to any entertainment a few minutes prior to its starting , and being able to be seated. The ship never seemed crowded in any room or venue. We found all the passengers to be pleasant people from many different countries and backgrounds.

 

I am being chased at the moment to assist with the packing but will finish by saying , we really enjoyed the ship and cruise and will consider booking again. We disembark in the morning and are staying in Barcelona for two days but I am happy to answer any questions.

 

Richard. 

 

Richard.

[ginabab]

Thanks, Richard 

You focused on many of the wonderful thinks about cruising 🤗

[Literary Lynne]

Thanks for sharing your interesting observations Richard. I am glad that you enjoyed the cruise with Azamara. We are on Pursuit in October and are happy to hear that you were pleased with the service. It was also refreshing to read your thoughts on the bathroom and shower. We have never had a problem with the size either. Last year we sailed on the Sapphire Princess and found the shower to be smaller than those on Azamara.

 

Hope you have a good time in Barcelona - watch out for pickpockets and distraction thieves. 

Lynne 😀 

[excitedofharpenden]

Hey Richard, glad you had such an obviously enjoyable time on Azamara. Andre is such a great guy, isn't he?  Such a cool dude 😎

 

Safe travels home. 

 

Phil 

[Grandma Cruising]

Thanks Richard. We too will be on the Pursuit later this year, so great to hear that you had such a great time on her.

[Lottie A]

I have just finished my packing too! I will be very sad to leave Pursuit tomorrow as I had a lovely cruise, despite the intense heat in The Med and my injured foot. 

 

Food was great, especially at The French Chef's Table, service was generally excellent, White Night was a lot of fun and I heard the Azamazing Flamenco night in Mahon was very good too. I stayed onboard and dined with some new friends in Aqualina that night,  as my injured foot was very painful. 

 

All in all, an excellent cruise which I have enjoyed very much. 

Edited July 26, 2019 by Lottie A
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[aussie travel bird]

Richard, so glad you had a lovely experience for your 1st Azamara cruise, we agree with your comments, we've never had a 'bad' cruise. I enjoyed your positive attitude and it's refreshing to read a Cruise Critic post that I can relate to and agree with.  I also appreciate that this site is an avenue for the 'good, bad and the ugly' but at this stage of my life I only want to be surrounded by the 'good' and I can find plenty of that with our onboard experiences with Azamara.

 

Better still, if you do return to future cruise with Azamara, they will remember you and the positive vibes I have no doubt you shared whilst you and your wife were on board.

 

Best wishes for your future travels....

[nusailor]

We are also Azamara newbies.  Presently waiting in Barcelona cruise terminal and off to a disappointing start.  It is pouring rain and they are just beginning embarkation at 13:15.   While they can’t control the  weather, they certainly could have a coffee and water station.  Young children are shivering and they aren’t even offering towels to wet passengers.  Pursuit is disappointing and all folks around us are becoming increasingly annoyed.  

[ellbon]

Did no one dress for the rain? I had crew friends out eating in the rain. Surprise no water or coffee  but the cruise line does not normally have it. Never seen towels either. Not sure if allowed off the ship.