Bit worried about the reviews

[jaxw17]

Hi, we have booked our first Azamara cruise on the Quest Lisbon to Brazil in November.

We have done over 20 cruises but this will be the first on Azamara.

I have been reading past reviews , I know I should have done this before booking, always have been impatient !

They don't look very good with a lot of past customers saying that things have gone down hill.

Getting a little worried now as I just went off reputation.

Do others think that the product has slipped. Hope not had to talk hubby into this one.

Thanks

[laurieb]

We enjoy Azamara very much!  Our go to cruise line!  We started cruising with them in 2012 and it’s the only line we’ve cruised since then; 10 so far with three more ( on the Quest) booked for later this year.  The onboard experience is very special. 

[Grandma Cruising]

Absolutely. We have done 9 Azamara cruises so far and have 10 & 11 booked. We did Lisbon to Rio in November on Pursuit and it was as good as ever. You'll love it. 

[Phxazzcruisers]

we have done 15 so far and have 5 more booked.  We love them

[manc]

Began cruising with them 2010. 15 down and more booked. You will be hooked. Great staff and service, fantastic ports with time to explore, often docked in the centre of town so no queues waiting for a bus etc. 

[DaKa2002]

We have only done one Azamara cruise - in the eastern Mediterranean.  No question, we would cruise with them again!  Their pastry chef was tops, with the usual and some unusual creations.  The Chef's Table experience, maximum of about 12 people, was out of this world incredible!  

Just be aware, Azamara is often an intensive port traveling experience (at least those itineraries we typically see advertised); you may need a vacation upon returning from the cruise.

[LakeSideKen]

Not much danger of OP's Lisbon to Brazil cruise being overly port intensive.

[Bloodaxe]

3 hours ago, jaxw17 said:

Hi, we have booked our first Azamara cruise on the Quest Lisbon to Brazil in November.

We have done over 20 cruises but this will be the first on Azamara.

I have been reading past reviews , I know I should have done this before booking, always have been impatient !

They don't look very good with a lot of past customers saying that things have gone down hill.

Getting a little worried now as I just went off reputation.

Do others think that the product has slipped. Hope not had to talk hubby into this one.

 

 

Have a read of the is Azamara worth it topic below, plenty of opinion there.

[DRJVH]

We love Azamara having cruised with them 8 times and 9th coming up in April (depending on the corona virus 🦠 )

The staff are amazing and being a small ship you can get in closer to town. But I think most of all,  travellers with Azamara are always made to feel like family returning home.

We have never had problems with the food, the wines are a bit iffy sometimes but if you don’t drink much, it’s no big deal. 

[Mackdogmolly]

We have our 3rd Azamara cruise booked for June, all on Quest. We loved the other two. We love the small ship experience and the the itineraries were great. Easy to get on with fellow passengers and the crew is fantastic. We are not fussy about the included spirits, but upgrades are available for a reasonable cost, and think the food is good and as another pointed out, the Chefs Table is not to be missed. Don’t know if you will have an Azamazing Evening on a TA, but you will have a White Night party and those are fun too.

[Covepointcruiser]

It is very surprising that the OP first cruise on Azamara will be a long transatlantic with few ports.   Our first trip was a Cuban one with quite a few ports and was a good introduction to all of Azamara’s qualities.   You will miss some on this voyage including the Azamazing Evening and the lengthy port visits.  She is a small ship and probably won’t have a Casino.

[difranco]

We have sailed with Azamara twice in the last 13 months with another booked for Easter. Over the last 15 years we have mostly switched between Seabourn and Silversea  which we continue to do going forward. We have also had years of total satisfaction followed by a negative experience causing us to jump to another cruise line of similar quality. Interestingly, when we go back to a previous cruise lines the quality seems to have improved. On our second cruise on Azamara in November, we were pleasantly surprised that after 12 months the standards we maintained.

The trick for an unbiased review in your own mind is to separate the ships product from your shore and fellow passenger experiences.

We have had poor cruises on Seabourn and Silversea but on further reflection these views were not based on the onboard product.

For a first timer on Azamara the best accurate review will be your own.

We were pleasantly surprised with our first cruise but the day will come when we jump ship again. 

 

Edited February 27, 2020 by difranco
Grammar

[tv24]

I say give it a try and see if AZ is your cup of tea.  There are some guaranteed positives such as the smallish ship atmosphere and the affability of the passengers.  You will see the senior staff out and about.  Special events will keep you engaged and partying.  But note that there will be limited activities on sea days.

[Baynanno1]

6 minutes ago, tv24 said:

I say give it a try and see if AZ is your cup of tea.  There are some guaranteed positives such as the smallish ship atmosphere and the affability of the passengers.  You will see the senior staff out and about.  Special events will keep you engaged and partying.  But note that there will be limited activities on sea days.

 

Depending on one's interests, sea days can be busier than port days. We have always found them to be packed fairly full and often had to decide between full on activity and taking a break at some stage during the day.

[BBMacLaird]

18 hours ago, jaxw17 said:

Hi, we have booked our first Azamara cruise on the Quest Lisbon to Brazil in November.

We have done over 20 cruises but this will be the first on Azamara.

 

Welcome jaxw17!

I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful cruise. I hope post-cruise you’ll come back to this thread and let us know if we met your expectations.

Bonnie

 

[biggersn]

We love Azamara! We have just done our 5th cruise and have booked 3 more. Not everything is perfect (the included wine selection was definitely sub-par on our last cruise, probably due to the bean counters in Miami wanting to cut costs), but we really enjoy the relaxed vibe, the small size of the ship and the excellent food. I also enjoy the fact that there is a wide jogging/walking track on deck 10 that is not partially taken over by deck chairs!

[hubofhockey]

I don't think anyone should book a cruise that they have misgivings about.  I don't think the original post in this thread  is specific enough as to what she is worried about.  Azamara is a boutique line and it's not for everyone.  We have done one cruise and loved it, but I would recommend it to certain friends and not to others.  

 

The strengths to me in order:  itineraries, service, friendliness and relaxed atmosphere of passengers and crew at all levels, and they do certain aspects of dining very well.  It's a very boutique line though, and if you're looking for all of the whistles and bells that you find on some of the newer and larger ships, you may leave disappointed.  Also, the entertainment at night can be hit or miss.  All of that said, for any part of the world that I really want to see and experience, I would look to Azamara first and if it's affordable to me, I'm excited to travel with them.  We chose an oceanview cabin over a balcony on Oceania for our trip to Japan because the Azamara itinerary just blows away Oceania's and we're more than happy to make small sacrifices for what really is important to us.  However, maybe the OP here does not.  

[BBMacLaird]

Travel advisory updated yesterday, February 27

https://www.azamara.com/travel-advisory

[upwarduk]

On 2/26/2020 at 11:43 PM, Mackdogmolly said:

Don’t know if you will have an Azamazing Evening on a TA, but you will have a White Night party and those are fun too.

We didn’t on Southampton to Montreal in September 2016, but it still ranked as one of the best cruises that we have ever taken.

[jaxw17]

Thank you all for your replies. I am looking forward to the smaller ship and from what I have heard the food. We very rarely go to the shows or entertainment. I really cant help feeling that people that burst into song like they do in musicals should be carried out in a straight jacket ….. I digress.

Bit concerned about the wine as we are wine drinkers and to upgrade on this length of cruise would be a considerable sum. 

There are very positive reviews on the friendliness of staff and the other passengers. I think that is reflected on these boards as some of the other boards are very snippy.

We loved the cruise we did on the Riviera (Oceana).

We have a Marella cruise first on the Discovery 2 leaving on the 10th March.

Thanks once again. 

[Doh15]

Not sure if someone has mentioned it, but the Experience More Indulgence package stays the same price regardless of the length of the cruise and it bundles together wifi for two devices, an upgrade on wine and other alcohol, some specialty dining, laundry, and credit for spa and excursions.  If some of those are things you would buy anyway you might find the wine upgrade turns out to be pretty reasonable.

[DRJVH]

14 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

Travel advisory updated yesterday, February 27

https://www.azamara.com/travel-advisory

Little bit concerned about this. So Azamara  will not embark any person who has been in or through Lombardy and Veneto, of which Venice is part of.
What’s happening with Quest on 23 April Athens to Venice and the 7 day chartered cruise 2 May Venice to Venice then the 10 day cruise departing 9 May - Venice to Nice?

I would hope that Azamara is thinking very seriously of changing port or something. 

[Roger88]

It will depend on the level of communication between the crew member and the passengers. There are people who love to attend events on board, communicate with the crew and etc. No matter what package you choose if you plan to stay in a cabin for the entire tour 

[Grandma Cruising]

7 hours ago, Doh15 said:

Not sure if someone has mentioned it, but the Experience More Indulgence package stays the same price regardless of the length of the cruise and it bundles together wifi for two devices, an upgrade on wine and other alcohol, some specialty dining, laundry, and credit for spa and excursions.  If some of those are things you would buy anyway you might find the wine upgrade turns out to be pretty reasonable.

Or you could go for the essentials package ($600) which gives you the premium drinks package, as well as a full cruise WiFi package and $300 OBC for excursions, and then pay the difference between the premium and ultimate drinks package, which works out at $6pp per day.

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, DRJVH said:

Little bit concerned about this. So Azamara  will not embark any person who has been in or through Lombardy and Veneto, of which Venice is part of.
What’s happening with Quest on 23 April Athens to Venice and the 7 day chartered cruise 2 May Venice to Venice then the 10 day cruise departing 9 May - Venice to Nice?

I would hope that Azamara is thinking very seriously of changing port or something. 

The link posted says a travel advisory for the next 30 days so this takes it to the end of March.  Quest doesn’t get to Venice until 2nd May.  Of course this is a very moving situation so your question can’t be answered right now as to what will happen. We also don’t know what future travel advisories in other parts of the world there might be coming up, if any.  There are many folk in the same situation of playing a wait and see game (including me).

 

Phil