New to Azamara-thoughts on Onward BtoB

[kool kruiser]

We (DW Steph) and I have recently returned from our first Azamara cruise, a back to back on the new Onward. The first leg was Ravenna round trip May 13 to 21 and the second Ravenna to Piraeus May 21 to 28.

By way of introduction, we have been cruising for about 30 years. We started on the UK PandO line when our children were young, moving on to Princess. With a smattering of cruises on other lines we recently fell in love with Crystal, sadly no longer with us to enjoy. Of course, there is always the temptation to compare, which I know is unfair, so please excuse me if/when this happens in my pieces.

Please also bear in mind that these are very much my personal thoughts and may well be very different from yours.

I plan to cover various aspects over a number of separate postings. 

Let's start at the beginning !! We flew to Venice the day before embarkation, staying overnight. As the cruise was due to sail from Venice when we  booked, quite properly we were offered a complimentary transfer from Venice to the ship. Frankly, the mixed messaging from the shoreside operations was very poor but, with the help of a lovely AZ lady, we obtained an email, confirming that we could hop on any transfer from the airport to the ship. Unfortunately, on arrival at the airport, our names were not on the transfer list !! Fortunately, the very helpful, kind and efficient local representatives ensured we went on the transfer without any trouble at all. We feared a charge might be made to our onboard account but this thankfully did not happen. The transfer was very efficient and uneventful.

Pre-cruise check in was excellent. First, our covid test results were checked. After clearing the port security for our carry ons, our vaccinations were entered on a tablet and we were checked in kindly and efficiently, receiving our cherished keycards. Once onboard, we were personally escorted to the cabaret lounge and presented with a welcome glass of fizz, watching a short safety briefing in a small group by one of the singers. We then went to Windows Cafe, where an afternoon selection of snacks had been laid on, due to our embarkation being after lunchtime service hours. As we were to learn, typically thoughtful of AZ.

Of course, we explored the ship before going to our stateroom and were suitably impressed. As a point of interest, we had previously sailed on this ship when it was the Pacific Princess many years ago but our memories were somewhat indistinct.

A great start and we were already pretty relaxed !!

[kool kruiser]

When booking, it had not been possible for us to book the same stateroom of our liking for both legs. We therefore secured two balcony staterooms next door to each other, making the change between legs as simple as we could. For us, staterooms are not of great importance. We have no need of a butler, do not eat in cabin or use room service. Our stateroom is simply a place to sleep, wash etc, change and perhaps relax on the balcony. We knew the bathroom would be tiny and this was of no concern.

Whilst appreciating that we were on only the second and third sailings and there would inevitably be supply and snagging issues, we were, in all honesty quite disappointed. Thanks to these boards (no communications from AZ) we took our own hairdryer with us. However, the ship's ones had just arrived so ours was not needed.

Our first room had a significant chip in the bathroom sink, no explanation or apology offered. In our second, a number of drawers and doors did not properly fit and would have been really annoying in rough weather. Thankfully we sailed on what seemed a lake or even pond throughout ! These were reported to our lovely cabin steward, who we know passed it on but they never were fixed. The safes in both cabins were ridiculously small. As Noggins reported, some aspects were new but many fittings were clearly those from Princess and had not been updated. Many other small imperfections and blemishes on the old furnishings.

The chair at the dressing table could not be used unless the glass table was pushed back against the small sofa, thus rendering the sofa unusable. Too silly for words.

As for the balcony, the most uncomfortable chairs ever and a grossly oversized table. 

On the plus side, the bed was so so comfortable, the aircon excellent and our steward brilliant. 

Sorry to rant a bit but definitely not AZ's finest hour and a trick definitely missed.

[lisiamc]

If you’re new to Azamara, then Onward, with her still-incomplete refurbishment and supply chain issues, might not have been the perfect introduction. I have heard from several sources that the scale of repairs and refurbishments needed caught the workforce by surprise, and various problems with contractors and supplies kept the ship from being as completely ready for service as everyone had hoped. The other ships have been through various refurbishments over the years, and things like chipped sinks and improperly fitting doors and drawers do get taken care of. We were on one of the other ships once when workmen came and touched up the sink. If you cruise with Onward in the same cabin at some time in the future, I hope you would be happily surprised at the changes. 
 

We were lucky as our cabin on the Maiden Voyage was in nearly perfect shape, with no broken doors, and only a small scratch in the sink. From the day the new balcony chairs arrived, I have wondered if they were the permanent ones, or if they were a stop-gap. They are not outstanding, but they are a lot better than no chairs at all, which is what we had for a few days. I would like to think that permanent chairs, similar to the balcony chairs on the sister ships, will arrive at some point.

 

I look forward to hearing the rest of your thoughts, and hope you found plenty of things to enjoy.

[Noggins]

Come along, Colin, you've slipped to page 2 and left us all waiting for more. Stop sunning yourself in the garden and knuckle down to the important things. Please!

Adrian

[Noggins]

Would you believe it - just to prove me wrong, CC have pushed you back to page 1, Colin. No, no, there's no need to thank me....

😎

[kool kruiser]

Sorry Adrian, life got in the way for a couple of days. It's so tough being retired...

Anyways, perhaps I can now move on to the public spaces. Although, understandably, there are obvious snagging issues, we were really impressed with the design and decor of the public spaces. We have been on 'R class' ships previously and have always really enjoyed their size, space and layout. 

The pool area has excellent deck furniture and lovely new towels etc. Great idea to keep the jacuzzis permanently bubbling away and the jogging track on the deck above clear of obstructions. Truly lovely !!

Being new to AZ, we could not compare the indoor spaces to other ships. All I can say is that we found every single area warm and appealing. Of particular note to us was the light and airy Mosaic Cafe/Shops area and the speciality restaurants, which were beautiful, especially the gorgeous Aqualina. The Den area is a great multi-purpose space as is the Living Room. The Cabaret lounge was comfortable with great sightlines and the restaurant well laid out and very comfortable. The Windows Cafe was well laid out and it was always possible to find somewhere to sit. All in all, we thought the ship was excellently designed and we felt so so comfortable and relaxed, wherever we were.

Finally, having regard to these boards, we looked at the mirror on the landing above Guest Relations. Frankly, we couldn't see what the fuss was all about !

[kool kruiser]

Now to the reason for my reference to the jogging track in my previous post...the food, this being the cause of our need to use said area!!

Cannot comment on room service, as we never used, even for just a drink. Same goes for restaurant breakfasts, as we always had ours in Windows Cafe. We were blessed with fantastic weather throughout and always tried to bag a table on the aft terrace, a location we absolutely love. We thought the breakfasts were consistently excellent. The arrangements for egg orders and smoothies etc worked really well. The smoked salmon was the highest quality we have ever seen, including luxury lines. The same goes for the made to order wonderful waffles and pancakes. Sadly, on our cruises, the bread offerings were poor and this also extended to the croissants and breakfast pastries, which we felt were of pre-packaged supermarket quality at best. Probably good that we were able to avoid, especially with the aforementioned waffles ! Breakfast service was simply terrific and everyone was so attentive, warm, professional and friendly. Not always the case for this particular service.

We had relatively few lunches onboard, due to the wonderful port-intensive itinerary. When we did, the lunchtime buffet was of a high standard with good variety. Unsurprisingly, the dessert offerings were not particularly inspiring, so we partook of the good cheese  selection or had a great ice cream instead. No real complaints here.We dined in the Patio  grill once and thought the burgers were fine. A really good wide-ranging menu, even though there were no sweet potato fries ! Very well presented for a grill.

In the evening, we never dined in Windows Cafe. We generally ate in Discoveries restaurant and we found the food really enjoyable, well presented and very tasty. The fish was notably excellent throughout. No knockout menus but a varied nightly offering with a large number of always available items. We never returned an item and were really happy, although the food could not be classed as spectacular. To put into perspective, we would be very happy to be served with this quality of fare at a local restaurant at home !

We partook of a French chef's table in Prime C. The food was fine, notably the wonderful beef main. However, we did not find the long rectangular table encouraged  sociability and would have preferred a warmer oval table. We found the evening a bit pretentious (sorry, just our opinion) and would not repeat. The ''premium''wines were really not that special either.

Thanks to these boards we special ordered dover sole and grand marnier souffle for our meal in Aqualina. Although plated rather than filleted, tableside, the fish was wonderful. The souffle was, shall we say not 'traditionally' made and a miss. However the rest of the meal was lovely,the service great and the restaurant, as previously stated, stunning. 

We also dined in Prime C where, once again due to these boards, we shared a chateaubriand. Traditionally carved on a trolley, beautifully cooked and simply divine, as was the rest of a great meal.

Although we are unused to paying for speciality restaurants ( only Silversea of the other premium and luxury lines do so) and do feel this devalues AZ, we would definitely bite the bullet and dine in both speciality restaurants again.

Missed being offered  a traditional afternoon tea, although the buffet style offerings in the Living Room were fine, if not oozing luxury. Really missed having canapes served (the Living Room buffet offerings were rather ordinary) with pre-dinner drinks and nuts needed to be requested. Some things for AZ to consider ?

Finally, a mention for the great tasty offerings available at the Mosaic Cafe. We invariably had a post-dinner cappuccino there, with some excellent chocolate truffles, a great way to round off  our meal.

To summarise, overall not sensational but really good, tasty cuisine.

[kool kruiser]

Finally for today, that dreaded subject, covid protocols. Without wishing to give a personal opinion but rather say it as it was, we were nearly back to a pre-pandemic style of cruising once onboard. Face coverings were optional for passengers although crew wore them, not always correctly. Although the cruise director, at the beginning of each cruise said that they were recommended, this seemed to be  a box-ticking requirement imposed on him . I would say about 90% of passengers chose to never wear masks. No social distancing, other than, curiously, at the Destinations Experience events, when the chairs were laid out apart from each other. I say curiously as this did not happen on White Nights.

No covid announcements at all and it was great to simply not discuss this or consider at any time throughout the two cruises. Masked and unmasked passengers seemed to be mutually respectful and the onboard atmosphere was really friendly and relaxed.

Masks were required on tour transportation but this was a local requirement, not one imposed by AZ.

Complimentary shuttles were provided when necessary and really well organised.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, kool kruiser said:

Complimentary shuttles were provided when necessary and really well organised.

Did they have a shuttle in Ravenna from the ship (or port) to the old town?  I have read that they do, but my documents (for the Oct. 6 Journey cruise) have an asterisk saying that all shuttles are suspended for Covid.

[lisiamc]

6 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Did they have a shuttle in Ravenna from the ship (or port) to the old town?  I have read that they do, but my documents (for the Oct. 6 Journey cruise) have an asterisk saying that all shuttles are suspended for Covid.

The shuttle to Ravenna was running on the Onward Maiden Voyage.  I think they have some problems getting their documentation updated.  

[kool kruiser]

22 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Did they have a shuttle in Ravenna from the ship (or port) to the old town?  I have read that they do, but my documents (for the Oct. 6 Journey cruise) have an asterisk saying that all shuttles are suspended for Covid.

Yes they did, it went to the bus station, a short walk from the main square. Impressively, it was also provided on changeover day for us b to b ers.

[kool kruiser]

Today's contribution will focus on beverages. Based on pre-cruise research, we upgraded to the top Ultimate package and were very pleased we did. I have already made reference to the excellent Mosaic Cafe and would add that their iced espresso-style drinks were refreshing and really well prepared.

Generally, we found the wines to be quite acceptable but not exceptional, other than the rose, Whispering Angel, probably the best we have ever experienced. We tried to source when back in the UK and found that it retails at £20 per bottle ! The wine list published is not what is available and we had to rely on the very helpful staff to see what options we had. A more comprehensive and published list would have been an improvement.

Adrian ( Noggins ) has already outlined how his party enabled us to enjoy some high end bubbly when the house ran out.

As for cocktails, these were strictly measured, not free pour and, to be frank, often very weak with little alcohol content. Although bar service was great, sadly the alcohol-based drinks were rather disappointing. Definite room for improvement.

The signature poolside drinks looked great and were very refreshing, albeit rather weak.

Now for that divisive subject, the Atlas Bar. I understand that loyal AZ cruise folk may understandably be averse to change and I do recall the beautiful libraries on R class ships. However, I think the Atlas bar, in time, will be a winner, as it evolves. We had a demo of the three screens on the wall which will, when the understandable safety certification has been completed, play live recorded music. This will transform the currently rather sterile atmosphere. Obviously, some of the cocktails were more to our taste than others but they were excellently prepared and had sufficient alcohol ! Best drinks on board ! Sadly, the expensive paid for bites seemed a complete waste of time. Why not consider serving complimentary canapes/snacks instead in such a premium venue ?

To summarise, rinks were acceptable but definitely not luxury and not even at the standard we recently enjoyed on Celebrity.

[lisiamc]

Ye, we found that the bartenders were very careful about measuring and some of the drinks were very light tasting. I did find that they were happy to make me a double if I asked, though. We also had the Ultimate package, and maybe that makes a difference?

[uktog]

I’m hearing Whispering Angel isn’t widely available on Pursuit now. 😾

[lisiamc]

42 minutes ago, uktog said:

I’m hearing Whispering Angel isn’t widely available on Pursuit now. 😾

Oh no! Maybe they’re finding the price is higher for them too. I know I can’t get it for less than £20/bottle at home. Only for special occasions, since I’m a tightwad. I do make it a mission to have a glass every day on the ship.  

[uktog]

Just now, lisiamc said:

Oh no! Maybe they’re finding the price is higher for them too. I know I can’t get it for less than £20/bottle at home. Only for special occasions, since I’m a tightwad. I do make it a mission to have a glass every day on the ship.  

I think you will struggle if what I am hearing continues....

[lisiamc]

4 minutes ago, uktog said:

I think you will struggle if what I am hearing continues....

There might be a mutiny! It’s very popular, and the major reason why we spring for the Ultimate package.

[uktog]

3 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

There might be a mutiny! It’s very popular, and the major reason why we spring for the Ultimate package.

Us too.  I have a cruise for a special anniversary coming up early Autumn and I do hope this is not a spoiler

[Bloodaxe]

17 hours ago, lisiamc said:

Oh no! Maybe they’re finding the price is higher for them too. I know I can’t get it for less than £20/bottle at home. Only for special occasions, since I’m a tightwad. I do make it a mission to have a glass every day on the ship.  

Waitrose currently have buy 6 wines and get 25% off, it includes Whispering Angel. 

[lisiamc]

41 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

Waitrose currently have buy 6 wines and get 25% off, it includes Whispering Angel. 

I’ll check that out. Currently in Italy, so I hope they keep the sale on for a while!

[Bloodaxe]

8 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

I’ll check that out. Currently in Italy, so I hope they keep the sale on for a while!

 

 It usually only last for 7 Days but they do repeat the offer periodically,

[kool kruiser]

Before continuing, Whispering Angel is now also stocked by Sainsburys, who have a similar deal regularly. Still £15 per bottle though ! Lisiamc, can one simply ask for a double measure of spirit in any cocktail, if on the Ultimate package, at no extra charge ? Wish we had known.

Now to today's subject matter, enrichment and entertainment. For the former, difficult to appraise, as our two cruises did not contain a single sea day. There was a destination expert lecturer on board but we did not see, so cannot comment. There were also plenty of trivias. We didn't use the gym or classes.

We came on board with low entertainment expectations. Well, the shows and ship's company were pretty mediocre at best and the one guest entertainer was terrible. The ship's six piece orchestra were pretty good and we cannot comment on the house four piece band, as this is not our thing. We were lucky, however, to have the excellent Vasi (with a V !) in Spirits lounge bar each evening, who we thoroughly enjoyed. The two entertainers brought onboard for the Destinations experience were quite different but both extremely professional and of very high quality. We loved White Night and the cruise director Eric's solo show was fantastic. All in all, a mixed bag.

[kool kruiser]

Towards the end now...you must be relieved !!

Where Azamara truly excels is in the itineraries. We thought we had covered most European ports until we found these trips, with those small undiscovered Croatian and Greek gems. Due to our OBC, we took a few ship tours and thought they were all pretty good, with a hike in a Croatian forest particularly memorable. 

We also like the small things that Azamara did. We had a 1pm port arrival on a Sunday, so they put on a terrific brunch in the restaurant, with appropriate music from the orchestra. Simply great. Also, when walking back to the ship from our shuttle drop off in Corfu, we heard music and thought that there must be a poolside set in progress. But no...we were greeted by senior officers, a refreshing towel, the orchestra and a glass of fizz...and many warm smiles of course. Inspired !!

What does make AZ special, though, is the service, warm, professional, so so helpful, just terrific. Yes, we had an issue with the  Guest Relations promising and not delivering, coupled with a pathetic contribution from the Passenger Relations Manager. Superbly resolved by the F and B manager at a subsequent one to one chat and a totally isolated and quite untypical episode.

Great to see the satellite produced news summaries for all nationalities at the Guest Relations desk again, so rare to find anymore.

So, conclusions ? AZ is certainly not a luxury line but it also is absolutely not at the same price point either . Not perfect (what line is ?) but nevertheless, for us, the plusses way exceeded the minuses. Yes, we would definitely cruise AZ again, if the itinerary was as imaginative. We had a great time overall and would be very happy to repeat.

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, kool kruiser said:

we took a few ship tours and thought they were all pretty good, with a hike in a Croatian forest particularly memorable.

Which shore excursion was that?  Sounds interesting.

[Noggins]

Colin, I would not take issue with a single word of your detailed review. Well, except for one..... Whilst I did not mount a 24/7 watch I definitely did not see either of you using that jogging track - are you sure you didn't dream that bit?!

Adrian