first time azamara cruise, thoughts

[gsmt47471015]

We have just returned from our first cruise with Azamara on the Quest (world cup voyage) and here is a quick review of the experience.

Firstly, the ship was well turned out and all areas were tidy and well kept, our cabin was very nice, but the shower was one of the smallest we have had (not a complaint just an observation), for a day or so it took some getting used to the size of the ship having never sailed on anything less than 1800 pax, but the ability to move around without congestion was wonderful , although we tend to keep to ourselves everybody was very friendly ,allowing for the fact there were 27 different nationalities on board , service at all the bars was really good with very little wait time and staff calling back to check if another drink was required, food choices were plentiful and we never had one bad meal and again service was top drawer. We never got the chance to use the two specialty restaurants so unable to comment on them. We decided against the azamazing evening trip and from comments from those who went we made the correct decision; however, the white night was brilliant, the staff worked so hard to set it up and then keep it flowing and deserve all the credit for a fabulous night.

Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening, the other small downside was the timing of the evening show , 9pm was virtually impossible to get to without having to eat rather early , 9.30 would be a better time but again that is a personal view.

So, our first time with Azamara and we loved it!! ALL the staff were so, so friendly and helpful and gave us a wonderful impression of the company, will we be back? Yes, but it will have to wait as we have cruises booked right through to 2025 as well as land-based holidays with very little gaps to work with, the worry is that some of the future cruises will, without doubt struggle to match what we have experienced on the Quest        

[federalexpress]

1 hour ago, gsmt47471015 said:

We have just returned from our first cruise with Azamara on the Quest (world cup voyage) and here is a quick review of the experience.

Firstly, the ship was well turned out and all areas were tidy and well kept, our cabin was very nice, but the shower was one of the smallest we have had (not a complaint just an observation), for a day or so it took some getting used to the size of the ship having never sailed on anything less than 1800 pax, but the ability to move around without congestion was wonderful , although we tend to keep to ourselves everybody was very friendly ,allowing for the fact there were 27 different nationalities on board , service at all the bars was really good with very little wait time and staff calling back to check if another drink was required, food choices were plentiful and we never had one bad meal and again service was top drawer. We never got the chance to use the two specialty restaurants so unable to comment on them. We decided against the azamazing evening trip and from comments from those who went we made the correct decision; however, the white night was brilliant, the staff worked so hard to set it up and then keep it flowing and deserve all the credit for a fabulous night.

Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening, the other small downside was the timing of the evening show , 9pm was virtually impossible to get to without having to eat rather early , 9.30 would be a better time but again that is a personal view.

So, our first time with Azamara and we loved it!! ALL the staff were so, so friendly and helpful and gave us a wonderful impression of the company, will we be back? Yes, but it will have to wait as we have cruises booked right through to 2025 as well as land-based holidays with very little gaps to work with, the worry is that some of the future cruises will, without doubt struggle to match what we have experienced on the Quest        

 

Nice review, glad you enjoyed your trip.

[gsmt47471015]

21 hours ago, federalexpress said:

 

Nice review, glad you enjoyed your trip.

Thank you, we did indeed enjoy the whole experience😊

[foxfilbert]

On 12/5/2022 at 1:48 AM, gsmt47471015 said:

We have just returned from our first cruise with Azamara on the Quest (world cup voyage) and here is a quick review of the experience.

Firstly, the ship was well turned out and all areas were tidy and well kept, our cabin was very nice, but the shower was one of the smallest we have had (not a complaint just an observation), for a day or so it took some getting used to the size of the ship having never sailed on anything less than 1800 pax, but the ability to move around without congestion was wonderful , although we tend to keep to ourselves everybody was very friendly ,allowing for the fact there were 27 different nationalities on board , service at all the bars was really good with very little wait time and staff calling back to check if another drink was required, food choices were plentiful and we never had one bad meal and again service was top drawer. We never got the chance to use the two specialty restaurants so unable to comment on them. We decided against the azamazing evening trip and from comments from those who went we made the correct decision; however, the white night was brilliant, the staff worked so hard to set it up and then keep it flowing and deserve all the credit for a fabulous night.

Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening, the other small downside was the timing of the evening show , 9pm was virtually impossible to get to without having to eat rather early , 9.30 would be a better time but again that is a personal view.

So, our first time with Azamara and we loved it!! ALL the staff were so, so friendly and helpful and gave us a wonderful impression of the company, will we be back? Yes, but it will have to wait as we have cruises booked right through to 2025 as well as land-based holidays with very little gaps to work with, the worry is that some of the future cruises will, without doubt struggle to match what we have experienced on the Quest        

great to hear you enjoyed your first cruise on the quest, we will be doing our first cruise with Azamara on the quest in January .

I've heard a few posts about the slow and late embarkation which is a pity because all you want to do is get on as quick as possible to start enjoying your holidays, thanks for your review 

[Melissaghoti]

One of the reasons boarding is slow is the group of people, anxious to get their holiday started, who arrive ahead of their assigned boarding time. Azamara and the port schedule personnel according to the scheduled boarding times. If it’s impossible to predict when people will arrive, it’s impossible to board anyone efficiently.

[excitedofharpenden]

4 hours ago, Melissaghoti said:

One of the reasons boarding is slow is the group of people, anxious to get their holiday started, who arrive ahead of their assigned boarding time. Azamara and the port schedule personnel according to the scheduled boarding times. If it’s impossible to predict when people will arrive, it’s impossible to board anyone efficiently.

Bingo!

 

Phil 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Bingo!

 

Phil 

Absolutely. And with no “enforcement” checking times everyone starts to ignore their slot. Miami was slow and no one cared what time was on your pass. 

[Lady President]

On 12/4/2022 at 10:48 AM, gsmt47471015 said:

Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening

We found the same thing on our first Azamara cruise in June.  Here is the rundown of our check-in:

#1-- Line to check our vaccine card and Covid test (this one at least should be gone)

#2-- Line to check into the cruise that was out the door

#3-- Holding pen wait

#4-- Line at the gangplank to recheck all our documents.  This one seemed unnecessary and was out in the heat

 

The bonus was that the safety procedure was in the dining room right after boarding.  It was super quick and they gave us something to drink which was much appreciated.

 

We're booked on our second Azamara cruise in April, so boarding hassles didn't deter us. 🙂

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, Lady President said:

We found the same thing on our first Azamara cruise in June.  Here is the rundown of our check-in:

#1-- Line to check our vaccine card and Covid test (this one at least should be gone)

#2-- Line to check into the cruise that was out the door

#3-- Holding pen wait

#4-- Line at the gangplank to recheck all our documents.  This one seemed unnecessary and was out in the heat

 

The bonus was that the safety procedure was in the dining room right after boarding.  It was super quick and they gave us something to drink which was much appreciated.

 

We're booked on our second Azamara cruise in April, so boarding hassles didn't deter us. 🙂

In all fairness we had the same boarding issues with Celebrity, but at least it was outdoors in the California sunshine whereas this one was in a very chilly air-conditioned building 

[boxman52]

6 hours ago, uktog said:

Absolutely. And with no “enforcement” checking times everyone starts to ignore their slot. Miami was slow and no one cared what time was on your pass. 

We go from Miami on the I'm sure sold out Christmas cruise

We have an early boarding time but I suspect we will get there later to avoid the rush

If I'm on a RCI ship I might want to get on to book shows etc & get on early to use the app but with Azamara the only reason is the restaurants.

I feel sure we'll get some times if we are flexible

We'll enjoy a nice relaxing morning & lunch in Miami before heading off the the ship. That's got to be a better start to a holiday than standing in multiple queues and pens!

[Benthayer Gonbak]

On 12/4/2022 at 3:48 PM, gsmt47471015 said:

We have just returned from our first cruise with Azamara on the Quest (world cup voyage) and here is a quick review of the experience.

Firstly, the ship was well turned out and all areas were tidy and well kept, our cabin was very nice, but the shower was one of the smallest we have had (not a complaint just an observation), for a day or so it took some getting used to the size of the ship having never sailed on anything less than 1800 pax, but the ability to move around without congestion was wonderful , although we tend to keep to ourselves everybody was very friendly ,allowing for the fact there were 27 different nationalities on board , service at all the bars was really good with very little wait time and staff calling back to check if another drink was required, food choices were plentiful and we never had one bad meal and again service was top drawer. We never got the chance to use the two specialty restaurants so unable to comment on them. We decided against the azamazing evening trip and from comments from those who went we made the correct decision; however, the white night was brilliant, the staff worked so hard to set it up and then keep it flowing and deserve all the credit for a fabulous night.

Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening, the other small downside was the timing of the evening show , 9pm was virtually impossible to get to without having to eat rather early , 9.30 would be a better time but again that is a personal view.

So, our first time with Azamara and we loved it!! ALL the staff were so, so friendly and helpful and gave us a wonderful impression of the company, will we be back? Yes, but it will have to wait as we have cruises booked right through to 2025 as well as land-based holidays with very little gaps to work with, the worry is that some of the future cruises will, without doubt struggle to match what we have experienced on the Quest        

 

Our departure from Lisbon had a few bumps and missteps, but the crew in the terminal were NOT Azamara employees but a contractor who supposedly does this regularly for Mediterranean cruises.  That might have worked if we were ultimately in the Mediterranean, instead of Africa.  They tried to schedule folks but they were struggling with all sorts of documents.  When we did get on board the Windows cafe, buffet, had plenty of tables and food so really nice.  The rooms were ready so we could enjoy our meals with little regard to keeping up with luggage. 

[Edinburghgirl1]

We are currently on the Quest on our first Azamara cruise. We have mainly sailed Celebrity. . Our boarding was very quick but it may be because we are in a Club Continent suite as we were directed to a shorter line. Our cabin is spacious with plenty storage and a large walk in shower. Food is generally good around the ship and we have eaten in the Specialities several times as they are free to suite guests and they to were good.. The service round the ship has been on a par with what we are used to on Celebrity. . We’ve found the ship a bit tired in places  with worn furniture and lack of maintenance. The standard of cleanliness round the pool area is pretty poor with no signs of constant cleaning we’ve seen on other ships. Where the ship really falls down is lack of atmosphere and entertainment. There is no music at the pool area despite having a stage. It’s like a very cramped morgue most days. In the evening there are periods were there is nothing going on around the ship not even piped music in bars! The evening shows have been good to ok but I believe we’ve been lucky as others who’ve sailed Azamara in the past have said they’ve been truly awful on other sailings. There are aspects of the cruise we’ve enjoyed but not enough to book another on Azamara.  

[Host Jazzbeau]

They tried canned music around the pool area, but they dropped it after passenger complaints.  Azamara listens to feedback!  Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but the differences between Azamara and Celebrity are why I cruise with Azamara and will not go back on Celebrity.  Choice is good!

[Edinburghgirl1]

54 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

They tried canned music around the pool area, but they dropped it after passenger complaints.  Azamara listens to feedback!  Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruise, but the differences between Azamara and Celebrity are why I cruise with Azamara and will not go back on Celebrity.  Choice is good!

I agree choice is good and I am  enjoying my cruise. I meant some live music at the pool on occasion and piped music in the bars between entertainers.  The OP was giving his thoughts as a first time Azamara cruiser and these are mine. I expected Azamara to be up a level from Celebrity  and instead I feel it’s the opposite so therefore don’t feel it justifies the higher price tag and I wouldn’t book another. 

Edited December 7, 2022 by Edinburghgirl1

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I agree choice is good and I am  enjoying my cruise. I meant some live music at the pool on occasion and piped music in the bars between entertainers.  The OP was giving his thoughts as a first time Azamara cruiser and these are mine. I expected Azamara to be up a level from Celebrity  and instead I feel it’s the opposite so therefore don’t feel it justifies the higher price tag and I wouldn’t book another. 

As Jazzbeau says choice is good. Sounds like Azamara is not your cup of tea.
 If Azamara had piped music I, and many others I think, would have to find another cruise line. We enjoy the peace and quiet around the pool and we like the chance to talk comfortably to people in the bars. 

[Edinburghgirl1]

22 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

As Jazzbeau says choice is good. Sounds like Azamara is not your cup of tea.
 If Azamara had piped music I, and many others I think, would have to find another cruise line. We enjoy the peace and quiet around the pool and we like the chance to talk comfortably to people in the bars. 

I wasn’t talking specifically about round the pool. Surely most folk like a bit of music ( not blaring) or live entertainment in a bar of an evening?  Just feel the whole ship lacks any sort of holiday atmosphere. Maybe Azamara isn’t for the young at heart. Spoken to many first time cruisers who say this will be their last as they’ve found it too boring. Tried to tell them other cruise lines are t like this so may suit them better and do t let it put them off cruising. 

[gsmt47471015]

17 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I wasn’t talking specifically about round the pool. Surely most folk like a bit of music ( not blaring) or live entertainment in a bar of an evening?  Just feel the whole ship lacks any sort of holiday atmosphere. Maybe Azamara isn’t for the young at heart. Spoken to many first time cruisers who say this will be their last as they’ve found it too boring. Tried to tell them other cruise lines are t like this so may suit them better and do t let it put them off cruising. 

I tend to agree with the entertainment view, the first show we went to was not so good, but others were better, we did have piped music on the upper sun deck but by other ships standards it was very low volume and if people around were talking it was inaudible, on the other side of the coin  on  another cruise line we , and many others had to vacate the pool/sundeck when the band came on at lunchtime as they were  just so awful and far too loud. We will sail with Azamara again however it will be no longer than 14 nights as we both agreed that due to the size of the ship evening variation would be used up in that length of time. We regularly go away for longer spells and having had two five-week, a four week and three upcoming of sixty, a one hundred and a sixty-five night feel the larger ships give more options, of course with the bigger ships come the downside of lesser personal space and less personal service 

[boxman52]

2 hours ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I wasn’t talking specifically about round the pool. Surely most folk like a bit of music ( not blaring) or live entertainment in a bar of an evening?  Just feel the whole ship lacks any sort of holiday atmosphere. Maybe Azamara isn’t for the young at heart. Spoken to many first time cruisers who say this will be their last as they’ve found it too boring. Tried to tell them other cruise lines are t like this so may suit them better and do t let it put them off cruising. 

We went on our first Azamara cruise this summer and have two more booked so we are obviously fans

However I think you make good points. We noticed the lack of atmosphere around the pool, and the entertainment was sometimes really poor. It seemed to display a lack of imagination and quality 

We will go on Azamara when the deal is good and use it as a floating hotel for interesting port intensive routes

The issue the line has is it must have been losing money as part of RCI. That's clear from the details of the transaction. They are not going to turn it around by offering the same offer to the same people 

The market for people who want to go on holiday in silence around a pool is limited but of course it's there.

It's going to be a fine balance for Azamara to retain loyal customers while expanding the numbers & increasing revenue on board. They have competitors who are investing, so do they want to be Holland & America or Fred Olsen. Currently their price point is often taking all into account below those two lines.

I look at the deals I've had and to be frank once a factor in all I get for the price & the OBC it's not the price of a luxury line

I could live with the music if they banned speaker phones and chair hogs at the pool!

[federalexpress]

4 hours ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I agree choice is good and I am  enjoying my cruise. I meant some live music at the pool on occasion and piped music in the bars between entertainers.  The OP was giving his thoughts as a first time Azamara cruiser and these are mine. I expected Azamara to be up a level from Celebrity  and instead I feel it’s the opposite so therefore don’t feel it justifies the higher price tag and I wouldn’t book another. 

 

As others have said, it's horses for course and no rights or wrongs, just personal preferences.

 

I have very little cruise experience and none on Azamara, but I got alarmed reading about music being played at the pool and loudly in some of the bars. Not my bag at all and I'm glad they stopped that. I wouldn't go near Celebrity for example, I can see what they offer and it's not remotely for me. What you call boring is to me relaxing and peaceful, a chance to read a book, chat to fellow passengers or enjoy the scenery. It's probably partly an age thing, on your pic, you look rather younger than I am!.

 

How Boxman describes it is quite apt. I also regard this as a floating hotel to take me to interesting places, with good food and service along the way. Hopefully that is what I get. Not really looking for entertainment much, other than maybe a pianist or maybe a violinist in some of the bars. On my only other cruise, a much bigger ship on HAL, I popped in to see a couple of fairly big production shows but didn't sit through one. I wasn't there for that.

 

I think it is very much a positive that we have choice, moreover that the choice is clearly defined and not trying to appeal to everyone (that never works). To be fair to both Celebrity and Azamara, I think they both have very distinctive pitches. The question, as Boxman suggests, is whether there is a market in the niche. For sure I think Celebrity's is larger, cruise ship as a destination seems to be a big part of the market. I'd imagine there is business for Azamara, reasonably classy but informal and quiet/'boring with the emphasis on the destination. But it might not be too much bigger than 4 smallish ships...

[excitedofharpenden]

The entertainment really does revolve around the cast and Cruise Director. I did a cruise on Journey recently and then straight onto Quest. For me it was night and day between the two. Journey was fab, Quest I just couldn't warm to. 

 

As far as I'm concerned the atmosphere around the pool is just fine. If I want to I can put my earbuds in. I've had to contend with this on Celebrity. Not an isolated case. If this is what it develops into (which it seems to have) then no thanks. 

 

Phil 

 

 

[federalexpress]

27 minutes ago, boxman52 said:

We went on our first Azamara cruise this summer and have two more booked so we are obviously fans

However I think you make good points. We noticed the lack of atmosphere around the pool, and the entertainment was sometimes really poor. It seemed to display a lack of imagination and quality 

We will go on Azamara when the deal is good and use it as a floating hotel for interesting port intensive routes

The issue the line has is it must have been losing money as part of RCI. That's clear from the details of the transaction. They are not going to turn it around by offering the same offer to the same people 

The market for people who want to go on holiday in silence around a pool is limited but of course it's there.

It's going to be a fine balance for Azamara to retain loyal customers while expanding the numbers & increasing revenue on board. They have competitors who are investing, so do they want to be Holland & America or Fred Olsen. Currently their price point is often taking all into account below those two lines.

I look at the deals I've had and to be frank once a factor in all I get for the price & the OBC it's not the price of a luxury line

I could live with the music if they banned speaker phones and chair hogs at the pool!

 

You raise an interesting question, who does Azamara compete with. I wouldn't have HAL or Fred Olsen as the most obvious and when I was looking for my current cruise, those two were not on my list. Celebrity were, in terms of pricing/positioning but not when I relaised the extent to which they have gravitated towards 'party on a boat'.

 

In my case, it was a choice between Viking, Oceania and Azamara. Of the 3, Viking was the priciest, but not by much of you took their normal veranda cabin which isn't much smaller than a Club Continent suite. I just didn't like how they structured their airfares. Oceania would be the more direct competitor, but I found their pricing structure a bit confusing and their itineraries not quite as interesting. Not sure I've made the right choice, it's my first time with AZ(and only my second ever cruise), but I'll know by February...

[iata]

That’s why i choose Azamara, no pipped music at the pool.  
 

[Lady President]

Piped in music is not a deal-breaker for me at all, but I wish they had it.  We're usually HAL cruisers, so we definitely aren't "party ship" kind of people.  For me, the music acts as white noise.  When it's so quiet, I feel like it's more distracting because I can hear every conversation and chair moved.  Not important enough that I would factor it in when I pick a cruise, but a personal preference.

[Mackdogmolly]

40 minutes ago, iata said:

That’s why i choose Azamara, no pipped music at the pool.  
 

They had piped in music at the pool on our Christmas cruise last year and (for us) it was torture.

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 hours ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

I agree choice is good and I am  enjoying my cruise. I meant some live music at the pool on occasion and piped music in the bars between entertainers.  The OP was giving his thoughts as a first time Azamara cruiser and these are mine. I expected Azamara to be up a level from Celebrity  and instead I feel it’s the opposite so therefore don’t feel it justifies the higher price tag and I wouldn’t book another. 

I'm not dissing your opinion – you are absolutely right, for you – and OP is right for them.  We were happy Celebrity cruisers until the Edge-ification that IMHO dropped it down closer to Royal and Carnival in ambience.  But you are (judging from your avatar) younger than me, so maybe the 'new' Celebrity appeals to you.  We have always felt that Azamara is indeed a step up from Celebrity – on the level of The Retreat, with Luminae – but now that we don't feel comfortable on the rest of the Celebrity ships that doesn't work any more.  Azamara is the classy, low key ambience that we prefer.  Obviously that will not appeal to everyone, and no reason why it should.

 

As far as shipboard music goes, the more live music the better – if it's a classical trio/quartet or a jazz combo.  But I don't consider a DJ to be 'live music.'  And I prefer the sun deck to be quiet.  That's me.  Doesn't have to be for everyone.  I'm glad that Azamara is what it is.

 

I know of only one cruise line – Viking Ocean – that takes two pages in every brochure to say 'What X Is Not.'  It would really help if all cruise lines were up front about this, instead of trying to be all things to all people when they really aren't and can't be.