Has Azamara experience declined?

[KC Cruiser 54]

Wife and I are considering our first Azamara cruise, primarily based on itinerary in the Baltics. In a separate thread I asked for comments on Azamara vs. Celebrity where we have cruised the most (Elite +). I'm concerned from reading reviews that since being sold by RCCL, the Azamara experience has significantly declined, so much so that longtime Azamara cruisers are saying never again.  Can anyone who has experiences on Azamara over time and recently comment? Thanks in advance!

[uktog]

11 minutes ago, KC Cruiser 54 said:

Wife and I are considering our first Azamara cruise, primarily based on itinerary in the Baltics. In a separate thread I asked for comments on Azamara vs. Celebrity where we have cruised the most (Elite +). I'm concerned from reading reviews that since being sold by RCCL, the Azamara experience has significantly declined, so much so that longtime Azamara cruisers are saying never again.  Can anyone who has experiences on Azamara over time and recently comment? Thanks in advance!

Long time cruiser sitting on the fence but boarding tomorrow hoping (really hoping) that previous decline was a temporary glitch. I will answer your question in a few days time 

[Ayden]

14 minutes ago, KC Cruiser 54 said:

Wife and I are considering our first Azamara cruise, primarily based on itinerary in the Baltics. In a separate thread I asked for comments on Azamara vs. Celebrity where we have cruised the most (Elite +). I'm concerned from reading reviews that since being sold by RCCL, the Azamara experience has significantly declined, so much so that longtime Azamara cruisers are saying never again.  Can anyone who has experiences on Azamara over time and recently comment? Thanks in advance!

Not in our case by any stretch.  We instead, count the days til our next Azamara cruise.

We have done five since the changeover and all have met or exceeded our expectations.

We have been cruising with Azamara since 2008 but have done lots of cruises on other lines so we feel confident in our ability to compare. We are also Elite+ on Celebrity.

We have been deeply disappointed by recent Celebrity cruise reviews and our last in Spring 2022 will probably be our last.

Your criteria may be different from others, so best to keep this in mind.

Good luck and hopefully this helps you with your decision.

 

 

[Dynacruiser]

Azamara cruises are the same or better since the new owners.  We have done 4 or 5 since the new owners. 
 

I could complain about lower quality wines, but service, destinations, food and the fellow cruisers make it a great cruise line. 

[KC Cruiser 54]

21 minutes ago, uktog said:

Long time cruiser sitting on the fence but boarding tomorrow hoping (really hoping) that previous decline was a temporary glitch. I will answer your question in a few days time 

Thanks for your reply and anxious to know your thoughts . Cruise we are considering is Baltics in 2025 on Journey. Enjoy your cruise!

[crusinbanjo]

 Mrs Banjo and I just returned from the first two segments of the World cruise.  The onboard experience was good, as would be expected.  I cannot comment on how it was in the past, since this was our first Azamara cruise.  We have cruised on Silversea, Regent, Seabourn, and others, and all have a good on board experience.  We thought the food was good, (but we are not very picky). The drink packages were confusing, and IMHO not necessary at all, as the wines and drinks included were just fine for us.  Specialty restaurants were good and the chef's table was a nice experience.  All of it was good, but not over the top.  What was over the top, was the "Azamazing" night in Cozumel.  That was truly spectacular.  What was not amazing, was what was promoted as the "Azamazing" day on Fakarava Island.  That was a total disaster, IMHO and did not represent the company well.

 

The area we were not happy with is the accounting and pre cruise website planning options.  The website was mostly a disaster until very recently.  just one example is: I could not understand why we could not make specialty reservations online, instead, we had to wait in line, (pun intended), on the first day.  We discovered later that it wasn't necessary as they had availability almost every night.

 

Also, and most disturbing, is the lack of clear accounting of what we paid and for what.  The ship provided a folio, as expected, but, in our case, my credit card was charged for what we also paid for with OBC.  I have called and asked for an accounting, but have yet to see anything.  I will be disputing the $700+ charge on Monday if I don't get a response by then.

 

Overall, we would book again, with some reservations and precautions if the IT is better then the competition's.

 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

1 hour ago, KC Cruiser 54 said:

Wife and I are considering our first Azamara cruise, primarily based on itinerary in the Baltics. In a separate thread I asked for comments on Azamara vs. Celebrity where we have cruised the most (Elite +). I'm concerned from reading reviews that since being sold by RCCL, the Azamara experience has significantly declined, so much so that longtime Azamara cruisers are saying never again.  Can anyone who has experiences on Azamara over time and recently comment? Thanks in advance!

I continue to book Azamara and enjoy the experience.  I've noticed no deterioration in the onboard experience which remains warm and welcoming.  I started cruising with them in 2011. 

 

Phil 

[BuddyR]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

Long time cruiser sitting on the fence but boarding tomorrow hoping (really hoping) that previous decline was a temporary glitch. I will answer your question in a few days time 

I assume you are boarding the Quest.  I would be interested in whether the dining packages and the ultimate drink package have increased in price as has been reported on the Journey.  Have a great cruise!

[uktog]

Just now, BuddyR said:

I assume you are boarding the Quest.  I would be interested in whether the dining packages and the ultimate drink package have increased in price as has been reported on the Journey.  Have a great cruise!

Will do. I’m going to pick everything up on the “live” thread I started. We’ve got a vested interest in the Ultimate Package issue 😀

[Jay19]

We are also long time Azamara cruisers, our first sailings with them were in 2009.   Our last were in October last year and we had a wonderful time.    We have 5 more booked through mid 2025.  We are  Elite+ on Celebrity and have also sailed Oceania but Azamara remains our favourite.   I am not saying they are perfect but, as I have said on another thread, I have never been on a cruise that was.  I can say that we always leave the ship really wishing we didn't have to and counting the days till the next trip.

[aliaschief]

We are presently on Onward World Voyage and having a wonderful cruise experience.

When you ask such a question on CC there will always be replies from some who find fault with everything or set their expectations so high they never can be reached.

Come aboard and find out for yourselves. I’m betting you will be happy with the Azamara experience.

[KevintheIrishDJ]

We are new to Azamara (3 cruises in 2 years). There R things we like and don't like. We like being on a small ship; however, it's not for everyone (less activity and smaller shows). They can go where larger ships can't. The food in Windows is usually not hot, even the gravy and sauce. We R not fans of BBQ's on deck. The noise level of the shows is high, although that appears to be a trend on other lines.

Edited February 18 by KevintheIrishDJ

[Juandebowwow]

We did our first Azamara cruise a month ago, two week South American itinerary on Quest, and had a wonderful time. It was our first cruise since 2019 and we’d previously cruised on Celebrity and NCl. We found Azamara to be in a totally different league. Amazing service, smaller ship but classy/ comfortable/ clean/ well maintained. Much better food than bigger ships, included wine/ beer quite drinkable and plenty of options and good lectures on sea days. Staterooms seemed about the same as bigger ships. Loved the fact that we were never nickled & dimed. Loved the option of self service washing a load of laundry during mid-cruise for free. Only criticism is the archaic “wait in line / index card” specialty restaurant reservation system that has to be done when you first board the ship - a grade schooler with a laptop could bring this system into the 21st century in under an hour! Azamara please fix this !!!!!

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, Juandebowwow said:

Only criticism is the archaic “wait in line / index card” specialty restaurant reservation system that has to be done when you first board the ship - a grade schooler with a laptop could bring this system into the 21st century in under an hour! Azamara please fix this !!!!!

Please don't!  Nothing more frustrating than trying to get into the Regent system at some designated late night hour, after pricier suites have already grabbed the prime slots, to claim the one reservation you're entitled to before boarding, and then having to compete, once on board, with those who bribe the maitre'd to get additional reservations.  First come, first served.  Leave things alone.

[ECCruise]

13 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Please don't!  Nothing more frustrating than trying to get into the Regent system at some designated late night hour, after pricier suites have already grabbed the prime slots, to claim the one reservation you're entitled to before boarding, and then having to compete, once on board, with those who bribe the maitre'd to get additional reservations.  First come, first served.  Leave things alone.

Ditto. Same annoying process on Oceania. 

OK, all our top level people have made their choices, here's what's left for you. 

[shank63]

11 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Ditto. Same annoying process on Oceania. 

OK, all our top level people have made their choices, here's what's left for you. 

Never had a problem booking specialties on O, even after being on board.  Booking specialties on A has not been an issue either, although it must me done on board only.

[ECCruise]

51 minutes ago, shank63 said:

Never had a problem booking specialties on O, even after being on board.  Booking specialties on A has not been an issue either, although it must me done on board only.

On our 7 "O" sailings 2 were not extremely difficult (both 20+ days single sailings) the other 5 varying degrees of painful. 2 tops at 6:00 or 8:30, OK but any other time mostly "no can do." 

All 7 on R class if that makes a difference. One of the reasons we no longer sail with Oceania. 

[Juandebowwow]

5 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Please don't!  Nothing more frustrating than trying to get into the Regent system

Most of the folks posting here are likely much more experienced with the various cruise lines than us so I’ll take your word for it. Guess I’ll just have to pack a folding camp chair next time I board an A cruise (nice problem to have 😆).

[uktog]

On 2/18/2024 at 7:54 PM, Juandebowwow said:

Most of the folks posting here are likely much more experienced with the various cruise lines than us so I’ll take your word for it. Guess I’ll just have to pack a folding camp chair next time I board an A cruise (nice problem to have 😆).

I am with you, the system needs to be more efficient than now. And that includes how long it takes the girls to process bookings on embarkation day. By the time we got to the desk as a suite guest this cruise four nights including the first one had nothing available until 2045 which was too late for us. Butlers have no extra access to slots by the way. The reason given was a large number of b2b guests had made reservations ahead of this cruise boarding. 
Our first evening meal in Discoveries was fine but not what we had been so looking forward to

[ChucktownSteve]

10 hours ago, uktog said:

\ By the time we got to the desk as a suite guest this cruise four nights including the first one had nothing available until 2045 

 

I feel 21 years to get a restaurant reservation is just too long!  🤣