Azamara is not a Luxury cruise line, has flaws, but I love it

[The Salties]

We also have just completed another trip on Quest and, yet again, all the staff were ultra friendly and helpful. A small example, we were B2B and in our second cabin the hairdryer was the type that needed to be pressed in to work. DW has trouble  doing this with her fingers so within an hour of asking for the type that is either on or off it was brought to our cabin. It is small things like this that matter. The quality of the staff is exceptional. This attitude contrasts vividly with an alleged luxury line with royal titles where many of the staff give the impression that you are fortunate to have them assist you.

[LuAnn]

5 hours ago, The Salties said:

We also have just completed another trip on Quest and, yet again, all the staff were ultra friendly and helpful. A small example, we were B2B and in our second cabin the hairdryer was the type that needed to be pressed in to work. DW has trouble  doing this with her fingers so within an hour of asking for the type that is either on or off it was brought to our cabin. It is small things like this that matter. The quality of the staff is exceptional. This attitude contrasts vividly with an alleged luxury line with royal titles where many of the staff give the impression that you are fortunate to have them assist you.

Great to know those kind can be switched out...they are the WORST!!! 🙂

[DS]

On 9/7/2024 at 6:19 AM, hamrag said:

First world problems, tbf they are irresistible....just bring your own! 🤣

Ah-hum... if you have a good relationship with your waiter-- and ask nicely, they are often, in fact available--- especially on the next day ...  (We had them every night on a recent Journey cruise, although they were not in the "standard" bread basket...).   Its yet another example of Azamara Relationships...

[tgg]

On 9/11/2024 at 3:24 PM, tgg said:

I have sailed on Seabourn, Regent, Oceania, Azamara, Celebrity, and Holland America. Right now I'm on the last day of a Viking Ocean cruise. None has been perfect. 

 

Nothing in life ever is. 

 

On 9/11/2024 at 7:59 PM, ChucktownSteve said:

If you don't mind the question, which do you feel was the best overall value for the experience presuming you selected itineraries you preferred?

 

I said I'd get back to you in a few days. It's taken a bit longer because I was diagnosed with Covid the day we disembarked Viking Mars last Thursday. We had tried to stay away from the many people who were coughing up a storm, but it didn't help. 

 

Value, to me, means getting the things I expected for the money paid.

 

Seabourn delivered the great food and luxury accommodations I expected. My husband enjoyed the formal nights, me less so. They involve too many packing decision, too much hair and makeup, too much fuss. We might book Seabourn again for the right itinerary if the price was right.

 

We chose the Regent cruise for the itinerary. I was not thrilled with the "included" excursions; some were fine and others less so. There were a few too many people playing the "I can top that" game. This was our only Regent cruise and we probably won't go back.

 

Oceania was fine until it wasn't. We've done 8 or 9 cruises with them. If you have no problems while onboard, Oceania is fine. If you have a problem, the lack of responsiveness is appalling. The friendly crew vibe of Azamara is non-existent. The food and dining room service was less than average and we haven't been back.

 

We booked Celebrity for the itineraries and the reasonable price. We always chose Aqua Class so we could escape the tumult of the dining room and the morning buffet breakfast. Then the food quality became unacceptable and we will not be sailing Celebrity again. It's been several years.

 

Our Holland America cruise came about because we had to get to Europe to spend a week with our daughter's family. Instead of booking our business class flight, I realized that we could pay lots less and do a TA - and get used to the time change a few days at a time. We had a Neptune Suite with lots of room. I had realistic expectations about the food, which proved correct. What I hadn't expected was that we enjoyed dancing most night at B.B.King. They had great music all over the ship. We probably won't book Holland America again, but it was a great choice for adjusting to the time change. We arrived ready to have fun with our grandchildren.

 

This leaves Viking. We chose it solely on the itinerary and timing. The per diem was higher than we wanted, but we did it anyway. The variety of food was huge, the quality inconsistent. I had fantastic escargot. My husband was served the worst steak he has had on a ship. Others were also shocked by the inedible meat. The ship is attractive in a somewhat stark way. As we walked into the show lounge the first evening, I mentioned to my husband that it felt like the corridor of a hospital. We liked the well-traveled people we met. The included excursions put us off, and the optional excursions were very expensive. The jury is out on whether we'd book Viking again.

 

We started sailing with Azamara in 2008 or 2009. We forgave the early mistakes because the value was fantastic. We loved the friendly crew and officers. And concerns were responded to quickly. But on our cruise last year, we were seriously disappointed with the food.  We tried Viking thinking we could find a new favorite cruise line. NOPE. 

 

I'm encouraged to read recent posts here about food quality improvements. We will be back on Azamara in November/December and hope significant changed have been made to make us not regret the choice.

 

And the short answer to your question about best overall value - Azamara.

[Dynacruiser]

8 minutes ago, tgg said:

 

I said I'd get back to you in a few days. It's taken a bit longer...

 

Very useful overview, thanks for taking the time to post.  

 

I hope COVID wasn't too bad, and hope that you enjoy the food on your next Azamara cruise.  Pease talk to the Food and Bev Manager.   It is bad for Azamara when a seasoned traveler and loyal Azamara cruiser like you come back and post poor reports. 

[ChucktownSteve]

I'm sorry to hear about your tangle with covid.  I wish you a full and speedy recovery.

 

I appreciate your well thought out response. Your analysis about the various cruise lines appears to mirror what I've seen from many on the boards and some of my experiences with a few of the lines you mentioned..  A lot has changed in the past several years. 

I'm not expecting it but am hoping our next three Azamara cruises still check the boxes.  I have however dropped from five annual cruises to only two. When there is not as much enjoyment as there used to be, perhaps spacing them out helps rekindle the desire.  Hopefully our upcoming bookings will make me want to go more often again.

Edited September 18 by ChucktownSteve

[excitedofharpenden]

16 hours ago, tgg said:

 

 

I said I'd get back to you in a few days. It's taken a bit longer because I was diagnosed with Covid the day we disembarked Viking Mars last Thursday. We had tried to stay away from the many people who were coughing up a storm, but it didn't help. 

 

Value, to me, means getting the things I expected for the money paid.

 

Seabourn delivered the great food and luxury accommodations I expected. My husband enjoyed the formal nights, me less so. They involve too many packing decision, too much hair and makeup, too much fuss. We might book Seabourn again for the right itinerary if the price was right.

 

We chose the Regent cruise for the itinerary. I was not thrilled with the "included" excursions; some were fine and others less so. There were a few too many people playing the "I can top that" game. This was our only Regent cruise and we probably won't go back.

 

Oceania was fine until it wasn't. We've done 8 or 9 cruises with them. If you have no problems while onboard, Oceania is fine. If you have a problem, the lack of responsiveness is appalling. The friendly crew vibe of Azamara is non-existent. The food and dining room service was less than average and we haven't been back.

 

We booked Celebrity for the itineraries and the reasonable price. We always chose Aqua Class so we could escape the tumult of the dining room and the morning buffet breakfast. Then the food quality became unacceptable and we will not be sailing Celebrity again. It's been several years.

 

Our Holland America cruise came about because we had to get to Europe to spend a week with our daughter's family. Instead of booking our business class flight, I realized that we could pay lots less and do a TA - and get used to the time change a few days at a time. We had a Neptune Suite with lots of room. I had realistic expectations about the food, which proved correct. What I hadn't expected was that we enjoyed dancing most night at B.B.King. They had great music all over the ship. We probably won't book Holland America again, but it was a great choice for adjusting to the time change. We arrived ready to have fun with our grandchildren.

 

This leaves Viking. We chose it solely on the itinerary and timing. The per diem was higher than we wanted, but we did it anyway. The variety of food was huge, the quality inconsistent. I had fantastic escargot. My husband was served the worst steak he has had on a ship. Others were also shocked by the inedible meat. The ship is attractive in a somewhat stark way. As we walked into the show lounge the first evening, I mentioned to my husband that it felt like the corridor of a hospital. We liked the well-traveled people we met. The included excursions put us off, and the optional excursions were very expensive. The jury is out on whether we'd book Viking again.

 

We started sailing with Azamara in 2008 or 2009. We forgave the early mistakes because the value was fantastic. We loved the friendly crew and officers. And concerns were responded to quickly. But on our cruise last year, we were seriously disappointed with the food.  We tried Viking thinking we could find a new favorite cruise line. NOPE. 

 

I'm encouraged to read recent posts here about food quality improvements. We will be back on Azamara in November/December and hope significant changed have been made to make us not regret the choice.

 

And the short answer to your question about best overall value - Azamara.

Hi Toni. Thank you for your very detailed response. I'm sorry to hear that you were hit with Covid again. You don't seem to have much luck here. 

 

I hope that Azamara delivers on the food in November. I've bigged up the food in my latest report from Onward!  I get the impression that the new CEO, Dondra, is shaking things up. There is now a new head of hotel operations and our Hotel Director was involved with him quite a bit on a visit on my September cruise. Shaking things up might mean less keen pricing than we have seen in the past. I've certainly not found anything at the right price for me. We'll see. 

 

I hope you are feeling better and continue to improve. 

 

Phil 

[tgg]

4 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Hi Toni. Thank you for your very detailed response. I'm sorry to hear that you were hit with Covid again. You don't seem to have much luck here. 

 

I hope that Azamara delivers on the food in November. I've bigged up the food in my latest report from Onward!  I get the impression that the new CEO, Dondra, is shaking things up. There is now a new head of hotel operations and our Hotel Director was involved with him quite a bit on a visit on my September cruise. Shaking things up might mean less keen pricing than we have seen in the past. I've certainly not found anything at the right price for me. We'll see. 

 

I hope you are feeling better and continue to improve. 

 

Phil 

 

Hi Phil,

 

Thanks for your good wishes.

 

Looking at the bright side of my bad luck: I got Covid on the 23rd day of my 23 day Azamara cruise. I got Covid on the 12th day of my 12 day Viking cruise. So I got to enjoy both cruises fully and got to deal with the illness from the comfort of my own bed. I'm almost back to my normal energetic self. It wasn't quite as awful this time.

 

Your report about the food gives me hope that things are improving. Thanks again for the update.

 

Anyone who knows me knows I'm all about finding the right cruise at the right price. I don't like spending $ 600 per diem and being disappointed. I feel duped. I think I have reasonable expectations based on what I know about each cruise line. Posts on this board and others within CruiseCritic have been a highly-reliable guide to cruising for years.

 

John and I look forward to our Journey cruise in November. 

 

Toni

[takemewithyou]

On 9/18/2024 at 9:20 AM, tgg said:

 

 

I said I'd get back to you in a few days. It's taken a bit longer because I was diagnosed with Covid the day we disembarked Viking Mars last Thursday. We had tried to stay away from the many people who were coughing up a storm, but it didn't help. 

 

Value, to me, means getting the things I expected for the money paid.

 

Seabourn delivered the great food and luxury accommodations I expected. My husband enjoyed the formal nights, me less so. They involve too many packing decision, too much hair and makeup, too much fuss. We might book Seabourn again for the right itinerary if the price was right.

 

We chose the Regent cruise for the itinerary. I was not thrilled with the "included" excursions; some were fine and others less so. There were a few too many people playing the "I can top that" game. This was our only Regent cruise and we probably won't go back.

 

Oceania was fine until it wasn't. We've done 8 or 9 cruises with them. If you have no problems while onboard, Oceania is fine. If you have a problem, the lack of responsiveness is appalling. The friendly crew vibe of Azamara is non-existent. The food and dining room service was less than average and we haven't been back.

 

We booked Celebrity for the itineraries and the reasonable price. We always chose Aqua Class so we could escape the tumult of the dining room and the morning buffet breakfast. Then the food quality became unacceptable and we will not be sailing Celebrity again. It's been several years.

 

Our Holland America cruise came about because we had to get to Europe to spend a week with our daughter's family. Instead of booking our business class flight, I realized that we could pay lots less and do a TA - and get used to the time change a few days at a time. We had a Neptune Suite with lots of room. I had realistic expectations about the food, which proved correct. What I hadn't expected was that we enjoyed dancing most night at B.B.King. They had great music all over the ship. We probably won't book Holland America again, but it was a great choice for adjusting to the time change. We arrived ready to have fun with our grandchildren.

 

This leaves Viking. We chose it solely on the itinerary and timing. The per diem was higher than we wanted, but we did it anyway. The variety of food was huge, the quality inconsistent. I had fantastic escargot. My husband was served the worst steak he has had on a ship. Others were also shocked by the inedible meat. The ship is attractive in a somewhat stark way. As we walked into the show lounge the first evening, I mentioned to my husband that it felt like the corridor of a hospital. We liked the well-traveled people we met. The included excursions put us off, and the optional excursions were very expensive. The jury is out on whether we'd book Viking again.

 

We started sailing with Azamara in 2008 or 2009. We forgave the early mistakes because the value was fantastic. We loved the friendly crew and officers. And concerns were responded to quickly. But on our cruise last year, we were seriously disappointed with the food.  We tried Viking thinking we could find a new favorite cruise line. NOPE. 

 

I'm encouraged to read recent posts here about food quality improvements. We will be back on Azamara in November/December and hope significant changed have been made to make us not regret the choice.

 

And the short answer to your question about best overall value - Azamara.

Thanks for your detailed response and review.  We tried Viking, too.  Not for us.  Don’t like the decor as you described.  Didn’t enjoy the food much either.  Ours was an ocean cruise and we didn’t like the included excursions.  The best one we did was the one we paid extra for.

 

Azamara hits the sweet spot for us.

 

 

[KirkNC]

1 minute ago, takemewithyou said:

Thanks for your detailed response and review.  We tried Viking, too.  Not for us.  Don’t like the decor as you described.  Didn’t enjoy the food much either.  Ours was an ocean cruise and we didn’t like the included excursions.  The best one we did was the one we paid extra for.

 

Azamara hits the sweet spot for us.

 

 

Agree on Viking.  We prefer a more traditional decor.

[tgg]

2 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Thanks for your detailed response and review.  We tried Viking, too.  Not for us.  Don’t like the decor as you described.  Didn’t enjoy the food much either.  Ours was an ocean cruise and we didn’t like the included excursions.  The best one we did was the one we paid extra for.

 

Azamara hits the sweet spot for us.

 

 

 

Hi Kathy. We did the included tours because these were all places we had been, so we did the drive-around tours to see what was new in town and then went back to see museums/sights we were interested in. If these had been new places, the included tours would have been insufficient. Some of the optional tours were wildly expensive. John and I like to do things at our own pace, and I don't know if we could have handled a 6 1/2 hour tour with lots of walking.

 

I'm sorry we'll miss you and Peter on the Christmas cruise. Enjoy.

[takemewithyou]

1 minute ago, tgg said:

 

Hi Kathy. We did the included tours because these were all places we had been, so we did the drive-around tours to see what was new in town and then went back to see museums/sights we were interested in. If these had been new places, the included tours would have been insufficient. Some of the optional tours were wildly expensive. John and I like to do things at our own pace, and I don't know if we could have handled a 6 1/2 hour tour with lots of walking.

 

I'm sorry we'll miss you and Peter on the Christmas cruise. Enjoy.

I am sorry we won’t be connecting at Christmas, either.  
You will be on before us.  

I hope the food in the specialties shows improvements. 

[takemewithyou]

5 minutes ago, tgg said:

 

Hi Kathy. We did the included tours because these were all places we had been, so we did the drive-around tours to see what was new in town and then went back to see museums/sights we were interested in. If these had been new places, the included tours would have been insufficient. Some of the optional tours were wildly expensive. John and I like to do things at our own pace, and I don't know if we could have handled a 6 1/2 hour tour with lots of walking.

 

I'm sorry we'll miss you and Peter on the Christmas cruise. Enjoy.

Did you miss any ports on Viking?  We lost 2 of our four port stops!  So 50% of our port stops were cancelled.  

[tgg]

23 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Did you miss any ports on Viking?  We lost 2 of our four port stops!  So 50% of our port stops were cancelled.  

 

We went from Boston to New York, Newport, Halifax, Gaspe, Quebec and Montreal with 12 of the most perfect weather days we've ever had on a cruise. No rain at all, clear skies, temps in the 60s and 70s.

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Did you miss any ports on Viking?  We lost 2 of our four port stops!  So 50% of our port stops were cancelled.  

Port visits and long stays are Azamara's wheelhouse.  But – your Viking cruise was only scheduled for 4 ports?  That seems like a very small amount, unless it was a TransAtlantic – in which weather could play a big role for any cruise line.

[takemewithyou]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Port visits and long stays are Azamara's wheelhouse.  But – your Viking cruise was only scheduled for 4 ports?  That seems like a very small amount, unless it was a TransAtlantic – in which weather could play a big role for any cruise line.

No, not a TransAtlantic.  It was from Vancouver to LA. 
No refunds for lost ports, either, as some cruises do.

Edited September 20 by takemewithyou

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

No, not a TransAtlantic.  It was from Vancouver to LA. 
No refunds for lost ports, either, as some cruises do.

Azamara is known for seeking every way to find an alternative port in such cases, but I'm not sure what even they could have done on that route if weather was interfering.  If you had been on Oceania, I would have suspected their usual trick of cancelling ports (always without recompense) to save money.  But I don't know about Viking Ocean that way.