LBloom

Anyone have firsthand experience? Thoughts??

Eschew

Nigel is always a hoot.
https://dogster5.wordpress.com/azamara-army-home/

LBloom

Thanks. Glanced through some of it, hard for me to follow. Bottom line, was it enjoyable? Worth the $$$? Food, entertainment any good? Tips for future cruisers? Thanks!

jacketwatch

Nigel passed away so he can't comment but we did meet him in 2011 on the X Constellation and I can say he spoke well of Azamara. In fact he got off our cruise a few days early to join another Azamara cruis.

Sassafrass

Eschew,

Thank you so much for bring up the Dogster's musings. What fun reading some of them again.

It was always hard to tell whether the Dogster was amused by people, hated them, found them silly and shallow, was an introvert, or just enjoyed making creative observations. At any rate, he was witty and a talented, brilliant man.

To the OP, for more current reviews and opinions, try cruise critic.com.

Eschew

Azamara only operates 2 ships, both were purchased from the defunct Renaissance Cruise line back in 2007. Both ships were built 15 years ago. Azamara is considered the premium brand of the Royal Caribbean Cruise group.

Food is A1, cabin space is more than adequate with lots of storage. Their ships are small (680 passengers) so there is a general lack of entertainment and dining venues when compared to the mega mass market ships when it come to choice.

Service and staff is always friendly, and being a smaller ship, the crew gets to know the passenger and can provide more intimate and personal service.

Was it enjoyable? The food and service was definitely great and they have a loyal following. Worth the $$$? Value is relative and personal. Would you pay $300 for a 5 stars hotel versus $150 for a 3 or 4 stars hotel? It's hard to put a value tag on things. For people who makes minimum wage, $300 is a lot of money for 1 hotel night. For the "1%", $300 a night is reasonable and inexpensive.

You will not see any big name stars performing on cruise ships except for theme cruises. As I said earlier, entertainment choices is limited being a small ship. The cruising style is more "relaxation" than "go go go". We love to spend time relaxing in their "drawing room" (library).

Maybe you can elaborate on why you are considering Azamara?

Larry & Sass, I miss Nigel. He is always a hoot. His sense of humor is definitely unique. I am not sure if he is an introvert or he is just a social loafer. He certainly likes to make fun of "shallow" people, but yet he gravitate towards them. He was a one of a kind.

jacketwatch

Eschew I wish you could have met him. As I recall our first meeting I am laughing. It was at the martini bar on the Connie and Nigel was all of about maybe 135 lbs. soaking wet. So he asks for a coke and the bartender asks about regular or diet. Man I wish you could have seen the act he put on while asking if he looks like he should be on a diet. . .

Anyway every time now we are on a ship I have a martini and toast Mr. Triffitt. .

LBloom

Thanks for your advice. Two couoles of long standing friendship and each 1 partner with mobility and other issues were looking for more than ordinary cruise experience. We are all familiar with both the Caribbean as well as RCL, Priness, Queen Mary and looking for good food, fun, opportunities to spend time together. Sounds like I will keep it in mind.

Will be delayed as I just found out I need hearing aids and other ciuple will be grandparents in spring. Will consider for Fall 2016. Thanks!

Eschew

LBloom, good luck! based on your comment about mobility and other issues, the smaller ship with more personal service can do wonder. If you are familiar with the larger ships but have never been on the smaller ships, it would be a unique experience. We were worried about the smaller ships at the beginning and once we were on board, we loved it. You can be anywhere within a few minutes and not take almost half an hour to go from one end to the other end.

loris0667

I was on the Azamara Quest for a cruise in South America from Jan 22, 2024 - February 6, 2024. I diligently registered my blue cheese allergy prior to the cruise AND again on day one of the cruise. I also mentioned it each day in the dining room and always asked about the food to verify there was no blue cheese in anything I ate. While dining in the specialty steakhouse on January 29th, I was offered a bread roll by the wait staff. I asked what type of roll it was and was told it was a garlic roll. Well I took one bite of it and immediately started having an allergic reaction. My husband saw my reaction and immediately ran to our room to get my inhaler and epi-pen, just in case. Friends were there to help in the interim. I managed to ask if there was blue cheese in the roll and the waiter went to ask the kitchen. Sure enough there was gorgonzola cheese in it. Luckily I only needed my inhaler and allergy medicine and not the epi-pen but it was quite the scare. Even though it was noted by the restaurant staff, I reported the incident to the 'front desk' the next morning. After not getting better over a couple of days I went to the ship's doctor, told them what happened, and obtained additional meds. For the remainder of the trip I was sick. I couldn't taste or smell anything and because of my lowered immunity from fighting the allergen I also contracted an upper respiratory infection. My trip of a lifetime was basically ruined. Nothing was proactively done and no apologies were offered while I was onboard even after I reported the issue. On the last day, the ship's restaurant manager came over and spent 3 minutes apologizing but that was about it. When I asked for some kind of compensation - I was basically told no.

Once I got home, I contacted Azamara again. I was still sick with the upper respiratory infection (URI) which made the plane ride home miserable. I also had scheduled surgery soon after coming home which was in jeopardy because of my URI. I went to my primary care doctor to get different medicine immediately upon my return home in an attempt to clear out my sinuses in time for surgery.

I was told by the Azamara contact, an ‘Executive Resolution Specialist’, that the ship's crew said they proactively reached out multiple times and I refused treatment or any other form of help so they are not liable for anything. This is a total lie!!! They did offer me a ‘good will gesture’ of $35 reimbursement for the specialty meal. What a joke!!!