Has anyone been on an Azamara cruise?

[damemaggiescurledupperlip]

Would like to try a smaller ship and they seem to have a good rep

We went on a cruise with them last year. Had fantastic service. They looked after everyone so well. We had one night where we couldn’t get into port due to the weather so they put on a bbq and a party for all the guests.
Wouldn’t necessarily sail with them in an area known for rough seas such as we had but would sail with them otherwise.
it was the little things- we went to dinner one night and our daughter felt rough due to the seas. So she went back to the cabin, our waiter arranged for her meal to be sent to the cabin via room service. Another time she was asking about the desserts in the buffet as she can’t eat nuts. The manager overheard her and went and got a dessert from the speciality restaurant for her. He then said anytime she wanted another choice to just let him know and he would sort it out.
The entertainment is obviously on a far smaller scale but the team were so friendly and put on extra events when we were stuck at sea. The white night was good fun and they get local entertainers on if you are in the port late. We all got the option of going off for a nights entertainment as well.

Thank you! That sounds promising

Love them! If you want loads of entertainment options then not for you at all. But if want good service, longer In port and decent food then would recommend.

Yes, we really like them. Been on two cruises: Australia/NZ and Baltic.

Pros:

• Fabulous food. Even the buffet is great. We talked to the head chef of the buffet and he told us that he had the best budget he had ever worked with. Loads of vegan and gluten-free stuff. A couple of different Indian dishes tucked away in a corner every day (possibly part of the crew's scran).
• Excellent all-inclusive drinks. Not super-high-end spirits, but brands that you've heard of. Decent wine.
• Nice cabins with great bedding.
• Elegance without formality. The carpets are thick and the banisters are heavy and polished, but the only dress code is "No shorts or tank tops at dinner". (Do bring something for White Night, though.)
• Small size - you don't feel like you need rollerskates, or curse because it's a 500-metre round trip back to your cabin if you forget something. I've been on car ferries that are no bigger than the Azamara ships.
• No tipping culture. We gave our cabin attendant a little extra but otherwise everything is paid for up front.
• Free launderette. You meet some nice people in there too.
• Really interesting destination talks.
• The ships are small, and actually look like ships, rather than council estates on top of a barge. They used to be with another line; you can still see the word "Princess" under the black paint on the bow if you look closely. Because they are small, they can get into ports that others can't. In Gdansk we parked up right under the war memorial, while the big MSC ship that was following us had to dock in Gdynia and people had a half-hour bus ride in. In Helsinki we were 100 metres from the harbour market.

Cons (or not, depending on your taste):

• Entertainment is quite limited. You may find yourself going to bed and reading not too long after dinner. But then you can be up at 7am as the ship docks and ready to go ashore as soon as the gangplank is in place.
• It's not officially adults-only, but absolutely nothing is laid on for kids.
• The showers are ridiculously small. They even make jokes about this on the in-house TV channel. We ended up going to the steam room every evening before dinner and having our showers there. We felt obliged to explain to our cabin attendant why we were using almost no towels!
• And (controversial perhaps): A lot of Americans. Nothing intrinsically wrong with that, we have many America friends, but um. On the Aus/NZ trip they were about 50% of the pax and everyone was great. On the Baltic cruise there were a few loud people whom we suspected might be named something like Dwayne and Shawna, but once we worked out that they always sat in the same places they were easy to avoid. #snobbiness #classism #notsorry

And of course there's the price. Azamara is what I would call "low-end luxury". There are some things that could be done more expensively (look at Regent or Silversea) but we really like the Azamara "price point". It has lots of what we want and not so much of what we don't. Think of a four-and-a-half star all-inclusive medium-sized hotel.

I love Azamara. They have 4 small ships all very similar in design. When you board it feels like you’re coming home. Staff are incredible, food is excellent and most drinks are included. Entertainment is very low key but they do destination immersion events bringing local performers on board. The White Night party is such fun - a huge buffet on deck served by the ship’s officers.

Gosh - the bathrooms are small aren’t they?

i’ve been watching g some videos, and my only real worry is whether there is a ‘quiet’ bar on board. We like a drink in the evening, don’t mind jazz or a quiet singer, but are still reeling from a Princess cruise where there was literally nowhere on board without piped in music or a cover band belting out rock standards. Even on deck !

There is usually a bar that doesn’t have anything on - for example the living room usually doesn’t have anything on until later in the evening. Spirits / The Den usually has a piano player doing sets throughout the evening. You also have the bar outside the restaurant which is busy with people going in / out or dinner but no music.

Thank you!

Really helpful everyone, I have details of a package that includes them, I don’t know anyone who has used them. I don’t like fancy glitzy shows, just a decent singer or band does me, few quizzes (dd and I still get the buzz from winning last time we went together)

They usually have a house band who plays in the living room at night and occasionally on deck if nice weather, then usually a piano player / singer. They will have a show as well but small and we have never been so can’t comment. The azamazing evening is usually good and sometimes on the ship and other times an excursion. We have had local dancers etc which was interesting. Quizzes they have a morning one and then 2 in the afternoon one of which is some kind of music quiz. They also on our last few cruises have had crew karaoke which was a highlight as some very talented people and also a silent disco which was good. The white night party is interesting if in a nice location and often they have a bbq on deck one lunchtime as well.

That's exactly the style of the entertainment. There is usually a competent Filipino house band, and a piano player in the lounge. Quite often they will bring local entertainers from the port to play in the early evenings before the ship sails. On our cruise round NZ a good comedian came on board at one port and stayed for the next 3 or 4 days.