The cruise had a number of positives: A great itinerary with overnights in many ports and 2 overnights in Bangkok. Very reasonably priced ship excursions with generally competent tour guides and well thought out tours. Hard working cabin attendants and usually accommodating waiters. Friendly, personable and highly visible officers, cruise director and captain. We liked the 4 days at sea and the practice of seating people at larger tables, in order to meet and socialize with fellow passengers. Much of the entertainment was enjoyable, especially the singers, dancers, orchestra and guitarist. Embarkation and disembarkation were very efficient and painless. Disembarking at each port was also handled quickly and without problems. The ship also obtained the visas for Vietnam (for a fee).
The negatives: The veranda cabins and bathrooms are looking shabby and need some major updating. Makeup/shaving magnifying mirrors are not standard. We had a pipe break that leaked water and a cabinet door come off its hinges. Both were promptly repaired, but the ship is showing its age. The food quality was very uneven and does not match that of Oceania. Some of the main dining room food is excellent, but little is outstanding. The buffet was fine for breakfast and lunch but was less appealing for dinner, with dried out food and lackluster choices. All of the desserts were excellent. We ate at the speciality restaurant, Aquilina one time. The food was very good, but we would prefer not to have to pay the extra charge. Oceania, my comparison experience, does not charge for the specialty restaurants. Being constantly photographed was very annoying and in my opinion, cheesy. It is something Oceania does not do. My biggest complaint is about the laundry room. It is totally inadequate to accommodate all of the passengers on a 17 day cruise. Machines were broken and never repaired. Too much time was spent waiting to use the machines that were operating.
The bottom line: I would cruise on Azamara again only if the itinerary was unique and especially appealing. The future plans to offer free liquor is not an incentive for me, nor is raising the price of the ship excursions or special evening events.
