My husband and have traveled on the Azamara cruise ships twice before in 2013 and 2014. We love the itineraries and the size of the ship 600 passengers is usually the max. There are many advantages to the small size as the ship can go up rivers and dock at many ports that the mega liners are unable to do. What surprised me was the downgrade in the food quality. The food, which previously was excellent in the Discoveries Restaurant was very bad. The choices very poor and the food was tasteless. Many fellow cruisers also voiced the opinion that the only really good food to be had was at the specialty restaurant Prime C. We did ear there twice and enjoyed it. They used to serve these delicious small cupcakes in the Mosaic Cafe and they were not to be found-the pastries I ate there were stale.
The crew were not as friendly as I remember in the past. I heard that for many crew members it was their last trip before a much needed vacation so maybe they were tired. It was also very difficult to change money at the deck four desk and only small bills were available. Wrong information was given by staff members also.
I do like the options of dining at whatever time I wish but I do not like being served inferior food. It was very evident that the line was saving money.