Our first Azamara was on the 8-day Croatian Intensive out of Venice. Previously we have cruised Celebrity and quite a few on RC. We were delighted with the experience. No one pushing drinks, spa service or pricey add-ons. Standard beer, wine and cocktails are included. The only option is for a high end drink package. We did not buy that but had excellent wines. We seldom encountered question lines anywhere and the staff was uniformly delightful. The excursions were well done, the Azamazing evening was incredible and White Night was a lot of fun. We enjoyed the more mature group on board, and met fascinating, friendly people. The food was uniformly good at every venue. Captain Tony was visible and accessible, as was CD Tony and the rest of the crew. We read previous staff reviews, but this crew seemed to be jelling nicely. I’m afraid, though, that this was a costly cruise...as we are spoiled now and cannot return to the bustling crowds, belly flop contests and waiting lines of less costly cruises. Read Less

Over the years, I have been privileged to sail on forty cruises. These cruises were on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Disney, Holland America, Cunard, Princess, NCL and some other lines that don’t even exist any longer. Out of all of those cruises, Azamara was simply the best. I am confused as to the Azamara Pursuit’s low ratings and inconsistent reviews. I concluded that since I am moving up from mass market ships, that maybe a reason why I feel that this cruise was really one of my best. People moving from higher level lines such as Seaborn, Silversea and the like would possibly be disappointed. Azamara is not a true luxury cruise line they live in between premium lines like Celebrity and luxury lines like Seaborn. Azamara, Oceania, Viking Ocean and Windstar are considered deluxe cruise lines in between premium lines (like Celebrity) and luxury lines like (Seaborn). I think if people understand and set their expectations correctly, they will enjoy a cruise on Azamara. What I loved about this cruise was the size of the ship, easy to get around and lines were a minimal. What a pleasure it was to not wait to be seated for dinner or for an elevator. The service was, for the most part excellent. The ports were fantastic and staying late is a nice feature. The particular Azamara cruise I sailed on was a Croatia intensive voyage. If you get a chance to visit this part of the world, take it. The ports were beautiful and historic. The décor on the Pursuit was very stylish and the ship looked brand new even though it has been sailing for many different cruise lines for the past 18 years of her life. I especially enjoyed the Azamazing evening and the White Night Party. All unique and gave the cruise a special touch. Food was also plentiful and mostly of high quality. The included drinks were enough for me as I drink very sparingly. I would have like to have seen more port/historical lectures. We had a gentlemen who presented on each port and he was great. I wish he could have done even more seminars on the history and geography of the region. I think Azamara could do more learning activities such as Cunard. Also, boarding in Venice could have been handled better however I think these issues have to do more with the port of Venice than Azamara. I will definitely be returning back to Azamara soon, it truly was the best cruise I have been on. Read Less

We were on the intensive Croatia cruise. Previously we have sailed on Royal Caribbean and Princess Cruise. Azamara was a delight in comparison. No constant high pressure sales, small ship, the all inclusive, and mature passengers made for a relaxing cruise. The staff were exceptional. Our room was quickly seen to every morning and evening and was always clean and everything we needed was always provided. Regarding the Veranda cabin bathroom, it is small, but the shower is ridiculous small. I am 5’8” and 135lbs and it was a tight squeeze for me. We loved the over all decor of the ship. We just wonder how they manage to keep the light carpets and furniture clean! The food was plentiful with many options while not outstanding it was not bad either. The White night and chocolate buffet were a lot of fun and amazing. We were in a port everyday and on the go all day so did not have time or energy for any of the entertainment that was offered. The free laundry was great although extremely crowded on the day we embarked. We found the Azamara excursions to be way over priced so with the exception of two excursion we booked our own. My only complaint was directions on getting to San Basilio and disembarking. We planned on taking a train to Venice and did not want to deal with water transportation to San Basilio. Azamara was of no help with this issue. After researching we found that by taking a train to Mestre we could hire a driver who took us directly by land to the port. On the day of disembarkation we had a driver picking us up at 6:30 am. Again I could not get any information out of Azamara before we boarded regarding what time we could disembark. Once on the ship we had to speak to three different customer staff members to get us on the list to disembark early. A little unnecessary anxiety. All in all we highly recommend Azamara and this Croatian cruise. Read Less

Hi everyone: INTRODUCTION For those of you considering taking a high end cruise, you may want to read my reviews of our experiences on board Crystal, Oceania, Seabourn, Silverseas, and Regent. I do focus on the food in my reviews, so I apologize in advance if it's not your main criterion. Interestingly, my wife and I had never heard of Azamara before we booked this cruise. We were in Greece for a destination wedding, and had to cruise on a certain day: Azamara's Pursuit was the only high end cruise available: boy what a lucky option it turned out to be! (Azamara is Royal Caribbean's luxury cruise line.) Let me start with a few minor disappointments: the specialty restaurants charge 30$ per person, and there is a charge for the wifi. We weren't really happy about these two things, and therefore things got off to a rough start. I know what you're thinking--and you're completely right: when spending that kind of money for a nine day cruise, why complain about a few small fees? I agree completely, but my wife was a bit upset. The ship was recently refurbished, so everything inside was "like new." They took out the casino, however--just an FYI. Their other two ships do have a casino. While this cruise only had one sea day; and thus I expect that many other passengers were able to use their carrier's data service while in Europe, and not the ship's wifi, their wifi was faster than the complimentary wifi offered on all the other cruise lines I mentioned at the start of this article. I was also given free wifi by my travel agent, so the internet turned out to be great after all. When I say "great" I mean you can check your email, and most web pages that aren't "image intensive" load reasonably quickly. (Don't even think about watching videos though.) You couldn't even do these things on the other ships I have taken. (I still don't understand why these high end cruise lines don't offer high speed wifi for an additional fee, as does Royal Caribbean and other mainstream cruise lines.) CONCLUSION I'll get to the details, but my wife and I enjoyed ourselves more on this ship than on all the other luxury cruises we have taken. Three reasons account for this: 1. The staff is extraordinarily friendly. 2. The food is delicious. 3. There is a great deal to do. DETAILS Staff As we were departing for an excursion, and I swiped my key card with the security guard, I saw on his monitor the words "Enjoy your time downtown." In other words, I get it: even though the staff is told to say these types of things, they do a good job "acting," and it comes across as genuine. You can't pass a crew member without them saying, "Did you go a shore today? How was it?" and so forth. Most of the crew exuded a genuine warmth which was definitely noticed by many other passengers as well. Everybody commented about the friendliness of the crew. Many other cruise lines staff go through the motions, but it doesn't seem as genuine as on the Pursuit. Food While the food was not as "upscale" as on Regent and Oceania, I enjoyed it much more! When I say "upscale" I am referring to expensive foods such as caviar, scallops, tuna, jumbo shrimps, lamb chops, sushi, etc. Honestly, I'm not sure why I enjoyed the food more on the Pursuit than on the other cruises I have taken. They didn't have as much of the aforementioned food items as Oceania and Regent, but they did serve each of the items. Even though there were no separate side dishes available with dinner, I still found more variety at every meal onboard the Pursuit than other ships. Breakfasts are pretty much the same--even on high end cruise ships, and fresh orange juice was always available. Very high quality smoked salmon, too. They also had a smoothie bar open for breakfast. Aside from the smoked salmon and fresh squeezed OJ, my experience has been breakfasts are the same on every cruise line, whether an expensive one or not. There seemed to be more variety for lunch than I have previously experienced. Always a pork dish, a chicken dish, a seafood dish, a pasta dish, a beef, dish a cutting board meat, etc. In addition to a huge variety of salads and vegetables, pizza etc. The mashed potatoes were amazing! I did notice many pork dishes available for lunch and dinner. This is a plus for me, but may not be for you. The desserts were amazing!: bananas foster, many "crumbles," tiramisu, ice cream, puddings. On Regent, it was only cookies in the afternoon. While Oceania has a famous "high tea" with about 8 daily desserts, i still enjoyed those on the Pursuit a bit more. The coffee shop always had a few sweets as well. The only negative I found, I also found on every other cruise: no drip coffee. Just the espresso machines. While I was surprised that there were no "sides" available at dinner--other than what came with your entree, the variety was quite large, and the food extraordinary tasty. Like the competition, they have a few items which are available every night in case you don't like the daily options. The food that was served in the buffet had some common items with the sit down menu; but it also had many dishes that were not available at the main restaurant. This is in contrast to many other ships, where the buffet food is identical (pretty much) to that served in the dining room. And just to be clear, tuna, scallops, steaks, lamb chops and sushi were available on different nights on the Pursuit. Not in the amounts found on Regent or Oceania, but available nonetheless. For the price we paid, this fact did put me off a bit. As much as I love pork, I felt I was "paying for lobster." MISCELLANEOUS I'm not sure if it's fair to compare cruise fares, because there are so many different fares depending upon when and whom you book with. But our feeling was that Azamara was among the more expensive cruise lines. A basic beverage package including alcohol is complimentary, but excursions and air fare are not. In addition, a suite with a balcony was thousands more than just having a window. I don't remember this being the case on the other ships we've taken. On the Pursuit they had a "white night" party where everyone is encouraged to dress in white, there is an outdoor barbecue and live performances by the entertainers--a lovely party. The quantity of food was what you might expect on Royal Caribbean: there must have been ten entrees and twenty salads, plus breads, appetizers, desserts, etc. As for the performances, the singers hit every note! The songs sounded remarkably like the original songs they were "covering." I'm very ignorant about music, but even I could hear that they did an outstanding job of singing. They also had a chocolate night on the last night: I missed it but heard it was very well done. Finally, they offered a complimentary evening in Dubrovnik, to listen to a famous local cello player. They bused us both ways, set up seating in the middle of an outdoor square, and arranged the concert for anyone on the ship who wanted to attend. A lovely touch. I'd say about one half to two thirds of the passengers showed up. There were two hours of trivia available each day. The cruise director hardly made any announcements--and none that went into your stateroom. The captan did make a few and they were well done. And a nice touch was that the disembarkation instructions were not handed out until the very end of the cruise: talk about a buzz kill! Many competitors do it on the second or third day. The spa had someone who did acupuncture (for a fee). I tried it for the first time for my hips and was pleased at the results. Gym is similar to what you might expect. Typical fitness classes were offered. We didn't do any Azamara excursions. A magician performed two shows on one night only and this was a refreshing change to the entertainment, which mostly consists of Broadway songs, and musicals, as is the case with most cruise lines. I can't stress enough that we had fantastic times on all the cruise lines I mentioned at the beginning of this review, but our new favorite is Azamara. Read Less

Just back from another (yes, another!) Azamara cruise, sailing this time from Venice to Athens. Not one, not two, but THREE new ports (for us). From day one this cruise was really special, from the wonderful greeting welcoming us onboard from Elizabeth, the Hotel Director, right through to the last night dining in Prime C with Emerson waiting on us so perfectly. Captain Antonio is such a wonderfully caring Captain making sure all his passengers and crew are happy and he has such a great sense of humour - it was wonderful to sail with him again. The hotel reception desk staff are so friendly and helpful. The Den is such a great place to meet up (as is The Living Room) but unfortunately a recent change has been the introduction of intrusive background music which is either so low it is just indistinguishable background noise or so loud it intrudes upon conversations. There are areas without it, fortunately, but only in the games room/internet area and the Sunset Verandah, The latter of which unfortunately does not have a Sunset Bar (though the waiting staff cope very well). The Journey Den area still has a casino until the next refit, but it does have a wonderful ‘window on the world’ multiscreen wall and I think it would make a great addition to The Den on the Pursuit. The entertainment isn’t what is was - now only four singers performing mostly uninspiring shows. For instance they perform one called ‘Broadway’ but perform songs from many British shows which eventually made it to New York. Also some of the songs seem unsuited to the voices of the singers who perform them (Solo Saxophone from “Miss Saigon” an example, with the singers singing ‘solo sax-I-phone’!) The White Night is a significant exception with the Azamara Pursuit’s revised White Night performance (possibly a full 90-minute long) really Top Notch and the best White Night on any of the Azamara ships. Cruise Director Tony Markey also has a first class show especially when accompanied by his wife Christine. Lee the Assistant Cruise Director, has such great people skills - always around making sure that everyone is having a great time. Fernando is a great LCV Ambassador and Cruise Sales Manager. We enjoyed a number of excursions on this cruise, usually with excellent guides but find (a) some of the excursion descriptions are not accurate, and (b) some excursions are sold to people unable to keep up, thus delaying everyone else. On the last night of this cruise we dined with friends in Prime C when Emerson waited upon us with sheer professionalism making the evening an absolute delight. However there were several people in the restaurant unsuitably attired - a young man in shorts and flip flops and another man wearing a straw hat and rambling pants. May I suggest that a note be included on the restaurant confirmation of booking card reminding diners of the expected standard of dress. This would make it clear and ease the embarrassment of restaurant staff. Why do we keep coming back to Azamara? Firstly, it HAS to be the crew - they are EXCEPTIONAL! They give such caring service and always so willingly and with a smile. At breakfast on the Windows Terrace this morning, Gina welcomed us and smilingly brought us our English breakfast tea. Azamara suggest that “You’ll love where we take you”, and we do. We love where they take us - we love HOW they take us, and we love WITH WHOM they take us (the wonderful crew and frequently other Azamara frequent cruisers). We look forward to sailing with Azamara again. We don’t intend to wait long - we sail again in July! Read Less

This was our first cruise with Azamara. A short, three day cruise followed with a post cruise package on the Orient Express. (I have not been able to positively verify, but believe this is the first season for a collaboration between the two. It was also the very first of these limited offerings) We arrived in Venice the day before and spent the night at the Hotel Antichi Figure. This is a lovely little gem situated on the Grand Canal directly across from St Lucia train station. We cannot say enough good things about this small hotel, from communications prior to our arrival to the lovely alfresco breakfast looking out at the activity on the canal. Embarkation was among the fastest and most efficient we have experienced. Heading up to the pool deck while we waited for the "all clear" for staterooms, we opted to lunch at the Patio where we found a wide assortment of cooked to order items are available daily. In addition to some of the best burgers we have had at sea, they also offer beef, lamb and chicken brochettes, in addition to a salad bar and other options. Other dining venues include the specialty restaurants (which we chose not to try this cruise) and the Windows Cafe, the buffet, which we only visited once. While understandably smaller than the buffets on other larger ships, do not let the size discourage you! The variety changes daily and they generally have a theme for dinner. The main dining room is quite nice, and the staff very attentive. Two specials of the day are offered at dinner, however we were not as impressed with with these. Overall we felt the menu was comparable with other lines we have traveled, and nothing to get excited over. Perhaps the specialty restaurants are where Azamara shines?The included wines (one red and one white) were nothing special but quite drinkable. Likewise, the included bar menu selections were quite restrictive. Surprisingly, even with the short itinerary, we were fortunate enough to experience a White Night Party on our second night. The buffet was amazing and the entertainment just the right mix to please everyone. Our Cruise Director, Tony Markey, was amazing and talented. First time to have a cruise director who was also an entertainer! Before we knew it we had returned to Venice. Disembarkation was smooth and efficient as well as our transfer to the Grand Monaco Hotel for two nights before our trip on the Orient Express. Having the extra day and a half was perfect to get in sights we had missed out on before. Transfer to the Orient Express was also efficiently handled and we were aboard the famous train in less than an hour. I will just say that the train itself lives up to its reputation for style and service. The amenities provided are first class. There was an abundance of food, but I will say that the quality was not quite what we were expecting (a large portion is obviously pre prepared and finished aboard the train). The scenery and ambiance were sensational. Bottom line while this was a short cruise, Azamara did not "wow" us as we had hoped. We were grateful for the opportunity to experience the Orient Express, but would not consider it something you would do more than once. Read Less

This was our first Azamara cruise, having sailed before mainly with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. We were expecting it to be a step up from the other lines but we found it wasn’t. The Officers and staff we found to be very friendly. Training of staff in some areas was certainly lacking. You wouldn’t expect a waiter to need a table plan to take you to your table and still get it wrong. Our cabin steward and the two Croatian barmen in The Den were excellent. Food in the main restaurant was very good but we found the buffet at lunchtime was disappointing. The speciality restaurants is an area where training needs to be given. The food was very good but waiters should not remove plates before everyone in your party has finished the course. This made a couple feel as if they were holding us up. We were lucky enough to be invited to an Officers hosting evening and we were lucky to have the Officer Lucy Dobson on our table who was an excellent advert for Azamara Staff. Would we sail with Azamara again? Yes we would if the price and itinerary were what we wanted, but our expectations wouldn’t be so high. A tip we found useful was that the coffee table is too big for the room but we moved it between the window and settee and it gave us a lot more room. Read Less

Azamara Quest offers a great, small ship experience, with individual, unique events that add to the enrichment of the immersive experience. Great service, great food and wonderful ports of call, combined with a desire to correct any issues whilst onboard, make Azamara one of the best to cruise with. Venice, Kotor, Ravenna, Hvar, Dubrovnik and Koper, were all ports worthy of a visit, and with the Azamazing Evening in Koper, made the cruise memorable. PerpetuumJazille were a wonderful a Capella group and the highlight of the cruise entertainment. The stateroom we booked was an outside and was all we could have expected. Smallish but sufficient, the bathroom contains just enough space to meet its intended functions. Bars and restaurants provide quality offerings with speedy service and a great “can do” approach. Two tender ports posed no problems as the service was slick and uneventful. Being docked in Venice overnight offer a reprieve from the high cost associated with eating and drinking in the overpriced areas whilst still offering the chance to see all the sights that Venice is known for. A walking and gondola tour by Viator proved to be a “must do” event. However, our EasyJet flight was cancelled 21 hours before we were scheduled to return home and our travel agent managed to get us a flight to get us back to LHR instead of LGW but we had to spend 10 hours at the airport for this flight, with a promise of reimbursement of the taxi fare when we submitted a valid receipt to them. A sour note on which to end our best cruise so far... Read Less

This was our first cruise on Azamara since we mostly sail on Celebrity and Princess. We love the smaller ship and the fact that there weren't many children on board (I only saw one). We wanted to go more upscale and chose this cruise for the itinerary (Venice-Croatia-Montenegro-Slovenia-Venice). I'd say this cruise was very good but not amazing. Here are my pros and cons: Pros - Windows Buffet - loved the fresh squeezed orange juice for breakfast and the full salad bar at lunch and dinners. My favorites were the carved roasted turkey which was so tender and delicious, lentils, salad bar, smoked salmon and mackerel for breakfast, and their Indian dishes (which unfortunately were too few). - Discoveries Restaurant was very nice with freshly prepared cuisine (we liked this better than their specialty restaurants which charged a fee). - Service at all restaurants was good though some servers were much better than others. - The ship was usually able to dock at ports or very close to it with a short tender. - Embarkation/disembarkation at ports ran very smoothly with little or no waiting time. - Love how they provide guests with bottled water 24/7. - Having an overnight in Venice was brilliant. - Azamazing evening in Slovenia was magical. - White Nights dinner was great despite the stormy weather. Cons - Most of the main entrees seemed to be dry and overcooked. - Asian cuisine wasn't very good. - Prime C was a letdown - the steak was meh and their onion soup was dismal. - The restaurant aft windows in Prime C were dirty. - Our shower was so small - a few turns and you'd bump into the wall. Plus the shower curtain would keep touching you all the time. The bottom walls of the shower looked like they've been peeled and fixed but it looks cheap and worn. Although we were expecting more, we enjoyed the smaller size of this ship and will cruise again if the itinerary is right for us. Read Less

We wanted to experience Azamara for the first time and we also liked the itinerary which coincided with our anniversary and an opportunity to visit Venice again. Sailing out and back into Venice was an absolutely wonderful experience, to be recommended. We enjoyed all of the stops and it was a great advantage to dock close to the ports in most cases. I gave an average rating for the excursions as we couldn't say "not applicable." We thought the excursions were rather expensive and found that we could happily do our own thing in port and there was a lot to see at each stop. We have sailed on Silversea and Viking so are surprised to see people who criticise the food. The ship's food is excellent and no complaints about this. The staff are also excellent and everyone greets you each morning and are polite and friendly. We did not bother with some of the entertainment on offer as it did not appeal but we thought that the Lectures on the ports were excellent, as well as the amazing Opera Singer. Very impressed with the Amazing Evening it was spectacular, couldn't fault it and it made us feel special. We would definitely take another Azamara cruise and can recommend it to other cruisers. Read Less

Chose this cruise for the dates, the itinerary and for the nice reviews our friend gave. However, I found the cruise to be lacking in several key areas. First, the ship was old and dated and desperately in need of refurbishment. Second, the food was beyond awful. Other than breakfast, totally inedible, There was to nights that my wife could only eat soup and breadsticks. The specialty restaurants were fine, but they charged EXTRA (not so on Seabourne) and we literally had to beg to get in, as they would NOT allow reservations pre-boarding, and once we boarded, they claimed all booked up. Talk about a Catch-22. Third, the cabin was disgusting. there was an old and moldy shower curtain that, because the shower was so small, was constantly touchy our bodies. (photos on request). Talk about a dirty feeling! For the SAME price of a Seabourne cruise, this vacation was sorely lacking. Avoid this cruise line and spend your money elsewhere. Read Less

Picked the cruise because of the itinerary. Best part of the voyage was the entertainment -- 4 young opera signers, Amazing night in Dubrovnik, and Captain Magnus. Our cabin, a suite 8043 was much smaller than what we are used to on other lines. Azamara advertises the suites include complimentary dining in Prime C and Aqualina. We were traveling with two other couples also in suites. It was next to impossible to get dining reservations. Our "butler" told us to speak to the manager of those dining rooms. He was very unhelpful. We did manage to eat in Prime C once and Aqualina twice. Service in Agualina was poor and food mediocre. There was nothing special about food or service in Prime C. The included spirits and wines on the ship ranged from drinkable to not. We were constantly "encouraged" to purchase upgrade packages. Had to pay extra to have a glass of Chianti in Aqualina the Italian restaurant. Ridiculous! Enrichment lectures were scheduled for 8:15 pm when everyone was dining. The ship seemed understaffed, especially in all the food venues. . Only really great service was from our cabin attendants. Overall value of cruise was poor. We sailed on the RSSC Explorer earlier in the year -- had a very large suite, absolutely everything was included. Cost was $95 per per/per day less than this cruise. And that was before we had to pay for the shore excursions, wine, etc. on Azamara. Shore excursions ranged from terrible in Rijeka (why does Azamara not use the microphone/ear buds other lines use) to excellent in some other ports. Will not sail with Azamara again. Read Less

I took my husband and three adult children to Croatia on the Azamara Quest. The ship was lovely, (smaller than most - 600 passengers). The service was phenomenal, the food was outstanding, the cabins were very comfortable and well maintained. Although my family had a wonderful time, I would not highly recommend this cruise for twenty-somethings, unless you are with other families with similar aged kids. My kids kept themselves busy at the casino, and while there is music and some entertainment which is enough for us 50+ year olds, it’s not the kind of entertainment a 28 year old wants. I would however, recommend this cruise line and cruise ship for anyone 50+. The food in the main dining room was superb. We are a family of cooks and foodies and really found most meals to be very good to outstanding. Daniel in the dining room seemed to always be there when needed. The stateroom attendant, Giri, was perfect. He was there when we needed him and Took great care of us. The wait staff was plentiful and always smiling. I will return. Read Less

Cruising Croatia has always been a big wish on my part. This cruise plan was to go to new place every day, which meant no sea days! We started out from Venice. Can recommend to do that once in your lifetime..still not as beautiful as leaving Stockholm, but very moving in some way. Unfortunately, due to heavy winds, our itenerary was changed. I have deep respect for the captain for making a decision that make some cruisers very upset or sad. Communication from bridge was very fulfilling. Even though our cabin had the smallest bathroom of all the cabins we have had on other cruises....always balcony .....we managed! We found the food in the restaurant very delicious, but were disappointed by the choises of all included wine. Only 2 different white and reds and 1 rose to choose between Each Day. Actually the rose was the same all week....the white and red were the same again after four nights.....We had read that Azamara usually serve wine from the regions they visit, but in this case that was not correct, as we were offered Wine from Chile, South Africa and France. On other all inclusive cruises, we have been on Regent and Silversea, they had a better selection. Having said that, we still loved our cruise and do hope to come back. Read Less

The ship is very richly decorated and the staff are highly attentive particularly compared to larger ships. The Varandah stateroom was a pleasure to be in and excellently cleaned and tidiesd regularly. in terms of service I particularly recommend two Ukranians Katerina serving in the cabaret and and Irina in the cafe and a Hungarian, Lazar, in the cafe. The entertainment was superb and the in house Magic City Opera events stand out for me. The locally guided tours were very informative with the personal touch particularly in Thailand but also Vietnam. The historical talks on the area were interesting and well informed. The captain is a extremely funny and gregarious and makes it all come together into the Azamara experience. My only criticism is the US obsession with charging for expensive WiFi packages. This is very stressful particularly for families and it should be integrated in the package forthwith as it is the only element at variance with the Azamara experience. Read Less

We hadn't cruised in years and only on larger ships (which we didn't like), when a friend recommended Azamara. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and it didn't disappoint. Embarkation in Venice was incredibly smooth (took all of 10 minutes) and we were soon on board and enjoying lunch. We had an aft balcony cabin that was comfortable and had plenty of storage and the bathroom and shower, while snug, was not as bad as I had been let to believe (lol). Our cabin attendants kept it all spotless. We found the food to be very good. We ate most of our breakfasts in the Windows buffet and dinners in the MDR, although we bought a package for the 2 specialty restaurants, Prime C and Aqualina and the Chef's Table. We found the food at Prime C and Aqualina not all that much better than the MDR, but the Chef's Table is really not to be missed. Outstanding! I can't speak too much about the entertainment, as we didn't partake that much. We found the group in the Living Room that played during cocktail hour too loud to promote conversation, though and much preferred the pianist in the Spirits lounge. The Azamazing Evening was the cellist Ana Ruchner in an outdoor venue in Split - a rock version of Yo Yo Ma - not to my taste, but a beautiful venue and very well organized. MY azamazing evening was a couple nights later when they brought an Italian tenor onboard as a surprise for a late night concert on the pool deck. We only booked 1 ship sponsored excursion, but it was a great one - at Dubrovnik, an excursion to the town of Ston, about an hour away for an oyster and mussel tasting, followed by a fabulous seafood lunch. The rest of our excursions we arranged privately with folks we met on our CC Roll Call. Although we loved all of the ports, we feel we could have used an extra sea day. We ended up skipping Florence (to our regret) because we were just so exhausted from Rome the previous day. We were struck by the friendliness of both the passengers and the crew. It was easy to meet people and because of the small size of the ship, one would tend to see the same people frequently. I feel like I have forged some lasting friendships. Read Less

We are "destination-focused" travelers, and while we have been to land trips in Europe several times, we chose this 10-nt Venice-Barcelona trip because it was going to give us an opportunity to revisit some of our favorite destinations -- Venice, Positano, Florence, the Riviera, and Barcelona. We love the size of Azamara ships -- lots of pretty places in which to relax without the overwhelming atmosphere of an "auditorium" gathering place; excellent cuisine in main dining room every evening plus the over-the-top French Chefs Table, high caliber of entertainment with variety, and well-timed shorter performances of 45 minutes to keep the crowd, and provide us with several venues in the course of an evening. Great, friendly, and unstuffy service. A Captain who is so "guest friendly" we looked forward to his afternoon often humorous and self-effacing factual announcements, which totally spoke to his competence and professionalism. Our cabin was as cozy as we remembered last year, with well appointed storage which was more than sufficient for me, the chronic overpacker bar none. While we had only travelled before last year, that was on Celebrity 12 years ago, we clearly prefer the smaller ship environment and would not consider other lines at this point. Special highlights: Azamazing Evening! White Night Party on deck! Job well done! Read Less

We had previously travelled with Celebrity and Cunard on 2500 to 2800 size ships. This is a quarter of those. The food was good but no better than the larger ships that don't claim to be luxury at the same level. Service was excellent with very friendly and helpful staff. Most drinks are included and it was nice to have wine with a choice at each meal included. The smaller ship meant that we met friends more easily whilst around the ship. The entertainment was much more limited than for the larger ships due to space and budget. It was more personal but also a bit more amateur. The 'Amazing' evening ashore when Azamara put on a an evening event for all the travellers was brilliant and free. There was also a 'white Knight' barbecue evening on the higher deck which was superb with excellent food. So, the cruise was very good and different from the larger ships. Would we travel again? Probably only if the itinerary fitted. Read Less

We chose this cruise based upon advertising and online recommendations. In a nutshell, the Azamara Quest over-promises and under-performs in many areas, all while charging premium dollars for the cruise. First, we have been on well over 100 cruises and my wife and I agree that the crew on the Quest was the best of any of our many voyages.They were consistently "GREAT". Also, the Captain interacted with the passengers daily, something you rarely see in today's cruise world. The food was hit or miss. We did not go to alternative dining. Food in the Discoveries Restaurant was good, but not great. Hit or miss! For example on several nights, I ordered fish, and without exception, it was very dry. Food in the windows café was varied and again, good, but not great. Based on our cruising experience, most of the shore excursions were grossly overpriced. While we were in port most days, and many passengers left the ship, activities on board were almost nonexistent. Those they had, included such things as "table tennis get-together, unhosted", "Enjoy a caprese Panini in windows café", "bridge game get-together, unhosted" and a "Last chance art sale". Entertainment on "The White Night" and the "Amazing Evening" was extraordinary and enjoyed by all. On balance, most of the other entertainment was good. The ship itself showed some signs that it was due to be refurbished; however, it was well-maintained and very clean. There was a daily trivia however unlike most ships, many of the questions were very difficult, to a fault. We have played a lot of trivia and Azamara must learn to ask questions that are age-appropriate for their passengers and challenging, but not impossible, to answer. I did use the fitness center if you times and the equipment was good, but very limited. The ports were fine and very interesting, but for the most part, very crowded, as you might expect in Europe, in the summer. One last thing. We were told not to make flight arrangements before 11 AM on the last day. As it was, passengers were told to disembark beginning at 8 to 9 AM. Had we known this, our plane travel home could have been much more direct and would have allowed us to get home without overnighting in New York City. Read Less

We choose this ship as we liked the itinerary and we were keen to try a smaller ship. We traveled with 2 other couples and we all loved Azamara. We had traveled previously 3 times on celebrity cruise ships which we loved and twice on priinces cruise ships. Azamara Quest is our new favourite. The staff are so helpful and friendly. The food in all areas was some of the best food and meals we have ever eaten on a cruise ship. We did bistro C one night and the steaks were mazing as was the service and the rest of the food. Amazing night in Dubrovnik was a highlight with a cellist player who captured the audience with her talent. Captain Jose was so involved and we seen him many times around the ship and at the tenders. The pool area lovely and quiet and we never had trouble getting a lounge chair. The ship was tastefully decorated throughout . Thankyou Azamara we will Be definitely back. Read Less

We booked the cruise based on reviews from family. Right off the hop we were warned we would be a bit young (me 42 wife turning 40) There were some looks at first, but I didn't feel out of place. Sorry this is more of an itinerary review than a ship review. First impressions were good. The crew were very helpful, and I was surprised by the amount of senior officers present during the embarkation! We were allowed to go to our rooms around 1:30pm. We were in balcony stateroom 7051. I felt it was nice and close to everything. 2 decks up to breakfast and two decks down for dinner. It was a bit noisy on tender days, as the life rafts were directly under us. I didn't find it too bad, as we were usually up and getting ready by the time they started. I did have some issues with the cleanliness of our stateroom, but our room stewards were there addressing my concerns promptly. The majority of the first day in Venice was waiting for the safety drills, but we were allowed to debark around 5pm. The port was a walkable distance to Realto bridge, but I got lost both days in port ;-) Lots of walking and lots to see and the food was excellent... Venice was my favorite port by far! Dinner in the main dining room on deck 5 was always good. We picked a table for two each time we were there, but there were always people willing to chat between courses. Jesse and Ricky were my favorite team! Had a G&T on the way by the time we sat down! As this trip was port intensive we only had lunch on the ship once. The buffet was ok, but nothing extraordinary. I found the snack bar better! Most of the food was fresh cooked, as they were usually busy in the afternoon. Chicken wings were nice and crispy and the turkey burgers were great! The pool and Hot tubs were hardly used and never had an issue getting a lounger. Prime C was one of the upcharge restaurants and was worth the $30 cover. We went for my wife's birthday and we had a nice intimate table in front of the window at the rear of the ship. The waiters brought a birthday cake out at the end of the meal. When we returned to our stateroom we found it decorated with a spa voucher for $50.00 and a note form the captain and hotel director! I found the first 3 ports to be a bit repetitive, Venetian style forts at each stop down the Adriatic, and not much else. While the views were stunning there wasn't much to do but walk around and have lunch. The ship overnighted in Kotor, which was wasted on me, as we didn't get off the ship until 9 the next morning. Corfu was disappointing. I felt like I didn't want to venture to far from the ship as we were only in port for 6 hours. The city was dirty and you could see the austerity put in place by the EU. The Officers put on a BBQ on the pool deck as we left Greece. They even had turkey and stuffing for us Canadian Thanksgivingers! Malta was pleasantly surprising. I found Valletta to be a nice mix of old and new construction. The streets were clean and there was so much to see within walking distance of the ship. Azamara had their Azamazing evening here. Chamber music isn't my thing, but the venue was amazing! They called it the conference center, but it turned out to be a 17th century hospital! The wine and tapas in the mingling area were a nice touch, and the captain was posing for pictures at the entrance to the hall. The concert was about 30 minutes, but I was most impressed with the organization getting us back on the busses to get back to the ship. Sicily was exactly as I imagined! We tendered in a bit outside Taormina but it was a nice walk along the beach front road. The Hop-on bus wasn't the best idea I've had this trip, but we got to experience some interesting corners on the way up the mountain! Sorrento is a beautiful little town! We ventured out to Pompeii on the train for the morning and spent the afternoon shopping and eating! The cannoli was so good! The crew put on White night here. It was very busy, and we decided to skip the buffet for just that fact. The dance floor was busy and it was a nice night. Amalfi was very picturesque. We spent first part of the day trekking up the hill to see some beautiful sights and spent the afternoon weaving through all the tour groups :-( totally worth it though ;-) Debarkation in Rome got off to a rocky start! There was conflicting times on the newsletter most people arrived 15 minutes too early, but once 7:30 came around the security staff processed the crowd quickly. Overall the ship was ok. Most ports were good, but a bit repetitive for the first few days. The ships staff was great! The food was good, but not spectacular. The casino was small and the lounges were comfortable. I felt like we spent a lot of money for this trip, and was wanting a bit more? I won't be rushing back but I would probably take another cruise with them, as they have some exciting itineraries planned. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of wanting to try something different; we have sailed exclusively on Royal Caribbean and had heard great things about Azamara, For the itinerary we had been to Italy and loved it so much, but wanted to spend more time there. This cruise started in Venice and ended in Rome, with many ports in between that we had not visited. It did not disappoint! The ship is beautiful, and holds approximately 700 passengers; a nice change from the larger ships we have sailed on with Royal. The crew were so warm and welcoming, and always going out of their way to help. It is so nice to be able to cruise right up to the city centers in many cases due to the smaller size of the ship! The onboard port expert was interesting and knowledgeable and gave great background to the ports we visited. While there are not a lot of activities available to occupy your free time when cruising, it was a refreshing change! Most of the sailing was done after dinner, so your time in port was much longer, and that was really nice. To see the ports in the evening was special. We took advantage of room service for breakfast and really enjoyed the expanded breakfast menu! The food was always hot, and quality excellent. Dinners were so good in the Windows Café that we ate most of them there! It was a nice buffet, and there were different themes every night; just the right size without being overwhelming. Always freshly prepared. To have beer and wine included in the price was nice; I don't usually drink a glass of with dinner every night but found myself indulging since it was included. The choices they had were pretty good. We did choose to purchase a 3 table tour of the specialty restaurants Prime C and Aqualina; enjoyed them both, with Prime C being our favorite. As far as excursions go, we did book a few ship excursions, but the majority were booked with fellow cruisers that we met right here on Cruise Critic! When we ended the cruise in Rome we stayed for 2 days after to get in a bit more sight seeing; we used a tour company called "All around Italy" and highly recommend them! Fabrizio is the owner and his younger brother Valentino took us on private tours of Rome by night, and the following day to Tivoli and visiting the former summer residence of the pope. Simply beautiful and amazing. We adore Italy and can't wait to explore more. We will return to Azamara again someday soon, and find another corner of the world to explore! Read Less

Our first ever cruise and it surpassed our expectations. Room was amazing, food was delicious and varied, staff were great. Will definitely recommend and hope to sail with them again. The Azamazing evening was wonderful, as was the Tenor. The shows by the Azamara singers and dancers were good. Didn't use the Spa or the Gym (was generally otherwise busy), but they looked good. Went on one ship shore excursion and thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide was knowledgeable and helpful. The nice little touches, like decorating the room for my husband's birthday and the way we were welcomed back to the ship were great. We only struck a couple of staff members who let the side down a little - but not so much that it ruined anything. Food is something we enjoy and it was lovely having different themes each night. The food and service in Aquline was fantastic. Read Less

We are recently back from a 10-day voyage from Venice to Rome on the lovely Azamara Quest. We are experienced cruisers with 50 plus voyages on ships of all sizes and shapes. Getting frustrated with the mega-ships, we were eager to go back to a smaller vessel that looks and feels like an ocean liner. We booked this trip approximately 18 months out and our first impressions of Azamara were not great. As we like to book all our travels directly, we tried to use the company’s online booking engine to make our arrangements. We found the Azamara website to be rather difficult to navigate and when we finally were able to make our booking, none of the promised credits or email confirmations showed up. The sale code at the time was continuously rejected and it took several frustrating phone calls to the 800 number to get our confirmation and onboard credits to actually appear. By this time, I was increasingly apprehensive about this product and wanted to cancel the whole thing. However, the travel dates were perfect and we really wanted this to work so we moved forward-and we were glad we did. As time progressed, I am happy to say the web interaction improved dramatically. We were able to pre-book the Land Discoveries (shore excursions) we knew we wanted, and our electronic travel documents arrived just as promised. We chose to spend 3 nights in Venice pre-cruise and stayed at the lovely Hotel Gabrielli (separate review posted on Trip Advisor). Transportation to the ship was super easy via the vaporetto, and staff was waiting to take our bags at the San Basillio pier entrance. Check in took approximately 5 minutes and we were on our way to the ship. First impressions of the Quest were excellent. The public rooms were bright and airy and the staff was smiling and welcoming. We enjoyed our first of many meals at the Windows Café and by 1:30 PM the cabins were ready. Ours, a standard verandah category V3 was much nicer than expected with lots of storage, a good-sized balcony, and a very comfy bed. Yes, the bathroom is small but no more so than any other similarly appointed ship. Our cabin attendant was amongst the best we have had on any cruise; the room was spotless and always serviced immediately after we left for the day. We found the food on Azamara to be excellent in all venues. We ate most of our dinners in the Discoveries Restaurant and the service was very good. We quickly came to really like one waiter and asking to sit in his section each night was cheerfully fulfilled. We did try one of the specialty restaurants, Aqualina, and enjoyed it although there were a few “misses” with the food. White Night and the Officers’ barbeque were also excellent, but very popular. One has to get there early to get a good seat. I won’t go into detailed ports of call descriptions here but a few notable mentions would include Amalfi where we took the ferry over to Positano. It was there that we enjoyed one of the best lunches we have ever had at the lovely Hotel Buca di Bacco. Giardini Naxos was another favorite and we took the Azamara transfer to Taormina to spend the day shopping and, what else, eating pasta! We had read quite a bit about the AzAmazing Evenings and we were not disappointed. Ours was a cello concert by the unbelievable artist, Ana Rucner, in the old town square of Dubrovnik. It was magical, and she received a rousing, well deserved, standing ovation. We did a combination of DIY tours and Azamara Land Discoveries. All worked out really well with one disappointing exception. In Sorrento, Azamara offered a “Relaxing Sail Around the Island of Capri” with refreshments and a stop for swimming. We thought this sounded like an awesome way to finish our trip but the excursion was a real let down. The captain never raised the sails, we never stopped for a swim, and the refreshments were a bowl of potato chips- all for $219 each! Immediately upon returning to the Quest we raised this with the Land Discoveries desk, which gave us a form to fill out. No real apology or any offer of compensation was given. All other Azamara excursions were exactly as described and absolutely worth the rather high costs. A few other observations: We had read reviewers’ complaints regarding the mixers used for cocktails and have to agree, they were awful. We are not big cocktail drinkers, but the tonic in particular made for a pretty poor tasting drink. We mostly stuck to the daily offered wines which were ok, and brought onboard a few bottles we purchased while ashore. The $10 corkage fee was imposed, but is very reasonable and worth it. The onboard self-service laundry room is centrally located on deck 7 and has modern washers and dryers. They are free and detergent is provided. This spot is also very popular and by 7:05 AM, there was usually a queue. I had to go back several times to get the wash done but there was no sign of “laundry rage” that happens on other ships. Just bring a good dose of patience. One other aspect of the trip bothered us a bit. Early on the staff made an announcement that Azamara was very environmentally responsible and that all should take the appropriate actions, i.e., nothing thrown overboard, etc. We applaud all efforts for reducing impact and recycling. Azamara is very generous with providing guests all the water they could want but why use thousands of small plastic water bottles that were everywhere. Our cabin had them, the public rooms had them, and the gangway had them. To be fair, there were recycling cans on the pool deck but how many passengers return to the ship with their empty plastic water bottles? Were those thrown in the regular trash separated and recycled? Our guess is probably not. Here’s a super simple solution: encourage guests to bring a reusable water bottle with them, or, sell them in the shop, or, provide one to each guest instead of yet another tote bag. Refillable water stations are everywhere now- the number of cases of water used each cruise must be enormous. Similarly, the very nice bath amenities came in the little plastic bottles that are also discarded by the thousands. Why not put in the refillable dispensers that are standard in many hotels and ships? A few simple steps would go a long way. I realize that these comments should go to Azamara corporate but there was no place to write them on the post cruise evaluation form. So, I’m hoping someone reads them here. All in all, this was a terrific trip. The staff was very engaging and our fellow passengers were very interesting and friendly. The demographic fit us perfectly and it was nice to be in a place that was really for adults only. We are a bit cruised out so next year will be land-based trips for us. But there is already an Azamara trip calling our name in 2019. It sure looks like we will answer it! Read Less

It was our 25th wedding anniversary so we decided to splurge the kids inheritance and book this cruise. We've cruised with Celebrity, NCL, Royal Caribbean and dare I mention Costa. We are at an age now where we want a cruise that's more adult focussed and higher end. Azamara certainly delivered on both. Embarkation was a breeze in Venice after an overnight stay. Made our way to Mosaic Cafe and grabbed a complimentary glass of champagne, hubby had a coffee as he can't drink. Whilst there, we took advantage of our very healthy OBC (thanks Azamara!) and upgraded to a premium drinks package so I could indulge in my Singapore Slings and hubby loves his Irish Coffee (without the Irish!). We made our way to the buffet for our lunch. All incredibly civilised, fantastic food, great wine and excellent service. Sat outside overlook Venice - beautiful! We then had word that our staterooms were ready. We were staying in a Club Continent Suite room 8042. Absolutely gorgeous, so much space, very comfy bed, complimentary spirits (I asked for them to be exchanged for a couple of bottles of Merlot which was done without question). Bathroom with a tub and rain shower. Great toiletries, proper soap, huge bathrobes. Couldn't ask for much more. Lovely big balcony which we enjoyed immensely (when it didn't rain). As a suite guest, we had complimentary access to Prime C and Aqualina - both were superb. Excellent food and service. Could not fault anything. We also dined several times in the main dining room and apart from one evening where we thought we'd been forgotten about, the food and service again was excellent. All cocktails and wines were lovely and the coffee was excellent too. Ports of call - unfortunately the weather was not kind to us - storms seem to follow us down the Adriatic coast, and the port that I was so desperate to visit, Fiskardo in Kefalonia had to be cancelled due to high winds. We visited Corfu instead which was nice but not Fiskardo. My favourite port of call was Taormina - spectacular - that's all I can say. We had been to Amalfi and Sorrento several times in the past, but had never been to Sicily. Just loved it and will be returning for a longer stay next year. The Captain (who looked too young to drive a car never mind captain a ship!) is a credit to Azamara. Friendly, approachable, visible and a really nice bloke. On leaving Taormina, he said he was taking a bit of a de-tour passed the island of Stromboli so we could see the active volcano on the island. As we passed the island around 10.30pm, you could see the lava and fire from the top of the volcano - just amazing and a sight that will stay with me forever. The weather took a turn for the better when we hit the bottom part of Italy so we took full advantage of the sun decks and solarium. One lovely touch for suite guests, they have complimentary use of the spa area at the front of the ship. A peaceful haven of tranquility where you can sunbathe and use the whirlpool. This was my daily retreat for a bit of a nap and sunbathe - beautiful. White Night - well what can I say - a tenor singing Nessun Dorma had me sobbing - opera always gets me and it did that night. We didn't eat at the buffet but it certainly looked fabulous. We also met some amazing people - Anita and Gibbo from Melbourne and Ken and Carol from Devon - lovely, lovely people and we had such a good laugh! In all, this was the best cruise we have been on and will definitely be sailing with Azamara again. Thank you for making our Silver Wedding Anniversary so special. Read Less