Did the immersive African Cape cruise Fe 2020. Booked it for 2 significant life anniversaries Boutique six star so didnt. Mind paying more, WHAT A LET DOWN Tired old ship with worn out carpets and furniture in public areas. Cabins compact not boutique. They said bathrooms were small - too right they were about the same size as an aircraft toilet. You couldn’t bend down in the shower unless you stuck your rear end out of the shower curtain. { no glass cubicle too small ) We’ve been on pads of cruises and had better for less Food was good and on the upside it’s small and not rammed with passengers but on sea days you were struggling for sun bed space which despite a polic6 saying they couldn’t be retained or reserved this was not enforced so lots of books and towels had a good days sunbathing whilst their owners were elsewhere Entertainment not good in fact on sea days we spent most of the time in our cabin due to the aforementioned sun bed issue watching very outdated films or CNN back to back - yippeee ! Wi fi was about 150 dollars for the cruise so we sacked that. Land tours wer3 equally extortionate mostly consisting of long days on safari so we sacked them as well Tge itinary ( cape of Africa Cape Town Richards bay Durban port Elizabeth ) was spoiled by constant warnings about safety and the possibility of getting robbed. Complimentary buses took you to shopping centre. - really immersive. - don’t think so! Goodness knows why folks like Azamara in our view ( and we are both well travelled and well cruised ) its an overpriced mediocre overblown overrated little boat. We’ve been on much better for less not value boutique or six star. Put us off cruising again. Read Less

I just want to make a couple of points in comparison of these two lines as many on board have sailed on both lines. As a matter of fact just over one month prior I did a 31 day "Around Australia Circumnavigation with New Guinea, Bali, Komodo Island on the Oceania R-Class 1. I am not loyal cruise ship passenger. My priorities are first the itinerary, then the quality of the ship/ line closely behind. Oceania has had my earlier preferred rating. I have sailed on RCL, Holland, Celebrity, Oceania, Norwegian in the past. I will say my bias is to value, not overall price. I cruise on average on 14-31 day sailings. 2. I am a sophisticated traveller, not a vacationer, I work in/ own/ manage a Real Estate Development company and the other half to a lawyer who travels with me. 3. If you cannot tell the difference between Sea Island Cotton and Egyptian Broadcloth I feel this review is not for you. Important Differences Between Oceania vs Azamara Quest. R- Class ships. 1. Internet - Oceania is Free - Azamara is punitive and expensive by any standards - Not to Oceania. 2. In - Cabin Entertainment: Oceania has over 100+ Free On Demand movies - Azamara again is outrageous Hotel priced PPV movies - Nod to Oceania 3. Specialty Dining: Oceania has two FREE specialty dining per sailing and are exceptional - Azamara charges a Fee - Nod to Oceania 4. Outside Grill: Oceania has a Surf and Turf Lobster with Filet of Beef on a Ciabata Bun everyday, Azamara with Nachos and burgers - Nod to Oceania. 5. Grand Dining Room: Azamara is slightly better here with more choices, quality of the beef product superior to Oceania and the staff on this sailing was exceptional - Nod to Azamara Quest 6. Upstairs Buffet Dining: Well I will say this, I rarely eat in the buffet as I cannot stand the Herd Mentality and getting run over by a 90 year old grandmother behaving worse than a Brazillian at Disney World. However that being said, I did eat there twice on a 26 day cruises. - Oceania has Lobster everyday - Nod to Oceania 7. Ships are Identical and from the prior Renaissance Cruise Line - Push 8. Entertainment was Better on Oceania, not much however and that too is objective 9. Guest Lecturers: Oceania is far superior 10. Alcohol: Well this is where they Separate. Azamara regular brands for me were just fine, however there were a few Amarula's and Drambuie that padded the bill on Azamara. Oceania is an expensive proposition with various packages. - Nod to Azamara Wines: The house paid wine on Oceania is garbage, truly, high in acidity, poor quality and way overpriced for the pour and frankly the experience. Stay away from Oceania House Wines - Wines on Azamara were far superior. South African, Californian, Italian, Chilean, all of very good quality. Nod to Azamara 11. Friendliness of Staff: Overall and not on a individual basis, Azamara was much better than Oceania. 12. Shore Excursions: Slight Nod to Oceania, just more of them. Azamara Excursion staff however was exceptional. 13. Country Club or I call it The Blazer Effect: I can count a level of civility on a cruise by the number of blazers worn by men in the dining room. Likewise for stylish dresses on women. Standards have dropped substantially as more school teachers with puffed up 401K's or I call them the FANG group of senior vacationer. They started cruising at 65 and have 20 cruises under their belt in 5 years. Enough said on that, however I have really begun over the years to discount their reviews as they eat all their meals out at Denny's. Oh the days when cruising was Glamorous. Long Gone. Today's seniors in plaid shirts and women in Legging abound. My final Score and I am sure I know I am missing a few and if able to edit I will do so. A Toss Up - With a slight tilt for to Oceania, because I am not large drinker. However, based on price, destinations I have no problem recommending both lines. You literally need an excel spreadsheet to factor in all the Free stuff on Oceania, vs all the included items such as alcohol on Azamara. Offset that by the outrageous internet pricing on Azamara, I mean really, their pricing is like from the year 2000, and the lack of movies on demand or if they could even place more movies on their own in-house TV channels is simply lazy. Cheers to All Read Less

This 26 night cruise started in Cape Town and was to end in Dubai. Sadly Corona Virus decided to intervene which resulted in the cruise missing many ports of call and a premature ending in Muscat which was not a planned port of call. Many countries refused us entry due to the fear of cruise ships being floating Petri dishes. There was a daily update from the Captain regarding our situation and this also changed daily. Ultimately the only country willing to accept us was Oman so we were forced to disembark there early. This resulted in 700 passengers having to find alternative travel arrangements home and get visas to enter Oman all this while floating at sea in a completely different time zone to many of our homes. The staff of Quest were exceptional during this very stressful time. They set up laptops and sat individually with passengers helping them get their visas. They gave access to phones to contact travel agents and all the while remained patient, helpful and positive. My only disappointment was the lack of assistance once we were delivered to the airport. We arrived at the airport at 5.30am to find our flight had been cancelled by Omani Air. We were not the only ones to experience this and as Azamara had disembarked us in an unscheduled foreign port I would have thought they had a duty of care to ensure we got away safety. The staff of Omani Air were not helpful at all and in fact lied to us. They expected us to stay in Muscat until their next flight to our destination left in 2 days time. In the end we found an agent at the airport and paid another $4000 to get home. This of course was no fault of Azamara’s but we did feel a little dumped. The experience on the ship itself was excellent. Embarkation was swift and efficient. Quest is a little tired but this did not disappoint us. We had a balcony plus cabin at the front of the ship and as we had read the reviews we new the bathroom was small. We were happy with the size of the room and bathroom. Seriously how much time do you spend in the bathroom anyway? The cabin stewards were friendly and kept the cabin clean. It was my birthday on the second day and found our room decorated with a birthday banner and hanging decorations when we arrived back in the afternoon. We dined most nights in the main dining room and found the food excellent. Great selection every night and considering the cruise was 26 nights the variety just kept on coming. I have read some reviews where they complain about the size of the meals. We could not complain at all. Considering there are 4 courses I could not imagine coming away from a meal without feeling full. We rarely ate dessert because we couldn’t fit another mouthful in. The staff in most areas of the MDR were amazing although on a few nights the wait for service was very long and we were not sure whether it was because of staff being overworked or just not up to speed. Whilst we did go to the MDR for breakfast on a couple of occasions (fabulous fillet steak and eggs) we usually went to Windows cafe for breakfast. Freshly made eggs to order were a wonderful start to the day. With a late breakfast most days we only ever had lunch on a couple of occasions but the buffet lunch did seem popular. We didn’t have dinner in the buffet at all so can’t comment. We had room service twice for dinner and found it excellent especially given you could order off the MDR menu if ordering during its operating hours. On the whole we found the included drinks quite adequate. Whilst we did not enjoy all the wines we were able to just try something else. It really is about personal taste and with the change in wines daily you could usually find something to enjoy. We did the specialty restaurant Prime C 3 times as this was included in our package. We could also have done the Italian restaurant but we are steak lovers. Our first visit was fabulous but the next 2 pretty disappointing. The steak was just OK and I guess we expected something more exceptional. Due to not being allowed entry into many ports we had a lot of sea days consecutively. We spent a lot of time reading in the living room and we would have pre dinner drinks with other passengers there each night. The waiters here were the best onboard. When we booked this cruise we thought that as drinks were included they would be slow to serve to try and save money. This was not the case at all. Service was always quick and friendly. You were never left thirsty. You could also get snacks there during the day and pre dinner hors d’oeuvre from 5pm. We always looked forward to the evenings when bacon wrapped prawns were one of the selections. Yum yum. White night was a good distraction from the stress of not knowing when or where we were going to dock. Everyone had a great night. We did not get to have an azamazing evening due to port closures. Whilst we do not join in the onboard activities there seemed to be plenty of things for people to join in with. Bridge was popular with beginners and intermediate classes every sea day. Lots of craft classes and plenty of quizzes and the ever popular trivia. It never ceases to amaze me how competitive people are. Entertainment was as usual aimed at the older folk. We are in our fifties and as we do longer cruises we usually travel with the over seventies/eighties and are used to skipping most of the theatre shows. We did attend a few shows but didn’t last long at most of them. It would be great if there was one location that had music aimed at younger travellers. Even a solo guitarist or piano player. Excursions off the ship were expensive but what ship excursions aren’t? We did Addo Elephant park with Alan’s Tours in Port Elizabeth. That was an amazing day and one we would highly recommend. We saw the Hippos out of Richards Bay with a tour guide we got at the port. In Mauritius we again got a tour guide at the port and had a wonderful day. All other excursions were at cancelled ports. Pre cruise we stayed in Cape Town for 4 days and saw the local area mainly by bus. We then spent 2 days at Aquila Private Game Reserve prior to boarding the ship. We really enjoyed our time there but if you are looking for something like Kruger then don’t go to Aquila. We would definitely cruise with Azamara again. Read Less

Overall a very enjoyable cruise. What we like about Azamara ....the friendly crew/ officers, the small ship atmosphere, the food, the Living Room and The Den with good live music....it was all there on this South Africa Intensive itinerary. The azamazing evening was at the Cape Town City Hall. There were plenty of drinks and dessert canapés to try and a very good performance by the Philharmonic orchestra plus a lot of fun provided by the Cape Minstrels! We also found it quite amusing that once again being in a Deck 6 verandah cabin put us on the last/almost last bus.....? We did notice a significant number of entitled, complaining and not very pleasant people onboard this cruise, a completely different type of passenger than our Azamara cruise in the Med a few months earlier. This also had an impact on the White night with people hogging tables from 5pm, so we watched the crew wave and then ate in Discoveries. The included beverages still disappoint...the choice is very limited...but the complimentary wines on this cruise were a big step up as they had brought onboard a good number of South African wines which were all very drinkable. The mosaic cafe was always busy, although the coffee could be very variable depending on who was making it! The meals in Discoveries were almost all good and the food was of a high standard. Service was good but they did, however, let themselves down spectacularly on the last night. We went down for dinner at 8 pm as usual to find total chaos...they had not anticipated (why?) that after a full day sightseeing in Cape Town followed by the need to pack for the following mornings disembarkation that no one would be ready to dine early. Apparently the dining room was deserted until 7.30 and then was absolutely inundated. Not only did we have to wait until 9.15 for a table, we then were served by the rudest waiter we have ever encountered on over 30 cruises. The food was practically thrown onto the table. Totally unacceptable. One night we celebrated a birthday at Prime C and had a really delicious meal, and we were given a great table too. Cabin 6062. The room was comfortable but the decor is starting to look a little tatty in places and the balcony is in poor condition, especially the flooring. When we first got to our room the balcony had obviously not been cleaned for some considerable time so we had to ask for that to be done. Given the large premium that Azamara are charging for a balcony cabin over the cost of an ocean view, the cleaning of this area should be routine and should not have to be requested. If you are contemplating booking this South Africa itinerary it is essential that you research and book shore excursions..either privately or through the ship. Apart from Cape Town, it is not safe to just walk off the ship at any of the ports and there is honestly nothing to see if you did. There were a lot of disappointed people on board who had not realised this. At Port Elizabeth we prebooked a full day tour to Addo Elephant National Park through Alan’s tours....what an incredible day! At Richards Bay we prebooked a tour to St Lucia wetlands through ecsafaris....it was slightly disorganised but we did see hippos, which was the main reason for taking the trip. At Durban we joined a cruise critic roll call city tour, which was quite poor mainly because of the guide, but we still enjoyed ourselves. At East London we couldn’t find a tour we liked so we just took advantage of the shuttle bus provided to a shopping mall to get us off the ship for a couple of hours. It was extremely hot, the busses were very old with no air con. We should really have stayed on the ship....Not sure why Azamara even stop here! Cape Town is, of course, the highlight of this cruise. We had 3 days in the city prior to embarkation staying at the Portswood Hotel, in addition to the 2 days overnighting at the end of the cruise. We had a spectacular day for going up Table Mountain, visited the beautiful Kirstenbosch Gardens, took a very well organised and great value day tour through Citysightseeing to Cape Point, Cape of Good Hope and the penguins at Boulders Bay. We also took another good day tour through Citysightseeing to Stellenbosch wineries and Franschhoek as well as spending time around the V&A waterfront area. A really great city! We combined this cruise with an extended stay in Cape Town beforehand and a 3 day safari in Madikwe Game Reserve afterwards. It was a bucket list trip and we had an amazing time. Read Less

Crew as always is very friendly and available but found our room stewards did not clean up to AZ standards. Our butler was excellent and followed up on the poor cleaning crew as did Philip the hotel director. The room also is looking worn as some wallpaper is peeling. The food is standard AZ as not bad at all but not gourmet. Service all over ship and friendliness is what sets them apart. On departure day we were leaving as a walk off very very early, we let them know ahead of time all was set and were told they could get and our bags to the terminal and that we were not part of another large group. We were at the gangway area at the specified time and no one could accommodate us as they were were not ready. In the end the port manager had to drive us with our bags. AZ evening was terrific, well planned and enjoyable. White night was wonderful with great fun and food. The entertainment was ok their troop was good with enjoyable recognizable music. We did not use their tours but the port stops were excellent. We travelled as as couple and we love the casual friendly nature of other passengers. Read Less

We chose this cruise as it formed part of an Africa experience we wished to undertake by staying in Cape Town area both before and after the cruise. It is an ideal way for first time visitors to South Africa to get the opportunity to visit places they otherwise would not have bothered with and take the opportunity to see the Big Five close up. We met some great people on board who we will keep in touch with. Embarkation was smooth and we enjoyed a nice lunch. Weather was great during the cruise however, we felt the ports of call left a lot to be desired to be honest ( maybe Knysna, Hermanus should be considered in future, much better than other ports we visited ) but perhaps would have needed tenders to get onshore ? Unless you had booked an excursion aimed at a safari type visit, there was little of interest to see and do where the courtesy shuttle buses dropped you off ( mainly at modern style shopping malls in Richards Bay, East London and Port Elizabeth ) We understand to a certain degree why this was done, mainly for safety reasons, but once you’ve seen one mall, you really have seen them all and more effort could and should have been made we felt for the price of this cruise. Durban was probably the best port of call where it was possible to do your own thing and see what was happening locally, great beach and many reasonably priced ways to visit local places of interest which we certainly took advantage to do so. Azamara really need to review the extortionate prices they charge for excursions ! Most people we spoke with were horrified by the huge cost of trips as opposed to what was available at a fraction of the cost if you had the gumption to organise your own thing or join many trips organised by various individuals and groups as mentioned in the Quest pre cruise roll call, well done to you guys. Having sailed with Azamara previously, we were satisfied with our veranda cabin and our room attendant was excellent, as were all members of staff we encountered during our cruise. We definitely feel the standard of food has dropped significantly - as others also agreed - and Azamara certainly should look at just who they are sourcing their meats from as we had to send steaks and lamb dishes back as the meat was too tough to eat on 3 occasions. A friend of ours also had to send steak back at the speciality Ranch restaurant which is totally unacceptable when paying a surcharge for a decent steak. Portions served in the main restaurant at times were less than generous e.g lamb loin which consisted of 3 miniature slivers of lamb posing as a main dish! Even the maitre D was embarrassed when we called him to the table, however, despite our complaints, no one on board followed up to investigate or offer an opinion, very poor customer service we felt and an easy opt out ! Cruise director was excellent as usual and tried hard to ensure everyone was enjoying the cruise. It has to be said that he really wasn’t helped by the troupe of singers and dancers who whilst trying their best and were friendly throughout, they really weren’t any better than semi pro performers who we can se locally anytime we want. Musicians were good and were enjoyable. I would say the best entertainment was when local acts were brought on board, dancers and singers were excellent and reflected how good local African talent can be and that is what guests wanted to see more of in this part of the world especially. The magician was ok, but we felt he suffered with his not very good sense of humour which certainly let his average act down. The AzAmazing evening was the best thing that was arranged by Azamara and we thoroughly enjoyed a spectacular evening. The White evening was also a success, well done. Based on this cruise, we will be looking to other cruise companies when taking our next trip. We understand lots of passengers were happy with the cruise, but there were also lots who weren’t and therein lies the problem. Sort out food quality, entertainment and vastly reduce the shore excursion costs in order to regain many passengers faith in this company. Sorry to have to write such a negative review, but I feel the points I have mentioned are valid and constructive and trust someone at Azamara reacts accordingly. Read Less

We choose this cruise to see South Africa. We have sailed many times before with RCCL and Celebrity. We knew within minutes this would be our first and last Azamara cruise. This did not change as the cruise progressed. Excursions were expensive and well organised. Staff on this ship were spectacular. Being sold Azamara with drinks included was an absolute joke. The included drink menu was extremely limited..we ended up purchasing the Ultimate Drink Package even though we are not big drinkers. We like to relax and not worry about every drink choice. I asked for a proper iced tea and they only had the hot drink take out cups. No glasses were available to make a decent iced tea. Ship seemed to specialize in the smallest glasses in existence. Food we had was great, but we felt let down by the Main Dining room and the buffet. Theme nights had no choices away from the theme. Biggest disappointment was the White Night dinner. We had been out on a very long day's excursion. No buffet if you weren't doing the White Night. We went to the MDR but hubby was in shorts so not allowed in. One night they could have relaxed the dress code in our opinion. Ended up ordering room service. Cabin..horrible little place. 6010 right over the cabaret. No need to go to the shows zero insulation so we heard everything. Our cabin attendants were fabulous. Again our experience with the staff was always positive. We rarely went to the pool deck to relax, the one day we were looking for shade. Lying under the 10th deck relaxing and the maintenance team decided that would be a great time to start banging away on the railing above us. After 15 minutes of constant banging we left. We understand that work has to be done but a notice that this would be happening would have been nice. I know we are in the minority and most everyone on the ship appeared to be enjoying themselves. Can't stress enough how spectacular the staff and crew were. Read Less

Overall, we experienced a very good cruise, and would definitely sail with Azamara again. This was our first voyage with Azamara, and we have previously sailed with Windstar, as well as Carnival, and NCL (never will go back to a large ship like those again! The Club Veranda rooms were small, but very comfortable. We used the balcony often, and it was adequate size. The entertainment for such a small ship was surprisingly excellent, great caliber musicians. The white night was absolutely fantastic - great spread of food, desserts, and entertainment. A fabulous evening, and a great touch. The AzAmazing evening concert with the Cape Town Symphony was also excellent. Upon arrival to the concert hall there was plentiful food and drinks, and it really was a special evening that we thoroughly enjoyed. Azamara also brought on local African tribal musicians and dancers at various points throughout the cruise, I did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did, but they were all fabulous, and truly a great and unique experience you don't want to miss! All staff and servers and room stewards we encountered or dealt with were all excellent, and performed their duties with smiles and with class. Everyone was top notch. My wife and I did the Chef's table. The seas were quite rough the entire day, so many people canceled, so by the time we sat down for the special dinner, it was just us and one other couple. It was an excellent experience, the food was very well done, though a little rich for our American tastes, but we still enjoyed it. The special wine pairings were also excellent. We took advantage of the Experience More / Indulgence package, which I thought was completely worth the $1,499 price for 2 people which included free unlimited wifi, chefs table, ultimate beverage package, $250 spa credit, and $700 OBC. With the unlimited wifi, better drinks, and shore credit, it made it a no brainer for us, and totally worth the cost. My only complaint and only reason I hesitated to give 5/5 stars is the food. I have to say, we had some truly excellent meals, and we only ever ate at the included dining venues other than the 1 chef's night tables. However, it was hit or miss in the main dining room. A few nights, the meals were just not very good. Edible yes, but very bland and sometimes dry. However on other nights in the same main dinng room, the entrees were fabulous, and perfectly flavorful and cooked. Perhaps it was just a few random off nights, who knows. Overall though, we found the food to be very good. We did an Azamara excursion in nearly every port, and though expensive, we enjoyed each one. Port Elizabeth - Pumba Game Drive was excellent Richards Bay - St. Lucia River cruise + Imfolozi Game Drive was amazing, and was our favorite excursion. Durban - Local African Spice/Medicinal Market was really fascinating! Though in a slightly unsafe area of Durban, with the guides we felt totally safe. This was really incredible to see all the local herbs and fascinating African medicinal plants/herbs/animals. Really would recommend this tour, wish it was longer actually, as it felt too short at only 3 hours including the drive time. East London - not sure why Azamara even bothers with this port. Absolutely nothing to do, and they only offered a few shore excursions which were all sold out immediately, so we were willing but unable to join any of the excursions. My recommendation to Azamara : Skip this port, and add an extra day in Durban!! Cape Town - What an incredible city. We did the Paarl and Franschhoek Wine Tour. I know some of the wineries were changed last minute, but we truly enjoyed this all day tour, especially the Paarl winery of Nederburg. Awesome wines, and a beautiful Winery. On the second day in Cape Town we did the Cape Point Natural Wonders tour. This was also excellent, with a beautiful drive along this winding coastal road all the way down to Cape of Good Hope where the two strong currents of the Indian and Atlantic Ocean meet, you can hike up to the lighthouse, and walk around the point area, then go to a beach to see African penguins and an excellent lunch overlooking the ocean. This was a great tour, and would highly recommend it! Sorry for the long review, but I felt it was necessary to write a review for the South Africa Itinerary, as it is a new voyage, and there was limited information. Would absolutely recommend Azamara, and this particular itinerary! Read Less

Even though US citizens made up only approx 30% of the total passengers, the cruise was primarily aimed at Americans. If you attended a quiz, the questions were invariably geared to American culture, a fact acknowledged by the quiz-masters. If you picked up a crossword, very often you could only answer the clues if you were a US citizen. All the photos of sporting stars displayed around the ship, were all of Americans, none of which were known to me. When the Superbowl was held, it was shown live on the big screen, and repeated the following morning together with a party in the Cabaret Lounge. For all the British, Irish, French, Italian passengers, and other from rugby loving nations such as Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, we were not afforded even a TV screen to watch the 6 Nations Rugby tournament. Those wishing to watch the rugby had to do so on our mobile phones. on free to air. If you were American, there was a choice of US beers on the complimentary drinks menu, whereas the only British beer was Newcastle Brown, one of the less popular beers, and even this was not available throughout the whole cruise. If you wanted one of the popular British beers such as Boddingtons, Guinness or Strongbow you would have to pay $5.95 per can. The daily American newspapers contained 8 pages whereas every other country had to make do with 4. The list goes on..... I have been on many American cruise ships in the past and have never experienced so much bias towards US passengers. On the plus side, the staff were exceptional, the ship was well appointed and, unlike other cruise ships where they sell you drinks packages and then hide the waiters, the drinks were free-flowing!! Read Less

No Amazing evening - all cancelled, no white night all abandoned, missed ports and very poor decision making by the Cruise directors. Cuts in included drinks and cuts in quality food, very poor cooking. Good on board orchestra but that s all. The Guest relations dealt withy the visas very well so that was good. Not memorable and really quiet naive and badly lacking in research as this is AFRICA foe goodness sake - not Miami_ Duh. Exasperated! I suggest that Azamara need to research the destination before sending passengers out into the unknown! We took this cruise in reverse order with Oceania 6 years ago and it was perfect! Well organised and we went to Mombasa without a hitch. To call off this port with a week before boarding is inexcusable as it always been a problem area. All the difficulties were a 1000 miles away. This is poor planning by Azamara so please BEARE before booking!!!! Food quality has definitely gone downhill and cutbacks are obvious. Staff are courteous as always but the chefs are not as good as they used to be. Lack of variety in food was a problem apart from the “special” buffets where choice was more plentiful. Fruit was always the same and the all the berries ran out after a few days at sea. Cabins are small and adequately maintained but nothing better than the mainstream cruises. Lack of attention to the balconies was apparent and need a good clean up. Entertainment as above but unfortunately just no personality whatsoever. Read Less

We went from Mumbai to Cape Town - 24 nights with 11 sea-days. I will start wit the good bit by saying that the staff were without exception excellent and as good as any ship that i have sailed on. The rest of my comments are critical - Management was another matter! We did not get off to a good start! We were supposed to spend two days in Mombasa, Kenya which was a prime reason for us taking the trip but this was canceled on security grounds. I can wholly accept that but nobody bothered to tell us or our travel agent. We only found out by accident a few days before we left. By and large the food was not good. I just never got on with the Canteen (Azamara calls it "The Cafe"). as the food was invariably only luke warm at best and sometimes colder than that. They kept doing "theme nights" from round the world (e.g. Mexicann, Indian and so on). I ended up wondering what wonderful chefs they must have to cope with all that! Salads were particularly poor but the soup and the ice cream were good. But I never had a good meal there. The menu of the main dining room was pretentious and I often could not understand what was on offer - e. g. what on earth is "panacotta cauliflower"? Often the accompaniment did not seem to fit the main course - e. g. "wilted spinach" with British style battered fish and chips which I thought verged on the unbelievable!.I want to state that I got one evening in this restaurant what I consider to be the worst steak i have ever had in my life. It was not just inedible but I actually could not even cut it with my knife and it got sent straight back. But to be fair, their breakfast was very good and immaculately served. The entertainment was mediocre - except for the magician (brilliant) and a couple of performances from the singers and dancers. We walked out of "The Hits of Broadway" as we had not even heard of the musicals featured, let alone the mediocre songs performed! I think that our cabin was advertised as having an "ocean view" and that was technically correct if you regard an ocean view as viewing the sea from the narrow space between two lifeboats. At any rate, it was very cramped with only one seat meaning the second occupant had to sit on the bed. There was no table of any sort - e.g. for room service.The toilet was microscopic. I never bother with Wi-Fi on a cruise but my wife does. The price of a full package, if my memory serves me well, was $478 for the cruise which was as expensive as the reception was bad. The Wi-Fi service was regarded by most of the people to whom I spoke as appalling and I never passed the customer relations desk without hearing someone complaining about it. Azamara are behind the pack on Wi-Fi as companies with ships of similar size are offering it free of charge - e.g. Viking, Oceania and Regent to quote but three. The cruise did not seem to have been well thought out. For example, why did we not go to the smaller Seychelle island on Sunday and go the capital on the main island on Monday when places and shops would have been open - they weren't on the Sunday! And how come that insufficient reconnaissance had seemly been done on our destination for the so-called "Amazing Evening" in Durban leading to it being cancelled? I know that every cruise line takes advantage of a captive audience and offers excursions at high prices but I felt that Azamara prices were extremely high. i took the brochure home with me so that I could pick out a couple.How about "lunch on the rock in Dar es Salaam" at only$269? Or a game drive, 3 days and 2 nights for only $2799. One person who went on this one should have been accompanied into South Africa by a ship's guide. Unfortunately the girl in question was from the Phillipines and was refused entry without a visa which she had not got. Good forward planning! And, finally "Trivia" or as it is called in the UK "quizzes". We had 11 sea days and Trivia helps to while away the hours. Unfortunately the boat did not seem to have anyone who knew how to run a quiz. After a while I was concerned about the marking of the quizzes and, as an experienced quizzer, I was concerned about the fairness of it We were told to mark (i.e. score) our own sheets - which, of course, is utter nonsense. I approached the Cruise Director and suggested that we all exchanged papers and he agreed. This went on for three quizzes and, would you believe it different people won? Suddenly without anyone bothering to tell me we went back to self-marking. i approached the Cruise Director who told me that "other people" had protested - he was doubtless right but to which team did they belong? No answer. I tried to speak to the Assistant Cruise Director and he couldn''t get away fast enough.Basically, he refused to talk to me. I subsequently told the Cruise Director it was totally unacceptable to refuse to speak to a customer who was polite in approach and had paid several thousand Pounds for the cruise. Answer there came none. Someone (not I) complained that a team was consistently playing with 7 members instead of the maximum of six. This was solved by increasing the team limit of 6 to 8. I am assuming that the team involved had more clout than people like those with whom I associated. And the Progressive Quiz!!!!. The quizmaster told us on the first day that mobile phones were banned but failed to repeat the message. Without even trying I knew of two definite cases of the use of phones. In proper quiz circles this is not far from a hanging offence and is despicable. The quizmaster offered the participants the opportunity to nominate particular subjects which resulted in (for example - there were others!) two questions on the "Brady Bunch", a question on the "beaches of North Sydney" and "girls' doll shops in the USA". What on earth has this got to do with general knowledge? But it got worse! As a general knowledge question we were also asked the date of the birthday of the Assistant Cruise Manager! Words utterly fail me! As a final twist the last quiz on the last evening (The Music Quiz at 10.15pm to be specific) was won by a group of cheating Australians who scored 40 points out of a possible maximum of 36 points I am still trying to work this one out! I have been on 5 Azamara and 5 Celebrity cruises and before this recent cruise i have never had any cause for complaint of any nature. Unfortunately,we have booked (and paid for) a cruise with Azamara at the end of March which is on the same boat. I am not looking forward to it! Read Less

Firstly can I say, I'm baffled by the previous two negative reviews given that we were on the same Mumbai to Cape Town Cruise December 28. I do agree that the on board service was delivered in the usual outstanding way and this included Guest Relations enquiries. We had little or no issue with the unlimited WiFi included in our booking deal. We travelled in a Verandah Plus Cabin on Deck 8 which was a great location. My husband and I, in reflection, agree that this cruise is amongst one of our best as far as itinerary and on board experience was concerned. There was a bit of everything for everyone's enjoyment. Lecturers were terrific. Sure there were a few unavoidable issues, i.e. bad weather for White Night, unacceptable location (chosen by Miami and not visited by them) for AzAmazing Evening and logistic problems with supplies due to port cancellations - due to arrive in Mombasa but air freighted to another port. (I enjoy berries, I asked for them politely and I got them). These issues were clearly explained if the previous reviewers cared to go to the Q & A sessions held on sea days by Hotel Director, Captain Philips etc. Please when you're reviewing do so with all the facts not just the bits you want to support your negative review. We found the food in all venues to be of a higher quality than the already good food our previous 22 Azamara cruises. We had two lots of 'Foodie' friends travelling for the first time on Azamara and they were impressed also. The security issue with Mombasa was explained clearly to us during the Q & A. The previous reviewer failed to add that in addition to the already known terrorist attack in the north and the known movements south of the said Terrorist Group there was a failed terrorist attack on a shared USA/Kenya Airbase on the outskirts of Mombasa just days before our arrival. We were considered too much at risk of attracting the attention of that terrorist group - I was happy with that decision. I believe the right call was made. Food, (the previous poster didn't get the names of the venues correct) in Discoveries, Windows, Patio and both specialty restaurants was 'top notch' and the Chef/s should be congratulated. Food, wine is such a subjective topic, you can make good or not so good choices from the menu for the food, we particularly enjoyed the fish, wine was satisfactory for my taste. Whilst ship's excursions are pricey we managed some wonderful private tours prior and used taxi's with friends, especially when we found out we'd be in the Seychelles on a Sunday, (who wants to shop in the Seychelles anyway when the scenery is so beautiful). We'd didn't rely on ships shuttles (they were provided in most places) as we have learnt from experience you need to get out and about like a local, pay the extra money and invest the time in research. Bit more effort but so worth it. We enjoyed our mix of private and ships tours but unless the prices of the Ship’s excursions are addressed will opt for more private tours. The new cast (joined in the Seychelles) were settling in and had shown improvement by the end of the cruise. Guest entertainers (tough we’d seen them before) were fine. We didn’t take to the ‘Fancy Trio’ but spoke with guest who enjoyed them. Again personal preferences come into play here. I only participated in progressive trivia, not morning or afternoon trivia. I'm Australian and wasn't aware of any cheating going on and am annoyed slightly at the reviews comments but will let it go. I can confirm we did not correct our own answers as they were collected my Ernest and Steven and they corrected them. But hey we played for fun not the contents of the World Bank! We had 'No F in Idea'. Assistant Cruise Directors birthday was discussed on the morning show on the TV with Ernest and Stephen. I thought it was a comical 'trivial' question to ask and it didn't worry me. Trivia is trivia, it doesn't always have to be general knowledge, i.e. how many steps are on the gangway? At the end of the day, you can't keep everyone happy all the time, but we were pleased with our on board experience. We have another 5 booked and can't wait. I’d do Africa again in a heartbeat. Guys if you're reading this on board you're doing a terrific job! Read Less

We were first timers on Azamara but it won't be our last. We liked the size of the ship it never felt crowded, we never had to wait for, lifts, tables, sunloungers or seats in the cabaret lounge. The staff from the Captain down to the room stewards were very attentive, nothing was too much trouble. The food was some of the best we have had on a cruise ship. Our cabin was great, the only slight problem was the size of the bathroom and the shower curtain, just another 20cm pinched from the bedroom would make alot of difference. The entertainment was good and varied, the cruise director Ernest had an incredible voice! We were surprised just how varied the port of calls were. The highlight for us was "At home with an Emirati family" in Khor al Fakkan, we were made so welcome and it was wonderful to be able to talk to them and discover their customs and way of life I would thoroughly recommend this. Read Less

The Gulf has been on our bucket list for quite a while. We have frequently stopped over at DXB but never before been outside the airport. It was certainly worth while! Service aboard was typically Azamara, laid back, friendly and efficient, sort of feels like home without the work. Dubai is spectacular, all the world's biggest, tallest, busiest things they say and didn't disappoint. Try using the Metro to explore. Boarding and Disembark very smooth. Oman is great but the Azamazing evening didn't live up to usual standard, The Cultural centre was spectacular but a pretty ordinary Brass band disappointed. Then previous trips have set a very high standard. The other ports were also interesting with the Grande Mosque in Abu Dhabi being a highlight and the compact, beautifully lit skyline of Qatar also living in memory. Premium dining is only just better than Discovery or Windows foodwise and having to fit with the times available makes it a dubious extra charge. Service certainly isn't better. Only complaint is WiFi speed and login hassles. Great trip Quest. We will be back. Read Less

The itinerary was the main driver for selecting this cruise. Myanmar has been on my bucket list for a while. Going there as part of a cruise was an easy way to get a peek at the country. Three days in port with Azamara allowed for a more in depth visit. Azamara has always been our favourite cruise line. The smaller ships allow for closer access to ports and a higher staff to guest ratio. It has a very homey feel to it. When you return from port, you are greeted with "welcome home". The crew greets you by name. We have always traveled in a stateroom with a balcony. There is enough room to move around and plenty of storage space. The shower is a tad small, but that is to be expected on a ship. The food on Azamara is always delicious. We don't usually eat at the buffet except for breakfast when we have an early start. I've heard good things about it, but I prefer the dining room. There are two specialty restaurants on board with a surcharge for each. We did not visit them this cruise but have in the past. Aqualina is our favourite. Azamara has open seating so we could have dinner when we wanted. Sometimes we ate on our own, sometimes we joined friends, and sometimes we opted to sit at a table with strangers. We always had a pleasant experience. Joining strangers is a great way to make new friends. The entertainment is hit and miss. Being a small ship, the theatre is small and the entertainment is not as high quality as the larger ships. We aren't usually big fans of the on board entertainment productions, they always seem a little cheesy. The Quest has a new area, The Den. The casino has been removed and made room for more seating. Much more comfortable for trivia - which is very popular. The nightly entertainment, Harry Rios, was fabulous. He played the piano and sang. He could play almost anything that was requested. He also had sing-a-longs in the evening. It was always a blast. We started the cruise in Singapore. We arrived three days early and did our own sightseeing. We could have spent much more time in Singapore, there is so much to see and do. We felt very safe there and found it very easy to get around. We used the MRT and taxis. We explored the colonial area, Little India, China Town, Gardens by the Bay, and saw the Merlion statue. We took a ship tour in our first port of call, Phuket, Thailand. It was called The best of Phuket with Lunch. It was well organized, the tour guide was great - very informative. There were lots of stops - beautiful lookout, giant buddha on a hill, cashew factory, jewellery store, and a decent lunch. There was no free shuttle to Phuket due to a strong taxi union. That was unfortunate as it was $80-$100 cab ride from the port to Phuket. We were glad to have done the tour. The Azamazing evening was held in Phuket. It was great! Lots of local entertainment, including Thai Boxing and a live theatre show. The Myanmar port was also a distance from Yangon - the main city. There was a free shuttle, but the ride was 1.5 hours each way. We had arranged to two days of tours with an outside company. We did one ship tour while in Yangon - Shewadagon Pagoda by Night. It was definitely worth it. The pagoda is magnificent during the day but even more fabulous at night while lit up. Georgetown, Malaysia was our favourite port. We were able to walk around and see lots of street art and get a good feel for the city. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was also far from the port (1 hour drive), again a free shuttle was provided. We opted for an outside tour company. We saw the palace, the towers, the veteran's memorial, and had lunch in Little India. Read Less

We had used Azamara before and we liked the look of the Myanmar itinerary. We stayed in Singapore for 2 nights before boarding the ship. The embarcation procedure was diabolical. This took ages to be processed with long queues. This was not a great start, especially when compared to other small cruise ships. Azamara advertise themselves as a Luxury Small Cruise Ship line. It is anything but luxurious. After 10 days of the same basic food menus served both on deck 9 and on deck 5 we were sick to death of the options. We even tried both speciality restaurants ( which cost an extra $30pp ) and these served the same basic food as the main restaurant with a small presentation variance. Certainly nothing special and definitely not worth the supplement. The Executive Chef needs to jack himself up and provide a new menu for each day. The fact that the menu didn't change for the whole cruise is a sign of absolute laziness. Other that the dancer and singers performances on 3 nights, the rest of the entertainment was very weak. They use the assistant cruise director and director for 3 of evenings ! In today's age to only have 1 movie channel that shows an alternate film is ridiculous. The films are so out of date. They obviously want you to use their pay to view channels. The WiFi on the ship is so outdated that you simply can't download even emails. Even though we had purchased the Indulgence package which gives you the supposedly top of the range drinks, this is still extremely limited and you are forced to pay again for drinks outside this selection. To too it off, even drinks that are included in one's package are not covered if consumed out of the fridge in your cabin. How absurd. Every where you go you are constantly being asked to present your key card so that they can verify whether or not you are entitled to the service / drinks or whether you must pay additional. All in all this ship cannot be described as luxurious when compared to the other small ships we have sailed on. The shore excursions are expensive for what you get. In Phuket we were transported on a coach with a broken suspension for 2.5 hrs and then on an old delapidated water taxi for a further 2.5 hrs. We failed to visit the cashew nut factory due to time constraints In Myanmar the immigration process was appalling. We had fortunately arranged to do our own private tour to Bagan to do the hot air balloons over the temples. To do this we needed a visa. There were only about 50 people doing their own travels and it took over 2.5 hrs for our passports to be returned from the ship. The communication between the various departments of the ship is diabolical. The left had doesn't know what the right hand is doing. In all the ship has been dumbed down to the standard one expects on the large cruise lines. There is a lack of attention to detail on everything done on this ship. It is simply average - except for the price. We shall definitely be avoiding Azamara in the future. Read Less

Although it is an 39 year old ship we had a great time on board. We booked a club continent suite and the stateroom was spacious enough for two adults. Staff is very attentive and friendly. Food is, compared to Aida or MSC cruises, above standard. Entertainment is of course a little bit limited due to the size of he ship but we don’t need a rollercoaster nor a ice skating range. Two very good band are playing every evening and there is also a talented piano player and a DJ. The relatively small size of the ship is the biggest advantage. Never ever we had to wait in lines. Everything is good organized from embarkation to Disembarkation. Obviously it is easier to handle 600 guests than 4000+. Most of the guests are 50+ therefore there are no kids on board. Three negative items: First: on a 3-day stay in Myanmar we had to save water because the ship didn’t had enough water on board. The crew closed the laundry and towels need to be reused, same as the tablecloth. Would be no problem if we had been informed not just one day before the shutdown. The official excuse was that onboard examination proved that water form then onshore is not safe. But the crew stated that this happens every time when the the shimmies in Myanmar. Why they don’t inform the guests at the beginning of the cruise ore even better, dealing with this issue honestly during the booking process? Second: Azamara advertises with small ships which are able to dock close to the city. In Myanmar we were isolated on a very remote port. Driving time to downtown was 2 house one way. Third: some shore excursions are just a rip-off. If you pay 119$ for a day on the beach in a luxiourios hotel you I’ll end up in a hotel we’re you are treated as a second class. This happens to us. We paid 238$ for a day on the beach. The day on the beach was only 4h which we spent completly in the garden of the golden sands hotel in Georgetown because the beach is public with all its vendors and „beach boys“. While all the other hotels guests can have as much towels as the like we are only entitled to get one towel. Even after a kind request they refused to give us a second towel so we can cover the dirty chair. By the way: the rate for a room is 78$ per night for two guests according tot he hotels homepage. Read Less

Embarkation at the rather small Harbors City Terminal in Hongkong was very efficient. (We stayed at the Marco Polo Hotel annex to the pier and the hotel's porters were kind enough to wheel our luggage all the way to the cruise terminal luggage drop-off point.) The ship looks like it needs a new coat of paint. Our cabin was in acceptable order and condition. The bad before the good ... Dining, both at the Windows Café and Discoveries Restaurant was a disappointment. The quality of the food cannot compared to what we got on our previous Azamara cruise. (We dined with an Australian gentleman who was in the meat industry. He also commented that the quality of the food, especially the meats serves was not as good as before … and he had been on 4 Azamara cruises previously.) Service standards, while friendly, have dropped considerably. It takes a long time from being seated till you get any service. Unlike before you have to attract the attention of the few service staff to get your plates removed and wine topped-up. Overall, there seem to be less service staff. The staff were generally helpful and friendly although senior officers interacted much less than when we were on Azamara Journey. The good … or perhaps the excellent ... The thing that met and perhaps exceeded expectations was the entertainment … especially the three production shows. I mentioned to Ernest Marchain, our cruise director, that if I were to come back to cruise again on Azamara, it would be because of the entertainment and activities. Daily activities were conducted by the performers. That gave us a chance to meet and interact with a bunch of lovely and talented people. The White Night party was Amazing but the Azamazing evening was "underwhelming". The shore excursions were, as with most cruise lines, mediocre and overpriced. The lectures and enhancement programs (art classes) were good. But charging a fee for the Apple iPhone classes was strange to say the least. (I was on a Holland America cruise from San Francisco to Tokyo this summer and the 10+ Microsoft Computer classes were all free. Conclusion People we met, including travel professionals, many who have been on Azamara multiple times also commented that the standards have dropped. Some commented that the standards have dropped because the company is being run by "cost cutting" accountants. Would I cruise on Azamara again? Probably yes … because of the smallness of the ship, the type of passengers (no screaming kids) and I like the fact that there are overnight stays. Also because the ship is small, the ports we dock at are so much closer to town. I hope Azamara will improve on the service and quality of the food. Read Less

We chose this cruise based on the itinerary as well as our good impressions of the Azamara brand from previous cruises. Clearly Azamara is no longer equal to it's number one competitor Oceania. Although the itinerary was excellent and we greatly enjoyed each and every port immensely, the direction Azamara executives are taking is not to our liking. The embarkation process was smooth and efficient. The staff professional and the ship beautiful. We prefer the small to mid size ships and have sailed on R Class ships many times. Quest is well maintained and is a joy to sail on. We only did one Azamara excursion as all our other tours were booked privately consisting of 8 to 10 fellow passengers arranged on our roll call here at Cruisecritic. All of our tours were excellent and informative.So based solely on the cities we visited the cruise was exceptional.The Far East is a special place to visit. Our cabin was just fine. Clean and comfortable. The ship is outstanding. Our disapproval of several issues made this lees than a wonderful cruise. Firstly, Azamara has chosen to discontinue providing casinos on their ships which came as a surprise to us as this differs from our previous cruises with Azamara. The casino space has been replaced with a lounge that was never very busy. Had the entertainment in the several lounges or in the Cabaret lounge been up to par this might not have bothered us as much as it did but in general the entertainment was deplorable. Dining was not as good as it was on previous Azamara cruises with overdone meats and uninspired selections at Discoveries restaurant. Prime steakhouse served perfectly tender steaks and the dinner there was a real treat. Aqualina, the Italian specialty restaurant was just fair. The pool area is comfortable and always busy during the day but since head office has decided that pleasant soft background music is no longer necessary at the pool and only twice on our cruise did they have a live band preform there, we felt the area was missing something. As on previous Azamara cruises soft piped in hits from the 70's and 80's worked beautifully. Oh and I should mention that the line does provide in cabin movies at $11.99 per movie which for the price we pay for the cruise seems to be a money grab. We have loved cruising with Azamara in the past but it is no longer the Azamara we remembered. In all probability we will choose another line to sail with in the future. Read Less

This was our first cruise with Azamara and we chose it because smaller ships can dock right in Saigon (two days) and Bangkok (three days) and because of Azamara's reputation as a destination immersion cruise line. We had never been to Asia before (well some consider Israel to be in Asia, but more "middle east"). We have cruised on my mass market lines including Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival. Lately, Celebrity had been our cruise line of choice. My overall rating of the cruise reflects this outstanding itinerary, but also our experience on Azamara. We spent three great nights at the Hotel Icon in TST in Kowloon before the cruise and even took the ferry to Macau for a day and night. At the time, the protests in Hong Kong were mainly selective and on weekends. We are thankful to be able to enjoy Hong Kong, while it is still Hong Kong. It's beautiful and a great place to begin our cruise. Embarkation was very easy and that relates to having only 700 passengers on the ship. Originally, we booked a veranda, but were invited to bid on an upgrade. At about $80 per night for the cabin, our winning bid of $1,220 was secured and we were upgraded to a Club Continent Suite. We were assigned Cabin 8057. Everything about the cabin was great, including the balcony, where we had a great presentation of table served breakfast by the butler just about every morning. The cabin was spacious and the only issue was noise from the chairs moving on the pool deck in the morning. It was only an issue on sea days as we were out of the cabin most mornings before the noise. The location itself was great though and the service outstanding. There was plenty to do on the ship. The boot camp in the gym had one other participant, which meant basically a private class. The guy who runs the gym on the Quest is one of the unsung heros. I did some personal training with him as well. The main port lecturer was another star. I believe it was Professor Robert Aalberts of Penn State who provided great information on both Vietnam and Thailand from both historical and cultural standpoints. It added much to the enjoyment of our experience. The house band, usually playing in the Living Room, Smooth Sensations was also really good and they did music from every decade from easy listening to rock to pop. I don't know how often they are on Azamara ships and are Phillipines based. There were also classes in the day including photography on smart phones, etc. In a grueling itinerary, the down time is always appreciated. I used the thalassotherapy pool in the sanctum terrace and that space is hardly used by other passengers. It's a quiet a nice respite. Here are some Plus and Minus Areas for Azamara: Plus: Prime C is the best steakhouse I have been to at sea and the atmosphere equals the food. It's a great dining experience. Italian Chef's Table was a really nice event. Other cruise lines give you more time with the chef, but the meal, wind pairings and company were outstanding. Special Brunches in the main dining room on sea days were true events for us. The gym - for a small ship, the gym and spa are both first rate. Windows Buffet - Surprisingly good service for a buffet and seating was always available. Friendliness of ship and that includes your fellow passengers and all levels of service. Minuses: Aqualina is major MINUS for Azamara. It's priced the same as Prime C, but the quality just isn't there. Some people love it, but you could always get a table there, but not for Prime C. It's an Italian restaurant and it lacks good red sauce pastas and you can't even get a cannoli and not sure if I even saw limoncello on the menu. More than that, overall, the food and dining experience is uninspired. The Indonesian Rice Table is another upcharge experience, but it wasn't very good compared to authentic rijsttafel restaurants (we've been to nice ones in both Amsterdam and Curacao). The taste of the food was overpowered by the spice levels. Service on WIFI. Too many Azamara passengers simply do not understand how to use their minutes and how to logon and logoff and spend too much time backing up lines in customer service. The WIFI itself is fine. We had so many problems getting a special visa for Vietnam. We stayed overnight on a Bhaya Premium Classic boat in Ha Long Bay and let Azamara know before the cruise and also at our embarkation and they failed to provide us with the correct visa. This was so frustrating. We spent an hour trying to fix this, but this was incredibly frustrating. All in all, my minuses are first world problems. We loved the cruise and the Azamara Quest. We have another booked in Japan for 2021. We do our own shore excursions and we believe Azamara, like every other cruise line charges too much for excursions and has too many people on them. Here is our list: Ha Long Bay: Overnight on Bhaya Premium Cruises was a highlight of our cruise. Danang: Urban Adventures in Hoi An for walking Tour and cooking class. Excellent. We used Andy's Transfers and had use of a car the entire day at a great price. Saigon: Water Buffalo Tours to Mekong Delta was an incredible experience Saigon Day 2 - Jeep Tours in Saigon for city of Saigon was a great tour in an open air Jeep. Bangkok: BKK Tours for two tours (1) Day in City of Bangkok, and (2) Railway and Floating Markets. Our guide was awful and, for reasons I won't get into, disinterested. The proprietor refunded about 30% of our purchase price after long discussions about his less than professional guide. Since our review, BKK no longer even does tours for cruise passengers. Bangkok at night: Expique Night Lights Tuk Tuk Tour - Okay, this was unbelievable, fun, entertaining, and educational. It made up for our not so good experience with BKK. Ko Samui - On or own, we went to Nikki Beach Resort where there were 5-6 other couples from the cruise. It was great and probably 1/2 as much as the Azmara overpriced excursion to the W. Singapore - We had a great day with a guide from City Unscripted. First we went to old city and Chinatown, a hawker joint for a michelin star lunch, went to the top of the Marina Bay Sands, and Gardens by the Bay. We flew from Singapore to Siem Reap, Cambodia with another couple from our cruise and saw Angkor Wat and the other amazing sights there, another highlight of our vacation. If you go to Southeast Asia, you should find a way to include Angkor Wat and Siem Reap. Read Less

We chose Azamara as we wanted to try a smaller ship experience. Small it most definitely was with a bathroom you could hardly turn around in. I can’t begin to imagine how a large person would manage. The swimming pool was the size of a bathtub so if you enjoy a proper holiday swim forget it! The passengers were from all parts of the world & it was interesting to meet a huge cross section of people. The food was mostly of a very good standard & particularly so in Prime C one of the two speciality restaurants. We didn’t try Aqualina. The tours were not very well organised by local operators & consideringthe amount of people with all differing levels of mobility no consideration was taken into account to cater for this. On the whole we still had an enjoyable cruise but most probably wouldn’t do this type again. We much prefer Celebrity with a mid sized ship & better facilities to prevent boredom on sea days. One more thing the entertainment was abysmal with amateur productions in the Cabaret lounge. The pianist in the Den was loud & although a reasonable pianist should not have attempted to sing along as his voice wasn’t that great. Read Less

We were on the same cruise as the previous review and agree completely. But we continued on to Taiwan and the Philippines. One morning they cancelled the White Nite because of impending weather. However, we went on a "3 Beach" excursion. It lasted all day - the first beach was almost TWO hours from the ship on a wooden boat with very hard wooden seats. About 45 minutes at this beach and maybe 30 minutes at 2 others. But, we spent the last hour speeding in the dark on this boat with no running lights. We were at risk. I know that they will say that they only sell us the ticket...but where's their due diligence! BTW this was our first experience with Azamara. Our last??? Never say never. But in terms of food, entertainment, decor, service there's better out there. The one white night we experienced was lots of fun. Enough said. Cabin is fine but the ship in general is rather plain. Food's very good, not great. Chef's Table is excellent. Entertainment was average for a small ship. The band that played in the Living Room has a small playlist. Service was non-existent in the Spa pool area. Read Less

This was our 3rd & certainly NOT the last cruise with Azamara, as we enjoy the small ship environment. We were concerned about getting to the Ocean Terminal because of the protest in Hong Kong, but fortunately that did not materialize. As such, we were able to take the Airport Express MTR from the airport to the Kowloon MTR station, where we caught a free shuttle bus to the Marco Polo Hotel, which is within walking distance to the Ocean Terminal Mall. We couldn’t believe that this was so very easy to do, fast & more economical that taking a cab or airport shuttle bus to the said hotel. The embarkation & disembarkation went smoothly, although, it was initially confusing to get to the embarkation area on your own, as we shopped & meandered our way through the Ocean Terminal Mall to get to the cruise terminal. However, that was OK, as we arrived in Hong Kong more than a few hours before check-in. This is a subjective review of veranda cabin 6063, for 2 adults, each with one 26 inch suitcase. The cabin is located approximately 3 cabins away from the 6th floor elevator & stairs. It is one floor above the entrance to the Discoveries Dining Room, the Mosaic Cafe & of course, the shops. We found this cabin to be roomy enough for the two of us & have more than adequate space for the contents in our suitcases. The empty suitcases slide easily under the bed. There are more than sufficient electrical outlets in the cabin. There are 2 US & European plug-ins on the wall by the desk. Outlets are also in the bathroom where a night light is plugged in & plug-ins behind the 2 small night tables on either sides of the bed. In addition, there is an USB plug-in at the base of a wall light fixture, also on either side of the bed. The cabin has your standard mini safe, fridge, flat screen TV, desk & chair, along with a 2 person sofa. There is an umbrella & hair dryer in the cabin for your use. The bathroom is OK, but the “shower” can be challenging at times. The balcony was generous in size with 1 small dining table & 2 chairs. Great for eating in if you wish. In general, our cabin was kept very clean (kudos to our cabin steward), very comfortable & in a quiet area. We found the food in the Windows Cafe, Discoveries Dining Room & the Patio to be consistent & very good. The burgers in the Patio were cooked to perfection, very tasty & juicy, with great fries too! The service was quick & friendly at these eateries & was 2nd to none. I am not into the Broadway type shows, but the ones that I did attend were OK. I was a regular user of the gym & found it more than adequate. Hint: Use the showers in the gym, you’ll have a lot more room than in your cabin. We went on 2 ship’s full day excursions in Keelung & Manila, which we enjoyed, but not surprisingly, there were on the expensive side. Could & should have joined in the other passengers from the CC forum. In Kaohsiung & Manila, we had free shuttles from the ship to shopping malls. That was nice, but I think it would have been better if the ship had made arrangements for the shuttles to take us to areas with market(s) where the locals frequent. We don’t really wants to go to these big city malls, when we can do so at home. I use to stereotype that certain goods in Asia are cheaper than in North America, but not anymore! Read Less

Chose this cruise mainly for the itinerary, Hong Kong Taiwan, and the Philippines and secondly the Azamara Quest was recommended by a friend. We were looking forward to a small ship, but were surprised by the small cabin, plastic shower curtain with small shower, two seater strange shape seat that could only sit one person, huge balcony table for size of balcony. Cabin staff brilliant no problems, pity they did not have better cabin to look after,very poor design. Restaurants were ok, food was very good, service was very good once you got to know staff. On some days only Windows buffet open for lunch not enough tables for everyone, people wandering about with plates of food and nowhere to sit, twice we gave up and left,that really annoyed us, and a lot of other guests. Entertainment was terrible Cabaret lounge is not a suitable venue for type of shows we went to, unless sitting in front three or four rows not much could be seen. The Den had a pianist in the centre of the room whilst being excellent, he was so loud and played all evening we could not hold a conversation with friends so we had to look for somewhere else to sit. Tours were ok apart from a couple, boats returning in the dark with no lights, and people having to wade out in the sea up to their waist to get aboard boats on return trips, health and safety risks in both cases I would think. Places visited were ok, but why take us through the slum area of Manila in a horse drawn carriage I can not understand, there must be more attractive parts of the city to see and hear about. One of the few plus sides was the quality and variety of the cuisine, it was excellent, served by wonderful crew in Discoveries dinning room Titiana and Ferdie they were brilliant. The service on board was very good, the crew being friendly and helpful at all times. There was a lack of knowledge on the management side, Windows and Discoveries restaurants should have both been open for lunch to cater for the numbers on board. Show organised to suit the venue, volume of piano in Den set suitable for the size of room. Certainly this cruise was not five star more like two, I will stick to MSC, superior cabins, superior entertainment, cuisine almost as good, no complaints like we experienced with Azamara. Would I cruise with Azamara again probably not. I thought it was to be a luxury cruise, how wrong can one be sometimes!! Read Less

The embarkation check in process was abysmal. We had submitted our pre-boarding forms electronically along with photos and brought copies with us. When we got to check in, NONE of that work paid off. Their computer system could not call up the data provided electronically, so we had to supply it AGAIN while the person entered it finger by finger on the keyboard. Then their system could not read our passports and THAT information had to fingered in. After 20 minutes of this misery, the system would not print out a confirmation and cards. We were directed to another check in person and the ENTIRE PROCESS WAS REPEATED for another 15 minutes. Neither of the ship's IT people were able to help or explain. As Discoverer level loyalty cruisers, we did expect a better performance by the check-in people. Our cabin was well maintained by the crew assigned to it. The on-board WiFI system is much better than in the past. More reliable and much easier to use. As is the norm for Azamara, the buffet and main dining rooms serve good meals and the service is very attentive. The buffet changes each night to a different country cuisine. When the meals are not what we were interested in, we have the option of eating al fresco in the Patio Grill. Nightly specials are very good there. We did not use the room service for meals. WE did not go to the specialty restaurants on this cruise. We have in the past and found that the meals in the other venues of the ship are just as good and more casual as they do not require reservations. We always buy the top shelf beverage package and found at least one bartender at each bar had some skills in mixing drinks. We do not go to the production shows when cruising, but prefer to go to the smaller venues around the ship where music is playing at the bars. This trip was no exception and the music was fine. This cruise did not have an Azamazing evening. There was a White Night. The crew always does a great job with the food and entertainment that night. We took only private shore excursions and because of the many ports which were cancelled, it was real scramble to get refunds at the last minute from the vendors What has happened to Azamara since expanding their fleet by 50% last year? Their backroom operations in Miami are horrendous. On this voyage nearly 40 people were told that they could get a China visa through a group visa with Azamara. When the ship arrived at the first Chinese port - no visas, so the people either had to leave the ship and fly away or stay in their cabin for the next 8 days. More backroom problems came about when passengers were given the wrong port departure and arrival locations for this voyage. Hotel reservations and ground transportation plans were utterly worthless when it was discovered that Harumi in Tokyo was the departure point, rather than Yokohama which was the information provided by backroom personnel. Also, impacted was Hong Kong where Kai Tak was given as the disembarkation point when in fact it was Harbour City. These are not incidental oversights to travel plans, but severe problems when planning many pre- and post- cruise activities/costs. Why did Azamara choose to sail during the local typhoon season? A devastating one hit Tokyo (the embarkation port) 3 days prior to boarding, another one hit central Japan 3 days after boarding, another one hit between China and Japan on the 10th day of the cruise. Over 1/2 of the originally advertised ports were skipped by the captain and the whole trip was a hodgepodge of unplanned ports, repeated ports and twice as many sea days. Totally worthless. A few months before final payment was due, passengers were advised that the ship was not going as planned to South Korea because of some restrictions applied by China. A misleading narrative was provided in the letter. Factually, in March of 2017, two years before the passengers on this voyage got a letter, RCCL, the parent company of Azamara, published their new corporate policy through Reuters News Service that they were terminating South Korea ports on China cruises. The entire cruise industry knew in the first quarter of 2017 that ports in South Korea were not to be included in direct cruising with China. Why did it take Azamara 2 years to tell the booked passengers and why did they continue to offer/advertise the cruise with the South Korea ports when it was in violation of corporate policy and Chinese law? Travelling with Azamara should not require the passengers to check and double check the planned itinerary because of the above ineptness of the company. While the company can bemoan that this voyage cost them too much to conduct, the passengers bore the financial brunt of shore-side incompetence. When the cost of air flights equaled the cost of the cruise for most passengers, Azamara did not seem to care that their mishandling of the whole voyage from start to finish resulted in those losses. The ship crew was not at fault for any of the above problems as this voyage was doomed by the planning and shore-side offices. Read Less