Not Luxurious

We chose this cruise for the Cuba intensive itinerary and because my Sister-in-Law loves Azamara. We were very disappointed. Although the size is perfect (less than 700 passengers) and we never felt crowded, the ship needs refurbishing. The cabin was small (even though it was a mid-range balcony stateroom). The furniture was very 70s style and when I moved a night stand to plug in something there were cobwebs. Tiny bathroom with a small shower with a shower curtain that clung to the person showering. The amenities were good quality and plentiful.

We found the food to be average. We ordered tea service one afternoon and I swear the cookies were Keebler. No scones and clotted cream. No finger sandwiches. We are vegetarian but that has not been a problem on 20+ other cruises. Every evening there was one or two choices but they were almost all either eggplant (don't like) or potato based. No variety. The Indian dishes, usually a good choice on the buffets, was bland. Sorry, but even the creme brulee was blah. Usually a few days after a cruise we are still talking about some of the meals and lamenting we can't get that food locally. Not this time!

There was almost no entertainment. I've never been on a Caribbean cruise that didn't have pool music. There was a decent destination lecturer who even added a lecture on request from the passengers but the theater and comedy was amateur. They did do an excellent Azamazing evening, although it was very last minute due to complications with Cuba. Otherwise the shore excursions were limited. I booked private tours in Cienfuegos and Havana. Otherwise there would have been nothing we wanted to do. Most of the excursions in Havana were to the nightclubs.

Embarkation took a long time and had no accommodation for people with disabilities. Someone finally pulled my husband (who has Parkinson's) out of the line so he could sit (he looked like he was about to collapse) but it was so late that moving us to the suites line didn't really get us checked in faster (but at least we were where there was a chair for him while I waited). For a cruise with so many older people, many with mobility issues, the ship was not very handicapped friendly. Disembarking was very smooth.

Maybe I was expecting too much but this didn't seem very luxurious, especially for the price.