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

We boarded Silver Shadow on 17th April 2019 in Mumbai for a 9 day cruise visiting ports in India, Oman and UAE. We chose Silver Shadow as we had sailed on her in 2016 in Alaska. In 2016 the ship truly lived up to its 6 star rating in all respects. Comparing the latest trip with the 2016 trip I am sorry to say that Silversea has lost much of its reputation. The only standards that haven't changed since 2016 are the quality of the cabin staff, waiters, reception and shore concierge staff. They were all charming , helpful and a credit to the ship. The variety of the A La Carte Menus was not as extensive and mostly repetitive. Some areas ran out of selected wines and on one occasion there was no orange juice anywhere on the ship. Wine selection was limited and the cheapest of everything was offered as the main choices. The ship is tired and in need of attention as were the management on board. The Italian Captain made one announcement per day which was sailing information we think. I say ‘we think’ as it was impossible to understand what he was saying. There was a general air of disinterest at officer level. Apparently on 2 occasions some passengers reported seeing schools of dolphins bow riding for 20 or so minutes. A sight no-one should miss. No announcement was made by the ships staff to alert passengers to this so that all passengers could see this amazing sight. The 'entertainment' was amateurish and awful to watch and listen to. We left within 10 minutes of arriving on each performance , hoping in vain that it would improve. One port of call was Fujairah. The stop here seemed to be more for the convenience of Silversea than the experience for the passengers. The ship was refuelled there which took most of the day. Even some of the guides/experts stated that it was a mystery why we had stopped there as there was nothing of interest for tourists. Refuelling would seem to be the primary reason for stopping. On leaving Fujairah we sailed to Abu Dhabi. The wind was about force 5 , sometimes gusting but with stabilisers the ship was gently rolling and nothing to concern most of the passengers. Everything carried on as normal with restaurants full etc. no restrctions about going onto deck , just wind warning notices on doors. We arrived in Abu Dhabi, went off for day excursions and returned to be told that the ship was staying there an extra day as the Captain had decided not to sail on to Doha for the comfort and safety of passengers. All passengers we spoke to were at best very disappointed, and some extremely angry with this decision as we had sailed from Fujairah in similar conditions which were not exceptional - just a mild rolling. It was exacerbated by a much smaller passenger vessel leaving the port. The weather did not seem to be of concern to their Captain. So one port and a different country was missed out on the trip.. It seems that since being taken over by Royal Caribbean, corners are being cut to the detriment of the all round experience. We and many of our fellow passenger were very disappointed with the drop in standards. In a competitive world where the choice in cruising is extensive, if I was asked by a anyone whether Silversea was a shipping line of choice I would say "not any more....overpriced and now over-rated. there are far better cruising companies to sail with. Sad but true.' Look elsewhere. Read Less

We liked the itinerary. It hit several places on our bucket list, such as Petra and the pyramids. We really enjoyed the lectures that prepared us for every stop. The staff was amazing. We adored our steward who was very attentive. And we felt very safe, even when we were sailing by Somalia. The ship is lovely and very well designed. The interior decorating is very Scandinavian and comfortable. There were lots of places to relax. Even though there were nearly 900 people on the ship, we never felt it was crowded. The food choices were excellent, and we probably ate more than we should have! We really enjoyed having a variety of food venues and the option to eat both inside and outside. We liked the experience so much that we signed up on board for another cruise on the ORION in Nov. 2019 -this time to Southeast Asia. Read Less

My wife and I have been on numerous cruises (19+) throughout the world on various cruise lines over the years. This was our second cruise with Oceania; the previous cruise was to Bermuda. The 28-day Timeless Wonders Cruise started with the India Taj Mahal Extension on April 25, 2018. Our flight from Florida was arranged by Oceania and flew through Newark, then to Delhi. No problems. The Oceania representative was waiting for us at the airport in Delhi. The Taj Mahal Extension was great, the JW Marriott Hotel in Delhi was at the airport and was outstanding. The trip to Agra started with a quickie tour of Delhi before driving south. On the way to Agra we saw a developing area of India. The bus trip was around 3 hours or so, in a very nice bus. We stopped a few times for restroom breaks. We had to get up very early to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise. We returned in the evening to see it again at sunset. The next morning we got up early again to drive to the airport to fly to Mumbai and board the ship. When in Mumbai, the driver gave us another quickie tour of the city. Mumbai is quite a bit different from Delhi. India was HOT. Boarding the ship was very easy. Our room was towards the front of the ship on deck 6, room 6014. This was a good location because we were near the areas of the ship we used the most. Most points of interest are on 5 (dining room at the rear) and the Nautica Lounge at the front. Deck 9 has the computer room, card room and spa. The ship was a few years old and was very nice; very clean. The staff was great and the food was excellent. Coffee, including specialty coffees, were available 24/7 on Deck 10 front and also, during select hours on Deck 5 rear. The ship provided complimentary water and soft drinks. The Program Director, Julie, provided information about tours and timing and basically everything you need to know on a timely basis. She even provided entertainment one evening. The ship had a cast of wonderful entertainers on board and also a great band. They were very professional and excellent musicians. The cruise line provided two speakers who covered a wide range of interesting topics. Both needed to use larger print on their PowerPoint presentations. This was a 28 day cruise plus a few additional days for the Taj Mahal. That seemed like a long time but the time went by quickly. The passengers and the crew were all very nice people from all walks of life. The people on the ship made the cruise interesting and enjoyable. The only real negative was the price of alcoholic beverages. The prices are ridiculous for what you get. We had a lot of fun playing games and competitions to earn Big O points. We earned almost 600 points which were cashed in on the last full day for Oceania merchandise. The visited Ports of Call follow. DUBAI, UAE – We took the Discover Dubai tour and the Sharjah Heritage tour. The tours cover the city. You will see lots of gold and more gold ….. and more gold … and spices. The weather was very hot. Dubai is a beautiful new city and is a bit over the top. We learned a lot about the Muslim religion and saw very large Mosques. FUJAIRAH, UAE – We took the East Coast City tour. Fujairah is a developing area. It is hot and dusty. The mountains in the background make it considerably different from Dubai. You will see more Mosques and more gold and spices. MUSCAT, OMAN – We took the Mystical Muscat tour. Muscat is a beautiful city of old and new architecture. You will see a Mosque and more gold and spices. It's still hot. SALALAH, OMAN – In Salalah, we took the Scenic Salalah tour. This is the place to buy Frankincense. The good stuff is very light in color and can be purchased in liquid or solid forms. This was an interesting place. …. still hot. FOUR DAYS AT SEA – We received Pirate Training and Navy Seals boarded the ship! AQABA, JORDAN – After the Taj Mahal, Petra is the reason we are on this cruise. We took the Magnificent Petra tour. The tour required a lot of walking through a beautiful slot canyon. This was one of the high points of the trip. …... It was actually cool in the morning but, it got HOT. The walk to the main attractions was generally downhill, but uphill coming back. Horses and carts were available to rent; both were a little questionable. The tour included a nice lunch. SAFAGA (LUXOR), EGYPT – On the first day we took the all day trip (Ancient Luxor tour) to Luxor to see the Valley of Kings and other ancient stuff. Most of the drive was through desert! When we finally got near Luxor, the driving was very slow. We were in Luxor previously on a Viking Cruise so we probably could have passed on this tour and spent more time in Safaga. But Luxor is special if you have never been there. On the second day we went on the Snorkeling in the Red Sea tour. This was fantastic. The Red Sea is full of interesting fish. The area along the Red Sea is a resort area that is very dead. Not much going on. THE SUEZ CANAL – The canal was another reason this cruise looked interesting. The history behind it is interesting … covered by the speakers. The canal is basically a big ditch, parts of it is only one way traffic. While cruising through it, an all day trip, you will basically be in Egypt with Africa to the west and Asia to the east. A nice relaxing day surrounded by sand. HAIFA (JERUSALEM), ISRAEL – This stop was another reason we were on this cruise. We took the A Day in Jerusalem and Bethlehem tour. Jerusalem was a zoo …. very crowded and busy. Besides all the people that live in Jerusalem, it is full of tourists and shops. Bethlehem appeared to be more reverent and enjoyable. We stopped at a nice place to shop in Bethlehem. On the second day in Israel, we took the Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee tour. This was out in the country and very enjoyable … but very, very HOT … in fact, the HOTTEST. The heat was a real problem. LIMASSOL, CYPRUS – In Cyprus, we took the Pafos & Kourion tour. Cyprus is a beautiful island with an interesting history. The included lunch was very good. This is a nice place to visit. RHODES, GREECE – The Highlights of Rhodes tour was very nice. The island is beautiful with a great harbor and market. KUSADASI (EPHESUS), TURKEY – We visited Ephesus, the Virgin Mary House and a local museum. The Virgin Mary House is special … it feels holy. Of course, Ephesus and the museum are world class. We also visited a carpet factory! The weather is much better. The lunch was great. SANTORINI, GREECE – We took the Santorini Winery & Oia tour. The winery included a small glass of three different wines. We were in and out in 30 minutes. You can miss this! Oia is what you expect Santorini to be like. The only problem was that four ships were in port. People everywhere. Up to this point, we really didn't see another cruise ship. The line to go back to the four ships was a joke … we never found the end. Fortunately, there are many restaurants in Thira to kill time. The food is good, as is the beer and wine. VALLETTA, MALTA – We took the Scenic Sights of Malta tour which included a tour of the island. The port is beautiful and very active. Malta has beautiful churches and is a great place to shop … good prices. We may not have needed a tour in Malta. It looks very walkable to most points of interest. PALERMO (SICILY), ITALY – We took the Mysterious Palermo tour. We probably should have just walked around the city. In fact, we did when the tour was heading back to the ship. One interesting stop in the tour was a catacomb with hundreds if not thousands of exposed skeletons; aka mummies. SORRENTO (CAPRI), ITALY – We took the cruise to Capri. This was one of the highlights of the cruise. We had time to just walk around the island and visit too many high end shops, sample Lemoncello and other treats. Its nice to just have a drink and watch the world go by in Capri. The scenery is outstanding. Capri was warm! All of our tour guides were very good. They all spoke English well and were very approachable. Overall, the cruise was wonderful. You will see too many churches and mosques, markets, gold, spices … but you will meet many very nice people on the ship and also, tour guides and locals. You will also walk …. a lot. Oceania really took good care of us; they were always there to make sure everything was taken care of during the trip. They really seemed to care. A great trip. If they only reduced the price of alcoholic drinks. Read Less

The itinerary was fantastic. As usual, Oceania provided a wonderfully relaxed and luxurious environment. The crew are really the stars of this luxury ship. The service and cuisine is faultless. This is not a family cruise suitable for children. Its a luxury line. The ports for this trip were unique and should be on everyone's bucket list. However it was a busy itinerary with lots of walking, climbing and stairs. A quick summary: Oman - interesting but half day tour was more than enough for the local sites Jordan - Petra - speaks for itself - magical but not for those who have mobility issues. Its a long, hard work to the treasury in the heat Luxor, Egypt - so much to see. We stayed overnight in Luxor due to the 4 hour journey from the ship. Its a long 4 hours with not much change of scenery. Luxor was reasonably clean and I never felt unsafe. We had a private tour and that was fantastic as we did only what interested us which included a sail on the Nile. Cypress - Pretty marina area to wander around and a break from ruins Israel - 2 days not enough. Glad the ship overnighted which allowed much more time. So interesting but Jerusalum very busy. We swam in the dead sea on a private tour. A must-do. Patmos Greece - gorgeous little port village. Picture perfect Rhodes, Greece - so much to see. Full day tours are a must and highlight was the acropolis. Santorini - lost of ships in but really didn't notice the volume of people. Simply stunning and a must. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. Started in Mumbai, India and then stopped in Oman, Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Cyprus, Patmos, Rhodes and Santorini before ending in Athens, Greece. We had two days in both Egypt and Israel. All the port tours were very good and the ship was friendly with great service. Our balcony cabin was very small but was fine as we spent very little time in it. And of course the food was outstanding, as Oceania is known for its delicious food. We are used to bigger ships with better entertainment, but this group was very nice and they were lots of fun in helping with the shipboard games. Spending a day going through the Suez Canal was another interesting experience. The captain of the Nautica was extremely personable and gave us lots of good information; we even had a pirate drill. Would highly recommend this cruise. Read Less