jorcus
TUG Member
Just returned from an Azamara 12 day cruise from Athens to Lisbon. I was not familiar with this cruise line and thought I would share what the trip was like. Azamara bills it's self as a port intensive cruise line and does it's best to deliver the experience of going to destinations that some ships can not get to. They stay in port for longer periods of time giving the traveler some relaxation of not having to rush back to the ship after a day of exploration. They also had a historian on board who gave talks about upcoming ports history and a bit about how to get around on your own. The ship published maps and site seeing info for those that chose not to go on excursions.
At some point I can write about our tour experiences but this is more about the ship and cruise line. Azamara only has 4 ships which are pretty much the same in design. The were associated with one of the large cruise groups but were sold off to private equity during the pandemic. Other than some Info Tech issues for the most part there have been few complaints since the take over. We were on the Journey which has a capacity of a little over 700 guests when full which our ship pretty much was. The ship is small enough to get into ports like Taormina Sicily, Sorrento Italy, Cartagena Spain, And almost Villefranche France. As some of the ports are via tender we were unable to offload in France as the winds were picking up and it was too rough to transfer in and out of the tenders. What makes it a big ship is the entertainment which was varied and not bad for a ship of that size. They also bring in people from ports to do shows like opera singers one night in Italy, Flamenco Dancers in Spain and a Fado performance in Lisbon. It's not always the same old stuff. Sometimes they will take everyone off the ship to see a show but we did not get that on this cruise. They also have a big white night party on the deck which I know can sound lame but it really was a good time.
Some of the pluses of this cruise line is that a basic drink package, tips, and do it yourself laundry is all part of the base price. The only thing we paid extra for was internet service. The dress code was billed as country club casual and for the most part that was how people dressed. I may have only seen one or two T shirts in the main dining room. The other passengers who were on this ship made for a great voyage. As these ships do not repeat itinerary's many passengers are on on 2 or more back to back voyages. We had met people that had been on a previous set of voyages for 100 days. Some were on just a 1 or 2 back to back cruise. It is easy to meet other travelers on this cruise. There is no set seating so you can dine alone but tables are close together. You can also be seated at a bigger table with others if you wish or do not want to wait for a 2 seater to open up. There were no excessively large groups on the ship wearing T shirts proclaiming someone's life event. There were only a few children on the cruise, Not sure why they were on this ship because there is not much they can do while on board other than swim. No activities geared for kids. One has to be pretty mobile to get on and around this ship. It would not be easy for people who needed help. I would say average person was retired or close too retirement but still active.
The staff was friendly and many rave about the treatment they get. I thought it was good but not any better than a Norwegian cruise that I took last year. I think the guests are much easier to deal with on Azamara in general as it had a pretty laid back vibe. The Journey like the other ships in the fleet is over 20 years old it has more of a classic than a modern look. It was in decent shape but you have to wonder how long these ships can keep going around the world. We did have a water pipe leak outside our cabin on the second to last night forcing a move to a different cabin. Not sure what happened but it took them awhile to sort it out.
We had an inside cabin and did not mind it other than the fact we had to turn on the bridge camera tv to see if it was light outside.
We really liked this cruise much better than the big ship cruise we did. I think what it comes down to is whether you are a person who likes to be on a ship or a person who likes to get off a ship. I thought about going trans Atlantic on this ship and after being on it I would have to say no way. Bouncing around for too long would drive me nuts. We were able to get off the ship and find our way around to the sites without a tour which was a great saving and added to the adventures. I will post more about the port stops later. Happy to answer any questions.
At some point I can write about our tour experiences but this is more about the ship and cruise line. Azamara only has 4 ships which are pretty much the same in design. The were associated with one of the large cruise groups but were sold off to private equity during the pandemic. Other than some Info Tech issues for the most part there have been few complaints since the take over. We were on the Journey which has a capacity of a little over 700 guests when full which our ship pretty much was. The ship is small enough to get into ports like Taormina Sicily, Sorrento Italy, Cartagena Spain, And almost Villefranche France. As some of the ports are via tender we were unable to offload in France as the winds were picking up and it was too rough to transfer in and out of the tenders. What makes it a big ship is the entertainment which was varied and not bad for a ship of that size. They also bring in people from ports to do shows like opera singers one night in Italy, Flamenco Dancers in Spain and a Fado performance in Lisbon. It's not always the same old stuff. Sometimes they will take everyone off the ship to see a show but we did not get that on this cruise. They also have a big white night party on the deck which I know can sound lame but it really was a good time.
Some of the pluses of this cruise line is that a basic drink package, tips, and do it yourself laundry is all part of the base price. The only thing we paid extra for was internet service. The dress code was billed as country club casual and for the most part that was how people dressed. I may have only seen one or two T shirts in the main dining room. The other passengers who were on this ship made for a great voyage. As these ships do not repeat itinerary's many passengers are on on 2 or more back to back voyages. We had met people that had been on a previous set of voyages for 100 days. Some were on just a 1 or 2 back to back cruise. It is easy to meet other travelers on this cruise. There is no set seating so you can dine alone but tables are close together. You can also be seated at a bigger table with others if you wish or do not want to wait for a 2 seater to open up. There were no excessively large groups on the ship wearing T shirts proclaiming someone's life event. There were only a few children on the cruise, Not sure why they were on this ship because there is not much they can do while on board other than swim. No activities geared for kids. One has to be pretty mobile to get on and around this ship. It would not be easy for people who needed help. I would say average person was retired or close too retirement but still active.
The staff was friendly and many rave about the treatment they get. I thought it was good but not any better than a Norwegian cruise that I took last year. I think the guests are much easier to deal with on Azamara in general as it had a pretty laid back vibe. The Journey like the other ships in the fleet is over 20 years old it has more of a classic than a modern look. It was in decent shape but you have to wonder how long these ships can keep going around the world. We did have a water pipe leak outside our cabin on the second to last night forcing a move to a different cabin. Not sure what happened but it took them awhile to sort it out.
We had an inside cabin and did not mind it other than the fact we had to turn on the bridge camera tv to see if it was light outside.
We really liked this cruise much better than the big ship cruise we did. I think what it comes down to is whether you are a person who likes to be on a ship or a person who likes to get off a ship. I thought about going trans Atlantic on this ship and after being on it I would have to say no way. Bouncing around for too long would drive me nuts. We were able to get off the ship and find our way around to the sites without a tour which was a great saving and added to the adventures. I will post more about the port stops later. Happy to answer any questions.
