We are having a fabulous first time experience aboard the Azamara Quest. While we have sailed on two Oceania ships that are the same basic ship as both Azamara and Oceania were all former Renaissance ships, we found several differences that we have enjoyed.

Azamara offers complimentary wine with lunch and dinner as well as gratuities are included. Reminds us of the former Radisson Seven Seas days.

They have a complimentary coffee bar in the main atrium area that is open from 8 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. serving not only coffee, tea, and soft drinks but also sandwiches, desserts, and cookies.

The staff is very friendly, often calling us by name and many of the officers are in the restaurants conversing with guests. The hotel director and employee relations manager stand at the bottom of the gangway each day and wish us a good day, which certainly is a nice touch.

The two specialty restaurants, Prime C and Aqualina have wonderful menus, attentive service, and great views. The Windows Café that is their buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner has the largest selection and variety we have seen on a buffet. At breakfast they have a Belgian waffle/pancake station and each day there is a special egg dish such as an English muffin topped with salmon and a sunny side up egg. At dinner there is made-to- order stir fry and pasta, plus sushi, antipasti, salads, dinner entrees and the most decadent desserts. There is also an ice cream case with 12 flavors and toppings.

The menus for the entire cruise are posted on the interactive tv so you can plan specialty restaurant reservations. They change the lunch hours to accommodate those out on tour with lunch available as late as 3 p.m. so you don’t to resort to room service or pool bar fare.

We have found the overnight stays very interesting. We had one in Istanbul, have one tomorrow night in Odessa and also have one toward the end of the cruise in Kusadasi. It is nice to not always be rushing in and out of a port.

Susan, I enjoyed reading your report on your Azamara cruise. How are the cabins?
Keep having fun. I look forward to more reports!

Sounds great so far, Susan! Thanks for checking in. Like Betty, I'd also like to know about the cabins when you get the chance.

Susan, Azamara sounds very nice, I like the over night stays, it is nice to be able to spend some time in town and not have to run back to the ship for sailing time. Keep us posted.
:hello1:

Susan, I appreciate you checking in on the status of your Azamara. Sounds like you are having a wonderful time. Looking forward to hearing more.

Susan is our "scout for Azamara". I can answer the cabin question as this is the same exact ship as Oceania. The larger Renaissance ships were all identical in layout so cabins are the same. These ships were purchased by both Oceania and Azamara. So with Azamara and Oceania the only difference would be in the decor and how the actually operate the ships. For instance the included wine on Azamara and not on Oceania. The size of the cabins and layout of the ships is identical between the two lines.

Hi Susan,

Thanks for posting. Does the main restaurant offer open seating?

Keep having a great time!

Susan, Great to hear from you. Thanks for the report. Azamara does sound very nice and a good option. The overnighting has advantages, I guess. But, I would miss sailing. I hope you and John continue to have a great time. We look forward to more reports if you can fit any in.
P.S. So happy to hear you'll be attending FIESTA!!!!
Kim

While overnight in Odessa there was a wonderful outdoor BBQ where the Food and Beverage Manager was grilling local fish he had bought that day and had some of the most incredible desserts. They brought out the table and chairs from the lounge so it was very comfortable. The highlight was a local folkloric group of about 30 that performed for over an hour. Best performance from a local group we have seen.

Over 90 guests went to the Opera House for a performance and they kept the BBQ open until their return at 10:30 p.m. This is the only ship we have seen that alters restaurant hours to accommodate shore tours.

Odessa is an incredible destination. Beautiful architecture and fun to walk around. Lots of beautiful outdoor parks and cafes.

The ship and food continue to impress us. What makes it more special is the staff, which are so friendly.

I will send more details about cabins on next post. As Ngaire said they are the same as Oceania although I like the way they have decorated them as they are more contemporary than Oceania. Ask any questions you like and I will try to respond tomorrow.

Am very interested in hearing about your experience. I just booked the Journey for the November crossing at a VERY reasonable price including airfare to Rome. Plus I am traveling solo, so was really quite pleased with the charge. Regent would have been AT LEAST double.

Sorry it has been so busy I have not had time to post. We are disembarking so I will try and post a review when we arrive in JFK. The price for singles is very reasonable and we had quite a few this trip. Dining is open seating at all times although you do have to make reservations in the specialty restaurants.

This is good news. Azamara seems to have had its ups and downs, and I've been interested to read about the "Club" upgrade. Great to hear of your positive experience, I'm filing it for future! We can generally cope with smaller cabins if the ship itself is pleasant.

How is the main dining room? Is it true that some restaurants are closed when in port?

I am very interested in this line. It has an Iceland trip in 2011 (I need 2012), and with a doable single supp, it sounds great to me.

Based on my experience we have decided to begin representing Azamara Club Cruises. If you have any questions feel free to contact me.

Azamara Club Cruises Review (hope I don't bore you to tears).

The Journey and the Quest are original Renaissance ships R6 and R7 and are very simiilar as the three that Oceania purchased, Insignia, Nautica, and Regatta, However, Azamara has refurbished them a bit differently and also offers complimentary wine with lunch and dinner as well as complimentary gratuities. The ships are more contemporary, and there is a wonderful place on deck 5 in the atrium that serves complimentary specialty coffees, tea, soft drinks, finger sandwiches, cookies, tarts, and other small snack items from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. They do offer specialty coffees such as caramel macchiato for $4 or international alcoholic coffees such as Irish coffee for $6.

Check-in went quite smoothly. They have separate check-in for the suites. Upon embarkation you are offered champagne or juice. There was a harpist playing in main reception area. Embarkation was at noon, lunch was available in Windows Cafe, and staterooms were available by 1:30 or 2.

Dress code is casual throughout, although jeans and shorts are not permitted in the main or specialty restaurants at dinner. Shorts and jeans can be worn at all meals including dinner in the Windows Cafe.

There are 4 restaurants. Windows Cafe which is buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner. There is nice outdoor space with umbrellas and full bar service. Breakfast includes fresh squeezed orange juice, made to order smoothies, Belgian waffles, pancakes, and omelets. The buffet includes lots of fresh fruits both at breakfast and lunch. Lunch includes a wide selection of salads, made to order sandwiches, and a pizza bar. Both at lunch and dinner there is fresh carving either beef, turkey, etc. At dinner they offer made-to-order stir fry and pasta, sushi, antipasti, and dinner entrees. There was an abundance of desserts and a specialty ice cream case complete with toppings and waffle cones. Azamara offers complimentary wine with lunch and dinner. We are not wine officiados but enjoyed the wines which primarily were from South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Each day there is a 50% off beer special as well as two discounted specialty drinks. You are permitted to bring beer, wine, and spirits onboard and consume in your stateroom. There is a $10 corkage fee for wines not purchased onboard. Windows Cafe has 24 hour coffee, tea, and fruit juice service.

Discovery Restaurant has a classic menu daily as an option if you don'tt find something you like in the daily selections which are a wide variety of offerings. It is open seating dining from 6:30-9:30 p.m. daily. It is only open for lunch on sea days. There are two specialty restaurants that require reservations due to limited space but are complimentary for the suites or $15 per person per dinner for non-suite staterooms. Prime C is a classic steakhouse that offers steaks, lamb chops, fish. Fantastic desserts. Attentive service. Great window views. Aqualina offers lobster, rack of lamb, and some fabulous appetizers, soups, and salads. Service was very attentive and the window views are great. Both specialty restaurants were excellent and we visited them a number of times. There were several outdoor bbqs with local folkloric groups performing and the officers serving. The food and beverage manager grilled at both bbqs.

One big positive we found was that they tailor the lunch times depending on the shore excursions staying open as late as 2:30 to 3:00 pm. to allow tour guests to eat in the restaurant rather than resorting to hamburgers at the pool bar or room service.

The pool bar offers hamburgers, ribs, hot dogs, salads, french fries, onion rings and soft serve ice cream.

There is a wine bar that offers wine and champagne tastings, seminars, and mini-pairing of food and wine.

The casino is a bit larger than Oceania. It includes 55 slot machines and 5 gaming tables offering Blackjack, Poker and Roulette. Adjacent are both a martini bar that offered $10 spirit tasting menu that changes daily and a separate sports bar. In this area there are two ATM machines, one dispensing US dollars and the second dispensing Euros. US dollars and Euros could be exchanged at Reception.

Our captain was from Finland and quite personable. He had very good English and gave a comprehensive overview daily at noon or 6 p.m. He often visited with guests on the restaurants or in the coffee bar.

All staterooms have a flat screen interactive TV with FOX Sports, BBC World News, CNN International, several movie channels, review of all the dining room menus for the entire cruise, review of your onboard account, purchasing shore excursions, and ordering food and wine from room service. 400 DVDs are also available for viewing.

Port Explorer guides were available at the beginning of the cruise for each port. These included history for the area, a map with points of interest, post office and telephone locations, tourist information, a few useful words and phrases in the local language as well as local customs, cuisine, shopping, and currency. There was a local tourist information desk in each port of call. Shore excursions appeared well organized and comparably priced. In ports where there was some distance to the city center there was a complimentary shuttle. Cold towels and drinks were offered upon return to the vessel.

There are two designated smoking areas. One is in the Looking Glass Lounge and the second is on the pool deck, starboard side. Cigars and pipes are permitted on the pool deck in the designated area. All other areas of the ship are non-smoking.

E-connections is their internet area. Online manager was available several hours in the morning and several hours late afternoon. Laptops or you can access in your stateroom. Classes were offered throughout the cruise that incurred a separate charge. There are a number of internet packages offered.

They have a photographer onboard as well as an art gallery.

AstralSpa had daily specials as well as body composition analysis. The fitness center was well equipped with the standard equipment i.e. treadmills, ellipticals, spin cycles, and a wide variety of weights and machines.

Dance classes, arts and crafts, mahjong and bridge, single and solo travelers events, and team trivia are some of the activities offered daily. There are a number of board games as well as cards in the Looking Glass Lounge. There were several guest lecturers including one that spoke on the destinations.

There is a good size library with plenty of very comfortable seating.

The daily newspaper is 8 pages called the Times Digest and taken from the New York Times. We enjoyed it more than those we have had on other ships. The ship's daily newspaper Pursuits is comparable to other cruise lines.

Entertainment included a belly dancer and local folkloric group in Istanbul, a harpist and guitarist that alternated playing both before and after dinner, Quest singers and musicians, several singers, a comic, and a singing duo. Local folkloric groups in Odessa and Kusadasi were very professionally done. There was late night disco with a dj that was tremendous. He had over 50,000 tunes and often asked guests to dance.

Some special touches such as hotel director and guest relations manager stood at bottom of gangway each day and wished you a good day! Also there was music in the elevator, music in the restaurants, and the hallways. Handmade chocolates are on a tray in your stateroom at night.

Standard rooms are smaller than Regent but the same as Oceania with only a shower and limited cabinet space. Hanging space is quite good with a double hung closet and drawers with a desk/dressing table area. All staterooms have both a wall hair dryer in the bathroom and a hand held dryer outside at the dressing table. All staterooms also have mini refrigerator that is stocked with water, soft drinks, and juices complimentary. Club continent suites that many cruise lines call penthouses are more spacious and have good hanging space plus a good size safe and butler service. There are two bottles of complimentary liquor. Bathrooms are similar to the Paul Gauguin with a single sink and tub with shower. Nice showerhead that can be adjusted up or down as well as can be hand held and a magnifying mirror. Double closet with shelves, marble top dressing table and chair, and marble top dresser with flat screen tv, dvd, and two seat sofa, club chair with ottoman. On balcony two chairs, table, and lounge chair with ottoman. Club Ocean suites and Club World Owner's suites are very spacious. Although the owner's suites are aft where there is a bit of a shimmy. The butler serves afternoon tea and pastries on a trolley from 3:30 to 4:30 and hor d'oeuvres from 4:30 to 5:30. Afternoon tea/snacks are offered in Windows Cafe and on sea days there is formal tea.

They offer dry cleaning and laundry service for a fee. However, this is a complimentary laundry room on deck 7 with 4 full size washers, 3 full size dryers, two irons and ironing boards. Highly prefer these traditional Maytag washers as 30 minutes to wash and 30-45 to dry is much more efficient than the small stackables they have on most ships.

Binoculars, umbrellas & bathrobes/slippers are in each stateroom for use during the cruise.

There is an onboard booking discount as well as a repeater's club.

Overall our experience was exemplary and equal if not surpassing Oceania and other premium cruise lines.

Great report Susan, I am happy to hear that B&K will be representing Azamara. This will be a good upper end line that may fit a lot of your clientel. It is nice to have another option that we can book through B&K. No one offers the services that B&K gives their clients. Great news.

Great Susan, wonderful detail.

Do I read correctly that there is only a safe in the Club suites? And complimentary liquor--in all, or just some?

Sounds like a win, hope we get to try them out some day.

Excellent review Susan. I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise so much.

The only thing in your review that I'd modify slightly is the statement that the two Azamara ships are the same as the Oceania ships. While they are substantially similar, the Azamara ships only have about half as many mini-suites (Club Continent Suites on Azamara and Penthouse Suites on Oceania) on Deck 8 as the Oceania ships. Originally, R6, R7 and R8 were built without any mini-suites on Deck 8. Instead, Deck 8 mostly consisted of standard veranda staterooms. (To see the original configuration of Deck 8, take a look at the Royal Princess which was R8.) When they refurbished the Journey and the Quest, Azamara replaced the aft half of Deck 8 with mini-suites and left the forward half of Deck 8 as is.

The main consequence of this difference is that Club Continent Suites may fill up more quickly on Azamara than on Oceania. A minor consequence is that there are fewer midship mini-suites available on Azamara.

Welcome back.

Thanks for taking the time to write this, Susan. Glad to hear that B&K are going to represent Azamara as another option!

Wendy,
Sorry no all the staterooms have a safe, just a smaller one in the lower category suites. Wine is complimentary with lunch and dinner for everyone. Only suites have two bottles of liquor complimentary.

Dave,
Thanks for the observation. You are absolutely correct they do have the standard veranda cabins forward on deck 8. I will make the correction. Personally I think the club continent suite is worth the extra money as you get so much more, but certainly that is a personal choice.

Susan, what is the situation with bottled water and soft drinks. Do I understand correctly from the Azamara Web site that again only the suites and above have it complimentary?

And it says something about gratuities included as a convenience in our fare. Does that mean they are included in the fare price or added to it? I don't find their Web site the easiest to understand.

--------------

Eugene

Eugene,
Gratuities are included in the fare as well as bottled water and soft drinks both in the restaurant and the stateroom refrigerators. It is close to the old Radisson Seven Seas except the stateroom and bathroom sizes are different. Sparkling water is an additional charge.

Thanks for the excellent Azamara review Susan...I also like Azamara since they offer military discount fares (in fact tonight noticed
Silversea for the first time does also offer mil discount fares..alas, since Regent is sailing almost full they now do not offer mil discount)

Wes,
I understand how you feel. Yes Regent is sailing full most of the time these days, which of course if great business for them.

I will be on my first Azamara cruise in October.Its short 7 days and a try out for me. Regent prices have really gone up so I can only afford 1 Regent per year but need a second fiddle to fulfil the cruising need

Miriam,
I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I did. While you will have to pay for any alcoholic beverages other than wine with lunch and dinner, sparkling water, and shore tours hopefully the price differential can off set these costs. Depending upon your stateroom the bathrooms are much smaller than Regent but I do think the service and food are comparable.

Its sounds like Azamara is going in a direction of the old Radisson days, which I think could be a real bonus in this market for some people who do wish to have some extras inlcuded but do not want to pay All inclusive prices..

F

Frank,
Yes they have some of the same features as the old Radisson. However, many of the rooms are smaller than Regent. More comparable to the Paul Gauguin until you get to the suites which are more expensive of course.

Ah-ha! After I rec'd your review, I had a look at the BK website and found it here.
Azamara sounds interesting. We were a bit disappointed with our O cruises this summer (b2b=cruise #3 and #4 for us)so good to know there is another option to explore.
As someone else posted, we can deal with small cabins and bathrooms as long as they are modern and convenient. Good to hear the food and staff are great.
Thanks for your comprehensive review Susan.

Thanks for the helpful review, Susan. We will put Azamara on our potential list.

I'm still not seeing any links to Azamara cruises on the B&K website, but I assume they will appear soon.

Julie is busy redoing our home page at this moment which should be up this weeek. This will be the place where you will see a link initially but for now it will be JUST to the Azamara website. We will be doing an Azamara web eventually but this takes some time.

Web work has to be done between looking after clients and often has to take a back seat. Especially when I am out of town and JULIE our web person is me. Hired someone once to focus on the web which turned into a disaster and caused more problems that she solved.

No hurry! I was able to find Azamara's website all by myself!! I maintain a couple of webpages myself, so I know how time comsuming it can be! Julie does a GREAT job on the webpage.

There are a few more details I wanted to share. In my opinion there are not sufficient electrical outlets to charge camera, laptop, and cell phone batteries. I would highly recommend bringing a multiple outlet plug. I would not have functioned without mine. Also when I said I felt our cruise was comparable to other premium cruise lines I meant such as Oceania and Celebrity. I did not mean to compare this to luxury lines such as Regent, Silversea and Seabourn, which I feel are in a different category all together.

I booked a few months ago on the Journey Crossing in November. TERRIFIC price for a single including the air fare to Rome in a balconey cabin. Could not pass it up. Regent is just out of my reasonable price range now for a single.

Hope you enjoy as much as we did.

Just finalized my reservation for the TA in November and was pleasantly surprised that I received a $500 ship board credit. Now to find ways to spend it :)