Just booked a third Azamara cruise. Beautiful experience, first class service and meals. Especially love carefully curated shore excursions with a guide and staff member on board. Sometimes ship is docked in middle of the city.
Discovered Azamara last summer on the Ireland intensive . We were hooked instantly. I think your analysis of Azamara and its culture is spot on. I’m not looking for a floating amusement park/ shopping mall and Azamara fills that need
We thoroughly enjoyed our Ireland Intensive that we just wrapped up. Was ideal getting into ports that only a handful of ships can visit. Glad you had a great time!
We took a back-to-back Azamara cruises in 2019 and LOVED it!! Norway intensive & Scotland/Ireland intensive. We recently took a Seabourn cruise, and we were less impressed. Azamara set the bar very high for us! We would highly recommend Azamara and are looking forward to cruising with them again!
Great video. Cruised twice with an all inclusive cruise line and been looking out for a different cruise line that offers all inclusive, or near as because when on holiday you want to enjoy it and not want to worry about additional daily cost. We are destination focused and prefer smaller ships plus a big bonus is looks like Azamara can sail from Southampton whereas the other cruise line does flights to board their ships only. Will definitely follow your videos as after watching this I think we've found the cruise line we were looking for 🎉
Great video, thanks so much for sharing your experience. I’ve sailed on many cruises, mostly on the mainstream lines and in recent years more on Princess and Holland America. After watching this video, I will start planning a cruise on Azamara.
We're booked on our fourth Azamara cruise next month on Onward from Stockholm to Southampton. As you point out, it is all about the unique itineraries and the modest size of the ships. We also like Oceania and Windstar. We love the informality, and have no real interest in a casino or floor shows. Its about the culture of each place we visit.
new subscriber here & thanks for reminding me of all the reasons why we enjoyed our one & only Azamara cruise and now, with your information sharing, I am going to go back and look at where we might want to go on our next one...that is, after we get back from our Sept cruise on Princess to New England & Canada - cheers to many more journeys!
Awesome, glad to hear. Comeback in the future and let us know how the Sept. cruise goes - we've thought about taking a very similar cruise. We did one from New York up into Canada and over to Iceland but like the itinerary you describe.
Azamara felt like nice hotel that moved location every day. Food on buffet way above most cruise lines, though small. Long port times makes Azamara the only cruise line I would consider booking cheaper half day trips via something like Tripadvisor. Showers tiny. Overall agree, Azamara a hidden gem cruisers miss out on. Highly recommend if you can make it happen!
Thank you so glad I found you both .you are very helpful .I'm excited about trying a new cruise line. I need help with coordinating a cruise to and from instead of having to fly. I usually book my own cruise on an online large agency that allows me to search price and book and offers me special perks for loyalty. Thanks for your help with various iteneries
It's a great way to get there. Makes the journey way more fun than flying in a cramped airplane :) Sounds like you are doing it right working with an online agency and getting those added perks and bonuses.
Thank you We will do our 5th cruise with Azamara. Love everithing you said in the video. Sept 3 from Southampton to bordeaux. We are discover and we cruise based on the itineaty. With Celebrety Azamara and HAL.
Awesome! That sounds a really nice cruise. Another one we have to look into. You'll have a great time for sure. We've enjoyed Celebrity a lot as well - we haven't yet tried HAL.
We wish we were! That looks like a great intensive around Norway. We'll be leaving out down to the Netherlands and after Albania. Have an amazing cruise! We'll try to leave some food and drink for you.
Thanks for watching. Very good question. In the case of Silversea and Regent I'd say you are more in the "ultra" luxury segment and I' put Azamara in the "comfort" luxury segment. Not as formal. Definitely more destination focused and long times in ports. They do not have new ships like you'll get sometimes from the other two. I would expect the per diem to be better however on Azamara. As for Oceania, we much preferred our Azamara experiences but we will be trying Oceania again on their newest ship in January. Will report back.
Thanks for the informative vlog! I have heard of Azamara and are looking at a Tahiti cruise in 2025 or 2026. Just curious if you you book your cruise with CruisePlum?
Hello - they are not an agent just a price search engine. You'll want to book your trip with either the cruise line direct or a cruise only travel agent. We prefer the latter since we can get some extra bonuses such as additional onboard credit. The price of the cruise will be the same.
Drinks in Azamara’s basic included package are available throughout the day and evening, not only during lunch and dinner. That is true of Viking River Cruises, for example, however, unless an upgrade is purchased. Not true of Azamara.
I have a little 4 day cruise booked with Carnival this fall, chosen by some friends. We spent 1200 for the cruise, for a slightly upgraded balcony (with tips and taxes). Carnival now wants 80 a day for the drink package, which made me shudder. There is no onboard credit. I added internet. When I compare that price per day... to the price per day for Azamara that you showed us.... I realize that perhaps I have been doing this all wrong. Thank you.
It is important to pay attention to all the extras. Virgin Voyages is another example - it tends to price out quite a bit higher (usually) than the mainstream cruise lines but when you start to factor in things such as no speciality restaurant uncharges, internet included, gratuities included, etc. it gets quite comparable.
Hello, new subscribers. Great video on the Azamara experience. We are Seabourn sailors and looking to try Azamara for their Japan experience. Would you recommend Azamara over Seabourn for this? Thanks
Yes, we had an amazing time on our Japan Intensive. There were a number of very memorable experiences that had as much to do with each Japanese port pulling out some special performances and welcomes/goodbyes. It was a great way to see a number of places we'd never have been able to visit. I do think you might find Azamara more "casual" than Seabourn. It's less top tier luxury - I like to say more comfortable luxury. Also, the ships are likely going to be older - though well maintained and still modern in their way. You'll save money I believe just know the differences going in.
Can't disagree, we find many of theirs overpriced. Which is why whenever we can we either book on our own or just work out our own shore excursion adventure.
Thank you for a very thorough video. Have you cruised with Viking? Would be interested in a comparison. I have looked at Azamara, but I really like that Viking is all veranda and very spacious rooms, and mostly inclusive of costs (exception gratuities)
Yes, we have sailed on Viking on 3 cruises (2x on Orion and 1x on Saturn) -- it's a great idea to do a comparison since there are overlaps but also distinct differences. No questions the ship itself and the rooms are excellent on Viking. You do tend to pay more in my experience and there are some differences we've found once onboard. We've enjoyed our cruises on Viking and will look to do a review and comparison video in the future. Thanks!
Great question. I would consider Regent more in the "ultra-luxury" segment and will likely be considerably more money. It does have more included such as some shore excursions, specialty restaurants, etc. Azamara has a lot included but not "all" inclusive. I'd describe Azamara as "comfortable-luxury" - more casual, less formal. You won't find butlers or white gloves. Regent probably more about the opulence, Azamara more about the destination and a casual social vibe.
Just came off Azamara Onward. Although fine, in my opinion Azamara is not luxury by any means. The smaller ship to be able to get into the ports is a plus. Food was a bit disappointing.
Thanks, and appreciate the feedback. A lot depends on what you expect and look for. I agree it is not perfection and there's always room for improvement. Hard to beat the flexibility of the small size however.
On ours we went off the ship and were taking to a really nice performing arts center in Seville and they had a condensed showing of Carmen (flamenco, etc) - even though it wasn't in our usual type of shows we go to - it was a great experience and something different. Keep in mind this year they have transitioned to doing a lot more of these evenings onboard. There's pros and cons to that but so far it has been pretty good - we've done two on the ship and two off.
Very informative, thanks. My wife & I (early 70s & 70+ countries) are considering an Azamara cruise including an extended cruise in an inside cabin. We’ve never done inside cabins before but the value proposition looks incredible. From the cabin layout we saw, it looked like there was a small sofa, which would be crucial. Would you feel comfortable inside for an extended cruise? Safe travels!
I would say the average was running between $75-$125 per person. Ideally you have some on board credit you can use. Usually we have in the neighborhood of $500 to put towards these. And, as mentioned, we try not to overdue it since normally they are a bit overpriced.
One great thing about cruising is there are many ways to go. You can pick shorter cruises, cruises from local/close ports, finding ones that have a great sale, etc... Even if this line is not in reach at the moment there are many others. Hopefully it can work out. Thanks for watching!
