Azamara

We are extremely disheartened by the complete lack of empathy and understanding shown by Azamara Cruises in light of a deeply personal and tragic event. My wife and I had planned a five week European holiday including a cruise with Azamara. Just… Read more

three days before our departure, my beloved 95 year old father-in-law passed away. We understood that our travel insurance wouldn't cover the delay however we made the conscious and respectful decision to postpone our trip by two weeks, simply to be able to attend his funeral. This unfortunately meant missing our scheduled flight and cruise departure dates. While our airline, accommodation and other companies responded with compassion and practical solutions - offering reasonable flexibility with minimal penalties - Azamara's reaction was starkly different. Despite explaining the situation and providing a copy of the death certificate via our travel agent, we were met with rigid policies and a lack of human consideration. The first piece of feedback was 'that's what travel insurance is for'. Subsequently the only offer is a credit of $5,169 toward a future cruise, valid for 12 months - whilst keeping the balance of the $12,258 we had already paid. No full credit, no refund, no reschedule, and no empathy. It was in this moment we realised, some companies simply do not care about their customers beyond the transaction. To be treated with such indifference during an already painful time is both shocking and disappointing. For this reason, we cannot in good conscience recommend Azamara Cruises to anyone. When choosing a company for your holidays, particularly something as personal and expensive as a cruise, compassion and flexibility should matter. Unfortunately, Azamara failed on both counts.

Azamara Problem, Lack of Passenger Care – We have done 6 cruises with Azamara. We do not plan any more after our 6th. Azamara had insisted we have a doctor issue a certificate clearing us of Covid when we boarded. No one asked for this certificate. We contracted Covid 2 weeks later, onboard, and reported the positive test to our butler and to onboard Customer Relations. A nurse came… Read more

immediately and insisted we did not have Covid. He did not take his own test and he did not look at mine, and he did no investigation at all. When we insisted I had Covid he asked who we had told and left. He returned shortly after and said he had issued advice it was a false test. Despite the positive test, we were told we could roam freely on the ship. My wife also contracted Covid and we spent some 12 days in bed with a severe dose and we were visited by a nurse on most days. We also visited the doctor on board where we were put on an IV drip. I asked about antivirals and was told they were reserved for live threatening cases. I was seriously ill and lost 7 kgs in weight. Our flight home was difficult and I contacted Azamara Loyalty from home. I was told we would receive compensation but they needed to verify what I had told them, with the ship. From then on, we were blocked from any comunication. I sent full written details to their MIAMI headquarters by registered mail and it was received. I received no reply and we remain blocked by Loyalty. Beware of Azamara.

Very good – All the good stuff, cruise round Iceland, service and food exceptional, ship's shore excursions stupidly expensive but mostly good. But what was really good was that I had a bad fall at Vök hot Baths, once the tour leader realised what had happened she couldn't have been more helpful, got shepherded to the med centre as soon as back on board to… Read more

be checked for concussion, no charge to me, and offered to cancel next day's loooong tour just in case, again with full refund. And the refund was processed to my credit card on day of disembarkation. Would we travel again with Azamara? Def yes.

Still waiting for almost $10,000 refund more than 3 months later! – Booked for cruise in 2020 which was cancelled for Covid. Initially took the future credit but with the uncertainty requested refund in March 2021. Still waiting ..... Booked through travel agent who booked through wholesaler. All are passing the buck! Still waiting for almost $10,000 in refunds. Disgraceful behaviour. Show details

Azamara Quest - Cairns to Singapore – Booked our cruise through Cruise 1st and the process was smooth and efficient. The cruise itself was an enjoyable experience but the collective 5 days at seas were somewhat boring as found on ship activities during the day dull and unexciting. Trivia Pursuit sessions need to be more generalised and bingo is not one of our preferred activities.… Read more

However the staff, dining, food experience and night time entertainment were all very good. The port highlights for us were Thursday Island, Darwin and Komodo. The other Indonesian stops were not all that interesting and we had already been to Bali previously. Included drinks in our price worked well and no complaints with service and delivery. Stayed in a Balcony room which was small but functional and clean. Provided self service laundry facility is very popular and crowded but the other laundry option is expensive.

AZAMARA JOURNEY AND THE BALTIC SEA – We boarded the ship in Copenhagen and departed in Stockholm after an 11-day journey visiting some interesting ports on the way. We had a Stateroom with balcony booked. The cabin was small but manageable. Only comment we must make is that the design of the bathroom is very small with a shower difficult to manage for bigger persons. The room was… Read more

very clean, and the bed was comfortable. The room attendants looked after us well.

Food was of high quality and came in great variety. The cruise was an all-inclusive one, but there are also drinks on offer that are not covered by the all-inclusive package. There were Drinks packages on offer. We were happy with the drinks of the all-inclusive selection. We used the speciality Restaurants some nights that came with an extra cost of $30 per person. There is a Steak place and an Italian Restaurant. Both are recommendable to give yourself an extra treat. There is also a Buffet and an a la card Restaurant that is included in the package with no extra charge. For a snack inbetween there is the Patio that offered Hamburgers, Satays and Sausages.

The staff in general are very friendly and attentive. Nothing is impossible for them to arrange. We only experienced one exception. It must have been her bad day.

There are two entertainment venues. The Cabaret a large theatre and the Living Room. We spend most nights in the Living Room before dinner to listen to the resident Mexican Band that played everything from Pop to South American tunes. Very good. The young Guitarist was very talented. In the Cabaret we enjoyed the white night party and a speech by Mr Lech Walenza. Also, the Violin player was very good. However, there were nights we did not go to the Cabaret at all and there were nights we departed before the end of the show, but then you cannot like everything.

Azamara is an American owned company and the ship orientation is towards their core market. One thing we did not like was the compulsory tip of 18% for services, even so the cruise was promoted to be all inclusive. So be aware if you have a Beauty Treatment or a massage that you are paying more than the advertised price. A price that is already very inflated compared to Australian cost before compulsory tip.

Everything worked like clockwork on the ship. The ship always arrived in time at the ports and the shore departures went very smooth. Because the Journey is such a small ship it is sometimes able to sail right into the heart of the towns. No feeder boats were needed to transfer passengers.

We arranged our own shore excursions. In Warnemuende we took the train to Rostock and the tram to the old part of town. In Danzig we just went with the shuttle provided by the ship to town and done our own walking tour. Same in Estonia. We had a two-day tour booked in St Petersburg over the internet. The local tour company was excellent with an experienced tour guide. No upfront payment. We only paid at the end of the two-day tour. They give rebattes for early bookings and we got also a refund because we were not able to see two Museums due to time. This was not their fault, but due to our request to return to the ship early on the first day. St Petersburg was full of tourists and without the tour we booked we wouldn’t have been able to get into the attractions without any great delays. The quey at the Summer Palace was so long that even our guide got excited and took several photos. The Tour Company we used is called BEST GUIDES GROUP. You can find them on the Internet. ANNA the guide was very knowledgeable with a very likable personality. She never lost her patience with all the crowds and went out of her way to please her group. Also, we feel that two days sightseeing is enough even so most Tour company offer three days. We were a very small group of 10 people that made the tour even more enjoyable.

In Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm we used Hop on Hop off busses. They come right to the port and take you around the city and stop on several places of interest. Also, in these cities a Hop on, Hop off boat was included.

The cruise was a very enjoyable experience. Highly recommendable.

Best cruise ever! – Joined the Azamara Quest in Mumbai ,December 2011, 12 days cruise to Singapore. On joining the ship everything was process so fast (unlike Princess cruise, but to be fair smaller passenger capacity) Signed up for the Wine/beer package) great value, though wine/beer free along with soft drinks for all meals. On shore excursions excellent,… Read more

always a crew member with us, made sure that everyone used the hand cleansers getting on/off the coach, well done! ( Costa Allegra take note! not even in dining rooms all the cruise!) Crew very friendly, nothing was too much trouble,love the anytime dining especially that you can sit in the buffett area and don't have to get all dolled up!