Not as good as expected

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 7

Helpful Votes: 354

Review summary

All the pluses first Number of people in front of me at check-in at 11am: ZERO Boarding group number 4, and it looked like there were about 10 people (max) in each boarding group Had to wait for the Patio (and buffet) to open at noon. "Suffered" by lounging on the plush pool chairs. I really liked the Patio. Ate there twice. The cabin: Wonderful The sheets And those large plush pillows Plus, the mattress topper was so good that I could not feel the split between the two beds Also noticed that the curtains and drapes were much nicer, heavier than others. That quality feel The negative: the bathroom: smallest I’ve ever had and not the greatest water pressure in the sink or the shower Big towels, tho , almost too big, if that’s possible And those little sweets every night on the dish. Nice touch. The coffee table didn't match the decor and is in the way. Moved it Not a glaring colour in sight anywhere: no turquoise, no red battling with orange. The Den and The Living Room are amazing spaces, so was the Cabaret Discoveries: the food was amazing - both breakfast and dinner as an example: Sunday night dinner: over-baked salmon. Delicious (not a word I use often) and, when I lifted the salmon off the asparagus and potato under-parts, there were the two asparagus, perfectly crossed in an X, and I mean perfectly placed. Waiting: for anything: negligible…. Zero checking in, zipped through boarding, I think there were a max of three couples ahead of me getting into dinner. And especially disembarking: where I am used to long, long queues in large, large groups: nada. Walk off when I wanted Which leads me to the negatives: No served breakfast on the last day. That was a surprise. On NCL and on Celebrity, there is a full-service breakfast on the last day (as well as the buffet). I was really surprised that, on the last day, in Discoveries, it was a buffet. Granted, a nice enough one, including the carved ham station, but, still, buffet. Not the best in meeting my expectation. Also, surprised that there was no served lunch on embarkation day. Again, on all the other cruises I’ve been on, except Pullmantur, the MDR has been open for embarkation lunch. I did go to the buffet once: on the first day, for chocolate dessert which I took back to The Patio. It really was as much as a scrum as any other line – tho in a smaller space. Service: this is where Azamara did not meet my expectations. At that price, I expected near-flawless service. Three (negative) examples: I ate at the Patio on embarkation day. That went fine. I ordered chicken wings, then cold soup, then a burger. Came one at a time. But when I ate there on Saturday, I ordered chicken wings and a salmon burger and the wings and the burger arrived at the same time. Not a good move. It meant one wasn't was warm as it should've been by the time I got to it. Dinner on Sunday: the waiter plopped down a Caesar salad that belonged two tables to my left. And then gave me French onion soup when I had ordered clam chowder. The guy next to me ordered a steak medium rare, and it wasn’t. His wife was a bit disappointed too, and they’re frequent Azamara people. Twice, my sparkling water glass got topped up with still water. Granted, they were constantly asking to refill the wine, but they usually asked if I wanted more water AS they were pouring it in They were also not the most pleasant and engaging service staff in The Patio. Almost surly. Would I cruise AZ again: yes, with a couple of conditions -- it would need to be a more special itinerary and I would not pay a premium of more than a few hundred dollars

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Venice, Italy

Rijeka, Croatia

Koper, Slovenia Did not visit port

Disembarkation

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