@uktog I am glad you made it home... finally!
To answer your question about perfection - it is a utopian drean. However, I the cruise experience using this equation: Reality - Expectations = Satisfaction/Happiness
Sorry for the maths.
So interms of reality the cruise ticked all the boxes - killer price, I finally got to Antartica, met some fine people and had a good time - and no serious 50 foot waves on the Drake. And overall a very good cruise experience.
Expectations - formed on the basis of AZ efforts/information and stuff I found on CC and the interwebs. Based on the foregoing, my expectations were admitedly set high. Especially when suites are involved.
And Reality is the small things that chip away at expectations. I do not expect a major fail on a luxurious cruise line. And I did not really experience one. But were there numerous small things that erroded some of my satisfaction with the cruise. However, not to the point of saying it was not a very good experience.
Yet, part of the experience - our first with Azamara - was comapring it to how we felt after we disembarked from 2 other cruises - also first time cruises. We felt that these expereinces will inform our future cruising choices and more closely reflect what we are looking for. And part of the less than ideal experiences are woefully inadequate customer service and some website issues I encountered and - in my opinion - are hard to talk away.
As a cruiseline agnostic, I will not catagorical say no AZ. But if all other things are equal (never are) AZ will lose out to other lines we've cruised on.
But as I observed from you posts, you are always seeking common ground and a positive message - I relate to and appreciate that. So I will sign off with this: I am glad we tried AZ, elated we got to Antartica and wish all happy cruising on your line of choice.
Bon voyage