mare s.

I so agree with this. The Patio is an excellent option for a simple, well prepared lunch or dinner. There were patio heaters during our cruise and it was comfortable. Much more to my liking than the rather overly fancy but, in the end, ordinary offerings in Discoveries.

I am so glad we had pre booked the taxi. When we left the port, the taxi line was huge and I saw only one taxi waiting to pick up passengers. Dublin port was a disaster.

yes, definitely with the port, but it didn't seem as if Azamara was doing anything to expedite matters or even be available to hear passengers' complaints.

I realize I made a mistake in my review. The Red Hot Chili Pipers were the attraction at the Azamazing Evening in Edinburgh. The Scottish pipers and singer came later in the cruise on White Night. They were supposed to have been the attraction at the pool party but the weather forced them inside. I stand by my review of both groups, however.

hmm...it must have been well hidden.

Onward

We are Discoverer level members and have enjoyed many cruises with Azamara, our favorite cruise line. We had the best of cruises right before Covid, in the Fall of 2019 when we were on board Quest for the Alaska to Japan cruise. It was the final cruise for Captain Carl on Quest before he left for Onward. After Covid we took very short, local cruises on a couple of other cruise lines; one awful and one quite good. So we were anxious to get back on Azamara and once again travel overseas. Yes, there are noticeable changes on Azamara, but the overall experience was wonderful. The biggest changes we found were in the main dining room. We ate there just a couple of times because we had a suite and so dined in Aqualina and Prime twice each. We also sampled Windows and the Patio and tried out Room Service too. Plus, we signed up for Chef's Table Italian. Food quality is so subjective that I hesitate to criticize, but we were a bit disappointed a couple of times in both the selections and the service in Discoveries. The food was not bad; it just seemed to lack a "wow" factor that we'd experienced in the past. Perhaps we were hyperaware, but it seemed that, as the cruise went on, lots of foods were recycled into different dishes. I know that happens a lot and it avoids waste, but it seemed more obvious to us this time around. Service, while friendly, seemed a little chaotic. In the past there was always a pasta of the day and we loved getting this to share with our tablemates. Not this time. The Chef's table was wonderful but we missed having an officer join us (as had been the occasion on our prior cruises.) Food and service in Aqualina and Prime were outstanding. In fact, even better than we remembered from past cruises. Another thing missing was a mid-cruise questionnaire. In fact, we've been home nearly two weeks and we've received nothing from Azamara asking our comments on the cruise. The cost of excursions was ridiculous, and so we relied on private operators and DIY. We did take one Azamara excursion because we had OBC from Azamara to be used just for shore excursions and we didn't want it to be wasted. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate although the guide, a local lady from the Isle of Harris, was terrific. The weather wasn't cooperative for the Azamazing evening and White Night, either. It was just too darn cold to be outside, although the pool deck buffet was as good as any we've experienced. Maybe it was the cold, or maybe we're getting old, but we didn't stay for dancing at White Night. The Azamazing Evening was on board and had to be moved, at the last minute, to the Cabaret instead of the pool deck. The Scottish dancers and singers and bagpipers were good but not great. However, Azamara brought on board the Red Hot Chili Pipers earlier in the cruise and they were terrific! Had everyone singing along and dancing in their seats! I guess, by comparison, the Azamazing Evening troupe fell a bit flat. Our stateroom and "butler" Roy were outstanding. Roy is the best as was our stateroom attendant Angga. We loved the tea service at 2:30 and the extra goodies Roy brought a bit later. Now, I must describe the disembarkation process in Dublin. It really left a sour taste after what had been a very enjoyable cruise. I don't think Azamara is to blame (although it was their choice to employ Intercruises) but none of the officers or staff were to be seen on disembarkation day and so there was no assistance from Azamara. We had to go through passport control in Cabaret with Irish officials...a perfunctory look at and stamp on our passports. Then we were guided to the gangway to leave the ship. We were off the ship by 7:30 and went to collect our luggage, only to find that just a few bags had been brought down. (Mind you, we docked at least an hour prior) We waited until 9:30 to get our bags! There was one poor soul operating a forklift with a cage which had to be maneuvered to line up with the baggage hold and then opened and then loaded by a couple of people at the baggage hold entrance) then the forklift had to back up and maneuver to the dock and then one man unloaded! There were several other employees whose main job, it seemed, was to stand around or maybe move a bag or two into the tent. This process was unbearably slow. The buses arranged by Azamara to take folks to the airport were very late leaving. We had arranged a private cab service because Azamara transfers were so expensive, but we ended up having to pay extra for the cab to hang around. Thank heavens the taxi driver was kind and understanding (and also a fast driver!) He got us to the airport with 10 minutes to spare to check in our bags and get to our flight. (As an aside, the British Airways counter at Dublin airport is hard to find and there are only 3 agents...that process too was slow and frustrating) I won't even mention the horrid experience at Heathrow, where we had to make a connecting flight, as that is another topic altogether. Suffice it to say we will never fly through Heathrow again unless completely forced to make those arrangements. We still love Azamara....we have another cruise booked for 2025. But we also have a cruise booked for next year on another cruise line (the one we tried post Covid and enjoyed)

I find it more interesting that Azamara is offering OBC for paying the entire cruise amount early. I know Viking does this kind of thing, but it is new to Azamara. However, the amount of OBC offered (5% of the cruise cost) doesn't seem to be very persuasive (at least to me)

I too forgot to tune in, but I am happy with what I am hearing here. At least there is an attempt to address some issues and the statement about 2027 and the eclipse looks quite interesting. A couple of my submitted questions were answered....an IT upgrade to allow direct booking of excursions with OBC, and the possibility of some West Coast cruises again.

My TA told me it would show up about a week before sailing and happily is refundable. But I am going to take a copy of my invoice along just in case. I plan on trying a lot of stuff in the Atlas Bar!

I have one from the early days....large and with a zip top (which I love because keeps stuff in!) It doesn't have a big Azamara logo...just a discreet little tag on the handle. I love it and will be taking it on our next Azamara cruise.

Managed to find them again. Thanks! The website is certainly not terribly user friendly.

I have a cruise coming up in six weeks and wanted to compare Azamara's excursion prices to some independent tours. But now, although I can see the excursions, I cannot see any prices! I have tried a couple of ways to try to access the excursions, but I still see just a description and no price. Any suggestions?? (btw, I did manage to see prices some weeks ago, when I purchased one as part of the OBC shore excursions credit.)

Anyone know if there are taxis (or other easy public transport) from Kirkwall port to Skara Brae? We have a walking tour of the city in the morning but have a long day in port and were hoping to go to Skara Brae in the afternoon.

Underwhelmed by the "big" reveal. A couple of new ports in the Caribbean and one in Japan? Plus the Caribbean cruises are in October....good luck with hurricane season! I am excited about the Canada cruises (and have already booked) for Fall 2025, but the rest seem meh. But I will wait and watch. (and see what the service, food, etc. are like on our upcoming Azamara cruise in June)