Azamara 2024 Itineraries

[DS]

       We have looked at the whole 2024 offerings (see attachment... hope its useful to you).   Thanks for the info on why so few Norwegian intensives. 

        As with others who have been to many places, I am underwhelmed with the schedules: for example, from May thru October every JOURNEY voyage begins or ends ( sometimes both) in Athens.  We often look for the ability to stack multiple cruises together ( B2B2B...) as it cuts down on air travel.   We've identified very few options for summer 2024 ( probably exacerbated by few northern Europen trips... only the Quest and the Onward leave the MED... and the Quest essentually repeats the Iceland itineraries on consecutive cruises, making B2B unattractive)

 

       I also note that the itineraires appeared on the Azamra site last night, as noted by many of you. 

      Normally, Azamara provides advance notice to Azamara Circle members, usually even a day or so so to book before making the itineraries availabl2024 Apr Nov cruises.pdfe to the general public.   

         THAT DID NOT happen this time... we received an email at 3 PM EDT today from Azamara announcing the itineraries were available.... many of you had already booked, accourding to you posting above!   I hope this is just another (UNEXCUSABLE) error on the part of "Miami," and not a deliberate disregard of their most loyal customers...

[takemewithyou]

1 hour ago, DS said:

       We have looked at the whole 2024 offerings (see attachment... hope its useful to you).   Thanks for the info on why so few Norwegian intensives. 

        As with others who have been to many places, I am underwhelmed with the schedules: for example, from May thru October every JOURNEY voyage begins or ends ( sometimes both) in Athens.  We often look for the ability to stack multiple cruises together ( B2B2B...) as it cuts down on air travel.   We've identified very few options for summer 2024 ( probably exacerbated by few northern Europen trips... only the Quest and the Onward leave the MED... and the Quest essentually repeats the Iceland itineraries on consecutive cruises, making B2B unattractive)

 

       I also note that the itineraires appeared on the Azamra site last night, as noted by many of you. 

      Normally, Azamara provides advance notice to Azamara Circle members, usually even a day or so so to book before making the itineraries availabl2024 Apr Nov cruises.pdfe to the general public.   

         THAT DID NOT happen this time... we received an email at 3 PM EDT today from Azamara announcing the itineraries were available.... many of you had already booked, accourding to you posting above!   I hope this is just another (UNEXCUSABLE) error on the part of "Miami," and not a deliberate disregard of their most loyal customers...

I noticed that, too.  Feel the same!  Not very impressed and it pains me to say that.

[Norn Iron Man]

Perhaps people should not be too harsh on Azamara or indeed any of the cruise lines re their 2024 Itineraries.  The way things are in the world none of us know what will be happening in a few month's time let alone a year to 18 month's time. I know that cruise lines have to plan years in advance but can probably only do that based on the presently available information.

[DS]

14 hours ago, Norn Iron Man said:

Perhaps people should not be too harsh on Azamara or indeed any of the cruise lines re their 2024 Itineraries.  The way things are in the world none of us know what will be happening in a few month's time let alone a year to 18 month's time. I know that cruise lines have to plan years in advance but can probably only do that based on the presently available information.

              I understand the situation with the world today.  But I think you have to plan optimistically, not pessimistically, especially 18 months / two years in the future, if you want to be competitive.  A rival cruise line just announced its 2025 World cruise; other lines have much more varied 2024 itineraries – I know because I get mailings and emails from them daily and weekly---- but not much heard from AZ.   

       Seventeen cruises into/out of Athens in a row is overly conservative, even vis-à-vis the world situation, in my view, and not conducive for frequent/ experienced cruisers.

     Don’t get me wrong, Azamara is our favorite line—mostly because of the onboard service and staff.    If shore-side would raise their game to ship-board level, they would be unbeatable!

[Host Jazzbeau]

28 minutes ago, DS said:

              I understand the situation with the world today.  But I think you have to plan optimistically, not pessimistically, especially 18 months / two years in the future, if you want to be competitive.

Haven't you read all the posts complaining about every cancelled/modified itinerary?  "Once burned, twice shy"

[laurieb]

Darned if you do, darned if you don't.

The cruises we have booked on the Quest for 2024 have us going to 10 new to us ports.  The rest of the ports, we're (mostly) excited to return to.  I agree that Azamara is Greece intensive, wish they would return to the west coast of the US.  Maybe 2025...

[SummmerInKefalonia]

2024 is definately not Greece intensive for Azamara.

They have only one ship based in Greece (Azamara Journey).

The second ship spends more time on the west med than eastern med (Azamara Pursuit).

The other two ships are based on Northern & Western Europe (Azamara Onward & Azamara Quest).

[DS]

23 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Haven't you read all the posts complaining about every cancelled/modified itinerary?  "Once burned, twice shy"

We have had 12 cruises cancelled on various lines between April 2020 and June 2022 and 3 modified itineraries... so I AM aware of the difficulties.    I'm more intereseted in trying a new cruise, than worrying about another "modification."     If you want to be more secure in your planning, only include Rome, Barcelona, Lisbon, England and Copenhagen in your planning.... BUT there is a whole rest of the world beside the Med and Europe...  half of it is still "summer"

[DS]

9 hours ago, SummmerInKefalonia said:

2024 is definately not Greece intensive for Azamara.

They have only one ship based in Greece (Azamara Journey).

The second ship spends more time on the west med than eastern med (Azamara Pursuit).

The other two ships are based on Northern & Western Europe (Azamara Onward & Azamara Quest).

     It clear that the Journey is Athens centric

      But the ONWARD spends Sept to Nov in the Med.  And the Quest is in the Med from April to June and from Sept to Nov.   Admit that neither goes to Athens, but…The Pursuit spend the whole summer in the Med, with 6 cruises to/from Athens

        As to Northern Europe, the ONWARD is there from end of June to beginning of Sept.  The Quest is there from mid June to Sept. Northern Europe/Scandinavia  is given short shrift… perhaps two to Norway, one to the Baltics  (lots of very interesting place even if you don’t go to St Petersburg…), a couple to Iceland.   No Greenland, no Canadian provinces

      If Azamara’s summer 2024  is not Athens-centric, although it the most common port line-wide, than at least it is Med centric.

         I’d prefer to see each ship make the whole circuit from Istanbul to Spain to northern Europe and Scandinavia and back, not in sync with the other ships, so that one can go where one wants at several times of the year.

[florisdekort]

I’m booked for 270 nights on a  competing cruise line between today and end 2024 and every single one of those sailings is more interesting than Azamara’s 2024 itineraries - sadly, as they remain one of my favorite lines. Many small ports, overnight stays and 11 pm departures - once Azamara’s unique selling point. And no, I don’t think “the state of the world” is a valid argument, the vast majority of countries is already open, and 2024 is still a year and a half away. 
 

[PirateWife]

It is easier to find cruises with new ports to visit when your cruising experience has been one or two cruises a year and only 12 since 2014. We have booked a b2b that has 12 new ports for us. We start and stop in ports that we keep going back to because we enjoy them so much.

[TxnAquarian]

On 9/13/2022 at 7:18 AM, florisdekort said:

I’m booked for 270 nights on a  competing cruise line between today and end 2024 and every single one of those sailings is more interesting than Azamara’s 2024 itineraries - sadly, as they remain one of my favorite lines. Many small ports, overnight stays and 11 pm departures - once Azamara’s unique selling point. And no, I don’t think “the state of the world” is a valid argument, the vast majority of countries is already open, and 2024 is still a year and a half away. 
 

 

Totally agreed! I have not one booking with Azamara, because the itineraries are so dull and repetitive. They like to say that they focus on destination immersion and finding off-the-beaten-path ports, but they really don't anymore. Same ports year after year. It's too bad, because Azamara has always been a lovely and comfy product. Now my bookings are with Silversea and Seabourn because the itineraries and ports are so much more varied. I am truly spoiled looking through some of their 2024 itineraries with many ports I've never been to, late nights and overnights. Even Oceania is adding new ports in Alaska, and that's rarely done. 

 

Michael

[ECCruise]

We were really conflicted here after seeing the new itineraries released.

We have 6 long Azamara sailings booked in the next 2 years, through early 2024.  Waited for the itinerary release with a good deal of anticipation.  Our reaction?  Meh.  Lots of recycled itineraries. Very few new port visits.

 

It really pained us, since we appreciate Azamara about 2 to 1 over Oceania, but booked a 32 day sailing on Marina in 2024.  And frankly, at a much better price, even considering the inclusion of grats and basic booze package on Azamara.  And tons of OBC as well.  Will we miss the warm feelings we get on Azamara every time we sail?  Absolutely.  But unless their whole formula is for conquest or new customers (especially with a lot of 7 day sailings) it is leaving many of us cold. 

[Marmaduke]

I noticed that the last cruise shown for Journey in 2024 ends in Barbados.  I guess that she will be heading to South America for the winter season 24/25.  I wonder if there is any chance of one or two Caribbean itineraries (round trip Barbados) first, before she heads south.  I would certainly be interested as it would save the hassle of US immigration in Miami.

[ECCruise]

2 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

I noticed that the last cruise shown for Journey in 2024 ends in Barbados.  I guess that she will be heading to South America for the winter season 24/25.  I wonder if there is any chance of one or two Caribbean itineraries (round trip Barbados) first, before she heads south.  I would certainly be interested as it would save the hassle of US immigration in Miami.

I would doubt that, honestly.  The Quest does that crossing next year (Lisbon - Barbados) and then heads immediately to SA and the Amazon, ending in Buenos Aires.  That sailing appears to be pretty popular and at a much higher per diem than Caribbean sailings so I would expect that Journey would do something similar in 2024.

But who knows?

[florisdekort]

17 hours ago, Marmaduke said:

I noticed that the last cruise shown for Journey in 2024 ends in Barbados.  I guess that she will be heading to South America for the winter season 24/25.  I wonder if there is any chance of one or two Caribbean itineraries (round trip Barbados) first, before she heads south.  I would certainly be interested as it would save the hassle of US immigration in Miami.

Check’s Seabourn Ovation’s Bridgetown, Barbados itineraries. 

[luv2travel90266]

On 8/24/2022 at 6:22 AM, Norn Iron Man said:

They haven't even sorted out their Venice departures for next year yet!

I am on the journey ending in Venice April 2023. I have planned however that it eill probably be Ravena, will spend the day there and the next morning leave on my own to spend several days in Venice after my cruise. It would be nice to know now but realize that’s not gonna happen and so the plan around how to make the trip work. Regardless I expect to have a wonderful time

[Norn Iron Man]

2 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

I am on the journey ending in Venice April 2023. I have planned however that it eill probably be Ravena, will spend the day there and the next morning leave on my own to spend several days in Venice after my cruise. It would be nice to know now but realize that’s not gonna happen and so the plan around how to make the trip work. Regardless I expect to have a wonderful time

I am probably joining the cruise you are leaving. My TA still cannot get a definitive answer from Azamara as to whether its Venice or Ravenna

[mchell810]

It can't be Venice bc of the rules there; perhaps Azamara doesn't know if it will be Ravenna or some other location. IMO it is disrespectful to customers to continue to show Venice as a port location.  In April Silversea changed all their listings to Fusina (Venice) so that customers know exactly where they will port.  Silversea published their itineraries through mid-2025; no games: Fusina is their port for the Venice area -- people can make informed decisions.

Edited September 18, 2022 by mchell810

[Norn Iron Man]

1 hour ago, mchell810 said:

It can't be Venice bc of the rules there; perhaps Azamara doesn't know if it will be Ravenna or some other location. IMO it is disrespectful to customers to continue to show Venice as a port location.  In April Silversea changed all their listings to Fusina (Venice) so that customers know exactly where they will port.  Silversea published their itineraries through mid-2025; no games: Fusina is their port for the Venice area -- people can make informed decisions.

I agree. I had to book the flights and am hoping Azamara will arrange free transport from Venice to Ravenna or wherever they happen to be sailing from

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, mchell810 said:

It can't be Venice bc of the rules there; perhaps Azamara doesn't know if it will be Ravenna or some other location. IMO it is disrespectful to customers to continue to show Venice as a port location.  In April Silversea changed all their listings to Fusina (Venice) so that customers know exactly where they will port.  Silversea published their itineraries through mid-2025; no games: Fusina is their port for the Venice area -- people can make informed decisions.

Azamara had my cruise set for Marghera, then the port told them there was no room.  I believe they are negotiating for 2023.  If they told people Ravenna now and were later able to switch to Marghera, they would be complaining the same in reverse.  [And I wouldn't count on Silversea being absolutely sure they will be in Fusina either.]

[neverseasick]

On 9/15/2022 at 1:03 PM, TxnAquarian said:

Totally agreed! I have not one booking with Azamara, because the itineraries are so dull and repetitive. They like to say that they focus on destination immersion and finding off-the-beaten-path ports, but they really don't anymore. Same ports year after year. It's too bad, because Azamara has always been a lovely and comfy product. Now my bookings are with Silversea and Seabourn because the itineraries and ports are so much more varied. I am truly spoiled looking through some of their 2024 itineraries with many ports I've never been to, late nights and overnights. Even Oceania is adding new ports in Alaska, and that's rarely done. 

 

Interesting! Re: 2024 world cruise itineraries we find it to be the opposite. Azamara's itinerary is outstanding. We  looked at all WC cruise itineraries for 2023/2024/2025 and found Azamara's to be the most varied and exciting.

[mchell810]

20 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Azamara had my cruise set for Marghera, then the port told them there was no room.  I believe they are negotiating for 2023.  If they told people Ravenna now and were later able to switch to Marghera, they would be complaining the same in reverse.  [And I wouldn't count on Silversea being absolutely sure they will be in Fusina either.]

 

I do count on SS being in Fusina.  They have VERY transparent through this process since last winter; always communications with passengers even when they were unsure of what the process would be.  (Having boarded their ship using Fusina in June I can say it is a smooth process and SS did everything they said they would.) The fact that SS changed all their listings to Fusina so early, even for itineraries years ahead of some other cruise lines, I have no reason to doubt they have secured a contract. 

 

Perhaps Azamara, as an independent, is having difficulty settling on a location; however, they should make that clear to passengers rather than leaving it open to speculation. Alternatively, they could not release listings until they actually have a spot to dock.

Edited September 19, 2022 by mchell810

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, mchell810 said:

Perhaps Azamara, as an independent, is having difficulty settling on a location; however, they should make that clear to passengers rather than leaving it open to speculation. Alternatively, they could not release listings until they actually have a spot to dock.

Frankly I think that approach would be death to future bookings and therefore very bad for Azamara.

[laurieb]

On 9/17/2022 at 3:35 AM, Marmaduke said:

I noticed that the last cruise shown for Journey in 2024 ends in Barbados.  I guess that she will be heading to South America for the winter season 24/25.  I wonder if there is any chance of one or two Caribbean itineraries (round trip Barbados) first, before she heads south.  I would certainly be interested as it would save the hassle of US immigration in Miami.

I think that their Caribbean cruises have been pretty succesful, so I wouldn't be surprised if they have a few.  I'm really hoping that a ship will head to the west coast of the US and do either Mexico or Hawaii in early 25.