Azamara: should I take the plunge?

[mchell810]

49 minutes ago, Storylady said:

We also could have had liquor, but we quickly realized we weren’t going to drink it so we returned it.

 

May I ask were you offered the 4 small bottles or was it one large? Were you offered a choice in the liquor?  TIA

 

[Storylady]

Just now, mchell810 said:

 

May I ask were you offered the 4 small bottles or was it one large? Were you offered a choice in the liquor?  TIA

 

We were offered one liter for each cruise. We are wine drinkers, but do enjoy a cocktail. We didn’t use it as we knew we would only have a couple of drinks. Plus, we had trouble drinking our wine that we exchanged  for a the Champagne. We had so much wine to drink onboard that we told our butler we didn’t need a another bottle for the second cruise.

 

Also, forgot to mention the bathroom. I discovered after we booked that the tubs were on the port side and showers on the starboard side. Plus, we too were concerned about the small bathrooms that I saw in photos. Yes, the bathroom is small, but Azamara has an area indented into the wall between toliet and sink for plenty of toiletries. When you take a photo from the door, you don’t see it. 
 

Plus, there were several very large drawers to store clothes that you don’t hang in the closet.

 

I also loved their round table that swiveled. Our butler would place a table cloth on the table and then lay out the items we ordered. The table could be rotated to reach items on other side of the table. Having been used to a suite on our preferred line, we really liked the Continental Club Suite we chose. 
 

Now all we have to do is find another itinerary we like when we have time to do it. Right now, we are totally booked for the next 1.5 years.

[JYDCruise]

On 10/28/2022 at 4:52 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Here's a picture from Pursuit showing just the tip of the Guidebook iceberg.  Everything from this bookcase to the starboard corridor is similar bookcases full of travel books!  They're below eye level, so I only noticed them when cooling my heels waiting for Shore Excursions to open...

 

I spent a fair amount of time in that chair in the lower right corner of your picture. 🙂 After dinner/shows/etc., I'd head down and enjoy a cocktail while reading and listening to the pianist.

[tgg]

On 10/30/2022 at 12:57 PM, Storylady said:

And for those who want free shore excursions, you might consider Regent (another luxury cruise line). All of their shore excursions are free, not just the 2-3 hour highlight tours.
 

Last time we sailed with Regent not all shore excursions were free.  There were Regent Choice Shore Excursions that were available for a sometimes considerable upcharge.

 

We also found that it was impossible to do more than one shore excursion each day because the morning excursions arrived back at the ship after the afternoon shore excursions left.

[Ski Mom 2]

Our Windstar Star Breeze New Zealand cruise in January 2024 has disappeared and we are looking for another cruise. We found the Australia/New Zealand voyage on 4 January 2024 on Azamara Journey and have a Deck 8 aft Veranda Plus Stateroom on hold. The rate includes an upgrade to the beverage package, WiFi and $150 pp OBC. There were no suites left but we are happy with an aft balcony although the rooms and shower seem small.

 

We love the port intensive cruises of WS. We love the crew, the small ship and the other folks that travel on WS. This cruise and Azamara look like it could be the right fit for us.

 

Has anyone sailed on both Windstar and Azamara and can comment on the similarities and dissimilarities?

 

Has anyone used the air program through Azamara and what did you like/dislike? Can we fly in early and stay extra days? Can we upgrade to business class?

 

Thank you for your help!

[Host Jazzbeau]

@Ski Mom 2 you will have an opportunity to bid on upgrades to the suites on Azamara.  Even though the suites are sold out now, some may open up as you get closer to the date.  The veranda cabins are ok; only the showers are undersized.  If you can upgrade to a Club Continent suite, you get 50% more room and a significantly bigger shower plus some other amenities.

 

Warning:  half the CC suites still have bathtubs, and those are slow selling.  If you like a bathtub, the upgrade route is great.  If not, you should monitor the Azamara website regularly to see if a shower suite opens up – then pounce on it!  [Tubs are shown by a triangle on the deck plans.  The top CO and CW suites show as bathtubs, but they also have showers.  The CW suite is so nice that I could conceive of making it an 'assisted living' home...]