So little about the little showers.......

[ghstudio]

Back on topic......The designers of the R ships don't get credit for some of their cost saving design decisions.  Towels can be a big expense to a cruise line, especially washcloths in bathrooms.  By designing the shower to be small with a cloth curtain, the cruise lines no longer need to buy those wash cloths because passengers can just soap up and turn around....the shower curtain does a very good job as a wash cloth.  Unfortunately, there are no directions in the bathrooms so one doesn't know if they should place the curtain/washcloth inside the shower, or leave the bottom outside where at least some of the water goes into a trough to drain...the rest pre-dampening the bath mat. 

[donaldsc]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks for the suggestion, I suppose I have resisted as it means something else to carry over and above the iPads that have to come for work.  I have tried Kindle on the iPad and it just did not work for me,  I will look again at the Fire though before our Antarctic trip (though it looks like Quest will still have the library then)

 

Kindle on a Kindle is very different and much easier to read that Kindle on an IPad or an Android device..  Because everything I may want to read may not be on Kindle I carry 2 reading devices - the Kindle and an Android table for everything else such as Hula.  Reading Hula and even Kindle on my phone is surprisingly easy but I prefer larger devices.

 

DON

[lisiamc]

3 hours ago, ghstudio said:

Back on topic......Towels can be a big expense to a cruise line, especially washcloths in bathrooms.  By designing the shower to be small with a cloth curtain, the cruise lines no longer need to buy those wash cloths because passengers can just soap up and turn around....the shower curtain does a very good job as a wash cloth. 

I can’t decide between LOL and Ewwww! 🤣🤣

[Wacktle]

On 8/6/2023 at 11:47 PM, beatnix said:

The ships are over 20 years old - this was standard size in these times.

I prefer these small ships that can reach ports bigger ones can not and I am able to deal with the shower size. 

Our first cruises were with Ocean Village, an off-shoot of P&O UK. Their 2 ships, Ocean Village and Ocean Village 2, were second-hand and originally built in 1989 and 1990. The standard ocean view cabins had very large walk-in showers, in fact large enough to have a stand-alone stool. So, the ship's age is not a factor. I don't recall the showers being a big issue on Azamara though, but have experienced far better since, even on a moderately priced river cruise boat.

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Wacktle

[uktog]

34 minutes ago, Wacktle said:

Our first cruises were with Ocean Village, an off-shoot of P&O UK. Their 2 ships, Ocean Village and Ocean Village 2, were second-hand and originally built in 1989 and 1990. The standard ocean view cabins had very large walk-in showers, in fact large enough to have a stand-alone stool. So, the ship's age is not a factor. I don't recall the showers being a big issue on Azamara though, but have experienced far better since, even on a moderately priced river cruise boat.

 

 

I think in general terms, if you look at the size of bathrooms and en-suites in North America homes, they are much bigger than Europeans are used to, particularly in en suites therefore the Azamara footprint presents problems to some, but not others. I am seeing similar comments on Explora in relation to there not being two sinks - again something we would not necessarily look out for  

Edited August 8, 2023 by uktog
Spelling

[seahappy08]

On 8/7/2023 at 11:19 AM, ECCruise said:

Of course everyone can have their own opinion on what matters them.  

 

But I don't think Azamara, or the industry in general, is going to suddenly recategorize the experience from "premium" to something much less simply from the footprint of a shower in the cabins.  When the overall experience, in the opinion of the vast majority of those who sail the line, falls firmly within those lines.

 

We all have choices of where we spend our money for travel.  So for those who make their decisions on shower size (or omelet preparation or theater decor or whatever) there are lots of ways to go.

We were on Azamara for the first time in January and booked as a Premium line and were disappointed as in some areas it didn’t meet our expectations. We were informed when we booked about the small showers but felt the activities and some of the entertainment was not that good. The food, staff, White Nights and Azamazing evening were excellent. The staff said they should not be marketed as a Premium Line and the guest would be happier when they booked. There are a few disadvantages but lots of advantages of the small ships such as different ports etc. We are going again in October so maybe in hindsight we will view the short comings more favourably as we know what to expect?

[blag]

I thought the subject of this thread was the size of the showers! 

Bizarrely it has turned into a discussion about library and readers!

Whatever. 

We are currently nearing Paamiut in Greenland on Regent's Seven Seas Voyager (an all-suite ship). This is our first with Regent. I can report that the showers here are small, too, but only having used a suite on Azamara, cannot compare the Azamara standard shower space with these.

But, they are much smaller than the showers in Azamara's suites. 

[DreadPirateRobert]

Recently off a 10 night on Pursuit. I know everyone is different but we just didn’t see it as a problem. I’m 5’10 and around 180. Was it kinda tight , yes but hardly a reason for us not to sail with Azamara.  Neither my wife or I spend that much time in the bathroom. 
To us the pluses of Azamara far outweigh the small bathrooms. 

[oddjob16]

We have never had any problem with the shower size. It is what it is. and , by the way, I only use the shower when I shower. 

[JYDCruise]

The OP is correct that the showers are small. A half-foot (15cm) or so more in either or both dimensions would be a noticeable improvement, but has been mentioned, there's really no place to get that extra space. You can't fit 10 pounds of shower in a 5 pound space.

 

That said, we went into our first Azamara cruise forewarned about the overall cabin size and the reality (Veranda cabin) turned out to be certainly acceptable. The weighted average of our experience was more than satisfactory enough that we've already taken a second Azamara cruise, also in a Veranda, and wouldn't hesitate to do so again (once the IT issues get resolved).

Edited August 9, 2023 by JYDCruise

[bikerunner]

Will be going on my first Azamara cruise soon, do the gym locker rooms, if they have them, have showers in them.  On lots of my cruises I usually worked out and then just took a shower there.  

[Grandma Cruising]

31 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Will be going on my first Azamara cruise soon, do the gym locker rooms, if they have them, have showers in them.  On lots of my cruises I usually worked out and then just took a shower there.  

Yes they do.

[excitedofharpenden]

27 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

Will be going on my first Azamara cruise soon, do the gym locker rooms, if they have them, have showers in them.  On lots of my cruises I usually worked out and then just took a shower there.  

The showers in the locker room I really like. There are two. One is larger and has 7 shower heads that come out from the top and side, although being a ship they aren't that powerful. The second one is smaller and has a standard shower head and an overhead waterfall head. I actually prefer this one. The product in the showers are Elemis Revitalise Me which I really like. 

 

The standard room shower is just not an issue for me when compared to the rest of the experience. I've stayed in a variety of cabins with all sorts of shower stalls, but it's the rsst of it that counts. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

8 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The showers in the locker room I really like. There are two. One is larger and has 7 shower heads that come out from the top and side, although being a ship they aren't that powerful. The second one is smaller and has a standard shower head and an overhead waterfall head. I actually prefer this one. The product in the showers are Elemis Revitalise Me which I really like. 

 

The standard room shower is just not an issue for me when compared to the rest of the experience. I've stayed in a variety of cabins with all sorts of shower stalls, but it's the rsst of it that counts. 

 

Phil 

Trouble was in Onward if you don’t have a spa pass you couldn’t access the showers. DH as a gym user raised this in his feedback so it may have changed now 

[bikerunner]

47 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The showers in the locker room I really like. There are two. One is larger and has 7 shower heads that come out from the top and side, although being a ship they aren't that powerful. The second one is smaller and has a standard shower head and an overhead waterfall head. I actually prefer this one. The product in the showers are Elemis Revitalise Me which I really like. 

 

The standard room shower is just not an issue for me when compared to the rest of the experience. I've stayed in a variety of cabins with all sorts of shower stalls, but it's the rsst of it that counts. 

 

Phil 

That will be all I need then, The room showers would not be an issue, but I would probably be using the gym ones more after workouts.  Thanks for the response 

[Toofarfromthesea]

3 hours ago, bikerunner said:

That will be all I need then, The room showers would not be an issue, but I would probably be using the gym ones more after workouts.  Thanks for the response 

 

I've been looking into Azamara for the first time.  I get that for a lot of people the showers are fine, but I'm a big guy and there's no way they would work for me.  And it's a shame because every other aspect of Azamara seems outstanding.  The only possibility for me would be getting access to the gym shower at a reasonable cost to shower every other, or every third day, and use disposable shower cloths in between.  I've never used them before so I might buy a pack and try them at home.  I'll have plenty of time to experiment since I am looking at late 2024, early 2025.  Also, I don't do any strenuous activities so I don't get sweated up much.  We'll have to see.

 

But I do feel like there is kind of a conspiracy of silence about the showers.  I watched about 10 YouTube videos on Azamara and only 2 even showed the showers, let alone noted them as a potential concern.

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

But I do feel like there is kind of a conspiracy of silence about the showers.  I watched about 10 YouTube videos on Azamara and only 2 even showed the showers, let alone noted them as a potential concern.

Or it could simply be that, for the vast majority of pax, somewhere you spend a few minutes out of a 24 hour day is not a major concern. 

Edited August 10, 2023 by ECCruise

[Grandma Cruising]

The showers in the CC Suites are large.

The others are small, but manageable. My husband is a big chap - 6foot & not thin, but he manages fine. 

[excitedofharpenden]

7 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

I've been looking into Azamara for the first time.  I get that for a lot of people the showers are fine, but I'm a big guy and there's no way they would work for me.  And it's a shame because every other aspect of Azamara seems outstanding.  The only possibility for me would be getting access to the gym shower at a reasonable cost to shower every other, or every third day, and use disposable shower cloths in between.  I've never used them before so I might buy a pack and try them at home.  I'll have plenty of time to experiment since I am looking at late 2024, early 2025.  Also, I don't do any strenuous activities so I don't get sweated up much.  We'll have to see.

 

But I do feel like there is kind of a conspiracy of silence about the showers.  I watched about 10 YouTube videos on Azamara and only 2 even showed the showers, let alone noted them as a potential concern.

Uktog has indicated that Onward had the door to the locker rooms closed except for spa pass holders. I can't confirm as I've not been on Onward, but all the other ships have free access to them and the showers. It seems a bit stoopid because the stream room is in there too and that's always been available for everyone. Hopefully they have changed this policy. 

 

Phil 

[Lazy Sailor]

We have no problem with the normal Azamara showers - except we don't really like the curtains (they are just annoying).

That said, we also travel with SeaDream, where the bathrooms are probably smaller than Azamara, but at least they have shower doors, so it is possible.

But I can think of better ways for Azamara to spend any "upgrade" $$ they have spare..........

[hamrag]

20 minutes ago, Lazy Sailor said:

We have no problem with the normal Azamara showers - except we don't really like the curtains (they are just annoying).

That said, we also travel with SeaDream, where the bathrooms are probably smaller than Azamara, but at least they have shower doors, so it is possible.

But I can think of better ways for Azamara to spend any "upgrade" $$ they have spare..........

Oceania Insignia, an identical 'R' ship to the Azamara fleet refurbed with shower doors. IMHO, that makes the shower more restrictive with arm banging against the door....wasn't a huge issue but the curtains provide flexibility, in a tight space, which doors do not afford!

[ECCruise]

4 hours ago, hamrag said:

Oceania Insignia, an identical 'R' ship to the Azamara fleet refurbed with shower doors. IMHO, that makes the shower more restrictive with arm banging against the door....wasn't a huge issue but the curtains provide flexibility, in a tight space, which doors do not afford!

I second that.  Looked forward to the O R class shower doors until we actually experienced them.

Much prefer the existing curtains.  And no $$$ spent on doors that are a pain.

[alfredo1]

The whole discussion about small showers and shower curtains is a non issue as explained to me by a cabin steward over 12 years ago, put a floor mat and towel on the floor outside the shower and wash with the curtains open.  It makes surprisingly little mess and works for me at 1m90.

[marinaro44]

10 hours ago, hamrag said:

Oceania Insignia, an identical 'R' ship to the Azamara fleet refurbed with shower doors. IMHO, that makes the shower more restrictive with arm banging against the door....wasn't a huge issue but the curtains provide flexibility, in a tight space, which doors do not afford!

Couldn't have said it better.

[calliopecruiser]

On 8/9/2023 at 2:52 PM, uktog said:

Trouble was in Onward if you don’t have a spa pass you couldn’t access the showers. DH as a gym user raised this in his feedback so it may have changed now 

That really sucks, frankly - those that work out shouldn't have to go back to their cabin and wake their spouse/cabin made in order to have a shower before breakfast.  Another mischaracterization of the cruiseline - small size and included alcohol does not make for a "premium", let alone "luxury" cruise line. 

 

That said, it's cheaper than a luxury cruise line, so it's probably good value if what you want is a smaller passenger load and included alcohol.