16 Nights Norway Intensive Voyage Cruise

Amazing itinerary and great weather

This was an absolutely stunning cruise. We are on a 6 month trip in South America and it ticked so many of the things we wanted to see. The Chilean fjords, Antarctica and the Falklands. We were very lucky with the weather which obviously helped. The naturalist, geology and history speakers had done the trip before so gave some very good advice to the captain who was good enough to listen. Our visit to Paradise Cove with mirror calm water and humpback whales everywhere you looked will stay with me forever. The ship, captain and crew were all a pleasure as was the food and service. The entertainment was perhaps the only thing that wasn't entirely to our taste, but it was good enough. We were however delighted to be joined by two Argentine tango dancers and teachers and took full advantage of the free lessons and milongas. We found the shore excursions a bit expensive, so only did a couple, and organised our own on the Falklands to include history and penguins. I love sea days anyway, but the fjords and Antarctica with the scenery and wildlife made this very special.

Memorable itinerary with excellent crew and food

We had a great time on our Mediterranean cruise -- excellent food with exceptional service, long stays in port, fascinating lectures before port visits, lovely special events and a warm, friendly atmosphere. The manageable size of the ship is a plus, you are only minutes from every venue. Several ports were walkable, and tender service was quick and efficient. Entertainment was fun and energetic and we had two special performances that were outstanding. Our stateroom was adequate, with some drawbacks. We had a sea view partially obscured cabin, which meant we had a large window looking into a lifeboat. The space was narrow, so one nightstand had a drawer thar was totally inaccessible. A narrower nightstand with a usable drawer would have been preferable. Our steward was helpful and friendly, and went out of his way to make sure we got important notices. We are not drinkers, but it was nice to have a wide variety of hot beverages and an occasional glass of wine. Staff were always attentive and approached to ask for your order often. We found the food in all the regular venues excellent and beautifully presented at the correct temperature. On the minus side: the web site is awful, impossible to get necessary information and difficult to navigate. We live 7 time zones from the US, and the only customer service is in the US with very limited hours. One customer rep I spoke with was fine, and one was terrible. She kept me waiting and in the end could not answer my questions. In contrast, the guest relations staff on board were excellent. We loved the on board experience and look forward to cruising with Azamara again. One suggestion: considering the age group on this cruise, the single accessible toilet should be supplemented by more of the same.

FAB as ever

This was our 3rd Azamara cruise and once again wasn’t disappointed. In fact we rebooked while onboard Hong Kong to Singapore. We have cruised on many many ships, but will only cruise on these smaller ships now, you benefit from being able to dock in much smaller ports etc. All the staff know your name within the first hour. We had a suite with a great butler called Alfie. Cabin was a very good size with a proper shower with a glass door. The whole ship is kept very clean and tidy she was going into dry dock for a week to freshen up. All the staff and to many to mention are always happy and very polite. We never used the main dining room as being a suite we had use of both specialty restaurants, we used Aqualina every morning for breakfast such a wonderful way to start your day and the staff once again were so lovely especially one lady I can’t remember her name it started with S. We sat unhurried discussing what we were going to do, just that relaxed no rushing about feeling. Sunbeds a plenty so no putting your bag etc to reserve. Poolside kept very clean and again very happy staff especially Ivan he was excellent and very friendly. This isn’t a full on entertainment ship but it suits us to catch up with each other and talk with music in the background. Plenty to do onboard we don’t do organised trips as we have now cruised so many times we find it hard to find stops that we haven’t done in the past, but we get off stretch our legs and back on ship. We enjoy being around the pool and sunshine. Again each to their own. The pool area would come alive once everyone back onboard but you never felt crowded. We have cruised in these ugly tower block looking ships and as I said earlier they are no longer for us. When you see them floating at sea because they are to big to dock they just look stupid, no longer a classic looking elegant ship. We have tried so many ships now, but my heart goes back to Azamara and always sad walking down that gangplank to leave. Roll on next one can’t wait.