WATCH THIS BEFORE CRUISING WITH AZAMARA 2024! Things you MUST know – What’s included, tips & tricks!
Hi and welcome to this video on what you need to know before you sale with Azamara Cruises this video will tell you about the things that I found most useful to know before and after I was on my cruise with Azamara and I’ll start off with really simple stuff of what’s
Included in your fair first off is knowing that there is a compliment drinks package included in your fair normally you’d pay through the roof for alcoholic drinks to be included in your cruise but on Azamara the compliment package includes alcoholic drinks including all types of wine beer soft
Drinks water like there’s bottled water in your room complimentary which is restocked all the time it’s so good and unless you really care about which wines you’re drinking like specific Brands then you don’t really need to pay more for the upgraded beverage package I found the complimentary one was just
Fine and that the quality was actually quite good of the wines included so you really don’t need to spend any money on drinks if you don’t want to second off is gratuities are included so where normally you would either prepay them or You’ pay them at the end of your cruise
You don’t have to worry about that at all on asamar which which is super great and also another perk is that shuttle buses are usually included some ports where you don’t need a shuttle bus they won’t run one or you can pay extra to get one but in ports where you did need
A shuttle bus it was always included in your fair there were a couple times where we were docked up against an MSC and you could tell that they were paying for that shuttle bus and we could just hop on one for free which was really great some kind of side things which you
May or may not use Fitness classes are also included they were often running yoga in the morning and evening and spinning as well and you can just turn up and do the class the laundr is also free so you don’t have to pay to do any
Washing you can pay to have laundry done professionally by them but they did have one room on a ship with quite a few uh washing machines and dryers in which you could just turn up and use including like the tablets and everything which was super easy however it was quite busy
Especially kind of mid Cruise literally everybody was trying to use it so that’s something to be aware of in planning but really good that you can wash your clothes for free instead of just you know washing your socks in the sink some other things we really really like about
Azamara which is included is the specialty events so one of them which was our personal favorite was the white night it was our favorite evening and you need to know to take white clothes with you there were some people that didn’t wear white on the white night
Party but they did kind of stick out like I saw them you didn’t have to wear completely white a lot of people did but you know stuff like a white shirt or a white dress or skirt or whatever a hint of white in your outfit and then you
Don’t stick out so much but you don’t have to go to the White Knight if you don’t want to there’s Al the as amazing evening so something to know is to check on your itinerary where your as amazing evening is this is basically a night where they take you off onto land and
They do a cultural evening so they’ll put a show on with say dances from a local dance group and also a buffet of cultural food wherever you are so be prepared for that as well and don’t book anything over that time period because it is complimentary and it is something
That you will want to attend because it’s something that’s unique to Azamara also another thing to keep an eye out for is the brunch they run a brunch every cruise I itinerary and it’s not really well advertised so you’ll need to keep an eye out on your daily schedule
For the brunch it’s held in the main restaurant and they put on this huge spread of food so don’t eat breakfast before and don’t plan anything for lunch either because they run it between breakfast and lunchtime so definitely check that one out keep an eye out for
It something that caught us out on our cruise was short excursions as a are really good in that even before you book The Cruise you can see what your short excursions could be they have them listed on each of the destinations in the cruise itinerary online but
Something that caught us out is that a lot of them got booked up really early because it’s a small ship they didn’t put on too many short excursions and sometimes they can even be canceled if not enough people sign up but if you really want to go on a short Excursion
Please book them early we really wanted to do a disembarkation tour of Rome before we flew out but it didn’t happen even though we tried many different ways um it just got completely booked up and we didn’t end up doing it in the end which was a really big shame this is
Something as well to keep in mind because a lot of people travel with Azamara because of the Des destinations and because of the short excursions so if there’s something you’re really keen on definitely book up early also with booking speciality dining is something to consider ahead of time asamara is
Really good in that their two speciality dining restaurants only cost $35 ahead and they often do dining packages as well so have a think about how many times you want to go to Specialty dining restaurants we did a three night package for uh $85 each which is a lot cheaper
Than a lot of other specialty dings on other cruise lines so keep that in mind another another thing as well I would keep in mind is research what type of cabin you want we booked a guaranteed Ocean View when we went on our Azamara trip and we were really actually
Disappointed in the room I’ve done a video on it I’ll put it in the corner and in the description so you can check that out if you’re thinking about doing an ocean view room but there’s quite a lot of subcategories to each category of State room and check out what that
Actually means for you and if you really care about it something else as well to know before you go on is that Azamara is a small ship company I think the the pursuit in the onward take about 800 passengers so they are a lot smaller than most Mainline cruise ships which
Means that they do move around in rough Seas I’m quite a seasoned Cruiser and I don’t really get affected by seasickness that much but I do prefer mid to large ships just because they do have that level of stability to them and I was really shocked at how much we were
Moving around on the Azamara Pursuit it wasn’t too much of an issue but definitely be prepped with seasickness tablets and choose an itinerary which is quite sheltered and Coastline oriented if this is something that worries you but don’t let it put you off if you’ve been on Asmar and have any tips or
Tricks or things to know please put them in the comments or any questions please just comment them and please like And subscribe this video to help us out
Welcome to the things you must know before cruising with Azamara – find tips and tricks, as well as everything which is included in your fare and what we wish we knew before we went cruised with them!
Please subscribe to support our channel and follows us on Instagram and TikTok @BethandDavidCruise
Oceanview Cabin Tour and Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CaeW9oy65o&t=6s
Azamara Pursuit Ship Tour: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEa4NPz-bgg&t=232s
#azamaracruises #cruise #azamara
6 Comments
I tend to only watch Emma's and some of Gary's videos in the cruise blogger world, but since finding your pursuit tour video I've been waiting for another to come out! Your pacing is very good at holding engagment and info provided is helpful too. Keep it up!
Very well done. I found your Azamara videos very helpful! We will be doing Canary Islands this year on the Pursuit. Our first Azamara cruise was in 2013 and we just really enjoyed the small ship.
I have cruised with Azamara many times and been on all 4 of their ships. There are some fairly important points you have missed. Firstly, the four ships are essentially identical and carry about 680 guests. It hardly matters which one you book, although it has to be said that the initial introduction of the Onward did not go well as we came out of the pandemic.
The ships are now about 25 years old, and although refurbished are ‘old style’. In particular, the size of the bathrooms is an issue for many people, and something that cannot be resolved. But the overall design means you never feel crowded and the overall feel is very relaxed and comfortable.
The service level on board all 4 is very good, especially compared to service experienced on larger ships with a lower staff to guest ratio. There is no casino and no children's facilities, which helps to make the experience very calm. This is not a cruise to be recommended for families with children, although children are welcome.
The food quality is good, but not nearly as good as it used to be. In the post pandemic restart several ‘luxury’ items have been withdrawn.
The entertainment offered is enthusiastic but not nearly as good as the larger ships. Don’t book Azamara if you like to see theatre shows such as those Royal Caribbean can do, but do book if you are happy with a few drinks in a comfortable bar for your evening.
But the biggest issue by far is the IT platform and the customer service. Azamara had to build their own IT platform once they became independent from Royal Caribbean, and it’s inadequate testing was a disaster for them. During the post pandemic restart in 2022 there was a complete absence of staff to resolve the consequential customer issues, and even today this is not fully resolved. For example, when booking online using their web site you cannot now select a specific cabin. The hold times on the phone are epic.
If you are booking via an agent, you will often find that the prices offered change because the correct price has not been downloaded from the Azamara system. The agent then has the right to cancel your booking, and that ‘special offer’ you were pleased with has disappeared.
Their new system managed to lose all the loyalty points of previous guests, simply because the transfer of previous booking data from Royal Caribbean was inadequate. Not a major issue in the wider context, but just very annoying.
I had reason to complain about some issues regarding missing OBC recently whilst on board. It took almost the entire cruise to resolve while they referred to an understaffed head office. Result was a very poor cruise experience, besides all the good work of the crew.
We are back on Azamara again in 90 days time, but for that sailing they are yet to publish any shore excursions. Another example of lack of head office resource? We expect it will be possible to book on board, but guess what, they are then a higher price.
Azamara is a good product if their style of cruise suits you. But there is much scope for improvement.
Nice tips , excellent information. Thank you Beth 🙂
David- your mom sent her work friends here to support you guys! Ready to plan a cruise now!!
I found the food in the buffet and main restaurant poor and because of that would not use them again.