When seeking a luxurious cruise without a lot of formality and one that still has the ability to remain casual, Azamara cruises have the answer. Read the review below.
This line has become famous for offering excellent service whilst still not having that large influx of crowds. Azamara has also become the latest to introduce innovative services that make a cruise holiday comfortable and memorable.
Azamara Cruises – The Beginning
Azamara Club Cruises was the brainstorm of Royal Caribbean Cruises, their parent company. RCCL believed that they had an opportunity on their hands to create a more upscale experience than what was being offered elsewhere and did so with much success.
The ships were originally purchased for their Celebrity Cruise Line division in 2007. The two ships in their fleet, the Journey and Quest, have a low passenger count and there will never be any more than 694 onboard. The ships contain inside, ocean view and suite cabins. Of the ocean view accommodations, 75% have verandas.
Destinations
An Azamara cruise places the emphasis on destinations with many having overnights in port to experience the destination at night. Azamara offers knock out destinations that are truly extraordinary and consist of the Mediterranean including the Greek islands, the Black Sea, the Panama Canal, the Caribbean, Mexico, the Amazon, Asia, Northern and Western Europe. The Azamara Journey even dares to venture to the bottom of the Earth in Antarctica.
Dining
There are a series of restaurants to pick and choose from with the dining venues following an open seating policy. The main dining venue, Discoveries, serves a wide variety of foods with an extensive wine list of nearly 8000+ bottles on-hand. The Windows Café is a buffet that offers everything from pastries to sushi and the Mosaic Café, a relaxing place with plenty of coffee and pastries to enjoy.
There are two specialty restaurants Aqualina, a Mediterranean inspired seafood restaurant and Prime C, a traditional steakhouse. They do levy a fee to dine but this is complimentary to any passengers who have booked a suite. Room service is available 24-hours a day and dining on a private balcony makes for a nice change.
Dress code in the evening is called “casual elegance”, while day wear is resort style. There are no set formal nights, however, a jacket for men and after 5 dress for women for meals taken in the alternative dining venues is commonplace, although not mandatory.
Spa and Wellbeing
The ships of Azamara Club Cruises also serve up a great spa menu that is sure to leave a passenger refreshed and pampered. Services in the Astral spa include a relaxing thalassotherapy bath, a series of massages including hot stone therapy, deep tissue massage and Swedish massages amongst others, seaweed wraps, body sculpting and much more. There is also a fitness centre that offers in-depth and personal workouts as well as a salon that offers hair, pedicures and manicures services.
Entertainment
There is also top class entertainment on board the ships. The Looking Glass Lounge has a wide variety of DJ’s that are sure to get you grooving and music can also be found in the Cabaret Lounge which features live artists and amazing shows. Other entertainment possibilities include the Casino Luxe, which features casino classics of slot machines, poker and roulette wheels.
Azamara’s newest signature feature named ‘AzAmazing Evenings’ is offered on every voyage. It is a complimentary adventure ashore to see some of the port of calls sights in a new perspective and to finalise the adventure with cocktails and live entertainment back on-board.
Both ships contain self service laundry and complimentary shuttles are available in most port of calls. Suite passengers do get their own private butlers and for all passengers, beverages are complimentary including house wines, spirits, beer and soft drinks amongst others.
The excellent skills in dining and hospitality of this cruiseline have not gone unnoticed for their efforts in the industry. Consider Azamara for your next cruise holiday. There will be plenty of adventures and enjoyment ahead.
Written by Veronica Shine
Have you travelled with Azamara before? If so you you can add your own review below!
