Azamara Club Cruises
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I—I took the one less traveled by.”
—Robert Frost
Getting to Know Azamara Club Cruises
Their Motto: You’ll Love Where We Take You
Note: On December 8, 2009, Azamara Cruises changed its name to Azamara Club Cruises, signaling many enhancements to the cruise line that will go into effect as of April 2010. Most significantly, Azamara Club Cruises will now offer complimentary house wine with lunch and dinner; complimentary coffee, soda, and bottled water; and a cruise fare that includes gratuities.
Itineraries: Asia • Caribbean • Central America & Panama Canal • Mediterranean • Northern Europe & The Baltics • Trans-Atlantic
Cruise fare includes: accommodations, meals and some beverages, and most entertainment aboard the ship.
Gratuities: Azamara is one of those cruise lines that adds an automatic gratuity to your onboard account. If you’ve booked a stateroom, the fee is $12.25 per guest, per day. This gratuity is shared among your butler, stateroom attendant, and restaurant staff. For guests in the penthouse and Royal or Sky suites, you’ll also be charged a $3.50 per person, per day fee for the services of the head butler. Bar & Wine staff receive the standard 18% gratuity that is included on the bill when services are rendered.
History
While Azamara Cruises isn’t a true luxury line, we wanted to include it here since it’s a very solid competitor in the “deluxe” market. Sailing just two nearly identical 694-passenger ships, the Journey and Quest, Azamara offers a more intimate and personalized voyage than you’ll experience with other mass-market cruise lines. Owned by Celebrity Cruises, Azamara pampers all guests with butler service and calls upon ports that are a bit more off the beaten path.
Azamara’s two R-class vessels were most recently owned by Pullmantur, but they began their seafaring days with the now-defunct Renaissance. Azamara aggressively upgraded both ships and launched them in 2007.
The company aims to fill the niche between premium cruise lines like Celebrity and the luxury “big boys” such as Regent and Silversea. Its most direct competitor is Oceania Cruises. We feel there’s plenty of room for Azamara with her compelling itineraries. The line is sure to build a devoted following.
Onboard Vibe
There’s a palpable hum of activity onboard both Azamara ships and you’ll enjoy meeting both passengers and crew.
Fellow Travelers
The demographic aboard Azamara ships skews slightly younger than that of some of the other luxury lines. You’ll sail mostly with other American couples: some who’ve upgraded from Celebrity or another mass-market line and others who normally sail with another luxury line but were compelled by Azamara’s unique itineraries to give them a try.
Dress Code
Azamara sticks to a resort casual dress code at all times and there are no formal nights, although guests who wish to dress up are invited to do so. Despite the resort casual approach, guests should not wear tank tops, baseball hats, bathing suites, shorts, or jeans in the restaurants in the evening. And, it goes without saying: no bare feet!
Food & Wine
Azamara is definitely not one of those old stodgy lines that locks you into your dining locations and times before you’ve even boarded the ship. Both the Journey and the Quest offer open seating so you may eat where you wish, when you wish.
The main restaurant, Discoveries, offers traditional favorites with a “twist,” like drunken shrimp linguini with ancho chili-tequila sauce and filet mignon with black truffle sauce.
Azamara’s two specialty restaurants are the Mediterranean-influenced Aqualina and Prime C steakhouse. If you’ve booked a suite, you’ll enjoy three evenings at one of the specialty restaurants while those in staterooms receive just two complimentary reservations. You may be able to snag additional dinner reservations at these two restaurants once onboard on a space-available basis. The cover charge for additional meals at Aqualina is $20 per person while reservations at Prime C are $25 per person.
Several casual dining establishments, including the pool grill, a café, and room service, are also available on both ships.
Entertainment
Azamara passengers tend to be an active bunch and when they’re not touring ports, they’re enjoying various onboard activities, including the casino, organized games, attending lectures and art auctions, mingling in one of the lounges, or heading to the evening show.
Children’s Program
While children are welcome to sail with Azamara, it is not recommended since the line doesn’t offer children’s programming or babysitting services.
Smoking Policy
No smoking is allowed in public rooms, restaurants, staterooms and suites (including private verandahs), and halls. There are designated smoking areas in the aft section of the Looking Glass Lounge on the port side and on the starboard forward section of the Pool Deck.
The Ships
For detailed information about each Azamara ship, click on the links below:
- Azamara Journey (694 passengers)
- Azamara Quest (694 passengers)
- No other ships in development at this time
Book This Cruise Line If…
…you’re a fan of Celebrity Cruises and are looking to move up to a premium cruise line or if you’re a fan of Oceania’s R-class ships (Azamara’s ships are the same build).
For More Information…
…talk with your travel agent, call Azamara Club Cruises at (877) 999-9553, or visit the Azamara website.