I visited the Azamara Onward for a few hours in Southampton to give me a feel of Azamara cruises. Built to cross oceans, cruise along scenic waterways and dock at locations that the larger ships cannot dock at, small ship cruising is something special. The ship is a small cruise with approx. 700 guests and 400 staff.
The standout things from my visit was the friendliness of the staff, the superb service, also the lovely relaxing areas around the ship where you can sit and enjoy the sea views. Azamara pride themselves on the variety of destinations they visit and how long they spend in port giving guests plenty of time to get off and immerse themselves in the destination.
Azamazing events another highlight - when in port they bring on local musicians/singers/performers, also will arrange small trips of the ship to special events that are happening in the area. Because they are small ships, Onward can get to other places the big ships cannot get to, they also have real flexibility, if the weather is bad they can change things at the last minute not cancelling the event but moving it to another location on the ship, this is the beauty of the small ships and a small company.
The cabins were all well-appointed and I saw a variety of cabins from the top owners suite, accessible cabin and standard veranda cabins, they felt like a lovely 5 star hotel room the balcony cabins I saw were great and I was surprised at the size of the balcony.
The food we sampled was azamazing! Just stunning, and there are 7 lovely restaurants to choose from including cafes and lounges steak house, buffet, main dining, Italian and a lovely cosy coffee cafe. They are great at catering for special dietary requirements. At the back of the ship was the Sanctum Spa, really lovely to unwind & relax in this space, treatment rooms, hairdressers, gym, sauna, fitness classes, small pool area looking out to sea, but this was extra (like most cruises) but the supplement for it was reasonable at $15 per person but is included in the top suites.
In the main atrium area you could find a nice variety of shops and this is where the coffee shop area is located. Azamara have 4 ships sailing all around the world so come and talk to me if you are interested in exploring a journey with Azamara Cruises.
