I sailed on the Azamara Onward as a solo traveler from November 13th to 25th in a Club Veranda Stateroom. The itinerary was a transatlantic reposition from Lisbon to Miami, with ports of call in Horta (Azores, Portugal) and Bermuda. This was my first cruise on Azamara and my primary goal was to determine if Azamara's product fits my needs or not. I cruised with Celebrity for 16 years. Unfortunately their current unfair pricing structure for solo travelers has driven me to look for a new cruise line. I cruised with Cunard earlier this year and looked forward to experiencing what Azamara has to offer. EMBARKATION Embarkation was at Cais Jardim do Tabaco in Lisbon Cruise Terminal, a modern and spacious facility at the foot of historic Alfama neighborhood, with views of iconic April 25th Bridge to the west. The embarkation experience as a first time cruiser with Azamara was very poor. I had arrived early to the cruise terminal after an overnight flight into Lisbon, so I was at the front of the check-in line; however, I and others were prevented from checking-in, as passengers with status were given priority. We were informed that all passengers with status were going to be checked-in first, before the ones without status would be allowed to check-in. Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Cunard have separate lines to prioritize and expedite check-in for passengers with status; however, they do have a separate line where passengers without status can be checked-in, albeit slower. Azamara should adopt the same process widely used by other cruise lines, instead of completely preventing passengers without status from checking-in, as it was done in Lisbon. It was a frustrating and unpleasant experience; another passenger became irate and she and her husband simply walked to one of the check-in counters after waiting for a long time not being able to check-in. Azamara still uses a traditional muster drill, where all passengers are required to check-in and sit through the muster drill exercise in-person at a pre-determine time. FOOD AND BEVERAGE Discoveries Restaurant During my sailing, Chim was a wonderful host at Discoveries Restaurant. She always had a welcoming smile, was friendly and fulfilled her duties effortlessly. Most of the service received was very good, with waiters serving passengers in a timely and professional manner, aiming to please. Ryan was a good example, offering friendly and attentive service, always checking and ensuring passengers needs were taken care of. There were only two occasions throughout the sailing that stood out for sub-par service, one being poor and careless service at dinner time and the other being an absent waiter providing spotty and slow breakfast service on debarkation day. There were occasions when vibration could be felt at the restaurant. I did not feel the vibrations when I sat close to the restaurant entrance, further away from the stern. For passengers who are more sensitive to the ship stern vibrations, my recommendation is to request a table closer to the entrance. Food is subjective. In my personal opinion, the food at Discoveries was hit-and-miss. The long bread with bacon bits(?) on top was lovely. Prime rib of beef, Greek lamb chops and prosciutto wrapped halibut were some of my favorite main courses, while others were disappointing, such as eggs benedict, daging rendang and crispy Asian style chicken. Having said that, the lobster medallions in the halibut main course were tough and dry. The same applied to appetizers and desserts, where some shone and others were completely forgettable. Presentation was good. Windows Cafe I loved how tables were laid out at Windows Cafe, how the space was tastefully decorated, and the expansive views of the water. Again, food is subjective. In my personal opinion, the food at Windows was merely passable. The food mostly looked good but lacked in terms of taste and flavor. For instance, the Bermuda fish chowder special was tasty and flavorful, but the cod special of the day dish was devoid of flavor. The Patio Enjoyable space to have either a relaxed or late lunch by the pool deck. Service was good. The Azamara Burger was a pleasant surprise, with a nice mix of flavors and texture. Mosaic Cafe Without a doubt, Suman was a superstar orchestrating superb service paired with well prepared drinks at Mosaic Cafe. Suman demonstrated excellent customer service skills, positive attitude and communicated effectively when an abusive passenger became verbally aggressive towards him for no justifiable reason. Suman quickly learned passengers favorite drinks and names, and delivered orders in a timely and friendly fashion. The rest of the Mosaic Cafe provided apathetic service to passengers. Food offerings could have been better. Quiche and ham&cheese croissant served in the morning were nice small bites to go with beverage of choice. Sweets, cakes and chocolates were forgettable. Chef's Table I had the opportunity to enjoy the French, Stateside and Italian Chef's Tables. Service was for the most part good. Selections of dishes were nicely curated. Portion sizes were adequate for individuals with big appetites. Presentation was on point. It was a nice touch to have executive chef Nathan Shijunath introduce himself at the beginning of each meal and walk us through the culinary journey that we were going to experience with each tasting menu. I was surprised to find out that the chef's table is a shared experience with other diners, which turned out to be a wonderful opportunity to meet and get to know fellow travelers. The Den Wayan took good care of my group of friends and I at The Den on a daily basis, ensuring we had our drinks and kept them refilled. ONBOARD ACTIVITIES I enjoyed Azamara's enrichment program with three speakers for our journey. I liked the selection of Hon. Dennis Curran and Gary Wykes as speakers, bringing a wealth of knowledge in their respective fields. While I'm interested in technology, I found the content covered by Carl di Lorenzo to be too basic. I very much enjoyed the events organized and led by assistant cruise director Lee Hetherington. He was friendly, approachable and demonstrated superior communication and organization skills. I greatly appreciated all the hard work he put in to make our cruising experience enjoyable and memorable. PORTS OF CALL Horta Faial is a charming small island. Terminal Maritimo da Horta was a short walk from the town centre. Capelinhos Volcano was an interesting visit. Unfortunately Caldeira was enveloped in fog and we were unable to see anything. Bermuda Due to weather conditions, Onward docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard instead of Hamilton, which was a disappointment for many passengers. Unfortunately it rained for most of the day, preventing passengers from fully enjoying what the island has to offer. STATEROOM The Club Veranda Stateroom was well appointed, with comfortable bed and pillows. Bathroom was on the small side. It offered a good amount of storage space and good amount of power outlets. I appreciated having a table and chairs on the balcony. Library of on-demand movies was available on TV; HDMI port not available for use on the TV. Noise issues required moving cabins twice. The first cabin had loud creaking noises non-stop and the second cabin had loud constant whistling noises coming from the balcony door, which prevented me from sleeping at night, even when wearing ear plugs. For the record, in 20 years of sailing, I've never had to change cabins before; this was my first time experiencing issues that required changing cabins. LAUNDRY I made use of the well equipped self-service laundry facilities available on deck 7, which also offered better laundry detergent (pods) compared to Cunard. DEBARKATION It was chaotic with long delays and lines. My luggage was placed in a group different from the one written on the luggage tag, which made it even worse for me, having to walk around the vast luggage pickup area until I found my piece of luggage. OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT 1. Embarkation: allow passengers without status to be checked-in, albeit slower, instead of completely preventing them to be checked-in before all passengers with status are checked-in. 2. Muster drill: consider implementing a modernized muster drill process where passengers are not required to be in-person at a pre-determined time, like many other cruise lines have already done. 3. Internet: slow and expensive. US$19.95/day for only 0.5 Mbps and US$27.90/day for only 3.5 Mbps download speed. Barely usable for an exorbitant price. Celebrity and Cunard also use Starlink and offer superior download speeds. 4. Mobile app: please consider making a full-featured mobile app available fleetwide, like other cruise lines. 5. Shore excursion tickets: ensure all guests who purchased shore excursions receive their tickets. I did not receive mine and had to request them to be reprinted at the shore excursions desk. 6. Horta shore excursion: it was poorly run. A lot of time was wasted at Caldeira, where we could not see anything due to fog, and at a stop at a local grocery store to use washrooms, just to be rushed at Capelinhos Volcano. We only visited Porto do Comprido at Capelinhos for 15 minutes, with no stop at the Capelinhos lighthouse at all. For future reference, if there is no visibility at Caldeira, reduce amount of time spent there and give passengers more time at Capelinhos. And definitely reduce the amount of time wasted at the local grocery store. 7. Debarkation: please ensure luggage is put in the right group in the luggage pickup area of the cruise terminal. FINAL WORDS I enjoyed the smaller size of Azamara Onward, which made walking distances shorter; however, the smaller size also make it more susceptible to rough seas, as we experienced during this transatlantic crossing. The crew onboard offers excellent service that differentiates Azamara from other cruise lines. I liked the inclusive pricing structure at Azamara, where tips, room service, in-room mini-bar, beverages, etc. are included in the fare price, making the overall experience more relaxed and pleasurable, without the constant nickel-and-diming. The more relaxed dress code onboard is also a plus compared to more formal and stuffy cruise lines. My first voyage with Azamara was far from perfect, but I look forward to cruising with Azamara again in the future.

This is a long, log-style review of our daily experiences. If you just want the summary, scroll down to the bottom. Prelude: Today we are back to traveling and are off to Lisbon, Portugal. Originally planned as part of a longer trip, including Paris, we decided post-surgeries to postpone the land portion of the adventure in lieu of “Just” a relaxing trans-Atlantic cruise on the Azamara Onward. We’ve sailed Azamara once before, for 16 days to the Caribbean when our original sailing to the Galapagos was cancelled due to that ship sustaining damage. We had a marvelous time on Azamara so it will be interesting to see what this sailing is like. Interesting fact: The Onward was purchased by Azamara during the covid shutdown from Princess. The original name of the Onward was the “Pacific Princess.” For those of you who remember, the Pacific Princess was the original “Love Boat” from TV series fame. But, alas, not this Pacific Princess. It was this ship’s predecessor. Azamara reportedly spent over $15MM during Covid (when ship work was relatively inexpensive) to renovate and update the ship. Most recent reviews are very positive. One note: I don’t know if I will be able to send e-mails from the ship. We are not paying for an internet package, but there are rumors that Azamara has been making ‘basic’ internet available to all. Very slow, but likely just good enough for e-mail. We shall see. We meet our friends Glen & Abby in Lisbon, and hope to have many challenging Catan matches while cruising! Andy from “Air & Cruise car service” was to pick us up at 11:30 today to head to MIA. He arrived at 11:20 and we were in the MIA terminal at 1:15, just before TAP opened their check in line. By 1:45 we were checked in, bags, dropped, and through security. We had lunch at one of the sit-down food court establishments. It was just ‘okay’ and at airport pricing. We knew the flight was delayed as the incoming flight was delayed. We made our way down to gate J16 an hour before the ‘new’ flight time. I have to say I am embarrassed by Miami airport. At the end of the J terminal there are five gates, all for international carriers, with absolutely zero seating. What are they thinking? We walked back to about J7 before finding any seats, but from there, no announcements could be heard about our flight. That ended up making no difference as no announcements were ever made. So once again, about 30 minutes before flight time, we went down to J16 again. Folks were gathering around (I sure can’t say “Lining up” and it was total chaos. One of the older ladies standing not far from us collapsed. Bystanders helped her back to her feet, but two minutes later she fainted. TAP folks called 911 and that ended that couple’s trip as she was carried away on a stretcher. This entire situation is absolutely avoidable and shame on both the MIA airport and TAP for accepting this as a normal, routine occurrence. DW’s foot was starting to hurt badly and after seeing many folks with blue cards let into the gate area (where there is some seating) she went to the desk and showed them her handicap documents, so they let her in and later she preboarded. Finally, more than an hour after the assigned boarding time it began. I eventually made it to the plane and found that the TAP “Comfort seats” are actually decent especially if the seat next to you is vacant. We were in row 13, with isle seats across from each other. No one was in the window next to me and no one else was in the middle row with DW. The flight itself was fine, with barely edible meals but good Portuguese wine. We landed in Lisbon nearly an hour behind schedule. Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Lisbon, Portugal Getting through Lisbon airport was fairly fast. With our “Comfort seating” our baggage had priority, so it came out as part of the first group of bags. Our driver was waiting for us, and we arrived at the Emerald House (A Hilton boutique property) at about 7:30. We were able to drop our bags and due to our Hilton status we were invited to enjoy breakfast with their compliments. That was a very nice touch. We lingered over breakfast and at about 8:55 called an Uber to take us to the trolley station which is a 30-minute walk away. It took Uber over 15 minutes to arrive. We would later find out why. They dropped us Praca do Comercio and we waited for the 15E trolley. Rick Steve’s didn’t do us any favors on this adventure, as the 15E “Trolley” is really a modern tram and due to downtown traffic our 30-minute ride to the area near the Belem Tower took well over an hour. Then the station “Two blocks” from the Belem tower was truly more like ¾ of a mile. DW was not happy with me. We did get up close to the tower and shot some photos. Then we found a market and lingered a while looking at lots of Portuguese goods. One purchase was made. We then walked to the Monument to the Discoveries. Again, we got up close. We found a shady spot to sit for a while, and DW needed to be off her feet. We had hoped to go over by the Jeronimo’s Monastery & Casa Pasteis de Belem but with my Fitbit already recording 7000 steps DW had used up her walking for the day. I called an Uber, and it arrived within five minutes. It was very fast getting back to the Emerald House just after 12:00. No, the room was not yet ready, but we were promised it was on top of their list. Looking over google maps, I found that the National Art Museum was one block away, and they had a highly rated cafeteria in the basement with a garden area to enjoy. We visited the garden, and then checked out the cafeteria. DW and I split an order of Ling fish and a slice of Apple Pie. We also enjoyed some Vino Verde (Green Wine) and a Portuguese Red blend. We took a few photos of the garden and returned to the Emerald House as our room was ready. We were upgraded to a very nice suite. We were provided a nice bag of Ice so DW could Ice her foot. By now we are at 8500 steps, so the foot needed a break! We took the time to wash up from the travel. We met our friends Abby & Glen in the lobby at about 4:30. We had an enjoyable time just hanging out and getting caught up, while we used our devices to try to find a dinner spot that was walkable. Glen ended up finding the winner, “Batata Doce,” that maps said was a seven minute walk. With both of the ladies not quite 100%, and closed sidewalks due to construction projects, it took closer to 15 minutes. We tried to call ahead for a reservation but before opening time the phone was not answered. On arrival, their two larger tables were reserved but they did put together two – two person tables for us. Dinner was absolutely excellent. Two of us had the beef stewed in red wine, and two had lightly fried lamb chops. Portions were huge. We also enjoyed apple crumble and almond pie for dessert. A shared bottle of Vino Verde topped off the evening with the final cost being €55 / couple. An added bonus was this kept us up, not getting back to the Emerald House until after 9:00. We sure did sleep well. Oh, and we ended up just shy of 12,000 steps for the day – that is quite an accomplishment for DW! Wednesday, November 13, 2024, Lisbon and Embarkation of the Onward We woke a little after 8:00. With no need to rush after deciding the prior evening that no one was up to trying to do our morning touring, we lingered taking care of DW’s foot and just having an easy morning. We went down for breakfast at about 9:45. Just as we were about finished our friends came in and joined us. So, we stayed and visited while they enjoyed the Emerald House Breakfast. I had discovered from looking closely at Google Maps, that nearly “Across the street” was the Rocha Conde de Óbidos viewpoint So the men decided to take a look at the viewpoint and snap some photos. Afterwards, we down the street a bit to an ATM we had spied the prior evening. With the current exchange rate at nearly 1.06 dollars to the euro, it seemed like a good time to ‘stock up’ for our 2025 trips. Yes, this was one of those ‘touristy’ ATM’s but the 3.95€ charge was still a bargain to take our €500 at the current exchange rate. Back in the Emerald House, DW was visiting with her friend in our upgraded room, and they were out on the patio. All too soon it was 11:45 and time to take the luggage down, check out, and head to the Onward. Check out was a breeze, and our driver came in while we were checking out. He helped with the luggage, and we loaded everything into the taxi van. The drive to the cruise terminal was not far, and we followed one of the traditional trolleys more than half the distance. I guess official taxis are allowed to travel in the trolley/bus lane. We were impressed with most of the check in process. The local port folks were dressed very nicely, and put our luggage, by cabin, on individual luggage trolleys. Then they led us to check in. We were given #1 (priority) due to our Discoverer status. Our friends had #15, which they were told was a fast aboard number, due to their Verandah Plus cabin booking. Next was getting through security, and then walking through the port shops to the actual cruise check in desk. Passports were scanned, credit card scanned, and our rep did not know when boarding would start and told us to have a seat. We would find that was incorrect. Boarding had already started. No matter, we watched our friends check in and then head out to board the ship. At the same time, another port employee saw our #1 stickers and told us we were free to board. We caught up with Glen and Abby and boarded the beautiful Onward. A nice, unexpected touch (as Celebrity no longer does this) was a glass of champagne (or sparkling wine?) waiting for us in the embarkation lobby. The Onward is just off a drydock and is sporting a brand-new paint job. Cabins are ready to we headed to our cabins to drop off our carry ons. We put the important things in the safe and headed up to the Windows Café (Lido) for lunch. We had hoped to dine on the patio, but it was not open. Lunch was very pleasant, and our waiter, Anderson, answered all our questions and brought us several of the included wines to try. DW enjoyed both the Chilian Cabernet and the Italian Syrah. She actually liked the Syrah just a little better but will likely alternate. No, there was no Pinotage on the included beverages this trip, it is on the wine list at $28/bottle. After lunch we visited the Moosic Café (coffee bar) for some coffees and teas. Our friends took care of booking a shore excursion in Bermuda as they have “Use it or lose it” shore ex credit. They also took care of their internet package. We then visited the specialty restaurant reservations. We booked a three-dinner package. They have two complimentary dinners and will tentatively join us on the third. It was time to return to our cabin to unpack. Sure enough, the luggage was all there. It took longer than expected to store all our stuff. Afterwards, DW needed to ice her foot, so we didn’t have a chance to wander the ship before the 5:00 muster drill. For an ‘in-person’ muster drill it was mostly painless and prompt. Our muster station is the main theater which is very close to our cabin. Following the muster, we attended the informal cruise critic get together in the card room. That was nice and a very observant bar server made sure beverages weren’t running dry. The captain made his announcements after the muster and they included that while we should have fairly nice weather the next few days, there is a large low pressure area south of us so we will have strong northeast winds. Fortunately, those will be coming from the aft so it won’t feel bad on the ship as we will be sailing along at about 17 knots. I wandered through the Windows Café ‘Seafood buffet’ hoping to take some photos but with the folks gathering their food that was impossible. I certainly could have put together a nice dinner there! We met our friends at the bar outside the Discoveries Restaurant and asked for a table with Anderson. He took good care of our dinner, making his suggestions for the best items on the menu. DW and I both enjoyed the Swordfish as our mains. We left dinner to head to the one show only “Variety show” where all the entertainers on board were introduced. Cruise director Darren told us that there are 25 nationalities onboard among the 596 guests. The US, UK, and Canada have the largest representation. 596 guests means we are sailing 100 guests below double occupancy capacity. In the next morning’s TV daily Darren mentioned there are many single travelers this cruise. Also, we a crew compliment of 400, that means the guest to crew ratio is at 1:1.5, which is incredible. The movement of the ship has become noticeable for sure. After the show we called it a night. It’s just up one deck and to the right, and our cabin is there. That is sure convenient. All in all, this was a very pleasant embarkation day! Thursday, November 14, 2024, At Sea #1 We woke at about 7:40 and began to get ready for the day. The “Rockin’ and Rollin’” is a little less than it was last night. Just after 8:00, I walked past the pool and hot tub (to make sure they were open) and went to the Moosic Café for coffee, tea, and almond croissants to bring back to the cabin. While DW was taking care of her PT exercises, I went up to the pool and hot tub. The pool is heated salt water and was quite pleasant. The hot tubs have very strong jets and were very soothing. I had them to myself. Returning to the cabin to get cleaned up and ready for the day, we then met our friends at 10:15 for the “Iberian Brunch” in Discoveries restaurant. This was a very nice event with a variety of breakfast and lunch foods. We lingered until 11:30 just enjoying the atmosphere. We headed up to the “Card room” area of the crow’s nest and got the last table that is barely big enough to play Catan. We played a “Through the desert” Seafarer’s variant. I was behind most of the game but in the end the dice rolled my way and I ended up the victor. After this it was time for some foot care for DW and a bit of a rest. We stopped in the Moosic Café for a coffee & tea, and then visited the Patio just to see what was there. The hot tubs were steaming in the cool air and sure looked inviting. I set up an internet account using my 90 “Free minutes.” The speed is extremely slow, so 90 minutes won’t go too far if I try to do anything more than e-mail. We visited our friends to see their “Verandah Plus” cabin at the aft of the ship. It is a little bigger than ours with a small loveseat. The verandah is a nice size with two chairs and a small table. Returning to our cabin we prepared for dinner. We visited the discoveries bar before meeting for dinner at 6:30. Anderson and his assistant Justin took good care of us at dinner. We headed up to the Living Room on 10 to listen to Fantastic Beats, the “Dance Band.” They were loud and not anything we could dance to. We sat far away with a wall between us and the band to make the volume palatable and allow us to still converse. We did not attend the show “Groove tonight,” as it is a celebration of disco, a music that we do not enjoy. We called it a night at 9:30, and made sure to adjust our watches for the time change that takes place overnight, gaining us back the first of five hours on the way to Miami. Friday, November 15, 2024, At Sea, #2 After a very good night’s rest, with a bit of “Rockin’ & Rollin’” we woke a bit after 7:30. I went down to the Mosaic for coffee & tea and returned to our cabin to listen to yesterday’s talk on “It’s more than a phone” while DW got ready for the day. We went to Discoveries for breakfast. They have an unexpected breakfast menu, although a note “Talk to us about breakfast classics” suggest one could also order items not on the menu. When we were on our entrees our friends came in and the staff cleaned off the table next to us for them. After breakfast I went down to guest services to inquire as to a place with larger tables where we could play Catan. They suggested the tables in “The Den” on deck 5, after shore excursions and future closes closed at noon. That is what we ended up doing and it worked out well. We played two rounds of the “Treasure” variant and much to my surprise I ended up winning both. Especially in the second game I was far behind when suddenly my resources kept coming up. We headed up to the Patio for a later lunch. When we arrived all the tables were occupied but a short wait yielded a four top. DW’s lamb burger was a bit undercooked but otherwise everything was enjoyed. We had planned to hit the hot tubs after lunch but alas the pool and hot tubs were roped off. It doesn’t seem that rough at this point but oh well. We lingered at the Patio for several rounds of beverages and headed back to our cabin to get ready for the evening. We had a 5:30 appointment at future cruises to discuss a few options. DW had “Four free nights” to book on a future cruise for reaching the discoverer loyalty level. Our TA had recently been advertising Azamara’s late 2025 Caribbean cruises. We ended up booking the 11-30-25, 12-night Caribbean round trip Miami with future cruise consultant Anderson. After our meeting we got ready for dinner. Tonight, we are in Aqualina, the Italian based specialty restaurant. DW enjoyed it while I thought it was just okay. Dinner took quite a while, so we missed the earlier comedian show. With an early start tomorrow and a full day tour, we weren’t going to stay up for the late show. So, a little after 9:00 we called it a night. All in all, this was a very nice day despite the hot tubs being closed. Saturday, November 16, 2024, Horta, Azore Islands, Portugal This was a terrific day! We ordered breakfast to the cabin for the 6:30 – 7:00 time slot and it arrived at 6:40. As we had not ordered in before, I ordered “Two” scrambled eggs, and they brought two servings. Same with Waffles. Oh well, of course some was left behind. I had set the alarm for 6:25 but we were up just before that. We were meeting our friends in the Mosaic Café at 8:00. On the way there I stopped outside, and the safety netting was in process of being installed on the gangway. We never heard a “Ship is clear” announcement so at 8:20 our friend stopped near the gangway, and they told him we were free to depart. We were the second group to leave the ship and headed through the cruise terminal. We immediately found our guide, Andreas Merz from visitfaial.com. We got into Andreas’ van and headed out for our full circumnavigation drive of the island, plus a trip up to the caldera viewpoint at 2,770 feet. This was a terrific tour with many stops, including several overlooks. The caldera itself was up in the clouds, and we couldn’t see much, although the pedestrian tunnel through the rim was kind of neat. Certainly, the most memorable part of the tour was visiting the “New land” created by a volcanic eruption in 1957-58. The winds there were ferocious which created a ‘sand blast’ effect but being blasted by black lava sand. Memorable for certain and NOT to be repeated! Andreas also showed us several black sand beaches as well as several other areas set up for folks to access the ocean waters where no beaches exist. We stopped for lunch at a beautiful, sheltered picnic area near the north coast. Andreas gave us all a taste of local wine, local tea (from Ponta Delgada), chicken, rice, salad, and the local sweet treat. A pretty (and fat) yellow finch was watching us enjoy lunch no doubt waiting for something to fall. I was able to take a few very close up photos of the finch! Our final viewpoint overlooked the harbor where the Onward was docked. We asked Andreas about obtaining some of the local wine to take back home (as we don’t need to fly!!!) and our friends wanted a supply of the local sweet treat. Andreas took us to the largest supermarket on the island, kind of a mini Wal-Mart super center, as they certainly had more than just grocery items. We obtained two bottles of the local wine and a 250-gram bag of local Azorean tea, which will make it home to Florida. Andreas then brought us back to the cruise terminal just before 4:00. We thanked him for a terrific tour and returned to the Onward. Quick showers were needed after getting pelted by the volcanic soil, and everything we were wearing went into a laundry bag to be washed, including our jackets. With five sea days ahead, we won’t need the jackets for a few days at least! One thing I really appreciate is when a cruise ship brings local talent on board to share the local culture. Azamara came through as at 5:00 they hosted the “Group de Chamarrita Amigos das Angustias.” This was a 16-person dance troupe from the three local islands, along with a six-piece string band. They put on a 35-minute performance in the Cabaret Lounge and invited guests to join them for their last dance. Our friend Abby was one of the volunteers and enjoyed the experience. At 6:00 we met them in the Mosaic café, and we went to dinner with Anderson & Justin in Discoveries. Dinner tonight was truly great, with a Portuguese seafood combination, pan-fried Sea Bream, and an Italian rib-eye steak. After dinner we walked into the Cabaret lounge literally just as the lights were being dimmed for “Club Crooner,” To our surprise we were able to sit fairly close to the action. This show featuring the singers and dancers and Onward orchestra was very enjoyable. After the show we brought a few beverages back to the cabin as after a very active day, DW needed to take care of her foot and after all that we called it a night. One nice thing is we turn the clocks back another hour so tomorrow we will be on “South Georgia Time,” -2 hours from GMT. Sunday, November 17, 2024, At Sea #3 We woke to see the sun coming in through our “Obstructed” window at 7:30. I went down to the Mosaic café for coffee & tea. Captain Jonas was there, and I commented how much prettier (and calmer) the ride is today. He said the bridge staff met last evening to discuss their route, and they added 80 miles to go around bad weather. They weren’t sure it was a good decision until this morning, when we are sailing through 2-meter swells rather than 3.5 meter. After preparing for the day, we went up to Windows Café for breakfast. DW wasn’t very hungry, and nothing appealed to her. I obtained a small variety of foods but honestly it wasn’t the best. While we were not at our table very long, no one came around asking if we wanted any beverages. I felt like this was the first time during the cruise that service was lacking. We went down to the Discoveries restaurant at 9:35 (breakfast ends at 9:30) and asked if our friends were there. They were, so the let us in to visit. Here, even though the waiters asked if we wanted anything we said no. It was good seeing our friends. We went to Mosaic at 10:00 for a “Coffee Chat” with Ian, the assistant cruise director. There were only about ten of us, and it was very nice hearing about some of Ian’s adventures including the 2024 World Cruise. We then went with Ian up to the card room to play dominoes. That was fun with a bunch of quick games, and everyone won at least one. We stopped back in the cabin and prepared for our Catan match. The arts and crafts folks left one desk empty to I was able to start setting up before noon. We set up a Seafarer’s “Fog islands” match and had a good game. I was behind most of the game but between a bonus point on a development card and some fortunate dice rolls ended up winning. The game did last two hours. Another guest was watching much of the match and will join us tomorrow, giving us five players. After Catan we went up to the Patio for a pleasant lunch. It is a very pretty day and comfortable on the shaded patio. After lunch I asked if there were any desserts available other than the soft-serve frozen yogurt. No, there are no desserts and the Windows Café (which has lots of desserts) closes at 2:00. As we were literally up to leave our waiter came over and said “Wait, your friend Anderson sent some pastries up and they are almost here.” We sat back down and ordered another round of beverages. We received a plate with six small pastries, including apple strudel. This was certainly “Over and beyond” service and while we didn’t need any of this, it was very much appreciated! At 5:00 we went up to the Living Room on deck 10, for a “Destination Immersion Flavors of Portugal.” They had a full buffet set up with all types of Portuguese foods and desserts. I had a small taste of a few. Waiters also came around with the same Portuguese beverage that was served the prior day at the dance group performance, and also some Sandeman’s Port. We couldn’t find seats in the Discoveries Bar so went back to the Den for pre-dinner beverages. Alexa was playing quiet tunes on the piano. We met our friends and had a nice dinner (with no “In the table middle” extra entrees!) with Anderson and Justin. We returned to the Den for Alexa on the keys. Towards the end she was playing more enjoyable popular tunes. We attended the 9:30 show of Ventriloquist Jerry Goodspeed. He was funny especially when a few good-natured audience members were involved with the show. At the end of the show Darren really surprised us and told us there is no time change this evening. The daily program did mention a time change, so we expected one. I guess that means it will be the following evening! We called it a night at 10:30. Monday, November 18, 2024, At Sea #4 We woke about 7:40 with the sunshine coming in our window. We decided to change up our morning and headed to the hot tub at 8:05. We obtained coffee & tea from the coffee station near the smoker’s area on deck 9 and went to the hot tub. The pool was cool, and the hot tubs were both not very “Hot.” They were much nicer the other day when I went. Still, the jets felt good and DW said the way they massaged her knee was very pleasant. Back to the cabin at 8:35 to get things together to head to breakfast. We much prefer going to Discoveries restaurant for breakfast and arrived at 9:10. We obtained a table for four in case our friends came in, but they didn’t make it. After breakfast we went up to the back of the Windows café and found it was a beautiful day to be there. We sat enjoying a cappuccino before returning to our cabin for some foot care. 11:00 brought a Q&A session with Captain Jonas & Hotel Director Tomasz in the Cabaret. I attended while DW took care of PT exercises. This was a mix of questions, perhaps the most interesting that came out of this is that Azamara seems to acknowledge that the economic life of the current fleet will not extend past ten years. Most shipyards are currently fully booked, but “There are possibilities” that are being explored. Current ownership strongly wants to maintain Azamara in the “Smaller ports, extended stay” niche it currently holds. Just before noon I met DW, our friends, and our new friend in the Den and set up a five person Catan fog islands game. We took a break mid-game to take photos and bring back some German sausage from the poolside “Sausage & Beer Festival.” We finished the game just before 2:00 with our new friend being the first to 13 victory points. Heading up to the Patio we enjoyed lunch. DW and I both tried the “Limited time Cod Burger.” It was okay, but this truly was like a burger and not a fish sandwich. We would both have preferred an actual piece of fish. After lingering on the patio, we stopped at the specialty dining desk to successfully accomplish two things: 1, change the reservation for tonight to 6:30 and 2, change our Thursday evening reservation from Aqualina to Prime C. During lunch we noticed that the skies ahead of the ship appeared darker. Sure enough, by 5:00 or so the seas had picked up and cloud cover increased. At that point it was time to return to cabins to take care of getting ready for the evening. We met our friends up in the Atlas Bar on deck 10 just after 6:00. We went to Prime C for our 6:30 dinner. Our waiter is the same fellow who serves us on the Patio at lunch. Prime C was better than Aqualina but is not as refined (our opinion) as the Pinnacle on HAL or the Crown Grill on Prince My filet came out perfectly cooked but lacked much taste. DW had the best entrée with the Chilean Sea Bass. My friend’s NY steak looked the same as the dining room steak and was overcooked. His replacement filet was also overcooked. I will say the desserts were excellent. We left Prime C at 9:00 and headed to the Cabaret for the Big Band Tribute by the Onward Orchestra. This was a very enjoyable performance. Despite pretty rocky seas by this point, our friends did get up and dance to “In the Mood.” After the show we called it a night at nearly 10:30. We do gain another hour back tonight and we welcome the extra hour. Tuesday, November 19, 2024, At Sea #5 Around 10:00 this morning marked the half way point of the cruise, without adjusting for time changes. We woke to no sun coming in our window at about 6:50, despite sunrise being at 6:17. It was rainy and overcast. I went down to the Mosaic and brought back coffee & tea. DW had a relaxing morning taking care of PT and foot care needs and we went to breakfast a little after 9:00. In the meantime, the Onward had sailed out of the storm and the sun was out with blue skies. Before heading to the Discoveries restaurant, we checked deck 9 but the back patio was roped off. Yes, it’s sunny but there remains a fierce wind. We are finding breakfast service in Discoveries is not up to the same standard as dinner. It seems every time, something I order never arrives. Our friends came in at about 9:25. There was no table next to us, so they were seated a few rows away. We went to talk with them and no server every came by for ten minutes. One of the assistant managers stopped by and we let him know of the service delay. He immediately brought them their beverages. We needed to take care of some things in the cabin and left our friends. We sent out a bag of laundry (the laundry service is fantastic!) and headed down to the Mosaic for a coffee chat with Lee. Lee never made it around to us and then he never made it to dominoes. He did make it to a “Q&A” session in the Discoveries bar at 11:00. He talked quite a bit about the world cruise, and about certain ports that are becoming problematic for cruise ships, such as Venice, or too busy, such as Santorini. He did say that if Azamara is supposed to call on Santorini and they find there are going to be many ships in port, the captain will investigate rerouting the itinerary to find a less busy day if at all possible. The arts & crafts today was “Jewelry making” and it was very popular. Our table was vacated just after 12:00 and we cleaned it off. The bar tender in the Den is Wayan and he is fantastic, bringing our beverages before we ask for them. I set up a Catan Treasures game for five. The lead changed many times and four of the five of us had a real chance of winning. In the end, DW was the victor by building a city and settlement and “Stealing” the longest road all on one turn. We tried getting some food from the Windows Café just before they closed at 2:00. We sat on the back deck where it was very pleasant, but both the fish and the beef brisket ended up being unappetizing. We left and headed over to the patio. Three of us had the Grouper Panini and it seemed we all enjoyed that. The staff there is terrific and having food freshly made sure beads the buffet. We returned to the cabin to take care of DW’s foot and relax. I tried watching the lecture on the tower of London on the TV, but it was not my cup of tea. I had a flyer in the cabin the prior evening from future cruises that the cruise we just booked was now on a “Black Friday” sale, so we made an appointment to speak to future cruises about that. We met with them at 5:45 and they are working on adjusting the fare as it was just booked. We met our friends at 6:15 at the Discoveries bar and headed into dinner. Dinner was a pleasure with Anderson & Justin, and everything was enjoyed. It looks like Anderson will be on the Onward next year when we return in late November. After dinner we stopped in the cabin for the next day’s Insider and there is a brunch to look forward to. We attended the show, comedian Scott Harris. This was his second show, and it was well attended. After seeing this show, I am sorry we missed his first show, Scott was one of the best clean comedians we’ve ever seen. He now does his shows only on cruise ships and he truly connects with his audience. After the show we called it a night. As we are half-way, just a few general comments on the cruise to date: We really like Azamara but we will not book another ocean crossing on Azamara. Even though we have a lower deck and pretty mid-ship cabin, there is a lot of movement felt. Not enough for us to be seasick, but we’ve not felt the ocean like this in a very long time. Our of the five sea days so far, four have been rough for at least part of the day. We are not moving around enough. This is likely partly due to DW’s foot, partly due to the smaller ship size, and partly due to the rough seas combined with the smaller ship. I’m only getting about 5,000 steps per day and that is not enough, especially with the food intake. Wednesday, November 20, 2024, At Sea #6 I woke earlier than DW at about 7:00 and tried to update and sync my e-mail before many users were on the internet. That was a mixed bag. It was quite overcast at 7:00 but by 8:00 the sun was out and the skies blue. There are still lots of waves and ship movement. DW woke just before 8:00 and at that point I went to the Mosaic café for tea & coffee. Today there is a brunch so we will wait for brunch for food. Once we were dressed we walked the track on deck 10. 13 times around is a nautical mile. We did five and a half so I’m guessing that was about a half mile. We went to the Mosaic and took a couple of seats at the coffee bar. After our beverages we returned to our refreshed cabin, thanks to Basuni. We thought the brunch was delightful. The baked NY strip roast I thought tasted better than the filet I had the other night in Prime C. The orchestra was there and played nearly non-stop the entire 90 minutes that we were at our table. All in all, I thought the brunch was a 10, although not everyone agrees. It was time to gather the Catan game and set up for our game. The origami craft ran late so we waited for the table to clear. I set up an “Across the desert” variant and we agreed to play with the 12-sided dice. This changes up the game as now every number has an equal statistical chance to come up. The game started off slow but once roads and settlements were built the victory points began to accumulate. DW won for the second day in a row, although two others were not far behind. After Catan there was still time for a round of Splendor, the first time this cruise. Abby ended up winning after outscoring Glen on the last round. It was then time to clean up for the evening. We are invited to a 5:00 “Azamara loyalty party.” This was a very nice event with presentations by Captain Jonas, Cruise Director Darren, and the loyalty host. The “Most cruised” couple have 695 days on Azamara. The captain hosted the three most cruised parties for dinner at a table just two tables away from us in Discoveries. Speaking of dinner in Discoveries, what a night! This ranks among the top five main dining meals ever on a cruise ship. The “Sesame crusted shrimp” appetizer was a 10 all the way, and I asked for and enjoyed a second one. The Filet was cooked perfectly and was had much more taste than the one I had in Prime C earlier in the week. DW enjoyed her bacon-wrapped venison, cooked perfectly medium rare as requested. The food today was outstanding, and we are all very glad we skipped lunch! After dinner we visited for a while in the Den and Alexa began a set on the piano. We moved to the Cabaret as the silent disco was winding up. I stopped back in the cabin for a peek at the next day’s schedule and found a note from future cruises that they successfully took care of a request we had made. Then the main show began, cruise director Darren Lynton in concert. A terrific show and a fitting way to cap off an outstanding day at sea. After the show it was nearly 10:30 so we called it a night and set back our phones and watches to Bermuda time, now just one hour ahead of Eastern time. Thursday, November 21, 2024, At Sea #7 With another time change, we woke about 6:00. We managed to doze some more until just before 7:00. I went down to the Mosaic for coffee & tea. DW’s foot was a challenge this morning and she took time to do her PT and ice on the foot. About 8:30 we went down to Discoveries for breakfast. This was the best breakfast service of the cruise. Everything came as ordered and the wait staff was terrific. Leaving breakfast, we stopped by the Mosaic and DW returned to the cabin for some additional foot care. I checked and was pleasantly surprised to find the hot tubs were open. I returned to the cabin to get changed and enjoyed 30 minutes in a hot tub by myself. It could have been warmer for sure, but the jets are very nice. After cleaning up and getting ready we went down to the Discovery bar for a Q&A with cruise director Darren Lynton. This was a nice session and Darren shared much of his story, and we enjoyed it. We then headed to the Den with the Catan game. The arts & crafts group was not using the one table, so I was able to start setting up before noon. I set up an “Across the desert” scenario with two fishponds and have never seen fish come up so often. DW ended up being the victor basically winning because of the fish! I came in dead last. We enjoyed lunch up on the Patio, and then attended the 3:00 concert “Four hands, Two Pianos,” a first-time concert featuring Alexa and music director Tina. As an added bonus, Captain Jonas is a pianist and also joined in the performance. We returned to the cabin for additional foot care, and I read some on my kindle. During the afternoon the seas became noticeably calmer which we certainly appreciate. It’s been too many days of pitching and rolling on the Onward. At 5:00 I went down to shore excursions to arrange for one ship’s tour on next December’s Azamara cruise. We met our friends at the Atlas bar just after 6:00 and visited until our 6:30 reservation at Prime C. This was much more of a “Specialty dinner.” Everything was very enjoyable, prepared properly, and our service from Godwin was superb. Our friends shared the Chateaubriand, and it looked perfectly cooked. I enjoyed the Chilean Sea Bass and Godwin gave me an extra piece. The special dessert of the day, a Chocolate Rum Cake, was a delightful layering of dark chocolate slices with slices of rum cake, and it was delicious. The show tonight is a second performance by the ventriloquist. He was okay for a one time show but we passed on staying up for his second show. We left Prime C at about 8:40 and called it an evening. We are looking forward to docking along Front Street in Hamilton, Bermuda in the morning! Friday, November 22, 2024, Hamilton (King’s Wharf) Bermuda After looking forward to docking right in Hamilton for the 18 months since we booked this cruise, alas, it was not to be. I was rather shocked when turning on the bow camera to see the familiar docks of the Royal Naval Dockyard, and indeed the Onward docked at King’s Wharf. We’ve been here at least five times before… We went to breakfast in Discoveries at about 8:10. Shortly after we sat down the captain made the announcement that due to forecasted winds of 40 knots later in the day, we could not dock in Hamilton as we might not be able to leave. Additionally, make sure to bring rain gear and the Azamara umbrella when leaving the ship. Our friends met us a few minutes later. They have a ship’s tour to a Bermudian tea, along with some sightseeing, and it is good they have the tour as the provider will simply pick them up here rather than in Hamilton. For us, we needed to decide if we wanted to take the ferry into Hamilton. After some discussion we decided not to, and that ended up being a very good decision. We left the Onward just to do a “Walk around” the dockyard area as the 9:45 ferry was leaving. We found that a sister “R” ship, the Oceania Serena, was docked next to us. So, there are two - <700 passenger ships docked here today. We walked around finding about half the shops were closed. The summer attractions were also closed. We had about two minutes of sunshine, mostly thick clouds, and while we were out the wind was noticeably picking up. While DW was perusing a shop it started to rain more than a drizzle, so I took refuge in the shop. Fortunately, at this time it only rained for a few minutes. We continued our walk about and went though the clocktower mall shops. Here we came closest to making a purchase, but I could not find my size of the shirt I was interested in. We continued to the end of the mall. As we exited the front door we found the “Free shuttle” letting off cruise guests. We hopped on the shuttle and that took us near the ship. Our walk was a little over a mile, and a mile back on the shuttle. Walking along King’s Wharf to the ship the wind was very noticeable. We went through security and back onto the Onward. We noticed folks boarding the Onward in Bermuda. We later found out from Darren that about 65 folks, from Azamara corporate and travel agencies came on for the two day run to Miami. They certainly did get the “Full experience.” Back onboard, DW did some foot care, and I went up to the hot tub. Today the hot tubs were HOT. It was raining a bit but that helped keep my head cool and I enjoyed 30 minutes by myself in the hot tub. Afterwards it was time to get cleaned up for the rest of the day. We went up to the Patio for lunch. The rain was now a full downpour, and the crew was trying hard to keep water from pooling in the patio area. We did have an enjoyable lunch, despite the weather. A few events were added onboard due to the weather. A movie was being shown in the Cabaret. We had never heard of “Therma” but the premise sounded interesting. We found it was depressing so left about halfway through. We went back to the cabin for some added foot care and PT. I read some of my book. Our friends made it back and they enjoyed their tour, especially the tea experience, but were completely ‘Soaked’ from the wind-driven downpour. We did not see them until 6:00. We stopped by the Mosaic for our own afternoon tea just as the ship was leaving the dock. We spoke with a fellow passenger from Germany who took the 9:45 ferry. Apparently the rain was earlier and harder in Hamilton, and she also became drenched. Her umbrella broke with the wind. She came back on the 12:00 return ferry and upon the return the first big downpour hit the dockyard area. So, this is how we know we made the right decision not to visit Hamilton. We went down to the Discovery bar just before 6:00 and found a few seats. We enjoyed a pre-dinner beverage and our friends joined us. We had a terrific “White night” dinner in the dining room with our great staff. The Halibut with lobster chunks was terrific and the beef roast was also excellent. The scallop appetizer was nicely done as well. All the White night festivities are indoors due to the weather, and indeed the ship is beginning to move with the waves. We made it to the Cabaret in time for the “Crew Wave,” a nice tradition where many crew members share the stage, and our room steward, Basuni, was among them. The White night party then went into full party mode. It was great hearing assistant cruise director Lee sing a couple of the tunes, including “Sweet Caroline” with the entire crowd participating in the song. We were able to dance to the few slow tunes, and the dance floor was packed for the slow tunes despite the ship’s movement making it more challenging to dance. The party went on until about 10:15 at which time the “After party” was beginning in the deck 10 Living Room. We could only imagine the ship’s movement all the way forward on deck 10, but we did not go to see it. Instead, we saw our bartender friend Wayan in the Den for a couple of beverages to bring back to our cabin and we then called it a night. Summarizing the day, it was quite a disappointment that the Onward couldn’t dock in Hamilton. The ship has no control over the weather, and it was absolutely not a good day to enjoy Bermuda. The time onboard was nice, the dinner was another “Over the top” dining experience, and the White night party was a lot of fun. Saturday, November 23, 2024, At Sea #8 “The gentle rocking of the sea makes you sleep like a baby.” We see this written many times on Facebook, Cruise Critic, and other traveling sights. The majority of the time, this is true. Not so much this last night! Between leaving the White night party and actually getting into bed, the seas picked up further. This was our most restless night of the cruise. It’s hard to put into words but this was just a rough evening, and the morning is no better. At 8:00 the sun is out yet the waves are large, and the wind cuts the tops off the waves and sends droplets many yards distant. We are apparently sailing directly into a 30-40 knot wind, so combined with the ship’s 15 knot speed, that is 45-55 knots. While going to get the coffee & tea at the Mosaic I needed to lean against the stairwell wall twice coming up the stairs. I was thinking that those who came onboard yesterday are sure getting the full “At sea” experience and Azamara may not have done themselves any favors having the travel agents onboard for this part of the journey. In our fifty or so cruises, I haven’t experienced ship movement like this since 2009, when we were on the former Ryndam sailing south in the Gulf of Mexico while a hurricane was heading north two hundred miles from us. We enjoyed breakfast in Discoveries while watching some of the waves appearing taller than our deck 5 windows. A stop in the Mosaic and we returned to the room for foot care. While in our cabin the captain came on with an announcement even into the cabins that due to the conditions they need to shut down the elevators. That is not a big inconvenience for us, but for those who are mobility challenged that is a very big deal. I have to wonder how happy Azamara is that they brought the agents on board for this? We went down to the Mosaic for another round of tea and coffee at 11:20. Then I went to retrieve the Catan game, and we waited for the napkin folding craft time to finish up. I set up a “Storm version” with a three-volcano island. No one initially went for the island although I started rather close to it. I finally built on the volcano but before my next turn Abby ended up being the victor by building on two islands and having the longest road. Congrats Abby! We enjoyed lunch on the patio. After lunch we visited the Mosaic for an afternoon tea and took it easy the rest of the afternoon. I finished the novel I’ve been reading. I tried to send my daily report and download e-mails, but the internet service was unusable. I used the time we had to prepare envelopes to hand out the next day for those crew members who have gone above and beyond with their service to us on the cruise. We went down to the Discoveries bar at 5:30 and found that the seats on the small couch are the most comfortable ones there. We met our friends and very much enjoyed dinner in Discoveries. Tonight, they featured Turkey and also Chilean Sea Bass (and yes, this was real Chilean Sea Bass!). I have to say that dinner in Discoveries is certainly one of the highlights of this sailing. After dinner we stopped in the cabin to find our disembarkation luggage tags. We headed to the Cabaret for the revised show of rock highlights “Amped up.” The show was revised into a concert format due to the ongoing rough seas. The show was enjoyable. No announcement has yet been made that elevators are available (although one was made operational for mobility impaired folks mid=afternoon). At the end of the show, Darren said that the captain promises that tomorrow will be a beautiful calm day at sea. Hopefully then the internet will work! Back in the cabin, I listened to the lecture on data privacy and how to attempt to limit your exposure. The speaker recommends using company specific APs on your phone rather than websites, as websites track much more data than company APs. Make sure that the AP is not tracking information (or when necessary for the AP to function correctly, only tracking when using the AP). He also gave numerous examples of e-mail scams claiming to be from major companies (Netflix, Norton, Apple, Microsoft, etc.) “If you don’t recognize something, don’t open it!” We took the time to do some foot care. We then called it a night. Sunday, November 24, 2024, At sea #9 The ship stopped rocking sometime overnight and the sun shone brightly in our window as we woke. The sea is a beautiful “Caribbean” blue with nothing more than a few rolling swells. In addition to the change in the sea, we also made our last time change overnight bringing the Onward to Eastern time. I went down to Mosaic at 7:00 to bring coffee & tea back to the cabin. A slow morning including some foot care was in store. We stopped back at Mosaic just before 9:00 to thank our barista, Suman. We went into breakfast and our friends were already there and we joined them. Breakfast was nice although the “Fennel salad” was served without fennel as they have run out. That created an order change for two of the party. By the time we left Discoveries it was after 10:00. Our friends went to do laundry and take care of a few details. We stopped back in the cabin and went to attend Carl DiLorenzo’s talk on creating and editing text on mobile devices. This one we will not have a chance to “Watch later” on the TV. I learned a few things and have enjoyed his talks. We went to the Den and found one of the large tables was unoccupied, so we were able to begin setting up the final Catan. We included a double fishpond, treasures, volcanoes, and fog. Our friend Abby was in the lead most of the game, when quite suddenly DW had a ton of fish and resource cards and built on a new island, built two cities on harbors, stole the harbormaster card and the longest road all in one turn to give her the 16 victory points needed to be the victor. We cleaned up Catan and packed it for the trip home. We went up to the Patio for the last lunch and it was quite nice. Lots of folks were out on the pool deck enjoying the 70-degree weather and sunshine. Some certainly had a little too much sun. After lunch we returned to the cabin to pack for going home. All baggage is to be outside the cabin before 9:30 and wanting to catch Darren’s farewell performance at 9:30 means getting it out before the 8:45 show “Wanderlust!” After packing we cleaned up for the evening after putting the luggage out for pick up. We will see it again tomorrow in the Miami cruise terminal J. We went down to the Discovery bar for pre-dinner drinks. Our friends met us there and we greatly enjoyed our last dinner with Anderson & Justin. The Filet was delicious, the scallops very nice, and overall, it was a fitting end to a series of great meals. We took photos with our wait team and thanked them several times for their terrific service. Anderson is also heading home tomorrow but expects to be on board when we return in November of 2025. After dinner we enjoyed the show, Wanderlust. We left a little before it ended to make sure we found seats in the Den for Darren’s farewell performance We enjoyed the interactive sing along time which lasted until 10:30, nearly the latest we stayed up this entire cruise. Back in the cabin we got our remaining things ready to travel and called it a night. Monday, November 25, 2024, Disembarkation in Miami, Florida We certainly can’t end this trip without a little drama. In our case, the drama began at about 5:30 in the morning. I woke up and saw lights out our window, so I figured we were close to docking. I turned my phone off airplane mode and sure enough had four T-Mobile bars. I was surprised to find no text from our driver Andy. So, I sent him two texts telling him the captain said we would be at terminal J and that we hoped to be on the curb at 8:00. At 6:30 I went to the Mosaic café for tea & coffee. Today they had a new cookie, a macadamia nut cookie, so I got one of those in addition to the almond croissants and brought it all back to the cabin. At 6:53 Andy called to report it’s been a rough night as he had to take his wife to the E.R. Yikes! He was still at the hospital. The good news is that it seems she will be okay. He said he was willing to come get us but with morning traffic it would likely be 9:30 or later. I told him that we would work on a plan B and to take care of his family first. I checked Uber and it seemed an Uber would be about the same cost as Andy. We went down to breakfast at 7:10 and the self-disembark folks were lined up but the line was moving yet. That is not a good sign as they were to start at 6:45 according to the information given the previous day. At breakfast, I ordered an Uber for 8:30 pick up. It seemed to take a long time for our order to arrive, but I will say my “Crispy bacon” was the best of the trip. We returned to our cabin at 7:45 for a final restroom stop and headed with our carry on to the gangway. We may have inadvertently bypassed some of the line (sorry) just based on where we approached from. It seemed the line had only just opened for folks with luggage handled by the ship. We were in the terminal quickly. There are no escalators in terminal J! Wow. DW took our medicine satchel, and I carried our roller bag down the stairs. We found our luggage and got in line for customs. Perhaps ten minutes later we were outside. Uber kept assigning us drivers and then the driver would drop. DW found that one of our bags was not ours! Oh no! Same size, same color, and a Viking cruises luggage tag – just like ours! I tried calling the number on the tag, but the number was “Restricted.” A few moments later my phone rang with a number I did not recognize but I answered it. The bag’s owner had found our bag (which looked just like their bag) and called. I said we would wait for them and if they would bring our bag out we will swap. In the meantime, Uber did not have an assigned driver, so I was able to cancel. It took the bag’s owner perhaps 25 minutes to make it through customs to meet us. Gratefully, we swapped bags. I ordered an Uber for “Immediate” pick up – fortunately the price was the same. Due to traffic, it took our driver, Williams, about 20 minutes to reach us. We loaded our luggage into his very clean CRV and headed home. It took nearly 30 minutes to reach I-95, as the road to the airport is under massive construction and there are multiple ships disembarking guests. On the way home, our friends sent messages that it took them a full hour from the time they left the ship until reaching the curb. Taxis were waiting so then they were off to the airport with much less traffic than when we left the terminal. Our drive home went very well with only one slowdown after reaching I-95. We were back in our driveway at 10:50 thus ending the trip exactly 30 minutes short of two weeks from when we departed. Summary: It’s hard to summarize this cruise. So, let’s start with food: The main dining room dinner service and food is likely the best we’ve ever experienced. Breakfast service was hit or miss, depending on the day, but still greatly preferred to the Windows Café buffet. We only ate in Windows Café twice – once for embarkation lunch and one breakfast. Lunch on the Patio was always pleasant and having fresh cooked food certainly is preferred over the buffet. On a longer cruise (or back-to-back) the never changing menu on the Patio might get old. Specialty dining is not worth it. DW did enjoy the lobster entrée in Aqualina, and she was able to have that the second dinner in Prime C as well. The second dinner in Prime C was very nice and was more like a “Specialty” experience but the food is honestly no better than in Discoveries. Our cabin was snug but clean and comfortable. Despite the “Rocking and Rolling” we experienced our cabin was never noisy. We heard that some cabins experienced a lot of creaking and groaning noises. The bathroom is very small, and we have to sit not quite straight on the toilet seat. The shower is very tight. But that is how it is on the R-ships in any cabin less than a suite. No complaints about the cabin. Entertainment was good for a 600-guest ship. The six singers and dancers may not be what you would see on a 3000 guest Celebrity or Princess cruise, but they have heart, and we enjoyed the shows we attended. Darren & Lee made a good cruiser director / entertainment team, and we really enjoyed Darren’s shows. Azamara had three enrichment speakers for the crossing, and I enjoyed Carl DiLorenzo’s talks on phones and tablets. I need to question whoever set up this itinerary for late November some years ago. Now that we’ve done it, it is too late in the year for a northern Atlantic crossing on a smaller ship. The rocking & rolling was extreme, and many guests suffered ill effects because of this. I like Azamara’s product, and will sail them again, but will not consider another ocean crossing with them. The only significant “Negative” that is costing Azamara a four star rather than five star “On board experience” score is the horrendous internet. Come on, Azamara corporate – WAKE UP! Every cruise line has updated their ships with Starlink. Even with basic internet on Celebrity I can update & sync my e-mails in two minutes. It takes 20-30 minutes on the Onward. Guest services told me that the “Free minutes” for our “Discoverer” loyalty status is on the old-fashioned satellite internet and only the extra pay internet is on Starlink. Honestly that is a kick in the pants. Azamara is supposed to be a “Premium” cruise line and providing less than a decent guest internet experience is very poor customer service. My final rating for the on-board experience for this “Onward to Florida” cruise is therefore FOUR out of five stars.

We've been on Azamara before and will cruise them again. On this ship the benefits are as follows: Small ship means you get closer to your destination, you are not dealing with tons of people disembarking, you tend to get better attention, and onboard is not overcrowded. What you don't get is tons of entertainment, glitzy shows, water slides, etc. One of the benefits on this cruise when in port were the late and overnight stays. It's one of the reasons to book Azamara. Another were the free shuttles provided to get to the city centers when other cruise lines charge a fee. In the main restaurant and specialty restaurants the food was excellent. However the buffet was more hit and miss this time around. The food wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as it's been in the past. We choose to have breakfast and dinners in the main restaurant and were very pleased. Azamara includes basic mixed drinks and wine as part of the cruise. I will say the quality of the complimentary wines is not what it was, and even upgrading to the top level drinks package the wine was not up to par. This was really the only disappointment, but the other drinks were great. If you care about good wines bring a couple with you. I would suggest skipping most of the organized tours unless you're unable to manage on your own. You'll usually have a better experience. The ship itself is smaller so there are just a couple of hot tubs, a tiny pool and a surprisingly decent gym. Yes it was the Pacific Princess at one time and it is an older ship but it was really will maintained. There are plenty of areas to sit and relax and rarely did anywhere feel crowded. Because Azamara specializes in port intensive cruises you normally won't see a lot of days at sea. This is both a huge benefit and a bit of a problem if you don't have the energy to keep up. My suggestion if this is an issue is to stay on board if you need an extra day of rest, skipping the port you are least interested in. The cabin we has was a mid ship balcony. Although smallish it was very comfortable. Yes the shower is small but manageable and I've seen worse. It wasn't an issue for us. Beds and pillows were very comfortable. No issues with the climate control. Small balcony but comfortable enough. There is a small smoking area on the ship. If you smoke you'll have a place to puff away. If you are sensitive to smoke you learn to stay away from that area. Personally I think to could have found a better location for it but understand that some passenger need this. It's not for us. We have cruised on many different brands over the years. And it's important to understand why to choose a particular ship and itinerary. If you want lots of entertainment this is not the ship, if you want a lot of glitz go elsewhere. Because here you won't get that. What you will get is more unique port destinations, docking much closed to town (in most cases), a significantly more relaxed experience getting off and on the ship and more experienced and more traveled passengers (in general).

Azamara delivered again. This is my 5th cruise with them, but my first solo trip. The food, the entertainment, but most of all the crew, made my time special. The crew greeted me by name and by day 2 knew my preferences. From the baristas to my dining room server to the cruise director and even the captain, the friendliness and concern for my comfort were stellar. The shore excursion staff made sure I had an accessible seat on every tour and had me leave ahead of the group as I needed extra time.. The Azamazing Evening and the White Night party were truly amazing. The music and venue in Antwerp for the Azamazing Evening was breathtaking. While the ship is showing its age and the production shows a bit amateurish, the cabin comfort, the food, and the crew keep me coming back. I have my next cruise booked and look forward to many more.

Stockholm to Southampton cruise, first time Azamara previous Celebrity, Princess, Cunard, RCI and more. Great Cruise, lovely ports and as advertised, amazing service. Never any problem finding table for two in dining room, buffet etc. The Patio was the best place to eat we had ever known on any cruise ship ever. Excellent to be included in fare, the only "problem" ( not really a problem ) was that it was closed some nights due to events and private events. Service fast and friendly at all bars and eating places. Cruise director very good and the ""Azamazing evening" in Antwerp was incredible, welcomed by trumpeters and flag wavers and included a massive marching band. Other events good too, Polish dancing, German band.. although some of the regular dining options were lost when an event with its own dining was on. At ports where there was more than a very short walk into town there were shuttles, all free and better than those many cruise lines charge the earth for. Cabin larger than expected, perhaps the only slight "issue" with anything on the ship is that the gaps at the front and back of the dividing partitions on the balconies are quite large meaning everyone can see thier neighbours and vice versa through the large gaps. Lived up to expectations, feel spoiled and don't want to go back to "normal" cruise lines now !