Special Edition: The Most Affordable Luxury Cruise Line in 2024?

What is the most affordable luxury cruise line out there? Sometimes in life we want to pamper ourselves, but it can be a struggle to find a cruise that gives you the luxury touches, and great service, and won't break the bank in the process.

We just returned from a cruise that promised so much, at a great price. Watch along, to see if we found the Golden Ticket.

This is Part One of a Two Part Series on Azamara Cruise Lines

Part 2 is available here:

As well as showing you the cruise we booked, we will compare it with the market leaders. Including:

Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Silverseas, Seabourne, Oceania, as well as how it compares to premium line such as Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, and Cunard.

The ship we were on was: The Azamara Pursuit, which is part of the 4 ship fleet with Azamara. These are near identical ships, and also include: The Azamara Quest, Azamara Journey and Azamara Onward.

Azamara used to be the luxury arm of Royal Caribbean, and was sold off a few years ago, and is now a private company, offering luxury cruises around the world.

We were on a 7 night cruise from Rome to Monte Carlo, in a balcony cabin. In the video we will cover:

Azamara Cruise
Azamara Cruise Review
Azamara Pursuit Cruise Ship
Azamara White Night
Azamara Mediterranean Cruises
Discoveries restaurant - Main Dining Room on Azamara
Windows Cafe - buffet on Azamara
The Living Room and Den lounges on Azamara
Sunset Bar
Cabaret Lounge
Cabin Review
Mosaic Cafe on Azamara
Speciality dining on Azamara - Prime C Steakhouse and Aqualina Italian restaurant
Veranda stateroom
Cruise news
Cruise tips
Cruise review
Azamara Voyages

The staff onboard for our Azamara cruise:
Captain and Master: Antonio Toledo
Hotel Director - Tomasz Jadczyk
Food & Beverage: Ertan Karasakal
Cruise Director: Grace O'Donnell Clancy
Associate Cruise Director - & Opera Singer - Nicholas Simpson
Lounge Band - Marvelous Funk
Azamaze Opera Singers: Incanto Quartet

This is not a paid review, we bought and paid for it ourselves, and these are entirely our own opinions. We are always delighted to get feedback, so if you enjoyed it, or feel there was anything we didn't get quite right, or should emphasise something different, please do leave a comment. We always love to hear from our viewers.

In this video :

00:00 - Intro
03:03 - The Look & Feel
04:53 - Pool & Decks
06:08 - The Lounges
08:28 - Azamara is All Suite
09:15 - The Main Dining Room - Discoveries Restaurant
13:31 - White Night on Azamara
14:06 - Cabaret Lounge Theatre
15:34 - Cabin Review
20:10 - Room Service
20:31 - The Buffet. Windows Cafe on Azamara
23:47 - The Patio BBQ
24:46 - Speciality Dining . Prime C Steak House & Aqualina Italian
27:53 - the Gym on Azamara
28:38 - Mosaic Cafe Coffee Bar
29:06 - We were on this ship in 2005!
30:49 - Our Summary & Verdict

Drone aerial footage by Nightskyhunter

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Hi, welcome to Ritzy Travel Guide, my name is Bill, we are here bringing you our latest travel reviews from around the globe! We'll be travelling right around the world on cruise ships, all inclusive resorts, tropical destinations... and the deals of the day.

Contact us, and FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA:

ABOUT ME:
Hi, my name is Bill! Together with my family we have lived in 5 countries around the world, and spend our life travelling, in both a professional and recreational capacity. The aim of this channel is to give an honest, practical viewpoint, showing exactly what we found, and what tips we may be able to offer. We do not sell vacations, and the objective is to give a fully independent, and real picture. We hope you enjoy the reviews we post. Please do feel free to comment and share. Thanks!

[ritzytravelguide]

If you enjoyed the video please give it a thumbs up. Also, please feel free to leave a comment. We love to hear from people!

[andrewrevitt]

I’ve done 5 Azamara cruises in the past two years and each has been fantastic. I’ve also sailed with Silversea and Seabourn in the past and while I loved those too Azamara is about 90 percent as good and about 25 percent the price. Fellow passengers are younger and a bit more fun also.

[laughremixsquad]

It's always a pleasure, Bill! We loved the “old” footage from 2005. Your presentation style is always top-notch. Other YouTubers don't come close. We loved your series on the golden age of cruising. ❤

[grahamdouglas]

Just finished our 5th Azamara cruise and completely agree with your remarks. It is how cruising should be, not a theme park at sea. 👍🏼

[brendarandall]

complimentary room service is awesome- early morning coffee, tea and scones will be a great wake up call !!

[annking]

This is my vision of cruising. Love this. So beautiful. You two are a very classy couple. ❤😊

[kkiller]

This is the best ship I've seen. Elegant, all inclusive, excellent cabin and food. Not crowded would be my #1 favourite.

[TEWAdventures]

Oooh my!! I need to rethink our cruising plans. This is the kind of cruising I've always wanted. On the large (theme park) lines the only luxury I get and feel is from my balcony. Thanks so much for this insightful video(s).

[meatpockets]

I love that they convert the pool deck to dining for dinner, how fun!

[theresahenderson]

Lack of daylight activities on this ship is an introvert dream.

[nicolecrous]

Really enjoyed this video. Very informative. Super video channel to watch.

[GarethStringer]

Hi Bill, only recently discovered your channel, and have only cruised twice, but already can't wait for the next one!

The archive footage is fascinating - more or that when you get a chance please!

Thanks! Gareth

[jenstravelblog]

I love seeing the comparison of what the cruise ships looked like before versus what they look like now.

[loumello]

I would love to see some footage of your cruise adventures 20 plus years ago, I have been cruising since the early '70s and still love it. These days, I stick to Viking, Oceania and Celebrity, although I have Regent in mind soon. Thanks so much for your very thorough and enjoyable videos.

[catherinesusannacavallo]

Excellent video. We enjoyed watching the old videos, too

[pw-szds]

Thank you so much! I am adding Azamara to my cruise line list for 2026…knock on wood👍🏼

[ofmwxet]

Love your videos would love to see more!

[Linda-wos]

I would NEVER go on Azamara again. We had booked for a trip this August and had a special promotion of $150 dollar shore excursion credit for the first 2 passengers and a further $100 future cruise credit for all 3 of us as we had had a cruise cancelled because of the pandemic. This made $600 in total. This was confirmed on our booking form and in an email requested by our travel agent. When we tried to book a shore excursion, the Azamara staff were very rude and said we only had the $300 cruise credit. When the agent pointed out that it was all in writing, the person said we had been misinformed. After over an hour of being passed round departments, we were so upset we cancelled the cruise. We have TWICE written to Azamara in Miami using tracked mail but they have declined to reply. Other people have also had similar experiences. So no I would never go with Azamara for their complete lack of customer service. We will go back to Seabourn and Silversea.

[jeffmcallister]

I haven't taken a cruise on Azamara yet, but I do know a couple that has, and they enjoyed it thoroughly. The only thing they wished was different was the size of the bathrooms. Beyond that everything else was on par with the other luxury or premium lines. What they really liked was the longer port stays.

[MB-uykh]

We did a Mediterranean / Greek Island cruise on Azamara Journey in 2010 for our 25th Anniversary. Azamara was my husband’s favorite. My favorite is Regent.