Azamara Onward
Our sailing was her second voyage and due to Covid had been capped at 80% which was 533 guests of 18 nationalities. The largest number of passengers were from the US with the UK following closely behind. When I booked the trip, we were due to sail from Venice, but as has widely been publicised, Venice has banned most ships from the city. I had hoped that we would just squeeze into the new limit, but it has been set at 25,000 tons or 530 feet in length, so our departure was moved South to Ravenna. What this meant was a two and a half hour coach journey through the countryside and lots of people wishing they had flown into Bologna instead!
Once we arrived at the cruise terminal our paperwork was checked. Whilst there was no requirement for us to be Covid tested to enter Italy, Azamara were still asking everyone to present a negative PCR test before being allowed on board. All of the crew were vaccinated and boosted and they also have facilities on board for testing should your cruise port destination require it. We chose an intensive voyage to Croatia which visited Zadar, Split, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Hvar and Sibenik. Being a smaller cruise ship, most of the ports allowed us to dock directly alongside the quay and walk on and off the ship as we pleased, but Dubrovnik & Hvar were tender ports. Ravenna, our Italian starting and finishing port, was also worth a visit as they have a lovely mosaic trail and the ship provided complimentary shuttles into the city.
On this cruise we had a good variety of options for shore excursions ranging from a strenuous Zadar by bicycle to the more leisurely visit to the vineyards and salt plains by coach. In Zadar you could even try a Tuk Tuk tour! In most cities we did the walking tours but from Sibenik we visited Krka National Park which was stunning. If you don’t want to go ashore there are also things you can do on board during the day. Some have a nominal charge such as a food & wine pairing experience, but others, such as the smartphone photography class, are complimentary. We also had enrichment opportunities with Professor Robert Aalberts who taught world regional, political and economic geography at the University of New Orleans before joining the cruising world as a destination lecturer over 10 years ago.
Azamara ships offer open dining so you can choose what time to arrive at the main restaurant and who you dine with. There are two speciality restaurants on Onward which have $30 cover charges (unless you’re booked into suite category cabins). Aqualina is all things Italian whilst Prime C offers Filet Mignon, Chateaubriand, Ribeye and T-Bone steak alongside local dishes that vary by the ports visited. If you don’t want to go for a full-service lunch or dinner there is also the Windows Café which offers a daily changing themed buffet menu.
Entertainment is offered every day. Most evenings it’s a show performed by the very talented entertainment team, but we also enjoyed the acclaimed visiting cellist Ana Rucher on deck in Dubrovnik and equally acclaimed flautist Jonathan Johnston in the cabaret lounge. There isn’t a formal gala dinner night, but we had a ‘white night’ party instead. This was an evening where the pool deck was dressed for a gala night of open-air dining and entertainment fun.
Overall, I think there were still some signs that this is a refurbished ship rather than being a brand new build, but everything is comfortable, everything works and the crew are a delight to spend time with. The carpets are all brand new and the public areas are gleaming. The bedside reading lamps in the cabins now have USB sockets although the storage options are a bit odd. New to the Onward is the Atlas Bar for up market cocktails and there’s no casino. There’s a small spa and fitness centre and the obligatory jogging track that overlooks the pool deck. In theory you can take children on board, but there’s no kids club, no special areas for them to use and no baby sitting offered, so there are plenty of better options available with other cruise lines to entertain your young family. Earning ‘Best Small Ship Cruise Line for LGBTQ Passengers’ by LGBTQ cruisers for the last seven consecutive years, Azamara is a great choice for the rainbow community. You could travel on Onward if you’re a wheelchair user as there are adapted cabins on board, but the lifts are quite small. Having said that, as the ship isn’t huge, it’s easy to get around as everything is quite compact. We chose this cruise because I’ve not sailed with Azamara before, Onward is their new ship and Croatia is one of the most popular destinations for bookings at the moment. Would we sail with them again? If the itinerary is right – absolutely!