For a line with only a few ships, Azamara Cruises offers a wide variety of itineraries.
The Miami-based brand’s four virtually identical ships – Azamara Quest, Azamara Pursuit, Azamara Journey and Azamara Onward – often travel from continent to continent to offer an ever-changing range of sailings to many of the world’s most famous destinations.
This involves at least a few (and sometimes many) sailings per year in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa.
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Now Azamara also offers long world cruises, which take an almost complete circumnavigation of the world, with one planned for 2024 and the other for 2025.
Of its many offerings, Azamara has a particularly large footprint in Europe, with all four ships spending at least some time in the region each year. Nearly two-thirds of all routes on Azamara’s schedule go to the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea and Northern Europe.
The line also sends at least one of its ships to Asia and Australia every year for a few months’ stay, and offers several cruises every year along the coasts of South America and around South Africa.
Azamara’s commitment in North America is relatively light, as the brand focuses more on destinations that mean travel further from home for Americans. The line has only three cruises planned in the Caribbean for the coming year.
Azamara ships range from short four-night cruises along the French Riviera to 155-night round-the-world voyages. But unlike mass-market lines, the company doesn’t offer many sailings of six or fewer nights. The line has only six shorter trips planned between now and the end of 2025.
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Here are our picks for the five best Azamara cruise destinations.
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean is the biggest focus for Azamara, accounting for about half of all scheduled departures.
Most Azamara Mediterranean tours range from seven to sixteen nights, although shorter trips are occasionally offered. These itineraries include sailings specifically focused on the Western Mediterranean or the Eastern Mediterranean, and some include stops in both.
Typical of the latter is the nine-night islands of the Mediterranean route from Piraeus, Greece (the port of Athens) to Civitavecchia, Italy (the port of Rome). The one-way trip includes stops in Turkey, Crete, Malta, Italy and France.
Azamara is best known for offering Mediterranean sailings that focus intensively on one country. For example, the line’s eight-night Croatia Intensive Voyage offers four calls in Croatia (Dubrovnik, Split, Sibenik and Zadar), as well as a single stop in nearby Montenegro.
In the Mediterranean, the main junctions of the line are Piraeus; Civitavecchia; Istanbul; Chioggia and Fusina, Italy (both near Venice); Barcelona; and Nice, France.
Related: The Best Mediterranean Cruises for Every Type of Traveler
Northern and Western Europe
Although not as large for Azamara as the Mediterranean, the overlapping regions of Northern Europe and Western Europe account for a significant portion of the line’s sailings during the summer months.
From June to early September, the line offers a dozen or more sailings between the two regions, lasting seven to seventeen nights. Azamara does not generally offer short cruises in the region.
Some sailings focus on the Baltic region with stops in multiple countries. Typical of this type of sailing is the 15-day Baltic Intensive route from Copenhagen, which visits ports in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Azamara Cruise Ships and Itineraries
But just like in the Mediterranean, Azamara is also known for sailings in Northern Europe and Western Europe that focus heavily on one country. For example, the line offers an 11-day France Intensive trip, visiting six different destinations in northern and western France. A 13-night Spain intensive itinerary is similarly focused.
For cruises in Northern Europe and Western Europe, Azamara uses a wide variety of ports as its hub, including Dublin; Southampton, England; Bordeaux, France; Amsterdam; and Oslo, Norway.
South Africa
Azamara is one of the few major cruise lines that sends a ship to South Africa every winter for sailings along the country’s coast.
In most cases the trips – all from Cape Town – last twelve nights, although Azamara sometimes offers slightly longer trips in the region. They typically focus almost exclusively on South African ports and allow excursions to many of South Africa’s most famous nature reserves.
For example, a typical twelve-night cruise in the region calls at the South African ports of Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Durban, East London and Mossel Bay, plus a single call outside South Africa at Maputo, Mozambique.
The trips usually take place between December and February.
Related: Guide to Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Circle Loyalty Program
In addition, Azamara typically offers longer sailings between the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa and Cape Town at the beginning and end of the cruise season in South Africa. The trips typically last 18 nights and include stops in Senegal, Gambia and Namibia along the African coast, as well as the British-controlled island of St. Helena.
Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Azamara usually sends one of its four ships to Asia, Australia and New Zealand each winter for sailings from cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland, New Zealand.
The line also typically sends a second ship in the winter on a round-the-world cruise that includes segments in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, putting two of the line’s ships sailing in the region. (See more about Azamara’s world cruises below.)
In both cases, the ships offer a relatively broad mix of routes, never staying in the same region for too many trips in a row.
Typical of the Asia itineraries that Azamara has planned for the next two years is a 15-night trip between Hong Kong and Singapore with multiple stops in both Vietnam and Thailand.
A typical Australia and New Zealand cruise is a 14 to 16 night voyage with a strong focus on New Zealand. A 16-night itinerary offered by the line includes stops at eight places in New Zealand: Bay of Islands, Napier, Tauranga, Wellington, Nelson, Picton, Christchurch and Dunedin. A visit to New Zealand’s Milford Sound is also planned, as well as a visit to the Australian island state of Tasmania and Eden, Australia.
Related: Everything you need to know about Azamara Cruises’ cabins and suites
Longer itineraries that combine visits to Asia, Australia and New Zealand in a single trip include a 21-night trip from Sydney to Hong Kong. This crossing includes stops in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Philippines.
The world
Azamara typically offers one world cruise per year, and it is often one of the longest and most destination-intensive world cruises offered by any cruise line.
For example, for both 2024 and 2025, Azamara is sending one of its four ships on a voyage around the world that will last more than five months – specifically 155 nights in both cases. That’s more than 40 nights longer than the world cruises offered by several of Azamara’s competitors (although not as long as the epic world cruises offered by one of Azamara’s closest competitors, Oceania Cruises).
Both of Azamara’s upcoming world cruises include a nearly complete circumnavigation of the world, but they are not true around-the-world sailings.
The 2024 world tour begins on January 5, 2024 in Fort Lauderdale and features a westbound route with calls in North America, South America, Australia, Asia and Europe before ending on June 9, 2024 in Barcelona.
Related: 10 Epic Cruises Around the World That Will Check Off All Your Bucket List Travel Destinations
Azamara’s 2025 world tour begins on January 6, 2025 in San Diego and follows a westward route across the Pacific Ocean to Australia, Asia and Europe before ending on June 11, 2025 in Southampton.
In short
Despite its small size, Azamara offers a wide range of itineraries to cruise destinations around the world, from North America to Asia. You’ll find the most choices among Azamara routes in Europe, followed by Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Africa and South America. The line also offers some of the longest, most destination-intensive world cruises in the industry.
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