For a line with only a few ships, Azamara Cruises offers a remarkably wide range of itineraries.
The four almost identical ships of the Miami-based brand: Azamara Quest, Azamara Pursuit, Azamara Journey and Azamara Forward – often move from one continent to another, operating an ever-changing variety of voyages to many of the world’s most famous destinations.
These include at least a few (and sometimes many) trips each year to Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Australia and Africa.
Azamara also occasionally offers unusually long, destination-packed world cruises that include stops on several continents.
Azamara has a particularly large presence in Europe: three of its four vessels spend at least some time each year in the region. Almost half of all itineraries included in Azamara’s programming are located in the Mediterranean area, the Baltic region and northern Europe.
The line also sends at least one of its ships each year to Asia and Australia for a stay of several months, and offers several cruises each year along the coasts of South America. Some years he also sends a boat up the coast of South Africa.
Historically, Azamara’s North American offerings have been fairly light, but lately it’s been adding more North American sailings, including (as of this year) its first trips to Alaska in seven years.
Azamara ships range from short five-night cruises to the Balearic Islands of Spain to voyages of more than 100 nights that go around the world. But unlike mass-market lines, the company doesn’t offer many trips of six nights or less. Between now and June 2028, the line has only five such shorter trips on its schedule.
With all of these itineraries, Azamara follows a famous “take it easy” approach that prioritizes longer stays and overnight stays in ports than is typical for cruises. The result is that passengers have the opportunity to further explore the places the ships visit.
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Here are our picks for the five best Azamara cruise destinations.
the mediterranean
The Mediterranean is a big focus for Azamara, representing approximately a third of all departures on its programming.
Most Azamara Mediterranean voyages range from seven to 21 nights, although he occasionally offers shorter or longer voyages. These itineraries include departures focused specifically on the Western or Eastern Mediterranean and some that include stops in both.
Typical of the latter is the line’s 11-night Best of the Mediterranean itinerary from Piraeus, Greece (the port of Athens), to Barcelona. The outbound trip includes stops in Türkiye, Greece, Italy, France and Spain.
Azamara is particularly known for offering Mediterranean trips focused on a single country. The line’s nine-night intensive Croatia cruise, for example, offers five stops in Croatia (Dubrovnik, Korcula, Sibenik, Zadar and Opatija), as well as a stop in nearby Montenegro.
In the Mediterranean, the line’s main centers are Piraeus; Civitavecchia, Italy; Istanbul; Fusina, Italy (near Venice); Barcelona; and Nice, France.
Related: The best Mediterranean cruises for every type of traveler
Northern and Western Europe
While not as large for Azamara as the Mediterranean, the overlapping regions of Northern Europe and Western Europe account for a not insignificant portion of the line’s voyages during the year.
Offered primarily during the summer months, the line’s sailings in the regions typically last seven to 14 nights, although some are longer. Azamara does not normally offer short cruises in these regions.
Some voyages focus on the Baltic region with stops in several countries, including the line’s 15-night intensive Baltic one-way itinerary between Copenhagen and Portsmouth, England, which includes stops in Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Sweden.
But, as in the Mediterranean, Azamara is also known for its trips through Northern Europe and Western Europe that focus on a single country. The line offers an intensive 11-night Scotland trip, for example, that visits six different destinations across Scotland. An intensive seven-night Spain itinerary takes a similar approach, with five stops in Spain.
For Northern European and Western European cruises, Azamara uses a wide variety of ports as hubs, including Dublin; Southampton, England; Bordeaux, France; Amsterdam; and Oslo.
Alaska
After a seven-year hiatus, Azamara returns Outings through Alaska this year, and plans to offer trips to Alaska in 2027 as well.
For both years, the line will operate cruises to the destination during the summer months with a single ship (Azamara Pursuit) operating a mix of eight- to 11-night voyages.
All trips are one-way trips between Whittier, Alaska and Vancouver, British Columbia. They typically stop at a combination of well-known Alaska port cities, such as Ketchikan and Skagway, and smaller places, such as Klawock and Valdez, that larger ships rarely visit.
Related: TPG Guide to Alaska Cruises
Among other places the ship frequently visits is the Hubbard Glacier, known as one of the most spectacular tidewater glaciers in Alaska.
As part of returning to Alaska for the first time in seven years, Azamara also offers Alaska cruises that combine a cruise with several days of land exploration with hotel stays. The land portion of these trips usually includes a visit to Denali National Park.
Asia, Australia and New Zealand
Azamara typically sends one of its four ships to Asia, Australia and New Zealand each winter for voyages from cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney and Auckland.
The line also typically sends a second ship on a winter round-the-world cruise that includes segments in Asia, Australia and New Zealand, resulting in two of the line’s ships sailing in the region. (See more about Azamara world cruises below.)
In both cases, the ships offer a relatively wide mix of itineraries and never stay in the same region for too many voyages in a row.
One of the typical Asia itineraries on Azamara’s schedule for the next two years is a 15-night voyage between Hong Kong and Singapore with multiple stops in both Vietnam and Thailand.
Related: Azamara Cruises Azamara Circle Loyalty Program Guide
A typical Australia and New Zealand cruise is a 14- to 16-night trip that focuses primarily on New Zealand. The line also offers a 15-night itinerary that includes stops at nine New Zealand locations: Dunedin, Timaru, Christchurch, Picton, Wellington, Napier, Gisborne, Tauranga and Auckland. A visit to Milford Sound in New Zealand is also planned, as is a visit to the Australian island state of Tasmania and Eden, Australia.
Longer itineraries that combine port calls in Asia and Australia in a single voyage include a 27-night voyage from Sydney to Hong Kong. This sailing includes stops in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
the world
Azamara typically offers one world cruise each year and is often one of the longest and most destination world cruises offered by any line.
By 2027, for example, Azamara will send its soon-to-be refurbished Azamara Quest on a truly epic 188-night voyage that begins by circling the Pacific Ocean and stopping in Asia, Australia, New Zealand and French Polynesia before sailing through the Panama Canal to Europe.
In total, the world voyage will be more than 50 nights longer than world cruises offered by many of Azamara’s competitors.
Ahead of sailing, which will include stops in 37 countries, Azamara Quest will receive an all-new Penthouse Deck with two suite categories, as well as other major upgrades. This is the beginning of a fleet-wide upgrade program called Azamara Forward that will bring improvements to all four Azamara ships over several years.
Azamara is also planning a major 175-night world cruise for 2028. Scheduled to take place on Azamara Onward, it will include a near-complete circumnavigation of the world, with visits to 40 countries on six continents.
The global voyage, which will begin on January 5, 2028 in Miami, brings a westward route that includes stops in North America, South America, Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe before ending on June 9, 2028 in Barcelona.
In a nutshell
Despite its small size, Azamara offers a wide range of itineraries in cruise destinations around the world, from North America to Asia. You’ll find the most options among Azamara itineraries in Europe, followed by Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and South America. The line also offers some of the longest and most destination-wide world cruises in the industry.
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