Azamara VS Oceania??

[isabella52]

I know they are virtually the same ships.....how do they compare in service, amenities, & cuisine?
Prices seem pretty comparable, but what about 'extras'???
Thanks for all feedback...
Looking at S.Amer. & Asia on both.:)

[cruiseyguy]

Azamara is still a work in progress although its goal is clearly to be the virtual twin of Oceania. It's not there yet but with RCL's deep pockets behind it, it will be eventually.

[Ask4Jay]

isabella52 –
Ask again in May of next year. We are crossing the Atlantic on Quest and on Regatta. Not only will we have the same itinerary (well, almost), but also the very same cabin. I’ll try to be extra observant on both cruises and take notes for a fair comparison.

[susiesan]

Right now, Oceania is much more expensive than Azamara. For my particular Panama Canal cruise O would have been $75 a day more for the same cabin and a less attractive itinerary. And O has those pesky cabanas which block the forward view from the sun deck. It wasn't worth over $1000 to sail with O for the better food. And the prices on Azamara keep dropping which never happens with Oceania.

Susie

[dabear]

ask me after we try Journey late feb, 08. As far as prices, I disagree with the prior poster. O and A were about the same for the 12 day South American itinerary in prime season. A has dropped its prices for the margin season ie Nov and March compared to O. A charges for speciality restaurants and does not permit bringing booze onboard. ps We loved O

[susiesan]

I look for value in a cruise. If Azamara only allows wine and not liquor, that's fine for me. If I really want the hard stuff I know how to smuggle it on. Charges for specialty restaurants is not a deal breaker for me-I'm generally happy in the main dining room. My cruise on A is March 1 so maybe that's why it's cheaper than the closest similar one on O. The A cruise has more ports which is what I'm after. I'm sure I'll be back on O some time in the future, but this time A won my business.

[lovetoleave]

Yes, Journey is a work in progress. I cruised her July 28-Aug 4. The word from the new Chef, echoed by an Azamara VP is she'll be where they want her in the Fall. The daily blog of my trip is as www.avidcruiser.com/geoff
I'll be on the Oct 27th to SA.:p

[sacway]

Yes, Journey is a work in progress. I cruised her July 28-Aug 4. The word from the new Chef, echoed by an Azamara VP is she'll be where they want her in the Fall. The daily blog of my trip is as www.avidcruiser.com/geoff
I'll be on the Oct 27th to SA.:p

Thanks for the link, your blog and pix are quite interesting. I was particularly intrigued by this Hanrahan comment: "Azamara will be positioned between Premium and Luxury and they hope to attract cruisers from Celebrity, Regent, and Crystal." No mention of Oceania Cruises, huh. We booked O's Regatta after a number of X cruisers suggested it as an alternative for those who felt X had drifted too far under RCCL leadership. It was nice to compare that experience with yours on the Journey. Do they have books in Michael's Club or is this space a library (and an excellent one) still only on O?

[WindrunnerII]

Yes, Journey is a work in progress. I cruised her July 28-Aug 4. The word from the new Chef, echoed by an Azamara VP is she'll be where they want her in the Fall. The daily blog of my trip is as www.avidcruiser.com/geoff (http://www.avidcruiser.com/geoff)
I'll be on the Oct 27th to SA.:p

Geoff,

thanks for the link - makes for interesting reading and from your blog, it sounds like NCL has their act together better than Azamara. Your experiences confirmed my decision to postpone my cruise on Azamara until (if?) they get their act together. I'm a big fan of Oceania and this class of ships, but with the fares Azamara is charging, it sounds as they have a ways to go to reach O's level of finesse and attention to detail.

[Host Andy]

Yes, Journey is a work in progress. I cruised her July 28-Aug 4. The word from the new Chef, echoed by an Azamara VP is she'll be where they want her in the Fall. The daily blog of my trip is as www.avidcruiser.com/geoff
I'll be on the Oct 27th to SA.:p

Hi Lovetoleave !

Thank you for posting. How are you ? I hope all is well.

When I went to your blog, (if you dont mind a riddle), It was like hitting the Jackpot !!! I am a big fan of yours, and we have met MANY times in person about 30 years ago.

If you would like to drop me an email, feel free to click on the link below. It would be great to hear from you !

[arzz]

There are some books in the library in Michael's Club.

[neviboy]

Is wine complimentary at dinner ? Are cocktails included as they were on Regent BEFORE the all inclusive change in Jan. 07 ?

[arzz]

Must pay for all wine and cocktails. Sorry.

[neviboy]

I did read something about complimentary wine in one publicity piece. Perhaps by our cruise in Feb. 08 there may be a change.
"Whilst I have you...." The regular veranda fare is very reasonable, about $3500. This for 175 Sq. ft. for a 12 day cruise. (The ship docks for 4 days in Rio.)
But the next veranda category is $6000 for about 250 sq. ft. There seems to be an inequity. Perhaps the 3000 price is too low. Regent and Silversea balconies are about 250 sq. ft. with the fare about 6000
Any input ? use imiglaw71@aol.com if you prefer.

[cruiseyguy]

neviboy-As with the airlines and some other cruise lines, Celebrity/Azamara uses a computerized dynamic pricing model, meaning prices change--up and down--constantly, based on supply and demand. That "reasonable" price you saw may now be very "unreasonable" if enough of those cabins have been sold in the meantime to change the supply/demand ratio. Likewise, I've seen some very inexpensive suite prices on some cruises, only to see those prices disappear in less than an hour as some of the suites are sold, again changing supply and demand. Celebrity's prices are not static and if you see a price you like you should grab the cabin and make a deposit asap. Celebrity states on its website that you are protected against price increases if your reservation is "confirmed" and likewise, if the price goes down, Celebrity will adjust your price (but it is up to you to bring the decrease to their attention).

[smb12321]

Comparison? Oh Lord, that's hilarious. Oceania's restaurants did not charge for an appearance and all served incredible food. The service was simply amazing - first rate at all times. I was left behind at one of the cities (told incorrect time) and Oceania more than made up for it. They also refunded excursions in Italy with inclimate weather. The suite was great with Xtra big Bathrooms. The bed was undoubtedly the best I've ever slept in. (We got both mattress and sheets when we returned). Travelers were of an older generation but there were no teens running around with boxers showing or screaming in the hallways.

Azamara unfortunately IS a work in progress and the verdict is still out. It LOOKS good superficially but then you start to interact. The food was worse than Carnival (and that''s saying a lot) and the service rated a 5 out of 10. It was nealy impossible to get in the "deluxe" dining rooms & once you did you wondered why you put forth so much effort. Nobody was mean but there was a discernable lack of professionalism that is the norm on such lines as Oceania or SilverSeas. Alas it is true, you do get what you pay for.

[blambition]

smb12321,
May I ask when you cruised? I am hoping you were on one of the first sailings.
We sail in a month and cannot wait to try Azamara.

[cruiseyguy]

Interesting---NINAVMD made the same comparison of Azamara's food to Carnival as smb12321 has. She seems to have gone away and some very new posters are now "confirming" her opinions.

[coscob]

We also are reserved on the 9/29 Journey sailing to Bermuda, and would love to hear from anyone who has been on the ship in late August or is currently on the 9/1 sailing. In particular, we have booked an aft cabin on Deck 8, and I'm very concerned about the complaints of noise from Deck 9.

[LHT28]

We also are reserved on the 9/29 Journey sailing to Bermuda, and would love to hear from anyone who has been on the ship in late August or is currently on the 9/1 sailing. In particular, we have booked an aft cabin on Deck 8, and I'm very concerned about the complaints of noise from Deck 9.

Jan is sailing on the Journey this week and posting under

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=619744

[drummondcreek]

Any one cruised both?

[Mic Rikelson]

Yes, we sail Oceania's Nautica on a twelve day Med. cruise November 2006, and just completed a fourteen day Panama Canal cruise on Azamara's Quest. First I LOVE these ships, This is the main reason we decided to give Azamara a chance. I liked Oceania so well that I was hoping that Azamara was at least close in quility of service and food. I happy to inform you that I believe Azamara's service exceeded Oceania's ( that was no easy task ) The food may be a percent of two below that of Oceania, but that may be made in by a few extra choices for buffet dining. Azamara offered a few little extras that we enjoyed, such as fresh fruit in our room. Also if you are looking at a veranda suite, Azamara offers a table that is suitable for in-room dining, on the Nautica the table was not large enough. Which ever cruise line you choose, go with the knowledge the you have chosen an up-scale cruise line that caters to a mature traveler. I am sure if you choose Azamara you will not be disapointed if you go with the state of mind that you will have a great cruise!

[Napi's Mom]

Hey there Mr Rikelson...Have you posted your review yet??? (Or is this IT??) As we have discussed, I agree wholeheartedly with your post!!! Azamara is an up and comer that , like Avis "tries harder" and we were the lucky recipients of the added attention I feel, in trying to make their product as good as it could be. Oceania is great, and once Azamaras prices match theirs (which they will soon!, there won't be much to choose from between them (except it gives us more of these great ships and ports to take advantage of!)

[buffaloaded]

I am going to post this on both boards. From my reading, these two lines seem to have the same niche--a little more upscale then the Celebrity level. How would you seasoned cruisers compare the two? We love great food and the educational aspects of cruising. Is one line above the other? Are the costs comparable? Are great deals on both available?

Thanks

[dabear]

We just returned from 2/27 Journey So America cruise and have sailed on O's Regatta. To our pleasant surprise, IOHO A is giving O some competition. Briefly, I thought service better on O, but A is trying hard but missed a few beats(eg mostly received calls following up on our satisfaction with room sevice, changed our matress w/i hours after arrival, room service a few times took too long, but otherwise timely, dining room and specialty service fine. Unfortunatedly,we did not have a particularly good butler on A and had a great one on O. My wife thought the food was better on A, I disagree, but, both very good (better than premium lines). Better entertainment on A, 2 great singers, one lady who starred in Evita in London and an Austrailian who played the Phantom in Australia. We didn't participate much in activities and used private tours on both lines (and based on comments who took the ship's tours, ours were better and usually lower priced). Both ships casinos not very good. Our embarkation in BA on A was disorganized (there were alot of ships in port and the port was disorganized), but departing in Santos like on O went extremely well. We did not like the auto tip policy on A. I tried to adjust 2 tips, 1 down and 1 up and ran into objections. We did give additional cash tips to certain crew anyway. You will not go wrong on either line.

[Napi's Mom]

I am going to post this on both boards. From my reading, these two lines seem to have the same niche--a little more upscale then the Celebrity level. How would you seasoned cruisers compare the two? We love great food and the educational aspects of cruising. Is one line above the other? Are the costs comparable? Are great deals on both available?

Thanks
Did you read the above comments just above yours??? As to price O is still higher but A is catching up. You can still get deals if you look. Yes lines are getting comparable, some will not admit that, but "Dabear"if your butler on Oceania was better, must have been in a suite, as we in a 1A concierge has only room attendants and were NOT as good or as attentive as the Azamara "butler" and attendant were. I've heard the Butlers in suites are not as good on "A", something about not enough tips???, The really good ones want the lesser cabins as work's less and as they have more cabins...more tips??? Az. need work on the educational part still in Dec.,not much in the line of seminars on the ports. Itineraries seem similar!

[susiesan]

I just got home from the March 1-15 sailing of Journey. I sailed on Insignia June 2006. I was in a veranda cabin both times. I have cruised over the past 25 years over 30 times on many lines and sizes of ships. The Journey/R Class ships are my favorites. In my opinion as an experienced traveler, AZ is now equal to O. At the moment, AZ is less $. But now that the word is out and the ships become more popular AZ will probably raise their prices. The food was equal on both, but AZ takes the edge because of the sushi. Every night we went up to the buffet before dinner to have sushi as an appetizer with a cocktail. The sushi chef will make custom rolls. I had him make a rainbow roll with tobiko on the outside and an unagi and avocado roll. AZ's sushi had a better selection than O's.

The staff on AZ were so friendly and helpful. We did not meet a single person who did not go the extra to please. Our butler even gave us a bottle of wine left by a former passenger when we said we ran out.

This was a Panama Canal cruise, with warm weather the whole time so NOT having those cabanas gives a point to AZ over O.

We participated in trivia and contests every day and won so many prizes we gave them back. O has the edge on this with their system of giving out numbered chips you use to buy you better prizes at the end. AZ just had typical cruise junk, and only a few different items. We were part of the entertainment by being in the "Not So Newlywed Game" and were promised a DVD of our "performance". We did not get it.

Yoga and Pilates classes were totally lame, taught by someone who is not qualified to teach them and in fact did it wrong. I could have taught a better class than he did. Don't waste your time on these classes.

Just like on O the vast majority of pax were retired and over the age of 65. If you are looking for a younger crowd on AZ you will not find it. there was one child on board who played ping pong all day.

There were a few other minor differences, but I will cruise with AZ again on the right itinerary at the right price. I would also cruise with O again. I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and it lived up to all my expectations. FDR, if you are reading this, you have some serious competition.

If you have any specific questions about the differences just ask.

Susie

[LMKohler]

Hi Susie,

Hope you got home all right. We made it back, but it was a long trip. I liked your short review except weren't we on "Quest":D :D

Since we have never been on Oceania it was nice to hear a comparison. We too would go back on Azamara in a heartbeat. It was just a wonderful cruise all the way around:)

Lucy

[susiesan]

[QUOTE=LMKohler;13829465]Hi Susie,

Hope you got home all right. We made it back, but it was a long trip. I liked your short review except weren't we on "Quest":D :D

Cruise hangover/lag.

Susie : )

[dabear]

I'm glad that someone corrected Susie since our Journey cruise was for South America from 2/27 to 3/10 , but comments are nearly the same. Actually, our "butler" on A was a glorified cabin attendant in cat 2A. The crowd was mostly 55+ with a few younger. Their appeared to be alot of travel agents on our cruise, guessing that they gave some last minute bargains to many of them. The sushi was good with in room cocktails. You can't go wrong with either A or O, but our choice will depend upon itinerary and price.