Why should I choose Azamara?

Hi,

I am tossing beteeen 2 cruises. Both 12 nights, similar itinerary.

I have the choice of a balcony on Holland America (2000 people?)

or an oceanview (no doubt obstructed view at this price) on Azamara.

The Azamara is $200 more but includes gratuities and alcohol.

So if the cocktails are good then Azamara is cheaper. :D

I have cruised before on big ships but not on these 2 lines. Azamara looks fabulous. I have done a river cruise and thought the ship would be too small but I loved it.

So which would you choose and why? I'm thinking at this amazing price I should not pass it up. Azamara is normally beyond my budget.

Thanks for any input.

My bit:)

Azamara

If you book a GTY OV you may get an upgrade to balcony (we have both times).

The savings are approx $140pp on the gratuities and even if you don't drink very much alcohol the coffee is great and highly addictive at Mosaic. Given 6 drinks (couple of cocktails, wine, mixed, coffee, fressh juice) you are saving an average $30pppd, $360pp. That's our daily minimum spend on an NCL.

Azamara OV you are better off by at least $200 as long as you are OK with an OV.

I have never been on a HAL so can't comment on the overall experience. However, I would choose Azamara over NCL, Celebrity and Costa any day.

Yvonne:)

I should have thought the two options are way different, but haven't experienced H&A.

With Azamara, one gets special levels of service and smaller ships, which we love. The included drinks are a bonus, but also add to the waistline!

Often, when scouring offers on the 'net', one can find TA's that offer pre-paid gratuities on the bigger ships.

I wouldn't compare on a price base, Azamara is a wonderful product as proved by our 3rd cruise in a year, with them, but having said that 'price' is often our first consideration. If we can get Azamara at an acceptable price, then that's our choice. We have cruised extensively with Carnival, Princess and Celebrity, so have a little experience to base opinion upon.

Hi,

I am tossing beteeen 2 cruises. Both 12 nights, similar itinerary.

 

I have the choice of a balcony on Holland America (2000 people?)

 

or an oceanview (no doubt obstructed view at this price) on Azamara.

 

The Azamara is $200 more but includes gratuities and alcohol.

 

So if the cocktails are good then Azamara is cheaper. :D

 

I have cruised before on big ships but not on these 2 lines. Azamara looks fabulous. I have done a river cruise and thought the ship would be too small but I loved it.

 

So which would you choose and why? I'm thinking at this amazing price I should not pass it up. Azamara is normally beyond my budget.

 

Thanks for any input.

Sayaguru, you're welcome to read my cruise report to see why we liked it (and I hope you do too, well enough to book). http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1966387

Holland America's ship's look very pretty but the one thing that would keep me from ever booking them is their more liberal smoking policy. Everyone has something that's a deal breaker to them, and in our case it's smoking on the balconies. It might be of no consequence to you, of course, so I'm just putting it out there for your consideration while making a decision.

Holland ships are lovely and service good and cabins larger overall. We never felt crowded with 2000 passengers (I would never go larger than this, though.) If you enjoy formal nights then by all means, Holland should be your pick. But Azamara's resort casual, eat when you want, included cocktails and wine, and superior service and food (IMO) would win the day for me. We've been on HAL, Princess, and Celebrity and enjoyed all our cruises, but have become dedicated Azamara cruisers because there is just something about the ships and their crew that make us feel at home (I know that's an overused phrase but it really is true.) Also, when you compare itineraries, look for port times...you'll probably find that Azamara has longer port stays (and perhaps an overnight).

Just my 2 cents.

The possibility of someone smoking on the balcony next to mine would preclude my EVER booking Holland America.

Thank you so much for your great report. dln929

Thanks everyone else for your comments as well. As you can see by my countdown clock I decided to change to Azamara. And our cabin is not obstructed.:p

So excited!! :D And my first birthday on a cruise. :cool:

Now for the planning.

I would be very surprised if you don't enjoy your cruise immensely

We are enormous Azamara fans but due to dates /itineraries we have booked our first. b2b HAL cruise May 17th to Baltics

Quite apprehensive re smoking plus looking at alcohol options on HAL but still approaching with an open mind

Will enjoy but Az has a special place in our hearts

As soon as dates/itinerary are suitable will be back with them

Enjoy

We loved Azamara and would go again, most likely over HAL.

One reason a smaller ship is SO much better is that in ports, there are very few lines to get on or off the ship! We hardly ever waited on our Quest cruise!

Smaller ships can get into smaller places as well, which sometimes means you can dock closer to ports or in ports that larger ships cannot get into.

Enjoy your Azamara cruise!!!

:):):)

Sayaguru, I am sure you will be glad that you have chosen Azamara. We enjoyed our first Azamara Quest cruise last autumn so much that we have now booked for the Black Sea cruise in June. We have sailed with HAL and would happily go back with them if the itinerary was right, but everything being equal it would be Azamara every time for us. I was wondering how you discover what cabin you have been assigned if you have booked a guaranteed cabin?

Many people do not check Port times carefully. Are things such as museums open or closed. How long are you in port. Do you need to tender.

Azamara does well in these areas when compared to many other lines.

The smoking policy for HAL would be a deal breaker for me.

Hi Hermioneb. I just assumed, seeing that it was such a great price that it would be an obstructed view cabinj (they always have been with other cruiselines) but when I boooked it I was given a cabin number. It's one of the cheaper ones but at least not obstructed.

I'm happy. :D

I didn't realise about the HAL smoking policy. I'm guessing they get enough smokers to not worry about losing non smokers???

I too would not want a balcony where I couldn't sit outside because of smoke. :(

Hi Hermioneb. I just assumed, seeing that it was such a great price that it would be an obstructed view cabinj (they always have been with other cruiselines) but when I boooked it I was given a cabin number. It's one of the cheaper ones but at least not obstructed.

I'm happy. :D

 

I didn't realise about the HAL smoking policy. I'm guessing they get enough smokers to not worry about losing non smokers???

 

I too would not want a balcony where I couldn't sit outside because of smoke. :(

Sayaguru, we booked a guarantee cabin on the Quest and got 6085 which is one of the lesser priced verandas, and it was great; no complaints at all. I'm glad you're happy with the cabin you were given. I looked at your itinerary and you're so lucky to be sailing into Kotor at a decent hour! We were on Celebrity Solstice in July '12 and we sailed into that magnificent bay at the crack of dawn. Everyone who wanted to see the sail-in was up before the sun that day. I had to go back to the cabin and take a nap once we were docked. :p

Sayaguru, we booked a guarantee cabin on the Quest and got 6085 which is one of the lesser priced verandas, and it was great; no complaints at all. I'm glad you're happy with the cabin you were given. I looked at your itinerary and you're so lucky to be sailing into Kotor at a decent hour! We were on Celebrity Solstice in July '12 and we sailed into that magnificent bay at the crack of dawn. Everyone who wanted to see the sail-in was up before the sun that day. I had to go back to the cabin and take a nap once we were docked. :p

We shared a fantastic excursion on a sailing boat, from Kotor. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

We shared a fantastic excursion on a sailing boat, from Kotor. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

A more sensible option than the one we took, which was to climb to the top of the fort. On the 4th of July in the blazing heat. If ever the expression "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun" applied, it was to us. :p

Sayaguru--we also went to Dubrovnik and it was hot and extremely crowded so we made our way to the boat docks and took the little ferry to the island of Lokrum. If you want a nice day of relaxation and swimming, this is absolutely wonderful. One of our best days on the cruise! http://www.dubrovnik-guide.net/lokrum.htm

Hi, thanks for the hints but we are not going to Kotor.

Our cruise goes from Copenhagen to Stockholm. 12 nights. :D

I've been to Kotor and yes I climbed to the top of the fort. It was on a land based tour from Budapest to Dubrovnik which was AMAZING!!! :D