Oceania vs Azamara

[cruisecritic001]

As you can see I do not post on this site but regularly read the comments.

 

We have never cruised on Oceania but are considering a first cruise on the Regatta.

 

We have cruised on both Azamara ships and have had both good and bad experiences.

 

I have seen a number of negative comparisons of Oceania on the Azamara cruise critic site.

 

Please can anyone give me a comparison of Oceania and Azamara?

 

Many thanks

[Paulchili]

cruisecritic001,

Welcome to CC forums.

There have been many discussions about this subject, both here and on the Azamara forums.

Use your search button (both here and in Azamara forum) and type in "Oceania vs Azamara" and vv. You'll get a list of the threads that discuss this topic.

Good luck - if you need further help, just ask.

[Zouave]

As you can see I do not post on this site but regularly read the comments.

 

We have never cruised on Oceania but are considering a first cruise on the Regatta.

 

We have cruised on both Azamara ships and have had both good and bad experiences.

 

I have seen a number of negative comparisons of Oceania on the Azamara cruise critic site.

 

Please can anyone give me a comparison of Oceania and Azamara?

 

Many thanks

 

We are in the same situation - sailed on two Azamara cruises - Athens to Istanbul - fantastic; Copenhagen to Dubiln - cabin noise so bad we requested and received a partial refund. Considering new Ocenia cruise.

[globevest]

Zouave,

On the Copenhagen to Dublin, which cabin were you in and where was the noise coming from? Thank you.

[pacheco18]

As you can see I do not post on this site but regularly read the comments.

 

We have never cruised on Oceania but are considering a first cruise on the Regatta.

 

We have cruised on both Azamara ships and have had both good and bad experiences.

 

I have seen a number of negative comparisons of Oceania on the Azamara cruise critic site.

 

Please can anyone give me a comparison of Oceania and Azamara?

 

Many thanks

There is a new rating from Travel & Leisure for best cruise lines 2012. Azamara nudged out 0 for the first time. These ratings are not gospel but I think it shows that the two lines are quite similar. Azamara fans think Azamara can't be beat. O devotees praise Oceania over all others. I think you can sail either without being disappointed

Neither is necessarily better than the other. Pluses and minuses for each.

 

I would simply pick my preferred itinerary

[Paulchili]

There is a new rating from Travel & Leisure for best cruise lines 2012. Azamara nudged out 0 for the first time. These ratings are not gospel but I think it shows that the two lines are quite similar. Azamara fans think Azamara can't be beat. O devotees praise Oceania over all others. I think you can sail either without being disappointed

Neither is necessarily better than the other. Pluses and minuses for each.

 

I would simply pick my preferred itinerary

 

The only thing I would add to this is that O, having 4 ships vs 2, has a larger variety of itineraries and also now has 2 O class ships. This last fact is a great addition to some, not a big deal to others.

Regardless, the food, especially on O class ships, is the best at sea, IMO

[Balloon Man]

Azamara Journey was our favourite ship until we sailed on Oceania Marina, which won by a short head. The hotel staff on both vessels are well above average, though the deck officers on Marina were noticeable by their absence.

 

The food on Oceania is slightly better, possibly because it has a wider range of specialist restaurants. Drinks are roughly the same price on both, and both lines allow you to bring a reasonable amount of alcohol on board for consumption in your cabin, but the excursions on Oceania were far more expensive than those offered by Azamara and the wifi was the slowest we have ever experienced at sea. Apparently that is going to be fixed soon.

 

As for cabin noise, it would be unfair of me to compare as we were midships on Journey and at the stern on Marina, which did prove noisy in and out of port and when station keeping during tendering operations in difficult conditions.

 

Entertainment on both was average. Accommodation on both vessels was better than average.

 

Go with either line and you should have an excellent cruise.

[Reggiefan]

My perception--I have sailed on Marina, and I hope to sail on Azamara next spring because of the itinerary--is that the lines are very comparable. Go back 18 months, and most would say Oceania was better though a bit more expensive. It seems that Azamara has taken a step forward, though its pricing has increased as well.

 

Reading reviews, I find that a certain percentage of Oceania's clientele find the Marina too large and prefer the smaller ships. This may be the reason that in the recent Travel and Leisure survey Azamara by a nose beat Oceania. But the best I can tell, the two lines are in style and philosophy two siblings that directly compete with each other for the same market segments and have much more in common with each other than with other lines.

[cruisecritic001]

Thank you for all of your comments. I have searched Cruise Critic and reviewed the most recent comparisons.

 

I must say that I am most impressed by the lack of bias in the responses to this question. It certainly gives me a good impression of the people who frequent Oceania.

[MightyQuinn]

Thank you for all of your comments. I have searched Cruise Critic and reviewed the most recent comparisons.

 

I must say that I am most impressed by the lack of bias in the responses to this question. It certainly gives me a good impression of the people who frequent Oceania.

I think everything that can be said about Oceania vs Azamara has already been written, so I'm glad you found the previous comparison threads. And I so agree with your observation that the comments on the Oceania forum are quite balanced. It seems to me that posters on the Azamara forum are much more obsessed with making comparisons to Oceania and some seem to delight in writing negatives. It's as if by bringing Oceania down, Azamara wins! The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

 

In some areas, we prefer Oceania over Azamara and in others we prefer Azamara over Oceania. There's no bad choice between them.

[Zouave]

Zouave,

On the Copenhagen to Dublin, which cabin were you in and where was the noise coming from? Thank you.

 

Cabin was 8051 - it has a faulty steam valve in the overhead just outside te cabin door. Made a sound like someone banging on a large kitchen pot all night. We thought it came from the kitchen above on deck nine but later were told engineers checked it out and found a faulty valve. Suffered through this for 12 nights.

[ruthnlarry]

I think everything that can be said about Oceania vs Azamara has already been written, so I'm glad you found the previous comparison threads. And I so agree with your observation that the comments on the Oceania forum are quite balanced. It seems to me that posters on the Azamara forum are much more obsessed with making comparisons to Oceania and some seem to delight in writing negatives. It's as if by bringing Oceania down, Azamara wins! The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

 

In some areas, we prefer Oceania over Azamara and in others we prefer Azamara over Oceania. There's no bad choice between them.

 

Agreed!

 

Since 2009, we have cruised 3X on both Azamara and Oceania. Each of these 6 cruises was excellent and unique in itself. The itineraries, food, and service were great.

 

We will continue to cruise both Azamara and Oceania with itinerary and price being the determining factors. In fact, we have upcoming cruises booked on Azamara's Journey and then on Oceania's Nautica.