Princess R-Class Ships vs Azamara

[TerryAndDoug]

I'm curious if any Azamara cruisers have been on either of the Princess R-Class ships before? If so, would you sail on them again? Since we love the size of Azamara ships, I wonder if we should consider these ships if the itinerary is appealing.

 

Thanks,

Doug

[Glenndale]

I've never sailed on them but one big difference is that the dining isn't open seating.

[Bloodaxe]

I'm curious if any Azamara cruisers have been on either of the Princess R-Class ships before? If so, would you sail on them again? Since we love the size of Azamara ships, I wonder if we should consider these ships if the itinerary is appealing.

 

Thanks,

Doug

 

After todays news from Azamara a good number of Azamara regulars will probably be considering other R class ships

[geocruiser]

I have sailed Tahitian Princess to Alaska a few years back. The name of the ship has now changed I think to Ocean Princess. It was a great cruise. The ships were just about the same. I would choose a Princess small ship in a heart beat (if I liked where they were going). The food was great on Princess and so was the crew/staff. The cost of Princess is much, much less than Azamara.

[DougYWG]

We did Pacific Princess from Beijing to Bangkok. It was a memorable cruise and we would have no hestitation in doing Princess R ships again.

[brucedodge]

Hi Doug,

 

We've sailed three times on Princess R-ships, and three times on Azamara.

 

FWIW, here are some differences and opinions:

 

We think AZ did a better conversion/upgrade to their ships than did Princess, but the R-ships were nicely done to start with.

 

As has been pointed out, Princess has two seatings instead of open dining. AND Princess maintains formal nights as well.

 

IMO the food on the Princess R-ships is better than on their larger ships, but of course it's normally great on AZ.

 

Princess singers/dancers try to maintain the typical production type shows found on their bigger ships, but with a smaller cast, as opposed to the more cabaret type shows on AZ.

 

For ballroom dancers, Princess kept the nice wooden dance floor in the upstairs lounge, while AZ converted it into a smaller, hard surface, disco type floor. :mad:

 

The AZ itineraries are invariably very good (thanks, Claudius!), but Princess sometimes has some good ones.

 

In general it looks as though AZ is moving more to compete with Oceania, and so there is likely to be even more of a price differential between AZ and Princess.

 

The crew and staff on AZ are top notch, but the smaller R-ships have a more personal flavor than their larger ships.

 

We would, and do, sail both.

 

Remember, much of this is just opinion.

 

Bruce

[ddcruiser]

Our one trip on Princess was quite disappointing. Smoking policy was bothersome then and the food was not good ever, except for a club sandwich in our room. ddcruiser

[TerryAndDoug]

Thanks for sharing your opinions. We hope Azamara pricing will improve by the time we are ready to book for 2014, but it sounds like we could also look at Princess R ships as an alternative.

 

Doug

[shoshona2]

Hi ddcruiser,

 

My friends took one of the Princess-R ships last year and said because of the smoking policy and awful food they would never take it again.

 

Sheila

[LindaM]

We just got off Ocean Princess. We liked the ship, but I don't think Princess spent the $$ to update her properly. She reminded me of a mini Norway---just a bit tired. The dining room was the least elegant of any ship we've ever sailed on, but the food was consistently wonderful in all venues. They use plastic furniture on the rear of deck 9!! We sail on HAL Prinsendam, which is old---but more elegant. I was disappointed. We are thinking about Azamara because of their new all inclusive policy, which we love on Regent---without included shore excursions.

 

In the end, you get what you pay for!

[greeneg]

In all fairness to Princess ( which we have never sailed because of their permissive smoking policy ), I understand that they have now become more like the RCCL lines and put some pretty stringent restrictions on where you can smoke and where you can't.

[Christine Frances]

In all fairness to Princess ( which we have never sailed because of their permissive smoking policy ), I understand that they have now become more like the RCCL lines and put some pretty stringent restrictions on where you can smoke and where you can't.

 

I think they stopped smoking in cabins and balcony's but there is still smoking inside the ship ie the casino etc

[KENANDPAT]

No smoking now everywhere except Casino indoors. Some of the larger ships have Cigar bars fully enclosed. There is smoking outdoors on only one side of the ship. No smoking in staterooms or balconies.

[Christine Frances]

Not only would I not be able to use the casino:( but the smoke has not yet learned to "stay" in the casino:)

[laurieb]

We've cruised the Tahitian Princess 3 times and just returned from our first cruise on the Journey. Love the R class ships. Princess was fine, but as others have stated they maintain the formal nights and the fixed seating for dinner. And they nickel and dime you. Absolutely loved our Azamara cruise, no nickel and diming at all. Entertainment was top notch as was the entire staff. We really felt like family, and never felt that way with Princess. We cannot wait to cruise with Azamara again!! Excellent value all around

[commencemilo]

I have sailed on the R ship with Princess, Oceania and Azamura and I do not think that the Princess compared to the other 2 lines. The rooms had the exact same set up but I think thats where it ended. I agree with the post above on the comparison of O and A. We went to the specialty restaurant on Princess and thought it was quite fair so we cancelled our other reservation. I find that having anytime seating is so much more relaxing than fixed. Sometimes you come back from a shore excursion late and don't want to rush to your fixed seating. I also enjoy having a table for 2 and then when I meet people on the cruise - expanding to larger groups, rather than be placed at a large table and deal with it for the entire cruise.

 

We have been on the Oceania Marina as well and enjoyed all the specialy restaurants. We were able to make 1 reservation in each restaurant before we boarded and then as the nights went on we got more reservations. I think we ate in them about 8 times on a 14 night cruise.