In You Opinion, is the Club World Owners Suite worth the experience vs. the price?

[Dr H]

Am I allowed to say I'm jealous? It really does sound amazing, and I simply cannot picture Azamara getting even better than they already are. Excellent detective work, Phil. The only fault I can find with the description of the dinner is that I would have to fast for about 48 hours beforehand. Have a blast!

[Dr H]

Steve, that assumes you even get to the wheel chair - a lot of people don't get that far. That is the grimmest lesson I've taken away from my professional life. We had a very, very dear friend who passed away about 1 year ago. She told me years ago, grab for the gold ring whenever you can. You may miss it occasionally, you will never get it if you never try, and there will come a time when you cannot reach it at all. We cruised transatlantically together (Azamara, of course), and it was of the best trips they had ever made. We were scheduled to go from Lima to Miami in March, 2020 together again. Life got in the way. I figure if the rent is paid, the kids have shoes, do it! Have a wonderful, wonderful time. Life is short.

[DenGNNJ]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

Also again pre Covid automatic invites to bridge, engine room and galley tours.  As you are going in 2023 there’s a great chance all these little specials will be back on then. 

Are Club Ocean suite folks included in all these little specials as well, or just the Owner’s suite folks?

[Riocca]

Just now, DenGNNJ said:

Are Club Ocean suite folks included in all these little specials as well, or just the Owner’s suite folks?

Club Oceans are included, it’s the 10 top suites.

[DenGNNJ]

1 minute ago, Riocca said:

Club Oceans are included, it’s the 10 top suites.

NICE!  It’ll be a great 1st experience when we finally sail w/Azamara.

[ChucktownSteve]

1 hour ago, DenGNNJ said:

Are Club Ocean suite folks included in all these little specials as well, or just the Owner’s suite folks?

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only real difference between Club Ocean and Owner's suites (besides a slight price difference) is the location.

Edited August 20, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[excitedofharpenden]

11 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only real difference between Club Ocean and Owner's suites (besides a slight price difference) is the location.

They are actually smaller. 

 

Phil 

[laurieb]

A bit smaller both inside and outside.  This will be our first time experiencing the club ocean suites; really looking forward to it!  Hoping for good weather to experience sailing out of Seville on the verandah

[uktog]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

If I'm not mistaken, the only real difference between Club Ocean and Owner's suites (besides a slight price difference) is the location.

The dear lady would find a key difference - and it may be personal to how I like to organise my makeup - but the storage and dressing table lighting is far better in the Owners suite than the angular setting in the Ocean suite

[btaylor1200]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

If I'm not mistaken, the only real difference between Club Ocean and Owner's suites (besides a slight price difference) is the location.

Club Ocean suites are equally nice and receive the same perks as Owner’s suites.  They are slightly smaller and have less storage space in them. The price difference is insignificantly small (in my opinion). 

[uktog]

1 minute ago, btaylor1200 said:

Club Ocean suites are equally nice and receive the same perks as Owner’s suites.  They are slightly smaller and have less storage space in them. The price difference is insignificantly small (in my opinion). 

Ocean suites being at the front have amazing views on some itineraries (those with sail ins) but they do bounce a bit and you will certainly be awake each time the anchor goes down (or on late departures up).  That said, we were up front for the Panama Canal and it was amazing as we could also watch the onboard work with the ropes in each lock.  If you are in smooth waters, the bouncing is not an issue, it certainly was great for a trans canal

[ChucktownSteve]

17 minutes ago, btaylor1200 said:

Club Ocean suites are equally nice and receive the same perks as Owner’s suites.  They are slightly smaller and have less storage space in them. The price difference is insignificantly small (in my opinion). 

 

That's what I thought about the price difference.  In our case it's only $40pp/pn which seemed insignificant to get our preferred view.  Plus the apparent larger accommodation with better make-up area. 😁

 

I really appreciate everyone's perspective. It's been most helpful.

Edited August 20, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[marinaro44]

8 minutes ago, uktog said:

Ocean suites being at the front have amazing views on some itineraries (those with sail ins) but they do bounce a bit and you will certainly be awake each time the anchor goes down (or on late departures up).  That said, we were up front for the Panama Canal and it was amazing as we could also watch the onboard work with the ropes in each lock.  If you are in smooth waters, the bouncing is not an issue, it certainly was great for a trans canal

Definitely worth the bouncing to have an Ocean suite transiting the Canal.  We moved from an Owner's to an Ocean and were surprised to find the drawers in the dresser were not as deep.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Can you use the Ocean suite balcony on sea days?  Is the oncoming wind a problem?

[uktog]

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Can you use the Ocean suite balcony on sea days?  Is the oncoming wind a problem?

It is rare for the wind to be coming head on - indeed it can come from behind and be more prevalent in the Owners Suite.  We had no issues with the wind on either the Ocean or the Owners suites, however when we were on a transatlantic (in a Club Continental) we never saw friends from the Ocean suite for several days because of the movement and even when the storm abated, they felt their balcony was too windy

[CynthiaP]

We've stayed in the Owner's Suite in the aft and it was wonderful. We had friends in the Ocean suite which is forward they said it was so windy they couldn't sit on their balcony and it was "bouncy". We were in the Indian Ocean. The Captain's dinner was fabulous! For cruises we have booked in the future (keeping fingers crossed) if we couldn't get an Owner's Suite, we went with the Club Continent Suite and waitlisted for an Owner's Suite.

[excitedofharpenden]

9 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

That's what I thought about the price difference.  In our case it's only $40pp/pn which seemed insignificant to get our preferred view.  Plus the apparent larger accommodation with better make-up area. 😁

 

I really appreciate everyone's perspective. It's been most helpful.

The extra is worth it in my view. I had a CO once on a Mediterranean itinerary and the sea was smooth, but once under sail the balcony was very windy and not useable.  There is a noticeable difference in the size vs the CW in both the balcony (a lot smaller) and the cabin, particularly the bedroom which lacks the dressing area next to the bathroom.  IIRC, the patio door in the bedroom doesn't open as it does in the CW.  The living room has less of a run of cupboards.

 

i was on deck 7.  The bedroom is set up differently on deck 6 with the bed on a different wall to accommodate the adjoining door to the cabin next to it.  I was asked to draw the curtains after dark and not use the balcony lights as the cabin is directly below the bridge.

 

Finally, I was on a transatlantic in a CW and had friends right down the other end of the corridor in a CO.  I was fine where I was.  My friends comment about the CO was it was "brutal". Definitely a consideration on certain itineraries 

 

Phil

[ChucktownSteve]

3 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The extra is worth it in my view. I had a CO once on a Mediterranean itinerary and the sea was smooth, but once under sail the balcony was very windy and not useable.  There is a noticeable difference in the size vs the CW in both the balcony (a lot smaller) and the cabin, particularly the bedroom which lacks the dressing area next to the bathroom.  IIRC, the patio door in the bedroom doesn't open as it does in the CW.  The living room has less of a run of cupboards.

 

i was on deck 7.  The bedroom is set up differently on deck 6 with the bed on a different wall to accommodate the adjoining door to the cabin next to it.  I was asked to draw the curtains after dark and not use the balcony lights as the cabin is directly below the bridge.

 

Finally, I was on a transatlantic in a CW and had friends right down the other end of the corridor in a CO.  I was fine where I was.  My friends comment about the CO was it was "brutal". Definitely a consideration on certain itineraries 

 

Phil

 

Thanks Phil,  Sounds like I definitely made the correct choice this time. 

[ChucktownSteve]

For grins I checked the sizes between the two cats:

Ocean Suite

Stateroom Area:478 sq. ft. (44.5 sq m)

Veranda Area:173 sq. ft. (16.1 sq m)

 

World Owner's Suite

Stateroom Area:603 sq. ft. (56.1 sq m)

Veranda Area:233 sq. ft. (21.7 sq m)

 

I hadn't realized the large difference until y'all pointed it out. Wow, thankx. Makes me feel even better about the booking.

Steve

[ChucktownSteve]

9 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Thanks Phil,  Sounds like I definitely made the correct choice this time. 

 

Being the anal analytical I am, I just compared my booked Azamara to a similar Regent Greek Isles cruise since I have other Regent cruises on the books.  Boy was my decision on this itinerary the really correct choice which makes me feel great.

 

Regent is 10 night vs. AZ at 11 night.  Both exclude air. The Regent cabin is the third lowest suite vs. the top suite. The Az suite has a butler. The Regent suite doesn't.  Both ships are within 8 passenger capacity; so equal.

 

The Azamara suite is 297 SF larger, the balcony is 183 SF larger. The Regent price is $93 PP/PN more. The AZ suite is aft facing, the Regent suite is facing port or starboard. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[Host Jazzbeau]

24 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

Being the anal analytical I am, I just compared my booked Azamara to a similar Regent Greek Isles cruise since I have other Regent cruises on the books.  Boy was my decision on this itinerary the really correct choice which makes me feel great.

This fits my experience comparative-pricing Regent against other brands: they always cost much more.  Even Silversea with its new included-excursions policy (and higher prices) was less expensive than Regent.

[takemewithyou]

@ChucktownStevei am so envious….unless I win the lottery I won’t be in that suite!  Years ago, Azamara used to offer the suite up as a BINGO prize, if not sold at sailing time,  I did get to tour the suite before playing to win it.  It is stunning!  Hope you will do a full review for us!  Enjoy.

[ChucktownSteve]

25 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

This fits my experience comparative-pricing Regent against other brands: they always cost much more.  Even Silversea with its new included-excursions policy (and higher prices) was less expensive than Regent.

 

I actually got better pp/pn pricing on Regent when I booked my cruises during a two cat upgrade promotion the end of last year when nobody was booking yet.

 

Got a Panama Canal Concierge suite for $603pp/pn, an Alaska Penthouse suite for $783pp/pn and an east coast/Canada Concierge for $493pp/pn. All included air, transfers and a pre-cruise hotel night. So I got great deals.  That's the only reason why I booked them at the time.

 

My new Azamara cruise is at $755pp/pn without air, transfers or hotel night.  But it's still a very good value because of all the cruise line fare increases.

Edited August 21, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[mwf7501]

Does anyone know yet if the Onward stateroom layouts will be identical to the existing AZ ships?   In particular I am wondering if the comments in this thread about CWs on deck 6-vs-7-vs-8 will also apply to Onward.

 

I've never cruised AZ, but my sense is that the interior and exterior footprints of CWs across the three existing ships are identical, although some features may vary (eg the bathroom layout on Pursuit CWs seems better).  I guess I'm questioning if the R-ships were truly identical when built, or if the AZ refit of Onward will make the question moot.

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts.  

Edited August 23, 2021 by mwf7501

[excitedofharpenden]

30 minutes ago, mwf7501 said:

Does anyone know yet if the Onward stateroom layouts will be identical to the existing AZ ships?   In particular I am wondering if the comments in this thread about CWs on deck 6-vs-7-vs-8 will also apply to Onward.

 

I've never cruised AZ, but my sense is that the interior and exterior footprints of CWs across the three existing ships are identical, although some features may vary (eg the bathroom layout on Pursuit CWs seems better).  I guess I'm questioning if the R-ships were truly identical when built, or if the AZ refit of Onward will make the question moot.

 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts.  

The balconies will be the same regardless. There are some subtle differences in Journey and Quest vs Pursuit as you say which had some changes in the soft furnishings, but particularly removal of a tub in the bathroom, being replaced with a larger shower stall. I suspect these changes will be carried through on Onward. Or maybe they'll have a couple more tweaks?  But they can't change the footprint. 

 

Phil