How does the recent Azamara compare to Celebrity?

[cachouonacruise]

Hello, 

 

Without being a very experienced cruiser, my DW and believed having found our line of Choice in Celebrity.

 

This said, our TA, knowing our tastes and cruise experiences, seems to believe that Azamara could be a good fit for us.

 

I am not yet quite sold on the idea. I am not sure that the enhanced experience on Azamara is justifying the added cost and I am concerned about the relative small size of the ships.
 

On that note, I understand that smaller ships have access to different port of calls, which would be a plus; however, it likely also involves a reduced amount of venues, activities, options etc. which is a concern. ( P.s. Our cruising experience ranges from the smaller HAL Maasdam to the larger Celebrity Solstice. We don't feel the need to go on the largest ships either)

 

Can you convince me to make the jump from Celebrity to Azamara? 

[travelberlin]

41 minutes ago, cachouonacruise said:

Hello, 

 

Without being a very experienced cruiser, my DW and believed having found our line of Choice in Celebrity.

 

This said, our TA, knowing our tastes and cruise experiences, seems to believe that Azamara could be a good fit for us.

 

I am not yet quite sold on the idea. I am not sure that the enhanced experience on Azamara is justifying the added cost and I am concerned about the relative small size of the ships.
 

On that note, I understand that smaller ships have access to different port of calls, which would be a plus; however, it likely also involves a reduced amount of venues, activities, options etc. which is a concern. ( P.s. Our cruising experience ranges from the smaller HAL Maasdam to the larger Celebrity Solstice. We don't feel the need to go on the largest ships either)

 

Can you convince me to make the jump from Celebrity to Azamara? 

Good question. I have not been on Azamara since COVID started and they changed owners. I am also interested to know the answers to this question.

Is Azamara offering at least the same quality than before?

Ivi

[marinaro44]

Suggest you read the "Anybody on board currently" thread above and the "Azamara or Celebrity" thread on page 2.

[cachouonacruise]

37 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Suggest you read the "Anybody on board currently" thread above and the "Azamara or Celebrity" thread on page 2.

Thank-you for your suggestion. I had looked for such a thread, and, I had missed it. 
 

Interesting read. Thanks.

[airhose]

We really like Celebrity,  we love Azamara!   That said, we have never booked the suites (with their elevated experience, on both lines).  We're active seniors (average age late 60s), and generally aren't participating in events during the day.  We really enjoyed our recent Azamara cruise (excellent food, service, entertainment).  

[GlobalMethod]

Your question requires a personal answer ... towards you and your interests. Not knowing you better makes this difficult.

 

We also have done some Celebrity and we have enjoyed some of the things about them that you mention. Overall, it depends on the person(s). We usually miss the quality entertainment we can get on a larger Celebrity ship when on Azamara.

 

With that said, recently (December) we did b2b with Azamara and we were just blown away by the quality entertainment experience. (also our personal choices) We just booked another b2b with Azamara for April/May with that last positive Azamara experience still resonating with us.

 

Hope you can find what works best for you! ... 🙂 ...

[bobmcm]

Having been a loyal Royal Caribbean then Celebrity cruiser and at Elite level, we found Celebrity moving away from quality dining and going to larger more impersonal ships... and then tried Azamara. This was the line for us.... after many cruises, we appreciated the excellent dining, interesting itineraries, amazing personal service onboard and intimate quality entertainment. We have never even thought about going back to Celebrity.

[cachouonacruise]

5 hours ago, GlobalMethod said:

Your question requires a personal answer ... towards you and your interests. Not knowing you better makes this difficult.

In answer to your question, when we were younger, we sailed RCCL twice and loved it. Since 2014, we sailed HAL twice and  X three times.

 

Although we did enjoyed HAL, the transition from the 1999 RCCL to the 2014 HAL was a bit much. Loved the food and service, but were a bit underwhelmed or ill prepared regarding their activity program.

 

Being a bit older now, Celebrity has offered us a nice mix of good service and activities. As mentioned above, my TA has recommended we try Azamara. Since I like to explore new horizons, I would be willing to give it a go. But.... I am a bit concerned, because of the price difference. 
 

Of note, we're not suite passengers. We normally book a veranda type of room.

 

So, I was looking on this Azamara board, to find out what makes people excited about Azamara. Why do they justify the added cost to book that specific cruise line? Without having that specific item of excitement, I will not be able to justify the cost to myself, much less to my wife.

 

The small ship access to different ports was an interesting element. But so far, I read on this board, that I have to expect a smaller cabin, a shower with a curtain instead of a door, and, I am not too sure about entertainment, but it may includes lectures from various experts. As far as included cruise elements, I did not see on Azamara anything else that is not also included on X.

 

The smaller ship with fewer people aboard, is an interesting component, but I am not sure how this translate into enhancing every day life aboard?
 

So, what I was hoping for, on this thread, was to learn more about what motivates Azamara loyal customers to book this cruise line versus another. What is it that is really unique and exciting about Azamara? 

.

 

 

 

 

[cachouonacruise]

12 minutes ago, bobmcm said:

, we appreciated the excellent dining, interesting itineraries, amazing personal service onboard and intimate quality entertainment.

We are already pleased with the service and food aboard X, as well as with the entertainment.  So, can you provide examples or more details about what makes the food, service or entertainment better on Azamara? 

[takemewithyou]

17 minutes ago, cachouonacruise said:

We are already pleased with the service and food aboard X, as well as with the entertainment.  So, can you provide examples or more details about what makes the food, service or entertainment better on Azamara? 

We still go back and forth and sail both Celebrity (X) and Azamara.

They are different products.  

Azamara isn’t going to be as busy and glitzy as X….no loud martini bar, for example,  No dance parties in the atrium, like on S Class.  It is an understated elegance with well travelled friendly open people.  It is a bit easier to connect with people and make friends on Azamara because it is a smaller ship and you will run into people.  

 

I do think the service is quite a bit better on Azamara than on Celebrity and more personal.  Being a smaller ship, the staff and servers get to know you and your preferences.  
 

We enjoy Azamara for the smaller ports that it can take us to, especially in Europe.  It can be a big time saver docking right in the cities we want to visit, rather than long bus trips to get to the city you want to see because your ship was so large it couldn’t dock there!  That is important in Europe and other countries you may go to.

 

We also really enjoy the things Azamara does that Celebrity just doesn’t have….the Azamara Destination Evening, which before Covid was in a local venue with special entertainment and destination specific food and drinks.  Our last one was post Covid in St. Maarten, and due to Covid, it was a party on open deck with local performers.  Eventually, it hopefully can go back to being the typical Azamazing Evening onshore.  The other great experience is the White Night Party, also with special food and entertainment on the open decks.  You won’t find this on Celebrity! 
 

Those are some of my answers, coming from someone who sails both lines.  When we sail on X, we really like Aqua Class.  But we are not big on the S Class ships.  we prefer the M class and will never sail on the Edge class.

Edited March 19, 2022 by takemewithyou

[cachouonacruise]

Thank-you very much Takemewithyou, for your detailed answer. It really helps me better understand Azamara. 

[takemewithyou]

1 minute ago, cachouonacruise said:

Thank-you very much Takemewithyou, for your detailed answer. It really helps me better understand Azamara. 

You are very welcome!  We have done cruises on Azamara to both Mediterranean and New Zealand.  Both of those were unique experiences!  Some of our best cruising memories.  
 

Where would you like to cruise to?  Maybe your TA is suggesting Azamara because of a specific destination you were asking about?   Maybe she thought you would like the ambiance?  A little more info might help us answer your specific questions.

 

oh, and by the way…..I like the entertainment a LOT on Azamara!  I reported on it in Dec on my Quest cruise in Dec if you go back to the Anybody Currently Onboard sticker on the top of the page.  I think I prefer it to Celebrity’s big shows.  And I miss the acapella group they used to have on Celebrity…very disappointed they were phased out.

 

[takemewithyou]

You have to go back to page 6 to start reading my comments on that cruise. Anybody Onboard Currently

[Host Jazzbeau]

Azamara does have entertainment and not just lecturers.  Because the ships are smaller there are fewer singers and dancers and a smaller band in the main theater, but they are very talented.  Unlike Celebrity they still base the shows around songs we know from the late 20th century and themes that remind you of Broadway shows and movies of that era (as opposed to Celebrity's new Edgy entertainment).  They also have guest entertainers.

 

A part of the justification for the cost increase is that the food in the Azamara main dining room is at the level of Celebrity's Retreat restaurant Luminae, not their main dining room.  And alcohol and gratuities are included in the fare for all cabin levels.  [And some of it has to be chalked up to the dis-economy of scale inherent in a smaller ship.]

[takemewithyou]

I was just thinking…there’s other things that happen on Azamara, especially now that they are separate from Royal Caribbean and owned by Sycamore,that allows the Captains some discretion. It’s things like being able to make the decision to stay later in a port due to rough seas to allow the White Night Party to be held in a stable environment, or just to stay later so that we could enjoy dinner time  without rough seas, or to stay later in port to see fireworks in the port, etc.  

There are usually some special surprises that you will never see done on Celebrity……There is one Captain who is from Norway and while there,  he stops to pick up fresh strawberries onshore.  We were in Koper and we had a delivery of fresh fish which was grilled out on the deck by the officers.  These are all special touches that Azamara does that make it special.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

There are usually some special surprises that you will never see done on Celebrity……There is one Captain who is from Norway and while there,  he stops to pick up fresh strawberries onshore.  We were in Koper and we had a delivery of fresh fish which was grilled out on the deck by the officers.  These are all special touches that Azamara does that make it special.

That Captain has shared his farmer friend's contact info, so now all the Azamara ships stop there for fresh berries [raspberries too in season!].  And I have seen the crew sent on in lifeboats to fish – and seen their fresh catch on the menu that night.  Also the chef can go into the port and shop for fresh provisions – all part of what makes Azamara food so much better than Celebrity.

[curmudgeon98]

People like different lines for a variety of reasons.  We started doing some cruising five years ago when we took early retirement.  Celebrity was the first cruise line we took, and we were pretty satisfied with it (Millenium), but I'm not so sure about the new larger ships.  Standing in line is not something we like to put up with.  Since then we've done NCL, HAL, Azamara, Oceania, and Princess. 

 

We tend to pick a cruise to fit our schedule and other plans, rather than making the cruise the center of a trip, so we aren't dedicated to one cruise line, but Azamara is the one we look to first, for reasons combining size, ambiance, service, fellow passengers, food.  We'll put up with the little showers for that.    

[Grandma Cruising]

For me there is just something very special about Azamara. The fact that it’s so small that you make friends easily, that crew get to know you and your preferences very quickly, that senior officers are out and about and very happy to stop and have a chat with you, that you rarely have to queue to get off the ship and never to get back on, that when you come back aboard the crew say ‘welcome home’ and it does feel like home!

The food in the main dining room is great, you can walk up anytime and get a table pretty quickly - no having to book, or sit at the same table, same time every day. We also love the Patio - on the pool deck - at lunchtime for their great burgers, kebabs, chilli etc at lunchtime and you can have dinner there too ( when the ship is full - it may not always be open at night at present with half full ships due to COVID).

There are shows every night - a mix of the ships entertainers and other entertainers who are aboard for a couple of weeks - singers, musician DPD, comedians, magicians. On one cruise the magician not only did shows in the cabaret lounge, but also went into the Living Room (think Observation Lounge) and did tricks at small groups of tables. There is piano music in the Den every night, and a band that performs around the ship in different venues at different times, often including a performance on the pool deck.

[NC&KY]

It sounds like you've never taken a cruise on a small ship, whether it be Azamara, Oceania, or any other line. Not having to deal with the lines for tenders, dinner, coffee, elevators, and everything else is a cosmic difference. Once we moved to a smaller ship, we would never go back. We did make an exception when we sailed around the tip of South America on a big, but not huge, Princess ship because we were worried about the rough seas, and we've regretted it ever since. And we too do not typically opt for a suite; our go-to accommodation is a verandah, which is quite comfortable for us.

[cachouonacruise]

In answer to NC&KY's comment regarding small ship, as mentioned above, our smallest ship experience was the Maasdam with a 1258 passenger capacity. For some reasons, that specific ship and cruise...did not quite hit the mark for us; therefore, my hesitancy to try an even smaller ship and Azamara.

 

This said, I would really like to thank all of you for taking the time to share your passion and your enjoyment about the small ship experience and Azamara. You brought up very interesting points! 

 

I will definitely include Azamara in our consideration for our upcoming cruise projects. Of course, timing, itinerary and cost will also be considered. But, I would really love the opportunity to try this experience, now on my bucket list! 
 

Thank you all! 
 

 

[Killin Time]

I echo all the previous comments. We prefer Azamara but we also enjoy the smaller Celebrity ships.

I think I would say that your travel agent is making an informed recommendation to you. After a while good travel agents get a sense of what their clients would enjoy. For example last fall our travel agent recommended a Crystal cruise to us. We decided to take her advice and really enjoyed traveling on the now defunct Crystal. 
Your travel agent wouldn’t recommend something unless he or she thought it would be a good fit. I think it’s worth taking a chance to discover a new favorite. 

Edited March 20, 2022 by Killin Time
Spelling

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, cachouonacruise said:

In answer to NC&KY's comment regarding small ship, as mentioned above, our smallest ship experience was the Maasdam with a 1258 passenger capacity. For some reasons, that specific ship and cruise...did not quite hit the mark for us; therefore, my hesitancy to try an even smaller ship and Azamara.

 

This said, I would really like to thank all of you for taking the time to share your passion and your enjoyment about the small ship experience and Azamara. You brought up very interesting points! 

 

I will definitely include Azamara in our consideration for our upcoming cruise projects. Of course, timing, itinerary and cost will also be considered. But, I would really love the opportunity to try this experience, now on my bucket list! 
 

Thank you all! 
 

 

Before Azamara we had cruised on HAL - believe me there is no comparison. Having been on Azamara I wouldn’t set foot on HAL again.

[mdpa]

I’ve never sailed on Azamara, but have done Silversea, Celebrity, and Oceania.

 

I agree with what everyone said about small ships and want to add two other points.

 

- Small ships get you into more interesting ports but can also get you much closer to the action. We made the compromise for an Asia cruise using Celebrity because the price difference was substantial. However, that is not always the case. Our upcoming Spain intensive cruise will take us up river in Seville overnight. Can’t be replicated on anything larger.

- The 2nd point is philosophy, Azamara, Silversea, and Oceania aren’t as focused on making money by keeping you trapped on the ship. Since more things are included, they share our interest in spending more fuel to get us to the next destination faster so we can actually visit interesting places for much longer. On big ships, they are the destination, on small ships they focus on taking you to interesting places.

 

So as others have mentioned, the itinerary will dictate the advantages. Not just “where”, but “how long”.

[GlobalMethod]

On 3/20/2022 at 9:59 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

For me there is just something very special about Azamara. The fact that it’s so small that you make friends easily, that crew get to know you and your preferences very quickly, that senior officers are out and about and very happy to stop and have a chat with you, that you rarely have to queue to get off the ship and never to get back on, that when you come back aboard the crew say ‘welcome home’ and it does feel like home!

The food in the main dining room is great, you can walk up anytime and get a table pretty quickly - no having to book, or sit at the same table, same time every day. We also love the Patio - on the pool deck - at lunchtime for their great burgers, kebabs, chilli etc at lunchtime and you can have dinner there too ( when the ship is full - it may not always be open at night at present with half full ships due to COVID).

There are shows every night - a mix of the ships entertainers and other entertainers who are aboard for a couple of weeks - singers, musician DPD, comedians, magicians. On one cruise the magician not only did shows in the cabaret lounge, but also went into the Living Room (think Observation Lounge) and did tricks at small groups of tables. There is piano music in the Den every night, and a band that performs around the ship in different venues at different times, often including a performance on the pool deck.

Your brief comment on the crew really hit home for us. They get to know you and will remember your name.

 

I realize we have cruised Azamara more than most but their crew's on the ships may rotate, as all cruise ship crews do, but we know many, many crew return back to Azamara. They know us by name, and we have gotten to know them.

 

On our last cruise in December we rekindled a long cherished acquaintance with a crew member from 10 years back! ... 🙂 ...

[travelberlin]

On 3/19/2022 at 8:56 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

 

A part of the justification for the cost increase is that the food in the Azamara main dining room is at the level of Celebrity's Retreat restaurant Luminae, not their main dining room.  And alcohol and gratuities are included in the fare for all cabin levels.  [And some of it has to be chalked up to the dis-economy of scale inherent in a smaller ship.]

Has the food in the Azamara main dining room improved really? Gratuities and alcohol (not premium alcohol) was already included before new owners. I have noticed the price increase since then. What is better now?

Ivi