Azamara vs Crystal-Newbie Asia 2019

Hello,

I am not new to cruising, but never sailed Azamara or Crystal. In looking at 2019 itineraries to Asia, these lines have very similar itineraries that are right in line with what we're looking for.

Has anybody sailed both lines? Azamara is a god bit cheaper, but price isn't the only factor. We don't mind paying more if the experience is there.

I'm not even sure what specifics to ask. Help me please :)

I've never sailed on Crystal, but we love Azamara - one of the things that singles Azamara out is the friendliness of the crew, including/ especially the senior officers, and the passengers.

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I have sailed both. They are similar in many ways, but in any head to head comparison Crystal will come out on top. Food on Azamara is very good -- on Crystal it is spectacular. Cabins on Azamara are small and the bathrooms are quite cramped -- Crystal's cabins are larger than Azamara and even the cheapest category (C3 oceanview) was quite acceptable. Entertainment on Crystal is at least as good [although neither has production shows like Celebrity or the mass-market lines]. Crystal's ships are slightly larger than Azamara, but still small enough to visit unusual ports. Azamara's new country-intensive itineraries are especially interesting, but Crystal also has many unusual and interesting itineraries to choose from. I would choose between them solely on itinerary.

I have sailed with both. Crystal has also premiun drinks included such as champagne and not just sparkling wine. Crystal has better enhancement lectures and a better library which also includes dvds. The cabins on Crystal are larger and have also dvd players. Food in Crystal is very good and it is likely to get fresh fish from ports. In the evenings however, besides room service and a small place with tapas type of offerings, if you do not want to eat at the specialty restaurants, your only option is the MDR. No buffet restaurant in the evenings.

In Azamara we enjoy the friendliness of the crew and officers, the azamazing evenings, the maintenance of the ships, the possibility to choose among the MDR and the buffet restaurant in the evenings. I also found passengers on Azamara somehow friendlier als in Crystal.

It is difficult to decide between both of them, but if the price and the itinerary were the same, although the issue with the champagne is inviting, I would probably choose Azamara.

We have sailed with both. We sailed with other couples on both so we did not try to socialize to much with other couples. I would choose Crystal for food, room size, speakers. I would choose Azamara for White Night and fun visible management staff.

We found both friendly and non friendly staff on both lines. The Crystal ambiance was a bit more formal. I would not do select dining unless they have improved it since we were there.

I would choose the line for the itinerary. We did China with Crystal and it was a class act. We did the Carribean with Azamara and it was fun.

We have sailed both, and I agree with the three previous posters. I would also add that the dancing opportunities on Crystal are far superior to Azamara.

Bruce

We have sailed both, twice on Crystal and 4 times on AZ. The enrichment program on Crystal is probably the best on the sea. Food quality on Crystal in the MDR is better. I do like the specialty restaurants on AZ. Crystal's beverage service is slightly more inclusive than AZ's. But for us, the big difference was the passengers. AZ's passengers are super-friendly, younger, more lively, ready to meet everyone. We found the Crystal passenger group to be extraordinarily unfriendly, so much so that I doubt we will take Crystal again, even though the cruise line's product is very, very good.

I will extend my earlier remarks to second the additional points made by the more recent posters. Crystal has male and female dance host(esse)s to help single passengers [or those like my DW who are unfortunately saddled with a non-dancing partner!]. They also have a terrific enrichment program [although I can't complain about what Azamara offered on our Norwegian Fjords cruise -- definitely equal to our Crystal cruise]. Azamara passengers were very friendly [but we haven't had a real problem on any ship]. And Azamara's officer-visibility is in fact a tremendous strength that you can't understand until you actually experience it.

Thanks so much all of you - this is very helpful to my husband and I as well. We are considering an itinerary that is very similar and wondering which one to choose. I like the idea of the relative informality of Azamera vs. Crystal and, as long as it's not a long voyage, perhaps the smaller cabins aren't as much of a concern.

Are Crystal's ships small enough to sail upriver to the heart of Bangkok & HCMC (if those cities are on your itinerary)? That would be an issue heavily weighted in Azamara's favor from my point of view.....

I agree. I'm pretty sure Crystal uses the normal ports in Asia whereas Azamara gets to use the smaller, closer in ports. This would definitely be a deciding factor to me. Having to take a bus for 2 hours or so to get to the main port would definitely be a turn off for us

Am I mistaken or did you ask this also in the Crystal forum?

I have sailed both and loved both. Crystal is a bit more polished with service and the food was a bit better but my cabin on Journey seemed larger than the one on Crystal (balcony cabin). I loved the fact that casual, al fresco dining was available every night on Journey. I loved the dinner buffets and I am NOT a buffet person, so, that says a lot. Enrichment is better on Crystal but the CD was better on Journey (Eric DeGray). LIbrary better on Crystal and they have DVD players and a DVD library but IIRC Journey had more satellite channels. Pools about equal. There is not a full promenade deck on Journey/Quest but you can walk around on the deck above the pool. I love the promenade deck on Crystal.

Entertainment (nightly shows) equal and Trivia better on Azamara. Loved the smoothie bar on Journey.

It would come down to itinerary and price when I compared them but you can't go wrong with either.

Am I mistaken or did you ask this also in the Crystal forum?

 

 

 

I have sailed both and loved both. Crystal is a bit more polished with service and the food was a bit better but my cabin on Journey seemed larger than the one on Crystal (balcony cabin). I loved the fact that casual, al fresco dining was available every night on Journey. I loved the dinner buffets and I am NOT a buffet person, so, that says a lot. Enrichment is better on Crystal but the CD was better on Journey (Eric DeGray). LIbrary better on Crystal and they have DVD players and a DVD library but IIRC Journey had more satellite channels. Pools about equal. There is not a full promenade deck on Journey/Quest but you can walk around on the deck above the pool. I love the promenade deck on Crystal.

 

Entertainment (nightly shows) equal and Trivia better on Azamara. Loved the smoothie bar on Journey.

 

 

 

It would come down to itinerary and price when I compared them but you can't go wrong with either.

Yes, I did. I was thinking I might get different perspectives depending on the board folks were on. Lots of people have sailed both lines which is great to hear all the comparisons.

The itineraries were nearly identical-is really have to dig for the differences. The prices are very similar, though for the same money we could get a larger cabin on Azamara.

It is a very difficult decision!

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I find the cost of Azamara excursions higher than Crystal. Crystal agents provide large OBCs as well if you have AMEX Plat you get $500 OBC . This literally pays for the bulk of the excursions.

The wines and spirits are better on Crystal as also the food.

We travelled in the Far East on Crystal and were very happy with their arrangements.