Oceania's R2 vs. Azamara's R6 Comparison?

We have booked our first two R Class ships for upcoming cruises. R2; Oceania's Regatta and R6; the Azamara Journey.

I was wondering if anyone has sailed these two vessels and can give me their opinions on the difference/similarities that we can look forward to.

I don't want to include the itineraries in the discussion because one is cruising the Baltics while the other will be Alaska. That would be apples to oranges. (Orange you glad I didn't say bananas?) :D

(I also posted this on the Oceania board to see if there were different opinions based on their fans.)

We have been on both.

Physically, they are basically the same ship except maybe the suites layout on Deck 8 or 9.

It is the soft offerings and/or branding that makes them different, and this would generally apply to whichever O R-ship or Az ship you sail in (although there has been some talk in the past that the Az Quest is somehow better than the Az Journey and that O's Sirena is experiencing growing pains), so it's more a question of what's the difference between the Oceania experience and the Azamara experience (vs. a ship-by-ship comparison) and there are a lot of threads on this.

I think in general there are more organized things to do on the ship on Az than on O. O does have daily tea in the Horizons Lounge with accompanying string quartet which I count as an organized in-ship event. Az just has tea offerings in the Terrace Cafe which wasn't much and there is the occasional (there was one on our 11-night cruise) "special" afternoon tea in Aqualina. It was nice enough but felt really cramped, and I don't recall if there was a string quartet but I don't think so.

IMO food is better on O, although you have to pay for alcoholic beverages (you can opt into a beverage package but you're still paying) while Az includes an acceptable selection in the fare. Az used to have an advantage with Mosaic Cafe (24/7 coffee/tea and snacks) on Deck 5 but perhaps it's just me but it's become lacklustre as of late. O revved up its game with a grill in the Terrace Cafe (dinner buffet) where you can have lobster tails and steak any night. O is very good for having the MDR open for lunch even on port days while I think on Az it is the exception to have the MDR open on port days.

IMO Az has better port times (longer later stays). It used to be that O's excursion prices were ridiculous and Az's were reasonable. Now O's prices are still ridiculous but Az's are now on the expensive side, so that difference is sadly narrowing in a bad way (for passengers), but Az does usually have the free Azamazing evening which is usually a good time. If you have tenders on your cruise, O used to be pretty feeble with their tendering operations/frequency but it's approaching Az's level which we feel has always been great.

TYVM for an excellent comparison. Sounds like we'll have a good time on both. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. But a day at sea is better than a day at home. :D

Az will be 12 nights to the Baltics while O will be 10 nights to Alaska.

I'm not sure when Shopper was last on Azamara, but there have been a few changes this year since the ships were refurbished. They have made more out of the the Living Room which used to be called Looking Glass. It's a very nice space. I've had afternoon tea in there before. They serve tapas in the evenings too. The Pool Grill now serves food of an evening from a separate menu, sit down style. Try it. Very good.

The Baltic is fun, especially if Journey can dock right up by the Blagoveshchenskiy Bridge in St Petersburg, near the Hermitage. Stay up and watch the bridge open from the ship:cool:

We have sailed both lines though we were on O's Marina, so I can't compare ships. But I do agree with Shopper about the experiences. We'd sail on either line in a heart beat. The longer we sail we realize we enjoy a cruise line that "doesn't get in the way" of what we came to see. We enjoy the smaller ships, good food, relaxed atmosphere which we think both lines deliver. Of course regardless of any line, large or small, we've never been on a bad cruise! (Though there was that cruise to Mexico with a bajillion little kids on it. Like kids, but mercy....)

I've hesitated to reply to this thread, since I have not been on Oceania's R ships, just 2 weeks on Riviera. But since the thread has broadened I will add my 2 cents (although Canada abolished pennies a few years ago).

I found Azamara to be much more social than Oceania. On Oceania, the bars are super-crowded during the happy hour (which is just one hour) and often deserted at other times. Riviera has some of the most beautiful lounges I have ever seen on any ship, and in the evenings with first-rate musicians playing they were almost empty. Not so with Azamara: people are out and about all over the ship all the time.

I don't think the difference is because Oceania passengers are not nice folks compared to Azamara. We've met lovely people on every ship we've ever been on, including Riviera.

The difference is probably in part due to the fact that O charges for drinks in the bars and lounges, and Azamara includes mainstream brands. So people tend to stay in their cabins on O, but not on A.

The social ambience is certainly helped by the extras like White Nights on A, the approach-ability of the officers, etc.

The social ambience is important enough to me that unless the itinerary and price are really special I am unlikely to sail with Oceania again, but definitely have added Azamara to the lines I follow. Your preferences may be different and your mileage may vary.

The other thing to remember about Oceania is that it has, imo, the worst habit of canceling ports and shortening port times without prior notice of any cruise line I;ve ever sailed on. If seeing something on shore is important to you I think Azamara is a better bet.

TYVM for an excellent comparison. Sounds like we'll have a good time on both. Each has their strengths and weaknesses. But a day at sea is better than a day at home. :D

 

Az will be 12 nights to the Baltics while O will be 10 nights to Alaska.

I sailed O Regatta to Alaska May 2015. It was one of my favorite cruises. I just returned from O Insignia for close to a month for S. America and love the R ship experience.

We will experience AZ May 2017 for the Adriatic and am looking forward to seeing the refurbishment. It will be interesting to compare after 2 cruises prior pre- refurb which was badly needed.