Realtor at Sea Posted June 19, 2011 #1 Share Posted June 19, 2011 experiences? I posted this question on the Azamara board, but am looking for thoughts from cruisers on this board also? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 19, 2011 #2 Share Posted June 19, 2011 It has been done many times before quite extensively. Do a search on both (Oceania and Azamara) sites with words like Oceania vs Azamara, etc. You will get several long threads with good comparisons. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdvenLee Posted June 19, 2011 #3 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I, too, would like an up-to-date comparison. I have cruised on both Oceania and Azamara. However, this was before improvements (from what I hear) in Azamara. Am I correct in thinking Azamara now includes gratuities and wine and soft drinks in the cruise price?? (They did not when we did our one Caribbean cruise on Azamara.) I will cruise on either one, but probably lean toward Oceania. However, need to give Azamara another try!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 19, 2011 #4 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I, too, would like an up-to-date comparison. I have cruised on both Oceania and Azamara. However, this was before improvements (from what I hear) in Azamara. Am I correct in thinking Azamara now includes gratuities and wine and soft drinks in the cruise price?? Yes I think the wine is with lunch & dinner only Also 2 for 1 pricing now where have I heard that marketing before ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 19, 2011 #5 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I, too, would like an up-to-date comparison. I have cruised on both Oceania and Azamara. However, this was before improvements (from what I hear) in Azamara. Am I correct in thinking Azamara now includes gratuities and wine and soft drinks in the cruise price?? (They did not when we did our one Caribbean cruise on Azamara.) I will cruise on either one, but probably lean toward Oceania. However, need to give Azamara another try!!!! Yes, the "new" Azamara does include pre-paid gratuities, wine with meals (not breakfast ;)) and soft drinks. I think the consensus is that though their prices went up considerably, so did the overall level of cruising experience. We had a great cruise on the Quest and would gladly cruise either line for the right itinerary & price; there are some pros and cons for both lines. FWIW, Azamara greatly supports CC M&G on their cruises with staff, food, drinks (?), etc - nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azam71209 Posted June 20, 2011 #6 Share Posted June 20, 2011 Yes, the "new" Azamara does include pre-paid gratuities, wine with meals (not breakfast ;)) and soft drinks.I think the consensus is that though their prices went up considerably, so did the overall level of cruising experience. We had a great cruise on the Quest and would gladly cruise either line for the right itinerary & price; there are some pros and cons for both lines. FWIW, Azamara greatly supports CC M&G on their cruises with staff, food, drinks (?), etc - nice touch. I would choose on the basis of itinerary. We've sailed on both. The fact that Azamara is much more welcoming to cruise critic members and, more important, really seems to care about what we think is a definite plus. It was great to meet with the officers early in the cruise for drinks and snacks. They made it clear that they valued our opinions and wanted to hear from us "before we read about the problem on cruisecritic." In contrast, Oceania would do nothing for us for a meet and great. Another issue for me personally is the smoking policy. Oceania still allows smoking in Horizons, which many people were complaining about. Although smoking is allowed only in one corner, the airflow in the room sends the smoke all down one side of the room. Azamara does not allow any indoor smoking anywhere on the ship. Maybe it's time for Oceania to go smoke free, except for the one area by the pool. Enrichment lectures were more targeted to the areas we were visiting on Azamara, although I still think they could do better. If O can't afford great speakers, at least have some good fiction and nonfiction films on the TV that relate to the countries visited. As to the rest of it, the food, cabins (at least on the R ships) and service are comparable. Our next trip, to Iceland and Greenland will be with O because the itinerary is so great. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Citizen Posted June 21, 2011 #7 Share Posted June 21, 2011 We have cruised with O six times, soon to be seven. Last September, we cruised with Azamara. We were pleasantly surprised at the level of service and the competence of the staff on Azamara. Our M & G was attended by the captain. He was very friendly and quite talkative. They held two elaborate BBQ nights out by the pool deck. Ice sculptures. Full, over-the-top buffet. Musicians. Tablecloths. Candlelight effect. Only complaint I have is that they charged $15 for the specialty restaurants. While it's not very much, it sure adds up if you go there every night (which we did since our friends liked the ambiance more than the MDR). We had prepaid gratuities, free soft drinks and bottled water, free wine with lunch and dinner, fresh flowers in the stateroom, fresh fruit bowl in the stateroom, two chocolate candies (not wrapped, mint-like candies) left in a small plate on the nightstand each night. The captain did the best job of talking to us and telling us what he was doing and why. He would tell us the route he was going to take when leaving a port, etc. Very informative. All that said, I still thoroughly enjoy O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 21, 2011 #8 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Another memorable event was organized on our Azamara cruise when we docked in Kotor. The captain himself (and other staff members) led the "expedition" - a very strenuous climb to the top of the mountain above town. When people returned back to town, cold champagne was waiting for them as a reward for their effort. I did like the more active role of the captain and the other staff members on Azamara as compared to Oceania; a bit more like a big family feeling (at least for the duration of the cruise). Of course, Oceania does some other things better, so it is an individual choice as to which cruise line one prefers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldercash Posted June 22, 2011 #9 Share Posted June 22, 2011 From the latest ratings posted by CC of all ships which are derived from pax review posted ratings it appears "AZ" beats "O" in all categories. They do not have reviews of "O's" new class of ships. which I assume will beat out both AZ's & O's R vessels in most categories though I am sure there will be some who still prefer the R class ships. Read the ratings as they are very interesting, it appears Royal, Celebrity and AZ are doing a very good job when judged by past passenger reviews and ratings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 22, 2011 #10 Share Posted June 22, 2011 From the latest ratings posted by CC of all ships which are derived from pax review posted ratings it appears "AZ" beats "O" in all categories. I think a view of the demographics on who sails O & who sails Azamara will also have some bearing on the results Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted June 22, 2011 #11 Share Posted June 22, 2011 From the latest ratings posted by CC of all ships which are derived from pax review posted ratings it appears "AZ" beats "O" in all categories. They do not have reviews of "O's" new class of ships. which I assume will beat out both AZ's & O's R vessels in most categories though I am sure there will be some who still prefer the R class ships.Read the ratings as they are very interesting, it appears Royal, Celebrity and AZ are doing a very good job when judged by past passenger reviews and ratings. Most ratings like this should be taken with a grain of salt as they are "uncontrolled" and thus imprecise. It would be more informative if they, for example, polled only those people who sailed on both Azamara and Oceania and asked those people to choose between those 2 lines - much like the poll we have here between R ships and Marina. Even those polls would be subjective, but at least would be more indicative of ratings between these 2 cruise lines. JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldercash Posted June 22, 2011 #12 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Reviews are always affected by personal expectations and past experiences which makes judging between the R ships and the new class by past passengers biased as well. A new cruiser sailing O may likely not see the value in the older ships much like new cruisers who sail Celebrity mega ships would not miss the old Zenith & Horizon. They come with high expectations and lack past experience with smaller ships. If they sail Marina first they may not be impressed by an R class when they sail one. I have only sailed R class ships so I cannot comment on the new class compared to the old. Regardless it appears Celebrity and Az are exceeding passengers expectations to a higher level then O passengers based on the individual reviews posted on CC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wripro Posted June 22, 2011 #13 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Sometimes I envy people who have never heard of cruise critic. They simply go on their cruises and have a great time without obsessing about every tiny detail and the differences between Line A and Line B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MightyQuinn Posted June 22, 2011 #14 Share Posted June 22, 2011 We have personal experience on both Oceania Regatta and Azamara Journey. We were interested in comparing them, so we booked the same transAtlantic sailing and stayed in the same veranda category in the same location on each ship. We enjoyed both but our clear preference was Oceania. For us, Oceania was a better overall fit. Azamara disappointed us in a couple of critical areas – eating and sleeping – which was tough to ignore. However, to be fair, there were positives with Azamara - complimentary wines and pre-paid gratuities - and recent reports indicate that things are finally coming together for them. We would sail with them again under the right circumstances. But they really need to sort out some inconsistencies in their marketing, as evidenced by current threads on the AZ forum about issues with Choice Air and 50% off shore excursions. As mentioned, there are many comparisons between Oceania and Azamara on both forums as well as in CC Member Reviews. You'll find home field comments on each. The search function should produce some great results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gillianrose Posted June 22, 2011 #15 Share Posted June 22, 2011 Sometimes I envy people who have never heard of cruise critic. They simply go on their cruises and have a great time without obsessing about every tiny detail and the differences between Line A and Line B. I know what you mean. I still like Cruise Critic, especially to get to know a cruise line's policies and to learn about changes planned, new ships, refurbishments, etc., though I don't bother with joining roll calls much anymore. They get to be an annoyance. (just my opinion, I know some of y'all just love it.) I enjoy cruising much more without all the planning, planning, planning, especially the obsessing about Cruise Critic parties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realtor at Sea Posted June 23, 2011 Author #16 Share Posted June 23, 2011 because a lot of what has been reported in the past did not take into consideration the changes which have been made to Azamara. As a frequent cruiser with RCCL and X, I was interested in the extra amenities we might receive on Azamara also. That said, I do like some of the longer itineraries offered by Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldercash Posted June 23, 2011 #17 Share Posted June 23, 2011 What I find interesting is why Insignia gets higher ratings then Regatta, are they not basically identical ships managed by the same company, the crew moves between the ships and I would guess they use the same food suppliers and linens as well as mattress? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimandStan Posted June 24, 2011 #18 Share Posted June 24, 2011 What I find interesting is why Insignia gets higher ratings then Regatta, are they not basically identical ships managed by the same company, the crew moves between the ships and I would guess they use the same food suppliers and linens as well as mattress? That is an interesting point. I suppose that one of the reasons why ships are given names, while only a select few planes or trains ever are, is that ships seem to have personalities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potterhill Posted June 24, 2011 #19 Share Posted June 24, 2011 We have sailed three times, twice on Insignia and once on Regatta. Our two cruises on Insignia were definitely better. The service and the food was just not as good on Regatta. Having said that, we have two bookings on Regatta, the Panama Canal and the South Pacific, and I am very much looking forward to both. Mo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 24, 2011 #20 Share Posted June 24, 2011 We have sailed three times, twice on Insignia and once on Regatta. Our two cruises on Insignia were definitely better. The service and the food was just not as good on Regatta. Mo We have had the opposite We have sailed Regatta 4 times & Insignia 3 times Food was better on Regatta ...2 of the Insignia cruises were so so I think it just depends on who's cooking:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LAexNY Posted June 24, 2011 #21 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Sorry to weigh in with another opinion. We have sailed on all 4 Oceania ships and have not noticed any appreciable difference in the food. Obviously food comes from different sources at different times and in different ports so there may be minor differences in quality but we have never attributed it to which ship we were on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8mma Posted June 25, 2011 #22 Share Posted June 25, 2011 We loved the wine on Azamara but I used my shipboard credit on the Regatta for drinks so it came out the same. The CC meet and mingle was amazing on the Quest, champagne and hors d'oeuvres were delicious and the crew were outstanding. Food was great on both lines. The bed was better on Regatta but we asked for a topper for our mattress on the Quest and it was as comfortable as Regatta (but you do have to ask for it). We will sail again on either Oceania or Azamara - which ever one has the itinerary we are looking for. We absolutely love them both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoBe2010 Posted June 29, 2011 #23 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Hi everybody, haven´t cruised Oceania yet. So am I right: Softdrinks (Coke, Sprite) and tip ist not included like on Azamara? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanadianTom Posted June 29, 2011 #24 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Hello: I've sailed three times on Oceania and twice with Azamara. I agree both do some things better than the other. Here is my take on them. Food: Oceania,why? selection, quality, no charge for speciality rest. and much nicer for dinner at the buffet, more outside sitting. High tea way better than azamara. Entertainment: Azamara, why? better headliners, more activities during the day, Carlos, not a great singer but so entertaining. Service Staff: Almost a split, but have to give the edge to Oceania. Naval Staff: Azamara, Why? Captain and senior staff most interested in what we had to say and acted immediately on suggestions, they are visible and accessible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted June 29, 2011 #25 Share Posted June 29, 2011 Hi everybody, haven´t cruised Oceania yet. So am I right: Softdrinks (Coke, Sprite) and tip ist not included like on Azamara? Thanks in advance. Soft drinks bottled water are included on Oceania No charge for the specialty dining rooms either Gratuities are not included but if you shop around you may find a TA that includes them Lyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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