Azamara compared with Celebrity Century

[Freckles49]

We are big fans of Azamara and have sailed on Quest 3 times now. We are considering booking Celebrity Century next year as we really like one of their itineraries.

Has anyone experience of both ships? We would particulary appreciate comments on cordiality of crew, food and general appearance of the ship.

We know its an older ship and wont feature the glitz of the new Celebrity ships, but we like old and traditional!

[Spursgirl]

Have travelled on both ships several times.

 

Century is a nice ship and the crew are very amenable.

 

IMO it doesn't have the warm and fuzzy feeling we have all experienced on Azamara but if Century was offering an interesting itinerary at a good price I would probably book it.

[Phxazzcruisers]

I think Spursgirl is spot on. We have traveld both extemsively. We love the Century, it was our first cruise. However we really love Azamara and feel it is a step up above Century. I would, however, absolutely take another cruise on Century if the itineary and timing met my needs.

[OzAbroad]

Have sailed both and enjoyed both but in my view Azamara is at another level altogether. The Azamara ships are better maintained, the food is much better (although Murano is good), the service is better, and the activities are better. Thee are less announcements, and the whole experience is far more stylish. Of course Century is a good deal cheaper.

[Andy]

We are big fans of Azamara and have sailed on Quest 3 times now. We are considering booking Celebrity Century next year as we really like one of their itineraries.

Has anyone experience of both ships? We would particulary appreciate comments on cordiality of crew, food and general appearance of the ship.

We know its an older ship and wont feature the glitz of the new Celebrity ships, but we like old and traditional!

 

Hi Freckles,

 

I've sailed on Century many times, and I'm sailing on her again next month, when she makes a rare appearance in Ft Lauderdale for 4 Caribbean sailings after her upcoming drydock. Century is an older ship, though we've enjoyed her very much.

 

To make any comparision to Century vs Journey or Quest is difficult, as we are not comparing apples to apples. Century's guest capacity is nearly 3x that of Journey and Quest, so it's an entirely different cruise experience.

 

While Celebrity offers a wonderful cruise experience, it cannot compare to the incredible officer & crew engagement on Azamara's ships. Again, much of this is due to Azamara's smaller ships and guest capacity, so there's far more attention to detail with Azamara. I'd also give Azamara the nod on cuisine, especially at their specialty dining venues.

 

I highly recommend Azamara, but if Century's itinerary works for you, she's a fine choice as well. BTW, I'd be careful about booking Century beyond late 2014, as rumors are persistent that she's leaving Celebrity's fleet - possibly during the 2nd quarter of 2015.

 

If you have other questions, please feel free to ask. I hope this is helpful !

Edited January 16, 2014 by Host Andy

[Freckles49]

Thank you everyone for your very helpful comments. Yes, Andy, we had heard a whisper that Century was leaving the fleet, which makes a decision on booking even more difficult.