Azamara vs HAL

[UPNYGuy]

This is our second cruise in a BA Haven Aft. We have the same cabin booked for 2016. We were able to get the UDP, UBP, Gratuties, and $300 OBC for less than an inside on Azamara. I don't understand the value with Azamara as we've done the suites and balconies on Azamara....no comparison between the suite life on Azamara and the Haven! I prefer the studio cabins on NCL to the balconies on Azamara. For those who have never sailed NCL....UDP means ultimate dining plan aka specialty restaurants, and UBP aka ultimate beverage plan.

 

 

DW and I have been cruising on NCL mainly in The Haven (or "standard" suite) since Feb. 2014. We have 5 more cruises with them booked through 2017. That should give an idea of what I think of them now. ;)

[Homosassa]

We have sailed both HAL and Azamara.

 

While HAL used to be our favorite line, we have found with the cutbacks in food and service, HAL has slipped a great deal. (My personal theory is that Carnival Corp is repositioning HAL to be a bridge line between their bottom of the barrel lines and their more upscale lines, but that is a topic for another thread).

 

Azamara wins hands down for food and service. I do admit that one does not cruise the line for the type of entertainment found on big ships. There are no splashy production shows. The show lounge is the design that used to be found in the smaller ships of yesteryear.

 

They are more of a intimate nightclub atmosphere and entertainment consists of single performers or their small, but excellent, on board singers.

[CruisedandBruised]

I'd like to re-new this particular thread. Its been almost 5 years since anyone has posted on this forum. Any more recent updates from anyone out there particularly pertaining to these 2 specific cruise lines??

[bamelin]

3 hours ago, CruisedandBruised said:

I'd like to re-new this particular thread. Its been almost 5 years since anyone has posted on this forum. Any more recent updates from anyone out there particularly pertaining to these 2 specific cruise lines??

 

Azamara and Oceania are in a completely different and higher class category compared to HAL, Princess and Celebrity.  If anything it's a closer comparison to look at Azamara and Oceania versus say Seabourn, Silverseas, Regent and Crystal.

 

Be that as it may, if you must try to compare, the biggest differences IMHO are:

 

1.  Staff to Passenger ratios -- Azamara has a much larger staff compared to the number of guests

2.  Space ratio per passenger -- On Azamara the amount of space a guest has is larger (looking at how many guests are on the ship versus the gross tonnage of the ship) 

3.  Food quality -- While some may argue this, the premium plus lines use higher quality meat and also include as standard items that either aren't available on HAL or have an upcharge

4.  Inclusions such as Azamara Evenings, Wine/Beer with dinner 

5.  Price -- Generally you are going to pay more -- much more -- for a cruise with Azamara compared to HAL

6.  Time in Port and overall Itineraries -- While I actually think that HAL is one of the better lines for interesting itineraries, in general Oceania and Azamara will have more varied ports.  They also spend more time in port often leaving late at night.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cruisinteach2]

• Enjoyed our recent Alaska cruise on AZ Quest . 5star on  HAL . One big change on AZ is that the casinos are being replaced  by the dining room - area for visiting, trivia, coffee and bar. Not interested in gambling so we appreciated the change!

[Dunelm]

Have sailed on both.  Positives on Azamara  were the officers who were seen constantly, and were friendly, and their special event that introduced us to a Mayor, a jazz band, and locals.  On the other hand, even though we were in a verandah cabin, we felt cramped, and had the same feeling in the main dining room despite having open dining.  Also, some people abuse the "free" alcohol policy.  Of course, it is not really free, but we saw a lot of tipsy people on our Mediterranean cruise, not so many on HAL. 

[oaktreerb]

We enjoyed 16 days on the Azamara Quest in NZ.  The club veranda stateroom was smaller than any veranda stateroom I have had on a HAL ship but it was fine.  Service was excellent.  Loved the Mosaic Cafe for coffee and snacks.  Liked the  dining room with lots of tables for two...side by side so you could visit if so inclined with those next to you.  Food was very good (as is HAL) but servers seemed stressed, just like on HAL....too many tables per server.  Cruise Director and assistant were personable and even put on an excellent show one evening.  There were also outstanding production shows...we recognized one talented performer from a HAL cast on a previous cruise.  HAL has more locations information and shore excursion opportunities.  I missed the HAL port information we have come to expect.  Tendering is easier on a small ship.  Azamara didn’t have the chocolates on your “pillow”.  They had a very small bite of cake for an evening treat.  I much prefer the wrapped chocolate which I can keep to eat whenever I want it.

 

 

 

[Floridiana]

Our last 2 ocean cruises 2019 nd 2018 were on the MS Amsterdam and an Azamara ship. Both are old ladies.

 

Cabin: We had a Neptune suite on HAL and a regular balcony cabin on Azamara. It is therefore not be quite fair to compare, but I hated our Azamara cabin for 1) the shower curtain and 2) the table and chairs that blocked the entire balcony 3) a chair instead of a sofa. I remember balcony cabins on HAL ships that were more spacious and better designed. 

 

Public space: The Azamara ship was fully booked and cramped on a dreary sea day. HAL had more space. Décor is a toss up, neither one is fresh and bright.

 

Food: Food on HAL was good. Dinner on Azamara was more sophisticated, elegant and overall better. Offered local choices. Azamara pretends to be more destination oriented which was true for the food.

 

Service: I think nobody surpasses the warm and friendly Indonesian/Philippino hotel crew on HAL. Signs of fatigue on Azamara. Supposedly Azamara officers interact with passengers, didn't see any of it.

 

Itinerary/destination desk/enrichment:

Excellent itinerary on both ships and the reason we booked. HAL had an experienced excursion desk staff. Excellent enrichment speakers. It was the Asia & Pacific Grand Voyage.

Azamara cruise was around Japan. Her excursion desk people were inexperienced. The enrichment speaker made 3 factual errors on Japan within the first 30 minutes. If he really has been to Japan, he must have been totally oblivious to things around him. Very good: a Japanese ambassador with maps and advice for independent outings.

 

Price: This Azamara cruise around Japan was as expensive as cruises on high end luxury ships but it did not provide the same experience. The HAL cruise was reasonably priced and in line with other HAL prices.

 

Conclusion for us: We booked HAL again. 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

On 4/28/2015 at 7:03 PM, Granny DI said:

We've sailed in balconies and suites on both lines. Azamara is like buying the charming small old house in the center of town. HAL is the new large house in the suburbs with all the whistles and bells. They are priced the same. Some will pay premium prices for the little house in the town center while others prefer the larger homes in the suburbs with all the latest amenities.

 

This is very well put.

 

One's perceptions of either line will greatly depend on what you value on a ship. As someone who literally lives in a charming small old house in the center of town, you can guess which camp I am in. I like smaller ships, and I am itinerary focused. The size of my cabin is way down the list for me as I spend little time there. I prefer a ship to feel like the ships I started cruising on in the 1970s and not like giant Las Vegas hotels.

 

The benefits of a smaller ship include the opportunity to bump into the same people many times, so before very many days you do not feel like a ship of strangers. The buffet on Azamara is well laid out and efficient, with a good variety of choices, and and the area itself very pleasant. The main dining room was also quite attractive. The food was very good but truthfully there were some hits and misses and I did not find it to be much different in overall quality than on HAL....but what made it a better experience was the lack of crowding and noise (tables spaced appropriately), and more attentive service since it seems waiters had fewer tables.

 

We were on a shorter cruise and did not try any of the specialty restaurants since one evening was Thanksgiving (special deck party and buffet) and another evening we were in Havana and dined ashore.

 

Entertainment was very good by my lights. We had a lecturer on board, a naturalist, even though the cruise was short. (Not found on HAL any longer.)  Because the cruise was Cuba-focused, Azamara had a delightful Cuban singer onboard who not only performed one night but also gave a presentation and answered questions on another evening about growing up in Cuba and her training at the National School of Arts there. There was some other entertainment but these are the things I remember immediately because they were so tied to the trip.

 

This cruise was sort of a "trial" to see if I'd like Azamara. I did like them, very much. I would definitely sail with them again -- however, since they VERY rarely offer any discount off the 100% solo supplement, I generally have to keep looking for specials. 

 

I don't recall seeing any tipsy passengers onboard; nor did we feel any exceptional motion of the ship going to Cuba and back in November. 

Edited October 13, 2019 by cruisemom42

[Floridiana]

4 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

prefer a ship to feel like the ships I started cruising on in the 1970s and not like giant Las Vegas hotels.

 

HAL has mostly older ships, haven't seen a Las Vegas hotel type yet in their fleet. Will find out in a week on the Koningsdam. But 'bells and whistles' is more a comparison with Royal and large NCL ships. HAL excels at long itineraries with interesting ports. They do those long cruises with ships that are a bit larger than Azamara ships, but they have wrap around decks which are important to many passengers. 

[cruisemom42]

Just now, Floridiana said:

 

HAL has mostly older ships, haven't seen a Las Vegas hotel type yet in their fleet. Will find out in a week on the Koningsdam. But 'bells and whistles' is more a comparison with Royal and large NCL ships. HAL excels at long itineraries with interesting ports. They do those long cruises with ships that are a bit larger than Azamara ships, but they have wrap around decks which are important to many passengers. 

 

I was responding more to those who were extolling the virtues of the NCL Haven and the like.

 

I agree HAL is about the only mass market line left that does longer and interesting itineraries, which is one reason I sail with them. But as someone whose ideal ship is the Aegean Odyssey, at 350 passengers, even HAL ships can seem large to me. 

 

The wrap-around deck (or lack thereof) means nothing to me. I have never understood its huge place in the hearts of many HAL faithful, but I accept it on the strength of the many attestations here!

 

[Floridiana]

43 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

I was responding more to those who were extolling the virtues of the NCL Haven and the like.

 

Ok, I see. I overlooked those comments because they had nothing to do with the original topic.

 

Everybody has different priorities. What I found  is that certain things that seem minor to other people are a problem for me, for example the dining table with 2 chairs that take up the entire Azamara balcony. I like to relax out there on a comfy recliner, never eat breakfast/lunch/dinner on the balcony. We don't hang out that much in the public spaces, especially not when they are as crowded as they were on our Japan cruise. Luckily it was very port intensive.

 

Our smallest ship had 12 passengers. 2400 passengers is our upper limit so far. 

[Riversedge]

On 4/28/2015 at 7:03 PM, Granny DI said:

We've sailed in balconies and suites on both lines. Azamara is like buying the charming small old house in the center of town. HAL is the new large house in the suburbs with all the whistles and bells. They are priced the same. Some will pay premium prices for the little house in the town center while others prefer the larger homes in the suburbs with all the latest amenities.

  

 

We LOVE Azamara.  We have only been on the Quest twice and compare it to the Prinsendam which we loved.  We went on the VOV thinking that the service and everything else would be better based on the price.  Wrong.  The staff on Azamara was so happy and it showed.  They way HAL staff used to be.   The food was good, it was more laid back, and the officers were very a noticeable part, participating in onboard cooking, mingling with the guests.  The wine flowed freely and if wanted a drink at the pool you raised your finger and someone was there immediately. The average age of guests was younger and more active.   It just fits us better and will be our choice for the future since we have become disenchanted with HAL. 

[Djptcp]

Friends of ours who are Celebrity loyalists, but who also sail on Holland America, sailed on Azamara earlier this year and would not do it again. Definitely felt it was not worth the money and will stick with Celebrity and HAL. Ship was too small, not enough to do on sea days or at night (casino only had a handful of slots).

[Stateroom_Sailor]

We picked up an "Open Passage" for Azamara onboard our last Celebrity cruise, similar to HAL"s future cruise certificates, only it doesn't expire.  We'll eyeball a last minute deal or reposition, to stick our toe in the water.

[oaktreerb]

6 hours ago, Floridiana said:

.

 

Cabin: We had a Neptune suite on HAL and a regular balcony cabin on Azamara. It is therefore not be quite fair to compare, but I hated our Azamara cabin for 1) the shower curtain and 2) the table and chairs that blocked the entire balcony 3) a chair instead of a sofa. I remember balcony cabins on HAL ships that were more spacious and better designed. 

 

 

 

 

 

Totally agree about the huge table on the balcony.  I finally shoved it to one side of the balcony.  I even ended up sitting on it for scenic viewing in Dusky Sound.  I much prefer deck chairs like on HAL, the ones that recline and also have the separate section for your feet.   The Azamara balcony was much too small for that huge table!

[Floridiana]

19 hours ago, Djptcp said:

Azamara earlier this year and would not do it again. Definitely felt it was not worth the money

 

I think your friend hit on the main issue. Azamara is too expensive for what it offers. At least it was on our itinerary.

 

The itineraries pull me back to HAL ships. I bet HAL has somebody in headquarters who can read my mind. 

 

 

 

[cruisemom42]

2 hours ago, Floridiana said:

 

I think your friend hit on the main issue. Azamara is too expensive for what it offers. At least it was on our itinerary.

 

The itineraries pull me back to HAL ships. I bet HAL has somebody in headquarters who can read my mind. 

 

 

I think the answer depends on how one travels and what one values. I do not travel in a balcony. I also do not gamble, so the casino matters little to me. 

 

While I agree HAL still has nice itineraries, Azamara generally offers more hours in port, including more overnights. They also have lecturers, even on cruises as short as one week. On HAL, nothing is guaranteed unless you are on cruises longer than 14 days. This is also a BIG deal maker or breaker for me, as I am not yet retired and can rarely take off more than 2 weeks at a stretch. With the loss of Prinsendam, there are a number of ports that even HAL's smaller ships cannot access. But ships the size of the R-class can make those port calls.

 

Also, it is hard to put a value on subtle differences, but as I mentioned, there was a huge difference in the MDR -- not in the food served, but in the service itself and in the atmosphere in the room -- not too large, not overcrowded, and with waiters who didn't seem like they were running for their lives every moment. I'm sure some will say that they just eat in the specialty restaurant every night to avoid the MDR -- but by doing that, you're also adding to the cost of your HAL cruise....

 

I put a high value on these kinds of things, as well as being on a small ship -- and am willing to pay more for them. If it was just a matter of paying the difference between HAL and Azamara for one person, I'd do it regularly. However, having to pay the higher fare PLUS 200% for a solo does make it difficult.

 

[mj_holiday]

We have done one Azamara cruise and 3 HAL cruises.  The HAL cruises were awhile ago.  Our preferred cuise is Regents.

 

While time on Zuiderdam was nice, we only cruised on it because of a special group that cruised on HAL.

 

This past year was our first cruise on Azamara, and yes there were some things that were not as great as our preferred cruise line, but the itinerary was something you could not get other places.  Yes, Azamara is smaller than Zuiderdam which also impacts the cruise in a positive way for us.

 

Buffet (Breakfast and Lunch)

HAL the buffet seemed chaotic, having to get water, juice etc not good.

AZ the buffet was delightful, food was good and table service of drinks appreciated.  They helped people getting to their table by carrying their plates, etc.

Buffet (dinner)

HAL didn't even look to consider considering lunch and breakfast experience.

AZ had different types of food on different nights (Italian, German etc)

Main Dining Room

HAL this was when there were 2 sittings, not sure if that is still the case.  The tables seemed very close together.  Service and food were good.

AZ there were plenty of tables for 2 and the tables themselves were a nice size, but we were pretty close to other tables, but didn't feel closed in.  Included wines - we were offered a choice - two reds and two whites.  Food and service were very good.

AZ Main Dining for breakfast and lunch - were very nice.   Breakfast has a small buffet or order from a menu.  There were a couple of special lunch buffets in the main dining room which were very nice.

Azamazing night was very nice. 

We are booked another AZ cruise for next year and for their white night we will be eating in the Main Dining room,  The white night is also very chaotic and hard to tell what line to get in to get something to eat.

Entertainment - we usually don't make it.

Ship's crew - I don't remember the officer's on HAL being as visible as on AZ.

Stateroom - we had smaller cabins on both ships but like the refrigerator on AZ.

We have booked another cruise on AZ, solely because of the itinerary, and I am sure we will enjoy it.

[Cruzaholic41]

On 10/13/2019 at 9:32 AM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

We picked up an "Open Passage" for Azamara onboard our last Celebrity cruise, similar to HAL"s future cruise certificates, only it doesn't expire.  We'll eyeball a last minute deal or reposition, to stick our toe in the water.

Thats a great thing about the RCCL lines; being able to book one another aboard any of their ships. 

 

On 4/25/2015 at 3:50 PM, Hflors said:

Am looking at Azamara possibility as a back up if we have to cancel our HAL cruise.

My question is for any one who has cruised on both. Your impressions please.

 

Now I know that on Azamara, gratuties and drinks are included in the price of the cruises, but what I want to know are there any other differences good or bad between the two cruise lines? Were there any differences in service, food etc.?

I’ve cruised Azamara a couple times and it’s excellent. If they’re in your considerations, I’d pick them any day over a mass market line like HAL. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

Thats a great thing about the RCCL lines; being able to book one another aboard any of their ships. 

 

 

 

Yes, and Azamara and Celebrity loyalty points combine.  I would like to at least be able to book Princes while onboard HAL.

[Sidney24]

On 10/14/2019 at 10:04 PM, Floridiana said:

 

I think your friend hit on the main issue. Azamara is too expensive for what it offers. At least it was on our itinerary.

 

The itineraries pull me back to HAL ships. I bet HAL has somebody in headquarters who can read my mind. 

 

 

 

Agree the itineraries are what pulls me back and also the crew. 

[Sidney24]

On 10/17/2019 at 1:04 AM, mj_holiday said:

We have done one Azamara cruise and 3 HAL cruises.  The HAL cruises were awhile ago.  Our preferred cuise is Regents.

 

While time on Zuiderdam was nice, we only cruised on it because of a special group that cruised on HAL.

 

This past year was our first cruise on Azamara, and yes there were some things that were not as great as our preferred cruise line, but the itinerary was something you could not get other places.  Yes, Azamara is smaller than Zuiderdam which also impacts the cruise in a positive way for us.

 

Buffet (Breakfast and Lunch)

HAL the buffet seemed chaotic, having to get water, juice etc not good.

AZ the buffet was delightful, food was good and table service of drinks appreciated.  They helped people getting to their table by carrying their plates, etc.

Buffet (dinner)

HAL didn't even look to consider considering lunch and breakfast experience.

AZ had different types of food on different nights (Italian, German etc)

Main Dining Room

HAL this was when there were 2 sittings, not sure if that is still the case.  The tables seemed very close together.  Service and food were good.

AZ there were plenty of tables for 2 and the tables themselves were a nice size, but we were pretty close to other tables, but didn't feel closed in.  Included wines - we were offered a choice - two reds and two whites.  Food and service were very good.

AZ Main Dining for breakfast and lunch - were very nice.   Breakfast has a small buffet or order from a menu.  There were a couple of special lunch buffets in the main dining room which were very nice.

Azamazing night was very nice. 

We are booked another AZ cruise for next year and for their white night we will be eating in the Main Dining room,  The white night is also very chaotic and hard to tell what line to get in to get something to eat.

Entertainment - we usually don't make it.

Ship's crew - I don't remember the officer's on HAL being as visible as on AZ.

Stateroom - we had smaller cabins on both ships but like the refrigerator on AZ.

We have booked another cruise on AZ, solely because of the itinerary, and I am sure we will enjoy it.

We normally would book based on itinerary on either HA, Azamara, Princess, Oceania or Celebrity.

Must disagree with your comment in regards to Azamara refrigerator, staff agreed its just a cooler.