Rare AllisonJames Posted January 11, 2016 #1 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I know there are a lot of postings on this and I thought I had read them all! I thought they were considered comparable lines. Booked for first time on Azamara in July and just booked Oceania for May 2017 (South Pacific). However, now I come to find out that although Azamara includes basic alcoholic beverages, Oceania does not? Disappointed to find that out. Any other differences I am missing? And can someone please explain how you "swap" amenities for a beverage package (mentioned on another thread). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
java spot Posted January 11, 2016 #2 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Another difference is that all of the gratuities are included on Azamara. However you do pay extra for dining in specialty restaurants on Azamara, unless you are in a suite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toranut97 Posted January 11, 2016 #3 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Oceania includes all soft drinks, juices, and mixers. Some of us prefer it to Regent or Azamara because we don't like paying for others' overindulgences (JMHO). Someone else will have to explain the swapping thing, I am not familiar with that. Good luck. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 11, 2016 #4 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) They are 2 different cruise lines If you want your basic alcoholic drinks included then Oceania is not for you You can buy a Beverage package or you get it as a perk (wine & beer with meals) I think you are referring to the O Life promo here you can choose one of 3 perks https://www.oceaniacruises.com/special-offers/olife-choice/ You need to read the websites/brochures of both lines to see what is & is not included then decide what line works better for your needs/wants Edited January 11, 2016 by LHT28 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted January 11, 2016 #5 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Someone else will have to explain the swapping thing, I am not familiar with that. Good luck. Amenity swapping is a difficult process, complicated even further because how the amenity packages are offered varies geographically. Rather than risking your getting half the story here (it really is a lot to get your head around), I'd suggest that you contact a Travel Agent who knows the Oceania ropes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 11, 2016 #6 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Amenity swapping is a difficult process, complicated even further because how the amenity packages are offered varies geographically. Rather than risking your getting half the story here (it really is a lot to get your head around), I'd suggest that you contact a Travel Agent who knows the Oceania ropes. Is it even possible to swap? Never heard of it being done and never tried. Could be that I am not that smart to know. Would love to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mura Posted January 11, 2016 #7 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Since some have said that they were able to swap amenities, I have to believe them. And I'd think it never hurts to ask. The line can always say no. But I wonder if they would? Let's say your offered amenity is some free tours but you would prefer a drink package. What would it hurt Oceania to grant the request? Maybe the dollar amount would differ ... in which case they could say, "yes, you can have the drink package instead but we'll have to charge you a little more" ... I'm just guessing of course! We accepted oLife on two upcoming cruises but oLife seems to offer more (at least to us) than the new program, which I don't find at all tempting. Maybe I'll change my mind if we end up booking a cruise offering the new benefits ... but I suspect I wouldn't. Mura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggie.1008 Posted January 11, 2016 #8 Share Posted January 11, 2016 No problem bringing wine and liquor on board Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 11, 2016 #9 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Is it even possible to swap? Never heard of it being done and never tried. Could be that I am not that smart to know. Would love to know. I am sure some expert will be along shortly to explain :D The gist of it is if You booked the Olife promo before Dec 31st & then the new promo was added to your sailing you can swap one of the previous perks for one of the new options There is another thread here where people have successfully swapped their perks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitob Posted January 12, 2016 #10 Share Posted January 12, 2016 You can swap. A good ta can assist you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 12, 2016 #11 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Another difference is that all of the gratuities are included on Azamara. However you do pay extra for dining in specialty restaurants on Azamara, unless you are in a suite. Don't you also pay for airfare on Azamara? O includes it or provides requested credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted January 12, 2016 #12 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Don't you also pay for airfare on Azamara? O includes it or provides requested credit. The airfare, especially to S. Pacific is worth a lot more than a glass of wine with lunch & dinner that Azamara provides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flatbush Flyer Posted January 12, 2016 #13 Share Posted January 12, 2016 The airfare, especially to S. Pacific is worth a lot more than a glass of wine with lunch & dinner that Azamara provides. We're there now. The O air credit was $1200 per person. Add prestige pkg at $60/person/day. Throw in O Life perks and the math easily works out in favor of Oceania. And we haven't even considered the difference in food quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted January 12, 2016 #14 Share Posted January 12, 2016 No problem bringing wine and liquor on board Oceania. No problem being wine and beer on board Azamara either. I also believe the corkage fee is $10 on Azamara and $25 on Oceania. You pay for the two specialty restaurants on Azamara but not on Oceania. Gratuities are included on Azamara. Wine, beer and basic well drinks are included on Azamara. You can buy a beverage package to upgrade the selection if you wish. Alcoholics drinks are not included on Oceania and they are not cheap and subject to an 18% gratuity. There was an Azamara night featured when we sailed. Oceania doesn't have something like that. We never heard of swapping out amenties on Oceania but it never hearts to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted January 12, 2016 #15 Share Posted January 12, 2016 If you shop around you can get PPG from your TA ;) You have to decide what works best for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ORV Posted January 12, 2016 #16 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Swapping only applies for people that booked the Olife before Dec 31. If you booked after that it is Olife choice. With that you get the Unlimited internet, THEN you get a choice of Excursions, the number dependent on the number of days of your cruise, OR OBC, once again dependent on number of days, OR the basic drink package with a daily value of $40 per person, with wine and beer available during lunch & dinner, but not at other times. Upgradeable to the Prestige package for $20 per person a day. Gratuities are not an option in the new program. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hondorner Posted January 12, 2016 #17 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I know there are a lot of postings on this and I thought I had read them all! I thought they were considered comparable lines.... Back when Azamara was created by Royal Caribbean, they attempted to steal guests from Oceania and copied O completely -- same policies, same itineraries, even hired some O executives. Essentially, they failed miserably. So, they hired a new President (Larry Pimentel from Sea Dream Yacht Club), renamed the cruise line "Azamara Club", and started adding some incentives beyond Oceania to try to be successful. At the time, Frank Del Rio, CEO of Oceania, was asked if that concerned him. His response was, "I'm just happy they quit trying to copy us." At first, it was just wine with dinner but as time went by, they've had to add basic drinks and gratuities to overcome negative reviews. Reports now are they're not bad. However, they are no longer similar to Oceania, if they ever were. Recently their guests have been unhappy that cruises have been canceled in favor of chartered cruises. Recent reports are they are finally going to do some ship refurbishments; maybe then they'll be closer to Oceania in that department. Their ships are similar but not identical. Disclaimer: I have not sailed Azamara and most likley will not. I do harbor some prejudices because I'm more aware of the story of their beginning than most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Host Jazzbeau Posted January 12, 2016 #18 Share Posted January 12, 2016 To get a balanced picture (at least in the sense that prejudices can cancel!) you should post this same question in the Azamara forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyAL Posted January 12, 2016 #19 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Food is better on Oceania. Specialty restaurants are FREE. Azamara allows you the RCCL stockholder credit. Always pick the itinerary which you prefer! All that being said-if I only to pick one cruise it would be on Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJB Posted January 12, 2016 #20 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Food is better on Oceania. Specialty restaurants are FREE. Azamara allows you the RCCL stockholder credit. Always pick the itinerary which you prefer! All that being said-if I only to pick one cruise it would be on Oceania. Agree with this. As far as itinerary goes it seem that Oceania with 5 ships, soon to be 6 has an itinerary to match anything that Azamara has. That being the case I pick Oceania. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidTheWonderer Posted January 12, 2016 #21 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Back in the day Regent/Radisson was not all-inclusive for alcohol, and instead provided generous setups of liquor of your choice in the cabin. When they went all-inclusive, Frank del Rio, the head honcho, said the overall alcohol consumption on the ships didn't change very much. But having cruised on that line before and after, the change in the social ambiance of the ships was huge. Before, the bars and lounges were nearly empty as many people stayed in their cabins; after the change the bars and lounges were lively and the opportunities to meet and interact with other passengers increased by a large amount. My one experience with Oceania, a transatlantic on Riviera a couple of years ago, reminded me of the old days on Regent: lots of beautiful lounges with great bands and hardly anybody there. So ... for me all-inclusive for alcohol is an important consideration in choosing a cruise line. It's not the money: we bought the full-tilt boogie package on Riviera and didn't mind the cost. And, of course, your mileage may vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TERRIER1 Posted January 13, 2016 #22 Share Posted January 13, 2016 The food is better on Oceania but we prefer the atmosphere/ambience on Azamara. Azamara has been known to charter their ships out but Oceania has been cutting port times. No one line is perfect. I would compare itineraries and pricing and then make a decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TxnAquarian Posted January 17, 2016 #23 Share Posted January 17, 2016 The food is better on Oceania but we prefer the atmosphere/ambience on Azamara. Azamara has been known to charter their ships out but Oceania has been cutting port times. No one line is perfect. I would compare itineraries and pricing and then make a decision. You've said it best. I always suggest that people go with an itinerary that suits them best. We always said we wouldn't sail Regent again because we don't like paying for excursions which we never take - but lo and behold, we just booked Regent for this summer because the itinerary is so unusual and exquisite. Azamara will have better R-Class ships than Oceania (after the current renovations), in our opinion. But not much beats the style of the Riviera and Marina. Itinerary, itinerary, itinerary! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare AllisonJames Posted January 17, 2016 Author #24 Share Posted January 17, 2016 I appreciate all the informative answers. We specifically decided to try Azamara because of the golf cruise offered and are trying Oceania because of the South Pacific itinerary. When all is said and done, cost is comparable, just a more varied package of amenities than we expected -- I am sure both experiences will be worthwhile and both will be recently renovated R class ships so that will be an interesting comparison. Having sailed both Silversea and Seabourn (some time ago) I am also curious to see if we think both Azamara and Oceania are the lines for us because quite frankly, cost wise they are coming close the SS and SB in some instances and those lines are more all-inclusive and cabins in the lower categories are larger. Obviously it's personal opinion, for example, we did not think Celebrity was worth the extra cost as compared to Princess. How lucky are we to have these first-world concerns?:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisethree Posted October 4, 2017 #25 Share Posted October 4, 2017 I am trying to choose between Oceania and Azamara, Baltic cruise Aug 2018. I am traveling with my 13 year old. I have read reviews that the food is better on Azamara but wonder if the selection would be limited because it is about half the size in number of passengers. Azamara is running a special and all the lower cost rooms on Oceania are sold out so I am comparing veranda rooms at the same price. It is just me and my 13 yo and I just drink wine. I have to make a decision to get the deal on Azamara. Any specific comments on food would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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