Once you try Az, you ever go back to Celebrity?

[Redtravel]

Yes. You can go back to Celebrity. Just don't expect the type of service and food that you enjoyed on Azamara or Oceania. We just got off the Reflection. We had a good time. While it isn't as good as Azamara, Oceania, etc., it is still a good cruise. You get more on Azamara and pay for it. Is it worth it?  Yes.  I prefer smaller ships without crowds.  There were times that my spouse and I commented about the crowds especially in the Buffet. With 3000 guests, you will see lines waiting for some things.  Azamara doesn't nickle and dime you. Your fare includes many things that Celebrity charges extra. In the end, you hope to get a good cruise experience. Accept that Celebrity is mass market. Do not be shocked if you are asked to pay for somethings that Azamara includes. 

[May B]

We've only taken one Azamara and it had numerous disappointments, so we never cruised with them again. We DID cruise once after that with Oceania and six times with Crystal, as well as 6 or 8 back on Celebrity.

 

In a few weeks, we'll be on Azamara again, purely for the itinerary. While my expectations will be lower than last time, I actually think we may find that our needs are all met and rather nicely this time. I hope I'm right!

 

 

[upwarduk]

We have cruised Celebrity since our Azamara Cruise, purely driven by the price and the fact that we could sail from Southampton.

However, due to the fact that we could not go into St Petersburg due to windy weather (the size of the ship prevented it) I feel let down. I was not happy with the attitude of the Captain, who suggested that Celebrity had no come back and we claim from insurance. Not even a Future Cruise Certificate was offered.

i also was not impressed by the gimmicks that were constantly being pushed ( Le Petit Chef) or the price hike in future cruises now that Edge has been launched. I think these will go even higher when the revitalisation of the fleet is completed as this is costing £xxxx million.

[Lois R]

I was a loyal Celebrity cruiser for years and then decided to branch out......took a river cruise (LOVED) and then 2 cruises on Silversea (LOVED THEM TOO).I will be trying Azamara for the first time in April and very much looking forward to it. I guess you could say I left Celebrity before trying these other lines and have not gone back...I have come to the realization I LOVE the small vessels

I had a deposit down for EDGE but cancelled it...….not sure if I will sail with X again or not. I don't want to say "Never"..…...that is a long time. Something may come up that really calls my name but I don't look at Celebrity anymore really.

[dabear]

While we prefer small ships, (Regent, Oceania, Azamara and river cruise) we did go back to Celebrity last summer and very much enjoyed the Eclipse on a Baltic cruise. We still consider itinerary and price in our decisions.

[nonrev1]

We strayed from Azamara a few years ago because many changes were made that we felt changed the reason why we loved cruising with Azamara.  We came back to Azamara because we enjoy the smaller ships and port intensive cruises.  But, that being said, the Azamara pricing is reaching all new highs and the promos just raise the prices vs. being a true sale.  We just returned from a South American cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse and the ship was beautiful, loved the live music in multiple venues throughout the day and the entertainment was far better than we had experienced when Azamara made all of the entertainment and music changes.  Yes, we sacrificed the small ship experience and never saw an officer .......but, the cruise was half the price.  We booked Aqua Class so we had access to Blu for breakfast and dinner so we did not have to go to the buffet.  The main dining room was a great option to avoid the crowds if we were on the ship for lunch.  Aqua class has spa access and you get more for your status with Celebrity than Azamara.  Example:  We are Elite Plus - with Azamara we get one (very small) laundry bag per week to share. With Celebrity we each get our own benefits - we each have our own laundry bag per week.  We do have two cruises booked this summer with Azamara.  But we also have a Circle Japan cruise booked with Celebrity next year.   It is less than half the price of what Azamara is asking on their Circle Japan itineraries.  

So- while we were faithful to Azamara and earned the majority of our Elite Plus status with them .....We will go to Celebrity if there is better value offered for the destinations we want.  

[baytraller]

We have cruised with Azamara 25 times and only twice with Celebrity.

 

Since the introduction of the 3 and 4 member bands in the Living Room there has been a significant volume increase, resulting in a far less enjoyable experience.
We have just returned from a cruise on the Quest.
One evening at about 7.30PM the decibel level on the side of the Living Room was measured at 93.
The area in front of the stage on the dance floor is were the volume is loudest. Sounds above 85 decibels can be harmful.
The decibel level some distance from the band, outside the Living Room near the lift was measured at 70.

We were considering booking 4 new cruises but decided to reconsider.

Our next cruise will be our first on the Pursuit in March.
The stage on Pursuit is located away from the front windows, with seating between the windows and the stage.
We have been told that the sound is lower between the stage and the front windows.

Possibly the Pursuit may be a better option for our future cruises.

 

[jelayne]

We tried our 1st Azamara cruise in December.  We boarded with high expectations of better food and service.  We had done 45 cruises, 22 on Celebrity before Azamara. Most of our Celebrity cruises were in Aqua so that is our comparison to a V2.

 

what we liked:  well maintained ship, very pleasant, relaxing decor, a very knowledgeable crew- you could ask any of the crew about something in a different area and they knew the answer, the Patio excellent ( we quickly learned to go just before 2 so we could get just made burgers and brats vs those sitting in the steamers, Captain, HD  and CD very visible, Pime C was excellent, Azamazing Evening is a excellent inclusion,  ever waiting more than a few seconds for a elevator was great.

 

what we didn’t like:  Shore excursions and shore  excursion staff were horrible, Discoveries dining room food was less than impressive ( served cold to lukewarm food, 2 of our 8 dinners were returned) noisy, hectic much like a MDR on a main line cruise ship, waiting at a min 15 minutes to  45 minutes to be seated for dinner,  the included wines were  mediocre - DH gave up on the wines and  drank cocktails at dinner,  ship was dead- living room before dinner had 10 -15 people, Spirits was empty most of the time, Sunset bar between 4-6pm had a max of 6 people,

service in Windows (and other areas) was too the extreme ( please be seated & we will get your coffee/juice) but you have to wait until we notice you need a refill, we will run up 5 decks to get what you want if you wait a few minutes because we want to deliver excellent service, but I’m  capable & happy to get it myself but that is seen as the crew not doing their job.

 

So is the service excllent- yes but we are capable and willing to get our own coffee or juice in the buffet or wait for  our eggs to be cooked. For us added to the MDR which we disliked, the dead nightlife and the many shore excursion fiascos the Premium price for us isn’t justified.  

So we are back on X.   For a special itinerary we would cruise AZ again but with different expectations than on our first cruise.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Not to denigrate anyone else's opinions [which are of course 100% valid for them], but for our two Azamara cruises compared to our two Celebrity Luminae cruises, we consider the Azamara MDR food equal in quality to Luminae [and there are more menu choices on Azamara].  Yes the Azamara dining room is larger and noisier than Luminae, but that would be true on most luxury cruise lines as well.

[lisiamc]

We’ve also happily bounced back and forth between the two lines, but recent changes in Celebrity ships have stopped that.  With Edge coming online, her sister ships following, and the older ships rapidly being Edgified (“Revolutionised”), Celebrity is no longer a good fit for us.  Our last two Celebrity cruises will be on Solstice next month.  

 

We have five Azamara cruises in the pipeline, and we hope that RCI will be able to resist “improving” Azamara in a similar fashion to Celebrity. 

[hubofhockey]

On 1/24/2019 at 11:48 PM, jelayne said:

 

So we are back on X.   For a special itinerary we would cruise AZ again but with different expectations than on our first cruise.

 

We're looking forward to our first cruise on Azamara and we are doing it for the itinerary.  Our sweet spot is the M class ships on X, which are actually the ones with the really good itineraries on X.  We love the size (around 2,000) and that they have all of the basics that the huge ships have.  We also do Aqua class and also really enjoy Sushi on 5.  We have a 2020 cruise booked on the Summit after they "revolutionize" it.  Hoping for the best.

[audobon_tx]

Will never go back, short of a suite on a TA with a big promo.