Azamara Journey Balcony v Celebrity Solstice Aqua Class

[Billy Butlin]

Hi. Fairly new to cruising and recently been on an Azamara cruise which I thoroughly enjoyed and will be booking again.

 

I am trying to compare Azamara to Celebrity and would appreciate some thoughts as to differences

 

I can get a 15 night Asia cruise with Azamara Journey in a balcony with $300 onboard credit for the same price and similar itinerary to Celebrity Solstice Aqua Class; for £400 less I can get a Prime Veranda (both Celebrity prices are with the All Included upgrade of  $400 onboard credit, classic drinks package, tips wi fi)

 

How does an Azamara Balcony compare to Aqua Class on Celebrity  .... not sure what you get for Aqua Class and indeed if Aqua Class is worth the extra £400 over and above a Celebrity Balcony - I could use the difference for onboard spend

 

Ive factored in that I will have to pay extra for any specialty restaurants ($35 for the 2 on Azamara but not sure about Celebrity) and if I choose to upgrade drinks that will be extra ($21.95 per day for Ultimate on Azamara not sure about Celebrity)

 

I really enjoyed the small size ship vibe on Azamara and was very happy with food, drink (I upgraded to the Ultimate package) and friendly staff. Albeit it was a little quiet of an evening and on sea days but nothing to put me off booking again

 

Any thoughts or insight on how Aqua Class and Azamara Balcony compare and indeed whether the £400 extra for Aqua Class on Celebrity is worth it.

 

Thanks

[lisiamc]

I think it depends on what you like and want. The last four or five Celebrity cruises we did were Aqua class, because we really liked Blu. Eventually, we just didn’t want to cope with big ships any more, and we much prefer Azamara. We have found Discoveries to be a fairly good match for Blu, and the Patio Grill to be our favourite evening dining venue on any cruise line, when weather permits. We don’t like big production shows, (we rarely go to any shows on any line, although we do always go to the Azamazing Evening) so there really isn’t anything to draw us back to Celebrity. On a comparable itinerary, Azamara would win, hands down. In fact, even on an inferior itinerary, Azamara would win!
 

 

[LuAnn]

I've been on both lines and would agree that AZ would be my choice. I wouldn't sail on Celebrity without booking Aqua Class..because you then dine in Blu for breakfast and dinner. Blu is more like a specialty restaurant in size and there are different entrees etc than in the main dining room. 

 

You do have to pay extra for the specialty restaurants on Celebrity and you would have to pay extra to upgrade the beverage package. 

 

I really love the size of the AZ ships and the interaction with the staff and officers. I enjoy playing Trivia and Mah Jongg so that keeps me busy on sea days..but I'd do that on either line. I do enjoy the production shows and miss those on AZ but the singers and dancers on AZ do a good job. And it's a much more intimate setting. Let us know what you decide!! 🙂

[nonrev1]

We just came off the Celebrity Apex and had booked Aqua class.  It is so hard to compare a new ship to Azamara.  I would never go on Celebrity without booking Aqua class because it gives you more benefits and Blu. The entertainment was outstanding.    That being said, the itineraries on Azamara are better than Celebrity.  But, Azamara is much quieter and if you have sea days,  there are definitely fewer activities.  Tv/free movie choices are much better on Celebrity.  We looked at Cekebrity Japan and Azamara Japan and booked Azamara.  Our decision was itinerary driven.  Azamara has longer times in port and less sea days than the Celebrity itinerary.  The cost of Celebrity was lower, but given fewer sea days and more time in port tipped the scales for us to choose Azamara.  

[Mercruiser]

If I'm cruising on Celebrity, I really prefer Aqua Class solely because of the open-seating Blu. I don't think the Aqua cabins are much different than other balcony cabins. In fact many of them are permanently shaded, being right under the pool overhang.

 

On our Baltic cruise, we booked Aqua for a just few hundred dollars over a regular balcony - a real bargain. In contrast, I have a Singapore-Hong Kong cruise booked in 2025, and Aqua Class is $2000 more than a balcony. I booked the regular balcony on that one. We can dine every night at Murano and Tuscan for way less than that!

 

Like others have said, its itinerary and price driven for me. Sometimes Azamara has very good deals, e.g. South America cruises. But for others, like Norway, their prices are way too high for my budget.