Annual Which Survey on Cruiselines (UK)

[uktog]

Not sure you can see this, if not google it. Azamara have fallen from way up top to third bottom in a joint position with Costa

Certainly not where they would want to be. Possibly paying the price for not keeping an eye on their UK market with a UK MD

 

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cruise-lines/article/best-and-worst-cruise-lines-aXDfX7O9uJEz 

[Ayden]

14 minutes ago, uktog said:

Not sure you can see this, if not google it. Azamara have fallen from way up top to third bottom in a joint position with Costa

Certainly not where they would want to be. Possibly paying the price for not keeping an eye on their UK market with a UK MD

 

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cruise-lines/article/best-and-worst-cruise-lines-aXDfX7O9uJEz 

Interesting but no agreement here.  We have tried some of these and have to wonder?

[uktog]

I agree, the trouble is first time cruisers in the UK are influenced by surveys and Which is a very trusted source.  At least for the next year, the only way (hopefully) is up!

[boxman52]

I'd say Viking in overall experience is far far ahead of Azamara however so is the price

We are about to go for the third time on Onward and again we have picked it for ports and value. It cheap!

Azamara aren't helped by the view that it's a luxury cruise. It simply isn't or if it was it's not anymore

Maybe their strap line should be a cruise line for people who like to imagine they are having a luxury experience

[Oslo Dutch]

Pretty weird as Azamara's overall experience is a huge lap from the likes of MSC/Costa/P&O

 

Only 3 stars are given to for example general cabins (they are a bit tiny) entertainment(not huge like on the big ships) Customer Service (Big shoreside issues right now) etc.

 

However, it comes across this is a rating by people who have not been properly informed about the Azamara product at all and who shouldn't have booked Azamara in the first place.

[Riocca]

1 hour ago, boxman52 said:

I'd say Viking in overall experience is far far ahead of Azamara however so is the price

We are about to go for the third time on Onward and again we have picked it for ports and value. It cheap!

Azamara aren't helped by the view that it's a luxury cruise. It simply isn't or if it was it's not anymore

Maybe their strap line should be a cruise line for people who like to imagine they are having a luxury experience

Can’t say I would agree with you about Viking, admittedly we’ve only done one cruise with them in 2019 but it was a complete shambles. Starting with embarkation when they notified all passengers of the wrong docking location, service was poor and food mainly cold, problem was possibly launching so many ships too quickly and staff were poorly trained things no doubt have improved but a poor first impression.

Agree that Azamara suffers from the impression it’s a luxury line probably promoted more by travel agents than the cruise line. Azamara reminds us of P&O U.K. pre Carnival but without the formal element offering a premium not luxury product.

 

 

[travelberlin]

“Luxury” seems to be a concept on which every body imagines something else. For me “Luxury” while cruising, is to have no crowds, an intimate small ship experience, interesting ports of call, good food and included drinks and attentive and friendly officers and crew. In that sense for me Azamara is “luxury”.

Ivi

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

 

Agree that Azamara suffers from the impression it’s a luxury line probably promoted more by travel agents than the cruise line. 

 

 

Absolutely an issue and something I am amazed Azamara does nothing about - we are talking about major agencies and national newspaper ads as well as all over the travel agency facebook and website pages.  Is there not a crib sheet for agents and also cant Azamara step in and highlight misrepresentations to the agencies and get adverts changed as its their product that is being misrepresented?

It disappoints me that people who do not know how good a match Azamara might be for them and are new to cruising or looking to change cruise lines are going to be put off by this survey given how well respected Which is

Edited March 4, 2023 by uktog
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[fruitmachine]

There are some very small sample sizes here.  I'm fairly sure that the (undisclosed) margin of error could put many of those at the top down at the bottom and vice versa.

[Riocca]

14 minutes ago, fruitmachine said:

There are some very small sample sizes here.  I'm fairly sure that the (undisclosed) margin of error could put many of those at the top down at the bottom and vice versa.

Wow I hadn’t noticed that, in fact the total survey responses represents less than 0.1% of the passengers who sailed from Southampton alone. Hardly fair on any company to publish a survey with such a small sample size.

[hamrag]

It's very interesting that Az key competitor in the premium market, Oceania cruises making the top five, fares much better than Azamara......

 

Azamara has only a 3 star rating in five categories, and a 5 star in only one.

Oceania has no ratings lower than 4 star, and a 5 star in eight categories!

Edited March 4, 2023 by hamrag

[Host Jazzbeau]

As with any of these media surveys, I suspect that the majority  of the voters haven’t sailed on the ships they are rating. So this is really a survey of advertising effectiveness. Oceania only shows their newer ships, while Azamara only has old (albeit beloved by us) ships. 

[boxman52]

I like Azamara but I do understand why others would be very disappointed

The shoreside service is not great

The entertainment for some lacks imagination and very much goes through a tired slightly hackneyed program

The restaurants while I really like them, when was the menu last changed? It's a bit dated on the food offer

The premium package included wines aren't great

The cabins aren't luxury, I mean the shower curtain alone would have some people I know horrified

The pool area, I really like, but I can see why others would say it's basic

The gym is not luxury

Now I'm painting the extreme and I think it's a great value product with a huge number of pluses. But if people don't do their research, like the two vloggers who kept referring to "I wouldn't expect this on a luxury cruise line", I do understand the disappointment 

 

 

[john1970]

They can't change some things like the cabin size and tiny showers but they can make sure they listen to loyal customers and address some of the service and product issues. All lines are struggling with similar issues but some seem to have a plan or vision that they are able to move on with. Azamara just seems to be plodding along and I'm not sure how long that can carry on without some major changes.

[Marmaduke]

If you read the notes at the bottom of the full table it says "Using the table: In November 2022 we asked 1727 members of Which? Connect and the general public about their experience of cruise holidays in the past two years."

 Cruising shut down completely in early 2020 due to covid and has only slowly restarted in the past year with cruise lines having to follow strict protocols so I would argue that those surveyed did not enjoy the normal cruise line experience.  All cruise lines have suffered with supply problems, staff shortages, reduced capacity etc.  Therefore I take the results of this survey with a large pinch of salt.

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, Marmaduke said:

If you read the notes at the bottom of the full table it says "Using the table: In November 2022 we asked 1727 members of Which? Connect and the general public about their experience of cruise holidays in the past two years."

 Cruising shut down completely in early 2020 due to covid and has only slowly restarted in the past year with cruise lines having to follow strict protocols so I would argue that those surveyed did not enjoy the normal cruise line experience.  All cruise lines have suffered with supply problems, staff shortages, reduced capacity etc.  Therefore I take the results of this survey with a large pinch of salt.

That is true. I am surprised that a survey under those circumstances is even done and published. Most people will just look at the results and not think about the conditions of the survey. 

Ivi

[Edinburghgirl1]

After my first Azamara cruise in November this is likely how I would have scored them. I may have given an extra star for cabin but then we were in a Club Continent suite. Maybe things were different pre Covid but I think the scores given in this survey are pretty spot on for the current product on offer. 

[marinaro44]

Having spent 36 nights on Quest and Onward in the past twelve months, I think the current product is just fine.  But I don't need constant music in my ears while awake in order to be happy.

[Edinburghgirl1]

26 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Having spent 36 nights on Quest and Onward in the past twelve months, I think the current product is just fine.  But I don't need constant music in my ears while awake in order to be happy.

Obviously many don’t agree with you judging by the result of the survey! 

[lisiamc]

I’m not sure the input for Which? was weighed for those with more than one experience with Azamara, or whether those who answered the survey had actual Azamara cruise history. The sample size seems unreliably small, and may be skewed for various reasons.

[Ayden]

35 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Obviously many don’t agree with you judging by the result of the survey! 

Some surveys aren't worth much.  This one seems a bit shallow considering timing, sample size, and geographical demographics.

Personally, I would value the opinions of those who have experienced the other brands in addition to Azamara and can draw their own conclusions.  There is so much good information on Cruise Critic that it doesn't take long to identify solid reviewers and those " complaints" just can't be taken seriously.

I'll stick with cruise critic and my own research thanks!

Edited March 6, 2023 by Ayden
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[Edinburghgirl1]

Personally I have experienced 4 other lines and still agree with the ratings given to Azamara based on my recent experience. 

[Riocca]

Over the 20 years we’ve been cruising we’ve been on 16 different ocean cruise lines so we have been able to hone our likes and dislikes and know our tastes have changed significantly over that time.

 

We used to enjoy formal nights and production shows but now prefer a more relaxed low key style however sometimes it’s the cruise lines have changed. In the early days P&O was our go to line but post Carnival it’s become too family focused with ships that are way too big for our liking. We enjoyed Celebrity for a short while until they became millennial focused with music everywhere. 

 

All cruise lines provide something different so people should do their research to see if it provides what they like. If I booked MSC thinking it would be like Azamara when I am disappointed is it MSC’s fault or mine for booking the wrong cruise line? Mine of course so it would be unfair to criticise them for my mistake, but these days that’s part of the problem people won’t acknowledge their own mistake and want the cruise lines to change to their requirements.

 

We’ve been on a few cruises that haven’t lived up to our expectations but realised we were as much to blame for choosing the wrong cruise line. Wouldn’t dream of leaving bad reviews as we know that lots of others enjoy what they offer it’s just not for us so we just wouldn’t book again.
 

 

[Edinburghgirl1]

29 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Over the 20 years we’ve been cruising we’ve been on 16 different ocean cruise lines so we have been able to hone our likes and dislikes and know our tastes have changed significantly over that time.

 

We used to enjoy formal nights and production shows but now prefer a more relaxed low key style however sometimes it’s the cruise lines have changed. In the early days P&O was our go to line but post Carnival it’s become too family focused with ships that are way too big for our liking. We enjoyed Celebrity for a short while until they became millennial focused with music everywhere. 

 

All cruise lines provide something different so people should do their research to see if it provides what they like. If I booked MSC thinking it would be like Azamara when I am disappointed is it MSC’s fault or mine for booking the wrong cruise line? Mine of course so it would be unfair to criticise them for my mistake, but these days that’s part of the problem people won’t acknowledge their own mistake and want the cruise lines to change to their requirements.

 

We’ve been on a few cruises that haven’t lived up to our expectations but realised we were as much to blame for choosing the wrong cruise line. Wouldn’t dream of leaving bad reviews as we know that lots of others enjoy what they offer it’s just not for us so we just wouldn’t book again.
 

 

Totally agree with your comments however a survey is surely based on your individual experience of the product being surveyed in this case rating different aspects of the cruise out of 5. If it was only the odd person who thought the cruise didn’t meet their expectations surely the star ratings would be higher.

Edited March 6, 2023 by Edinburghgirl1

[Riocca]

9 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

Totally agree with your comments however a survey is surely based on your individual experience of the product being surveyed in this case rating different aspects of the cruise out of 5. If it was only the odd person who thought the cruise didn’t meet their expectations surely the star ratings would be higher.

Unfortunately the survey is of such a small sample size it would only take the odd person to adversely affect the results.