Which ship to pick ?

[mrstraveler1987]

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

[1985rz1]

7 minutes ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

Really, it depends on the itinerary and ports, along with what type of experience you are looking for. Each line has its plusses and minuses. 

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

We spend a lot of time on O ships (about 100 nights annually). Even before the Pandemic, it was nice to see our normally “retired” demographic shifting in a younger direction (particularly with the short cruises of 7-10 days). And many of those folks with whom I chatted gave as their reasons for choosing O: value laden quality, the food reputation, and the itineraries. IMO, it’s no coincidence that so many short summer European and Alaska O cruises are even seeing more multi-generational families.

 

BTW, for many years, Azamara and O (both with some of the identical former Renaissance ships) were considered competitors - each with their own following. 

 

However, Azamara suffered through the Pandemic ending up sold by its parent company to the well known “takeover” outfit- Sycamore Partners (zero experience in the cruise industry). Last I heard, the jury is still out on how Azamara has ended up in the deal.

 

Can’t comment on Seaborne. 

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Last I heard, the jury is still out on how Azamara has ended up in the deal.

We depart for a New Zealand cruise on Azamara this coming weekend, boarding in Auckland on January 21.  Guess we'll find out and report back.  

[mrstraveler1987]

56 minutes ago, 1985rz1 said:

We depart for a New Zealand cruise on Azamara this coming weekend, boarding in Auckland on January 21.  Guess we'll find out and report back.  

Awesome! Have a blast!

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

 

Cannot comment on the itinerary, but comparing O and A, Riviera is a newer ships, recently renovated, much nicer cabins, more dining options. Service probably comparable, food better on O, activities better on A (Azamazing, white nights etc). Prices comparable for entry level veranda, but you get 240 sqft on O and 170 sqft on A.

 

Seabourn is considered more luxury, usually more expensive and more exclusive. If the prices are similar, I would probably go with SB.

[mrstraveler1987]

3 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Cannot comment on the itinerary, but comparing O and A, Riviera is a newer ships, recently renovated, much nicer cabins, more dining options. Service probably comparable, food better on O, activities better on A (Azamazing, white nights etc). Prices comparable for entry level veranda, but you get 240 sqft on O and 170 sqft on A.

 

Seabourn is considered more luxury, usually more expensive and more exclusive. If the prices are similar, I would probably go with SB.

All three with airfair are between 10-11,000 usd. 

[Vallesan]

I’ve not travelled with Azamara but have been on  both the Riviera and the Encore.

 

Physically, the Riviera is around 66,000 tons with maximum 1250 passengers whilst the Encore is around 40,000 tons with 600 passengers. Also unlike many other ships the Encore has all suites in the front 2/3rds of the ship whilst the restaurants etc. are all aft. Easier orientation! 
 

The entry level suites are larger on Encore.

 

Seabourn ships also have ‘Seabourn Square’ which is like a central ‘hub’ with reception, coffee shop, news papers which is a very sociable area.

 

Riviera has four included speciality restaurants where as Encore only has one. This was Thomas Keller which in our opinion was really not brilliant. In fact when we mentioned on the mid cruise survey that were weren’t impressed the maitre’d asked us to come back again but we declined! We were disappointed with the food generally on Encore in September. Oceania wins hands down for food.

 

Service is good on both but Seabourn goes that extra mile IMO. In saying that PH and above on Oceania have butlers so it may not be so clear cut.

 

We like the all inclusivity of Seabourn and maybe prefer the atmosphere too. But now I’m ’splitting hairs’!

 

So to your ages …. mid 30’s. Really depends on what you like. Warm weather cruises on the Encore have many more deck ‘parties’ than Oceania ships. However, I use the word ‘party’ guardedly … none of these ships are ‘party’ ships. If you are party people the maybe Virgin would be better. 
 

On balance I would go for Seabourn for a warm weather cruise, you can choose to join in the activities or not as you please. Oceania may be a little quieter. My guess, from the cruises we've travelled on that there won’t be that many under 40’s on either ship,

I’m offering my experiences on Mediterranean cruises. Others may have had different experiences in different parts of the world. Indeed we had a completely different experience on the Sirena in the Caribbean, B2B 10 nts and 7 and the 7 was rowdy!!

Edited January 10 by Vallesan

[AMHuntFerry]

17 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

All three with airfair are between 10-11,000 usd. 

Are you only looking at the Owner's Suite on Riviera? If so, this may make a difference in some of the replies.

It will be easier to address your original question if the cruise(s) are listed, as well as the cabin category that you like, what you like about cruises, and what you don't want on a cruise.

[mrstraveler1987]

57 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Are you only looking at the Owner's Suite on Riviera? If so, this may make a difference in some of the replies.

It will be easier to address your original question if the cruise(s) are listed, as well as the cabin category that you like, what you like about cruises, and what you don't want on a cruise.

I wish! No these are  concierge level with balcony

[AMHuntFerry]

4 minutes ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

I wish! No these are  concierge level with balcony

Can you please ID the cruise please? That is way more expensive than any A-cabin I've ever seen on O and I can't find one that expensive when I search.

 

Oh, wait, are you quoting the price for 2 people (so $5k per person)? If so, then that makes sense, but it is one of the more expensive O cruises...probably time of year and/or locale.

Edited January 10 by AMHuntFerry

[Croooser]

Sailing on Seabourn for the first time in April. Have been on Riviera 4X. Seems like Vallesan's response is well balanced and probably right on, based on what we know of Riviera and what we think that we have learned about Encore..

 

One suggestion: We have found some of the YouTube reviews to be very helpful and informative - including when we researched Encore. The caveat is that some are cheerleaders or "influencers". Some admit that they were comped and some do not mention it one way or the other. However, we still found the videos helpful just getting a good look at the ships.

 

HTH

[rbtan]

22 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

Helps if you gave us more info. on your likes etc. I'll try. For Food O generally wins. All the restaurants are free Except Le Reserve which pairs wine with the tastings. Not all rest. on Seaborne are that great. Azamara having been sold off still has the jury out. The food quality is a step down.Ages on O are generally 65+. This might be older than you prefer. Dress is Country Club Casual, which means fewer jeans more khaki style & generally a little more formal. Suits & ties are not required. You'll see a few.Some will bring a sport coat like us, but not wear it often. Azamara is pretty casual but not sloppy like some other lines. Seaborne has more formal but again really more low key.The best thing to do is watch some Youtube videos of your preferred lines. Avoid the ones done by the lines. Really full of bull. look for actual pax showing their own experiences.

[mrstraveler1987]

3 hours ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Can you please ID the cruise please? That is way more expensive than any A-cabin I've ever seen on O and I can't find one that expensive when I search.

 

Oh, wait, are you quoting the price for 2 people (so $5k per person)? If so, then that makes sense, but it is one of the more expensive O cruises...probably time of year and/or locale.

I apologize. $11,000 for us as a couple. Not individually! That is a lot to us so we want to make an informed decision! Thank you. 

[Psoque]

We put a big emphasis on ports of call when we pick a cruise.  I am not sure if your three choices go to similar locations.  If we were in your shoes, we would really look at the itinerary and see if any one of the three has the "better" itinerary compared to the other.

[ak1004]

5 minutes ago, Psoque said:

We put a big emphasis on ports of call when we pick a cruise.  I am not sure if your three choices go to similar locations.  If we were in your shoes, we would really look at the itinerary and see if any one of the three has the "better" itinerary compared to the other.

 

Same for us, but this is more relevant to European sailings. Less important for Caribbean. Since the OP didn't mention the itinerary, hard to comment, but for the Caribbean I would put more weight to the ship. 

[Psoque]

Can the OP tell us exactly where the three ships are going?

[mrstraveler1987]

45 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Same for us, but this is more relevant to European sailings. Less important for Caribbean. Since the OP didn't mention the itinerary, hard to comment, but for the Caribbean I would put more weight to the ship. 

Sorry. 
Oceania - cruising from Monte Carlo to Barcelona.

azamara - Greece 

seabourn - Athens, Italy, Dubrovnik 

[mrstraveler1987]

On 1/9/2024 at 6:54 PM, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

Sorry. 
Oceania - cruising from Monte Carlo to Barcelona.

azamara - Greece 

seabourn - Athens, Italy, Dubrovnik 

[mrstraveler1987]

On 1/9/2024 at 6:54 PM, mrstraveler1987 said:

Trying to decide between seabourn encore, Oceania Riviera and azmara journey. All 7 day cruises we are mid 30s. Thank you in advance!

 

[mrstraveler1987]

51 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Same for us, but this is more relevant to European sailings. Less important for Caribbean. Since the OP didn't mention the itinerary, hard to comment, but for the Caribbean I would put more weight to the ship. 

All three are the same week- first week of September 2024.

Oceania - Monte Carla to Barcelona 

axamara - Greece and turkey

seabourn- Athens to Dubrovnik 

[mrstraveler1987]

All three are the same week- first week of September 2024.

Oceania - Monte Carla to Barcelona 

axamara - Greece and turkey

seabourn- Athens to Dubrovnik 

[ak1004]

42 minutes ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Sorry. 
Oceania - cruising from Monte Carlo to Barcelona.

azamara - Greece 

seabourn - Athens, Italy, Dubrovnik 

 

In terms of itinerary, Azamara is the least diverse, Greece only. I like Oceania itinerary. Also not sure how important is the cabin to you - Azamara has the smallest cabins. For the same cost, I would probably go with Seabourn, but Oceania is very nice too. The SB itinerary has 1 sea day, O zero if this is a factor.

[AMHuntFerry]

Hi @mrstraveler1987, I know this isn't the input you were seeking, but I can't help myself. I like to get bang for my buck and it sounds like you don't want to waste money, so  here's my unsolicited recommendations:

Your base fare for an A-2 on the itinerary in post #20 is $2949/person. The rest is air, hotel, etc.

O air may make sense sometimes, but I find it advantageous to book my own. Check out https://matrix.itasoftware.com

O's airfare + transfers are $1500/person. I found airfare MSP to Nice (closest airport, about 11 miles away from Monte Carlo) departing Sept.2 (arrive Sept. 3 although I'd recommend arriving at least a day or 2 earlier), then BCN to MSP on Sept. 11 (again, stay at least overnight if possible to reduce stress or to visit). United, Delta, American all ran about $1340/person for the basic economy fare with 1 stop. Delta had the most flights, so I would tend toward them (as back up in case of flight issues). Now, you'll probably say that that's about even with O's price (and O provides a transfer), but there are some drawbacks with O airfare (like not being able to choose your flights and having more than one stop, among others).

The hotel listed in post #20 is a Hilton hotel. A room for 2 people starts at $413 so O charges more than double:

https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/rooms/?ctyhocn=NCECOQQ&arrivalDate=2024-09-03&departureDate=2024-09-04&room1NumAdults=2&displayCurrency=USD

If booking your own air, hotel, and ground transport is daunting, just have a full service travel agent do your booking for you. I just checked my TA's site and the Signature consortium has prepaid gratuities as a perk for that cruise (Worth $18/person/day for an A2), so a TA is worth some $$ even if you end up booking everything through O (but I bet a TA can get you a much sweeter deal on a hotel). They can also help with insurance and if things go horribly wrong at some point (if full service, not a booking agency, and no I'm not a TA...only use them for cruises, no other travel products).

Anyhoo...I hope this helps you save some cash to spend on fun vacationy things!

Edited January 11 by AMHuntFerry

[mrstraveler1987]

7 minutes ago, AMHuntFerry said:

Hi @mrstraveler1987, I know this isn't the input you were seeking, but I can't help myself. I like to get bang for my buck and it sounds like you don't want to waste money, so  here's my unsolicited recommendations:

Your base fare for an A-2 on the itinerary in post #20 is $2949/person. The rest is air, hotel, etc.

O air may make sense sometimes, but I find it advantageous to book my own. Check out https://matrix.itasoftware.com

O's airfare + transfers are $1500/person. I found airfare MSP to Nice (closest airport, about 11 miles away from Monte Carlo) departing Sept.2 (arrive Sept. 3 although I'd recommend arriving at least a day or 2 earlier), then BCN to MSP on Sept. 11 (again, stay at least overnight if possible to reduce stress or to visit). United, Delta, American all ran about $1340/person for the basic economy fare with 1 stop. Delta had the most flights, so I would tend toward them (as back up in case of flight issues). Now, you'll probably say that that's about even with O's price (and O provides a transfer), but there are some drawbacks with O airfare (like not being able to choose your flights and having more than one stop, among others).

The hotel listed in post #20 is a Hilton hotel. A room for 2 people starts at $413 so O charges more than double:

https://www.hilton.com/en/book/reservation/rooms/?ctyhocn=NCECOQQ&arrivalDate=2024-09-03&departureDate=2024-09-04&room1NumAdults=2&displayCurrency=USD

If booking your own air, hotel, and ground transport is daunting, just have a full service travel agent do your booking for you. I just checked my TA's site and the Signature consortium has prepaid gratuities as a perk for that cruise (Worth $18/person/day for an A2), so a TA is worth some $$ even if you end up booking everything through O (but I bet a TA can get you a much sweeter deal on a hotel). They can also help with insurance and if things go horribly wrong at some point (if full service, not a booking agency, and no I'm not a TA...only use them for cruises, no other travel products).

Anyhoo...I hope this helps you save some cash to spend on fun vacationy things!

You are AMAZING thank you!!!!