Which would you choose

[mrstraveler1987]

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

[wjfan417]

1 hour 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!

Where/when? Are the itineraries the same?

[Host Jazzbeau]

None of these cruise lines really markets to mid-30s passengers, but of the three Oceania skews a little younger IMO.  But Azamara has the best itineraries, if you want in-depth coverage of a country or area rather than a smorgasbord that goes from Barcelona to Rome with a round-up of 'the usual suspects' for ports.  And Oceania Riviera has better food and larger cabins.  IDK Seabourn, it has always struck me as dull on both itineraries and shipboard activities – and also there are many comments from regulars that standards have been cut.

[mrstraveler1987]

36 minutes ago, wjfan417 said:

Where/when? Are the itineraries the same?

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

Oceania - Monte Carla to Barcelona 

axamara - Greece and turkey

seabourn- Athens to Dubrovnik 

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

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

Oceania - Monte Carla to Barcelona 

axamara - Greece and turkey

seabourn- Athens to Dubrovnik 

Depends which ports they’re going into. Personally Athens to Dubrovnik sounds good - especially if it goes through the Corinth canal

[Rosroz]

Hi , never been on Seaborn can’t comment on them, Oceania, yes the food and cabins are better than Azamara but that’s it’s , Azamara the ships are older the cabins are not flash but it is more cosy and friendly , the food is pretty good . I’m in my 60’s but still have plenty of life in me 🤣 I find Oceania very very boring especially in the evenings, fellow cruisers on Azamara seem to mix better no matter what your age.

[mrstraveler1987]

Great advice! Thanks! 

[Dr H]

I'm partial to Azamara. I've heard anecdotal reports of shall we say, "snobbishness" on Oceania, as in "Look how much money we have..." Don't know if it's true or not, but price wise, I wouldn't be surprised. Seriously, look at prices. Itinerary wise, we've done all of them. It's a very subjective issue, but we are doing B2B in October, Athens up to Istanbul then back down to Athens. Both are 1 week legs. Food wise, Azamara is excellent, Oceania has the reputation, but how much butter can one mortal consume in a week? (I'd love to do a week on Oceania, but they just price me out of their market) Seabourn, honestly, I know nothing. My suggestion, start dieting now, save a few dollars on Azamara, and meet up with some seriously successful, very active, and very intelligent senior citizens. And whatever you decide, please let the rest of us old fogies know your plans. (PS, Greece to Turkey, dep October 5th, if you wish to delay...)  

[uktog]

It really depends what matters to you if you see the itineraries as equal. Azamara has strengths for sure but so do other lines. Things that might put you off Azamara

* generally an older crowd - but usually a friendly group

* food used to be a strength some still see strengths others highlight inconsistencies (my take it generally remains acceptable but be prepared for off days)

* postage stamp sized showers - but how long are you in the shower for?  You can avoid that by booking a Club Continent room which would be more comparable to Seabourn

* entertainment can also be variable- if there is a good DJ in the lounge you will be fine - our experience is one in three/four cruises the DJ is a dud and it seems to be happening more lately 

 

It’s a decision only you can make after an extensive population of a decision tree chart!  Good luck. 

[the mice]

Is this for a special occasion?  Have you cruised before?  What are the specific ports and what are you interested in doing in them - historic sites, art, food, wine?  Have you been to any of these places before? Since these are all short cruises, are there any seas days or are they very port intensive? More info about your interests / travel style would help in giving suggestions. 

 

Azamara is an older, smaller ship with more traditional decor, has smaller cabins, food quality can be uneven, only 2 specialty restaurants for a fee, overall excellent crew which is what makes Azamara special for most people, often spends longer time in ports if that matters to you. 

 

Oceania is a larger ship with 4 excellent specialty restaurants at no fee (can be a bit challenging to book on a 7 day cruise), a dedicated Culinary Arts center for cooking classes (popular-these book up quickly and not sure of offerings on a 7 day), wonderful afternoon tea daily, more contemporary decor and larger cabins, less crew/officer interaction but still very good service. 

 

Never cruised Seabourn, but it's considered a true luxury line whereas Azamara and Oceania are premium lines. 

 

Good luck with choosing. 

 

[mrstraveler1987]

10 minutes ago, the mice said:

Is this for a special occasion?  Have you cruised before?  What are the specific ports and what are you interested in doing in them - historic sites, art, food, wine?  Have you been to any of these places before? Since these are all short cruises, are there any seas days or are they very port intensive? More info about your interests / travel style would help in giving suggestions. 

 

Azamara is an older, smaller ship with more traditional decor, has smaller cabins, food quality can be uneven, only 2 specialty restaurants for a fee, overall excellent crew which is what makes Azamara special for most people, often spends longer time in ports if that matters to you. 

 

Oceania is a larger ship with 4 excellent specialty restaurants at no fee (can be a bit challenging to book on a 7 day cruise), a dedicated Culinary Arts center for cooking classes (popular-these book up quickly and not sure of offerings on a 7 day), wonderful afternoon tea daily, more contemporary decor and larger cabins, less crew/officer interaction but still very good service. 

 

Never cruised Seabourn, but it's considered a true luxury line whereas Azamara and Oceania are premium lines. 

 

Good luck with choosing. 

 

Thank you for your reply. 
it’s our ten year anniversary trip. 
we have been to Croatia before. Never to Italy or Monte Carlo or Greece. 
im leaning towards Oceania because we would get to see 4 countries vs 1 on azamara. 

[the mice]

We have done the Med on both AZ and O, and Greece/Turkey on Windstar, as well as traveling independently in France, Italy and Croatia.  Enjoyed it all. 

Some cruisers prefer the country intensive itineraries that AZ offers.  Some prefer variety of multiple countries, but it will be just a "teaser" of each country. 

The French ports offer much to see, as does Barcelona. 

Will you add any time pre or post cruise? 

What port(s) in Italy and on which cruise?  

 

 

 

 

Edited January 10 by the mice
Typo

[Dr H]

25 minutes ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

im leaning towards Oceania because we would get to see 4 countries vs 1 on azamara. 

Beware! On a cruise, you will get to "see" 4 countries, but I wouldn't call that a visit unless it is an extended stay. You get a very quick taste for the country, but there won't be enough time to actually spend significant time in that country. When I travel (DW might think otherwise), I'm going for the ship board amenities, and to catch a glimpse of the country visited, a museum here, a restaurant there. Again, it boils down to what you actually want to do. Also, if you are "leaning" toward a particular line, that is your gut intuition speaking. Ask yourself just why you're leaning - your gut is telling you something - and make a decision from there.

[Grandma Cruising]

Note that Oceania has 4 ships that are the same age & size as all Azamara ships - they are the other 4 of the 8 ‘R’ (Renaissance) class ships built at about the same time. These are Regatta, Insignia, Sirena and Nautical. There other ships are bigger.

[hamrag]

1 hour ago, mrstraveler1987 said:

Thank you for your reply. 
it’s our ten year anniversary trip. 
we have been to Croatia before. Never to Italy or Monte Carlo or Greece. 
im leaning towards Oceania because we would get to see 4 countries vs 1 on azamara. 

I think that would be the best call, it's a larger ship and the Riviera (not an R class vessel) better cabins. The R class ships are identical to Azamara ships, with 95% of cabins having tiny showers.We have cruised both Az and Oceania and would choose Oceania going forward if both cruiselines offered similar itineraries. Main upside is the culinary experience is superior to Az; main downside is that overall Az crew are much more passenger friendly....we don't really care about that aspect within reason.

 

Wouldn't hesitate to use either line again, our next trip booked is Oceania Insignia, which is R class, chosen for a fabulous itinerary.

[G2G]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

I think that would be the best call, it's a larger ship and the Riviera (not an R class vessel) better cabins. The R class ships are identical to Azamara ships, with 95% of cabins having tiny showers.We have cruised both Az and Oceania and would choose Oceania going forward if both cruiselines offered similar itineraries. Main upside is the culinary experience is superior to Az; main downside is that overall Az crew are much more passenger friendly....we don't really care about that aspect within reason.

 

Wouldn't hesitate to use either line again, our next trip booked is Oceania Insignia, which is R class, chosen for a fabulous itinerary.

I definitely agree, I really enjoyed the specialty restaurants on Riviera 

[roaming_kiwi58]

Food is subjective. We have done numerous cruises with Azamara and Oceania, and always found the food on Azamara to be "better", or certainly more suited to us. Oceania food is over-rated in our opinion.

As well as the nature of the food, one particular gripe we have with the Oceania food (on numerous cruises pre Covid - have not travelled with them since Covid) is that it was invariably cold, often because they use cold plates. When we complained about the cold plates they said they couldn't heat the plates because people might get burnt. How come other cruiselines warm their plates?

Up to you whether you like the food of a particular cruise line!

[curmudgeon98]

Personally, I'd say Seabourn for caviar, Oceania for lobster, or Azamara for the people...

 

Those three lines are at the top of my personal preference list, and I'd generally be content with a cruise from any of them.  Seabourn and the larger Oceania ships will have more spacious standard cabins, and possibly better onboard entertainment.  We've generally found Azamara passengers a bit more active and engaged with the destinations.  

 

If you are looking for the luxury life on the ship, I might lean towards Seabourn, but otherwise I think that itinerary might be less interesting for you.  The Azamara cruise has a lot of good ports, many of which can be interesting in themselves even without doing an excursion.  The Oceania cruise has three ports (Livorno, Civitavechia, Marseille) that tend to require long bus trips to get to the more interesting areas, but finishes in Barcelona, which is a great spot for a couple added on nights after the cruise.

[kozycz]

We have done 6 Azamara cruises and just did an Oceania in November on their new ship Vista. We’ve never done Seabourn. We’ve got very few complaints with Azamara. The itineraries can’t be beat, we have for the most part found the food to be very good, the staff and service has always been excellent. Yes the ships are a bit older, probably in need of some updating and yes the veranda cabin bathrooms are small!  But definitely not a deal breaker for us. The public spaces on the ships are warm, inviting and comfortable. The passengers we have met on Azamara over the years are very friendly! As soon as we stepped onto the Oceania Vista we were wowed! It’s a new, beautiful ship! Our veranda cabin was beautifully decorated and the bathroom was phenomenal. We thought the food was on par with Azamara, with more included specialty restaurants to choose from! They were all excellent! We didn’t find the service to be as good as Azamara, excepting possibly the speciality restaurants, which equaled Az. The public spaces on Oceania, although gorgeous, didn’t feel as inviting as Azamara. I would say, based only on our one Oceania, the demographic skews a bit older than Azamara. We spoke with quite a few lovely passengers but overall many PAX seemed grumpy and unfriendly! Just our observation. I, like some other posters, enjoy cruising to be able unpack once, see different locales and get a taste of those, and then spend my evenings onboard, having a nice dinner and enjoying some entertainment. I love the Living Room on Azamara in the evening. I think it depends what’s most important to you, but we tend to lean towards Azamara. We are a young 69 and 71 year old couple. For us Azamara feels like home away from home! 

[chrisbu315]

Sailed on Azamara Journey and Oceania Riviera back-to-back in June/July 2023.  My wife and I are both more interested in ports than ships so the opinions below will be influenced accordingly.

• Oceania cabins and ship are nicer.  I don't care much about this as long as the bed is comfortable and the Internet works.  Journey showers are very small.
• Oceania specialty restaurants are slightly better but overrated.  Journey MDR was far better than Riviera MDR.  Buffets and pool side food about equal.
• Port experience far better on Journey.  Longer times in port and far fewer tenders.  Hassle free getting on and off ship.  On Riviera process was more like a mainstream cruise line.
• White Party and sea day brunch on Journey were wonderful.  Nothing like these on Riviera.
• Riviera has casino, Journey does not.  I like a casino when the itinerary has a lot of sea days.
• Entertainment about equal - not nearly the variety or quality found on a mainstram cruise line.

If the intineraries and price are nearly are equal, I would choose Azamara.