azamara journey vs costa serena

[katiekoo]

hi all

is there anyone who can give us a bit of advise on azamara vs costa cruises?

 

we are mid 50's but very young at heart and do NOT want to be on a cruise where there are only older generation people - we love a mix

....but do like the idea of a smaller cruise line azamara vs the bigger cruiseline costa

 

we are going early may09 and thus we are weighing the pros and cons of each:

 

azamara

pros; smaller more intimate and easy em/debarkation

cons; maybe too old a mix of people, small pool

 

costa

pros; varied mix of people of all ages, larger pools

cons; too big, too many kids and delay on em/debarkation(maybe not a prob in may?)

 

ANY comments are welcome

 

also the x1 package for unlimmited beer, wine and soda sounds like a good deal for the costa cruise? we are australians and cannot see/find this offer.

lastly is ther a similar type of drinks deal for teh azamara?

 

thanks in advance

katiekoo

[shoshona2]

If you are non-smokers, did you check out Costa's smoking policy? Azamara has only TWO areas in which to smoke and one of them is outside in a corner by the pool. That's the one question I always ask since I can't breathe on ships where smoking is prevalent.

 

Sheila

[swigso]

Hi From what I know you cannot even to begin to compare, Azamara is a totally different cruising experience to Costa.

Azamara

There will be no announcements except for the mid-day briefing from the Captain or CD, the ship has a great feel and the staff are wonderful.

There will not be a lot of nightlife but European cruises tend to be very port intensive and hence most Pax are up very early to explore the ports and local areas and also early to bed- by midnight.That said most of them probab;ly will be well travelled. The food and dining options on these ships is top notch and with the ability to choose when you dine an excellent option.

If you smoke you will maybe not like the policy of only two smoking areas and no smoking allowed on your balcony-but- you will meet a great bunch of people in the smoking areas- if you don;t smoke the policy will ideally suite you. The drinks are not cheap and 18% is added to everything, but the wine is good value and reasonable.There will be none or very few kids.

The pool area is adequate and the sun loungers are well padded and very comfortable. You will not have a problem getting one near the pool.

 

Costa is multi lingual with many announcements in 3/4 diferent languages,

it will be very lively with lots of europeans and it has a very liberal smoking policy. The food is very good as is the service. The ship is quite large, cannot comment on how many kids but there could be a lot.

There will be a lot more activities and more shops to look at (if this is your thing).

I hope this helps but for me there is no choice Azamara would win hands down , another plus is that the smaller ship will get to places that the bigger ships can't.

Have a great time you lucky people.

[molfetta]

i would estimate 80% of people on board azamara are over 60. how ever being on the journey was not like being in a nursing home,most people were energetic and nice to talk to.

[denims]

i would estimate 80% of people on board azamara are over 60. how ever being on the journey was not like being in a nursing home,most people were energetic and nice to talk to.

 

Sixty is the new forty!!!!!:D

 

I am in my middle sixty's!!! I know most 50 year old's can not keep up with me! (And I'm sure there are a lot more people in the 60-70 range that feel the same)

 

Age is only a number! (With wrinkles)