X vs Azamara

[WineDown17]

There has been much discussion how X is falling far short of the brand the portray.

 

How about Azamara? Is it also more of a mass market line? (The whole Honda vs Acura va Mercedes thing..)

 

My TA told me that we should book our next cruise while on board next month- it will be for my 40th in 2010. Trying to decide if the OBC and Azamara are worth it, or if we should just look at Radisson or Silver Seas...

 

We like suites on X.. would we be happy with a non suite on Azamara?

 

What is Azamara like? Appreciate responses...

[vanman]

I was on Azamara a year ago. (Quest) I can give you a few comparisons. The ship is much smaller than anything you'd find on Celebrity at just under 700 passengers. The cabins are smaller and not that well sound proofed. A much more relaxed environment on Azamara with no formal nights and no assigned seating. Food was better than Celebrity especially the buffets. Everything is more expensive on Azamara including all beverages. You get to meet most of the passengers and crew since the ship is compact. We're doing a Panama Canal cruise and booked Celebrity instead of Azamara because we were concerned about having too many sea days on Azamara. Unless you love to read there wasn't much to do at sea if was raining. I would definitely sail on Azamara again if it were a port intensive cruise. Hope this helps.

[WineDown17]

It does. Thanks. Looking for a special cruise for my 40th.. But when I checked, there are no shorter sailings that month.. and if it is THAT subdued..may not be the right choice...

 

Silver Sea though may work.. They have a great itinerary .. so off to research that....

 

Thanks. :)

[CathyCruises]

We did the Tahitian Princess, same ship (the old Renaissance ships) and it was lovely, but very small. We ended up with 3 sea days in a row due to a missed port, and it was hard to find something to do other than bingo. The standard rooms, including the balcony rooms, are about 172 sq. ft., which is pretty small. Haven't seen the suites, so I can't comment. We almost booked a cruise in November in the Med but the special 'went away' so now we're on Solstice. I think we'll be happier. Have you looked at Crystal? That was a fantastic experience, albeit 10 years ago now.

 

Cathy

[sunny54]

There has been much discussion how X is falling far short of the brand the portray.

 

How about Azamara? Is it also more of a mass market line? (The whole Honda vs Acura va Mercedes thing..)

 

My TA told me that we should book our next cruise while on board next month- it will be for my 40th in 2010. Trying to decide if the OBC and Azamara are worth it, or if we should just look at Radisson or Silver Seas...

 

We like suites on X.. would we be happy with a non suite on Azamara?

 

What is Azamara like? Appreciate responses...

Good morning WineDown, we have sailed on both AZ (and the Oceania Nautica sister ship) and Celebrity. We enjoyed both and would go back to any one of them. What we like about AZ and Oceania are the more unusual itineraries they seem to offer especially in the Med (BTW this is where we've cruised with AZ and Oceania). We've done four Med cruises so getting a different itinerary becomes more and more of a challenge. We happen to like to smaller ships and like the "country club casual" evenings rather than having the formal nights. We like the formal nights but don't want to lug tuxedoes, etc. all the way to Europe. In our opinion, the dining on AZ far exceeds Celebrity. We like to be able to walk into the dining room when we choose rather than being held to the 8:15 and being able to dine with just each other or people of our choosing. Also, the visibility and friendliness of the captain and his officers seem to be more prevalent on the smaller ships. Now the down side: the cabins are small and the bathrooms are MINISCULE! My hubby is almost 6'4" and when in the bath with his arms stretched out can touch the walls end to end. I hopes this helps a little...if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try to answer. Enjoy the planning - I always think that's half the fun!

[joandbun]

We've tried several X ships & were on Quest in the Med last year & loved it. Yes the cabins do seem compact & the bathroom is ..er.. very cosy but on the plus side there isplenty of storage & the bed was incredibely comfortable.

X is good for Entertainment / Better shows - they have a proper theatre. Az had some good guests but the ship singers/dancers didnt work for us & Az does not have a theatre. X does seem to have more activities.

We like the style of X & the ships but felt that Az seemd a step up without busting the bank on Radisson

 

Az is better for Food & overall Standard of service. Smiling helpful crew including senior staff are eveywhere. Little xtras in the cabin .

Anytime dining. Alternative dining very good. Overall atmosphere excellent. Nearly booked Az again for 2010 but have decided to try the new Eclipse as we can sail from Southmapton insteaed of flying out somewhere.

 

Its often the itineraries which sway it for us & we like the fact that a smaller ship can getinto places more easily. And in the Med last year we had several overnight stops on Quest which was great. No rushing back to ship.

 

Hope this helps

jo

[gisnered]

There has been much discussion how X is falling far short of the brand the portray.

 

How about Azamara? Is it also more of a mass market line? (The whole Honda vs Acura va Mercedes thing..)

 

My TA told me that we should book our next cruise while on board next month- it will be for my 40th in 2010. Trying to decide if the OBC and Azamara are worth it, or if we should just look at Radisson or Silver Seas...

 

We like suites on X.. would we be happy with a non suite on Azamara?

 

What is Azamara like? Appreciate responses...

 

We've never cruised Oceana, much less Radisson or SS so I can't help you there.

 

We were on Journey this past February and enjoyed it very much - one of the best cruises we've had for a host of reasons some of which are mentioned above. However, this coming year we've elected to go with Millenium in February mostly because of the itinerary. But there's an old saying, "Its easy to go up, it's hard to come down." We'll see if we regret not putting up the extra cash for AZ.

 

I suspect that if you are happy with a suite on Celebrity, a standard veranda cabin will not suffice. Look carefully at the pricing - there is a fairly hefty jump from X to AZ for a somewhat comparable cabin - (location and veranda) and an equally hefty jump from AZ to Oceana or above. A quick look at fares for a comparable cruise - Caribbean, mid February, 10 days, aft balcony cabin, upper deck finds published prices to be:

 

Celebrity: $1,599.00

Azamara: $2,799.00

Oceana: $3,899.00

 

Another way of looking at it is that the price of a plain veranda cabin on AZ will probably buy you a sky suite on Millenium. Ditto Oceana's Regatta to AZ's Journey .

[swigso]

We have sailed twice on Az and 6 times with Celebrity, next year we are going back to the Constellation beacause the 14 night Itinery suites us better.

After 2 years I think Az should look at varying their Itineries, the Sky Suites on both lines are comparable, the Suites at the front are very nice with a seperate bedroom but IMHO are priced too high.

The night time activities may be too low key for you but if you like good conversation and a very friendly atmosphere Az is an excellent choice.

We loved the fact that the crew were so visable and as a past guest we were really well looked after.

As I said if they had a 14 night sailing that had appealed to us we would have gone with them again.

[flashdog_1]

We loved the fact that the crew were so visable and as a past guest we were really well looked after..

 

I thought Azamara's past passenger program was a part of X's Captain's Club. This makes me wonder if only past Azamara's passengers are really well looked after on Azamara. Please clarify. Thanks

[greeneg]

The crew attitude on both Azamara Ships, in our experience is outstanding; apparently the smaller ship environment allows better training and supervision by supervisors; the closer contact and interaction between passengers and crew, together with the more relaxed atmosphere does seem to encourage excellent service in general. At the same time, past passengers are recognized ( by their seapass cards same as on X), but the Azamara crew members have seemed to "go the extra mile" happily for us.

 

Obviously we have enjoyed our two previous Azamara experiences and are eagerly waiting for May 16th and the Quest.

[joandbun]

I agree with Greeneg. There was real recognition by the staff & on longer itineraries you build up a rapport with the crew We also had a Captains Club cocktail party & the usual little credit voucher booklet - just like on X.

We met some folk who were on their first cruise & loved the experience. WE would happily book again

[LMKohler]

We sailed on Quest through the Panama Canal for 14 days in March, 2008 and loved the small ship experience, the casual dress, the variety of dining options and the crew was exceptional.

 

We would go back in a heartbeat (and I keep looking:D) for the right itinerary at the right price.

[swigso]

Originally Posted by swigso

We loved the fact that the crew were so visable and as a past guest we were really well looked after..

 

 

 

I thought Azamara's past passenger program was a part of X's Captain's Club. This makes me wonder if only past Azamara's passengers are really well looked after on Azamara. Please clarify. Thanks

 

The CC program is virtually the same but as a previous passenger there were a number of extra invitations to meet the officers but in general the size of the ship and the visabilty of all the senior officers make it a great cruiseing experience. after a day or two the ship really felt like home and everyone passengers, officers and crew were really friendly.

The atmosphere on these ships is wonderful.

Hope you enjoy yur cruise as much as we have enjoyed sailing AZ.

We have booked the Constellation only for the itinery and also because we like the M class ships.

If AZ had done a similar itinery there would be no decision to make- AZ would be our choice.

Steve

[hondorner]

When Royal Caribbean purchased Pullmantur of Spain a couple of years ago, they found themselves with two of the R ships (former cruise line Renaissance built 8 nearly identical ships and called the R1 through R8). RCL decided to transfer the ships to Celebrity and briefly thought they might be used in a manner similar to Expedition.

 

But, apparently someone at Celebrity took notice of how successful Oceania had become with a fleet of nothing but three of the R ships, and decided there was room for another such cruise line. They created Azamara and transferred the former R6 and R7, now Journey and Quest. Then, they hired away a few of Oceania's executives and set about to copy Oceania.

 

I have not sailed on Azamara, but there are always active discussions about the differences on both Azamara's and Oceania's forums. According to the reports, Azamara stumbled a bit in its early days, which should be racked up to growing pains and not held against them. Today, most reports say that Azamara is getting closer to Oceania, with some saying that it is 90% to 95% as good (there are always a few that don't like anything). The primary reasons are the dress code (smart casual throughout), dining code (open seating and open times), the alternative dining (no charge for at least a visit or two; Oceania is no charge at any time), the smoking rules (almost as restrictive as Oceania), the size of the ships (identical), the level of service and many others.

 

As for the differences between Azamara (and Oceania) versus Celebrity, I would say that for many died-in-the-wool Celebrity cruisers, it will be a culture shock. No formal nights, no availability of traditional dining, no 2-story theeater and no Vegas-type shows, a much smaller casino, etc. One of the things that is the same on both X and A is the policy about bringing alcohol aboard; Oceania has no limitations on beer, wine or spirits at any port.

 

I would say that Azamara is much closer to Oceania and is likely much more successful at capturing some of the Oceania passengers with a slightly lower price and a slightly different itinerary. One should look at Azamara as a true premium line, not as an extension of Celebrity. As others have said, Crystal is more of an upward extension of Celebrity, as they retain formal nights and traditional dining.

 

I'm sailing on Celebrity for the first time this Summer after 57 nights aboard Oceania, and I'm expecting a reverse culture shock because Mercury is a much larger ship than Oceania. We were able to book a Sky Suite on Mercury for less than a concierge veranda on Oceania. That helps because we will be able to dine in our suite on formal nights and when we have late departures and not be bothered with the folderol on Celebrity.

[kelmac]

As you may know, I'm a huge Celebrity fan (14 cruises) and after last months cruise on the Solstice (Our new favorite ship) we are taking a serious look at the Equinox and the Eclipse.

Having said that, our Azamara experience was outstanding. It's a very different type of cruising (small ship, open seating, casual dress...,), but because these ships are designed for port intensive itineraries, they work and they work well. The main dining room cuisine is a notch up from Celebrity and the alternative restaurants are similar to the Tuscan Grill on the Solstice. Excellent cuisine!

I was all ready to book the Equinox for our annual holiday cruise in December when I noticed a "bargin" on Oceania's Regatta. The intinerary was great and price was less than Celebrity. At last, I will be able to compare Azamara to Oceania, and from what I've read they have an excellent product.

We've cruised twice in the Med, but if I were to book a future cruise to this part of the world, I would take a serious look at either Azamara or Oceania. More ports; less luggage; open seating and less crowds generated by the ship itself.

 

Good luck!

Kel:)