Kiwifruit

Having sailed on both Celebrity and Azamara in recent months we were very happy with both cruise lines and would happily sail with both again. The main determining factor for us in choosing which cruise line to sail with is the itinerary and value for money and when applying the latter criteria I’m not convinced that Azamara justifies the price differential it usually charges over Celebrity. Azamara is rightly described as a premium brand fitting nicely between mainstream cruise lines and those that are truly luxury such Seabourn, Silversea and Regent. To best answer the OP’s original question I will break down my critique under different headings. PORT ACCESS There is no doubt Azamara wins out here as having smaller ships they can often dock closer to the places of interest that you want to visit. To illustrate this point, on our recent Celebrity cruise visiting Vietnam we stopped in HCMC but were docked in an industrial port almost a two hour drive away whereas had we been on Azamara we would have docked up the river in the centre of town. STATEROOMS Our greatest disappointment with Azamara are the cabins themselves which we found to be dated and cramped when compared with Celebrity. We were on the newly “refreshed” Azamara Onward but the cabin still looked very tired with chipped furnishings, touched up paint work, the smallest bathroom I have ever experienced at sea and a truly awful shower curtain. Certainly not of the standard you would expect of a “premium” cruise line but that’s just the nature of these R class ships. SERVICE & INCLUSIONS Despite reading some negative reviews prior to boarding we found service on both cruises to be generally very good but it was certainly a little more personalised on Azamara as you would expect being a smaller ship with a higher staff to passenger ratio. We did enjoy that on Azamara most alcoholic drinks, speciality coffees and gratuities are included in the fare. Admittedly this was less of a factor for us personally as we don’t drink much and our loyalty status with Celebrity affords us free speciality coffees and some free alcoholic drinks of an evening. We didn’t however appreciate that despite being a “premium” line Azamara charges extra for it’s speciality restaurants. FOOD We had read recent criticisms that both cruise lines had implemented cut backs when it came to dining but we saw little evidence of this and found the food to be generally good on both. In our opinion Azamara had a slight edge in the food served in the Main Dining Room (although we were pleasantly surprised by our most recent experience on Celebrity which seems to be making an effort to up it’s game). The buffet however on Celebrity had a lot more options and were of better quality than the offerings we found on Azamara. Also we found on our Azamara cruise that the buffet restaurant was too small for the number of passengers and it was difficult to find a seat, particularly at lunch time. ENTERTAINMENT Not surprisingly given the larger size of their ships Celebrity wins out in this area with the sheer number of activities that they can offer. We found both the guest entertainers and production shows to be very good and the theatre itself provides a great venue to showcase its entertainment. That having been said we were also pleasantly surprised by the standard of entertainment on Azamara and given the inherent restrictions of a smaller ship we thought that they did a great job too. In summary, we really enjoyed both cruises, and while neither was perfect we would happily sail both cruise lines again. Ultimately your own personal preferences and priorities will likely dictate which is the best fit for you but never loose sight of the fact we are all extremely privileged to have the ability to make such a choice. Happy Sailing !!!

We’ll be joining for Tahiti to Auckland leg if any team needs new players 😉

Thanks so much, we’re really enjoying your travel log as we’re doing the reverse itinerary from Hong Kong on 3 January and really appreciate your insight. Could please let you know who the current Cruise Director is onboard?

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this cruise as we’ll be joining the Solstice in Hong Kong on 3 January for the reverse itinerary. Will be particularly interested to hear who the current Cruise Director is? Happy Sailing !!!

We’ve sailed on these ships a number of times and the Star Breeze is a great size for sailing in Tahiti. The cabins are spacious (it’s an ex-Seabourn ship) but in my mind the balcony cabins are not worth the price differential as you can’t sit out on them. The cabins in the newly inserted midsection are more modern with USB ports and contemporary decor but are the same size as the older cabins. Having sailed on both Paul Gauguin and Sea Breeze, Sea Breeze would certainly be my pick.

My partner and I have done a few cruises on the Star Breeze which will take over the Tahitian itineraries for Windstar from February 2024 and we love the size and ambience of this ship. While it is a motorised vessel (ie without sails) it is still a really good size for visiting French Polynesia. We have previously sailed on the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and while we also enjoyed that experience the cabins on the Star Breeze are a lot more spacious and we thought the food was better and more varied on Windstar. If you’re intending to sail before February then you will be on the Wind Spirit which is the classic sailing style vessel. Again it’s a lovely ship and ideal for sailing around Tahiti but the cabins are a lot more compact. Then again you’ll have the opportunity to experience travelling between the islands under sail (conditions permitting). Whichever option you decide upon you’re sure to enjoy it, but let us know if you have any questions. Cheers, D&D

Whilst I agree that standards have slipped across the board in this post Covid era I would suggest that the problems encountered by the OP on Celebrity are the exception rather than the rule. I’ve done many cruises on Celebrity (including two last year) and have never faced any such issues and the problems identified by the OP relate to passenger behaviour rather than the cruise line itself, although admittedly the offering of alcohol packages no doubt exacerbates the situation. For what it’s worth there are a number factors that I weigh up when I’m choosing a cruise as personally I’m not drawn to the “party ship” environment where you are most likely to be confronted with the behaviour that the OP complains about. These include: - length of cruise: shorter cruises attract a younger (or young at heart) demographic that are more focussed on partying. - destination: the party crowd are more attracted to warmer destinations such as the Caribbean than they are to cooler climes such as Alaska. - timing: if you choose to travel over the holiday periods including spring break then it increases the odds of your cruise being a “party cruise” - embarkation port: US ports are more accessible and cheaper to reach so cruises starting from these ports have a greater attraction to those wanting to party. - cruise line: the smaller and more expensive the ship the less likely it is to be a “party ship” You could take the exact same ship and crew but your experience on a 4 night Caribbean cruise out of Miami over Spring Break would be a vastly different experience to taking a 13 night TransPacific cruise out of Tokyo. It’s your fellow passengers that dictate the experience you have so whether you’re a party person or more of a recluse you should take these factors into account when determining what is the right cruise for you.