Is entertainment on Azamara better than Oceania?

[OneNewTexan]

On our Oceania cruise in January of 2010, the entertainment on this 10-night cruise out of Miami was uninspiring and rather boring. The shows lasted only 45 minutes. There was one evening where there were two female singers that were great, but the show was over too quickly and they only sang a few songs each. On a positive note, the shore excursions were great and reasonably priced.

 

We have booked a 7-night cruise next year on Azamara Club Cruises out of San Juan on a repositioning trip to Barbados. Will the entertainment on Azamara be more lively and better? Will the entertainment shows be longer than 45 minutes? After the entertaiment on Oceania concluded, it seemed nearly everyone went to bed and the ship became fairly quiet. Will it be more lively on Azamara?

 

How does the food quality compare to Oceania? Are the speciality restaurants similar in quality to Oceana or does one line have better speciality restaurants than the other?

 

Many thanks!

[nevernever]

Many people have commented in other threads on the relative strengths and weaknesses of Azamara and O. I have never sailed on the latter, but been a frequent happy customer of Azamara. Personally, I have always been very satisfied with the quality and range of food items, and the standard of service on Azamara, in the buffet, main dining room and specialty restaurants. Maybe I've been fortunate in having excellent chefs on board for the cruises I've taken. I have found the entertainment to be variable, ranging from excellent to mediocre, but always of sufficient quality to

encourage me to keep attending. The fact that the Cruise Directors have been excellent entertainers in their own right has helped to lift the overall standard.

Just my opinion, and others may have had different experiences.

 

Nevernever

[MightyQuinn]

Here's a recent thread that covers many of the differentiating points between Azamara & Oceania. Entertainment, food, specialty restaurants are all mentioned. It's a good start. But in the end, no matter how much you read beforehand, the only thing that really matters is your own experience. Happy reading!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1242285

[schmidlapp]

Can't speak for O, but entertainment is not the reason we book Azamara,

It was weak at best. In January it was targeted toward the

primary age group on our cruise, Ancient....

[ellbon]

i rarely do shows. On Celebrity I do the big production shows but nothing else. Azamara has a very small stage and can only do small shows. Personally I rather go have a drink and then go read my book.

[pacheco18]

From what I know personally and what I know second hand, neither cruise line is right for you if entertainment is very important to you. You will be disappointed.

 

If you want the kind of splashy entertainment that the big ships offer, you have to sail on one of those big ships.

[OneNewTexan]

Thanks for the input. Yes, we do like the bigger ships (we like the formal nights and the big production shows) and we have come to like Celebrity for its overall excellent service and good food. However, if we want to go to some unusual ports in the Caribbean such as Virgin Gorda, St. Barts, etc., we need to take either Oceania, Azamara, or one of the luxury cruise lines.

 

I will check out those threads that were referenced.

 

Thanks

[wripro]

Then the ports must be your focus and not the entertainment. Azamara has in the past few months though gotten two terrific cruise directors from Seabourn and I'm sure they are doing a lot to make the voyage very pleasant in that area.

[Julianna Jo]

Just returned from the Baltic on the Journey. Eric, the Cruise Director, and his team were terrific! Talent, presentation and variety all great. Appealed to a broad age group - lively and fun. Cabaret at capacity and the Looking Glass rocked.

 

Oceania would have a long way to go to catch up on with entertainment on Azamara Journey.

 

Note: Eric is on holiday for the next 2 months - he pulls is all together - great sense of humor, talented singer and dancer. He compliments the rest of the performers.:):)