Anyone O-lover cruise Azamara in last 6 months?

[pacheco18]

I have searched and read all the comparisons of O & A on both the O & A boards and I have lurked on the A boards for quite a while. For a long time A got poor reviews but lately things have gotten better. I am looking for some updated information.

 

A itineraries for 2013-14 are about to be released (today I think). I am hoping an O aficionado has cruised on Azamara recently and can let me know how they compare currently.

 

I am less interested in food than in the demographic and amenities.

[azevedan]

We haven't cruised Oceania yet (that comes next December), but we did Azamara back in May, in the eastern Mediterranean. They were a very good cruise line and we had a very nice cruise.

The amenities we got with the cruise included free wine with meals (from the 'featured' daily wine list, though you could also pay for a bottle off the more extensive list). That was a nice touch. Gratuities were included in our fare, and they had a 1/2-price shore excursion promotion (plus an on-board credit promotion). Soft drinks, coffee, bottled water were all free, and all the rooms had the little fridge. We got (free) room service b'fast every morning, which we ate out on the balcony. The demographics were definitely tilted towards middle- and late-middle-age, although there were a couple of young couples (who had made their own excursions for more-active expeditions than Azamara's choices (I would've preferred some more-active options, myself)). Most of the passengers seemed to be Americans.

Azamara does have specialty restaurants, but they have a small fee associated with them. It was not a problem getting reservations. Meals, as with Oceania, are open seating.

If you have any specific questions, ask away.

[orchestrapal]

I have searched and read all the comparisons of O & A on both the O & A boards and I have lurked on the A boards for quite a while. For a long time A got poor reviews but lately things have gotten better. I am looking for some updated information.

 

A itineraries for 2013-14 are about to be released (today I think). I am hoping an O aficionado has cruised on Azamara recently and can let me know how they compare currently.

 

I am less interested in food than in the demographic and amenities.

 

 

This was posted last week! We too are looking at Azamara for something new.....:)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1482473

[LHT28]

This was posted last week! We too are looking at Azamara for something new.....:)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1482473

 

I do not thinks her O cruise was recent so still not a good comparison

Many things have changed on Oceania since Meow has sailed with them

Each cruise line cheerleaders can extol their virtues but the OP is asking for RECENT comparisons

 

The one thing I noticed is that Oceania has been updated soft goods & Azamara has not been to drydock since they started the line

If that is a consideration

 

Things I noticed from reading the forums (never sailed A)

The cabins will be the same size, perks are different, demographics will be different, 1 smoking area on Azamara

 

Hopefully someone with recent experience on both lines will post

[pacheco18]

Thanks -- somewhat helpful. I have some concerns about that poster who is very negative about Oceania on many posts and the extensive port information is of no interest. I'd really like a true O fan who has recently sailed A to weigh in.

 

The price difference is minimal considering what my TA can do. I love the A itinerary. O has a similar cruise each July but it usually ends or begins in Athens.

[Ms Understood]

I have sailed both lines within the last year. Each was my first cruise on that line and I actually thought the experiences were nearly indistinguishable. I booked a concierge cabin on O and was upgraded to one on A. I liked A's more inclusiveness but that would not be a deal breaker either way for us. Anyone who likes one and not the other would have to have some pretty tiny "nits" to pick in my opinion. For me I would sail either one again with the decision going to one with the better itinerary. In the present case, we are booked on O next year but only because I didnt see any A itinerary that we have not already done. Wish I could offer you more details but I really did not see ANY appreciable difference. MAYBE the food on O was margionally better and a bit more varied.

----------------------------

Helen

[pacheco18]

Helen, thanks.

 

I am guessing that the differences are not great and I certainly have few "nits" to pick on these issues. I love the Azamara itinerary and date -- so I'll give them a try. I think I get some of my Celebrity status benefits too on A (not a reason to book but nice).

 

I appreciate your response.

[Mexfolkart]

We have sailed on both..most recently, August in Baltic on Azamara. Love both lines..the smaller ships on O though. We have just booked an O trip for next May strictly based on the itinerary and its the Nautica. We did like the coffee bar in the afternoon and evenings on Journey. Food in Master dining room is a little better on the Oceania ships.We did get to know the captain on Azamara and he was well liked by the crew. Liked the fact that wine is included with meals on A. Its a toss up..both are VERY friendly. It comes down to cost and itinerary. And, believe it or not, but embarkation and debarkation ports as we like to go early and stay later. We DEFINITELY prefer the smaller ships.

Can't wait for May!

Sherry

[pacheco18]

We have sailed on both..most recently, August in Baltic on Azamara. Love both lines..the smaller ships on O though. We have just booked an O trip for next May strictly based on the itinerary and its the Nautica. We did like the coffee bar in the afternoon and evenings on Journey. Food in Master dining room is a little better on the Oceania ships.We did get to know the captain on Azamara and he was well liked by the crew. Liked the fact that wine is included with meals on A. Its a toss up..both are VERY friendly. It comes down to cost and itinerary. And, believe it or not, but embarkation and debarkation ports as we like to go early and stay later. We DEFINITELY prefer the smaller ships.

Can't wait for May!

Sherry

 

We are on Nautica next May too. Are you on our May 24 sailing? If so, please go to the roll call. We already have some private excursions to share.

[xplrcrzn]

Included wines on Azamara are nice feature and "adult" beverages (with receptions, cocktail parties, etc.) seem to flow a little more freely on A.

[pacheco18]

The one thing I noticed is that Oceania has been updated soft goods & Azamara has not been to drydock since they started the line

If that is a consideration

 

 

 

Good point -- and a consideration. I checked on the Azamara boards and it looks like the Journey is scheduled for drydock early 2013 -- that would be months before my cruise.

[Dmgmd50]

Good point -- and a consideration. I checked on the Azamara boards and it looks like the Journey is scheduled for drydock early 2013 -- that would be months before my cruise.

 

Our friend just got off A. She has never been on O but said when she first boarded the A ship she thought it "looked a little tired, could use some freshening." But after that first impression she loved the cruise.

 

We are considering a cruise on A next year which goes to a lot of the same ports we visit next month on O Marina, but the advantage of A is that the ship stays in several ports longer, including several evenings in ports which we would like to see what they in like when the daytrippers leave (Capri for example). However I am concerned that I will be disapointed if the A ship is not as beautiful as Marina.

 

Also, how much does A charge to eat in the specialty restaurants?

[pacheco18]

Our friend just got off A. She has never been on O but said when she first boarded the A ship she thought it "looked a little tired, could use some freshening." But after that first impression she loved the cruise.

 

We are considering a cruise on A next year which goes to a lot of the same ports we visit next month on O Marina, but the advantage of A is that the ship stays in several ports longer, including several evenings in ports which we would like to see what they in like when the daytrippers leave (Capri for example). However I am concerned that I will be disapointed if the A ship is not as beautiful as Marina.

 

Also, how much does A charge to eat in the specialty restaurants?

 

I think O's R ships could be a disappointment after Marina (I will be sailing on Marina in November and on Nautica again next May) -- especially in the"beautiful" category.

 

I think it is 25 pp for the specialty restaurants on A unless you are in a suite in which case they are free. For us, that charge is really unimportant -- I do not care much for Polo or Toscana on the R ships and could do without in a heartbeat. If the food is good I do not need specialty restaurants (I am excited about trying the new restaurants on Marina, however).

 

I am giving A a try. I could be on any ship and enjoy myself.

[Ms Understood]

Aqualina and Prime C were $15 pp but I think it is being raised to $25? Dont think R's ships would look anything like Marina. I sailed on Insignia and thought it was nearly identical to Azamara, even the smoking areas were in the same place on the ships.

Oops, posted at exact same time as Larraine. I am with you, I would be happy on any ship. I just cant fathom being on either A or O and not loving it!

---------------

Helen

[pacheco18]

If the specialty restaurants on A are anything like the specialty restaurants on it sister Celebrity (both M and S class ships) then they will be worth every penny.

 

Again, food is not the reason I cruise -- I want the food to be good, but I never expect much when food is prepared on such a large scale.

 

I am looking forward to Jacques and especially Red Ginger, having read all the raves. Won't be long!

[Mexfolkart]

Pacheco..we are on May 14th sailing..going to your roll call now, though..Sherry

[Mexfolkart]

We did both specialty restaurants on Azamara..loved Aqualina..Prime C was OK. Sherry

[Paulchili]

Not a deal breaker in any way but as this is CC, I just want to say that A is very CC friendly with hosted M&G with officers and food present (and O is not).

They are more similar than different; I give O food the edge but A staff and officers are more engaging.

If you like the itinerary - go for it:)

[pacheco18]

Not a deal breaker in any way but as this is CC, I just want to say that A is very CC friendly with hosted M&G with officers and food present (and O is not).

They are more similar than different; I give O food the edge but A staff and officers are more engaging.

If you like the itinerary - go for it:)

 

Paul -- having read many of your posts on CC I think we are generally in agreement on most issues. I love the A itinerary. I'm booked!

 

Thanks all for your comments.

[ShopperfiendTO]

Probably too late to have an impact but we would echo a lot of the above.

 

If you don't care too much about the food, then they're about the same with the ship details actually favouring A. For food, our view is that Aqualina is the best of the R ships, O and A, but for the main, O's is better than A's and Polo is miles better than Prime C.

 

The big difference visually is that the jogging and Deck 5 tracks are not pretend teak but just blue cement.

 

As for crowd, A is slightly younger and slightly more casual but no noticeable difference in friendliness.

 

For us, the biggest differences were:

 

1. the mattresses... A's was really dated and worn, and asking for a change didn't result in much of an improvement (it was only slightly less lumpy). Big advantage to O on this aspect.

 

2. the A ship seemed to care more about the scenic cruising experience, such as taking significant detours and engaging in cruising manoevres to allow cruisers to fully soak in the experience when near a highlight landmark. Although we didn't take the same itinerary on O, based on our previous cruises with O, I am fairly confident that O would not have done the same. Big advantage to A on this aspect.

 

Although we still prefer O overall and would pay the 15% or so premium (A has a better ship operation and "things to do"), we would not hesitate to book A if the itinerary is better.

 

Happy sailing on A!

[LHT28]

2. the A ship seemed to care more about the scenic cruising experience, such as taking significant detours and engaging in cruising manoevres to allow cruisers to fully soak in the experience when near a highlight landmark. Although we didn't take the same itinerary on O, based on our previous cruises with O, I am fairly confident that O would not have done the same. Big advantage to A on this aspect.

 

I think that is an unfair assumption !!!

If you did the same itinerary then I think you could compare apples to apples & be confident in your report

 

last year the captain took us fairly close to the polar ice barrier that safety would allow

Depends on the location and the safety factor how close the ships can go to certain places

 

Lyn

[ShopperfiendTO]

I think that is an unfair assumption !!!

If you did the same itinerary then I think you could compare apples to apples & be confident in your report

 

last year the captain took us fairly close to the polar ice barrier that safety would allow

Depends on the location and the safety factor how close the ships can go to certain places

 

Lyn

 

Hi Lyn,

 

As stated, if push comes to shove and assuming the price premium remains, we would choose O, so we are not A apologists or O bashers. However, A does have her strong points and we believe this is one of them...

 

I think you had mentioned that you did the Lands of the Midnight Sun cruise a couple of years ago (I take it that`s also where the polar ice barrier cruise by came in). May I ask what the ship did in Geiranger? Did it basically stop in front of the seven sisters falls and the brides veil for over ten minutes each and have someone speak about it over the PA? Did the ship make significant detours (about 1 hour away) to see significant sights that were completely unexpected and not on the itinerary? The A ship did this on the Norway cruise this year and was utterly impressed. What a great bonus! We seem to hear as of late O`s habit is to shorten port times or cancel ports altogether (and you can`t argue it`s the age of O`s ships etc. because, as I think you are aware, A`s ships are of the same vintage so it`s O`s issue if O didn`t keep the ships as well maintained as A does).

 

You don`t have to like a cruiseline or ship 100% in every regard for it to be your preferred line or ship. In our R ship experience, we loved Aqualina the most but prefer to eat on O.

 

For people who don`t care about food as much, as the OP seems to be, other tangibles and intangibles come into play.

[Mura]

I'll jump in here for a minute to clarify -- because we were on the Midnight Sun cruise last year with Lyn.

 

In Geiranger we docked for half a day. The ship went to Hellesylt in the morning, let people off for two ship's tours, and then went to Geiranger where we stayed for several hours.

 

So it sounds like there were aspects of both A & O that are special. We didn't get the moving off for special comments that you mentioned, but on the other hand we had time in Geiranger.

 

Now, there isn't that much to do in Geiranger! But many of us took a local boat trip back up the fjord which we really enjoyed because the perspective from the small boat was quite different from the perspective on Deck 7 or 8 of Insignia.

 

This cruise was before all of the "we're shortening times because of engine problems" or any other problems ... so it may not be comparable at all.

 

Mura

[LHT28]

I think you had mentioned that you did the Lands of the Midnight Sun cruise a couple of years ago (I take it that`s also where the polar ice barrier cruise by came in).

 

We did the cruise in 2010

 

Whatever they did or did not do I am not assuming one cruise line would do the same or not

[pier]

A year ago in June (June, 2010), we took our first cruise on Azamara. We chose the cruise because of the itinerary. The itinerary was great, the service was excellent, the evening entertainment was better than Oceania's, but the food was really disappointing. After being served dried-out, unappetizing fish for several nights in the main dining room, we ate in the specialty restaurant Aqualina. At $30 a night for the two of us, the specialty dining added up. We only had tea once on the ship, and it was a sad affair compared to Oceania--just a little 3-tiered tray put on the table with a few small sandwiches and pastries on it, nothing like O's sumptuous teas.

 

We just returned from a two week cruise on the Insignia. It was our third cruise on O. As always, the service was excellent. But...as much as I hate to say this, the food wasn't as good as it was on our previous cruises. It seemed to me that the MDR dinner selections were designed to save money--pasta choices and cheaper cuts of meat and fish. Someone at our table ordered lamb chops, and they were tiny. Still, fresh berries and fruit were plentiful at breakfast, and there were nice lunch menus. Afternoon tea wasn't quite as lavish, but it was still very well done. Maybe O is concentrating its culinary efforts on the Marina.

 

Although it sounds like it, we aren't foodies. But we do like really good food and good choices, and we honestly felt that O's food on this cruise was somewhat disappointing, as did others we met. Still, it was better than Azamara's. That said, if Azamara had an irresistible itinerary, I would probably cruise with them again.