Our Azamara vs Celebrity experience

[upwarduk]

We didn't find any issue with the maître in Blu - Fernando who worked hard alongside Anita all week clearing tables and getting stuck in

 

Ah you were the top cruiser on board from Scotland Fernando referred to. Most guests we spoke to commented how little he did, glad you were able to spot him in action!

 

IMO, it's very rare to hear of staff who don't pull their weight.:eek:

[uktog]

IMO, it's very rare to hear of staff who don't pull their weight.:eek:

 

Indeed, that is why I mentioned the situation in my original post.

[Gordoncruickshank]

Ah you were the top cruiser on board from Scotland Fernando referred to. Most guests we spoke to commented how little he did, glad you were able to spot him in action!

 

 

I suspect not but I was probably the only one in Blu in a Kilt on formal nights.

 

Over a long number of year I have worked as an independent accountant with hotels and restaurants in the uk and now find it impossible not to sit and watch how a restaurant is working.

 

Blu on the Silhouette does not work as well as Blu on the Eclipse.

 

The organisation leaves a bit to be desired. On the Eclipse at breakfast everyone takes orders rather than just the head waiters as happens on the Silhouette. Individuals have certain rolls like water, pastries, juice and coffee. All others sort out orders.

 

That didn't happen on the Sillhouette. We waited for 20 minutes for an order to be taken one morning. Normally I would gave walked out but I wanted to see what happened. We complained to the individual and got probably the worse experience in Blu in 70 plus days over the past couple of years.

 

I suspect that there was an issue earlier integral service but it shouldn't have carries on to other cruisers.

 

In the evening it was better managed.

 

Gordon

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Project_gal]

Over a long number of year I have worked as an independent accountant with hotels and restaurants in the uk and now find it impossible not to sit and watch how a restaurant is working.

 

You are not the only one - but we do not have the excuse of having worked in the industry.

[liverpoollad]

Excellent thread by uktog.

 

We were on the Azamara Quest last Autumn, the ship, food, staff( & ice cream) were all excellent, our outside cabin was the worst cabin we have had on a cruise.

The one thing missing was entertainment, although the cabaret was very good, the only other music was a guitarist & pianist, all very staid. To give an idea of the excitement on board is their" White Night " which is a highlight, it finished at 9.45pm, also after 10.15pm except for the disco the ship seemed deserted.

 

In summary, Azamara is excellent if you prefer a relaxing holiday to escape the stresses of work etc.,

I'm getting on a bit & prefer a happy medium between say Azamara & RCL & I think Celebrity will be just right. (hopefully)

[uktog]

You are not the only one - but we do not have the excuse of having worked in the industry.

 

As leadership and management is our specialism, all cruises provide rich experiences usually positive.

I agree Gordon, breakfast was very very disorganised - the way of operating was on the direction of the maître d and I know the staff were frustrated by it as they knew guests were getting impatient.

It is interesting you said after raising the issue you got a "negative reaction" from a waiter, I wonder if it was the same person who reacted badly when we had to raise a breakfast delay to order then was curt, huffing and sighing when I asked for muesli and prepared one of the worst muesli experiences I have ever had - I did not directly watch but asked for raisins an bananas. When it came I started to eat it tasted weird, it transpired as he did not have raisins on his trolley he had made it with chopped figs I took that as some "revenge" given the amount of figs he had added!

 

They were quite a disjointed team, that's a leadership failure

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We have just completed a cruise on the Infinity to South America and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was not perfect but we are pretty easy-going. We certainly had zero issues with people being 'over-served" at the Martini Bar or elsewhere in spite of the abundance of drink packages. I agree with posters who noted that the time of year and location of the cruise is key....the spring break time frame, etc., invariably includes a different demographic than an international cruise. There were perhaps two children on our cruise and one was the daughter of one of the guest speakers.

 

We have never been on a cruise with a large number of "chartered" guests, such as the ones you mentioned, but I have read that it can change the feel of a cruise.

 

I would hate for anyone to not book Celebrity based on your experience; it is perhaps representative of a Caribbean cruise, but not neccessarily representative of Celebrity as a whole. We loved the Infinity, the crew, the itinerary....writing the review is on my list of things to accomplish this weekend. Perhaps it will help others.

 

We are curious about Azamara, so it is interesting to read your comments about that line. Thanks for the information! :)

[Jenna109]

I was really surprised to read that the cabin was not cleaned on the Celebrity ship. This is our favourite cruise line and we have never had any complaints about cleanliness. The supervisor should have been informed.

We loved our cruise on Azamara and, like Celebrity, the cleanliness and attention of staff was excellent. However, we did decide that any cruise which had a lot of sea days would not be for us as there were not enough activities or entertainment in the evening. We do like the shows and they were only entertainers/dancers in the lounge - enjoyable but this would not have been enough on a longer cruise. Bars were almost empty by 10pm and they did lack atmosphere - of course, this could be very different on another cruise on the same ship.

As for the drinks package - must admit we have never seen anyone over the top but perhaps we have just been lucky.

We do prefer the m class ships and see these as half way between Azamara and s class. Constellation is our favourite - always wonderful service and staff

[uktog]

Yes, we did speak with those involved.

I think your comment about the M class ships is a very valid one, we had not been on S class for a year, but had had good cruises on Summit and Infinity in between. Our next X cruise is on Summit which is becoming a favourite.

 

I never intended my original post to be a "why I will never be back to X/will only go on Azamara thread".

 

What I was trying to get over but did not really manage, sorry, is that looking at the 2015 suite prices, whilst I recognise there are going to be additional dining options for suite guests, Celebrity will need to up the game of the stateroom teams and improve service levels in other areas for this guests as their expectations based on what they are spending will be higher.

 

Whilst suite guests may choose to stay in their own "enclave" a lot of the time, that is not our style, we do want to be out and about on the ship and it would not feel right to me if there was a massive gap in service experience between the suite only areas and elsewhere.

 

On Azamara the service experience is consistent ship wide, Celebrity, with their manpower cuts set against higher guest numbers on the S ships are seriously struggling with this consistency issue based on our recent experiences.

 

But as I say, I look forward to our next X cruise on Summit

[Jenna109]

Yes, we did speak with those involved.

I think your comment about the M class ships is a very valid one, we had not been on S class for a year, but had had good cruises on Summit and Infinity in between. Our next X cruise is on Summit which is becoming a favourite.

 

I never intended my original post to be a "why I will never be back to X/will only go on Azamara thread".

 

What I was trying to get over but did not really manage, sorry, is that looking at the 2015 suite prices, whilst I recognise there are going to be additional dining options for suite guests, Celebrity will need to up the game of the stateroom teams and improve service levels in other areas for this guests as their expectations based on what they are spending will be higher.

 

Whilst suite guests may choose to stay in their own "enclave" a lot of the time, that is not our style, we do want to be out and about on the ship and it would not feel right to me if there was a massive gap in service experience between the suite only areas and elsewhere.

 

On Azamara the service experience is consistent ship wide, Celebrity, with their manpower cuts set against higher guest numbers on the S ships are seriously struggling with this consistency issue based on our recent experiences.

 

But as I say, I look forward to our next X cruise on Summit

 

I have exactly the same concerns regarding Aqua and suite guests having their own restaurants. What next? Will they have their own areas on deck? Are they going down the lines of Cunard and having a class system! Perhaps not the old fashioned class system but one by money! They will need to be very careful if this is the way they are planning. I do not think our American and Australian friends will find this acceptable.

Not sour grapes but we have been on the Queen Mary and certainly didn't like the class system. We usually take three cruises a year with Celebrity but will be assessing the atmosphere and care of the lower classes very carefully:eek:

[cle-guy]

Service was very spotty, there were great wait staff and bar staff and there were some shockers. Numbers have been cut back so the staff are at times seriously overworked and that shows in their automaton type guest engagement and generally far fewer smiles.

 

Very nice and fair review I'd say.

 

I have been trying to find definitive numbers on staffing levels and cutbacks, can you share your source for the numbers of staff cutbacks and the numbers if you have them?

[PEICanadaCruiser]

Thanks to uktog for the balanced and detailed comments, and to all who responded. As we are rookies who have only sailed Carnival, your knowledge and insights are really appreciated.

[Cruising89143]

You are comparing a mass market line with 3000 + passengers to an upscale line with 600 passengers. Azamara runs $300 pp per day for an outside cabin VS $100 for the same category on Celebrity. I was bored with the lack of entertainment on Azamara when I sailed on her to Asia. One thing Azamara had that Celebrity could copy would be their sorbet bar. They had flavors so true to the fruit it was fabulous.

 

Have to agree here. I appreciate the OP taking the time to write their review but one has to keep in mind that we are looking two totally different segments of the cruise market.

[AlibeeWW]

It appears you have a great deal of experience, so if you could please answer one question for me... Will a single woman be comfortable on the ship (Azamara) or is it all couples? My husband and I booked a suite for 2015 for 12 days. Unfortunately he passed away. I would really like to take the cruise anyway and have no problem traveling alone, but do not want to be the only single person on the ship. Any comments or suggestions? We always traveled Celebrity and planned on upgrading to Azamara, but never having been on one, I do not know what to expect from my fellow travelers.

Edited September 30, 2014 by AlibeeWW

[Texed]

Will a single woman be comfortable on the ship (Azamara) or is it all couples? My husband and I booked a suite for 2015 for 12 days. Unfortunately he passed away.

 

I am sure you are not talking to me, but I think you will not feel uncomfortable on Azamara as a single woman. We have sailed with very friendly folks. I think you will have a lot of fun. And, I am sorry for your loss.

Edited September 30, 2014 by Texed

[curiouscat]

[quote name='Texed'][B][COLOR="DarkRed"]I am sure you are not talking to me, but I think you will not feel uncomfortable on Azamara as a single woman. We have sailed with very friendly folks. I think you will have a lot of fun. And, I am sorry for your loss. [/COLOR][/B][/QUOTE]

That all depends.. On our Amalfi coast cruise there was a woman from England who was a solo traveler and me and this other girl adopted her.. She was traveling with her hubby and I was traveling with my mom....

I say go for it as that is what he may have wanted u to do..

CC