Our take: Celebrity suites versus Azamara suites

[uktog]

We have just returned from a seven night cruise on Azamara in a Club Owners Suite. At the end of May we did an eleven night cruise on Celebrity in a Royal Suite dining in Luminae and enjoying Michael's Club. Both were excellent cruises in their own way and what I hope to do here is compare the similarities and differences. I will cross post on the two relevant boards and am happy to expand on any points made. Although written from the suite experience perspective, I hope others can read through as many of the differences are more fundamental than just being in a suite or not.

 

Embarkation

 

On Celebrity in a top suite you are personally escorted onboard to your own place (Michaels Club) whereas on Azamara, whilst you have all suites have their own check in line, you are not escorted onboard. We found the Azamara boarding experience far more relaxed and enjoyable because the presence of the escort on Celebrity still does not (and rightly so) speed you through security. It does speed you past other lines but can get you muttered comments from other guests. On Azamara, the whole process is calmer for all guests not just suites and includes the helpful checking in and delivery of hand luggage to your room once you are onboard.

 

Michael's Club and Concierge Services

 

Michael's Club is a very nice perk on Celebrity, you do not have such a place on Azamara. However, I did not miss it on Azamara, but considered it a very important bolt hole on Celebrity when the boom boom music got going. The Concierge on Celebrity was far better informed relating to shore related issues than the gentleman on Azamara who is available to all guests, however I put this down to the different personalities of the two individuals.

 

On Celebrity we had to use the Concierge for other shipboard arrangements like dining times in Luminae and to resolve some room related issues, there was no need for such help on Azamara, had there been issues, our butler would have handled it.

 

I felt on Celebrity there was too much who does what overlap/confusion between the butler, concierge and others, that was not so on Azamara.

 

Butler standards

 

On both cruises we had very good butlers whom we knew from previous cruises. Both were very good at knowing our likes and dislikes. However, we felt Sooriachand on Azamara was much more spontaneous and had more flexibility to react, Wilfred also reacted but had often to refer to supervisors or work through various chains of command to get things done eg resolve maintenance issues. I think therefore the two individuals were equally well trained and skilled but Celebrity's systems limited the response of one.

 

Food, Bars and Coffee

 

Let's go in the bear pit now!

 

Food

 

We thought on Celebrity Luminae's food was very good indeed and better than anything we have had in any Celebrity restaurant before. However, the choice was limited. On Azamara, we ate most nights in one of the Speciality Restaurants. The choice was far wider, the service was better than Specialities on Celebrity and far better than Luminae and the daily specials were a really welcome additional choice so whereas on Celebrity we would perhaps find we liked just one item for a given course, on Azamara the range was far wider. (We are not fussy eaters by the way)

 

Comparing the wine by the glass (premium package Celebrity) with Azamara wine of the day we very much enjoyed the Azamara options and over the cruise found this much less boring and repetitive than on Celebrity where the by the glass wine list in Luminae is poor even on the upgraded package.

 

The lunch buffet selection on Azamara is less than Celebrity but is of a higher quality and is served in more pleasant surroundings.

 

The dining room on Azamara is only open on sea days whereas Luminae opens daily but with a very restricted menu.

 

The day time room service menu on Azamara (which is available to all guests) is extremely good with a wide range of choices. They also managed to always serve it at the right temperature, something that challenged Celebrity.

 

Both ships had grill bars, again on offer to all. Azamara is far superior in terms of the range of food (only discovered the lamb skewers this cruise, how have I missed them before), service (you order to a waiter and once cooked the food is brought to you, no queueing etc) and quality of food. It is not that Celebrity was bad in any way, just Azamara was better.

 

Breakfast room service choices on Azamara were more extensive. If you want a restaurant experience this is an option open to you and all other guests. The breakfast buffet on Azamara is better, a calmer experience than on Celebrity (no trays ;))highlight is the smoothies, the fact the Azamara chef knows how to cook bacon and like the pool grill, you order eggs and they are brought to you a real bonus. Juice and coffee top ups are brought to the table.

 

Bars

 

So you have no private room in Azamara for socialising with other top suite guests. If this is something you like, you might miss it though there is plenty places around the ship for a drink. If you like a more lively bar, Azamara is quieter, however, if like us you hate loud background music, Azamara is excellent with very good piano bar entertainment in the casino bar. Whilst this is always seen as a strange location by some, we were late in port virtually every night so there was no casino sound vs piano bar conflict.

 

As we prefer to generally socialise but in surroundings that are not noisy, we preferred the Azamara set up but absolutely need Michael's in the louder larger ship.

 

Coffee

 

Again an observation, much prefer the coffee and pastries on Azamara, but like the layout of the coffee area on Celebrity better, but they have more room to play with there.

 

Suite

 

In many ways on an age basis, we were comparing like with like - M class to Azamara. The suites in Azamara have had a furnishings and decor upgrade and will have further modifications at dry dock, Celebrity suites were as they were 5 years ago. Without a doubt, we found the Azamara room far better maintained, nicer furnishings and a more comfortable bed and bedding than on Celebrity. Storage was more extensive and better laid out on Azamara. Also on Azamara the balcony was much more spacious and better furnished, partly because of no hot tub (not an issue for us). The biggest complaint we had re Azamara room was no walk in shower and we would happily have traded the second powder room for this. We believe dry dock may be looking to address this issue.

 

Staff

 

We found on Celebrity staff treated you differently in a suite - but for all the wrong reasons. Several times we encountered indifferent service, particularly in bars that then changed when you handed over a suite card to pay for something. Other staff it made no difference and we came across a lot of bickering and complaining, negativity that we even overheard in Michael's and Luminae. On Azamara, you get the same service from bar and wait staff wherever you are sleeping, we only encountered one lady who was not a good ambassador for the brand, interestingly others had a similar issue with her. I put it down to one isolated individual.

 

Officers

 

I do not cruise to interact with officers, but when I do I enjoy it. On Celebrity the interaction was staged - officers in Michael's one night for drinks was the main one. On Azamara it happens all over and for everyone. What I did notice was on Celebrity I had forgotten what the hotel director looked like mid cruise, on Azamara, he was everywhere addressing many guests (not just suite guests) by name. Although this visibility was undoubtedly supervision and monitoring at times, it was not always the case.

 

Likewise, the Captain on Azamara is everywhere including attending the evening entertainment and saying farewell to guests after it and no doubt getting feedback all the time from all guest, Celebrity captains only seem to be wired in to the feedback from a select few.

I believe the management style of the two brands are very different and much of what I see as differences in how guests experience their cruise between the two are as a direct result of this, much may now be unconscious rather than conscious actions by those involved such is the difference in cultures.

 

Perks

 

A question was asked a while back about what does Azamara do to make top suite guests feel even more special. From our perspective we identified three events that were for the large suites, one perk for all suites and some invites that came to us as a room number not named so we considered them to be room based.

 

The three events, in chronological order were: a private drinks party on the spa deck for sail away attended by senior officers (though thankfully not our designated driver who was in his rightful place!), the Best of the Best dinner which was absolutely outstanding- the delicacy of the food was such a joy, seven paired wine courses, everyone commented how at the end they had loved it all but not come away over full. The hosting by the top team was just great. And finally at the Azamazing evening we had a drinks reception beforehand and were taken on an earlier bus (though this does then mean sitting waiting for the start which some, not us, had issue with)

 

The invites were to the Bridge, Engine Room and Galley, I know non suites were also able to request these tours. As they were on a busy sea day we did not attend so we are not aware if they differed from the ones we had as Luminae invites on Celebrity which were "suite only tours" with enhanced refreshments and officer interaction.

 

All suites enjoy access to the private spa deck, a big perk on Azamara for some. A limited number of passes to the deck are sold to non suite guests so it is not "exclusive" but it is generally quieter. That said even on our sea day, seats around the pool were available.

 

 

Conclusions

 

So the $64,000 question, Azamara suite or Celebrity suite?

 

First, we are lucky to have that conundrum but here is our conclusion

 

Many of the niceties you need a suite for on Celebrity are available to all on Azamara

Celebrity top end suites and Azamara top end suites are getting closer in pricing

Our decision is if it is similar destinations and equally convenient dates, Azamara wins hands down but as our signature shows, because of a destination choice we will be back on Celebrity as well and will be very happy with that experience for that trip.

[hcat]

Thanks for this well written, informative post. It was helpful even though we are not suite cruisers.

 

we usually book Celebrity AQ class with BLU dining...we enjoy S class but were very pleased with Constellation as well, .We are thinking of trying a veranda on Azamara for 2017..sounds like that might work well for us,

 

Can you advise what perks Elite Plus on X, would receive on AZ and what the spa services are like...is it Canyon Ranch or another company.? Thank you again,

[uktog]

You will be discoverer plus on Azamara, the details of the benefits are here

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/en-gb/le-club-voyage/member-benefits

 

The focus is different as you can see, but the discount on future cruises can be quite a benefit. Internet is less unless you are in a suite. Laundry though less does bring back everything pressed not just washed and folded.

 

The spa is Steiner, it's smaller and very much less focused on hard sell, though they will try and recommend some products they are much less pushy in my view. I used the hairdresser once on my cruise, it was ok.

[florisdekort]

Great post! In do disagree with the "Azamara wins hands down" however. I can cruise in a Celebrity M class Penthouse for less $ than a much smaller, worn out Azamara Club World Owner's Suite (with a cramped balcony with solid, non glass sides) and get Michael's and Luminae on top (or dine at Olympic every night).

[need2cruisesoon]

Officers

 

"I do not cruise to interact with officers, but when I do I enjoy it. On Celebrity the interaction was staged - officers in Michael's one night for drinks was the main one. On Azamara it happens all over and for everyone. What I did notice was on Celebrity I had forgotten what the hotel director looked like mid cruise, on Azamara, he was everywhere addressing many guests (not just suite guests) by name. Although this visibility was undoubtedly supervision and monitoring at times, it was not always the case.

 

Likewise, the Captain on Azamara is everywhere including attending the evening entertainment and saying farewell to guests after it and no doubt getting feedback all the time from all guest, Celebrity captains only seem to be wired in to the feedback from a select few.

I believe the management style of the two brands are very different and much of what I see as differences in how guests experience their cruise between the two are as a direct result of this, much may now be unconscious rather than conscious actions by those involved such is the difference in cultures."

 

Imagine that, the Captain Hotel Director and CD actually mingled with the passengers. And you also were able to give feedback to all the above.

We just sailed Silhouette and will say hardly saw any officers, one time the Captain at the reception and many times the CD on TV (Celebrity Channel).

I call it Celebrity Arrogance. Again only talking about Officers and upper level staff.

 

We did Journey in '12 and really enjoyed the ship and the Captain Johannes.

Edited August 8, 2015 by need2cruisesoon

[hcat]

Checked out the AZ boards. It seems the AZ ships are being refurbished with some changes in 2016...guess we'll see how that goes...but it would be nice to try it some time!

[cle-guy]

TO OP, Can you provide a price difference between similarly situated staterooms on similar number night cruise? Don't need actual fares, but just the difference.

 

SO the AZ Owners suite is similar to the RS it seems...AZ smaller cabin larger veranda, overall the same.

 

Curious to know what the premium Azamara charges is, I have just never researched their cruises yet to even have a clue, but often see posts that they are far more expensive.

[Kevnzworld]

When I've compared prices, a Sky suite on Celebrity is roughly comparable in price to a regular Veranda on Azamara. ( 8-900$ per night per suite ).

The reason I've avoided Azamara is that they sail old ships, and the regular cabin's are too small...For a little more I can sail in a new 300 sq ft suite on Seabourn.