Could this be a 'new' ship for Oceania?

[travelberlin]

That is good if you take advantage of those things

 

We rarely drink

we get PPG

we get enough OBC to buy any drinks we may want

we hate herds

 

We do not need to be best friends with the officers

 

 

YMMV

people should do what works best for them

 

Thanks. It does not have to be either Azamara or Oceania. For us what works well are nice itineraries at reasonable prices. We are now booked on both because we found what we are looking in both. No cruise line has the whole exclusivity for us yet. We are embarking tomorrow on the Royal Clipper⛵️

[LHT28]

I appreciate the info on Azamara especially since they decided to buy the R ship.

strange comment:confused:

 

They only have R ships

 

now they will have 3

[jo-b]

Are you saying that O is half the cost of Azamara? I have compared many of the similar cruises and can not find such a difference. A few bucks maybe, but not half. Either way we will stick with O. :):)

 

I find the Azamara site very difficult to get enough information to make a judgement on price. Similar cruises seem to have widely different prices and most seem to be around £100pp pd dearer than O for a balcony. If you take say £15 for grats off that is a lot of booze to make up the difference .

[Ken the cruiser]

Are you saying that O is half the cost of Azamara? I have compared many of the similar cruises and can not find such a difference. A few bucks maybe, but not half. Either way we will stick with O. :):)

Maybe not exactly half, but significantly more. We booked VX cabins on Azamara and they averaged about $525 a day on the cruises we had booked except for a TA which was a little cheaper. When we later checked out similar itineraries on O, they averaged between $350-$375 a day including air fare and port costs. For us it just made sense. I'm sure Azamara is worth the price, we just didn't feel like paying that extra cost for drinks and free gratuities as we usually get tons of OBC from our TA.

[ORV]

Maybe not exactly half, but significantly more. We booked VX cabins on Azamara and they averaged about $525 a day on the cruises we had booked except for a TA which was a little cheaper. When we later checked out similar itineraries on O, they averaged between $350-$375 a day including air fare and port costs. For us it just made sense. I'm sure Azamara is worth the price, we just didn't feel like paying that extra cost for drinks and free gratuities as we usually get tons of OBC from our TA.

 

I don't know what a VX cabin is on AZ, and I don't think you mentioned what category you booked on Oceania. Without this information it's hard to make an apples to apples comparison.

[ChucktownSteve]

Continuing on with Ken the cruiser's comment, the identical cabin on AZ (a VX aft view) equates to an A2 Concierge cabin including the additional perks of the category. Plus adding in the Olife promo and perks, O becomes a better value at a lower cost per night average

 

It boils down to cabin supply. With only two ships they can demand a higher rate based upon their high occupancy. Perhaps AZ may lower their pricing a little with more availability.

 

ORV, the Azamara VX is the highest veranda category without extra perks before you get to the smaller suites. On the aft view, they're the two center cabins on the three passenger decks. i.e. 8090 & 8033, 7116 & 7121 or 6090 & 6093.

 

I've booked 6093 on two O sailings next year.

Edited September 30, 2017 by ChucktownSteve

[LHT28]

I don't know what a VX cabin is on AZ, and I don't think you mentioned what category you booked on Oceania. Without this information it's hard to make an apples to apples comparison.

Looks like VX is =A on O

 

They have some on deck 8 as well as decks 6 & 7

 

as stated above to 2 forward & aft facing cabins between the suites

175 sq ft same as O

 

Maybe extra perks I did not pursue that further

[Ken the cruiser]

I don't know what a VX cabin is on AZ, and I don't think you mentioned what category you booked on Oceania. Without this information it's hard to make an apples to apples comparison.

The VX cabin we liked on the Azamara was equivalent to the A veranda cabin on O.

[Sabbycat]

Well at least Azamara will have more options now

Their fans will be dancing in the streets

Yes, it is about time they get a new ship. I am a huge fan of AZ, and an additional ship will give them more capacity and ports of call! Can't wait to see the coming itineraries.

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4

[Sabbycat]

The VX cabin we liked on the Azamara was equivalent to the A veranda cabin on O.

I will choose a VX any day over a suite if available. Love the aft stateroom. I find it frustrating trying to get an aft on an O ship as they on have 2 on the ship!

 

As to some other comments:

- AZ never feels crowded or like one is being herded around.

- I love the all inclusive feel with respect to beverages of all sorts, not just alcoholic.

- ships are a great size.

 

I know two each their own, but I am not sure some of the complaints are fair. (Such as how crowded the R class ships feel given they are the same on both lines!)

 

SM

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4

[Ken the cruiser]

I will choose a VX any day over a suite if available. Love the aft stateroom. I find it frustrating trying to get an aft on an O ship as they on have 2 on the ship!

 

As to some other comments:

- AZ never feels crowded or like one is being herded around.

- I love the all inclusive feel with respect to beverages of all sorts, not just alcoholic.

- ships are a great size.

 

I know two each their own, but I am not sure some of the complaints are fair. (Such as how crowded the R class ships feel given they are the same on both lines!)

 

SM

 

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 4

As far as aft-facing verandas, O has 6 on their R class ships, 2 on 6, 2 on 7 and 2 on 8, just like AZ. Now on the Riviera and Marina, their newer 1200 pax ships, there aren't any aft-facing veranda cabins, just owners suites.

 

Our only issue is the lack of diversity in the AZ itineraries and since we don't drink alcohol other than one glass at dinner, their increased fares aren't worth it to us. However, we do like AZ's new policy of allowing you to use their OBC to pre-book excursions and they definitely aren't stingy on giving it out. We had a 30 day B2B2B cruise booked and AZ gave us over $2,200 in OBC. But, we will definitely be keeping an eye on them since they just bought their 3rd ship.

[JimandStan]

Love the aft stateroom. I find it frustrating trying to get an aft on an O ship as they on have 2 on the ship!

 

There are six "non-suite" aft facing staterooms on all of the R ships. This applies to both Oceania and Azamara vessels.

[ChucktownSteve]

There are six "non-suite" aft facing staterooms on all of the R ships. This applies to both Oceania and Azamara vessels.

 

Six forward facing also.

[Ken the cruiser]

Six forward facing also.

Has anyone ever booked one of those? I wonder what they're like in rough seas? I remember being on a Princess cruise from Australia to New Zealand and crossing "the ditch". We looked off the port bow and saw the Regatta heading towards Australia with some serious waves crashing over the bow. That's one time we were glad to be on a ignore ship.

[YoHoHo]

Six forward facing also.

and 48 side port side facing on deck 7.

I'll need to round up more fingers and toes to count starboard

[ChucktownSteve]

Has anyone ever booked one of those? I wonder what they're like in rough seas? I remember being on a Princess cruise from Australia to New Zealand and crossing "the ditch". We looked off the port bow and saw the Regatta heading towards Australia with some serious waves crashing over the bow. That's one time we were glad to be on a ignore ship.

 

I'll never know. In the 90's I made the mistake of booking a high and somewhat forward cabin thinking I was booking a good cabin. My DW let me know that I would never select anything forward again! lol However we love aft facing now. Been on two or three and have a couple more booked.

[ChucktownSteve]

and 48 side port side facing on deck 7.

I'll need to round up more fingers and toes to count starboard

 

Can you count the insides as well please? That should take less effort. ;p

[YoHoHo]

Has anyone ever booked one of those? I wonder what they're like in rough seas? I remember being on a Princess cruise from Australia to New Zealand and crossing "the ditch". We looked off the port bow and saw the Regatta heading towards Australia with some serious waves crashing over the bow. That's one time we were glad to be on a ignore ship.

Personally no, but got to know fellow pax who were in one of the forward facing suites on Regatta. We did have some very high sea and lots of wave crashing and, what bothered them most, loud bangs from the hull. It was some years ago and I know a few nights they slept elsewhere (atrium? memory fails me). In fairness it was very, very rough for several days with many pax and much of the staff not making public appearances.

 

We will not book one despite the views as DW does suffer from sea sickness. Aft is a maybe.

[Ken the cruiser]

I'll never know. In the 90's I made the mistake of booking a high and somewhat forward cabin thinking I was booking a good cabin. My DW let me know that I would never select anything forward again! lol However we love aft facing now. Been on two or three and have a couple more booked.

We agree. If there is an aft-facing cabin available on any of the cruise lines we sail with available when we're booking a cruise, that's always our first choice.

[Chris86]

Has anyone ever booked one of those? I wonder what they're like in rough seas? I remember being on a Princess cruise from Australia to New Zealand and crossing "the ditch". We looked off the port bow and saw the Regatta heading towards Australia with some serious waves crashing over the bow. That's one time we were glad to be on a ignore ship.

 

We recently sailed in a room next door to these forward facing balconies. Surprised to hear the waves smashing against the bow at night. Some nights we did move around quite a bit. My partner gets motion sickness however on the R ships in this room he was fine! Our comments with friends was we enjoyed the motion. It is what one would expect from cruising in the Atlantic. It all comes down to the individual perception. All boats roll regardless of size.

[Ken the cruiser]

Thanks for the examples. Sounds like if we can't book an aft-facing cabin we'll stick with our center of the ship strategy. We don't get seasick and do like a little rolling, but banging noises while we're sleeping doesn't sound all that great.

[LHT28]

Six forward facing also.

Actually only 4 on the R ships

[ChucktownSteve]

Actually only 4 on the R ships

 

I was wondering who would be the first to catch that. Congratulations. you win. This is the picture of forward Deck 8 on the R6 bridge.

 

 

[LHT28]

I was wondering who would be the first to catch that. Congratulations. you win. This is the picture of forward Deck 8 on the R6 bridge.

 

 

sorry I did not know it was a test

[ChucktownSteve]

sorry I did not know it was a test

I made the typo but it was too late to edit so I wondered who would catch the mistake.