Celebrity Zenith Cruiser Azamara Onward Comparison.....

[cruiseerf]

Hello All:  

 

I am so late to this review so perhaps some of my information is stale, but I promised I would come back and give you our thoughts and comparisons of Azamara and Celebrity.    This board answered all of our questions and more, Thank you all for that!   

 

First off, we loved Azamara!  So lets get that out of the way.   Azamara reminded us of Silversea and Seabourn without the high ticket pricing.   The beautiful older ship, newly renovated, Onward was well kept and our rooms were in great shape.   We were in an Owners Suite in the back.   We were on From Rome to Fort Lauderdale 19 nights including the crossing in End November 2022....ending in Miami December 1st.  

 

Food on Celebrity is formulaic and the food on Azamara was stellar, Iwon was an Excellent F&B manager.   We had some service issues in the main dining room, but we adjusted our schedules.  During our cruise the central lighting in the main dining room was unable to be dimmed so it was uncomfortable to sit there.  So they jammed everyone around the outside tables and that was not the most quiet or intimate dining experience, somewhat loud and chaotic.  My only food complaint about Azamara is that their sushi was mediocre.....Lots and lots of rice and little fish...it was fill you up cheap sushi.  On Celebrity they have dedicated sushi restaurants where they put out some great low rice rolls, but they have the luxury of being a larger vessel and we recognize that.  We ate many times at the two specialty restaurants and both were excellent.  I would say same as the specialty restaurants on Celebrity cruises and included in the price of our suite on Azamara as well as on Celebrity.   Buffet on Azamara was far higher quality than Celebrity and the service offered throughout the dining rooms was exemplary except for a couple for a misses, here and there.  This is to be expected and I am not perfect either 😉  They also had some staffing issues with visiting the USA the first time and Embassies around the world are still struggling with work approving work visas in a timely manner etc.  Ships always say you are lucky we have X amount of staff onboard, if there is one thing I have learned, never believe this on any cruise line.  Staff is one of if not the highest expense of cruise companies, they do not take on staff if they are not going to use them.   That said, as people began to travel some cruises were 1/2 full and then full the next cruise, so full cruise compliments were required.   Now ships are pretty much full, so this is a non issue going forward.  We met some 50+ cruises on Azamara people and they still love the line and service but say they see cutbacks since Azamara was bought by the hedge fund.   We wouldn't know as these were our first Azamara cruises.  We were invited to a big dinner with all the top suites one night.....Captain, first officer hotel director and 12 or 16 people.....Food was fine....not our thing,  almost like a fake Michelin with neither the service or the food quality there.   We had Captain G Onboard and were lucky to have dined with him one night on the transatlantic, such a nice guy, this was a lovely one on one intimate meal and this was a great one! 

 

Azamara with such small intimate ships provides most excellent services that big ships, even with suite class cannot.   Bartenders knew us in a day, restaurants were aware of our dietary requirements and we were addressed by name by most staff by day 3....Bravo Azamara.    The only position that was neither here nor there was the Butler.....We don't eat in our room so really they only helped us with laundry and bottled water in the room.   We made our dining reservations during lunch the first or second day and we adjusted them as we needed.  We had no problem dining anywhere when we wanted.  I think in 19 nights we called the Butler 4 times?   On these small ships it is easy to do it yourself...Where as on Celebrity with 2500-3500-4500 passengers, the Butlers are really fighting for you to get space in the specialties, spa etc.   Our butlers were friendly and cordial, I just am not sure they are necessary on such intimate ships?  I did have one special request and that was on the last day to take all my clothes and fold them and put them in the living room so I could pack them where I wanted.   They did a great job.  Service provided was warm and we could see that many of the passengers enjoyed talking with the staff and meeting staff that has returned again and again.  We did as well, they work so hard and are away from their families, etc.  There is a level of guest to crew social intimacy that you have on Azamara that you do not have on Celebrity or rarely have due to the larger ship size.   There was also many many singles onboard and I believe this is because they never really feel "alone"....They feel they are traveling with family and there is a warmth here.  Bravo again Azamara.  

 

Some negatives.   I was told the owners suite on 6 had a stand up shower, this is not true.  ONE of them has a stand up shower, the other suite is a handicapped shower bath combo that is an Epic Fail.  The controls are behind the glass so you need to hop into the shower/tub combo......quickly turn on the water facing away from you....wait for it to warm and then enable the shower and you stand there naked waiting.....it is awkward and cold.   I was in 6091 and that beast was sold as a stand up shower and this was most definitely not.  6088 where I eventually moved did indeed have a beautiful standup shower, like a royal suite on Celebrity,  but apparently there are 3 of the 6 owners suites on the Onward that have these "Contraptions"...I will avoid at all costs in the future. 

 

We did have one awkward dinner in the Italian restaurant onboard.   We had not been feeling well and were concerned since our cabin stewardess had caught covid on day 4 and was quarantined till day 11.   We tested for Covid and were so far negative so that night we requested the Maître D seat us at a two top and not sit anyone next to us.  He told us that was fine he would block it, placed us in the corner and the restaurant was empty it was 815PM etc.   In comes this single woman who with 20 empty tables to choose, chooses the table right next to ours??  The Maître D had not communicated with the Assistant Maître D and then when I said to the lady , I am sorry this table is "blocked" she went on a rant that I can't do this and how dare I and blah blah blah.....we just sat there and watched this show.....Then we went back to our meal.   After the drama subsided I did not feel I owed anybody any explanation as we were actually doing this as a precaution.  Then the Maître D heard the commotion and apologized to us, offered a premium bottle of wine etc, and the assistant apologized and the waiter apologized, it was quite an uncomfortable scene.  Thankfully we continued to test negative throughout the rest of the cruise.  

 

Entertainment was Fantastic onboard with the fabulous Eric De Gray onboard and of course the most lovely Martin and also Vassi on the piano and the entire fabulous show cast.   We did not miss the big second rate shows onboard Celebrity and thought this "plan" of hiring entertainers for the social staff and cruise director etc was brilliant.   These were some of the most vibrant and wonderful shows we have seen onboard any of our small ship cruising and we shared some quiet dinners with them as well.  Lovely entertainment, lovely crew and we wish them all the best.   Again, adding such depth to the intimate guest experience.  

 

We sadly left Azamara and transferred two days later to a Celebrity ship for a two week family Caribbean cruise.   While there was culture shock, the ability to be somewhat Anonymous was kinda nice and we were happy to be there for a Family cruise!   But let me be clear that Celebrity is no small ship cruise line even when in suites.   And as Celebrity continue to maximize$ their suite product at customers loss,  we are going to start to explore smaller options.   Azamara reminded us of the joys of small ship cruising sometimes and how nice it is to "Change it up" and try new experiences!  I know the End of February Azamara will break from Celebrity RCL, It will be interesting to see how things go.  Each of Azamara's ships have about 8-10 years left on them.....They are either going to need to build new ones or merge.....Time will tell.   If you have any questions, feel free to ask.   Azamara was the clear winner of this comparison.  Safe sails wished to all!!!! 

 

 

[laurieb]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!  I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise.  I personally think that the break from RCCL will bring lots of positive changes to Azamara.  I’ve looked at a couple cruises on Celebrity as we have friends who would like us to join them, but the retreat prices are ridiculously high.  I think we’ll stick with Azamara.  

[TeaBag]

Azamara breaks away from Celebrity and RCI Feb 1.  We don't sail till May, so it will be interesting to see the changes.

Thank you for your comparison.

[lisiamc]

51 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Azamara breaks away from Celebrity and RCI Feb 1.  We don't sail till May, so it will be interesting to see the changes.

Thank you for your comparison.

It’s a sort of moveable feast. The loyalty programmes split as of 1st Feb, but some things will remain in flux, like the IT system. Some things have already split. 

[LuAnn]

8 hours ago, laurieb said:

Thank you for sharing your experience with us!  I’m glad you enjoyed your cruise.  I personally think that the break from RCCL will bring lots of positive changes to Azamara.  I’ve looked at a couple cruises on Celebrity as we have friends who would like us to join them, but the retreat prices are ridiculously high.  I think we’ll stick with Azamara.  

 

I so agree re Celebrity suite prices!! They have gone through the roof and I think you can find far better value on AZ or Oceania. 

[britestar]

Thank you for your comparison. We have cruised , (and enjoyed) both lines many times, however we do prefer the small ship experience.

[hubofhockey]

You’re really comparing two totally different types of products here.  Time and a place for each and we’re happy on either, depending on the type of cruise we’re looking for.  

[DCPIV]

We boarded Onward the day you got off. It was our first Azamara cruise, and we had a terrific time! We were looking for more of a smal(ler) ship experience than Celebrity but without the formality of Silversea. We were very pleased to have found just that. 

 

I echo many of your comments. While it was obvious they had so things to work out, it also was obvious that they truly wanted to do so and were making the effort. We spoke with many officers (they were always coming around), and they genuinely listened. 

 

You're right about those lights in the MDR! They tried starting us in that area the first night, and it was like getting the third degree!