Alternatives to Azamara?

[ChucktownSteve]

My question is directed to those long time AZ cruisers who have been increasing bookings at other cruise lines or totally replaced AZ with?  Which ones have you found that you enjoy as much or more than AZ

[uktog]

1 hour ago, ChucktownSteve said:

My question is directed to those long time AZ cruisers who have been increasing bookings at other cruise lines or totally replaced AZ with?  Which ones have you found that you enjoy as much or more than AZ

Increasing, our alternatives are Viking and potentially Explora plus possibly Scenic having loved a river cruise. Our friends who have different requirements from a cruise line have gone to Celebrity Retreat 

[Mackdogmolly]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

Increasing, our alternatives are Viking and potentially Explora plus possibly Scenic having loved a river cruise. Our friends who have different requirements from a cruise line have gone to Celebrity Retreat 

We are trying our first Viking Ocean cruise this fall. Not sure we will like the larger ship and already don’t like the way they organize the included excursions registration - with the top cabins getting first dibs. We shall see how it goes!

Do have a 2025 Azamara cruise booked.

[royallondon]

6 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

My question is directed to those long time AZ cruisers who have been increasing bookings at other cruise lines or totally replaced AZ with?  Which ones have you found that you enjoy as much or more than AZ

Did our first Regent cruise in May and have a Viking Ocean (on the back of a lovely V river cruise this year) booked for May next year. 
 

Regent was good but not great considering the cost and didn’t match the “vibe” that we enjoy so much on Azamara.

 

 

 

[takemewithyou]

7 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

My question is directed to those long time AZ cruisers who have been increasing bookings at other cruise lines or totally replaced AZ with?  Which ones have you found that you enjoy as much or more than AZ

We tried Viking Ocean…..wasn’t for us.

We are trying an Oceania cruise ….again, after trying once before 8 yrs ago.

We shall see how it goes.  Have one more Azamara booking late 2024.

Our June Pursuit cruise was pretty good…..pretty close to Azamara pre Covid.

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Mackdogmolly said:

We are trying our first Viking Ocean cruise this fall. Not sure we will like the larger ship and already don’t like the way they organize the included excursions registration - with the top cabins getting first dibs. We shall see how it goes!

Do have a 2025 Azamara cruise booked.

Do you know if you don’t get an included trip check in with the staff onboard- they usually manage to fit you in. I never noticed the larger number of passengers as the onboard sq ft is much larger pet head 

[Mackdogmolly]

15 minutes ago, uktog said:

Do you know if you don’t get an included trip check in with the staff onboard- they usually manage to fit you in. I never noticed the larger number of passengers as the onboard sq ft is much larger pet head 

I’ll do that!

was thinking more about the overall size of the ship, in terms of getting from here to there.

[ChucktownSteve]

1 hour ago, royallondon said:

Did our first Regent cruise in May and have a Viking Ocean (on the back of a lovely V river cruise this year) booked for May next year. 
 

Regent was good but not great considering the cost and didn’t match the “vibe” that we enjoy so much on Azamara.

I felt the same about our three Regent cruises.  While there were a lot of hits, there were also more misses than I expected from the "luxury" line.  Although I don't regret it because I booked at the perfect time to get great pricing...when nobody else was booking yet.

[Marylebone37]

Next are: Cunard Queens Grill (7 nights), Regent (18 nights), Regent (20 nights), Princess (solely for itinerary, 28 nights, PH suite), and Oceania R-ship (18 nights).  I'm through with Azamara until the current senior management team is gone and my online account is accurate (on its own, without any more hours of follow up from me).

[lisiamc]

Viking is our second favourite cruise line. They have a lot to like, but Azamara has my heart.
 

I find the entertainment (yes, really!) and the food, better on Azamara. 
 

On Viking, I have a soft spot for Torshavn, which is a great night spot, and also the rum menu. If you like aquavit, they have an impressive selection of that too. I’m not a big fan of aquavit, but DH is. 

Crew on both lines are great, but Azamara has the edge on that too.

Edited August 13, 2023 by lisiamc

[Host Jazzbeau]

I've been on the one Viking itinerary that appeals to me.  The cruise was great, but I don't cruise for the ship.  [And I don't expect them to change, since they seem to be doing fine with their over-and-over itineraries.  Just not for me.]  We are going to try Windstar in the Caribbean – they have interesting itineraries and their small ships can go anywhere.

[LuAnn]

9 hours ago, uktog said:

Increasing, our alternatives are Viking and potentially Explora plus possibly Scenic having loved a river cruise. Our friends who have different requirements from a cruise line have gone to Celebrity Retreat 

I'd like to try Explora..the ship looks wonderful and of course having Heike in charge will make it fabulous. How are you finding the prices compared to AZ and Oceania? So far it seems more expensive...your thoughts? 

 

[wewonwon]

I also think that each cruise line has its own vibe. We're not Azamara regulars and only sailed with them a few times (with 1 cruise coming up soon). To me, Azamara has that unique big ship vibe on a smallish family like ship (not sure if I describe it well... just how I feel about it). I believe I'm at the lower end of the age spectrum of Azamara's (and other small ship lines') target customers, and I like different experiences, so I sail with many different cruise lines plus different ways of travel.

 

My thought is if Azamara's vibe is important to you (or anything Azamara offers you while others don't), and that's the thing you miss the most when you sail with others, then stick with Azamara.

 

If you want to try others, and Regent is not for you, then perhaps Silversea and Seabourn might not be your first options. They're different, but take away food that can be very subjective and their different fare structures, I think these 3 are very alike. 

 

SeaDream has 2 yachts. I think they're more "family" like than other lines, and the closest thing to having your own charter. Perhaps they might be what you're looking for. But those yachts, while as stable as their size and age allow, do rock and roll. 

 

Ponant is also a great cruise line with beautiful yacht-like ships, they remind me of the old "The Yachts of Seabourn". They're French-oriented. We love it very much, especially the food. Depending on your sailing, some passengers might not speak English. 

 

Hapag Lloyd has 2 very nice ships - ms Europa and Europa 2. 400 or so passengers. Wonderful food and sophisticated service. Most of their cruises are in German, which we don't have a problem with. Unlike their competitors, their fare is not inclusive (similar to most big ships and Cunard without a Grills drink promotion). 

 

If you have done Regent, and have a few friends that went with you, you all might consider getting your own charter together. For certain places like the Adriatic and Aegean, it makes a lot of sense. We can stay overnight every evening, the yacht sails early in the morning for a few hours. That gives great flexibility and we get to eat at local places with locals for most meals. As good as the food can be on a cruise ship, it's not local food. I laughed at myself when I once told my friends "I went to Greece. I had Greek food, on my cruise ship while in Greek waters!"

 

These're some of the travels we are happy with. Hope this helps. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by wewonwon

[terry&mike]

I have a Med cruise on Azamara coming up in a couple of weeks, as well as a 22 night Amazon & Brazil sailing on them in November. These were both booked before the IT migration, and I'm going to hold off on future bookings with them until I see how things go onboard both these sailings, and how things improve on their admin side. 

 

A few weeks after our Azamara Med cruise, we will be sailing back from Europe to the US on the Queen Mary 2, a ship we both love sailing on. It's more formal than Azamara, and has a British vibe. 

 

Recently, I booked a 35 night Singapore to Cape Town on the Oceania Nautica for 2025, because I'm crazy about the itinerary. I've sailed Oceania before, and like their product and their R ships. They have some similarities to Azamara.

 

In that "luxury light" lane, I have sailed Ponant (Antarctica), and would definately sail with them again. French vibe, wonderful food, great itineraries, but their prices have been really getting high; their Antarctica itinerary was amazing. I have sailed with Sea Dream (Caribbean), and enjoyed it, but it was a bit clique-ish for my taste, and agree with the poster above, lots of movement. 

 

Scenic is my favorite river cruise line, and that has me looking at some of their super yacht sailings, along with their sister line, Emerald, super yacht sailings. 

 

We also have a bike and barge trip in The Netherlands scheduled for 2024, but that's a whole different animal. 

 

We usually cruise 2-4 times per year (this year it was 5), and take several land trips per year. I'm mostly itinerary focused, and start with a booking on land or sea that appeals to me, and then - because I LOVE logistics - I build it out with other components on either side to other destinations or sailings in the same part of the world. 

[AllisonJames]

We’ve only been on one Viking Ocean cruise so far and we really loved the ship and the extra facilities that AZ does not have. Would definitely cruise with them again…although I did not think the service was as personable as on AZ and I did not think the guests were as friendly. We are trying our first river cruise next summer on Viking River. We love the style and decor of the Viking ships…we hate that they require payment way in advance…we just had to pay in full for our river cruise…11 months in advance. We were willing to do it because we were happy with the cost for the veranda suite (a two room suite) and the itinerary, especially when compared to other river cruise offerings in the region.

[Host Jazzbeau]

17 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

We’ve only been on one Viking Ocean cruise so far and we really loved the ship and the extra facilities that AZ does not have. Would definitely cruise with them again…although I did not think the service was as personable as on AZ and I did not think the guests were as friendly. We are trying our first river cruise next summer on Viking River. We love the style and decor of the Viking ships…we hate that they require payment way in advance…we just had to pay in full for our river cruise…11 months in advance. We were willing to do it because we were happy with the cost for the veranda suite (a two room suite) and the itinerary, especially when compared to other river cruise offerings in the region.

I consider Viking Ocean to be a step above Viking River [I have sailed once on VO; never on VR, by choice].  

 

The VO ships are spacious, elegant and luxurious, and for our cruise at least the value was good even though we didn't find any included excursions that were worth a day of 'opportunity cost' [the two top sights were always divided between two excursions, whereas we were able to book private tours that easily included both].  

 

But the VR ships are very crowded – you can't squeeze 190 passengers into the same space that others use for 120-160 anymore than you can pack '10 lbs of stuff into a 5 lb bag'...  And the final payment deadline has gotten significantly  worse than when we booked, to the point that I won't even consider VO any more.  I hope you aren't disappointed.

[Mrs Miggins]

My perfect Ocean Cruise would be onboard a lovely Viking Ocean ship, but with absolutely everything else provided by Azamara. (including the passengers!).

[excitedofharpenden]

5 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I consider Viking Ocean to be a step above Viking River [I have sailed once on VO; never on VR, by choice].  

 

The VO ships are spacious, elegant and luxurious, and for our cruise at least the value was good even though we didn't find any included excursions that were worth a day of 'opportunity cost' [the two top sights were always divided between two excursions, whereas we were able to book private tours that easily included both].  

 

But the VR ships are very crowded – you can't squeeze 190 passengers into the same space that others use for 120-160 anymore than you can pack '10 lbs of stuff into a 5 lb bag'...  And the final payment deadline has gotten significantly  worse than when we booked, to the point that I won't even consider VO any more.  I hope you aren't disappointed.

On the subject of river cruises, I went on AMA and enjoyed the experience.  Romania to Budapest.  But it wasn't an ocean cruise that personally I prefer.  I found the lack of venues an issue too.  No buffet, sit down meal in dining room for dinner.  I like to mix things up, but couldn't on AmaVerde.

 

Phil

[uktog]

I have just done Scenic. There were alternatives for dining at lunch, sit down for dinner or room service plus everyone had one meal in a special restaurant and those on diamond deck also had a “best of the best” experience in another venue one night. But yes, inevitably river boats have fewer options but compared to Ama I was surprised how much Scenic packed into their ships.
 

I’ve yet to try Viking River but they’ve a Christmas Market itinerary others don’t do so I’m contemplating it. In terms of Viking River and Ocean because of UK rules the payment terms are 90 days before so that absolute disadvantage goes for UK guests. 
 

Im on our second Viking Ocean at the end of the month. It’s somewhere Azamara wasn’t doing this year (Greenland). I’m interested to see how the vibe is. Our first Viking came close on the back of an Azamara so feel we were comparing like for like. We found the crew equally attentive (both had lapses) and the guests equally friendly but it was during Covid mixing restrictions so might have given a false impression in that guests and crew were always taking their limited opportunities to be outgoing! 

[john1970]

I'm trying Oceania in November. My heart wants to book Azamara in January but my head says they are too chaotic for me at the moment.

[excitedofharpenden]

4 hours ago, uktog said:

I have just done Scenic. There were alternatives for dining at lunch, sit down for dinner or room service plus everyone had one meal in a special restaurant and those on diamond deck also had a “best of the best” experience in another venue one night. But yes, inevitably river boats have fewer options but compared to Ama I was surprised how much Scenic packed into their ships.
 

I’ve yet to try Viking River but they’ve a Christmas Market itinerary others don’t do so I’m contemplating it. In terms of Viking River and Ocean because of UK rules the payment terms are 90 days before so that absolute disadvantage goes for UK guests. 
 

Im on our second Viking Ocean at the end of the month. It’s somewhere Azamara wasn’t doing this year (Greenland). I’m interested to see how the vibe is. Our first Viking came close on the back of an Azamara so feel we were comparing like for like. We found the crew equally attentive (both had lapses) and the guests equally friendly but it was during Covid mixing restrictions so might have given a false impression in that guests and crew were always taking their limited opportunities to be outgoing! 

We had one night in the Specialty Restaurant at the aft of the ship too. It was lovely. I just missed a more casual dinner venue and there was no room service unless you were staying in a suite. One night I didn't feel so great and they very kindly offered me room service and served by one of the suite butlers, but I didn't want to put them to any trouble. 

 

Phil 

[ChucktownSteve]

I usually have three or four cruises on the books at any given time.  However so far we only have two AZ cruises booked.  I can't seem to find anything on Oceania or VikingO that "floats my boat" at current itineraries and pricing. Perhaps once they begin releasing more 2025 and 26 sailings that may change.

[LuAnn]

15 hours ago, uktog said:

I have just done Scenic. There were alternatives for dining at lunch, sit down for dinner or room service plus everyone had one meal in a special restaurant and those on diamond deck also had a “best of the best” experience in another venue one night. But yes, inevitably river boats have fewer options but compared to Ama I was surprised how much Scenic packed into their ships.
 

I’ve yet to try Viking River but they’ve a Christmas Market itinerary others don’t do so I’m contemplating it. In terms of Viking River and Ocean because of UK rules the payment terms are 90 days before so that absolute disadvantage goes for UK guests. 
 

Im on our second Viking Ocean at the end of the month. It’s somewhere Azamara wasn’t doing this year (Greenland). I’m interested to see how the vibe is. Our first Viking came close on the back of an Azamara so feel we were comparing like for like. We found the crew equally attentive (both had lapses) and the guests equally friendly but it was during Covid mixing restrictions so might have given a false impression in that guests and crew were always taking their limited opportunities to be outgoing! 

Kenneth and I did a Viking River cruise for the Xmas markets years ago...as in '05 or '06. Kenneth loved Xmas and it was a very special cruise...enjoyed the markets, the mulled wine and the entire 'holiday vibe". We ended in Vienna on Xmas Eve and then took the train a couple of days later to Budapest. That was just like a scene out of Dr. Zhivago with snow on the hay bales!!

They had older ships then and the Capt didn't speak English. When Kenneth ordered something hot for breakfast on the morning of disembarkation we were told they were not serving a hot breakfast because the cook was helping load the luggage!! I'm pretty sure things are a bit different these days!! 🙂 But I think you would love the experience. 

[takemewithyou]

Over on the Oceania board, there was a long thread similar to this one about alternatives to Oceania!  Looking for greener pastures.  
One of the lines mentioned was Seabourn.  Has anyone tried them and have any comments? 

Edited August 17, 2023 by takemewithyou

[Ithikan]

24 minutes ago, takemewithyou said:

Over on the Oceania board, there was a long thread similar to this one about alternatives to Oceania!  Looking for greener pastures.  
One of the lines mentioned was Seabourn.  Has anyone tried them and have any comments? 

We are taking a 10-night Seabourn to Alaska next month, giving them a try.  The chat on the cruise critic boards is... different.  Much discussion of what is acceptable garb on Formal Night, and lots of mutterings about the main restaurant being closed for lunch (and, evidently for breakfast as well) on port days. 

We shall see.  The price was right, and it fills the time until our January cruise with Azamara.  First since 2020!

 

Teri