Cruise to Japan: Oceania or Azamara?

[ak1004]

We are looking for a short cruise to Japan (12-14 nights).

 

Those are two options we consider:

Oceania Regatta Cherry Blossom Splendor 12 nights 1 sea day 1 overnight Kobe 

Azamara Pursuit Japan Intensive 14 nights 1 sea day 2 overnight Tokyo and Kobe 

 

The cost for entry level cabins is about the same (but Azamara has 2 more nights). Azamara also has 2 overnights.

 

I know that both ships are around the same age, same class actually. I assume there shouldn't be huge difference in ship experience, so itinerary is probably the main consideration.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[osandomir]

18 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

We are looking for a short cruise to Japan (12-14 nights).

 

Those are two options we consider:

Oceania Regatta Cherry Blossom Splendor 12 nights 1 sea day 1 overnight Kobe 

Azamara Pursuit Japan Intensive 14 nights 1 sea day 2 overnight Tokyo and Kobe 

 

The cost for entry level cabins is about the same (but Azamara has 2 more nights). Azamara also has 2 overnights.

 

I know that both ships are around the same age, same class actually. I assume there shouldn't be huge difference in ship experience, so itinerary is probably the main consideration.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

If there isn’t any personal preference for either of the cruise lines for me it would be the timing and the other ports of call on the itineraries. A little research will give you an idea of what itinerary will be better based on your personal interest. Both, Tokyo and Kobe deserves more than an overnight in my opinion but an extended stay may be possible on the either end of the cruise depending on the itinerary again.

[ak1004]

2 minutes ago, osandomir said:

If there isn’t any personal preference for either of the cruise lines for me it would be the timing and the other ports of call on the itineraries. A little research will give you an idea of what itinerary will be better based on your personal interest. Both, Tokyo and Kobe deserves more than an overnight in my opinion but an extended stay may be possible on the either end of the cruise depending on the itinerary again.

 

Based on our 4 cruises on Oceania and 1 on Azamara, I do have a slight preference for O, but 3 of our cruises on O were on the Riviera, which we prefer vs. the R class.

 

However, in this case both are R class, the differences should be very minor (correct me if I'm wrong), and the itinerary is more important.

 

We are limited in for long we can leave home (elderly parents), so in case of 14 nights cruise I doubt we could extend by more than 1 night. 

 

Both cruises are around March-April 2026, so pretty similar. I really have no idea what itinerary I would prefer, very little knowledge about Japan.

[WESTEAST]

Can't comment on Azamara as have never sailed and the itinerary does vary from the Oceania itinerary that you posted.  What we can offer is that we sailed mostly the same itinerary though our cruise was 14 days in March/April this year and loved the itinerary.  Most ports of call were identical.  We were onboard Riviera which we prefer for the choice in restaurants. We've sailed onboard Regatta many times and always enjoyed the ship and service. If you have any questions regarding ports of call, happy to answer. Overall we loved the cruise. One must pack their patience as Japan has tight security protocols upon arrival to/fro their country and you must carry passports at each port of call. Enjoy your cruise and Japan - lovely scenery, culture and people.

[1985rz1]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

We are looking for a short cruise to Japan (12-14 nights).

 

Those are two options we consider:

Oceania Regatta Cherry Blossom Splendor 12 nights 1 sea day 1 overnight Kobe 

Azamara Pursuit Japan Intensive 14 nights 1 sea day 2 overnight Tokyo and Kobe 

 

The cost for entry level cabins is about the same (but Azamara has 2 more nights). Azamara also has 2 overnights.

 

I know that both ships are around the same age, same class actually. I assume there shouldn't be huge difference in ship experience, so itinerary is probably the main consideration.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

We've booked this cruise as a b2b with the preceding Tokyo to Tokyo cruise, A Shogun's Welcome, based on the two itineraries together hit a sweet spot.  We just got off the Azamara Journey in February for a circumnavigation of New Zealand.  Based on our previous experiences with O and this recent cruise on A, we go with either line that had the best itinerary.  For equal or nearly equal itineraries, we would go with O.  The differences are such that we prefer the feel and restaurants of O over A.

 

We did a 22-day land trip in 2018 and had some really good experiences in the cities and countryside, so we feel this cruise will suit us as a good complement.

Edited August 4 by 1985rz1

[the mice]

Like @1985rz1we are doing this O cruise but as the 2nd part of the Grand Voyage March 22-April 15 since we have the time, and this 24 day cruise covers a lot more.  I expect we will add on a week to see Tokyo and Kyoto (but I'm not telling DH that just yet 😉). We have cruised on Azamara 3 times and on the Oceania Nautica.  

 

There is a ton of information out there on Japan - you can check the ports at https://www.japan.travel/en/us/

 

I can point you to 2 threads on Azamara's Japan Intensive with some descriptions of excursions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2999287-japan-intensive-on-the-journey/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3001538-japan-intensive-live-take-2/#comment-67215510

 

And this is a document on the ports

https://partners-pamph.jnto.go.jp/simg/pamph/2349.pdf

 

Hopefully you will find this of some help.  Good luck deciding.

 

 

[osandomir]

32 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

Based on our 4 cruises on Oceania and 1 on Azamara, I do have a slight preference for O, but 3 of our cruises on O were on the Riviera, which we prefer vs. the R class.

 

However, in this case both are R class, the differences should be very minor (correct me if I'm wrong), and the itinerary is more important.

 

We are limited in for long we can leave home (elderly parents), so in case of 14 nights cruise I doubt we could extend by more than 1 night. 

 

Both cruises are around March-April 2026, so pretty similar. I really have no idea what itinerary I would prefer, very little knowledge about Japan.

We mostly cruise on Oceania, just a couple of Azamara cruises, but we don’t mind the small ships because they often go to the places that we’re interested in. As for the itineraries that you consider I would say that the Azamara is preferable because of more interesting ports and the possibility of spending at least a little bit more time on the each end in Tokyo and Kyoto. But for the first time both cruises would be a great introduction to Japan, especially at that time of the year.

[cruiseaholic78]

I would definitely go with Azamara the itinerary is much more varied also visiting the North of Japan and the overnights make such a difference.

With the different areas visited you are also much more likely to see the cherry blossom somewhere.

[cruiseaholic78]

Here is some general information regarding cruising to Japan.

happy planning 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/best-time-to-go-to-japan?stay=1

[ak1004]

Wow, thank you so much everyone, very helpful!

[mauibabes]

@ak1004

the timing may be off but Riviera is going to be in the Japan area for several segments in April 2025, any chance one of those might be of interest? We have done Southern Japan on Insignia in 2018 so this time we have booked the 19 day, Tokoyo and North island and Transpacific and Alaska to Vancouver. 
I am sure you will love your trip, whichever line but as O Vets, we would be opting for Oceania and our O Club amenities, besides we LOVE Riviera. 
Mauibabes

[1985rz1]

10 hours ago, the mice said:

Like @1985rz1we are doing this O cruise but as the 2nd part of the Grand Voyage March 22-April 15 since we have the time, and this 24 day cruise covers a lot more.  I expect we will add on a week to see Tokyo and Kyoto (but I'm not telling DH that just yet 😉). We have cruised on Azamara 3 times and on the Oceania Nautica.  

 

There is a ton of information out there on Japan - you can check the ports at https://www.japan.travel/en/us/

 

I can point you to 2 threads on Azamara's Japan Intensive with some descriptions of excursions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2999287-japan-intensive-on-the-journey/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3001538-japan-intensive-live-take-2/#comment-67215510

 

And this is a document on the ports

https://partners-pamph.jnto.go.jp/simg/pamph/2349.pdf

 

Hopefully you will find this of some help.  Good luck deciding.

 

 

Our b2b is the same as the Grand Voyage.  Hope to meet you onboard.

[ak1004]

13 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

@ak1004

the timing may be off but Riviera is going to be in the Japan area for several segments in April 2025, any chance one of those might be of interest? We have done Southern Japan on Insignia in 2018 so this time we have booked the 19 day, Tokoyo and North island and Transpacific and Alaska to Vancouver. 
I am sure you will love your trip, whichever line but as O Vets, we would be opting for Oceania and our O Club amenities, besides we LOVE Riviera. 
Mauibabes

 

I would definitely prefer to be on the Riviera, but we are fully booked for 2025, and it looks like in 2026 Riviera doesn't have those itineraries anymore.

 

btw, this might be not the right place to ask, but I just found out that Princess has some very interesting cruisetours, for example - https://www.princess.com/cruise-search/details/?voyageCode=M519&resType=T&tourCode=T5J03D

 

It's a combination of land and sea - 5 days in Tokyo, Kyoto and Yokohama followed by 8-10 days cruise.

 

I'm aware of course that ship experience won't be the same as O, but any feedback on the itinerary? 

[ORV]

Just one thought, looks like if you went on O you would turn Bronze, you would start getting some decent perks at that level. 

[deadzone1003]

If you wish to see the Cherry Blossoms, March 27 is considered the peak at Tokyo.  There are many places in Japan where you see them, but there is only a 2-3 week window to view them and it varies when it starts.  So, Azamara is a good bet if you wish to see the Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo.  Oceania looks o.k. if you wish to see them in other cities.  You will see the tail-end of the Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo.  Each city will have a time window to view the Cherry Blossoms so you have to match the time windows with the itinerary.  You have to be a little lucky to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom.  

[Vallesan]

2 minutes ago, deadzone1003 said:

If you wish to see the Cherry Blossoms, March 27 is considered the peak at Tokyo.  There are many places in Japan where you see them, but there is only a 2-3 week window to view them and it varies when it starts.  So, Azamara is a good bet if you wish to see the Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo.  Oceania looks o.k. if you wish to see them in other cities.  You will see the tail-end of the Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo.  Each city will have a time window to view the Cherry Blossoms so you have to match the time windows with the itinerary.  You have to be a little lucky to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom.  

Real problem is that the ‘cherry season’ depends very much on the weather. I may be wrong but I think this the season was late everywhere.

[deadzone1003]

Like I said "You have to be lucky to see the Cherry Blossoms in full bloom."

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Just one thought, looks like if you went on O you would turn Bronze, you would start getting some decent perks at that level. 

 

We did 4 O cruises so far and are scheduled 3 more in 2024-2025. So will be bronze anyway on our November 2024 cruise.

 

While those perks are nice, the itinerary is more important. If Riviera had one of Japan itineraries, this could be a factor. But since Azamara and O sail on the same class ships, the ship is less of the factor, and loyalty level even less.

 

While O is our favorite line, we are not loyalists. We are driven mostly by itinerary and price.

[cayman09]

You might want to post the same question on the Azamara forum to get another perspective.

[Steph27]

We cruised Japan on Riviera in March 2024. The cruise ended on March 22nd and we missed the Cherry Blossoms by 2 weeks. I have cruised O 3 times but looking at Crystal for their 2026 Japan itineraries. The food on O was very disappointing. Stateroom and service were wonderful but it would have to be an amazing itinerary to bring me back to O. 

 

One overnight in Kobe for Kyoto is enough time to see the major sites. Shinkansen from Shin-Kobe station to Kyoto station is only 29 - 31 minutes and the train runs hourly. I recommend staying overnight in Kyoto. I like the O itinerary better. Azamara visits the west coast of Japan and Hakodate which may not be of interest if this is your first trip there. 

 

I recommend 2 - 3 nights in Tokyo at the end of your trip. 

[avw]

I cruised Japan earlier this year on Azamara Pursuit. It was absolutely fabulous! The best cruise I ever took (out of about 50). I hope to go back again to Japan on Azamara in 2026. They brought some local Japanese culture onboard every late afternoon and the port departures were always a huge celebration. I can almost guarantee that you would love an Azamara Japan cruise.

[Olvier]

On 8/4/2024 at 6:10 AM, ak1004 said:

We are looking for a short cruise to Japan (12-14 nights).

 

Those are two options we consider:

Oceania Regatta Cherry Blossom Splendor 12 nights 1 sea day 1 overnight Kobe 

Azamara Pursuit Japan Intensive 14 nights 1 sea day 2 overnight Tokyo and Kobe 

 

The cost for entry level cabins is about the same (but Azamara has 2 more nights). Azamara also has 2 overnights.

 

I know that both ships are around the same age, same class actually. I assume there shouldn't be huge difference in ship experience, so itinerary is probably the main consideration.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Both options sound amazing, but the decision really comes down to what kind of experience you're looking for. If you prefer a slightly longer trip with more time to explore, the Azamara Pursuit's 14-night itinerary with two overnights in Tokyo and Kobe might be the better choice, giving you more time to immerse yourself in these cities.