I know you are sick of it - deciding between Oceania vs Azamara

cruisespaz · July 14, 2008

Ok we are a couple in our late 30s looking for a caribbean cruise in January. We have narrowed it down to the 10 night on Oceania Regatta leaving Jan 2nd or the 12 night Azamara Journey leaving Jan 19th.

The itineraries are very similar so I don't think that affects our decision. Apart from the minor differences I've read about on this forum, is there anything I should consider in making our decision? Will we be around more people in our age group in either one? Is one ship better than the other?

Thanks in advance for any opinions!

phillipahain · July 14, 2008

IMHE having sailed both lines in Feb and June this year

Oceanias passengers dress a little more upscale

Azamara has some rough edges that need polishing but the food in many ways is better than O with the exception of breakfast buffet where A has frozen raspberries/strawberries etc where O has fresh and Teatime on O is definitely a treat

However Entertainment on Azamara is better

and they will provide shuttle buses if needed in a port whilst O will not

If cost is a factor ...........choose Azamara

hondorner · July 14, 2008

I've been checking out various A vs O cruises, and I've made some interesting discoveries.

First, let me say that I've been doing this on my own, as a fun exercise, and have not involved my fantastic travel agent -- the results might be different when I do it "officially".

There has been a lot of discussion on this forum about how A is less expensive than O. In the comparisons I have made, I have not found it so. I compared transAtlantic from Miami to Barcelona in March, '09. At first glance, At first, A appeared cheaper -- but then I saw the button that adds air fare to the price. Once I clicked that, A actually became a bit more expensive than O. The same thing happened when I compared Panama Canal crossings from California to Florida in February, '09.

The second thing I discovered was that while O still had some cheaper rooms available, the suites were all booked. The exact opposite was true for A -- they appeared to have plenty of suites, but there were no veranda, ocean view or inside rooms available -- they were all booked. Now, as I said, this might change if I called my TA -- I suspect that A, being a part of Celebrity, might have blocks of rooms allocated to agents and not available for direct on-line booking. O, of course, does not do this.

But, if true, it provides an interesting clue to the differences in the preferences of the people booking A vs. O.

In that same vein, my guess would be that A caters to a younger crowd than O.

Ask4Jay · July 14, 2008

cruisespaz -

We, too, have sailed both - across the Atlantic Ocean. We opt for the timing that suits us best. To us the important thing is to have one of 'our' aft balconies (with cabin). Both lines serve sushi / sashimi at dinner time in the buffet. We do like O's library better than A's. In the breakfast buffet O's selection of jellies come in miniature jars, A's are in the cheap diner-type individual serving tins. However, none of this matters, as long as we have our cabin. As to your dilemma: A 12-day cruise is better than a 10-day cruise.

cpgrneyes · July 20, 2008

I've read several posts about the lack of books in A's libraries, and can't for the life of me imagine why that would be an issue. I'm a big reader and love to read in the ship's library, but always bring my own books. I would never assume any library, even a big public one, would have books that are on my list!

Just travelled Celebrity (not A) 2 weeks ago, and loved it. Have looked at both A and O, and since we had a such a great experience on Celebrity, we've booked a 2009 Med trip.

meow! · July 21, 2008

The pricing differential between Azamara and Oceania depends a lot on the individual voyage. For some voyages (the ones that sell well), there is little differential, but for others (usually those that don't sell well), Azamara can be on deep discount especially through some agencies (cannot be named), while Oceania will not further discount from their original price.

As Azamara and Oceania have rather different itineraries especially for Eastern Mediterranean, we accepted the more expensive Oceania voyage which we booked more than a year ago due to its more suitable itinerary (for us) and the fact that we have been looking forward to it and researching on it for quite some time.

We have been on Oceania before, and know that it is a good product. We just hope (for future customers) that it will be more flexible in its pricing down the road.

naxos · July 23, 2008

We sailed on the Jan 2 Regatta cruise last January- we had a great cruise but FYI- we are a couple in our late fifties and we were among the youngsters on the ship. There seemed to be some younger folks but not many. It is very quiet at night on the ship- which was fine for us- it is a port intensive cruise but just so you know....

Wineart · July 23, 2008

On our Baltic cruise last year, the other passengers were definitely older. However, on our recent Mediterranean cruise, I would estimate about half the passengers looked under 50!

orchestrapal · July 23, 2008

Non-summer and non-holiday cruises will have an older demographic, naturally. These are the retired people who can travel when there are no crowds and no children .:)

Sea Breeze · August 2, 2008

Ask4jay

I enjoyed your photo's.. How do you get the aft cabins? And is it very rocky in the back? We too have cruised NCL with our children, and have done Celebrity Cruise line, and Princess,, No cruise has been bad for us. I have wondered if Oceania would be too quiet for us.. we are in our late 40's but I guess it would have to depend on your taste? any suggestions would be appreciated... Also if doing a Med cruise any suggestions on places not to miss?

orchestrapal · August 2, 2008

Yes, Oceinia is QUIET and that's the way most of the passengers like it.

No bands at the pool, not much entertainment except for a string trio and nightly show. If that is too quiet for you, you would not like O. :confused:

LHT28 · August 2, 2008

Ask4jay

How do you get the aft cabins? And is it very rocky in the back?

.. Also if doing a Med cruise any suggestions on places not to miss?

Just ask your TA for the cabins look on the deck plans for the exact numbers 6090 6093 etc

It could be more motion & on the Regatta it is a bit noisy on deck 6 back there.

If doing a MED cruise the quiet evenings may be a bonus for a port intensive cruise.

We are doing one with no sea days so it will be early to bed for us!!:D

Beach Nut · August 3, 2008

We did the Jan. 2 Oceania Regatta 10 day Caribbean sailing in '07 and loved everything about it - even the few minor warts were immediately forgiveable.

We'll be doing the Jan. 19 Azamara Journey 12 day Caribbean in '09, not only because A is an Oceania copycat and we are satisfied with past experiences on parent Celebrity, but also because it has a new itinerary for us.

I'm embarrassed to say how many hours I spend researching our trips and destinations :eek: , but I haven't picked a "stinker" yet :D

I bet on the O cruise, and feel as if I won big. I'm betting on the A cruise too and feel confident from things I've read here on CC.

When I turned 31, many moons ago (actually, about 360 moons ago - can that be so? - double yikes!), my tastes switched dramatically, almost overnight, from rock music to classical, from bar-hopping to quiet weekend evenings at home, reading, with a few pets next to me on the couch. So, your age is almost beside the point, n'est pas? It depends on how comfortable you are with the entertainment provided by the sound of the ship plowing through the night sea, and the warm Caribbean air caressing your face as you make your way to get a late night cup of tea, and allow yourself to dally for several minutes on the deck before returning to your cabin. This late evening ritual was, for me, unforgettable in the same way some might recall a grand affair from their youth. (Wow, do I sound really OLD? :eek:)

I'm hoping to find the same quiet evenings out on the deck on A as I experiencd on O. The one time there was a band on the pool deck, it was playing tunes like "Margaritaville" in a mellow but pretty lively way, as we pulled out of port on a sunny evening. It was "just right", as Goldilocks would say.

The library on O was a stunner! (I used to work in libraries, so they're important to me.) However, like a previous poster, I always bring my own reading material, so the library is not a deal breaker, especially if I can save a significant amount to spend on tips, excursions, and other extras.

I don't know if I want to be the one to break this to you, because, after all, I refused to believe that I was actually "middle-aged" until I realized that I had, in effect, passed it, but there's a large swath of the middling to early late, (and even really late!)age demographic that one can relate to easily, given that the said group is intelligent, interesting, and well-traveled. Age melts into the background when conversation is lively. :)

From a personal perspective, I hope you pick our cruise and join the CC roll call, but, Frankly, (Hi, Mr Del Rio) you can't go wrong with Oceania, in my opinion - they DEFINITELY know what they are doing. (We've just fallen out of the pricing point the past year or so.)

Beach Nut · August 3, 2008