AZAMARA VS OCEANIA! How do they Compare?

[@annew4535]

I am a long time Azamara cruiser, and have been on 6 Oceania cruises. I have cruised on both lines in the past year (45 days on Azamara and 30 days on Oceania), as I wanted to compare the two. The layout of the former R ships are the same same on both lines, except that Azamara doesn't have a casino, which is fine with me. Staterooms on Oceania have been done over to a higher standard and this is the one area where they surpass Azamara. I find the food to be of comparable standard on both lines. But, I definitely have a much better time on Azamara. The big difference is the "vibe". The passengers, crew and officers are all much friendlier on Azamara. And Azamara stays longer in port, so you don't have to rush back to the ship. I plan to stick to Azamara.

[@stellatours567]

Excellent observations!

[@1950rking]

Good review. Of course if you go with Azamara you are stuck with one of the old R class ships. With Oceania you may select a more modern ship with bathrooms you can turn around in. That is why after looking at both, we chose Oceania.

[@stellatours567]

Good point...We enjoyed our 10 day cruise on the Oceania Marina a few years ago...You can't go wrong with either cruise line....

[@jstew1955]

Of Oceania's 7 ships, 4 are "R" class" ships. Those "R" class ships are identical to the Azamara "R" class ships. All 8 were built in the same shipyard around 2000 and have a passenger capacity of about 670-680. Differences are pretty much color schemes and furnishings. If one is looking for one of Oceania's bigger ships with a larger ship capacity (1200+), there are 3 other options. Personally, I prefer going small.

[@drneal3479]

Thank you for this review. I'm booked on an Azamara cruise and most of the reviews complain about the bathroom and shower curtain, rather than the focus on the cruise. Perhaps Oceania is more upscale, however, I was able to get an obstructed view ocean view cabin for $300/person/day, that's less than my last cruise on Norwegian.

[@thejokerspeaks]

I just booked our first Azamara Cruise, looking forward to it. This level is out of our budget, but some itineraries make too much sense to ignore. Especially once or twice a year cruises on the mass market, the pool of demand pushes the price up to, or even higher than going ultra-premium. I got a deal on a veranda for $3,100 per person, Montreal to Miami, where HAL would have costed $3,400 with Have-It-All.

[@stellatours567]

Wishing you a wonderful cruise experience!!!

[@2011Cape]

2:29 What’s he doing to that poor lobster? 😂 Just kidding Great video!

[@jstew1955]

Good comparison. Oceania owns four "R" Class ships as does Azamara. All eight of those ships were built at the same time in the same shipyard so there is little to no difference. Any differences are cosmetic. Bathrooms on both lines are small and get criticized. Azamara includes all gratuties and a full bar at no cost. From my experience, Oceania cruises are more costly and make Azamara the better choice.

[@stellatours567]

👍 Nicely said!

[@2011Cape]

For those commenting on the pronunciation of Oceania, here it is from the president: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGGsgWaAnbKYrtk

[@stellatours567]

Thanks for the link to the video! I will take that into consideration when I produce my next video on Oceania cruise lines

[@2011Cape]

@ You’re welcome! Great video!

[@annamariaferranti29]

Excellent review and comparison

[@stellatours567]

Thanks! 👍

[@ConnorMcguire-p8t]

I like the rooms on oceania way better they loot way nicer

[@tambraeknapp3266]

Any comments on how the gyms compare?

[@stellatours567]

No, I don’t.

[@stellatours567]

But a good suggestion!

[@mattvenezia2031]

I have a comment on the presentation, the correct pronunciation of Oceania = ow·shee·a·nee·uh.

[@stellatours567]

Thanks for the comment. I think your pronunciation maybe the correct one. It seems as though out of 10 people eight will pronounce it Oceana. The I.A seems to be a tongue twister for them. I sometimes say Oceánia and other times Oceanía. My wife always says Oceana and I have come to the conclusion that arguing with her about the pronunciation is futile😊

[@cruisecrazy7066]

You say "Potayto" and I say "Potahto".

[@WaldemarProkop]

Hi, it looks as Azamara is better value for money, am I right ? And another thing, me and my wife are 45, would it be suitable for us as I booked French Riviera in September for the first time ?

[@stellatours567]

We find that Azamara cruises are a good value because they are all inclusive and so they don’t have the added charges that are the cruise lines have. The French Riviera in September should be lovely as far as the weather is concerned. Azamara cruises are Destination Intensive so as young as you are, you should enjoy touring the ports and the surrounding areas very much. If you go, I hope you enjoy your cruise!

[@WaldemarProkop]

@@stellatours567 Thank you very much for an answer but we are going for the cruises to enjoy cruising and ship itself, having a good party and fun. We hope we will find something for us onboard Azamara.

[@rosey312]

Wow, if HA entertainment is better than these lines, it must be pretty bad! We switched lines because of the lack of choice. They got rid of the classical music act so the BB king room and the dueling piano were the main acts if nothing was on main stage. If one of the rooms had bad entertainment, you were stuck with one or hoping the jazzy trio was playing or you spent time in your room or in a bar if you took more than a 7 day cruise.

[@stellatours567]

Entertainment on the smaller ships is typically Broadway style song and dance acts and a quartet dance band later in the evenings. The BB King stage and the rock stage along with the classical quartet were all functioning on Holland America, I believe, when I published that video. It’s a shame that Holland America eliminated the classical aspect of their entertainment. The BB King rock room probably cost them a pretty penny and royalties to BB king estate but I’m just guessing on that. I have a video coming out next week on our recent France Intensive Azamara Quest Cruise. We were quite surprised and pleased at the quality of the destination immersion acts brought on board the ship.

[@peterweverling4139]

How about the casino difference? Substantial!

[@stellatours567]

Thanks for the note! We’ve never gambled so I can’t compare.

[@kathleenoneill9566]

Strange pronunciation of Oceania.

[@dorislevine3553]

Hopefully you will learn haw to pronounce OCEANIA prior to your going on them.

[@stellatours567]

Hi, yes you’re right. Actually on the cruise the cruises we we’ve been on I heard it pronounced three different ways. Even the crew had different ways to say it. But I’ll bet they’ll let me on the ship even if I say it wrong. 😉. we’ve been on four Oceania cruises. We enjoy them very much.