Dare to compare: Should you cruise with Azamara or Oceania Cruises?

There are two cruise lines that have been increasing their presence in Australia, and they have something in common. Oceania and Azamara Cruises are both fantastic lines for people looking to upgrade their cruising experience from premium to upper premium/luxury.

For people who cruise with a line like Princess, Celebrity Cruises or Royal Caribbean and are looking for something that offers fewer passengers, more personalised service and more inclusions, these are two great cruise lines that are perfect in this category.

Have a read below and let us know if you’ve been onboard either or both of the lines and what you think!

The summary 

• Overall, Oceania is a bit more expensive but does offer a more refined and elegant experience, with particular emphasis on dining, service, spacious cabins, traditional decor and a wider range of perks are included in your fare.
• Azamara specialises in cultural immersion and also generally offers more affordable fares and a more casual and social atmosphere on ships, with emphasis on onboard events. Azamara also has much better alcohol inclusions.

What ship size are you looking for?

If you’re particularly looking to try the small ship experience and sail on a ship much smaller than what you’re used to, Azamara is a safe bet as all of their ships hold between approximately 670 and 800 people.

Whereas if you’re cruising with Oceania, you’ll want to take a bit more care over which ship you’re booking with exactly. Oceania has 10 ships and four of the are smaller builds, holding in between 700 and 800 at a time, more or less, however, the other six Oceania ships are a bit larger, taking about 1200 to 1500 passengers. 

This is still significantly less than a cruise line such as Royal Caribbean, however, if you’re looking for something very distinct to the big ship experience, take a note when you’re booking which ship you’re booking on and what its capacity is. 

Which line has better inclusions?

Now, a huge bonus of sailing on ships that are more on the premium and luxury side of things is getting to enjoy a range of services or amenities included in your cruise fare that normally you’d have to pay for.

Oceania has actually recently stepped up its inclusions as part of its enhanced Your World Included offer, so if you’re booking, make sure the promotion still applies and applies to your cruise if you want to get the following perks. 

As can be seen below, for non-suite customers, Oceania has more perks overall, with unlimited Wi-Fi definitely a stand out perk. Oceania also has more included dining, the fitness classes, laundry service and a wider variety of non-alcohol drinks.

If you’re going for pure perks, Oceania is your best bet.

Oceania	Azamara
All specialty dining	Beer, wine and spirits
Unlimited Wi-Fi	‘AzAmazing Evening Events’
A choice between wine and beer during lunch and dinner hours OR short excursion credits	Self-service laundry
Group fitness classes	Specialty teas and coffee, soft drinks
Laundry service	For those in suitesPremium beverage packageStarlink Wi-FiUnlimited laundry service
Specialty coffees/teas, juices, smoothies and ice cream

Enjoy a drink?

As mentioned above, there’s a distinct difference in the included drinks for Oceania and Azamara, and for those who value alcohol as part of their holiday, Azamara definitely has the better offering.

With Oceania, included in your fare are only wine and beer, and only during lunch and dinner hours, it’s definitely not the freedom someone who enjoys drinks throughout the day would want.

However, Azamara offers beer, wine and spirits all day. This is both a larger range of drinks included in the fare and a lot more flexibility about when to drink. 

If a valued part of your cruising time is enjoying drinks by the pool, throughout the day or a few after dinner, you’ll likely get much more value with Azamara. 

If you’re only a light drink and some drinks during dining times would just be a bonus, then as mentioned, Oceania offers the better perks overall. 

Looking for a focus on food?

If there’s one thing Oceania makes itself known for, it’s dining. As mentioned, all specialty dining is included, with only a few exclusive private experiences requiring an extra fee. Oceania often says it has the best cuisine at sea, and few argue the fact .

On some ships, there is one chef for every 10 ten guests, meaning there’s plenty of time and resources to make sure each meal is prepared meticulously. Restaurants such as Toscana or Red Ginger would be specialty dining on almost any other line, but on Oceania it’s all wrapped into the fare.

This isn’t to say that you can’t find great meals on Azamara, you should still expect great and diverse offerings. The main dining room is a great option and there are a few other casual options included in the fare, as well as specialty restaurants to splurge on when you feel obliged. 

However, Oceania has more restaurants included, more creative and cutting-edge culinary offerings and a better reputation for dining onboard. If you’re looking for the foodie experience, go with Oceania. 

The difference in the atmosphere on board

If in cruising with a premium line you’re hoping for not only a smaller ship, new destinations and better service and inclusions, but also a more traditional cruise experience, which is steeped in elegance, then you’ll probably want to go with Oceania. 

Oceania has more opulent decor and you can expect to see people dressed well and maintaining a certain etiquette that is more associated with traditional cruising. If you’re hoping to feel fancy and lean into that aspect of cruising, Oceania is a great line to do with it. 

On the other hand, if you want the small ship experience but would rather skip out on the overly fancy elements, while still sophisticated, Azamara offers something for this. Azamara generally carries a more casual and social atmosphere, also offering more of a ‘resort casual’ dress code, compared to the ‘elegant casual’ of Oceania.

Both styles of cruising have their advantages and it’s simply up to what you’re feeling like. Azamara’s demographic also likely leans a bit younger than Oceania, but it will depend on the exact cruise you’re on.

What fares to expect

The first thing to note about the pricing on smaller ship cruises, particularly if you’re used to larger ships, is that it’s a bit harder to measure and much more volatile. 

Lines like Azamara and Oceania generally don’t homeport and offer the same itineraries again and again, particularly in Australia. Rather, they sail a range of different itineraries and prices can differ greatly depending on how booked out the cruise is, with popular itineraries disappearing much faster than they would with a line like Princess or Royal Caribbean. This will also differ greatly based on region, time of the year, the size of the particular ship and more.

In saying this, we’ve picked out a couple of good deals to give you a general idea of what price to expect.

Oceania	Azamara
14-night Sydney to Auckland February 2027 starts from $5800  Price per day $414	16-night New Zealand and Australia cruise January 2027 starts from $6759 Price per day $482pp
10-night Papeete to Lautoka November 2027 from $7000 Price per day $700pp	21-night Indonesia and Australian combination cruise October 2027 from $7899 Price per day $376
18-night Sydney to Bali January 2028 from $9300  Price per day $516pp	14-night Bali and Australia Cruise October 2027 starts from $4979 Price per day $355

As can be noted, Oceania is definitely a price point above, however, depending on the deal you find Oceania can be comparable with Azamara prices. Due to limited availability, both lines have elevated prices in Australia, but if you look in popular cruise destinations like Europe or Alaska, you can often find a better per-night price.

Overall, if you are looking to spend wisely on your fare, Azamara oftwn comes out cheaper.

Looking for cultural immersion?

Azamara largely sells itself on destination immersion. This comes in the form of local dining options being whipped up onboard, higher numbers of port stays, exclusive shore excursions, overnight and late evening stays and special cultural activities onboard to prepare you for your destination. If you’re hoping to get that extra cultural edge to your trip, Azamara is the way to go.

That’s not to say immersion is a weakness for Oceania, similarly you can expect overnight and late-night stays and carefully chosen shore excursions, which could be partially included depending on what perks you choose to include in your fare. 

However, Azamara’s pride and joy is in bringing you closer to your destination and they certainly deliver. 

Both lines, as far as exclusive experiences and local immersion, showcase their best offerings in Europe, where the lines sail the most. While you can expect immersive experiences wherever you sail, in the streets of Europe, you’ll find the most refined and exclusive experiences.

Cabin size and furnishings

Oceania has larger cabins than Azamara, and slightly more luxurious ones as well. 

The difference is most notable in balcony and verandah cabins, with Oceania offering about 250 to 300 square feet, with most Azamara veranda cabins more in the range of about 175 square feet. 

It’s very important to note that this particular comparison will really come down to the ship you’re booking on and the cabin category you’re looking for, but yes, as a general rule, Oceania’s cabins are a bit nicer, with more luxurious furnishings. 

What our readers have had to say

Cruise Passenger readers just voted Oceania as the best cruise line for Australian cruisers. 

Altogether, cruisers rated Oceania as the best value cruise line to sail in Australia, and that’s a glowing endorsement.

However, it also needs to be noted that despite not appearing in the top 10, Azamara is a newer cruise line to Australia and many readers would still not be familiar with the experience. 

Over recent years, Azamara has only passed through Australia, but the cruise line has affirmed it will be increasing its presence in the region. Oceania though has been a mainstay on our shores for a few years now. 

Placing number one in a list made by keen and dedicated cruisers is definitely a strong tick in the yes column for those considering Oceania.