Huge Price Drops - Is Azamara Not Doing Well?

I booked my first Azamara cruise for this coming December (9 days Rio - Buenos Aires). When we first booked a few months ago, the price for our Veranda room was $4100 / per person. Now, the price has dropped to $2600 / pp. We also noticed that a promotion was just offered for our cruise of $1,000 OBC or a stateroom upgrade. I also noticed that AZ is offering very substantial price drops for other itineraries in Europe this summer. We book most of our cruises with Celebrity and have only seen price increases with them. I was just wondering if AZ isn't doing well. We haven't tried them yet, but they have some of the most amazing itineraries.

Michael

If Azamara's ships were selling out at full price, they wouldn't be running promotions left and right - now would they?:rolleyes:

We've been on more than 14 Azamara cruises and love the onboard product. I'm sure you will too. You're right - the itineraries are amazing.

Incidentally, Celebrity has markdowns every Tuesday on itineraries that aren't selling as quickly as they would like.

I booked my first Azamara cruise for this coming December (9 days Rio - Buenos Aires). When we first booked a few months ago, the price for our Veranda room was $4100 / per person. Now, the price has dropped to $2600 / pp. We also noticed that a promotion was just offered for our cruise of $1,000 OBC or a stateroom upgrade. I also noticed that AZ is offering very substantial price drops for other itineraries in Europe this summer. We book most of our cruises with Celebrity and have only seen price increases with them. I was just wondering if AZ isn't doing well. We haven't tried them yet, but they have some of the most amazing itineraries.

 

 

 

Michael

Yours is a rather peculiar conclusion to draw. Sale = Cruise Line in Difficulty? All cruise lines have sales, price rises and price drops and it doesn't signify anything more than a marketing ploy. There's nothing alarming about your cruise. Only select cruises go on sale and yours just happens to be one of them. From the 2014 catalogue, the veranda was originally offered at $3849 so if you paid $4100 for it, you paid a premium. Now the price has dropped, as you said, to $2650, which is the sale price. "Veranda for the price of an inside," the inside in this case being $2650. This is, however, a limited sale and at the end of May the price reverts to the normal veranda price. Were you confused in thinking that the $2650 was a permanent price for the veranda? I bet a lot of people wish it were but it will jump back to at least $3849--or more--within two months.

BTW, there have been some very substantial price rises with Azamara's Europe itineraries. There's a wonderful Istanbul cruise in August that has gotten a bit pricey. Inside cabin has gone up $400 pp, oceanview $300 pp, and veranda $300 pp. And there's no promo attached to it either. I guess this means that Azamara must be doing alright after all! ;) On the other hand...the Equinox Instanbul cruise this July is a steal. A concierge cabin can now be had for a mere $1749 down from a high of $2279--not that I'm going to worry that Celebrity is well or not...

Since I booked on the promo, book inside and upgrade to veranda plus the choice air credit, how do I know when my price drops? I keep trying to look and can't find the price. :o :confused: I know they just came out with a new promo today that I have not read through yet as far as what cruises are eligible. We still have a while before final payment so I'm still safe with that. I also know my TA is very busy and does not have time to monitor price drops for all his clients. That's not a problem for me...I totally understand.

Dierdre...you seem so up on the prices...I'm impressed. I do not have the brochures that you have so have no way of knowing the original prices.

Since I booked on the promo, book inside and upgrade to veranda plus the choice air credit, how do I know when my price drops? I keep trying to look and can't find the price. :o :confused: I know they just came out with a new promo today that I have not read through yet as far as what cruises are eligible. We still have a while before final payment so I'm still safe with that. I also know my TA is very busy and does not have time to monitor price drops for all his clients. That's not a problem for me...I totally understand.

Dierdre...you seem so up on the prices...I'm impressed. I do not have the brochures that you have so have no way of knowing the original prices.

Haha! I know the prices only because I ordered the catalogs and they're sitting next to me at the computer. Order one for yourself. It's easy. http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/ Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see the line for requesting a catalog. They're absolutely gorgeous with these coffee table photos that make you want to book every single last cruise!!! As to how to know about price drops and prices increases, check the Azamara website periodically. Prices are what the market will bear so you never know if something's going to go up or down. (Your two cruises in September haven't budged an inch from opening prices btw. :)) To find the price just click on the top bar that says "Find a Voyage" and follow the prompts to whatever sailing you're interested in. Or go to your favorite online travel agency and do a dummy booking. That's all there is to it. However, while you can have your invoice reduced if there's a price drop before final payment, you can't swap promotions as each new promotion is for new bookings only. Whatever promo you booked under, that's the one you keep, as far as I understand it (though I may be wrong--anyone know for sure?).

Haha! I know the prices only because I ordered the catalogs and they're sitting next to me at the computer. Order one for yourself. It's easy. http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/ Scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see the line for requesting a catalog. They're absolutely gorgeous with these coffee table photos that make you want to book every single last cruise!!! As to how to know about price drops and prices increases, check the Azamara website periodically. Prices are what the market will bear so you never know if something's going to go up or down. (Your two cruises in September haven't budged an inch from opening prices btw. :)) To find the price just click on the top bar that says "Find a Voyage" and follow the prompts to whatever sailing you're interested in. Or go to your favorite online travel agency and do a dummy booking. That's all there is to it. However, while you can have your invoice reduced if there's a price drop before final payment, you can't swap promotions as each new promotion is for new bookings only. Whatever promo you booked under, that's the one you keep, as far as I understand it (though I may be wrong--anyone know for sure?).

Sadly I did order brochures this year but have not received any. I do get brochures from every Tom, Dick and Harry cruiseline and I need to stop them...it's crazy the amount of brochures I get each week.

You are correct...you cannot get a new promo once you've booked. I don't use an online TA...and I would feel guilty contacting someone and having them waste their time with a dummy booking. Maybe I should just look online for the heck of it. I do like having a real person I can talk to. He was a huge help when we had a flight cancellation last year...long story short but he managed to get reimbursement for us because ins. wanted to deny it due to a 30 minute timeframe from when we actually finally flew. :mad: :eek: :rolleyes:

Just requested brochures again...;)

You are correct...you cannot get a new promo once you've booked. I don't use an online TA...and I would feel guilty contacting someone and having them waste their time with a dummy booking. Maybe I should just look online for the heck of it. I do like having a real person I can talk to. He was a huge help when we had a flight cancellation last year...long story short but he managed to get reimbursement for us because ins. wanted to deny it due to a 30 minute timeframe from when we actually finally flew.

Just requested brochures again.

I have become increasingly frustrated with Azamara's UK website with their pricing issues (it's still wrong with the latest double upgrade offer if you go further into the booking process, throwing up the old price) and now have a couple of UK sites I can check with online. Saves having to phone up. BUT, if I needed a pricing over the phone I wouldn't feel guilty checking via a dummy booking. It sounds like your personal contact is a good one. Don't feel guilty. You have to look after yourself and he may get more business out of it.

Phil

I honestly can't figure out what to think with Azamara this year. Maybe the fairly sudden price increases post-all inclusive are catching up with them?

We are booked on the Quest in October, on one of the sailings that has never been eligible for any specials. Checked inventory in January because some friends were thinking of joining us and the only availability was two accessible V2 cabins.

Checked again a few weeks later and almost every cabin seems to be available. There is no rollcall for this sailing....I am convinced that we are practically the only people on the ship! And yet no price drop, no promotions.

Go figure.

It's called yield management.... and marketing. They are doing fine. It's just part of business....

CC

It's called yield management.... and marketing. They are doing fine. It's just part of business....

 

 

CC

You're right on the money bout that. And speaking of money, my shares in Royal Caribbean International--company under which blanket Azamara belongs--have risen to a whopping $55.77 as of this morning. Thank you, Azamara! :D

I honestly can't figure out what to think with Azamara this year. Maybe the fairly sudden price increases post-all inclusive are catching up with them?

 

We are booked on the Quest in October, on one of the sailings that has never been eligible for any specials. Checked inventory in January because some friends were thinking of joining us and the only availability was two accessible V2 cabins.

 

Checked again a few weeks later and almost every cabin seems to be available. There is no rollcall for this sailing....I am convinced that we are practically the only people on the ship! And yet no price drop, no promotions.

 

Go figure.

By process of elimination, I'm guessing you're on the October 24 sailing. The booking pattern is strange. Virtually all the outsides and balconies are shown as unavailable - but almost every suite is open. Those two accessible V2 cabins are still open. Could be that there is group space being held by travel agents. Maybe someone who is a travel agent can explain this.

You might want to start a roll call for the sailing and see who shows up. There could be people who just don't want to be first.:)

It's called yield management.... and marketing. They are doing fine. It's just part of business....

CC

One week we get a new thread something like "when is Azamara going to have another good promotion?" Then, when they announce one, the chicken little's here use it as a reason to predict Azamara's imminent demise.

It's called MARKETING. I get a brochure every week in the newspaper with Procter & Gamble specials, yet no one runs to the internet predicting P&G's demise.

exactly right.

 

One week we get a new thread something like "when is azamara going to have another good promotion?" then, when they announce one, the chicken little's here use it as a reason to predict azamara's imminent demise.

 

It's called marketing. I get a brochure every week in the newspaper with procter & gamble specials, yet no one runs to the internet predicting p&g's demise.

lol... :D

cc

Big Interview: Azamara boss looking to build on 'explosive' UK growth

...“Our growth has been quite explosive,” he adds. “We have 19% net yield growth – not many people can say they have that figure...

Thanks for all the feedback. I didn't mean to act like an alarmist. I was just curious. In all the cruises I have done, I have only seen the prices increase from the time I booked. This is the first time I have ever seen a price drop - and one so substantial. I hope they can keep up the quality of AZ with these lowered fares. I'm really looking forward to my first cruise with AZ - and the over $1,000 savings from the initial time of booking, so far! :)

Michael

Thanks for all the feedback. I didn't mean to act like an alarmist. I was just curious. In all the cruises I have done, I have only seen the prices increase from the time I booked. This is the first time I have ever seen a price drop - and one so substantial. I hope they can keep up the quality of AZ with these lowered fares. I'm really looking forward to my first cruise with AZ - and the over $1,000 savings from the initial time of booking, so far! :)

 

 

Michael

If you read more carefully, you'd have seen that what you consider a price drop is in reality a sale, and a limited time sale at that, applied to relatively few sailings. You hope Azamara can keep up the quality? The crew takes great pride in delivering every passenger the best vacation they possibly can, and that work ethic and level of hospitality has nothing whatsoever to do with how much the fare costs. ;)

Thanks for all the feedback. I didn't mean to act like an alarmist. I was just curious. In all the cruises I have done, I have only seen the prices increase from the time I booked. This is the first time I have ever seen a price drop - and one so substantial. I hope they can keep up the quality of AZ with these lowered fares. I'm really looking forward to my first cruise with AZ - and the over $1,000 savings from the initial time of booking, so far! :)

 

 

Michael

I had a substantial price drop on last year's re positioning cruise from Mumbai to Athens. Really substantial and it was ridiculously cheap in the end. So it does happen. This year with three extra days it's nearly three times as much and I haven't seen any price drops on balconies as there aren't many left. They've just reduced the price of the OVs. There are lots of them as originally the deal was inside to balcony upgrade. As has been said it's supply and demand. Incidentally the offers aren't necessarily worldwide. They can be limited to certain countries with different marketing strategies. I've seen that too.

I agree with dln29. You shouldn't have any issue on quality. We were looked after wonderfully well on last years Mumbai to Athens trip. There's absolutely no reason to drop standards. It's not in the interest of Azamara to do it. The crew don't know how much you've paid, just to treat all guests in the same way they always do. As Deirdre said, pride.

Phil

We had booked two cabin on a New Zealand cruise and our TA called us two times with price drops. Supply and demand that is what drives business.

We had booked two cabin on a New Zealand cruise and our TA called us two times with price drops. Supply and demand that is what drives business.

Totally agree.

My fabulous TA just got me an $1800 reduction of one leg of my B2B for September 2015. The other leg went up in price.

My fabulous TA just got me an $1800 reduction of one leg of my B2B for September 2015. The other leg went up in price.

As my children's friends would say, sweet.:)

Laraine, which leg was reduced? We're on the Holy Lands segment and would welcome a price reduction. Meanwhile, I'll check out current prices!

Beverly

Not sure but I can ask

I started a roll call so please post there

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Laraine, which leg was reduced? We're on the Holy Lands segment and would welcome a price reduction. Meanwhile, I'll check out current prices!

 

Beverly

Just got revised invoice

Seems to be the 9/20 departure

It looks like we will be trying Azamara with the latest pricing.