Interesting re: Internet on Journey

Interesting read. It's a wonder that no-one at Azamara has said anything about this as one big gripe has always been the cost and bandwidth onboard.

I attempted sharing that on Azamara Club Cruises on facebook without any success.

Thanks for the link. Am I reading that right? $69 per day for unlimited minutes? Whilst it would be great to not have to watch the minutes I want to dip in and out more regularly and wouldn't pay $69 to have a day of unlimited use. For very high users I can see it a good if they have a lot of work to do, but it wouldn't suit me. Now $5 a day, that's another matter.

Phil

Taking the Michael I think....or doing a "Dick Turpin".....have they heard of him in Miami???

I thought the daily price was extortionate but was most interested in the improved Internet.

Interesting. I hadnt heard anything about Azamara improving their internet system, and was hoping it would be part of the Drydock enhancements. Now, I'm wondering if improvements have already been made, or the onboard writer has been very lucky !

I love the idea of unlimited internet, but $69 per day seems a bit expensive to me - especially on port days, where there will be little to no takers. Perhaps they might consider offering discounts, based on your LeClubVoyage level. Would be a very nice benefit !

I recently watched a TV show about the newest RCCL ship. They talked about how internet access aboard that ship was much faster and cheaper than before, due to satellite technology advances.

They went on to say that up to this point the price of internet at sea had been artificially inflated to drive down demand to a level that their equipment could keep up with.

Maybe this new internet technology will filter through the fleet and good connections will be available to all?

On our Vision of the Seas cruise we bought the unlimited package. We can't remember the exact cost for 7 days but it was around $40 a day. DH needed it for work and it was really nice not worrying about minutes used. You still had to log in and out but it was very easy to use with good service.

We sailed on the journey in October, 2014. We are Elite status on Celebrity and were given ample free minutes on the Journey. The service was excellent and frankly we could not possibly use all the minutes provided. If you sail fairly frequently on either Azamara and/or Celebrity the perks are rather generous.

We sailed on the journey in October, 2014. We are Elite status on Celebrity and were given ample free minutes on the Journey. The service was excellent and frankly we could not possibly use all the minutes provided. If you sail fairly frequently on either Azamara and/or Celebrity the perks are rather generous.

That, as part of the revisions to their Le Club Voyage program as announced and subsequently revised last September, Azamara slashed it's loyalty-based internet allowance for sailings on/after 1 January 2015...

The 235 minute allowance formerly extended to each Discoverer member [equivalent to Celebrity Captain's Club Elite] is now a 90 minute allowance per member... That's not awful but it is a deep cut and is especially tough when one travel's solo as I do [only one allotment is provided regardless of single supplement paid] and/or does lengthy cruises [i have consecutive cruises coming up next month on Journey; the first is 12 days; the second is 18 days]... On a per day basis and given internet performance that I have experienced on Azamara; that's barely enough time to log on/off with little, if any, opportunity to actually accomplish anything online...

The LCV cutbacks at higher membership levels--Azamara Discover+/Celebrity Elite+ and Azamara Discoverer Platinum/Celebrity Zenith--are even steeper and, by comparison between the two lines, are now amazingly paltry... I read the LCV action--perhaps incorrectly/unfairly--as a means to discourage internet usage in lieu of making the investment to upgrade the onboard service...

It is what it is... But personally, I still don't like the change and it--along with other more personally substantive LCV considerations--have already influenced my future cruise bookings...

RCI offers an unlimited Internet package for about $85/week for one device after the Diamond Plus/Pinnacle Club discount is applied. $69 a day is ridiculous - unless one is working for 4-5 hours/day while on the cruise (and I'm sure that some people are), it makes far more sense just to buy packages as you go and remember to log out.

$69 per day is very, very expensive. Consider Seabourn's unlimited at $399 per cruise. Even for a short 7-day cruise, that equals only $57 per day, still expensive, but not as high as AZ. AZ really needs to reconsider this. Who would buy this except the few PAX who have to work a lot while on vacation?

This rate is from the Azamara site, that is the most you can buy, lesser packages are available, that is enough for me, plan to be out exploring all day

150 Minutes $0.51 per minute $75.95

None of this discussion would be required if Azamara followed the developing practice of free internet on board, particularly if they want to be regarded as the line to beat and encourage new passengers. Internet nowadays is a fact of life, not an opportunity to generate cash.

Agree totally with you, but this is the facts, perhaps if enough people complain, they will change

XPort, I give a thumbs down to the reduced internet minutes too. An odd move and the differential between levels is very small. The maximum of 150 minutes is low too.

Just a reminder that if you are in a suite you now get 235 free minutes per guest, regardless of loyalty level.

Phil

 

Just a reminder that if you are in a suite you now get 235 free minutes per guest, regardless of loyalty level.

 

Phil

I assume that if in a suite you get the 235 plus loyalty minutes.

I assume that if in a suite you get the 235 plus loyalty minutes.

No, it's in substitution, not addition. This goes for the free bag of laundry suite offer too.

Phil

XPort, I give a thumbs down to the reduced internet minutes too. An odd move and the differential between levels is very small. The maximum of 150 minutes is low too.

 

Just a reminder that if you are in a suite you now get 235 free minutes per guest, regardless of loyalty level.

I am aware... But since I typically sail solo, a suite is a nice--but somewhat unnecessary--extravagance and, for the price increment, I'd rather sail more often for the same travel budget...

I truly enjoy the Azamara experience in terms of their unique itineraries, their destination immersion philosophy, their ability to port "close to the action" when the difference matters, and the friendliness/exceptional service orientation of their officers and crew... That said, some of their inclusions--most notably, alcohol--are totally lost on me... My unsophisticated palate doesn't place a whole lot of incremental value on their [in my opinion, sometimes] better food... And I do sometimes miss the entertainment and activity opportunities--whether I avail myself of them or not--that come with sailing on a larger ship...

By the time I return from my upcoming Journey trips, I will have amassed more that 300 cruise nights with Celebrity and Azamara in less than six years... And so I do find the cuts that LCV made to their internet allowance somewhat draconian/inadequate given that internet is important to me [i tend to do long trips requiring I keep in touch and my personal finances in order while traveling], given that I need do it with one allowance unless I "buy up" even when I pay 100% single supplement [Celebrity is no different], and given that my cumulative spend already exceeds--and will likely always continue to exceed--that of an occasional suite cruiser... For what it's worth, Celebrity is vectoring toward the same "suite preference" model too but, at least for now, it has not been at the expense of alienating those most loyal to them [and to Azamara, without restrictions such as those recently imposed in the context of LCV's new, most valuable benefit]...

The internet cutbacks on Azamara vex me but I can afford them even if I do find them philosophically offensive... For me, the tipping point is the inability to earn the totally unexpected LCV "free nights" benefit--ever; given the "50% Rule"--just as I was graduating to/gravitating to Azamara... I'll reach the 2250 Cruise Point threshold this year and, with--what I have booked--the 3000 Cruise Point threshold in October 2016... I don't sail for perks alone but they--along with things like fundamental respect and appreciation for demonstated patronage; no matter how mechanical/impersonal the administration [i'm not confused]--have recently entered into my equation [they have become my "tie-breaker"] when evaluating future cruise plans...

I'd have thought that my past guest demographic and future potential would have been highly appealing to Azamara but, clearly, they see it otherwise... That is, of course, their prerogative even if I am of the opinion that it was dismissive of the source of Azamara's initial following and potentially rather shortsighted in the context of the larger corporation... Whether a business, a business division, or an individual, it is an important reminder that we ought act in a manner that--on balance--seems right/beneficial in terms of desired outcome/experience and be prepared to live with the consequences of our decisions [which is not to presuppose that Azamara will ever miss me, others who are similarly situated, or new/infrequent cruisers who embrace the same mindset]...

As noted above, it is what it is and I am over it... I am doing my Journey journey next month with every expectation that it will be a wonderful, fun, and fulfilling trip... As to the future... Well, I'll never say never but we'll see... For now, I am inclined to patronize the "sister" that most seems to value my loyalty now and that holds the greatest promise--again, anything can change--over the longer term when all else, in my lexicon, is essentially equal...

A number of cruise lines are offering free internet to all these days. Azamara is nickel and diming us now. Does not make any sense. :mad:

FWIW, earlier this month we took our daughter, son-in-law, and four grandkids on the new Quantum of the Seas. You would never catch Gail and me on a ship this size by ourselves, but they could drive easily to the port, and we know how good the kids' programs are on RCCL -- and they were!

However, one item of interest is that the ship uses a new low orbit satellite system which can somehow better "target" a ship. The internet was amazingly fast, almost as if we were at home, and get this, it was free, yes free, for all 4000+ of us the entire voyage (8 nights). I saw no degradation ever in its working. I understand RCCL has introduced this on some of its other ships, and I'm guessing it's the future for sea-borne internet systems.

As to Azamara, we've always loved our cruises. But with all the negative changes in the last couple of years, its pricing no longer makes sense to us, It's no longer in our future. None of our five cruises this year will include Azamara.

We'll miss Heike, Philip, Ryzsard, Russ, Eric, Tony, and all the others.

Bruce

No, it's in substitution, not addition. This goes for the free bag of laundry suite offer too.

 

Phil

I am absolutely shocked by this, so someone occupying a suite who has never sailed Àzamara will get the same Internet minutes as, for example, a Discverer plus member also in a suite. Whatever happened to loyalty?!?!

I am absolutely shocked by this, so someone occupying a suite who has never sailed Àzamara will get the same Internet minutes as, for example, a Discverer plus member also in a suite. Whatever happened to loyalty?!?!

I agree. It also seems crazy to me that a Discoverer Platinum top level guest gets 85 minutes less than a suite guest unless they stay in one if those staterooms.

Bruce, your Quantum experience is quite something. Maybe a game changer for the industry. Years from now perhaps we'll be looking back incredulously that we ever paid for ship internet:o. I'm doing a transatlantic on a Quantum in May. Looking forward to a very different experience and some fast internet.

Phil

I was told that if you are in a suite you get 235 minutes plus your loyality minutes. I was told this by a very nice young lady on the phone at Le Voyage Club this week. I hope I was not given misinformation