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The enhanced is at faster speeds and is better.  However, it is still per person and one device at a time.

I think that Grandma Cruising was referring to the ability to upgrade the drink package from Premium to Ultimate which you can do anytime during the cruise and you just pay the difference, about $8 per day (and you can get your loyalty discount on this).  I've not heard of anyone trying to upgrade from Essentials to Indulgence during the cruise.  Not sure how that would be handled or even if it is possible.  We have done the upgrade through our account before the cruise.  As mentioned above, if you already have the Essentials package, you can go into your account and in the Add Ons section there is the option to "Upgrade to Indulgence" for $900.

We have done this multiple times when they offered 8% and once even 10%.  All times it went very smoothly and the money was in our account within a day for us to use on excursions.  We have not had to cancel anything so can't answer that part of the question.  

Do the math.  We did each time and found that it was advantageous to go ahead and take the early payment deal.

We have done it multiple times.

Actually that isn't correct.  You earn 6 free nights when you move to discoverer plus which is at 750 points.  However, you earn 3 free nights for every 750 points you earn while you are discoverer plus.

From the website:

**Six earned complimentary nights, plus three earned complimentary nights when you reach 1,500 points, and three more when you reach 2,250 points**

12 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I wish Azamara would make the size of the groups clear.  We found on our last AZ cruise that many of the shore excursions were under-described and delivered more value than expected.  I used to book only private tours, but if I could get small-groups from the cruise line I would gladly pay a (small) premium for the ease.

We just got off of the Quest Croatia intensive.  We had a significant amount of OBC so we booked quite a few ships' excursions.  They were all quite small and very well done.  There was only one that I would label mediocre but the others I would label excellent.  We did a wine excursion in Pula that had 8 people and the others were in the 12-15 person range.  I would normally book independently (and did for 2 of the ports) but, overall, I was very pleased with the ships offerings.

13 hours ago, MamaFej said:

 

Thanks so much. I still don't see a way to pay. I do have a "Shopping Basket," that contains my excursions, but no way to pay. 

 

I'll try on another browser. Safari doe not alway play well with others. 

 

I truly appreciate you trying to help!

It's not all of the way at the top - it's in the area of where it says "your reservation".  I'd love to do a sample one and take a screenshot, but there doesn't seem to be a way to undo once you've started something.  Are your excursions showing up on the main page of your reservation?

28 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

I am not seeing a "Pay" tab when I try this. I only get a "Save" icon. Would you please tell me where to look? Perhaps I am just missing it. 

 

Thank you. 

After you have saved everything, exit your booking.  Then go back into your booking and at the top of the page, there should be a pay tab.  If you click on that, you should be able to see an itemized list of what is in there with the pricing for each.  

Update - I went into our account this morning and booked the excursions that we wanted.  There were more than 3.  I clicked on the "pay" tab that showed up and there were my excursions listed with ... 10% off!  Since I wanted to use OBC, I then called AZ and spoke with a wonderful rep who went through my list with me along with the pricing and then she applied my OBC.  In under 5 minutes they were booked and paid for and I received the 10% off as advertised.  She was not sure if this will be the way that it works going forward in order to get a discount on shore excursions.  

Actually, it did work pretty seamlessly although we didn't have the added twist of a different currency.  We booked a number of our excursions for our recently completed Croatia cruise when we were on a previous cruise.  I received the letter and put it in with the paperwork for the Croatia cruise.  When we boarded, I took the letter to shore excursions and had our OBC within 24 hours.  

While on the Croatia cruise, we booked another cruise.  When we received our new booking confirmation, attached to the envelope was a flyer entitled "15 Days to Experience More of the World for Less" which gives you 15 days to book excursions and get 10% off for 3 or more, 5% for 2.  They also included a packet with the excursions, descriptions, and prices.

Now home, I went into our account yesterday and the excursions for this new cruise are discounted 5% and tagged with a code SHXSOB.  How you get the 10% is not indicated.  I'd like to think that it magically will happen but am afraid to try it!  Today I will be calling to see if customer service has any idea of how it will work.  

I don't know if this is a new policy that will only give you 15 days to book excursions for upcoming cruises and get a discounted price.  Another question to ask.

26 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

0.4 mbps is actually no internet. And 3.6 mbps for upgraded Wifi is still extremely low. What a pity I was so satisfied with the internet on my last cruise with Azamara. Who is the provider if not Starlink?

It is still Starlink.  We were just on a the October 10th Croatia Intensive where they were doing the free internet with the option to upgrade for $10/day.  We got similar results to Belfastman when we ran speed tests.  The speed test indicated that the internet was being provided by Starlink.  

Currently on the Quest where they are testing out the free basic WiFi. The cost to upgrade was $10/day and we received our loyalty discount. Service is still provided by starlink and we have had decent service. Ran a speed check (which said that it was Starlink) and it’s showing downloads of 3.5Mbps and uploads at .96Mbps. So not strong enough for streaming or video chats as they are promoting. 

It's strange.  We have 7 cruises booked with AZ right now and have booked excursions for all of them.  None of the ones I've seen have been nonrefundable.  Most are 48 hours with a couple being 72 hours.  

If you look at each excursion it gives the cancellation details.  Some have a 48 hr cancellation policy, some 3 days, and some are non-refundable once booked.  It depends on the excursion. 

We have rolled over OBC on back to backs since the policy change was made and had different reservation numbers.  Didn't seem to matter.  On our last cruise we booked a b2b and were given the choice of one reservation number or two.  Decided to do two just in case we had to cancel one.  

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

That was exactly my feeling from the same cruise. And I have never come across a more aloof or unfriendly captain before. It will be going on my post cruise survey. The wait staff, bar servers, baristas etc were their usual friendly and cheerful selves. Food was excellent I thought. From every venue. 

 

Phil 

Visibility definitely seems to flow from the top.  If the Captain and/or the Hotel Director don't make an effort, nobody else does.  That was our experience on our Journey cruise in February.  A new hotel director came on in March and things changed dramatically.  Thank goodness for the wonderful crew on all of the ships!

1 hour ago, KirkNC said:

My OBC shows up correctly on some of our current bookings and incorrect on others.  I called and they had the correct OBC on all the bookings but couldn’t explain why the website showed some incorrectly.

Same here.  I don't even look at what's on the website anymore - half of my cruises have the correct obc showing and half do not.  Anytime I make a change such as booking an excursion, etc., my TA sends me a new booking confirmation that shows all of the obc, excursions, etc. since they no longer send you confirmations directly.

Ask your TA to send you an updated booking confirmation.  It will show you all of your excursions and all of your OBC coupons.  By looking at your coupons, you can see where they took money for each excursion and how much is remaining. 

2 hours ago, wjfan417 said:

We’re staying in Johannesburg for 2 nights prior to flying to Victoria Falls for a couple days. We will then fly back to Johannesburg for our Azamara pre-cruise Micato safari. Does anyone have any recommendations for a hotel in Johannesburg that isn’t too far from the airport in a safe neighborhood?
 

In Cape Town we’re looking for a hotel with day rooms as our flight is at 8:15 p.m. on disembarkation day.

 

Diana

In Johannesburg, the InterContinental is right there at the airport.  It is a beautiful hotel and the restaurant there is excellent.  Very convenient as it's an easy walk from arrivals.

We learned about this early on in our AZ travels and so make a donation to the fund every time that we cruise.  We always receive a very nice thank you note from the hotel director.  It's a nice way to show appreciation to ALL of the staff and crew that make our vacations so wonderful.

We have had that before and it's been an OBC that was being offered by the consortium that our TA is part of for certain cruises.

If I remember correctly, when your friend expresses an interest, you fill out contact info for them on the AZ refer a friend page.  Your friend is then sent a code, which they use or provide to their TA when they book.  At this point, I believe that you would be too late to get the offer.

Thank you so much for the info.  

On 7/28/2024 at 11:59 AM, beatnix said:

Thanks for posting this.  Would you be able to tell me what the diameter is of the bottle?  Thanks!

I received mine after my friend paid their deposit.  They received theirs after they made final payment.