AZAMARA'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: More Amenities added for Up-Market Travelers

[greeneg]

I'm afraid that I will have to side with what appears to be the majority here. We are actually "old" Azamara cruisers having done our first three cruises with the line before it became Azamara CLUB Cruises. We had three marvelous trips, the May 16, 2009 14 night Best of Italy became our benchmark against which all other cruises are compared.

 

The price increases which went with the new name pretty much put us off as they were so substantially higher than Celebrity's which had been our preferred line prior to 2008 when Azamara was formed-- we simply had trouble with the facade of "two for one pricing, etc" and really thought that it was a bait and switch type of scheme and an attempt to fool people into thinking that they were getting something that they in fact, were not. I thought that $340 PP per night was fairly pricey for an older ship and refused to believe that anyone would pay twice that for what Azamara offered, despite the Best Crew and Service Second to None in the Industry.

 

Now the price has increased again with some enhancements which are of questionable value at best. I do drink on occasions, but no where near enough to justify the added expense and trying to figure out the various machinations which Marketing seems to put out.

 

I almost feel that every time we try to come home to Azamara, they run us off again. I guess our October 15th sailing on the Journey will be our last Azamara for a while unless we can pick up a bargain in the future.

[nordski]

Being a light and non-drinker respectively, for me and my wife the "complimentary" drinks are not a particularly attractive benefit. Indeed, I agree with some here that there is a sense we would be subsidizing other patrons. Perhaps a "non-drinkers package", with appropriate deduction in price, would be an interesting option.

 

However, is it possible that those who imbibe more are also better customers at the casino or spa and thus a more attractive demographic?

 

Regardless, it looks like there's a one-month window to choose a cruise without the new prices being in effect.

[mara01]

We agree with the majority of posters on this forum who are disappointed with the 'Big Announcement'. On our past cruise we hardly bought any drinks anyway with the various cocktail or champagne parties we were fortunate enough to attend, as someone mentioned earlier. Whilst we enjoy a glass of wine with lunch and dinner and perhaps a cocktail before dinner, we would certainly not drink enough alcohol around the pool etc. to justify high price increases. We would also not want the 'free drinks' to encourage anyone to overindulge and make the voyage unpleasant for others.

 

The 50% off shore excursions is one of the many current attractions of cruising with Azamara. To stop this will just result in passengers finding their own private excursions, which is easy to do through the Cruise Critic forums, and Azamara will find their full priced shore excursions hard to sell. If Azamara are including one complimentary evening excursion per cruise, why not just include one shore excursion and let passengers decide whether they would prefer a daytime or evening one?

 

We were very much looking forward to the Borneo/Indonesia cruise in March 2014 but it may now be beyond our reach. We would prefer ship's tours in such destinations but if they are not going to have a 50% reduction we cannot imagine we will be doing that cruise after all. Seabourn do an Amazon one in the same month which we will be looking at seriously - they may be more expensive but their 'all inclusive' also includes the speciality restaurants as well as pre-ordered spirits in the minibar (again, not a priority to us but worth mentioning); the staterooms are all larger suites with bigger balconies and bathrooms than Azamara and there are less passengers. Yes, the excursions will also be expensive but if the price difference is going to be less with the new price increases, Seabourn will be worth considering.

 

We thought that Azamara had the perfect package; lovely crew and officers, free wine with meals, 50% off excursions and prices we could afford. What a shame to spoil something that was so good.

 

We will be making the most of our two forthcoming cruises; on the Quest in November and Journey (to Indonesia) in January and hope these will not be our last, but who knows.

[ellbon]

Just my two cents, but I like it, and feel it goes further down the "destination immersion" branding that Azamara has been working to promote. Now, do I want to spend more money? Of course, not, but if money was the primary driver of my cruise line selection, I wouldn't be on Azamara to begin with. I've shopped Oceania before every booking on A that I've made, and they have 100% been more expensive even without the inclusions Azamara has.

 

I'm a wine drinker, so the included drinks won't be a big deal to me, and I do not think free Smirnoff is going to translate to a ship full of drunks. If I do want a cocktail, I'll either take the free one or buy my own.

 

I LOVE the idea of the special included evenings, and find a memorable "event" such as has been described, a big reason to look further at Azamara. On my last B2B, I booked only one 50% excursion, but it was only because it was 50% and about the same price as booking privately without the hassle. On my upcoming 12 day voyage from Buenos Aires to Rio, again, only one at 50%, but again, I could have booked it privately for about the same price, so losing that special, which has only been in place for since 2011 I believe, is not a big deal to me.

 

Because my next trip is before the "new" enhancements kick in, I suppose I could whine that I don't get the new perks, but I understand they need to draw some lines.

 

Azamara is a dynamic line that clearly sees where it wants to go. Only time will tell whether that is a good direction, but for me, I'm in.

 

loved what you posted. love to know what private tours you found ;as i am on that cruise. thanks

[Nitemare]

Other than at college or on something once known as "The Fun Ships", when has free unlimited alcohol actually made a voyage more enjoyable?

[Jade13]

Will RC parent company management allow Azamara future cruise certificates to be used on Celebrity.

The Azamara terms & conditions & prices have been changed since we purchased our certificate & since they do sell both types on board why not allow them to be used for both lines.

 

I had the same question.

[Lindy028]

Other than at college or on something once known as "The Fun Ships", when has free unlimited alcohol actually made a voyage more enjoyable?

 

Quite frankly , never.

That is the reason why we would never book an All Inclusive land holiday.

Be it 5 * or 6 * there is always someone who does not know when to stop and so spoils it for everyone else..

[BaltiGator]

The folks at Azamara are very experienced cruise professionals and I'm sure they have "crunched" the numbers on this.

 

No doubt you're right about that. But it doesn't automatically mean this decision is a good one for Azamara's business. Bigger companies with bigger marketing research and number crunching staffs make bigger blunders all the time.

[mauicruiser]

In our opinion, Azamara continues to strive to provide the best cruising experience possible in a very personalized way. Obviously not all feel that way and will be happier to move onto another cruise line, where all of their wishes will surely come true:-O! We look forward to these new amenities and commend Azamara for being on the leading edge of passenger service. A class act in a market that otherwise caters to the masses.

[BaltiGator]

As OH and I do not drink a great deal of alcohol the 'complementary' open bar will probably mean that our first cruise with Azamara will also be our last.

If it is truly complementary then the prices would not be increasing. :confused:

I would not be happy to effectively subsidize people who enjoy a drink or three :rolleyes:

 

My sentiments exactly. I fully expect we'll enjoy our Azamara cruise next year, but their product was already priced at the absolute top end of what we consider sane to pay for a cruise. Can we afford to pay more? Thank God, we are blessed that way. But would we? I don't think so. We just don't drink that much, and we almost always prefer self-guided/independent port exploration to ship excursions. So even the "amazing evening event" thingy adds no value for us.

[feje]

I fell in love with Azamara on our first cruise on the Journey in January 2008 and haven't cruised on any other line since (well once, when our children paid for our 50th Anniversary trip on a megaship). These new amenities may not all be to my liking, but I still think I'd rather cruise with Azamara than other lines. We will be on the Quest transatlantic on March 14 under the current amenities and staying on for the March 27 cruise under the new ones. I haven't planned beyond that yet, but I still see Azamara in my future.

[Lindy028]

In our opinion, Azamara continues to strive to provide the best cruising experience possible in a very personalized way. Obviously not all feel that way and will be happier to move onto another cruise line, where all of their wishes will surely come true:-O! We look forward to these new amenities and commend Azamara for being on the leading edge of passenger service. A class act in a market that otherwise caters to the masses.

 

Sorry I cannot agree with your last sentence. Azamara is certainly a class act , but surely , in this new revised Azamara , they are doing just what you accuse others of doing , ie catering to the masses.

The masses require all inclusive , as is now the norm in land holidays , not something that appeals to many of us who have thoroughly enjoyed the Azamara experience, and who like what Azamara offer.

Azamara had a unique place in the cruising World , they have now jeopardised this .

I wish them well , but fear they have made a huge mistake and have totally misread their core clientele.

[BaltiGator]

I am so very disappointed by this news.

 

We were moving away from Oceania to get more possibilities of R ship itineraries.

 

I will be going back to Oceania. I'd rather sail on the larger O ships (Marina and Riviera) than pay for other people's drinks and I would never take a ship-sponsored excursion of any kind.

 

My first Azamara cruise is going to be my last. What are they thinking??? They have (had) a great niche -- unique in the industry. Why would they want to play copycat?

 

Very well said. As a couple who have only ever sailed the "mass market" lines, we always gazed up at the likes of Regent and Seaborne in disbelief. People pay that much for a cruise? Wow, why? Oh sure, I'd gladly sail one of their ships - on someone else's dime. But the dollars and cents of those products make no sense to me.

 

Oceania, on the other, seemed to sit in a lovely little niche all by itself, where you pay somewhat more for a higher end cruise experience - but without paying, you know, more than some people make in a whole year. We knew one day we would be Oceania customers...or so we thought.

 

Because then along came Azamara - a competitor in Oceania's niche! Now, I realize the products are not 100% identical, but to me they are far more similar to each other than to anything else out there. So when it came time for us to pick our next cruise, though the offerings on Azamara and Oceania both looked very appealing, lo and behold we ended up going with Azamara!

 

Now, I understand what some people are saying in this thread. Azamara already knows it will lose customers, but it hopes to gain others, and obviously it hopes the business will be better overall when the dust finally settles. Maybe it will, but the decision makers at Azamara are shifting their product into a much more competitive slot, where lots of other companies are already vying for those same customers.

 

So whether or not Azamara "wins" or "loses" with this strategy, there's one company that clearly will win - Oceania! Because Oceania will get to have its special little pricing niche all to itself again!

 

We don't need alcohol included and we don't want shore exclusions included. What we do want is a higher end, more elegant cruise experience on a smaller ship, without paying for other people's drinking habits. Right now that's Azamara and Oceania. Soon it will be only Oceania again.

[cpgrneyes]

We don't need alcohol included and we don't want shore exclusions included. What we do want is a higher end, more elegant cruise experience on a smaller ship, without paying for other people's drinking habits. Right now that's Azamara and Oceania. Soon it will be only Oceania again.

 

Will you feel the same way if Oceania continues to be more expensive than Azamara and includes none of the things that Azamara does? Personally, I like to see ports after dark and spend more than one day at them, something that Azamara's "niche" provides. Will I continue to explore other cruise lines when I plan a trip? Absolutely. But if all things were equal, I'll stay with Azamara, as I love the experience and, of course, the wonderful crew.

 

Fortunately, we all have choices, and I'll wait and see what the changes are (including how much the increase might be) before I jump ship.

[brucedodge]

We have cruised on AZ from one of the first Quest voyages (in fact with Greeneg), and have watched its evolvement. We have three more scheduled in the future, the first of them being this month.

 

I remain dubious over what I'm seeing. Azamara was on a roll. And now? Maybe --- but I'm not convinced.

 

While many comments revolve around the new alcohol policies, I am particularly concerned about the Azamazing Evening which will be on every sailing. I just can't see 680 passengers loaded onto 15-20 buses, and taken on a regular basis to an unforgettable experience. But for those who know me, I never do ship's tours anyway. Now I'd have to subsidize this program.

 

Luckily we like all sizes of ships, and cruise across a variety of cruise lines. Until now though, Azamara always figured in our recommendations to others.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce

[crzrr]

We just completed our sixth AZ cruise, have our seventh booked, and will be booking our 8th (prior to Nov. 1:)). We've watched AZ come a long way - they've made great strides, they've made some mistakes, and they've hit some home runs - but we've always felt that they listen to their customers. I fully believe that is happening this time as well. Having spoken with senior officers, staff and crew on each of our trips we know that they are always keenly interested in our likes, dislikes and suggestions for improvements. Snap decisions do not seem to be made. I would suspect that for each person saying that they will not subsidize another's drinking, there is someone else who will look at AZ for the first time because they like the idea of not having to sign for things repeatedly throughout the cruise and like the "all-inclusive" nature of the trip.

 

I'm really excited about the evening "special events". I think that it's a fabulous idea. I have an event planning business and given the sorry state of peoples' manners when it comes to RSVPing (apparently a lost art form), I can understand management implementing a charge for no-shows who don't indicate ahead of time that they will not be attending. It's a smart move. Also, having seen AZ be more than fair with people who have had to cancel an entire cruise due to an unforeseen emergency, I'm sure that allowances will be made for illness, etc.

 

As to the shore excursion situation, I'm keeping an open mind. When AZ began the 1/2 price excursion promotion (before it became the usual), we booked some to try them out given the price point. Our first experience was April 2011. The excursions were wonderful. Usually we booked our own but given the price point decided to try some of the ship's and were quite pleased. For our Sept. 2012 cruise we booked all ship's excursions except for one and were very disappointed. It appeared that as the 1/2 price pricing became more the norm, the quality of the excursions suffered. We actually cancelled the last excursion that we had booked while on the ship - couldn't take it anymore. The comment was actually made by another passenger that they would happily pay "full price" if the quality of the excursion was there. So I guess that I need to see what the full price will actually be (the skeptic in me wasn't convinced that the 1/2 price charge was actually 1/2 of what the tour would normally be). Meanwhile for our upcoming cruises I will probably spend more time doing my own research and private booking until convinced that the quality of the excursion has increased along with whatever pricing they come up with.

 

I like a good deal as well as the next but the reality is that pricing on everything is going up. People seem genuinely surprised that prices go up each year. AZ as a company has to deal with increased pricing annually as well - labor, medical costs, food costs, maintenance of the ships, etc. And as with all other companies, it gets passed along to the consumer. How much of the increases in the published fares are related to the new inclusions versus normal operating costs increases? We'll never know.

 

One of the things that keeps us coming back is walking on to one of the ships

and seeing many familiar faces. AZ treats their staff well and provides for them long term if they stay with the company. This comes at a cost and one that I am happy to pay to have the level of service and attention to detail that we find on these cruises. I always compare pricing and itineraries with other companies (Oceania, Seabourne, etc.) and still find AZ to be a great deal. As long as we find itineraries that we like, we'll be onboard (but a 3rd or 4th ship would be nice - anyone listening?)

 

Sue

[onthebalcony]

Well, first of all I am disappointed about the elimination of the 50% discounted tours. The liquor, not that impressed, either. If you are in a suite you get 4 small bottles. I assume these will not be offered??

 

We are still considering sailing with Azamara but will be looking for the "deals" which include free air, transfers and possible free pre and post add ons.

 

We will be sailing on our 8th cruise this Oct/Nov. and was hoping for continued allegiance to this crise line!!

[excitedofharpenden]

The liquor, not that impressed, either. If you are in a suite you get 4 small bottles. I assume these will not be offered??

I don't see why they wouldn't still offer the bar set up in the suites as this is a cabin perk and the proposed inclusive liquor is available from public bars only.

 

Phil

[BaltiGator]

Will you feel the same way if Oceania continues to be more expensive than Azamara and includes none of the things that Azamara does?

 

My experience is limited to my recent search for a 2013 cruise, but on sailings of similar length with similar itineraries, and doing my best to compare similar cabins (they aren't exactly the same, of course) I found the pricing between Oceania and Azamara fairly similar too. That's why I feel they occupy a special little niche together. But Azamara's 2014 prices move that line up into the next market segment.

 

Now, maybe Oceania's 2014 prices will rise similarly. If so, they're going to have a problem because they'll be hitting the market segment of the "booze inclusive" lines without including the booze. It would also suck for people like me who want to patronize lines like Oceania (and the current Azamara). I'm willing to pay that 25%-35% premium over a mass market line to get a better product, but I'm not willing to pay 50-100% premiums.

 

For me, it's like bottles of wine. I can appreciate the difference between a typical $10 bottle and a typical $25 bottle enough that I don't mind paying the difference (at least sometimes). But I'm not one who can usually appreciate enough of a difference between the $25 bottle and the $100 bottle to justify paying that much.

 

Same with cruises. There's only so high I'll go. For me, Azamara's 2014 prices pretty much cross that line. So I just have to hope that Oceania doesn't follow suit, and/or that someone else slides into the niche I'm looking for.

[pacheco18]

So whether or not Azamara "wins" or "loses" with this strategy, there's one company that clearly will win - Oceania! Because Oceania will get to have its special little pricing niche all to itself again!

 

We don't need alcohol included and we don't want shore exclusions included. What we do want is a higher end, more elegant cruise experience on a smaller ship, without paying for other people's drinking habits. Right now that's Azamara and Oceania. Soon it will be only Oceania again.

 

Perfectly put. This is a big win for Oceania.

[BaltiGator]

I am particularly concerned about the Azamazing Evening which will be on every sailing. I just can't see 680 passengers loaded onto 15-20 buses, and taken on a regular basis to an unforgettable experience. But for those who know me, I never do ship's tours anyway. Now I'd have to subsidize this program.

 

Well said! I suppose Azamara doesn't expect all 680 pax will typically get off the ship, but let's say even 50% of them do. How does 350 people being herded around on buses for a whole evening yield an "unforgettable" experience? Regrettable sounds more like it to me.

 

On the other hand, if you don't mind skipping the port that evening, you'll have the ship more or less to yourself! Now that might be worth paying a little extra for! :D

[redridinghood]

I'm very sad to read this announcement as I think that our first Azamara cruise this year will also be our last. I do not want all-inclusive as we do not drink very much at all and I think it will encorage some people to over-endulge and that usually ends up with some unwanted behaviour. I also want to choose my shore excursions at a decent price. Our cruise this year was the best one we have ever been on and were longing for a return, but the prices will be just way above us now.

[cpgrneyes]

Well stated, BaltiGator.

 

I suppose I just don't see the same increases in what I'm looking at as others do. As I mentioned earlier, the CURRENT prices for the 12 day Black Sea cruises are only $100 more in 2014 than in 2013. I just checked what we booked at in Sept. 2011 for a 12 day cruise in January 2013, and it was $270 more pp than a 12 day cruise in January 2014. Granted, we are doing a "special" cruise for Carnival in Rio and the only 12 day in January 2014 is to Central America/Mexico which intuitively would be less expensive, but still, I don't see the huge increases.

 

Of course, we don't know what the prices will be in November, but I plan to have my 2014 cruise booked this month. Now I just need to decide which one!

[Deegee208]

All-Inclusive is the only way to cruise these days. The last thing people want is to be 'nickel & dimed" when trying to relax. This will open the cruise line up to a brand new crowd (late 30's-mid 40's) that are not afraid to spend a buck. Ready to book for June.

[MightyQuinn]

With all this talk about Oceania, I've noticed an interesting development recently ... a number of cruisers who usually sail on luxury lines are trying Oceania. Now granted, they seem to be attracted to the new O class ships and not the R class vessels, but there is a definite migration of luxury cruisers taking a "step-down". Since they are used to an all-inclusive product, many come to the Oceania forum asking about adding an adult beverage package. O has packages for $29.95 per day (wine/beer at meals) or $49.95 per day (open bar). When you do the math, it's less expensive to sail O with a beverage package than to take a luxury cruise.

 

I think Azamara may well be targeting this same market. The upmarket cruiser who wants an all-inclusive product at a somewhat lower price point than a luxury cruise.

 

It will be trickier for Azamara to satisfy the high-end cruiser on the R class ships which aren't as lavish as the O class or luxury lines, so they will need to outperform in on-board service. People always remember how they were treated long after they forget how extravagant their room was! Then add a signature night touring experience and Azamara will be unique in the marketplace. I can definitely see a market for this type of cruise experience.

 

I see value with this approach provided there is not a dramatic increase in prices over those currently published. Quite frankly, I think 2014 pricing already reflects much, if not all, of these new enhancements.