New suite experiences survey

[Bloodaxe]

5 hours ago, travelinjudy said:

It would be a terrible mistake for Azamara to create a ""caste system".  We would also stop sailing with them if that happened and we have been with them since the beginning.

 

 

So have we and I totally agree with you.

[MNgardens]

I wonder if they are looking at using Oceania as a model? For those of you that have cruised on Oceania, how did the segregation affect your experience?

[marinaro44]

31 minutes ago, MNgardens said:

I wonder if they are looking at using Oceania as a model? For those of you that have cruised on Oceania, how did the segregation affect your experience?

For some of us, I'd like to think, it's more about the principle than the experience.  I just find the segregation offensive.  On our one unfortunate Celebrity cruise, we were in a suite and were escorted down the stairs past fifty to a hundred waiting non-suite passengers in order to cut the tender line.  I was looking for a hole to crawl into.

[excitedofharpenden]

9 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

For some of us, I'd like to think, it's more about the principle than the experience.  I just find the segregation offensive.  On our one unfortunate Celebrity cruise, we were in a suite and were escorted down the stairs past fifty to a hundred waiting non-suite passengers in order to cut the tender line.  I was looking for a hole to crawl into.

It's even worse now with the advent of suite only areas and more so with the new ships and X Revolution.  Of course there are some (you know who they are as soon as you see them on the ship) that lap it up. I do try to ignore, but sometimes it's hard. Just go and read some of the suite threads on the Celebrity board to get the idea.  You'd think being in a suite was the only way to enjoy a cruise and once done, never go back. 

 

Please, none of that nonsense on Azamara thanks. 

 

Phil 

Edited October 19, 2019 by excitedofharpenden

[Lookyboy]

On ‎10‎/‎18‎/‎2019 at 8:43 PM, Werangels said:

it appears you got further 😂. 

It appears you got the e-mail.

[BBMacLaird]

On 10/18/2019 at 1:35 PM, Werangels said:

The email said it wanted to learn from guests experiences and identify what amenities suite guests most wanted to see.  I clicked on the link and it asked age range as first question then which suite you stayed in and the next screen said thank you and closed the survey?  Is there a problem with the loading of this?

Thank you for calling this out to us. There was a glitch in the survey but I am happy to share that it has been fixed. Feel free to go into this link to share your feedback as the link is live. Thank you.

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/suiteamenitysurvey2019

[uktog]

2 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

Thank you for calling this out to us. There was a glitch in the survey but I am happy to share that it has been fixed. Feel free to go into this link to share your feedback as the link is live. Thank you.

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/suiteamenitysurvey2019

Bonnie

It will not let you fill it in, as soon as you click on your link it says you have already taken the survey, they need to reset it, they have only done part of the fix!

[BBMacLaird]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

Bonnie

It will not let you fill it in, as soon as you click on your link it says you have already taken the survey, they need to reset it, they have only done part of the fix!

Thank you for the quick feedback, uktog. I’ll let the survey team know. 

[hkr1216]

I got the same response as Ann when I clicked on the link.

[BBMacLaird]

Hi uktog and hkr, we think we have fixed that. Would you try again and let me know if you’re able to complete the survey? Thanks so much!

[Trend]

I was able to complete this time.

Thanks Bonnie

[BBMacLaird]

21 minutes ago, Trend said:

I was able to complete this time.

Thanks Bonnie

Thank you for letting me know, Trend.

[Twiga]

9 hours ago, MNgardens said:

I wonder if they are looking at using Oceania as a model? For those of you that have cruised on Oceania, how did the segregation affect your experience?

MNgardens, I have been on ten Oceania cruises.  I have never seen any "segregation."  I have been on one Azamara cruise and have another booked for March.  Oceania and Azamara are both very similar:  same ships, excellent service and great food.  What do you mean by segregation on Oceania?

[MNgardens]

I completed the survey through the link above rather than through the one in my email.

 

It asks when you last sailed with Azamara. (For me, within in the last year.) It then asks which stateroom. I answered veranda because that was the one for the last year. However I had sailed in the CC two cruises before that which is perhaps how I got the email. Did I interpret the question correctly - which type of stateroom matches my most recent cruise?

 

And my two cents: not on the list of possible enhancements - one that I would prefer is unlimited laundry for the big corner suites. If I had ponied up the big bucks, I would rather that over an in suite minibar.

 

I too belong in the camp of let's not try to create a class that is treated as more special than others in highly visible ways. We are all incredibly fortunate to be able to take such a fabulous vacation.

 

The vocabulary that has been used in these two pages are "caste" and "segregation."  These are highly emotionally loaded words which reflect a strong distaste for attempting to create an atmosphere of exclusivity. The head offices should note this.

 

Twiga: There is a lounge that is available for only a subset of the passengers is one that I can think of with out having sailed on them. I have heard of other cruise lines having special tendering lines, seating areas etc. I don't know much about Oceania.

 

 

Edited October 20, 2019 by MNgardens

[DRJVH]

6 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

Thank you for calling this out to us. There was a glitch in the survey but I am happy to share that it has been fixed. Feel free to go into this link to share your feedback as the link is live. Thank you.

 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/suiteamenitysurvey2019

Obviously there’s still a glitch, I could do the survey 3 times.  🤔🤔🙄🙄 and more if I wanted to. 

 

Still find the whole thing offensive.  This survey is a nonsense. Azamara think nothing of the loyalty of the  people who choose to book an inside, oceanview or a balcony because they’re happy  with Azamara’s “family” vibe, not it’s stuck up suite guests who think they’re better than those travelling in the “lower class”. It’s not  about  how many “free” amenities you can get to us, it’s about the journey. 

Azamara’s losing the plot. 

 

[marinaro44]

Survey should have a "none of the above" choice in the question asking about amenities, or should not have required "exactly three" choices.  No choices, or one or two, was a reasonable response.  Surveys should also have a place for comments, so you can say what you really think.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Remember the poll about the Deluxe Veranda category?  The decision had already been made.  Same here, except we don't know which of these choices are already in the works.

[excitedofharpenden]

9 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

Thank you for the quick feedback, uktog. I’ll let the survey team know. 

Bonnie, even better.  Give them a link to this thread!

 

Phil

[uktog]

I have been able to complete the survey though as others pointed out it had limitations either because of poor design or alternatively perhaps deliberate design to ratify a decision already made.

 

The absence of all inclusive laundry as a possible benefit was an omission. The idea of reserved seating (where Cabaret?) abhorrent but there was no option to express that eg by the use of an “other please specify” box or a second question same list asking which 3 would not appeal. That would have given a better indication on any polarity in views and where something wasn’t selected as a want was it a neutral reaction or positive dislike. A 3 or 5 point likert scale would give similar data using a single question. 

 

I am really pleased Azamara issue these surveys and thanks Bonnie for fixing this one but the design and pre launch testing is letting you down, you could get much richer data so easily if those creating the surveys took a slightly different approach 

[Grandma Cruising]

I didn’t get the email, but did do the survey through Bonnie’s link. I thought that most of the suggested amenities were quite reasonable extras to be given when you’ve paid such a lot for one of the top suites. I especially liked the idea of having a Nespresso machine. The only one I really didn’t like was the VIP seating around the ship - I agree this seems totally against the Azamara ‘vibe’. I also agree that having a space for other ideas/suggestions would have been good.

Edited October 20, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[excitedofharpenden]

18 hours ago, lisiamc said:

It’s annoying when they can’t let any of the sister lines have a separate identity.  They seem to want all their lines to be as similar as possible to Royal Caribbean.  One size doesn’t fit all.  If we wanted a two tier experience, there are other lines we could cruise with (gee, like Celebrity or Royal Caribbean). In fact, the two tier experience is one of the reasons we have outgrown Celebrity, and won’t be going back.  I hope we don’t get chased away from Azamara by the same tactics. 

The autonomy Azamara had for a number of years was very apparent and as far as this cruiser is concerned, much appreciated. It has changed. In my view they need to keep Lisa Lutoff-Perlo of Celebrity Cruises well away from Azamara.  She is a menace to that brand. 

 

Phil 

[Riocca]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The autonomy Azamara had for a number of years was very apparent and as far as this cruiser is concerned, much appreciated. It has changed. In my view they need to keep Lisa Lutoff-Perlo of Celebrity Cruises well away from Azamara.  She is a menace to that brand. 

 

Phil 

Phil, having just come off of Quest I can’t agree more, the onboard experience is still great but driven by the onboard team despite Miami. Can’t help feeling Azamara are the poor relations and it’s becoming noticeable that often when things break they don’t get replaced. 
We were fortunate enough to be in a CW suite for this cruise rather than our normal CC mainly due to some unusually attractive Azamara pricing. Some of the suggested additions such as a Nespresso machine would be sensible additions but don’t agree with VIP areas or seating. That said the big suites already have some special treatment such as VIP access to AzAmazing Evenings, Best of the Best and a departure lounge.

I think they should be addressing some more fundamental issues with LCV and Shore Excursions rather than trying to create a two class ship.

 

[uktog]

32 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Phil, having just come off of Quest I can’t agree more, the onboard experience is still great but driven by the onboard team despite Miami. Can’t help feeling Azamara are the poor relations and it’s becoming noticeable that often when things break they don’t get replaced. 
We were fortunate enough to be in a CW suite for this cruise rather than our normal CC mainly due to some unusually attractive Azamara pricing. Some of the suggested additions such as a Nespresso machine would be sensible additions but don’t agree with VIP areas or seating. That said the big suites already have some special treatment such as VIP access to AzAmazing Evenings, Best of the Best and a departure lounge.

I think they should be addressing some more fundamental issues with LCV and Shore Excursions rather than trying to create a two class ship.

 

Absolutely spot on, Bonnie did say last week they were going to look at Shore Excursions and we were told elsewhere they were looking at LCV, time will tell what looking actually results in and how long we have to wait.

[lisiamc]

4 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

The autonomy Azamara had for a number of years was very apparent and as far as this cruiser is concerned, much appreciated. It has changed. In my view they need to keep Lisa Lutoff-Perlo of Celebrity Cruises well away from Azamara.  She is a menace to that brand. 

 

Phil 

I agree that Azamara used to have more autonomy, but even that hasn’t been without some strange decisions.  Back in the days before drinks were included, I can remember that for a year or two there was a ban on Azamara on bringing any sort of alcohol aboard, not even the two bottles of wine.  I believe it was when Royal Caribbean was negotiating with the family of the young man who drank too much and unfortunately went overboard and died.  I can sort of understand having the ban on Royal ships at that time, but extending it to Azamara was pretty ridiculous.  

[hubofhockey]

On 10/20/2019 at 12:09 AM, marinaro44 said:

For some of us, I'd like to think, it's more about the principle than the experience.  I just find the segregation offensive.  On our one unfortunate Celebrity cruise, we were in a suite and were escorted down the stairs past fifty to a hundred waiting non-suite passengers in order to cut the tender line.  I was looking for a hole to crawl into.

 

Celebrity is pushing suites (Edge concept) and taking public space away from all classes below.  Perks for drinks packages for passengers other than suite passengers now have a surcharge on the perk.  I'm not about to pay for a suite on Celebrity.  I'd rather pay the same price for a balcony cabin on a more premium line.  I do like Aqua and Blu, so maybe I'm slightly hypocritical.

 

I think a small ship line like Azamara would lose some friendliness if they move in that direction.  With only 700 passengers who all run into each other regularly, it would take something away from the overall atmosphere.