What Do You Consider a Good P/P P/N rate for an Azamara Cabin

[ChucktownSteve]

Everyone has a threshold where they feel a cabin is approaching where it isn't worth the value.  I'm trying to get a feel for what people feel is a good price (per person, per nite) before they experience mental price resistance and for which cabin category.  I realize this is subjective so there is no wrong answer if you wish to share.

 

Thankx,

Steve

[Mackdogmolly]

6 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

Everyone has a threshold where they feel a cabin is approaching where it isn't worth the value.  I'm trying to get a feel for what people feel is a good price (per person, per nite) before they experience mental price resistance and for which cabin category.  I realize this is subjective so there is no wrong answer if you wish to share.

 

Thankx,

Steve

I think a lot depends on the itinerary. 

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

I think a lot depends on the itinerary. 

 

Or how big your bank account is.  This question is sort of meaningless.  

[laurieb]

It really is dependent on so many factors!  We have raised our pp/pd threshold because we really love the Azamara product and feel it’s worth the higher per diem.  We’re sold now on the CC or higher staterooms

[Mackdogmolly]

We will probably never be able to justify the cost of a suite, but it would be difficult to book below a balcony. We do look for bargains and although we love the product, we certainly have our limits.

[AllisonJames]

Hey Chucktown Steve…we met you on the 2017 Baltic Cruise on the Journey. That was a great trip and glad we went to St. Petersburg at that time! Yes, this is a very subjective question…however, like many, we are willing to spend a bit more since the pandemic and the long pause in travel. We will always get a veranda stateroom but don’t see the need for a CC suite as we don’t spend much time there! Too busy out and about as well as enjoying the ships. We are willing to pay more for certain itineraries — for example The Open cruise tends to be higher but it is well worth the experience. And, I am pleased to say our Scotland Intensive this summer is costing no more per day than our Baltic in 2017…considering it is SIX years later that fact makes us happy.  We are just anxious to get back on board for our first AZ cruise since 2019. And to us, the opportunity for an AZ cruise with the Perry Golf package cannot be beat!

[ChucktownSteve]

7 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

Hey Chucktown Steve…we met you on the 2017 Baltic Cruise on the Journey. That was a great trip and glad we went to St. Petersburg at that time! Yes, this is a very subjective question…however, like many, we are willing to spend a bit more since the pandemic and the long pause in travel. We will always get a veranda stateroom but don’t see the need for a CC suite as we don’t spend much time there! Too busy out and about as well as enjoying the ships. We are willing to pay more for certain itineraries — for example The Open cruise tends to be higher but it is well worth the experience. And, I am pleased to say our Scotland Intensive this summer is costing no more per day than our Baltic in 2017…considering it is SIX years later that fact makes us happy.  We are just anxious to get back on board for our first AZ cruise since 2019. And to us, the opportunity for an AZ cruise with the Perry Golf package cannot be beat!

 

Hiya Allison, Yes I remember that cruise very well.  It's still the best one we've sailed in all our years and convinced us about Azamara.  Ryszard made Gdansk a once in a lifetime unforgettable night! 

Guess we can't run for President since we went to Russia. 😄

In 2017 we sailed to the Baltics in a V3 cabin.  We're booked in an aft facing P1 Aegean & Adriatic Gems Voyage in 2025 for only $30 pp/pn more!  Well worth the value.

Edited June 12, 2023 by ChucktownSteve

[uktog]

It all depends on the itinerary whether it’s a first visit to places or a repeat and what the opposition is charging. Ballpark like for like our Azamara loyalty premium on a 7 night cruise would be £50 per person per day once I’d factored in like for like inclusions/exclusions that matter to us, potential onboard benefits for future bookings etc.  Longer cruises is a lower figure.  I have a very complex excel sheet for this as I’m currently considering some future options. It’s important to drill down to like for like 

[The Salties]

Hi, well I know being a canny lad from Scotland you would love a bargain, but it also applies to us "poor" folk down South, ever hopeful of a similar bargain. I know we are not allowed to mention travel agents but I am envious of yours. I think the last time I had a £50 a night was on a P&O  many moons ago and that was on a "sail the next day". Please give a hint where you look for such prices. I must confess since covid the governor will only have a balcony

[BrendaJ]

To give you an idea of the lowest prices, currently the price per day for a double occupancy cabin in U.S. dollars:

 

Inside cabin - $213 - Quest transatlantic - 12/09/23

Ocean view cabin - $224 - same as above

Balcony - $281 - Onward transatlantic - 11/18/23

Suite - $485 - same as above

 

Obviously, transatlantic cruises with few ports are a bargain compared to anything else.   The more popular the itinerary, generally the higher the prices.   However, if you don’t care where you go, you can get a very decent deal.  The best deal per day for a non-transatlantic cruise in a balcony is currently $321 per day for a southern European cruise in November.   That’s only $1,543 U.S. per person for an 11 night cruise.   Of course, that’s rather late in the year and the weather might be cooler than you’d like, but I’d  go for it for the price if that was an itinerary I was interested in doing.

 

There is a website that makes finding bargains very easy but I’m not sure Cruise Critic allows the posting of website names.

 

Brenda

 

 

 

 

 

[uktog]

1 hour ago, The Salties said:

Hi, well I know being a canny lad from Scotland you would love a bargain, but it also applies to us "poor" folk down South, ever hopeful of a similar bargain. I know we are not allowed to mention travel agents but I am envious of yours. I think the last time I had a £50 a night was on a P&O  many moons ago and that was on a "sail the next day". Please give a hint where you look for such prices. I must confess since covid the governor will only have a balcony

To be clear the £50 per night is not our spend!!!  

 

Oh that I wish it was - effectively what I was saying was I might pay up to £700 more for the comparator price I derive for an Azamara cruise (eg add in beverage package and for comparison to Viking 2 specialities visits) vs say a Viking (add in a daily drinks cost -not beverage as their included wines means I only need to buy the odd spirits-but take off from viking a notional per day allowance for the value of the included bus or walking tour)

 

[The Salties]

1 minute ago, uktog said:

To be clear the £50 per night is not our spend!!!  

 

Oh that I wish it was - effectively what I was saying was I might pay up to £700 more for the comparator price I derive for an Azamara cruise (eg add in beverage package and for comparison to Viking 2 specialities visits) vs say a Viking (add in a daily drinks cost -not beverage as their included wines means I only need to buy the odd spirits-but take off from viking a notional per day allowance for the value of the included bus or walking tour)

 

 

[The Salties]

Are that makes sense now, thanks for clarifying. We do enjoy Azamara and hope that some of their latest pricing is a glitch and not a policy. As someone stated there is a limit to what we consider reasonable. In our eyes the biggest draw is the "R" class ships which now only they and Oceania use. Happy cruising.

[TeaBag]

We paid $251.45 USD pp/pd for a P1 aft cabin on Quest last month.  Fabulous for the Suez canal.  Captain Johannes told us they pay $410 USD pp to transit the canal.  

[Dr H]

Fascinating question, and I suspect each of us makes that determination for every cruise line and every cabin we book. So here is my logic. # 1, if you are planning on traveling TO a specific country for the purpose of sightseeing, no cruise is of any real value. Cruising simply is a very poor way to "see" a country. You may get a quick taste of a city, but not much more. Find a cheap flight and have a good time exploring once you recover from jet lag. #2, We love the Azamara product, and it is an expensive product. When we cruise Azamara, I want to enjoy the ship, the ports are somewhat superfluous. The way to maximize the onboard ship experience was a) taking longer cruises - 10+ days, and/or back to back cruises, and b) taking the cheapest fares available so we can do it all over again, and soon. Azamara's cheapest are their Transatlantics, (and perhaps one day, Transpacifics again). Coupling the Transatlantic with a short B2B has become our most frequent travel menu. Then becomes the true challenge, which room? The "R" ships Azamara uses are very small. Advantage, with great service, there is no real difference between ANY of the rooms, inside to owner's suite. Having traveled with Azamara since 2010, last year I finally came up with the foolproof method to choose category. I unexpectedly booked an Alaska cruise last year with the now competition Celebrity. For $250. per head (plus tax) for 7 days I was willing to leave Azamara and sleep in the boiler room toilet on a guaranteed ticket. We had a very good inside room. Quiet, dark, a healthy walk to the dining room. No midnight sun sleeping issues down there like we had on Azamara on our July North Sea/Iceland cruise several years ago. Celebrity in no way is Azamara. Service didn't compare, food didn't compare, walking distances didn't compare, service getting off the ship in the ports didn't compare. And for my $250 fare I wasn't complaining. Recently we did an Azamara B2B, transatlantic Florida to Lisbon, approx 12 days, 2 ports, followed by 7D to Morocco and Spain, back to Lisbon. We love the veranda on the Atlantic, I wanted a window on the 7D, even if Fred would be ogling either my wife or me in every port we were in on the short cruise. We saved a bundle, the Moroccan ports were canceled over security fears, we repeated a Spanish itinerary that was nice, but I've been there. I was on board for the ship, not the ports. It was a brilliant cruise, Everything we love about the veranda, and we downgraded from V1 to V3 level specifically to lower the cost. Absolutely NO difference in service, and I saved a bundle. We had a lovely time on the 7D, I didn't have to go schlepping on every port in Spain, I've been there, and I could enjoy the ship. My wife went into town, finding fabric stores without me, it was wonderful. Lunch time and cocktail time, we enjoyed our fellow passengers complaining how awful Azamara was for cancelling the Moroccan ports. I hardly noticed. Lastly, the suites, ah to be rich. On a technicality, my wife and I are indeed millionaires. We just can't live like the the stereotypical, 1930's Hollywood millionaire  life style. I've been able to upgrade to suite level 2 or 3 times in the past. From my standpoint, service is no different in an Azamara suite as compared to veranda or interior. We always seemed to miss afternoon tea in the room. We always felt sorry for our poor room steward dressed up in his Halloween costume morning suit. And our first suite remains memorable - we were directly under the pool deck. Lots of noise each and every morning from the deck. On one of our earlier cruises, we met a wonderful couple - who still post on cc - who upgraded to owner's suite and invited us to a party. The weather was a bit rough, they were up front in the roughest part of the ship. When we left, my wife threatened me with divorce, if I ever booked that room. They offer spaciousness, but not necessarily comfort.

 

So after this very long winded discourse (no one forced any of you to read it), my answer is, $1500. pp for 10 days or more. Fewer ports mean lower charges. Inside rooms preferred over ocean view, if there is a $750-1000. lower price tag for 2 passengers. (NB: we were in OV, obstructed view only once, and never again. It was a large closet, we were constantly tripping over each other, and there was NO privacy. I would repeat the room in the unlikely event that I was traveling as a single passenger, on a really good deal. But for 2, never again.). Ocean view if it is less than $500 more than inside for 2, and veranda is $1000+ more for two. Ocean view is PREFERRED over veranda, a) on a colder or much hotter cruise, and b) the cruise is port intensive, and you won't be able to enjoy the veranda each and every day. Suites: if you've got the cash, and a suite is between $500 and $750 more for two than a lower priced veranda, go for it.

 

Lastly, we are booked transatlantic in Nov 2023, veranda, from Lisbon to Miami, originally v1, now downgraded to V3. It took some work, but I B2B's Rome to Lisbon unobstructed Ocean View, and that was UPGRADED from inside, when Azamara significantly dropped the prices, making the upgraded cheaper than our original inside room. I could have booked Veranda, I chose not to. If money were no object, and it is, I would happily go Suite for the entire trip, especially if offered. I'm not asking. My 3 cents.

[travelberlin]

For some of us, the value added of Azamara are the port intensive itineraries in which the ship remains longer in the ports and where the ship docks practically in the center of the ports. When I find one of those itineraries I compare the prices with other similar companies and if Azamara price is lower, I will take Azamara. So prices are very important for my decision and I also put limits on how much I am willing to spend per day.

Ivi

[chrisbu315]

Like you, I have given this a lot of thought lately and came to a counter-intuitive conclusion.  I cruise to see new destinations. I like sea days but I don't consider them nearly as valuable as a day in port or scenic cruising.  Consequently, if I can see what I want in 7 days instead of 14 days, I will pay more per day.

 

This is why I am embarking on my first Azamara cruise on June 17.  It is a 12 day cruise with no sea days.  I am willing to pay a lot more for this.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I think Azamara's country-intensive itineraries are the sweet spot for me in visiting a new place.  It is not, as some describe, a fly-by that doesn't get you deep exposure to the country.  Of course it isn't the same as spending days at a time in each city, but it is a thorough enough introduction to decide if you want to come back for a deeper look.  And over 90% of the time, we conclude that we have experienced enough that a return visit isn't required.  [We are still working on that Susan Sontag quote:  "I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list" !!!]