Azura - Are family suites worth it?

[scottie99]

I bid on several suites but have been informed by P&O that I have been successful with a bid of £205pp for a family suite.

 

I have 72 ro accept and pay.  We are currently in a Superior Balcony, Canaries, 26 January 

 

i not the “ suite” is an unusual lay out.   Any experience of the family suite and is it worth £410?
 

thanks

[david63]

It is difficult to say whether it would be worth it as there are many factors involved.

 

The first obviously being - can you/are you willing to afford it?

 

The family suites are at the front but as this is a fly cruise that should not be a problem. The layout is only unusual in that it has two bedrooms (one each???)

 

You have to look at what you are getting extra for your £30 a day each. The biggie (for us) is the breakfast in Epicurean but that may not suit you. The other big advantage is the extra space both in the suite and with the balcony. The other benefits of a suite are somewhat minor - although the butler can be useful at times.

 

If you want to try the suite experience and you can afford it then I would say go for it - although be warned there may be no going back!

[bobstheboy]

David . We are in a suite on Azura, first time. Can the butler get a reservation in the  Epicurean or because we can breakfast in there, will that help ?

[david63]

8 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

Can the butler get a reservation in the  Epicurean

Maybe - it will all depend on how good the butler is (they do vary) and probably more importantly, if there are any vacancies.

10 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

because we can breakfast in there, will that help

Possibly - just ask the head waiter at breakfast, but again if they are full there is not much that can be done but you could be at the top of the wait list.

 

Personally I have only ever used a butler once to make a reservation and by the time he got back to me I could have done it myself. The problem is everyone asks the butlers to do 101 things the moment they get onboard and although it is hard to believe they are like the rest of us only human!

[bobstheboy]

2 minutes ago, david63 said:

Maybe - it will all depend on how good the butler is (they do vary) and probably more importantly, if there are any vacancies.

Possibly - just ask the head waiter at breakfast, but again if they are full there is not much that can be done but you could be at the top of the wait list.

 

Personally I have only ever used a butler once to make a reservation and by the time he got back to me I could have done it myself. The problem is everyone asks the butlers to do 101 things the moment they get onboard and although it is hard to believe they are like the rest of us only human!

Thanks. I don't intend to bother him/her very much, certainly not to unpack ! I understand to get free Room Service you have to book through the butler.

[david63]

14 minutes ago, bobstheboy said:

Thanks. I don't intend to bother him/her very much, certainly not to unpack ! I understand to get free Room Service you have to book through the butler.

I have always gone through the butler but if the butler is not available (apparently they have time off!) then I would just order it and if you are charged then either go to reception and they will cancel it or ask your butler next time you see him to cancel it.

[scottie99]

4 hours ago, david63 said:

It is difficult to say whether it would be worth it as there are many factors involved.

 

The first obviously being - can you/are you willing to afford it?

 

The family suites are at the front but as this is a fly cruise that should not be a problem. The layout is only unusual in that it has two bedrooms (one each???)

 

You have to look at what you are getting extra for your £30 a day each. The biggie (for us) is the breakfast in Epicurean but that may not suit you. The other big advantage is the extra space both in the suite and with the balcony. The other benefits of a suite are somewhat minor - although the butler can be useful at times.

 

If you want to try the suite experience and you can afford it then I would say go for it - although be warned there may be no going back!

 

[scottie99]

Thanks for your reply. 
 

We have done many suites in various cruise lines over the years.

 

I guess the reason for my question was because of the unusual lay out of family suites and also their position.

 

Anyway, I have now accepted their offer and booked it

 

Thanks

 

[pete14]

4 hours ago, david63 said:

I have always gone through the butler but if the butler is not available (apparently they have time off!) then I would just order it and if you are charged then either go to reception and they will cancel it or ask your butler next time you see him to cancel it.

There should be a card in the suite with a number to contact the butler by using the cabin phone. If he / she is not available, a colleague should be available to answer the call and take your order instead, without any charge being levied. The fact that many room service items are now chargeable for all except those in suites can make this a quite valuable extra. When we used the service on Aurora, it worked well and as it was delivered by the butler, the wait time was not long.

[david63]

50 minutes ago, pete14 said:

If he / she is not available, a colleague should be available to answer the call and take your order instead,

There are occasions especially when in port that a butler may not be available. It depends on the ship and how many butlers there are - most ships only have two butlers these days and Aurora I believe only has one

[crompton21]

2 hours ago, david63 said:

There are occasions especially when in port that a butler may not be available. It depends on the ship and how many butlers there are - most ships only have two butlers these days and Aurora I believe only has one

There were two butlers earlier this month on Aurora.

[tring]

On 12/28/2023 at 1:41 PM, scottie99 said:

Thanks for your reply. 
 

We have done many suites in various cruise lines over the years.

 

I guess the reason for my question was because of the unusual lay out of family suites and also their position.

 

Anyway, I have now accepted their offer and booked it

 

Thanks

 

 

I thought that once you have placed a bid for an upgrade, you were obliged to take any cabin which was allocated to you under the system, with no chance to change your mind.

 

From your posts, it appears you had chance to think again and not accept your upgraded cabin.  Can you please confirm this was the case and, if so, were you told the cabin number which has been allocated to you before you confirmed and paid for your upgrade?

 

[david63]

2 hours ago, tring said:

I thought that once you have placed a bid for an upgrade, you were obliged to take any cabin which was allocated to you under the system, with no chance to change your mind.

I believe it all depends on whether you pay or not - no pay, no upgrade. What you don't have is any choice of cabin/suite

[tring]

4 minutes ago, david63 said:

I believe it all depends on whether you pay or not - no pay, no upgrade. What you don't have is any choice of cabin/suite

 Thanks for the reply

 

I assume that means that until you have paid, you would not know which actual cabin or suite has been allocated to you - just the grade?  I thought you would have had to give card details when placing a bid, but apparently not.

[scottie99]

On 12/29/2023 at 7:06 PM, tring said:

 Thanks for the reply

 

I assume that means that until you have paid, you would not know which actual cabin or suite has been allocated to you - just the grade?  I thought you would have had to give card details when placing a bid, but apparently not.

We were offered a specific suite, D105.

 

The email said we had to pay for it within 48 hours.  Also said ,if we didn’t pay on time, we would revert to original booking level ( but no guarantee, same cabin).

 

That meant it could have been a superior balcony, E deck, directly above music lounge 

[tring]

1 hour ago, scottie99 said:

We were offered a specific suite, D105.

 

The email said we had to pay for it within 48 hours.  Also said ,if we didn’t pay on time, we would revert to original booking level ( but no guarantee, same cabin).

 

That meant it could have been a superior balcony, E deck, directly above music lounge 

 

Thanks for the clarification.  Much appreciated.