Experience More Essentials

[oceanpark]

We are taking our second cruise on Azamara next year ( 25 days) and wondered if many people take this package which includes $300 shore excursion credit, unlimited wifi plus ( don’t know what the plus means) and premium drink package for $699.  Last cruise we had more OBC than we could possibly use and had the ultimate drink package, but can’t justify the cost for it now.  Not sure if there is better wine with the premium package.  We definitely want wifi, but if I remember correctly, on the second day of the cruise you could get wifi for 20% off.  

[blag]

16 minutes ago, oceanpark said:

We are taking our second cruise on Azamara next year ( 25 days) and wondered if many people take this package which includes $300 shore excursion credit, unlimited wifi plus ( don’t know what the plus means) and premium drink package for $699.  Last cruise we had more OBC than we could possibly use and had the ultimate drink package, but can’t justify the cost for it now.  Not sure if there is better wine with the premium package.  We definitely want wifi, but if I remember correctly, on the second day of the cruise you could get wifi for 20% off.  

On a 25-day cruise, IMHO, any package makes sense, but the value varies with your needs/preferences and which accommodation you occupy onboard.

[Dr H]

It boils down to how much credit do you already have, and what do you want to do on board? The drinks package on any cruise is a gravy train, money making deal for the cruise line. I believe you break even after 6 drinks each and every day. Remember, there is plenty of decent wine and hard liquor already included with the cruise fare. Wine packages, depend upon how much you drink. You can buy a good bottle of wine for $50-100. on board, on the approved list or off. They store any unconsumed wine very well, so you don't have to drink it all at one. WIFI Plus. I believe the Plus is Elon Musk's high speed Starlink system. Having spoken to several people on board as of last November, if you need the internet for work, splurge on the Plus. I think it runs about $10 a day, over and above the cost of the standard internet. Since this is only your second cruise, your benefits aren't up there with the big boys yet. We are each Discoverer Plus, unlimited Internet runs us under $50 for the full cruise. We are leaving next week, I'm undecided about going for the better package. (And I'm told it's a LOT better, not a little bit better, than the regular wifi). Do your homework. How much credit is already in the bank, what will the cost of excursions be over 25 days, realistically how much alcohol can you consume in 25 days (coffee, water, soft drinks, espresso/cappuccino,  basic cocktails are all included, so they don't enter into your calculus). Have a great time planning. Wish I could say I'm envious.

[tgg]

1 hour ago, Dr H said:

 We are leaving next week, I'm undecided about going for the better package. (And I'm told it's a LOT better, not a little bit better, than the regular wifi). 

The upgraded wi-fi on Onward in December-January was $6.95 per day. And, yes, it is a LOT better. If you are used to good speed at home, you will definitely want to upgrade.

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, tgg said:

The upgraded wi-fi on Onward in December-January was $6.95 per day. And, yes, it is a LOT better. If you are used to good speed at home, you will definitely want to upgrade.

Wish I had upgraded on my Antarctica cruise. The WiFi was miserable.

[laurieb]

On 3/8/2024 at 12:01 PM, blag said:

On a 25-day cruise, IMHO, any package makes sense, but the value varies with your needs/preferences and which accommodation you occupy onboard.

Totally agree, in particular for the indulgence package for a cruise that long.  

[Kailyn]

Does anyone happen to know - when buying a package, can the upgraded drinks package be moved to someone in a different cabin?

It's a strange question I know - but on our upcoming cruise, my husband and I are in separate cabins. He'd like to do a package, but our minor child is in the cabin with him and obviously won't be drinking. I'm hoping they would let the 2nd drinks package go to me in the other cabin?

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Kailyn said:

Does anyone happen to know - when buying a package, can the upgraded drinks package be moved to someone in a different cabin?

It's a strange question I know - but on our upcoming cruise, my husband and I are in separate cabins. He'd like to do a package, but our minor child is in the cabin with him and obviously won't be drinking. I'm hoping they would let the 2nd drinks package go to me in the other cabin?

An interesting question - I don’t know the answer. I think you’ll need to ring Azamara to check.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Kailyn said:

Does anyone happen to know - when buying a package, can the upgraded drinks package be moved to someone in a different cabin?

It's a strange question I know - but on our upcoming cruise, my husband and I are in separate cabins. He'd like to do a package, but our minor child is in the cabin with him and obviously won't be drinking. I'm hoping they would let the 2nd drinks package go to me in the other cabin?

The minor child seems to add to the logic of this request.  But I'm a human being, it may be necessary to convince a computer!

[AJCM]

I assume any of your onboard expenses will be billed to the one person and that the people/cabins are on the single booking number. Even if they’re not, I can’t imagine you'll have any problem. Once aboard, speak to Guest Relations. If you don’t get what you want, escalate to the Hotel Director.

[fruitmachine]

Given that you can purchase a drinks upgrade for one person in a cabin of two, they are ultimately recording this at passenger-level rather than cabin-level.  So they have the ability, but it remains a question of whether you find someone that doesn't invoke a "computer says no" approach.

Edited April 17 by fruitmachine

[KirkNC]

On 3/8/2024 at 5:45 PM, Mackdogmolly said:

Wish I had upgraded on my Antarctica cruise. The WiFi was miserable.

Part of that is due to location, not a lot of satellite coverage that far south.

[Kailyn]

Thank you for the answers and the insight! I am hopeful that they can work it out since, as you point out, it's possible to buy a drink package individually. I suppose at the worst, if they can't get it fixed on board, they would just refund the entire package. That would their financial loss, because at that point I likely wouldn't spend nearly what the package cost.

 

Our cabins are actually not exactly on the same reservation. We have 4 cabins altogether - separate booking numbers but they are all linked as "traveling with" or somesuch. I am not sure. I paid the deposit for all 4 cabins, but they definitely have separate booking numbers. 

[Toronto Guy]

11 hours ago, Kailyn said:

Thank you for the answers and the insight! I am hopeful that they can work it out since, as you point out, it's possible to buy a drink package individually. I suppose at the worst, if they can't get it fixed on board, they would just refund the entire package. That would their financial loss, because at that point I likely wouldn't spend nearly what the package cost.

 

Our cabins are actually not exactly on the same reservation. We have 4 cabins altogether - separate booking numbers but they are all linked as "traveling with" or somesuch. I am not sure. I paid the deposit for all 4 cabins, but they definitely have separate booking numbers. 

They are good about this kind of thing on board.  I'm sure they will take care of it for you.