jwilcox

I see from your profile that you have taken a lot of cruises. Is it possible for you to remember back to the time you were preparing for your first cruise. Did you maybe feel a little lost? Maybe a little worried or intimidated about it all? I assume those are feelings that a lot of "newbies" have. Also, can you think of any new forum you've joined where you didn't know exactly what it was about, how people interacted there, and certainly had no knowledge of what had been discussed countless times before. Well, this thread is specifically for newbies - the very definition of people who are new to cruising and therefore also likely to be new to this forum.

FWIW I've been considering signing up for the Essentials Experience Package which is $300 OBC, free internet for one device and upgrade to Premium drinks for two passengers. Cost of that package for my trip is $599. Seems to match up with what is being offereed in the early booking bonus in this post..

People choose ships for all kinds of reasons. And "fit their style" can mean different things to different people depending on what is important to them. So I'm not exactly what point your are making..Sorry if I'm missing the obvious here.

I'm old enough to own a suit and a sportcoat - although I would never lug either around on a long trip. But there are adults in their 20's and even 30's that don't even own a suit or sportcoat .Everything changes over time, including what kind of clothes are considered stylish. Casual is stylish these days.

Thanks. And as far as you know I would be able to use OBC to help pay for one of the experience packages?

First time Azamara cruiser here so I need to check out something I was just told by Azamara customer service. I wanted to use my $200 OBC to book the Essentials Experience package because we want the internet and drinks upgrade, and would then easily use the $300 OBC that came with the package. But they told me I could not use my existing OBC to buy the Essentials package (which seems weird because internet and drinks upgrades ought to be a good thing to use OBC for, or is OBC really only to use once on board?). Anyway, she told me to book the shore excursions I want using my credit card. Then when I get on board she said I could use the $200 OBC for the Essentials package (even though I can't do that now). Finally she said to go to the desk where they schedule shore excursions and have them rebook some of my scheduled excursions using the $300 OBC I get with the Essentials package and they would refund what I previously paid back to my credit card. Does any experienced Azamara sailor out there know if all that is correct. My other option is to just buy the Essentials package now with credit card, add the $300 OBC that comes with it and add that to the $200 I already have and then book $500 worth of shore excursions. Given what they cost that would seem easy to use up but we are taking some private tours, have joined a small group that have booked a tour, and like to explore large cities on our own. So I don't know. My fear is that I pay for the excursions with credit card and when I get on board they won't let me use the $200 OBC I kept to buy the Essentials package and I'm stuck with it because I already booked and paid for my shore excursions.

So there is at least one answer saying you can't use OBC for experience packages, and at least one saying you can. Is the difference whether you do it before cruising or while on board? Is it possible different ships apply some kind of Azamara policy about this differently?

This good to hear. How did you go about making that happen? Whom would I talk to once we board to try to do that kind of upgrade?

Thanks. So no Dining Package needed for us. Great! Now to sound like a real Newb ... you said I can order from the Discoveries Menu. Isn't Discoveries the main dining room that we would eat at instead of one of the specialty restaurants? Are you saying I could order from that menu when eating in one of the specialty restaurants instead of the menu for the specialty restaurant? Would I do that just for the ambience of the specialty restaurant instead of the main Dining room?

One more questions - the Essentials package comes with the Premium Beverage package. Does anyone know if it is possible to upgrade the Premium Beverage package to the Ultimate Beverage package?

Taking our second cruise ever and our first on Azamara and trying to figure out what amenities to purchase. One easy question - the Azamara site says the suite occupants get "complimentary specialty dining". Does that mean we can eat at the specialty restaurants whenever we want without the listed additional cost? If so that would mean we wouldn't any of the dining packages, right?