pacheco18

Oh, c'mon folks, the ink isn't even dry on the agreement, let alone changing policies. The sky is not falling!

 

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Agree

NCL does not control yet

It's just marketing

Sorry - but these doomsday posts are ridiculous. They are based on nothing but air.

When the sky starts to fall I will be the FIRST to post. Until then, I will be booking Oceania cruises and looking forward to every one of them.

I sailed on Oceania (Marina) for the first time last May. I loved it. However, with the passage of time providing a little more perspective, I've come to the same conclusion as wassup4565: I did not find twice the value as compared to the mass market line I usually cruise (Princess). However, I hear that Princess is continuing to cut back on services, so I may change my tune after our next cruise with them. And I'm certainly not going to sail on either of the two behemoth ships they've recently cranked out.

Then O is not for you. If you do not find value in it, you have many choices.

I mix it up. I love O but I am willing to sail on a variety of lines depending on the situation.

No one should sail O who doesn't feel the extra cost is worth it. I happen to think it is.

Read the fine print. You always need a lawyer when it comes to "O" terms. On the R class it only applies OS and VS. On A and above it is 200 to 500 minutes depending on the length. Despite the big placards "free internet" with a small asterisk - kinda misleading.

It's a new benefit

It's good

It's free -- just not unlimited

I never complain when they give me more

Go check the Azamara boards -- they took away the free internet and free laundry. Folks are abandoning ship. LOL

Especially as the economy improves means higher prices plus less bonuses. Note the preview is missing the free grats that the 2015 cruise preview had last year.

I am not concerned about free gratuities. My TA has always gotten them for me and I will have reached 10 cruises on my next cruise so they will be included anyway. I think the free internet is a great new bonus.

A $500 pp increase over an 18 day cruise is not unreasonable. Would I prefer no increase? A reduction? Of course. But I am a realist. Oceania is successful. Prices tend to go up, not down, barring a catastrophe (which no one wants).

Don't we all expect prices to go up a bit? I certainly do.

Just received the 2016 winter pre view brochure in the mail.The exact same cruise we are taking this winter is in the brochure for exactly $500 per stateroom more .

To be expected

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I have copy and happy to post when I get home.

Paul. Can u post copy?

It is ALWAYS cheaper and better to book a private small group tour.

Happily, Azamara gave you an opportunity to find out.

No one is perfect, particularly when making hundreds of meals a night. The time-honored response is to send it back.

Agree with that strategy.

Our group of 4 sent back plenty of steaks from Polo on our last cruise. Did not bother to post about each episode (could have included photos LOL) and it did not upset me. We just sent the steaks back, waited for ones that were properly cooked or ordered something different. Others found Polo to be "perfect." Go figure.

or maybe they will welcome new faces after seeing the same old ones for months :D

LOL -- that, of course, is the other side of the coin and a possibility. However, for the 2015 World Cruise, the CPT to SIN segment is very early in the World Cruise itinerary so they will probably still like one another at that point.

I would be interested to hear from folks who do segments on the World Cruises to see if they sensed a difference.

This is the itinerary for the Nautica that you are looking for starting 12/9/15:

 

Cape Town, South Africa; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; East London, South Africa; Durban, South Africa;

Richards Bay, South Africa; Maputo, Mozambique; Nosy Be, Madagascar; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;

Zanzibar, Tanzania; Mombasa, Kenya; Mahé, Seychelles; Malé, Maldives; Colombo, Sri Lanka;

Phuket, Thailand; Penang, Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia; Singapore, Singapore

 

Hope it will work for you.

 

PS This is the Insignia 2/9/16:

Cape Town, South Africa; Port Elizabeth, South Africa; East London, South Africa; Durban, South Africa;

Richards Bay, South Africa; Maputo, Mozambique; Nosy Be, Madagascar; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania;

Zanzibar, Tanzania; Mombasa, Kenya; Mahé, Seychelles; Malé, Maldives; Mangalore, India;

Cochin (Kochi), India; Rangoon, Burma (Yangon, Myanmar); Penang, Malaysia;

Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Malaysia; Singapore, Singapore

I am on the Jan 2015 cruise on Nautica -- I intentionally did not want to be on a segment of a world cruise. I think there will be a lot of bonding among the world cruisers and those who get on and off will feel like outsiders. Just my opinion but it was a consideration.

You generally have 2 or 3 days to sign up for the unlimited internet package.

Understood

We will be boarding another cruise in Barcelona two days later so not applicable. Thanks

Here is a list of the perks you will get from being in a GS

 

Priority check-in

Personalized attention throughout the cruise with complimentary Concierge Club service on select ships

Reserved prime seating in the main theater for entertainment shows, where available

Priority tender tickets on select cruises. (Tender service is provided when smaller vessels are necessary to reach shore in locations without docking ports large enough for cruise ships.)

VIP pool deck seating, where available

Full breakfast, lunch and dinner dining room menus available for in-room dining

Private breakfast and lunch seating in specialty restaurants on our Voyager and Freedom Class ships

Mattel® board games available to order for in-room entertainment for the kids

Complimentary luggage valet service

Luxury spa bathrobes for use onboard

Complimentary pressing service on formal night

Priority departure with exclusive suite* departure lounge featuring continental breakfast

I read that

What is luggage valet service?

Here are all the Starbucks prices

Latte ($2,85 / $3.55 / $3.95)

Hope this helps

 

Great -- very helpful

With all the port days and the perks of the Concierge Lounge and the Starbucks, I think I can handle my latte fix for less than $20 a day.

You have a coffee machine in the concierge room that has espresso,latte and cappuccino. They serve soda in the concierge room at lunchtime for free as well as beer and wine. In the evening there is a cocktail hour from 5-8 that serves cocktails, soda and appetizers.

Thanks -- I never would have known that!

If you have a grand suite or better you have special seating "gold card" seating. You do not need to make reservations for shows.

I do -- so that's covered

I just started reading the website carefully and I found info on the beverage packages and spa appointments. It's a completely new world for us.

Can someone tell me what a soda costs on board and what a latte costs? I know there is a Starbucks for a charge as well. I want to see if it makes sense for us to get a beverage package.

I am a small ship cruiser, a regular on Oceania, and I have never sailed on Royal Caribbean or a mega ship. I have wanted to go on an Oasis class ship because many of our friends have told us what fun they have had. So ... I booked a 7 night cruise on Allure for next October (sandwiched between two small ship cruises). I booked a suite to get some of the extra perks but I need some help navigating the system.

Do I book anything in advance? Shows? Spa? Specialty restaurants? Or is everything booked once on board? Are there beverage packages --eg for soda for my husband? wine for me? Will I find all this information about any or all of this on the RCI website?

Just point me in the right direction if the information is available somewhere other than on this forum.

I find it VERY HARD to believe that they consulted a focus group of "Azamara regulars" evaluating much less approving these changes. Was anyone on these boards consulted?? Just look at the reaction here.

I'm impressed. Although I do not choose to include all my world travels on my signature, I am not a novice. And I am not missing the point at all. To repeat, happily, there are enough choices for everyone to find a niche.

Those are not my world travels -- just my upcoming future travels. LOL

And I think you do miss the point -- that comment about my signature was simply a distraction and uncalled for. Many posters include everywhere they have ever been in their signatures. Good for them.

You stated "A few (or a few less) extras on a cruise will not deter us from sailing with Azamara." No one here is changing cruise lines simply because of loss of internet and laundry. They dislike the treatment they are receiving.

You apparently do not care about how you are being treated by Azamara. If that's the "niche" you choose, enjoy. It won't be mine.

We all need to calm down. The beauty of free enterprise is competition. If Oceania and Regent both deteriorate under NCL, we will vote with our feet and move to the competition. Meanwhile, if you feel the need to run to Silversea (which has a nice product) or Azamara, that is your decision. And that just means space for the rest of us on Riviera and Marina!

Not Azamara

Go read the lengthy thread on the dismantled loyalty program -- they took away the best perks and replace them with useless ones. Many are abandoning ship. I just canceled a b2b Azamara cruise for 2015 and replaced it with an O cruise and 7 nights on Allure -- just for fun.

Seabourn may be a good option, however.

Thank you. I couldn't have said it better.

Not sure I understand the import of the post.

Is Azamara the only line that can take you to destinations of your choice?

Not in my world.

I too am a destination cruiser. I have been to over 100 countries on land and sea.

I have sailed on many different lines from the Paul Gauguin to Celebrity to Oceania . .and now I am booked on Seabourn.

I can go to the destinations I choose to go to on those lines and at the same time get treated with the respect I deserve from the cruise line to which I give my substantial sums of money.

I think you might be missing the point that is being made by the vast majority of cruisers on this board. It is not about laundry or internet. It is about unacceptable disrespect towards those passengers who are the most loyal.

It appears that Oceania is rolling out a "Free Internet" Promotion.

No one gets free internet on Oceania based on loyalty alone, but we do get discounts on the unlimited package. The "free" internet to which you refer is a booking promotion offered on some cruises. Sometimes it is offered when the new itineraries are announced as an inducement to get people to book. Sometimes it is offered for cruises that are not selling as well as expected.

I have a 30 night O cruise starting in January with unlimited free internet because I booked the day the itinerary came out and the promotion was in place.

One thing I can say about O -- they never take away benefits -- they add to them. That is generally how most successful businesses operate. You just don't alienate your best customers if you want to do well in a competitive market.

Azamara Joel,

 

It is clear that Azamara is not listening. You have taken away valuable perks and substituted much less valuable perks. Andy has made some good suggestions. Have you reviewed them? It appears that you expected mixed reactions to your announcement but what you got was more like outrage. Is Azamara that immovable?

+1

I think Azamara Joel's post shows complete denial.

He can label opinions "invalid" if he chooses to (although ALL opinions are valid), but he will not be able to get around the fact that folks will vote will their wallets. I already know personally of 10 cruises cancelled as a result of these awful changes -- and I am just one person.

It takes a big company to admit it has made a mistake (think the new formula for the old Coke). I do not think Azamara is that company. They have dug in before and they will dig in now.

Thank goodness we all have choices. Those who feel these changes are ok can continue to cruise with Azamara. The rest of us have many options. Whether the cruise line will go out of business is still an open question. No one can predict. But the signs sure are not good IMO.