Azamara's Big Announcement

[susiesan]

We wash behind our ears,can we join

PO cruises next year wil have one of the sister ships,it will be intresting to see what they do with it upmarket maybe or mass market ?????;);):)

 

Which ship is P&O getting from whom? Will it be only sailing in Europe?

[critterchick]

Which ship is P&O getting from whom? Will it be only sailing in Europe?

 

I believe it's the Royal Princess, but I don't know where she'll be sailing.

[irapbmd]

 

Anything is possible and companies are always "for sale" at the right price. RCCL's board's mission is to increase shareholder value. This can be accomplished through increased earnings or increased value through an eventual sale. It appears to me that they are now trying to make AZ what their original intention for this line was, a true upscale cruise line. The moves they are making are increasing their fixed administrative costs as well as gambling that they will be able to increase price per passenger per day. If it works, they will keep AZ. If not, it can certainly be put up for sale. A competitor might buy the ships, but there would be no reason to pay a premium over the ship value for the AZ name if it wasn't successful. We already saw this happen with Renaissance.

 

I wish Mr. Pimentel the greatest success, but since I am too old for his target market, I probably won't be on AZ again after our Feb cruise.

 

How profitable can a cruise line be if they have only 2 ships of 700 passengers? Either they grow the company with a bigger fleet and fill those ships, or they sell to someone who can fill those ships (such as Oceania).

[irapbmd]

We first sailed on Azamara in January of 2008; fell in love with Azamara and booked another cruise in October of 2008. That cruise was also wonderful and we booked another cruise in August of 2009. Wonderful again and we are booked for a cruise in January of 2010. We are loyal to Azamara -- but is Azamara loyal to us?

 

In all of this new announcement, including the new loyalty program, I don't see anything being done for loyal passengers until April, 2010.

 

What are we? Chopped Liver?

 

I wrote to Captain's Club last month to ask them to explain why Azamara Captain's Club has inferior benefits to Elite members than on the Celebrity ships. This is what I was told:

"Because the Captain's Club program was established prior to the creation of Azamara Cruises, Azamara Cruises offers a different experience from Celebrity Cruises. Therefore, the benefits between Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises are different. In an effort to remain consistent and provide a unique onboard experience, the new Captain's Club benefits will not be extended to Azamara. We regret any inconvenience this may cause."

I then questioned how they can have a loyalty program that has the same name, and the same telephone number, but on a deluxe cruise line, the benefits are inferior, to which the response was:

"This is interesting and thank you, for taking the time to write and share with us your comments. We certainly make our guest's comment a factor of consideration. Your points are very helpful and we will certainly look into this."

 

Lo and behold: the new Azamara. I guess they looked into it. Plus they now put the disclaimer on the website:

"Captain's Club onboard benefits vary between Azamara Club Cruises and Celebrity Cruises"

At least now they make themselves more clear. Too bad I get the same old Elite benefits on my Quest cruise Dec. 22/09.

[gosport11]

Yes its coming from princess,where its going to and from is a subject of great rumour,personally i hope its a european fly cruise itenary(new ship on PO)

[Andy]

I believe it's the Royal Princess, but I don't know where she'll be sailing.

 

Hi Jean !

 

Yes, it is Royal Princess. She is moving to P & O in May 2011, and will be renamed Adonia. She will go into service in June 2011, after a Drydock in the Bahamas. Itineraries will be announced this Spring.

 

On a related note, Im curious if Azamara or Oceania tried to pry her away from Princess.... but its possible that the Carnival / Princess Managerment, did not care to sell the ship. Had Azamara succeeded in acquiring a Sister ship ? That would have been a Major Announcement.

[gosport11]

It would have beaten free wine as an announcement lol ;):):)

[cruiseyguy]

I can't see Oceania purchasing any more "R" ships from anyone. As their new super sized, super luxe ships go into service the "R" ships will seem increasingly out of place, given their small cabins and far less than luxe bathrooms.

[California Native]

I can't see Oceania purchasing any more "R" ships from anyone. As their new super sized, super luxe ships go into service the "R" ships will seem increasingly out of place, given their small cabins and far less than luxe bathrooms.

 

I chuckled at this statement....

It's all about your barometer

We did a 3 week immersive land vacation this past May on our own of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria for 22 days ~ which was fantastic!!!

except for one little thing...

On day 4 I came down with severe food poisoning, compounded with a reaction to Cipro, and then the bottled water throughout Greece and Bulgaria added Magnesium to it (we didn't discover that part until almost the 2nd week)

By day 20 my doctor was ordering me home as the only thing that I could handle was coca cola and very salty potato chips

So this is how I feel about your comment on less than luxe bathrooms

ANYTHING that isn't a hole in the ground ...which I had for 3 weeks straight outside of our hotels/few restaurants ...let me emphasize WITH FOOD POISONING

is palatial to me...

the R ships bathrooms have a porcelin toilet that you sit on and toilet paper

that is truly all you really need and really at one point

praying to the porcelin god took on a whole other legit meaning!

and now AZ will give us free bottled water ...

it's as if I hit a Triple 7 jackpot compared to my last adventure

[floridatravelersforlife]

I chuckled at this statement....

 

It's all about your barometer

 

We did a 3 week immersive land vacation this past May on our own of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria for 22 days ~ which was fantastic!!!

 

except for one little thing...

 

On day 4 I came down with severe food poisoning, compounded with a reaction to Cipro, and then the bottled water throughout Greece and Bulgaria added Magnesium to it (we didn't discover that part until almost the 2nd week)

 

By day 20 my doctor was ordering me home as the only thing that I could handle was coca cola and very salty potato chips

 

So this is how I feel about your comment on less than luxe bathrooms

 

 

ANYTHING that isn't a hole in the ground ...which I had for 3 weeks straight outside of our hotels/few restaurants ...let me emphasize WITH FOOD POISONING

 

is palatial to me...

 

the R ships bathrooms have a porcelin toilet that you sit on and toilet paper

 

that is truly all you really need and really at one point

 

praying to the porcelin god took on a whole other legit meaning!

 

and now AZ will give us free bottled water ...

 

it's as if I hit a Triple 7 jackpot compared to my last adventure

 

Ditto from us. Four of us in our party and many in a bus of 40 were food poisioned in Cairo during a lunch time stop on a recent Equinox cruise.

 

it sets your priorities.

[mjz]

We set sail on a 10 day cruise on March 30th, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. out of Hong Kong? Since that's not technically April, does that mean we won't get to enjoy the additional perks?

[c-legs]

Which ship is P&O getting from whom? Will it be only sailing in Europe?

Ex- Tahitian Princess.

Already gone thru drydock for '' adjustments'' and re-naming.

Cheers

[California Native]

Ex- Tahitian Princess.

Already gone thru drydock for '' adjustments'' and re-naming.

Cheers

 

Hi,

This information is not correct..

The Tahitian Princess was renamed the Ocean Princess. Not to be confused with the OLD Ocean Princess

(sister ship to the Dawn, Sun and Sea)that was much bigger and was transferred out of Princess' fleet years ago.

The Tahitian Princess was renamed the Ocean Princess, because it had originally been dedicated

to just the French Polynesian runs.but times have changed with the relationship with the Tahitian goverment.

The Royal Princess is being sent to P&O it will stop sailing in March 2011 with Princess and then enter drydock ..

the April 2011 sailings have been cancelled

In April 2011 Princess will have 2 R ships. The Pacific Princess and the Ocean Princess.

If you would like to see extensive photos I took of the Pacific Princess

you can view them at the link below, just scroll to the bottom of the page

http://ourpassportstamps.com/Pacific_Princess_Alaska.html

[JennAngel9]

I'm a bit behind on this announcement-- but I wanted to chime in that even though we are slightly below the income (and just over half the age) targeted by Azamara Club cruises, we found the food and service in Discoveries last year to be a disappointment. What concerns me about the announcement is that by making specialty dining free to all suites (does that include the minis on 8?) it will be much harder to get in/make reservations for those of us who prefer a standard balcony. I'm surprised to hear that the speciality restaurants have not been full lately, because on our cruise, you had to be extremely flexible to get ADR bookings after about the 4th day of the cruise.

 

I personally believe there is not that much room between Celebrity and Azamara in terms of everything except service (and also size, but we don't care about that as much). Unless we just had a terrible off cruise (and I doubt it) we would never be willing to pay 2x for Azamara what we pay for Celebrity.

[alidor]

Nothing wrong with Celebrity, but my husband and I prefer smaller lines - no mass market stuff. Just prefer the more personalized atmosphere of a smaller line, less waiting, etc. Last mass market cruise was about 7 years ago and we haven't and won't do another one. We know many people, also, who will not go on a mass market line despite possible lower costs.

 

Different strokes...

[greyhound101]

In June 2010 I have booked a Baltic Cruise on Azamara. I keep seeing where there are comparisions here between Azamara and Celebrity, but allow me to point out, Azamara gives you 2 days in Warnemunde (Berlin), Celebrity gives you 1. Azamara gives you 2 nights and 3 days in St. Petersburg, Celebrity gives you 2 days and 1 night. Azamara gives you 2 days 1 night in Stockholm and Celebrity gives you 1 day. This means thanks to my Azamara cruise I get to go to the opera/ballet and see Folk dancing in St. Petersburg, I get to enjoy a Caberet in Berlin, and I get to go to the opera in Stockholm. Could not do that with a Celebrity Cruise. Cost difference aside, cabin size aside, bathroom aside, food aside, who is offering the better cruise experience, I say Azamara.

 

Art

[JennAngel9]

I agree with the last 2 posts on the fact that Azamara has had better itineraries. Baltic itineraries on Azamara tend to be much better than X, and itinerary selection is how we ended up on Az for the first time. I guess since the unique itineraries are one of the things Az is currently marketing, I would consider paying a premium for that part of the product-- BUT a lot of the stuff we saw for 2010 looks like basic Med (which we have done by ship and land several times) and the Azamara repo had fewer stops from Singapore to Athens (iirc) than any other line! I will be curious to see how much Az Club revamps itineraries, because that is something I would pay more for.

[Redtravel]

Having taken both Celebrity and Azamara, I would compare the intineries in deciding which cruise is better for you. Keep in mind, that all cruises alter times and ports as they seem fit. I did a Baltic on Celebrity and loved it. It stayed in St. Petersburg overnight. The ballet was a third rate performance done just for the cruises. If you live anywhere a city, you can easily see a much better ballet for less money. 2 days in St. Petersburg were enough. We overnighted in Stockholm and Copenhagen. Both were nice. I've been back to Copenhagen. The 2 days in Copenhagen were really enough. I would have enjoyed more time in Tallin...we arrived late due to sea conditions and only had about 4 hours....that can happen on any cruise. So both are nice. If what you like is seeing a bit of more places take Celebrity. If you really like longer stays, Azamara may be a good choice. Either way, your cruise will be a great choice. Ports are nice, but always secondary. Often the ships vary the printed schedules. If there is a port that you really want to see, fly in and stay on land. That's the only way to really experience it. Other than that, on a cruise you just get a small taste....which may be just right for some places. There have been some ports that I really liked and went back again to really see. I could spend a month in places like Amsterdam and Paris. I've stayed in both several times on land and also on a cruise...and I keep going back for more...both cities have so much to offer me. However, that's a personal choice which may not work for everyone.

[Jade13]

I actually think in general that the limited amount of ports is a negative for the age demographic that Azamara wishes to attract (I believe those still employed, not retired).

 

Yes, I like the idea of an overnight at the beginning and end of a 12 or 14 night cruise, which is great for those still working or anyone with limited time. I also like the idea of an overnight somewhere in the middle where one may wish to leave the ship overnight, BUT, as I mentioned before, our 14 night Asia cruise only stops in 4 ports between the first and last, and that will not work for us in the long run in most areas of the world.

 

With the price increases we will be looking at SilverSea as an option. Although there would be 3 Formal nights on a 14 night cruise, one could always do other dinning on those 3 nights if they did not wish to bring formal wear.

[cruiseyguy]

I'm sure Azamara & RCL management did very careful market research before they embarked on these changes.

[TravelingProf]

I like the idea of less ports and more time in each port. My partner/wife and I have actually had the discussion "if we could design our own cruise line" and the number one priority was more time in ports. Many people I know who do not cruise cite the "don't want to rush back to the ship" reason as well as "want to experience places at night."

 

On our recent BO Italy cruise, the overnights were the highlight of the cruise. We loved being able to leisurely dine in places such as Sorrento and Venice.

 

Azamara might have struck gold here (IMHO) in that while they may lose some customers who want more ports and lower prices (so many will go to the mother ship!), they might tap into an entirely new market and draw clientele from those who would take a land tour or tour independently.

 

Am I happy that the prices have jumped so high--No! Do I understand that they (hopefully) will be offering a unique product for the price--yes!

 

But as others have rightfully said, that's just my preference.

[greeneg]

I think that JennAngel9 makes a very good point about the actual spread between Azamara and Celebrity not being exceptionally broad at this point. We actually do prefer Azamara for the smaller-ship experience, and more creative itineraries, but the level of service, quality of food, and overall experience ( we consider both to be very high on both lines) are not sufficient to justify the proposed increases.

 

I wonder if the net result here is going to be to make Azamara less, rather than, more competitive.

 

Just musing.....

[meow!]

Have you folks thought of the plausibility that the new management (from Seadream) is trying to make Azamara into a Seadream? Carnival has Seabourn, RCCL does not have any luxury division, so it may be an attempt to create one out of Azamara by making it quasi-luxury-specialty?!

[wripro]

Would two days be enough in Paris, London or New York? Of course not, and neither is it enough in St. Petersburg. IMO, the best thing about the new Azamara agenda is the overnights in more ports.

[cpgrneyes]

Isn't today the date when the big new prices were going to be announced? The last increase on the cruise I booked in October occurred the date of the announcement, 12/8. When do the price increases generally happen?

 

So far, the 14 day cruise has increased $1,000 per person, not counting the OBC we received from Az during their sale. I'm starting to look at the cruise like an investment going up in value!