Azamara Costs as much as "O" or more.

[pratzert]

I have read many back and forth comparisons between Azamara and "O" and the majority seem to always say "O" is the winner even though they were more expensive.

 

Well... that has changed.... there has been a flurry of posts on the Azamara sub-forum about the prices increases (20%) in the last few months or Azamara, and there is apparently another 6-12% coming on top of that.

 

I was seriously considering taking another look at Azamara for our Med cruise next year, but after reading about the huge pricing increase, I am SOOOOO glad we booked with "O".

 

Obviously, price was not the only consideration when we booked with "O" or we would have gone with the other line. But "O" offer such a better itinerary and more sailing date choices than Azamara. Couple that wiht all the great comments from the posters here, and we arrived at the decision to go with "O".

 

It looks like "A" has cut back the number of sailings, the number of ports of call and plans to stay in many ports two days instead of one.

 

They are adding some "enhancements" such as wine with dinner ( House Wine ) and include water and soda. Information is still sketchy and not complete and I don't want to mis-state anything, so check it out for yourself.

 

It makes for some interesting reading over on the other sub-forum.

 

But I'll be sticking with my first choice.... "Oceania".

[Druke I]

I thought the statement that Azamara was going after the $300,000 yearly income demographic very interesting!

[pratzert]

I thought the statement that Azamara was going after the $300,000 yearly income demographic very interesting!

 

Yes... many people have taken offense to that statement.

 

I don't know if it was a Freudian slip, or merely a quip off the top of his head.

 

I know that when I booked my cruise with "O", they didn't ask me my annual income.

[LHT28]

A week or so ago I priced out A vs O cruise on similar route

O had more days for the cruise & the daily price pp was about $50 higher for O.

 

Times are changing

We will have to see when the dust settles after next week how AZAMARA fares against O prices etc...

The are offering some perks that may interest people ...Boutique Wines, pre paid gratuities, bottled water, sodas, Specialty coffee, overnight in more ports

 

Time will tell

 

lyn

[pratzert]

A week or so ago I priced out A vs O cruise on similar route

O had more days for the cruise & the daily price pp was about $50 higher for O.

 

Times are changing

We will have to see when the dust settles after next week how AZAMARA fares against O prices etc...

The are offering some perks that may interest people ...Boutique Wines, pre paid gratuities, bottled water, sodas, Specialty coffee, overnight in more ports

 

Time will tell

 

lyn

 

Hi Lyn,

 

Yes.. I agree.

 

We'll have to wait until it's all spelled out on their site and the info is dissemminated to all the T/A's so we can do an apples to apples comparison.

 

You said that "O" was about $50pp more per day with your comparison, but from what I read, there is still another 6-12% increase coming on the 14th.

 

But you must consider what is "included" as well. On my "O" cruise, I got PPd Grats and some OBC, and you have to consider all of those factors to try to do a true comparison.

 

For instance.... I understand it's a $199 R/T Transfer fee to/from airport with "O", and it looks like that fee "may" be included in the "A" fares.

 

Just gotta wait to see it in black and white.

 

But is is clear the price point is closing dramatically between the two.

[LHT28]

Hi Lyn,

 

 

For instance.... I understand it's a $199 R/T Transfer fee to/from airport with "O", and it looks like that fee "may" be included in the "A" fares.

 

The RT transfer is an option with O

One we do not take so does not factor into our price

Here are the details from Azamara

http://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/aboutUs/pressDetails.do;jsessionid=0000x--ir4ACzx3eDQIAeXWIRyj:12odfrvug?pagename=press_room_details&event_date=2009-12-08&event_type=press_release&sequence_code=A

[Friscorays]

....The are offering some perks that may interest people ...Boutique Wines, pre paid gratuities, bottled water, sodas, Specialty coffee, overnight in more ports.....

 

lyn

 

The only thing of any interest to me in the above list is the overnight stays.

[LHT28]

The only thing of any interest to me in the above list is the overnight stays.

 

Overnight stays in the Caribbean do not interest me but Europe is another story;)

 

Will be interesting

 

Lyn

[wripro]

To me the most interesting thing they are doing is the overnights in port. Certainly in the Caribbean it's unappealing but then imo so is even one day there. But in European or Asian ports where it's often hard to decide what to see it's a great benefit. This is the reason the World, the condo ship spends so many days in a port, so you can experience it a but more fully.

[LHT28]

This is the reason the World, the condo ship spends so many days in a port, so you can experience it a but more fully.

 

Sorry out of my price range:eek:

Maybe for some it is a great deal but I guess I will stick with Oceania

 

Lyn

[Paulchili]

Echoing the sentiment - "time will tell".

There may be unusual itineraries offered by Azamara that we would consider, even if they priced out more per diem than O, for example.

I do like the idea of overnights in interesting ports - sometimes it is hard to choose what to do and what to leave out.

Too soon to come to conclusions at this time, IMO.

[pratzert]

Echoing the sentiment - "time will tell".

There may be unusual itineraries offered by Azamara that we would consider, even if they priced out more per diem than O, for example.

I do like the idea of overnights in interesting ports - sometimes it is hard to choose what to do and what to leave out.

Too soon to come to conclusions at this time, IMO.

 

There had been some comments that Azamara was trying to cut expenses by spending the night at a port but actually it would be nice to spend more time in a port. Since they have an "Open Seating" style it works great without having to rush back for dinner. Or, you can scout out a nice place ashore for dinner without having to worry about missing the departure. So it does have some appeal to me.

 

And in a few ports, it may be 3-4 worth of driving to get to the scenic areas you want to visit.

 

As for all the other perks... we'll have to see what it ends up really costing us.

 

I was able to get onto their web site and look at similar cruise itineraries compared to what I have on "O" and nothing even comes close.... not in the great itineraries and now, nothing beats the price I have on "O" that I can see.

[Paulchili]

duplicate post

[SunDapple]

I thought the statement that Azamara was going after the $300,000 yearly income demographic very interesting!

 

Sorry, but I am missing something here....where is the statement that A is going after the $300k yearly income? Is it on their website, or in a thread over on the A forum? Thanks.

[meow!]

I thought the statement that Azamara was going after the $300,000 yearly income demographic very interesting!

Cruise lines conceivably like to puff up themselves by claiming that their clients are rich and famous. They presumably have no way of knowing what passengers make other than through questionnaires, in which case it is plausible that those who answer may boast to look good, or it may be a "skewed" sample. Rationally, these numbers should be treated as advertisement material and ignored. This applies to all cruise lines and not just Azamara.

[LAexNY]

Sorry, but I am missing something here....where is the statement that A is going after the $300k yearly income? Is it on their website, or in a thread over on the A forum? Thanks.

 

 

It's in this thread in the Azamara forum,

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1101858&page=3

 

Post # 52

[hondorner]

To me the most interesting thing they are doing is the overnights in port.

For the fun of it, I went through the Oceania 2010 European season brochure. Here are the overnights that O is doing, most of them in the middle of the cruise, and many of them several times: Venice, Dubrovnik, Jerusalem, Rouen (Paris), Bordeaux, Monte Carlo, St. Petersburg (2 nights, 3 days), Stockholm, Honningsvad (North Cape) Norway, Istanbul, Bermuda and Rio. Once again, Az is merely copycatting.

[Rickey 88]

According to Bornstein's announcement, they are interested only in passengers 45 - 60 with incomes of $300K or more.

 

I'm over the age limit and I'm not inclined to provide them with tax returns for the income test.

 

Hope the others will have a good time - we're sticking with Oceania!!

[Paulchili]

According to Bornstein's announcement, they are interested only in passengers 45 - 60 with incomes of $300K or more.

 

I'm over the age limit and I'm not inclined to provide them with tax returns for the income test.

 

Hope the others will have a good time - we're sticking with Oceania!!

 

To be totally fair, you are misquoting Bornstein.

He did not say that they are ONLY interested in those people (age & income) - he said that this would be his demographic in an "ideal" world (in which none of us reside, unfortunately).

They will obviously and happily take anyone's money - no income tax papers required, only full payment when due.

[hondorner]

Still, the remark led the rest of us to see ourselves as less than "ideal". I'm sure she (Edie Bornstein) regrets that remark by now; even Editor Carolyn found it "condescending". the few folks who actually meet that profile will now be able to walk around with their chest puffed out because they fit the ideal (as if many of them don't, already ;)), and can look down their noses at us riffraff or old fogeys.

 

It sort of goes along with their intention to remove the so-called "butlers" from non-suites, start charging non-suite passengers for the specialty restaurants, etc.

[meow!]

... only full payment when due.

That is usually the difficult part .. meow!

[Paulchili]

That is usually the difficult part .. meow!

 

I hear you, meow...

[azam71209]

We did the Azamara Scandinavia trip last July-3 nights in St. Petersburg not 2- and an overnight in Stockholm. I would never trade the extra night in St. Petersburg so it was no contest about which cruise line to go with.

 

As to price, we started out in an inside cabin for $2600 pp and ended up with a balcony cabin on deck 6 with a refrigerator, hot breakfast in the room, prepaid gratuities and $200 obc for $1350 pp. The ship seemed about full by the time we sailed. I guess they wanted to move us up to resell the cheaper cabins. People who signed on later paid more for less, at least from what we could discern from conversation with others.

 

This year we chose Oceania for it's wonderful itinerary to Spitzbergen and the Arctic on July 23. So far no such offer from O so I guess we stay with a G cabin on deck 7.

 

For us, the size of the ship, itinerary, and the availability of educational programs are the most important factors in our choice. Hopefully, we will enjoy the Oceania experience. I don't like the idea of the cabanas, which keep everybody else from getting a front view, especially with such a great itinerary. It also seems a bit silly when we're heading to the arctic!

[Friscorays]

.....

This year we chose Oceania for it's wonderful itinerary to Spitzbergen and the Arctic on July 23. So far no such offer from O so I guess we stay with a G cabin on deck 7.....

 

On our two cruises with Oceania, the upsell offers to get us out of our booked F cabin began after final payment deadline. I would assume that that is standard practice. They would have no reason to start offering deals until they know where they stand. On our Mediterranean trip earlier this year, we finally ended up in an A3. On our upcoming Caribbean cruise we are currently in a C1. We were particularly surprised to be offered more than one good upsell opportunity on our upcoming Holiday cruise as these tend to be quite popular.

 

We have a reservation for the July 23, 2010 sailing on the Insignia as well. For that cruise, we reserved an aft balcony since it is such a scenic trip and we did not want to take the chance of not getting upsold out of an inside cabin.

 

Have you joined the Roll Call?

[susiesan]

I just canceled a Caribbean cruise I had booked on AZ for Jan. 2011 because even before the announcement and price increases it was $388 more pp in a cat G/12 inside for the almost identical itinerary on O. Nothing in the enhancements is of interest to me or worth $388, $776 for 2 for a 12 day Caribbean cruise. If I decide to do a cruise at that time I'll be coming back to O. I enjoyed my 3 cruises on AZ over the last 2 years but I always got great price drops and cabin upgrades that priced them far below O. I also enjoyed my O cruise in 2006; to me the two companies/cruise experiences are equal. I follow the ships.

 

For those of you who may remember me, skeptic susiesan may be back!