Questions

[GeorgeL]

Non suite passengers will be charged $15 per person in the specialty restaurants from the first dinner and there will be a charge for beer

Jancruz1

 

 

I was under the impression that the first two dinners in specialty restaurants would be free for non-suites and then the charge will be $15. Is that not the case?

[California Native]

I was under the impression that the first two dinners in specialty restaurants would be free for non-suites and then the charge will be $15. Is that not the case?

 

Not the case anymore....

It has been changed...this was confirmed by Host Andy several times...and then the following day I was able to speak with someone in reservations

that said any other info given out was incorrect.

If you are NOT in a suite ...you pay, but they will graciously guarantee you a reservation on 2 nights to take your money!

[KarenMR]

Hi, Jancruz! Thanks so much for helping us out!!!

 

So, I'm booked on Azamara for a March 20, 2010 cruise on the Journey, returning to Miami on April 1. I read in the announcement that all these changes will be implemented "by April, 2010." Because I'm on the exact cruise before the April 1st 'D-Day,' will any of the new changes be in effect during my trip? In other words, will there be a ramp-up, or will it be a sudden start? Just wondering what to expect during my trip.

 

Thanks kindly!

Karen

[Jancruz]

Thanks Jan

I would be interested to know at some stage whether they are training existing Azamara butlers for the suites or are they bringing their best butlers from Celebrity over - I am not sure any of the recent new appointments in Celebrity (who are all a notch above the Azamara guys) have had butler training

 

and by the way, for us, we love the changes and are really excited about our next Azamara trip

 

I am sure they will training their own butlers..they are no longer interchanging with Celebrity

Jancruz1

[Jancruz]

I was under the impression that the first two dinners in specialty restaurants would be free for non-suites and then the charge will be $15. Is that not the case?

 

It is not..chartge is from dinner one

Jancruz1

[WooKeef]

It is not..chartge is from dinner one

Jancruz1

 

with the money I am saving I am not complaining...but if they promised you two complimentary specialty dining at reservation is this not something they should honor?

[grayjoh]

Jancruz, Thanks for all the info provided to date. We are booked on the above cruise but thought I read somewhere that the new amenities will only commence with the European itineraries. Will our price remain the same even if the new programme has commenced. Also, we are due to pre-pay our gratuities along with our final bill as a separate item. Will these still be charged. We are UK guests. Thanks.

[uktog]

good point grayjoh as the accounting systems in the UK do differ - certainly in August we still had to pay the fuel surcharge even though it no longer applied but then we were given a refund via on board credit when we boarded.

I did read some people managed to insist the fuel charge was removed but it depended which TA you had used and what their arrangement with Azamara was. Ours, no longer our First choice, appeared to have an arrangement where no adjustments can be made and refunds on board had to be given.

 

Incidentally we also lost a few dollars on the conversion as we did not get back the dollar equivalent of 14 days ($140) which was originally converted to a sterling cost of £85 however when we got the refund it was not $140 but $108 on the basis that on the day they reconverted £85 was done at the prevailing dollar rate of the day hmmm. We could not be bothered having a big fight over $32 but on our next trip which is booked through the cruiseline direct, I will be insisting the gratuities are removed before I pay as the sums involved are much greater ($16.50 a day each as opposed to $5)

 

A

[Joecors]

.... checked this out with Az. Customer Relations.

Guests who booked before 8th December would be treated under the old terms. Those who booked after this date would be subject to the new terms.

This surely must be a recipe for confusion.

1 Do Azamara propose supplying guests with different coloured bibs so that when dinner is being served the waiter will know who is eligible to free wine?

2. "Old" guests in staterooms will have butlers: "new" guests will have room attendants . If "old" is next door to "new" will the butler/room attendant do a quick change of uniform as he moves from one room to another?

3. Speciality restaurants. Stateroom guests (not suites). Do the "old" guests pay only $5 while the "new" guests pay $15?

Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

[Jade13]

.... checked this out with Az. Customer Relations.

Guests who booked before 8th December would be treated under the old terms. Those who booked after this date would be subject to the new terms.

This surely must be a recipe for confusion.

1 Do Azamara propose supplying guests with different coloured bibs so that when dinner is being served the waiter will know who is eligible to free wine?

2. "Old" guests in staterooms will have butlers: "new" guests will have room attendants . If "old" is next door to "new" will the butler/room attendant do a quick change of uniform as he moves from one room to another?

3. Speciality restaurants. Stateroom guests (not suites). Do the "old" guests pay only $5 while the "new" guests pay $15?

Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

That Rep makes no sense. The wine pooring was done on the two last cruises I was on (one was SilverSea) where they walk around with one red and one white wine (of course on SilverSea you could just ask for scotch or Champagne instead). The dinning room won't be asking you when you booked your cruise!

 

I assume if someone booked earlier and has paperwork saying they get complimentary dining in a restaurant the onboard staff will have a hard time saying no.

 

We are traveling in February and I am hoping that although published info states changes starting in April for European cruises that they will consider offering the cola and also some wine at dinner. Might as well test it out, so they know how much they need to purchase for later cruises. It will be a mess in April if they guarantee unlimited colas, bottled water, and wine with dinner and run out.

[DebsUK]

Jancruz, Thanks for your help with all these questions. One more for you.....do guests in the Club Deluxe Veranda Staterooms receive any additional benefits (formerly the Sunset Veranda staterooms).

[little britain]

.... checked this out with Az. Customer Relations.

Guests who booked before 8th December would be treated under the old terms. Those who booked after this date would be subject to the new terms.

This surely must be a recipe for confusion.

1 Do Azamara propose supplying guests with different coloured bibs so that when dinner is being served the waiter will know who is eligible to free wine?

2. "Old" guests in staterooms will have butlers: "new" guests will have room attendants . If "old" is next door to "new" will the butler/room attendant do a quick change of uniform as he moves from one room to another?

3. Speciality restaurants. Stateroom guests (not suites). Do the "old" guests pay only $5 while the "new" guests pay $15?

Any help that you can provide would be greatly appreciated!

 

I think they just make it up sometimes.......:rolleyes:

[cruiseyguy]

Let's have a little common sense here--they are obviously NOT going to treat passengers differently onboard based on when they booked. That would be a PR disaster. What the 'Rep" MAY have meant is that those who booked earlier will keep their earlier price. But I suspect the Rep was actually just "winging" it and had no idea how to answer.

[WooKeef]

As you can see from my countdown clock, I am booked on one of the Spring european cruises. It is my understanding that we do not get an inflated price but that we get all the new policies...wine, sodas, coffees and gratuities...etc. Azamara cannot exclude us from the other passengers. It is also my understanding that this would be the reason for this gradual increase in fares to make up for the money lost in doing this. the fare for my cruise is more than $900 what I booked it at...I am saving a bundle.

[uktog]

Give my experience of misinformation from Azamara UK I would not put any credence on what they have said!!

Lets just wait for the sensible answer to come forward

Sadly their reps often make up things to end the call within their target call completion time - remember it is a common inbound centre with RCL and Celebrity. In my experience very few of the reps even understand the basic differences between the brand offereings

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Just to clarify Joecors post, I think it's safe to say there is no way Azamara would do something like that. It would make absolutely no sense to provide 2 levels of service based on a cut-off date !

 

As Joecors said this information came from a TA who claims to have called Azamara, there is no doubt some inaccurate information was passed along to him.

[JJPacer]

I understand that Az will have their own Captains Club. Will our Celebrity Captains Club status be grandfathered in, or will we start from 0?

 

Thanks for the information.

[Andy]

I understand that Az will have their own Captains Club. Will our Celebrity Captains Club status be grandfathered in, or will we start from 0?

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Hi JJPacer !

 

I asked that question (I am Elite Level on Celebrity, I'm very curious too). I was told there is no information on this yet. Stay Tuned !

[Joecors]

Thanks for your comments.

A call direct to Az Customer Relations completely contradicted all that the T.A. told me. Seems that all the guests will be treated in the same way.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

FYI, I heard back from Azamara. They said that once the new features take effect, everyone will recieve the new features, regardless of when they booked. I was certain this would be the answer, but I double checked. Hopefully, this should put an end to any concerns.

[DebsUK]

Grayjoh, If you haven't already, please feel free to come and join us on our role call. We are also on the 9 April 2010 Singapore to Athens.

 

Deb.

[Jancruz]

with the money I am saving I am not complaining...but if they promised you two complimentary specialty dining at reservation is this not something they should honor?

 

When are you going?? If you are going after April 1st this is something you should take up with the person you booked your cruise with.

Jancruz1

[bbrite]

I also am in touch with Azamara so please list questions here in one place so I can get your answers asap..

Jancruz1

We booked on the April 9 Quest cruise out of Singapore several months before the Decmber 8 announcement. My question concerns gratuities - will we be responsible for paying gratuities ($294 pp), or will we be covered by the new all inclusive policy?

[suec12]

Not sure if this was a part of the "new Azamara" but does anyone know if the OBC for stockholders is still in play? I understand it cannot be combined with other OBC's but if there are no other OBC's in the cabin, is this still available?

[gosport11]

Jancruz, Thanks for all the info provided to date. We are booked on the above cruise but thought I read somewhere that the new amenities will only commence with the European itineraries. Will our price remain the same even if the new programme has commenced. Also, we are due to pre-pay our gratuities along with our final bill as a separate item. Will these still be charged. We are UK guests. Thanks.

Hopefully the will have sorted them selves out by the time you come to pay,dont forget to try and get price reductions,which TA should honour :D:):)