Nespresso charges are back according to Azamara Facebook

[dfishner]

In watching Azamara over the last year I have to agree there is a big problem with clear, concise communication even with Bill who I believe is a great asset he can only be as good as what the home office puts out which is at most confusing.

 

I have watch Larry talk about the wow renovations only to find out it was nothing more then a simple remodel. I do believe his intentions were for the major overhaul but he misspoke before he had all his ducks in a row which created an anticipation by us which was somewhat of a disappointment. In my mind Azamara needed to show growth before a major investment could take place.

 

Then we had the booking engine fiasco where they took the ability to look for cabins and pricing away. In this day and age we are internet sauvy and doing that really made no sense but they fixed that problem but it should of never happened in the first place if they thought out the process first and looked how it would affect potential new business as well as repeat business if they can not research what is available.

 

Then we had the issue of what was the correct excursion price with the 50% off which went on and on. We are a high tech environment and those issues need to be worked out and tested before it comes to us.

 

50% was taken away even though we were told it would be available for 2013 and was then replaced with a 15%-25% shore excursions but were promised better excursions sorry to say in looking at the excursions are about the same. So now I am paying more for something I could of paid less for. I really believe that the 50% should of been grandfathered in for those who booked prior to 10/1 but it really is not a big deal. Azamara does have the right to pull programs just think they could of handled this situation better.

 

Azamara evening tour have no comment about that one but I guess it goes with above. We took away the 50% and are given you a free evening tour with the whole ship. I am not sure how I feel about going on a tour with so many people I think it loses something.

 

Price increase-including spirits I do not believe anyone on here would be upset with Azamara taking a price increase but it really was a drastic increase and took me out of booking any further cruises with Azamara.

 

Nespresso- first it was there, then it was gone and now it is back again and still makes no sense to me..Test or no test. I do understand Europeans do like nespresso from being in Europe quite a bit it is what is served. Why would you pay for something when you can get a better product for free baffles me.

 

Larry last outing with us was a complete let down, I found him to be cold and not like he was the first time around when he was very interactive..

My feeling about this is there must be pressure to grow the company top line hench the major price increase. We may all like Azamara the way it is but they do need to attract a lager demographics to grow their top line revenus and I believe that is what they are trying to do by offering the spirits and beer as well as the evening tour to reach a broader market place..

 

My final comments about Azamara is they have a wonderful cruise line with great staff and it had to be one of the best cruises we ever have been on and hope that does not change.. I do agree that their communication is anything but upmarket they still cannot get pictures out in a timely manner and also feel they do not have a clear vision on how they are going to take the next steps. They were prepared to lose customers with the new changes in the hope of moving people away from the likes of Crystal, Regent and Seabourn will that work for them only time will tell. How they present themselves to outsiders will be very important and communication on who they are is vital.

 

I am not angry or upset just a little disappointed and find Azamara communication frustrating and somewhat wishy washy but as I said before I was glad I had the chance to cruise on Azamara still have one cruise left in April and after that I will look for something else. Azamara no longer represents the value it once was for me and I am now priced out and I am ok with that it was good while it lasted.

[greeneg]

Nice post, Dale, well thought out and well expressed. Good Job.

 

Ed

[SFL]

HEY - I finally figured out how I can afford my next Azamara cruise!!!!

 

I will bring along my nespresso machine, set it up and charge 50% less that the Mosaic. I can even provide room service for a small fee. With the tips and the money collected - it should easily offset the 64 cents it costs to make it and provide enough profit to make up for the huge increase in price of the cruise!

 

I will have to nab some sugar and milk from the kitchen though.....:eek: ;)

 

There is nothing worse in the world like a Cheerio scorned.. Are you now the Sue Slyvester of Azamara???

safe travels and enjoy all of your cruise adventures

:D

[Ship's Wake]

In watching Azamara over the last year I have to agree there is a big problem with clear, concise communication even with Bill who I believe is a great asset he can only be as good as what the home office puts out which is at most confusing.

 

I have watch Larry talk about the wow renovations only to find out it was nothing more then a simple remodel. I do believe his intentions were for the major overhaul but he misspoke before he had all his ducks in a row which created an anticipation by us which was somewhat of a disappointment. In my mind Azamara needed to show growth before a major investment could take place.

 

Then we had the booking engine fiasco where they took the ability to look for cabins and pricing away. In this day and age we are internet sauvy and doing that really made no sense but they fixed that problem but it should of never happened in the first place if they thought out the process first and looked how it would affect potential new business as well as repeat business if they can not research what is available.

 

Then we had the issue of what was the correct excursion price with the 50% off which went on and on. We are a high tech environment and those issues need to be worked out and tested before it comes to us.

 

50% was taken away even though we were told it would be available for 2013 and was then replaced with a 15%-25% shore excursions but were promised better excursions sorry to say in looking at the excursions are about the same. So now I am paying more for something I could of paid less for. I really believe that the 50% should of been grandfathered in for those who booked prior to 10/1 but it really is not a big deal. Azamara does have the right to pull programs just think they could of handled this situation better.

 

Azamara evening tour have no comment about that one but I guess it goes with above. We took away the 50% and are given you a free evening tour with the whole ship. I am not sure how I feel about going on a tour with so many people I think it loses something.

 

Price increase-including spirits I do not believe anyone on here would be upset with Azamara taking a price increase but it really was a drastic increase and took me out of booking any further cruises with Azamara.

 

Nespresso- first it was there, then it was gone and now it is back again and still makes no sense to me..Test or no test. I do understand Europeans do like nespresso from being in Europe quite a bit it is what is served. Why would you pay for something when you can get a better product for free baffles me.

 

Larry last outing with us was a complete let down, I found him to be cold and not like he was the first time around when he was very interactive..

My feeling about this is there must be pressure to grow the company top line hench the major price increase. We may all like Azamara the way it is but they do need to attract a lager demographics to grow their top line revenus and I believe that is what they are trying to do by offering the spirits and beer as well as the evening tour to reach a broader market place..

 

My final comments about Azamara is they have a wonderful cruise line with great staff and it had to be one of the best cruises we ever have been on and hope that does not change.. I do agree that their communication is anything but upmarket they still cannot get pictures out in a timely manner and also feel they do not have a clear vision on how they are going to take the next steps. They were prepared to lose customers with the new changes in the hope of moving people away from the likes of Crystal, Regent and Seabourn will that work for them only time will tell. How they present themselves to outsiders will be very important and communication on who they are is vital.

 

I am not angry or upset just a little disappointed and find Azamara communication frustrating and somewhat wishy washy but as I said before I was glad I had the chance to cruise on Azamara still have one cruise left in April and after that I will look for something else. Azamara no longer represents the value it once was for me and I am now priced out and I am ok with that it was good while it lasted.

 

My take on this is that LP is being micro-managed from above and is having to reverse or change course based on the dictates of his superior(s).

 

I've been in that position before and it's not a good position to be in at all. He takes all the blame and comes across as "lying" when in reality someone else is pulling the strings and under cutting his decisions.

[Jancruz]

OK so I just read all of the LP threads and the enormous and animated feedback. Here's my take: This a segment of a very large corporation trying to find itself. And YES there were a few lies (or as we call them miscues). It certainly adds skepticism but we are always free to move on. We did just that due to cost alone (see our Oceania trip to the Baltics next August). Again as I'm about to embark, I'm holding judgement until I return Jan 1st. (Mostly). :) I do have a feeling I'm going to love this trip, but when you are spending this much details matter. Either way - happy adventures!

 

Here is the problem as I see it, Azamara has been looking for a direction since they started up..when Larry came in as President after after Dan Hanrahan I was on board as the changeover was taking place and every single thing on board that said Azamara was tossed..everything (robes, towels etc.) was reordered with ACC..I thought at the time what a terrible waste of money..what they needed to do was to find a niche in the market place that was their own instead of taking bits and pieces from other cruise lines..IMHO..

Unfortunately I feel they are still looking for that place and need someone to turn a fresh eye with fresh ideas to this cruise line..they need creative ideas and marketing..something no one has done for them before..in other words build a better mousetrap!!

This my opinion only!!

 

Jancruz1

[6andy6]

Lets face facts......while I also have a Nespresso machine I would hardly consider it 'luxury' and think you would have to be living a particularly sheltered life to think its refined or bespoke...or you in those in charge don't get to drink good coffee often (which is made by a human with a great big high pressured espresso machine)not be a small machine that insects water thro a freeze dried pod of coffee.

 

On this basis and given the price of the pods the line should charging all of 50 cents....

[Azulann]

Coffee machines that use pods,

is to expresso or cold press coffee,

as a box of red wine

is to a bottle of Brunello.

 

Not even in the same universe.

[Cruise Junky]

Lets face facts......while I also have a Nespresso machine I would hardly consider it 'luxury' and think you would have to be living a particularly sheltered life to think its refined or bespoke...or you in those in charge don't get to drink good coffee often (which is made by a human with a great big high pressured espresso machine)not be a small machine that insects water thro a freeze dried pod of coffee.

 

On this basis and given the price of the pods the line should charging all of 50 cents....

 

Nespresso does not use freeze dried coffee.

[gosport11]

I was collecting my van after a service and enjojed a free espresso and a biscuit,this was at commercial van dealer :):)

If i bring my own pods will i still have to pay :p

[Taxguy77]

Risking credibility over coffee????

 

Let me break this down....

We are taking our $10,000 dollar yearly vacation budget elsewhere

because we no longer feel that we can trust Azamara

 

It's been one thing after another with shoreside Azamara.

Your credibility has been up for discusssion numerous times on these

boards.

 

(At least you have stopped asking us to be patient).

 

Now we find out Larry lied about something as stupid as coffee.

 

I wonder if this will be a footnote and/or case study is cruise line history....

 

How a cruise line went out of business over the cost of a cup of coffee.

 

Interesting comments, I'm sure you'll enjoy trying other lines/vacations.

We booked Celebrity Quest before they decided to make Az a separate line. Our cruise was about a year after Journey sailed and a few months after Quest first sailed. I mentioned a safety hazard to several officers standing together and they said carpeting for a slick tile area had been ordered. So long?:confused: The dining room was the most crowded I have ever been in!:eek:

Since then I have read these threads from time to time and still receive brochures from AZ, and see them still looking for a niche!:confused: They need to get a plan and stick to it.

 

I notice many say they like the great crew that works so hard. My first transatlantic was on a small Japanese freighter in the 50's and my last 3 years ago on HAL with 7 day and 14+ day cruises on several lines. They ALL have very hard-working crews, and friendly if they have enough time as they have more work assigned now than in the past. All boards on CC have loyal passengers who say the same about their crews.:)

[Taxguy77]

Nespresso does not use freeze dried coffee.

 

Neither do truck stops.

[new cruiser 2010]

Excellent post Taxguy77.

 

I would say that just about 100 percent of posters on this board compliment the onboard staff's hard work. It is part of the staff's job to be pleasant and hard working. Many staff value their job as a blessing as compared to trying to get a good job in their home countries. This is a well-known fact of cruises ship staff.

 

I have cruised on numerous lines, and this is true across the board.

To read these boards and see the same pattern of poor customer service repeated over and over, and for years and years, says something.

 

These days with Azamara's price increase I can find countless other cruise lines that are a better value, and seem to have their shoreside act together. If I chose to have unlimited alcohol, the cost to buy that package on another line trumps Azamara's "included alcohol deal" hands down.

 

Savvy shoppers already know about everything I just posted.......

[Andy]

I will probably be attacked here, it seems to be what is happening, but I will post anyway.

Come on folks, enough already. They will still be offering free coffee and expresso, they are not taking anything away. If you do not want to pay extra for Nespresso, simply don't. It is a test, and if they find that people do not want to pay extra for the Nespresso, they will either offer it free or remove it. It is a business, and most businesses test new pricing and products. Azamara is doing a test while not taking anything away that was previously offered. Relax

 

Hi Phzazzcruisers,

 

I couldnt agree more. I was on a Cruise (Celebrity Eclipse) for 2 weeks, and I truly cant believe some of the insanity going on here - over coffee no less !!!. I realize that some folks are ticked off over the recent changes, but such a brew-ha-ha (sorry, I couldnt resist) is completely making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

A few members are being way beyond reasonable (I have a few other choice words - but that's the nicest comment I could come up with), and spinning this out of control. I've seen other Cruise lines change direction within a day or 2 of making a major announcement. Does this make management "Liars" ? Absolutely not - though it might be wise to think things through bit more, before making final decisions. At my company, we thing things through upwards, downwards and sideways before we "push the button" on new products and sales/marketing concepts. We rarely get burned due to our intense thought process.

 

The bottom line is, companies make changes all the time - nothing new to see in that respect. As long as Mosaic continues to offer complementary Coffee, all is fine in my book. The coffee is excellent at Mosaic. So are the cookies, pastries and sandwiches in the afternoon/evening.

 

If you dont wish to pay the Nespresso ? The solution is simple, don't buy it. I realize that it's an interesting talking point, but IMO, that's all it is.

[Lottie A]

Exactly what I said a few pages back Andy....if you don't want to buy the Nespresso....then DON'T BUY IT!

 

The excellent and free Mosaic coffee is still available.

 

I cannot believe the way people are completely going over the top about a cup of coffee! :confused:

 

Andy, I hope you and your mother had a great time on your Celebrity cruise....with many new and happy memories being made for you both.

[dfishner]

Hi Phzazzcruisers,

 

I couldnt agree more. I was on a Cruise (Celebrity Eclipse) for 2 weeks, and I truly cant believe some of the insanity going on here - over coffee no less !!!. I realize that some folks are ticked off over the recent changes, but such a brew-ha-ha (sorry, I couldnt resist) is completely making a mountain out of a molehill.

 

A few members are being way beyond reasonable (I have a few other choice words - but that's the nicest comment I could come up with), and spinning this out of control. I've seen other Cruise lines change direction within a day or 2 of making a major announcement. Does this make management "Liars" ? Absolutely not - though it might be wise to think things through bit more, before making final decisions. At my company, we thing things through upwards, downwards and sideways before we "push the button" on new products and sales/marketing concepts. We rarely get burned due to our intense thought process.

 

The bottom line is, companies make changes all the time - nothing new to see in that respect. As long as Mosaic continues to offer complementary Coffee, all is fine in my book. The coffee is excellent at Mosaic. So are the cookies, pastries and sandwiches in the afternoon/evening.

 

If you dont wish to pay the Nespresso ? The solution is simple, don't buy it. I realize that it's an interesting talking point, but IMO, that's all it is.

 

 

I agree and I knew from the frst time Azamara made the announcement they stated that the normal expresso/latte would still be available at no charge..

 

Now to use your own words here" though it might be wise to think things through bit more, before making final decisions. At my company, we thing things through upwards, downwards and sideways before we "push the button" on new products and sales/marketing concepts. We rarely get burned due to our intense thought process. " Azamara should practice what your company is doing as a process and they would not find themselves is so much hot water on this board..

 

Andy, this has less to do about coffee and more to do with people on here getting frustrated with Azamara and how things are communicated and rolled out which is not one of Azamara strong points. There are so many times in the last year where Azamara could of thought out things more completely and instead just put it out there and it does appear that way to me. So before you get on to people on here about the coffee realize that is not the real issue here there is more below the surface.

[kiawahdon]

Host Andy-

It is not about coffee, but the insanity of the business decision associated with the coffee.

It's the incongruity of providing on a consistant basis some of the finest food and cruise experience at sea, yet attempting to charge your guest for an item less expensive than their daily newspaper; all the while trying to improve ACC's image and placement in a crowded and competitive market place. The actions are clearly counter productive, send a very mixed message to the market place over pennies and don't help move the brand forward.

It's not about coffee, but brains.

[zqvol]

I have read this thread with interest and can't stop laughing. The angst over coffee is amazing. It is coffee that you don't have to buy if you don't want to pay for it.

 

In spite of the belief of many of the posters on this forum there is not a conspiracy behind every corner. Azamara is moving upscale and to do that they have to change things including pricing. It seems you want luxury at mass market prices. guess what - it is not happening.

[uktog]

Azamara is moving upscale

 

Well, hopefully their corporate communications will be moving upscale to reflect this. As dfishner and others have correctly said, it is not the issue of the inclusion of the cost of the coffee, it is the way the communication of this change has been handled by the cruise line.

 

It is not about conspiracy theory, it is about a number of instances where cruisers who use this forum have felt badly let down by the way communications have been handled

[bandt]

A storm in a coffee cup :)

[Lottie A]

A storm in a coffee cup :)

 

I could not agree more! It's just a cup of coffee. :rolleyes:

 

Even if it is regarded as a business decision....well any business is allowed to change their mind about marketing. They don't have to consult with their customers. Maybe the way the announcement was handled was inept though. But should we really be very surprised at the ineptitude of Azamara shoreside by now? Probably not!

 

What we all do know is that the cruise experience on board is worth all these minor irritations.....IMHO anyway.

 

bandt so nice to see you posting again. Any cruises planned?

[bandt]

Maybe you can confirm the rumour that George Clooney will be working at the Mosaic Café alternately on Journey & Quest........ or is he "bespoken" for already? !!!! :)

 

Sun and palm trees in the Caribbean for us over the New Year.

 

Merry Christmas and Happy 2013 to you and yours

 

B&T

[Lottie A]

George Clooney....now that Nespresso would be well worth buying Brian! :D

 

We are Caribbean bound in the New Year too, on Silversea.

 

Happy Christmas to both of you too.....and I'll try not to overdo the G&T's! They are included on Silversea though. :D

 

Very sorry for going off topic folks.....now back to the Nespresso angst.

[cindilouwho]

There is nothing worse in the world like a Cheerio scorned.. Are you now the Sue Slyvester of Azamara???

safe travels and enjoy all of your cruise adventures

:D

 

 

Hell - I just COULDN'T resist stirring the "pot"......or should I say "pod" ???? :D

 

I would jump right back on board AZ when the price and the itinerary suits me. They may be on the road to "upscale luxury", but a good value IMHO will never get passed up by this savvy shopper. Like Fran Drescher - I always say ..."if it ain't half off, it AIN'T on sale!"

 

I sure hope this doesn't make me un-bespoken! :eek:

 

On that note ...... I am off to feed my caffeine addiction with a nice bespoke Nespresso!!!!!! :D :p

[mara01]

Having just got off the Quest in Malaga yesterday, I can safely report that there is no sign of a Nespresso machine anywhere in the Mosaic Cafe, which now looks very nice with the new carpeting and upholstery. There are even new windows in the Quest Shop!

 

Isn't it time this thread was now closed Andy?

 

PS we were so happy with our cruise on the Quest that we have now booked another Azamara Cruise in September 2013 on the Journey through the excellent service of the Club Voyage Rep Dina.

[greeneg]

Hell - I just COULDN'T resist stirring the "pot"......or should I say "pod" ???? :D

 

I would jump right back on board AZ when the price and the itinerary suits me. They may be on the road to "upscale luxury", but a good value IMHO will never get passed up by this savvy shopper. Like Fran Drescher - I always say ..."if it ain't half off, it AIN'T on sale!"

 

I sure hope this doesn't make me un-bespoken! :eek:

 

On that note ...... I am off to feed my caffeine addiction with a nice bespoke Nespresso!!!!!! :D :p

 

I would agree with that completely, we would also book again IF the price and the itinerary are "right". (u)BUT(/u) there is no question that the recent and proposed changes are going to make us a lot more sensitive to the total cost of the trip.

 

Nespresso free or at a charge is something that I could care less about.