Laundry Question

[marinaro44]

Shame on all of you. You do not aid your cause -- although apparently you don't get it.

 

I'm not sure it is us who "don't get it.";)

 

I think we need to revisit this point about Azamara's enhancements not justifying last November's price increases. Despite the seeming conflation of the "enhancements" with the price increase in the initial over-hyped announcement, what we have since learned from Larry Pimentel and senior officers on-board is that the price increases were not simply a reflection of the enhancements but a necessary step for the cruise line to remain in business. How nice it would have been if this had been made clear in that announcement.

 

As the increases moved Azamara's pricing closer to the luxury lines, it was apparently felt that the product needed to be enhanced to reflect what was offered by others at and just above the new price point, hence the addition of a rather basic included liquor package. The Azamazing Evening was added to further Azamara's theme, "Destination Immersion," the latter being a key reason why many of us cruise Azamara in addition to the very personal attention from and involvement of senior officers on board. Reviews of many of the Azamazing Evenings, "big buses" and all, have been quite positive, although others clearly need to be refined or perhaps replaced. I suspect this will be worked out over time.

 

What I think one has to consider is Azamara's pricing compared with what some may consider peer cruise lines, looking at what is included and what is not included in the price of each, like wine poured freely with lunch and dinner, gratuities always included (showing great respect for thequality and performance of the crew), an included liquor package with the opportunity to upgrade at minimal additional cost or to order individual more expensive brands also at minimal cost, and discounts on pre-booked excursions.

 

I believe many of us have now accepted that prior to the price increase we were getting one heckuva good deal on Azamara for what we were paying, especially when compared with pricing on other small ship cruise lines at the time. The November increases brought Azamara's pricing more in line with the quality of the product offered and with its small ship competitors and is still very attractive for what you get, as can be seen by the loyalty of so many of us who continue enthusiastically to book Azamara cruises even after the increases.

[marinaro44]

Shame on all of you. You do not aid your cause -- although apparently you don't get it.

 

I'd say Phil "got it" just right in his posting above.

 

I'd like to revisit this point about Azamara's enhancements not justifying last November's price increases. Despite the seeming conflation of the "enhancements" with the price increase in the initially over-hyped announcement, what we have since learned from Larry Pimentel and senior officers on-board is that the price increases were not simply a reflection and result of the enhancements but a necessary step for the cruise line to remain in business, and were necessary independently of the enhancements. How nice it would have been if this had been made clear in that announcement to avoid any confusion and misinterpretation.

 

As the increase moved Azamara's pricing closer to the luxury lines, it was apparently felt that the product needed to be enhanced to reflect what was offered by others at and just above the new price point, hence the addition of a rather basic included liquor package.

 

The Azamazing Evening was added to further Azamara's theme, "Destination Immersion," the latter being a key reason why many of us cruise Azamara in addition to the very personal attention from and involvement of senior officers on board, something I have yet to see on any other cruise line, the very expensive Regent included. Reviews of many of the Azamazing Evenings, "big buses" and all, have been quite positive, although others clearly need to be reworked or perhaps even replaced. I suspect this will be taken care of over time.

 

What I think one has to consider is Azamara's pricing compared with what some may consider peer cruise lines, looking at what is included and what is not included in the price of each, like wine poured freely with lunch and dinner, gratuities always included (showing great respect for the quality and performance of the crew), an included liquor package with the opportunity to upgrade at minimal additional cost or to order individually more expensive brands also at minimal cost, and discounts on pre-booked excursions.

 

I believe many of us have now accepted that prior to the price increase we were getting one heckuva good deal on Azamara for what we were paying, especially when compared with pricing on other small ship cruise lines at the time. The November increases brought Azamara's pricing more in line with the quality of the product offered and with its small ship competitors, and is still very attractive for what you get, as can be seen by the loyalty of so many of us who continue enthusiastically to book Azamara cruises even after the increases.