Tips for Azamara Newbies

[MartiniBarhooked]

Sorry in advance but would like to ask this question without doing a lengthy search on here.

Thinking about booking a cruise as our first Azamara cruise. 17 days Onward.  Which level of cabin should we book?

Regular Veranda?  Club Continent Suite or Spa Suite?

[Port Power]

13 minutes ago, MartiniBarhooked said:

Sorry in advance but would like to ask this question without doing a lengthy search on here.

Thinking about booking a cruise as our first Azamara cruise. 17 days Onward.  Which level of cabin should we book?

Regular Veranda?  Club Continent Suite or Spa Suite?

Surely this is something only you can decide?  Only you know your budget.  If price is not an issue and you prefer a larger, more spacious cabin, then CC is preferable.  Similarly for the spa suite, if the price is worth it for the additional space and features, and you like using spa facilities, choose that one.

[aliaschief]

1 hour ago, MartiniBarhooked said:

Sorry in advance but would like to ask this question without doing a lengthy search on here.

Thinking about booking a cruise as our first Azamara cruise. 17 days Onward.  Which level of cabin should we book?

Regular Veranda?  Club Continent Suite or Spa Suite?

Go on You Tube and search Onward tour of ship or search specific cabins that you have listed. We enjoy Club Continent.

[lisiamc]

12 minutes ago, MartiniBarhooked said:

Sorry in advance but would like to ask this question without doing a lengthy search on here.

Thinking about booking a cruise as our first Azamara cruise. 17 days Onward.  Which level of cabin should we book?

Regular Veranda?  Club Continent Suite or Spa Suite?

As you may have read, the bathrooms in the balcony cabins are … compact. They do the job, and we’ve always been fine in a balcony, even on a long cruise. On our last two cruises, however, we won an upgrade bid for a Club Continent Suite and enjoyed it very much. The cabin and balcony are somewhat bigger, and the larger bathroom with walk-in shower was bliss. I can’t comment on a Spa Suite, having never been in one!

[federalexpress]

2 hours ago, MartiniBarhooked said:

Sorry in advance but would like to ask this question without doing a lengthy search on here.

Thinking about booking a cruise as our first Azamara cruise. 17 days Onward.  Which level of cabin should we book?

Regular Veranda?  Club Continent Suite or Spa Suite?

 

As others have said, it really is an individual choice depending on your budget, how you wish to deploy it and to some extent, how much time you spend in your cabin. For me, I like a larger cabin and definitely want a veranda. I chose a Club Continent suite for my first trip on Azamara, because I felt the veranda cabins were a bit smaller than usual, the bathroom especially.

 

However if you are OK with a small bathroom, one suggestion would be to book a veranda cabin, then see if you can bid for an upgrade. From that I've seen, those can be very cost effective going from veranda to Club Continent. In contrast they are very expensive to go from Club Continent to Spa suite or higher, presumably because there are very few high grade suites. And given Onward has many more Club Continent suites than the other ships, I reckon your chances of a cost effective upgrade from veranda are probably quite good. You might want to look at the thread on Cabin upgrades, there's a handy spreadsheet on it that summarises all the bids and which were successful. Gives a fair idea of the likely costs and thus what you'd be likely to pay on top of a veranda. I suspect it would save a fair bit of money compared to buying a CC suite from the outset but of course it isn't guaranteed.

[TourDeCruise]

I hope my questions are applicable for this topic. We certainly are Azamara newbies. We have been on Azamara one time but are Discoverer Platinum in the Azamara Loyalty program because of our being Zenith on Celebrity. We recently booked an Azamara cruise with the Early Booking Bonus promotion of 20% discount, $300 obc, upgrade to Premium Beverage Package, and Unlimited Wifi for one device. As Discoverer Platinum, it looks like we will already get free Unlimited Wifi for each of us according to the benefits list (150 minutes or 100% towards Unlimited Wifi package).

 

The upgrade to the Premium Beverage package does not include any additional wine options like the Ultimate package does. The Premium Beverage package is still of use to us because we like some of the beers on the list at lunch or after a day in port. We like wine for happy hour and with dinner. If we find we want to switch to the Ultimate package for more wine options, would it cost us the $23.95pp per day (minus 25% Platinum loyalty discount) or just $7.00pp per day difference (minus 25% Platinum loyalty discount?) because we are getting the $16.95 Premium package as a promo? 

[Port Power]

39 minutes ago, TourDeCruise said:

I hope my questions are applicable for this topic. We certainly are Azamara newbies. We have been on Azamara one time but are Discoverer Platinum in the Azamara Loyalty program because of our being Zenith on Celebrity. We recently booked an Azamara cruise with the Early Booking Bonus promotion of 20% discount, $300 obc, upgrade to Premium Beverage Package, and Unlimited Wifi for one device. As Discoverer Platinum, it looks like we will already get free Unlimited Wifi for each of us according to the benefits list (150 minutes or 100% towards Unlimited Wifi package).

 

The upgrade to the Premium Beverage package does not include any additional wine options like the Ultimate package does. The Premium Beverage package is still of use to us because we like some of the beers on the list at lunch or after a day in port. We like wine for happy hour and with dinner. If we find we want to switch to the Ultimate package for more wine options, would it cost us the $23.95pp per day (minus 25% Platinum loyalty discount) or just $7.00pp per day difference (minus 25% Platinum loyalty discount?) because we are getting the $16.95 Premium package as a promo? 

Just $7.00 per day from Premium to Ultimate.

[TourDeCruise]

50 minutes ago, Port Power said:

Just $7.00 per day from Premium to Ultimate.

 

Great! Thank you. 

[RummyB]

Looking for information on the spa services (massages and facials) offered by Azamara.  There's precious little info on the website.  Is there a brochure that someone can share?  Thanks!

[combine]

18 hours ago, RummyB said:

Looking for information on the spa services (massages and facials) offered by Azamara.  There's precious little info on the website.  Is there a brochure that someone can share?  Thanks!

 

[RummyB]

1 hour ago, combine said:

 

Thank you!

[tango9]

Thanks for the spa details for face and body treatments. Can you also share the list of hair and nail services?  Thanks

[combine]

[federalexpress]

16 hours ago, combine said:

 

 

Wow, quite aggressive prices! But then it may not look so bad in dollars to our American cousins, compared to our rather meagre exchange rate...

 

 

[islandwoman]

58 minutes ago, federalexpress said:

 

Wow, quite aggressive prices! But then it may not look so bad in dollars to our American cousins, compared to our rather meagre exchange rate...

 

 

They look too expensive to me too, but not out of line with spa treatments on other cruise lines.

[federalexpress]

15 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

They look too expensive to me too, but not out of line with spa treatments on other cruise lines.

 

I guess you pay a big premium for being at sea. Still, I'll have a $250 credit from my Indulgence package so I guess my better half can get herself an hour massage....

[Scots Caz]

4 hours ago, federalexpress said:

 

Wow, quite aggressive prices! But then it may not look so bad in dollars to our American cousins, compared to our rather meagre exchange rate...

 

 

agreed - and 18% service added on top....however for those with loads of OBC to use or lose it is a nice option (have heard those that have used spas have had great experiences)

[TourDeCruise]

How available are shore excursions for booking once onboard? Caribbean and Europe (in our case Greece). We are hoping to use our travel agent shipboard credit to book some of them once on board and are wondering if there is usually availability if booked early enough in the cruise. We don't want to get closed out on certain ones which we would book pre-cruise. Once onboard can we book via the tv screen?  Or must we go to the Shore Excursion desk?

Edited December 7, 2022 by TourDeCruise

[takemewithyou]

31 minutes ago, TourDeCruise said:

How available are shore excursions for booking once onboard? Caribbean and Europe (in our case Greece). We are hoping to use our travel agent shipboard credit to book some of them once on board and are wondering if there is usually availability if booked early enough in the cruise. We don't want to get closed out on certain ones which we would book pre-cruise. Once onboard can we book via the tv screen?  Or must we go to the Shore Excursion desk?

Well, I wouldn’t wait because I would be afraid they would be gone, if really popular. Also, I track the prices and they are cheapest when booked early on or when they offer a 20% off sale on shorex.  The prices go up as you get closer the cruise!  Keep checking in and look at shorex to see if there is a sale.

[tgg]

3 hours ago, TourDeCruise said:

How available are shore excursions for booking once onboard? Caribbean and Europe (in our case Greece). We are hoping to use our travel agent shipboard credit to book some of them once on board and are wondering if there is usually availability if booked early enough in the cruise. We don't want to get closed out on certain ones which we would book pre-cruise. Once onboard can we book via the tv screen?  Or must we go to the Shore Excursion desk?

 

Travel agent shipboard credit is usually refundable.  Check with your travel agent to be sure. If it is, just book the shore excursions you want now (so you get the ones you want) and get your TA OBC refunded to you at the end of the cruise. That way you're just paying yourself back. ( This assumes you won't just spend it all once you're onboard.😄)

[TourDeCruise]

Good advice. For some reason, I think the travel agent told my husband their obc was non-refundable or the agent didn't know. He's the one who told me to ask these questions, so I think he was told non-refundable.

[blag]

6 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Well, I wouldn’t wait because I would be afraid they would be gone, if really popular. Also, I track the prices and they are cheapest when booked early on or when they offer a 20% off sale on shorex.  The prices go up as you get closer the cruise!  Keep checking in and look at shorex to see if there is a sale.

But please note that the 20% sale is not always what it seems...

On our upcoming cruise we booked excursions quite a few months in advance. Later 4 of these excursion were 'discounted'. For 2 of the 4, the discounted price was greater than the price we paid. In fact, the price of one of them, after the discount, was more than twice the amount we paid months previously.

Check carefully, because your cancellation, once confirmed, is final!

[Grandma Cruising]

9 hours ago, TourDeCruise said:

How available are shore excursions for booking once onboard? Caribbean and Europe (in our case Greece). We are hoping to use our travel agent shipboard credit to book some of them once on board and are wondering if there is usually availability if booked early enough in the cruise. We don't want to get closed out on certain ones which we would book pre-cruise. Once onboard can we book via the tv screen?  Or must we go to the Shore Excursion desk?

You can book them now, then once onboard cancel, with the refund going back to your credit card, then immediately rebook using your OBC, so long as the excursion is over 48 hours after the start of the cruise . Note though that overnight excursions and certain other special excursions may have a longer cancellation time - check the brochure.

[islandwoman]

What is Azamara's policy if a passenger tests positive for COVID prior to boarding? 

I know that COVID tests are no longer required.  But we've been exposed to COVID and we're due to sail in 4 days.  We have no symptoms and we tested negative with a home antigen test today. But if we should test positive before our sail date, would Azamara refund our money?  What would they require for proof of infection?

[Port Power]

20 minutes ago, islandwoman said:

What is Azamara's policy if a passenger tests positive for COVID prior to boarding? 

I know that COVID tests are no longer required.  But we've been exposed to COVID and we're due to sail in 4 days.  We have no symptoms and we tested negative with a home antigen test today. But if we should test positive before our sail date, would Azamara refund our money?  What would they require for proof of infection?

Some ports and counties do still require testing. If you are positive, you are not allowed to board.  Many of the current problems with the larger ships are that some passengers did not want to forego their holiday, and therefore still boarded the ship and set about infecting other passengers and crew.

 

Last I heard, Azamara was giving a FCC in the case of being COVID positive at the time of the cruise.