New Veranda Plus category

[Mackdogmolly]

I’m looking at the deck plans on a paper copy of the 2020 Azamara Destination Guide and it looks like the only standard veranda cabins left will be mid ships on deck 7! Can this possibly be true? Or am I reading the colors all wrong?

[laurieb]

There are V1, V2 and V3 on decks 6 and 7; verandah plus are all on deck 8

[Henk123]

The difference in colors are very difficult the see, but there are only 4 P3 (orange) on deck 6 and 7, those where the VX ones. On deck 8 there are the P catagory's.

But overall they found a new way to raise the prices because for the P catagory you must pay more for the options you had and on the small Azamara ships I don't need priority embarkation and debarkation.

[Belfastman]

6 hours ago, laurieb said:

There are V1, V2 and V3 on decks 6 and 7; verandah plus are all on deck 8

There are also veranda plus on deck 6 and 7, at the front and rear between the big suites.

[Bloodaxe]

3 minutes ago, Henk123 said:

The difference in colors are very difficult the see, but there are only 4 P3 (orange) on deck 6 and 7, those where the VX ones. On deck 8 there are the P catagory's.

But overall they found a new way to raise the prices because for the P catagory you must pay more for the options you had and on the small Azamara ships I don't need priority embarkation and debarkation.

 

Very true, if you are at the higher levels of LVC the new grades are of no benefit at all.

May be of benefit to newer customers but for others it is just another excuse for price rises.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

29 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

Very true, if you are at the higher levels of LVC the new grades are of no benefit at all.

May be of benefit to newer customers but for others it is just another excuse for price rises.

 

To compensate you for being in a potentially noisy veranda cabin under the public pool deck they’ll give you four half bottles of spirits as bar set up!  I think the whole Plus category idea is a crazy one. For a start, those four half bottles of spirit will take up already limited desk top space.

 

Phil 

[Mackdogmolly]

3 hours ago, Henk123 said:

The difference in colors are very difficult the see, but there are only 4 P3 (orange) on deck 6 and 7, those where the VX ones. On deck 8 there are the P catagory's.

But overall they found a new way to raise the prices because for the P catagory you must pay more for the options you had and on the small Azamara ships I don't need priority embarkation and debarkation.

I see it now. Still so disappointing. Really get practically nothing for the large increase in fare. Those aft cabins were sweet too, but now out of my range on most sailings I’m looking at now 

[Redtravel]

Just another way to raise prices.  It is following Celebrity with new categories that cost more.

not sit well with me.

[QueenP]

Not to mention that we were asked about it in a survey and I'm sure that most people, like me, said a firm NO to the idea. The perks aren't needed or relevant to me, yet I have to pay more for my preferred room 

[Redtravel]

On 7/29/2019 at 5:32 AM, excitedofharpenden said:

To compensate you for being in a potentially noisy veranda cabin under the public pool deck they’ll give you four half bottles of spirits as bar set up!  I think the whole Plus category idea is a crazy one. For a start, those four half bottles of spirit will take up already limited desk top space.

 

Phil 

Just sailed on deck 8 under pool.  No noise.

[excitedofharpenden]

18 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Just sailed on deck 8 under pool.  No noise.

I did say potentially.  I too have stayed in cabins on deck 8 that are quieter than others, but some have been noisy.  Pick carefully, looking at what is above you and you’ll be ok.  Unfortunately those that are sucked in by the marketing hype of “Veranda Plus” and don’t have the benefit of reading this forum may not be so lucky.  And that goes for suites on deck 8 too.  Of course each persons noise tolerance is different as well.

 

Phil

[Redtravel]

On some ships, if you have a cabin under the pool, you will get lots of noise. I had a cabin under the pool on a mass market cruise.  It was on a cruise that attracted younger guests and had late night pool parties.  On Azamara, not much action on the pool deck.  Azamara does not have wild late night pool parties.  I prefer deck 7.  I usually pick a cabin on a deck that is between 2 decks of guest cabins. 

[DRJVH]

To me this is just revenue raising. Apart from a mini bar set up you get no more value from these cabins. The cabins are no bigger, the showers are just the same, the verandah is the same. We used to pick one of these cabins but to pay roughly $1000US  more is just ridiculous. 6000, 6001,  7000, and 7001 can be very noisy when docking at port or when they anchor. 

[AllisonJames]

I'm totally confused by the deck plans online.  We've had each of our four AZ cruises in a V3 (lowest level veranda) category on Deck 7 (a location we really like) but when I booked for 2020 I was told I'd have to go down to Deck 6 in order to book this category now that Veranda Plus is introduced.  Is this accurate information . . . the V colors and P colors look very much the same to me!

[Grandma Cruising]

37 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

I'm totally confused by the deck plans online.  We've had each of our four AZ cruises in a V3 (lowest level veranda) category on Deck 7 (a location we really like) but when I booked for 2020 I was told I'd have to go down to Deck 6 in order to book this category now that Veranda Plus is introduced.  Is this accurate information . . . the V colors and P colors look very much the same to me!

Just had a look and I agree it’s very difficult to tell the difference, especially on the ‘download’ version which gives all decks. Slightly easier on the ‘View’ plans which are one deck at a time

It looks to me as if there are V3s on Deck 6 and V1s & V2s on Deck 7.

Edited July 31, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, AllisonJames said:

I'm totally confused by the deck plans online.  We've had each of our four AZ cruises in a V3 (lowest level veranda) category on Deck 7 (a location we really like) but when I booked for 2020 I was told I'd have to go down to Deck 6 in order to book this category now that Veranda Plus is introduced.  Is this accurate information . . . the V colors and P colors look very much the same to me!

Yes, in order for you to book a V3 on the new deck plans you need to go to deck 6. That's because the V1s that were on deck 8 are now Plus cabins and the V1s now replace the V2s on deck 7 which have been relegated to forward and aft where the V3s were.

 

My only comment having stayed on deck 6 is they are in an ok location, but I favour the aft ones on the starboard side rather than port because they aren't over the kitchens, but rather the Discoveries Lounge and dining room. Further forward and you can be over the show lounge.  

 

Phil 

[Mackdogmolly]

Ok, forgive a stupid question, but what is the difference between V1, V2, and V3?

[hiccups]

Just now, Mackdogmolly said:

Ok, forgive a stupid question, but what is the difference between V1, V2, and V3?

The price  😉

We booked our upcoming cruise during the Double Upgrade Promo, when all veranda categories were the same price.  Even though V1 is supposed to be "best," we preferred the location of the V2s, and so booked that category.

[Mackdogmolly]

2 minutes ago, hiccups said:

The price  😉

We booked our upcoming cruise during the Double Upgrade Promo, when all veranda categories were the same price.  Even though V1 is supposed to be "best," we preferred the location of the V2s, and so booked that category.

Oh, I’m such a rube! I had no idea. I thought the published prices within a category were all the same. After all, there always seems to be *some* sort of promotion going on.

[excitedofharpenden]

12 minutes ago, hiccups said:

The price  😉

We booked our upcoming cruise during the Double Upgrade Promo, when all veranda categories were the same price.  Even though V1 is supposed to be "best," we preferred the location of the V2s, and so booked that category.

Location, location, location. Look at the spread sheet sticky that uktog maintains and it tells a lot. Not least that V1s aren't necessarily better than V2s of V3s. 

 

Phil 

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Location, location, location. Look at the spread sheet sticky that uktog maintains and it tells a lot. Not least that V1s aren't necessarily better than V2s of V3s. 

 

Phil 

Ok, thanks Phil

[hiccups]

4 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Oh, I’m such a rube! I had no idea. I thought the published prices within a category were all the same. After all, there always seems to be *some* sort of promotion going on.

Here's the pricing for a cruise we've been considering.  Now that the Club Veranda categories exist, the V2 cabin that we booked for this year becomes a V1 next year.  So, more money...

[Mackdogmolly]

21 minutes ago, hiccups said:

Here's the pricing for a cruise we've been considering.  Now that the Club Veranda categories exist, the V2 cabin that we booked for this year becomes a V1 next year.  So, more money...

Where do you go to find these prices? Do you do a mocked booking?

[hiccups]

36 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Where do you go to find these prices? Do you do a mocked booking?

Yes, just a mock booking from the website.  It's also a way you can see how many cabins are still available if you have an upcoming cruise.

[nonrev1]

Azamara has made many changes over the years that have all resulted in ways to increase the rates.  This change and the bidding for upgrades program are the two that have pushed us to book more on other brands.  

Those of us that have remained loyal to Azamara have watched our perks and benefits of loyalty continue to be reduced.  The Veranda Plus program now takes the cabins that we preferred and are charging higher rates but include the benefits that those with loyalty already receive.  ( except the liquor bottles which we don’t want anyway).  This is not something an upscale , top tier cruise line would do to their loyal guests. Not too long ago, the ships were full and there were certain routes that you would never see on sale.  Maybe Azamara pushed the pricing and schemes  too far and loyal customers are finding better value elsewhere.