Azamara Pre Cruise Packages

[papa B me]

We have a cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona booked on the Pursuit for September next year.  I certainly understand that cruise companies pre cruise packages are expensive compared to planning the pre cruise stay ourselves.  I have done both on our other cruises and have found pros and cons to both.  One of the things we have enjoyed on other cruise lines pre cruise stays is getting to know some of our fellow passengers before the cruise as our experience has been that the pre cruise passengers are small in number and usually very outgoing.  

 

My questions are for anyone that has taken an Azamara pre cruise package is:

 

#1. Have you found the quality good(knowing it is more expensive then DIY)?

 

#2. Have they been well organized?

 

#3. Did you enjoy the hotels Azamara utilizes?

 

#4. Is the transition from pre cruise to cruise seemless?

 

#5. Did you experience getting to know other cruisers during this time a positive?

 

I'm considering booking the Lisbon precruise stay.  Any thoughts appreciated

 

Brian

[hiccups]

For us, the Azamara pre- and post-cruise packages are so ridiculously expensive that I can't imagine booking them.  I'm someone that is willing to pay extra for convenience, but not at the rates Azamara charges.  When Azamara first introduced their packages as "City Stays," I thought I must be missing something based on the price (this was a three-night stay in Barcelona).  Here's what I posted at the time:

"For the life of me, though, I can't figure out why the city stay would be $4340 more per person. As far as I can tell, it's transportation, hotel, some meals (B, L, D first day, B and L the second, B the third), and a private guide for a day. Two of the meals are advertised as dining with a local family, and there's a flamenco performance one evening, and a wine tasting the next. Can convenience really be worth that much to someone, or am I missing some factor that makes Azamara-booked city stays worth the extra price?"

 

Recently there was a thread where someone booked the Azamara hotel and was not contacted about the transfers to the ship, and it appeared to be a very stressful experience.  This wasn't booking a pre-cruise tour, though, I don't think--they had just booked the hotel through Azamara.

As for getting to know other cruisers, I think the Azamara ships are small enough that there is plenty of opportunity once onboard to meet people.  I felt being active in the roll call and attending the CC gathering gave me a jumpstart on meeting fellow cruisers.
 

[papa B me]

Thank you for your feedback.  I believe the 3 night pre cruise for Lisbon is about $1700 per person.  I start planning our trips pretty early so have some time to work the pros and cons.  We've been blessed to have some really good pre cruise experiences with Uniworld on river cruises so it caught my attention.  Thanks again

[uktog]

I think a much higher percentage of river cruisers take the pre cruise option which is more competitively priced than the Azamara offerings.  I am sure, with time you can create your own package, we do that and love the fun of doing it.

[Trend]

The relaxed atmosphere of AZ cruises and smaller numbers allow you to intact often with fellow cruisers.

[SoBaycruiser]

On 8/19/2019 at 7:45 AM, papa B me said:

We have a cruise from Lisbon to Barcelona booked on the Pursuit for September next year.  I certainly understand that cruise companies pre cruise packages are expensive compared to planning the pre cruise stay ourselves.  I have done both on our other cruises and have found pros and cons to both.  One of the things we have enjoyed on other cruise lines pre cruise stays is getting to know some of our fellow passengers before the cruise as our experience has been that the pre cruise passengers are small in number and usually very outgoing.  

 

My questions are for anyone that has taken an Azamara pre cruise package is:

 

#1. Have you found the quality good(knowing it is more expensive then DIY)?

 

#2. Have they been well organized?

 

#3. Did you enjoy the hotels Azamara utilizes?

 

#4. Is the transition from pre cruise to cruise seemless?

 

#5. Did you experience getting to know other cruisers during this time a positive?

 

I'm considering booking the Lisbon precruise stay.  Any thoughts appreciated

 

Brian

 

Just did the Alaska 4 day pre-cruise tour prior to our TP in early August.  The Alaska tours were new this year so I think they still had a few kinks to work out.

#1- I have nothing to compare this to as this was our first pre-cruise tour.  See impressions  below.

#2- I think communication was poor both prior to and upon arrival.  They did not share the first hotel name until a few weeks before the trip requiring a call to them for that info so we could fly in the day before and stay at the same place.  We were never given instructions how to make contact with the Azamara rep once there.  We had the front desk call us when someone showed up.  The itinerary information we were given was very general with no specific times when to meet in the morning etc.  We didn’t know until the night before that our bus trip into Denali was 13.5 hrs long.  Had we known this beforehand, we may have opted not to do this precruise tour. (I suffered from swollen feet much of the cruise as an after effect from sitting in a cramped school bus for so long)

#3 - we were very happy with the hotels chosen for this tour.  We would stay in them again.

#4 - the transition was somewhat seamless.  The problem came in that we had a long drive to get to the ship and different people have different opinions as to what time they’d like to arrive.  I think this was just lack of experience in Alaska.  The med ,ay be totally different.

#5- absolutely loved meeting and getting to know the two other couples on our tour.

[Grandma Cruising]

Was the 13.5 hour bus tour all in Denali or was some of the time getting there? That’s a very long time to sit on those buses - they’re not comfortable at all. We did a HAL post-Cruise tour in Alaska which was by train from Anchorage to Fairbanks and included a day in Denali on one of those school buses. My recollection is that we got on the bus at about 6:30am and we’re back at the hotel mid-afternoon - about 9 hours or so. It was September and very cold, so the windows were streaming with condensation!

[papa B me]

SoBaycruiser,

Thank you so much for your response.  This is the type of feedback I was hoping to get. I'm still in the planning process and have plenty of time to decide.  It seems communications issues are a consistent theme with Azamara.  With the new emphasis they have on the land portions of the trip it will be interesting to see if more people start taking them and if they have created the infrastructure to sustain it.  Thanks again for your input.

 

Brian

[rallydave]

25 minutes ago, papa B me said:

SoBaycruiser,

Thank you so much for your response.  This is the type of feedback I was hoping to get. I'm still in the planning process and have plenty of time to decide.  It seems communications issues are a consistent theme with Azamara.  With the new emphasis they have on the land portions of the trip it will be interesting to see if more people start taking them and if they have created the infrastructure to sustain it.  Thanks again for your input.

 

Brian

Yes, communications and everything from the home office range from extremely poor to NONE.  Our first and only cruise on Azamara was wonderful without home office issues but, we did all our own flights and transfers and only a single Azamara tour which was the crooked railroad in Norway.  it was expensive with a long disorganized lunch and glad we arranged all our own touring.  On board so good we booked another.  Then Azamara decided to improve profits and cancelled our booked cruise in a completely disorganized manner with a horrible offer to take another.  We declined and walked away.  Keep watching the AZamara board to see the next screw up and thank myself for running away.

 

No excuse for the ineptitude in the home office and the terrible IT department.  Alaska is expensive but, sure you can do better on your own at a lower price and not have to put up with the inevitable home office issues.  Yes, Alaska was new this year but, they have already cut their loses and moved out.  Plenty of private operators in Lisbon who will do a better job with their hands tied behind them at a much lower price point.  Your choice.

[papa B me]

RallyDave,

Thanks for your input.  I guess I'm a glass half full kind of guy when it comes to travel.  So if I enjoy the actual travel experience I have a pretty high tolerance for the things that don't go well such as pre cruise communication.  I too had a cruise canceled by Azamara.  It was actually an Alaskan cruise where they diverted to Japan instead.  It was over a year and a half in advance so I didn't have any issues with refunds/compensation.  When I travel if I enjoy the accommodations, food, itinerary, atmosphere, etc... I don't get real bent out of shape with the frustrations of a home office or if someone doesn't smile at me on the ship, if I don't get invited to dine with the captain, etc....I base every trip we take on the overall experience in deciding whether to travel again with them.  From what I can glean from this forum over the past few years that despite some frustrations many find Azamara a worthwhile over all experience and seems to fit what I like in travel.

 

As I mentioned when I started this thread I certainly understand that I can plan out my whole pre cruise a whole lot less expensive then a package deal from Azamara.  And it is still likely that I will.  However for business and personal reasons I like the idea of not having to take the time and energy this coming year to plan out ever detail.  So I will continue to consider the pre cruise option.  I do love getting first hand accounts such as Sobaycruisers.  Then I take into account that the city of Lisbon is quite different then Denali so there will be no 13 hour bus rides.  I'm not going to fly in before the pre cruise begins so as long as I know where the hotel is by the time I get there all is good.  If for any reason I'm not greeted at the airport it isn't that hard to get a taxi......

 

Bottom line is that I feel incredibly blessed to travel as we do and am grateful that there are so many different travel options.  I truly appreciate all the help I receive from these boards and others.  Selfishly I do wish that there was a little more understanding that we all are different and like different things and that there would be greater respect for our differences.  Azamara boards have been better then some of the others but even the tone here has gotten pretty intense as witnessed on a thread comparing Azamara to another line that was recently closed.

 

So again, would love to hear from any other posters who have experienced pre or post land trips with Azamara.

 

Thanks again to those who have posted.

Brian

[SoBaycruiser]

18 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Was the 13.5 hour bus tour all in Denali or was some of the time getting there? That’s a very long time to sit on those buses - they’re not comfortable at all. We did a HAL post-Cruise tour in Alaska which was by train from Anchorage to Fairbanks and included a day in Denali on one of those school buses. My recollection is that we got on the bus at about 6:30am and we’re back at the hotel mid-afternoon - about 9 hours or so. It was September and very cold, so the windows were streaming with condensation!

 

Yes the 13.5 hrs was all in the park.  We got to the hotel in time for dinner the night before where we were told the next day would be 13.5 hrs.  We were to meet at 6:15am and we’d return at 7:45 pm.  We went to the furthest point in the park (92 miles at about 30mi/hr) ...that happens to be private land.  There we were served a hot lunch.  Due to the rain there was not much to do but sit and wait to get back on the bus.  We got back in time for a late dinner.  I acknowledge that Azamara was trying to give us a better experience.  The Celebrity precruise had an 8 hr tour with a sack lunch.  Azamara tried to give us a longer/better experience with a hot meal.  Unfortunately, the planners must never have sat on one of those buses. 

[Grandma Cruising]

I can see what Azamara was trying to do, but that is just too long sitting on buses that are designed to take kids to & from school. Golly, you must have been cold and aching when you got back.

[uktog]

5 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

 

 

Unfortunately, the planners must never have sat on one of those buses. 

That’s what bothers me about these packages.  They are extremely expensive you are paying a pretty high premium for someone doing the organising (and accept some people are happy doing that).  At that price the organisers do need to have a far better understanding of what everything entails and the impact of crazily busy schedules or modes of transportation on guests.

 

I have also been in the position of going on a very badly timed overnight tour with Azamara.  Now they may have sorted it for future guests but we got no recompense so felt our hard earned money on a once in a lifetime was taken for granted.  

 

We will never go on higher tariff land based activities Azamara hasn’t delivered for at least a season, limits our choices possibly and I know it’s no comfort for the early bookers of this new venture but I’d say, buyer beware, do your own detailed research on timings etc and keep asking questions of head office for details. Judge how well established those details are before making financial commitments. 

[tring]

I am a first time Azamara, so have no comment to make about them, but we do know Lisbon very well having had a long time there all told - both overnight and on one day cruise stops.  I would just like to say that Lisbon is not an expensive base and is very easy to get about if you do go for the own plan.  Regards travelling to places that are a bit distant, I suggest you consider the trains as they are very good and go directly to a number of places of interest (we have easily done that just on a one day cruise stop).  At Sintra for instance, you can just get off the train and pick up a circular bus outside the station with details of the stops given (bit like a hoho bus) and distances are quite small.

 

Alternatively, I have seen reviews by people who have had a tour arranged from a cruise ship by a local tour company all in with road transport and the tour planned out if you are short of planning time.  You should be able to pick up a company name from the ports of call section.  The centre of Lisbon is great by night, and the local restaurants are excellent as long as you do not just stick to the ones in the shopping area in the central (flat) section - metro transport gets you up the hill into the more authentic areas very easily.

 

We did do a pre cruise stay with Viking for our river cruise from SPB to Moscow, when we had one tour and a concierge at the hotel to help plan other explorations if we wanted last year.  It was excellent in a base we were a bit wary about, but way cheaper than the Azamara ones. 

[snowglobe]

I have spent much time in Europe and have used a specialized day tour company extensively over the years called “Context Travel” - the latest in Lisbon last year. If you decide to not book the Azamara pre-cruise Land Package, you can book the hotel of your own choosing and entrust the entire multi-day sightseeing program to Context, which I can recommend highly for their personalized approach and highly educated staff.

Edited August 25, 2019 by snowglobe

[papa B me]

Tring and Snowglobe

 

Thank you for the advice and recommendations

 

Brian

[Shawnino]

Echoing what Tring said we took advantage of TAP Airlines' "stopover" program to see Lisbon en route to picking up a ship in Venice.

We booked stuff on our own.

We spent EUR 1000 over a couple days and had a great, and what we thought was a high-end, time:

EUR 200/nt on a very nice hotel in Belem which didn't totally suit my accessibility needs but was very good otherwise, breakfast in

Two days of private guiding on places we found near the top of the list on Trip Advisor. 200 Euros for a day around Lisbon, Sintra, and Cascais. 180 Euros for a six hour tour to Setubal wine country including three tastings with aeroport drop off. In both cases guides and tours were excellent.

A couple nice dinners would come in at maybe 100 Euros/night, and you could eat OK for a hell of a lot less than that.

 

If you want to give Az more money, why not upgrade your cabin, or book an extra cruise segment?

 

[papa B me]

Thank you again for the advice.  I truly do understand that I can save money by planning the pre cruise trip myself.  I have planned trips on my own many times.  It really isn't a matter of giving Azamara more money, it's about creating the experience I'm wanting for this trip.  Was simply reaching out to see if anyone had personal experiences with Azamara's land trips as far as quality and enjoyment. Again thanks to all for the encouragement on how easy it is to book Lisbon myself.

 

Brian

[critterchick]

On 8/24/2019 at 6:54 PM, SoBaycruiser said:

 

Yes the 13.5 hrs was all in the park.  We got to the hotel in time for dinner the night before where we were told the next day would be 13.5 hrs.  We were to meet at 6:15am and we’d return at 7:45 pm.  We went to the furthest point in the park (92 miles at about 30mi/hr) ...that happens to be private land.  There we were served a hot lunch.  Due to the rain there was not much to do but sit and wait to get back on the bus.  We got back in time for a late dinner.  I acknowledge that Azamara was trying to give us a better experience.  The Celebrity precruise had an 8 hr tour with a sack lunch.  Azamara tried to give us a longer/better experience with a hot meal.  Unfortunately, the planners must never have sat on one of those buses. 

 

On 8/24/2019 at 11:54 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I can see what Azamara was trying to do, but that is just too long sitting on buses that are designed to take kids to & from school. Golly, you must have been cold and aching when you got back.

 

The 13.5 tour is a standard offering in Denali. We did a DIY pre-cruise Alaska adventure prior to a Princess cruise in 2018 and that was all we initially saw as an offering. Then we found the “short” 8 hour tour that was on a school bus that had been refitted with a smaller version of a large tour bus’ seats. There were many very unhappy large people sharing two seats. DH and I went to the rear of the bus and, since it didn’t fill up, were each able to have our own seat. So it was a great day in steerage, lol.

 

Azamara have no excuse for not providing a premium experience in Alaska. Their sister lines have been there for decades and it can’t be that hard to send an email to one of their people to get the scoop on how to run a cruisetour.