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[Chot50s]

Thank you @Grandma Cruising. An update for your Tips for Azamara Newbies spreadsheet (row 26). 😁

Edited October 8, 2022 by Chot50s

[Grandma Cruising]

9 hours ago, Chot50s said:

Thank you @Grandma Cruising. An update for your Tips for Azamara Newbies spreadsheet (row 26). 😁

Done, thanks for nudging me.

[pastis]

On 10/8/2022 at 11:06 AM, Grandma Cruising said:

I think it is still $30, just means you don’t save as much as you used to.

Sorry to disappoint, but per Azamara website today:

 

Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $35 per-person cover.

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, pastis said:

Sorry to disappoint, but per Azamara website today:

 

Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $35 per-person cover.

That IS disappointing!

[Chot50s]

2 hours ago, pastis said:

Sorry to disappoint, but per Azamara website today:

 

Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $35 per-person cover.

At least it’s good to know that the dining package still offers a relatively good savings over buying individual dinners. 
 

Does anyone know the current onboard price for the Chefs Table?

[Chot50s]

11 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Done, thanks for nudging me.

@Grandma Cruising, thanks for putting together and maintaining this fantastic resource. It’s been really helpful to my as I plan our first Azamara voyage for next January. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

10 minutes ago, Chot50s said:

At least it’s good to know that the dining package still offers a relatively good savings over buying individual dinners. 
 

Does anyone know the current onboard price for the Chefs Table?

$95 per person or $250 pp for all three.  But on our cruise they cancelled the third menu (Arabic) for lack of interest and scheduled a second Italian on that night – so you couldn't use your third one unless you do Italian 2x.  They need to develop a more popular third menu.

[uktog]

20 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

$95 per person or $250 pp for all three.  But on our cruise they cancelled the third menu (Arabic) for lack of interest and scheduled a second Italian on that night – so you couldn't use your third one unless you do Italian 2x.  They need to develop a more popular third menu.

Explorers Dinner also cancelled replaced by French. The chefs had a meeting from all four ships yesterday to discuss new options 

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, pastis said:

Sorry to disappoint, but per Azamara website today:

 

Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $35 per-person cover.

Strange, just looked at the Dining link for the UK website and it says “Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $30 per-person cover. Reservations are highly recommended”.

[Chot50s]

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Strange, just looked at the Dining link for the UK website and it says “Specialty dining is complimentary for suite guests. For others, there is a $30 per-person cover. Reservations are highly recommended”.

The price I found on the Azamara.com site says $35.

 

https://www.azamara.com/life-onboard/dining

[govanguy]

15 hours ago, Chot50s said:

The price I found on the Azamara.com site says $35.

 

https://www.azamara.com/life-onboard/dining

https://www.azamara.co.uk/life-onboard/dining

[Grandma Cruising]

20 hours ago, Chot50s said:

The price I found on the Azamara.com site says $35.

 

https://www.azamara.com/life-onboard/dining

Because I’m in the UK, when I click your link it takes me to the UK site. I tried to get onto the US site using the flag at the bottom, but it just won’t let me. I’ll ask Uktog through her ‘live from’ topic.

[Grandma Cruising]

Asked uktog and she confirmed the price as $35, Sipo the UK website is out of date. I’ll note it in ‘Tipe for Azamara Newbies & update the spreadsheet.

[federalexpress]

Just to conclude an earlier post on this topic (may have made it on another thread), my TA had indicated I could buy the Indulgence package with a combination of my OBC of $1000 and a card top up. But when I contacted Azamara, they said no, it has to be done onboard. They described it as a 'system limitation' and I take from this that they would sooner pre-sell these packages in advance if their IT allowed it.

 

That leaves me with trying to book an excursion before it possibly sells out but unable to use the $700 I would get from the package. I'm minded to follow the suggestion on here, book it with my existing OBC, then cancel it onboard to restore my $1000 credit, then re-book it after I've acquired my Indulgence package. To be on the safe side, I've asked Azamara if this will work and I won't get double charged. Will update when I hear.

[swigso]

What I really do not understand is why I cannot spend the OBC on the spa

but have to use it on excursions 

[aliaschief]

$35.00 is not surprising especially with todays inflation reports. Sure seeing it at my grocery stores and I’m sure Azamara as well from their food providers.

[federalexpress]

4 hours ago, swigso said:

What I really do not understand is why I cannot spend the OBC on the spa

but have to use it on excursions 

 

If my perception is correct from my email exchange with them, they would be ok with you doing that but their current IT, which I gather is soon to be replaced, prevents that being possible.

[Host Jazzbeau]

21 hours ago, federalexpress said:

 

If my perception is correct from my email exchange with them, they would be ok with you doing that but their current IT, which I gather is soon to be replaced, prevents that being possible.

Apparently on Feb. 1, 2023 according to the recent Celebrity email about the separation of loyalty programs.

[JYDCruise]

On 10/13/2022 at 4:29 PM, federalexpress said:

 

If my perception is correct from my email exchange with them, they would be ok with you doing that but their current IT, which I gather is soon to be replaced, prevents that being possible.

I really don't get it when merchants make it difficult to give them money.

[FlyerTalker]

On an earlier cruise, we booked and paid for all excursions for an upcoming voyage.  We are now thinking about picking up the Indulgence package.  Two questions for the collective wisdom:

 

1) Is the pricing ($1499) the same, regardless of voyage length?

 

2) It seems that the only way for us to use the shorex credit is to cancel some tours onboard and immediately rebook it with the package credit.  Is this a possible work-around, and would the cancelled tours get refunded to our credit card?

 

Thanks for the assist - will be only our second Azamara cruise and still learning the specific ropes of the line.

[crzrr]

18 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

On an earlier cruise, we booked and paid for all excursions for an upcoming voyage.  We are now thinking about picking up the Indulgence package.  Two questions for the collective wisdom:

 

1) Is the pricing ($1499) the same, regardless of voyage length?

 

2) It seems that the only way for us to use the shorex credit is to cancel some tours onboard and immediately rebook it with the package credit.  Is this a possible work-around, and would the cancelled tours get refunded to our credit card?

 

Thanks for the assist - will be only our second Azamara cruise and still learning the specific ropes of the line.

Yes, the pricing is the same regardless of the length of your cruise.  Makes it a very good deal on longer voyages.

If you purchase the package while at home, the shore excursion credit shows up in your account almost immediately so you could cancel and rebook from home.  Yes, your refund shows up on your credit cards pretty quickly.  One caveat - when you booked your excursions for the upcoming voyage on board, did you receive a discount on the excursions?  If so, that discount would not be available when you rebook.  

Hope this helps.

[NCNina]

Just got off the phone with someone from Azamara.  I had questions about whether it’s possible to apply our OBC (it was part of an Azamara promotion, not from our TA) to the purchase of the Indulgence Package prior to our cruise. I realized this was probably a long shot based on what I’ve read on this board, but hope springs eternal!  😉

 

This is what I was told: 

* Our OBC can only be used pre-cruise for the purchase of excursions. 
* The Azamara reps you speak to can only take credit card payments for package purchases or upgrades; thus, no OBC for those pre-cruise. 
* If guests choose to cancel an excursion they booked, it would need to be done 48 hours before embarkation. (This was news to me, as Celebrity gives you until 24 hours prior to the excursion to cancel.) 

 

As we are new to Azamara, this was surprising information.  I guess DH and I will need to be patient on Day 1 as we line up somewhere to direct our OBC to our desired choice(s)! 😬

[Grandma Cruising]

10 hours ago, NCNina said:

Just got off the phone with someone from Azamara.  I had questions about whether it’s possible to apply our OBC (it was part of an Azamara promotion, not from our TA) to the purchase of the Indulgence Package prior to our cruise. I realized this was probably a long shot based on what I’ve read on this board, but hope springs eternal!  😉

 

This is what I was told: 

* Our OBC can only be used pre-cruise for the purchase of excursions. 
* The Azamara reps you speak to can only take credit card payments for package purchases or upgrades; thus, no OBC for those pre-cruise. 
* If guests choose to cancel an excursion they booked, it would need to be done 48 hours before embarkation. (This was news to me, as Celebrity gives you until 24 hours prior to the excursion to cancel.) 

 

As we are new to Azamara, this was surprising information.  I guess DH and I will need to be patient on Day 1 as we line up somewhere to direct our OBC to our desired choice(s)! 😬

The information about shore excursions cancellation is wrong. You can cancel most excursions up to 48 hours before the tour. Here’s a quote from their shore excursions brochure 

“What if I cancel my Shore Excursion?
Guests enjoy the benefits of a hassle-free 48-hour cancellation period when reserving Shore Excursions. This flexible tour cancellation policy allows guests to cancel or modify tour reservations up to 48 hours prior to the scheduled tour departure without penalty. If changing or canceling a shore excursion within the appropriate non-penalty period, our valued guests will have two options: they can either contact the Shore Excursions team to reserve another tour, or if they choose to cancel, will have their onboard account credited in the full amount of the tour cost without penalty or fee.”

[NCNina]

Thanks for this clarification, @Grandma Cruising.  I thought what I was told about excursion cancellations sounded extremely restrictive, but the Azamara rep I spoke with was very clear when asked to repeat the policy.  That’s why DH and I have come to depend on these boards! I appreciate your taking the time to respond.  

[Grandma Cruising]

29 minutes ago, NCNina said:

Thanks for this clarification, @Grandma Cruising.  I thought what I was told about excursion cancellations sounded extremely restrictive, but the Azamara rep I spoke with was very clear when asked to repeat the policy.  That’s why DH and I have come to depend on these boards! I appreciate your taking the time to respond.  

Just a little warning, if it’s an overnight excursion, then the cancellation date will be more than 48 hours beforehand. It usually says where you book it.