AZAMARA'S BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: More Amenities added for Up-Market Travelers

[theampres]

They have have the "white night" parties for a long time now. They are great and well attended.

 

my point exactly: passengers like these! but are they currently with OPEN BAR?? if so, guess I missed that..! but very happy w/free-flowing good wine, too. BUT, if the 'white night galas' are NOT currently open bar, then make those nights open bar for a certain nr. of set hours. could also be a revenue-maker, if there are those who want and willing to pay upcharge for premium brands. seems to me, like a good 'compromise/ 'merger' of current offers, i.e., AI and AzAmazing evening off-ship - prob. less costly overall to AZ, too, plus, it's something already proven that customers like. maybe even consider doing more of them or similar concept 'gala nights' , nr. dependent on cruise length. might be better received /perceived as a true 'amenity/enhancement' - or perhaps I should qualify and say that I would consider this a true enhancement.

 

so many variations of the above possible - could carry-over to bars, lounges after - where would not be open bar, again, revenue-maker for AZ..just provide something that encourages passengers to carry on the party! just mho, of course.

[MightyQuinn]

Complimentary Night Tour - positive. I think a signature event sounds wonderful. I'm sure Azamara has considered the logistics and has designed events that can accommodate all passengers with ease. This won't be group touring. I expect that coaches will be used only to transport passengers to the venue and then the event will unfold. As mentioned previously, I think we got a little taste of something similar on our President's Cruise earlier this year when Azamara hosted a shore side event at an ancient fort in Manila. We were invited to explore the fort at our leisure and then to enjoy live theatre, dance performances, local "street" food, open bar and fireworks. Most passengers attended, nobody felt herded and everybody loved the experience.

 

Charging Penalty for No-Shows on Night Tour - negative. I think this is petty and greedy. Azamara will already have the cost of the signature event built into their new pricing, so charging a no-show will be a double hit. It's very disingenuous to invite a valued "guest" to a special event and then turn around to collect if they don't attend.

 

Included Alcohol - positive. We are mostly wine drinkers so we could easily be neutral here. DH enjoys Scotch and I will have the odd Lemon Drop Martini, but that's about it. But having sailed on luxury lines, we felt a certain ambiance with all-inclusive that doesn't exist otherwise. No, there are no crazy drunks and no ship-wide rowdiness. But there is a lively atmosphere, bars are full, people are socializing, staff are engaged. It's fun! Kinda like having Happy Hour or Le Club Voyage cocktails all the time. We very much enjoyed it.

 

Discontinuing 50% Land Discoveries - negative. This makes no sense to me. Why would a destination-driven cruise line charge inflated prices for generic tours that are available on mainstream lines for less? This is an area where I think Azamara isn't yet delivering. They seriously need to develop unique tours not available elsewhere that would justify a return to non-discounted pricing. Introducing a signature night tour is a step in the right direction but much work still needs to be done. Azamara is not the only cruise line offering longer stays and overnights, no matter what they advertise! I think they should stick with the 50% discount until they have better excursions to offer.

 

New Pricing - neutral. This is the great unknown. But I am a bit surprised that 2014 prices will be increasing, since they were only released last week and are already significantly higher.

 

Bottom Line - mostly positive. I still like most of what I see but I'll wait and reserve final judgement until all the details are in.

[dfishner]

I feel the same way. As costs (fuel, food, labor, etc.) go up, I can accept that fares have to go up. [i don't buy that I should pay more because a cruise line has to repaint a ship or replace a carpet. Regular maintenance is a cost of doing business, whether you're a cruise line, hotel, restaurant, liquor store, or whatever.] What I think people find objectionable is the shell game of giving an event that many don't want while taking away a discount (shore excursions) that many took advantage of, and then using that as an excuse to raise prices significantly. The other so-called enhancement purportedly justifying the big price increase is the free bottom-shelf liquor which does little or nothing for many of us, and for some is perceived even as a negative.

 

Probably the dumbest thing was all the hype to promote the big, grand, wonderful announcement only to find it was as much a takeaway (no discounted excursions; much higher prices) as an enhancement. All the "bespokes" out of Edie's mouth are not only not going to convince many of us to the contrary and, worse, are now easy targets of mockery.

 

You are correct that is part of capital improvement and monies should be but aside for that every year (I know in my business we do that) and we should not have to pay for them to upkeep their ships. For us it is not the price increase but how much the prices went up that is putting us off.

 

The so called enhancements are not enhancements it is just slight of hand Azamara should be the line that is known for creating value in its class and as we can see on this thread most of us on here all think what Azamara offered prior to this announcement was a value along with great service and destinations and what they just did is as you stated is a takaway.

 

I think the worse part of all of this is Azamara has lost their identiy they do not know who they are or who they want to be, I also believe they have lost touch with their customer is and what their customer wants. If they are going after a wider demographics which I believe is the right thing for them to do, throwing liquor and a one night excrusion is not going to do that. They need a targeted marketing plan and a strategy to build their customer base and not throw things against the wall to see if something will stick and that is what this feels like..

[Jade13]

We were planning a trip in March 2014 with some friends from the US who we met on Azamara. We love the line, the fellow passengers, the itineraries and crew. We just love the whole thing.

 

I cannot begin to tell you how crestfallen we are, and are totally confused by this "announcement". There is no upside.

 

I am keen for Azamara to make profit, but in making this decision, they will potentially destroy a large part of their core customer base who simply cannot afford the price. The hike, even taking into account increasing fuel cost, port charges, salaries etc. is way beyond reasonable, and although we both drink, we would not subsidise others if we didnt out of principle. That is the plain fact in my eyes. The price hike doesnt seem reasonable.

 

We will have to re-think this now, as a balcony cabin on the cruise we want is $6657 each. Nearly £9000 excluding flights, hotels and spend.

 

Please Bill, go back to Larry and tell him this is not going to work for a lot of folks. There has to be another way.

 

David

 

This must be the March 17 cruise.

[MrMojoRisin]

After our first cruise on Azamara, we really felt we had discovered the cruise line for us - small ship, wonderful staff, great food and wine with meals - it had everything we were looking for and at a reasonable price. Since then, we have taken two more Azamara cruises and have two more booked. We have also praised Azamara highly to friends and colleagues and encouraged them to take an Azamara cruise.

 

Sadly, those two booked cruises will almost certainly be our last.

 

Over the past week or so we have been hyped up about the BIG announcement. I am always sceptical about BIG announcements and was prepared to be underwhelmed, but at least I thought that any changes would be benign.

 

How wrong I was - not just a damp squib but a banger that exploded in my face.

 

It is not that the changes themselves are inherently bad but, for us, they remove choice and add to the cost of the cruise. The included bar drinks we feel neutral about. The special event leaves us cold as it is a take it or leave it event. It might add to the experience or it might just be something we are not interested in. Nevertheless, these two "additions" are partly responsible for a price rise.

 

The removal of the 50% shore excursions deal is not at all welcome. I can't believe the explanation that there has been a poor take up - that is certainly not what we have seen. However, as we have tended to spend around £500 per cruise on excursions the cost in future will be £1000 - therefore a £500 price increase for us, or less excursions. As Azamara prides itself as destination rich this move seems odd as it means more cost to enjoy the destinations you take us to.

 

However, the real killer is the increase in fares - with the promise of a further hike in November.

 

I have just had a quote from Azamara in the UK for the 20th August 2014 Black Sea cruise on Quest. I must say that I was shocked to find that a basic outside cabin for this 12 night cruise would cost us £7228 (£600 per day!) and this is without flights, transfers and pre-cruise hotel stay which have previously been included.

 

A BA return flight to Istanbul would cost in the region of £550 and let us assume a hotel and transfers at at total of £200. Add on excursions at say £1000 and we get a total cost of almost £9000. That is approaching Regent prices (where I would get a much larger cabin, included speciality dining and top end bar drinks, as well as flights, transfers etc)

 

I very much regret that Azamara is looking to price us out and, unless a last minute bargain turns up, we will not be booking again.

 

Azamara seems proud of having repeat cruisers but these repeaters are, with great sadness, gone.

[uktog]

We have just received an email from another site where examples of the free evening events are given. 4 examples are given, one is an event at Ephesus in the evening which is currently being marketed as a full price (no discount) shore excursion on my upcoming cruise at a cost of $179 each so that gives a sense of the value of the events.

 

For those that asked about timings, from the four listed, the earliest departure time was 5pm, the latest 7pm. The Livorno excursion which leaves at 5pm is the latest back at 10.30pm - that particular excursion was a journey through the countryside to a castle for a dinner and a "three tenors" concert.

[HudandPug]

"However, the cheapest you could get my OV Monaco for in pounds, was £1,190 GTY, approx up to £1,300 with some agents. The current prices if you book now for 2014 are $2,049 which is £1,272. No change of any interest that I can see, just added benefits with the new scheme. I have not worked it out properly but its either an increase of approx 6% (2 years in line with inflation averages)or a decrease depending on where and when you booked"

 

Hi HudandPug

 

All the prices I've seen so far in the UK are "cruise only" for 2014, compared with fly/cruise prices in the past. Are you comparing like with like? Adding on return air fares and a probable overnight hotel stay would make a big difference. You also seem to be converting your dollars to pounds at a rate of around $1.6 to £1 - I suspect that it is unlikely that Azamara would convert at that rate.

 

For an oceanview cabin on the 4 night Monaco cruise in 2014, cruise only, the lowest price I could find from a UK TA was £1374. Adding on flights and a hotel would increase this by several hundred pounds. [unless a LoCo airline is used which rather defeats the object of an upmarket cruise!] :)

 

Yes I am using about 160 as a comparison because I took the dollars for both and converted both using the same converter, so the difference was clean. This was with no bells or whistles and came straight from the Azamara site on both counts (Saved a page when I booked mine). I will say, however, the price I paid was 'different' because of how I paid and I saved the price to book for reference only.

 

Adding flights and hotel (inc transfers) for 3 days flying from manchester, staying 4 star in Nice (close to cruise port and city centre) cost a further £657 for 2 of us, so yes economy lufthansa, which I actually like because it still has all the bells and whistles and I see no point in paying over the odds so I can say ' 5 star for me because I like wasting money, which is the point of all this, most people on here have been out priced by Azamaras increases. Cheap flights mean you can pay for the better cruise;) I do intend booking at least one more Azamara in the next 12 months possibly 2, plus another celebrity :cool:

 

4 Night Monaco Grand Prix Voyage

 

Voyage Dates Club Interior Club Oceanview Club Veranda Club Suite 22-MAY-2014 – 26-MAY-2014 $1,649.00 $2,049.00 $2,649.00 $3,449.00

 

The only 2013 I can find currently is Suites starting at $4190 ish. A fair bit more than booking a 2014 now:cool:

[marinaro44]

Have you watched any of the online destination videos, and what did you think?

Yes, too much Edie and not enough port footage, but I wouldn't watch any of these except that you asked. Not sure what these videos have to do with the topic of this thread, however.

[Dr H]

Complimentary Night Tour - positive. I think a signature event sounds wonderful. I'm sure Azamara has considered the logistics and has designed events that can accommodate all passengers with ease. This won't be group touring. I expect that coaches will be used only to transport passengers to the venue and then the event will unfold. As mentioned previously, I think we got a little taste of something similar on our President's Cruise earlier this year when Azamara hosted a shore side event at an ancient fort in Manila. We were invited to explore the fort at our leisure and then to enjoy live theatre, dance performances, local "street" food, open bar and fireworks. Most passengers attended, nobody felt herded and everybody loved the experience.

 

Charging Penalty for No-Shows on Night Tour - negative. I think this is petty and greedy. Azamara will already have the cost of the signature event built into their new pricing, so charging a no-show will be a double hit. It's very disingenuous to invite a valued "guest" to a special event and then turn around to collect if they don't attend.

 

Included Alcohol - positive. We are mostly wine drinkers so we could easily be neutral here. DH enjoys Scotch and I will have the odd Lemon Drop Martini, but that's about it. But having sailed on luxury lines, we felt a certain ambiance with all-inclusive that doesn't exist otherwise. No, there are no crazy drunks and no ship-wide rowdiness. But there is a lively atmosphere, bars are full, people are socializing, staff are engaged. It's fun! Kinda like having Happy Hour or Le Club Voyage cocktails all the time. We very much enjoyed it.

 

Discontinuing 50% Land Discoveries - negative. This makes no sense to me. Why would a destination-driven cruise line charge inflated prices for generic tours that are available on mainstream lines for less? This is an area where I think Azamara isn't yet delivering. They seriously need to develop unique tours not available elsewhere that would justify a return to non-discounted pricing. Introducing a signature night tour is a step in the right direction but much work still needs to be done. Azamara is not the only cruise line offering longer stays and overnights, no matter what they advertise! I think they should stick with the 50% discount until they have better excursions to offer.

 

New Pricing - neutral. This is the great unknown. But I am a bit surprised that 2014 prices will be increasing, since they were only released last week and are already significantly higher.

 

Bottom Line - mostly positive. I still like most of what I see but I'll wait and reserve final judgement until all the details are in.

 

These are my identical conclusions, and couldn't express them any more clearly. We have 2 cruises coming up, one in January, the other in July. January works under the old system, July under the new. Price wise, we (I assume...) are locked into our original price system. I will know exactly were this family stands in late July, 2013.

 

I've loved AZ for all of the stated reasons: small ships, no facilities for little kids, the wine flows (even if the scotch did not), we all know the list goes on. These were not inexpensive cruises, I paid top dollar for top service, and walked away very satisfied. But if AZ insists on astronomical price hikes, I simply cannot afford to travel with them past those next 2 cruises, and I truly want to continue with this line! I fully understand the company needs to make a profit, but "revenues" will plummet if "taxes" are hiked. That is basic economics 101. Economics 102: It will cost any company approximately 10x the amount of money to bring in a single new customer as it does to retain an old, loyal one. Azamara bean counters: you've got a lot of very angry old, loyal customers reading these boards and posting on them. There is no shame in admitting you've made a major business blunder, and then fixing it. It happened to Coca Cola in the 1980s with the introduction of new and improved "New Coke". That didn't work out very well for the company. RECONSIDER!

[Deegee208]

Interesting Read:

 

The process to create the various events began in April, when an internal team led by Emilio Freeman, Azamara's destination and land discovery architect, as well as Peter Cox and Carol Goodman, looked for extreme creativity and lots of fun in planning programs that are, in Freeman's words, entirely an "EDE" (exclusive destination event).

 

Azamara trialed the night-time event concept in September 2012 on one Seville, Spain port call, and then also in Livorno. On the Livorno option, the line suggested guests sleep in the day of the event, enjoy a leisurely brunch on the ship and then head out for the program in early afternoon.

 

At about 2 p.m., motorcoaches headed out for two Verrazano castles in the Tuscan region. Along the way, the coach stopped to allow guests to visit a leather factory, where guests who so desired could be measured for leather shoes, choosing their tanning and color options. Because the ship was in port for two days, the unique personalized souvenir they purchased could be delivered later to the ship prior to its departure.

 

In addition, the coaches stopped at a handbag factory and a basalmic vinegar factory, before dropping guests at their castle destination around sunset. Half the guests went to one castle, half the other.

 

Normally, the castles are not open after dark. Azamara guests had the castles to themselves, as a historian talked about how Michelangelo carved his famous "David" sculpture in one room.

 

The evening's festivities also featured a performance by The Three Tenors from the Florence Opera House. "It was a spectacular with guests on their feet," says Pimentel, noting that it was "a very unique experience that they couldn't purchase anywhere else in the world."

 

He described it as "more along the kind of incentive event that you would see with those types of groups...Guest response was fabulous."

[Azulann]

Now that is a creative port event!

 

I will defintely stay tuned..

 

I am looking at a Azamara cruise for August 2013, along the Turkey coast with embarkation in Istanbul.

I am also looking at the Constellation for a simlar cruise in Oct 2013. I plan to make my decision while on board a Celebrity ship in Dec.

[Dr H]

DeeGee, no argument here from me about your posting, and my only complaint would be that I wasn't with the group!

 

HOWEVER, you simply do NOT punish your guest for not participating! Sure, charge a cancellation fee to encourage good behavior - that is standard operating procedure in my medical office for no shows. But what has been proposed is patently absurd! The cost of the entire event was built into the upfront cost of the cruise, and then some, with the price hikes we are seeing. You don't wish to show up or cannot, that is your decision to make, not the management's. As someone else has posted, if I fail to drink my now "free" scotch, will I now get charged for it? There is no difference whatsoever between the two.

 

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what Azamara can dream up on our upcoming Scandinavian cruise. Since we have 3 nights in Iceland, I assume that is where our event will be. But I'm nervous about signing up for what should be a fabulous event, for fear of the unknown, and not being able to attend. (And it would be a charge that I would have no contention about contesting with American Express, should our cancellation fees show up on our bill)

 

That was a very, very dumb and insulting idea.

[geocruiser]

It seem Azamara does not need/want a lot of their past PAX any more. With the large price hike many PAX have stated they they are priced out and can not sail Azamara anymore.

 

Then, there is a second group of past PAX who are not priced out but are not happy with the value they get for price of the cruise. They will all so not sail Azamara again because I/they are not getting a good value for their cruise dollar.

 

And last there are some (few) who will still sail Azamara.

 

Therefore, Azamara will need to make a new client base of people willing to pay the higher prices. Can they do this with two older ships with smaller cabins?

 

I want good value for my money and like I said before will go to other cruise lines. I enjoy Princess, HAL and RCCL. I may try O.

[greeneg]

Interesting to note that trial excursion mentioned by DeeGee 208 above apparently made three "shopping " stops. I assume that no penalty was assessed if one did not make a purchase.......

[Dr H]

We are your friends, not your enemy! We are the loyal of the loyal, who care very deeply about this product. But this isn't looking too good.

 

Two threads dealing with the same subject, have taken almost 10,000 hits in 48 hours. Assuming non cruisers aren't posting, that is almost 14 full passenger loads on Quest and Journey, more if you count the significant others! This has ticked off almost an entire year's worth of your revenue paying passengers.

[150edmiston]

This must be the March 17 cruise.

 

It is jade. We nearly went on the ill fated cruise with our same pals which was abandoned due to the fire. We decided we'd wait for the reschedule, and here it is.

[150edmiston]

Good posts dr H.

 

The point you make in particular about customer retention is so valid. I really pray that azamara (hopefully looking in) do not miss that point.

 

I confess, i have been an azamara cheerleader, having sailed with various others. My explanation was that whilst azamara was by no means cheap, it was value for money, and the ambience, food, service etc were fantastic.

 

Two customers (me and my D), like hundreds if not more, hang in the balance. Make the right call azamara please. Why change gears when you dont have to?

 

David

[midwestchick]

In our opinion, Azamara continues to strive to provide the best cruising experience possible in a very personalized way. Obviously not all feel that way and will be happier to move onto another cruise line, where all of their wishes will surely come true:-O! We look forward to these new amenities and commend Azamara for being on the leading edge of passenger service. A class act in a market that otherwise caters to the masses.

 

How about catering to their loyal customers? I don't see this as a positive move....the shore excursions are really what irritates me the most. We booked 7 of them on our last cruise...one was canceled due to lack of participation. Our buses on those excursions were full for the most part...so I'm not sure why they made this move.

[Ithikan]

The Tuscan castle experience indeed sounds nice, but I'd not describe multiple stops to shop for leather items with 200 other cruisers an "azamazing" experience. Like the "bespoke" coffee capsules, it reeks of marketing hooey.

 

In what might be a precursor experience, in August I took the Journey's evening shore ex that bussed us from Pasajes to Bilbao, and included a walk followed by pinchos (appetizers), continuing on to tour a winery then dinner at the winery's restaurant, Azurmendi.

 

I was not impressed. The pinchos were served cafeteria-style in a vinyl and linoleum room next to the water, I have no idea why we were there. Anyone who explored the Basque cafes in San Sebastien knows what I'm referring to... And the Michelin starred restaurant served what was basically banquet fare - nothing even close to the dinner enjoyed there by friends of mine two months prior. We finished with a photo stop at the illuminated exterior of the Guggenheim, fini, the evening for $175. I consider it one of my shore excursion mistakes.

 

Hopefully for future passengers the new 'azamazing evenings' will be better, not so much like a stop on the rubber chicken banquet circuit.

[tango9]

So here is another vote that I prefer Azamara stay as it has been. I have been very impressed with Azamara so far on my five bookings with them. They have always asked us how they could improve the product, but this type of change did not seem to come up much from the guests as being wanted . I am concerned, like others, that I will not be able to justify paying the increased price, although I have not seen what they are yet. I have stayed away from the other lines like Oceania, Regent, Silversea, because Azamara was priced better and I did not have to pay for things included in the price which I did not want. I wonder what Azamara is thinking of everyone's reaction to this on the boards...

[taxjam]

We thoroughly enjoyed our January 2012 Antarctica cruise and booked the 14 day July 2013 Norwegian Fjords cruise while on board. We booked an Oceanview Room rather than a veranda because we felt the expected cold weather didn't warrant the additional cost. We didn't make much use of our veranda on the South America/Antarctica cruise. Here is how Azamara's prices have changed so far:

 

July 2013 Cruise - January 2012 price $ 9,342

($667 per night)

 

Same cruise/same category price today from website 10,592

($756 per night)

 

2014 price/Norwegian Fjords cruise/same category/

same number of days from website 12,509

($894 per night)

 

November prices ??????

 

These numbers bespeak (bad pun) for themselves. Note, the January 2012 number was adjusted to remove the booking on board discount, etc.

 

A couple of other comments/opinions:

 

1. I don't agree with the comments suggesting that Azamara needs substantially more income because of inflation/rising costs, etc. Inflation is very low and several of Az's major expenses should actually have dropped. For example, interest rates are significantly lower and virtually every corporation has refinanced as lower rates. Similarly, there is virtually no wage inflation. Additionally, the Euro has dropped in value relative to the dollar which is a major benefit to AZ.

 

2. I agree with the comments that Azamara's fleet can never attract the Regent, etc. crowd. This is so because of the physical makeup of the vessels. I doubt Azamara's small cabins, microscopic cabins, bottom shelf liquor, and pricey excursions will seem attractive. We sailed Azamara because of the experience - mainly the itineraries and the crew - at a reasonable price. The tradeoff was marginally acceptable cabins. To us the proposition had value. Looking at the numbers above, that conclusion is in serious doubt.

 

3. The "no show" penalty for the special experience smacks of a tone deaf bean counter mentality. Others have already demonstrated the ridiculousness of this approach. Carried to its logical extreme, would Azamara consider sending monitors to make sure passengers finished their free drinks and fine those that failed to do so? Perhaps management will rethink aspects of this program and devise a less obnoxious solution like, for example, offering excursions that are so special nobody would skip them barring some serious problem.

[koalapanda]

Unfortunately Azamara Administration has failed to recognise the type of guests they are attracting. Those that return repeatedly,who with gusto by word of mouth advertise your brand. Attracting "like" folk to cruise with Azamara is our goal.As a result there is a great harmony amongst guests.

It is our goodwill which helps grow your brand. We offer this gladly in recognition for the wonderful service we receive from the wonderful staff and Crew that we hold close to our hearts.It is they that make your success and your administration fails to acknowledge this in the true business sense.

Your unique guests make up a large portion overlooked in the Travel industry which I had thought Azamara recognised. I was wrong.

The majority of Azamara guests whilst savvy of the modern world are certainly not "up market". We are not posh or flashy, we love your dress code.Neither are we loud or rude, we are polite and respectful and love good conversation.Extra alcohol is not for us, we can have great fun and laughter without it. We are gourmet's. We love the excellent food and the Sommelier's carefully chosen boutique wine followed by delicious Espresso coffee.

Otherwise our requirements ultra comfort, good itineraries and after a days sightseeing to have that feeling of warmth of coming back to our Azamara Home.

Our style is not of the Regent, Crystal Lines etc and that is not our wish for Azamara. Azamara has style and class which is understated yet creates a special atmosphere and appeal to a very discerning group of guests.

Please keep it that way and the costing proportionately likewise.

Why change a good thing when it is working well, up to this point there has been nothing but praise.

[marinaro44]

Our style is not of the Regent, Crystal Lines etc and that is not our wish for Azamara. You have a unique appeal to a very discerning guests please keep it that way and the costing proportionately likewise.

Well said, koalapanda. Why emulate Regent? They just canned their CEO as a result of a lousy bottom line.

[cruisemuse13]

Unfortunately Azamara Administration has failed to recognise the type of guests they are attracting. Those that return repeatedly,who with gusto by word of mouth advertise your brand. Attracting "like" folk to cruise with Azamara is our goal.As a result there is a great harmony amongst guests.

It is our goodwill which helps grow your brand. We offer this gladly in recognition for the wonderful service we receive from the wonderful staff and Crew that we hold close to our hearts.It is they that make your success and your administration fails to acknowledge this in the true business sense.

Your unique guests make up a large portion overlooked in the Travel industry which I had thought Azamara recognised. I was wrong.

The majority of Azamara guests whilst savvy of the modern world are certainly not "up market". We are not posh or flashy, we love your dress code.Neither are we loud or rude, we are polite and respectful and love good conversation.Extra alcohol is not for us, we can have great fun and laughter without it. We are gourmet's. We love the excellent food and the Sommelier's carefully chosen boutique wine followed by delicious Espresso coffee.

Otherwise our requirements ultra comfort, good itineraries and after a days sightseeing to have that feeling of warmth of coming back to our Azamara Home.

Our style is not of the Regent, Crystal Lines etc and that is not our wish for Azamara. Azamara has style and class which is understated yet creates a special atmosphere and appeal to a very discerning group of guests.

Please keep it that way and the costing proportionately likewise.

Why change a good thing when it is working well, up to this point there has been nothing but praise.

So well said! The current passengers really help set the vibe for the cruise. I hope this doesn't change.

[pickypicky]

We are not what I would call "avid" cruisers. We took our first cruise (not counting one with the kids in the 70's on Premier, remember the Big Red Boat?) on Azamara in 2009. I had read about them in my local newspaper, described as a boutique line, and was intrigued. We cruised from Athens to Venice, and had, what I still consider one of our best trips ever. Since then, we have been to Asia on Azamara earlier this year, and had another fabulous experience. Between those two cruises, we went to Alaska on Regent. My husband loved Regent. Why? Because everything was included. He doesn't drink wine, and was annoyed at the high prices charged on Azamara for a simple vodka cocktail. Did anyone on the Regent cruise drink too much or was there any unacceptable behavior due to alcohol being free? No. In fact, the atmosphere was much more convivial, pre-dinner and post, than our first cruise on Azamara, where a glass of white wine or a vodka martini was $9 plus $18% tip automatically added and most were sitting around in Discoveries lounge looking glum while waiting for their tables...it was a tomb with harpist accompaniment! Now, my DH wants to go back to Regent...he loves their nice big cabins and walk-in closets, plus the aforementioned free spirits. I want to stay with Azamara...I love their food and service, and can tolerate the cabins. The food on Regent was mediocre, at best, and the specialty restaurant, although free, was no better nor more "special" (in fact, less so) than their MDR. Also, service on Regent was definitely lacking. The effort was expended, I just felt that staff weren't really "happy", particularly as compared to Azamara. We are indifferent to free shorex, whether they are "included", 50% off, whatever. We like to do our land tours independently, so whether or not it's "included", we do not typically participate, nor do we agonize about having paid for something we don't use, no more than we would begrudge our table mate the extra steak or lobster tail, or the third, fourth or fifth glass of wine, which we could not possibly have consumed. What we like is the overall atmosphere on the ship.

I guess my point is that I'd like to let the dust settle on this whole thing with Azamara. We're taking a land trip to Africa next year, so we're not in the market for a cruise until 2014. I am intrigued by the evening tour, if it is truly special and not something I could ever, ever, ever book on my own and a once in a lifetime treat...hopefully, you all will be reporting on CC as to how you find this experience. I am indifferent to the free spirits, since I like wine, and the wines that Az offered were perfectly acceptable (although, I did pay for ONE glass every evening in the lounge before dinner, which I found to be a petty charge, since the minute I was seated, I could have the same glass of wine, free of charge).

So, in light of the opposition on these boards to the full inclusion of alcohol, my response would be that we would like for cocktail prices to be much more reasonable (for my DH) and that they extend the included wine offering to the lounges pre-dinner (for me), say 5:00...how expensive could that be? We are not among those "threatening" to move to another line...we always consider our options, and assume that others do so as well. We have never been Azamara cheerleaders, but certainly hope to return in the future. The company will set the fares, we will decide whether we find them acceptable or not.