2018 Itineraries - Now Available (10/28/15) & World Cruise ?

[ellbon]

When I saw how many times Azamara was stopping in Miami and San Juan I was excited but it didn't last long. I was really disappointed in the ports. There are so many ports that Azamara could go to that the larger cruises can't and yet they stop at all the same ports. I'm sorry but adding Coco Cay, Samana and Labadee doesn't excite us. We really enjoyed Virgin Gorda but enough of Dominica, Nevis, St Thomas and St. Martin. Would love to see Anguilla, St Vincent, Tobago, Jost Van Dyke, Grenada, Tortola, Grand Turk just to name a few. We have been trying to get back to Grenada. Our cruise on the Summit that was going to Grenada in 2017 has been chartered. Oh well.

 

I have been to most of the ports you mention -the first three never. the rest yes- some one to much.Really bored on grenada but Tortola i like for lunch.

 

the dec 2016 has my snorkel ABC ports and i am out of the cold.

 

now workung on jan 2017

[ellbon]

I totally agree with you. I know it sounds spoiled that we are complaining about these boring itineraries, but I really couldn't justify booking one - and December is always a month we cruise. So I booked the new Silver Sea ship Silver Muse out of Barbados. Haven't told my husband yet cuz he is content doing Celebrity and Azamara the rest of our lives - but it hits a lot of rare ports and we can use a different ship to spice things up.

 

Michael

 

I had looked at Silver Se weeks ago for 2017. not yelled at me. .now i guess i need to look at the new ship for 2018. I just saw cruise and it did not yell at me either.. been to all the ports. willing to try new ships if i get internet but paying for laundry a drag. been looking at 3 cruiselines for 2017. so far nothing.

[uktog]

When I saw how many times Azamara was stopping in Miami and San Juan I was excited but it didn't last long. I was really disappointed in the ports. There are so many ports that Azamara could go to that the larger cruises can't and yet they stop at all the same ports. I'm sorry but adding Coco Cay, Samana and Labadee doesn't excite us. We really enjoyed Virgin Gorda but enough of Dominica, Nevis, St Thomas and St. Martin. Would love to see Anguilla, St Vincent, Tobago, Jost Van Dyke, Grenada, Tortola, Grand Turk just to name a few. We have been trying to get back to Grenada. Our cruise on the Summit that was going to Grenada in 2017 has been chartered. Oh well.

 

Has anyone thought the port choice might be very deliberate to encourage new cruisers to Azamara? They could be targeting a certain type of regular Caribbean cruiser perhaps one disaffected with Celebrity. At a strategic level, they know the cruiser does not now fit the direction they are taking Celebrity but they need to keep it in the family.

 

Offer them most of the ports they are used to so they are confident to take the Azamara chance. Once they've enjoyed onboard, they are very keen then to try Azamara further afield. Result!

 

For those of us who are not so near to the Caribbean the itineraries are certainly interesting as we have not been so often.

 

For the few of you who are lucky enough to to be serial cruisers, it's inevitable you will start to say same old same old. The only way you will get different is with extra ships and a more stable world which will open up far more destinations to everyone.

 

As I said before my problem for 2018 is choosing as I cannot have all I want ;)

Another first world problem!

Edited November 4, 2015 by uktog

[cbradley1209]

I haven't checked them all, but the itineraries for Europe say 2016, rather than 2018.

 

chris

[maximus217]

I booked the Sydney 2018 New Year, but if the new Celebrity ship comes with a much better itinerary I might change it.

[beachseeker]

Has anyone thought the port choice might be very deliberate to encourage new cruisers to Azamara? They could be targeting a certain type of regular Caribbean cruiser perhaps one disaffected with Celebrity. At a strategic level, they know the cruiser does not now fit the direction they are taking Celebrity but they need to keep it in the family.

 

Offer them most of the ports they are used to so they are confident to take the Azamara chance. Once they've enjoyed onboard, they are very keen then to try Azamara further afield. Result!

 

For those of us who are not so near to the Caribbean the itineraries are certainly interesting as we have not been so often.

 

For the few of you who are lucky enough to to be serial cruisers, it's inevitable you will start to say same old same old. The only way you will get different is with extra ships and a more stable world which will open up far more destinations to everyone.

 

As I said before my problem for 2018 is choosing as I cannot have all I want ;)

Another first world problem!

 

Just my opinion, but if Azamara is going to stop at the same Caribbean ports that the major cruise lines are visiting and is hoping to attract new cruisers then the cost is going to have to be drastically reduced. For us, we think Azamara's price puts it in a different category. For the extra cost, we want itineraries that include new ports, ports less visited by the main stream cruise lines and certainly not Royal Caribbean's private islands.

When looking for a replacement for our January 2017 Summit cruise that appears to have been chartered, we looked at Azamara but cannot justify spending twice the amount for two less days and going to exactly the same ports that we visited on our last Azamara cruise.

We always look at Azamara first when starting our cruise search and just booked a Mediterranean cruise for October 2017 but disappointed in their Caribbean cruises.

[florisdekort]

I totally agree with you. I know it sounds spoiled that we are complaining about these boring itineraries, but I really couldn't justify booking one - and December is always a month we cruise. So I booked the new Silver Sea ship Silver Muse out of Barbados. Haven't told my husband yet cuz he is content doing Celebrity and Azamara the rest of our lives - but it hits a lot of rare ports and we can use a different ship to spice things up.

 

 

 

Michael

 

 

Thanks, good catch! I'll have a look at Silver Sea as well as Seabourn when their itineraries for Christmas 2017 come out. I really wish Azamara would amend the itinerary of one of their 2017 Christmas cruises... they can't be selling well... unless it's indeed all about catching first timers.

 

Floris

[mzk90]

Just my opinion, but if Azamara is going to stop at the same Caribbean ports that the major cruise lines are visiting and is hoping to attract new cruisers then the cost is going to have to be drastically reduced. For us, we think Azamara's price puts it in a different category. For the extra cost, we want itineraries that include new ports, ports less visited by the main stream cruise lines and certainly not Royal Caribbean's private islands.

When looking for a replacement for our January 2017 Summit cruise that appears to have been chartered, we looked at Azamara but cannot justify spending twice the amount for two less days and going to exactly the same ports that we visited on our last Azamara cruise.

We always look at Azamara first when starting our cruise search and just booked a Mediterranean cruise for October 2017 but disappointed in their Caribbean cruises.

 

2 very good posts, thank you.

[upwarduk]

I haven't checked them all, but the itineraries for Europe say 2016, rather than 2018.

 

chris

 

Not according to the email I have just been sent, which are now open for booking:

 

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/en-gb/find-a-voyage/2018-voyages?utm_source=phase1_consumer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=content_deploy18_ebo_11032015&intcmp=content_deploy18_ebo_11032015&ecid=em_20983549&rid=299990470&mes=o+V4&emsc=SEGUNK2YR+2-4P0LONP&emct=&lnkid=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.azamaraclubcruises.com%2Ffind-a-voyage%2F2018-voyages%3Futm_source%3Dphase1_consumer%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dcontent_deploy18_ebo_11032015%26intcmp%3Dcontent_deploy18_ebo_11032015

[florisdekort]

All itineraries for Journey and Quest all the way until the end of 2018 are now on the Azamara website and bookable.

 

Floris

[nyfeds]

We are considering our first Azmara cruise in 2018. We'd like to book as far out as possible to get better cabin selection. If Azmara offers additional "perks" down the road, can we get those included, even if we booked now? Not sure how flexible Azmara is in doing this. Seeking insight from seasoned Azmara cruisers, please.

 

Thanks!

Edited November 4, 2015 by nyfeds

[rallydave]

We are considering our first Azmara cruise in 2018. We'd like to book as far out as possible to get better cabin selection. If Azmara offers additional "perks" down the road, can we get those included, even if we booked now? Not sure how flexible Azmara is in doing this. Seeking insight from seasoned Azmara cruisers, please.

 

Thanks!

 

The do have the low price guarantee and speaking for ourselves, we are on a 2016 cruise that has been close to sold out for about 6 months now and were able to take advantage of two different promotions. Received a $500 OBC as well as a 25% off promotion. For truth in advertising, we didn't get the 25% off our price that we booked, they took the current price and reduced it by the 25%, didn't save as much as we had hoped but, about $1,500 total and our category has been fully booked for over a year now. Know that as we got the last available cabin in our category in Oct. 2014. Yes, 2014 no typo.

[Grandma Cruising]

The low price guarantee doesn't now apply in the UK ( did for a while but now not shown on the UK site).

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[nyfeds]

Thanks for your reply, Dave.

 

Denise

[AzamaraJoel]

Hello All,

 

Thank you for the lively discussion on the deployment of our 2018 Voyages. As you all know, we now have open inventory for 2016, 2017 and 2018, a very extensive portfolio of products and experiences for you to choose from.

 

When developing our voyages for the calendar years there are many factors to consider, some many of you have mentioned here. We wish we could appease all of your requests.

 

We feel very strongly there is a good mix of new programs and destinations for you to visit within our 3 year portfolio and we wanted to share the below statistics with you to strengthen our promise to you of being the leader in Destination Immersion. We stay longer in the cities we visit, we have the most over night stays and we offer a wide variety of day and night touring programs to allow you to explore the unique destinations we visit.

 

Thank you as always for your continued support of Azamara. Thank you for all your feedback on Cruise Critic, we can assure you we read it all and your insights help us continue to improve our products and services.

 

Azamara Club Cruises

 

Number of sailings

 

2016 = 58

2017 = 65

2018 = 69

 

Number of Overnights

 

2016 = 104

2017 = 95

2018 = 105

 

Number of late night departures. A late night departure is considered leaving 8pm or later.

 

2016 = 110

2017 = 108

2018 = 101

 

Number of distinct ports by year, means ports that are not repeated

 

2016 = 231

2017 = 206

2018 = 235

 

Number of distinct countries by year, means countries not repeated

 

2016 = 71

2017 = 64

2018 = 69

 

Number of sea days

 

2016 = 174

2017 = 182

2018 = 131

 

 

2018 New Ports

1. Aarhus, Denmark - JR 12/1/18

2. Adelaide, Australia - JR 1/21/18

3. Albany, Australia - JR 1/21/18

4. Alghero, Sardinia, Italy - QS 6/6

5. Bintulu, Malaysia - JR 3/25

6. Bremerhaven, Germany - JR 8/30

7. Broome, Australia - QS 12/6

8. Bunbury, Australia - JR 1/21

9. Dundee, Scotland - JR 7/11

10. Esperance, Australia - JR 1/21

11. Exmouth, Australia - JR 1/21, QS 12/6

12. Geraldton, Australia - QS 12/6

13. Hambantota, Sri Lanka - QS 11/7

14. Haugesund, Norway - JR 7/24

15. Horta, Azores, Portugal - QS 4/7

16. Jakarta, Indonesia - QS 12/6

17. Kangaroo Isl (Penneshaw), Australia - QS 12/22; JR 1/21

18. Klaipeda, Lithuania - JR 8/19

19. Oostende, Belgium - JR 6/7 ; JR 8/30

20. Papagayo, Costa Rica - QS 1/15

21. Perth (Fremantle), Australia - QS 12/6; QS 12/22; JR 1/21

22. Portimao, Portugal - JR 5/29 ; QS 4/20

23. Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy - JR 10/31

24. Riga, Latvia - JR 8/19

25. Rijeka, Croatia - QS 9/21

26. Samana, Dominican Republic - QS 3/9; QS 3/31; JR 11/24; JR 12/4

27. Sir Bani Yas, United Arab Emirates - QS 10/31

28. Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates - QS 11/7

29. Surabaya, Indonesia - JR 1/14; QS 12/6

30. Gdansk, Poland - JR 08/08; JR 08/19

[Ithikan]

Hello All,

 

2018 New Ports

1. Aarhus, Denmark - JR 12/1/18

2. Adelaide, Australia - JR 1/21/18

3. Albany, Australia - JR 1/21/18

4. Alghero, Sardinia, Italy - QS 6/6

5. Bintulu, Malaysia - JR 3/25

6. Bremerhaven, Germany - JR 8/30

7. Broome, Australia - QS 12/6

8. Bunbury, Australia - JR 1/21

9. Dundee, Scotland - JR 7/11

10. Esperance, Australia - JR 1/21

11. Exmouth, Australia - JR 1/21, QS 12/6

12. Geraldton, Australia - QS 12/6

13. Hambantota, Sri Lanka - QS 11/7

14. Haugesund, Norway - JR 7/24

15. Horta, Azores, Portugal - QS 4/7

16. Jakarta, Indonesia - QS 12/6

17. Kangaroo Isl (Penneshaw), Australia - QS 12/22; JR 1/21

18. Klaipeda, Lithuania - JR 8/19

19. Oostende, Belgium - JR 6/7 ; JR 8/30

20. Papagayo, Costa Rica - QS 1/15

21. Perth (Fremantle), Australia - QS 12/6; QS 12/22; JR 1/21

22. Portimao, Portugal - JR 5/29 ; QS 4/20

23. Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy - JR 10/31

24. Riga, Latvia - JR 8/19

25. Rijeka, Croatia - QS 9/21

26. Samana, Dominican Republic - QS 3/9; QS 3/31; JR 11/24; JR 12/4

27. Sir Bani Yas, United Arab Emirates - QS 10/31

28. Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates - QS 11/7

29. Surabaya, Indonesia - JR 1/14; QS 12/6

30. Gdansk, Poland - JR 08/08; JR 08/19

 

What fun to peruse this list of new ports! Thank you, Azamara Joel!

[TxnAquarian]

What fun to peruse this list of new ports! Thank you, Azamara Joel!

 

 

Yes, thank you SO MUCH for posting these stats....especially the maiden port visits. I was hoping to find out which destinations were the new ones!

 

 

 

Michael

[ellbon]

Yes, thank you SO MUCH for posting these stats....especially the maiden port visits. I was hoping to find out which destinations were the new ones!

 

 

 

Michael

 

i so agree.

now looking at 8/18 vs 7/18.

 

micheal tried emailing you hours ago.. dud it go to la la land in cypr

Edited November 5, 2015 by ellbon

[wangeling gal]

2018 New Ports

1. Aarhus, Denmark - JR 12/1/18

2. Adelaide, Australia - JR 1/21/18

3. Albany, Australia - JR 1/21/18

4. Alghero, Sardinia, Italy - QS 6/6

5. Bintulu, Malaysia - JR 3/25

6. Bremerhaven, Germany - JR 8/30

7. Broome, Australia - QS 12/6

8. Bunbury, Australia - JR 1/21

9. Dundee, Scotland - JR 7/11

10. Esperance, Australia - JR 1/21

11. Exmouth, Australia - JR 1/21, QS 12/6

12. Geraldton, Australia - QS 12/6

13. Hambantota, Sri Lanka - QS 11/7

14. Haugesund, Norway - JR 7/24

15. Horta, Azores, Portugal - QS 4/7

16. Jakarta, Indonesia - QS 12/6

17. Kangaroo Isl (Penneshaw), Australia - QS 12/22; JR 1/21

18. Klaipeda, Lithuania - JR 8/19

19. Oostende, Belgium - JR 6/7 ; JR 8/30

20. Papagayo, Costa Rica - QS 1/15

21. Perth (Fremantle), Australia - QS 12/6; QS 12/22; JR 1/21

22. Portimao, Portugal - JR 5/29 ; QS 4/20

23. Porto Torres, Sardinia, Italy - JR 10/31

24. Riga, Latvia - JR 8/19

25. Rijeka, Croatia - QS 9/21

26. Samana, Dominican Republic - QS 3/9; QS 3/31; JR 11/24; JR 12/4

27. Sir Bani Yas, United Arab Emirates - QS 10/31

28. Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates - QS 11/7

29. Surabaya, Indonesia - JR 1/14; QS 12/6

30. Gdansk, Poland - JR 08/08; JR 08/19

 

Feeling all warm & fuzzy that Azamara are coming to 3 ports here in the south west of Western Australia that are all around a 2 hour drive from where I live!!

Beautiful, laid back, unspoilt and very special to those of us lucky enough to live here:D

[2fromTO]

Even though there are 30 new ports, by and large, the itineraries are the same old, same old. Not enough new to entice us to book 2018. What about the west coast of South America? What about the east coast of Canada/US? What about the Arctic and Greenland? Very disappointed.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Even though there are 30 new ports, by and large, the itineraries are the same old, same old. Not enough new to entice us to book 2018. What about the west coast of South America? What about the east coast of Canada/US? What about the Arctic and Greenland? Very disappointed.

 

There are limits to what a 2-ship fleet can do. Let's hope that Azamara's solid bookings convince the suits to fund new ship(s) that will open up all these possibilities. [And let's hope they don't do it like Crystal, whose new ships are so over-the-top that I don't think I'll ever see the inside of them!]

[TxnAquarian]

There are limits to what a 2-ship fleet can do. Let's hope that Azamara's solid bookings convince the suits to fund new ship(s) that will open up all these possibilities. [And let's hope they don't do it like Crystal, whose new ships are so over-the-top that I don't think I'll ever see the inside of them!]

 

 

The two-ship fleet argument doesn't really hold water (no pun intended!). Crystal has two ships and has a far superior deployment than Azamara, covering virtually the entire globe. The only thing they didn't have in their favor over AZ in the past were long port stays, but Crystal has been adding more and more overnights into their schedules. The only reasons I didn't book with Crystal for 2017 or 2018 are because I like the evening shore events and tours that AZ offers, and I think the AZ ships will be far superior to either Crystal ship after the renovations. But if Crystal can offer such comprehensive itineraries, there is no reason AZ can't do the same.

 

 

 

Michael

[Host Jazzbeau]

The two-ship fleet argument doesn't really hold water (no pun intended!). Crystal has two ships and has a far superior deployment than Azamara, covering virtually the entire globe. The only thing they didn't have in their favor over AZ in the past were long port stays, but Crystal has been adding more and more overnights into their schedules. The only reasons I didn't book with Crystal for 2017 or 2018 are because I like the evening shore events and tours that AZ offers, and I think the AZ ships will be far superior to either Crystal ship after the renovations. But if Crystal can offer such comprehensive itineraries, there is no reason AZ can't do the same.

Michael

 

I take your point. But the comparison of the ships is a matter of opinion -- I for one would be thrilled if Azamara could buy the two existing Crystal ships when they get their new ones! I haven't sailed on Symphony, but Serenity is a lovely vessel.

[excitedofharpenden]

The two-ship fleet argument doesn't really hold water (no pun intended!). Crystal has two ships and has a far superior deployment than Azamara, covering virtually the entire globe. The only thing they didn't have in their favor over AZ in the past were long port stays, but Crystal has been adding more and more overnights into their schedules. The only reasons I didn't book with Crystal for 2017 or 2018 are because I like the evening shore events and tours that AZ offers, and I think the AZ ships will be far superior to either Crystal ship after the renovations. But if Crystal can offer such comprehensive itineraries, there is no reason AZ can't do the same.

 

 

 

Michael

 

I don't think Azamara's current policy of chartering their ships helps and they've done some long charters in the past too.

 

Phil

[nordski]

I don't think Azamara's current policy of chartering their ships helps and they've done some long charters in the past too.

 

Phil

 

Interesting point.

 

Do you think that the possibility of charters keeps Azamara in familiar waters?