Quick Thoughts from Family with Teens, and a Qustion on the Double Upgrades

[grilljockey]

My family of 5 (kids 13, 16, and 18) took our firs cruise with Az this past summer. I was initially a little concerned because we had a bad experience several years ago on a mega-ship, and also because we were worried about whether the kids would be bored.

 

Well, on our 17 day trip through Europe, with half of the days on AZ, I can report that the whole family loved the cruising experience. The kids found a handful of other similarly-aged teens onboard and they enjoyed their evenings at the disco immensely. Good friends were made all around. So while this was a shorter cruise and we probably had a higher percentage of kids and teens due to the itinerary and short duration of the cruise, it really worked for us and I'd encourage other similarly aged families not to rule AZ out if you are similarly worried.

 

The convenience of coming back 'home' every day and not shuffling luggage from hotel to hotel were very welcome after an exhausting set of days pre-cruise. The food was good, but probably not great by our standards. That said, we only dined at the specialty restaurant on only one evening, which was very good. Otherwise it was MDR and Buffet.

 

We enjoyed it so much, we have decided for another European cruise in the summer of 2018, and have invited the grandparents on both sides of the family to join.

 

My question....we were able to take advantage of a double upgrade offer on the first cruise, and I see they are offering this again. It looks like they are not offering any double upgrades past January of 2018 and we are looking at a July 2018 cruise.

 

Do they offer these double upgrade offers regularly? Would you recommend that we go ahead and book our reservation now, and then hope to take advantage of any offers that come later? I believe that we can get a best price match guarantee after a reservation is made (we live in the US). Or should we wait it out a bit since we have a long time before July 2018?

 

Many thanks in advance!

[ellbon]

I try to book on ship as i get OBC fro booking on ship and my B2B discounts etc.. you never know when a deal will come along or not. summer cruises fill up fast. some slowly but others the best cabins are overnight . so can not really help here.

[Grandma Cruising]

They offer a range of different promotions every year, but you can't anticipate what they will be. Sometimes when a promotion looks good if you work out the price it's no cheaper than the previous price. Generally speaking prices tend to go up the nearer you get to the date. What does sometimes happen is that towards the end of a promotion period the offer gets extended to more cruises, so if you hang on the cruise you want may get added in to this promotion.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[laurieb]

I would encourage you to book now if you've found a cruise you like. If Azamara runs a promotion on your cruise in the future, you should be able to at the worst cancel and rebook at the new promotion rate (they do charge a 50.00 pp fee to cancel) if the savings/perks are much better. You will be certain to get the cabins you want if you book now.

[BBMacLaird]

Hello Grilljockey,

I'm so glad you and your family, including teens, enjoyed your first Azamara cruise!

And we are honored you've decided to sail again with us in 2018 with the extended family.

I recommend you find a good travel professional (not meaning you don't already have one!) to help you with your 2018 booking. Depending on how large your family group becomes, your agent may be able to negotiate a group booking. Or, minimally, s/he will watch prices and promotions for you.