Azamara 2019 Prices

[MMDown Under]

Azamara & Hurtigruten seem to me to be very different products - I’d be interested to see how you find them.

I agree Azamara is not cheap, but we think it’s value for money if you pick & choose your cruise and promotion carefully. Sure you can get land-based holidays cheaper, but we have tried all-inclusive holidays which on paper provide the same ingredients as we get on Azamara and are cheaper, but we have never found any that provide the same warm experience.

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Yes, they are, but they both provided what I was looking for at the time, both small ships, with itineraries which inspired me.

 

I loved Azamara Journey, from first sight, as I had cruised twice previously on Ocean Princess (same ship). I agree with your comments about the unique warm experience on Journey, led from the top by the excellent management team.

 

I love Fram because I have cruised on her before to Antarctica etc., and hoped I'd be able to cruise with her again. Explorer cruises are not cheap, but are good value.

 

The issue is Hurtigruten offered "no single supplement" special, whilst Azamara Journey doesn't offer good value prices for solo cruisers. I understand part of the problem is the weak Aussie dollar, but Hurtigruten is a Norwegian cruise line from an expensive country.

 

I have never gone on an all inclusive land based holiday, but it might happen one day.

[NeverStopLearning]

From the activity that I am seeing, it appears that Azamara is starting to adjust its pricing to more accurately reflect its upper premium segment. There has been a steady downward trend in prices.

 

It has gotten to the point where the current pricing is equivalent to the sale price of six months ago. In fact, with the current indulgences promotion , pricing is on a par with the pricing of the same cruise under the 50% off second guest plus free wifi promotion. This effectively cancels out any savings from the prior sale. It is worse when you compare what you get with the indulgences package.

 

Other than room selection, there is no advantage to locking in any cruise months in advance. This could be a problem if the situation persists, with people opting out at the last minute from cruises booked months ago, as it increases the sales pressure to get the ship filled. It is not a good position for both the company and the cruisers.

 

I've asked my TA to approach Azamara regarding what can be done wrt the current promotion. Since we are on a B2B we had to pay early as both segments were due within 30 days.

 

We will see if Azamara is willing to look after its guests who committed to cruises months in advance of the current promotion.

 

Leaving this rant on a positive note, after a few more months, prices should stabilise and people who book in advance should start receiving adequate benefits/prices for their commitment to the line.

[Pirouette]

It is not just Azamara that appears to offer last minute discounts to fill particular itineraries. It must be very frustrating for those who have booked months or even years in advance. For the record, I work too and my blocks of vacation time are booked a year in advance. I have no flexibility as to actual dates. It is always a matter of finding a holiday that fits within that time frame. I was not only able to book our upcoming cruise at a great discount but also air travel on points. Some airlines seem to release additional seats last minute. I do not have the luxury of booking travel far in advance due to professional and personal obligations. So far we have succeeded in finding both cruises and flights within less than 45 days from departure. The only issue is that there is not a lot of time to reflect. Full payment has been due immediately at the time of booking.

[eileenover]

I've read through your comments with great interest. Thank you.

We booked our first Az cruise a few months ago. The itinery appealed: Portugal to South Africa ----lots of stops, countries that we've never visited.

The ship is almost full because it is such an unusual cruise. We're in a CO suite (we are saving so hard to pay for this!) which works out as about £1050/day. We were amazed at this price because it was within spitting distance of our usual Celebrity suite price. Both include flights.

So, am I right in saying that we can get the price down further if there are sales before we depart in November 2020? Please expain this to me ---I'm new to Az.

Thanks.

[Grandma Cruising]

US customers get a best price guarantee which means they can get their price reduced if prices go down, but unfortunately that doesn’t apply to U.K. customers. The only exception to that is if you book a cruise onboard a cruise. Then you get one opportunity, and one only, to get a price reduction if the price goes down.

If the price has gone down a lot it’s sometimes worth cancelling and losing your deposit, then rebooking. The cruise we were on in July came down by £1500. We cancelled losing our £500 deposit and rebooked, still saving £1000..

 

 

 

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[eileenover]

US customers get a best price guarantee which means they can get their price reduced if prices go down, but unfortunately that doesn’t apply to U.K. customers. The only exception to that is if you book a cruise onboard a cruise. Then you get one opportunity, and one only, to get a price reduction if the price goes down.

If the price has gone down a lot it’s sometimes worth cancelling and losing your deposit, then rebooking. The cruise we were on in July came down by £1500. We cancelled losing our £500 deposit and rebooked, still saving £1000..

 

 

 

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Thanks for your swift response. Juggling time!