Help for a Newbie?

[rachiem]

We've wanted to try a Croatian cruise and Azamara has a great itinerary for this in May 2025.

We've sailed Celebrity (Elite), Viking, NCL, MSC, RCL and P&O and I'm assuming that Azamara will be more on par with Viking?

The price seems good (although I don't have many comparisons for the itinerary) £2200 pp for 7 nights?

Do they ever have a sale or are the prices quite steady (as I've noticed with Oceania)?

Finally, I'm assuming that All Inclusive is in fact All Inclusive?

Looking at the balcony vs club balcony

Thanks fo any help....Off on Celebrity on Monday and think that may be our last with them for a while, due to their high prices.

[Grandma Cruising]

All inclusive means no gratuities to pay, drinks included at all times (not just with meals), but included drinks are limited to a list - branded spirits - Gordon’s & Beefeater gin, Famous Grouse w husky, Smirnoff vodka etc. there are also included beers and wines - wines are generally 6 - 2 white, 2 red a rose and a sparkling wine. Speciality coffees are included too and snacks. There’s free 24 hour room service. On most cruises there is an Azamazing Celebration which may be an excursion ashore or an onboard special concert etc.

Balcony plus are just a balcony canon with a few extras - bottle of spirits in the cabin, a couple of nights in the speciality restaurant (normally $35 a head), free bag of laundry, free Wifi package.

As far as sales are concerned, there’s nearly always some kind of promotion, they vary in value. We tend to look for a price we’re happy with and just go for it.

[combine]

We have had the choice of 4 red and 4 white wines, plus rose and sparkling this year, on Onward and Quest. Presume its the same on the others? 

[rachiem]

Thank you all for the help and insights 🙂

I think the UK price seems similar to the US price (as we don't have a great exchange rate with the rest of the world at the moment)

The free upgrade looks to be on 2024 but saying that, the 2025 prices look slightly lower (although there is no exact comparative to our cruise itinerary)

I think if the ship was larger, last minute in the UK usually gets a better price but as Azamara has smaller ships, I'd imagine that they fill up quicker?

Again, thanks for your help and as the itinerary is just what we are looking for, I may just go ahead and book now 🙂

[AllisonJames]

In my experience the best sale has been the Double Upgrade Sale which usually happens…mid-September! In that sale you pay the price of one category and get a 2 category upgrade so the savings have been substantial. However, this upcoming sale (if they still have it) will probably be for cruises in 2024 rather than 2025. Here in the U.S. they usually allow rebooking (just booked one for 2025 while onboard Journey and it was made clear that one rebooking at lower price was available without penalty) but not sure if rebooking is allowed in UK. The penalty is low in U.S. so we have options if the price decreases. Other than the double upgrade, I have tracked AZ prices over long periods of time and not seen a lot of sales that are actually sales…but that could change with new owners. When you see a price you are happy with, I would book! And yes, I personally think AZ is comparable to Viking although I like the ambience/service/friendliness of AZ more and the Viking ships are newer and have more bells and whistles.

Edited September 7, 2023 by AllisonJames

[rachiem]

Thank you. It’s hard to know if it’s a good price as we’ve never really looked at Aza before but compared to Celebrity, it seems ok! 
I think we only have NRD of $550 pp, so cancelling isn’t really an option. 
the other one we’d considered is Oceania but they don’t have the itinerary that we’d like 

[Riocca]

52 minutes ago, rachiem said:

Thank you. It’s hard to know if it’s a good price as we’ve never really looked at Aza before but compared to Celebrity, it seems ok! 
I think we only have NRD of $550 pp, so cancelling isn’t really an option. 
the other one we’d considered is Oceania but they don’t have the itinerary that we’d like 

U.K. deposit is £250 pp but as you correctly say is non refundable. Currently 2025 sailings come with the early booking bonus of an Experience More package which includes $300 Shorex OBC, Premium drinks package for 2 pax and unlimited Wi-Fi.for one device.

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Riocca

[rachiem]

4 minutes ago, Riocca said:

U.K. deposit is £250 pp but as you correctly say is non refundable.

Thank you, I thought I read $550 but never got to the booking stage

[Riocca]

2 minutes ago, rachiem said:

Thank you, I thought I read $550 but never got to the booking stage

I think that’s the US deposit cost, just added more info to the previous post.

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by Riocca

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

I think that’s the US deposit cost, just added more info to the previous post.

 

That’s the US booking cost and all but $150 pp is refundable I believe 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I just got notice [or I just noticed...] a different sale than the free nights promotions:

[Grandma Cruising]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I just got notice [or I just noticed...] a different sale than the free nights promotions:

Only in the US I think, not available in the UK. Our current offer is free upgrade & 15% off Suites