Azamara seem to be scaling back Azamazing Evenings

[excitedofharpenden]

It's disappointing to me that Azamara seem to be going the way of offering onboard celebrations now rather than the off the ship Azamazing Evenings. The more of this board I read the more this is happening on cruises. Our Japan cruise next month is an example. They just aren't the same.  Japan would have been an wonderful opportunity to see something special on land. 

 

These evenings off the ship have been one of the reasons that I've enjoyed the Azamara experience so much and indeed they have always been a well advertised signature that the cruiseline tout as their standout. I am sure that the current Onward World Cruise will have quite a few off ship Azamazing Evenings so that Azamara can post them on their social media sites!

 

As I say, it's all a bit disappointing. Come on Azamara. Get your Azamazing act together again. 

 

Phil 

[Westaussie]

Ours on Journey in Saigon 2nd March (cruise before yours?) has just been changed to being on board. I agree, it's a pity as some of the venues have been really interesting. 

[Grandma Cruising]

Ours on our forthcoming Cape Town to Canaries cruise on Pursuit was recently changed to onboard. It’s African musicians and I’m sure it will be good, but the initially promised drive into the Namibian desert would have been better.

[uktog]

Doesn’t it hack you off when you’re in the call queue with the constant marketing tape playing it goes on and on about the Azamazing Evening.  Maybe I should ask the agent which cruises get them. 

I can kind of accept them coming onboard if that’s what’s needed but stop misleading guests that you get them. The socials from the world cruise are extremely misleading to future cruisers who will get not experience the special dinners, evenings etc. but it’s not made clear. 
 

However full disclosure for the first time in 8 cruises I am getting an offshore event on my next cruise but then in Japan ours is on ship - and for a Japan intensive cruise it’s being held the only night it’s not in Japan which reeks of a cost saving decision. 

[excitedofharpenden]

Azamara were saying to those of us booked on these cruises that it was now a "destination celebration", but I notice looking at my shore excursions list it is an "Azamazing Evening onboard". It's not an Azamazing Evening if you just bring performers on the ship. For me the most memorable moments of these evenings has been the venue.  As uktog says, it's all a bit misleading.  

 

It's not a direction I like to see. I wonder if these special evenings are ultimately on the way out. A mistake in my book. 

 

Phil 

Edited February 9 by excitedofharpenden

[Dr H]

My two cents. It's fairly obvious for those of who who have been cruising with Azamara for years that the Azamazing Evenings are now a thing of the past. We have had about half a dozen evenings with entertainment brought on board over the past two years, it is still very enjoyable, but in no way comparable to getting off the ship, getting bused to an elegant venue, and enjoying, shall I dare say, "the local color." I understand cost cutting. I also understand honesty.

[ECCruise]

6 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Ours on our forthcoming Cape Town to Canaries cruise on Pursuit was recently changed to onboard. It’s African musicians and I’m sure it will be good, but the initially promised drive into the Namibian desert would have been better.

This is one we have experience with since we were on the Canaries to Cape Town sailing in November.  The Namibian Desert Azamazing Evening was also substituted with the onboard event. 

 

That was disappointing enough, but what transpired (for us) onboard was a huge disappointment.  Yes, there were some native African musicians, but the largest blocs of the event were devoted to 2 old male German "musicians" playing bad American 60s and 70s rock music (which was billed as an "oom pa pa" band) and a German female dance group dancing to the American country song "Cotton Eyed Joe."  Really.  There was an African a capella group who were great, and a drum group that played while you were filing into the Cabaret but honestly, that wasn't the focus of the evening. They kept saying "the German influence is very strong in Namibia" (it's less than 5% of the population) but it just didn't feel right.

 

We did complain, as did others, so hopefully they will make adjustments for your sailing.  We've had quite a few onboard substitutes for Azamazing Evenings and most have been fine, but they need to make it consistent across the board if they intend to make this the norm. And stop touting them if that is to be the case.  

Edited February 9 by ECCruise

[laurieb]

I would guess that it may have to do with transportation issues more than anything else.  Covid caused a lot of companies to go out of business and transportation companies were hit very hard.  It taks a lot of busses to transport a whole ship worth of guests to and from a venue, and of course the busses are then tied up for the whole evening.  I'm sad that the evenings aren't happening as they have in the past too.  An upcoming example for me, I'll be on Quest in May, and we have a destination celebration in Livorno; the Pursuit is there the day before, and they have a real Azamazing Evening onshore.  It is very disappointing.

[ECCruise]

I think that ditching Azamazing Evenings is a casualty of many of the ships not sailing full.  Captain Antonio on Pursuit basically alluded this in the Q and A.  Our last Azamazing have been in Saigon, Colombo and Port Elizabeth, and each time we remarked at how incredibly expensive they must have been (especially Saigon). But to mount that type of event for 350 or so guests simply does not make sound economic sense.

[excitedofharpenden]

59 minutes ago, Dr H said:

My two cents. It's fairly obvious for those of who who have been cruising with Azamara for years that the Azamazing Evenings are now a thing of the past. We have had about half a dozen evenings with entertainment brought on board over the past two years, it is still very enjoyable, but in no way comparable to getting off the ship, getting bused to an elegant venue, and enjoying, shall I dare say, "the local color." I understand cost cutting. I also understand honesty.

I agree. It's just not the same. I've been to probably forty of them with great variety, but since Sycamore took over after covid it's all gone to pot. I appreciate that some areas of the world are more difficult than others, but there now seems to be a lack of effort. South America was an issue. There was little to be done, but within a series of b2bs at least we did the one in Montevideo (three times!) and it was actually incredibly enjoyable. In fact one of my favourites. 

 

Laurie, I hear you about Covid, but there are only so many excuses that can be made. We have to get on with life and the excuses start to sound old. 

 

Phil 

[excitedofharpenden]

1 minute ago, ECCruise said:

I think that ditching Azamazing Evenings is a casualty of many of the ships not sailing full.  Captain Antonio on Pursuit basically alluded this in the Q and A.  Our last Azamazing have been in Saigon, Colombo and Port Elizabeth, and each time we remarked at how incredibly expensive they must have been (especially Saigon). But to mount that type of event for 350 or so guests simply does not make sound economic sense.

You may have a point. I'm not sure what the occupancy levels are like now. My cruise has been sold out for months, but realise they may not all be like that. 

 

Phil 

[Dynacruiser]

Hmmm. Azamazing evenings were the highlight of some cruises, I’d hate to see them scaled down or eliminated.  
 

I’m seeing a rather concerning trend of cost cuts and higher prices including drink packages, specialty restaurants, and excursions.  
 

I don’t want to downplay this, but I’m  not completely surprised since prices of everything have increased everywhere, and I always thought Sycamore Partners would try to extract more and more money from their investment.  
 

This could also be the outcome of emptier boats since COVID, at least in the 5 or so I have sailed since 2022.   In turn, recent low occupancy is likely  related to the terrible online reputation of their booking system and onshore answering system since the split from Celebrity in early 2023.  
 

I am convinced that we will see more price increases and doubt that the owners will undo them in the future. I doubt that higher prices will bring higher quality. 
 

While he onboard experience is still very satisfying, I will monitor Sycamore future decisions closely.   
 

Also eager to hear what other cruise lines are doing.   Price increases won’t be a coordinated effort but other lines should have cost cuts at some point, right?

 

PS I have gotten price adjustments (reductions) on upcoming cruises, probably the result of unbooked cabins. 

[laurieb]

Celebrity has changed their "All in" package which used to include upgraded drink package, wi-fi and gratuities; now it's a "some in" package as they have removed the complimentary gratuities.  This is even for those staying in the Retreat.  So yes, other cruise lines are also scaling back and increasing prices.

[Ayden]

13 minutes ago, laurieb said:

Celebrity has changed their "All in" package which used to include upgraded drink package, wi-fi and gratuities; now it's a "some in" package as they have removed the complimentary gratuities.  This is even for those staying in the Retreat.  So yes, other cruise lines are also scaling back and increasing prices.

Agreed, which is why after many cruises over the years we have left Celebrity behind and find Azamara a much better choice in terms of quality and price.

My hope is the new CEO won't bring in too many changes to Azamara from her days at Celebrity in the name of profit.

There are some recent ones that leave me wondering?

[Grandma Cruising]

Our two last Azamazing evenings were ashore, both in hotel grounds, neither very inspiring locations. The one in Colombo was an excellent show with great drummers, dancers and musicians and a very good video background, but getting there was not good. Having asked the VIP guests to go to the buses, the rest of us were left waiting well over 45 minutes before any further announcements were made, then we queued for ages to get on the bus - not good when, like my DH, you find it very difficult to stand. The other one was in Aqaba and was OK, but not very ‘Azamazing’.

 

I hope our Walvis Bay ‘Azamazing Evening Onboard’ is considerably better than described by ECCruise above.

[mnocket]

It seems every cruise line is testing the market to see how much they can cut back on their offerings without losing business.  So far the answer seems to be encouraging them to look for more and more areas to cut back.  People may complain, but they keep booking.  One day, I'm sure it will come back to bite the cruise lines in the ass - but that day is still a ways off. 

[uktog]

29 minutes ago, mnocket said:

It seems every cruise line is testing the market to see how much they can cut back on their offerings without losing business.  So far the answer seems to be encouraging them to look for more and more areas to cut back.  People may complain, but they keep booking.  One day, I'm sure it will come back to bite the cruise lines in the ass - but that day is still a ways off. 

You are right but what is happening is in the short term people are changing cruise lines as they see better value for money for equivalent itinerary's elsewhere

[oddjob16]

We have three upcoming cruises on Quest and none of them have Azamazing Evenings. Our April 8th BCN -LIS doesn’t even have a Destination Celebration posted yet. I would definately say we are looking at cost cutbacks. Slightly worried.
 

[Jay19]

I'm obviously in the minority here but I really wouldn't be bothered if Azamara stopped the Azamazing evenings.   I can think of only two that we have been to that I would describe as exceptional, one at Hopetoun House in Edinburgh and the other at the Oceanographic Museum in Monaco and that one was more about the musical entertainment than the venue.   

 

On our b2b last autumn we decided against going to either of the evenings, one in Ephesus and the other in Koper.    We knew that after being out all day the last thing we would feel like was rushing to eat early, particularly when we don't like buffets, so decided to wait until people had gone and then have dinner in the MDR.   We anticipated being virtually alone but were surprised at the number of people there.   I do wonder if perhaps less people now go to some of the events and that also makes the evenings less economical.

 

We all know that the costs of travel are rising steadily, not just flights, hotels and tours (including private), but entry fees, transport, food and drink costs.    It also seems as if everywhere is much more crowded and getting around can take a lot more time.   We have been on a couple of Azamazing evenings where the bus has got stuck in traffic and with traffic volumes seemingly increasing in all cities that could become more of a regular occurrence.    Azamara has to take all of these things into account and decide whether the cost of holding these evenings is really the best use of their money.   Personally I feel that it isn't and I would rather see them use it for better food or on board entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mchell810]

Azamazing Evenings was one of the things that made Azamara feel special, stand out from other lines.  Clearly these events are being cut -- be it to save funds or the COVID excuse or any other reason -- so Azamara leadership has to be honest about it.  Stop advertising something that isn't going to happen.  For me, it feels like a "bait and switch" and is just one more reason I have no bookings with Azamara (and honestly I barely even consider them these days.) 

[shank63]

We were on the Quest recently enjoyed an outstanding off ship Azamazing event in Montevideo.  Our only other Azamara cruise was last year on the Pursuit in Norway and enjoyed an off ship Azamazing Erving in Tromso.  Both of these off ship events were in local theaters and locally themed and produced.  Of the two, the Montevideo event was based on the Carnival celebration and was our favorite by far.  The opportunity to offer a local theme off ship evening is largely determined by the itinerary, facilities in the port, available buses, and local talent.  For me, I have no desire to be bussed off ship to a second rate production with limited local flavor.  So, it’s not a big deal to drop the Azamazing evening where appropriate.

[combine]

I would tend to agree  with @Jay19 , a quick tally of our attendance at Azamara evenings is 8 out of 18 and of those  2 were on board. When most people were off the ship we enjoyed a very leisurely evening onboard and didn't feel we were missing out. 

We have chosen according to our  tastes and if we felt it really was a one off event , a never to be repeated experience, we would go. Choir and concert at Ephesus , Cellist in Dubrovnik, dance show in Havana prime examples
 

Since the C word perhaps some of the ports dont have the infrastructure to lay on these events nowadays. Perhaps the evening is more manageable if they bring entertainment onboard and they can control health and safety requirements and food quality for guests . 
 

If there are evenings off ship we will still choose to our tastes. 

[laurieb]

1 hour ago, mchell810 said:

Azamazing Evenings was one of the things that made Azamara feel special, stand out from other lines.  Clearly these events are being cut -- be it to save funds or the COVID excuse or any other reason -- so Azamara leadership has to be honest about it.  Stop advertising something that isn't going to happen.  For me, it feels like a "bait and switch" and is just one more reason I have no bookings with Azamara (and honestly I barely even consider them these days.) 

You can call covid an excuse, I'm sure many people that lost their livelyhood due to a year plus of no business would not call it an excuse.  

I don't understand how anyone can expext everything, especially in the travel industry, to just pick up where it left off.  It would be wonderful if that could happen, but let's face it, nothing will ever be the same.  Very possible that Azamara is finding that the availability of everything necessary to pull off Azamazing Evenings around the world isn't there.   

[PirateWife]

Not all of the Azamazing Evenings are being eliminated. We attended a wonderful event in Wellington in January. The venue and music were perfect for the cruise. Drinks and chocolate covered strawberries were served. No more tons of wasted food that used to be the norm.

[Melissaghoti]

I have an off-ship Azamazing evening scheduled for İstanbul in May. I don’t know yet what’s scheduled for November in the Caribbean.
In a dozen cruises, the only onboard one was during Covid.

 

Melissa