Upgrading drinks package

[Merly]

Advice from experienced Azamara cruisers please. We are due to sail on Azamara journey next month and would like opinions on whether it is best to upgrade the included drinks package before boarding or wait until on board. Can you also confirm that just one in the cabin can have it.

thank you.

[Toronto Guy]

Wait until you are on board. There is no advantage to upgrade before.  Yes only one passenger in the cabin can have it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Wait until after the first day, which is only 1/2 a day or less, since the pricing is per day.  [Unless you already have the Premium package, in which case – at $8 a day or less – why not start off with a premium cocktail?]  Also, by upgrading on board you will make one Bartender very happy and possibly a valuable friend for the rest of the cruise...

[ChucktownSteve]

On 6/4/2024 at 10:08 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Wait until after the first day, which is only 1/2 a day or less, since the pricing is per day.  [Unless you already have the Premium package, in which case – at $8 a day or less – why not start off with a premium cocktail?]  Also, by upgrading on board you will make one Bartender very happy and possibly a valuable friend for the rest of the cruise...

I agree. I visit different cocktail locations until I find a bartender I prefer and wish to reward.  Personality and pour matter to me.

 

I never upgrade at the embarkation upgrade table.  However I do upgrade the first day using OBC. My cabins start with the Premium package. Life's too short to worry about the small difference with the AZ Circle discount and "free" money. YMMV

Edited June 7 by ChucktownSteve

[AllisonJames]

It’s good advice to wait until you board AND after you confirm the availability of specific wines (if you are a wine drinker). We were going to upgrade on our last cruise but so many of the wines advertised as being included were not available that it wasn’t worth it to us and turned out better to purchase a five bottle package and specific upgraded cocktails.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 minutes ago, AllisonJames said:

It’s good advice to wait until you board AND after you confirm the availability of specific wines (if you are a wine drinker). We were going to upgrade on our last cruise but so many of the wines advertised as being included were not available that it wasn’t worth it to us and turned out better to purchase a five bottle package and specific upgraded cocktails.

Only if you're on Onward, with the Atlas Bar, would the Ultimate package be worth it just for cocktails.

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Only if you're on Onward, with the Atlas Bar, would the Ultimate package be worth it just for cocktails.

But you can get the Atlas cocktails on all the other ships!

[uktog]

37 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

But you can get the Atlas cocktails on all the other ships!

And I found them much better mixed on both Quest and Journey albeit without the theatrical show that Onward had 

[woodards]

On 6/7/2024 at 2:33 PM, ChucktownSteve said:

I agree. I visit different cocktail locations until I find a bartender I prefer and wish to reward.  Personality and pour matter to me.

 

I never upgrade at the embarkation upgrade table.  However I do upgrade the first day using OBC. My cabins start with the Premium package. Life's too short to worry about the small difference with the AZ Circle discount and "free" money. YMMV

So if I have Premium and want to move to Ultimate I pay $8 per day minus 20% for Discover plus discount?

 

Thanks.

[uktog]

41 minutes ago, woodards said:

So if I have Premium and want to move to Ultimate I pay $8 per day minus 20% for Discover plus discount?

 

Thanks.

Yes that was certainly our experience (our discount was 25% as platinum so we paid $6 a day each)

[roxette]

On 6/10/2024 at 7:24 PM, uktog said:

Yes that was certainly our experience (our discount was 25% as platinum so we paid $6 a day each)

Is this the same, that you just pay the difference, both if you have purchased the Premium package or had it included in a booking promotion (Experience more)? I have been looking forever on the Azamara site, but have not really found anything. 

 

Have never been on Azamara before, but will in August and December. Really looking forward to it.

 

Thank you all for all the great info on this site

[uktog]

3 minutes ago, roxette said:

Is this the same, that you just pay the difference, both if you have purchased the Premium package or had it included in a booking promotion (Experience more)? I have been looking forever on the Azamara site, but have not really found anything. 

 

Have never been on Azamara before, but will in August and December. Really looking forward to it.

 

Thank you all for all the great info on this site

Yes ours was a booking promotion package that we upgraded 

[BuddyR]

If you purchase an Experience More Essentials package pre-cruise (not as a booking promotion), can one of you upgrade to the ultimate package onboard for $8 per day, less any loyalty discount?  Does anyone actually have experience doing that when it was not a booking promotion?  Also, does any upgrade to the ultimate package have to be done during the first half of the cruise now?  On the Onward in December, people were burning onboard credit and upgrading on the last day or two.

[Grandma Cruising]

16 minutes ago, BuddyR said:

If you purchase an Experience More Essentials package pre-cruise (not as a booking promotion), can one of you upgrade to the ultimate package onboard for $8 per day, less any loyalty discount?  Does anyone actually have experience doing that when it was not a booking promotion?  Also, does any upgrade to the ultimate package have to be done during the first half of the cruise now?  On the Onward in December, people were burning onboard credit and upgrading on the last day or two.

We’ve upgraded and paid the difference when we had a promotion. We’ve also upgraded for the last few days of a cruise.

[uktog]

34 minutes ago, BuddyR said:

If you purchase an Experience More Essentials package pre-cruise (not as a booking promotion), can one of you upgrade to the ultimate package onboard for $8 per day, less any loyalty discount?  Does anyone actually have experience doing that when it was not a booking promotion?  Also, does any upgrade to the ultimate package have to be done during the first half of the cruise now?  On the Onward in December, people were burning onboard credit and upgrading on the last day or two.

Yes we did this both for packages we bought and for promotions given and had our loyalty discount applied.  No need to do this on Day 1 we only did it from a few days in 

[luv2travel90266]

Prior to upgrading for the wines check what they are serving. I am still a proponent for buying wines shoreside and paying the very reasonable corkage. Saving Azamara an expense of a bottle at dinner and giving a few dollars of income to the ship too. “Life is too short to drink cheap wine”  (Quote from Cliff Hakim. )

[Grandma Cruising]

5 hours ago, luv2travel90266 said:

Prior to upgrading for the wines check what they are serving. I am still a proponent for buying wines shoreside and paying the very reasonable corkage. Saving Azamara an expense of a bottle at dinner and giving a few dollars of income to the ship too. “Life is too short to drink cheap wine”  (Quote from Cliff Hakim. )

Price isn’t necessarily an indication of good wine. We had a friend who was a wine master and he was brilliant at seeking out some great bargains and making us some good recommendations. He often bought wine at Aldi and would happily pay £7- £10 a bottle.

[luv2travel90266]

You are totally correct Grandma. Wines can be priced in a number of ways. I buy wines that the winery might be trying to close out inventory at bargain prices, and from new wineries without the pedigree to get higher $$s, etc. I do 2 blind tasting every month with a group of collectors. Doubling the price of the wine doesn't make it twice as good. We all look for value. Finally my palate might be different than yours. You should drink what you enjoy.

 

I still love the quote but you can change "cheap" to "bad" wine.“

Life is too short to drink cheap wine”  (Quote from Cliff Hakim. ) 

There are some wines which are destined for the "dump bucket".