Small ships usually bring higher prices, it’s just the business model the companies who run them must follow to stay afloat… financially. Azamara offers some outstanding price points for those who book far in advance, as we think all cruise lines should. If for no other reason, we’re giving them our money in deposit that could be sitting elsewhere, earning interest. Not that anyone is going to make a fortune on the interest generated by a cruise ship deposit, but it’s the point of it. Here is a list of documentable factors that add to and highlight the value of Azamara Club Cruises.

A Break For Singles– Traditionally, the cruise industry bases their world on double occupancy, two people per cabin. Solo travelers who commonly pay nearly double the per person price everyone else is paying will like frequently offered reduced single supplements.

 

Inclusive- That Azamara includes liquor, beer and wine anytime adds value.  Upgrade packages are available but are a bit of a double-edged sword.  Pricing is reasonable for those to whom the brand of hard liquor and/or wine is a really big deal but brings a corkage fee on wine brought on board from ashore. Also included, lovely coffee drinks travelers might as well have gone ashore to pay for and enjoy.

Inclusive With A Nice Swing– That crewmembers are plentiful and eager to serve those beverages is an important distinction too. It’s the follow through not all inclusive cruise lines do well.

The Azamazing Evening is an included signature event on every sailing. Ours could have easily been a $100+ per person event considering transportation to and from along with the event itself

Night Touring sounds sort of like Azamara offers shore excursions that begin at night. Not really, other than the Azamazing evening.  Although (and this is a big ‘although’), staying late in port does open a lot of opportunities.  In advance of experiencing it, this was not all that interesting to me. Having dinner ashore in Zadar, Croatia was absolutely fabulous.

Local On Board– At each port of call, Azamara brought on board a local destination expert to answer questions and help direct those not on a tour.  I thought that was a nice touch.

Upgrades- They upgrade more. If space is available, past guests find the Azamara upgrade fairy knocking on their door with some frequency, which makes a whole lot of sense. While other cruise lines will let top end accommodations sit empty, Azamara often offers them to booked guests for a reasonable fee just before sailing. It’s not free but it happens more here.

Quality Port Calls– Staying longer in port with many itineraries featuring overnights provides a travel option that could viably take the place of a land vacation that is rarely a comparatively good value.

Generous Past Guest Program- Le Club Voyage is Azamara’s past guest program that lets earn earn points that can be applied toward complimentary nights, complimentary Internet and laundry service, spa savings and more. The program is also reciprocal with sister lines Celebrity Cruises’ Captain’s Club and Royal Caribbean’s Crown and Anchor Society.

Once booked, this is also a line to pay close attention to on pricing. Already competitive with other luxury cruise lines, occasional sale pricing happens and is often applicable to existing bookings.  On our voyage, I talked to a number of passengers who seemed to have received remarkably lower pricing than others. On the other hand, I put ‘confessed price claims’ in the same folder as fishing stories, golf scores and casino skills; difficult to prove and often exaggerated. Bigger is better unless smaller is.

Learn More
Want to know more about what it is like to sail with Azamara Club Cruises?    We have a nice library of posts started about that.   See our Complete Experience Voyage Journal that begins with planning and ends with reflection of the experience.

Blog Posts
See these posts made during our 12-night Greece, Italy and Croatia sailing

• Sailing Azamara: Easy Boarding With Early Reflection
  
• Sailing Azamara: I Did Absolutely Nothing Today
• Sailing Azamara: Beyond Azamazing
• Sailing Azamara: Gythion By The Beach
• Sailing Azamara: The Focused Onboard Experience
• Sailing Azamara: We’re Not In Dubrovnik Anymore
• Sailing Azamara: They Come Out At Night Too
• Sailing Azamara: Expert Status Verified
• Sailing Azamara: Actually, The Ship Is A Destination Too
• Sailing Azamara: Chris Sees A Show, And Likes It
• Sailing Azamara: Solid Reasons To Do Just That

 

Facebook Photo Albums
One from each port of call

• Istanbul, Turkey
• Zadar, Croatia
• Hvar, Croatia
• Kotor, Montenegro
• Gythion, Greece