Cruise Comparisons

So I have spent time discussing NCL and Royal cruise lines as they are the two that I have personally sailed so far. I have 2 more NCL cruises scheduled and 1 on Celebrity. However today I am going to talk about a mid level cruise line Azamara.
Azamara has more included than the basic lines. I priced out a Mediterranean itinerary sailing September 28, 2019 on the Azamara Journey for twelve days. I will be using it compare to my NCL Epic Mediterranean that I will be sailing on in July 2019 for seven days.
The Azamara Itinerary is as follows:
Day 1 Barcelona Embark
Day 2 St Tropez
Day 3 Monte Carlo
Day 4 Livorno (Florence/Pisa)
Day 5 Civitavecchia (Rome)
Day 6 Sorrento
Day 7 Amalfi
Day 8 At Sea
Day 9 Kotor
Day 10 Dubrovnik
Day 11 Zador
Day 12-13 Venice
An Interior Stateroom for 2 people would cost $11692.00 CAD and you would receive $250 USD per person as on board credit.
With this cruise you have included standard spirits, international beers, 2 red, 2 white, 1 rose and 1 sparkling wine by the glass each day. As well as your juice and pop, coffee and tea. You can purchase drink packages if you would like more.
Gratuities are included in the cruise price so there is no extra to pay unless you want to tip the staff more.
They do have specialty dinning that is not included at 3 restaurants and the packages to add them run between $70 per person and $250 per person.
The last item is internet which is $19.95 per day for unlimited access.
Keep in mind you still have to pay for excursions but they are for smaller groups, part of that is smaller ships as well. You can use your on board credit to pay for these excursions.

Azamara (Photo courtesy of cruisemaven.com)

My cruise in July 2019 will be a seven day on board the NCL Epic
The itinerary is the following:
Day 1 Barcelona Embark
Day 2 At Sea
Day 3 Naples
Day 4 Rome
Day 5 Florence/Pisa
Day 6 Cannes
Day 7 Plama de Mallorca
Day 8 Barcelona Disembark
A balcony stateroom for 2 Adults and 2 children is $6664.61 CAD
A beverage package costs $89 usd per day for the ultimate package there are packages for just soda as well. You also have to add an 18% gratuity to this amount as well.
Gratuities are $14.50 USD per person per day.
Specialty dinning has many options on this ship. You can purchase a 3 or more day package to try out different options. A 3 day package is $69 USD per person.
Unlimited internet is $25.50 USD per day.

NCL Epic (photo courtesy of ncl.com)

If you add in the drink package and the gratuities the NCL package gets closer to $8517 CAD. Now in my case as it is a group booking I had the opportunity to add two inclusions to my package and I chose the drink package and the gratuities as my options. Not everyone has these options available. 

So for more money you can cruise on a smaller ship a more intimate ship and have more included in the over all price. Your ship will be less crowded. Now keep in mind that these smaller more luxurious ships are not as kid friendly as the bigger mass ships are. They do have children's clubs etc but there are usually not many children on board.

Azamara also offers ports that the bigger ships can not always get to which is nice if you decide cruising is the only way you wish to travel. They also offer overnights in port so you can get the opportunity to explore a cities nightlife not just what it is like during the day.

To book either of these cruises of any cruise contact me today!!

Where you can find me:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor

Website: http://www.exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

Email: slough@exclusivetoyoutravel.ca

TICO 500212282

55 York Street, Suite 803

Toronto, On M5J 1R7

Please keep in mind that while my head office is in Toronto. I am a home based travel agent and I live in South Dundas and I can service clients anywhere in Canada. But, I meet with clients in the SD&G area

Cruise Travel Countdown

So I have been invited to participate in a Seminar at Sea with Royal Caribbean. So I will be sailing aboard the Freedom of the Sea's September to 17th to 24th on the Mediterranean Itinerary. So each cruise line has different things that you need to do in order to get ready to enjoy your cruise.
The first thing I did once my cruise was booked was set up a Crown and Anchor Membership. This is Royal's loyalty program for their cruisers. You can start earning rewards with your very first cruise. Points are awarded based on number of nights and same categories earn more.
The second thing I did was my online check in. Best to get it done and out of the way. Also strongly recommend you do it in advance as it is one less thing you have to line up to do at the pier. Makes things go smoother. You confirm your name, passport number, birth date address etc.. You also confirm how you want to pay for on board expenses, set up a credit card or cash deposit.
Once that is done you have a lot of other decisions you have to make about your time sailing. First thing you need to consider is beverages. Many cruise lines have several drink package options that you can chose from. Royal has an ultimate beverage program that includes alcohol, coffee and soda with discounts on bottles of wine. They have packages that include specialty coffee and fresh juice, a soda package and a package that includes non alcoholic drinks with coffee and soda. They all range in price. They are per person per day sailed. They also have a bottled water package. All of these packages can be pre-ordered before you travel or arranged once you are on board. Keep in mind that the prices on board are usually more expansive than if you pre-order.
Second thing to consider is dining. Yes a lot of the dinning is included in your price. The specialty dinning is not. If you would like to try some of these venues you are able to pre purchase dinning packages as well allowing you to try a number of different venues and again the price being less than booking on board or paying for each one.
Spa Services you can actually pre book these services in advance and take advantage of when you want to have a treatment. Keep in mind however that sometimes they run specials during port days or time because so many people so get off the ship to have an adventure. (Which leaves many areas on the ship less crowded)
Next thing to decide on is internet. Do you want to take a vacation and be completely turned off or do you need to have some connection with the people in your life or are you working while you are away. Different ships have different packages and services but again booking in advance is usually much cheaper than while on board.
Then the most important step of all is to decide on shore excursion. This is where I suggest you do some independent research of the area you are going and decided on things that interest you. You can look at the cruises shore excursions as well as independent companies. The independent companies sometimes can be less expensive and have he same guarantee to get you back to the ship on time or get you to the next port. Also you can decide once you have done your research to explore on your own. Consulting with your travel agent will also help you narrow down what you want to do and see.
Because I am a travel agent and this is working cruise my excursions have been pre-booked through the cruise line this time around.

photo courtesy of Royal

With my countdown on I can not wait to board the Freedom the Seas and experience all the wonders it has to offer and to be able to provide all of you with my personal review.

As always check me out at www.exclusivetoyoutravel,ca or www.exclsuivetoyoutravel.com

www.facebook.com/stephaniethetravelagentnextdoor.com

Email:slough@excluivetoyoutravel.com