Looking for a Cruise Deal? Book by 21st August 2010

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Interview with Sophie Higgins, Head of Sales UK, Azamara Club Cruises

1. Azamara Club Cruises are still relatively unknown in the UK, can you explain the essence of Azamara Club Cruises?
Azamara Club Cruises is part of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd and is the upscale, boutique brand within the portfolio. Everything we offer on board is uniquely presented and each cruise focuses on complete destination immersion – we have 2 ships in the fleet but we visit 140 ports which is an incredible global deployment and mean that no two cruises are the same.

2. Who would Azamara Club Cruises appeal to?

This is very much a brand for the discerning traveller who wants to take time to get to know a port or city. As with any boutique brand, our two ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest sail with only 650 guests, so there is a more intimate feel from the moment guest’s board. We’ve also really slowed down the experience so that itineraries include much longer stays in ports such as 3-nights in St Petersburg or multiple overnight stays in Southeast Asia, including Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong. Guests who enjoy the finer things in life will really love this brand.

3. Who are Azamara Club Cruises main competitors and what makes Azamara Club Cruises unique?

What makes us unique is our ability to visit more ports and really let the guest get up-close-and-personal with the cities that we travel too, even those that are slightly further afield such as a 3-night excursion from Mumbai to take in the Taj Mahal. None of our itineraries are ‘round-trips’, which means that guests can create their own bespoke itinerary depending on the number of itineraries or land-based excursions they combine. We’ve realised that ‘one-size’ doesn’t fit all and by offering real destination immersion to our guests that this value is not attainable elsewhere. We recognise that upmarket boutique land based hotels are our competitors.

4. Why do you think Azamara Club Cruises offers value for money?
It is the entire package that one of our cruises offers, as well as the host of items that are included – our guests enjoy bottled water, sodas, speciality coffees and teas offered at no charge throughout the voyage, whether in public venues or in staterooms, as well as house wines during their meals. Our housekeeping and dining gratuities are also included in the price of the cruise. We provide shuttlebus service to/from port communities, where available at no extra cost to the guest.

Combine this with the destinations and itineraries and we have already received the most amazing feedback from customers who loved the intimate experience and personal service levels.

5. Can you tell us about Azamara Club Cruises itineraries and best destinations?
All our itineraries are unique in that they do not have the same embarkation and disembarkation ports – and guests can create their own bespoke cruise as by connecting any number of the 7-night itineraries consecutively. I think we offer some truly wonderful destinations but I’d certainly like to be able to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities offered such as watching the Grand Prix from the ship whilst in Monte Carlo.

6. Azamara Cruises recently changed their name to Azamara Club Cruises. What other changes have been made?
We made a number of changes in January to the brand which were implemented over a course of a couple of months. The most significant would be the name change, as the brand became known as Azamara Club Cruises.

The other key changes revolve around enhancing the senses, seeing the destinations; savouring the wine and cuisine on board/in port, listening and expanding knowledge through our enrichment and land programmes; touching all of our guests with extraordinary service; and breathing in a healthier lifestyle with programmes to help guests balance their physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual needs.

7. What is your favourite element of Azamara Club Cruises?
For me it has to be the opportunity to really explore exciting destinations in the comfort and intimate style onboard an Azamara vessel. Plus of course the extensive choice of complimentary ice creams found onboard are pretty amazing!

8. In one sentence, why should people cruise with Azamara Club Cruises?
Simply because, anyone who sails with us will simply love where our ships will take them.

Booking your Cruise Holiday with Confidence

Cruise agents tend to offer much better fares than going direct to the cruise line It’s very easy to assume that a cruise agent is legit when they have a smart website and plenty of good deals on offer. But, hiding behind that telephone number or website could be a large reputable travel agent or just a one-man operation from a living room somewhere. So, how can you tell the difference and find a good, reputable cruise travel agent and avoid a cruise booking disaster?

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself is to book with your credit card. Both the initial deposit and the final payment are protected under insurance with most major credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Luckily, the law in the Credit law UK states (Fair Credit Billing Act) that you are entitled to protection (via a chargeback of disputed fees to your account) if a merchant fails to provide the product or service that you have paid for.

Its very important to remember this protection does not apply to debit cards. It’s imperative that you check with your own credit card company on their policy before you book.

Check up on an agency before booking your cruise holiday. Ask if the agency belongs to ABTA and ATOL and ask for their licence numbers – you can look them up on the corresponding websites for verification.

Once you have made your booking it’s wise to check the booking has actually been made with the cruise line. Ask your travel agent for your cruise operator reference number so that you may call the cruise line direct – your booking should be accessible immediately with the cruise line under that reference number. Not only will you then know that your information and money ha arrived in the correct place, but you'll also be able to book your shore excursions in advance.

Another good idea is to purchase cruise travel insurance. Check the policy details as not all policy terms and conditions are the same. Some cruise lines offer their own insurance but these do not tend to cover you if the cruise line goes out of business.

Trust your instincts, if something doesn’t feel right or if the deal seems a little too ‘amazing’ then you’re probably right.

Amazingly low fares – Balconies from only £399

Every week Ideal Cruising work alongside the UK’s favourite cruise lines, selecting from over 1000 itineraries to create the most exclusive promotions for our members. This week we have teamed up with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises to bring you the very best value offers available.
These brilliant offers won't last long! Call today! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
£595 -- 07 Nov 09 for 7 nights -- Splendour of the Seas Fly UK/Venice - Dubrovnik - Kusadasi - Santorini - Corfu - Venice/Fly UK
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-26474.html

£779 -- 09 Nov 09 for 10 nights -- Vision of the Seas Fly UK/Athens - Rhodes - Crete - Katakolon (For Olympia) - Valletta, Malta - Tunis - Malaga - Lisbon/Fly UK Pay for an Inside and receive an Oceanview^
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-29138.html

£855 -- 20 Nov 09 for 10 nights -- Celebrity Solstice Fly UK/Rome - Rome (Civitavecchia) - Sicily - Athens - Mykonos - Kusadasi - Rhodes - Santorini - Naples Rome/Fly UK 5* cruising from only £86pppn
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-26332.html

£999 -- 28 Nov 09 for 14 nights -- Explorer of the Seas Fly UK/New York - (Overnight Hotel) - Cape Liberty, New York - San Juan - St. Thomas - St. Maarten - Dominica - Barbados - Antigua - Cape Liberty, New York/Fly UK (overnight flight)
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-31328.html

£899 -- 31 Jan 10 for 8 nights – Brilliance of the Seas Fly UK/Dubai (overnight on ship) - Dubai - Muscat, Oman - Fujairah - Abu Dhabi - Bahrain - Dubai (overnight on ship) Dubai/Fly UK Exotic Dubai itinerary – New low fare
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-31716.html

£849 -- 06 Feb 10 for 9 nights -- Freedom of the Seas Fly UK/Orlando - Overnight hotel stay - Port Canaveral, Florida - Labadee - Ocho Rios - Georgetown - Cozumel - Port Canaveral, Florida - Fly Orlando/UK (overnight flight) Great low fare – from only £85pppn http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-28122.html

£1349 (Balcony) -- 04 Mar 10 for 12 nights -- Celebrity Millennium Fly UK/San Juan (overnight hotel stay) - San Juan - Tortola - St. Maarten - St. Lucia - Barbados - Grenada - Curacao - Aruba - San Juan/Fly UK (overnight flight) Fantastic Balcony Price http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-30479.html

£899 -- 21 Mar 10 for 8 nights -- Brilliance of the Seas Fly UK/Dubai (overnight on ship) - Dubai - Muscat, Oman - Fujairah - Abu Dhabi - Bahrain - Dubai (overnight on ship) Dubai/Fly UK Exotic Dubai itinerary – New low fare
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-31723.html

£849 -- 25 Apr 10 for 10 nights -- Independence of the Seas Southampton - Madeira - Tenerife - Gran Canaria, Canary Islands - Lanzarote, Canary Islands - Vigo - Southampton $100 FREE on board* spend PLUS FREE car parking
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-33856.html

£399 (Balcony) -- 26 Apr 10 for 3 nights -- Celebrity Eclipse Southampton - Paris (Le Havre) (Overnight) – Southampton. Fantastic Balcony Price
http://ww.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-38222.html

£1,149 -- 15 May 10 for 14 nights -- Independence of the SeasSouthampton - Gibraltar - Toulon - Florence/Pisa -Rome (Civitavecchia) - Sardinia - Cadiz - Lisbon - Vigo - Southampton ($) $100 FREE on board spend* PLUS FREE car parking
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-33851.html

£899 -- 20 May 2010 for 9 nights -- Rhapsody of the Seas Fly UK/Seattle - Transfer to overnight hotel - Seattle - Juneau - Skagway, Alaska - Tracy Arm (cruising) - Victoria - Seattle/Fly UK (overnight flight)
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-34760.html

£1299 (Balcony) -- 21 May 10 for 11 nights – Brand New Celebrity Eclipse Southampton - Madeira - Tenerife - Gran Canaria - Lanzarote - Lisbon - Vigo - SouthamptonPay for an Inside and receive a Balcony^ PLUS FREE car parking
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-33831.html

£899 -- 27 May 2010 for 9 nights -- Rhapsody of the Seas Fly UK/Seattle - Transfer to overnight hotel - Seattle - Juneau - Skagway, Alaska - Tracy Arm (cruising) - Victoria - Seattle/Fly UK (overnight flight) Amazing Alaskan Itinerary http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-34761.html

£929 -- 31 May 10 for 12 nights -- Jewel of the Seas Harwich - Copenhagen - Stockholm - Helsinki - St. Petersburg (overnight) - Tallinn - Gothenburg – Harwich
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-33864.html

£1,065 -- 03 Jun 10 for 12 nights -- Celebrity Century Fly UK/Barcelona - Nice (Villefranche) - Florence/Pisa (Livorno) - Rome (Civitavecchia) - Sicily - Mykonos - Ephesus - Athens - Naples - Barcelona/Fly UK. BRAND NEW Pricing
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-38377.html

£1,399 -- 31 Jul 10 for 14 nights -- Independence of the Seas Southampton - Gibraltar - Ajaccio, Corsica - Cannes - Barcelona - Ibiza - Malaga - Lisbon - Vigo – Southampton
http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/cruise-itinerary-details-33849.html
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For further information on any of these offers please visit our website at http://www.idealcruising.co.uk/ or call us free on 0800 458 8213~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~