Today, we will continue our exploration of Luxury Cruise lines, by learning about Azamara Cruises. I’ll let Azamara Cruises introduce themselves by giving you their Brand Positioning Statement:
“Azamara lets explorers immerse themselves into cultures and locales at a more relaxed pace, discovering destinations by day and night, resulting in a richer, more fulfilling small-cruise experience.”
Azamara has been going through some changes. They were formerly part of the Royal Caribbean family of brands with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Celebrity Cruises. Then, one year ago they were purchase by an investment group and became an independent cruise line. One of the first thing the new cruise line did was purchase a new ship, their fourth in the fleet. The new ship is named the Onward, and all four ships will be at sea by the end of May of this year. They have new offices in Miami, Florida in the Coconut Grove area, plus their team is working on a new Reservation System that will be ready soon.
Another big change is their tagline. The ole one was ‘Explore Further’. They have just introduced their new one, “Change the Way You Sea”. This change can be seen throughout their cruising experience. Their fleet is made up of four ships, all holding less than 700 passengers. They have Oceanview and Veranda Staterooms as well as luxurious Suites. Part of their ‘Change’ is that 80% of waking hours on their itineraries will be spent in port.
Azamara has three Brand Pillars that guide how they work with guests. The three Pillars are 1) Best Immersive Itineraries, 2) Hospitality, and 3) Unique Experiences. We will explore these one at a time.
When Azamara says Immersive Itineraries, they include staying longer in ports. You will notice that more of their itineraries have overnight stays in port or stays into the later night. These stops allow you to explore more about the culture you are visiting. Most locations are very different at night than they are during the day, so these stops let you immerse yourself into the whole culture.
Another difference is the number of Country Intensive Voyages that they have. These Voyages will focus on one country for the entire cruise. Since they are small ships, they are able to visit ports that the larger ships can’t visit. They can also take their ships further into the city centers, which Is more convenient for the passengers. An example of a Country Intensive Voyage would be one that visits Italy. It starts on one side of the boot, then moves around the boot, stopping at 7-10 ports. So you don’t just see one city in Italy, but you truly learn about the many areas that make up Italy. Other visits are to Grice, England, Spain, Northern France, as well as others.
Hospitality is the second pillar and can be found in the Personalized Service that each guest receives. With a Passenger to Crew ratio of 7 Guest to 4 Crew, you will feel like the crew are predicting your needs before you have a chance to voice them. You will also note that the crew are authentically friendly and warm. Crew are selected because of their warm personalities.
The final pillar is Unique Experiences. While you are on your cruise, you will see that these are not cookie-cutter experience. All cruises that are 7 nights or longer and are not a Transatlantic cruise include an AzAmazing Evening. These are evening events that show you unique cultural events. Truly immersive experiences that are unique to Azamara. These are hard to explain, so I have included a video so that you can truly see what these AzAmazing Evenings include.
Azamara Cruises will truly let you “Change the Way You Sea”. If this sounds like something you want to experience, reach out to me and we can discuss how you can experience Azamara Cruises.
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