Cruise News: Azamara Announces Enhacements

If you like cruising on a smaller scale, Azamara is one of your best options.  The focus is on enriching experiences, and here is news that takes that to the next level:

(Press Release) _ MIAMI, FL January 25, 2017 - Azamara Club Cruises today is unveiling some exciting news.  The up-market cruise line of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. specializing in Destination Immersion®, will enhance its brand deliverable and better align guest experiences with the demand of today’s affluent traveler by evolving the brand to an even stronger position: Stay Longer. Experience More. 
 
“Within this evolved positioning, there are two powerful guest deliverables.” says Larry Pimentel, President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises.  “The first is we're shifting from enabling our guests to immerse themselves in the destination, to delivering over one thousand new and existing destination experiences for guests to select from in over 70 countries.”  Continues Pimentel: “These experiences provide the second powerful deliverable:  One-to-one human connection.  Our land product will be curated to ensure guests get to connect in a personalized and unique way with the people in the destinations they visit.  This may occur through people to people interaction, cultural experiences, enjoying local food and beverages, music, events and so on.” 
 
Azamara's enhanced brand position continues to be grounded in Destination Immersion and still includes the brand’s signature longer stays and more overnights, but will now go well beyond that.  It is comprised of three pillars that collectively will provide an extraordinary experience on land and at sea:
1)      Immersive Itineraries
2)      Cruise Global, Connect Local destination experiences
3)      Boutique Hotels at Sea
 
Immersive Itineraries

Azamara Club Cruises pioneered Longer Stays and More Overnights.  With its two ships Azamara Journey® and Azamara Quest®, the focus on these extended stays and authentic local experiences are evolving.  This evolution includes the scheduling of increasingly immersive itineraries that offer guests the opportunity to visit the destinations at night when many destinations come alive.  Over 250 overnight and late night stays (8 pm or later) in port are featured every year, which makes roughly 50% of all Azamara port calls offer a nighttime experience in the destination.  Through the brand’s Destination Immersion programming, curated itineraries bring the ships to exotic and marquee ports, and because of the ships’ intimate sizes are able to dock close to town centers.  Over 50% of the line’s ports are ports larger ships can’t visit.  Furthermore, the brand will deliver experiences in 200+ ports worldwide in 2017 and 2018, 35 of which Azamara will be visiting for the first time.
 
An expanded palette of World Events and Themed Voyages are offered, including Monaco Grand Prix, the World Cup, British Open, the Venice Redentore Festival, as well as Wine and Yoga themed voyages with more to come.  Another new product is Azamara’s Country Intensive Voyages, which will allow guests to travel deeper and experience more of a given country, as the majority of the destinations are concentrated in one country such as Japan, Italy, Spain, Norway, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, Croatia and more.
 
Cruise Global, Connect Local
As part of the unveiling, the brand is also announcing Cruise Global, Connect Local - a series of land programs that are designed to deliver personalized and authentic experiences.  By day... and by night! 
This umbrella program includes land programs ranging from a variety of shore excursion groupings such as Nights Local for nightlife experiences be it the theater, a local pub, or a cultural performance, or Meet Local, which are immersive cultural experiences that offer people to people connections at the homes, farms and villas of local families.  Cruise Global, Connect Local also includes Stay Local, which offers overland tours during the voyage and pre- and post-voyage experiences.  For guests who want to create their own experiences, the brand offers Customize Local where personalized excursions are designed around guests’ individual preferences and desires. 
 
The brands popular and locally immersive, complimentary AzAmazing Evenings® Events will continue to bring the destinations’ local culture to life.
 
Azamara itineraries seldom repeat ports, so guests can make the most of their time spent traveling the world while getting an immersive look into a variety of destinations, all on one trip. Combining these varied voyages with unparalleled Destination Immersion offerings allows Azamara to deliver on its Cruise Global, Connect Local promise.  A few experiences include:
 
·         Cruise Global, Bike Local – Join a bike tour and cycle past iconic landmarks and local must-visit establishments on one of Azamara’s branded bicycles. When in The Netherlands, cruise on land past several villages and dykes dotted with traditional Dutch windmills.

·         Cruise Global, Taste Local – Azamara’s guests can satisfy their hunger for local cuisine and culture with food and beverage experiences featuring markets, restaurants, wineries, breweries and distilleries. Join an Azamara chef to shop for ingredients to a delicious meal, and the sommelier for the best local wine or brew to accompany the meal for an unforgettable dinner when back onboard.
 
·         Cruise Global, Celebrate Local – Attend iconic world events for once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Watch as Formula One cars zip through the streets of Monte-Carlo during the Monaco Grand Prix. Stop in Venice for Festa del Redentore. Arrive in Cannes just in time for the Cannes Film Festival, where guests can be a part of the action and brush shoulders with worldwide celebrities. The British Open, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, and New Year’s in Sydney, Australia are just a few of the other world events guests can plan to attend on an Azamara voyage.
 
·         Cruise Global, Eco Local – An immersion into local rainforests, jungles and woodlands ripe with vegetation and fauna, while leaving no footprints behind on these wildlife and wilderness tours.
 
·         Cruise Global, Golf Local – Golfers can bring their clubs and tee off with Azamara Club Cruises and PerryGolfTM, the leader in luxury golf vacations, at some of the world’s most legendary courses in Northern Europe, the Arabian Gulf, the Mediterranean, and Australia. Featured courses include the Doha Golf Club, The International, Royal County Down, Cork Golf Club, and several others you’ll recognize from past and future PGA events.

Boutique Hotels at Sea
Azamara’s smaller, up-market and intimate ships, which were completely reimagined and remodeled in 2016, now feature contemporary and elegant design.  Known for their authentic, friendly and personalized service the line is also announcing a new hallmark - the brand’s destination focused programming onboard, ranging from local culinary and beverage selections, to travel movies, lecturers and panel discussions on destinations and other relevant topics, as well as entertainment.  Of great value to the brand’s guests are the many inclusive amenities from gratuities and select standard spirits, international beers and wines, to bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees & teas, English butler service for suite guests and more.
 
Azamara is more than a cruise line; it's the brand that delivers a rich destination experience worldwide by staying longer and allowing guests to experience more. 
 
For more information, travelers can call their travel professional, dial 1-877-999-9553, or visit our website. Connect with Azamara on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and follow President and CEO @LarryPimentel on Twitter. Travel agent professionals can access more information and make reservations at www.CruisingPower.com.