Why does AZAMARA's fleet NEVER seems to GROW??!!

Does anyone know about Azamara's business strategy?

They started with two "R" class ships in 2007, and in 2016, almost TEN YEARS later, it STILL has the same (albeit renovated) two "R" class ships.

Meanwhile, their closest rival Oceania Cruises have increased from having two "R" class ships to FOUR (4) "R" class ships and TWO even bigger "0" ships. Oceania started with the same size as Azamara, but it has now more than THREE TIMES the capacity of Azamara. Yet, I think there are some things which I think Azamara has an edge over Oceania - one being the approachability and friendliness of Azamara captains which makes you feel you are really on a cruise and not in a "floating hotel"!

Then, of course, other new entrants into this section of the Luxury Market include Viking Ocean Cruises with up to THREE ships in a short time.

OK, we know that their (Azamara's) ships are regularly sent to the dry docks and get revamped and kept up-to-date.

And on the whole, its service package is excellent (give or take, it's truly good with great friendly captains and efficient crew, good food, good quality wines included in meals, lovely cabins/suites, gratuities included, etc) and it is generally popular with many people who traveled with them. And their unique Azamazing evenings are truly Amazing!!! Love it, love it!

On other ships, especially on rival Oceania, whenever they are not happy with Oceania, many passengers tend to say, "This does not happen on Azamara", or "I am going back to Azamara".

But still , ITS (AZAMARA'S) CRUISE SHIP FLEET IS NOT EXPANDING. WHY OH WHY NOT???!!!

Does anyone know why this cruise company is not increasing its fleet when its rivals are? Are they restricted by their holding company Royal Caribben Cruises from getting bigger? If Azamara Club cruises does not expand and add more ships, it will soon lose market share!

No need to shout.

Carnival was never going to sell R class ships to RCI. They'd probably scrap them before helping RCI.

As for new builds... Azamara has been struggling its first couple of years with unsold cabins and poor financials. This has led to a series of changes to the formula and a wait-and-see attitude from RCI. Now that the ships are sailing full, the brand is turning a profit and the two ships have been remodeled to last another 10 years, I expect we'll learn something about fleet expansion soon. My money is on two new builds... 2019 and 2020 :)

Floris

Thanks the reply.

Trouble with Azamara is, instead of trying to attract more people to go onto their ships and introducing more capacity by increasing their fleet size, they just keep getting more and more expensive - it's hard to find good bargains and fares as attractive as before. It seems like management is trying to squeeze more profit without expanding! Please correct me if I am wrong about that - I have been always looking for good deals on Azamara but I always end up with some special deal on Oceania!

Azamara may be friendlier , but it appears Oceania have more deals (perhaps because they have more ships and more capacity that allowed the latter to do that).

No need to remind anyone of their problems after the recent dry-dock revamp of one of their ships. Or that Azamara disappointed some people when one of its ships was chartered off to some travel company AFTER they had sold cruises to them (individual clients) and those poor passengers "lost" the chance to go on that cruise - that's not the way to win customers and increase its loyalty base, is it?

I guess no one can claim that any cruise line is 100% perfect, if they do, they are either lying to themselves or are just so blindly loyal they cannot face reality.

Thanks Floris. Good to know AZ is adding to the RCCL bottom line. We're new to Azamara - first cruise this coming October - and have come to appreciate your perspective and insights as we read the various boards trying to learn about the Azamara experience.

I've taken an interest in this before and for a while was worried the way Azamara was looked upon by its parent, RCCL. At a time when Celebrity and RCI were introducing brand new ships I felt that Azamara weren't a priority. I think this had a lot to do with revenue Azamara generated. I now feel they are being taken more seriously and there has been quite a bit if success in the markets, notably Australia.

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but the recent and extensive refurbishments of the existing ships are one step. The next is a couple more ships, but new builds are some way down the line even if they sign today. Maybe 2020/21. There are ships Azamara have looked at buying, including other of the Rs, but they hadn't been well maintained. I don't have any inside knowledge, just a gut feeling, but I think we will hear something later this year. Fingers crossed! I keep hearing they won't go large.

Phil

I'd love to go on another Azamara cruise & I'm seriously looking at one where it is a bit more affordable as some new pricing has come about but I think after Azamara has spent some money on refurbishing existing ships, a new build may be a way off!

While Azamara has been very active on this Board [thanks Bonnie!], neither they nor RCI have to my knowledge shared their business vision for AZ [as for instance Crystal is doing ad nauseum ;)] So it's all wild guesses here. And I'll add mine: Celebrity is getting at least two new builds over the next few years and most people on the Celebrity Board [not all, but most] prefer the newer S-class to the older M-class. It would be logical to continue building the new EDGE class up to 4 or 5 ships and refurbish the M-class for Azamara. You could easily convert some of the cabins on the lower decks for additional crew and staff, thereby getting the ship up to Azamara staffing standards -- and that would also reduce crowding in all public venues. Those ships used to deliver the much-lamented higher standards of food and service, so they can easily support the Azamara level. They are beautiful and classy ships, and I think they would allow Azamara to bring its ultra-premium/near-luxury experience to an innovative number of passengers -- with economies of scale that would keep prices down.

I'd say no way. M-Class ships are more likely to go to TUI. They are too big for Azamara.

Phil

Really think the M-class ships would be totally wrong for Azamara, at 90,000 tons they would not be able to access the smaller ports that makes Azamara's itineraries so attractive. In addition even if they substantially reduced the number of passengers I don't think that it would have that intimate feeling of the current ships.

Options for existing 30-50,000 ton ships are limited and mainly of old design, so as there is a need for Azamara ships to be clean running and fuel efficient so that they can access the increasing number of restricted areas new builds look to be the only way forward.

Hopefully there are plans to expand the Azamara fleet and in the not too distant future so that issues like we are currently experiencing with the 2017 charter of Quest will not have so great an impact.

Really think the M-class ships would be totally wrong for Azamara, at 90,000 tons they would not be able to access the smaller ports that makes Azamara's itineraries so attractive. In addition even if they substantially reduced the number of passengers I don't think that it would have that intimate feeling of the current ships.

Options for existing 30-50,000 ton ships are limited and mainly of old design, so as there is a need for Azamara ships to be clean running and fuel efficient so that they can access the increasing number of restricted areas new builds look to be the only way forward.

Hopefully there are plans to expand the Azamara fleet and in the not too distant future so that issues like we are currently experiencing with the 2017 charter of Quest will not have so great an impact.

Agree with you and Phil.

We share the anticipation of new builds.

Don't forget Richard Branson has 3 ships coming and one being ready for sail in 2020 based out of Miami. Virgin Cruises will be added competition amongst the boutique lines and if Virgin America is any indication of the new cruise line, they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

Certainly AZ and Larry P must be able to see the trees through the forest as they say.

Don't forget Richard Branson has 3 ships coming and one being ready for sail in 2020 based out of Miami. Virgin Cruises will be added competition amongst the boutique lines and if Virgin America is any indication of the new cruise line, they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

 

Certainly AZ and Larry P must be able to see the trees through the forest as they say.

Gosh, that's really interesting news. Thanks for that.

Hope the standard of the coming Virgin Cruises will be more like Virgin America than Virgin Atlantic Airways (see http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/virgin-atlantic-airways/ ) !

At the rate new luxury Cruise Line entrants are coming in and existing ones expanding their fleets, and with this end of the luxury market being relatively small (I think), does anyone feel there could be a "glut" in the market some time in the not-so-distant future?

If Azamara does not expand its fleet soon, it may find it even harder to do so later with so much new competition entering the field. But more choice for cruisers like us!

While Azamara has been very active on this Board [thanks Bonnie!], neither they nor RCI have to my knowledge shared their business vision for AZ [as for instance Crystal is doing ad nauseum ;)] So it's all wild guesses here. And I'll add mine: Celebrity is getting at least two new builds over the next few years and most people on the Celebrity Board [not all, but most] prefer the newer S-class to the older M-class. It would be logical to continue building the new EDGE class up to 4 or 5 ships and refurbish the M-class for Azamara. You could easily convert some of the cabins on the lower decks for additional crew and staff, thereby getting the ship up to Azamara staffing standards -- and that would also reduce crowding in all public venues. Those ships used to deliver the much-lamented higher standards of food and service, so they can easily support the Azamara level. They are beautiful and classy ships, and I think they would allow Azamara to bring its ultra-premium/near-luxury experience to an innovative number of passengers -- with economies of scale that would keep prices down.

New Ships for Azamara Club Cruises?: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4351

That article was posted over five years ago!

New Ships for Azamara Club Cruises?: http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=4351

That article was posted over five years ago!

Thanks for offering to help, eventhough the news was published in 2011 ! It's the thought the counts, and nobody's perfect, I certainly am not! Cheers.

Gosh, that's really interesting news. Thanks for that.

 

Hope the standard of the coming Virgin Cruises will be more like Virgin America than Virgin Atlantic Airways (see http://www.airlinequality.com/airline-reviews/virgin-atlantic-airways/ ) !

 

At the rate new luxury Cruise Line entrants are coming in and existing ones expanding their fleets, and with this end of the luxury market being relatively small (I think), does anyone feel there could be a "glut" in the market some time in the not-so-distant future?

 

If Azamara does not expand its fleet soon, it may find it even harder to do so later with so much new competition entering the field. But more choice for cruisers like us!

I think you are correct predicting a glut. Especially in the European market and river cruises are already there. If the unfolding events in Europe continue to worsen, look for a number of ships to be left in the Western Hemisphere instead of traditionally heading back to the Med in the Summer. As always, the times are changing.

I think you are correct predicting a glut. Especially in the European market and river cruises are already there. If the unfolding events in Europe continue to worsen, look for a number of ships to be left in the Western Hemisphere instead of traditionally heading back to the Med in the Summer. As always, the times are changing.

There will be a new normal for sure. We have been in a bubble in which travel was both cheaper and safer than was the case ever in the past. But those problems didn't stop Saint Paul from undertaking his winter Mediterranean cruise [although I'll bet he wished he had had Travel Insurance!], and they won't stop me.

As much as I love the M class ships (well, I should say loved, before they refurbished them and threw out the old martini bar a few years back and now the former Michael Roux restaurants), they are way too big for Azamara and would be a huge strategic mistake. Everyone would flee to Oceania, Viking, Virgin or even the more premium lines as Seabourn and Silversea.

I'm not sure that I want Azamara to expand its fleet....Sometimes expansion leads to a fall in quality and a less personal service....Competition from other companies/brands must surely be good for us passengers..?

If you read other forums there is a lot of talk about the ship in a ship concept, where suites get a totally different experience from the other passengers. Taken to extremes by NCL & MSC but I have looked at RC & Celebrity's take on the concept and you can start to see the obvious similarities with Azamara.

Point being is Azamara just a test bed? We have seen this with promotions such as BOGOHO being used for Azamara before the others. Makes sense to try these things on a small line as if things go wrong it only upsets a smaller number of passengers.

Don't forget Richard Branson has 3 ships coming and one being ready for sail in 2020 based out of Miami. Virgin Cruises will be added competition amongst the boutique lines and if Virgin America is any indication of the new cruise line, they will certainly be a force to be reckoned with.

 

Certainly AZ and Larry P must be able to see the trees through the forest as they say.

Azamara and Virgin Cruises will be chalk and cheese and appeal to very different markets. I really like Virgin Atlantic, but wouldn't set foot on a Virgin Cruises ship.

Phil

I've taken an interest in this before and for a while was worried the way Azamara was looked upon by its parent, RCCL. At a time when Celebrity and RCI were introducing brand new ships I felt that Azamara weren't a priority. I think this had a lot to do with revenue Azamara generated. I now feel they are being taken more seriously and there has been quite a bit if success in the markets, notably Australia.

 

It's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, but the recent and extensive refurbishments of the existing ships are one step. The next is a couple more ships, but new builds are some way down the line even if they sign today. Maybe 2020/21. There are ships Azamara have looked at buying, including other of the Rs, but they hadn't been well maintained. I don't have any inside knowledge, just a gut feeling, but I think we will hear something later this year. Fingers crossed! I keep hearing they won't go large.

 

Phil

Let's hope so, Phil.

Azamara and Virgin Cruises will be chalk and cheese and appeal to very different markets. I really like Virgin Atlantic, but wouldn't set foot on a Virgin Cruises ship.

 

Phil

There is so very little information about Virgin Cruises, so it is hard to know what level of cruise standard that Cruise Line is offering, etc.

From looking at the single page Virgin Cruises website, it appears to be targeted towards the younger generation but I may be wrong. If the design on that website is anything to go by, that cruise company is NOT for me - a bit too "in your face" for my liking. Others may like it though. So, Phil, you may be right, Virgin Cruises offerings may be very different from that of Azamara and appealing to different markets. Besides, the first ship will not be coming till 2020. Hopefully, we would have taken quite a few other cruises before then!

Azamara and Virgin Cruises will be chalk and cheese and appeal to very different markets. I really like Virgin Atlantic, but wouldn't set foot on a Virgin Cruises ship.

 

Phil

We used to meet a lot of people in the Caribbean that were from the UK. Is this the same Virgin they used to books vacations?

midwestchick,

To my knowledge, Richard Branson has put his brand to :

Virgin Records

Virgin Aeroplanes

Virgin Trains

Virgin Media- landline telephone, television and wi-fi

Virgin mobile phones

Launching a cruise line.

Richard Branson is also a balloon enthusiast and record breaker, but I'm struggling with his interest in High Street Travel Agents.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Branson