Royal Caribbean Selling Azamara Brand

[excitedofharpenden]

On 1/19/2021 at 6:48 PM, TeaBag said:

We're on the same cruise as Jelayne, our fourth try at seeing Petra.  Now what?  This is very disappointing news.

I'm sorry that you and jelayne have had your plans messed up. I'm going to keep the faith and hope that this works through and that the crew that many of us know and love move over and make it a success. 

 

There are certainly some very interesting comments on this thread. Some good, some ill informed and some just plain nonsense. My own take is that for some time Azamara has been like the poor relation in the Royal family. I have felt this for a while, but was encouraged when they acquired another ship. I think their focus has changed more recently, accelerated by Covid-19. 

 

So it's time to move on and I hope to travel on Azamara under its new ownership once I have the covid vaccine and feel safe to travel again. I hope you are able to visit Petra. I was able to visit there when I was on Azamara Journey. One of the highlights of many Azamara moments. I feel sad, but also hopeful. 

 

Just to qualify my experiences, not said as a brag, but to position my opinions. I'm Zenith/Discoverer Platinum and have done 30 cruises on Celebrity and 45 on Azamara. The day I discovered Azamara was a truly special one. 

 

Phil 

Edited January 21, 2021 by excitedofharpenden

[Oceangoer2]

5 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

There are certainly some very interesting comments on this thread. Some good, some ill informed and some just plain nonsense.

Our preferred line is X (over 30 cruises) but never sailed Azamara...considered it along with Oceania, but the  smaller, older, ships didn't appeal at the time. You obviously enjoyed A (45 cruises).  Our expectations impact our experience.

Edited January 21, 2021 by Oceangoer2

[ECCruise]

7 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Our preferred line is X (over 30 cruises) but never sailed Azamara...considered it along with Oceania, but the  smaller, older, ships didn't appeal at the time. You obviously enjoyed A (45 cruises).  What would make other posters' opinions "nonsense" if they found their experiences different from yours?

Because most of the posts Phil (and I in a separate post) referred to had never sailed Azamara.  So their "experience" would be, at best, a bit suspect.

[PelicanLvr]

On 1/19/2021 at 12:47 PM, Bruin Steve said:

Makes some sense...

Here's a little history:

When the old Renaissance Cruise Lines went out of business, the ships were dispersed across the cruising world...

Princess picked up three and merely re-branded them and adopted them into the Princess line as Pacific Princess, Ocean Princess and Royal Princess.  They haven't really worked out that well under the Princess formula and they've since sold two of the three....

Pulmantur picked up one...but quickly sold that to Oceania...

Oceania picked up two initially, then later got another from Princess and another from Pulmantur.  Oceania was a company founded by former Renaissance executives...and had a pretty good idea as to how to run these.

Royal Caribbean picked up two ships--and, originally, intended to merely place them under Celebrity and run them as Celebrity ships...But, seeing how well the Oceania operation was run, they then switched to trying to buy Oceania...But the deal fell through...Instead, they decided to create Azamara and, more or less, copy the Oceania model.

 

But, over the next several years, Oceania grew by acquiring two more ships AND by building two newer, larger "newbuilds" with all the modern bells and whistles--making the cruise line more stable and more flexible.  Azamara stayed with the same two small 600 passenger ships.

 

Turn out that running a cruise line with just 1200 total berths on two ships is not really that easy--or financially profitable... especially at this "somewhere between mass-market and luxury" price point.

 

At this point, I'm guessing Royal Caribbean has figured it doesn't want to expand Azamara and it doesn't want to operate 600 passenger ships unless they can command a luxury fare structure...and the ships ARE over 20 years old...They lack some amenities and the staterooms are small compared to most luxury line ships (and include many inside and OV cabins)...

 

So, time to move on...

Thank you for this post on the fate of the old R Ships.  Very interesting.

[Oceangoer2]

3 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

Because most of the posts Phil (and I in a separate post) referred to had never sailed Azamara.  So their "experience" would be, at best, a bit suspect.

I agree....hard to have an 'experienced' opinion if you've not sailed the line if that's what you mean.

[ECCruise]

18 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I agree....hard to have an 'experienced' opinion if you've not sailed the line if that's what you mean.

Thanks.  Yes, this is what I meant.  There are a number of posts here and on various other threads about the sale that deeply analyze Azamara.  From a really long distance.  Like never being on one of their ships.  😉

[TeaBag]

11 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

So it's time to move on and I hope to travel on Azamara under its new ownership once I have the covid vaccine and feel safe to travel again. I hope you are able to visit Petra. I was able to visit there when I was on Azamara Journey. One of the highlights of many Azamara moments. I feel sad, but also hopeful. 

 

Just to qualify my experiences, not said as a brag, but to position my opinions. I'm Zenith/Discoverer Platinum and have done 30 cruises on Celebrity and 45 on Azamara. The day I discovered Azamara was a truly special one. 

 

Phil 

Thank you so much, Phil.  You have made my day better. I will be watching for your take on Azamara when you cruise again.  Ours is not till May 2022 so there will probably be many changes by then.  In the meantime we wait for vaccine (slower than molasses in Canada) and a return to cruising.

[excitedofharpenden]

7 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Our preferred line is X (over 30 cruises) but never sailed Azamara...considered it along with Oceania, but the  smaller, older, ships didn't appeal at the time. You obviously enjoyed A (45 cruises).  Our expectations impact our experience.

As I said, the statement of my cruising history is most definitely not meant as a boast, but it has become evident to me that there are some regulars here who have an opinion on everything, regardless of their experiences and I'd rather people know that I do have some knowledge of what I speak. I often have an opinion, but try to keep them to something that I've actually done. The armchair experts here need to be called out because they paint a very false picture. 

 

Phil 

[dabear]

1 hour ago, excitedofharpenden said:

As I said, the statement of my cruising history is most definitely not meant as a boast, but it has become evident to me that there are some regulars here who have an opinion on everything, regardless of their experiences and I'd rather people know that I do have some knowledge of what I speak. I often have an opinion, but try to keep them to something that I've actually done. The armchair experts here need to be called out because they paint a very false picture. 

 

Phil 

Totally agree. If you haven't had a personal experience, either disclose it or don't opine on your second hand or other speculation.

[SEA DOGY]

On 1/19/2021 at 11:46 AM, ChucktownSteve said:

 

You think they'll be increasing the Azamara apparel in the gift shop?

I will never travel again on Azamara ... meaning ...   Adiozmara 

[ChucktownSteve]

8 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

I will never travel again on Azamara ... meaning ...   Adiozmara 

 

That's OK by me.  I will never visit San Francisco again. So we're even. 😁

[SEA DOGY]

6 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

That's OK by me.  I will never visit San Francisco again. So we're even. 😁

Oh no...such a beautiful our city San Francisco And it will never  be will sold

Hope Phil doesn’t fell the same  way you do 🤪

[Ride-The-Waves]

Actually view this as good news for those of us who like Azamara and the feeling of "returning home" when embarking.  Always amazed me that Azamara senior officers would remember our names over the years.  These ship are well built, ride very well, and the "Club Continent" suites are perfect for their itineraries.  Adding a fourth ship (ex-Pacific Princess) will make them very viable and maybe perfect for the post coronavirus period when I except mega-ships to become difficult to manage, staff and find ports.

[ChucktownSteve]

14 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

Oh no...such a beautiful our city San Francisco And it will never  be will sold

Hope Phil doesn’t fell the same  way you do 🤪

 

But at least the ships are clean and drug needle free even if they're sold to someone else. 😜 Now when people start setting up tents in the passageways will I jump ship.

[excitedofharpenden]

On 1/21/2021 at 10:42 PM, dabear said:

Totally agree. If you haven't had a personal experience, either disclose it or don't opine on your second hand or other speculation.

Azamara under their new guise have today announced the purchase of Pacific Princess to add one more to their fleet of three. First season will be Europe 2022. 

 

Phil 

[TeaBag]

Great news.  Thank you, Phil.

[1980dory]

On 1/22/2021 at 2:15 PM, SEA DOGY said:

Oh no...such a beautiful our city San Francisco And it will never  be will sold

Hope Phil doesn’t fell the same  way you do 🤪

Did Phil fall?  Hope you didn't get hurt, Phil.

Edited January 25, 2021 by 1980dory
Typo correction.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The good news at Azamara continues:

More News for Azamara: Holland America Line Cruise Vet Steps Into Executive Role

[markeb]

32 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

The good news at Azamara continues:

More News for Azamara: Holland America Line Cruise Vet Steps Into Executive Role

 

Interesting. Sycamore still doesn't look like the kind of company that would keep Azamara, but building value to sell it intact rather than having a fire sale for quick cash is looking more likely. And who knows, they might actually keep it...

[Host Jazzbeau]

37 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

Interesting. Sycamore still doesn't look like the kind of company that would keep Azamara, but building value to sell it intact rather than having a fire sale for quick cash is looking more likely. And who knows, they might actually keep it...

 

Frankly I don't care if they keep it.  If they keep investing like this to build it up, that will be more than RCG ever did.

[markeb]

2 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Frankly I don't care if they keep it.  If they keep investing like this to build it up, that will be more than RCG ever did.

 

Agree, but the public information on them is a mixed bag to the acquisition. I'm sure they've done fine!

 

It's looking a lot less like a delayed liquidation, and more like they think they got a bargain they can rehab and the whole will be worth more than the sum of the parts. Which as you say could be really good for Azamara.

[TeaBag]

50 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

It's looking a lot less like a delayed liquidation, and more like they think they got a bargain they can rehab and the whole will be worth more than the sum of the parts. Which as you say could be really good for Azamara.

Now all they need is us amazing cruisers.......

Edited January 27, 2021 by TeaBag

[Host Jazzbeau]

27 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

Now all they need is us amazing cruisers.......

I'm booked!

[TeaBag]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'm booked!

Me too.

[TeeRick]

I have absolutely no good reason to book and pay the high price for an Azamara Cruise at this point.  There is no track record with the new owners yet.  I would wait for the reviews to come in at least several months after they resume operations whenever that might be.