Rare uktog Posted November 7, 2023 #1 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Travel Weekly is reporting Carol Cabezas has left. Dan Hanrahan is taking a leadership role with Dondra Ritzenthaler ex Celebrity as CEO https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Dondra-Ritzenthaler-to-join-Azamara-CEO?fbclid=IwAR2O9om-xsNhVgnDwA8xlNf9WxtyADEGH32Ev10NSoUydMbh7svqeecl3L4 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitekat Posted November 7, 2023 #2 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Wow! That is interesting. And a new CFO as well... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuAnn Posted November 7, 2023 #3 Share Posted November 7, 2023 24 minutes ago, uktog said: Travel Weekly is reporting Carol Cabezas has left. Dan Hanrahan is taking a leadership role with Dondra Ritzenthaler ex Celebrity as CEO https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Dondra-Ritzenthaler-to-join-Azamara-CEO?fbclid=IwAR2O9om-xsNhVgnDwA8xlNf9WxtyADEGH32Ev10NSoUydMbh7svqeecl3L4 Good news? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crzrr Posted November 7, 2023 #4 Share Posted November 7, 2023 I think that's great news. Carol Cabezas has done a horrible job with this conversion and should be replaced. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabo Posted November 7, 2023 #5 Share Posted November 7, 2023 It is certainly time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted November 7, 2023 #6 Share Posted November 7, 2023 Finally, there's a chance Azamara won't just disappear. Carol should have "left" months ago.Hopefully, the new management team will get the web and back office under control and travel agents will start to be positive about Azamara.They have made so many blunders to date.....starting with the cut off of a group of aging cruisers on Celebrity/RCL who can't transfer their captains club status....great way to cut off a pool of easy future passengers. One of the first marketing steps they should think about: Azamara should recognize frequent cruising levels attained on other cruise lines.(yes, each cruise line is different, but in a few days someone in Azamara HQ could figure out the mapping).....a cheap way for customer acquistion. Of course, fix the web site has to be at the very top of the list....since cruise operations are already sub-contracted. Azamara is a marketing company....time to start marketing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avw Posted November 8, 2023 #7 Share Posted November 8, 2023 A change that was needed. Everyone could see that. But, I hope they don't come in and try to reinvent Azamara by changing Azamara's unique onboard vibe. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcpa1 Posted November 8, 2023 #8 Share Posted November 8, 2023 This should act as a firm committment from a holding company not truly aware of Azamara's unique place in the cruising industry. Perhaps the rumors of new builds now have a chance. We love Azamara just not the bathrooms!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proc04011981 Posted November 8, 2023 #9 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I do 5 hours ago, ghstudio said: Finally, there's a chance Azamara won't just disappear. Carol should have "left" months ago.Hopefully, the new management team will get the web and back office under control and travel agents will start to be positive about Azamara.They have made so many blunders to date.....starting with the cut off of a group of aging cruisers on Celebrity/RCL who can't transfer their captains club status....great way to cut off a pool of easy future passengers. One of the first marketing steps they should think about: Azamara should recognize frequent cruising levels attained on other cruise lines.(yes, each cruise line is different, but in a few days someone in Azamara HQ could figure out the mapping).....a cheap way for customer acquistion. Of course, fix the web site has to be at the very top of the list....since cruise operations are already sub-contracted. Azamara is a marketing company....time to start marketing. I doubt that. This simply shows that their efforts are focused on marketing. They might switch the president, but they're maintaining the hotel operations, IT, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandma Cruising Posted November 8, 2023 #10 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Another article here https://www.ttgmedia.com/news/carol-cabezas-stands-down-as-president-of-azamara-amid-leadership-shake-up-43238 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare uktog Posted November 8, 2023 Author #11 Share Posted November 8, 2023 The future direction will be interesting 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliaschief Posted November 8, 2023 #12 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Let’s hope for the best. It’s not going to be an overnight fix. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateWife Posted November 8, 2023 #13 Share Posted November 8, 2023 14 hours ago, ghstudio said: Finally, there's a chance Azamara won't just disappear. Carol should have "left" months ago.Hopefully, the new management team will get the web and back office under control and travel agents will start to be positive about Azamara.They have made so many blunders to date.....starting with the cut off of a group of aging cruisers on Celebrity/RCL who can't transfer their captains club status....great way to cut off a pool of easy future passengers. One of the first marketing steps they should think about: Azamara should recognize frequent cruising levels attained on other cruise lines.(yes, each cruise line is different, but in a few days someone in Azamara HQ could figure out the mapping).....a cheap way for customer acquistion. Of course, fix the web site has to be at the very top of the list....since cruise operations are already sub-contracted. Azamara is a marketing company....time to start marketing. I don't understand why Azamara should recognize cruising levels from other cruise lines. Airlines don't recognize status from other airlines. I thought Celebrity/RCL cruisers were given an opportunity to transfer their status. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChucktownSteve Posted November 8, 2023 #14 Share Posted November 8, 2023 6 hours ago, uktog said: The future direction will be interesting I would prefer hearing the word phenomenal rather than interesting. That’s what people usually use when they don’t want to disclose what they’re really thinking. 🙄 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted November 8, 2023 #15 Share Posted November 8, 2023 12 minutes ago, PirateWife said: I don't understand why Azamara should recognize cruising levels from other cruise lines. Airlines don't recognize status from other airlines. I thought Celebrity/RCL cruisers were given an opportunity to transfer their status. what's one of the best ways to attract your targeted most desired passengers....past frequent cruisers. They had a natural feed from RCL that they completely blew in the transition.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinaro44 Posted November 8, 2023 #16 Share Posted November 8, 2023 3 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said: But the cruise experience seems as good as ever! I don't understand all the whining. If someone has never cruised Azamara, why should that someone get the same status as someone who has 30, 40, 50 or more Azamara cruises? Cruising mass-market lines like Royal Caribbean and Celebrity is not cruising Azamara. If Azamara had not started as part of Celebrity and therefore had to share the loyalty program, it would have been cleaner, better and would have recognized the significant differences in cost and cruising experience.. 18 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateWife Posted November 8, 2023 #17 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I have rarely talked to customer service over the years we have been cruising with Azamara. However, this spring/summer we had an issue and I called many times. However, I now believe most of these issues were caused by a new TA assigned to us who was not familiar with Azamara or us. Customer service from Azamara has been great in the last two months. Questions have been answered, refunds on cancelled excursions have been paid, and transferring to a new TA has been expedited. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxman52 Posted November 8, 2023 #18 Share Posted November 8, 2023 It's interesting to see how Virgin Voyages as a new cruise line handled the status question. They matched status but also have an accelerated reward scheme of the their own. After sailing twice in 23 we now have an extremely generous set of benefits. Of course this was a key factor in us sailing again at least once next year. It's also a brilliant experience! I suspect soon once they have built up their own loyalty scheme the status matching might be dropped as more people benefit from the VV scheme. Amazara could have done something similar and restructured their loyalty scheme as part of a relaunch under new ownership. On the bigger picture all travel companies are IT businesses with a bolt on service offer - airline, cruise, hotel etc. If the IT isn't working simply the business isn't I enjoy Azamara but I do think their offer is dated & stale and they can't grow the business without evolving their offer to new customers. The ships are great but getting too old and I fear in a crowded market they lack a compelling competitive offer for growth. They need to define what they need and want to be. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thequietone Posted November 8, 2023 #19 Share Posted November 8, 2023 54 minutes ago, PirateWife said: I have rarely talked to customer service over the years we have been cruising with Azamara. However, this spring/summer we had an issue and I called many times. However, I now believe most of these issues were caused by a new TA assigned to us who was not familiar with Azamara or us. Customer service from Azamara has been great in the last two months. Questions have been answered, refunds on cancelled excursions have been paid, and transferring to a new TA has been expedited. Who has been your contact within Azamara ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PirateWife Posted November 8, 2023 #20 Share Posted November 8, 2023 4 minutes ago, Thequietone said: Who has been your contact within Azamara ? I have just called the number on their website. I don't have a contact name. I am in the US and may have a different number than you do in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmax Posted November 8, 2023 #21 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I find this to be a very interesting and hopefully a positive move. This will reunite Dondra and Dan who were with Celebrity when it was truly one of the best premium cruise lines. I think that they were there when Celebrity started the Azamara division. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thequietone Posted November 8, 2023 #22 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Just now, PirateWife said: I have just called the number on their website. I don't have a contact name. I am in the US and may have a different number than you do in the UK. Thank you I will keep pursuing them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nordski Posted November 8, 2023 #23 Share Posted November 8, 2023 1 hour ago, PirateWife said: I have rarely talked to customer service over the years we have been cruising with Azamara. However, this spring/summer we had an issue and I called many times. However, I now believe most of these issues were caused by a new TA assigned to us who was not familiar with Azamara or us. Customer service from Azamara has been great in the last two months. Questions have been answered, refunds on cancelled excursions have been paid, and transferring to a new TA has been expedited. I called AZ yesterday about flights. Once I got through the instructions the call was answered within seconds. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macmax Posted November 8, 2023 #24 Share Posted November 8, 2023 I understand that many AZ agents are former X agents and it has taken some time for them to "get up to speed" with the new system etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinaro44 Posted November 8, 2023 #25 Share Posted November 8, 2023 3 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said: Not our experience at all. Our cruises autumn 2022 and March 23 on 2 different ships were just as good as ever - great service & good food. Ours, too. Looking forward to our five upcoming Onward cruises.. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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