‘It’s a no-cruise cruise, we’re more of a tour operation’.
Azamara Club Cruises has revealed that they are striving to find new ways to deliver experiences on the ground.
The brand, who have always had a big focus on land, are planning country-intensive cruises, more exclusive, curated activities in port, and more voyages built around major sports and entertainment events.
Azamara president and CEO, Larry Pimentel, announced the initiative, calling it a brand positioning evolution 18 months in the making.
“We have found out that authentic, localized travel which is exclusive is one of the very hot buttons that turn people on about going to a destination,” Pimentel stated.
“The more we can connect people to people and to culture in a deeper, more ingrained way, the more the clients want to be with us.”
The line recently adopted a new mantra: “Stay longer. Experience more” and in light of this, Azamara is introducing a series of land programmes built around the aim to make local connections whilst cruising globally.
This year, the brand’s two ships, Azamara Quest and Azamara Journey, will visit 203 ports in 68 countries, and will offer more than 1,000 curated experiences that Pimentel has stated “cannot be Googled”.
He continues by stating that “you can’t find them. We’re creating them, and that’s the difference.”
The new focus and land programmes will include an emphasis on food, shopping, biking, golf, walking, and other pursuits. Some will allow passengers to stay on shore overnight and other trips will be built around big events including the British Open, Cannes Film Festival, and the Monaco Grand Prix.
The new country-intensive itineraries that the brand has announced will spend the majority of a trip visiting multiple ports in countries such as Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Croatia, and Norway. Azamara uses the relatively small size of its ships to its advantage and sails to destinations that are hard for larger lines and competitors to reach.
“This crowd is really interesting; the person who’s going to the British Open where the ship is parked for days honestly doesn’t care much about the ship. They’re there for golf” Pimentel said.
For trips structured around an event, he said the experience is “almost in some ways a no-cruise cruise. We’re more of a tour operation.”
Both 690-passenger ships, built in 2000, received extensive updates in 2016 but research has shown that ships are not the main driver for the line’s travellers.
“At the end of the day they don’t talk about bigger spaces, they don’t talk about more opulence. They talk about connection.”
Azamara bookings for 2017 have been record-setting and the company has managed to reach the new-to-cruise market, even amongst the harsh competition of ever-growing mega ships.
“There are people who will pay a premium enough to keep small ships in the space to offer the uniqueness of the destination, the people, and the culture” Pimentel finishes.
But what are your thoughts on the news? Are you a lover of intimate and personal small ships or a definite fan of the mega ships on the market right now? Have you sailed with Azamara before? Are you more interested in the destination than the features onboard? Leave us your comments below!
