Making waves in 2024 is upscale Azamara, which has four newly refurbished ships and a new CEO in Dondra Ritzenthaler. Earlier this month, Travel Agent caught up with her on Azamara Journey during one embarkation day at PortMiami. We asked about what she plans for the upscale brand and any intel for travel advisors.
Four Refurbished Ships
While today Azamara is owned by Sycamore Partners, it previously was a Royal Caribbean Group brand. So, Ritzenthaler was somewhat familiar with the brand in her past role as a Celebrity Cruises’ senior vice president of sales. But "the first thing that really surprised me is when I went on the ships for the first time a couple weeks in—I went on Azamara Quest and then on Azamara Journey—[is that] I’d forgotten how cute and little the ships are," she explains.
"It was so joyful when I went on and just looked around and thought, 'Oh my gosh, these ships are beautiful,'" Ritzenthaler imparts. "And, honestly, I didn’t know what to expect," given that it was a few years since she'd seen them. All four of those 690-passenger Azamara ships are former “R” ships, launched by Renaissance Cruises which ceased operations after in 2001. Here’s a snapshot look at the fleet:
- Azamara Journey: Built in 2000 as the R6, this ship also sailed as Pullmantur’s Blue Star and Blue Dream before joining Azamara in 2008.
- Azamara Quest: Built in 2000 as the R7, this ship later sailed as the chartered Delphin Renaissance and subsequently as Pullmantur’s Blue Moon. The ship entered service for Azamara in 2007.
- Azamara Onward: Built in 1999 as the R3, the vessel later sailed as Princess Cruises’ Pacific Princess and was operated by both Princess and P&O Cruises Australia. The ship was purchased by Azamara in 2021.
- Azamara Pursuit: Built in 2001 as the R8, this ship sailed as Swan-Hellenic’s Minerva II, before being acquired by Azamara in 2017.
When seeing them for the first time as the line’s CEO, Ritzenthaler acknowledges, “I didn't know if they were going to look tired, right? But I have to tell you that I’m so thrilled with how beautiful they are. We put $85 million in them during 2024, and they look fresh and new." While there weren't major structural changes or new venues added, "we did a lot on the soft goods, just to keep the ships looking really beautiful," she emphasizes.
Ramping Up Marketing and Sales
Well-known to many travel advisors from her time at Celebrity Cruises, Ritzenthaler recently hired Meg Lee as global chief marketing officer. Now focused on strategic marketing, Lee is a former executive with Goodyear in Akron, OH, but also a 15-year cruise industry veteran, most of that time with Norwegian Cruise Line. Since joining the brand, Lee has added a strategic direct mail initiative, important as Azamara hadn't done any direct mail over the past few years. “I think our audience really appreciates that as long as you don’t overdo it,” Ritzenthaler says.
Look for Azamara to also continue the high-quality, creative partnerships that have worked well for the brand and to seek new joint marketing efforts with its partners. Currently, Azamara partners with Micato Safaris in conjunction with the line's Africa cruises. “We also do the British Open when we’re on the British Isles cruise and we partner with PerryGolf,” she says. “So, we’re going to do some creative things in addition to the traditional marketing and, to the audience that we're after, I think it will resonate."
As for trade sales, one statistic we learned about on board is that Azamara’s trade bookings comprise approximately 86 percent of all sales. (Many lines are reportedly in the 50 to 70 percent for that number.) In fact, the day we boarded at PortMiami to interview Ritzenthaler, a group of advisors were already in the ship's theater attending a sales presentation. They then headed out on a ship tour, viewed various staterooms/suites and dined aboard for lunch.
Ritzenthaler tells us that her Azamara team is just completing an extensive trade program of ‘Listen, Learn and Link Together' tours, each for 100 or so travel advisors in different cities. "We've done 11 of them total," she says, "and we've seen more than 1,000 travel advisors." Most of those trade "Listen, Learn and Link Together" programs were within the U.S., with one in Canada and another in the United Kingdom.
Most notably, says Ritzenthaler, the advisors were asked: "What should we (Azamara) stop, start and continue?" Now that the line has listened, she says, "we’re going to make changes" to enhance the product. And she says "the reason I think that those changes will be successful is that we're using 1,000-plus people's [feedback]."
While advisors certainly are crucial for the line's sales efforts, so are friendly, attentive crewmembers that keep guests coming back over and over again. Acknowledging that all lines stress that they have great crew members, Ritzenthaler adds: "But there’s something different here at Azamara. It's the culture; it's how they feel like it's family; it's because it's small ... we're more flexible." Crew, she stresses, are "the heart and soul of our brand."
As for guests, Ritzenthaler pledges that under her leadership, the line will always take small things that are important to guests to heart. For instance, some guests recently complained that “I don’t like the shower curtain” in terms of thickness and a hard, clingy feel, "so, a few weeks into the job, we changed the shower curtains," she tells us. Now, those are "made of this waffle cotton, so it's beautiful looking," she emphasizes. "The color is beautiful, and if you touch it, it's not going to stick to you."
While that's a small change, it's "one that matters." Ritzenthaler says. She wants guests to know she’s listening, emphasizing: “I want to keep doing that.” As for onboard product enhancements, "we've refreshed the menus and changed the [number] of days before we get a new menu" during any cruise, she explains. A new chef has been hired to help enhance the culinary programming. “And we’ve refreshed our beverages, whether it be the beers or the wines that come with our packages," she adds.
AzAmazing Destination Immersion
In terms of the line's four sister ships, “we’re actually so glad that we own small ships, as they’re perfect for destination immersion,” she says. They can dock at places larger vessels can't. For instance, Azamara calls in the heart of at Seville, Spain. That's in contrast to lines with larger ships that must dock at Cadiz on the Spanish coast; then, those lines' guests must board a motorcoach for the hour-and-20-minute ride to Seville.
Instead, Azamara sails up the river to Seville, and it's among a very few lines that can do that. “We have all of our ships do Seville,” she says. “It’s the coolest experience because what we do is [the ship] goes backward, we go at night, and you can see all the lights.”
Another differentiator is that "we have 50 percent late nights and overnights and our closest competitor has 36 percent," Ritzenthaler says. During the advisor sales information program Travel Agent observed on board Azamara Journey, the line also showed a slide to retailers with these statistics:
- 80 percent of all Azamara cruise days are port visits. That compares with 69 percent to 77 percent for other upscale or luxury lines.
- During its days in port, Azamara offers 32 percent with “late night” departures, compared with 9 percent to 28 percent for other upscale or luxury lines.
“We not only mathematically can back that up [the Destination Immersion], but what’s more important is that emotionally we really do own these destination itineraries,” says Ritzenthaler. Beyond its ship size, the line's itinerary development also creates more opportunities for guests to explore ashore and not be rushed.
For instance, Azamara offers “Country Intensive” itineraries, which do "extremely well" for the brand, she explains, so advisors can expect those to continue. During a "South Africa Intensive" voyage in January 2025, for example, guests will go ashore at Cape Town (overnight), Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay (overnight), Durbin and Mossel Bay. Other "Country Intensive" voyages explore Japan, Australia, Ireland, France, Iceland, Spain, Greece, Canada/Colonial America and beyond.
In addition, Ritzenthaler points to the line's AzAmazing Evenings—complimentary events or local destination programming for all guests. Typically, these are ashore, although there can be some onboard elements, too. It's a way for guests to take a deep dive into local culture, beverages, cuisine, heritage and traditions.
Where in the Marketplace Is Azamara?
Some lines strongly desire to avoid labels when asked what segment of the cruise industry they're positioned in—contemporary, premium, luxury, ultra-luxury and so on. But given questions from travel advisors about the brand, we asked Ritzenthaler, "Where does Azamara fit?"
“I am actually glad you asked that question, because I want everybody to know where we do fit,” Ritzenthaler tells us. “I actually asked travel agents at this 'Listen, Learn and Link Together' program, who do you see as our competitors which really helps solidify that.” So, she stresses this: “Upper premium is where we sit." So, the line's competitors include such lines as Viking, Oceania Cruises and, at times, Seabourn.
"I love where we sit," she says. "It’s actually a beautiful place because sometimes people want to go on a smaller ship and really be immersed in the destination, but they don't want to pay the price that you would maybe pay on a luxury brand. But they want this intimate, small-ship experience and, so, we fit perfectly there."
But even better, she says, "the people who really love Azamara are the ones that don’t want to go in [arrive at a port] at 8 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m." Ritzenthaler stresses that those guests seek an “authentic experience going into these places that the large ships, because of their size, cannot dock. So, they’ve done the big ships, and they loved it, and it was terrific. But now what they want to do is they want this little bit richer, more intimate, authentic experience. But they don’t want to go all the way to being in a 'luxury' line as maybe they feel that’s a bit too [much for what fits their travel style]."
But even though the line fits well in the upper premium category, that doesn't mean that some aspects of the experience aren't luxurious. “We just don't put ourselves in the luxury category with those other guys.” she explains, yet it's still a highly inclusive product. All guests who buy an Azamara cruise will receive "Always Azamara" inclusions. New "Experiential" and "Indulgence" package options just introduced, however, allow guests to rachet up their inclusions. Guests can buy a package with more perks or a higher dollar-level of those included perks (such as a more robust spa treatment or shore excursion credit). If buying the "Indulgence" package, Ritzenthaler says they can get “literally everything.”
Guests and Marketplace Trends
Azamara attracts a broad range of guests. "It's really the audience who loves to cruise but has decided that they want a more immersive destination experience," according to Ritzenthaler. So, guests aren't typically young adults nor highly mature guests either. Typically, the sweet demographic spot for the brand is between 50 and 65 years of age. These folks have both the time and the wealth to travel, plus they're also "adventurous and want to go and do things," she says.
"We also do well with multi-gen—grandparents, parents, kids, grandchildren," says Ritzenthaler. No, the line doesn't have children's clubs or supervised kids' activities, she acknowledges; that said, Azamara's hefty destination focus allows families to get off the ship to explore together nearly every day.
What marketplace trends is Ritzenthaler seeing this year? "It’s interesting but the more inclusive seems to be picking up," she says. Also trending? That's personalization of the consumer's voyage—and coupling that with specific events such as the British Open golf tournament or the Monaco Grand Prix Formula One race. Trend-wise, "I see that picking up," she says. "We can see that in the rates that we get for those sailings versus [others] and how far in advance they book. So, I think that's a trend that's going to continue."
As for what parts of the globe are trending well with consumers, she points to Japan and says the previously mentioned "Country Intensive" voyages in Japan "are selling unbelievably well." Iceland and some parts of Europe are also hot spots for guests right now.
While Ritzenthaler has only been on the job about six months, she's already moving quickly to make enhancements, connect with guests and advisors, further differentiating Azamara on the destination immersion side. While there aren't any new ships on the horizon right now, she's intently focused on finetuning the product, cultivating trade relationships, drawing in new guests and "making money for the brand." Then, she says, "we'll see" what the future holds.
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