At a time during the pandemic when several cruise ships and cruise lines have completely departed the industry, Azamara has been sold by Royal Caribbean Group. Fortunately, exciting changes are in the works including new leadership and an expansion to four vessels.
“Our strategy has evolved into placing more of our resources behind three global brands, Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Silversea, and working to grow them as we emerge from this unprecedented period,” said Richard D. Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, in a press release. “Azamara remains a strong brand with its own tremendous potential for growth.”
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To that end, the entirety of the Azamara brand and its ships have been sold to Sycamore Partners for $201 million.
As a first step, Azamara’s chief operating officer, Carol Cabezas, has been appointed as the cruise line’s president.
And Orlando Ashford, former president of Holland America Line, has been hired as executive chairman for the brand.
“I am thrilled to be appointed to the role of executive chairman at this exciting time for Azamara, having long admired the business and the brand,” said Ashford, in a press release. “I believe Azamara is uniquely positioned in the industry, and I look forward to executing on our shared vision for growth. Together with the Azamara team, we’ll focus on offering Azamara’s loyal customers more of what they have come to know and love.”
Following this initial news of the brand sale, Azamara is set to purchase a fourth ship. While not disclosed in respective press releases, it is believed that Azamara will acquire Princess Cruises’ just-sold Pacific Princess.
We look forward to launching even more unique and immersive itineraries and feel this is just the beginning of an exciting growth phase for Azamara.
“We are thrilled to be expanding our fleet with a fourth ship, allowing us to visit even more regions of the world and better serve our guests,” said Cabezas, in a release. “We look forward to launching even more unique and immersive itineraries and feel this is just the beginning of an exciting growth phase for Azamara.”
This corresponds with the news that Princess was selling the Pacific as parent company Carnival Corporation accelerates the removal of less-efficient vessels from its overall fleet.
“Pacific Princess holds so many memories and cherished experiences to all who sailed upon her,” said Jan Swartz, president of Princess, in another release. “Pacific Princess offered a traditional style of cruising to unique destinations.”
Now it looks like the former Renaissance Cruises, 1999-built R Three will join Azamara’s existing trio of R-class vessels. Of the original eight sister ships, four will set sail for Azamara, while the balance is owned and operated by Oceania Cruises.
Azamara’s fourth ship will be refurbished and updated to match its latest ship, Azamara Pursuit, also acquired from Carnival in 2018 after sailing as the Adonia for its P&O Cruises and Fathom brands, and as Royal Princess for Princess before that.
Azamara’s chief operating officer, Carol Cabezas, has been named president of the cruise line.
Credit: 2021 Azamara“The addition of this ship is an important milestone and reflects Sycamore Partners’ commitment to supporting Azamara in its next phase of growth,” said Stefan Kaluzny, managing director of Sycamore, in a press release. “Expanding the fleet will allow Azamara to continue to serve loyal customers, as well as those new to the brand, with more unique Destination Immersion programming and itineraries.”
Sycamore Partners is a private equity firm specializing in retail and consumer investments. Its portfolio of brands includes Hot Topic, Staples, Talbots and Torrid. Azamara will mark the company’s first cruise line.
Azamara’s addition of 33% more capacity will provide travel advisors with extra inventory to sell to their clients, but there are also some concerns in the community.
Adam Martindale, Cruise Planners franchise owner in San Diego, Calif., frequently books cruises in the brand’s upscale market and has a client that reserves both Azamara and Oceania Cruises, which remains part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
“Looking at the kind of company Sycamore is, my customer has concerns about how this will affect Azamara,” he said. “Their immediate one is how the new ownership will affect the passenger experience, particularly security, health precautions and shore excursions that relied so heavily on Royal Caribbean as an experienced corporation.”
Time will tell, as the Azamara sale is expected to close in the first quarter of 2021, and the fourth yet-to-be-named ship is scheduled to debut in 2022 — but Fain is confident in the new owners.
“Sycamore’s track record demonstrates that they will be good stewards of what the Azamara team has built over the past 13 years,” he said.
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