Larry Pimentel

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON

From all of us at Azamara Club Cruises, we wish one and all a very enjoyable Thanksgiving. We are thankful for so much: our great crews, our amazing officers, our dedicated staff around the globe, our boutique ships, the new Azamara Pursuit to come, the support from our parent company ..... and our biggest thanks to our LOYAL GUESTS. May this holiday season be the very best. Wishing you good health and safe travel to all!

Warmest Regards, Larry

So far I understand that...

 

- the CW/CO suites on Pursuit won’t have bathtubs, only large rain showers

- Pursuit won’t have a casino... which triggers the question what else will be in that space?

 

Did anyone pick up any other pieces of information?

 

Cheers,

Floris

Hi Floris,

For certain we will not have the casino on the Azamara Pursuit. The casino area is under a great deal of discussion. A number of good ideas are in play. Fortunately, we have a great deal of time before we remodel the ship. So we have ample time to make a final decision.

We look forward to having you back onboard. Happy Thanksgiving!

Regards - Larry

Our share holder benefits are created and managed directly by our parent company, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. For more information on who is eligible, what it includes and who you should contact for more information, please visit the following link: http://www.rclcorporate.com/investors/shareholder-benefit/

Dear Liz, given our third ship, you will see many new med ports,stay tuned for our December release of new schedules! These ships are ideal coastal cruisers and the med offers fantastic deployment in many smaller ports large ships cannot navigate.

Deposit policies have not generally come up as a concern when checking through all guest relation issues. Additionally, policies tend to be regulated by local consumer authorities or they’re consistent with industry standards within a region. If the policies of local regulatory agencies or our industry competitive sector change, we are also likely to make modifications.

Regrettably the system we inherited does not offer an LCV point total at this time. However, if you simply send an email to lcvambassador@leclubvoyage.com, they will respond promptly with your actual point total.

My question is in a similar vein so I will place it here. I was concerned that in a recent post on these boards Azamara’s representative gave the impression that bringing a third ship on was putting a lot of pressure on Miami staff.

Some posters are also posting concerning lapses in shoreside Service in the US and whilst we enjoy fantastic UK service, our own experience is we continue to be frustrated by the basic errors and service lapses of shoreside Land Discoveries.

How can guests be sure that these reported pressures in the run up to Pursuits coming into Service will not impact on their experiences before, during and after their cruises and that the all round service excellence of a few years ago will return, specifically to shoreside US where the punch points seem to be?

 

 

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Dear uktog, as you know, we survey our guests and research all areas of our business, including shore side service. Factually, there is no evidence that suggests the US or the UK has any degenerated service as a result of the new ship. In fact, I’d say the excitement about the Azamara Pursuit is enthusiastic onboard our ships, in our shore side operations and amongst our guests. Versus a few years ago, service standards, as measured from guests and travel advisors, suggest a superior standard of service. While it is always possible that an individual can have an issue, or several, the overall standard has been improving consistently year over year. I’m pleased to say, in 2017 we have hit the highest survey results since the brand inception. Thank you for your question and most of all for your years of participation in the cruisecritic forum. Your passion about our crew and deliverable have been stellar from the very beginning. I’ve learned much from your postings and we’re a better company because of your many observations. See you onboard soon!

Dear ArubaTuesday, thank you for your LCV question, the pricing on Azamara Pursuit was initially loaded improperly and once discovered was reversed. It was not intended as a short LCV benefit, but candidly it was simply a human error. Apologies for the confusion, this is now corrected.

First the initial Azamara Pursuit pricing schedule was improperly loaded and simply stated, it was human error. This was not an intentional error or a system glitch. Companies, like people, are imperfect. We are disappointed the error occurred and made the correction once we became aware of the input error. Apologies for the confusion.

If you believe you are not receiving mail and want toreceive mail, please send a note to lcvambassador@leclubvoyage.com and we’re happy to make sureour system includes you.

Right now we don't have any Icelandor Longyearbyen on our 2019 itineraries. However, we are looking at goingto both Iceland and Longyearbyen in 2020. These itineraries should be released in early 2018.

Yes, we have considered it. Weare looking at doing an Amazon cruise to Manaus in 2020 or 2021. The oneissue we face going all the way up the Amazon to Manaus is that it is over a1000 miles each way which makes for a very long itinerary.

Dear Procter, many of the new senior officers includingour Captain for the Azamara Pursuit, will be announced later this month. We arereally excited to make this announcement, stay tuned.

Next year we’ll release our 2020 voyages, where you willsee South Africa included in the deployments. The Azamara Pursuit allows us toadd 61 more destinations, 48 late nights, 26 overnights, 19 new itineraries and15 maiden ports.

With the Pursuit coming on line and increasing your capacity approximately 50%, have you increased your home office staffing to cover the increased workload. Would expect an approximate 50% increase in staffing due to the approximate 50% increase in births, itineraries, etc.

Hello Mr Pimental,

 

Could I ask that the 2 tables remain in the position that they currently occupy on Adonia?

 

Yours hopefully

As you plan 2019 with three ships [yeah!], are you considering a country-intensive cruise in New Zealand? Other lines go from Sydney to Auckland, which means at least 2 days at sea in possibly rough waters. Round-trip from Auckland would be much more interesting to me.

Another great question, country intensive in New Zealand will continue to be a part of our deployment pattern. I’ve been fortunate to travel to over 120 countries,and new Zealand is actually one of my favorite. It has very high guest satisfaction and the country and its people are one-of-a-kind.

We are Celebrity cruisers but have cruised other lines. What can I expect on Azamara?

 

Thank you and congratulations!

Its awesome to see a question that applies to so many people. The question you’re asking is essentially, “why Azamara”. Essentially, Azamara Club Cruises is a destination immersive brand meaning we stay longer and curate local experiences that allow our guests to absorb regions, cities and villages around the world. Having stated this, guests come for our unique destination deliverables and leave loving our crew. Hence, I’d say you're buying us for our unique destination deliverables and for the outstanding experience provided by the officers and crew of our ships. In comparison to Celebrity, an outstanding brand, we travel to over 50% ports that they are unable to navigate. Hence the boutique experience is in its own right, unique and different from a Celebrity product.Hope to see you onboard soon!

My husband and I have been on many Azamara cruises and enjoy the wonderful officers and crew who always make us feel we are part of a big family.

 

Are you able to tell us when the announcement for the new Captain and Senior Officers will be made?

 

Thank you,

Pat

Dear cruiser gal, many of the new senior officers including our Captain for the Azamara Pursuit, will be announced later this month. After much internal discussion we believe that the Azamara Pursuit will have an excellent group of senior officers. In fact we are pretty excited to make this announcement, stay tuned.

Dear Host Grandma Cruising, thank you for doing such a greatjob monitoring the forum. We feel honored to have so many engaged andinterested guests!

As for recruitment, we do have a very thorough recruitment process. In the case of the Azamara Pursuit, a portion of the personnel will come from the Azamara Journey and the Azamara Quest. The remaining portion will be recruited on a global basis by the parent corporations HR department. Frommy perspective it's important that we maintain the existing quality on Journey and Quest while at the same time building the crew for the new Azamara Pursuit.Keep in mind that the Pursuit will have a long dry dock, and during this period, over 500 new crew members will be recruited. Some will go on the Journey some will go on the Quest and the vast majority will be on the Pursuit. It’s a balancing process, we must get a balance between those who are promoted and those who are new. Many of the new hires will be trained on Journey and Quest before they goto Pursuit. All in all it’s a very detailed process, with a right timeline and specific objectives, the end goal is simply hospitality excellence. We are optimistic we can achieve this.

I mostly agree with you Alfredo1.

We always do everything we can to get the Overseas Cruise Terminal. However, Sydney is one of the most popular cruise destinations in the world. Unfortunately there are only two piers available where you can turn a cruise ship around. One is the Overseas Cruise Terminal and the other one is the White Bay Terminal. Frankly they need more space to land cruise vessels.

Because there aren't any other locations in Sydney, the Port takes reservations years in advance. The final decision of which pier we are assigned is the decision of the port authority, not the cruise line. They take the decision based on the best economics for the region. We are their guests and as visitors we gladly accept what is assigned. The alternative is simply not going to the destination. Furthermore, our Sydney docking position can be changed prior to arrival by regulation. Again the decision is up to local authorities, not the cruise line.

I also want to interject a notion that our staff at sea and land are very experienced. Our deployments are created with both shore side and shipping staffs involvement. Why would I even reference this? Because when I see postings suggesting we either did not know or failed to select the best terminal, nothing could be further from the truth.

In the case of our calls to Sydney in March, we have currently been assigned to White Bay. While we would prefer to be at the Overseas Cruise Terminal, we are fortunate that we are confirmed at White Bay. The alternative would be to not have any pier assignment which would be an even worse situation. Please note that we do provide a shuttle in the city when at White Bay, and there is also a really nice ferry ride from the terminal in to the city center. These fee based services are created for our voyage. The onboard team will provide all of the details when you get onboard.

Should something change prior to our arrival, we will certainly let you know.

Safe Travels!

Hi JVNYC,

Thanks for the question. Our growth is a question often asked.

As you may have seen on the Cruise Critic forum in the past, I never came to Azamara for 2 ships. That hasn’t changed. Having stated this, there are always “circumstances” to be considered. Before being able to expand, our first priority was to make this little line profitable. Few corporations will invest and build a brand that cannot prove their potential. We have accomplished that, something that I – and the Azamara team – are very proud of. Our brand has distinguished itself as a cruise line specializing in a concept called "Stay Longer, Experience More". Azamara is about cruising global and connecting local. Essentially 50% of our port visits have a late night or an overnight stay. We are a destination immersion specialist. This has placed us into a position to "carefully" consider growth. We will grow when the opportunity is right from a financial perspective. Probably when everyone least expects it!

Also keep in mind we are in a large global shipping company and most of the new build investment has been in much larger ships. Why? They have historically produced more profit. It is not more complicated.

In my view, the timing of additional upmarket capacity at this point may be challenging for our category given the unprecedented growth rate and geopolitics. I’m not sure you realize, but when our team came together in 2009 to create Azamara Club Cruises®, there were 2 ships on order for the entire high-end category. Today there are 20 ships in the sector on order. That is a substantial amount of inventory when you're at the upend of the market. The high-end category is currently growing at nearly 9% annual rate of inventory versus about 5% for the industry as a whole. This may create a situation where the high-end segment has a quick capacity surge not met by a demand surge. I'm hoping I'm very wrong. In some ways, the result is already in - as our category segment already competes too much on price, not enough on brand values, and in this scenario risk is created. Having stated this, I am not worried about Azamara Club Cruises as our time will come.

Finally, there is something to be said about unique, boutique and intimate. Like small unique hotels in the world, some are simply wonderful and do not have an equal. In fact, some of the best known hotels in the world stand proud and alone. Yet they are well known and loved by their guests. In our case, outside of our unique brand character our officers and crew are truly respected by our guest. It is hard to properly articulate crew quality, but those of you who have traveled the Azamara Journey® or Azamara Quest® know exactly what I'm referencing.

Hi Liz,

I always judge price based on satisfaction. What most guests don’t take in to consideration are all of the factors going in to the planning and execution of our shore excursions. Having ships deployed globally, it’s very different to what a local operator can do fairly easy. Safety comes first for us. Always. Then there is convenience – if anything happens while you’re out and about on our excursions, the ship will wait for you to come back. Should an incident happen, our teams will be ready to help, and there is insurance protection available. Be careful in booking companies you do not know.