Should Azamara buy the Princess ships?

[MightyQuinn]

Keep in mind the Berlitz guides highest ranked cruise ship in any category, 'The Eurpoa' is also up for sale, and would also be a good fit for Az

And an even better fit for Crystal. :):)

[gnld]

Personally, I'd love Azamara to do a new build. But not as large as O's Marina - maybe something under 1000 pax, to help keep the "intimate" feeling. That being said, the cost of buying & remodeling one or both of the Princess R ships would be a lot less. But you're getting 16 year old ships. Bean counters and others at Azamara will have to sort it out - the "bottom line" does matter a lot. Maybe they'll find you have to go to something like 1250 pax (like O) on a new build to have the price point pencil out!

I do notice on Princess' website that both their R ships have deck 8 full of the mini suites, like O's R ships (and not just half, like Azamara). We prefer the mini suites for longer voyages.

We'll just have to wait and see. On our last voyage, Capt. Tysse said Azamara would be expanding the fleet. New build vs. acquisition TBD, but that there were some attractively-priced smaller ships on the market (obvious reference to Princess' R ships). Stay tuned!

 

Well, this might just force Azamara's hand. They've been dithering for years about acquisition vs. new build. Now there's one less R ship available. If they procrastinate too long, Oceania or someone else may grab the other one!

[Redtravel]

Azamara ships are a nice size. Buying more R ships or building new ships would be good. More ships offering more destinations would be a welcomed addition. I like Azamara. Their slogan, you'll love where they take you, is true. I would book on Azamara more often if they had a more varied offerings. The way the destinations are visited is limited. Last winter I had noticed the Pacific coastal cruises. I was already booked for that time. When I looked for Pacific coast cruises this year, Azamara was not offering them. In 2010, I took a Caribbean cruise on the Journey. Loved it. It was not repeated for several years. If Azamara added more ships, they might do popular cruises every year. There are many people who like to do repeat cruises. I took a Celebrity cruise last winter that was fabulous. We booked the same cruise again.

[hubofhockey]

Princess only has one other R ship and that's the Pacific Princess. It's also the last small ship Princess has and they have no plans to sell it. Sister line P&O might be selling the Adonia, an R class ship. I haven't booked this class on Princess, but just booked the Journey. My gut tells me the mass market lines cab't deliver the same experience as premium lines like Azamara. The mass market lines do much better and are more profitable with the 3K + passenger ships.