Larry Stepping Down!

[takemewithyou]

27 minutes ago, Xcelsior said:

I love cruises, but you just would not get me on a ship in the next 12 months (at least).  I suspect most people feel that way and therefore don't understand how this industry can survive without major restructuring.  The new big ships are more cost efficient and maximize revenue, they have to be the focus.  The question will be...does anyone want to go on a big ship anymore?  Fewer passengers seems a lot more attractive in a COVID-19 environment....so maybe smaller ships will stand a chance?

 

Seems like all the major cruiselines are over leveraged.  I am not sure how any of this will turn out!  Time will tell.......

 

 

[avw]

Royal Caribbean just reduced shoreside workforce in the U.S. by 26%. Same day that Larry resigned. One report said he chose this time to retire in order to save RCCL $$. 

[Grandma Cruising]

14 hours ago, takemewithyou said:

Wow!  I dumped mine at $90 a share....wish I knew what he knew.....!  

We just took a punt and bought 100 at $27 and have already made money. We figured at that price we have little to lose.

 

Very sorry that Larry Pimental has gone, but not too surprised given his age and the current situation.  It will be interesting to see what impact this and any other RCCL changes will have on the brand.

Edited April 16, 2020 by Host Grandma Cruising

[nigelc]

In times of crisis companies, and its customers, need and deserve strong decisive leadership. Given the poor communication, and slow action by Azamara's senior leadership team, they have been found severely wanting. So from all of us who were left waiting to the last minute for Azamara to do the right thing and cancel their cruise, and/or who are still waiting for their refund, sorry Mr Pimentel, but as they say "the buck stops with you" - it was right that you go. Indeed, my question is when are the others in the senior leadership team going to do the right thing and go? 

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

First rule of share ownership. You only make money (or lose it) when you sell and that can be as tricky as knowing when to buy. 

 

Phil 

[BBMacLaird]

1 hour ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

Can you please share some honesty with us?

Dear LostTime, 

I do not share your bleak outlook. Nor is there any reason to feel sorry for me. I started in this industry I love as a newly-minted MBA in 1983.  And look, all these years later here I am, still believing whole-heartedly in it. My retirement may be on the approaching horizon, as Larry’s is imminent, but neither would signal a red flag; the jumping of ship; the end of Azamara; or the end of the industry!! Far from it. We like all of you are resilient. Cruising as you know it onboard Azamara is not going anywhere. 

According to your signature you’ve been sailing a long long time. Certainly you have some faith that things will turn out? 

Wishing you a peaceful heart and not too much more time to wait for your refund...whether it is en route from us or from your agent.

p.s. Thank you for your loyalty to Azamara all these years.

B.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

7 minutes ago, BBMacLaird said:

Dear LostTime, 

I do not share your bleak outlook. Nor is there any reason to feel sorry for me. I started in this industry I love as a newly-minted MBA in 1983.  And look, all these years later here I am, still believing whole-heartedly in it. My retirement may be on the approaching horizon, as Larry’s is imminent, but neither would signal a red flag; the jumping of ship; the end of Azamara; or the end of the industry!! Far from it. We like all of you are resilient. Cruising as you know it onboard Azamara is not going anywhere. 

According to your signature you’ve been sailing a long long time. Certainly you have some faith that things will turn out? 

Wishing you a peaceful heart and not too much more time to wait for your refund...whether it is en route from us or from your agent.

p.s. Thank you for your loyalty to Azamara all these years.

B.

Thanks for the response,

 

I never suggested the end of the industry. There will be a cruising industry in the future, however it may look very different. The pending shake-up will be difficult

 

You can see how many loyal customers are upset. Why is management sending emails about Larry leaving and not about our refunds?

 

The clear lack of timely and clear communication is causing irreparable damage right before your eyes.

[CA Oceanfront]

14 hours ago, Melissaghoti said:

 

Azamara’s Pimentel sells $1.9m in RCL stock

          From Feb 7, Seatrade Cruise News
 

Perhaps, at 69, he’s concerned he won’t be able to get a  Fit to Travel letter!

Interesting that it represented almost half of his entire holding. Sold near the top of the market, no less. Nice move, Larry! At first glance, either he knew something that the public did not, or he had been positioning his exit strategy for a few months.

[AJCM]

15 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Or maybe he just didn't want to deal with this mess.  Now RCI can accelerate the Royal Caribbeanization of Azamara that we've been seeing.  Maybe we can start bidding for laundry bags or free internet or Chef's Tables.

I suspect you’re being a little sarcastic to make a point about cost savings in recent years. Even so, they can only go so far in a competitive and niche market. If that happens in a significant way, then Azamara will surely lose many of its past customers; much more so than the people on here who want to be seen as loyal customers but state they will never cruise with them again. Surely if I can see the logical flow on effect of continued Caribbeanization (good word), then the bean counters can.

[AJCM]

I wish the panic merchants would just stop. Panic made toilet paper the most valuable commodity in Australia for 3 weeks. It’s back on the shelves folks.
 

Does anyone think a 26% decrease in staff is going to speed up refunds? Actually, a stand down of only 26% looks pretty good to me for a corporate group whose entire revenue stream has stopped.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

"Panic Merchants"? LOL never heard that one before.

 

I absolutely believe that a 26% decrease in staff will speed up refunds. I would suggest that if they went to a 50% reduction we could see refunds even faster. If they let everyone go, we could have our money in the blink of an eye.

 

The 26% is not a surprise.However, Larry jumping ship speaks volumes. (Sorry, Bonnie..... he wants to spend time with his family)

[CA Oceanfront]

I think it’s time to give Bonnie a break here. She is employed by RCL so that’s where her loyalty should be directed. RCL had no obligation to create a paid position to be represented on this forum, but they did. It was a marketing move that they deemed worthwhile and, for the most part, it has provided an opportunity for forum participants to have a line of communication with the company. You’re not going to please all of the people all of the time, but at least she’s been a dignified presence on this board for the past few years.

[DiamondDiva]

We have not received any of these latest emails from Azamara, tho we are Discoverer and just sailed on Pursuit last year.  I gather lots of others are not receiving these lately either. 

[Bloodaxe]

21 minutes ago, DiamondDiva said:

We have not received any of these latest emails from Azamara, tho we are Discoverer and just sailed on Pursuit last year.  I gather lots of others are not receiving these lately either. 

 

We are in exactly the same position, have been Discover plus for several years and sailed on Pursuit last June.

We have had no emails since the pre cruise bombardment selling additional items which we ignored.

I doesn't really matter anymore has I can't see us cruising anytime soon with Azamara or anyone else.

 

Edited April 16, 2020 by Bloodaxe

[Redtravel]

Nice time to retire from the cruise industry. The future doesn’t look very good. Dumping stock in early February. Wish I had had the foresight to dump stocks. 

[NC&KY]

1 hour ago, CA Oceanfront said:

I think it’s time to give Bonnie a break here. She is employed by RCL so that’s where her loyalty should be directed. RCL had no obligation to create a paid position to be represented on this forum, but they did. It was a marketing move that they deemed worthwhile and, for the most part, it has provided an opportunity for forum participants to have a line of communication with the company. You’re not going to please all of the people all of the time, but at least she’s been a dignified presence on this board for the past few years.

👍. Totally agree.

[spikkel]

1 hour ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

We are in exactly the same position, have been Discover plus for several years and sailed on Pursuit last June.

We have had no emails since the pre cruise bombardment selling additional items which we ignored.

I doesn't really matter anymore has I can't see us cruising anytime soon with Azamara or anyone else.

 

i never received anyhing a discover platinum

[mrbluesea]

2 hours ago, CA Oceanfront said:

Interesting that it represented almost half of his entire holding. Sold near the top of the market, no less. Nice move, Larry! At first glance, either he knew something that the public did not, or he had been positioning his exit strategy for a few months.

Two points, have a look at the timeline for the diamond princess.  There was bound to be a negative impact on share values for the whole cruise industry.  Larry just would have picked up on public information. Also the sale by Larry was well publicised at the time. Anyone could have followed the same course of action. No inside knowledge required to spot the likely drop in value.

 

But I do agree with you regarding Bonnie. She is in a very difficult position and is handling it very well.

[Lookyboy]

21 hours ago, uktog said:

A news release has just been issued that has stepped down as CEO. Carol Cabezas the COO has assumed the leadership role. 

Very well planned.

[marinaro44]

21 hours ago, uktog said:

A news release has just been issued that has stepped down as CEO. Carol Cabezas the COO has assumed the leadership role. 

Masters in finance; undergraduate degree in finance and accounting.

[nigelc]

5 hours ago, MakingUpForLostTime said:

You can see how many loyal customers are upset. Why is management sending emails about Larry leaving and not about our refunds?

 

The clear lack of timely and clear communication is causing irreparable damage right before your eyes.

 

It would appear that they either cannot see the damage that they are doing or simply do not care.

[nigelc]

44 minutes ago, marinaro44 said:

Masters in finance; undergraduate degree in finance and accounting.

 

But do they have any "leadership skills" - if they are part of the existing senior leadership team, I fear not.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

2 minutes ago, nigelc said:

 

It would appear that they either cannot see the damage that they are doing or simply do not care.

I would assume Bonnie BBMacLaird is letting them know. I would also assume that Sandra the Loyalty Ambassador is letting them know as well. Wait...... They laid off The Loyalty Ambassador for Azamara as well. Therefore..... I can assume they don't care.

 

BTW: Sandra was doing a fantastic job at Azamara and I am very sad that at a time like this Azamara let her go. 

 

Brings back memories of having to burn the furniture in the fireplace to keep the joint warm.

[MakingUpForLostTime]

5 hours ago, CA Oceanfront said:

I think it’s time to give Bonnie a break here. She is employed by RCL so that’s where her loyalty should be directed. RCL had no obligation to create a paid position to be represented on this forum, but they did. It was a marketing move that they deemed worthwhile and, for the most part, it has provided an opportunity for forum participants to have a line of communication with the company. You’re not going to please all of the people all of the time, but at least she’s been a dignified presence on this board for the past few years.

Funny you mention RCL and not Azamara. I paid Azamara not RCL. I paid Azamara for a premium experience and am stuck with RCL in the end. If her loyalty is to RCL then that explains everything. Is there anyone left at Azamara?

[nordski]

Not being privy to any of the inside story about Larry’s departure, as some seem to be, I can only be thankful that he assured the survival of Azamara when that eventuality was not assured.

The policies he instituted kept the cruise line viable.

 

As a result, we have many happy experiences and cherish our memories. And we hope he can look back at the entirety of his career, especially his leadership at Azamara. with a deep sense of satisfaction.

 

I also wish the new management team all success in navigating a challenging environment. If they succeed, then we will continue to build some Azamara memories.