Azamara cruise line sold

[Riocca]

Midst all the doom and gloom on this thread this article makes interesting reading:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/399076/new-azamara-owners-plan-to-add-more-ships-to-fleet?fbclid=IwAR3CRqc9kvEuRwtuldKSUd2Fze7ipDh767YyCA2jPaAhGi8BdONRka7E8Fk

 

Logically the best time to invest is when the market it as its lowest, maybe not new builds but there are plenty of smaller, not too old, serviceable ships that could be picked up at bargain prices. Especially as the emphasis post Covid seems to be on larger ships.

[uktog]

1 hour ago, Riocca said:

Midst all the doom and gloom on this thread this article makes interesting reading:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/399076/new-azamara-owners-plan-to-add-more-ships-to-fleet?fbclid=IwAR3CRqc9kvEuRwtuldKSUd2Fze7ipDh767YyCA2jPaAhGi8BdONRka7E8Fk

 

Logically the best time to invest is when the market it as its lowest, maybe not new builds but there are plenty of smaller, not too old, serviceable ships that could be picked up at bargain prices. Especially as the emphasis post Covid seems to be on larger ships.

Thanks

I would recommend to people to take the time to watch the whole interview - it is very interesting and has a lot of messages in it not only about the future with Sycamore but also what the start back might or might not look like.

[john1970]

I think time will tell how this will all play out. My main concern is that the staff are protected and looked after. As someone who worked for a company that was taken over in a similar situation I have some experience of the advantages and disadvantages. Let's hope that we sail on Azamara again and this terrible virus is under control. 

[uktog]

6 minutes ago, john1970 said:

I think time will tell how this will all play out. My main concern is that the staff are protected and looked after. As someone who worked for a company that was taken over in a similar situation I have some experience of the advantages and disadvantages. Let's hope that we sail on Azamara again and this terrible virus is under control. 

All the indications to date are yes they are being looked after - Captain Carl's take was the only difference was his payslip would have a different payer's name on it

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by uktog

[royallondon]

18 minutes ago, uktog said:

All the indications to date are yes they are being looked after - Captain Carl's take was the only difference was his payslip would have a different payer's name on it

 

That’s reassuring news uktog.

[Riocca]

46 minutes ago, uktog said:

Thanks

I would recommend to people to take the time to watch the whole interview - it is very interesting and has a lot of messages in it not only about the future with Sycamore but also what the start back might or might not look like.

I particularly liked the bit about the Azamara team being excited about getting new state of the art systems, speaks volumes about the existing clunky RCG one.

[nordski]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

Midst all the doom and gloom on this thread this article makes interesting reading:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/399076/new-azamara-owners-plan-to-add-more-ships-to-fleet?fbclid=IwAR3CRqc9kvEuRwtuldKSUd2Fze7ipDh767YyCA2jPaAhGi8BdONRka7E8Fk

 

Logically the best time to invest is when the market it as its lowest, maybe not new builds but there are plenty of smaller, not too old, serviceable ships that could be picked up at bargain prices. Especially as the emphasis post Covid seems to be on larger ships.

 

Well, Larry P. seemed to have seawater in his veins but Ms. Cabezas, at least based upon this video, is a very, very impressive leader for Azamara, I can be hopelessly naive, but she comes across as truly genuine in her enthusiasm for the brand, her colleagues, and her clients.

 

Of course it will come down to execution, and I hope that she is rightfully optimistic that she will be granted the scope and the financial backing to make her vision and teamwork succeed.

 

Thanks so much for posting this! I am buoyed after watching it, and in these times that's a wonderful reaction.

[Grandma Cruising]

Yes, thanks Riocca, very re-assuring

[excitedofharpenden]

2 hours ago, Riocca said:

Midst all the doom and gloom on this thread this article makes interesting reading:

https://travelweekly.co.uk/articles/399076/new-azamara-owners-plan-to-add-more-ships-to-fleet?fbclid=IwAR3CRqc9kvEuRwtuldKSUd2Fze7ipDh767YyCA2jPaAhGi8BdONRka7E8Fk

 

Logically the best time to invest is when the market it as its lowest, maybe not new builds but there are plenty of smaller, not too old, serviceable ships that could be picked up at bargain prices. Especially as the emphasis post Covid seems to be on larger ships.

Thanks for this John. It was good to see it and the upbeat message it conveyed. 

 

Phil 

[Riocca]

11 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Thanks for this John. It was good to see it and the upbeat message it conveyed. 

 

Phil 

Going to be an interesting ride, hopefully everything will work out as they hope. Might not end up going exactly as we would like but we can only wish them every success, we will certainly be sticking with our existing booking and see what direction Azamara are headed fo the future.

[sunrise@sea]

Carol Cabezas interview:  Talk's cheap.  What else is she going to say?  She has to promote optimism to do her job.  Actions speak louder than words.

How about providing some guarantees to those of us who have cruises booked. 

[uktog]

9 minutes ago, sunrise@sea said:

Carol Cabezas interview:  Talk's cheap.  What else is she going to say?  She has to promote optimism to do her job.  Actions speak louder than words.

How about providing some guarantees to those of us who have cruises booked. 

Like what?

I am struggling to know what further guarantees anyone can give - even in "normal times" things change between booking and delivery.  

[rallydave]

2 hours ago, uktog said:

All the indications to date are yes they are being looked after - Captain Carl's take was the only difference was his payslip would have a different payer's name on it

 

Then there will be no differences as his pay check will still come from Azamara.  The owner makes no difference to the name on the pay check.

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, sunrise@sea said:

Carol Cabezas interview:  Talk's cheap.  What else is she going to say?  She has to promote optimism to do her job.  Actions speak louder than words.

How about providing some guarantees to those of us who have cruises booked. 

What I took from the interview was that first cruises when the ships start sailing, will be country intensive voyages. Greece was quoted as an example, as then guests will not need to take multiple COVID tests.

Edited January 21, 2021 by upwarduk

[nordski]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Like what?

I am struggling to know what further guarantees anyone can give - even in "normal times" things change between booking and delivery.  

 
I agree.

She did state that they would honour Future Cruise Credits and Lift and Shift agreements that are now in place. That should dampen some fears. I hope that that also suggests that they will honour our free days that reflect a change in loyalty level,

 

As an aside, she was also humorous about creating a new IT platform, a change that will probably please the travel professionals she was addressing.

 

 

 

 

 

[oliveau]

 It of a shock to the system, but I’m with Phil on this one, so hopefully we’ll meet up again on AZ one day. We haven’t done AZ for a year or four due to health issues, so looking forward to getting back.

[Mackdogmolly]

On 1/20/2021 at 11:12 AM, KirkNC said:

I am guessing that will go away as that is a RCI tie in.

[Mackdogmolly]

For what it’s worth, I have a friend who’s a sales exec with Azamara. I asked this person if after the sale, they would stay with RC or Azamara? Very enthusiastically staying with Azamara.

[GlobalMethod]

2 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Greece was quoted as an example, as then guests will not need to take multiple COVID tests.

Hooray!

[DenGNNJ]

I don't know what everyone is fussing about.  It's not like RCC is selling them three empty ships, and saying "here you go... now hire yourself a management team, crew, and staff... do it fast because you have existing reservations and itineraries planned".  It's more like the entire COMPANY got sold.  The suits in the private equity firm aren't going to be running & managing a cruise line, experienced cruise line people are going to be running & managing a cruise line.

 

Equity firms don't buy companies to lose money... they buy companies to make money... invest in them, and make them better.  Here's a chance for Azamara to be a better Azamara ... maybe more ships, more itineraries, more consumer choice; and a lot of people are looking at this like it's the end of the line.  No folks, the end of the line would have been RCC shutting down Azamara altogether.

 

The equity firm that bought them got a good deal... all of these ships were recently renovated, and cruisers LOVE the new look of the ship's interior space.  Plus, there's a loyal following and rightly so... it's a very good company, that has a great product, and now it has a shot at being even better.

 

Azamara has $12,000 of my money for a 16 day cruise for two around Australia & New Zealand in January 2022.  The cost per day was LESS than a comparable Celebrity cruise, we got a better cabin (one of the two spa suites), more inclusions, and $1200 worth of cabin credit.  You better believe that reservation isn't going anywhere... we're sticking with them.

Edited January 21, 2021 by DenGNNJ
clarification on the cabin class

[Werangels]

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-announces-pacific-princess-to-leave-the-fleet-301212388.html

[Riocca]

10 minutes ago, Werangels said:

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-announces-pacific-princess-to-leave-the-fleet-301212388.html

Just saw this on Facebook 2+2=? 🧐

[Werangels]

1 minute ago, Riocca said:

Just saw this on Facebook 2+2=? 🧐

Seems a bit too much of a coincidence?

[tert333]

11 minutes ago, Werangels said:

Seems a bit too much of a coincidence?

Not a surprise.   The COO said  they want to grow the fleet.    The pacific princess is a perfect ship to add to the fleet.  Probably dont want to mention the name until the deal with RCL is closed.

[Fairgarth]

If I was Sycamore, I would be losing sleep over IT support.  Seems to me they have three options but I'm happy if anybody else can shed light:

 

1  RCL will have to host them in the short term.  That could continue indefinitely with minimum disruption, on payment of monthly fees.

 

2  In the airline industry, you can buy what you need, hosted by companies like Sabre or Amadeus who already have the systems up and running with other customers.  It would take a few months analyzing and testing to reach cutover.  I don't know if such facilities exist in the cruise industry - can somebody else chip in?

 

3   Sit down and write code from scratch.  OMG are you serious?  How many years, how many millions?  For three small ships?  And if you have any sense, go into hiding the week before cutover.  Thing is, whether you have three small ships or twenty big ships, the customer experience has to be very similar and your one-time investment won't be that different.