The Cruise Explorer

Newly refined brand unveils multiple new attributes for upmarket travelers

Azamara Cruises – the two-ship brand launched in 2007 with the 694-guest Azamara Journey and sister ship Azamara Quest – today became “Azamara Club Cruises,” with a newly refined focus, and a series of new attributes designed for upmarket, experienced travelers.

“This isn’t a strategy of going ‘from good to great’,” said Azamara Club Cruises President & CEO Larry Pimentel. “This is about taking an already great product and making it exceptional.”

Tapped to take the helm of Azamara Cruises in July of this year, Pimentel spent several weeks talking with travel agents, past guests and press to determine how to make his great-to-exceptional goal a reality. He also tapped a small new team focused 100 percent on Azamara, including VP of Sales & Marketing Edie Bornstein, AVP of Hotel Operations Bert Van Middendorp, Director of Marketing Signe Bjorndal, Director of National Accounts Michelle Nevin, and an eight-member field sales team dedicated solely to Azamara.

Together, Pimentel and team shaped the new Azamara Club Cruises, whose most distinguishing new attributes will be in effect by April 2010. “Today’s cruisers have incredible new vacation options – like Celebrity’s stunning Solstice Class, and Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas,” said Pimentel. “Azamara Club Cruises will distinguish itself by delivering the destination like no other line.”

Azamara Club Cruises will visit 140 ports in 50 countries in 2010, with itineraries featuring more overnight stays to allow guests to immerse themselves in communities and cultures. Among the overnight locations are Istanbul, Turkey; Sorrento, Italy, which offers a host of tour options along the Amalfi Coast and Capri; a full three days and two nights in St. Peters burg, Russia, on Azamara’s Scandinavia and Russia itineraries; and multiple overnight stays in Azamara’s Southeast Asia region, including Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“We’re going to slow down the tempo, and allow our guests to not just see the destination, but to live it,” said Pimentel. “Consider destinations like St. Tropez or St. Petersburg, Russia. If you’ve experienced them only by day, you haven’t really experienced them. With Azamara, through more overnight stays and late-night stays, you can.”

The destination focus of Azamara Club Cruises inspired the brand’s new tagline – “You’ll love where we take you” – and will extend to its shore excursions, too, an essential ingredient to allow guests to truly experience a community and its culture.

Azamara has created distinctive two-day packages tailored to the overnight destinations, to make it easy for guests to immerse themselves in each location, whether it’s Dubrovnik, Croatia; Odessa, Ukraine; Livorno (Florence), Italy, Warnemunde (Berlin), Germany, or London, in addition to Sorrento and St. Petersburg.

Azamara also will offer experiences such as a two-night package from Bangkok to Laos; an overnight tour from Hiroshima to Osaka via bullet train; a three-night experience from Mumbai including a visit to the Taj Mahal; overnight tours in Israel between Ashdod and Cairo, and a Grand Egypt tour featuring the best of both Luxor and Cairo.

Among Azamara’s specialty tours include a Ferrari driving tour in Civitavecchia, Italy; a walk down memory lane in Liverpool with the “In the steps of The Beatles” tour; a private demonstration of chocolate flavors in Dubrovnik; a “Theatre A La Carte” evening in London; Croatian liqueur tasting in Zadar; an Imperial Russian Court evening at Tsarskoye Selo in St. Petersburg; an evening gondola serenade in Venice; and high tea at the Burj al Arab Hotel in Dubai.

Praised for its dining experience since its founding, Azamara will continue to place a heavy emphasis on fine cuisine, and will expand its focus on wine to include vintages from boutique wineries around the world. Guests will have the opportunity to taste high quality wines that may be unavailable at home, because the selected vineyards produce a strictly limited quantity each year, distributed primarily locally. The featured wines will be offered complimentary at lunches and dinners on every sailing.

Wellness and vigor will be a core component of the Azamara Club Cruises experience, too, with onboard and land-based experiences designed to help guests feel and look healthier and more youthful. Azamara’s aim in wellness and vigor is to help guests balance their physical, emotional, social, spiritual and intellectual needs through massages, facials and other spa treatments, as well as acupuncture, yoga, Pilates, and enrichment programs.

The newly refined brand also is intensely focused on offering an intangible attribute essential to a successful upmarket product: exceptional service. “Extraordinary service is paramount with Azamara Club Cruises,” said Pimentel. “We know every travel and hospitality organization proclaims it’s committed to great service, so what will make Azamara stand out? First, our butlers will be trained to be true English butlers, to offer that fine balance of anticipatory, pampering, yet non-intrusive service to guests in every suite.” Guests in staterooms will be served by the line’s host of experienced stateroom attendants.

Azamara Club Cruises also will offer many inclusive amenities, with the following included in the cruise fare beginning with the first voyages in April 2010 on Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest: a specific brand of bottled water offered at no charge throughout the voyage, whether in public venues or in staterooms; specialty coffees and teas; housekeeping and dining gratuities; shuttlebus service to/from port communities, where available; destination-influenced entertainment and enrichment programs; most meals and room service; house wine at lunches and dinners; and self-service laundry. Specialty dining in Azamara’s intimate Prime C steakhouse and the Mediterranean-influenced Aqualina will be complimentary for suite guests for the duration of their cruise.

Cruisers who can’t get enough of Azamara will be invited to join the line’s new loyalty program, “Le Club Voyage,” with specific features and benefits yet to be announced.

For more information, call your travel agent or visit www.AzamaraClubCruises.com

Royal Princess to Leave Princess Cruises Fleet and Join British Sister Line P&O Cruises

Small Ship Will Transfer in May 2011; Spring Deployment Changed

Santa Clarita, CA (December 9, 2009) — One of the small ships of Princess Cruises, the 710-passenger Royal Princess, will depart the line’s fleet in spring 2011, transferring to sister company P&O Cruises in the U.K. The ship will be renamed Adonia.

As a result, five sailings in April and May will be cancelled, and in place of these a 26-day South Pacific and Andes Explorer cruise will be offered prior to the transfer. The ship’s 2010 cruise program includes sailings to the Amazon, Caribbean, Panama Canal, Alaska, Hawaii and French Polynesia.

With the transfer of Royal Princess there will be one less Princess ship in Alaska for the 2011 season, though full details are not yet available. During summer 2010, the ship will sail on a 14-day roundtrip “Connoisseur” cruises from Seattle to Alaska.

The following 2011 sailings are being cancelled:

• April 6, 2011 10-day Tahiti & Polynesia
• April 16, 2011 10-day Tahiti & Polynesia
• April 26, 2011 12-day Hawaii & Tahiti
• May 8, 2011 10-day Hawaiian Islands
• May 18, 2011 1-day coastal

The new 26-day cruise that replaces these sailings will depart April 6, 2011 and travel between Papeete, Tahiti and Fort Lauderdale. Ports of call will include Bora Bora, Moorea, Pitcairn Island (for scenic cruising), Easter Island, Pisco (San Martin), Lima (Callao for Machu Picchu overland excursion), Quito (Manta), Panama Canal Transit, San Blas, and Limón. Fares begin at $4,145 per person, double occupancy.

The ship will then go into a drydock in the Bahamas to change its livery prior to joining the P&O Cruises fleet in May 2011.

Royal Princess joined the Princess fleet in 2007, having originally been built in 2001.

Take advantage of the Alaska Wilderness Sale and enjoy an unforgettable Princess land-and-sea cruisetour in 2010 with the convenience of booking your travel in and out of Vancouver, B.C. or Seattle. And you can experience all the glaciers, wildlife, wilderness and more at an incredible value with FREE Upgrades and great fares!

Find out why Princess is consistently named “Best Cruise Line in Alaska” by readers of Travel Weekly and “Best Cruisetour Program” by TravelAge West magazine. These offers on roundtrip cruisetours are only available until December 31, 2009, so book today!

See the Princess brochure more information, and email or phone for full details and rates.

The new Norwegian Epic is going to be very cool. So cool that it even has the very first ice bar at sea!

Wrap yourself in faux fur and step into the room that’s kept at 17°F! Inspired by the original ice hotels in Scandinavia, The Ice Bar is one of only 14 in the world and the only true ice bar at sea. Enter a glistening, frozen, fantasyland where the bar, the walls, the tables, the stools, even the life-size sculptures are made out of ice. If you get chilly, another vodka may help

There’s lots more on the Norwegian Epic in terms of entertainment, though. You’d have to travel the world to experience all of the unique hotspots aboard her. Enjoy exclusive bottle service and dancing under the stars at an open-air nightclub. Party alongside the pool on white-cushioned daybeds. From French Riviera chic and Ibiza style to Miami trendy and Vegas flair, the nightlife aboard Norwegian Epic has it all. During the day, the exhilarating Aqua Park features multiple slides with multiple thrills. Play Wii on a two-story screen or bowl on one of the ship’s six alleys. Or take on a challenge at the sports complex and rock-climbing wall. The fun never ends!

The First Dream Arrives

Today marks the next milestone in turning you dreams into the real cruise experiences of the future. More than 5,000 members of the local community are expected to join the Canaveral Port Authority and travel agents nationwide in a Sail-A-Bration of the arrival of the Carnival Dream at Port Canaveral!

The event includes a food drive and drawing for a free cruise in a Carnival Cruise Lines’ penthouse suite. But the climax — as dusk falls over the harbor — is a laser light spectacular launched from the deck of the Dream and Port Canaveral’s Jetty Park as thousands bid her ‘bon voyage’ for the first time.

It began with Freedom of the Seas…the excitement keeps building…to the first official Port sailing of the Carnival Dream on December 3, on through 2010, 2011 and 2012, as more ships — including the Disney Dream — join the fleet of the future at The Port of Dreams, Port Canaveral.

In this morning’s Inbox is one of the best cruise deals I’ve seen in a very long while. It’s a 15 Night Canal & South America cruise from Fort Lauderdale on the Celebrity Infinity. On the December 5th sailing, an oceanview cabin starts at $599! Inside cabins start at $499.

For more information, see this page. For more Celebrity deals on November-December cruises, click here.

Seattle, October 28, 2009 — Windstar Cruises, which operates a three-ship fleet of luxury yachts that explore hidden harbors and secluded coves of the world’s most treasured destinations, begins its “80 Degrees of Sunshine; 180 Degrees from Ordinary” two-week sale today on 2010 Caribbean sailings. Guests will receive incredible savings on select 7-day Caribbean voyages which start at $1,799 per person, based on double occupancy.

The 148-guest Wind Spirit debuts a new 7-day St. Martin roundtrip itinerary offering guests pristine beaches, lively island culture and lush tropics. The new itinerary also allows for additional daytime sailing. Port of calls include St. Kitts, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, Virgin Gorda and St. Barts. Selected Wind Spirit sailings on sale are: January 16; January 23; January 30; and February 6, 2010.

The 312-guest Wind Surf offers 7-day roundtrip sailings from Bridgetown, Barbados calling on a variety of vibrant ports on northbound and southbound itineraries. Wind Surf’s northbound itinerary includes St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Martin, St. Barts, Guadeloupe, Iles des Saintes and St. Lucia. The southbound itinerary includes Bequia, Dominica, St. Lucia, Mayreau, Grenada and Tobago. Selected Wind Surf sailings on sale are: January 31; February 7; February 14; and March 14, 2010.

A leader in defining the small ship luxury cruise experience for more than 20 years, Windstar has won the allegiance of a new generation of contemporary travelers who appreciate the line’s luxurious accommodations, alternative dining venues, diversity of shore excursions, complimentary water sports program and deluxe spa facilities.

Windstar has been recognized by notable names in the travel world. Celebrated Living, American Airlines’ prestigious publication for first class passengers, named Windstar Cruises “Best Small-Ship/Mid-Ship Cruise Line” on their 2009 Platinum List for the third time in a row. Windstar received a “Favourite Small-Ship Cruise Line” award in the U.K.’s Condé Nast Traveller’s 2009 Readers’ Travel Awards and was listed in their “Top 100 of the Best the Travel World has to Offer.” Windstar has also earned top honors in Travel + Leisure’s “World’s 2009 Best Awards,” and was lauded among “The World’s Best Small Ships” by Condé Nast Traveler.

For more information including rates and itineraries click here, contact your professional travel agent, or call Windstar direct at 1-800-258-7245. The Windstar Cruises Web site can be found at windstarcruises.com.

Many of you have no doubt heard about people being robbed after they were distracted by something, or got bumped in a crowded piazza, but this list by the Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors will probably contain some surprises for even the most traveled among us (it’s a small pdf file, 152Kb in size).

Royal Caribbean International is putting the “Marry” in Maritime, as hundreds of couples re-pledge their love for one another simultaneously onboard a romantic Mexican Riviera cruise vacation.

Join a bevy of blushing brides and gorgeous grooms onboard Radiance of the Seas as Royal Caribbean attempts to break the record for the largest ever vow renewal at sea. Enjoy couples workshops; compete against other husbands and wives in fun, interactive contests like no other; take dance classes and learn to ignite the dance floor and your passions once again with your long-time lover.

This is all happening on a 7-Night Mexican Riviera sailing of the Radiance of the Seas, departing from San Diego on March 5, 2010. You’ll visit Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas before returning to San Diego, and fares for balcony staterooms start at just $679! For more information, see this poster.