Azamara President Carol Cabezas on Q1 2023 & the Azamara Difference
by Dori Saltzman /![Azamara President Carol Cabezas on Q1 2023 & the Azamara Difference](https://i0.wp.com/wp.travelmarketreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/171002181065ecdcb283045.jpeg?fit=650%2C433&ssl=1)
It’s been a busy couple of months for Azamara, which recently launched an all-new booking website and trade portal, after being spun off from Royal Caribbean Group back in early 2021. Travel Market Report sat down with Azamara president Carol Cabezas at last months’ Cruise360 conference to find out how the transition went, what Wave season looked like, and what travel advisors need to know about the Azamara difference and who is the right client for the line.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” Cabezas told TMR, referring to the two years since Royal Caribbean Group sold Azamara to private equity firm Sycamore Partners. “Starting with adding a ship, getting it up and running.”
With the fleet up and running, the line turned its attention to transitioning off the Royal Caribbean booking system and onto Seaware, a commercial booking platform that is also used by the likes of Windstar Cruises, Virgin Voyages and Disney Cruise Line.
The migration, which Cabezas called a “massive undertaking” and said did not go as seamlessly as they would have liked, required more manpower than anticipated.
“When you bring data over, files get corrupted. Things don’t get transferred the way they should have.”
That left travel advisors and clients looking at their booked cruises wondering where their shore excursions had gone or why the pricing suddenly looked different.
Azamara quickly put together an “attack force” to deal with the growing backlog of reported issues, while at the same time boosting its call center team to deal with the larger number of advisors and clients calling with questions. As of May 1, Azamara has doubled its North American call center team.
Record Wave Season
Despite the challenges of the first quarter, Azamara, like most other cruise lines, saw a record breaking Wave season.
“The majority of our top five booking weeks in our history took place within this Wave period, which we were thrilled about,” Cabezas told TMR.
When asked what she attributed the phenomenal Wave season to, Cabezas called it a “chicken and egg” situation.
“I think because the previous two Wave seasons didn’t happen, everyone came out guns blazing. Every cruise line, every advisor, every network, everyone came out and said, we are going to make this happen and we did. If you come out with extraordinary offers, you can’t but help make it happen.”
Bookings, she added, were a mix of close-in and far out bookings.
“We’ve seen a lot more close-in bookings than we’ve ever had before,” she said, adding that people are still booking now for this summer, “which they wouldn’t have before.”
At the same time, the cruise line “also had a tremendous number of people going into 2024 and even 25… our World Cruise [2024] sold out in no time.”
Even with the close-in bookings, or perhaps because of them, much of the capacity for 2023 is full, though Cabezas told TMR there’s still some space left, in the Mediterranean.
“I don’t want to discourage anybody from looking because there are pockets where you can still grab space,” she said.
Brand Awareness Still a Challenge
Even with its record-breaking Wave season, Cabezas told TMR Azamara still has a long way to go to reach the level of band awareness she’d like.
“We have a lot of work to do and that’s okay. I am happy to think that there’s more opportunity for us,” she said. “The brand is still not well-known or well understood… there will always be an opportunity for us to explain our product better.”
At the time of our interview, the entire sales leadership team was out on Azamara ships, hosting advisors to learn more about the brand.
We asked Cabezas to tell us a little bit more about how Azamara is different and who its customers are.
The Azamara Difference
First and foremost, she said, Azamara is a destination focused cruise line.
“We put so much thought into our itineraries and how we make sure that we have a balance of marquee ports versus the new and different, the hidden gems.”
Statistically speaking, Cabezas told TMR, Azamara spends the longest time in port and offers the most overnights.
“We don’t want to talk about time in port as a discreet thing,” she explained. “What does that even mean to even somebody who is familiar with cruise…What’s important about it is the more time we’re in port, the more relaxed your vacation can be because you don’t have to rush.”
It’s also about having enough time for more options, “so you can explore in a very authentic way,” she added.
Part of those options include Azamara’s signature “AzAmazing” celebrations, which the line recently expanded to include daytime and onboard events after 10 years of only doing shoreside AzAmazing Evenings.
Examples of AzAmazing Celebrations have included performances in historic venues such as Ephesus in Kusadasi or at St. George’s Hall in Liverpool.
“It’s a big investment for us, but we think it is unique and differentiating for our brand,” Cabezas said. “We’re going to keep putting things like that front and center.”
Another differentiator Cabezas emphasized is the line’s crew.
“That’s the one thing that is so hard for us to convey to an advisor who hasn’t experience us… It’s hard for anybody to understand because the crew, they will stop at nothing to make your experience the most memorable in a positive way. To remember your name, to remember how you want your drink or your coffee or your salad or the fact that you’re gluten free. They will go above and beyond every single day.”
The Azamara Cruiser
As for who is best paired with an Azamara cruise, Cabezas pointed out a few qualifiers.
“Number one, you want a client who is focused on destination. Number two, really enjoys a smaller, intimate space without a lot of fuss. That’s us.”
She also added, most Azamara cruisers are retired and have a comfortable, stable income.
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