Azamara Club Cruises is a most imitated brand

This article first appeared in the Spring/Summer 2015 issue of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read other articles, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats

One quality that will have stood Larry Pimentel in good stead during his five years at the helm of Azamara Club Cruises is patience – specifically regarding the prospect of ever getting more ships for his two-vessel fleet. Parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. has seemed giddy with construction fever lately, announcing fabulous newbuilds for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, while Azamara waits for its moment in the spotlight.

“I never came to Azamara for two ships,” says Pimentel. While he acknowledges that Azamara’s business model, based on the concept of destination immersion, has had to prove itself, he argues: “I believe that the proof has now been very well presented. So I think it puts us in a position to have the board consider the potential of a growth path.”

Azamara’s enormous success in building its small-ship luxury brand may be working against it here on the ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ level. Pimentel says: “Richard Fain has pointed out to me many times how spectacular it is what we do with these ships that are over 15 years old, how it is that we have increases in average per diems (APDs) that exceed those of ships that are new.”

Advanced payment bonuses are hard-won in this competitive corner of the industry and may well be attributable to the brand’s experience-based concept, which has led a shift in the luxury segment of the cruise industry towards longer port stays and evening events in destinations. How did the company come up with this breakthrough approach and how will Pimentel maintain Azamara’s command of this market niche?

“We took the decision to be a destination-immersive product all about experiential enrichment, allowing people to experience countries, cities, villages and ports in different ways,” he explains. “We have seen a number of different cruise lines attempt to shift to this positioning. But in order to pull off what we’ve done, you have to change your deployment. It took us nearly two years to create longer stays in ports, overnights and night touring. In most cases, the larger cruise lines would have to change their business models because if you are in port at night you can’t open your casino.”

He says: “Awareness of what we are doing has skyrocketed in the past year and the business has doubled its yield growth. One of the most staggering things is that we’ve had a 71% APD increase since 2009. This is all due to the popularity of destination immersion.”

The cornerstone of the concept is the brand’s ‘Azamazing Evenings’, which are included in the tariff and about which Pimentel is passionate: “These are very unique events to which all of the guests are invited. They’re bespoke, exclusive and authentic, and you can only get them on Azamara.”

Recently the company added ‘Insider Access’, which is a ‘behind the scenes’ way for guests to meet local residents in their homes, shops and in their farmhouses. “This is for purchase and we have added it in 70-plus countries around the world.”

Night-time programming has been a major differentiating factor for Azamara, says Pimentel. “We have ‘Nights in Cool Places’, which is an after-dinner event, also for purchase. The guests eat on the ship, then they go to a private beautiful site. And then there is a programme we are experimenting with which will start in 2015 in the European season: ‘Cruise Global, Eat Local’. This is about finding out where the locals go to eat.

“All of these programmes have one key concept which is very important: thinking outside the ship. We want to give a deeper meaning to travel through small-group, localised, one-of-a-kind events. The guests are responding to this with their money because although our tariffs have gone up and the market has more capacity, we seem to be skyrocketing. Advance bookings are outstanding for 2015 and 2016 bookings are even better. In fact, we opened 2017 in the first week of December 2014.”

For Pimentel, the common thread in all these programmes is this: “It’s about connecting people and cultures. We are well beyond the bus tour. Our product is about involved engagement – guests like it to be participatory and authentic.”

He is currently particularly interested in trends across two psychographic segments that seem to have some core traits in common. “Millennials interest me, maybe because I have children of that age. They want to do what the locals do. They really want to experience things and are willing to pay premiums for quality food. They want to be connected, serviporno with wifi in their hotels and cruise experiences. Social media has become part of the currency. “Then I look at the plus-50 and plus-60 audience, who have never been younger. If I look at myself in my 60s and my father in his 60s, there’s not a close comparison. I’m much more active in watersports and exercise to a degree that he was not; he was already retired. I think this gives rise to significant psychographic determinants.maduros porno People are thinking in the moment, they want to taste what it is like. Every time we deal with authentic cultural things on the ships, we get great attendance.”

Source markets are still broadly pan-Anglo: Canada, Australia, the UK and the US (the latter accounting for about 55% of guests). “We had guests from 50-plus countries last year alone. In the Australian market we have been given a lot of awards for unique deployment. My notion is that Australia will be somewhere between 12% and 14% of our business in 2015.

“Outside of that there are growth markets in Brazil and Mexico which are family-oriented and have a large dollar value. I think Germany will be a growth market for us, because there are a lot of German speakers who are at the very upper end of the market who are bi- and trilingual, and are very comfortable in a pan-Anglo environment.”

Recently Azamara partnered with 50-plus specialist Saga Holidays and Titan Travel to build its UK presence. “It’s a good relationship for us and gives us access to one of the better databases in the over-50s-plus column. I find that a tremendous advantage,” says Pimentel, adding that the UK should account for 23% to 25% of Azamara’s business in 2015.

Occupancy levels across the board are extremely strong, he says, with the line achieving a record 97% utilisation of the ships in late 2014. “When I look at that occupancy it puts a great smile on my face because it means that people are hearing that the product is sold out in certain peak areas,” he says. “My message to the industry is quite simple: destination immersion is here to stay, so book early.”

So…about those new ships? Pimentel is sanguine. “It’s my view that as long as Azamara continues to perform financially – and I’m feeling pretty optimistic about that – it will give the board a reason to say ‘that brand should grow as well’. What I’ve learned is that you do your job and allow growth mp4 porno and quality to speak for itself.”

Which they certainly seem to be doing, loud and clear.