Azamara guests will enjoy ‘Perfect Day’ island visits


Azamara Club Cruises passengers will have access to sister line Royal Caribbean International’s ‘Perfect Day’ collection of private islands, the line’s president confirmed. Perfect Day at CocoCay,


Co-godmothers Lucy Huxley, Travel Weekly, and Ellen Asmodeo- Giglio, Afar Media


Line reports 21% increase in agent sellers worldwide


The boss of Azamara Club Cruises expects the line’s number of travel agent partners to keep growing following the launch of Azamara Pursuit.


President and chief executive


Larry Pimentel said 21% more travel agents globally were selling Azamara’s cruises since it expanded to a three-ship fleet. The addition of Pursuit has


boosted the line’s capacity by 50%. He expressed surprise that


agent numbers had leapt so quickly since Pursuit’s programme went on sale in May. “To be candid, I was shocked


Azamara Pursuit can carry 702 passengers


“We are in discussions with luxury operators about how cruise can work for them”


that it went up so quick,” he said. “And I expect that figure to


rise, because it is early days. As more agents sell us and more passengers come back happy, that number is likely to increase.” Pimentel predicted that over the coming months, once passengers, agents and journalists had returned


from Pursuit’s first sailings, more agents would sell the line. Richard Twynam, managing


director for the UK, Ireland and EMEA, said there was a trend for luxury operators, such as Kuoni, to add cruise to their portfolio. He added that Azamara was


talking to “seven or eight” luxury operators, such as Carrier, that do not currently sell cruise. “We are in discussions with a number of luxury tour operators about how cruise can work for them,” Twynam said. The launch of Azamara Pursuit


was the “most significant moment” to date for the brand, said Pimentel, who went on to praise co-godmothers Lucy Huxley and Ellen Asmodeo-Giglio for their speeches at the ship’s christening on August 28. He said: “The speeches were


about how travel destroys prejudice – people connect when the know each other, irrespective of race, colour and gender. “All those things are quite


exciting and very much in keeping with the rest of the brand.”


6 September 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 15


due to open next May, is currently being constructed in the Bahamas. It will feature a 13-slide waterpark, the Caribbean’s largest freshwater pool Oasis Lagoon, and a 1,600-foot zipline. Royal Caribbean plans to build a collection of private islands around the world. Azamara currently visits


Haiti resort Labadee, owned by Royal Caribbean, which is also undergoing changes before it joins the Perfect Day collection. Larry Pimentel said Azamara


would benefit from the facilities developed by its larger sister company, as stops at private islands become increasingly popular with cruise passengers. He said: “The islands have


largely been developed by Royal Caribbean International. “I think you will see a trend


to more privatisation within certain countries and regions – and we will be able to take advantage of that. “A brand of our size would not be the builder but Royal Caribbean is bigger, so we can benefit from them.”


Artist’s impression of Perfect Day at CocoCay


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