By
Bill Becken |
With more than 25 years of luxury travel experience, Larry Pimentel is revered both as a veteran of, and an irreverent sage on the state of, high-end cruising. Having served as president and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises for almost three years, what’s Pimentel’s spin on how well and profitably Azamara fills its niche in the cruise market as a smaller two-ship, all-inclusive luxury brand?
“Ours is a luxury price point on an average-per-diem (APD) basis,” he says. “But you can say that our brand has found its place at the ultra-top end of the premium market, too. That’s an interesting profile, to say the least. While we have guests in both spaces, the net is that Azamara simply and singularly offers destination-immersive luxury.”
The ships sail out of venerable ports in the Mediterranean and Black Sea such as Rome, Athens, Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Istanbul and Venice; ports in Asia and the Pacific such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing (Tianjin) and Mumbai (Bombay); and ports in Europe and the Baltic, such as Southampton, Hamburg and Copenhagen.
“One hundred per cent of our 2014 voyages feature late night and overnight stays in ports,” says Pimentel.
Itineraries are designed so that travellers can combine two or more consecutive voyages without repeating a port call. Also, there are one-off speciality trips such as a 10- or 12-night trans-Panama Canal voyage between Miami and Costa Rica and a unique 8-night West Coast Wine cruise.
“In truth, market designators are outdated,” remarks Pimentel. “Just consider how the design concept of ships has morphed over the decades. Many people would deem Royal Caribbean International, our parent company RCL’s flagship line, a mass-market line. They would deem its Celebrity Cruises a premium brand. Yet Celebrity Cruises now aspires to ‘modern luxury’.
“And looking at the room categories on a Royal Caribbean Oasis-class ship, you can’t honestly say that their loft suite, at around US$20K a voyage, is mass-market. The products built more recently are built more vertically. That makes for a very dynamic cruise market, and one with many more guest profiles.”
Azamara’s research shows that at least 20 per cent of the line’s guests are first-time cruisers, says Pimentel. “That tells us that a vast portion of the market yearns for an authentic experience, not a fabricated one. So that’s what we give. What’s authentic can be subjective, but we think it clearly lies in sampling regional cuisine; exploring a city as locals do; and, most relevant to passenger shipping, spending more days and nights in port.”
In particular, Azamara has exclusively offered more overnights than other cruise lines (as many as two to three per port) and night touring, says Pimentel. “Our model is different. Night touring in particular is generally not available on, or from, ships in port. Nor are there many cruise ships likes ours, small and agile enough to go so deep into our destinations.”
Pimentel points to yet other trends among luxury cruise customers. “Economic and geopolitical conditions have led people to be very conservative and to insist on value. But that’s just where we can excel, since luxury cruises are usually all-inclusive.”
“We’ve put our ships at unique events – the Grand Prix; Carnivale in Rio de Janeiro; cocktail parties for guests at European museums; or visits to the world’s best art exhibits after hours.“Not to mention that we are constantly renovating our ships, which are about ten years old.”
Which brings Pimentel back to the question of who Azamara’s clients are.
“More than ever, guests behave younger, due to careful eating, more exercise, and better health care. That implies a lot as to the kinds of things they regard as critical on a cruise. Ships have adjusted to expanding wellness itself. So spas are getting bigger, their treatments more unique. That’s a trend that will most certainly continue.”
Pimentel also points to the importance of recognising the level of comfort that younger guests have with technology. “They’re a very connected group. This means that our products must be very high-tech driven – our future products even more so.
“They must address the guest’s insistence that a purchase is all about about speed, about their receiving as much relevant information as possible so as to conclude their business with us now, online. So another trend is increasing the speed both of our shipboard and shoreside online services. Reservations will be taken electronically from cabins, and presentations about shore excursions mediated online.”
This article appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2013 edition of International Cruise & Ferry Review. To read other articles, you can subscribe to the magazine in printed or digital formats.