Azamara Names Its Newest Ship, Fourth in the Fleet
Azamara announced the name of the latest addition to its fleet during the ship’s recent handover. The newly-purchased ship was named Azamara Onward and reflects the direction that the small boutique cruise line is taking as an independent brand. Azamara left the Royal Caribbean family after it was acquired by a private equity firm, Sycamore Partners earlier this year.
How Azamara Onward Got Its Name
According to cruise line executives, they chose the name Azamara Onward to instill the feeling of moving forward in space or time as well as reflect the cruise line’s forward movement into its next chapter of cruising.
The small boutique cruise line had been a part of Royal Caribbean Group. Then, in 2009, the small two-ship fleet was rebranded as Azamara Club Cruises. Several years later in 2017, another former Renaissance Cruises R8 and later Princess Cruises’ Royal Princess joined the fleet to become Azamara Pursuit.
Azamara is now on track to compete with small fleet luxury brands like Oceania Cruises and Viking Ocean. All of Azamara’s small ships (they’re all sister ships!) carry less than 700 passengers and emphasize immersive experiences in out-of-the-way ports around the world.
“Today marks a new beginning for Azamara, as we increase our capacity and begin our journey as an independent cruise company. Our beautiful new ship can access smaller ports and allow us to bring our guests to even more destinations,” said President of Azamara, Carol Cabezas. “When selecting a unique name, we realized our fourth ship marks the start of a new adventure and we chose a name that celebrates the bright future ahead for the brand, our guests, and the industry as a whole.”
What’s included with Azamara Cruises?
An almost-all inclusive cruise experience, Azamara includes complimentary:
- Standard spirits, international beers and wines
- Gratuities
- Bottled water, soft drinks, specialty coffees and teas
- Self-service laundry (free laundry (not DIY) service at higher loyal point levels)
- Shuttle service to and from port communities, where available
- Concierge services for personal guidance and reservations
- One evening on most 7-night or longer cruises, there’s a special AzAmazing evening event in port
Azamara Onward joins the cruise line’s three other ships, Azamara Pursuit, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest. For now, Azamara Onward is docked in Civitavecchia, Italy, awaiting a thorough refurbishment that’s consistent to the Azamara brand. The cruise line has scheduled Azamara Onward will sail its inaugural season in 2022 around Europe sometime in 2022.
“Azamara has a bright future and is positioned to continue growing as an independent company,” added Orlando Ashford, Executive Chairman of Azamara. “We can’t wait to welcome back our loyal customers, as well as those new to the brand, with our expanded fleet offering more unique Destination Immersion programming and itineraries.”
