Azamara Club Cruises is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd (RCCL). The ships in the Azamara Club Cruises fleet were originally going to sail as part of the Celebrity Cruises fleet. However, RCCL decided to branch these deluxe, upscale ships off into their own division, called Azamara. Larry Pimentel, formerly of SeaDream Yacht Club (among other cruise lines, such as Cunard Line and The Yachts of Seabourn), now (since July 2009) serves as both the President and CEO of Azamara Cruises. Shortly after his appointment (in December 2009), Azamara Cruises was renamed Azamara Club Cruises to further differentiate themselves from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises as a true luxury product.
Azamara Club Cruises truly takes premium cruising to a special level. This is evident as there is complimentary butler service available to all staterooms, regardless of accommodation level. Even their shore excursions are something special, as they are designed to immerse their guests in the destinations they travel to. Effective with their April 2010 sailings, soda, non-alcoholic specialty coffees and water will be complimentary for all guests. In addition to that, house wine will be served to all guests complimentary during lunch and dinner.
The Azamara Club Cruises fleet will be primarily focusing on exotic, more unique, itineraries. The itineraries that the Azamara fleet will feature include the following: Caribbean, Europe, Mediterranean, Panama Canal, South America, Southeast Asia, and Transatlantic.
The dress code aboard the Azamara ships is resort casual. Dining is setup in an open system, where you have the option of coming to dine within a certain time period, rather than at a specific time each night. In addition to the main dining room and buffet, there are two optional five-star quality specialty restaurants onboard each ship (Aquafina and Prime C), where you can pay an additional charge to dine in. All guests are allowed to dine in one of the two specialty restaurants for free one time. Guests staying in suites are allowed to do so twice.
Azamara Club Cruises' past passenger loyalty program, known as the Captain's Club, is totally compatible with that of Celebrity Cruises. View our Azamara Club Cruises Captain's Club page for additional details. To further differentiate themselves from Celebrity, Azamara will be debuting a new program, called Le Club Voyage, soon. Details are yet to be released.
Currently there are two intimate-sized cruise ships in the Azamara Club Fleet, the Azamara Journey and the Azamara Quest. These two luxury ships are sister ships, identical in their features.
