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Orlando Ashford appointed incoming Executive Chairman of Azamara

Details: Written by Teijo Niemelä Teijo Niemelä; Category: More News More News; Published: 28 January 2021 28 January 2021

Sycamore Partners, a leading private equity firm, yesterday announced that Orlando Ashford has been appointed as the incoming Executive Chairman of Azamara, the upmarket, boutique cruise line dedicated to Destination Immersion experiences. Ashford’s appointment will become effective upon the completion of Sycamore’s acquisition of Azamara, which is expected to occur in Q1.

“We are pleased for Orlando to take on this role as Azamara embarks on its next chapter supported by Sycamore Partners,” said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director of Sycamore Partners. “Orlando brings significant leadership experience as well as specific expertise in the cruise and travel industry, making him well-suited to serve as Azamara’s Executive Chairman.”

“I am thrilled to be appointed to the role of Executive Chairman at this exciting time for Azamara, having long admired the business and the brand,” said Ashford. “I believe Azamara is uniquely positioned in the industry, and I look forward to executing on our shared vision for growth. Together with the Azamara team, we’ll focus on offering Azamara’s loyal customers more of what they have come to know and love.”

“I look forward to working with Orlando, who has equal passion for the cruise industry and the very special product Azamara offers,” said Carol Cabezas, President, Azamara. “With the recent news of a planned addition to the fleet, Orlando will bring perspective that will support expansion of the brand while maintaining and growing the unique programming and itineraries beloved by guests and travel industry partners.”

Saga Cruises sees signs of mounting pent up demand

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 26 January 2021 26 January 2021

Saga Cruises, which is part of the UK based Saga plc, has experienced an increase in the proportion of people who want to rebook rather than receive their money back when their cruise has been cancelled due to Covid-19, the parent company said in a trading statement.

“The average proportion of Cruise guests who have re-booked rather than take a refund stands at an average of 69% through the travel suspension period, but rose to 86% more recently, showing the pent up demand for Cruise amongst our guests who will benefit from the first round of the vaccine roll out,” the company said..

Customer demand has also been very resilient, with £140 million of total cruise bookings as at 23 January, representing 68% and 28% of the latest revenue targets for 2021/22 and 2022/23 respectively.

These figures exclude £8 million of bookings that have been cancelled and customers have chosen to receive a voucher rather than re-book a specific cruise.

As at 31 January 2020, total bookings were £127 million, representing 78% and 6% of the revenue targets at that date for 2020/21 and 2021/22, Saga said.

The company has two high end of the market cruise ships, but in addition to travel services, the company also offers a range of other products, such as insurance. It serves exclusively those over the age of 50.

Sycamore Partners acquires Pacific Princess for Azamara Cruises

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 January 2021 25 January 2021

Sycamore Partners, a leading private equity firm that acquired Azamara Cruises from the Royal Caribbean Group recently, said it has acquired Pacific Princess of Princess Cruises as the fourth vessel for the upper premium segment boutique cruise line.

“Following a full-ship renovation, the fourth ship is scheduled to sail for its inaugural season in Europe in 2022,’ Sycamore said in a statement.

Princess Cruises, which is part of Carnival Corporation & plc group. said last week it had sold Pacific Princess to an undisclosed buyer. It is a sister ship of Azamara Journey, Azamara Quest and Azamara Pursuit.

Pacific Princess would be renamed Azamara Equity.

The ships were built in France for the now defunct Renaissance Cruises at the turn of the Millennium and the class comprises a total of eight vessels. Pacific Princess started life as R3 in 1999 and as the name suggests, it was the third unit of the class.

"The addition of this ship is an important milestone and reflects Sycamore Partners' commitment to supporting Azamara in its next phase of growth," said Stefan Kaluzny, Managing Director of Sycamore Partners.

"Expanding the fleet will allow Azamara to continue to serve loyal customers, as well as those new to the brand, with more unique Destination Immersion programming and itineraries."

The additional ship, which will be named at a later date, is comparable in size to Azamara Pursuit, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, expanding the fleet's overall capacity by 33%, Sycamore said.

Carnival Cruise Line publishes more details on phased in restart of operations

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 January 2021 25 January 2021

Carnival Cruise Line, part of Carnival Corporation & plc, has released plans for additional ship deployments as it continues to refine its phased in approach to a return to guest operations for 2021, resulting in some ship-specific cruise cancellations and movements.

Those plans include:

Related to already-announced dry dock plans for Carnival Magic, Carnival Paradise and Carnival Valor, those ships' return to operations will be delayed until November 2021. Consequently, voyages on Carnival Magic from Norfolk (embarkations from Sept. 29-Oct. 30), Carnival Paradise from Tampa (embarkations from June 5-Oct. 28) and Carnival Valor from New Orleans (embarkations from Sept. 16-Oct. 28) have been cancelled.

Carnival Miracle's planned seasonal service from San Diego has been suspended until further notice, and sailings out of San Diego that were available for sale through April 2023 have been cancelled, with the exception of seven voyages to Hawaii, which will move to Long Beach.

Carnival Radiance's dry dock and transformation has been moved to September, with a planned arrival to Long Beach in November 2021.

With Carnival Miracle's reposition to Long Beach, the ship will assume the three- and four-day itineraries for Carnival Radiance from May 3-Nov. 1, 2021 as well as the seven Hawaii Carnival Journeys referenced above. In addition, Carnival Miracle will launch a new program of four- and five-day cruises to Mexico during the winter season, beginning November 2021 and continuing through April 2023.

“Carnival is advising guests and travel agents of these changes. Where possible, West Coast guests are being accommodated in a transfer to Carnival Miracle (from Carnival Radiance), or the retention of their Hawaiian itinerary via a Long Beach embarkation instead.”

“With this change, Carnival will eventually run a three-ship operation from its port facility at Long Beach: Carnival Panorama sailing seven-day Mexican Riviera itineraries and Carnival Radiance operating three- and four-day itineraries year-round, with Carnival Miracle operating four- and five-day Mexico and 14-day Hawaii itineraries during the winter,” the company said in a statement.

Costa Crociere postpones restart in Italy to 13 March

Details: Written by Kari Reinikainen Kari Reinikainen; Category: More News More News; Published: 25 January 2021 25 January 2021

Costa Crociere, which is part of Carnival Corporation & plc, said that following a careful evaluation of the measures contained in the Italian government decree currently in force in the country, it has decided to postpone the restart of its ships to March 13, 2021.

“All cruises originally scheduled on Costa Deliziosa, Costa Firenze and Costa Luminosa between February 1 and March 12, 2021, are cancelled. The new programs for these three ships will be announced shortly. Costa is in the process of informing travel agencies and guests affected by the changes,” the company said in a statement.

This marks a contrast with the decision of MSC Cruises, whose MSC Meraviglia resumed operations on 24 January. It makes seven night cruises from Italian ports that also include a call at Valletta in Malta.

Costa Crociere said it believes that the current set of restrictive measures does not allow its guests to enjoy an adequate on-shore experience and the ability to fully explore the itinerary's destinations.

“Costa will resume operations on March 13 with Costa Smeralda, which will sail guests to some of Italy's most beautiful destinations with 3- and 4-day mini-cruises, or a 7-day cruise, calling at Savona, La Spezia, Civitavecchia, Naples, Messina and Cagliari,” it said in a statement.