Tag Archives: Azamara Cruise

Royal Caribbean Group Pandemic Exits: 10 Ships Have Now Left the Fleet

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The Royal Caribbean Group has sold a total of ten cruise ships since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the new Secondhand Market Report by Cruise Industry News.

While most of the exits are related to Pullmantur’s liquidation and Azamara’s sale, four ships have also left the fleet of Royal Caribbean International and Silversea Cruises.   

Cruise Industry News looks into the vessels that left the fleet and their fates:

Ship: Monarch
Brand: Pullmantur Cruceros
Year Built: 1991
Original Cost: $300 million
Capacity: 2,390 guests
Tonnage: 73,941
Date: July 2020
Fate: Scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey

Ship: Sovereign
Brand: Pullmantur Cruceros
Year Built: 1988
Original Cost: $185 million
Capacity: 2,322 guests
Tonnage: 73,192
Date: July 2020
Fate: Scrapped in Aliaga, Turkey

Ship: Horizon
Brand: Pullmantur Cruceros
Year Built: 1990
Original Cost: $185 million
Capacity: 1,442 guests
Tonnage: 47,000
Date: July 2020
Fate: Laid up in Elefsis, Greece

Ship: Empress of the Seas
Brand: Royal Caribbean International
Year Built: 1990
Original Cost: $170 million
Capacity: 1,607 guests
Tonnage: 48,563
Date: December 2020
Fate: Sold to Cordelia Cruises; now sailing in India as the Empress

Ship: Majesty of the Seas
Brand: Royal Caribbean International
Year Built: 1992
Original Cost: $300 million
Capacity: 2,354 guests
Tonnage: 73,941
Date: December 2020
Fate: Laid up in Greece after being bought by Seajets, a Greek ferry operator 

Ship: Azamara Journey
Brand: Azamara
Year Built: 2000
Original Cost: $190 million
Capacity: 718 guests
Tonnage: 30,200
Date: January 2021
Fate: Sold to Sycamore Partners along with the Azamara brand

Ship: Azamara Quest
Brand: Azamara
Year Built: 2000
Original Cost: $150 million
Capacity: 710 guests
Tonnage: 30,200
Date: January 2021
Fate: Sold to Sycamore Partners along with the Azamara brand

Ship: Azamara Pursuit
Brand: Azamara
Year Built: 2001
Original Cost: $190 million
Capacity: 710 guests
Tonnage: 30,200
Date: January 2021
Fate: Sold to Sycamore Partners along with the Azamara brand

Ship: Silver Galapagos
Brand: Silversea Cruises
Year Built: 1990
Original Cost: $20 million
Capacity: 100 guests
Tonnage: 4,077
Date: June 2021
Fate: Replaced by a new build; laid up in Panama after being renamed Mantra

Ship: Silver Explorer
Brand: Silversea Cruises
Year Built: 1989
Capacity: 132 guests
Tonnage: 6,130
Date: January 2022
Fate: Sold to a startup named Exploris; leaving the fleet in September 2023

Azamara to Drop Pre-Embarkation Testing

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The line will ditch testing on Monday (25 July) in countries where the protocol is no longer legally required

The line will ditch testing on Monday (25 July) but will still require proof of vaccination prior to embarkation from all guests aged over 12.

Azamara said it recommends all guests departing from any port undergo testing before getting onboard – but results will not be needed to be shown in order to sail.

At ports where pre-cruise testing remains, guests must produce a negative Covid test before sailing.

Carol Cabezas, Azamara president, said the easing of the line’s testing policy “marks a step in the right direction towards a return to normalcy for the travel and cruising industry”.

“Cruising is one of the safest ways to travel, and our existing health and safety protocols onboard will ensure peace of mind for our guests and crew as we move forward,” she said.

Azamara’s Fleet Comes Under V.Ships Leisure’s Ship Management

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Azamara’s four-ship luxury fleet is now under the ship management of V.Ships Leisure, which has assumed all technical oversight, crewing and port operations, according to Per Bjornsen, CEO, V.Ships Leisure.

After private equity firm, Sycamore Partners’ acquisition of Azamara from the Royal Caribbean Group earlier this year, the Azamara Onward entered V.Ships’ management following the ship’s acquisition, while the company brought the Quest into management on October 23, the Pursuit on October 28 and the Journey on October 31.

Detailed Way

“We’ve been through the plan in the most detailed way to ensure there is no change to the guest experience. That has been the core,” said Bjornsen, noting that while it is rare to decouple brands from a major cruise group, V.Ships has done it several times.

Taking over four sister ships, the crew will stay the same, but be managed by V.Ships, while other new systems have been put in place.

“We are moving toward more data-driven management for planned maintenance, for example,” Bjornsen told Cruise Industry News. “The data is being migrated to our platform, ShipSure, which is the digital platform in the centre of everything we do. There has been detailed planning with Azamara, Royal Caribbean Group and our team to make this smooth.”

“There has been thorough planning of crewing, the procurement hand over and customization of the safety management system – making sure there are no gaps compared to the service which was provided previously. However, we see this as a greenfield opportunity to do things smarter.”

Four Ships

“When you have the opportunity to have four sister ships, it’s quite interesting what you can do, comparing the fleet, how you operate and sharing best practices. There is a tremendous amount of data and if you use it cleverly you can move towards predictive maintenance,” Bjornsen explained.

Moving to V.Ships, Azamara has access to a global network of offices, purchasing power and redundancy of resources.

“It’s important that we share the same culture,” Bjornsen said of Azamara’s and Sycamore’s relationship with V.Ships. “Safety is the number one priority and we are going into this with a long-term horizon working together as partners.”