BAYONNE, N.J. --
What was to be the introduction of Celebrity Cruises' newest vessel
here became the unveiling of a new cruise brand in the Royal
Caribbean Cruises family -- Azamara Cruises.
Speaking onboard
the 710-person ship recently swapped from Pullmantur for the 
Celebrity Zenith, and until
May 4 called the Celebrity Journey, RCCL CEO Richard Fain
introduced the Azamara Journey, the first ship in the line's new
"deluxe" cruise brand.
Fain, speaking to
a small audience of travel agents and press in the ship's cabaret
lounge, said that the company had intended to have the ships be
upscale versions of the Celebrity product, but that during the
ship's $19 million drydock refurbishment, it decided the vessel's
redesign and onboard experience would put it in a category of its
own.
"Because this is
a different product, and so distinct, it deserves a category name
of its own to represent the fact that we're offering something
different," said Fain. "We created Azamara to target an area of the
market that we think is underserved, and that this product is
suited to fill."
Deluxe, as he
explained, is between premium and luxury. Prices will be above
Celebrity's but below luxury cruise lines. Cruises aboard the
Azamara Cruises line will have no formal nights.
Dan Hanrahan,
president of Celebrity Cruise -- and now president of Azamara as
well -- said that the deluxe category was created and chosen for
Azamara to delineate the brand from others in the travel agent
community.
The name Azamara
comes form the Romance languages, with Aza
meaning blue and Mara meaning sea. It will
distinguish itself from Celebrity by offering destination-oriented
itineraries in remote destinations that larger ships can't reach,
with butler service in every stateroom, and more intensive shore
excursion programs.
To contact the reporter who wrote this article, send e-mail
to Johanna Jainchill at [email protected].