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Azamara thinks 'outside the ship'

While everyone 'thinks outside the box' the crew at Azamara like to 'think outside the ship' - a mantra that's helped the company grow especially in Australia, despite not having sent a ship our way.

While everyone ‘thinks outside the box’ the crew at Azamara like to ‘think outside the ship’ – a mantra that’s helped the company grow especially in Australia, despite not having sent a ship our way.

Since launching a local office in 2009, Azamara says Australia has grown to be the company’s second largest market, with a high number of Aussies travelling internationally to board their high-end vessels.

This figure is expected to climb over the coming months when the cruise line finally sends its first ship to Australia, Azamara Quest.

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Larry Pimentel, Azamara Club Cruises President and CEO

Her visit during the wave season will see Quest carry roughly 680 passengers per cruise on itineraries around Australia and to New Zealand.

Australian numbers are expected to climb even further with the announcement of a 102-day Round World cruise departing from Sydney to London in March 2018. Details of the itinerary are still being finalised.

Speaking to trade in Sydney last night, Azamara Club Cruises’ President and CEO, Larry Pimentel, dubbed Australians as an important market for the line with roughly 6,400 Aussies cruising with the line every year – that’s roughly 17 percent of the entire business.

Hoping to ramp up those figures, the company has carried out extensive research into why people travel.

“The number one answer that never changed was always about the ‘destination’, so I decided that we were going to focus on the actual land experiences.”

Larry Pimentel, Azamara Club Cruises President and CEO

That’s why a few years back, Azamara introduced ‘AzAmazing Evenings’ where ships conduct several overnight calls in popular destinations, giving cruisers the chance to experience the port by day and night.

In order to focus on the land experiences staff was encouraged to ‘think outside the ship’ and instead focus on the land deliverables and develop itineraries taking passengers to places they locals would go to, not just the tourist locations.

Pimental believes this longer stay, more overnights and late nights concept has contributed to the line’s success along.

Do you think cruisers enjoy more time at port?