Azamara Scores Big In 2012 Global Cruise Critic Awards
Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest Highest Rated in “Overall Small Ship Category”
MIAMI, Feb 22, 2012 – For a tiny, two ship cruise line, Azamara® is getting an enviable reputation as “The little engine that could.” You know, the little engine in the childhood parable that huffed and puffed and made it up the steep hill despite great odds and disbelief.
Azamara remind up-market travelers of this happy story since the twin boutique cruise ships – Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest – were big winners in an authoritative, just-released, cruise ship ratings by world’s largest online cruise community, Cruise Critic.
Azamara’s two 694-guest cruisers were the highest rated in the “Overall Small Ships Category” announced in Cruise Critic’s 2012 Global Cruisers’ Choice Awards. One or both ships also scored or tied for first place in five of the nine rating categories including the ultimate accolade – overall best small ships.
The awards are based solely on ratings by cruisers when they post reviews on Cruise Critic (some 90,000 cruise ship reviews were placed on the site last year) – so these opinions come directly from cruising consumers.
When advised of the Cruise Critic Awards, Larry Pimentel, President and CEO, Azamara, said “Given the many excellent cruise lines in the small ship sector, we are greatly honored to be recognized as a leader. For us to score so highly is amazing, since we only introduced our enhanced operation and became known as Azamara in 2010. That’s not much time to get it right but obviously we are trying hard and more and more consumers are becoming aware of The Little Engine that Could.
“What a great pat on the back this is for the onboard staff of our ships. This is a magnificent recognition for them and for everyone connected to our young cruising enterprise whether at sea or ashore,” Pimentel added
Those interested in more information on these Cruise Critic awards are invited to utilize this link: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/cruiserschoice_index.cfm?Category=Overall&sort=large. President Pimentel concluded: “There was one Azamara Cruise Critic rating that I really appreciated – it scored high with me. It’s called Value for Money. And to me, good value is what it’s all about.”
Azamara is a destination-immersive cruise line for up-market travelers who want to not only see the places and cultures they visit, but to live them. Azamara's two intimate, 694-guest ships, Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest, with a combination of 347 suites and staterooms, offer a European-boutique hotel ambience with extraordinary service, fine cuisine and wines from around the world, and wellness and vitality programs, all while sailing to a host of destinations larger ships cannot reach.
Azamara sails Northern European destinations, including the Baltic and Scandinavia, British Isles, Western Europe, French and Italian Rivieras, Greek Isles, Croatia, Holy Land and Black Sea, as well as Asia, South America and lesser-traveled islands of the West Indies, with more overnight and late-night stays in every region. Travelers also can choose even more immersive experiences with Azamara cruisetours in eight of the world's most exciting destinations, including Rome, Athens, Buenos Aires, Cairo, Istanbul, Jordan and Israel, India, and China.
For more information, travelers can call their travel professional, or call Azamara at 1-877-999-9553,
Travel agent professionals can also access more information and make reservations at CruisingPower.com.
Azamara is part of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE/OSX: RCL), a global cruise vacation company that also operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, CDF Croisieres de France, as well as TUI Cruises through a 50 percent joint venture with TUI AG. The company owns a combined total of 40 ships and has one under construction and one under agreement.
Media Contact
Harrison Liu(305) 982-2363hliu@rccl.com
Janet Diaz(305) 539-4096jdiaz@rccl.com