Azamara targets UK growth through enhanced trade engagement
Azamara will look to grow its presence in the UK by working more closely with its travel agent partners, following a spike in bookings in 2025
Speaking to Cruise Trade News during CLIA Conference 2025, the line’s CEO, Dondra Ritzenthaler, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the UK after the brand saw double digit growth in bookings year-on-year.
The majority (86 per cent) of Azamara’s product, Ritzenthaler said, is sold by agents. In 2026 the line will shift further share to the UK, which is already the cruise line’s second largest source market outside of the US.
“[86 per cent] is a massive number, and so when our board was looking for somebody to run the company, they knew that they needed to get somebody who was authentically supportive of travel advisors,” she continued.
In the last year, Azamara has demonstrated its commitment to the UK with the opening of a dedicated call centre, which lead to a 67 per cent uptick in bookings, and a new agent reward scheme.
The brand also hosted its largest-ever ship visit programme, bolstered its team with the addition of Peter Ryan as UK & Ireland business development manager and promoted Stuart Pearce to UK and Ireland sales director.
David Duff, managing director UK, said the company is seeing strong demand for “once in a lifetime” bookings. “We’re well over double digit growth in terms of year-over-year,” he continued.
“We’ve got a strong loyalty base in the UK as we’ve been established here for a very long time. We have a lot of repeat guests, and some who have booked a bucket list trip will then opt for a second, smaller holiday in the same year, say in Europe, which is a great opportunity for agents.”
Ritzenthaler said the line sees its agent partners as a “valuable extension” and not as an “expense” or distribution channel.
“That mentality is why you’re going to continue to see us invest not only with things like people in call centres, but commission and training, because what we do is authentic and effective,” she added.
Earlier this year the company brought in David Siewers as its new chief sales officer, international, to further strengthen its global standing.
In one of his first interviews since taking on the role, Siewers told Cruise Trade News that he was “blown away” by Azamara’s team and product.
“The minute you walk onboard, the staff make you feel incredible. It’s like being welcomed home by your family. So it was a no-brainer for me to join,” he added.
“As you dig deeper into the product, you start to learn about how [Azamara] delivers on destination, and that’s really special.”
