Azamara Signs Exclusive Retail Partnership with Starboard Cruise Services
Azamara is pleased to announce that premier retailer at sea, Starboard Cruise Services – an LVMH Moët Hennessy company – is now the fleetwide retail partner for the destination-focused cruise brand.
The two industry leaders will redesign a destination-tailored retail program, offering experiential, cultural and artisanal touchpoints curated specifically for each travel journey of Azamara’s fleet of ships.
“Our well-traveled guests desire exclusive escapes and thoughtfully selected excursions inspired by local culture and traditions,” says Azamara President, Carol Cabezas. “The retail experience should not be an exception, but rather an integrated layer to amplify meaningful memories across the cruise journey. Partnering with Starboard’s Luxury Division, we are in a greater position to reveal even more of the history, art, cuisine and local customs that make each destination rare and beautiful.”
Deep-Seated Destination Creators, Cultural Collections
The reinvented retail vision is established on a fresh and formidable concept, designed to complement Azamara’s distinct shoreside evening activities and overnight port stays. Offering bespoke experiences onboard and ashore with local artisans and craftsmen in their native studios and shops, guests will participate in an exclusive opportunity to see authentic work come to life and will have exclusive access to these local treasures to take home with them as a reminder of their experience. Highly curated cultural collections – inviting seasoned travelers to “Explore Further” by connecting people with people, people with cultures and people with themselves – will be reflective of and genuine to each destination, such as one-of-a-kind Māori carvings while sailing New Zealand or handspun wool knitwear in Norway. Furthering destination-inspired shopping, Starboard is bringing onboard limited time experiences, such as hand painted silks from Barcelona, and socially conscious items including Chilean-made infused glass art sourced from recycled windows and bottles.
“We are thrilled to be working with Carol Cabezas and her team at Azamara on our common vision for the journey ahead during a very exciting restart of the industry,” says Lisa Bauer, Starboard’s President and CEO. “With our shared philosophies surrounding discovery, creativity, quality and craftsmanship, collaborating with Azamara will deliver a completely innovative and immersive approach to exploring destinations. Beyond luxury and opulence, today’s affluent travelers seek transformative, memorable and purposeful experiences – collecting priceless and authentic mementos that tell one’s personal tale of traversing by sea.”
The newly anointed partnership between Azamara and Starboard commenced on August 28, 2021, when Azamara Quest welcomed the first guests for a seven-night Mediterranean voyage from Greece.
(Azamara, Starboard Cruise Services)
