Azamara Onward, the fourth cruise ship joining Azamara fleet, was named in a beautiful dockside celebration in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The celebration was attended by the media, travel agents, investors, and privileged guests, as well as former Holland America Line president Orlando Ashford, who is currently the official president of Azamara Cruises.
Godmother Beth Santos is an entrepreneur, recognized for founding and leading Wanderful, an international collective of more than 45,000 female travelers and content creators who support one another to grow the travel industry.
“Travel is about a mindset, not a destination,” Santos said during her remarks. “After two of the hardest years on record in travel, and the cruise industry, this ceremony is about giving purpose and a path forward for this new ship, but also for us.”
Santos spoke about her mission to make travel both impactful and equitable for all travelers, a mission that Cabezas shares. “Travel is an education. Beyond new cultures, it teaches us humility, patience, resourcefulness, and gratitude, among its many virtues,” Cabezas said during the ceremony. “And it teaches us a lot about ourselves along the way.”
Despite the glamor of the event, the 702-passenger Onward is still a ship Azamara loyalists are familiar of as R-Class vessel most recently known as Pacific Princess. Loyalty was a buzz word throughout the christening, with Cabezas thanking loyalty guests for allowing Azamara the privilege of hosting them on its ships time and time again. Guests Jean Robert and Francine Page joined executives on stage, having sailed a total of 580 nights on Azamara’s three other ships.
The iconic library on Deck 10, with its muraled ceiling and cozy fireplace, is now the Atlas Bar. While we know that Azamara guests enjoy their quiet nooks, there are still plenty of those onboard; we feel the space is put to good use, proving to be an extremely popular hangout by night on our sailing with an inventive cocktail list and modern yet relaxed decor.
Due to its original layout, Deck 8 is entirely all suites on Azamara Onward, where half of the staterooms on the other Azamara ships consist of balcony cabins.
What Azamara is known for is its fabulous itineraries with many late nights or overnights in port and its fantastic crew. Those elements have not changed. Our AzAamazing experience in Portovenere, Italy (Cinque Terre region) reminded us of what’s special about the brand; it’s not just a mode of transportation to get into the ports of call — Azamara works to really connect guests with the destination and what it has to offer.
Following an inaugural season in Europe, Azamara will bring back AzAmazing Evenings — the event we attended was a version held during the day.
The inaugural Azamara Onward sailing departed Monte Carlo on May 2 bound for Ravenna, Italy on an 11-night voyage. Testing is still required to board an Azamara cruise prior to embarkation at the pier, but mask-wearing is optional for passengers at this time.
