When Royal Caribbean purchased Pullmantur, Blue Moon was transferred to Celebrity Cruises as Celebrity Quest, with the creation of what is now Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Quest became Azamara Quest.

Azamara Quest is a small cruise ship weighing in at 30,277 tons and able to carry 676 passengers in 338 cabins. Of the 332 outside cabins 249 are balcony cabins.

When Royal Caribbean purchased Pullmantur, Blue Dream was transferred to Celebrity Cruises as Celebrity Journey, with the creation of what is now Azamara Club Cruises, Celebrity Journey became Azamara Journey.

Azamara Journey is a small cruise ship weighing in at 30,277 tons and able to carry 676 passengers in 358 cabins. Of the 332 outside cabins 249 are balcony cabins.

I now have to go through the site and make necessary changes so please bear with me as I try and updated pages and posts to include the new name for Azamara, namely Azamara Club Cruises.

This suspension in the fuel supplement is due to the lower prices of fuel that are currently in place.

Guests who now book a cruise that departs from 1st January 2008 will not be charged the fuel supplement and those who have already booked for sailings after this date will receive a refund.

For the full press release see The Cruise News.

The cut in fuel supplement is to coincide with the reduction in global fuel prices and will apply to bookings that are made after 10th November 2008.

The changes in fuel prices will be closely watched and Royal Caribbean will continue to alter their charges alongside that of the global market.

For the full press release see The Cruise News.

Celebrity Cruises introduced the Azamara Club Cruises to the world during 2007, when two former Renaissance Line cruises ships were transferred from Pullmantur Cruises to Celebrity Cruises after Pullmantur Cruises had been purchased by Royal Caribbean in 2006. Originally destined to be called Celebrity Journey and Celebrity Quest, they now cruise the world as Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest.

Azamara Club Cruises fill the niche for a Deluxe cruise line, being somewhere between the ultra luxury cruise lines such as Silversea Cruises and SeaDream Yacht Club and those of communal garden luxury of Celebrity Cruises themselves.

Being just 30,277 tons each, the Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest are small enough to get into some of the somewhat smaller and recently under used ports of call that cruises love yet do not get the chance to visit when aboard the modern 100,000 ton plus giants that proliferate the cruising world today.

For all-round elegance onboard and a service equalled by only a few cruise lines Azamara Club Cruises offer their clients both an impeccable cruise and one that will not set them back as much as you would imagine.

Azamara’s food and wine related shore excursions will include trips to Venice, Bordeaux, Amsterdam and Turkey to sample a mixture of wines and cuisines as well as the food they will be treated with onboard.

Alongside this Azamara is offering their guests the chance to extend their European cruise, in particular the Med Cruises with a cruisetour, where they will explore inland destinations that are not possible by ship. The cruisetours range from three to eight nights in Italy, Greece and Eastern Europe.

Cruise ship Azamara Quest will stay overnight in 10 ports during its Asia season. Ports include the likes of Bangkok, Shanghai and Mumbai. She will also make day visits to 11 other ports during her travels. This means that the total number of ports Azamara Quest will visit is 21 in 13 different countries.

Another exciting highlight to their Far East Cruises programme is the special 18 night cruise over the Christmas and New Year period which stops overnight in six different ports including Bangkok. Azamara Cruises are also offering a one-tome Northeast Asia sailing from Hong Kong to Shanghai in March 2009 that will feature overnight stays in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.

“We’re thrilled with how far we’ve come in just one year, and honored by the recognition our deluxe brand has received from our guests, our travel agent partners, and the press,” said Azamara Cruises President and CEO Dan Hanrahan. “The extraordinary staff on both Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest has worked tirelessly to ensure that every guest receives the vacation experience we’ve promised since the brand’s launch.”

“Azamara Cruises was expressly designed for travel enthusiasts who appreciate what a cruise vacation has to offer, but are looking for something a little different, and a little more special,” said Hanrahan. “And what’s special about Azamara is its distinctive combination of impeccable service, exceptional cuisine, and off-the-beaten-path destinations, with immersive shore excursions.”

Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest are both currently cruising the Mediterranean on exotic itineraries including visits to the Channel Islands, Germany and Spain. This autumn Azamara Journey is to begin two new Panama Canal sailings followed by Caribbean cruises in March 2009. In November Azamara Quest will set off on a mixture of Asian cruises including Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia visiting destinations such as Hong Kong, Beijing, Singapore and Athens.

Azamara Cruises is owned by Celebrity Cruises, part of Royal Caribbean International.