Azamara’s Dondra Ritzenthaler Wants Travel Advisors to Think Like Lions

You need a lion’s mentality to succeed in the competitive world of travel, says Azamara’s Dondra Ritzenthaler. Winners find their competitive advantage—and then outwork, outplay, and outlast everyone else.  

For travel advisors, doing better than your competitors can mean sending clients a handwritten note and a welcome-home gift, putting together an in-person Cruise Night, always asking for referrals—and yes, charging a fee. 

And when a client calls, it means telling a story instead of just taking their order. The best travel advisors say something like, “Let me tell you about the time I did that cruise. It was magical.” 

Ritzenthaler offered that advice from the stage of the Affluent Traveler Collection Symposium, held last week at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country. But in an exclusive interview with TMR, she talked about the investments Azamara is making in its own products, to maintain its own competitive advantage. 

They include: 

An $80 million refurbishment of all four ships, beginning with Azamara Quest in October. Every space will be completely refurbished, and a new deck with 12 suites—including two panorama suites bigger than the current Owners Suites—will be added.   

Every ship will get an Atlas Bar and a third specialty restaurant, the Chef’s Table. 

Azamara will double down on its focus on destination immersion and its loyalty to travel advisors with the Experience More package, which will be 10% commissionable. “We want to make sure our travel advisors are incentivized to sell not only the Azamara cruise, but also these experiences that make our guests’ trip even better,” she says. “And we want them to be fired up, because 83% of our product is sold by travel advisors.”  

New itineraries include the 2029 World Cruise, the line’s longest ever at 195 nights. For the first time it also will offer two shorter versions for UK and Australian travelers: 179 nights, from San Diego to London, or 139 nights, from Sydney to Copenhagen.  

Azamara also is returning to South Africa and Alaska—and with the popularity of Japan, extending the season there to year-round for 2028.  

In 2027, Azamara will introduce several new destinations, including Yeosu, South Korea; São Francisco do Sul and Paranaguá, Brazil; Fraser Island and Gladstone, Australia; Bimini, Bahamas; and Algiers, Algeria. The line will also offer a new pre- and post-cruise land program that features Easter Island.

The expansion continues into 2028 with additional new ports across Europe, Asia, and Latin America. These include Caen, France; Sokcho, South Korea; Tokushima, Tsuruga, and Miyazaki, Japan; Delphi, Greece; Porto Empedocle, Sicily, Italy; Dun Laoghaire, Ireland; Liepaja, Latvia; Szczecin, Poland; Tobermory, Scotland; Karlskrona, Sweden; and Easter Island.

 New entertainment options, including 10 brand new shows and a musical evening that combines a show with dinner at Aqualina.  

Late nights and overnights on more than half of all sailings, the highest rate in the industry, Ritzthaler says. 

For travel advisors, there’s a new module in the World Academy and “for a ship our size, we really will punch above our weight with Seminars at Sea, because we’re such believers that once travel professionals get onboard, they are so supportive of us.”  

Tips on Selling Azamara 

“While our ships are beautiful and the food is amazing and where we go is terrific, if I were a travel advisor, I would also say that our secret sauce is the crew, and the relationship our crew has with our guests,” Ritzenthaler says. 

“And really smart travel advisors know that you have to not just talk about price or where we go, but tell personal stories about why you love Azamara. If you don’t know Azamara, do the World Academy. And know we need you and can’t do it without you. We appreciate and love your support and we give it right back. And that’s part of our competitive advantage.”