Azamara is doubling down on its promise to “Change the Way You Sea,” unveiling a wave of new immersive, premium cruises that place longer port stays, culturally rich programming and small-ship intimacy at the center of the experience. From extended evenings in European capitals and glacier-framed days in Alaska, to once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse sailings and curated land journeys, the line is positioning itself as a leader for travelers who want to explore the world in depth rather than simply tick destinations off a list.

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Destination Immersion Elevated: A New Chapter for Culturally Rich Cruising

In April 2025, Miami-based Azamara introduced Destination Immersion Elevated, a comprehensive initiative designed to intensify how guests engage with each port of call. Building on the brand’s long-standing focus on extended time ashore and smaller, off-the-beaten-path ports, the program layers in new culinary concepts, expanded shore excursions and a richer schedule of onboard cultural activities across the 2025 and 2026 seasons.

The cruise line plans to more than triple its specialty voyages from six to 22, with a sharp focus on themed sailings and marquee events. Over the two-year span, Azamara will operate 33 Country Intensive voyages that concentrate on a single nation, allowing travelers to experience a destination’s coastal diversity in a single trip, along with 25 newly added ports that broaden the brand’s global footprint.

Central to the Destination Immersion Elevated strategy is time. According to the company, 51 percent of its port calls in 2025 and 2026 are scheduled as late-night departures or full overnights, giving guests opportunities to experience both daytime life and the evening atmosphere of cities from Dubrovnik to Sydney. The line argues that this careful scheduling, paired with the ability of its four small ships to dock closer to historic centers, allows guests to feel as though they are staying in an intimate hotel on the waterfront rather than simply visiting on a tight cruise schedule.

Alaska 2026: Small-Ship Access to the Last Frontier

One of Azamara’s headline moves is its return to Alaska in summer 2026 after a seven-year hiatus. Beginning in May 2026, Azamara Pursuit is scheduled to operate a series of 10 to 13 day itineraries that combine well-loved ports with less crowded coastal communities along the Inside Passage and Gulf of Alaska.

The Alaska deployment emphasizes the line’s hallmark Extended Destination Days, with many port calls of 10 hours or more and 27 late-night departures planned. That format is expected to give guests extra time to move beyond standard shore tours and delve into activities such as guided glacier hikes, photography expeditions, local brewery tastings and cultural encounters with Indigenous communities in smaller towns.

In addition to marquee stops such as Juneau, Ketchikan and Skagway, Azamara is promoting access to more remote locations including Kodiak and Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands, as well as Icy Strait Point. The itineraries are designed for wildlife and scenery enthusiasts who value longer days ashore and unhurried evenings watching Alaska’s extended summer twilight from a small ship rather than a mega-vessel.

Solar Eclipse Sailings and Europe 2026: Itineraries Built Around Rare Moments

Azamara is also seeking to capture travelers’ imaginations with new 2026 Europe sailings centered on a total solar eclipse and some of the continent’s most sought-after coastal regions. For summer 2026, the line has scheduled 77 new itineraries in Europe, placing three of its four ships in the region between March and October.

Among the most distinctive offerings are three solar eclipse cruises in August 2026, timed so that guests can witness the celestial event from sea in prime viewing locations. The voyages, operated by ships including Azamara Onward, are set to trace routes through the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, giving eclipse chasers access to both the phenomenon itself and a string of historic ports before and after the main event.

Beyond the eclipse, Azamara is expanding its reach to smaller harbors that larger ships cannot enter. For 2026, the company is introducing five maiden European ports across its itineraries and adding new pre and post-cruise land programs. These journeys, ranging from city stays in major hubs to countryside explorations, are designed to extend trips by several nights and provide more context around the cultures and histories of the regions visited.

More Nights in Port, More Ways to Explore Ashore

Azamara’s focus on land-driven experiences is reflected in the scale of its revamped shore program. For the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the line says it will offer more than 13,000 Elevated Excursions worldwide, along with a new collection of 246 evening and overnight tours. These options aim to take advantage of late-night and overnight stays, with itineraries that range from candlelit palace performances in Palma de Mallorca to hidden-garden wine tastings at sunset in Dubrovnik.

A highlight of the updated portfolio is the Curator’s Collection, a suite of small-group, once-in-a-lifetime excursions created by the team behind Azamara’s long-running AzAmazing Evenings. Led by local experts, these outings promise behind-the-scenes access and intimate encounters, such as private museum visits, in-depth culinary workshops, or after-hours concerts in historic venues.

Azamara is also expanding its signature AzAmazing Evenings, complimentary events that bring guests into the heart of local culture. For the 2025 and 2026 deployments, the cruise line plans to introduce 34 new versions of these nights, including an Alaska-only experience in Ketchikan that pairs local brews and food with Tlingit dance performances and activities rooted in the region’s timber and maritime heritage.

Culinary, Culture and Storytelling at Sea

On board, Azamara is reshaping its programming to mirror what guests encounter ashore. Destination-themed pool-deck events on voyages of nine nights or more will transform the upper decks into open-air food festivals, with regional buffets and live local entertainment that reflect the port of call. Sailings through Greece might feature traditional music and island specialties, while a South American itinerary could highlight regional grills and folkloric dance.

The line’s main dining rooms are set to debut an Authentic Local Cuisine program with more than 150 new regionally inspired dishes, giving guests daily opportunities to taste specialties from the destinations on their itinerary. These menus are intended to complement the experiences available on land, allowing travelers to delve further into a country’s food culture long after they have left the port.

Azamara is also introducing what it describes as fireside-style evenings on deck, featuring destination experts sharing local myths, legends and contemporary stories under the night sky. Accompanied by s’mores-style desserts and spiced or spiked hot chocolate, these sessions are meant to bridge the gap between modern cruise comfort and traditional storytelling, particularly on cooler-weather voyages in regions like Northern Europe or Canada and New England.

Longer Voyages and Grand Journeys Around the Globe

Responding to growing demand for extended trips, Azamara is expanding the number and length of its Grand Voyages. For the 2025 and 2026 seasons, the line has rolled out itineraries running up to 79 nights, including an extensive round-trip sailing from Miami that encircles South America and links multiple Caribbean calls with no sea-day gaps when islands are visited back-to-back.

Looking ahead to summer 2027, Azamara has previewed an even broader program of 68 cruises and six Grand Voyages across Europe, Asia and the Americas. These extended journeys are typically constructed from multiple back-to-back itineraries, allowing guests to remain on the same ship as it shifts between regions and marquee events, from the Monaco Grand Prix to Japan’s cherry blossom season.

For travelers, the appeal lies in the ability to settle into a familiar onboard rhythm while exploring a wide geographic range. Instead of repeatedly packing and unpacking, they can use the ship as a moving base for weeks at a time, diving deeper into local cultures on shore while staff and crew develop long-term relationships with returning guests on board.

Work and Wander: Remote Professionals at Sea

Azamara is also courting a new category of cruiser: remote workers who are able to take their jobs on the road, or in this case, on the water. Its Work and Wander package, introduced earlier, remains a key pillar of this strategy, combining the line’s immersive itineraries with high-speed Starlink internet and a suite of office-style amenities.

The program provides access to monitors, keyboards, mice and adapters, as well as support from guest relations for printing and basic technical needs. The objective is to turn public spaces and staterooms into functional work environments during the day, freeing up evenings and extended port calls for exploration.

Work and Wander dovetails with Azamara’s long days in port, which can make it easier for professionals to balance video calls with real-world experiences. A typical schedule might see guests working from the ship in the morning, then heading ashore in the afternoon to hike on Madeira or attend an evening performance at the Sydney Opera House before returning to the ship late at night. The line is also encouraging networking among digital nomads and location-flexible professionals with informal meetups and happy hours on board.

Premium Positioning in a Crowded Cruise Market

Azamara’s raft of announcements comes as the global cruise industry competes fiercely for travelers who are prioritizing distinctive, experience-led vacations over simple sun-and-sand getaways. Larger brands are deploying bigger ships loaded with entertainment venues and attractions, while premium and luxury lines are carving out niches with highly customized itineraries and boutique-style service.

By emphasizing small-ship access, longer stays in port and a tightly curated mix of shore and onboard programming, Azamara is aiming to occupy a space that feels more like a slow-travel hotel collection at sea than a conventional cruise product. Its latest offerings, from Alaska’s remote harbors to Europe’s eclipse path and extended South American circuits, are calibrated to appeal to a traveler who values narrative, nuance and local connection as much as they value comfort and convenience.

For those planning 2025 through 2027 vacations, the message from Azamara is clear: the line is betting that the future of premium cruising lies not in racing between ports, but in lingering longer, going smaller and weaving each destination into a larger, more immersive journey around the world.