Azamara Signs New Agreement With Steiner

Hi Everyone,

Found this on the Interent : http://globenewswire.com/news-release/2014/03/13/618085/10072515/en/Steiner-Leisure-Limited-Announces-New-Agreement-With-Azamara-Club-Cruises.html

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NASSAU, The Bahamas, March 13, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Steiner Leisure Limited (Nasdaq:STNR) today announced that it has entered into a new agreement with Azamara Club Cruises, a brand of Royal Caribbean International, that extends the term of its original agreement through December 2017. Under this agreement, Steiner will continue in its longstanding role as the exclusive provider of spas, salons and fitness centers and related beauty and wellness services and products on Azamara vessels currently sailing, as well as any vessels introduced to the Azamara fleet during the term of this agreement. Steiner's offerings will now also include the provision of medi-spa services.

Leonard Fluxman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Steiner Leisure, said, "We are very pleased to announce the continuation of our relationship with Azamara, a distinctive brand of Royal Caribbean, with which we have collaborated successfully for many years. Azamara presents its guests with the unique opportunity to become immersed in the sights and cultures of numerous exotic destinations, which Azamara's smaller ships, unlike many other ships, are able to access. Longer stays in ports and more extensive touring hours, coupled with a more intimate shipboard environment, provide travelers an unparalleled respite from the ordinary retreat. In our beautiful facilities, our highly skilled staff delivers an array of spa, salon and fitness offerings, designed to complete our guests' voyages by guiding them to reboot, relax and revitalize. We've also added medi-spa services to our menu, culminating in an even more comprehensive selection of choices. We look forward to elevating the vacation experiences of our Azamara guests with our renowned hospitality and unmatched expertise."

Steiner Leisure Limited is a worldwide provider and innovator in the fields of beauty, wellness and education. We are dedicated to maintaining the highest quality standards and continually evolving to include and anticipate new developments within our industry. We aim to maintain and expand our existing diverse portfolio of services, products and brands, as well as to seek out new opportunities to complement our business.

Our services include traditional and alternative massage, body and skin treatment options, fitness, acupuncture, herbal medicine, medi-spa treatments and laser hair removal. We are committed to providing our customers with a wide-ranging assortment of beauty products, including premium quality options developed by us under our own brands, as well as those purchased from third parties.

Our distribution channels include our shipboard and land-based spas and salons, destination spas, health clubs, department stores and third party retail outlets and distributors. We also sell our products on certain British Airways flights, on QVC, by catalog, and online through our websites, including www.timetospa.com and www.blissworld.com.

Our post secondary schools offer programs in massage therapy and skin care, among others, and, along with our recruiting and training operations, prepare spa professionals for careers in the health and wellness industry, including within the Steiner family of companies.

Our cruise line operations are conducted in spas onboard 155 ships, including Azamara Club Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines, Crystal Cruises, Cunard Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Ibero Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Seabourn Cruise Lines, Silversea Cruises and Windstar Cruises.

Our land-based spa operations are carried out under our Elemis®, Mandara®, Chavana®, Bliss® and Remède® brands and take place in 68 locations, including resort spas, urban hotel spas and day spas. In addition, a total of 28 resort and hotel spas are operated under our brands by third parties pursuant to license agreements with the company. Our land-based customers include Caesar's Entertainment, Hilton Hotels, Kerzner International, Loews Hotels, Marriott Hotels, Nikko Hotels, Planet Hollywood, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, St. Regis Hotels, W Hotels and Resorts and Westin Hotels and Resorts.

Our Ideal Image customized laser hair removal services are provided by highly trained, experienced practitioners through a nationwide network of 126 treatment centers (17 of which are operated by franchisees) across 31 states, as well as one location in Canada.

We develop and sell a variety of high quality beauty products under our Elemis, La Thérapie™, Bliss, Remède, Laboratoire Remède® and Jou® brands.

Our schools operations consist of 12 post-secondary schools (comprised of a total of 32 campuses) located in Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and Tucson, Arizona; Westminster and Aurora, Colorado; Groton, Newington and Westport, Connecticut; Miami, Orlando, Pinellas Park, Pompano Beach, Sarasota and Tampa/St. Pete, Florida; Chicago, Crystal Lake and Woodridge, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Las Vegas, Nevada; Hoboken and Wall, New Jersey; King of Prussia and York, Pennsylvania; Arlington, Houston and Richardson, Texas; Salt Lake City and Lindon, Utah; Charlottesville, Virginia; and Federal Way and Seattle, Washington. Offering programs in massage therapy and, in some cases, skin care, these schools train and qualify spa professionals for health and beauty positions within the industry, including our own operations.

As part of our employee recruitment operations for our shipboard spas, we provide education to our shipboard employees through our rigorous training programs, at our primary training facilities near London, England or one of our satellite training centers in South Africa and the Philippines. These employees are sourced primarily from the British Isles, Australia, South Africa, Southeast Asia, Canada, the Caribbean and continental Europe.

crap. was hoping for someone else, like canyon ranch...anyone but steiner.

oh well.

was hoping for someone else, like canyon ranch...anyone but steiner.

 

oh well.

As Celebrity just signed with Canyon Ranch, I thought that might be a possibility for Azamara. However, as most of us are aware, Azamara is run separately from Celebrity, and makes their own decisions.

I'm not a Spa person, so I cannot pass any judgement on Steiner or Canyon Ranch.... but I also moderate the Celebrity forum, and most of the member comments are very positive about Celebrity making the change to the new vendor.

I happen to be on the first Celebrity Eclipse sailing (April 5th) which will feature Canyon onboard, and will be sure to share my observations at the Celebrity forum. Stay Tuned !

As Celebrity just signed with Canyon Ranch, I thought that might be a possibility for Azamara. However, as most of us are aware, Azamara is run separately from Celebrity, and makes their own decisions.

 

I'm not a Spa person, so I cannot pass any judgement on Steiner or Canyon Ranch.... but I also moderate the Celebrity forum, and most of the member comments are very positive about Celebrity making the change to the new vendor.

 

I happen to be on the first Celebrity Eclipse sailing (April 5th) which will feature Canyon onboard, and will be sure to share my observations at the Celebrity forum. Stay Tuned !

Thanks Andy,

We are spa people and now spend the least time in steiner operated spas than any we ever have, due to past experiences.

They just do not focus on proper training, customer service, customer focus. in our opinion. It seems to be all about increasing revenue at the cost of losing clientèle.

Sure, there is a stand-out person ocassionaly...but rare in our experiences.

Treat your clients right and the revenue will grow.

Oceania has Canyon Ranch and the prices are so off the charts that I NEVER book a spa appointment on Oceania. Be careful what you wish for. I wonder if the prices will be the same on Celebrity where the demographic is generally less affluent. $250 for a 50 minute massage is not unusual on O -- ridiculous IMO.

A massage or a facial is only as good as the operator -- and a bad operator can pop up even at the most exclusive spas. I happen to like Elemis products. I am ok with this decision, although the quality of the spa is not even a factor for me when booking a cruise.

Oceania has Canyon Ranch and the prices are so off the charts that I NEVER book a spa appointment on Oceania. Be careful what you wish for. I wonder if the prices will be the same on Celebrity where the demographic is generally less affluent. $250 for a 50 minute massage is not unusual on O -- ridiculous IMO.

 

A massage or a facial is only as good as the operator -- and a bad operator can pop up even at the most exclusive spas. I happen to like Elemis products. I am ok with this decision, although the quality of the spa is not even a factor for me when booking a cruise.

Having just come off of an Oceania cruise, I heartily endorse your point. DW did partake of a Canyon Ranch massage on a port day when they offered a special, but even those are few and far between with Canyon Ranch on Oceania. Also, we found CR spa management to be less than friendly.

I do enjoy using the spa on whatever ship I am on but I have to say that the companies running them are much the same IMHO. It's the individual practitioner that makes the experience good or not so good.

I have always enjoyed my Spa experiences on Azamara but the best was actually on Oceania Marina Canyon Ranch Spa.....despite being rather expensive. I felt great for days, so I think it was worth it. I had a lot of OBC to use so I spent it in the Spa.

So disappointed that Azamara has signed with Steiner again. We rarely use the Spa anymore as a result of the post-treatment hard sell to buy product. We also found the personal trainer to be inexperienced and, unless you were already fit, not at all useful.

I took advantage of a special at the spa on our January cruise and I thought the technician was really good and I enjoyed the experience. Yes, there is a little selling at the end but I just smiled and said "thanks, I'll think about it" and I didn't feel terribly pressured. It is the same on land...spas make much of their profit selling product.

Now that Steiner is on the ships again. Is there any chance that Elemis products (shampoo, conditioner, etc.) will be used again in the cabins? I like Elemis.