On Tuesday, Larry Pimentel, Azamara Cruises’ president, announced that the cruise line brand is changing to reflect a new, “up market, baby-boomer” clientele who want more destination-driven itineraries. The cruise line will now be known as Azamara Club Cruises. With a new logo and a tag line: “You’ll love where we take you.”

“We will be a very different and unique product with a destination-driven focus that is all about culture, sounds, food and wine. Destinations will be our cornerstone,” Pimentel says.

The company will focus on four key pillars:

1. Destination immersion - We’re in no hurry (you can go on short voyages or long voyages. Seven-day voyages can be connected into longer ones). Additionally, to enhance the port experience tours will be broken down into “track experiences” – cultural, cuisine, and shopping.

2. Exceptional service – already a great product and taking it to an upscale level. Adding better trained butlers and concierge services.

3. Cuisine and wine – 8,000 bottles of wine on vessels. More inclusive cruising that will have complementary wine at lunch and dinner.

4. Wellness and vigor – amazing spa experience all surrounding wellness and vigor. The product will be refined.

The rebranding to Azamara Club Cruises reflects those changes. Why change the brand now? “The brand needed to be tweaked; the brand needed focus,” said Pimentel. Additionally, the product will become more inclusive with in addition to adding the aforementioned wine at lunch and dinner will include coffee, soda, bottled water, shuttles in port, gratuities, and self-service laundry — these changes will start in April 2010. There will also be a new loyalty program for repeat guests called Le Club Voyage. “Repeat guests are our biggest customers,” says Edie Bornstein, Azamara’s vice president of sales and marketing.

Alas, all these upgrades will come at a price – literally. Pimentel says the pricing will absolutely be higher to reflect the upgrades.

Larry Pimentel resigned as CEO of SeaDream Yacht Club on January 2 over disagreements with the direction the company is taking. Pimentel would not elaborate on the disagreements, and said that he did not have any solidified plans for what he would do next. Atle Brynestad, SeaDream’s owner and chairman, replaced Pimentel as SeaDream’s CEO. Pimentel and Brynestad co-launched SeaDream in 2002 after Pimentel stepped down as president and CEO of Cunard Line.