Azamara Cruises will open a new UK call centre next month to provide greater support to agents.

The call centre will be live for external callers from June 3 and will be fully up and running from July 1.

Azamara said the centre will provide localised support to help “increase the productivity and efficiency of inbound calls” in a bid to achieve greater agent and customer satisfaction.

The call centre will have 22 dedicated staff, 15 of whom will be customer-facing agents, with five internal agents, one team leader and one manager.

They will all be available from 8am – 6pm from Monday to Friday, while agents in North America will assist from 6pm – 8pm during the week and 10am – 6.30pm on Saturdays.

Managing director for the UK David Duff (pictured) said: “This is another really exciting step for the company. As a UK sales team, we are now reaching more agents than ever before so it was vital we introduced a service that would offer greater support to our growing network of travel partners.

“Having a team of call handlers that understand the nuances and needs of the UK market will be fundamental in the continued growth for Azamara.”

Dondra Ritzenthaler, who took up her role as chief executive of Azamara earlier this month, said: “The UK has long been a leading market for Azamara but its growth in recent years under David’s leadership has been extremely impressive.

“The demand for a UK call centre is a testament to their hard work as the market continues to grow.

“As I step into my new role, I remain committed to investing in our key international markets to ensure we’re constantly developing and improving our services and support.”