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Royal Caribbean Cruises announced on May 4th the launch of a new cruise line, Azamara Cruises, which will operate two small deluxe cruise ships in direct competition with Oceania cruises.

Azamara's first ship, the Azamara Journey, set sail only a day after the line was created on a cruise to Bermuda.

"This new line falls into what we consider the deluxe category -- a category between premium and luxury," said Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean.

The company initially planned to add the two 710-passenger vessels to the fleet of Celebrity Cruises, a premium line whose ships are considerably larger, but decided it made more sense to create a new upmarket line.

The Journey, and a second one just like it that will join the new line in October as the Azamara Quest, were operated by Pullmantur, a Spanish cruise line acquired by Royal Caribbean last fall.

The company just completed a $19 million makeover of the Journey, and the Quest will be similarly overhauled before joining the Azamara.

The new line will compete directly with Oceania Cruises, whose three ships and the two Azamara ships are all sisters that were operated originally by the defunct Renaissance cruises. Three other sister ships are now operated by Princess.

''We saw an underserved niche,'' said Daniel Hanrahan, president of Celebrity who will hold the same title for Azamara Cruises. "We'll definitely be competing with Oceania. They do an absolutely terrific job, and we admire what they do.''

Azamara will offer exotic itineraries in South America, Europe and Asia, with emphasis on the destinations. In 2010, Azamara plans to begin around-the-world trips.