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Giving It a Go! 1st Timer Panama Canal 10 days post DD


Familygoboston
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I've read all the blogs, followed all the twit pics- now it's our turn! Today we are sailing on Azamara Journey, 10 days post dry dock. FamilyGoBoston is giving it go on Azamara after many years cruising Royal Carribean (and other lines)

 

We have 90 minutes of free internet, might purchase a package, but in any case, our plan is to embark as soon as possible, take lots of photos, and (in with the miracle of technology) use our wireless service to upload them from hubbys camera, to my phone, to a hosting site, and post them here in this thread tonight! (I know, who cares, you'll all be watching the Super Bowl - which I can promise you will not be as interesting without our Pats ;) ) If the Internet is workable, I'll use some minutes to post photos on our website and on our FB and Twitter accounts ocassionally throughout the cruise and try to post here when I've posted something new. Our link to our website is in my signature below, and you can follow FB and Twitter from there.

 

But this is still vacation, so mostly we will be relaxing, enjoying the company of our fellow Journey-ers, (journeymen?, LOL! ) and exploring incredible places - Cartegena, Panama Canal, Panama City, and Costa Rica. When we return (and hubby combs through his thousands of photos) I will start another thread with a complete photo review.

 

Very excited to be embarking Journey today...we've had Azamara on our radar for a long time and are finally getting to embark today on what looks like a beautifully refreshed ship with people who clearly work hard to make such a wonderful vacation that all of you speak glowingly about the crew! Can't wait to meet them and our fellow passengers!

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I hope you have an incredible trip! We did Panama Canal many years ago, when Legend of the Seas was a new ship.

 

We too did Panama Canal on Celebrity's Summit. Met some lovely friends and have stayed in touch over the years. There was a historian who did a 3/4 maybe 5 days of lectures on the Canal. I never went but my husband did and said he was amazing in his talks not to mention how the building of it was a feat in itself.

 

Have a lovely time.

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So far, no emails, no texts, no calls from TA and no posts by Bonnie that embarkation schedule has changed, so fingers crossed, it will go smoothly!

Thanks for all the well wishes! Heading out to the port soon.

 

See you at the Super Bowl party Marinaro!

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So far, no emails, no texts, no calls from TA and no posts by Bonnie that embarkation schedule has changed, so fingers crossed, it will go smoothly!

Thanks for all the well wishes! Heading out to the port soon.

 

See you at the Super Bowl party Marinaro!

 

What time?

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I've read all the blogs, followed all the twit pics- now it's our turn! Today we are sailing on Azamara Journey, 10 days post dry dock. FamilyGoBoston is giving it go on Azamara after many years cruising Royal Carribean (and other lines)

 

We have 90 minutes of free internet, might purchase a package, but in any case, our plan is to embark as soon as possible, take lots of photos, and (in with the miracle of technology) use our wireless service to upload them from hubbys camera, to my phone, to a hosting site, and post them here in this thread tonight! (I know, who cares, you'll all be watching the Super Bowl - which I can promise you will not be as interesting without our Pats ;) ) If the Internet is workable, I'll use some minutes to post photos on our website and on our FB and Twitter accounts ocassionally throughout the cruise and try to post here when I've posted something new. Our link to our website is in my signature below, and you can follow FB and Twitter from there.

 

But this is still vacation, so mostly we will be relaxing, enjoying the company of our fellow Journey-ers, (journeymen?, LOL! ) and exploring incredible places - Cartegena, Panama Canal, Panama City, and Costa Rica. When we return (and hubby combs through his thousands of photos) I will start another thread with a complete photo review.

 

Very excited to be embarking Journey today...we've had Azamara on our radar for a long time and are finally getting to embark today on what looks like a beautifully refreshed ship with people who clearly work hard to make such a wonderful vacation that all of you speak glowingly about the crew! Can't wait to meet them and our fellow passengers!

Looking forward to reading all about it.

We are joining Journey on 29 February in Los Angeles and it is our first time cruising the Panama Canal though it is our fifth Azamara cruise. You will love Azamara. 💖🚢

Have a great cruise and thanks for taking the time to tell us all about it.

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What fun - hope you have a blast!

 

My husband has friends on another message board related to shipping - they got screen shots from when we went through the Canal - husband tied a neon bandana on our balcony so they could identify us. So if you have friends at home (or here on board!) have them look for you on the locks' webcam:D

 

http://www.pancanal.com/eng/photo/camera-java.html

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We're at our Miami hotel waiting for their shuttle to take us to the port and Journey. See you on board. No Pats so the Bowl is not so Super.;) Expecting another three great Azamara cruises going to and from LA.

 

Wow, three cruises B2B, lucky! I'm trying to arrange joining the Journey somewhere in Mexico for a few days of "work". If I'm so lucky, please introduce yourself.

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we also take the same (2b2)Cruise , no 6 and 7 on AZ ,but first time cruising Panama Canal followed by an another 10 days caribbean cruise.

we read all the informative post's given by Host Andy , thank him for spending so much time .

 

we think ,everything will run in a perfect way on board

 

greetings from cold and windy Germany .

 

 

Gesendet von iPad mit Tapatalk

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What time?

Don't know exactly- but Host Andy found out they WILL be showing it- yeah! Starts at 6:30! So planning an early dinner tonight!

I'm so glad you're finally sailing with us familygoboston! I'll look forward to your posts and pictures.

Thank you Bonnie! You've been a big help for getting info to help us plan this trip, it's nice having an official AZ presence on Cruise Critic.

 

We Ubered from south Beach and arrived at the terminal at 11; we were in a line for a short time with a lot of young men packing tool belts! It took us moment to realize we were in The crew line- lol!

There were a couple of dozen people in line and the check in opened isn't after we dropped our bags with the porter. By 11:05, we finished the security check and were in line to get out sea cards and pictures taken, passports held, all checked in and sitting in chairs by 11:20. Boarding should be st 11:30- almost there! I'll tweet couple of photos!

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My favorite cruise was the Panama Canal in board the Celeberty Century.

Looking forward to following your posts.

enjoy all the ports and the day of full transit.

I do have Azamara on my list for a 2017 cruise.

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We've already met some wonderful folks on board! As soon as we boarded, at exactly 11:35 AM, we were "binged" in on Deck 5 and headed right around the corner to the Discoveries Lounge to book our specialty dining reservations. This was the only place where the wait was a bit long (meaning that there were 3 folks reserving and of course it takes each person 5 minutes or so to discuss, and book their package or reservations) We met a lovely couple right away who helped give us some insider tips, since they have sailed Azamara 15 times!

 

After booking we made our way to guest services to discuss our early disembarkation and the possibility of booking "nights in private places". We have to drop off a form to debark early and the concierge will contact us about the nights in private places possibilities. I'm thinking we may get a no, just because of Zika, even though, let's face it, ther won't be any pregnancies on this cruise for us. ;) I'll keep you posted about our success of both! We met a couple there we plan to take a tour in Cartegena with..and already, we are really enjoying the folks we've met on board and look forward to spending 10 days with them!

 

Our new experienced AZ friends saved us a spot at a table on the Windows outdoor cafe, where we joined them for an excellent lunch. After lunch, we took a few more photos of the ship, and then headed to our cabin. We took quite a few photos, but we won't be able to post those here till I return home, but you can see them on our Twitter feed! I'm about to post them right now!

 

More to come! (I've left my signature ON, so you can see our link to the Twitter account.

Edited by Familygoboston
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http://www.goseeittravel.com/travel-blog/2016/2/7/azamara-journey-post-dry-dock

 

We haven't explored the whole ship yet, (a girls gotta eat) but here's what we've seen so far! She looks lovely, and there are several folks on board still working in cetrtain venues...but here's my thought on that! On any cruise we've taken people are ALWAYS working on something, now it's making sure the new stuff is finished, but often it's repairing the old stuff...Ill take the new stuff every time! We saw Mr Pimental onboard, our seasoned AZ cruiser friends got to say hello! We've seen lots of folks previewing the ship while its in port with cameras in hand. Our own opinion, hints look great, people are friendly and accommodating, both crew and passengers. Looks to be a great cruise! :D

Edited by Familygoboston
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We've already met some wonderful folks on board! As soon as we boarded, at exactly 11:35 AM, we were "binged" in on Deck 5 and headed right around the corner to the Discoveries Lounge to book our specialty dining reservations. This was the only place where the wait was a bit long (meaning that there were 3 folks reserving and of course it takes each person 5 minutes or so to discuss, and book their package or reservations) We met a lovely couple right away who helped give us some insider tips, since they have sailed Azamara 15 times!

 

After booking we made our way to guest services to discuss our early disembarkation and the possibility of booking "nights in private places". We have to drop off a form to debark early and the concierge will contact us about the nights in private places possibilities. I'm thinking we may get a no, just because of Zika, even though, let's face it, ther won't be any pregnancies on this cruise for us. ;) I'll keep you posted about our success of both! We met a couple there we plan to take a tour in Cartegena with..and already, we are really enjoying the folks we've met on board and look forward to spending 10 days with them!

 

Our new experienced AZ friends saved us a spot at a table on the Windows outdoor cafe, where we joined them for an excellent lunch. After lunch, we took a few more photos of the ship, and then headed to our cabin. We took quite a few photos, but we won't be able to post those here till I return home, but you can see them on our Twitter feed! I'm about to post them right now!

 

More to come! (I've left my signature ON, so you can see our link to the Twitter account.

 

 

Great to be joining you! See you at the M&M at 6pm. We had a fabulous lunch on the Patio and met the CEO. Staff have been fabulous! Kudos to Azamara for a seamless embarkation process.

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http://www.goseeittravel.com/travel-blog/2016/2/7/azamara-journey-post-dry-dock

 

We haven't explored the whole ship yet, (a girls gotta eat) but here's what we've seen so far! She looks lovely, and there are several folks on board still working in cetrtain venues...but here's my thought on that! On any cruise we've taken people are ALWAYS working on something, now it's making sure the new stuff is finished, but often it's repairing the old stuff...Ill take the new stuff every time! We saw Mr Pimental onboard, our seasoned AZ cruiser friends got to say hello! We've seen lots of folks previewing the ship while its in port with cameras in hand. Our own opinion, hints look great, people are friendly and accommodating, both crew and passengers. Looks to be a great cruise! :D

Thanks for the great photographs. These are the first we have seen of the verandah staterooms and they look good. Can't wait for tapas and wine in the Living Room :):D

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Thank you for the veranda cabin photos! That's where we'll be in November ;-) Looks great - have fun!

 

Do let us know your opinions on the new chairs - have read some comments on other threads about the dining room chairs - the new Living Room chairs look like they have an uncomfortably low back as well...

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