Day Four on Journey--First Thoughts

We're on the British Open cruise, and this is our first time sailing with Azamara. Thought I'd share a few of my thoughts on the hits and misses so far.

We are in Cabin 4005, an OV. The cabin is actually a bit more spacious than I expected, so that was a plus! Storage space is decent, but I had to call for extra hangers--18 for two people for 13 days doesn't cut it. It took three calls before the attendant answered (first days are busy, of course), and he eventually brought some wire hangers, a few of which that needed to be bent back into shape. In the bathroom, aside from the bar soap, the toiletries smell very nice and I love the flip-top lids. Like most, I'm not a big fan of the shower curtain, and I wish every cruise line with showers-only in their cabins would add a small ledge so that women could shave their legs more conveniently.

My complaint about the cabin, however, is the noise from the lounge. We can hear the show every evening. I had checked the cabin reviews and a few people said they could hear the rehearsals (which we can hear), but I didn't recall anyone saying they heard the show--possibly someone said so and I missed it. As another traveler pointed out, maybe most people attend the shows and so weren't aware. Our TA and the PerryGolf rep recommended these cabins over the obstructed view OV cabins, so we paid more to be kept awake at night. I'm very unhappy with that but nothing can be done. We definitely would not book cabins under the lounge again.

Food--the embarkation day buffet in Windows was not good. My husband and I each had different entrees and neither of us liked what we had; the beef roast my husband had from the carving station was so tough he couldn't chew it. However, the dinners in Discoveries have been very good, and since then, I've had some good dishes in Windows. I like the assortment of salads they have. Something odd is that both times my husband has ordered a Cuban sandwich from the Patio he's received something different each time, and neither would he consider a Cuban. He doesn't like to complain and so has eaten what they've brought him. The first "Cuban" he really enjoyed, but has no idea what it actually was :) Today I ordered the chicken fingers, and when they brought my plate I could see that there was something mixed among the fingers that I suspected was seafood. I have a seafood intolerance, so had I not been observant, that could have been an issue. When I cut it open, it looked like a scallop, but I didn't see scallops on the menu so I'm not sure. It definitely wasn't chicken.

Service--this has been the most surprising aspect of the trip. Possibly everyone here that loves Azamara built up the service standard too much, but I have yet to experience anything even remotely close to the warm-natured, attentive service so many here have raved about. Don't get me wrong--it's not bad service, but I have not received anything better than on any other cruise line. For example, the other afternoon my husband was sitting in the area by the Mosaic Café, and an attendant asked if he could get him anything. My husband asked for a hot chocolate, and was told 'We don't have that here." Earlier today I was at Mosaic and heard someone order and receive hot chocolate. The other night, we were seated at the Patio, and I went inside Windows to make a cup of hot tea. A waiter asked where I was seated, so that he could bring the cup to me. I motioned outside and said we were on the Patio. He said, "Oh okay," and walked away without helping me. Maybe he wasn't allowed to leave Windows. And certainly I can carry my own cup, but he would have been better to have not said anything. As I went to open the door to the Patio, though, another server appeared and took my cup and carried it for me. As for other crew members, I've seen four "white shirts with gold bars" and not one has even said hello. I don't need that on my cruise, so it's not a complaint per se, but again, not what I expected after reading the Azamara board the past ten months.

As for the trip, there have been a couple of hiccups (ha!) not having anything to do with Azamara. Since we booked this trip last year, Liverpool has been listed as a docked port. As we boarded we learned it's now a tender port. Not a huge deal, but a disappointment, as I had planned on doing some walking around in the morning, coming back for lunch, and then going out again. I can still do that, but it will be more of a hassle and take more time.

The other non-Azamara problem was we had was some unfriendly seas from Guernsey to Cobh. This is I think my 8th cruise, and I've never had any motion sickness. Well, there's a first time for everything, apparently! Ten foot swells, which I guess is about twice the usual height, and many people onboard were feeling it. As it was only the second night, and never having sailed on a ship this small before, I was concerned that between our cabin location and the ship size I might have trouble the rest of the cruise. But so far, it's just been that one night. We dined with a couple last night that had been booked in Aqualina the evening with rough seas, and they said only four tables were filled. The wife said she was getting her nails done earlier that day and the technician had to leave because she wasn't feeling well; I heard the same from a woman having a massage that afternoon. Made me feel like less of a wuss that some of the staff was impacted. We were to attend a PerryGolf dinner but had to beg off after going up to the cocktail hour. Luckily my husband got some us meds from the reception desk, and we bought Seabands. I'm still not sure they help, but knowing we couldn't take more medication, it was worth a shot. I'm hoping for calm seas the rest of the trip!

Enjoyed reading your report on your first four days. So sorry about your noisy stateroom and the rough seas. I have motion sickness on most cruises at some point, even wearing the scopolamine patch! Not fun. Hope the seas relent.

We took our first (and only, so far) Azamara cruise last November. I think you'll find that, as the cruise goes on and the crew gets to know who you are, you will get that warm feeling that is often mentioned on these boards. To be sure, a number of the frequent posters on this board have done so many AZ cruises that the crew knows them when they come aboard. They enjoy quite a different experience that we new to AZ cruisers do. We were aboard for 27 days and certainly felt the extraordinary good service compared to Celebrity (the only other cruise line we have been on). The crew strive to please you. When we asked for something, they always tried to say yes.

Hope you'll post again.

Cynthia

Reading this does remind me to be realistic on our first Azamara in October.

There is always hot chocolate on ship and on deck 5. Not sure who is working there this cruise. all crew know it is there.

Heard about the sea on facebook. glad i was not in my cabin. The pills put me to sleep.

Hi Hiccups, thanks for the report. Hang in there...last year on this cruise we had some lovely weather so I will cross my fingers that it improves for you!

Hi Hiccups, I have good news for you. Journey is due in Norn Iron (Belfast) on Tuesday and the weather is looking good, you should be getting 70°+

Hope you enjoy the final day of The Open on Sunday.

My complaint about the cabin, however, is the noise from the lounge. We can hear the show every evening. I had checked the cabin reviews and a few people said they could hear the rehearsals (which we can hear), but I didn't recall anyone saying they heard the show--possibly someone said so and I missed it. As another traveler pointed out, maybe most people attend the shows and so weren't aware. Our TA and the PerryGolf rep recommended these cabins over the obstructed view OV cabins, so we paid more to be kept awake at night. I'm very unhappy with that but nothing can be done. We definitely would not book cabins under the lounge again.

 

If you read the reviews of these far forward cabins and people let you know that you would hear the show rehearsals, why did you not think that you would hear the actual shows in the evening? :confused:

 

If you read the reviews of these far forward cabins and people let you know that you would hear the show rehearsals, why did you not think that you would hear the actual shows in the evening? :confused:

 

That was my thought as well.

As far as the officers being so friendly, I was also a bit disappointed at first on our Azamara Quest cruise last November. The few officers we did see weren't any more friendly than those on our previous cruises with Celebrity. I did notice some of them having very friendly conversations with some obviously repeat passengers.

As the cruise went along it didn't bother me since we were having such a great time. The overall service from the crew was friendlier and better than we had experienced previously on other cruise lines.

 

We look forward to the 2019 British Isles cruise on the Journey that we have booked.

 

My complaint about the cabin, however, is the noise from the lounge. We can hear the show every evening. I had checked the cabin reviews and a few people said they could hear the rehearsals (which we can hear), but I didn't recall anyone saying they heard the show--possibly someone said so and I missed it. As another traveler pointed out, maybe most people attend the shows and so weren't aware. Our TA and the PerryGolf rep recommended these cabins over the obstructed view OV cabins, so we paid more to be kept awake at night. I'm very unhappy with that but nothing can be done. We definitely would not book cabins under the lounge again.

 

 

 

If you read the reviews of these far forward cabins and people let you know that you would hear the show rehearsals, why did you not think that you would hear the actual shows in the evening? :confused:

 

 

 

We stayed in 4006 on the journey in march and never heard anything during rehearsal or during the shows. Of course we had 18' seas a few days so some of the shows were cancelled. Not all though as we were on 16 nights.

I would book one of these cabins again over the 8's any day; they are tiny.

Have you heard of the app Rain Rain? It's white noise for your phone. I use it often to drown out noise when I'm trying to sleep

 

 

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Enjoyed your balanced feedback on your 1st 4 days. Hope you have calmer seas the rest of your cruise.

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If they were hearing the shows then they never went out at night. shows are over by 2230.

Re. stateroom location : the noise factor applies also to those above the Cabaret Lounge.

Re. "motion in the ocean" : quite a few places around the globe are notoriously rougher than the 10 foot swell you encountered on one of the less smooth, but by no means roughest stretches of water. We prefer to sail midships on a low deck, where the ship is most stable, as one never knows when mother nature will get a bit angry. Ginger, either crystallised or in tablet form is an excellent in preventing motion sickness without the side effect of drowsiness caused by antihistamines.

Re. Food allergies : I am allergic to shellfish and crustacea, but love and enjoy scalefish and relevant crew members are aware. Those items marked are easy to avoid, but I always double check in Windows that all the dishes available are safe for me to eat. The unexpected sometimes turns up . . . for example Oyster Sauce in a Ginger & Teryaki Salmon dish and on one occasion the same Oyster Sauce in a Duck dish in Discoveries Restaurant. Both Oyster & Fish Sauce are often used in bulk prepared stir fry dishes, be they meat, fish or vegetable.

**Just ask and the server will find out if any given dish is safe for you to eat . . . nobody wants you to be getting sick!

Next time you see a "white shirt with gold bars" you could be proactive, smile and say good morning, or whatever is the appropriate time of day.

Sit back relax and enjoy the rest of your cruise. The Journey crew are great :)

Reading this does remind me to be realistic on our first Azamara in October.

My first cruise on Azamara is coming up in January next year, and I agree completely with your sentiments.

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Unfortunately July/August is often a rocky time around the UK. It is tidal and there is always swell but then if wind gets added to it, it becomes more challenging. I think many overseas agents are not aware of it or gloss over that fact and think it's summer and storms are winter. Hope it calms down for you soon, though up in Scotland we've had a less friendly weather system locked over us for a time.

When you order at the Patio (or anywhere for that matter) make sure you find a supervisor (they wear ties) and advise them of your allergies until they get to know you. Although we are more regular cruisers we still follow that routine as we do anywhere we eat out. Unfortunately even in the top places, land and sea, mistakes get made. And yes, we've had them on Journey but spotted it. They were correctly dealt with - I'm not sure if you highlighted your issue to a supervisor but it's really important so they can share the mistakes and staff learn to be more alert. We take the view wherever we eat that we share responsibility for being alert when eating and of course always have the epipen travelling with us.

Hope as the cruise progresses you start to feel "more loved" - as others say, speak up and let people know what you like/don't like. You should have a mid cruise survey, tell them in that what you've written here, it's important the Hotel Director realises his staff aren't yet getting it right for you.

I think your server at Mosaic must have been a new member of crew because It's extraordinary that he told your husband hot chocolate was unavailable.

Admit that I am a fairly frequent cruiser with Azamara but experienced the friendliness and care from my first cruise with them and on every one since. We often comment how much we like the fact that everyone is treated well regardless of the number of times sailed with the line or the category of stateroom selected.

Friends have been invited to Journey for lunch tomorrow when the ship is in Dublin. They are really looking forward to it.

I hope everything gets better for you as the cruise progresses including the weather

I think your server at Mosaic must have been a new member of crew because It's extraordinary that he told your husband hot chocolate was unavailable.

 

 

 

Admit that I am a fairly frequent cruiser with Azamara but experienced the friendliness and care from my first cruise with them and on every one since. We often comment how much we like the fact that everyone is treated well regardless of the number of times sailed with the line or the category of stateroom selected.

 

 

 

Friends have been invited to Journey for lunch tomorrow when the ship is in Dublin. They are really looking forward to it.

 

 

 

I hope everything gets better for you as the cruise progresses including the weather

You may be correct about the new crew member. We are on this cruise and there are not a lot of familiar faces in the staff; however, that may just reflect that we have not been on Journey for quite a while.

There is certainly hot chocolate available at each boarding location when we return to the ship, an offering I don't remember in Norway last summer.

One advantage we enjoyed at St. Peter Port, Guernsey, was that despite some rough conditions we were able to tender, whilst our "cousin ship" in port (as Captain Johannes referred to the Celebrity Silhouette) could not, since it had to berth further out. Meeting a cruiser from that ship he told me that many on board the Silhouette were not happy.

Captain Johannes also kept us well informed about the worsening seas on the 20th, advising cruisers early in to take the necessary precautions. Based upon the number of people in Discoveries that evening, the steps taken must have worked well indeed.

I hope the OP does experience some of the excellent

service we have enjoyed. And I commend her for posting her comments, given that the Internet service has been quite woeful.

You may be correct about the new crew member. We are on this cruise and there are not a lot of familiar faces in the staff; however, that may just reflect that we have not been on Journey for quite a while.

 

There is certainly hot chocolate available at each boarding location when we return to the ship, an offering I don't remember in Norway last summer.

 

One advantage we enjoyed at St. Peter Port, Guernsey, was that despite some rough conditions we were able to tender, whilst our "cousin ship" in port (as Captain Johannes referred to the Celebrity Silhouette) could not, since it had to berth further out. Meeting a cruiser from that ship he told me that many on board the Silhouette were not happy.

 

Captain Johannes also kept us well informed about the worsening seas on the 20th, advising cruisers early in to take the necessary precautions. Based upon the number of people in Discoveries that evening, the steps taken must have worked well indeed.

 

I hope the OP does experience some of the excellent

service we have enjoyed. And I commend her for posting her comments, given that the Internet service has been quite woeful.

Nordski,

I am so glad you are enjoying your cruise on Journey but embarrassed that the UK is providing only variable weather in the middle of summer. Things can only get better.😄

We board Quest on Saturday in Barcelona where I suspect they won't be offering hot chocolate at each boarding location. Think it more likely it will be the coldest water they can find.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. I hope we may find ourselves on the same ship at the same time one day

hiccups,

Thanks for your review! You bring to light the fact that setting expectations not being met is a real disappointment. Everyone on this board seems to be a big fan of Azamara, and I suspect justifiably so. That being said I also admire your courage at pointing out the negatives as well as the positives. Sometimes with a negative review, the Poster gets flack.

I happen to be a USNavy Vereran and have experienced 30 foot swells regularly on a ship 1/2 the length with a 40 foot beam that's the width of the Presidential suite on M class ships. So weather really doesn't get me sick or really bother me.

For the reason you had stated, being under the lounge, the noise. I always bring ear plugs for that very reason. These ships are made out of aluminum and steel which are 2 very good conductors of noise.

Generally the day you board is the day the previous pax leave. I am sure it is like a Clown Firedrill on board. Everyone cleaning, polishing, replenishing, within a relative small window of time opportunity to complete. The first day of any embarking cruise is really hectic. So it's understandable about hangars etc.

Lastly, I really hope you continue to give us your observations of this cruise. Hopefully it will be the one where your expectations are fulfilled.

We are in cabin 4005-----Our TA and the PerryGolf rep recommended these cabins over the obstructed view OV cabins, so we paid more to be kept awake at night. I'm very unhappy with that but nothing can be done. We definitely would not book cabins under the lounge again.

Really wonder why a forward cabin was recommended.

Maybe, not selling?

I would never book forward. On one cruise we were in a mid ship's cabin and couldn't believe how we felt the rocking and rolling when we went to deck 14 forward ( on a Celebrity ship)

Lesson learned.

Sorry you aren't feeling the love so much on Journey. I'll reply to some of your comments, not because I'm having a go at you, but as a few are easy fixes it may help others.

Firstly the cabin. Yes, you'll hear the Cabaret Lounge of an evening in 4005 as well as rehearsals some afternoons. I've been in a cabin above the show lounge and heard it. However the lack of negative comments here about noise in the evenings is probably because most are out of their cabins. To say kept awake at night gives the wrong impression. The very latest time the shows run to is 10.45pm. I choose the cat 05 OVs if I have a window because they are better positioned, but you may not have had a choice.

Food. I'd absolutely raise the issue at the time. No point in not saying anything. You post here that you aren't happy without giving a chance for anyone to put things right. Drinks. Just ask one of the servers at the venue you are in to get it for you. If you ask at The Patio they'd get a cup of tea or coffee from windows no problem. I've never fetched a drink for myself. I'm not sure what you mean by the area near Mosaic. They definitely would do you a hot chocolate in Mosaic, so don't know what is going on.

As for the friendliness of the officers, I've always found them very friendly (some more than others) especially if I smile and engage with them.

Hope the rest of your cruise improves as time goes on and the seas are kinder. The UK weather can be very fickle at any time. As norniron mentioned I think you may luck out next couple of days as west seems best!

Phil

 

If you read the reviews of these far forward cabins and people let you know that you would hear the show rehearsals, why did you not think that you would hear the actual shows in the evening? :confused:

 

Well, we all can't think of everything when considering a cabin, and if I recall, if we didn't want an obstructed view, the forward cabins might have been the only available cabins when we booked last September. It's interesting--until about the end of April there were almost 30 balcony cabins available, with just about all the non-obstructed OVs gone. For awhile there, I had hoped we might score an LCV upgrade, but overnight the balcony cabins were booked up by a group out of Seattle, I heard on our roll call. Not every review commented on the noise from rehearsals--I thought perhaps it was just a fluke on certain days for people with very sensitive hearing. Which, my husband will tell you, I do not have :) I definitely have noticed some shows are quieter than others, which helps. I brought along earplugs and so have been using those as well.

 

Our cabin is also noisy and suffers from vibrations on docking/tendering and departing, but luckily that's short-lived.

 

Another thing I forgot to mention I like about the cabin is the amount of storage space in the bathroom--it was great to be able to unpack my toiletries.

 

One nitpick about the cabin is that there was a split of wine and a few beers in the fridge, neither of which are in the included drink package. I knew because I'd seen the list they were an extra charge, but my husband wouldn't have known. I would guess at least a few first-time passengers probably had a drink before realizing it was an extra charge.

 

I think for meals, we'll stick with Discoveries whenever possible, as it's consistently had the best food. We've really enjoyed the breakfasts--yesterday the fruit carving station had pomegranate, yum! I've never seen that on any other cruise ship so that was very enjoyable.

 

Service continues to be good, but not at the "extra" level I might have anticipated. But again, that is not a complaint on the service, just an observation based on other posts. Today when I returned to the ship from the tender, a few other passengers and I were on the top deck. When we got to the lower level, all the crew that had been on the ferry stepped aside and motioned us to go before them, which was very nice.

 

As nordski noted, unless we're in port, internet has been pretty poor. Thank goodness for the LCV discount on the unlimited package!

 

The hot chocolate has been a nice touch when returning to the ship on the chillier days.

 

One aspect I hadn't been aware of on Azamara that is a great feature has been the local representative on board at each of the ports with maps, tour brochures, etc. If that's been available on other lines we've sailed, I've missed it, and it's a fantastic help because I didn't book many excursions on this trip. In Holyhead they had pens and keychains, so I picked one up for the spare key for the pet sitter when we get back :)

Hi Hiccups

Don't forget to fill in your mid cruise questionairre where any problems or niggles you highlight should be addressed.

I am also sure that Bonnie or even someone from the ship will have read your initial post and will be acting on improving your experience. It should not be necessary though should it?!

We also had a similar experience and feeling about the staff/guest interaction following our Asia cruise in December, most were great, genuine and a true credit to Axamara others barely spoke and never made eye contact. It did not bother us or affect our experience however, it wasn't what we had experienced previously not what we had read about in guest reviews.

We find that if you interact with the crew they will interact back with you, when we did our first Azamara cruise 7 years ago on the second day I went down for breakfast and one of the waiters, Ernesto he was on the Quest that cruise, saw me alone and asked me where Mr Eric was this morning, I just about freaked out that he remembered our names just after One full day on the ship! On our 3rd Azamara cruise 2 years ago the 16 night cruise from MIA-ATH we were SO happy to see Ernesto (NeSs ) was on our cruise it was like Old Homecoming week, he knew us and we knew him Instantly!! And on that cruise we had a Nice conversation, which is now one of the hotel directors, they Really do want want to talk to you! Capt Carl is awesome! So please give us your review After your full 13 days! Try Prime C and Aqualina you will Really enjoy them!!

 

 

 

One nitpick about the cabin is that there was a split of wine and a few beers in the fridge, neither of which are in the included drink package. I knew because I'd seen the list they were an extra charge, but my husband wouldn't have known. I would guess at least a few first-time passengers probably had a drink before realizing it was an extra charge.

 

:)

 

 

Personally, I think this is more than a nitpick.

 

Your room steward should have explained that extra charge to you.

 

The "Attention to Detail" form is out, and you may choose to mention that omission.

 

Looking forward to your further thoughts.

 

 

 

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I'm enjoying reading your reviews hiccups! We were told by our steward which drinks in our fridge were free upon first arriving in our cabin, and you should have been too. Hope you continue to enjoy your cruise☺

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