Live on the Azamara Journey 11/27-12/4

[dfishner]

Well this is our second day on the Journey and have to say the pictures of the Journey I have seen does this ship no justice the Journey is a very nice looking ship and for it size it is layed out quite well plenty of space it has many of the amenties of a large ship that has really surprised me to have so much.

 

Our meet and mingle was on the first night in the looking glass and we were told it was one of the largest group they have seen and it was great to see those who I have been chatting with for month..

 

What stands out so far to us since we started on this cruise is one word..Staff this staff is trully amazing in every aspect. If you do not like something they will change it no questions asked. I have not recieved a no from anyone. This staff wrote the book on hospitality..

 

We are in a balcony cabin on the 7th deck and found the cabin is nicely laid out and do like the high table on the balcony do not like the shower and refuse to use it I am using the one in the gym. the one is the cabin is way to small and not sure how anyone uses it..

 

Food is much better then any mass market ship we have been on but it is not the best we ever had. The menu are creative but we felt they need to use more spice it is just our personal opinion. I like everything we had so far and the wait staff is awesome..We do Prime C tonight and Aqualina on Thursday.

 

I was concerned there was not going to be enough entertainment but so far we have really enjoyed the entertainment Eric the CD is incredible..

 

All I can do is shake my head because I cannot believe how much is available on this ship.I am trully loving the Journey..I am all ready looking at 2013 for Spain..

[SkystheLimit]

Thank you for taking the time to post. We have sailed on the Quest but not the Journey. Nice to hear you are enjoying your cruise. Would love to hear about some of the activities if you have time.

[uktog]

Excellent news, so glad you are enjoying the Journey thanks for taking the time to post your experiences to date. Look forward to hearing more

[marinaro44]

At 6'5" and 200 pounds, I had no problem at all using the shower in a veranda stateroom.

[dfishner]

Well the new stores have opened up yesterday have no idea what the old ones looked like but what they have is very nice and trendy.

 

Did the bridge tour today it was informative and glad we did it.

 

Azamara continues to impress me as this week goes on, if you happen to make a comment that you did not like something my god they are all over you LOL let me get you something else , I am so sorry it was not up to your specifications. I have to tell you these people want to insure you are happy with your experience...It has sold me and I just booked another cruise with them.

[cindilouwho]

Well the new stores have opened up yesterday have no idea what the old ones looked like but what they have is very nice and trendy.

 

Did the bridge tour today it was informative and glad we did it.

 

Azamara continues to impress me as this week goes on, if you happen to make a comment that you did not like something my god they are all over you LOL let me get you something else , I am so sorry it was not up to your specifications. I have to tell you these people want to insure you are happy with your experience...It has sold me and I just booked another cruise with them.

 

You are making me salivate with anticipation!!!!!!

 

Don't buy everything!! Have OBC - willing to BUY!!!

 

Mama needs a new "something"!!!

 

:eek:

[Andy]

Hi Dale,

 

I'm so happy to hear you are having a wonderful time on Journey. Have a fantastic time, and we look forward to your updates.

[insidecabin]

New stores?

 

They had just changed when we did the TA in April, so whats new this time?

 

I have to say that entertainment also suprised us on the TA, we had antisipated a quiet trip but Eric(CD), the entertainment manager and their team did a great job with 12 sea days. Fun packed days and good shows, they all worked very hard.

[Diane Rose]

New stores?

 

They had just changed when we did the TA in April, so whats new this time?

 

I have to say that entertainment also suprised us on the TA, we had antisipated a quiet trip but Eric(CD), the entertainment manager and their team did a great job with 12 sea days. Fun packed days and good shows, they all worked very hard.

 

We are considering doing the transatlantic voyage that has 8 sea days. Just wondering what types of entertainment/activities these days will be filled with.

 

Diane

[insidecabin]

We are considering doing the transatlantic voyage that has 8 sea days. Just wondering what types of entertainment/activities these days will be filled with.

 

Diane

 

I have the daily programs still, here is a sample for a typical day.

 

 

Quizes/trivia: 6 2 are acumulators a team and battle of the sexes

Games/Wii: 5, typcal cruise stuff, the Wii was great

Fitness: 4 stretch etc. many included + a couple of pay for special like a boot camp.

well being/spa seminas: 2-3 a day

shop seminars

Enrichment : 3 lecture series and daily dance classe

Hosted Bridge:

casino : texas + others not well attended

Bingo :

tastings: wine, wiskey etc.(some included for top level le Club)

Food/cooking demos

 

between 9-5 there were at least 3 things for each 1/2 hour slot.

 

add in meal specials: 2 Brunches(VERY GOOD), an officersBBQ(also very good).

 

evening similar to any ship, a main show, a secondary show/gameshow, music in bars, themed party(eg 60's) and disco.

 

We had Eric as CD and along with the team they did a great job filling the entertainment spots.

 

Throw in a couple of cocktail events, happy hours in the bars, some great sunsets at the aft outside area(between 6-7 mosts days doing Miami to rome) grab a snack from the buffet and a glass or two of wine.

 

During the trip people settled into routines and we ended up spending time with the same people often dining together, the music quizes turned into singalongs, the Wii got quite competative, Battle of the sexes had Husband wife fueds, the accumulator was a great laugh and had probably 100+ pax involved.

 

The lecture series were good but we had seen 2 of them before on Celebrity.

 

Our days were full.

[Diane Rose]

I have the daily programs still, here is a sample for a typical day.

 

 

Quizes/trivia: 6 2 are acumulators a team and battle of the sexes

Games/Wii: 5, typcal cruise stuff, the Wii was great

Fitness: 4 stretch etc. many included + a couple of pay for special like a boot camp.

well being/spa seminas: 2-3 a day

shop seminars

Enrichment : 3 lecture series and daily dance classe

Hosted Bridge:

casino : texas + others not well attended

Bingo :

tastings: wine, wiskey etc.(some included for top level le Club)

Food/cooking demos

 

between 9-5 there were at least 3 things for each 1/2 hour slot.

 

add in meal specials: 2 Brunches(VERY GOOD), an officersBBQ(also very good).

 

evening similar to any ship, a main show, a secondary show/gameshow, music in bars, themed party(eg 60's) and disco.

 

We had Eric as CD and along with the team they did a great job filling the entertainment spots.

 

Throw in a couple of cocktail events, happy hours in the bars, some great sunsets at the aft outside area(between 6-7 mosts days doing Miami to rome) grab a snack from the buffet and a glass or two of wine.

 

During the trip people settled into routines and we ended up spending time with the same people often dining together, the music quizes turned into singalongs, the Wii got quite competative, Battle of the sexes had Husband wife fueds, the accumulator was a great laugh and had probably 100+ pax involved.

 

The lecture series were good but we had seen 2 of them before on Celebrity.

 

Our days were full.

 

Amazing, they really do fill the days.

 

Do you recall about the disco at night? What time do they usually start the dancing?

 

Diane

[uktog]

Hi

We will be on in three weeks time and just wondering who is your Hotel Director, Guest relations and F and B manager on your trip?

I know it is coming to an end for you so really looking forward to hearing how it was

A

[Grandma Gilly]

Really great to hear how much you are enjoying yourself. Keep the reports coming!

[cardiffmatch]

Hi

We will be on in three weeks time and just wondering who is your Hotel Director, Guest relations and F and B manager on your trip?

I know it is coming to an end for you so really looking forward to hearing how it was

A

 

Hi uktog,

We were on the cruise with Dale. The hotel director is Heike, Guest relations Liezl and F&B Fred. They will all be on for your cruise.

 

CM

[California Native]

Well the new stores have opened up yesterday have no idea what the old ones looked like but what they have is very nice and trendy.

 

 

In November 2010 on my Live from thread....I reported that they were some of the saddest malnourished shops I had ever seen on the high seas!

We were promised big changes were coming and it looks like a year later they have been unveiled!!!!

Congratulations to Azamara! It just shows that they take our feedback seriously, we just have to be patient!

Now I just need to get back onboard so I can shop!!!! :D

[uktog]

Thanks so much CM - glad to hear we are meeting old friends! Hope you had a good cruise

[dfishner]

We are home right now and wanted to give some final thoughts of what we liked and just some general comments about our trip they are just my own random thoughts.

 

Service-Outstanding this is what Azamara is all about I am in the service industry and cannot begin to tell you how good this staff is compared to any other cruiseline we have been on. The staff almost borders on obsessive if something is not right they are all over you if something is not to your liking..This is the main reason we are booking with them again it is in those small details to insure your cruise vacation is top notch..

 

Food-I know it is subjective so this is what I feel about their food program.

 

We dined in Prime C did not think it was anything special similiar to a Chops steak house on RCL. When we go on another cruise we would skip Prime C. Service was excellent, steaks were chewy and not tender.

 

Aqualina has better menu offerings and I felt better choices but the implentation of some of the menu items did not come off as good as they sounded..Again service was excellent food was good not great.

 

Mosiac-We loved it from the lattes and the small sandwiches it was one of our favorite places on the ship..Maria was a doll

 

Windows-was fine for a buffet place had a nice layout and bigger then I expected. Like that they offered fresh juices, smoothies. We had breakfast and lunch there on a couple of days. They had some nice choices and like that the waiters would grab your plates for you and bring it to your table.

 

Discovery dining room-Nice for breakfast and it was our hands down favorite. Good menu selections, presented well and the staff were great I would say with discovery being so good we would skip the other two restaurants and just dine in there. Maybe I would try Aqualina again.

 

We enjoyed the wines with lunch and dinner some nice varieties were offered and asked Pierre the wine steward for a list of those wines that were offered for the week. Having soft drinks, water and wine with lunch and dinner as well as the Lattes included was a nice touch throughout the week.

 

At last I can say I was finally on a ship that when they stated port lecture it was not on shopping excruison on where to shop..Thank you Azamara. Also Nigel the guest lecturer was great what a fantastic guy.

 

Entertainment-one word Eric for us he had the best shows on the ship what a talented guy and his morning talks with Chris was so much fun.

We enjoyed the duo, the guitarist and the harpist did not like the piano player at all.

 

Activities-I thought they could use more activities during the day besides trivia we felt it was lacking especially after lunch not a big deal but we thought if we had a day at sea it could boring place maybe because we did not have any sea days they did not choose to add to much on the calendar..

 

The ship itself is a mix of styles, well layout and for 30,000 tons had so much to offer there were places on the ship we never got to..I thought small but it never felt small at all. Some of the furniture needs replacing chairs in Mosaic and it the Caberet seams were coming apart and in places was showing its age..The ship itself is very comfortable and good looking those fire places did crack me up but it works with the decor..the cabins were comfortable and did like the high table on the balcony.

 

The new stores well they were in the progress of setting them up for most of the week and were closed completely the week before, they had the opening on 12/1 and the stores are modern and trendy I did not buy anything but did see a couple of shirts I liked. They look more like botique type of stores and not knowing what they had before it is hard to comment other then they are a nice addition to Journey..

 

What surprised me the most was the ages and demographics I was expecting older but there was such a good mix of all ages it was great to see..And everyone you met on the ship was so friendly.

 

The loyalty program Le voyage we were at the highest level because of RCL and Celebrity and have to tell you they do it right on this ship. There was always a party of some sought throughout the cruise, Free bag of Laundry, and free internet minutes it was great..

 

In summary we like large ships this was our first small ship adventure and all I can see is we are now hooked. There is so much that Azamara does right but what they do better then any other cruise ship we have been on is service that it would be difficult to cruise with anyone else.

[cindilouwho]

In November 2010 on my Live from thread....I reported that they were some of the saddest malnourished shops I had ever seen on the high seas!

We were promised big changes were coming and it looks like a year later they have been unveiled!!!!

Congratulations to Azamara! It just shows that they take our feedback seriously, we just have to be patient!

Now I just need to get back onboard so I can shop!!!! :D

 

Hey Karen!!

 

What do you need...I'll be on - a week Sunday!!!! LOL :D

[CintiPam]

Thanks for your postings about your first Azamara experience. We will be taking our first Azamara cruise this fall after four wonderful cruises with Oceania. We had to cancel our original planned Oceania late August 2012 cruise because our daughter scheduled her wedding in late September, and we fell in love with the Sicily-intensive itinerary (plus Valletta and Salerno for Paestum) I found for mid-October on Azamara Quest. (BTW, if anyone else is on this cruise other than new friend triplestar, please join the roll call I recently started.)

 

I am very nervous about trying a different line, although still the small "R" ships and port-intensive itineraries, so postings like yours are very reassuring to this Azamara newcomer.

[Maggie 1008]

We will be on the Journey for the first time March 30th. Does anyone know who the Officer`s, CD. and other staff will be ?

[California Native]

CintiPam (I remember you from the TA IST boards)

if you have any questions about Azamara..feel free to ask..

K.

[California Native]

Hey Karen!!

 

What do you need...I'll be on - a week Sunday!!!! LOL :D

 

 

HAAHAHAHAHAHA!

Honestly, I would love a tshirt!!!

Send me an email!

K.

[CintiPam]

CintiPam (I remember you from the TA IST boards)

 

if you have any questions about Azamara..feel free to ask..

 

K.

 

Thanks, I am sure I will have many questions as the trip gets closer.

 

I still am active on the Istanbul and Athens boards of TA. We embarked from Istanbul on our first cruise in September 2008, but it is such a special city that I have kept up with many I have met through that board. (In fact, the Oceania cruise we had to cancel was from Barcelona to Istanbul, and it would have been my first return visit after reading and writing so much about this place.)

[Dianneon2]

Hey Karen!!

 

What do you need...I'll be on - a week Sunday!!!! LOL :D

 

Save some for us. We're boarding on the 13th and can't wait. Dianne