Review: Journey Greek Isles Oct 19-26th

[kek123]

This was my fourth cruise and first on Azamara, have been reading this board for months. Overall had a great time but I have to say I just don't get all of the hype associated with this brand. Not a complaint just an opinion. Saved my gripes for the bottom. My humble thoughts as follows:

 

Hilton Athens:

Gorgeous wide open bright lobby, lots of glass and marble. Quick check in and I got a room with an Acropolis view. Very cool! Room was large and spotlessly clean. I'd like to have the shower and bathtub in my home! Rooftop bar/restaurant had stunning nighttime views of the Acropolis. Hotel bars and restaurant good but not great food and very pricey. 55 euros for two glasses of wine and a skewer of chicken souvalaki for dinner. Included breakfast was adequate, standard stuff.

 

Transfer to Pier:

Letter at check-in indicated what time to meet the bus in lobby. Pretty large group of about 75 people went in two buses at 12:00 and 12:30. Azamara rep was on site at the hotel in the morning for questions and directing people to the bus. Call me a privacy freak but I was not really cool with the bulletin board by the Azamara table with everybody's name on it. Saw no need for that at all. Aprox. 30 mins to pier, lot of people directing where to go inside. Check in was pretty quick, aprox. 15-20 mins in line and I had my cabin card and was on the ship at about 1:30. Greeted with champagne/juice. Able to get in cabins at about 2:00. Luggage showed up within about an hour which was nice (well it was in the hall being lined up ready to be delivered and I took it in my self), poor guy working there was mortified!

 

Ship:

Interiors were spotless everywhere. Looks pretty much just like the pictures in the brochure/online. Very elegant, lots of marble/granite, metal scrollwork, lots of cream, green and gold colors with an old world vibe. Good signage everywhere. Bars and pool grill and buffet restaurant were open at time of boarding. Modest effort made to upsell people on the drinks package but nothing annoying on first day.

 

Cabin:

Small but fairly standard size cabin with balcony compared to prior cruises. Spotless, nice touches with fresh flowers and a fruit plate and included drinks section in minibar which was replenished throughout the week. Complimentary tote bag in room at check in (pretty nice bag actually). Bathroom, spotless and small. Standard stuff. Cabin attendant very efficient all week.

 

Food/Beverages:

Breakfast buffet was pretty average overall. The omelet station was disappointing both times I tried it. Sit down restaurant was "closing" 20 mins before posted hours both times I went so I never got to try that for breakfast. With early starts for most of the excursions I needed to be in and out pretty quickly. Never went hungry but never impressed.

 

Pool Grill/lunch buffet was a bit mixed. Some of the offerings in the buffet were quite good such as the made to order sandwiches and salads. (Nice that only staff vs a couple hundred people with likely grubby hands touching the serving utensils). Buffet in general is not my favorite to say the least. The bright spot at lunch was really the Pool Grill. They had a menu, it was all cooked to order and they would find you where ever you were seating. Wings, burgers, grilled sausages, 4 or 5 different kinds of kebobs, club sandwiches, ribs, tacos etc.

 

Dinners. Discoveries and Prime C Restaurant Ate in main restaurant Discoveries all but one night when I went the "specialty" restaurant Prime C. Overall my thoughts on dinners were again, mixed. The main dining room was gorgeous in its interior, although stiflingly hot every evening. Discoveries menu had the "always available" section and then the "daily specials". Many nights the two were not that different. Can't complain about the quality of food but portions were small and in some cases tiny. Some of their food descriptions left a lot to be desired, for example "cheese and onion soup" was really French onion soup and "rack of lamb" was a tiny lamb chop. Many of the meat portion size descriptors on the meat cuts were way way off in terms of what the menu stated vs what showed up on the plate. Frankly the menu was pretty basic, was hoping for something a bit more. Again, never went hungry but was never wowed either.

 

Prime C was also gorgeous in its interior and looked out over the bow of the ship with floor to ceiling windows. Menu a bit more mixed but in my opinion still pretty basic. I ordered the filet rare and it came to the table medium. I sent it back and the re-fire was perfect like it should have been the first time. Was actually the best dinner I had all week.

 

Overall service in both restaurants Have mixed thoughts on the service. While the service received was always good, it was frequently slow and drawn out. Dinner easily took two+ hours most nights. While tables for 2-6 were frequently empty in the dining room, they definitely pushed you to sit with other people at the large tables which I resented. (Luckily I met some really cool people but if I had not I would have had a real issue with that)

 

Bar staff were uniformly great everywhere throughout the ship the entire cruise. All the included alcohol and wines worked well for me. Good to very good quality on the wines.

 

Excursions:

With the exception of the ungodly early start times (8:30AM) for most of them, all of the excursions I booked thru the ship were great. Shuttle buses right by the pier, extremely knowledgeable guides and nicely paced. Ultimate Ephesus and Walking Rhodes tours were standouts.

 

Ports:

With the exception of Kos they were all very enjoyable. Not sure what the draw was on Kos. Santorini, Rhodes and Ephesus were all outstanding in very different ways each of them. Mykonos and Marmaris both very pretty and enjoyable as well.

 

My gripes:

 

My poor thoughts on ChoiceAir have been further amplified. Finding a suitable flight home on Sat was made impossible due to the direction of "absolutely no flights before 1:00PM" causing me to have to stay over another night in Athens. Imagine my surprise when the captain announces that "due the volume of early flight departures they will be anchoring at 4:30AM with initial disembarking beginning at 5:30AM". Could have easily made a 12:30 flight that I found that ChoiceAir refused to book and saved myself a couple hundred bucks!

 

Transfer to Hilton from ship This falls into the it's never too late to make a bad impression category. There were two buses at the 8:30 disembarkation one for the Hilton and one for the Bretagne Hotel and Hilton hotels. I am sitting on the first Hilton bus when a man and a woman approaches and says "we'll need you to come with us". I asked what was wrong and they just herded me off the bus. They then hustle a couple onto the bus to sit where I was sitting. When I asked what was going on they said as I was alone they wanted to get the couple onto the other bus first. Excuse me but that was a huge *** moment for me. It was seriously more important for a couple to get on a bus that was going to the same place arriving maybe 15-20 mins apart?? And the driver had attitude when I insisted they take my luggage off the first bus and put it on the second. He made a snotty comment about "keeping people waiting". What were they going to do with my luggage leave it at the curb?? I really had to restrain myself from saying something because I would have lost it. I made it almost a whole trip without experiencing solo discrimination but as I pointed out earlier it is never too late to leave a bad impression.

 

Post cruise Hilton From prior travel I had a vague memory of Europe ending daylight savings time a week earlier than the USA. (This did not occur to me prior to leaving to check out myself, go figure!) When I asked two different people at the desk they knew nothing about it. Bought a newspaper and didn't see anything either and thought I was mistaken. Next morning sure enough there was a flyer at the desk alerting people to change clocks back, would have been nice to know the day before when you are getting up at 3:30AM the next morning! And no "included breakfast " that early either.

 

 

Random thoughts:

 

Did I have a great time, absolutely! Did it live up to some of the hype I have read, some ways yes and others sadly no. Loved the size of the ship and the service was really good albeit slow overall. I was impressed by the number of repeat cruisers and the fact that in many cases the crew recognized people. Saw many instances of smiles/handshakes and hugs all around. That transfer experience really left me on a very flat note though. Will I cruise Azamara again, for a great itinerary and price absolutely. Still at loss though to understand some of the hype, but to each their own.

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[riandei]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review

[taxjam]

Thanks for the review . . .

[kikki21]

Thanks for the review!

[Host Hattie]

Interesting review, thank you so much for taking the time to post.

Your treatment at the end of the cruise sounds shocking, I can understand how that could have spoilt the whole experience for you.

[Mrs Miggins]

Have just come home from Quest, and was interested to read your review as we did the same itinerary on Journey in June.

I would agree that the Athens Hilton was good. Our group of 4 had dinner in The Plaka rather than in the hotel, which was good and inexpensive. We did have drinks however on the spectacular balcony bar with views to the Parthenon. There were no lists of names in the foyer on our departure.

 

Food: I would rate the food on Quest slightly better than on Journey. Certainly had no problem with portion size on either ship. At dinner I would generally have 4 courses (but generally wished I had stuck at 2 and then would not have put on so much weight). DH is a steak man and loved the New York Strip or Rib Eye. I thought the menu offered a really good variety of fish and meat. I had French Onion Soup, which was described as that, last week, but at the end of the day it is made from Onion and Cheese.

 

On this last trip we were a 2. I would always prefer to share a table with others as it is so great to talk to people from other parts of the world. I might not choose them all as friends but it does offer an interesting perspective on

the world of cruisers. (which is not the same as the real world).

However a couple of times we were allocated a table for 2 but it is easy to speak to a neighbour. On our Journey cruise we did not have to wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes for a table. On Quest we often had to wait 20 - 30 minutes which meant we missed the beginning of the show.

 

Ports: We also loved the ports on this cruise. Funnily enough I loved Kos. I thought Kos Town was the perfect place to DIY. The Old Fort was interesting with spectacular views - Major benefit - no crowds. The town had some great shopping with none of the pressure to buy found in Turkey. We had wonderful fresh lemonade in the square with Hippocrates Tree. All very laid back.

 

I have never travelled solo so my experience would of course be different.

However I would certainly consider travelling solo on Azamara rather than on the other lines I have cruised on.

 

Your treatment at the end of the cruise was awful and what a sad finish to an enjoyable cruise.

 

Thank you again.

[Texed]

KEK and Mrs,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

[kek123]

Mrs Miggins/Hattie - thank you for your thoughts and the contrast via the Quest experience

 

The end of trip incident certainly did not spoil the whole experience for me but certainly didn't need to have happened. As stated in review, never too late to leave a bad impression.

[midwestchick]

Have just come home from Quest, and was interested to read your review as we did the same itinerary on Journey in June.

I would agree that the Athens Hilton was good. Our group of 4 had dinner in The Plaka rather than in the hotel, which was good and inexpensive. We did have drinks however on the spectacular balcony bar with views to the Parthenon. There were no lists of names in the foyer on our departure.

 

Food: I would rate the food on Quest slightly better than on Journey. Certainly had no problem with portion size on either ship. At dinner I would generally have 4 courses (but generally wished I had stuck at 2 and then would not have put on so much weight). DH is a steak man and loved the New York Strip or Rib Eye. I thought the menu offered a really good variety of fish and meat. I had French Onion Soup, which was described as that, last week, but at the end of the day it is made from Onion and Cheese.

 

On this last trip we were a 2. I would always prefer to share a table with others as it is so great to talk to people from other parts of the world. I might not choose them all as friends but it does offer an interesting perspective on

the world of cruisers. (which is not the same as the real world).

However a couple of times we were allocated a table for 2 but it is easy to speak to a neighbour. On our Journey cruise we did not have to wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes for a table. On Quest we often had to wait 20 - 30 minutes which meant we missed the beginning of the show.

 

Ports: We also loved the ports on this cruise. Funnily enough I loved Kos. I thought Kos Town was the perfect place to DIY. The Old Fort was interesting with spectacular views - Major benefit - no crowds. The town had some great shopping with none of the pressure to buy found in Turkey. We had wonderful fresh lemonade in the square with Hippocrates Tree. All very laid back.

 

I have never travelled solo so my experience would of course be different.

However I would certainly consider travelling solo on Azamara rather than on the other lines I have cruised on.

 

Your treatment at the end of the cruise was awful and what a sad finish to an enjoyable cruise.

 

Thank you again.

 

The comment about the food on Quest being better than on the Journey makes me wonder....who was your Chef on the Quest?

 

We enjoyed our time in Plaka too...food was very good at the outside cafes and very reasonable.

 

[Dylandude]

Have just come home from Quest, and was interested to read your review as we did the same itinerary on Journey in June.

I would agree that the Athens Hilton was good. Our group of 4 had dinner in The Plaka rather than in the hotel, which was good and inexpensive. We did have drinks however on the spectacular balcony bar with views to the Parthenon. There were no lists of names in the foyer on our departure.

 

Food: I would rate the food on Quest slightly better than on Journey. Certainly had no problem with portion size on either ship. At dinner I would generally have 4 courses (but generally wished I had stuck at 2 and then would not have put on so much weight). DH is a steak man and loved the New York Strip or Rib Eye. I thought the menu offered a really good variety of fish and meat. I had French Onion Soup, which was described as that, last week, but at the end of the day it is made from Onion and Cheese.

 

On this last trip we were a 2. I would always prefer to share a table with others as it is so great to talk to people from other parts of the world. I might not choose them all as friends but it does offer an interesting perspective on

the world of cruisers. (which is not the same as the real world).

However a couple of times we were allocated a table for 2 but it is easy to speak to a neighbour. On our Journey cruise we did not have to wait for more than 5 or 10 minutes for a table. On Quest we often had to wait 20 - 30 minutes which meant we missed the beginning of the show.

 

Ports: We also loved the ports on this cruise. Funnily enough I loved Kos. I thought Kos Town was the perfect place to DIY. The Old Fort was interesting with spectacular views - Major benefit - no crowds. The town had some great shopping with none of the pressure to buy found in Turkey. We had wonderful fresh lemonade in the square with Hippocrates Tree. All very laid back.

 

I have never travelled solo so my experience would of course be different.

However I would certainly consider travelling solo on Azamara rather than on the other lines I have cruised on.

 

Your treatment at the end of the cruise was awful and what a sad finish to an enjoyable cruise.

 

Thank you again.

 

Sorry

Presently on Journey, having been on Quest in June.

Journey's food and service is better. Period.

[Mrs Miggins]

Sorry

Presently on Journey, having been on Quest in June.

Journey's food and service is better. Period.

 

The executive chef on Quest is Fabio D'Agosta. I was also on Journey in June and I might agree that the service was better. I still think the food on Quest is marginally better - but my DH insists they are exactly the same.

[midwestchick]

The executive chef on Quest is Fabio D'Agosta. I was also on Journey in June and I might agree that the service was better. I still think the food on Quest is marginally better - but my DH insists they are exactly the same.

 

 

Mrs. Miggins,

Could you ask Fabio if he knows where he will be next Sept.20 and 27 when we sail on the Journey. I'm so hoping he is our chef once again.

We did a private galley tour only because we knew Darryl and Diego, who were part of the shows on the Journey...they were not in the shows but were part of the production. I don't know if he would remember us or not.

[Mrs Miggins]

Mrs. Miggins,

Could you ask Fabio if he knows where he will be next Sept.20 and 27 when we sail on the Journey. I'm so hoping he is our chef once again.

We did a private galley tour only because we knew Darryl and Diego, who were part of the shows on the Journey...they were not in the shows but were part of the production. I don't know if he would remember us or not.

 

Sorry I am not onboard now. Disembarked on Saturday2nd Nov but there is a live from Quest review on the board right now. I am sure that if you posted this question on that thread you will be able to find the answer your question.

[gillianrose]

Do all stateroom categories get a hot breakfast served in their room?

[ellbon]

I have sailed a total of 12 plus weeks on the Quest and have only met Robert..who is fabio?

[Host Hattie]

Do all stateroom categories get a hot breakfast served in their room?

 

If you fill in a room service breakfast request, yes

[uktog]

I have sailed a total of 12 plus weeks on the Quest and have only met Robert..who is fabio?

 

Cannot believe you have not met Fabio on all your cruises, he is the Executive Chef who alternates between Quest and Journey - such a delightful, visible person, IMHO more important than the F and B manager (sorry Robert, Scott et al)

[Lottie A]

Would certainly agree with those sentiments UKtog. Chef Fabio is a lovely young man and I think whatever ship he is on.....would have the best food at that time! :D

I don't know how you could have missed him on your many Azamara cruises Robyn! He is rather easy on the eye too! :D