Journey LA to Miami

[beachseeker]

We are onboard. Arrived at the pier at 11:00, checked in and on the ship quickly. Made our speciality reservations and lunch at Windows sitting outside. It is a beautiful day. The Journey looks lovely, new carpet much better in person. We moved to the pool bar and enjoying the great weather and are eagerly waiting to see our stateroom. CC meeting is tonight at 6:00. Great start to a much anticipated cruise.

[uktog]

Thanks and enjoy!

[beachseeker]

We are in CC suite 8046. Room is okay. Plenty of storage, much better than the photos showed. We have a tub and either the tub is the original tub or it is already chipped. The flooring as you come into the room is already showing wear and tear. The carpet, again, much better than the pictures showed and looks good. The laundry room is still not functional and we received a letter telling us that we would receive a free bag of laundry each week. There is a schedule depending on which floor your room is located. Don't know yet if we will get this in addition to our suite laundry benefit but I'm thinking not. We also have a notice in our room that the TV software is still not 100% and we will receive a 50% discount on Pay Per View movies on sea days. I'm not a movie watching person but a nice gesture. Overall, room is nice. The cabinets and storage don't look very sturdy and not sure how long it will hold up but right now it has a pleasing appearance.

[Andy]

Hi Beachseeker,

 

Thank you for the updates, and have a wonderful cruise !

[Hoyaheel]

Wow, laundry still not working. Has anyone reported - is this new machines that were installed as part of the dry dock, or the old machines. Trying to figure out what might be the issues after all this time.....

 

(at least they gave you a letter about the laundry though, so you didn't have to figure it out yourself by going to guest services to ask...)

[beachseeker]

Wow, laundry still not working. Has anyone reported - is this new machines that were installed as part of the dry dock, or the old machines. Trying to figure out what might be the issues after all this time.....

 

(at least they gave you a letter about the laundry though, so you didn't have to figure it out yourself by going to guest services to ask...)

 

Room Steward said the free laundry is in addition to our 2 free bags via suite perks.

[tv24]

Thanks for the reports Beachseeker. IMHO, AZ is doing a good job of compensating for the issues that remain unresolved from the dry dock rehab. All will sort out eventually, but for now they seem to be compensating passengers for the missing items.

[Pam]

I can't wait to follow along on your cruise!

[kaz]

Wow, laundry still not working. Has anyone reported - is this new machines that were installed as part of the dry dock, or the old machines. Trying to figure out what might be the issues after all this time.....

 

(at least they gave you a letter about the laundry though, so you didn't have to figure it out yourself by going to guest services to ask...)

The machines are new ones. We were on the first cruise post drydock. We looked in a few times and saw the machines disassembled and tools strewn about. We were a couple of cabins from the laundry and heard metal being ground and cut and could smell burning metal. We heard them working only a couple of days. One had to ask for the free bag as it wasn't announced.

[Hoyaheel]

The machines are new ones.

 

Thanks - sort of figured that had to be the case, considering how long the fix has taken and how it's not just one machine down but all....Hope they get it figured out quickly!

[beachseeker]

We enjoyed a wonderful meal in Prime C and saw the Welcoming Show in Cabaret. All nicely done. We have a bathtub but no stopper but I made a makeshift stopper. We did receive a phone call asking us if we would switch rooms. They had several requests for guests with only showers wanting a tub.

Today is a cloudy, cool day but Captain promises warmer weather tomorrow as we head to Cabo.

[beachseeker]

We arrived in Cabo early and tendering for the Azamazing Evening began at 7:15. It was very organized but did take 2 hours to get everyone to the venue. The "Dance of the Dead" was held in a remote setting with a beautiful backdrop of mountains. The performance was good, plenty, plenty of drinks and food available and an extra special ending with a wonderful firework display. Overall, very well done. At the tender station champagne was available. It was a little after 11:30 when we returned to the ship and a late night buffet was available in Discoveries.

 

This morning we did a private 2 hour whale watching excursion and saw a breach and several whales showing us their tales. For a two hour trip we were very pleased with the number of whales spotted.

[sparty1]

Hi Beachseeker. Its nice to read your review as you go! We had the cabin next to you,#8044,until Monday:-) We loved it! The cabin looked great then. Love the self-close drawers,but have a feeling that feature may not last. Do you have Ronald as your butler too? He had 1 more cruise before going home. He was awesome! If you do,plz tell him Connie and Larry miss him!:D Will be following along with your journey on the Journey! Have fun! Connie

 

We are in CC suite 8046. Room is okay. Plenty of storage, much better than the photos showed. We have a tub and either the tub is the original tub or it is already chipped. The flooring as you come into the room is already showing wear and tear. The carpet, again, much better than the pictures showed and looks good. The laundry room is still not functional and we received a letter telling us that we would receive a free bag of laundry each week. There is a schedule depending on which floor your room is located. Don't know yet if we will get this in addition to our suite laundry benefit but I'm thinking not. We also have a notice in our room that the TV software is still not 100% and we will receive a 50% discount on Pay Per View movies on sea days. I'm not a movie watching person but a nice gesture. Overall, room is nice. The cabinets and storage don't look very sturdy and not sure how long it will hold up but right now it has a pleasing appearance.

[uktog]

Hi Beachseeker

If you get a chance, can you check the Mosaic menu to see if you can still buy a Nespresso coffee for an additional fee, thanks

[beachseeker]

Hi Beachseeker

If you get a chance, can you check the Mosaic menu to see if you can still buy a Nespresso coffee for an additional fee, thanks

 

I'm not a coffee drinker but DH said that Nepresso coffee is on the menu in Mosaics.

[uktog]

I'm not a coffee drinker but DH said that Nepresso coffee is on the menu in Mosaics.

 

Excellent. Whilst DH gets his laphroaig treat I replace with my Nespresso kick :)

 

Thanks to your DH for confirming

Edited March 5, 2016 by uktog

[beachseeker]

We are on our 2nd sea day following Cabo. Seas are calm and weather is perfect. Yesterday was the Le Club Voyage Loyalty Bruch. OMG, the amount of food available. Needless to say, we didn't eat again until dinner. It was a very nice event. We have eaten in both speciality restaurants, MDR, and the Patio and the food everywhere is very good to excellent. The prime rib in Discoveries last night was so tender and great flavor. Much, much better than we have had on any other cruise. The shows in Cabaret have been very enjoyable so far and the production singers and dancers are very talented. Huatalco tomorrow!

[beachseeker]

Hualtuco, what a sweet hidden gem. We were disappointed when the itinerary changed a couple of months ago from Ixtapa to Hualtuco but now so glad it did. Hualtuco is a quaint, noncommercialized port with beautiful beaches and scenery. DH went snorkeling and while it wasn't his best snorkeling spot, he enjoyed it and saw quite a bit of coral and fish. I went on the bird watching Eco tour. They divided us into three small groups, each with 10 or less. Our group identified 30 different birds, many of them new sightings for me. The guide was a naturalist and very helpful. DH and I met up after our tours and we had lunch at one of the beach bars by the pier. The bill was in pesos and their exchanged rate was robbery. We would have been better off to exchange for some pesos on the boat. Oh well, it wasn't that much money. Our biggest disappointment was that we left at 2:00. Would love to have stayed longer so we could have enjoyed some beach time. Hualtuco, hope to see you again!

[BBMacLaird]

Hualtuco, what a sweet hidden gem. We were disappointed when the itinerary changed a couple of months ago from Ixtapa to Hualtuco but now so glad it did. Hualtuco is a quaint, noncommercialized port with beautiful beaches and scenery. DH went snorkeling and while it wasn't his best snorkeling spot, he enjoyed it and saw quite a bit of coral and fish. I went on the bird watching Eco tour. They divided us into three small groups, each with 10 or less. Our group identified 30 different birds, many of them new sightings for me. The guide was a naturalist and very helpful. DH and I met up after our tours and we had lunch at one of the beach bars by the pier. The bill was in pesos and their exchanged rate was robbery. We would have been better off to exchange for some pesos on the boat. Oh well, it wasn't that much money. Our biggest disappointment was that we left at 2:00. Would love to have stayed longer so we could have enjoyed some beach time. Hualtuco, hope to see you again!

 

On 2/21 I boarded the Journey in Huatulco to sail north a few nights (and interview Capt Magnus & HD Ryszard.) It was my first time there as well. I too found it charming...all except the high costs. I had lunch while I waited for the ship to arrive and it cost me nearly $40. Crazy high!

[Pam]

I am enjoying your report so very much! I did have to chuckle when you got a phone call wanting you to give up your tub room because people with showers wanted tubs, after the debate raged on for pages over whether or not they should just eliminate all those terrible tubs. Wish you had a plug, though.

[beachseeker]

I am enjoying your report so very much! I did have to chuckle when you got a phone call wanting you to give up your tub room because people with showers wanted tubs, after the debate raged on for pages over whether or not they should just eliminate all those terrible tubs. Wish you had a plug, though.

 

I thought the phone call was interesting as well. We did receive a generic stopper for the tub a couple of days after we sailed so all is good there, When I was looking at future cruises there appear to be more suites available with showers versus tubs.. Interesting after all the comments about showers vs tubs.

 

Today was a sea day. We were blessed with very calm seas and the wildlife put on a show for us. We were entertained by dolphins, sea turtles and what appeared to be sailfish for most of the day. Lunch was a pool side buffet served by the officers. Great day!

[pvkatmom]

Enjoying hearing about your cruise and looking forward to your further posts. Pam should put "terrible" (regarding the tubs) in quotes since as I recall, Pam was also an advocate for bath tubs (as was I and many others-- its the main reason we book a CC suite). Thank goodness Azamara retained some tubs. Interesting that now Azamara is finding out that people who don't post on CC (most pax never post or look at CC) wanted and expected tubs. Have a terrific trip and hope you have plenty of sunshine and good times!

[beachseeker]

We had two busy days in the ports of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and Puntarenas, Costa Rico. In Nicaragua we took a ship's excursion to Granada and a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua. Our guide was very good and the biggest complaint that I heard from several people was that not enough time was allowed for wandering the city on our own. Yesterday, we toured with Thumbs Up for their 10 in 1 excursion. We highly recommend this trip. We saw monkeys, crocodiles, and scarlet macaws all in their natural habitat. The boat ride on the Tarcoles River was very enjoyable and informative. Great day here.

 

We ate last night in Prime C and had the Chateaubriand for two. Without a doubt, the best steak ever on a cruise ship. It was excellent. The daily wine was a repeat of day 2 so we may have seen all the wine choices at this point. All have been good with a couple of really good ones.

[BBMacLaird]

We had two busy days in the ports of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua and Puntarenas, Costa Rico. In Nicaragua we took a ship's excursion to Granada and a boat ride on Lake Nicaragua. Our guide was very good and the biggest complaint that I heard from several people was that not enough time was allowed for wandering the city on our own. Yesterday, we toured with Thumbs Up for their 10 in 1 excursion. We highly recommend this trip. We saw monkeys, crocodiles, and scarlet macaws all in their natural habitat. The boat ride on the Tarcoles River was very enjoyable and informative. Great day here.

 

We ate last night in Prime C and had the Chateaubriand for two. Without a doubt, the best steak ever on a cruise ship. It was excellent. The daily wine was a repeat of day 2 so we may have seen all the wine choices at this point. All have been good with a couple of really good ones.

 

Hi beachseeker, your excursions sound wonderful...wish I was there!

And I'm glad you're enjoying the cruise.

 

Since we're talking excursions I'd be remiss if I didn't call attention to our new offering called Private Journeys. Our tour planners will create individualized tours, and we are waiving the fee during introduction period.

[Pam]

Beachseeker, you haven't deserted us, have you? I keep looking for another installment of your trip.