Journey Review 7/7-7/14-Long

[cruisingdelt]

Just returned from the 7/7 sailing. Here are some of my thoughts. I hope they are as helpful to some of you as many of the postings on thes boards have been to me! One thing I left out. Bermuda is rebuilding the entire Front St. area after this season and it will be closed to cruise ships in 2008. One of the reasons A will be in Europe. Many of the crew hpes an A ship will return to Bermuda in 2009.

 

Embarkation

We arrived at Cape Liberty by car at about 12:30. The port makes up in efficiency what it lacks in looks. We drove directly to the terminal and dropped off our 4 suitcases. The porter did not suggest any tip or warn about our luggage. I gave him $10 and parked the car. Parking is plentiful and costs $112 for a seven day cruise. It is a short walk back to the terminal but shuttles are also available. Once back at the terminal we went directly to a counter showed our express pass and quickly proceeded to the ship. I asked what time the lines were longest and was told for this ship, never! We were on the ship slightly after 1:00 and were greeted by a glass of champagne. There was no escort to the room but you really don’t need it since the ship is compact.

Stateroom

We had two adjoining rooms with a verandah (7024/7022) which were in the forward third of the ship. Our rooms were ready upon boarding and were very clean. We met our “butler” who really is a glorified attendant. He spoke terrible English and we had a language problem. He did his job well but he was not required. The room had plenty of closet and drawer space. DW and I had plenty of unused c and d space after unpacking. Room size was on par with a standard X room as was the veranda. Bathroom is small. If you are over six feet your “throne” will not be comfortable and if you are a large person the shower will be very, very small. DW and I concluded that large people will need to keep the shower curtain open. Outside the shower is a drainage channel leading to a drain so the original ship builders must have realized a problem existed. My teens had a minor problem with the beds in their room. We requested separate beds for them. Guest relations responded very promptly to have this corrected. My bottle of Myers rum arrived around 4 and it was a liter. Luggage arrived in mid afternoon. The beds were comfortable and the room was quiet. We had mildly rough seas on two nights with 35-40mph winds and very rough seas (10’-15’) one night. DW and my daughter used the bands and thought they worked well. On the roughest night my daughter also took a bonine pill. Since we were in the front I am sure the motion was exaggerated. The motion was mainly pitching with minor rolling. Both ways the wind was at about a 45 degree angle to the ship. Oh, no fridges yet but they told us very soon. The veranda chairs are teak and metal as is the table which also has a glass top.

Ship

The ship is beautiful. DW said it reminded her of a nice European hotel. Wood tones are dark and railings on the stairs are brass with black supports and glass panes with a black design. Some ceilings have murals. Marble counters abound. Due to the small size it is quick and easy to get anywhere. Exterior painting continues when in port. The pool area is large even though the pool is very small. Ample lounges were available except during peak hours. Try 11 forward for additional lounges. There were also a number of covered areas on the pool deck. No teak lounges yet but THEY WERE BEING LOADED AS WE WERE DISEMBARKING. So, beginning on the 7/14 cruise the pool lounges will be teak. The casino was never overly crowded. The Celebrity Lounge is the “theater”. They had two nights of singers, DW said they were very good, a ventriloquist, great, and two nights with a comedian who was also very good. The singing shows were at 9 and 10:30. All other shows were at either 9:30 or 9:45. Get there early and sit in the first row or two or the first row of the second level (a couple of steps up from the first). As you will be reminded Journey and Quest are “destination” ships and will not offer things like full blown song and dance shows. For some quiet time go to the Looking Glass Lounge, great views and usually empty during the day and early evening.

Dining

We dined in the main dining room (Discoveries) on four nights. It consists of a lower level around the perimeter and a raised level in the center. On the first two nights we had a table for four just a table away from the stern window. Great view but the waiter seemed very disinterested and this level, consisting mostly of rectangular tables was very crowded. On the final two nights we were in the upper level which seemed less congested. We had table 90 with a very nice waiter, Ahmet. The food was the usual very good Celebrity fare. On Thursday night you will be presented with a dessert tray consisting of mini servings of five desserts, wow! One note, the desserts are not presented to you for choosing. You are given a menu only. We arrived each night at about 6:15 and were seated without a wait. You can ask for a particular table/area/waiter.

On night we visited Brezza (Windows Café for breakfast and lunch). It is self serve but wasn’t bad for this type of venue. They also have sushi here which was pretty good. We say out on the deck which was very pleasant.

Windows Café for breakfast had the Celebrity standards including my nice wet muselix, an omelet station and yes a waffle and pancake station. You can get your own coffee or tea but once seated a waiter will usually offer to fill your cup. I am not a coffee drinker but I heard a few people comment that the coffee was very good. For lunch you can also use the grill for burgers, dogs and fries.

Prime C and Aqualina were both excellent. My personal preference is Prime C the steakhouse. Aqualina leans more to seafood. As many people have already stated, Dominique is outstanding (he will be leaving for the Quest in the fall). The service and attentiveness are great. You will have a very enjoyable couple of hours. Each time we had reservations for 6:30 and our table requests were met. The Captain visited us each night at the specialty restaurants. If you dine while in Bermuda, especially Hamilton, ask for a side table not a rear table which will overlook the commercial wharf. In St. George the port side faces land and in Hamilton the starboard side faces land.

Crew

Journey had the most friendly and visible crew of any of my prior cruises. The Master of the Vessel, Captain Anastasios Lekkas is from the Galaxy. The upper 3 or four officers are Greek but the rest of the officers are very diverse in nationality and gender. Officers, including the Captain were walking the ship and interacting with guests. I once saw the Captain in Windows Café eating lunch. I am sure he was checking up on thing but visibility and approachability mean something. Many also stated haw they loved the shipped and the message from the higher officers and crew was that they realized too many mistakes were made with the Journey rollout and that those will not be repeated with the Quest. It appears many of the top people from Journey will be moving to the Quest in the fall.

Disembarkation

Not much to say here. About 30 minutes from being called to being in my car. Great job.

Misc

My hands tire so here are some quick items:

• Prior to setting sail from NJ you will be charged tax on your purchases, including soda card. This stopped once we sailed.
  
• Many of the beers you may know by name bit are different. Guinness is special bottled variety w/o the cartridge and is bitter but is also 7.5% alcohol, yes 15 proof beer. Grolsch is in an approximately 16 oz bottle and is 5% alcohol
  
• This cruise had 110 well behaved children
  
• For the most part the dress codes were followed.
  
• Organized kids activities and counselors were part of this cruise (2 age groups)

General

Once you adjust to the smallness of the ship you realize it is very relaxing. Activities are not as plentiful as on other X ships but the future highlights of these ships will be the ports not a plethora of on board activities. My older teens were a bit bored but I was very relaxed and hope to return in the future. It is a ship for 40+ year olds without their kids in tow. The concept may be now to X but I think they are now on the right track. If you are booked on Journey or Quest don’t cancel. I hope you will be pleasantly surprised, I was. So to quote Captain Lekkas “bye, for now”.

[smdubowsky]

Thanks so much for your detailed review. I feel as though I've already been on the ship. My wife and I are on the 8/11 cruise. I'm printing your review to show her.

[arzz]

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience on Journey. We, too, are on the August 11 cruise (we just booked this week) and your review reinforces our decision to take a chance on this new vessel. We prefer the quiet, smaller ships. I, too, will be printing your review to share with DH.

[cruznon]

Thanks for your review--it was very informative.

[blambition]

Thank you for your informative review, can't wait to sail in Oct.!

Vicki

[PianoGary]

Thank you for the detail. My wife and I are also on the 8/11 voyage, and I too, am printing this out for her!

[Andy]

Hi Cruisingdelt !

 

Thanks for the excellent review. I hope you submit it to the review area here on Cruise Critic !

[hiseas5]

My family of 5 (including 3 children between 8 and 12) were also on the 7/7 trip. I agree with all of what cruisingdelt had to say. We had two ocean view cabins on Deck 4, mid ship and you definitely can feel the movement in the rough seas. No one in my group was adversely affected.

One thing to be careful about: The floor in the Windows Cafe was very slippery with the humid weather. They had these portable air dryers out but you do have to watch your step, lest you slip.

I thought it was great that they had wait staff holding tubs of Purell wipes as you entered the dining areas. Our TV did not work when we first got on but we brought it to our butler's attention and she called engineering and they had it working within a half hour. At sea you get CNN, ESPN, TNT and movies on about 3 other channels. (Happy Feet, Dreamgirls, for example). I agree that everyone was most friendly. If you want to strike up a conversation wear a professional futbol (soccer) jersey. With all of the nationalities represented onboard I always found that someone started talking to me about the team whose jersey I wore.

They had a professional caricaturist onboard who sat on several occasions and drew great cartoon portraits for anyone who stopped by..free of charge. No midnite buffet as others have stated but one night while in Hamilton they had a later nite (10 p.m) Pool BBQ with burgers, dogs, chicken, tuna kebabs, salalds, etc. They also brought some entertainers onboard from Hamilton to dance and do face painitng.

Two types of coffee (at least during morning buffet): pots of what I consider regular brew and machines from which you could select espresso (regular/decaf) or cafe americaino (regular or decaf) I thought the selection from the machine was far and away the better choice.

I'm not a spa/salon person but two of my daughters got a manicure at the salon. It thought for $23.00 (the ids rate) it was overpriced. All they seemed to do is soak the nails and paint them and once my daughter spent some time in the pool/hot tub the stuff started peeling off.

If anyone has any other questions I'd be happy to answer them. All in all a very, very good cruise on a beautiful ship. Thanks to CC, I knew what to look for/expect before I got on, which helped a lot.:)

[hiseas5]

I meant "kids' rate" on the salon charge

[grandsix]

Cruisingdelt. we 2nd Host Andy's sugestion to submit your review.

 

WE would like to also thank Hiseas5. Great job.

[ragwing]

Excellent post.

Sounds like you really had a wonderful cruise!!

[TeacherMoni]

Fantastic review! You have put a few of my worries to rest, and I'm definitely looking forward to our 8/4 trip!

[CrabbyHarper]

Cruising Delt: Thanks for your wonderful review! I can't wait until our Sept 8 sailing.

 

Were you able to make the balconies of your adjoining cabins also adjoin? Is there a partition that can be opened?

[cruisingdelt]

Cruising Delt: Thanks for your wonderful review! I can't wait until our Sept 8 sailing.

 

Were you able to make the balconies of your adjoining cabins also adjoin? Is there a partition that can be opened?

 

You need a special allen wrench type tool to open them. The problem is that there is no latch to secure the open piece of glass so as soon as you get some motion it will be banging around and.....

 

Some people managed to open theirs but the room steward then closed them.

[Nutrioso]

Seems like things are finally shaping up. Hope the Quest has an easier time of it this fall. We're booked on 05 JAN Quest to Carib. Can hardly wait! PENNY

[SandyKnits]

I also want to thank the OP for the great review of his Journey cruise. My husband and I are scheduled to sail on the Quest in Feb. and were happy to hear that things are really improving on the Journey. The ship sounds beautiful and the small size will be very enjoyable for us.

 

Sandy

[stefie67]

we were wondering how the band by the pool sounds. we always loved the party band poolside on x

[PianoGary]

We are on the 8/11 sailing. Two questions, please.

We read that the TV is a flat plasma screen. Is there a DVD player (VCR?) also. My wife wants to exercise to her exercise tape in the spacious 145 sq. ft. cabin. (I'll be leaving, of course!)

Also - there have been great discussions on all threads about the role of the butler. ('Butler-ess,' now I see, too?)

Any tips on how best to utilize them? (Keep it clean, guys!)

[Princess Patches]

Thanks for the very informative review.

[hiseas5]

There is no DVD/VCR in the room with the TV. I did notice audio/visual inputs on the side so it's possible you could connect a portable player but the TV is on the wall so I'm not sure where you'd place the portable player even if you connected it.

[cruisingdelt]

we were wondering how the band by the pool sounds. we always loved the party band poolside on x

 

I don't really have an ear left for music. Too much Led Zep and Pink FLoyd in my youth. The poolside band, Mirage, was a 3 piece band that kept up the relaxed tone of the ship.

[cruisingdelt]

We are on the 8/11 sailing. Two questions, please.

We read that the TV is a flat plasma screen. Is there a DVD player (VCR?) also. My wife wants to exercise to her exercise tape in the spacious 145 sq. ft. cabin. (I'll be leaving, of course!)

Also - there have been great discussions on all threads about the role of the butler. ('Butler-ess,' now I see, too?)

Any tips on how best to utilize them? (Keep it clean, guys!)

 

There is a very nice gym on the ship that never appeared crowded. I suggest you ask a gym attendant if they can "hook things up" in the gym.

 

The butler on the JOurney is still a great mystery. Aside from bringing the nightly treats I am not sure what their role is. The treats are much more than chocolates. They ranges from a brownie type cake to dark chocolate covered strawberries one night to white chocolate covered strawberries the next night.

[choochoocruiser]

We were also on the 7/7 sailing. I was going to write a review, but now I don't have to. I concur with all you had to say in your review.

I will add, that while we had a marvelous time, I will never sail on a small ship again because it can be rough and also because activities were limited due to the number of passengers. My wife and I also did not like open seating at all. We enjoy eating with the same people each night wtih the same waiter and assistant waiter who get to know tour preferences and wait on you accordingly. I guess we are just "big ship" cruisers.

[Romchek1]

I was also on the 7/7 sailing and thanks to cruisingdelt for the excellent review. I was also going to write a review this morning but it's now taken care of. We were also on deck 7 (cabin 7060) and although we felt the rough seas on Thursday night it was no bother to us, we were almost dead center on the ship. Any ship, no matter what the size, would have rocked in that weather. Once we got past the weather front early Friday morning the sail back was as smooth as any ship I've been on.

 

As far as the 3 piece band by the pool, I thought they were good but certainly not the best I've seen on a ship (this was my 14th cruise). On sailaway from Hamilton on Thursday they played Motown type music and I would have enjoyed some island type, calypso music at that point. It's not a complaint, just an observation.

 

My wife and I only had one problem all week. We ordered room service breakfast for Monday morning as we wanted to eat on our veranda upon entering St. George. We put out the card the evening before and checked a delivery time of 7:30 - 8:00. At 8:15 breakfast had still not arrived so I called and they told me it was on the way. It finally arrived 15 minutes later with only half of what we ordered and no coffee. Oh well, we just made do with what we had and went up to deck 9 to get something more to eat. No worries, we were on vacation!!! Later that morning we saw Heike, the Hotel Director (as cruisingdelt said, senior officers were very visable throughout the week) and I mentioned the problem to her. She said this was the first week of the expanded room service breakfast menu and she thanked us for letting her know. That was Monday, on Thursday when we saw Heike again she made a point to ask us if the breakfast room service had improved. We didn't know as we didn't use it again, not for lack of confidence, but because we acutally prefer to go upstairs and eat on deck.

 

We were with 2 other couples and the dining room presented no problems for us. The first day I went to the M'atire D (Rychards) and spoke to him about times to eat. He told us that either 6:00, when the dining room opened, or 8:15ish were the best times to eat without waiting. From reading CC messages before we left we wanted to see if we could be served by Edwin. It didn't work for us the first night, but each night after that we were seated at Edwins table (except for the one night at Prime C) and he lived up to his recommendation. Dinner was a fun and enjoyable experience with great service and GREAT food.

 

If anybody has any questions about the ship just let me know and I'll try to help.

 

I'll keep checking the Azamara boards, but for now I'm moving to the NCL board, next cruise is on 9/24, Pride of Hawaii.

 

BYE FOR NOW

[LuvCeleb]

Really GREAT to hear Azamara is getting it together. Wife and myself will be sailing on Quest Oct 26 on the 5 day sampler. We are already getting very excited.