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beckaboo

By beckaboo,
in Azamara

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beckaboo

beckaboo

Posted
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Random musings from our first day aboard the Journey… we left Miami yesterday 2/24.

 

Before boarding

We spent the night at the Epic Hotel in downtown Miami. It’s just south of the port (we could see the ship from the pool deck). The hotel just opened a few weeks ago and is a beautiful place. While not the beehive of South Beach, it’s in an area where they are building some other new hotels, apartments, and a Whole Foods Market.

 

The hotel itself is very modern – part of the Kimpton chain that is mainly on the west coast and a lot like a W with the focus on design. The rooms are quite upscale with a deep soaker tub, rain shower, terrific Frette linens & robes, and computers in the rooms (all at no charge). We were able to experience true luxury at a “grand opening” rate courtesy of Hotwire!

 

We experienced exceptional service – the hotel brought up room service at 2 am (we arrived quite late thanks to flight issues). Other cool features of the Epic include the pool deck on the 16th floor that overlooks the port / South Beach, and a very good seafood restaurant (Area 31, also on the 16th floor – he had the mahi club and I had the grilled snapper with roasted peppers).

 

Embarkation

This was quite speedy and organized. We went over to the ship about 1:45 PM and were in our cabin within 30 minutes. At embarkation, they offered us an additional specialty dining night on top of the normal two usually offered (evidently they were hoping to manage traffic in the main dining room) – we took them up on this and booked Acqualina (more on this later).

 

Cabin

We booked the cheapest guarantee outside cabin – we got an amazing bargain – and ended up with 6042.

 

The pros – price, really nice soft goods (Frette robes again), kind service. The cons – size of the cabin / bathroom, and the view… I know, booking a guarantee pretty much guaranteed we’d be dealing with an obstructed view (and we do have a lovely lifeboat to look at, haha!) And the size – I know that this cabin is somewhat larger than many on other ships, but I’m spoiled having been on three Regent cruises. I was mentally prepared but it still is surprising to see the tiny bathroom after being spoiled on Regent. Just a note to consider.

 

Service-wise, we haven’t had much interaction with our butler – while we spent much of today out of the cabin (sea day), as of 4 pm the cabin hadn’t been made up for the day – not sure why, but as of 5:30 it was complete. One other note – we’ve been dealing with heavy seas and a molding on the mirror above the bed was loose & rattling like crazy – it was corrected within an hour of reporting the issue to Guest Services – great job!!

 

Ship and Passengers

Others have mentioned this – the officers and staff are very visible and friendly. The captain seems like a very personable guy, and thoughtful (more on that later). I’m used to slightly smaller ships – this is a nice size.

 

Something purely subjective – the décor feels a little dated in the public spaces, but it’s probably a personal thing. Lots of gold, heavy dark fabrics, and crown moldings.

 

The fellow passengers on this sailing are a little older overall than on my Regent sailings – perhaps this is because this is a 12-day sailing? Regent passengers seem to be mainly in their 50s, but on the Journey, most are a little older. I’ve seen one child (who looked about 5) and only a few couples my age (early 40s) or younger. The ship was very quiet by midnight (fine by me, I’m usually snoozing by 11 myself so midnight was late for me!)

 

Dress – even though we’re resort casual here, I have seen plenty of men in jackets (and a few ties) and some bling on the ladies ☺

 

Food / Drinks

As mentioned before, we started off the cruise with dinner in Acqualina. This is a lovely room and we had very good service (Antonio is not only a good waiter but a lot of fun to chat with as well)

 

Dinner was great - four soups to choose from (I am a soup junkie), about 10 entrees, and many appetizer options. I had red pepper soup / lobster thermidor and my fiancé had spinach / broccoli puree followed by a chilled seafood cocktail plate and then ossobucco. All very well prepared – with all items served hot (a peeve of mine is when food is not served at the right temperature!)

 

Another fun note – the staff at Acqualina were all witness to our engagement and were very sweet… so I’m sure that the food could have been terrible and we would have remembered it as lovely, haha!

 

I missed breakfast this morning due to a spa appointment – the lunch buffet was quite varied & interesting – again, with things served at the right temperature ☺… I’ve also discovered that I very much like the little coffee café on deck 5 (and the little snacks they serve) – it’s a nice place to sit with a book or laptop.

 

Spa

With two sea days at the beginning, we decided to spa – a lot – so yesterday I missed sailaway and did a massage / acupuncture treatment package. Today it was a firming bodywrap. Both sessions were good treatments from caring practitioners and a good value. I didn’t feel rushed like sometimes happens when they have a lot of people to push through. There was a minor product push after each treatment.

 

Ports / Voyage

During embarkation, we received a letter confirming (as we all suspected) that Guadeloupe and Martinique would be replaced due to civil disturbance. The staff had a lot of information available about the new ports, Antigua and St Martin.

 

Due to weather, our captain chose a lengthier route (south from Miami hugging the Cuban coast instead of heading out through the Bahamas). Even so, seas have been rough with 40 mph winds. He spent time explaining the approach to all of us last night – the idea was to minimize passenger discomfort – although it’s rough, it could have been much worse. It’s thoughtful of the captain to take this approach (I have sailed through very rough conditions before and it’s not fun when half the ship is sick).

 

More soon… please feel free to ask questions and I’ll be happy to help answer (you were wonderful about sharing information with me in the past!)

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critterchick

critterchick

Posted
Posted
Cool

If there hot spots thoughout the ship?

I thought there was only one room where you would use there machines:confused:

 

There is wireless access throughout the ship. You can see the transmitter thingies in the passageways. The wireless access is far faster than the Internet cafe computers.

 

Beccaboo, thanks for keeping us posted on your trip. I'm looking forward to reading more installments. And congratulations on your engagement!:)

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tgg

tgg

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Hi Beckaboo,

 

I'm loving reading about your cruise, and I have a suggestion. When our Jan 19 cruise on the Journey was unexpectedly diverted from Guadeloupe to Antigua (we did get to Martinique), we went out sailing with Wadadli Cats. We arranged this on our own because, when we had been to Antigua the previous year, I had chartered one of their large catamarans for a group that I met on our cruisecritic roll call.

 

Wadadli normally doesn't take individual passengers, only groups from cruise ships or people staying on the island. But if you could contact them (Michelle is very easy to deal with) and corral a group of your fellow passengers and do a full day charter, you could have a fantastic time. You'll sail, snorkel, hike, swim, eat a nice lunch, and enjoy an open bar all afternoon after snorkeling. The crew did everything to make for a great day. They pushed non-alcoholic drinks in the morning to make sure nobody got dehydrated. The lunch was hot, varied, and plentiful. Their larger catamarans are set up so that you can sit in the shade or the sun. And if you do a charter, you can control how many people are on the boat. (We had only 12, which cost us $100 a person last year for the full day, but you could easily take twice that many and not be at all crowded. The boats hold at least 80.)

 

Here's a link to their web site if you're interested. http://www.wadadlicats.com/

 

All best wishes on your engagement and happy cruise.

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Andy

Andy

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Hi Beckaboo !

 

Thank you for your excellent report. I hope you have a wonderful time on Journey. I look forward to your updates. Bon Voyage !

 

If you happen to meet Ngawhira (Pronounced Nah-fee-ra) at Guest Relations, please tell her Host Andy from Cruise Critic sends his best regards. She is a truly wonderful person.

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beckaboo

beckaboo

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Hello again!

 

Let's see if I can answer everything :)

 

View from 6042 - it's right into the tender / lifeboat, but you can see the ocean around it... I am hoping that it becomes a tender for a few days and then I'll have a great view!!

 

Wireless access - is everywhere and really speedy. I've been moving about with the computer from spot to spot.

 

Staff - I'll find those guys and say hello

 

TGG - thanks for the Antigua suggestion (not sure what we'll do there yet!)

 

General updates... the weather has improved a lot ... I forgot to mention that during bingo on Deck 10 in the Looking Glass yesterday, a bit wave came all the way up to the window level of the Looking Glass! Wow, that was a big wave. Today it's smooooth.

 

Lectures - I've been to two and they are quite informative. I was a history major so I enjoy hearing about the islands & explorers. Later today is a lecture on George Gershwin.

 

Show - we went to the late show last night & it was a medley of Hollywood songs. I'm not big on this kind of stuff but my fiance really wanted to go (and how could I resist!)

 

Other stuff... I've discovered that I really love the egg salad at lunch - yum! and the cookies at the Cova Cafe (especially the carmel ones). The Cova is my favorite spot to just watch the world go by...

 

Thanks all for the kind wishes.

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jenhem

jenhem

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Hi Beckaboo,

First off, congrats to you and your fiancee on your engagement! I'm enjoying your updates. I'll be on the Journey in April.

 

Just one question about the wireless service, I'm still confused--do you still have to purchase computer time if you use your own computer wireless?

 

Thanks again, Jenny

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LuAnn

LuAnn

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We too are on the next cruise and really appreciate your updates! I'll be checking on your "blog" everyday! Can you tell me (us) if it is Captain Smith on board? Sure hope so as we had him as Captain last year on the Journey and he was terrific!! And happy engagement! What a wonderful way to celebrate! LuAnn

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nps001

nps001

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I appreciate the very nice comment on EPIC Hotel. Some of us that are cruise addicts also work--me in the hotel business :D It's interesting to see how many people are staying with us before their cruise--far more than we expected.

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critterchick

critterchick

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Just one question about the wireless service, I'm still confused--do you still have to purchase computer time if you use your own computer wireless?

 

Yes, you do. You set up an account in the computer center, creating a login ID and password. The flat per-minute rate is .65 or .75 but you can buy packages of minutes to bring the price down to .40 or so.

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Eliger

Eliger

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Is there any cook classes?

We were on the Feb. 12th sailing, and yes there were cooking classes. My wife attended them and she loved them. There was also a "cook off" session with the Cruise Director and the Hotel Director (I believe). My wife said it was hilarious. Something not to miss!

 

Gerry

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critterchick

critterchick

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at that price, I will have a nice week without the laptop:D

 

We were able to get Wifi signals in a couple of the ports. We bought a package and used most of it, but if you don't need it, I'd leave it at home, too. Just extra weight, after all. DH needs to check in with the office periodically, and I am addicted.:o

 

We were on the Feb. 12th sailing, and yes there were cooking classes. My wife attended them and she loved them. There was also a "cook off" session with the Cruise Director and the Hotel Director (I believe). My wife said it was hilarious. Something not to miss!

Gerry

 

We loved the cooking classes (demonstrations, no audience participation) in December. There was one every sea day but one (and we had 9 sea days). We also attended the cookoff and it was a riot.

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LuAnn

LuAnn

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M & C Bell...we have a pretty active roll call on the Azamara Jorney 3/8/09 thread..come over and join us!

 

Ideas for ports, parties etc.! It will take you a little while to read all the posts but should provide you lots of ideas regarding the ports etc.

 

And welcome to Cruise Critic! LuAnn

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Ex-Airbalancer

Ex-Airbalancer

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We were able to get Wifi signals in a couple of the ports. We bought a package and used most of it, but if you don't need it, I'd leave it at home, too. Just extra weight, after all. DH needs to check in with the office periodically, and I am addicted.:o

 

 

 

We loved the cooking classes (demonstrations, no audience participation) in December. There was one every sea day but one (and we had 9 sea days). We also attended the cookoff and it was a riot.

 

 

I would be scare to ring up a bill that higher then trip just for net time:D

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