We’re back “safe and sound” and had a very enjoyable cruise. As I mentioned, had just finished putting together a review, my session timed out and I lost it all… So here goes it from what I remember…
Embarkation– Went very smoothly. They changed the parking facilities at Port Bayonne and moved them away from the dry docks and construction of the new pier. Ron also heard that they were going to construct an indoor parking facility. I hope it’s in place for our February cruise! We arrived at 1:00, dropped off our luggage and utilized the handicapped parking section. We got one of the few spots left in that section. We went through security and made our way over to the counter. There were no lines and we breezed through registration since we had done the online check in. We had our picture taken and walked onto the ship. The staff greeted us with a choice of mimosa or a glass of champagne and we were in our cabin by 1:15! The muster drill was different than any other we’ve ever been through. Our muster station was the dining room. We went down there, listened to the instructions and were then led to the life boats.
Buffet Dining – The buffet area is small and congested. We generally had trouble finding a place to sit. We used the buffet for lunch the days we were in port and for breakfast the last morning. It was very crowded and we generally had a hard time finding a place to sit and eat. The buffet consisted of a salad bar and freshly made Caesar salads, a sandwich station, cold side dish station, a carving station (one item and it changed day to day), hot prepared main dishes and side dishes, dessert, fresh fruit and ice cream station. For breakfast, there was a station that had French toast, pancakes and waffles, and station for freshly made omelets, hot sides (bacon, sausage, blintzes, etc), cereal, pastry and fresh fruit. I mostly had Caesar salad and cheese and crackers for lunch. They were very good. Ron said most of the hot foods were always cold. This is why I don’t like buffets!
Discoveries Dining Room – Breakfast was mediocre and the service wasn’t that great. I asked for Iced Tea one morning, never got it and when I asked one of the waiters about it, I was told “Ask your waiter”. I made the mistake of asking for scrambled eggs one morning and was very disappointed. I think they were made with powdered eggs; they had no taste. They also ran out of tomato juice by the end of the cruise. Lunch was better. I had seared tuna for lunch one day and it was fabulous! The lunch and dinner meals were generally very good. One of the assistant head waiters was very friendly. We were talking to him one day and I told him how much I had enjoyed the Goat Cheese and Potato Tart and he offered to have the chef make it for me another night. I took him up on it and he did! It was FABULOUS!!!
Specialty Dining – We went up to “Prime C” for reservations on Saturday after checking out the ship (3:00). We were able to get a reservation for Wednesday night at 6:00. Earlier nights we would have had to taken a 9:30 reservation and that was too late for us. My observation… it seems that the Captains Club members get two complementary evenings, they were able to make reservations earlier than the cruise and they took up most of the reservations. Our dinner and the service were both INCREDIBLE. We really enjoyed it overlooking Front Street in Hamilton. (Suite guests get 2 free dinners at the specialty restaurants so that may have been the reason the time slots booked up so quickly)
Excursions – Since we’ve been to Bermuda several times and since my knees aren’t quite what they should be these days, we opted not to use any of the excursions. We asked about a taxi tour and rejected it when we were told it would be $108.00. Instead what we did was get a two day transportation pass and tour the island by bus and ferry following the maps. We were able to see most of the sites and talk to some of the Bermudians. One of them was telling us that there is an average of one fatality each month on the scooters. While walking down Front Street, we passed by the scooter rentals and noticed most them had bald tires. I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone.
Entertainment – The Cabaret singers performed twice during the cruise. They had okay voices on their own, but had very good harmony and sounded good when they sang together. This is a good example of “the sum of the parts being greater than the parts themselves”. The magician/musician (Bob Brizendine) was hysterical and we enjoyed his shows the most. The lounge singer (Geoffrey Tozer) was mediocre. It was like watching karaoke. The last performer was a comedian/musician (Bill Mulligan) who took peoples names and made up songs about where they were from and what they did. He was quite good.
Cruise Director – Andrea is from Italy and was a Chemical Engineer before getting his MBA from a California university. How he ended up as a cruise director is still a question, but I’m glad he did. He was delightful and was the most approachable cruise director we’ve ever run into. His passion is astronomy and he gave a lecture on it during the cruise. He also did three “star gazing” sessions and they were great. We went up to deck 11, the lights were turned off and he pointed out the stars, planets and constellations by laser pointer. He was actually at the end of ramp when we got off the ship shaking hands and saying goodbye to everyone.
Enrichment Series – Dr. Joel Klass (physician and psychotherapist) gave three lectures during the week on Hired Guns (How experts can influence juries), Stress (How to eliminate it from your life) and Dreams (How to interpret them). He was very informative and easy to listen to. He has a very dry sense of humor and it was peppered throughout his lectures and the conversations we had with him. He sat with us at dinner one night and I laughed throughout dinner.
Aquaspa – This was one of the highlights of my cruise. I ended up having three massages and a facial. Long story, short… but one of the massage therapists was the best I ever used. I had two deep tissue massages and she was extremely thorough and used techniques other than traditional massage. (I offered to bring her home.) The aesthetician who did my facial was very friendly and very gentle. I felt great when it was over. As usual, there is always a hard sell for products at the end of each session, but I’ve been able to fend them off by saying I have tons of product (which I do). Ron took advantage of the Thalassotherapy pool every day and enjoyed it.
Cabin – The cabin was a bit smaller than what we’re used to. We had a queen sized bed (no rounded corners as on the RCL beds), down comforter and pillows. The bathroom was much smaller than I expected. The shower was TINY!!! However, the Elemis products (soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion) were a welcome addition.
We asked the “butler”/cabin steward to remove the contents of the mini fridge and replace it with Diet Coke. On past cruises, at the end of the cruise, they counted up how many were consumed and charged us based on that. On Azamara, they charged the full amount to our bill right away. It wasn’t until we questioned an item on our statement that we found out that we prepaid for all of it.
There was fresh fruit in our cabin every day and the fresh flowers in our cabin lasted all week. One of the nicer attributes of the cabin was the balcony. It had a dining table and two chairs. We took advantage of it and had breakfast on our balcony the mornings we were in port. Breakfast was delivered on time, was hot and they called right before delivery. We did order canapés one day and they were good. Instead of the traditional piece of chocolate on our pillow each night we received a variety of treats (a miniature rose, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries, chocolates, cookies, etc.).
General Comments – We were probably some of the youngest couples on the ship. Many of the passengers were 70+. We enjoyed being on a smaller ship. It’s very tastefully decorated; lots of wood paneling and moulding. I don’t recall seeing any handicapped bathrooms. Everyone we met was very friendly. There was no problem getting lounge chairs at any time and they were very comfortable. Many of the public areas are much smaller than on the other ships we’ve been on (elevators, hallways, stairwells, etc.). However, we missed the walk-around promenade. The cabaret lounge furniture was not the most comfortable.
We’ve heard lots of rumors about them not allowing cruise ships in to Hamilton next year. Not sure if it’s true or not. If true, it will be a shame. We also heard that most of the Celebrity crew will be leaving before the ship goes to Orient. They will be filling the staff with their own staff. If I think of anything else, I’ll send it along.
Regards,
Debbie
When I followed up with Debbie on how she would compare her cruise experience on the Journey to the experience on the Explorer of the Seas, this was her response:
It's hard to compare them; they're both so different. It’s going to depend on what the person is looking for. The Journey is a much more intimate experience while the Explorer is a bigger, WOW kind of ship.
The biggest advantage of the Journey is that it gets into Hamilton and St. George. We were on deck when we were going through the cut into St. George and saw the cannon fired and heard the town crier. Being in town definitely has its advantages. Going from the dockyard to Hamilton takes about 45 minutes by ferry or bus and you have to wait for them. While we were in Hamilton, we sat out on the promenade and watched and listened to the street festival. I also loved the fact that we got to see so much of the cruise director and crew. On the Explorer, we rarely got to see any of the crew, let alone talk to them. The food might have been a tad better on Journey over the Explorer; but not significantly. As I mentioned earlier, we really liked having the table on the balcony for breakfasts in the cabin. The Explorer doesn't have this. I think the shows on the Explorer were better. The theatre on the Explorer class of ships is much more comfortable (seats and views). Big, extravagant stage shows vs. small, intimate, cabaret style shows. If you arrive late, you'll have a hard time finding a seat let alone seeing the show.
If someone is looking for more athletic activities, then the Explorer is the better way to go. There aren't many on Journey (shuffleboard, jogging track and gym) vs. Explorer (rock climbing wall, skating, miniature golf, in line skating, basketball, shuffleboard, jogging, gym). If you're looking for more group activities, I think the Explorer is better. There were lots of trivia contests on Journey; none of the hairy chest, Quest, etc. The Journey appears to be geared toward more mature adults (lecture series, computer classes, cooking demonstration, etc.). Since the Journey isn't geared toward children, there are no children's activities. Obviously, Explorer has Ocean Adventure Club.
The Azamara Journey and soon to be available, the Quest, are not going to be the perfect cruise ship for everyone. They are not going to cater to families. The age range of the guests may be older during off season (as Bermuda is in September) and since they are doing 12+ night itineraries in the winter. However, next summer in Europe, I would anticipate the 2 Azamara ships to have an upscale, more sophisticated, more middle aged client who wants to feel pampered in an elegant environment. They will be seasoned travelers, and might very likely have cruised with their families but the cruise to Europe will be just for them or possibly themselves and another couple or 2. The fact that the ships are smaller means they can get into more unique ports and avoid tendering (ferrying) guests to the dock. All in all, Azamara has started to attract the clients that it is looking for and, I feel, will continue to play a major role in the upscale cruise line market
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