Journey to Bermuda-8/11/07

[smdubowsky]

We're out to sea . It was a beautiful day for embarkation. The Journey is really a beautiful ship. We're used to M Class ships, but this ship makes up in details what it lacks in size.
The fridges are in the rooms! The prices for the minibar are not that bad. ($2.00 for a Coke.)

We found the buffet for lunch today was very good quality with a wide selection. The wi-fi works throughout the ship and you can use your cell phone through the ship's satellite system (expensive).

Now it's time to relax. That's it for now.

[Spender Nui]

Thanks for the good information. We'll keep tuned in. Enjoy your cruise.

[Host Andy]

We're out to sea . It was a beautiful day for embarkation. The Journey is really a beautiful ship. We're used to M Class ships, but this ship makes up in details what it lacks in size.
The fridges are in the rooms! The prices for the minibar are not that bad. ($2.00 for a Coke.)

We found the buffet for lunch today was very good quality with a wide selection. The wi-fi works throughout the ship and you can use your cell phone through the ship's satellite system (expensive).

Now it's time to relax. That's it for now.

Hi Smdubowsky !

Thanks for the update. I hope you have a wonderful time onboard Journey.

Bon Voyage !

[ALSEAU]

Well smdubowsky you are a man of your word. You promised at least one review and you delivered. I hope the rest of your cruise is so full of fun that you won't be able to give another review until you return.

ENJOY YOUR CRUISE!

[smdubowsky]

Here's another report I composed ofline:
Today was our first sea day. For those of you who were wondering, the Journey cruises very similar to the larger M class ships that we have been on. The seas have been light to moderate and the movement is hardly noticeable. There is some vibration in the dining room (Deck 5, aft), but it is a ship at sea , after all.

The dinner in the main dining room was similar to Celebrity fare last night. The soup was excellent, The main course I had was good (South African white fish) but not overwhelming, The creme brule' was excellent. Personally I have always found the first night dinner to be the weakest night on a Celebrity ship.

For breakfast this AM we ate in our room. There is now a room service breakfast menu brought to your room every night. If it is not on the menu, just write down what you want. The service was right on time and just what we wanted.

The afternoon tea and snacks can also be done in your room and is much better than the Concierge Class on Celebrity.

The cell phone service, after checking, is not available on Verizon. Just letting folks know. The Casino is small but accomodating and there is no smoking which we like.

Overall the ship is laid out like a mini M ship, Most facilities are available except there is no Aqua Spa cafe. (but the buffet here is better), There are really only two small shops (my DW loves the shopping specials on the M ships), and there are fewer pools.

There's only one main pool which is sort of small but is easier to lounge in since there is no "deep" end. There are two small hot tubs on either side of the pool and a "thallasotherapy pool forward of the fitness center but it is really a large hot tub.

Curiously, it was much easier getting a lounger on Journey than the larger ships. I guess passengers onboard are figuring out that you don't need to hog them.

They are still renovating the ship. Today they were pulling up the carpet on Deck 8 hallways and putting down new carpet.

The service onboard has been fantastic so far.

That's enough for now. Bye!

[Spender Nui]

Hi smdubowsky ... Enjoying your posts.

A question regarding the room service breakfast menu. Is this for all cabins? I don't know if you're in a suite.

[blambition]

Love getting your updates....Thank you!
Vicki

[Host Andy]

Hi Smdubowsky !

Thanks again for the update, I am glad everything is going well. Have a great Cruise !

[smdubowsky]

The in room breakfast menu is for all rooms. We're in Verandah 1a. Get back later with another report.

[smdubowsky]

Monday--St George

We were able to make it through the "cut" at the entrance to the harbor in spite of the morning rainy weather. It's a very narrow passage way and the town crier is there to greet the ship as it passes through.

The food in the main dining room last night was excellent. My recommendation is to steer clear of the main dining room on Saturday night then after that it will be fine. I think the problem may be the guests and not the staff. In any case, the specialty restaurants are getting such rave revues, why not try one on the first night.

We went to Prime C tonight and the dinner was great. My DW had the Kobe steak and I had the Sea Bass. Both were excellent. I had the chocolate fondue which was delicious and by my calculations was the lowest calories on the dessert menu. BTW, they take your dessert order when you order your meal, but from a separate menu. I'm not sure why since there did not appear to be any time sensitive items like a souffle'.

We also tried the main dining room for lunch. The food was excellent but too much! The apple tartlet was out of this world and should not be missed.

They are still working on the ship, but it is not intrusive. While we are in Bermuda, they are refurbishing the casino with new tables and what appears to be new slots. We can't use the casino, anyway, until Thursday when we set sail.

The entertainment has been very good. There are no big productions like there are on the larger ships, but so far the singers, and the magician-comedian has been excellent. I would urge you to come early to the shows since the view is not that great from the back of the cabaret.

Don't be put off if the weather looks bad when you get to Bermuda. It was dreary and rained off and on in the morning, but by the afternoon, the conditions were great. We went to St. Catherine's beach which is about 1.5 miles from the ship. There were not that many people there, there is a restaurant and facilities to rent chairs and umbrellas, and the water is azure blue. There is a picturesque fortress right above it, Tobacco Bay is closer but it did not look impressive or that clean.

Tomorrow, it's off to Hamilton. As the Captain often says, "Bye for now."

[mringenoldus]

Thanks for the great updates. I hope they don't remove the penny slots to put in higher denominations!!

Maureen

[blambition]

You have peaked my interest. First off I am wondering what the chocolate fondue consist of? My other big question is are they adding any new tables to the casino such as Let it Ride or Caribbean Stud Poker? Should you happen to go in there after they finish the redo I would appreciate knowing the answer.
I hope you and your wife continue to have a fabulous trip. Love the reports.
Vicki

[Spender Nui]

Continue to enjoy your posts. Keep them coming.

[stefie67]

thanks for all of the info, i can't wait. does azamara give all passengers a beach bag in the cabin like celebrity did?

[harryw]

Yes - We received beach bags on last week's cruise..and nice complimentary slippers..

Harry

[smdubowsky]

The chocolate fondue is warm dark chocolate. Then you have a bowl of chunks of brownies, pineapple, strawberries and bananas and skewer. You get the idea.

The casino is still a mystery. I'll report back when I fugure it out. Here's the rest of my report.

Hamilton-Tuesday

Here's a little secret, although I think it has been mentioned before, there is good coffee on the Journey. I was never a real fan of the coffee in the dining room on Celebrity. The dining room coffee is not much different on Journey. You don't have to go to the Cova Cafe and pay for the good stuff. There are coffee brewing machines in the buffet that fresh grind regular and decaf coffee and espresso.

Hamilton is a very nice port but don't expect bargains. Some British goods are a little less than expected. I bought a Shetland wool sweater for $36.00. My DW just looked so I concluded that the prices were high.

The food on the ship continues to be very good. Last night we opted for the turkey and were surprised how well it was prepared.

Bye for now

[Melady]

My DH and I were on the June 16th sailing - our wonderful waiter, EDWIN, took perfect care of us in the Discoveries dining room! Please say Hello to Edwin for us (Mr. Frank and Miss Melinda, and our friend, Mr. Dave). Have a lovely time on Journey - we sure did! So much so, I wanted to stay and sail on her for a very long time!! Unfortunately, we didn't win the lottery so we couldn't afford to stay on her indefinitely!! Have fun and enjoy :)
:)

[smdubowsky]

Melady-

The cruise is indeed excellent. Here's my latest report.

Bermuda-Wednesday to Thursday afternoon
We went to Horseshoe Bay beach. Everyone says it is one of the most beautiful beaches. It is, but it is also one of the most crowded. Try to get there early. One advantage of Horseshoe is that the bus stop is up the hill and the cabs are always waiting. Cab is around $15.00.

Wednesday night is festival night. There's a street fair on Front Street. Most of the stores are open late and there are loads of street vendors and there's live music. It's nice because it's not just a tourist thing. A lot of locals are there too. We went to Aqualina for dinner. The wrapped ahi tuna was very good. They also have Grand Marnier and chocolate souffle's. Need I say more. They don't have the comedian on Wednesday night in the Cabaret. There was an instrumentalist, but by the time we got back from the street fair, it was over.

On Thursday, we leave Hamilton at 3:00 PM so the day is somewhat abridged. I did have the opportunity to visit the navigational bridge with one of the ship's officers. (A Captain"s Club Elite perk). It was very interesting. Although the ship was built in 1999, the bridge has been outfitted with every new navigational and safety device. I was a little disturbed that there was a row of slots against the back wall. (Only kidding (;-))

Seriously I was very impressed. The officer also stated that the ship was very stable in rough water for a ship her size. I'll agree with that. Although we have only been on fairly calm, rolling seas, the motion is about the same as an M Class ship which is about three times the size of the Journey. One thing I noticed. The ship needs tugs to get her in and out of port since there are no azipods. There are also no pods to break down!. The ship is run by four large deisel engines, but the the propulsion system is actually electric with four electric motors running the props.

We also took a boat ride over to the Dockyards. It was nice but no real beach there. We went back to the ship and dunked ourselves in the pool. The water was about 90 degrees! One important note. Bring aquashoes or at least rubber flipflops. The new pool deck surface becomes excessively hot when exposed to the sun. You really can't take more than a few steps before it becomes painful.

We're back at sea now on our way home. The week is passing so quickly.

Bye for now.

[Spender Nui]

I've been following your reports and appreciate the information.

Your comments regarding the excessive heat in the deck (I assume we're talking around the pool) is a little scary.

And a question ... did they fire the canon when you sailed through the cut in St. George?

Once again, thanks for the real time review.

[rkeate0804]

Thank you for the great updates on the journey....It is great to read and get excited about our 10/27 cruise.....have a great cruise

[stefie67]

harry
we're you in a regular room or suite?

[smdubowsky]

Sorry we missed Edwin. We tried but couldn't get the right table. Most of the wait staff were excellent.

There was no cannon that I was aware of in St. George. It was rather early, but there was a town crier with a large bell as we went through the "cut."

Here's my last report from the ship.

Friday

We're almost home so this will be the last report from the ship. In a few hours a new group of you cruisers will be aboard to enjoy the too short week. After I'm home I'll send one more message with my opinions of the cruise. Take them as one CCer's opinion.

The casino. I think they either reassembled the electronic poker table in a different area or it's a new one. SInce it is not hooked up, I can't tell. They have installed a few new penny slots that can play a gazillion different lines. Not for me anyway. There is one $5 blackjack, two $10 blackjack and one 3 card poker table, and one roulette table plus slots. That's it for the casino. It only functions on the cruise days anyway.

IMHO, the ship is really gearing up for its post Bermuda run. Since we had a little rain this afternoon, we went to the art auction. We've been to other art auctions before but this one is definitely geared for the pricey crowd. Many of the pieces were between 20K and 100K.. The majority it seemed were original pieces or original signings from artists like Picasso and Chagall. There was definitely less action than usual. The gift shops are also geared toward the higher end.

Today we hit a little bumpy weather. The wind was to about 35 knots out of the SW and the seas were running at 12 to 15 feet. I thought the ship handled the weather quite well. In fact I thought that Journey did as well as the M ships under similar circumstances.

If you are prone to motion sickness, you should take precautions. The medical office carries meclizine and the store carries dramamine. There were plenty of passengers who were wearing patches. Fortunately, the only problem I have with the motion is it puts me to sleep.

So, we've had a wonderful "Journey." I'll be glad to answer any and all questions after we unpack. I'll also give a comparison to the M ships.

Bye for now

[blambition]

Thank you again for your informative reports!!!! We can't wait to be aboard her, but I think we can skip the art auction.
Vicki

[smdubowsky]

Here's the last report from our Bermuda cruise. I am going to use our previous cruises on M ships as a reference. The first thing I loved about this cruise for us was the local cruiseport in Bayonne. Since we live in New Jersey, we were home by 11:00 in the morning and completely unpacked by 2:00PM. Did not miss the hassles with the airport.

Our stateroom,7059, midship, was equivalent to a Concierge class room on the M ships. The service and amenities were about the same. The size of the room was close with the M ship stateroom a little bigger but not by much. Same with the bathroom.

The ship, of course, was much smaller. I liked the small size because everyone seemed friendlier. It was very easy to get around the ship since most everything was only one third the distance. My DW likes the larger ships better for several reasons. There are basically just two small shops on board with limited items to purchase. There are no big $10.00 sales in the evening or other promotions of any consequence. I spoke with one of the sales people about the merchandise in the stores which were a little on the pricey side. She inferred that they were really geared for the "post Bermuda" crowd. BTW, the same holds true for the Park-West art auction. Many of the pieces started above 10k and some were close to 100k.

The shows are smaller but very good, but get to the Cabaret early since the seats in the back do not have a great view. I get the feeling that the entertainment on the ship will be changing from time to time. Overall, the entertainment has bigger productions on the M ship but those productions do not change very much from year to year. We'll see what happens.

While the food is very good on the Journey (It is evident that they are spending a lot for it.), My DW and I missed the Aquaspa Cafe. There is no fare like it on Journey. There was a rumor last spring that Celebrity was doing away with the Aquaspa Cafe. I hope they don't.

The buffet on the Journey is better than M ships for breakfast or lunch. The breakfasts were excellent and there were never long lines for the omelettes or waffles. There are little hints that they are spending more money here, too. For instance, smoked salmon is served every day at the breakfast buffet.

In-room breakfast was better on the M ships. We had the in room breakfast the first two mornings and then gave up. They weren't bad but they had that wilted look if you know what I mean.

The Cova Cafe is better on the Journey. First the pastries on the Journey are crazy good. In addition there's a cart in the Cova Cafe that is almost always available and filled with different finger sandwiches and pastries. Just take a plate and you are in business.

Tea time is also available in the Cova or in your room. On Journey they will only provide snacks and tea in the afternoon if you fill out a request form the night before. We did it once. I think it's smarter that way.

The specialty restaurants were very good. I'd give Prime C a slight edge but you could talk me into saying that Aqualina was better. My DW had the Kobe steak (an additional $8.00). It was very good. These restaurants, while on par with the specialty restaurant on an M ship, are more relaxed in their manner. I'd say it was a toss up between the M ship and Journey.

As far as the main dining room is concerned, there are pluses and minuses to the open seating. We never made any reservations or requests for tables since we never went to dinner at a set time like some other passengers. We only had the same wait staff twice. On the other hand, it was great not having to plan your afternoon around the assigned meal time. I do think the staff misses out a little since I usually give a little extra to my waiter and busboy on the M ships. Here there was really no one to give it to.

The food was mostly good, but there were a couple of rough spots. The first night my DW returned the roast beef twice (first one was very fatty and the second was overcooked. Then had to return the first stripsteak (overcooked) before they got it right. Overall we did not have problems. I would rate the main dining room a toss up with the M ships.

The casino was rather small. There are some penny slots and multi-denomination slots up to $5.00, there are a couple of blackjack tables, one 3 card poker table, and one roulette table. I spent less time in there than I usually do. Don't forget that the casino is closed while in port (as are the stores onboard). The M class ships take this category.

Pool deck - There's only one pool. It's very small and it's only about three feet deep, but it works fairly well. It's chlorinated seawater, just like the M ships. There are two hot tubs which weren't very hot. In fact on Thursday, the pool was warmer! The thallasotherapy pool in front of the fitness center is really just another hot tub. The new deck loungers are very comfortable, but again watch out for the deck itself. It gets very hot! IMHO, the M ships have the edge.

The fitness center is very well equipped for a ship this size. All of the equipment appears to be brand new and there was never any problem in availability of any of the machines. I'd give a slight edge to the Journey here, but of course there really is no aquaspa here like there is on the M ships. It's just a fancy locker room with a tiny steam room.

I know that there are many areas that I didn't mention, but this is long enough. If anyone has any more questions, I'll be happy to give you my opinion.

One thing I found out about myself is that I realized I enjoy the ship much more when we are out at sea. On the Bermuda cruise, the ship serves as a conventional hotel for almost four of the seven days. For me it's more fun when we are on the go at sea.

It was too bad we didn't have a CC party. We did manage to bump into a few of you during the week and it was nice to make a "face to face." I'm sorry I missed the rest of you.

Thanks for putting up with me. I hope that I have helped some of you, just as you have all helped me.

Bye for now

[mringenoldus]

You have done an awesome job of presenting a clear and objective view. We have about 7 weeks left to wait. Thanks for all the information - it just makes us more eager to get onboard!
Maureen

[BarbD49]

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews. We are on the 9/1 sailing and are hoping for no hurricanes. We will be in a deck 8 veranda cabin and are anxious to board. Is it true that the cabins are less than the standard Celebrity 172 Sq. Ft?

Did they mention that there would be any Celebrity ship going to Bermuda next year?

We expect to have a CC gathering day 1 at sea at 11:00 AM. This should be fun.

Did you go to the computer center to post these or did you use your own notebook?

Thanks again for your efforts and your vauable information.

[smdubowsky]

Thanks for the Thanks!

The verandah cabins may have a square foot or so less room than the M ship Concierge class cabin but it is not that noticeable. They do cut a little off in the bathroom if you believe that is possible. The flat screen TV on the wall gives you an extra shelf where the TV used to be and the drawer space is about the same maybe even better on the Journey. One good feature of the Journey stateroom: There's a switch on the headboard to turn off the lights.

There will be no Celebrity ships from NYC to Bermuda next year.

I used my laptop to send all my reports. I typed offline and then plunked it into the Cruisecritic board. Otherwise the costs range from .35 to .65 cents per minute depending on the plan you choose. There are plenty of laptops in the computer room if you want to go there, but the wi-fi works well in all of the staterooms and throughout the ship. That's much better than the M ships.

[Host Andy]

Hi Smdubowsky !

Thanks for your excellent reports. I truly enjoyed reading them. I hope you will submit your review to Cruise Critic !

By the way, you made a comment about a rumor regarding Celebrity possibly getting rid of the Aquaspa Cafe.... While I have no inside information, I cant see it happening. The ONLY reason I say this, is that Celebrity is making a big deal of Aqua everything (Rooms, Spa, Ammenities etc), on the New Solstice Class ships. It would make zero sense for Celebrity to get rid of that feature on their current ships, as they plan to feature it on Solstice.

Of course, I could be wrong about this, but I think you just heard a bad rumor. Believe me, I have heard my share of them on the ships too, and by some very high ranking crew no less :)

Anyway, thanks again for the time you spent on keeping us informed. I am glad you had a wonderful Cruise on Journey. I very much look forward to being on Quest in October !

[prosenbl]

Thank you so much for the great post. We are also on the 9/1 sailing and your information is very helpful and positive.

[grandsix]

Wonderful review. Looking forward to our Journey cruise in a few weeks.

[crzfanatic]

Thanks for the review. I really think that we will like the smaller ship. It has been so long since we have been on a small one. It looks like the CC crowd will be pretty large on our 9/1 cruise and that should be fun. Less than 2 weeks now!

Andy & Chuck

[Leia]

I agree with almost everything that the poster has said - we were on the 8/11 departure as well. We were in a SS on deck 8, so aside from my husband tripping during the carpet replacement (which was remarkably quick to be completed), we had no problem with the continuing renovations. It seems to me that they are always working on cruise ships anyway.

I'd say the art auction is worth visiting, I always find I learn a lot. Unfortunately this time I spent a lot too, but oh well.

The lines in Discoveries could look daunting, but rarely did we actually have to wait for a table once they processed people at the maitre-d desk. We found it much easier to eat dinner there than in the buffet, because my 3 year old was sort of more, uh, contained I guess. Some nights he had passed out before dinner anyhow. We didn't try to take him to Prime C or Aqualina, my parents watched him. We all did enjoy the shows, but not as much as the cheesetastic ones we've seen on Carnival and RC.

Anyhow, beautiful ship, lovely rooms, terrific food. It is definitely an older crowd, but we knew that going in. There were a lot of people complaining about the renos, and about how this "was not a Celebrity cruise," but in my experience people are always complaining on cruises. It's just what people do.