First Time Azamara "Journey" for Celebrity Veteran

About Us: We are both library directors in Chicago suburbs. We have taken 6 previous cruises, all on Celebrity. This was our first European cruise and first time on Azamara.

We chose Azamara as the price was comparable to Celebrity (we used the upgrade to balcony for inside price plus $1,000 Choice Air credit) and we wanted to give it a try. We are big fans of the S class ships, but were interested to try a smaller ship and were attracted by the ports on this 7 night cruise.

The itinerary was from May 12-19, 2014 Departing from Athens - Santorini - Sea Day - Malta - Taormina (Giardini-Naxos), Sicily - Sorrento (overnight) - Rome (Civitavecchia). After the cruise, we spent 4 nights in Florence, which I will include too.

In each area, I will offer my comparison between OUR experience on Azamara vs. our experiences on Celebrity. I will share some of our port experiences also (with photos) but won't be doing a complete blow-by-blow of our 7 night cruise a la my Reflection cruise.

Disclaimer: I am not a shareholder of RCCL and have no financial or other interest in promoting any particular cruiseline. These are my personal opinions - if you disagree, fine, but don't feel the need to "correct me." or use this review as your bully pulpit.

Thanks for reading!

Embarkation Athens - Monday, May 12

We had arrived in Athens from Chicago via KLM on Sunday, May 11 so had time to explore several places on our must-see list (thanks Rick Steves!).

We first checked in to the Athens Gate Hotel, known to many of CC - and a great recommendation.

We were warmly greeted, offered a refreshing drink of ice cold water and greek candies and were able to check in a little early.

The lobby:

Here's our double room.

We were upgraded to a view of the Temple of Zeus!

Although compact, the room was very clean and modern and had a very nice bathroom with walk-in shower - and, oddly enough, a window in the shower that looked out into the bedroom ;)

We changed and headed right out to visit some of the nearby sites. The Athens Gate Hotel is a short walk from the new Acropolis Museum - our first stop.

It was very interesting to see the excavations under the museum, easily visible through the glass floor as you approach the entrance.

The museum is a modern showcase for treasures of ancient Greece, many from the nearby Parthenon. It also offers excellent views of the nearby Acropolis.

We returned briefly to the hotel and met up with our friends Deirdre (dln929) and Rob who were also staying at the Athens Gate and were joining us on this cruise (and who had convinced us to try this itinerary!!).

We visited the Acropolis approximately an hour before closing. This was a great time to go as crowds had lessened and the changing light was beautiful.

Rob & Deirdre had recently been to the Parthenon and opted to explore while we visited:

Theater of Dionysus:

The views were wonderful:

One word of caution: if you have any difficulty walking or climbing, this could be tough going - there were some slippery, steep areas and no ramps and not many hand rails for support.

Hi Sandi! I'm so glad you've started in on your review (as it saves me the trouble of doing one until we're back on the Journey in September ;)). Athens was wonderful as was the Athens Gate Hotel. That was a good choice for us pre-cruise.

The Erechtheion bathed in late afternoon sunlight....

Temple of Athena Nike

The Parthenon.....one can only imagine the splendor of this building when it was built....

The requisite selfie (plus DH Scott!):

Correction: Post #2....The Odeon of Herodes Atticus

was incorrectly identified as the Theater of Dionysus (seen here) .....mea culpa

We enjoyed a wonderful view of the sunset from atop the Acropolis, before returning to our hotel for a drink.

The Athens Gate hotel features a lovely rooftop restaurant/bar where you can enjoy views of the Athens skyline, including the Acropolis. We enjoyed relaxing with our friends....the local Mythos beer is highly recommended.

We went back out to explore the Plakos area at night. it is a mix of charming and crowded and touristy areas - the restaurants all have someone stationed outside trying to lure you in to eat at their place! The place we eventually chose had a charming, quiet location but the service and food were disappointing (definitely had better Greek food in Chicago!!) We did pop into a few shops first (Deirdre and I won't pass on the chance to shop!!) and picked up some sunglasses and a sun hat.

Hi Sandi! I'm so glad you've started in on your review (as it saves me the trouble of doing one until we're back on the Journey in September ;)). Athens was wonderful as was the Athens Gate Hotel. That was a good choice for us pre-cruise.

Glad you approve, as you will feature heavily in this review (along with your lovely daughter Philippa and our long-suffering DHs :D)

The next morning we enjoyed the complimentary breakfast buffet at our hotel - a lovely assortment of delicious Greek pastries, meats, fruits and more - all with those spectacular views of the Acropolis, and great service. Had to text this photo to those at home....

We had a couple of hours before heading to the cruise port (well, we could have waited longer, but I like to get on the ship...). We left our luggage in our room and explored some more of Athens.

First, I had to stop and mail a postcard to my younger daughter, who collects postcards .....just to prove to her I actually mailed the postcard, in case it never arrived:

OK, catlovers, I couldn't resist taking some photos of Greek cats. This one, who belonged to a souvenir shop owner, was a doppelganger for my cat Sasha!!

And this one, at the Parthenon, looks just like Deirdre's Sammy:

(Ok, enough cats....for now).

We walked through the Plaka, where I of course couldn't resist a little souvenir shopping....

and continued on into the Monastiraki area, where we were delighted by charming restaurants and little alleyways at every turn (must come back here....)

We walked around the outside of the Agora, not having time to explore it properly (next trip) but enjoyed the spectacular views. We were able to identify most of the sights there thanks to the trusty Rick Steves guidebook.

Tower of the Winds:

Temple of Hephaestus:

Byzantine church and Stoa of Attalus (not original)

We climbed up to the Mars Hill for 360 degree views of Athens.

We encountered many school groups here - which became common at most sites we visited throughout our cruise (I understand May is traditionally the time for student field trips). Loud, boisterous groups of kids mainly interested in selfies and each other, to the surroundings :-) but really not too bothersome if you kept your distance!!

If you are interested in more photos of our short time in Athens, they are available here.

Then it was back to the hotel, check out and off to Piraeus, the cruise port a short cab ride away....time to board the Azamara Journey!!

Embarkation:

This was definitely a speedy process, our first experience of one of the main advantages of being on a smaller ship. We could have gone to the Discoverer line, but it wasn't necessary as we were expeditiously checked in and on to the ship within 5 minutes. There was a table to sign up for specialty restaurant reservations and I secured a reservation at Prime C for our sea day as we were interested to try Azamara's specialty dining. (We have dined at most of the Celebrity specialties on the s class ships).

We walked across the tarmac and up the stairs onto the Journey.....

where we received our glass of bubbly .... our cruise was officially under way!!

We signed up for the premium liquor package at $12.95 per day at a table set up right where we boarded as Scott wanted more beer options (seen here):

and I wanted to try some of the included liquor/liqueurs (more on the drinks package later). For now, let's just say I agree with Deirdre's comments previously posted...

Our cabins were not going to be ready until 1:30 p.m., giving us plenty of time to explore the ship and take some photos before it was too crowded (another of our cruise traditions...)

Our initial impressions were positive. We liked the decor, with rich woods and elegant furnishings. We picked up a drink at the Pool Bar and walked around the ship.

Another advertisement for the drinks packages, at the pool....

More please! :D

I'm getting more excited now after seeing your pictures. We leave home on Sunday (22nd) and board Journey on the 28th. I'll be checking back here in the meantime.

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Oh boy, my editing went awry. here is the corrected identifications for the photos I mislabeled earlier:

Odeon of Herodes Atticus:

Theatre of Dionysus:

More please! :D

 

I'm getting more excited now after seeing your pictures. We leave home on Sunday (22nd) and board Journey on the 28th. I'll be checking back here in the meantime.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Well hopefully I can get this review finished before you leave. Will be posting lots of ship photos tomorrow....

Very interesting post LL and look forward to reading more. Judging by your ship's photos it looks more like a Gentleman's Club and nowhere near as spectacular as the Solstice class . I look forward to the food and service comparisons.

Very interesting post LL and look forward to reading more. Judging by your ship's photos it looks more like a Gentleman's Club and nowhere near as spectacular as the Solstice class . I look forward to the food and service comparisons.

indeed....they call it Azamara Club Cruises for a reason! I'll definitely be comparing this cruise to my S class experiences so stay tuned....

Hi Sandi,

Really looking forward to reading your perspective of our cruise.

Sadly we didn't get to stay in Athens beforehand this time but your glorious pictures remind me of past visits

Hazel

Sandi, Great review so far. I am really enjoying your pictures. Thanks for taking the time to post them.

Kathy

Sandi, What type of camera are you using? We are looking to get a new one.

Kathy

Great comments and amazing pictures so far.

A lovely reminder of the impressive sites of Athens.

Hi Sandi:)...looking forward to reading/seeing the rest of your

review:D

Hope you and Scott are doing well:)

Always enjoy your reviews. We leave for Rome this Friday night an will be on the Reflection on Monday.

Thank you for another great review. I have been interested in cruising on a smaller more intimate ship. I always love your pictures.

Sandi,

I enjoy your reviews. Thank you for posting. Looking forward to the rest.

Ohiodoglover

Always enjoy your reviews. We leave for Rome this Friday night an will be on the Reflection on Monday.

Thanks Tommy! I miss reflection - my favorite cruise ship! Have a great time.