Giving It a Go! 1st Timer Panama Canal 10 days post DD

I also like the new loveseat. it looks very cozy.

Have a fantastic trip.

Just made my husband look at the photo and he commented about the lack of usable space with this loveseat being curved. Only one person can sit, really, AND you lose the space behind it...

Just made my husband look at the photo and he commented about the lack of usable space with this loveseat being curved. Only one person can sit, really, AND you lose the space behind it...

Actually I skewed the love seat in the corner. Don't feel it takes away anymore than it used to with the old rectangle one And still fits both of us -- at least BEFORE the cruise. Afterwards might be a bit tight :)

Great to be joining you! See you at the M&M at 6pm. We had a fabulous lunch on the Patio and met the CEO. Staff have been fabulous! Kudos to Azamara for a seamless embarkation process.

I hope we make it! We want to watch the Super Bowl, and we will go to the buffet for dinner. Hoping to drop in t the m&m at 6! If we miss eachother- find us at the super bowl party!

Just unpacked. Muster drill was uneventful and Capt announced we might leave a touch later due to food still being loaded. After unpacking we see there is not much shelf space in the bath. There are 4 large drawers on one side of the wardrobe, and 4 smaller drawers in the desk but there are only 3 narrow shelves in the bath, so I've put most of my " things" in the drawers at the desk, where I usually do hair and make up. If you do these things in the bathroom you'll have little space for things in there!

Waiting for sail away! Will post more once we set up internet tomorrow. Till then! Fair winds and following seas to you all! Thanks for the kind words!

Cruise critic meet and mingle was good. Eric is great! So good to see so many 1st time Azamara cruisers on board. I hope you all enjoy Azamara--she's surely a treat!

Setting sail! Prime C is da' bomb! Staff is awesome! Miami skyline is an awesome backdrop to our dinner. Thank you, Azamara!

Thank you so much for the pictures.

Everthing looks elegant and inviting. Love the muted colors and the fresh flowers.

Love the iron work on the staircases.

Great pictures .....thanks. Nice to see a standard balcony cabin.

Hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise.

Actually I skewed the love seat in the corner. Don't feel it takes away anymore than it used to with the old rectangle one [ATTACH]375618[/ATTACH] And still fits both of us -- at least BEFORE the cruise. Afterwards might be a bit tight :)

What a good idea to position it as you did - wish I had thought of that and moved the table as we found that the desk chair backed into the table a lot and caused minor issues if I was seated at the desk and DH needed to move in or out from the balcony. What you have done would have totally solved the issue and with it being curved it looks much better than would have been the case than the more boxy rectangular one.

Have a wonderful cruise and thank you for the time you are taking to post reports and pictures.

Actually I skewed the love seat in the corner. Don't feel it takes away anymore than it used to with the old rectangle one [ATTACH]375618[/ATTACH] And still fits both of us -- at least BEFORE the cruise. Afterwards might be a bit tight :)

That is a great idea and thanks for posting your actual experience. There seem to be a few people on this board at the moment posting "facts" without being on the ship and its always good to get reports first hand. Much more useful.

Phil

Great to hear these reports. We're embarking in LA on 29th and can't wait. Particularly looking forward to meeting Eric de Grey again after having had him as CD on Seabourn a couple of times in the past as well as others who have already posted on here.

Quick question: is it worth using Uber for the transfer from Beverly Hills to San Pedro?

An exciting nights for the Broncos fans on board...the Suoer Bowl Party took over the Cabaret lounge because it was too cool outdoors last night to hold it in the deck. Regularly scheduled entertainment moved up to the Living room, where a lively crowd enjoyed piano and clarinet. We've noticed that planning is very nimble on Journey and the Capt and crew does a good job keeping us informed of changes.

Not so good was getting kicked off of the upright bicycles this morning due to "company policy". Ok, if the rest of Royal Caribeban charges for spinning, keeping the bikes under lock and key drives revenue, but on Journey where spinning is free, why keep them in the glass case? Insult added to injury when I suggested I could join the free spin class and just spin at my own pace we were told we'd be asked to leave the class if we didn't participate. We managed to get a workout in despite the regular bikes being broken, and interfaces on the ellipticals not working properly.

We had an enjoyable breakfast on the stern, and I'm pleased they kept that specie open for dining, it was the only good weather we had today.

Chuck Richardson Gave an interesting talk about Cartegena and I think we will enjoy him in future lectures.

Lunch and An afternoon nap were the order of the day, and late tonight the Capt expects much higher seas throughout tomorrow, 10-12 feet.

Great to hear these reports. We're embarking in LA on 29th and can't wait. Particularly looking forward to meeting Eric de Grey again after having had him as CD on Seabourn a couple of times in the past as well as others who have already posted on here.

 

Quick question: is it worth using Uber for the transfer from Beverly Hills to San Pedro?

Unfortunately Eric isn't aboard for that trip https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/life-onboard/crew/senior-officer-schedule

:rolleyes:

Have a wonderful Cruise. I'm missing Journey already. We look forward to your updates.

Unfortunately Eric isn't aboard for that trip https://www.azamaraclubcruises.co.uk/life-onboard/crew/senior-officer-schedule

:rolleyes:

I see bios for each of the officers but not a schedule? What am I doing wrong? LuAnn

Just made my husband look at the photo and he commented about the lack of usable space with this love seat being curved. Only one person can sit, really, AND you lose the space behind it...

We just returned from the first cruise post dry dock, we both were able to sit on the love seat. It is cozy, I guess it is why they call it a love seat.

I see bios for each of the officers but not a schedule? What am I doing wrong? LuAnn

Just keep scrolling down the page to find the schedule, after the bio section.

Oh!! Have fun on the refurbished Journey. I was on the sailing in January, through the Panama Canal, Costa Rica to Miami. It was wonderful. Great presenters and all day commentary in the Looking Glass as we went through the Canal. Where will your Azamazing Evening be?

Capts night tonight, we had a wonderful dinner with several CC members we have excursions planned with. 8 of us had a lively conversation and excellent dinner. Menu tweak continue, we had a published menu, but several things wet different/ added, so it seems new things are still being tried. I had a beat salad and vegetable curry and both were excellent, everyone at our table enjoyed their dinner!

After dinner we were greeted by the Captain, and enjoyed a British comedic magician, who was very funny!

We are expecting rougher seas tomorrow and a full day is planned with activities and lectures. One on Panama Canal by chuck, as well as a special q&a with the doctor for medical professionals on board. Also there is a special "forensic" science lecture and the usual trivia and art auctions. Hoping for better weather tomorrow!

Capts night tonight, we had a wonderful dinner with several CC members we have excursions planned with. 8 of us had a lively conversation and excellent dinner. Menu tweak continue, we had a published menu, but several things wet different/ added, so it seems new things are still being tried. I had a beat salad and vegetable curry and both were excellent, everyone at our table enjoyed their dinner!

After dinner we were greeted by the Captain, and enjoyed a British comedic magician, who was very funny!

We are expecting rougher seas tomorrow and a full day is planned with activities and lectures. One on Panama Canal by chuck, as well as a special q&a with the doctor for medical professionals on board. Also there is a special "forensic" science lecture and the usual trivia and art auctions. Hoping for better weather tomorrow!

I do hope your weather improves. Fear not if it turns sour. Johannes will take good care of you and the ship

Isn't he just a delight? 😊

The captain promised some high seas, and we got them! Not anything the stabilizers can't handle, but enough to make walking looks like we've all indulged a bit!

We had a quiet morning at the pool with the Captains buffet for lunch with the officers serving up nachos, ribs, friend chicken, and so much more! Before the buffet I had an opportunity to see the Hotel Director in the hall, and asked him about then policy in the gym, where we were not able to use the spin bikes. He took my cabin number and said he would look into this as he had not heard about that. When I went to get nachos, he remembered me and promised to get back to me, but we told him we understood, he would have had little time to do that already because of a crew drill and because they had him serving up nachos. I'll report back what I hear! In general, we have found the crew and officers very accessible and open to feedback and assisting. Any time I wander by with a used plate, someone takes it from me immediately. At the pool the crew asked about bringing drinks frequently but not obnoxiously!

Church Richardson gave a great talk on part one of his Panama Canal talk- this one about the geology if the canal area and Frances failed attempts at a canal. To oto is part 2 where we learn about the American success story- or so we hope or this cruise is in vain!

Things are still being worked on on board, but not more than we usually notice being maintained on any ship...just small things like a huge pile of cabin furniture for the suites still hiding behind a white curtain on the pool deck.

I also thought I'd share a bit of about some of the cabin amenities I'm loving! (When I do my full review I'll share a few things I think don't quite work too, but for now...

I'm Loving:

-the big wide desk/vanity, with a huge horizontal surface there is room for paperwork and charging appliances as well as putting on my face each evening.

-There aRe 2 outlets for both European style round plugs and North American square style plugs

-The little round pole shelf that hold at least 6-8 sample size shower items- shampoo, conditioner, body wash and at less a handful of my own products form home. There are also 2 larger corner shelves, with plenty of room for larger sized bottles

-One bedside table is texture topped so small items such a glasses (and glasses!) "stick" to it, even on a night with high seas!

- the other bedside table is round wood topped, but both tables feature lots of storage with drawers and cubbies.

Beds are high enough to stash all our luggage underneath.

The clock doesn't feature an blaring LED light; there is a bar to press to light it up when you want to see what time it is, but it doesn't keep you up all night with a blue light! (Unfortunately, if one person presses the bar to see the time, it does make a loud "beep" which could disturb another person in the room.

Tonight things are still rocking us to sleep, but tomorrow we are into Cartegena!

Thanks for the report! Hope you get a good night's sleep.

Have a wonderful cruise. Thanks for sharing your great photos.

Interesting that this veranda cabin on deck 7 shows the curved loveseat - and the video of Journey just posted in another thread (post dry dock) shows a veranda also on deck 7 (the forward cabin, I believe- so a different category? But still a veranda size) with the cushy chair instead of the loveseat (the other arrangements all look the same)

Any ideas which cabins have which "2nd" option (in addition to the desk chair)?

I'm glad your speaker is interesting - on the Panama Canal we did (on HAL, not AZ) our speaker was not interesting. Fortunately, I'd read Path Between the Seas prior to the trip so I got my fill of history & engineering.....I was amazed at how someone could possibly make the Panama Canal story dull - it's so exciting!! (I thought there was a speaker I liked but our cruise was a while ago and I can't find my review, so...)

Enjoy!

Interesting that this veranda cabin on deck 7 shows the curved loveseat - and the video of Journey just posted in another thread (post dry dock) shows a veranda also on deck 7 (the forward cabin, I believe- so a different category? But still a veranda size) with the cushy chair instead of the loveseat (the other arrangements all look the same)

 

Any ideas which cabins have which "2nd" option (in addition to the desk chair)?

 

I'm glad your speaker is interesting - on the Panama Canal we did (on HAL, not AZ) our speaker was not interesting. Fortunately, I'd read Path Between the Seas prior to the trip so I got my fill of history & engineering.....I was amazed at how someone could possibly make the Panama Canal story dull - it's so exciting!! (I thought there was a speaker I liked but our cruise was a while ago and I can't find my review, so...)

 

Enjoy!

The connecting cabins just have a chair and not a love seat. I much prefer the love seat so I won't book a connecting cabin. My TA also told me not to book a connecting cabin, although I'm not sure why.