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I think everyone understands that. The problem arises when the reasons given are incorrect and inconsistent. It’s the same as answers on wines in packages- discontinued, not available, still in the stockroom, will be here tomorrow- had all of these within 4 hours on the same cruise!

And there will be others using the floor who may not despite what is being played pre dinner will not be ballroom dancing so if you’re such a purist this is not the venue for you. This can on some voyages include young children. I believe the Cunard Queens are often chosen by dancers for their cruises. Meant to say Cruise Director will have no impact on dancing and they like the bands are rotating all the time so impossible to say

Honestly the difference in size is marginal. I’ve never heard anyone complain that the type of floor is not good to dance on. It’s usually that they don’t like the music or the timing or that the ship is rocking too much as the Living Room does experience movement. It’s not like it’s competition dancing. If it was me I would concentrate on the itinerary not other things when making my choice.

Onward must be on a different food budget to the other three ships. That’s an amazing spread of food - enjoy!

Thanks we go to that port before Busan but have noted that we might experience delays in Kitaykashu (sp)

I am glad to hear you are enjoying the food, as we found Quest last month average but an improvement on Onward we look forward to experiencing Journey. I do get so annoyed with Azamara staff who push back questions with “rubbish”. These rice tables have not been disbanded- Onward and Pursuit have offered them in the last month. Why can’t staff be more honest - maybe they can’t do one on Journey for other reasons, if so tell the customer that, don’t give them patently incorrect waffle. Im afraid this “brush off with waffle” culture has crept into the hotel side of operations in recent years. You never saw it a few years ago albeit the onboard and Miami hotel leadership was in different hands. I saw it first hand on Quest last month where a very senior manager answered a query with an absolute untruth. If the leaders are doing it, the crew will follow as indeed they now are. To me it’s insulting the guests intelligence!

Our experience of Azamara is post pandemic they were still cracking it but since last year they are struggling to deliver consistency across the four ships. They remain a good deal if you can spot the right offer - before the next offer bus comes along. I suppose we got very jaded after a poor cruise on Onward that had zero attempt to recognise what was bad (we are very easy on food but had to send back at least one dish in most evening meals either for being undercooked or cold; it took 4 days to repair furniture that had doors literally falling off etc). EJ was a breath of fresh air in the catering department both in terms of quality and service. We are just back from an Azamara cruise where I’d say the food was 60% acceptable so that’s an improvement from Onward though the lunch time offerings were dire and the specialities nothing special. Due to having to move things around we board a different Azamara ship a week today so another immediate comparison - as last time an itinerary driven decision - this will be a defining cruise for Azamara dining experience vs future bookings. As food is more important than entertainment and pools for us EJ stays in the booking frame. Add to that the per day price for our September cruise in an OT1 will be less than Azamara equivalent in a club continental and that shocked us. We are under 1000 passenger cruisers so intend to look at O and other options for 2025. We can’t though consider EJ sadly until they sort their back office and itinerary reliability out. Yes I don’t want the complimentary waterfall (or aft rollercoaster) on a TA I want my original room or one close by back!

Thank you Adrian, you sum up why we booked again spot on - there were elements of the onboard experience that were spot on perfect for us. My enthusiasm for Azamara has waned - the limitations of older boats and lower quality (though still broadly acceptable) have impacted on how happy we are onboard. Azamara certainly wins on their itineraries particularly their country intensive ones. Both are plagued by back office issues and neither seem to be cracking it. The room issue is not resolved, they are still not accepting the owed the customer any duty to put them in a room in a broadly similar location on the move. Their updated offer is a room on the original deck but not near midships and on the different side (and yes a jacuzzi risk one). We have declined! Based on the current experience, I can't see us booking EJ again unless they really sort out their back office

My poor travel agent is tearing her hair out - and she is a very competent well informed agent. We reached a resolution (or so we thought) on the shortening of the cruise which did involve modest reduction in price (not the per day equivalent) and an agreement to cover the two hotel nights bed and breakfast which we though was fair. Then they came back and said sorry we are only able to book room not b and b in the hotel. My agent pushed back (as she had independently booked us two other nights in the hotel as we were arriving a few days early on a b and b basis no problem). Eventually although not ideal we accepted a small additional amount of OBC (not sure having been onboard and experienced their rate of cancellation of excursions what we will use it for!). But now we have this allocation of a different less good location room for the shortened version cruise - EJ did not give everyone the rooms they previously had. They cannot give her any logical reason why we were given a different room in the same category but on a different side, floor and moved to the back from midships. They are now trying to get a "fix" - its disgraceful that the response to my agent was not an :oh goodness yes we need to sort that but rather a feeble set of excuses all of which my agent has had to push back on and now is waiting to hear back on a "possible resolution". Its not that the cruise was one that was already open for bookings, it is one that they created as a result of changing the original one, so all guests should automatically have been allocated their existing rooms on the new voyage. To add to her woes, our other EJ cruise which is a b2b has had one leg drop off the system - though EJ are assuring her the other leg is there, neither she or I can see it. They are looking to get a IT fix....... Obviously, we will not be booking any more with EJ. Their systems are not to be trusted and their "ambassadors" seem to give experienced travel agents answers that cannot be correct in the hope they do not realise that and go away. Its a shame because despite some limitations (is there actually a perfect line out there? - I doubt it) we did feel EJ had a place in our vacation plans.

Quest had two designated dancers who supported the 4 singers in the show last month. They were fine in that role but didn’t seem skilled (precise) enough to do a show on their own. They weren’t ballroom dancers more show and beat dancers

Great to hear that the ports continue to deliver so much. Azamara (and other lines) are hugely helped by the port authorities in each stop. This pamphlet that they prepare shows how much will be set up if you ask. I have also found it a useful resource for planning. Other countries should prepare a similar one stop summary! https://partners-pamph.jnto.go.jp/simg/pamph/2349.pdf

Sometimes pre show the band play for dancing. You can ask the cruise director and if it’s possible most will do it. At non show times the lounge is closed for rehearsals etc so no guest access.

My travel agent has worked hard to get an acceptable resolution and we thought we had it yesterday! However we have now found that in moving us to the cruuse two days later, they have changed our cabin. They have not upgraded us. It’s the same category but they have moved us from our carefully selected mid ships to one at the aft on a higher deck, which is a no go for us on a transatlantic. We feel sorry for our agent she’s going to have to do even more work tomorrow. Can’t understand given it was a “new cruise” why bookings weren’t lifted wholesale to their existing rooms

Thank you so much. Really good to read this. I think we are only going to DIY 3 times. Like you we bottled out on too much independence. I know people chastise us for our cautious approach and you always meet someone who gives you the maths of how they’ve done better- in Europe or the Americas I’m happy to DIY but as soon as I cannot read a street sign I panic. No point in being over stressed as this is a one and done bucket list for us. I might investigate the Port Ambassador for stops we were DIY as maybe there are options we could consider. Do keep enjoying your wonderful experience

The basic package is so slow it should be included at no charge as lines like Viking and Explora do. That would probably be fast enough for many guests leaving the faster speed for those who want to stream or access work systems and will be happy to pay. It’s sad to see this criticism of Azamaras wifi speed and cost has been talked about since 2014. Every time management acknowledges the issue and hints better is coming. 10 years on, they lag their competitors really badly on this one.

We will get on when you get off! I will try and “forget” the surprises and certainly won’t tell DH! The temperature is same as home so we are OK with that and we’re planning layers anyway but it might catch others out. We have opted to take quite a few land discoveries- are you hearing any feedback on these? Thanks for posting and do keep enjoying!

Nor us. We were on back to back got nothing for either

I think it all depends on your “shape” but we found them so uncomfortable when we sailed on Onward. We were assured by Tony the Hotel Director they were temporary with the correct chairs being in a container in Shanghai Surely if they were unable to find said container replacements should have been sourced by now.

Perfectly explained! If you want to feel you’re treated far better than others (and perhaps have access to places and other “symbols”) EJ is not for you. If that isn’t what draws you to YC then EJ is certainly worth a chance. I felt very special on my first cruise, the pool butler knew my seating and lounger layout preferences and the times I liked drinks by Day 2. I was in an OT. Our second cruise when we saw the good Doctor onboard we had a penthouse. Actually our butler - whatever you call him - was much less good to the extent we had him swapped out. And our “treatment” outside the room was no different to Cruise 1. It was equally special and very enjoyable.

Hope it’s fun! Hope the crew get some rest as well where possible.

We are UK passport holders, we filled in no form anywhere either on the ship, the port or at the airport.

I have really enjoyed your review, it has brought me back some happy memories from November and gives some hopes for our remaining bookings. They look like they have taken on some of the feedback regarding the entertainment and you had a more proactive Entertainment Manager who was there not "for show". Still some learning as well but I see EJ very much like a smart hotel - several restaurants and its about choosing around menus and if on board for a larger number of days you may well have to enjoy a favourite one more time. Like you we find an OT room to be a reasonable amount of space, certainly enough for us. Ive often wondered about testing Virgin but I think I will stick with BA even though my children think I should be put in a home from time to time Thanks for all your input and balanced comments

That brings Journey in line to Quest re the dining prices. Can I ask what rose is being served on the Ultimate Package. I’d heard the angel had used its wings and left so wondering about the substitute

We did not need it in December

Not me, no reference to self serving in my posts To put the record straight, I continue to advocate using established welfare processes onboard whenever circumstances arise and being a firm believer in equity rather than favouring a few. So in all situations I will always place funds to a crew fund where the unseen laundry person, waste operative and all staff rather than those who catch my eye or ear can be looked after.