Shadow5501

I’ve stayed in a spa suite on Journey for 11 nights. Never a problem in the room or on the balcony. I did tend to alter my walking route not to use the pool deck doors that take you past the smoking area, but that’s hardly an inconvenience.

On an 11 night cruise last October I ate in Aqualina 5 nights, Prime C 5 nights, and chefs table once toward the end of the cruise. Afraid I did not successfully communicate my point. The component ingredients and their preparations as combined into menu items served at the chefs table substantially exist as component ingredients in the menu items served in Aqualina and Prime C. The meats, seafood, sauces, some of the sides - all are sourced from the menus of Aqualina and Prime C. If you were to make a Venn diagram of the items used in the chefs table menu they would have perhaps a 50% overlap with the specialty restaurant menus. The individual courses of the chefs table are not offered at the specialty restaurants, but if you ate at the specialty restaurants as often as I did, they will feel strangely familiar and not all that unique. That is my point. In retrospect, this is unlikely to be much of an issue for most passengers…

Yes, there is still a supplement for the chefs table if you are in a suite. Unfortunately I can’t recall if it’s a reduced rate or the same as everybody else. I will say this. The menu for the chefs table was substantially derived from dishes served in Aqualina and Prime C. If you plan to frequently dine in the specialty restaurants, the chefs table may not be as unique or special. The wine was very good.

I’m currently on Journey and having trouble getting confirmation that disembarking 1hr early (6am) is possible. We are approaching the end of our cruise in Piraeus. The ship arrives 24 hours prior to disembarkation - the final day of the “cruise” is spent docked in Athens. The cruise originated in Athens and the last several ports of call have all been in Greece. Despite this, the crew has not been able to confirm (having had nearly 24 hours to work on the issue) that it will be possible. The published disembarkation times are 7:00 to 9:30am. Given my experience, I would suggest that to avoid stress and extra work, plan to disembark only during normal hours, and book a flight out no earlier than noon from a local airport.

I am currently on the Journey. As of 18:15 on Saturday 22 October the ship is still anchored in Patmos harbor with no announced departure time. Passengers and crew have been provided essentially no information. At approx. 07:30 on 22 October the captain made an announcement that the crew was cooperating with investigations into the sinking and he expected to complete this task and depart soon. Five hours later the captain made another announcement that the investigation was continuing and the ship would depart when it was complete. No estimated timeline was provided . There has been no information provided since. As one would expect, rumors are running rampant, along with humor of questionable taste. All passengers and crew are fine, though a “sea day” anchored in the harbor is more than a bit dull. Passengers have not been permitted off the ship since the accident last evening.