Journey is Getting Shabby

[tgg]

We've just returned from our 6th Azamara cruise. We were welcomed back like family and were well taken care of. The food was delicious and beautifully presented and the service was fine. Even the guest entertainers were good. The senior staff was everywhere on the ship, talking to people and making them feel welcome. The atmosphere was upbeat and positive. We had a great time!

 

However, the ship is showing its age. The woodwork in our cabin was scratched and nicked, two drawers were stuck and jammed, the room safe was not properly secured, the bathroom needed some work, the bed sagged, and the upholstered furniture in the public areas and in the main dining room had hanging threads and wear spots.

 

I understand that the ship is not scheduled for major work until 2012. If that's the case, some thought needs to be given to spending some money on keeping the ship in shape until then. It's kind of sad to see it this way.

[gosport11]

Sounds like 6055? if not we had simlar issues with the safe and draws :):)

[tgg]

It was cabin 4031. Our butler was able to get someone to screw down the safe (the door, however, still stuck), fix two drawers, and address one of the bathroom issues. Many of these things should have been noted when the room was cleaned on turnaround day. When you pull a drawer out and the ball bearings fall out, you know there is a problem. However, other issues were not a quick fix.

 

Did we have a great time? Absolutely. However I don't think that people who are going to be paying 40% or 50% more for the same cruise will find this situation acceptable.

[alexandra cruiser]

I had limited my choice between Azamara and Sea Dream for a Norway cruise in 2011, now I m unsure...havent been on either one...but Journey sounds like it might not be up to snuff,so to speak....maybe wait till 2012 when redone???Both itineraries similar , but SeaDream only 112 passengers.Maybe to small for possible rough seas? Any advice or thoughts?

[Karynanne]

tgg, we were also on your cruise, and I have the same opinion. The staff and crew were just wonderful, but to justify the substantial increase in cruise fares, the ship needs to be refreshed quite a bit.

 

We also had a wonderful time. The food was very good, and we did enjoy the entertainment.

[nikless]

And we were on Journey, too, for the first time, so we have no basis for comparison re the aging of the ship.

 

The service, food, staff and overall experience ranks among our best. Our only complaint was the "creaking" and engine prop vibration in our room, which was a suite, two cabins from the aft end on deck 8. Especially on the last nite, enroute to port.

 

Oh, and the circus trying to get a taxi in Miami after we docked....not their fault.

[lisiamc]

Was I on a different ship? We were just on the Journey in December, and everything in our cabin was absolutely fine. I don't think many cabins have the sort of problems you describe. Yes, they should take care of stuck drawers and unbolted safes, but our bed was fine, the sheets were high quality, the curtains and carpet were in very good shape. The woodwork dates from the original Renaissance ships, so some scratches are inevitable.

 

If I wanted to sail on a new (and probably much larger) ship, I suppose I could choose a different line, but I'd rather sail on Azamara.

 

Lisa

[Floridiana]

I concur with Lisa. Our experience on the Azamara Journey was outstanding. The stateroom was impeccably clean and in very good order. I did not notice any shabbyness in the public spaces either. The crew was very attentive and the food was excellent. (January 2010, Eastern Caribbean)

[SeaPeaInn]

I have to concur with the OP. The ship needs a lot of work on the exterior and the balconys. Food was OK but the speciality restraurants we found to be the poorest of all the ships we have been on. The "whole Maine lobster" turned out to be a very small over- cooked, rock lobster tail looking very lonely on a plate. No attempt at presentation.

 

Cruise was well worth the price we paid but this ship is not ready to call itself upscale.

[alidor]

Pretty much agree with PNickle. We were on the Quest in January and although we enjoyed the cruise and the staff, do agree there are shabby parts. Some of the furniture in the Mosaic Lounge is definitely threadbare; windows in the shop, around the ship, in the dining room definitely need to be cleaned. We did have a great value for this trip for what we paid, but at their new prices, I would be hesitant. The ship doesn't deliver to what it promises at their new rates.

 

Although food is subjective, we thought the food on the Quest was very good. Six months prior we were on Regent and thought the food on the Quest was better. We had veal, beef, etc. on the Regent ship that you couldn't cut, overdone vegetables, etc. On our Quest sailing, the vegetables were perfect and you could cut the veal with a fork and the beef was excellent.

[C2Dan]

We've just returned from our 6th Azamara cruise. We were welcomed back like family and were well taken care of. The food was delicious and beautifully presented and the service was fine. Even the guest entertainers were good. The senior staff was everywhere on the ship, talking to people and making them feel welcome. The atmosphere was upbeat and positive. We had a great time!

 

However, the ship is showing its age. The woodwork in our cabin was scratched and nicked, two drawers were stuck and jammed, the room safe was not properly secured, the bathroom needed some work, the bed sagged, and the upholstered furniture in the public areas and in the main dining room had hanging threads and wear spots.

 

I understand that the ship is not scheduled for major work until 2012. If that's the case, some thought needs to be given to spending some money on keeping the ship in shape until then. It's kind of sad to see it this way.

 

Our reaction upon seeing the Journey for the first time in January 2010 was that the ship has been run hard and put away wet. Our cabin was OK until the refrigerator came flying out of its cabinet during rough seas, but the public areas need a good going-over. The main dining room, done in a neo-Titanic motif, is cramped in some areas and can be a bit depressing. However, the speciality restaurants look great and appear spacious.

[C2Dan]

I had limited my choice between Azamara and Sea Dream for a Norway cruise in 2011, now I m unsure...havent been on either one...but Journey sounds like it might not be up to snuff,so to speak....maybe wait till 2012 when redone???Both itineraries similar , but SeaDream only 112 passengers.Maybe to small for possible rough seas? Any advice or thoughts?

 

If money is no object, go with SeaDream! The Journey bounced and slammed a lot when we hit rough seas during our Panama Canal cruise in January 2010, and several people suffered fractures and other injuries. I can't imagine it would have been much worse on a smaller ship.

[California Native]

I've been on a multitude of Panama Canal cruises and every ship I've had and they were much bigger than AZ we slammed hard as soon as we left the protection of the canal channels

It was even worse when it was east bound than west bound

We also had items flying and tipping over in our cabin and this was on Princess, Celebrity and RCCL

You said you were pretty far forward..7003 perhaps?

I checked out those cabins on our last cruise on Pacific Princess for future reference..my mom and I always stay in 7111, but DH and I

needed an inside for our AZ 24 days.

We were on somewhat rough seas and the ship that far forward rode extremely rough....when I walked back to our cabin it was like a gentle rocking in a crandle....total opposite experience!!!

I promptly changed our inside cabin to be more centered for the AZ cruises

Also, want to point out the dining room the tables are screwed down and that's how they came from Renaissance...If you sail on the baby Princess'

the dining has the same cramped feeling.

It's the nature of this ship...

it seems the old R ships might not be your cup of tea!

[Project_gal]

It seems from Mr Pimental answers that Aazamara feel that, having spent US$20m on each ship when they acquired them, they have spent enough and that both ships are "beautiful". There seems little prospect of them receiving much of a make-over in the near future. It is my opinion that they may be shocked that passengers have higher expectations if the prices are higher.

 

Do not mis-understand me. Our first Azamara cruise was magical and we are really looking forward to our next but I have never considered Quest and Journey "beautiful" ships. It was the oficers and crew that made the cruise magical, not the ship.

 

Sue

[Andy]

It seems from Mr Pimental answers that Aazamara feel that, having spent US$20m on each ship when they acquired them, they have spent enough and that both ships are "beautiful". There seems little prospect of them receiving much of a make-over in the near future. It is my opinion that they may be shocked that passengers have higher expectations if the prices are higher.

 

Do not mis-understand me. Our first Azamara cruise was magical and we are really looking forward to our next but I have never considered Quest and Journey "beautiful" ships. It was the oficers and crew that made the cruise magical, not the ship.

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue !

 

Your points are excellent. I agree that if Azamara expects to capture higher pricing, then the ships need to be upgraded more frequently. If you are going to charge a 5 star price, one should expect 5 star amenities, furnishings and so on. As for those types of items, they can be upgraded while the ship is in service, and it should happen.

 

With that said, I have not sailed on Journey, so I cannot be certain of anything being "threadbare". However, I've seen many comments like this over the years, and in most cases, they were overblown. I did not see that on Quest, though I was on the ship quite some time ago. With all due respect, when I am on vacation, I have more important things to do, than inspect upholstery. However, it is something Azamara should pay attention to.

[tgg]

With all due respect, when I am on vacation, I have more important things to do, than inspect upholstery.

 

When threads are hanging from the chair you're about to be seated in, you don't have put much effort into "inspecting" upholstery. It kind of jumps out at you, especially if you've been on the ship many times before. It won't take away from your time doing more important things.;)

 

And, for heavens sake, if they're going to put fresh flowers on the dining tables, they should keep them watered. Nothing like sitting down to breakfast and looking at dying flowers.

[critterchick]

Was I on a different ship? We were just on the Journey in December, and everything in our cabin was absolutely fine. I don't think many cabins have the sort of problems you describe. Yes, they should take care of stuck drawers and unbolted safes, but our bed was fine, the sheets were high quality, the curtains and carpet were in very good shape. The woodwork dates from the original Renaissance ships, so some scratches are inevitable.

 

If I wanted to sail on a new (and probably much larger) ship, I suppose I could choose a different line, but I'd rather sail on Azamara.

 

Lisa

 

The ship was built in 2000, so she's not that old. And scratches can be sanded and polished out, if they're not too deep.

 

Hi Sue !

 

Your points are excellent. I agree that if Azamara expects to capture higher pricing, then the ships need to be upgraded more frequently. If you are going to charge a 5 star price, one should expect 5 star amenities, furnishings and so on. As for those types of items, they can be upgraded while the ship is in service, and it should happen.

 

With that said, I have not sailed on Journey, so I cannot be certain of anything being "threadbare". However, I've seen many comments like this over the years, and in most cases, they were overblown. I did not see that on Quest, though I was on the ship quite some time ago. With all due respect, when I am on vacation, I have more important things to do, than inspect upholstery. However, it is something Azamara should pay attention to.

 

Andy, Azamara has struggled with the whole 5-star image since the ships were launched. We sailed Journey in December of 2008, nearly two years after the launch, and Philip Herbert, the Hotel Director, kept saying, "we're still learning." I think that 2 years is plenty of learning time, personally, if you've hired experienced staff and crew. And now that they've increased prices, they REALLY need to make sure that everything is in tip top condition. Our issues were food- and service-related, not the overall condition of the ship, but they just weren't delivering on our cruise. Quest was a different story - I was enchanted by the entire experience.

 

And with all due respect;), you can't really know whether comments are overblown if you've never set foot on the ship.

 

When threads are hanging from the chair you're about to be seated in, you don't have put much effort into "inspecting" upholstery. It kind of jumps out at you, especially if you've been on the ship many times before. It won't take away from your time doing more important things.;)

 

And, for heavens sake, if they're going to put fresh flowers on the dining tables, they should keep them watered. Nothing like sitting down to breakfast and looking at dying flowers.

 

I used to water the flowers. Dying freesias are so sad!

 

Azamara is still flogging free upgrades to veranda cabins and 2:1 fares on many sailings, so it appears that their price increases haven't caught on yet.

[Andy]

When threads are hanging from the chair you're about to be seated in, you don't have put much effort into "inspecting" upholstery. It kind of jumps out at you, especially if you've been on the ship many times before. It won't take away from your time doing more important things.;)

 

And with all due respect;), you can't really know whether comments are overblown if you've never set foot on the ship.

 

Hi Jean & TGG !

 

Looks like I stirred the pot on my last post ! I do not wish to get into a debate, but my point was... Over the years, I've seen these types of comments about countless other ships. In most cases, they were overblown. Of course, there is always the possibility they may not be overblown, and I hope that Azamara will look into it.

 

About the hanging thread comment, it shouldnt happen, but I can certainly see it happening. These items are used constantly, and I am sure they get used and in some cases, abused. Azamara should have a program in place, of having the crew report these items, and making repairs whenever they see something not up to the highest standards.

[Karynanne]

Andy, we were on the same cruise as TGG, and quite truthfully, we didn't see the "Wow Factor". Maybe we had our sights set too high. But even though we did have a wonderful time, the ship itself is a bit tired.

 

For our purposes and style, we will probably stay with the Celebrity product...especially the S-Class ships.

 

If Azamara wants to compete in the luxury market, they will seriously have to step up to it's competition.

 

Karyn

[ikelmay]

I really do wonder about Azamara's new direction and refocusing of their proposed target market. They will have to pull up their proverbial socks as I suspect the higher paying customers will be more demanding and picky.

 

I still look at the list of supposed enhancements and adjustments aond wonder what on earth is being offered that justifies the rapidly escalating prices being charged.

 

I couldn't have cared less on our recent Journey cruise about having to jam a tissue into one of the drawer grooves to stop it flying around or having a shower fixture that had to have the heat limiter removed because it was stopping the water getting hot enough; however, I wasn't paying the newly raised prices that are currently being offered. I might also be cautioning Azamara about the prop vibrations and noise that does impact on the Main Dining Room. Only time will tell if this new strategy pays off.

[Ship's Wake]

Andy, we were on the same cruise as TGG, and quite truthfully, we didn't see the "Wow Factor". Maybe we had our sights set too high. But even though we did have a wonderful time, the ship itself is a bit tired.

 

Agree entirely. I made the same comment to my wife on our recent Journey sailing about the ship not having a "wow" factor.

 

As other posters have noted, the Journey is showing its age and in need of attention in certain areas. We sailed on a similar R class ship, the Oceania Regatta in 2008, and found this ship to be in top shape.

 

We still had a fantastic cruise, and were much more impressed with the "software" instead of the "hardware".

[Project_gal]

I did not see that on Quest, though I was on the ship quite some time ago. With all due respect, when I am on vacation, I have more important things to do, than inspect upholstery. However, it is something Azamara should pay attention to.

 

Andy

 

I agree with you but I believe that, the higher the price and the greater the hype, the higher our subconscious expectations. As I said, we had a magical cruise on Quest. The size of our suite alone provided the WOW factor and we called it "our suite" when we made our next booking. As soon as the rebranding was announced and the prices started to rise, the lack of WOW factor started to bubble up in our minds when it really should have been "hey, what a bargain we are getting".

 

To the contrary, for our latest cruise on Infinity we had low expectations. We felt it would be impossible for a Celebrity ship to come anywhere near to matching our experience on Quest and the condition of Millennium when we sailed on her had been very disappointing. In the event, the Infinity experience was probably even better than that on Quest. The service and responsiveness of her officers and crew were at least on a par and Infinity was really beautiful.

 

I am concerned that a fantastic product that had found a loyal customer base will be ruined by a management team that has an unrealistic view of its product. I fully appreciate the need to make a profit and the necessity of tweaking the offering to ensure that it produces sufficient return but IMHO I do not think Azamara are going about it in the right way. It is such a shame.

 

Sue

[Paulchili]

These are very sad observations, indeed, that I am reading here as our first Azamara cruise approaches (after 4 Oceania cruises). Thankfully we paid the lowest price available for a veranda at initial offering, but if what I read here is true, I don't see a bright future for Azamara, especially at these new prices.

I will, however, go with an open mind (and low expectations) and hope to be pleasantly surprised.

PS I do hope that Mr. Pimentel is following this (and other) threads here and will take notice.

[greeneg]

I am concerned that a fantastic product that had found a loyal customer base will be ruined by a management team that has an unrealistic view of its product. I fully appreciate the need to make a profit and the necessity of tweaking the offering to ensure that it produces sufficient return but IMHO I do not think Azamara are going about it in the right way. It is such a shame.

 

Thank you, Sue, this is just what I have been trying to say, I heartily agree. Despite all of the business arguments about profits and margins, etc., it isn't usually a good idea to essentially disparage your client base, raise prices, and generally not dance with those who brought you. Preserving what you do best while making changes progressively might have been a better route. Only time will tell, but higher prices do generate higher expectations and those expectations have to be met in this sort of business or you don't make it.

 

I wish Azamara the very best, and hope for their success, but these are hard times, and "muddlin' through" may well not get "'er done".

[blackfoot]

After reading all of the comments above, I wish I could cancel the cruise I booked for 3/8(at the lower price).The comments are painting a picture that sounds like I could be in for a major disappointment.For me price really isn't really relavent, it's getting a quality experiance and from the descriptions given by fellow passengers, it sounds like Journey is a tub- ready for major yard work.A nice crew is not going to make up for crappy food and a tired ship!A well run ship shows!!

 

I spent years at sea and been through a major overhaul in a shipyard(1year)- when the ship looks tired it is!

 

As I communicated on this board to Mr. P- Azarama has one chance w/ me;if my cruise does meet the expectation they have set for me in their product positioning,I will take my precious travel $ somewhere else!I do not want to be part of a work in process!

 

Just one traveler's opinion.