Loving the Journey!

[ljk76]

Live from the Journey 8/20

 

First let me thank all of you CCers who raved about Azamara, and encouraged us to think about a club continent suite. It was an excellent decision to try Azamara, and the space and luxury of the suite is wonderful. We will go back to Celebrity for quick weeks in the Caribbean, but I will be surprised if Azamara hasn't completely taken us over for every other type of cruise. I'm posting this on both boards because I think there are quite a few of us that follow both boards at times.

 

Embarkation from Lisbon was a breeze, there literally was never a single person ahead of us in a line. We had really enjoyed our few days is Lisbon,and the local folks working the pier were happy to hear it. Stepping aboard to a glass of sparkling wine we immediately enjoyed the decor of the ship. It's traditional with a lot of wood paneling, in almost every venue. The whole ship is a bit like Celebrity's Michael's Club. We were a bit concerned knowing it is in for a drydock in just a few months time but found little evidence of wear and tear.

 

Before we preceded far we were greeted, there was an offer to take our hand luggage to the room for us, and a warm welcome from many staff members. We went to the upstairs to the Windows cafe and were immediately spoiled. "May I butter your bread for you?" Really? No one in my family would do that for me! The decor is classic, preset with silver and wine glasses, and refines the buffet experience very much. In mere moments we were served water and wine at the table. This was turning out to be far more like Regent than Celebrity! ( I must disclose there was a beverage station, but I never had to use it.) Our rooms were ready just after we finished our lunch...and second glass of wine.

 

The Club Continent suites are spacious and extra light filled with quad paneled glass doors. The balcony fits a good sided dining table with two comfortable chairs, as well as a reclining lounger with footstool. Double closets were filled with wooden hangers and some shelving, and there are many more drawers than we are using, and I don't think I packed that light! Again, all was extremely clean and in fine condition, tasteful in soothing rust and tans. The bathroom is pretty and well designed, although the tub has high sides that might be a problem for some. Again, lots of storage. It was actually fun to unpack and make ourselves at home.

 

Good news, we did get coupons for two bags of laundry(because of our recent Elite status on X), and I went to work stuffing the first. As it turns out we got it back the very next day, all pressed and hanging, with undies wrapped up in tissue. No gold seal though, I remember laughing about that on someone's laundry post! My goal is to avoid the laundry room on this cruise and I think I'll make it.

 

We also enjoyed getting all those Internet minutes, making this post possible. Suite perks included 4 1/2 bottles of spirits which our butler cheerfully swapped out to our needs. Did I mention our butler? Pravin made 9 specialty restaurant reservations, swapped the contents of our mini fridge (heavy on the Diet Coke) delivered a second bottle of sparkling wine... We really like this gentleman!

 

Our CC mix and mingle was immediately after muster, and featured wines, including sparkling, and hot passed appetizers. Eric, the cruise director, and Heike, the hotel director, we're both charming and spent much of an hour with the group. Eric spoke of how CC has really helped grow their brand and reputation.

 

This trip we are using a mix of tours arranged through our board, and several ship half day tours, because the 1/2 pricing made them attractive for basic options. Our first day in Seville was 113 F! Yet we still had a wonderful very full private tour day, filled with new places, experiences, lovely travel companions. It was a pleasure to return to a cool room with lovely savories to get us through the afternoon. Well some cold beers, too! I Will be interested in how the first ship tour goes tomorrow in Gibraltar.

 

We've enjoyed great meals in Aqualina, Prime C, and the Discoveries dining room, and all three venues have exceeded our expectations and our Celebrity and Regent dining experiences. The chilled seafood platter appetizer from Aqualina...wonderful! The onion soup in Prime C is the best we've had. We were also very impressed with the service and food in the MDR, last night I enjoyed moist swordfish, with a lovely plated presentation. Our plan is to rotate through the three dining rooms, but dinner in the specialties is a leisurely fine dining experience, and one night it was a bit too extended for us so we may make some slight changes. I couldn't remotely complain, however! Oh, and the wine pours have all been good, and I can report the roses have been offered daily, though we haven't tried one yet. It's been our intention to treat ourselves to a wine list bottle here or there with our OBC, but it just hasn't been needed, nor have we ever had an empty glass! We call it wine by the inch, our glasses fall just an inch lower and are refilled.

 

Room service breakfasts have been delivered in a very timely manner, so helpful with early morning tours, and have been warm and tasty, served on white linen. (anyone else remember when they used to do that on Celebrity?) We have really enjoyed cappachino everyday in Mosaics, and the cookie and savory selection looks outstanding. The macaroon tasted so, as well.

 

We really are so delighted with our experiences four days into our first Azamara cruise, and seem sure to be repeaters, and cheerleaders as well, as you can plainly read!

[uktog]

So glad you are enjoying your cruise and thanks for checking in

Say hi to Pravin from Ann and Charles and ask him how he is enjoying this football season! You are so lucky having such a wonderful gentleman looking after you and I so hope we will see him on our October cruise

Wine by the inch - I love that phrase

We now see Celebrity as our "quick cruises" or in the case of Oz we are with them because Azamara do not go there - otherwise its Azamara for us all the way now.

Do enjoy the rest of your cruise, your sail into Seville looked amazing

[Andy]

Hi Ljk,

 

Thank You for sharing your experience with us. While we often hear from Azamara's Management, about how much our insights matter, we rarely hear about how much the onboard team appreciates our passion... and that's very welcome news. We've met Pravin previously - on Celebrity, and on Journey last year. He's a wonderful person, and another of Azamara's many Gems. Please send our best wishes, and enjoy your Cruise !!!

[excitedofharpenden]

Yep, you're hooked just like me! Enjoy the rest of your cruise on Journey.

 

Phil

[ellbon]

Pravin has been my butler twice. second time i asked and got him for my bday. he and julianna made sure my room looekd like a bday. with flowers and a surprise from pravin. please tell him Robin from 8042 says hi. he is great about drinks and snack. he does make a strong drink.

 

never saw the MDR in 3 weeks to busy on shore or eating in Prime C. dinner buffets twice.

 

know Heike and Eric very well. tel Johaness and anyoen hi form me. .everyone officer you meet i know and the harpist, Alex etc. .they will treat you like the Queen and King you are.

 

Andy, already knew hey get CC feed back as i asked Hieke and Johaness. plus i forward what i can paste and it gets read..

 

only 4.5 months to my winters cruises.. will i make it?

[zqvol]

Thanks for the nice report. We just booked Journey for next May. Sounds like Larry Pimental has managed to create a larger version of Sea Dream without losing any of the good qualities that we love about that line.

 

I know you are sailing with Captain T so you are with the best.

[MightyQuinn]

... We just booked Journey for next May. Sounds like Larry Pimental has managed to create a larger version of Sea Dream without losing any of the good qualities that we love about that line.

Surely Azamara is not the XYZ line that FT alluded to in her SD review? Somehow my mind went elsewhere ... :D:D

[zqvol]

Surely Azamara is not the XYZ line that FT alluded to in her SD review? Somehow my mind went elsewhere ... :D:D

 

 

No we have a real mass market booked before the Black sea in May which is on Journey.

[Dr H]

ljk- your enthusiasm sounds just the way I felt after our first cruise with AZ in October, 2010, and we were booked into Veranda ("stearage"). For those who have never sailed with AZ, and have read multiple postings here about just how great this line is, but obviously in the real world, it cannot be THAT great, well, yeah, it is like this! Unfortunately, we have to wait until next July before Copenhagen to Dublin, but I had never thought of having the onion soup on the balcony, sailing the North Sea. Thanks for an early tip!

 

Currently, I'm on the horns of a terrible dilemma - there is a post dry dock cruise on Journey out of Singapore, 13 nights in Indonesia, multiple, not just one, but multiple World Heritage sites, truly a once in a lifetime trip that I would never be make on my own, ever. I'm trying to convince myself that it is beyond our range/means/time/work schedule, then comes a message like LJK's, and you have to wonder why we are working for a living in the first place. So thanks for tapping another small nail into my coffin. My DW will probably pull a shotgun out of the closet and blow me away once I make that reservation, but at least I can dream... It was a wonderful posting!

[spikkel]

Please say hello to Pravin, he was our butler last september

Annelies and Fred from Holland

[acruisergirl]

ljk- your enthusiasm sounds just the way I felt after our first cruise with AZ in October, 2010, and we were booked into Veranda ("stearage"). For those who have never sailed with AZ, and have read multiple postings here about just how great this line is, but obviously in the real world, it cannot be THAT great, well, yeah, it is like this! Unfortunately, we have to wait until next July before Copenhagen to Dublin, but I had never thought of having the onion soup on the balcony, sailing the North Sea. Thanks for an early tip!

 

Currently, I'm on the horns of a terrible dilemma - there is a post dry dock cruise on Journey out of Singapore, 13 nights in Indonesia, multiple, not just one, but multiple World Heritage sites, truly a once in a lifetime trip that I would never be make on my own, ever. I'm trying to convince myself that it is beyond our range/means/time/work schedule, then comes a message like LJK's, and you have to wonder why we are working for a living in the first place. So thanks for tapping another small nail into my coffin. My DW will probably pull a shotgun out of the closet and blow me away once I make that reservation, but at least I can dream... It was a wonderful posting!

Dr H, Go ahead and make that reservation for the January cruise to Indonesia. My husband and I are on that trip and if I understood your post on the Journey's roll-call you will be celebrating your birthday during the cruise. So will I, so come and share a birthday drink.:)

 

Pat

[ljk76]

ljk- your enthusiasm sounds just the way I felt after our first cruise with AZ in October, 2010, and we were booked into Veranda ("stearage"). For those who have never sailed with AZ, and have read multiple postings here about just how great this line is, but obviously in the real world, it cannot be THAT great, well, yeah, it is like this! Unfortunately, we have to wait until next July before Copenhagen to Dublin, but I had never thought of having the onion soup on the balcony, sailing the North Sea. Thanks for an early tip!

 

Currently, I'm on the horns of a terrible dilemma - there is a post dry dock cruise on Journey out of Singapore, 13 nights in Indonesia, multiple, not just one, but multiple World Heritage sites, truly a once in a lifetime trip that I would never be make on my own, ever. I'm trying to convince myself that it is beyond our range/means/time/work schedule, then comes a message like LJK's, and you have to wonder why we are working for a living in the first place. So thanks for tapping another small nail into my coffin. My DW will probably pull a shotgun out of the closet and blow me away once I make that reservation, but at least I can dream... It was a wonderful posting!

 

Well, Dr. H., in our case we are definitely working ,at least in part, so we can keep cruising! Just a few more days left and reality will be hard. Last night was a special thrill, we were invited to eat with the captain, and really enjoyed his company and that of the other guests. We have met lots of wonderful people on board, and it's so nice to run into them over and over! Make that reservation!

[Dr H]

Thanks for the encouragement folks! As it turns out, I'm off to Singapore for the Labor Day Weekend. I need frequent flyer miles for the July cruise. The good half of me has compromised with the evil half of me, and I just will not allow myself to make any decision until after I get back. The price of this new trip will set me back a tad, but nothing I can't recover from, eventually I suppose. The biggest fear I have is Mrs H going into an anginal attack followed by apoplexy once she finds out what is about to happen, as in we won't be able to see patients for 9 days. But somehow, I've got to make this trip happen. One of my favorite quotes ever, from Aunte Mame: "Life is a banquet, and half the poor bastards out there are starving!" Lord knows, it's true, and in my line of work, I see life turning on a dime all the time. And yes, it will be birthday week. We've celebrated in Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Mexico, London. Indonesia was never on the horizon, however. Got to make this happen!

[ljk76]

A few more notes as we get back to reality...

 

What wonderful food in every venue! Luckily we walked so much in such heat it seems to have cost me only 2 extra pounds. When I think of the lobster, the filet, the shrimp...oh, and the wine and the wine and the wine. It was worth it!

 

Lounge chairs weren't a problem and I wish I had taken a picture of the cucumber slices for hot tired eyes, the choice of lime scented cooling spray, or plain, cool towels. This wasn't all the time of course but I saw it three times and I wasn't on the pool deck all that much with all our tours.

 

Just to prove I have some balance in my observations...yes the pool area is tired and the pool seriously needs new tile. Also the little T pool forward of the spa. This is something we didn't use as much as we thought we would, but it was a nice space.

 

For those who may do a cabin search for opinions. 8063 did have a noise issue at times. There is a large room for dish cleaning above and one night it was really noisy til after 1:30! I put on my clothes to go investigate so I really know. There was late activity in the windows cafe so I surmise things got backed up to later. Sometimes I heard noise in the am but more minor. It certainly did not ruin our cruise, we loved the room itself and our wonderful butler, Pravin. But I would not book this cc suite again , or any immediately beside it. We did book on the other side a couple of cabins further aft. I nosed around the cafe at a few times and do not think that area will generate much, if any, noise.

 

I don't think I discussed entertainment and we were really very happily surprised, going in with not high expectations. I love broadway tunes so the energy and talent of Eric DeGrey was really appreciated. Plus several shows with a new group of dancers/singers were wonderful. The sight lines in the Caberet aren't all great, but the intimacy of the venue adds a lot. We also loved Bob Arno, so funny, and had us all much more aware of pickpocket danger as we strolled Las Ramblas.

 

We had a fabulous cruise critic group that did a lot of great tours together. Thank you again Larry! Our butler kindly helped us host the group one of our last nights and he did so much to enhance our extra get together.

 

Looking forward to meeting the Quest staff next year, and lots more wonderful cruise critic travelers!

[spikkel]

A few more notes as we get back to reality...

 

What wonderful food in every venue! Luckily we walked so much in such heat it seems to have cost me only 2 extra pounds. When I think of the lobster, the filet, the shrimp...oh, and the wine and the wine and the wine. It was worth it!

 

Lounge chairs weren't a problem and I wish I had taken a picture of the cucumber slices for hot tired eyes, the choice of lime scented cooling spray, or plain, cool towels. This wasn't all the time of course but I saw it three times and I wasn't on the pool deck all that much with all our tours.

 

Just to prove I have some balance in my observations...yes the pool area is tired and the pool seriously needs new tile. Also the little T pool forward of the spa. This is something we didn't use as much as we thought we would, but it was a nice space.

 

For those who may do a cabin search for opinions. 8063 did have a noise issue at times. There is a large room for dish cleaning above and one night it was really noisy til after 1:30! I put on my clothes to go investigate so I really know. There was late activity in the windows cafe so I surmise things got backed up to later. Sometimes I heard noise in the am but more minor. It certainly did not ruin our cruise, we loved the room itself and our wonderful butler, Pravin. But I would not book this cc suite again , or any immediately beside it. We did book on the other side a couple of cabins further aft. I nosed around the cafe at a few times and do not think that area will generate much, if any, noise.

 

I don't think I discussed entertainment and we were really very happily surprised, going in with not high expectations. I love broadway tunes so the energy and talent of Eric DeGrey was really appreciated. Plus several shows with a new group of dancers/singers were wonderful. The sight lines in the Caberet aren't all great, but the intimacy of the venue adds a lot. We also loved Bob Arno, so funny, and had us all much more aware of pickpocket danger as we strolled Las Ramblas.

 

We had a fabulous cruise critic group that did a lot of great tours together. Thank you again Larry! Our butler kindly helped us host the group one of our last nights and he did so much to enhance our extra get together.

 

Looking forward to meeting the Quest staff next year, and lots more wonderful cruise critic travelers!

we loved the show Bob Arno had, we heard him on the Quest in decmber 2010 and sometimes still mention him when we are in a large tow

Annelied

[uktog]

A few more notes as we get back to reality...

 

What wonderful food in every venue! Luckily we walked so much in such heat it seems to have cost me only 2 extra pounds. When I think of the lobster, the filet, the shrimp...oh, and the wine and the wine and the wine. It was worth it!

 

Lounge chairs weren't a problem and I wish I had taken a picture of the cucumber slices for hot tired eyes, the choice of lime scented cooling spray, or plain, cool towels. This wasn't all the time of course but I saw it three times and I wasn't on the pool deck all that much with all our tours.

 

Just to prove I have some balance in my observations...yes the pool area is tired and the pool seriously needs new tile. Also the little T pool forward of the spa. This is something we didn't use as much as we thought we would, but it was a nice space.

 

For those who may do a cabin search for opinions. 8063 did have a noise issue at times. There is a large room for dish cleaning above and one night it was really noisy til after 1:30! I put on my clothes to go investigate so I really know. There was late activity in the windows cafe so I surmise things got backed up to later. Sometimes I heard noise in the am but more minor. It certainly did not ruin our cruise, we loved the room itself and our wonderful butler, Pravin. But I would not book this cc suite again , or any immediately beside it. We did book on the other side a couple of cabins further aft. I nosed around the cafe at a few times and do not think that area will generate much, if any, noise.

 

I don't think I discussed entertainment and we were really very happily surprised, going in with not high expectations. I love broadway tunes so the energy and talent of Eric DeGrey was really appreciated. Plus several shows with a new group of dancers/singers were wonderful. The sight lines in the Caberet aren't all great, but the intimacy of the venue adds a lot. We also loved Bob Arno, so funny, and had us all much more aware of pickpocket danger as we strolled Las Ramblas.

 

We had a fabulous cruise critic group that did a lot of great tours together. Thank you again Larry! Our butler kindly helped us host the group one of our last nights and he did so much to enhance our extra get together.

 

Looking forward to meeting the Quest staff next year, and lots more wonderful cruise critic travelers!

 

Thanks for your lovely well balanced review.

I agree the spa deck needs work, it was one of the areas listed as having attention during the upcoming dry docks

[Leibe_]

Live from the Journey 8/20

 

First let me thank all of you CCers who raved about Azamara, and encouraged us to think about a club continent suite. It was an excellent decision to try Azamara, and the space and luxury of the suite is wonderful. We will go back to Celebrity for quick weeks in the Caribbean, but I will be surprised if Azamara hasn't completely taken us over for every other type of cruise. I'm posting this on both boards because I think there are quite a few of us that follow both boards at times.

 

 

 

We really are so delighted with our experiences four days into our first Azamara cruise, and seem sure to be repeaters, and cheerleaders as well, as you can plainly read!

 

I'm so glad to read your well written review. My cruise on the Quest will be in December and I had trepidations about going but feel much better after reading reviews that all seem to agree with yours. It is very kind of you to take the time and effort to write about your adventures on the Journey. It makes those of us waiting for our first time on Azamara just a little more confidant that this is going to be a great cruise.

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for your review. Glad you enjoyed your cruise so much. Your thoughts echo many of mine. Here's to your next one and you really will feel like you are being welcomed home!

 

Phil

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for the info ..