Live (soon enough!) from Journey, Panama Canal 12/18/08

[ellbon]

I will ont pay the ship board prices anymore. I do get my nails done on a long cruise.

 

sometimes the packages are worth it.

[FL_Cruiser64]

There is no wine card or package that I've seen. I have to say that I think this is a really fair wine list. We had a good bottle of Shiraz and a fabulous bottle of Malbec, for $30 and $45, respectively.

 

Today's port special was a 50 minute treatment, 25 minute facial and 25 minute back massage, or something like that, for $109. The regular prices onboard are appalling. :eek: I can't tell you specifically because I tossed the price list, but I do remember my beloved hot stones treatment was something like $195 for a 50-minute treatment, so no, thanks...

 

Holy smokes!!!

 

I personally don't like the hot stone massage (I like it a little rougher..lol..:p) but $195 for 50 min? :eek::eek::eek:

[dirtgirl]

There is no wine card or package that I've seen. I have to say that I think this is a really fair wine list. We had a good bottle of Shiraz and a fabulous bottle of Malbec, for $30 and $45, respectively.

 

Today's port special was a 50 minute treatment, 25 minute facial and 25 minute back massage, or something like that, for $109. The regular prices onboard are appalling. :eek: I can't tell you specifically because I tossed the price list, but I do remember my beloved hot stones treatment was something like $195 for a 50-minute treatment, so no, thanks...

 

Holy smokes!!!

 

I personally don't like the hot stone massage (I like it a little rougher..lol..:p) but $195 for 50 min? :eek::eek::eek:

 

 

Oh, really? hehehehehehehehe

 

Well here I am, about to book the Mariner for April/10!:rolleyes:

[FL_Cruiser64]

Oh, really? hehehehehehehehe

 

Well here I am, about to book the Mariner for April/10!:rolleyes:

 

 

See, I know you better than you think. While my comment was true I wrote it mainly because for some reason I knew you get a little kick out of it. :p:D

 

You are ready to book the Mariner for April 2010? LOL. Curiousity killed...oh well...

 

I am not sure if Jean told me that she is already cruising in March or April of 2010. I knew one of these two months were bad for the Mariner.

:)

 

Darn, we are going off topic again. Sorry mods and Jean. :o

[dirtgirl]

See, I know you better than you think. While my comment was true I wrote it mainly because for some reason I knew you get a little kick out of it. :p:D

 

You are ready to book the Mariner for April 2010? LOL. Curiousity killed...oh well...

 

I am not sure if Jean told me that she is already cruising in March or April of 2010. I knew one of these two months were bad for the Mariner.

 

 

Darn, we are going off topic again. Sorry mods and Jean.

 

Looks like you are getting to know me!:o ;) I think the Radiance might be in the works for April 2010. I wish I could do one of those, but can't be away that long.:(

 

Sorry Jean!:o

[gosport11]

dont froget the 18% on the spa prices !!!!!!!!:(:(

[Tinwoman]

Just off Journey from the transatlantic, we avoided the spa and the high expensive alcoholic drinks.

We brought wine in every port we were at and enjoyed it in our room, we were never questioned about it, and it was never taken.

I did like Azamara for the small ship, very good personal attention, and free actives plus outstanding food, best ever on any ship line I have been on.

If you like outstanding service, outstanding food, and personal treatment this line is for you.

If you like tons of entertainment, loud parties, and staying up until 2 am or later, I wouldn't recommend it for you.

We had a wonderful relaxing time, and would never go back to Celebrity or any other line, we have found our niche.:):)

[factor30]

Just off Journey from the transatlantic, we avoided the spa and the high expensive alcoholic drinks.

We brought wine in every port we were at and enjoyed it in our room, we were never questioned about it, and it was never taken.

I did like Azamara for the small ship, very good personal attention, and free actives plus outstanding food, best ever on any ship line I have been on.

If you like outstanding service, outstanding food, and personal treatment this line is for you.

If you like tons of entertainment, loud parties, and staying up until 2 am or later, I wouldn't recommend it for you.

We had a wonderful relaxing time, and would never go back to Celebrity or any other line, we have found our niche.:):)

I've just read the latest review of the Journey (No.90) on the Review page -titled 'It was good but it wasn't Oceania' (or something similar) written by someone called Keefy. I would appear that they were also on the same Journey transatlantic sailing as yourself. Having read it, it doesn't sound as if they were on the same cruise as you. We have been on the Quest twice and we don't recognise the description and are looking forward to going on the Journey in February.

 

Was Sue as bad as Keefy described. Just how big was her ego. And what was your experience with disembarkation compared with the reviewer.

 

I would be very interested to hear your opinion of Keefy's comments. Your remarks are very much like our own experiences on previous Azamara cruises.

Rita

[dirtgirl]

If you like tons of entertainment, loud parties, and staying up until 2 am or later, I wouldn't recommend it for you.

 

 

:oSounds like what I like to do!;)

 

Booked the Mariner for April 18, 2010.:)

[FL_Cruiser64]

:oSounds like what I like to do!;)

 

Booked the Mariner for April 18, 2010.:)

 

:eek:

[Jancruz]

Great to read your review keep the info coming..

Thanks,

Jancruz1

[HRHPrinceJim]

Hi Jean and Don,

 

I am following your journey here, at least until Sunday morning when I'm driving to San Pedro for my cruise on the Vision! It's just like Rick's posts from the Monarch (basically) except in reverse.

 

Do you know what time you're scheduled to enter the canal tomorrow? I'm going to watch for you!

 

See you when we both get home!

[dirtgirl]

:eek:

 

 

I'm fast!;):p

 

Jean, where are you today?

[FL_Cruiser64]

I'm fast!;):p

 

Jean, where are you today?

 

Me too - sometimes. ROTFLMAO:D

 

Jean has to much fun. No time for CC. :)

[critterchick]

I'm right here!

 

We enter the Gatun Locks at 8:00 am, depart at 9:50 am.

We enter the Pedro Miguel Locks at 2:50 pm and depart at 3:30 pm

We enter the Miraflores locks at 4:00 pm and depart at 5:10 pm

 

Al times Eastern. We are on the webcam side of the Miraflores locks, so at 1:00 Pacific time, look for us! That's the set of locks with the high definition webcam. We're on deck 8, midships (8044), so if you can spot us, wave, LOL!

[dirtgirl]

I'm right here!

 

We enter the Gatun Locks at 8:00 am, depart at 9:50 am.

We enter the Pedro Miguel Locks at 2:50 pm and depart at 3:30 pm

We enter the Miraflores locks at 4:00 pm and depart at 5:10 pm

 

Al times Eastern. We are on the webcam side of the Miraflores locks, so at 1:00 Pacific time, look for us! That's the set of locks with the high definition webcam. We're on deck 8, midships (8044), so if you can spot us, wave, LOL!

 

 

Thanks, Jean! Will not make Gatun as I'll be ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

Me too - sometimes. ROTFLMAO:D

 

I have so much to say....but I'd get banned!:p

[FL_Cruiser64]

Thanks, Jean! Will not make Gatun as I'll be ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

 

 

I have so much to say....but I'd get banned!:p

 

My e-mail is in the signature. I won't ban you. LOL.

 

Jean, I think I got nothing to do at 11am (or is it 10am Eastern:confused:). So I will be watching and waving. LOL.

[critterchick]

I'm falling behind!

December 21, 2008 – Aruba

I’m doing a lot of comparing of this ship to RCI and Princess, the only two lines I have sailed on. Azamara promotes itself as a 6-star line, and I have to say that they fall short of the mark. We are having a very, very nice, but they still have a bit of work to do.

I neglected to mention that we set our clocks forward yesterday, so we were on local time in port.

We had no plans other than to wander into Oranjestad and take a taxi to the Westin hotel along the beach. Many shops, including the duty free liquor stores, were closed because it was Sunday. Three other ships were in port with us, but they were all small-ish – Regent Voyager, P&O Oceana and a tiny ship that I did not recognize. Therefore it was not too crowded.

The Westin is a nice hotel with good facilities. The beaches are gorgeous. We were too lazy to rent snorkeling equipment, so after wandering aimlessly for awhile, we headed back to the ship. An exciting day!

We were able to get a connection onboard to Aruba Wifi, so paid $10 for a day of unlimited access, checking emails and our favorite websites.

We tried Breeza for dinner, and I was underwhelmed. The sushi is similar to Royal Caribbean’s, which means that it lacks much flavor. The pasta station offered some good varied, but I found it a little too oily. Even though children are starving in [fill in the blank] I decided not to eat the food and we went to Discoveries instead. The wait for a table was 15 minutes or so. I think going at 7:30 or 8:30 would avoid some of the crush. The food there was so-so. I am so far not all that impressed with Discoveries. The waitstaff appears to be as overwhelmed by the number of diners they have to serve as they would be on an RCI ship.

The evening’s entertainment was one of the cast singers, Billy DiCrosta. He has a good voice, but had some pitch problems and was a bit nasally-sounding. His schtick was geared toward flirting with the older women sitting in the front rows. The songs weren’t really our cup of tea, so after the second Paul Anka hit we departed.

It was Motown night in the Looking Glass, and it was truly uninspiring. We did find out that the real DJ had left the ship in a huff, and had erased the song list, so the fill in DJ is basically using his own iPod for songs. So the selection is limited and the sound system was awful. Incidentally, the live combo plays more Motown than anything else, but it was their night off. Go figure. So we turned in early for us, about 12:30.

December 22 – Another sea day

I do love sea days. I don’t feel compelled to arise early, and I don’t fell compelled to do much of anything. But I did want to see the cooking demonstration, so we got up at 9:15 (and we had set our clocks back the night before, so it was a good night’s sleep anyway), made it to breakfast for the first time, and headed to the Cabaret. Today’s offering was Heart Attack on a Plate, also known as Chateaubriand with Bernaise sauce. 9 yolks for the sauce for a serving for 2. The chef had a great patter, and the sample that was prepared (separately, then passed around to everybody, a nice touch) was delicious.

Then it was on to the Select/Elite wine tasting (we are faux Elite Captain’s Circle members thanks to our Diamond Plus status on Royal Caribbean). We tasted 4 California wines (Wente Sauvignon Blanc, Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and St. Francis Cabernet) and one Australian (Rosemount Merlot) plus a glass of Mumm’s sparkling wine. At our table was an overly loquacious Canadian winemaker who knew a lot but ended up being a bit of an ass.

After a so-so lunch in Discoveries the afternoon was spent recovering from all that strenuous activity (a little reading). I then went to the nearly-deserted gym, had a soak in the Thalassotherapy pool, and got ready for the evening.

I won a bit of money in the casino, which is a bit looser than we are used to. We joined some shipmates for dinner, people who were seated behind us on the plane, next to us at the Hyatt, and behind us in Aqualina on the first night. But they promised that they were not stalking us, LOL.

It was Jazz Night in the Looking Glass, with the very talented Journey Orchestra. As the bandleader said, it was a chance for them to loosen up, and they did it very well.

December 23 – Why we are on this cruise

Today is our Panama Canal transit. We passed through the Gatun Locks between 8:00 and 10:00. We watched our entry from the T-pool area, and it validated our decision to purchase the pass. The spa staff was fairly diligent about checking to make sure that only those eligible to use the facility went in there, so we were all able to line up to see our forward progress. Then we went back to our cabin for a bit, and to Breeza for our exit. Many people have done the transit before, so they are not crowding the rails. All in all it’s quite civilized. Look for us at the Miraflores Locks about 4:00. If you Google “Panama Canal Webcam,” you should be able to find the link to the webcam. The digital option is quite impressive.

I did take pictures of the Prime C/Aqualine wine list, which I will post next time we’re in a cheap Wifi zone. It’s a superior list to that in the dining room, particularly the wines by the glass.

[dirtgirl]

Thanks for your continuing updates! And watch out for those Canadians!:p

[dirtgirl]

I checked out the webcam, and saw you go through. I was trying so hard to pick you out on your balcony, but the resolution wasn't that great. Oh well, I lived it with you!:)

[FL_Cruiser64]

I checked out the webcam, and saw you go through. I was trying so hard to pick you out on your balcony, but the resolution wasn't that great. Oh well, I lived it with you!:)

 

 

I missed it. I got confused by the times (pacific, eastern, japan). :eek:

 

Or maybe something/one confused me and I forgot. :o

 

But at one point I looked at an empty lock and I thought "this is where Jean and Don will go through or already went through". And I had a moment of silence. :D

 

Jean, Don,

tell me about the age group and night live on Azamara.

[HRHPrinceJim]

I watched as you sailed under the bridge! It was very exciting!

 

I captured this image for you!

[critterchick]

Thanks for that picture, Jim! it truly was an amazing experience.

 

Oliver, the age group is about what we expected, 60s and over for the most part, but there are a couple of families with small kids who look bored out of their skulls. There are also a few teens onboard. Everybody is reasonably well behaved, although I sometimes wonder why it's just Americans who have the "ugly" appellation, since rudeness recognizes no boundaries.

 

The nightlife is pretty tame - most people go to bed after the show ends, around 10 most nights. So if we want to dance, we have little company out there. The casino does a steady business, but isn't packed. That's about all there is to offer.

 

There is a lot of chatter (I'm a shameless eavesdropper) about how AZ stacks up against Oceania - Everybody we've talked to or listened in on prefers O by a country mile. We're generally pleased, but you will see in my next installment that we're having some disenchantment with a few things set in. On an RCI ship I would note it and move on, but when you pay the premium that AZ commands, I expect better. So here it is:

 

 

It was a great day going through the Canal and I have a bazillion pictures to sort out.

 

Now, it’s time for my first RANT!!!

 

We had what I anticipate will be our final meal in Discoveries (remember, we have 10 nights left). What a complete and utter mess it was. We had half a bottle of wine left from last night, so we asked our assistant waiter to get it for us. He forgot and had to be reminded. Then I ordered a glass of red wine and it came in a hot glass straight from the dishwasher. Our waiter, Armin, took a good 15 minutes to show up, and then didn’t bother to make any recommendations. I ordered “red pepper pot”, which Armin confirmed was red pepper soup, with cream. Not. It was red pepper puree, probably quite healthy, but lacking in any flavor to speak of. I also ordered lamb chops (divine) with “acorn squash and eggplant hash” which turned out to be slices of yellow squash and eggplant with no seasoning. Don ordered the turkey scaloppini dusted in corn meal. It was the thinnest slice of turkey you’ve ever seen, pounded thinner than shoe leather (although the same consistency), dunked in corn cornmeal, apparently baked and then SLICED LIKE A PIZZA. It was dry and almost inedible. The final straw was dessert – we both ordered warm apple pie with ice cream. It came out cold. I flagged down a headwaiter, who took it back to the kitchen and brought it back cold. Since we weren’t going anywhere, we tried one more time and it was finally warm.

 

There’s just no valid reason for what is going on in this dining room. There are some excellent dishes being served, but the quality varies from fab to awful. Royal Caribbean does a better job serving 3600 passengers than Journey does serving 4-500 (remember that there are only 700 or so of us onboard and they have a well-attended buffet plus two amazing specialty restaurants that we’ll be visiting as often as we can for the rest of the cruise). Any fine land-based restaurant can turn that number of diners around and give them a fine dining experience.

 

After dinner we stopped by the casino bar for a drink, and waited for somebody to show up to play bartender. It took about 10 minutes, because the bartender is also the lone bar server in the place, and so must circulate to see if any players wish to order drinks. I’m afraid that they are short of serving staff, which will ultimately prove to be a death knell to their ambition of being considered a 5 or 6 star line. The bartenders are a friendly lot and pour generously, so that’s something, anyway…

 

We missed the magic show, but it was packed and the audience appeared to find it quite entertaining. We got in a few ballroom dances to tunes played by the Journey orchestra. The leader confessed that they have a very limited selection of songs. All I can say to that is *****? Surely they could have poached a library from a Celebrity ship. They played what they had well, though.

 

So I’m feeling a little cranky today about our cruise. My mood didn’t improve when, in response to my request for orange juice (and I did say “may I” and “please,” lest you think I’m one of those cranks who simply demand everything), the fellow at the smoothie bar barked at me: “THERE IS NO MORE ORANGE JUICE! THE MACHINE IS BROKEN!” Well, I didn’t break the bloody thing, so there was no need to take it out on me.

 

We’re doing our laundry at the moment, lucked into a lull in the action. Speaking of laundry, prices seem to be in line with Royal Caribbean ($5.00 for a jacket, $4.00 for slacks, shirts, $7.00 for dresses, for an example). Pressing only is more, though - $.100 less than the cost of cleaning in most cases (a dress is $5), not half of the price of cleaning as it is on RCI.

 

It's a lovely day outside, so after laundry is done I'll see how many pool chairs have towels and books without bodies. In spite of daily warnings that items will be removed after 30 minutes, they don't seem to do squat about chair hogs.

[Andy]

Hi Jean !

 

Thank you for your updates. I am surprised to hear what is going on in Discoveries. Since you do not seem to be getting anywhere with the Maitre'd, have you considered asking to speak with the Restaurant Manager or Hotel Manager ? Just a thought.

 

You have plenty of time left on your Cruise. I know you are a seasoned Cruiser, and you do not need my advice.... but I have encountered my share of negative experiences at the beginning of a Cruise. Years ago, I let it effect the rest of my Cruise. These days, I try hard to shake off the negative, and remain positive throughout. This method almost always makes for a better Cruise.

 

I hope you can get your concerns resolved, and I hope you do not give up on Discoveries. Have a great time !

[Tinwoman]

I've just read the latest review of the Journey (No.90) on the Review page -titled 'It was good but it wasn't Oceania' (or something similar) written by someone called Keefy. I would appear that they were also on the same Journey transatlantic sailing as yourself. Having read it, it doesn't sound as if they were on the same cruise as you. We have been on the Quest twice and we don't recognise the description and are looking forward to going on the Journey in February.

 

Was Sue as bad as Keefy described. Just how big was her ego. And what was your experience with disembarkation compared with the reviewer.

 

I would be very interested to hear your opinion of Keefy's comments. Your remarks are very much like our own experiences on previous Azamara cruises.

 

 

Rita

 

Sorry I have been out of pocket for a few days.

I thought Sue Denning was very approachable, as a matter of fact when ever we met on a chance meeting she always hugged us, and she showed up every day for battle of the sexes.:confused:

I have been on a few cruises LOL, and well I don't know what to say about other peoples opinions, personally I loved Azamara journey.

I loved the service, I loved the food, which in my opinion was the best of any cruise line I have been on!:D

I think maybe it is just not as an exciting line as many people would want.

It is very laid back, and for once people who wore tuxes and formal gowns were the ones frowned upon.

I met a man who was on his 6th transatlantic this year, (we became acquainted when we were both carrying our Kindle Readers around), he was an attorney from San Fran or some where in Calif.

Since his retirement he does nothing but travel via cruises and he loved Azamara, but like me he likes a relaxed cruise, and said he considered dressing for dinner meant putting on a clean polo shirt.

I like a nice dinner, while country club dressed.

The only thing I can say is I am happy with Azamara, and I will sail them from now on.:)