Azamara Journey

[ECCruise]

11 hours ago, Zoey123 said:

We are considering booking on the Journey but are worried that it will be old and rundown. It looks like the Onward and the Pursuit have been upgraded, but the Journey and the Quest have been ignored and really look unappealing in contrast. 
 

Does anyone know if they are planning to update those two ships anytime? I’ve watched several YouTube videos with Azamara corporate sales people and they only show pictures of the Onward but imply that every Azamara ship is like that. It’s almost false advertising once you realize two of their ships are nowhere near as nice.

 

Any advice would be appreciated. We don’t want to be stuck for 16 days on a ship with smelly carpets and worn out sofa cushions…we have sailed on Oceania on a R Class ship and we do love the ships.

Have been on both Pursuit (which you claim has been "updated") and the "not updated" Quest for over 60 days in the last year. And the "not updated" Journey in the last 18 months.

 

That's not correct information.  There is literally no difference between the 3 ships, save some art work and the placement of the 2 shops and the coffee bar on Deck 5. One is not appealing and the other 2 unappealing, under any circumstances.

 

And the difference on the Onward is that it is the most recent ship purchased and refitted by Sycamore Partners and thus things (but exactly the same design) will be newer, but not different, save the fact that Onward has the Atlas Bar on Deck 9 and the other ships have the library in that location (which I prefer by a large margin).

 

[Dynacruiser]

6 hours ago, ECCruise said:

There is literally no difference between the 3 ships, save some art work and the placement of the 2 shops and the coffee bar on Deck 5. 

 

 

 

EEC, where is that reputation that Pursuit is old and needs updating coming from, then?

 

 

I agree with you.  From my last 6 or 7 sailings, 3 have been in the Pursuit, and didn't notice any differences.  The artwork near the elevators of some woman dancing who looks like she is falling backwards is noticeably different, but nothing else caught my attention.   Another difference for me is that the Pursuit had more crew members i knew, so I enjoyed the Pursuit more.  

 

Am I too blind that did not notice any bad furniture or areas that needed painting?  Is it that certain category of rooms are in bad shape?    Am I not demanding enough?

 

I think that the four ships are fine, the Pursuit is not in bad shape.  

 

[Zoey123]

There’s definitely a difference in the state rooms and especially the suites, specifically the owners suites. We’ve been doing a lot of research because that’s what we are looking at. I promise you the Journey is not nearly as nice as the Onward and the Pursuit in those areas. 

[ECCruise]

7 minutes ago, Dynacruiser said:

 

 

EEC, where is that reputation that Pursuit is old and needs updating coming from, then?

 

 

I agree with you.  From my last 6 or 7 sailings, 3 have been in the Pursuit, and didn't notice any differences.  The artwork near the elevators of some woman dancing who looks like she is falling backwards is noticeably different, but nothing else caught my attention.   Another difference for me is that the Pursuit had more crew members i knew, so I enjoyed the Pursuit more.  

 

Am I too blind that did not notice any bad furniture or areas that needed painting?  Is it that certain category of rooms are in bad shape?    Am I not demanding enough?

 

I think that the four ships are fine, the Pursuit is not in bad shape.  

 

Totally agree.

I was just quoting the poster who claims there are big differences in the 4 ships.

[ECCruise]

4 minutes ago, Zoey123 said:

There’s definitely a difference in the state rooms and especially the suites, specifically the owners suites. We’ve been doing a lot of research because that’s what we are looking at. I promise you the Journey is not nearly as nice as the Onward and the Pursuit in those areas. 

When did you sail the different ships to make such a "definite" determination?

[Dynacruiser]

9 minutes ago, Zoey123 said:

There’s definitely a difference in the state rooms and especially the suites, specifically the owners suites. We’ve been doing a lot of research because that’s what we are looking at. I promise you the Journey is not nearly as nice as the Onward and the Pursuit in those areas. 

 

Can you please post photos that show some details?  Again, I am starting to doubt myself that I am not as demanding as I thought I was, or perhaps I am not paying enough attention to the details. 

 

And yes, @ECCruise, I know you did not agree that there were differences, perhaps the question was in general if anybody knew, andI see that @Zoey123 kindly offered their view.

[ECCruise]

25 minutes ago, Zoey123 said:

There’s definitely a difference in the state rooms and especially the suites, specifically the owners suites. We’ve been doing a lot of research because that’s what we are looking at. I promise you the Journey is not nearly as nice as the Onward and the Pursuit in those areas. 

We spent around 30 days in Club World on Journey, since that is your specific concern, and I promise you that we did not see an appreciable difference between that and Pursuit.  Cannot comment on Onward, since have yet to sail that vessel. 

[Laganlady02]

The bathrooms in the Club World suites on Journey and Quest are very different to those on Onward and Pursuit. There is only one toilet on both Journey and Quest owners suites. The bathrooms on Journey and Quest are dated and need refurbished.

[Zoey123]

I think the public areas are fairly comparable. I do think the major differences are in the cabin finishes and furnishings. I have been comparing videos from YouTube and trying to get information from the cruise line via our travel agent to confirm.

[Zoey123]

Yes, that’s what I’m seeing. The larger suites have one and a half baths on Onward and Pursuit and only have one on Journey and Quest with a door that separates the toilet from the shower room.

 

And there would be three of us and the updated ships also have pull out couches, but the others don’t. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Journey and Quest have bathtubs in addition to showers.  Pursuit and Onward do not have tubs.  There are some people on this forum [not me] who won't book an Azamara suite that doesn't have a bathtub.  These suites weren't designed for 3 people, they were designed as the 'owner's suite' to give two people luxury [that's why their name is "World Owner's Suite"].  

 

For your purposes, Pursuit and Onward have a better floor plan.  That is very different from saying that Journey and Quest need to be updated – they continue to serve their original purpose just fine.

[corinna121]

On 8/30/2024 at 6:29 PM, Kailyn said:

Hello, just in case anyone did not know, there is currently a 20% off sale for our sailing on beverage packages, internet, and some excursions. 

 

On 9/4/2024 at 3:21 PM, ExArkie said:

We generally only book ocean crossings rather than port-to-port cruises. (Many reasons, all irrelevant to this discussion.) The advantage of Celebrity M and S class ships (no interest in the E class, too much “high energy” for my blood) is that their larger-than-Azamara ships tend to be more stable in rough seas. Not a major issue for southern (northern hemisphere south, that is) route transatlantic or most transpacific, but the North Atlantic could be exciting. 
 

We have done the southern transatlantic route twice on smaller ships (Seabourn and Oceania) and have our first Azamara crossing from Lisbon to Boston next month. Should be interesting starting in the near equatorial waters and proceeding north as we cross.

 

 

Kailyn...Thanks for pointing this out ...It really helped us.

 

ExArkie...We board the Azamara Journey on September 21st and do a B2B until October 12th so we are onboard with you. If you are a fan of trivia, we will be playing everyday possible. It is our favorite activity except for exploring the ports. This will be our first Trans-Oceanic voyage. We are looking forward to it.

 

[Zoey123]

I will have to respectfully disagree with you. And, regardless of the configuration, those two ships are incredibly dated in those cabins. I watched the videos and I wonder how badly that carpet smells. It’s ancient. Itappears that I will be finding out as I think we are going to book it anyway. But for three people…

 

And Azamara’s newest sales videos are definitely selling those as accommodating three to four people and are insinuating that all ships are like the Onward.. So there’s that…

[uktog]

3 hours ago, Zoey123 said:

I will have to respectfully disagree with you. And, regardless of the configuration, those two ships are incredibly dated in those cabins. I watched the videos and I wonder how badly that carpet smells. It’s ancient. Itappears that I will be finding out as I think we are going to book it anyway. But for three people…

 

And Azamara’s newest sales videos are definitely selling those as accommodating three to four people and are insinuating that all ships are like the Onward.. So there’s that…

Carpets are regularly replaced on all Azamara ships even when they are in port they will do a section. The only smell  I have ever encountered is a new carpet smell when a change has been made say in a corridor while we’ve been ashore 

[Belfastman]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Journey and Quest have bathtubs in addition to showers.  Pursuit and Onward do not have tubs.  There are some people on this forum [not me] who won't book an Azamara suite that doesn't have a bathtub.  These suites weren't designed for 3 people, they were designed as the 'owner's suite' to give two people luxury [that's why their name is "World Owner's Suite"].  

 

For your purposes, Pursuit and Onward have a better floor plan.  That is very different from saying that Journey and Quest need to be updated – they continue to serve their original purpose just fine.

Three of the owners suites on Onward have tubs. One on each floor.

[villauk]

On 9/5/2024 at 12:29 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

You may get WiFi included during a sale.  The current sale for US customers is:

 

Azamara won't let me in to their UK website, so I don't know what offers are there.  But you can always book with a US travel agent to get the US offer [but you will carry a currency risk between now and final payment and you will lose UK customer protections].

 

Thanks for the information. I’ve used US TAs in the past, so I’m not opposed to booking in the States. Do you know if the above offer is usually applicable to group rates too? I’ve put an enquiry in and I’m just waiting for a reply from a US TA who appears to have a group already on the sailing I’m looking at (I’m presuming GG refers to group rates). Since looking at Azamara, I’ve actually found another sailing for longer on Quest 😁.
 

Does the included promotion of WiFi refer to the basic package and then you have to upgrade to get anything to work like on Celebrity? Secondly, I’ve been watching a few videos and could you confirm if the buffet is self-service or do staff serve from their side? Additionally, can you eat breakfast in the MDR or is it just in the buffet? 

 

Sorry for all the questions.

[Kailyn]

7 hours ago, corinna121 said:

Kailyn...Thanks for pointing this out ...It really helped us.

 

You are welcome! I'm so glad others were able to take advantage of it. We ended up not booking any of the ship Shorex (there are just too many of our group to make ship ones worthwhile), but we did upgrade our alcohol packages and a few of us need internet. 

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

Does the included promotion of WiFi refer to the basic package and then you have to upgrade to get anything to work like on Celebrity? Secondly, I’ve been watching a few videos and could you confirm if the buffet is self-service or do staff serve from their side? Additionally, can you eat breakfast in the MDR or is it just in the buffet? 

 

Sorry for all the questions.

The Wifi in promotions is usually the basic. I found it to be fine on my Feb/March cruise earlier this year. The self-service buffet is self-service except for the first 24 hours (I.e. until the doctor confirms there is no gastro/intestinal illness on board). If there is any such illness onboard it remains served until the doctor gives the OK for it to go back to self-service.

[wjfan417]

Our wi-fi included in our promotion on Onward this summer was the hi-speed.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 minutes ago, wjfan417 said:

Our wi-fi included in our promotion on Onward this summer was the hi-speed.

If the promotion includes an essentials package, then it will be high speed.

[uktog]

You can enjoy breakfast in the MDR. Unfortunately unlike other lines the buffet is self service. Not only does this increase the risk of virus transmission it also means dishes can look “trashed” very quickly as guests “dive in”. You can end up with a dish full of sauce only as some guests focus on picking out the best bits 

[Post it]

In my opinion, the Journey suites are showing their age.  I traveled in an owner's suite last year and I was shocked with the extremely worn and dated furniture.  For example, the wood coffee table in the living area had cracked and someone had patched it poorly.  The fabric on the sofa and chairs looked dirty because of wear and tear.  

[Belfastman]

9 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

If the promotion includes an essentials package, then it will be high speed.

The essentials package includes the normal WiFi not high speed. We are currently on this.

[Laganlady02]

12 hours ago, Belfastman said:

Three of the owners suites on Onward have tubs. One on each floor.

Yes that is correct. It would be helpful if those commenting on this had first hand experience of the suites being referred to.

[tgg]

1 hour ago, Belfastman said:

The essentials package includes the normal WiFi not high speed. We are currently on this.

Our confirmation says wifi plus. Guess I should have a copy with me when we board. 😃