Things to ask first Journey Cruisers

[mringenoldus]

Thank you very much for your efforts!! We will be the most informed folks on the planet!

 

I hope you have a great time. We are really looking forward to October - and you're not making it any easier.

Maureen

[houstontx]

Joe,

Your idea of starting a new thread just for responses is a good one

I second that - a great idea !!

 

One suggestion is that those of us, waiting with bated breath for the answers, refrain from posting brief thank you messages on that thread to keep the thread just for information....

This is an excellent idea too!!!!!!!

 

While we're actually on the Quest, I expect the Journey and the Quest to be practically identical with the same processes & procedures. Therefore, I too look forward to responses and pics of the Journey.

May it be everything we're hoping it to be.

 

Alan & Regina

[houstontx]

DH and I are booked on the Dec. 8 14-day Panama Canal cruise on the Quest (our Christmas gift to ourselves):) .

We're booked on the 14 day, Deep Carribean, on Nov 24th. That means you'll be getting on the Quest when we're getting off. ;)

 

Can someone tell me which Ren ship the Quest was originally?

In the beginning, I read that it was R4 but since then I've read in many different places that the Quest is R7 and Journey was R6.

 

"The Celebrity Journey was originally constructed in France and entered service in May 2000 as the R6 from Renaissance Cruise Line"

 

 

"Celebrity Quest was constructed in France and entered service in November 2000 as R7. Like Celebrity Journey, the ship is 30277-grt and has 355 staterooms. ..."

 

Alan & Regina

[icecreammama]

Wow! This is getting serious! Thanks for organizing the questions, Joe. The day before I leave I'm going to print them out. I am taking along a notebook specifically to write down all the answers as best as I can. Am filled with much anticipation. I'm sure when we all get back from this cruise we will be able to put all of your minds at ease. I'm sure it's going to be wonderful. I just have a gut feeling on this one

[californiacruiseluvrs]

:rolleyes: Maybe I am just a scrooge, but whatever happened to anticipation being half the fun? Certainly, I am interested to know if the Journey is a great experience and if Celebrity has done a fine job with this ship prior to my May 26th Bermuda sailing, but some of these questions seem absurd to me. Not to insult anybody who does want detailed information as this seems to be the spirit of the boards, but honestly some of these questions seem over the top TO ME. For example:

 

31. Was there a craps table in the casino and, if yes, what are the minimums and odds? Why possibly would this be so important???

 

15. How easy is it to make "friends" if you are not sitting with the same folks each night? It seems to me it would be easier to make friends with the open dining as casual acquaintances you meet during the day can be your dining mates by CHOICE at night etc…

 

19. Cost of drinks onboard This is not a cheap cruise. Does it matter whether a Martini is $6, $10 etc…?

 

Additionally, I will not be reading any over the top detailed reviews before my cruise as I would like some things left for a surprise – good or bad. Nonetheless, I am just as guilty as anybody else who reads and writes on these boards as I am participating right now and appreciative of the information provided that I personally find important or interesting. Therefore, I will be happy to answer as many of these questions as I can AFTER my May 26th cruise and assure all that I will not be logging on to cruisecritic.com during my cruise as THIS IS MY VACATION!

 

Good luck to all hoping to obtain information like the dimensions of the drawers in the cabins etc…Stay tuned for a detailed AFTER THE CRUISE review by me in early June.

 

Happy cruising to all!!!

 

Best as always,

 

Jeff

[SheilaNC]

Different strokes...etc.

 

Those who don't want to/need to know can choose not to read the reports. I respect everyone's right to decide for her/himself. I look forward to information sharing and take from it that which is meaningful to me AND share my perceptions when I return.

 

In the meantime, the countdown is on and the first cruise lucky ones have less than a week til boarding. Enjoy every minute!!

[californiacruiseluvrs]

Sheila:

 

It is hard to believe that the ship will be ready in less than a week. They must be working around the clock to get things ready for the first group of passengers. I have no doubt that Celebrity will NOT let us down and am quite excited to try this new concept for Celebrity.

 

My travel agent said her Celebrity sales rep. informed her that the food will be completely different than that on the bigger Celebrity ships. Most notably they are spending more per passenger per day on food than usual. On the big Celebrity ships apparently the line spends about $9 per passenger per day and on Journey they will be spending around $12-$15. I suppose when you are buying in bulk that could represent a big difference in quality. Time will tell.

 

We are looking forward to a gorgeous ship, good fun, good company, and hopefully beautiful weather for our upcoming cruise 3 weeks from next Saturday!

 

Jeff

[SheilaNC]

Amen, Jeff. I'm sure that you are right and that we will all have a wonderful cruise. Since we leave for NYC on the 18th and have a wedding in Seattle next week...we're almost ready to pack now.... Really looking forward to this adventure.

[eks1954]

I am booked on Journey May 26th sailing. I have a disabled son that is cruising with me. I was not able to get a HC accessible cabin and I was wondering if the spa will have a HC accessible shower for him to shower in. Also was wondering if they have a lift for the pool or some way for the disabled to get in the pool. Any information would be very helpful. Thanks!

Earl

[eks1954]

I would like to ask about how accessible the ship is overall for the disabled? Any comments overall would be helpful to those in wheel chairs.

Earl

[NorthernLite]

If someone has a tape measure can you get the width of doors into the spa, massage and therapy rooms? And are there any tables low enough for someone who uses a wheelchair to transfer themselves over for a treatment? If you are a wheeler any problems? And are all the wash basins' chairs bolted down so it requires 3 or 4 transfers to get a simple wash, trim and set?

 

Yes, when shore excursions are inaccessible, the captain has decided it's unsafe for the disabled to use tenders and the shops and casino are closed that leaves getting drunk or spa treatments. And are there lifts to the pool and hot tubs? Without kids they can leave the seats attached to the lifts if they have them. Yes the little darlings are the reason it takes a day to get into supposedly accessible pools on the post ADA M ships. And yes, I read plenty while at sea also. We'll be on the repo from Cape Liberty to Miami.

 

Oh, according to the booker on the Zenith there will be no smoking in the Library and drinks come in from nearby bars.

[JPH814]

Earl and Sue - I added the question to the list and the entire list is posted on the May 5th Board. I hope you get some feedback.

 

Jeff - you prepare for your vacation your way, we will do it our way. In my opinion, the anticipation and planning is as much fun as the cruise itself. And to people like earl and sue, the people on this board can be quite helpful.

 

...and don!t pick on dice players - that question was personally from me! :)

[deeva211]

I am booked on Journey May 26th sailing. I have a disabled son that is cruising with me. I was not able to get a HC accessible cabin and I was wondering if the spa will have a HC accessible shower for him to shower in. Also was wondering if they have a lift for the pool or some way for the disabled to get in the pool. Any information would be very helpful. Thanks!

Earl

 

Of course, until we see the Journey, no one will know for sure but I just sailed on the refurbished Century and they now have a lift for both the pool and the hottub. There was a girl who was paralyzed and she was using the lift to get into both. There was also a drunk idiot (spent the day at Senor Frogs and was working his way through a case of Corona) playing on it!!

[mringenoldus]

I have just added a third cabin to our booking. I am going to appreciate all of the info you are going to try to gather! It was very nice of you to take on what turned out to be a VERY long list.

 

Just don't forget to take enough time to relax and enjoy your own vacation!!

[JORAY]

This was on another thread -- May be of interest to those who have sailed these ships before Celebrity --I think the answer will be no self service laundry -- I know DW would say "I am on Vacation", :p you can do it if you want. -- Ray

 

1cruiselvr -- Carolyn,

I'm a dummy and can't figure out how to email my Journey question so I'm hoping you are still checking this thread before Friday.

 

I'd like to know if Celebrity removed the self-laundry room on Deck Seven. It was there as a Ren ship and it would be nice to know if you can count on doing your own laundry if necessary. Thanks!

[1cruiselvr]

I don't know why they would take it out. It wasn't in a spot that they could use for anything else. But we will have to wait and see. Personally, it's not that I enjoy doing laundry while on vacation, but it's sure handy so I don't have to pack 12-14 days worth of clothing. Also, if I spill something on my fav shorts, I can toss them in the wash and they are good to go. I know they will have for-pay services on board, but I've had very bad experiences with them in the past; also on one HAL ship the DC machine was broken for the entire 14 days. Alot of folks that were counting on these services were very upset. Happy Sailing!

[boscobeans]

It would be nice to see a few pictures.

 

Celebrity... Ooops "Azamara" has a classy new website which does not contain one new photo of the ships, the staterooms or the public rooms.

 

It would be easy enough for them to post a few on their booking engine. It might help those of us who are deciding what type of accommodations we book.

[mringenoldus]

I browsed through the new site also and there is new information but all the graphics link back to the old Celebrity pages.

 

The photo of the ship shows our cabins' balconies however! And I really like a white ship.

 

Did anyone else catch the press release that said all staterooms get a night in the alternative dining and the suites get two nights - at no charge??

 

I'm more and more assured that I made a good choice booking the Journey!!

[Spender Nui]

Will it sail on time?

[gillianrose]

I am curious to know if they are going to allow smoking in Michaels Club.

 

Since, as Carolyn indicated, it is a dual purpose venue serving as the library during the day and a piano bar/club at night I would think it would be pretty nasty to spend time in the library if people have been smoking in there. She indicated no cigars but left it open as to cigarettes.

 

 

According to the people with whom I spoke at Azamara there will be smoking in only two places on the entire ship:

 

1. A portion of the forward starboard section of the pool deck.

2. A small portion of the aft port side of the lounge (not bar...LOUNGE).

 

1 outdoor place, 1 indoor place. That's it.

 

I would hope that cigars are not permitted, period. These are small ships.

[houstontx]

Did anyone else catch the press release that said all staterooms get a night in the alternative dining and the suites get two nights - at no charge??

 

So, I wonder if this is just for the first (debut) cruise or is it for every cruise on the Journey....? What do ya think??

We're actually booked on the Quest in Nov but I'm thinking they should be the same.

Alan & Regina

[CrabbyHarper]

The Celebrity ships always - or almost always - have a Catholic priest on board. I wonder if Azamara will do the same? Part of my R&R on a cruise has been to attend Mass every day and the availability of a priest is a big part of my decision on what cruise line to sail.

[deeva211]

The Celebrity ships always - or almost always - have a Catholic priest on board. I wonder if Azamara will do the same? Part of my R&R on a cruise has been to attend Mass every day and the availability of a priest is a big part of my decision on what cruise line to sail.

 

The Azamara board says that they will have clergy every week during the Bermuda runs but none after that.

[mringenoldus]

As a "raging Catholic", I''m very happy to hear that there will be a priest onboard in October. Hooray for Azamara!!

 

On our recent 12 night AZ/NZD cruise, there were no services. However, there was a Christian fellowship meeting advertised on Sunday morning. No one from Princess was there to coordinate but I think the group of passengers that attended did a wonderful job of creating their own nondenominational worship.

[1cruiselvr]

I think there has been a misunderstanding about clergy onboard. Here's their official policy from Azamara's website FAQ area:

Will there be clergy on these ships?

In Bermuda, there will be a priest onboard every sailing. After the completion of our Bermuda season there will not be any clergy onboard.