just returned from June 30 sailing - my review

[JPH814]

Hello all:

 

This was my 5th cruise and the first with a somewhat more upscale cruise line. The trip was wonderful, despite some rain and rough seas on 2 sea days. The ship is beautiful, the staff is every bit as professional and friendly and accommodating as I could hope for, and the food of very good quality.

 

The food was consistantly good and occassionally outstanding. Since I did not miss a meal, I had 21 meals which comes out to about 70 courses, if you assume 7 days - a 5 course dinner, a four course lunch and a breakfast. I can remember maybe 3 or 4 of those courses which were less than very good and several that I will remember for a long time. (If you go to Aqualina, try the Osso Bucco - it is presented wrapped in proscuitto (sp?) without a bone and with no fat and is incredible! Suprisingly, one of the ordinary items was also an Aqualina entre - the lobster thermador.). We ate in the main dining room, Prime C, Aqualina (twice) and the buffet. The appetizers, soups and salads often were better than the entrees - maybe because I was often stuffed before the the entree was served. Desserts were generally very good but again, if you don't pace yourself, you will have no room. Burgers and hotdogs were good poolside. The only complaint I had about the meals was the beverage service in the main dining room - very slow every meal we had there. One night with rough seas, I asked for a ginger ale 3 times over 15 minutes and evertually walked out to the bar and got it myself. There were also a couple of nights after midnight when we were looking for something to eat but nothing was available. You might think something would stay open as late as the bar and the casino

 

We met Dominique - the matreD of Price C and Aqualina - the first hour on the cruise. He is a gracious and warm man who genuinely seemed to care about us and our enjoyment. My wife and I enjoyed our conversations with him about cruises, cooking and other things. (He also gave us some great advice - have dinner in a specialty restaurant the first day on board: the dining room is often a little hectic and a little disorganized that first night. What a perfect idea!)

 

We were in a royal suite which I will descrbe in a separate posting. It was wonderful.

 

Entertainment was OK. They had something going on every night- a comedian, a ventriloqusit, a couple of song and dance performances. The show band was ok, the singers more than adequate. The piano player was very good and wonderful to listen to - his playing, his singing and his stories. We also had the pleasure of being on board on the 4th of July and they had a great party on deck that night. We did several special things - including a very nice wine tasting and a cooking demonstration..

 

Service around the ship was special. It seemed many of the staff were calling me by name by the 3rd day. Drinks were very good and not priced as high as I expected. The martini bar was fantastic and Amelia (server) and Noel (bartender) were a joy to be with. It is a very comfortable place to sit prior to dinner and late at night. (it is a shame is not open before 4 as a place to get a quiet drink) The library is also a very nice and quiet room and a great place to listen to the piano player. (He also played outside the cova cafe - but that is a little too hectic a place to enjoy him)

 

I spent a lot of time (and a few $$$) at the casino. The staff was again extremely friendly and remembered you from night to night. There was one roulette table, a couple of black jack tables and one three card poker. There was also an electronic poker table that was used almost exclusively for a few tournaments. The tournaments were very well attended and a lot of fun, but 90 percent of the time the table sat empty. I think with a little coordination, the poker players on board would keep it busy a lot more than it was.

 

The fitness center was very nice and well equipped. My wife and daughter used it more than me. I had one massage at the spa and another poolside (great idea at $2 per minute). The massage was very good and the spa was nice, if a little small. The mens locker room had a steam room that was excellent and a shower with 8 body sprays. Well worth the trip. The whirlpool in the front of the spa was a hidden secret - amost always empty. It was great - but a surprise: cool water. No idea why it was not heated. But very strong water jets that really pummelled your body - and when the ship was moving it was almost violent. You have to try it.

 

Our kids who joined us are grown, but I talked to a number of people with kids on board and they said they had a great time. There was some staff dedicated to two different age groups organizing games and activities. Don't hesitate taking kids on the Journey to Bermuda.

 

So that is my review. As I said, I will talk about the royal suite in a separate posting. Please feel free to ask any questions...I learned so much from others who went before me I will gladly return the favor.

[scaaty]

Thanks for the review, we're looking forward to our cruise on the Journey in October. DH would like to know if the casino was only open on sea days or was it open in Bermuda? Thanks

[corona5657]

Several in my group had the osso bucco and agreed it was great!! And, no the casino was not open while in Bermuda.

[Andy]

Hi JPH814 !

 

Thank you for the excellent review. We had the pleasure of meeting Dominique on Summit and Century. He is a wonderful person, and one of Celebrity's best. We hope he will be on Quest later this year.

[blambition]

Great review, thank you for taking the time to write it. Now I really can't wait to sail. By the way do you think there is a reason that the poker table is not seeing any action? I have been on other cruises where live poker games are very popular including the zenith to Bermuda last Oct.

[mringenoldus]

I think the problem with the computerized poker machine is the poor odds. I'm sure the ship would rather you use it rather than a live game but anyone with any savvy will avoid it.

 

Am I understanding correctly that the casino will only be open the first and last two nights?

[Spf12]

I think the problem with the computerized poker machine is the poor odds. I'm sure the ship would rather you use it rather than a live game but anyone with any savvy will avoid it.

 

Am I understanding correctly that the casino will only be open the first and last two nights?

The casino is open while the ship is at sea,not in port.It's open Sat evening,all day and evening Sunday,Thurs.evening,all day Friday and Friday evening.

[ragwing]

Great Post Joe!

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.

 

Weather a little rough going out there?

 

Best,

[JPH814]

Andy: Dominique is moving to the Quest - I believe he said September or October. He was also a great MC for the cooking demonstration.

 

RagWing: Yes, we had 6 to 8 foot seas on Sunday evening and Thursday afternoon which was enough to bounce people around a bit. Monday was very windy and my daughter got sand blasted at Horsehoe Beach.

 

Mringenoldus: There always seemed to be a few people hovering around the 8 seat electronic poker table but nobody wanted to be the first one to sit down and put their money in. There were maybe 4 tournaments dunring the week and only one time was there a non-tournament game going for about an hour or so on thursday night with about 5 people playing. It seems if a staff person hung around the table or put up a sign to get people to sit down and play, there would have been enough people to buy in and keep it going for a while

[stefie67]

hi, and welcome back. thanks for all the info that you have shared with us. i am sailing on the 10/13 depature and i am wondering what the attire is on the ship during the day. when i sailed on the zenith, i would have on my swimsuit with coverup during the day if i was hanging by the pool.i want to make sure that i am buying the right clothes.

thanks for all your help

[florisdekort]

Welcome back and thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am happy to see that things have settled to normal on Azamara!

[Tess99]

Hi all,

 

We're back from the 6/30 sailing too and are glad to report that it was a great experience over all. Of course there were a few glitches, but nothing that would prevent me from booking another cruise on the Journey.

 

Our group consisted of 19 people. Ten of us had gone to High School together and were celebrating our joint 60th birthdays. Some came alone and doubled up with another old friend and others brought friends and family members. Everyone enjoyed the cruise. The two children who were with us were 11 and 14 years old. These girls had not ever been on a cruise before, so had nothing to compare it to. They had a ball. The younger one was always to be seen with a pack of other kids having fun. The older one was a quieter girl, but she too enjoyed herself.

 

Our biggest disappointment was with the seating in the Prime C restaurant. Though the large table was set up with place settings for 14, they would not allow three of those seats to be occupied. The reasoning was that the kitchen could not handle that many dinners at one time. Though we explained that we would not mind if the dinners didn't arrive at the same time, there was no way to budge them. Instead, some of our party had to sit at separate tables - but the food order was still submitted at the same time.... We would not go back there and did not try the other restaurant either.

 

The dining room experience was much more pleasant. In fact it was wonderful! The food was delicious. The selections offered were great.

Each night at the conclusion of our meal, we were asked what time we'd like to come the next night - and when we'd arrive three tables right together were all ready for us. The dinners for all three tables arrived from the kitchen at the same time too.

 

The days at sea were rough. We did not get to dock in St. George's but instead spent our whole time docked in Hamilton. A transportation card for the one day was provided, so we did see St. George and also Dockyard as we traveled around by ferry and bus.

 

We provided a lot of our own entertainment, because we had a lot of catching up to do with one another and did not miss having more options. Two of our party did get up at the Karaoke - but did not disgrace themselves! Some saw the musical review and enjoyed it. The piano player was great.

 

The wireless internet access was spotty. Though I'd signed up for a user name and password on the 1st or 2nd day and had used it for a very quick check of email, after that day, the system would not accept my password. It didn't reject it, just reverted to the page asking for me to put in the password. A stop at the computer room didn't help, as there was no attendant there. A request at the Guest relations desk told me that they'd have the computer attendant call me didn't bring any results either. When I finally found the attendant, it turned out that the system had wiped out all the passwords early in the trip and they needed to be reset. I'm still not content with this, as looking at my bill I was charged for an extra block of time. To make it worse, the connections were very slow and in some cases didn't ever get to where they were supposed to.

I'm still glad that I brought the computer, because I have copies of everyone's pictures from the digital cameras and made cds so they could use the cards again for more pictures.

 

Best of the Journey - the dining room service was wonderful. You didn't even realize that something had been removed from your place - it was very unobtrusive.

NO CROWDS! Getting on and off were easy. There was never a time that you had to wait an uncomfortable length of time to go or do anythng on the ship.

 

Worst part was the motion of the smaller boat. I wonder how it is going to be on the longer trips that are planned for the future. A couple of our group members did wear a patch. No one got sick, but I'm still rocking two days later.

[corona5657]

hi, and welcome back. thanks for all the info that you have shared with us. i am sailing on the 10/13 depature and i am wondering what the attire is on the ship during the day. when i sailed on the zenith, i would have on my swimsuit with coverup during the day if i was hanging by the pool.i want to make sure that i am buying the right clothes.

thanks for all your help

 

thats what we had on during the day. At night we wore nice capris and nice top. Most I saw were in slacks and nice shirt. We dressed up for specialty restaurants, because we wanted to. Most in there were dressed very nicely. Don't stress over your clothes, I did and it was a waste of my time. I brought clothes I would wear to work. Capris, tops, sandals with a little tiny heel. Also, bring a sweater or jacket as I thought it was quite cold in a lot of the areas. Have a great cruise!! You will really like the Journey!!

[Tess99]

ooh, I just remembered. We went to the Chrystal Caves and overheard a conversation from a young couple who were evidently also on the journey. They had been told that the dress policy was "casual"

I guess they didn't go any further with the inquiries, because the young man had not brought any long pants with him. As a result, he was not allowed into either the restaurants or the dining room. They were restricted to the buffet. The buffet was good, but it was not what you wanted for dinner every night. He was looking for a store to buy long pants that wouldn't cost a fortune.

[Andy]

Andy: Dominique is moving to the Quest - I believe he said September or October. He was also a great MC for the cooking demonstration.

 

 

Hi JPH !

 

Thanks for letting me know. I am very happy to hear we will see Dominique again on Quest in October !

[stefie67]

thanks corona, i'll try not to worry too much about my clothes. i'm so happy you had a great trip:) :) :)

[JPH814]

Tess:

Were you 14 at Prime C around 8 on Monday night? We were sitting looking out the aft of the ship with a large group of 14 at three tables around us. If I am thinking of the right group, your group spent a lot of time (as did I ) at the casino - and I think I was in a poker tournament with a guy and his 2 sons the first sea day.

Sorry you did not get to try Aqualina - in my opinion it was the better of the two specialy restaurants.

[mringenoldus]

On my last Princess cruise, they had a little gaming lesson on the poker mahine. I think that encouraged people to stick around and play awhile.

 

I am really encouraged by the reports coming from the recent cruisers. I suggested my relatives join us and was becoming a bit worried initially.

 

Did they have ballroom style dancing on the ship?

 

Was there an internet cafe in the port?

 

Did anyone try out the golf courses? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks for the info!!

Maureen

[Charles4515]

Was there an internet cafe in the port?

 

 

There are internet cafes in Hamilton and St. George.

[mringenoldus]

Thanks, Charles!

 

I'm betting they are faster and cheaper than the ship!

[Charles4515]

Thanks, Charles!

 

I'm betting they are faster and cheaper than the ship!

 

Yes, they are faster and cheaper. Last year the one I used in Hamilton was $4 an hour. They pro-rate the time to so you only pay from the time you start to the time you end. And if you have your own laptop you can take it there and connect it. The one I used in Hamilton, Internet Lane is off of Front Street.

 

http://www.internetlane.net/

 

It is not the only one but I found the location convienient.

 

In St. George I have used Cafe Latte.

[mringenoldus]

Great advice...thanks!!

[JPH814]

On my last Princess cruise, they had a little gaming lesson on the poker mahine. I think that encouraged people to stick around and play awhile.

 

I am really encouraged by the reports coming from the recent cruisers. I suggested my relatives join us and was becoming a bit worried initially.

 

Did they have ballroom style dancing on the ship?

 

Was there an internet cafe in the port?

 

Did anyone try out the golf courses? Any recommendations?

 

Thanks for the info!!

Maureen

 

Maureen:

 

No ballroom dancing. Actually, dancing in general is kind of limited other than the DJ in the Looking Glass lounge.

My son and I played a round at Belmont Hills - it was arranged through the golf person on board and it was a very nice course. Not long, a lot of hills and relatively open. Cost per person was about $225, including transportation to and from the ship, cart, club rental and gratuities. A litle steep compared to golf in the US, but it was enjoyable. We made arrangements at the last minute - 7PM Tuesday evening for a Wednesday morning round - and it was no problem.

[mringenoldus]

Joe

Did you happen to notice what the greens fees would have been had you arrived on your own?

 

Was there twilight golf at any of the courses?

 

Thanks!!

[JPH814]

Fees (from the website) are $103 plus $45 for the clubs and $27 for the cart. We paid the ship $168 for the greens fees, clubs and transportation so that is about a wash since it had to be at least a $15 cab ride each way. They tacked on $25 for gratuity - which is a little high, but not that bad. I have no idea about twilight golf.