Sky Suite Questions - Azamara Journey

[Prospector]

We are booked to sail on the Azamara Journey in July to Norway. We have a Sky Suite booked and are really looking forward to this new experience, having travelled with NCL (Dawn, Jewel and Gem) and RCI (Voyager) in the past.

 

We would really appreciate any information on the Sky Suites and how to make the most of the perks and facilities they offer. Are the in-suite afternoon teas and in-suite dining a real treat or more trouble than they are worth, in reality?

 

We also want to make the most of our balcony on what should be an very picturesque voyage - what sort of furniture is provided out there - cushioned loungers or just fixed chairs, is there a table which makes enjoying breakfast on the balcony easy or do you have to juggle with plates and trays and a mini side table? Are the balconies screened and private or easily overlooked from the sides, above or below?

 

Any information, advice or pictures would be very greatfully received and we will post a review once we're back.

 

Cheers

Prospector.

 

NCL Seaward (1990); NCL Dawn & Jewel (2005); NCL Jewel (2006) RCI Voyager and NCL Gem 2007; Azamara Journey and NCL Sun (2008)

[wtrmdr]

We are booked to sail on the Azamara Journey in July to Norway. We have a Sky Suite booked and are really looking forward to this new experience, having travelled with NCL (Dawn, Jewel and Gem) and RCI (Voyager) in the past.

 

We would really appreciate any information on the Sky Suites and how to make the most of the perks and facilities they offer. Are the in-suite afternoon teas and in-suite dining a real treat or more trouble than they are worth, in reality?

 

We also want to make the most of our balcony on what should be an very picturesque voyage - what sort of furniture is provided out there - cushioned loungers or just fixed chairs, is there a table which makes enjoying breakfast on the balcony easy or do you have to juggle with plates and trays and a mini side table? Are the balconies screened and private or easily overlooked from the sides, above or below?

 

Any information, advice or pictures would be very greatfully received and we will post a review once we're back.

 

Cheers

Prospector.

 

 

Prospector,

 

We sailed the Quest 11/26/07 in a Sky Suite and it was very nice. The balcony has a table and two chairs (no loungers) but they were better than I've seen on a lot of cruises.

 

The balcony is relatively private, no other balconies overlooking it from above, with solid "dividers" between the balconies.

 

I have some pictures of our Sky Suite if you would like me to email them to you. I have no idea how to attach pictures to the thread.

 

Marti

[cabo de hornos]

We sailed on Journey in October/Nov '07 and enjoyed it very much. This particular cabin is positioned below the pool area just slightly "backstage right" of the pool entertainment stage, so if (and this doesn't happen often) there is some particularly loud music (actually more like dancing noise or heel stomping noise from "well-heeled" guests) you would hear it for a while, and you'll occasionally hear some of the heavy chairs positioned under the jogging track being moved around. That's really about the only moderate negative for this particular cabin.

 

For the SS in general (which were added just prior to the inaugural sailing), they are quite nice, and the balcony is fine - not large, but the chairs are comfortable, as the previous poster stated. In fact we think they are a bit larger than the M-class version, which we have stayed in before and will again in two weeks on Infinity.

 

Caution - bring an extension cord. The 110v outlets under the desk are way in back behind the 220v outlets (a nuance of the prior ownership), and you will not want to wrassle with this every time. Also, the outlets near the bed are inaccessible. The flat-panel TV is a Samsung - quite good, and the drapes are thick so outside light is not a problem.

 

The bathroom is well-laid out but there is no lighted makeup mirror there. Closet space is ample, but not lighted as in M-class version - a minor inconvenience . Drawer space is quite nice. The table in front of the sofa could be a bit larger.

 

Az was planning to upgrade the phone system similar to what M-class has, but I don't know if this is ready yet. So you can't page the "butler", and wake-up calls have to be loaded in to the central system, and will not stop ringing until you get up out of bed and pick up the phone, which is on the desk. You'll also enjoy playing with the light switches which are all over the cabin until you figure out what kind of mood you want to have.

 

We initially had a problem with too much air conditioning, but it was promptly fixed. It's an analog control with red and blue "perimeter graduated lines" - no specific temperature indication.

 

Nice touches include flower stem holders in the bathroom and at the desk, whose contents are replaced from time to time with very ncie arrangements.

 

The butler service is not the same as the M-class service in our view, but it was fine. And our cabin was well-kept.

 

The afternoon goodies were quite good. We only had breakfast in our suite, and it was OK (waffles are excellent wherever you have them - buffet or cabin), but DW says the coffee is horrendous. The only good coffee was in one of the buffet dispensers - not even the dining rooms had coffee she cared for.

 

You will really like this suite. Enjoy your cruise!

 

Cabo

[Andy&Mary]

We were in a Sky Suite the first week of October 2007 and found the room very nice. I would agree with Cabo on his points.

 

We did not have any issues with the air conditioning and we usually kept it very cool. We only had breakfast in the rooom once and it was very good. On our balcony, we had 2 chairs and a table that was approximately 3'x3' which was very suitable for eating, etc.

 

The only complaint we had (and really the only complaint with the entire cruise) was that the Butler service and "Suite Amenities" were not even close to the service and amenities we have received on our 4 previous cruises in suites on Celebrity. While the cruiseline advertised a butler with every cabin, it also advertised that suites would receive "premium butler service" (or something like that). Instead, our "butler" was actually the cabin steward (just like every other cabin) and we did not receive many of the "perks" we had become accustomed to with Celebrity cruises. We do not ask for much of the butler, but the afternoon tea was only offered 2 days of 7 and evening appetizers were only offered 1 day of 7 (we were even told that they were not provided on the first day).

 

Perhaps we should have gone to Guest Relations, but not being the type to complain, we just ended up finding our own afternoon treats :) Just this week, we were sent and completed an on-line survey from Azamara; we included these comments for their review.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

mary