Help Please Azamara journey

[crispy23]

We are from the UK in our late forties/50 and are considering the panama canal cruise from LA on 3/1/08. As our only previous cruising experience experience has been a deluxe car ferry from spain to the UK! you can see we are novices at this and despite much research are totally confused with all the different information.

What really attracts us to this cruise line is the size of the ship, the itinerary as we really fancy the trip through the panama canal, open dining and getting out of the UK winter!

Although we want to make sure there is plenty to do we do not want to have to worry about getting somewhere to sit on deck or be in long lines at meals.

We would really appreciate some feedback, does the ship/cabins feel claustrophobic, how stable is it etc etc

 

Best regards Chris & Jayne

[DaneViking]

Hi Chrispy23

 

Welcome to the world of cruising.... :)

 

When we booked our first cruise about eight years ago, our travel agent warned us: "Cruising is highly addictive. Have you tried it once, you will have to do it again and again and....". Since then we have cruised as often as vacation schedules and economy permits. And our 7'th cruise is now booked...

 

If you read these boards you will often meet people with many more cruises in the bag, and strong opinions for and against a matter of significance for this and that particular individual.

 

Our experience is, that every cruise has been an unforgettable experience. Of cause from time to time minor glitches have had to be resolved. But nothing that has ever been able to ruin our experience. Every cruise is a complicated exercise in logistics for the cruise-company an depends on staff, machinery (both at sea and ashore) and last but not least on the passengers attitude.

 

We have always been comfortable on board, in the public areas, or in our cabin. From time to time you will hit a queue somewhere, but there is always somewhere else to go, if you do not want to wait. From time to time you will meet an staff-person that treats you in an unpleasant way. But 99% (or more) of the time you will meet people (staff or fellow passengers) that does their very very very best to make this cruise a wonderful experience for everybody on board.

 

I must however emphasize that our past cruise experiences are based on traditional cruising (not open dining) on somewhat bigger ships. Our next cruise will be on the "Journey", so many things will be new to us also (for example open dining). But I can assure you, that we are not worried about anything, and expect this experience to add another, to our bag of wonderful cruise experiences...

 

By the way... we live in Denmark. So if there is one thing we share with you, it is the wish to get somewhere else, where there is light and sun, sometime during the winter... :rolleyes:

 

So.... from here ... enjoy you cruise

 

Regards

Christian

[crzrr]

Hi -

 

While I have not been on the Journey (next Sept. though), I was on the Quest this past February. We have taken many Celebrity Cruises as well as one Royal Caribbean and one Carnival. We absolutely loved the Quest.

 

Open seating is great. There were never any lines anywhere and you were free to dine where and when you wanted. We did eat in the specialty restaurants four times and they were wonderful - great food and great service. Actually, the service everywhere was fantastic. Given the size of the ship it is not long before staff members know your name and even what you will be requesting. One waiter, Jorge, in Breezes, would go and get me a diet Coke at lunch as soon as I walked through the doors.

 

If you are looking to be constantly entertained, you will not find it on this ship. They do the usual trivia type games during the day and there are lectures and other activities. We enjoyed the evening entertainment which is more like cabaret, small club, entertainment. No big production shows, but very talented entertainers. We would spend time in the casino or up in the nightclub but were usually in bed fairly early by cruise standards. Given that many of the itineraries are port intensive, this was not a bad thing as we needed our rest.

 

All in all, we really enjoyed this type of cruise. I hope that you do too.

[dharma]

I'm sure you will find Azamara a wonderful experience. I would, however suggest that you also investigate Celebrity Cruises. My husband and I are in our early 40s, but certainly no party animals! We loved Celeb Millennium Class ships - just the right mix of space, nice people and enough entertainment. It may just be a better choice for a first cruise ever. (And don't be put off if you think the ships are big - they certainly don't feel big or crowded at all!)

By the way, we didn't like Royal Caribbean at all!

[Jancruz]

I think for your first experience the Quest or Journey would be great..I have been on 60 cruises and finally found a home with smaller ships..I love the ship, size, open dining, friendy staff, friendly passengers, no lines, it is an amzaing expeience and you will be thrilled!!

Jancruz1

[JoKnecht]

Dear Chris and Jayne

 

We, like you were in a quandary about the cruise experience in general, and Azamara in particular, when we decided to take a chance and booked the Journey last Christmas for the 18 day cruise around Cape Horn. We had never done a cruise before, and nights spent on this message board seemed to raise almost as many questions as it answered (...sorry Andy). We too had never cruised beyond the high speed ferry from Nova Scotia to Maine (6 hours), and were fearful that we were going to end up on some floating hotel, where the chief activity is eating.

 

How was the experience? In a word...wonderful. So much so that we are currently booked on the 12/16 Quest cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong.

We had a veranda cabin and had breakfast (weather permitting) on the veranda most mornings. The cabin was compact, but larger than some European hotel rooms we've stayed in. It was very comfortable to sleep in, as the motion of the ship gently lulled us to sleep. The ship was extremely stable, but if this is a concern book a cabin on a lower deck amidship. The staff, as I am sure you have read, is simply superb.

As far as the open seating is concerned, we loved it, as we did the informality of the entire cruise (A major reason for us booking in the first place). The only queues we ever encountered were occasionally at the buffet in the morning when in port (everybody is looking to go at the same time) or at lunch, when at sea. It's not something to bother over.

As far as deck chairs were concerned, it did, at times, get a little crowded, but there seems to be enough for all, but not all were in shaded areas, so if this is a major concern, just get to one early.

I would say, go and enjoy the experience. We met interesting people (some of whom we are meeting again on the trip this year), and had the best holiday of our lives.

 

Alon

[Tinwoman]

You know don't sweat it all cruises are wonderful, I am cruising Journey this fall, and I am really looking forward to it.

Is a small ship and with that usually goes wonderful service.

If you are looking for peace and quiet with lots of seasoned cruisers, and not crowds, and drunken parties, than this is the cruise for you.

I can't wait and I have cruised 10+ times. :D

[Ask4Jay]

We have crossed the Atlantic three times in these almost identical 'little' ships, twice on Oceania's Regatta and once on the Quest. There are two more coming up on the Journey. We just love the low-key atmosphere, open seating and relaxed dress code. And very few children. Production shows, casinos and bars have no attraction for us. We want to be on a small ship, on our own aft balcony, and enjoy watching the wake. Almost forgot, while having a glass of Sherry or Port. See below.