I returned from a 7 night Azamara cruise on Journey on September the 24th and wanted to write a review based upon my experience on the ship and compare it in part to Celebrity with whom I've cruised with a number of times. Just a word of warning. If you are reading for port/excursion ideas or views on the entertainment then skip over as this was more walking off the ship in the morning and having a stroll r & r time and I haven't been to a show in years!

I booked the cruise direct with Azamara's office in the UK from which I have always had great service. The package included flights and hotel accommodation in Nice the day before and the overall experience including transfers was very good. Nice hotel and seamless transfers to the ship. I've done Celebrity transfers before, but because of fewer passengers this was better.

Azamara Journey doesn't perhaps have the "wow" factor of the Celebrity ships, especially the S-Class. Rather they are very smart smaller boutique hotel in style as compared to a larger resort. This was immediately evident when boarding. No atriums. No large deck spaces. No Lawn Club. You could look down the stateroom corridor and see from one end of the ship to the other. What a novelty! I really liked the feel. Read more