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Why Go?
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 Enjoy the intimacy and personalized service of a small ship
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Go to at least one port you've never been to
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Get butler service without breaking the bank on a suite
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Cruise with an all-adult crowd (though there are no guarantees!)
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Learn a new skill in the kitchen, on your PC, or behind your viewfinder
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Itineraries and Ports of Call: Caribbean - Eastern • Caribbean - Southern • Europe - Western Mediterranean • Panama Canal & Central America • Transatlantic
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Azamara Journey Review
Azamara Journey began life as the Renaissance R6, and like all its siblings under the Renaissance banner, with its dark livery and subdued Edwardian style interior decor, it seemed like a diminutive version of an early 20th century trans-Atlantic steamship. Though the decor is evolving (and is dependent on its cruise line owners, which also include Oceania and Princess), the ship's interior architecture is still evocative of that bygone era. The main entry hall is straight out of the "golden age." There's no soaring multi-deck atrium here. Instead, there's simply a gracefully curving staircase under a two-deck-high ceiling, capped with a domed, simulated stained glass skylight, leading one flight up to the main public room.
Now under Celebrity Cruises' Azamara flag, the ship wears the white livery of warm climes. With some contemporary elements that clash stylistically with the classic turn-of-the-century North Atlantic steamers, Azamara Journey comes off a bit neither fish nor fowl. The first noticeable mismatch is in the art on the walls. Its collection of 1950's and 60's photos of Cuban Revolution-era Havana, and some of the contemporary paintings and lithographs, don't match the vestiges of the ship's original design sense.
The feeling is that Journey is still a work in progress, and it remains to be seen how much will be changed to complete the transformation. I am certain that there are aficionados on both the "keep it classic" and "keep the shell but lose the antiquarian style" sides, and the choice is purely subjective. Personally -- and this is again purely subjective -- I was never fond of the R-Series style, not because I am rigidly modernistic, but because of the way the style was executed. Much of it is ersatz. There are faux fireplaces with phony logs, simulated cabinets with trompe l'oeil paintings of statues, plates and platters, and an unnecessary proliferation of objets d'art. Taken altogether, there were so many simulated or painted-on elements in the original incarnation of the ship that it felt less like sailing on a classic steamship and more like riding in a reproduction of one at a Disney theme park.
As for architecture, Azamara Journey inherited some of the best passenger flow I've ever experienced. There are no bottlenecks, and the only time a passenger needs to climb or descend a deck to get from one point to another is during the unavoidable situation when destinations of interest are on Deck 9 or Deck 10, on the opposite sides of the pool and sunning area. The design is simple and conventional, with the Celebrity Cabaret (show lounge) and Discoveries Restaurant at opposite ends of Deck 5, and most of the public rooms sandwiched in between. A second cluster of public rooms is situated on Decks 9 and 10, including the spa and fitness area, observation lounge, buffet, pool grill and alternative restaurants.
The other defining characteristic of Azamara as a "brand" is that it lays claim to ownership of a new category, or niche, of cruises, dubbed "Deluxe." "Deluxe," according to Azamara, is positioned squarely in the middle between "Premium" (e.g., Celebrity) and "Luxury" (Crystal, for example). In my opinion, Azamara gets mixed reviews at this early stage of its development: There are some successes, and some areas that still need fine tuning and tweaking.
Read Complete Azamara Journey Review
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Azamara Ships: Azamara Journey • Azamara Quest
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