This was our third trip through the Panama Canal and we enjoyed it as much as our first two. We had been to many of the ports on this itinerary before, so we picked this cruise for the ship - we love the R Class ships. We sailed many times on Renaissance - it was our favorite line. We have followed the dispersal of the 8 R Class ships after the line filed for bankruptcy (Oceania has 4, Azamara ...
I don't usually write reviews, there are so many good descriptions of cruises and ports I normally don't feel I have a lot to add, but this last cruise was such a disappointment and it was relatively expensive I thought I had to.
Six of us booked an Azamara cruise through the Panama Canal based on an earlier cruise I had taken and therefore recommended we ‘upgrade’ to Azamara. Unfortunately ...
We have cruised with Azamara before and were very pleased. This time we noticed a significant denigration with the quality of the food offered. There were always items at each meal that were acceptable. If we were cruising on a mass volume RCCL ship the food would have been considered good. However, we were on Royal Caribbean's luxury line, Azamara which competes with Oceania. A few examples ...
This our first Azamara cruise. We have been on similar Oceania R class ships 5 times before. Although in the future we will continue book future cruises based on destination, we would much rather sail with Oceania. There is a much more corporate culture on board of providing service.
The main dining room's food we felt compared very well to Oceania's. Service and ambiance however left ...
This was our second Azamara cruise, last year we were on the Quest. This year we were looking for and booked a relaxing cruise which we picked up in Costa Rica and disembarked in San Pedro. As we live in Southern California, we had a low hassle commute to and from the ship. I wasn't expecting much in port calls and wasn't disappointed.
Embarkation in Caldera was not well organized, but ...
As Journey was newly out of dry dock, there were some minor snagging issues with unfinished work but nothing to spoil the cruise. In the stateroom these were quickly rectified once pointed out.
Caldera is not really geared for passengers on cruise ships so initially it looked a bit disorganised at the port, but in fact we were on board in 40 minutes with nothing lost.
As this was a first ...
After flying in to San Jose, CR we stayed overnight at Apartotel La Sabana (very nice/good value) and toured across CR with a tour that we had arranged with 3 other couples through Odyssey Tours (very nice). Got a great view of Poas volcano, lunch at Freddo Fresas (great place) and stopped at La Paz Gardens (OK). We boarded the Journey in Puerto Caldera. The boarding experience was routine. We ...
Azamara Journey
Sea of Cortez
January 19, 2011
I am a first-time Azamara cruiser with a long history of cruising on Celebrity, RCCL and Regent. The following is a review of our recent Sea of Cortez trip.
Embarkation
We embarked Journey in San Diego and the process couldn't have been easier. We flew in the day before, rented a car from the airport at Avis and stayed in Orange ...
If you ever have a chance to sail on Azamara, take it!!! It was wonderful.
The embarkation/debarkation was smooth, fast and painless. The fact that this is a small ship with approximately 700 passengers helps with this process. We drove down from northern California so unable to advise on any air arrangements.
The staff and crew are very helpful and friendly. They always greeted you ...