Some Comments:
POSITIVE
-Very attractive ship with edwardian decor harking back from the Rennesaince days however all new carpeting and furniture is found through out. Cabins look brand new.
-The lunch I had was very good to excellent.
-Embarkation looked like a breeze since their was only over 700 people to board.
-They walk you to your stateroom (like Celebrity)
-Overall I found the ship very pleasant and homey so different then the mega ships and I would definately love to sail her!
-Very attractive specialty dining spots: Prime (steakhouse) and Aqualina (med. cuisine). All standard oceanview, interior and balcony staterooms get one free dinner in the sepcialty dining rooms and suite guests get two free dinners.
-Butlers for every cabin
-Open seating with no formal nights - the attire is country club wear.
NEGATIVE
-They are still not done with this ship. The pool was still being worked on and 5 cabins I passed still were partially unfinished!
-This ship is not for active people or families Celebrity was VERY silly for moving the Zenith from Bermuda. They should have revitalized and it would have been great for another 5-6 years.
-The transfer from Celeb. to Azamara was very hastly done. They serve you on Celebrity plates, crew wear celebrity uniforms, room towels had celebrity logos and at the bow of the ship you see the words Celebrity Journey covered very poorly with the new signage Azamara Journey. But this ship to me is better as a different line b/c she does not fit with the Celebrity fleet.
-Celebrity needs a ship for Bermuda next year. The Celebrity reps all said that she and sister Quest will be in Europe in the summer '08 but one rep said MAYBE the Century will do Bermuda he claims to have heard "whispering" in the corporate office of such news. Who knows!

I'm not a big fan of modern art and some of it seemed to clash with the 'classic' decor. I'm particularly thinking of the obscure picture above the Fire-place. Personally I cannot imagine a county-club with 'modern art'.

What stood out most, was although they have thankfully removed that table and flowers from the Grand Staircase, I am not sure about the 'necklace' hanging there, weird! Maybe it looks better in reality?

Also the dining room seems to be jam packed. I am looking at photo 40 in particular. The layout in rows is most unimaginative and the tables so close together. Your comments regarding the 'free' dinners in the speciality restaurants confuse. Does that mean you can have more if you pay, or is that your limit eating there, one or two? what happens if you want to dine with friends you've met and one of the group has exceeded their allocation. This seems at odds with being a "luxury line".

I am sure she is very nice, but seems they need to sort their identity and get away from the Celebrity uniforms quickly.

Modern Art again! Something more 'classical' is required!

Also the dining room seems to be jam packed.

The dining room was packed and there was a lack of tables for two

In reference to the specialty dining rooms once you exceeded your "freebie" you had to pay. The steakhouse was $25 I beleive and the Med. dining room had three levels - $25 gave you dinner, $50 gave you wine included and $70 gave you dnner and wine paring!!!! The prices I approximated but it was something like this. But as Pam stated what happens if you meet people and they used their "freebie" and you did not then I guess that means you would have to pay and they dont. Personally they should just include the damn restaurants in the price! Enough nickel and diming.

Personally I'm not a fan of the overdone Edwardian decor of these R-Class ships. I never have been. I do feel Celebrity did a good job toning it down and adding some modern touches. I love the look of modern art combined with traditional decor which is actually quite popular. I also like that necklace piece of art that hangs in the lobby. The lobby looks so much better with the neutral carpet instead of red. Cabins look 100% better and of course use the same materials that all Celebrity cabins are getting redone in. Flat panels are a nice touch.

Pam, you mention "luxury line". Remember that Azamara is not positioned as a luxury line like Regent, Silversea, and Seabourn. It's positioned as "ultra-premium" just like Oceania. This is just between Premium (HAL, Cunard, Celebrity) and Luxury (the lines I already mentioned). The product is not all-inclusive and not meant to be. To that end pricing will not be at Silversea and Seabourn levels.

I do agree this venture was hastily done. I can only imagine execs at RCI/Celebrity decided to do this at the very last minute and did the best they could. I have no doubt the product will continue to evolve and in time we will see the Celebrity branded items transfered to other Celebrity ships and replaced with Azamara branded goods. I know the folks at RCI had a very difficult time coming up with a new cruise line name. Most are already taken or copywrited. I like the name Azamara and the logo is not bad either. It's actually impressive they came up with it so quickly.

What is my biggest concern with the ship? Those hideous cheap deck chairs! The must be left over from Pulmantur and they need to be replaced. This is what Carnival, Princess, HAL, and yes, even the QE2 use and I hate them. They are so cheap and they don't belong on an ultra-premium line, or even a premium line for that matter. The new deck chairs on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity (even MSC) are far better. As a person who enjoys laying out in the sun and swimming pools, the R-Class ships in general are lacking in this area. There is no wrap-around Promenade deck and the space by the pool is limited. They also have some of the smallest postage stamp size pools afloat.

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Originally posted by eroller:
Remember that Azamara is not positioned as a luxury line like Regent, Silversea, and Seabourn. It's positioned as "ultra-premium" just like Oceania.

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage: For people like me that cruise mass-market or Premium (for a treat), the subtleties between ultra-premium and luxury are difficult to grasp.

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For the most part, ultra-premium is not all-inclusive like most luxury lines. This means you will still have to pay for drinks and tips. In addition the cabins are not as large, the ships not as spacious, and the crew/passenger ratio will be lower.

What ultra-premium does offer over a typical premium line are smaller ships, more personalized service, higher quality food, more attention to detail, and more special amenities like luxury bath products, etc.

It's easier to define the differences between ultra-premium and luxury than premium and ultra-premium.

Personally I think that any attempt to put this into categories like ultra premium, luxury or ultra luxury (or a 2000 point system ) is more or less sensless.

P.S. - nice pictures - many thanks.

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]

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Originally posted by Ernst: Personally I think that any attempt to put this into categories like ultra premium, luxury or ultra luxury (or a 2000 point system ) is more or less sensless. P.S. - nice pictures - many thanks. [ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]

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I will admit these ratings and categories become a bit more ambiguous and less defined when you invent intermediate terms such as "ultra premium".

Ernie

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: eroller ]

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Ernst, it seems to make sense to Richard Fain: "This new line falls into what we consider the deluxe category -- a category between premium and luxury."

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These people have to explain thier product - this is marketing. 'Premium' and 'luxury' are established terms (what they really 'mean' is another story) and it just sounds better to call it 'deluxe' than saying 'between premium and luxury' all the time.
We will soon hear how 'good' or 'what' they really are - remember that the word 'luxury' is used by nearly every cruise line. (...in this context this Costa campaign from the early 90ies comes to my mind....)

[ 05-20-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]

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Originally posted by eroller:
What is my biggest concern with the ship? Those hideous cheap deck chairs! The must be left over from Pulmantur and they need to be replaced. They are so cheap and they don't belong on an ultra-premium line, or even a premium line for that matter.
Ernie[/QB]

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I couldn't agree more, as an X fan, that deck area does not look like a premium, let alone luxury product to me.

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Originally posted by eroller:
What is my biggest concern with the ship? Those hideous cheap deck chairs! The must be left over from Pulmantur and they need to be replaced.

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You may find they are actually inherited from Renaissance? They are the same as the deck chairs aboard Minerva II when Swan took her over.

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Im still puzzled, in the Spring issue of Celebrity's Captain Club magazine, Quest and Journey are introduced as Celebrity Quest and Journey, no mention of Azamara.

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There was a big last-minute change of plan by Celebrity (or RCI). Literally - I think it was just a few days before the first cruise started. Lots of things actually on the ships are still lebelled 'Celebrity' (there aren't any actual 'Azamara' items in existence yet). And I've even read somewhere that when the line was launched, alongside the stil--moored Journey, it was only the stern & the side nearest the dock that had been paintd with 'Aazamara'.

No-one knows why this was done, but my guess is that Celebrity management were impelled to it through a combination of two things:-

a) policies for dress & dining are different on Journey & Quest than on any other Celebrity ship. It wold be difficult to explain how you line has two quite different policies in these areas, so the easiest thing is to split your line up;

b) looking into the future (with the Solstice class ships coming) Celebrity could see how it would be increasingly difficult to justify the 'Premium' label on their ships, and that this would drag down the reputation of these two new additions. Again, the answer is to split them off.

And then it was done: but seemingly in a rushed manner. Add to that the fact that Journey's first season is as a replacement for Zenith on the decidely non-premium milk run from New York to the Bahamas, and it all adds up to a bit of a mis-fire, so far at least.

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Originally posted by eroller:
What is my biggest concern with the ship? Those hideous cheap deck chairs!

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Originally posted by eroller:
[...]
I will admit these ratings and categories become a bit more ambiguous and less defined when you invent intermediate terms such as "ultra premium".

Ernie

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This is what I mean. (missed your posting) It is clear that it is helpful to have some kind of category to descirbe the 'product' (hotel or ship) - but these categories are very 'broad' and a more detailed description is usually necessary - especially in the luxury segment. 'Ultra premium' is not (yet) established - a bit like all the airlines who came up with names for their first and business class.

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Originally posted by Gerry:
The product seems to be awfully close to Oceania's. The ship's are identical of course but it seems to me that the ambiance of both products is identical. Even the websites. I'm surprised Oceania hasn't been more vocal or even gone legal....

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Interesting idea - could they actually do that? Is there a chance to claim some kind of copyright for how one operates a cruise line? Concerning the ships I would guess that this is only an issue if one would build another ship using the same plans but not if one buys the ship.

[ 05-21-2007: Message edited by: Ernst ]