How interesting to read a fellow cruisers review when onboard the same ship at the same time. Whilst a few comments are true , I would certainly wish to give an alternative view. My wife and I ( aged 70 years ) and have cruised with virtually every cruise line, adding up to around 20 cruise holidays, found this one of our best cruise holiday for many reasons. We had an awful cruise with Celebrity Mercury -Setember 2008 in Alaska. The quality of service and food was so disapointing, probably the worst ever. So much for all the rave publicity about Celebrity cruising. We decided not to go with Celebrity ever again. Then we saw the advert for Azarmara Journey with a good Mediterranean itinerary, offering 10 ports of call over 12 days for around £1000 plus tips, seemed a good offer. Azarmara Cruises with only 18 months of business under its belt, just 2 ships, max 700 passengers each, ( feed up with the growing numbers of 2000 to 3000 persons on holiday with me) but still a good size ship . Although it is part of the Celebrity business , we decided let's go for it . We were delighted to have done so. From the moment we stepped on board we received a great WELCOME from ALL the staff, from the Captain down to the engine room staff. That level of friendly greeting and help if required was maintained throughout the entire holiday. The food was of the highest standard, and the best of all our previous sailing holidays. The open style dining /seating arrangement worked very well. Early morning tea in the cabin ( taken every day) was always on time. Breakfast in the cabin offered 8 set menu's plus over 50 additional items to choose from- we tried it a couple of times , found it most satisfactory. The buffet always offered a good selection of hot fresh food , with never aproblem to finding a seat. Amazing service, staff falling over themselves to serve you with beverages. Those freshly made fruit smoothies were out of this world and free! Our balcony cabin was of normal standard of cleaniness, and equiptment all working- some nice little touches returning like flowers and fruit. . The shower however was probably the smallest we have ever experienced, and fighting with the shower screen every morning was not fantastic. Those 6 foot long white towels took some handling too. The ship generally was most pleasant - more like a grand hotel. The Butler did very well considering she had 20 cabins to look after. We always had excellant service and could not fault the 2 to 3 times a day servicing of our cabin. Not sure if this is any better than the traditional cabin steward. A lot of publicity was put on having a butler - could y=they really unpack your cases , clean your shoes -with 20 cabins to look after. The bed in our cabin was so comfotable - some cruises we have had to ask for foam to be put on top of mattress to cover the springs pushing through. Those lovely extra large and soft giant pillows provided were the best ever too. The entertainment was differant of course to a much larger ship. But a 7 pice band,and 5 singers/dancers of shorts -gave a good base to entertainment over the holiday. The single acts that joined the ship around the ports were of the highest standard. Sue Denning the cruise director did really well in keeping us all informed and entertained. Even the bulk of American passengers, seemed to take to her. Drink prices on board are as always expensive whoever you cruise with . Tipping in avance I totally disagree with. But on this occasion I felt all the staff deserved it. Perhaps I sensed that some staff still expected even more tipping , no doubt aided by a few guests seen passing dollars hand to hand on the last night . Shore excursions were very expensive ( which we know is normal) but these were really expensive. To charge for a shuttle bus service each time you dock in a port was a bit of a cheek too. The Guest Desk was always most helful and attentive to our enquiries- even addressing you by name when making a call from the cabin telephone. We had an early flight back to London Gatwick and they arranged a nice swift exit at 07.30 to ensure we caught our flight home. We shall seriously consider sailing with Azamara Cruises again. Bates Bexley Kent

I am not surprised your on board account racked up if you had a bottle of wine every evening and pre dinner drinks. And why is it so necessary for the maitre'd to turn up at your table every night?

I have just read a review on another site which read "I've cruised 32 times, for a total of 272 days, and I can say without reservation, the food on the Azamara Journey (in ALL restaurants, and all other food venues) was the absolute finest I have ever experienced. "