My fabulous cruise on board Azamara Journey!

I was lucky enough to cruise on board Azamara Journey, enjoying an itinerary to Norway & Iceland. I had always wanted to visit Iceland and to experience the Midnight sun, this was my opportunity. I had a few reservations about the size of the ship…30 000 tonnes is small compared to my usual choice of ship…how wrong was I…it was an amazing cruise from start to finish!

Greeted at the port in Copenhagen by the crew with a glass of fizz, our luggage was taken and our check in was very quick and organised. What struck me before anything else was just how many smiling staff were there to greet us. Such a lovely warm welcome and a feeling that this was going to be a fabulous cruise right from the very first moment.

First impressions of the ship… very traditional in style with a very peaceful and calm atmosphere. The décor stylish and elegant, there wasn’t the glitz and the glamour of other ships I have been on but still an elaborate and very special feel.

Journey carries just 700 passengers and more than half as many crew! To say the least the service was always excellent and there was always plenty of space on board- never feeling over crowded. That was one of the parts of the cruise I enjoyed the most, the small number of passengers, there were no queues or  none of the chaos you can sometimes find on a very large ship ,the feeling of calmness on board lasted for the entire cruise. I’m used to life being hectic most of the time so it was the perfect place to relax and unwind. It also meant that we got to know most of the staff on board and most of the passengers! The crew knew our names, our favourite cocktails of which there were many so this was impressive, our favourite table in the restaurant…the personal service was spot on.

On board there was a real mix of nationalities, lots of Americans, Canadians, Germans and British. One thing Azamara Journey isn’t is a family ship, I think there were two older American children on the entire cruise- no children’s clubs or facilities. I have a two year old now and I wouldn’t even consider taking her on board.

We explored the ship and found everything you would expect to find on a larger ship just on a smaller scale. One thing that struck me throughout the cruise was just how involved the officers were with the guests, even the Captain. They all took time to talk to the guests and really engaged everyone, as a result there was always such a friendly atmosphere around ship.

The gym and spa were very popular especially on sea days so you had to book in early to get your treatments. We did notice the high prices for the spa treatments did drop each day and towards the end of the cruise you could get a really good offer. The gym was fully equipped and there were complementary exercise classes every day including yoga, Pilates. We got up early and went for a run round the jogging track just 1 morning! It was way too cold really. A waiter brought us freshly squeezed orange juice and some fruit cake, I think he was feeling sorry for us.

During the day there was a full enrichment programme running with so many different activities and guest speakers doing lectures on various topics. If you didn’t get there early, you didn’t get a seat! That was how popular the lectures were. We sat in on 1 lecture about food – feel good foods and healthy eating. Every half hour there was something different going on from wine tasting, to ballroom dancing (there was a dance couple on board our cruise giving lessons), to art classes.. the list was endless.

Dining on board was fantastic…….read more in my next blog…….