My cruise on Azamara Journey

Last week I was lucky enough to be invited on board the Azamara Journey with a few of my colleagues.
We joined the ship for 3 nights which was part of a 14 night voyage
We joined in St Malo and the cruise visited Cherbourg and Honfleur then we disembarked in Rouen.
We didn;t get off the ship on Cherbourg but we did in Honfleur and it was beautiful. It is a really pretty port with lots of little restaurants and cafes around the water and small winding streets.

We boarded the ship and went straight for a late lunch at the Patio. This is a covered outdoor dining area where you can choose from a menu or help yourself to salads, burgers etc.
The first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was, from the crew to passengers everyone was so happy and welcoming. The staff did not seem to be under the pressure you see on large cruise liners and this made a huge difference. The ship felt like being in a country house hotel rather than a cruise liner.

The food on here was amazing and I love my food so this was a highlight for me.
They have the main dining room which is where we ate on the first night. There was a very good choice on the menu and very difficult to choose because it all sounded so good.

The following night we ate in the speciality restaurant Prime C. This is their steak restaurant and unless you have club balcony they charge $30pp to dine here. I can tell you it is definitely worth paying for this experience. The steak was cooked to perfection and for those that prefer not to have steak there are other choices available too.
I ordered the Crab Cakes, Fillet Mignon and then we ordered a selection of deserts to share but my favourite was the Cinnamon Doughnut Balls with dipping sauces.

They have another speciality restaurant called Aqualina which is Italian and also $30pp. I am told this is also excellent but sadly we didn;t have time to try this. The dining room however is very beautiful and I can imagine it would be an ideal venue for a special occasion. The tables seemed quite close together but we were told that they stagger the dining so that if somebody was seated next to you it would be towards the end of your meal so you do have privacy.
The last night of our cruise happened to be white night. This was a really fun night out on deck with a BBQ and buffet and I will tell you more about that next time.
There is always a themed buffet too every evening if you prefer not to go to the main dining rooms and always a choice of buffet or dining room for breakfast and lunch. Plus you have the Patio for waiter service too with lovely sandwiches, nachos etc. This is a really lovely casual place to dine.
The ship was more modern than I expected too with The Living Room bar being more contemporary than I expected with quirky chairs and bird cage seats plus of course the usual more comfortable seating areas.

This is where you go for a drink after dinner/shows but it was fairly quiet. This was a remembrance cruise though and I am told it can be more lively on some cruises. They serve canapes in here and sandwiches and cakes during the day.
There is usually a show after dinner which is ok but not to my taste. You can’t expect big productions on small ships but the entertainment staff were very talented. Because Azamara is a destination orientated cruise line the shows reflected this with themed performances from around the world.

The cabin were were allocated was a category 8 obstructed view outside cabin.

As you can see obstruction was not too bad so this wouldn’t worry me at all to have one of these cabins in future. The cabin was a decent size with plenty of storage but the bathroom was tiny but for the little time we spent in their it really wasn’t a problem. We did have very nice fluffy bathrobes in our cabin and slippers which is a really nice touch as usually you have to book at least a balcony to have this.
My short time on Azamara really made me think how nice it would be to cruise on a small ship again. All new ships are getting bigger with more and more features being added which is great but the small ship experience is really what cruising has always been about. They can give you the fantastic attentive service that you would expect on a cruise ship, there is never a fight for a sunbed and even in the buffet they bring your teas/coffees and juices to you. They will cook your eggs freshly and bring them to your table so you don;t have to hunt around for a table then all go off in different directions trying to find what you are looking for.
Drinks and tips are also included unless you choose a premium drink. Wine is served by the glass and there is a choice of 2 which will change daily so you need to ask for the wine of the day. This is a list of the inclusive drinks

I would take my children on Azamara if it was a short cruise but anything longer they would get bored so for now the larger family ships suit us but definitely will be trying Azamara once they no longer want to come with us anymore.