Azamara Journey from Athens

Boarding Azamara Journey proved to be a breeze, with absolutely no lines.

I guess that comes as no surprise to clients of sister lines Royal Caribbean and Celebrity, which generally manage to have relatively hassle-free embarkations on mega-ships.


With fewer than 700 guests, Azamara ships faces fewer challenges to excellent service than larger vessels.

After a delicious lunch at Windows Cafe, the casual buffet that serves food every bit as delicious as dining room meals on most cruises, Julie and I strolled outside to the pool area to check it out.

Around the small pool we found sturdy wooden lounge chairs with thick pads and plush folded towels.

Among them were large rattan double beds with lots of pillows, which we simply had to try out, since we assumed we may never have the opportunity once the voyage was underway.

Comfy as charged.

Unexpectedly, we found it not that difficult to snag one during our limited sea light hours on board.

There was also luxurious patio furniture, including thickly padded couches and chairs in covered enclaves as well as dining tables and chairs for outdoor dining.

On higher decks we found similar comfortable seating, plus hanging birdcage chairs for dangling with a panoramic view of the pool deck below and the ocean beyond.

The relaxed, agreeable furnishings of the outdoor decks proved to be metaphors for the Journey, not just in terms of decor, which inside the ship tended toward the casual elegance of a fine country club, but also in the ambiance of the experience.

Journey in Patmos, Greece

This home away from home would always welcome us with friendly arms after a long day in port.

We arrived to Journey on a Hop On/Hop Off bus, a less-than-ideal transfer I don't recommend due to lack of luggage bins resulting in suitcases balanced awkwardly to avoid hording seats on occasionally crowded busses.

However, it was worth a try, because our 24-Hour bus ticket would double as a cruise ship transfer as well as a nice photo-op trip around Athens the prior afternoon.

Using that "port transfer" gave us the bargain shopper's' bragging privilege of having spent a total of only $300 for our pre-cruise stay in Athens including private airport transfer, Hop On/Hop Off overview of Athens, romantic candlelight dinner, central city hotel with breakfast, admission to the Agora AND shared cruise transfers.

Actually the Green Line to Piraeus Port from Athens wasn't the problem, had we taken it straight from the Agora where we'd spent a great morning.  However, we had to check out of our hotel and grab our bags, so when we boarded the Red Line around noon near our hotel, we found it soon was packed with lunch-hour tourists out to explore Athens at a bargain rate.
And the short ride really wasn't that bad.

We saw one fellow baby boomer whose large suitcase belied his being cruise-bound like ourselves.

Azamaraa Journey from Hillside Hike in Patmos, Greece

We referred to this single traveler with a long pony-tail and Panama hat as our Athens friend when we would see him on shore or on board, and eventually we bought Andrew, who as it turned out was a professor in London, his first Mai Tai, an exotic drink he had always wanted to try.

Buying drinks for new friends on Azamara is easy, because they're included, as are the gratuities throughout the voyage.

Dim Sum Jazz Brunch in  Discoveries Restaurant

While none of us want to over-indulge, it's very nice to have another round of drinks brought to the table for new friends without worrying about who will pick up the tab.

At dinner, the waiters kept returning to top off our goblets with the fine red or white wine of the day, so conversations only stop to say, "No more, thank you," or when the dessert menu arrived.

Azamara Journey docked next to Windstar at Fortifications
Built by the Knights of St. John in Rhodes, Greece.

Without assigned dining, we met lots of great people over dinner, including Stan and Joanne from Toronto, who were on their seventh trip to Israel.

We hit it off right away, and it seemed we might become lasting friends.  In fact planned to get together in San Diego in January, but after passing them in Rhodes as they debarked and we boarded the ship for lunch, we never saw them again.  That's the risk you run when you don't exchange information early on a cruise ship.

One Last Glace at the Acropolis

While a cruise ship is to a great extent a village where you can run into the same people regularly, there are lots of great places spread around its decks, including on a relatively small ocean-going cruise ship.

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