Holland America ms Westerdam on 01/04/09 · $599
Princess Star Princess on 01/05/09 · $1683
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MSC Italian MSC Lirica on 01/23/09 · $299
Princess Star Princess on 01/17/09 · $2297
MSC Italian MSC Orchestra on 02/21/09 · $1569
MSC Italian MSC Orchestra on 04/18/09 · $519New Ships
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Royal Caribbean Makes Merry at NYC Oasis Reveal |
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| Royal Caribbean's Crown and Anchor logo shone in Times Square today as New York City's NOKIA Theatre was transformed into an amusement park -- with jugglers, performers and carousel horses -- for the line's latest Oasis of the Seas reveal. Travel agents, members of the press and the Royal Champions (some of the cruise lines repeat customers) attended the event, which churned out more details than ever before about the hotly anticipated ship. A female acrobat sparkling in her white leotard kicked off the festivities by lifting and twirling herself in the air, suspended from the ceiling by two long pieces of fabric. (Also suspended from the ceiling? Merry-go-round horses which, at the end of the event, began moving up and down, making the whole room feel like one big carousel!) Next up: Showtime! If you haven't already seen the video at oasisoftheseas.com, take a gander. This presentation of renderings and insights from Royal Caribbean's execs premiered today in the NOKIA Theatre on a huge screen, and it was our first introduction to all of the new features planned for Oasis, including:  More neighborhoods! When Central Park was announced, Royal Caribbean promised there would be seven neighborhoods in total. Today, we learned of two more -- the Boardwalk and a two-level Royal Promenade -- leaving four more to go (other reveal events will take place as the launch date draws nears, execs tell us). The Boardwalk. We pretty much hit the nail on the head with this one. It's not called Coney Island, but the Boardwalk will feature everything from a psychic and tattoo parlor, seafood shack, and the first-ever at-sea carousel, with each horse put together in an antique style, by hand. A, gasp, zip-line will carry passengers from one end to the next! AquaTheater. Also, as we predicted, there will be a water fountain for light shows -- but the surprise was that it's actually part of a much larger venue. The AquaTheater, at the end of the Boardwalk (aft of the ship), features the largest pool at sea where cruisers can relax during the day (you can even take SCUBA lessons!). In the evening, the area is transformed into an amphitheatre-style space that will hold nightly performances. Read more. Itineraries. We knew Oasis of the Seas would be sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. Now we know that it will sail: Eastern Caribbean itineraries to start, followed by a season of alternating Eastern and Western Caribbean cruises. Read more. Accommodations. Several new categories of cabins were unveiled today, including Loft Cabins (which feature a living space on the first floor, and a loft-style second level bedroom) and Aqua Cabins (whose balconies will overlook the AquaTheatre, offering its occupants private box seating to all of the events taking place below.Royal Caribbean Cruise Director Ken Rush emceed the event, introducing Royal Caribbean's head honchos: Richard Fain, chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., and Adam Goldstein, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International. Also on hand were Harri Kulovaara, Royal Caribbeans executive vice president, maritime (in laymans terms, the guy in charge of the gargantuan new-build projects) and several tourism and governmental officials from the regions this particular gargantuan will visit, including Jamaica, the Bahamas and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Though Fain and Goldstein were hesitant to share what they think will be their personal favorite features onboard, neither could hide their excitement about the Boardwalk. Fain, who has earned a reputation for being quite the surfer after challenging many of his colleagues to competitions on the Freedom-class FlowRider, has not issued a zip-line throwdown yet. "Some of the people here know that I am not in love with heights. I even found it awkward to come up on this stage [about six feet off the ground]." But after thinking better of it, he proclaimed, "I'll challenge Adam to start with." Indeed, the excitement about the Boardwalk was catching. After the press conference was wrapped up, attendees were treated to popcorn, fresh squeezed lemonade and cotton candy, as well as street performances by jugglers. A craftsman hand-carved what will be one of the actual horses on the wooden and brass carousel. And a model of the ships three decks, featuring the Royal Promenade, Boardwalk and Central park, was on display. As for parting words? Goldstein promises this: "Stay tuned for more -- theres still more coming about this ship and we look forward to more reveals. We have four neighborhoods to go." |
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MSC Poesia Review - Sneak Preview |
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| MSC Poesia | |
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First Impressions
MSC Poesia, christened in Dover on April 5, 2008, is the ninth ship in the MSC fleet and the third in the Musica class, preceded by MSC Musica and MSC Orchestra. Having just sailed a Western Mediterranean cruise onboard the latter, we were surprised to board this newest member of the family and find as many differences as similarities -- even though it was built from the same blueprint.
What stands out most is that even though public spaces are generally repeated from one ship in a class to the next, MSC Cruises has created more distinct designs with each new-build in the Musica class. Walking across MSC Poesia's Deck 7, where most of the bars and lounges are situated, the varying color schemes, themes and fabrics create a true sense of having left one area and entered another. These distinctions, strongest on this third in class, give each space more of an exclusive feel and less of a "just another shipboard bar" impression.
In addition, the ship is simply beautiful. It's elegant and stylish, even more so than its predecessors -- and its competitors. The line is oft compared to Carnival Corporation's Costa Cruises, another Italian line with wild interiors (Costa relies on wacky Joe Farcus); MSC's increasingly "refined" look is one of the biggest differences we've noted to date between the two. The extra special touches are in the details: Black marble adds class to the intimate Poker Room off the Zebra Bar, a music and dance hall, and Australian green marble dresses up the spacious atrium with its three-deck-high waterfall.
Beyond that, you'll find the usual suspects (two swimming pools, four whirlpools, duty-free shops, a double-decker theater for the line's renowned nightly production shows) and some really well executed takes on traditional spaces (a wine tasting bar where you can also sample Italian antipasti, and a private gaming rooms for Vegas-style glam). And of course, like all of the line's ships, Italian culture is prevalent onboard and serves as an important part of the entire experience. "Poesia" is the Italian word for "poetry," and each deck is named after an Italian poet. Deck 6 is Dante, named after Dante Aligheri who penned "The Divine Comedy"; Deck 9, Ungaretti, celebrates Italian hermetic poet Giuseppe Ungaretti.
Italian is spoken by many members of the staff, though an increasingly diverse passenger base also necessitates written and verbal communications in languages such as English, German, Spanish, French, and even Japanese.
Mealtime
There are four restaurants onboard MSC Poesia. The two main dining rooms -- Il Palladio Ristorante and Le Fontaine Ristorante offer traditional set-seating dinners (check your program for times; early sitting is generally at around 6:45 with the later one at 8:15 or so). Passengers can take breakfast or lunch in one designated main dining venue each day on an open-seating basis. Each evening, a pasta course is offered in addition to a main entree, and natural or sparkling water is poured free of charge. Our favorite part of dining in these venues is dessert -- MSC Poesia's chefs (and those on other ships in the fleet) concoct wonderful, authentic Italian pastries and cookies, even if the other dishes are sometimes hit or miss.
Cafeteria Villa Pompeiana is the lido buffet eatery, featuring breakfast and lunch daily. One downside here is that the set up is that of the old-school buffet line; the "action stations" being adopted throughout the industry really do make buffet dining easier and more customizable (create your own pasta rather than dig some ziti out of a lukewarm holding tray). In the evenings here, a pizzeria and a kebab eatery are set up -- but you'll have to pay. Pricing is a la carte (from about 5 euros per pizza, for example).
For a slightly more upscale experience, check out L'Obelisco, the for-fee specialty restaurant. The venue is actually area (all the way aft) of the Cafeteria Villa Pompeiana buffet that is converted into an alternative dining area at supper with tablecloths and waiter service. There is a set menu (there's an Italian bent, of course, but also Continental stalwarts like steak and lamb) supplemented by daily specials. The cover charge is 18 euros.
Kaito, the a la carte Japanese restaurant that launched to high praise onboard MSC Musica, the first ship in this class, but skipped a generation with MSC Orchestra (which boasts a Chinese eatery instead), is back. Onboard MSC Poesia, Kaito is a beautifully appointed space with Asian ambience -- modern, minimalist lines and decor. The restaurant offers sushi, sashimi, tempura and noodles, and is open for lunch and dinner daily (check the daily program for hours, which may vary); be prepared to pay a couple of euros per item.
A limited room service menu of sandwiches and salads is available at a la carte pricing.
Editor's note: If and when MSC Poesia sails in, say, the Caribbean, onboard prices will switch from euros to dollars, and certain aspects that carry a fee in Europe -- such as room service and evening pizza -- will become complimentary to fall in line with what other North American lines do (and what North American cruisers are used to).
Bed Time
There are four basic types of cabins onboard: insides (275, 12 of which are handicap accessible), outsides (173, two of which are handicap accessible), balcony (809, three of which are handicap accessible) and suites (18). What's notable about the range of accommodations onboard is that they're all very similar in size; even the few suites measure just 269 square ft. (for comparison, insides begin at 150 square ft. and balcony cabins at 164) and proffer only a few extra perks, such as fresh flowers and a daily tray of canapes. However, a good number of MSC Poesia's 1,275 staterooms have balconies -- 80 percent.
There are categorical variations within each style of cabin, based on location (some outsides on the Tasso Deck, for example, feature partially obstructed views due to lifeboat placement) and size (there are "standard" and "large" balcony cabins, a difference of about 8 square ft.).
Except for the suites, which come with bathtubs, expect a shower-only affair with the pesky curtain that tends to cause embarrassing floods if not closed properly. There is, however, a pleasantly powerful hair dryer in each cabin, and ample storage for clothes and amenities (speaking of which, MSC-branded shower gel, shampoo, soap and shower caps are replenished throughout; there's also a sewing kit in the desk drawer -- a nice thought).
Staterooms feature a black and red color scheme with darker wood finishes in upper categories (balcony and higher). All cabins have two single beds that convert into a double, except for those designated for the disabled; third and fourth bunks are available in a range of categories. All cabins also feature in-room Internet access (not wireless, though; that's only available in public lounges), a safe and a mini-bar.
One cool new addition is a remote control caddy on the bedside table that also holds the TV programming guide. No more blaming your cabin-mate for losing the clicker!
Grand Old Favorites
The wine bar, a staple on MSC Musica and Orchestra, is back and is one of our favorite spots onboard. On MSC Poesia, the space is called Grappolo d'Oro; there's a hefty list of wines from provinces across Italy along with Italian cheeses and meats. The light leather upholstery seems at first counterintuitive (wine bars are generally very dark and rich in tone), but ultimately it creates an atmosphere that's very open and chic.
New and Nifty
MSC Poesia enters the MSC fleet as its greenest ship -- and is one of the most environmentally friendly cruise vessels in the industry. It's the first ever to be coated with Intersleek 900 paint with "four release," a non-toxic substance that helps lower carbon dioxide emissions through the reduction of fuel. MSC Poesia is also outfitted with other technology to safeguard the environment and conserve energy. For example, when passengers leave their cabins, the temperature rises approximately two degrees, reducing the air conditioning output (and costs).
The ship's 1,500-square-ft. Bali-themed Aurea Spa has a few fresh innovations on offer as well. Q Frequency is a treatment that uses radio frequencies to lift the face and bust by facilitating the absorption of collagen; a "well being" bar offers revitalizing beverages such as fruit smoothies, vegetable juice "cocktails" and herbal teas; and a "sun shower," a space-age looking stall, delivers all-over body bronzing.
Kid-Friendly Factor
MSC Cruises' Mini Club program offers activities to cruisers between the ages of 3 and 13, but you won't see the same expansive breakdowns as on lines such as Carnival and Royal Caribbean. The dedicated children's facility, I Dinosauri, is geared mostly toward the younger set, with a Stone Age theme and small slide. Up on Deck 14, kids get their own wading pool and indoor/outdoor play areas with fun rope mazes and slides. As for the teenagers, there is an arcade that will certainly appeal -- but that's about it.
Editor's note: Be aware that because MSC is a European company, staff can legally serve alcohol in the bars to anyone over 18 years of age -- and pour wine for teenagers (with parental approval).
Huh?
During our short preview cruise, we happened upon some in-cabin television offerings many North Americans (or Europeans, for that matter) might not find to be kid-friendly, such as nudity. Programs that you deem unsuitable for members of your family can be blocked, however; be sure to contact Reception upon arrival if this is a concern. (Innocuous programming includes world news and pay-per-view movies.)
Bottom Line
MSC Poesia is a gorgeous new-build that showcases the continued evolution of the fast-growing Naples-based line. It is a good choice for budget-minded European cruisers, as well as North Americans who want to bring the international experience of a Mediterranean itinerary onboard as well by sailing with a mostly European crowd on a decidedly European ship.
Royal Caribbeans Newest Vessel, Genesis.
MIAMI - Royal Caribbean International on Monday ordered the world’s largest and most expensive cruise ship, a $1.24 billion vessel that will hold up to 6,400 passengers.
The ship, dubbed Project Genesis, is set to be delivered to the world’s second-largest cruise operator in fall 2009 by Oslo, Norway-based shipbuilder Aker Yards. It will be 220,000 gross registered tons and weigh in at about 100,000 tons based on displacement — a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier comes in at about 97,000 tons.
Aker said its contract price of 900 million euros — about $1 billion — would be “the most valuable ship ever ordered in the history of commercial shipbuilding.”
The $1.24 billion figure includes all expenses for the ship, “from forks and knives and sheets to artwork and everything else,” said Harri Kulovaara, the Miami-based cruise line’s executive vice president of maritime operations.
Aker said the contract is contingent on final approval of financing and the ship will be built at one of its Finnish yards. The cruise line, a unit of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., has an option for a second ship.
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The announcement also steals some of the spotlight from rival Carnival Corp., the world’s largest cruise operator. Carnival has studied building a ship about the same size, but its Pinnacle project is “on the back burner” because of its prohibitively high price, spokesman Tim Gallagher said.
Kulovaara said in a phone interview that the new ship will be more fuel efficient than current vessels, but he declined to give a specific figure. He said plans for the types of onboard amenities were being finalized. Royal Caribbean has been an innovator in featuring ice skating rinks, rock climbing walls and surfing pools.
Royal Caribbean’s ships are typically more upscale than the bargain Carnival Cruise Lines’ vessels, but they aren’t as traditional as those of luxury carriers such as Cunard.
Project Genesis will carry 5,400 passengers based on two people per cabin, Kulovaara said. But as most cruise cabins can accommodate more than two people using cots or other beds, that number rises to a maximum capacity of 6,400.
Ray Weiller, an owner of discount online travel agency Cruisequick.com, said many of his clients are drawn to the ever-growing size and number of amenities of ships, but others tire of waiting in long lines to get on and off the vessels. Many complain about the large ships overwhelming some ports of call with too many people trying to visit, he said.
Royal Caribbean still offers a variety of ship sizes, so customers who don’t like larger vessels will have other options, Kulovaara said. The ship will sail in the Caribbean, where many ports already handle megaships, but ports will need some infrastructure impovements to handle it, he said.
Carnival Corp.’s Cunard Line currently has the world’s largest cruise ship — the Queen Mary 2 — at 151,400 gross registered tons. But Royal Caribbean is scheduled to get an even bigger ship in June, the 160,000-ton Freedom of the Seas. It will carry 3,600 passengers double occupancy and 4,370 maximum.
Both will be eclipsed by Project Genesis, which will be 1,180 feet long, 154 feet wide at water level and 240 feet high.
Aker Yards employs about 13,000 people at 13 shipyards in Norway, Finland, Germany, Romania and Brazil.
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First Impressions |
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Holland America's Maasdam |
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| In the embarkation lounge, my eyes were searching for signs of youth. A Hello Kitty backpack, a stuffed animal, a Game Boy, a mouth full of braces, anything. I was about to begin a seven-night cruise with my husband and our five-year-old son, and even as we'd booked our tickets, the jury was still out on whether Holland America's stately Maasdam was a good choice for a family. I'd done enough research to know that there are plenty of older Holland America devotees who make no bones about the fact that the absence of kids is, for them, a good thing. There are 60-somethings who've said they felt like spring chickens on this line's ships. But I'd heard that demographics were changing, that the late summer season cruises out of Boston would have plenty of family appeal. But Maasdam is a ship whose godmother is June Allyson -- R.I.P. Frankly, I was worried. Turns out I didn't need to be. While the ship does lack the state-of-the-art facilities and programs offered by lines for whom families are a significant passenger base, Maasdam was just fine. There were enough kids onboard that a certain critical mass was achieved -- but not so many that adults looking for Holland America's brand of sedate-style cruising would be annoyed. With its mid-sized capacity and classic styling, Maasdam is a manageable and pleasant ship. After thirteen years in service, it has succeeded in retaining its youth -- with a major sweep of contemporary updates just last year -- but has resisted the impulse to act like a teenager. As such, Maasdam has retained some of the traditional sensibilities that appeal to its older audience base -- high tea, formal nights, ballroom dancing and displays of antiques -- while adding elements to appeal to younger audiences (and not just families at that), with features that include a contemporary alternative restaurant, wireless hotspots and an iPod tour of the aforementioned antiques. Indeed, there are some of us who say hats off to Maasdam for resisting some of the more radical trends of the behemoth ships (no surfing wave simulators or rock-climbing walls here), while stepping ahead on other fronts, with an extensive state-of-the-art library, for example. For my little family, it proved to be an enjoyable ship on which to spend a week meandering up the New England coast. |
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Dining  Maasdam's restaurants are the grand Rotterdam Dining Room, the bustling and bountiful Lido buffet, and the intimate and subdued Pinnacle Grill. Add a casual poolside option for burgers and dogs, a coffee bar, and round-the-clock complimentary (and prompt) room service (from hot breakfasts to dinner selections), and dining options are well covered. You won't go hungry. The Lido buffet is cheerful and efficient and has great views from floor-to-ceiling windows. Lido serves continental breakfast starting at 6:30 a.m., full breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m.; lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and dinner from 6 to 7:30 p.m. (Hours may be adjusted on port days and embarkation/debarkation, so check the daily schedule to be sure.) There are extended hours at Lido for sandwiches, ice cream or special late-night offerings, and coffee and tea are available there at all times. Even at peak times, we found the lines to be manageable, and there were plenty of available tables. Most days, friendly staff members appeared to carry my son's tray, a touch that went a long way to help avoid calamity. As with most buffets, Lido is characterized by variety, quantity and quickness -- and quality is sometimes a casualty of this emphasis. But most things were just fine. Breakfast options include made-to-order omelets and specialty pancakes, generous servings of bacon or sausage, rather good muesli, and a host of unspectacular pastries. Lunch is hot entrees (pastas, stir fry, fish or chicken), sandwiches, salads and desserts. Dinner includes many of the same choices offered in the Rotterdam Dining Room. For dinner, the Rotterdam Dining Room, the ship's elegant, two-tier restaurant, is the main event. As you enter, your eyes are drawn upward to the hundreds of Murano glass flowers covering the ceiling, and certainly outward, to the floor-to-ceiling views of the ocean. There is early seating at 5:45 and 6:15 p.m., and "main" seating at 8 and 8:30 p.m. Editor's Note: In spring 2008, Maasdam will introduce an "As You Wish" dining option, as HAL incorporates flexible approaches to dining across its fleet. The "As You Wish" program will give guests the flexibility to do same-day reservations or even walk-in seating on one level of the Rotterdam Dining Room, while the other level will continue to operate on the traditional fixed-seating plan. Tables range from a limited number of two-tops to eight-top mixed groups, and the ship will generally try to accommodate your seating preferences if you make them known in advance. Rotterdam's dinners are advertised as five-course affairs, but by my count, they are three: appetizer, main course and dessert. Menu choices include daily chef's specials, plus "Greenhouse Spa" options, vegetarian choices and sugar-free selections among the desserts. (With some advance notice, HAL will try to accommodate special dietary needs such as salt-free, gluten-free, fat-free or baby food.) The food is good but largely falls short of superb. There were some memorable moments -- a chilled avocado and salmon soup, and escargot come to mind -- but many were forgettable ones: chicken or salmon something-or-other and desserts that were somehow less satisfying than their descriptions. I was glad to see that there was a kids menu with all the usual suspects: macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chicken nuggets, pizza, fries. With those staples, the ample bread basket, ice cream and fancy drinks (we started the week with Shirley Temples and got more creative from there, ending with a non-alcoholic something called "Miami Vice"), my young son made it through six nights of dinner in the dining room -- including two formal nights -- without getting squirmy. The crayons and coloring book I smuggled in each night did help. Maasdam is not heavy on dining room theatrics, but there are a few nods in the theme-evening direction: an Indonesian night with traditional music and dancing, a parade of sparkler-studded Baked Alaska, something called "Master Chef's" night that involved a rather silly tossing of salad vegetables, but it never veered too far from its civilized atmosphere. You'll never be asked to dine in a toga (or to look at your waiter in one), but you can don a paper chef's hat for a while or join other guests in a napkin-waving salute to the dining room staff for just a little joie de vivre. Maasdam's service really shines in the Dining Room -- from the greeter at the ready with the de rigueur squirt of Purell as you enter, to the gentleman offering a piece of candied ginger or dried fig as you exit. Servers remember drink orders, bring extra bread if you like, and graciously indulge in banter about port-day activities or the weather or the usual questions about what it's like to work on a cruise ship. In a small gesture that genuinely touched us, our wine steward made origami animals for our young son as if he were a favored nephew. Editor's Note: The Rotterdam Dining Room also serves a full-service breakfast from 7:30 - 9:30 a.m. and lunch from 12:30 - 1:30 p.m. on some days (check daily schedules). A couple of times a week, there's a late-afternoon Dutch Tea, though I could never imagine, at that hour, how anybody had room for more food, even the daintiest morsels. Maasdam's progressive alternative restaurant, Pinnacle Grill, is worth the $30 per person surcharge, especially considering what you'd pay for a comparable restaurant experience off ship. Open for dinner plus lunch on some sea days, Pinnacle offers an intimate dining experience (read: limited seating so reserve early), a welcome retreat from the heavily peopled scene in Rotterdam or Lido. The decor is pleasantly understated, with the exception of the colorful glass sculptures by Dutch artist Bernard Heesen. Meals are beautifully presented on Bvlgari china and tables are covered in Frette linens. Stemware is Riedel. Pinnacle's menu nods to the Pacific Northwest and emphasizes steaks, lamb chops and fish. Service was slightly akimbo on our evening at Pinnacle, owing, we learned, to a booking glitch that had the restaurant operating beyond its capacity. I imagine service challenges are not helped by the fact that the kitchen is three flights down on an escalator. We waited longer than we should have for water and bread; some Champagne that had been arranged for us was nearly forgotten; and one dessert arrived long after the other had been eaten. But, ultimately, the food was so good, the ambience so pleasing and the glitches handled with such aplomb by the staff, that ultimately it would go down as a lovely experience. When delays caused our dinner to extend past the hours at Club HAL, where we'd deposited our son for the occasion, the staff invited him to join us for dessert and made him a special sundae -- a nice save, and another example of HAL's winning service. |
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Public Rooms  The ship's size and layout make for easy orientation. After a short walk around, my husband announced that he had "gotten it down." Basically, the ship is anchored at one end by the two-level Rotterdam Dining Room and at the other by the two-story Rembrandt Lounge, with most public facilities grouped mainly in the middle on Decks 6, 7, and 8. Lido Deck is 11, with the gym, spa, kids club and sports deck topping out on 11 and 12. There are plenty of spaces on the decks to lounge about and read or rest, both in more populated zones (near the pools) and also off the beaten path. My favorite private spot was Deck 9 aft, where it was altogether possible to be alone. Others -- readers, snoozers, and snoozers pretending to be readers -- preferred the teak lounges around the Promenade deck, all facing the sea, which can be equally quiet. Maasdam's public spaces showcase a collection art and antiques that reflect HAL's Dutch seafaring lineage -- a 19th-century wooden sculpture of a yawner (Gaaper, in Dutch), a gilded side table from 18th-century Italy, a canon barrel from the 14th century. But one of Maasdam's most notable art pieces is quite contemporary -- the towering glass sculpture by Luciano Vistosi that rises three levels from the Atrium, providing a dramatic visual axis for the public spaces. |
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| Cabins HAL has a reputation for relatively spacious cabins, and Maasdam bears this out. Our Verandah Suite (284 square ft.) was plenty roomy for our family of three, and it may not be an exaggeration to say we had more closet space per person on this cruise than we do in our New York City apartment. Closets hold extra blankets, some wood and a few satin-wrapped hangers, and a personal safe (along with life jackets). There are efficiently arranged and relatively spacious standard cabins at197 square ft (outside) and 182 square ft. (inside), and Deluxe Verandah Suites at 563 square ft. And then there's the ultra-deluxe Penthouse Suite, at 1,126 square ft. A half dozen cabins can accommodate passengers with disabilities. Stateroom decor is pleasingly understated: framed nautical maps, light wood and neutral color schemes, variable lighting. Inside cabins have a trompe l'oeil lighting effect -- a light behind a curtain where there might otherwise be a window -- a nice try. Beds in all cabins configure to two twins or one queen, and the suites have a convertible sofa bed that makes a comfortable additional single. There are DVD players and flat-screen televisions running movies, vintage sitcoms (Green Acres, Gilligan's Island), documentaries, navigational stats and endless re-runs of shows of the frightfully low-budget cruise ship videos. (How many times, I ask you, should anyone watch the same couple pose for a photo with the captain?) In-room fridges are filled with a variety of beverages -- you take it, you buy it. Alas, the complimentary in-cabin fruit basket has given way to a card on which to mark your order for the fruit you might like to have. This struck me as just a little bit parsimonious. Seems to me it's the gesture of the fruit basket -- the impression that creates when you enter the room -- that matters more than the option of requesting fruit from an order form. Verandahs have a padded chaise, a faux rattan chair, and a table just large enough for a drink or a magazine, but probably not both. Deluxe Verandah Suites on Deck 10 have double-wide verandahs (two chaise lounges plus a table with four chairs), and the rooms themselves feature modern curved sofas, glass-topped coffee tables, a bathroom with a separate vanity area, granite bars and marble floors. Guests in Deluxe Verandah Suites and the Penthouse Suite enjoy use of the exclusive Neptune Lounge, featuring a coffee/cappuccino machine and cold beverages, hors d'oeuvres and sweets throughout the day, as well as wing chairs, a substantial table for dining or game playing, a large fresh flower arrangement, and its own library of premium art books -- from Rembrandt's drawings to Annie Leibovitz's photographs to Tom Ford's fashions. It's a nice spot and appeared to be under-utilized. (A mere Verandah Deck denizen oblivious to the discreet sign at the door, I managed to help myself to a swan-shaped pastry, flipped through a few books and caught the baseball scores on television before I learned I wasn't entitled to be there. Here, too, the staff had erred on the side of grace.) Bathrooms in all cabins have tubs with showers, except inside cabins, which have showers only. Toiletries include shampoo, conditioner, two kinds of soap, shower gel and body lotion. The brand is "Elementi," the same citrusy/herbal line used in the ship's spa. There are retractable clotheslines in the bathtubs (handy for drying swimsuits) and in-bathroom hair dryer, plus a second hair dryer near the desk/vanity in the suites. Dry cleaning and laundry service are available for a fee (complimentary for guests in Deluxe Verandah Suites), and there are two onboard laundry facilities (with irons/ironing boards) if you decide you need to do a small load or two to get you through. |
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| Entertainment By day there is little by way of serious enrichment lectures -- at least on my recent seven-night cruise -- but there was Bridge, Bingo, trivia games, Sudoku, cooking demos, movies, mixology classes or Friends of Bill W. meetings. Poolside bands add a festive air on sea days and sailaways. Throughout the day and evening, The New York Times-sponsored Explorations Cafe is an active hub. It holds over 2,000 books (fiction, literature, travel, history, Harry Potter), plus a host of periodicals and a DVD library (complimentary for passengers in Deluxe Verandah Suites; modest charge for others). There are touch-screen interactive maps, write-on/wipe-off crossword puzzle tables, and a cubby of games and puzzles, though they saw relatively little use on our cruise, thanks to consistently superb weather. By the end of a seven-night cruise, the collective efforts of Maasdam's passengers had managed to put together about half of a 3,000-piece puzzle. There's an adjacent card room and several computer/Internet stations (75 cents per minute with volume pricing available). I sat for a few minutes in a reproduction Eames chair and tried out the music listening stations, poking around to test its range: Prokofiev? There. REM? Got it. Soundtrack from Chicago? Check. Barney the Purple Dinosaur? Yep. Maasdam's shore excursions covered a range of options with no big surprises. On our New England/Canada itinerary, for instance, the Historic New England/Canada coast offerings included Victorian tea, a "Haunted Halifax" tour and sea kayaking with a classic lobster bake. Excursion pricing ranged from $29 for a two-hour walking tour of Halifax to $359 for an interactive "Soldier for a Day" package, with most excursions in the $40 - $90 range. I did find that the "book early" advice was worth heeding. I didn't, and found that by mid-week, many of the most appealing excursions were fully subscribed. Evening entertainment includes the obligatory casino (where, alas, smoking is still permitted), eight different bars catering to beer-and-baseball moods in Casino Bar, after-dinner drinks and classical strings at the Ocean Bar, or a stiff one and a melancholy round of Bye Bye Miss American Pie at the Piano Bar. Then there was the scene at the Crow's Nest (Deck 12), the ship's modish disco, with loud music and louder lighting effects and even louder curvy hot pink sofas. DJ Jazzy did a fair job of trying to rally the crowd with electric slides and trivia contests, but the dance floor seemed to be mainly populated by off-duty staff members: pretty spa ladies and cast members from the musical revue. (Scene-watching of a different sort takes place in Crow's Nest during the mornings and afternoons, when it's a spectacular perch for ocean viewing.) Ah, the shows. Yes, there are the standard cruise ship musical extravaganzas, magic shows and comedians. These take place in the Rembrandt Lounge, fancily done up in Delft tiles, brass and Mahogany, metallic fabric wall covering, ship-print carpeting, and settees and sofas in lieu of standard auditorium seating. Shows occur twice nightly to accommodate both early and late diners. The theater was full most evenings, and the applause was generous. My son was enraptured by the shows, and my husband was a good sport (until he could stand no more); I'd say their responses typify the range. |
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| Spa & Fitness The fitness center is open daily from morning to night and has a range of equipment and activities -- from Pilates to weight machines and the various climbing and biking simulators -- all with views on the sea. Maasdam has two modestly sized pools: a saltwater pool on the Neptune Deck (10) and the fresh water Lido Pool with its sculptural trio of dolphins that's a magnet for kids. The Lido pool is flanked by two hot tubs and can be sheltered by a retractable cover to keep rain and/or intense sun rays out. On the "Sports Deck" (12), there's a serviceable basketball court, tennis, shuffleboard. There is a quarter-mile walking/jogging course on the Promenade Deck (6). (Note: Cabin windows on the Promenade Deck have been outfitted with a reflective film to prevent peeking in.) Time ran out before I could book a treatment at the Greenhouse Spa & Salon, but the place -- colorful and sensual -- looked inviting, and the menu of services was enticing. Just reading about the "Alpha Massage Capsule Destress Package" or "Nurturing Relaxation Ceremony" made me feel already less stressed, more nurtured and relaxed, while reading "Exotic Coconut Rub" and "Lime & Ginger Salt Glow" made me crave a Margarita. There are nine varieties of massage (plan on dropping $109 - $200 or more), as well as more proletariat salon rituals like haircuts (from $59) and polish changes ($19). There's complimentary fruit and herbal tea, as well as robes and spa sandals and access to the Thermal Suite, a quiet blue and yellow tiled oasis with saunas and whirlpools and aromatherapy showers and heated tile lounges. |
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| Family & Children Maasdam's Club HAL facility is clearly an after thought, compact and low slung. It operates on at-sea days and on a limited basis (pre-registration required) during port days, and in the evenings from 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. Kids can stay for "After Hours" activities until as late as midnight, with a $5/hour per child charge after 9:30 p.m. Programs are geared to Kids (ages 3 - 7), Tweens (8 - 12), and Teens (13 - 17). There's a sign-in/sign-out sheet and "password" system for pick-up for the youngest group, but Tweens and Teens come and go as they please. Club HAL's programming is modest and could be developed a bit more. It tends to skew more toward easy entertainment (PlayStation, Disney movies, coloring, ice cream) than truly imaginative or enriching activities, and more than once, descriptions exceeded the delivery. An "Alien Night" failed to produce much that really related to aliens. And a "Pajama Party" didn't deliver on the advertised "ultimate pillow fight" until one mom (ahem) -- with a disappointed son who'd brought along his own pillow -- spoke up and urged the staff to make good on the promo copy. A quick round of pillow whopping was quickly pulled together. Club HAL features what I came to call "PlayStation Jail," a windowless room with six or so PlayStation systems, usually occupied by zoned-out boys whose only sign of life was their moving thumbs. I struggled hard to reconcile this with the cruise experience. Then again, my kid's still young. Give me a few years, and I may understand. A teen corner is little more than a corner, but a small gaggle gathered there nightly for music videos, UNO and, probably, nascent flirting. Private babysitting can be arranged through the front desk. We had no trouble getting someone on a day's notice for the evening of our booking at the Pinnacle Grill, and the staff was gracious about our last-minute cancellation when our son rallied for Club HAL instead of a babysitter. Rates are reasonable: $8 per hour for the first child and $5 per hour for additional children. Editor's Note: All children on under age 12 are required to wear a special band on their wrists or ankles that identifies their designated lifeboat station. |
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| Fellow Passengers Holland America is working to move beyond its reputation as a seniors' line, and there's a special push to appeal to the growing family market -- with an emphasis on Maasdam as one of the fleet's designated family friendly vessels. And if HAL plays its cards right, the younger generations will become as loyal as their parents and grandparents. Shorter itineraries and cruises during school holiday periods tend to attract a higher percentage of younger passengers and families. Of the 1,200-plus passengers on Maasdam's summertime seven-night New England/Canada cruise, about 10 percent were kids, enough for children to find pals and achieve a certain critical mass, but not enough to make it a "kids cruise," which is a good thing. In the mix of seniors, older couples and multi-generational families, we observed the occasional small gaggle of teens and a few toddlers. There was little evidence of blushing newlyweds or electrically charged young lovers, but plenty of well-worn pairs. Many of the passengers had taken cruises before. On Maasdam's more traditional sailings, expect a more typical Holland America devotee -- a more senior crowd that appreciates the line's nod toward cruise traditions. |
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| Dress Code Two nights in seven are designated as formal nights in the dining room. For the majority of men, this translates as dark suits (there are some tuxes), and for women, the range was from the little black dress to larger, longer, more colorful affairs. Editor's Note: You can order "formal night" options from the ship in advance, or even buy them from the shops. (They're cheaply made "mother of the bride" looks, but they'll do in a pinch.) Dress codes apply to kids too. On formal nights, the girls were adorable in their "fancy" dresses; most boys wore, if not suits, than at least shirts with ties. (My son wore one of his dad's ties, which, tied just so, and, tucked into his trousers, worked. Sort of.) The rest of the evenings are "smart casual," that conundrum of a description that tends to create more questions than answers (the most obvious one: "What's dumb casual?"), but in general means slacks or skirts for women and khakis and polo shirts or button-downs for men. Jeans, tank tops and pool attire are discouraged from public areas. While Maasdam does try to maintain certain standards, there's the occasional sartorial faux pas: a passenger on Lido Deck in her bathrobe, a few instances of jeans and T-shirts in the dining room. In general, these were graciously overlooked. |
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| Gratuity Gratuities of $10 per day per passenger (including children) are automatically added to your shipboard account statement, and you can adjust the rate (up or down) by visiting the front desk. Gratuities are shared among the service staff. If you wish, you can find your favorite bartender or cabin steward or the wine steward with a personal envelope; personal tipping is allowed. For bar bills and spa services, gratuities of 15 percent are automatically added to your bill. --by Deborah Bogosian, whose travel stories have appeared in The Washington Post. |
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Azamara's Journey |
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| Azamara Journey began life as the Renaissance R6, and like all its siblings under the Renaissance banner, with its dark livery and subdued Edwardian style interior decor, it seemed like a diminutive version of an early 20th century trans-Atlantic steamship. Though the decor is evolving (and is dependent on its cruise line owners, which also include Oceania and Princess), the ship's interior architecture is still evocative of that bygone era. The main entry hall is straight out of the "golden age." There's no soaring multi-deck atrium here. Instead, there's simply a gracefully curving staircase under a two-deck-high ceiling, capped with a domed, simulated stained glass skylight, leading one flight up to the main public room. Now under Celebrity Cruises' Azamara flag, the ship wears the white livery of warm climes. With some contemporary elements that clash stylistically with the classic turn-of-the-century North Atlantic steamers, Azamara Journey comes off a bit neither fish nor fowl. The first noticeable mismatch is in the art on the walls. Its collection of 1950's and 60's photos of Cuban Revolution-era Havana, and some of the contemporary paintings and lithographs, don't match the vestiges of the ship's original design sense. The feeling is that Journey is still a work in progress, and it remains to be seen how much will be changed to complete the transformation. I am certain that there are aficionados on both the "keep it classic" and "keep the shell but lose the antiquarian style" sides, and the choice is purely subjective. Personally -- and this is again purely subjective -- I was never fond of the R-Series style, not because I am rigidly modernistic, but because of the way the style was executed. Much of it is ersatz. There are faux fireplaces with phony logs, simulated cabinets with trompe l'oeil paintings of statues, plates and platters, and an unnecessary proliferation of objets d'art. Taken altogether, there were so many simulated or painted-on elements in the original incarnation of the ship that it felt less like sailing on a classic steamship and more like riding in a reproduction of one at a Disney theme park. As for architecture, Azamara Journey inherited some of the best passenger flow I've ever experienced. There are no bottlenecks, and the only time a passenger needs to climb or descend a deck to get from one point to another is during the unavoidable situation when destinations of interest are on Deck 9 or Deck 10, on the opposite sides of the pool and sunning area. The design is simple and conventional, with the Celebrity Cabaret (show lounge) and Discoveries Restaurant at opposite ends of Deck 5, and most of the public rooms sandwiched in between. A second cluster of public rooms is situated on Decks 9 and 10, including the spa and fitness area, observation lounge, buffet, pool grill and alternative restaurants. The other defining characteristic of Azamara as a "brand" is that it lays claim to ownership of a new category, or niche, of cruises, dubbed "Deluxe." "Deluxe," according to Azamara, is positioned squarely in the middle between "Premium" (e.g., Celebrity) and "Luxury" (Crystal, for example). In my opinion, Azamara gets mixed reviews at this early stage of its development: There are some successes, and some areas that still need fine tuning and tweaking. |
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| Dining Azamara Journey's main dining venue is the Discoveries Restaurant, located at the aft end of the ship. Dinner is served open seating at tables ranging in capacity from two to eight. A large number of the tables are rectangular two-tops, which significantly increases the flexibility of seating configuration; they can be pushed together or pulled apart to create seating for two to twelve (or more). Large windows frame the room, sides and back, and the ceiling, while low, is covered with acoustic tiles, so the noise level never seems excessive. Service is superb, often a bugaboo on ships where the makeup of the tables changes from night to night. Typically there are six entree choices that change from night to night, including one pasta; one seafood; one fowl; one beef; one veal, lamb or pork; and one vegetarian. As well, there are usually four appetizer, three soup and two salad choices, with the addition of -- for an optional extra charge -- caviar service. A "classic dinner favorites" section of the menu offers comfort foods like shrimp cocktail, grilled salmon and Caesar Salad. Curiously, the vegetarian choice is not spelled out, listed only as "Please inquire with your server," and surprisingly there is no spa- or health-conscious menu. At dinner there are also two alternative dining venues, Prime C, a steak and chop house, and Aqualina, serving what it calls a "Mediterranean" menu, by and large typical Continental fare. Reservations are required and a $5 per person gratuity is suggested. PrimeC, the steak and chop house specialty restaurant, does a good job with a conventional beefeater's choice menu, though to my palate, the starters were more interesting and flavorful than the entrees. Main courses fall into two groups: "Entrees," which include choices from Fish and Chips to Mixed Grill (but no steaks), and "Steak and Cuts," which include steaks, lamb, veal and pork chops. The Steak and Cuts choices are supposed to be tailored to customer request -- i.e. cooked to order -- while the "Entrees" list offers less flexibility. However, I found it surprising that when I requested a temperature (medium rare) for the veal chop, I was told it was only available cooked medium. Aqualina, which serves "Mediterranean fusion," is the second specialty restaurant. The food in Aqualina was quite good, but I saw little fusion. "Safe" is the adjective I would apply to the dishes taken from various coastal cultures around the Mediterranean: osso buco, rack of lamb, duck breast, etc. There was nothing challenging to the palate or unusual in any way, though my duck breast was probably the best meal I enjoyed onboard. For an extra $50, Aqualina also offers a multi-course tasting menu paired with wines. If you go for this option, be prepared to spend the better part of the evening over dinner. Windows Cafe is the pool deck buffet operation, and, as this is a small ship by today's standards, is limited to one section. Nonetheless there are seldom lines at any of the stations. There is plenty of space between tables, and seating is available both inside and out, poolside and on the aft fantail. One caution is that the slate floor inside the cafe tends to get quite slippery during periods of rain or high humidity. The ship puts down mats, but when leaving the mat to take a seat, care still needs to be exercised. This floor is scheduled to be replaced at the next dry-dock at the end of 2009. Breakfast in the Windows Cafe is one of the best buffet presentations I've experienced, regardless of ship size. Besides the self-serve buffet offerings, there were several "prepared to order" stations. Of course, there was the ubiquitous omelet/fried egg station, but, in addition there was a juice bar, which squeezed juice or blended smoothies from fresh fruit, a ham carving station, and a cooked-to-order pancake and waffle station. In the self-serve section, there were at least seven varieties of smoked and marinated fish, a complete Japanese miso setup, a full spread of steamed vegetables, cheeses, unusual egg dishes (for example, little pastry cups filled with scrambled eggs and chorizo served atop buttery slices of toasted baguette), and there was always an interesting second sausage choice to go with the standard pork links. Two examples were merguez (a spicy, North African sausage) and cheddar cheese bratwurst. There was also a blintz station, and one serving various stuffed pastries: ham and cheese croissants and apple fritters on one particular day -- and all these in addition to standard buffet offerings! Curiously enough, we found the lunch offerings to be very ordinary, though the Pool Grill did a bang-up job grilling burgers, hot dogs, kabobs, ribs and the like, not to mention frying what the grill chef modestly asserted were "the best French fries on the high seas." At night Windows Cafe turns into "Breeza," the casual alternative buffet dining option, serving, among the standard buffet offerings, sushi and cooked-to-order stir fry. There are extensive room service choices, including a very complete breakfast menu with seven combinations (eggs, omelets, salmon, Continental, etc.) and a la carte choices as well. A menu is delivered to staterooms each evening to be marked by the guest, and those choices are delivered at the requested time (between 6:30 and 10 a.m.). In addition there are typical 24-hour menu options, and during regular mealtimes guests may order from the Discoveries Restaurant menu. I can say without equivocation that I never had a bad meal on Azamara Journey. In fact, I never had a meal that I would rate as less than very good. However, during the 12 days of my cruise I also failed to experience any meal after which I left the restaurant raving that I'd had one of the best meals in recent memory. I didn't see a substantial difference in food quality between Azamara Journey and the premium lines such as parent company Celebrity, and, in fact, I felt that the cuisine in Celebrity Constellation's alternative dining venue, "Ocean Liners," was superior. |
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| Public Rooms Journey's public rooms are well situated, and the ambiance and decor of each was nicely tailored to the room's intended use. The Martini Bar is tucked into the niche between the central open area of the ship and the Discoveries Restaurant, making it a cozy and comfortable spot to gather for pre-dinner libations. Occupying the central area at the top of the grand staircase is the signature "Cova Cafe," which serves specialty coffees and teas. There is a charge for espresso-based drinks (lattes, cappuccinos, machiatos, etc.), but not for the accompanying snacks, which include cookies, biscotti, pastries, sandwiches and antipasti, depending on the time of day. On the top deck (Deck 10), all the way forward, sits the Looking Glass Lounge, a perfectly outfitted and comfortable observation lounge. Glass is the theme, and it's carried out through colorful glass art counterpoints hanging on the rich, dark mahogany walls. Azamara has taken advantage of the R-Series signature large library space to combine library functions with the social functions of Celebrity's popular Michael's Club (and this Michael's club is a smoke-free environment). One deck down the "eConnections" Internet cafe has 16 guest-accessible PC's networked to a laser printer. Internet usage rates range from $0.65 per minute to $0.38 per minute, depending on Internet package purchased. Connections were fast and dependable. Guests with their own laptops can access the ship's Wi-Fi services from stem to stern. As one might expect from a small, intimate ship, casino operations are limited; there is one roulette table, a few blackjack tables, one three-card poker table, a fair number of slot machines, and an automated Texas Hold 'Em table, which robotically deals virtual cards to individual terminals around the regulation size green felt table, while the common cards and betting info are displayed on a larger central screen in the middle of the table. The virtual chips won at the table can be traded for real money at the casino cashier's cage. Curiously, there is no dice table, which would have occupied about the same amount of space. Presumably, since a dice table requires four casino workers and the virtual Texas Hold 'Em table requires none, this is a more lucrative choice for Azamara. |
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| Cabins The only structural change in staterooms from the ship's days as the R6 is the creation of 32 Sky Suites on the top passenger accommodation deck (smaller cabins were removed in the process). Calling these cabins suites is a bit of a stretch. The area of these "suites" amounts to only 266 square ft. (with a 60-square-ft. verandah), with a sitting area rather than a second room, more like deluxe oceanview staterooms rather than true suites. Nevertheless, we found this category extremely comfortable, spacious and airy, with copious amounts of storage space. Along with this new category, all the passenger accommodations have been upgraded in style and comfort from the Renaissance days. All the hanging artwork has been replaced, as has the carpeting, substituting bright warm yellows, reds and tans for the dark and dingy carpeting of the R-Series, while still keeping the turn-of-the-century filigrees and embellishments. The cabinetry, desks and dressers are crafted in rich teak and cherry tones -- in contrast to the Edwardian period paneling and wainscoting of dark mahogany -- injecting a brighter and more modern feel not yet effected in the public areas of the ship. There are 10 true suites onboard: four Royal Suites, measuring 440 to 501 square ft. (with 105- to 156-square-ft. verandahs) and six Penthouse Suites, each measuring 560 square ft. (with 233- square-ft. verandahs). The smallest cabins onboard are the 24 158-square-ft. inside staterooms. In total there are 321 oceanview cabins and suites, representing 92.5 percent of the total number of staterooms. Of the oceanview accommodations, 241 or 75 percent have verandahs. There are six staterooms deemed handicapped-accessible. Verandah furniture is contemporary metal frame and teak construction, with webbed seat and back for the chairs and frosted glass top for the table. A unique amenity of accommodations on Azamara Journey is that each stateroom from the Penthouse Suites to the lowliest inside cabins has the services of a butler. In some ways the butler functions more as a senior cabin steward, but there are enough special services performed by the butler to make the moniker legit, including scheduling of spa and specialty dining reservations, booking shore excursions, delivering full in-suite tea service at 3:30 p.m. and hors d'oeuvres at 5:30 p.m. daily. Butlers will even assist with packing and unpacking. Service is so attentive that I began displaying the "Do Not Disturb" sign whenever I was in my cabin, so intent was my butler on checking on my well-being and satisfaction. Bathrooms are comfortable but not exceptionally spacious, and I found the lighting to be a bit dim. Each stateroom's bath has a selection of Elemis toiletries -- the usual suspects including shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, shower gel, Frette cotton robes and slippers. All categories of suites have bathtub/shower combinations. The rest, all quite cozy, are shower-only. Other cabin amenities include refrigerator with mini-bar (checked and filled by the butler), thermostat-controlled air conditioning, phone with voicemail, in-room safe and hand-held hair dryer. The flat-screen television carries the following channels: GPS Navigation, bridge cam, ship and weather statistics, port information, travel documentaries, closed-circuit feeds of onboard events and seven cable networks. The TV also functions in interactive mode, allowing guests to access messages, review their accounts, get general info, investigate and book shore excursions, order room service or wine, or purchase pay-per-view movies. Suites have DVD players as well. The 18 Category Seven oceanview staterooms have panoramic windows with obstructed views; the six Category Eight oceanview staterooms have portholes rather than windows. |
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| Entertainment Daytime activities include the usual gamut of cruise staff-organized trivia games, bingo and the like, conducted competently and enthusiastically. There are art auctions, but only on sea days; they are not over-hyped as they are on some ships. Enrichment offerings are excellent and varied. As on many ships, every sailing has lectures by a "destination specialist," and there are other experts included in the mix to give more in-depth presentations on cultural, historical or natural aspects of the destinations. (For example, on our sailing to South America for Carnaval in Rio, the daily enrichment programs included lectures and Powerpoint presentations on the history and customs of Carnaval, and the history of the country and of its wildlife. One lecturer, along with his spouse, even gave samba lessons.) Another aspect of Azamara's enrichment program that we liked was how it made use of crew and staff members to conduct lectures, demonstrations or seminars in their areas of expertise -- such as the ship's chief photographer conducting a seminar in digital photography, or the Internet cafe manager teaching a class in tips and little-known tricks for Microsoft Windows. The main venue for nightly entertainment is the Celebrity Cabaret, a lovely, intimate little show lounge. The room has excellent sightlines, because due to its small size, no support columns are required. Seating is in unanchored, comfortable chairs with small cocktail tables for drinks. Headliner offerings are typical, including solo vocalists, and instrumentalists -- both pop and classical, with a heavier emphasis on classical than on many ships we've reviewed. Azamara -- at least on our sailing -- has shied away from the more "Vaudevillian" entertainment acts (jugglers, comedians and magicians). Of note was a resident "nameless" quintet of young, and very skilled, singers who performed three excellent reviews using little blocking (stage movement). One show paid homage to Hollywood film music; the second was a satirical skewering of television; and the third paid tribute to the age of "Swing." The writing was as good as the performance, especially "Twisted TV," which was written by one of the authors of the hugely successful Off-Broadway revue, "Forbidden Broadway." Other musical offerings in the lounges were largely unremarkable, and mainly created a background for conversation or the occasional ballroom dancers. We were disappointed by the absence of a piano bar, often one of the most successful lounge formats for stimulating passenger interaction. The shore excursion department is a mixed bag. On one hand, the number of shorex personnel was huge relative to the number of passengers. In addition, they were, by and large, extremely knowledgeable and helpful, and fluent in the languages of the countries we visited. One member of the department, or designated crewmember, accompanied every tour that left the ship. On the downside, the list of available excursions was thin and unremarkable. We were astounded that on a port call of four full days in Rio de Janeiro, there were only four daytime excursions offered, and all but one of those were standard bus tours. Though Azamara asserts that one attribute of "Deluxe Category" cruising is "personalized ... immersive" shore excursions, we noted that for the same port of call, big ship lines actually offered more options. Costa Cruises featured twice the number of choices, and Holland America offered 24 Rio shore excursion options. |
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| Spa & Fitness You'll find an ample two-deck sunning area and plenty of comfortable, well-padded lounges on Azamara Journey, both around the pool and twin heated spas, and on the deck above (which also holds the jogging track -- 13 circuits to one nautical mile/or 11.5 to the statute mile). Azamara, like parent Celebrity Cruises, features an Elemis-run spa, with full complex of massage, beauty and wellness programs, including acupuncture. The fitness facility is quite spacious for a ship of this size and includes a full complement of popular machines (steppers, cross-trainers, treadmills, bikes, etc.), and a dedicated aerobics area. There are organized classes/activities, but they are thinly advertised in the daily schedule. |
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| Family & Children (Not yet rated) Simply put, this is not a ship or cruise concept designed with families in mind. There is no kids' cruise staff; nor is there a designated area to entertain or watch over younger cruisers. Additionally, most itineraries slated for Azamara Journey are not likely to rate highly with children. However, for itineraries that do have family appeal -- such as sibling ship Azamara Quest's brief Caribbean season -- the line will bring onboard personnel to structure an ad hoc kids' cruise program. |
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| Fellow Passengers This ship attracts an older (but active), well-traveled group who are looking for what are for them, hitherto unvisited ports of call. Different itineraries will attract a different demographic, but the line is marketed mostly to North Americans, who make up the lion's share of the guests. |
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| Dress Code Nighttime dress code is the increasingly popular "casual elegance." There are no formal nights, though some male passengers opted for jackets (with or without ties) for Captain's Welcome Aboard night and meals taken in the alternative dining venues. Daytime dress was dictated by whether it was a sea or port day, weather conditions and activity participation choices. |
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| Gratuity $12.50 per day is automatically charged to passenger shipboard accounts. Bar orders have 18 percent added in at the time purchased. --by Steve Faber. South Florida-based Faber is a longtime contributor to Cruise Critic. Beyond our Web site, Faber's work has appeared in a myriad of outlets, including Cruise Travel Magazine, "The Miami Herald" and "The Total Traveler Guide to Worldwide Cruising." |
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Carnival Freedom |
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| It may not be the SS Poseidon, but our expectations for the ship were turned completely upside down. First, there's the matter of decor. Carnival Freedom -- the fifth and final incarnation of Carnival Cruise Lines' highly successful Conquest class -- was built for summering in the Mediterranean, taking over where Carnival Liberty left off. When we sailed sister ship Carnival Valor, which spends its life in the more youthful, higher energy Caribbean, we found it amazingly subdued having been designed by Joe Farcus (known for glitz and kitsch). We expected that Freedom would bear a similar patina of elegance and sophistication befitting its annual six-month sojourn in Europe. What we found instead was a hodgepodge of design choices that had us scratching our heads, wondering how they came up with an ambience that was at the same time dark and gaudy. Metallic accents are generally in copper rather then the brighter choice of brass. Lighter colors -- beiges, creams and whites -- appear seldom, and then only as accents. Lighting sconces throughout the Freedom Restaurant, the ship's buffet venue, are fashioned from disembodied heads of the Statue of Liberty casting eerie watery light through their translucent blue fiberglass faces. And all over the ship there are banks of pulsating lights that constantly change color. Patterns from nature are used as major background elements, but as if seen through a distorting filter. For example, in the Millennium Atrium and throughout the public decks, wood paneling with hyper-emphasized grain patterns in bright orange, black and gray proliferates -- looking like the result of a tiger and a zebra falling into a plywood-manufacturing machine. The ceilings and walls in both main restaurants are done in a black and deep red metallic snakeskin pattern. Secondly, we expected to mainly find typical Carnival loyalists, more into merrymaking than museums and mosques. On this count we were both right and wrong. We found a high percentage of repeaters, but almost entirely at the upper end of the age spectrum. And while we anticipated that they would by and large be Mediterranean newbies -- present only because it was a) Carnival, b) a new ship, and c) a brand-new itinerary -- we were wrong again. On our voyage we found ourselves among a group of savvy, experienced travelers, who either had visited Europe in the past, or were perfectly comfortable exploring on their own. Freedom's basic architecture is a conventional sandwich with most public rooms on Decks 3 through 5; most fitness, spa and casual dining on Deck 9 and above; and most passenger cabins in between or below the public room decks. This basic design has been a template for Carnival new-build construction since the introduction of Destiny in 1996. There have been some changes and improvements in attributes and amenities since the class was launched in 2002, most notably the addition of the Seaside Theater, a giant outdoor screen poolside on the Lido Deck, but Freedom suffers from the same passenger-flow bugaboos as do the others in the class. For example, it is impossible to get from the Posh Dining Room at the aft end of the ship to the Victoriana Lounge (main showroom) all the way forward without having to climb or descend one or two decks, and even then one has to pass either through the other dining room or the cigar bar. |
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| Dining Carnival Freedom has four full-meal dining venues. The two main restaurants, Chic and Posh, are situated midship and aft, respectively. The sprawling two-story Freedom Restaurant on the Lido Deck handles breakfast and lunch buffet chores, and provides an alternative casual dining venue at dinnertime. The Sun King Supper Club, named for Louis XIV, is Freedom's for-fee, upscale alternate nighttime restaurant. The Freedom Restaurant, with its repetitive use of the iconic Statue of Liberty, is an open and light space with beaucoup choices for all palates. Morning options begin with early bird Continental breakfasts, followed by typical buffet offerings augmented by several omelet stations. In the main buffet area there are several lines and plenty of room to maneuver with your tray. But guests requiring assistance carrying their food to their table will find availability limited at best. Indoor seating is available on the Lido Deck (Deck 9) and the mezzanine one deck above. Outdoor tables are plentiful around the central pool, or on the fantail surrounding the aft pool, which is topped by a closeable dome. In addition to the standard lunchtime buffet choices, there is a deli window with made-to-order sandwiches; an Asian window with Japanese, Chinese and Thai choices that change daily; a grill that serves not only burgers and hot dogs, but also tasty steak sandwiches; and a 24/7 pizzeria. Our favorites were a new stir fry section, where diners select and fill a bowl with their choice of ingredients and hand it over to a chef who wok-cooks with a choice of sauces, and the Fish & Chips Cafe, which serves Bouillabaisse, shellfish, ahi tuna appetizers, fried oyster sandwiches and grilled fish over green salad -- in addition to its namesake. Hint: The cafe is tucked away in the corner of the Deck 10 upper level of the restaurant, and many passengers don't discover it till four or five days into the voyage. Our recommendation is to visit it early in the trip when there are no lines. Dinner is also served in the buffet nightly for those who want a casual meal, with selections similar to what's being served in the main dining rooms. The two main dining rooms are virtually identical in decor. The lower levels of these rooms stretch the entire width of the ship and are open in the middle, allowing those not along the outer walls a quieter and less claustrophobic dining experience. We preferred dining on the upper level as it was less crowded and relatively more intimate. Both dining rooms have numerous banquettes accommodating parties of four, and an adequate number of tables for as many as 10. It should also be noted that Freedom also has a large number of tables for two, more than 30 by our count. There are four traditional dinner seatings at 5:45, 6:15, 8 and 8:30 p.m. Service is friendly, patient, professional and refreshing from a dining room staff that is becoming increasingly Eastern European in makeup. We found the food tasty, promptly and accurately served, and usually piping hot. Each dinner menu also included "Spa Menu" courses, and vegetarian selections. It did seem to us, however, that there has been a quantum shift in style of cuisine since our previous experience with a Conquest-class ship, and, again, given the fact that we sailed Freedom in its theoretically more sophisticated European stomping grounds, the shift went in the opposite direction from what we would have expected. On Carnival Valor there was a tendency toward more cutting-edge, fusion cuisine, featuring unusual pairings with such exotic ingredients as yuzu, baby bok choy, Yukon gold potatoes, rose hip, etc. Moreover, there were occasional degustation (multi-course tasting) menus featuring smaller portions of up to six courses. Though the quality of preparation on Freedom was consistent and competent, the preparations were simplified. Even the offerings of Georges Blanc, Carnival's celebrated star consulting chef, are mostly what we dub Continental comfort food -- such European standbys as osso bucco and beef bourguignon. When a cruise line spends hundreds of thousands of dollars for an uber-chef to provide unique menu choices, generally the expectation is that he or she will deliver recipes that can't be found in the frozen aisle of any local supermarket. The Sun King Supper Club, located on Deck 10, and isolated from the rest of the ship's nighttime hullabaloo, serves the same fine steakhouse cuisine as its equivalents on other Conquest-Class ships, but lacks an atmosphere of intimacy and refinement. With all the painted-on gold color and crystal chandeliers it feels a bit like dining in the Liberace Museum. Decor aside, there are still two major attributes that make the Sun King a great diversion. First and foremost is the cuisine; nothing cutting-edge here but if dry-aged prime meat, quality seafood and a great wine list ring your chimes, enough said. Secondly, Sun King is a true supper club, with a small combo that plays at a volume level that doesn't annihilate conversation; on the dance floor, before dinner or between courses, it's possible to tango and talk at the same time. There is a $30 per-person charge to dine here, plus optional gratuity. Reservations are required, but we found the room lightly booked. For those that want to play it safe, there is a signup desk in the lobby on embarkation day right at the end of the gangway. Dress code for the Sun King is "upscale casual" (no jeans, shorts, T-shirts, etc.). One little-known fact about the Conquest-class supper clubs is that the bar and dance floor are open to all passengers, even those not dining there. This provides a nice, intimate lounge to enjoy a quiet pre-dinner cocktail or a late night tete-a-tete. Those just enjoying the bar can order caviar from the dinner menu ($45) to toast one of those very special occasions. Other food options include free soft-serve ice cream and yogurt in the Freedom Restaurant, and either sushi or tapas served at cocktail hour at the Deck 5 Meiji Sushi Bar. Coffee drinks and pastries are available for a fee at the Viennese Cafe. There is continental breakfast available during breakfast hours through room service, and there is a typical 24-hour menu of snacks, desserts and sandwiches. All room service is free of charge. |
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| Public Rooms For us, this was another serious case of "What were they thinking?" The location, size or designated use of many public rooms seemed ill-conceived. Consider the Internet Cafe. Its sole entrance is buried inside the Habana Bar, the ship's lounge for cigar aficionados, forcing anyone who wants to use the ship's computers to wade through a miasma of stogie smoke. Fortunately, there is Wi-Fi throughout the ship at the same rate as the Cafe ($0.40 through $0.75 per minute) so it makes sense to bring a laptop. The choice of placement and size for Habana itself is another head-scratcher. This lounge recreates the atmosphere of Cuba during the 1940's. Giant reproductions of cigar box art of the era decorate the walls, and the clubby leather chairs and sofas are time- and place-appropriate. In a particularly quintessential Joe Farcus touch, the supports for the cocktail tables and barstools are in the form of giant lit cigars. Our praise notwithstanding, the lounge stretches the entire width of the ship, and seats 147. We never counted more than six actually partaking of cigars, but that was enough to make passage through the room unpleasant, though it is one of the main corridors necessary to pass from bow to stern on Deck 4. On the other hand the ship's sports bar Player's -- always a major attraction on Carnival vessels -- held only about a third as many. In addition to the musical entertainment provided in the lounges, the Babylon Casino does a bang-up job with a slew of slots and just about every table game you've ever encountered. For those who want to get on the real poker (as opposed to "Caribbean Stud," "Let it Ride," and their ilk) there's a new high-tech gizmo which deals Texas Hold 'Em electronically to terminals situated around a typical green felt casino poker table. Guests put a cash deposit at the cashier's cage on a magnetically striped card which they insert into their terminal. There is no human dealer; a central computer deals electronic "cards" and keeps track of the bets. It's true casino poker (without having to tip the dealer) but the action moves at a lightning pace and those without a load of Hold 'Em experience under their belts can see their electronic stake disappear in a heartbeat. |
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