AZAMARA 'JOURNEY' UPGRADES COMPLETE

Azamara Journey (Credit: Azamara)

For passengers who seek a more intimate cruise experience, including more ports of call, longer stays and a variety of shore excursions, Azamara Club Cruises is just your ticket. They operate two, 694-passenger "boutique" ships -- Quest and Journey. This week, Journey emerged from an eight-day drydock in Singapore’s Sembawang Shipyard, completing a refurbishment of both vessels.

Journey got a refresh of its public spaces and staterooms plus a new blue exterior hull, that included: New carpets, upholstery, and a new color palette in public spaces; new mattresses and upgraded veranda furniture for suites and staterooms; and a resurfaced pool, and new sun loungers and pool towels.


There's also a new caviar and champagne bar inside Aqualina, one of the ships’ two specialty dining venues, as well as a new Chef’s Table concept featuring "three wine degustation menus – Italian, French and Californian." (According to Wikipedia, "Degustation is a culinary term meaning a careful, appreciative tasting of various foods and focusing on the gustatory system, the senses, high culinary art and good company. Dégustation is more likely to involve sampling small portions of all of a chef's signature dishes in one sitting. Usually consisting of eight or more courses, it may be accompanied by a matching wine degustation which complements each dish.") Sign us up for that!

There are also lots of extra perks on Azamara cruises: Included gratuities for housekeeping, dining and bar staff; complimentary bottled water, sodas, specialty coffee, and teas, as well as complimentary red and white boutique wines to accompany lunch and dinner; complimentary self-service laundry; English Butler service for suite guests; and shuttle transportation to city centers in ports, where available. More info is available at their website. -- Gerry