Immigration and baggage took only a few minutes. Customs was just a nod to the guy in the "nothing to declare" lane.
I found the taxi stand easily and handed over my pre-printed instructions to the port in Chinese language. No problem to get there for around $300 HKD ($40 USD) but it was after-hours so I had to drag my non-wheeled luggage to the ship terminal through a shopping mall! It was humid and far and annoying that there were no crew or even luggage carts at the door to assist.
Even when crew members could see me struggling across the gangway they sent no one to help. In all fairness, I had been warned by my travel agent that this would happen if I arrived past the formal embarkation hours. It was just beyond my comprehension that porters were not outsourced if ship staff were unavailable. I would have paid out of pocket but there was no one to help at all. Later in the cruise, Heather from Guest Relations personally called me to discuss my comments about the issue and let me know that she would relay my feedback to the powers that be.
I finally crossed onto the deck of Azamara Journey and cleared security. A crew member guided me to guest relations where a single person was manning the phones and the desk.
She was obviously overwhelmed. I was hot and sweaty and tired but waited patiently for my turn and blissfully, somebody handed me a flute of champagne. Geeta at guest relations was nice but I couldn't believe the amount of paperwork she was expected to process for each guest.
She basically went over it quickly, shoved it all into an envelope and told me to read it and bring it back later. Inside was information about the make-up muster drill, immigration and departure forms to complete and instructions for clearing each port. It was really important stuff.
There were two older couples from Quebec behind me in line. They were French-speaking and sure enough missed the next day's muster drill and had to be paged to immigration before the ship could depart. Even I had had trouble digesting all the information. I was surprised by Azamara's welcome for late arrivals. They seemed to be unprepared for us despite (at least in my case) flight arranged using Choice Air.
I finally got to my room which was lovely. It was a category six Oceanview on deck four, starboard forward section with a Queen bed and because it was an adjoining cabin, had an armchair rather than a sofa which suited me just fine.
There were fresh fruit, water, soft drinks and chocolate brownies in the room along with fresh flowers. As promised, robes, slippers, a set of binoculars and an umbrella were provided for use during the cruise and we were given a tote bag to take home.
The vanity table had dim lights but admittedly, they probably matched the lighting in the dining room for make-up application purposes…they just weren't bright enough to write your thesis at the desk.
Storage was more than ample for a solo traveler but probably was adequate for a couple. You really don't need a whole new outfit for every dinner on Azamara! I had brought seven cocktail dresses…totally unnecessary. Suitcases fit under the bed with room to spare.
The bathroom was well-organized with cotton buds and amenities but next time, I will bring my own shampoo/conditioner as their brand didn't agree with my curly hair. The shower was just like every other shower on every other cruise ship but the Grohe fixtures were much, much nicer. I actually have the same hand shower in my own guest bath back home!
Since I was an early to bed, early to rise kind of gal, there were some nights when I could hear the muted bass and drums coming from the Cabaret lounge on deck five but it was not disruptive. In general, other than some creaking and the sound of the bathroom vacuum system it was quiet.
The harbour was extremely foggy but I could practically see into the water taxis from my bay window which was two decks above the water line. I unpacked and read over the bazillion pages of info and decided not to order room service because it was already after midnight.
In the morning, I explored the ship. It is so tiny but has everything you could want. There is a casino, two shops, a coffee bar, a pool grill and bar, a buffet area, a main dining room, two speciality restaurants, a lounge up top with a view, a library, computer room and a salon/spa/fitness area.
There are also lots of cozy lounge areas with bars and the main entertainment lounge.
I really liked the quiet elegance of the ship. Other than the sparkly things in the Swarovski display cabinets, there was not much flash.
HONG KONG-February, 18th 2014
For breakfast, I disembarked and explored Kowloon. It was only around 7 am so the shops were all closed. I went into the Royal Pacific hotel and asked for advice on a local dim sum shop.
They directed me up Haiphong Road to Lock street and I ended up at this place
G/F, 8-10 Ashley Road, T.S.T., Kowloon, Hong Kong China
YUM! For a reasonable price, I got a selection of steaming hot shaomai, pork buns and tea. I demolished it and even considered getting an extra oyster pancake but held off.
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| Dumplings at Hing Fat Restaurant, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
YUM! For a reasonable price, I got a selection of steaming hot shaomai, pork buns and tea. I demolished it and even considered getting an extra oyster pancake but held off.
There was a lovely park on the north side of Haiphong road between Canton and Nathan with tropical birds calling and it was a nice touch to have some nature beside all of Hong Kong's haute couture.
I returned to the ship to take a look at their ample but not too adventurous breakfast buffet and of course ended up eating more food! I had to try the ginger smoothie shots, some weird black cold cuts and polenta omelettes.
The crowd on this itinerary was older than on +Celebrity Cruises and was made up of mostly Americans, lots of Australians and a few of my fellow Canadians. The crew and staff were demographically similar to the ones on Celebrity but they were able to be much more friendly due to the smaller size of the ship and they really got to know the passengers individually.
I went back ashore to see about these "fantastic" discounts in Hong Kong. Um, not so much. Maybe the mall attached to the cruise terminal was priced for tourists.
I did find a really cute handbag though. That was my only purchase and I quickly returned to the ship and handed my passport over to the Hong Kong authorities onboard for inspection.
We had a late-arrival muster drill that just demonstrated how to wear a life preserver and explained emergency procedures. It took only five minutes plus time to answer people's questions and address any safety concerns.
As mentioned earlier...there were some no-shows at the mandatory drill.
When it was time to sail, there were many announcements paging people to drop off their passports. No matter how many instances passengers were told, in writing, by public address, on the cruise television it seems that some still didn't get the message. I'm not sure if it was a language issue but again, I strongly believe that this most important information should be conveyed BEFORE embarkation when the brain is too frazzled to process much of anything. Additionally, the information should be available in the language of the guest. This information is available ahead of time, why couldn't general instructions be provided in French, Spanish, German etc?
Seasoned cruisers were grumbling about the delayed departure. I didn't grumble...I went to tour the spa. In my opinion, services were too expensive for my taste but were comparable in price to large hotel spas. Compared to the luxurious thalassotherapy pool on Celebrity Summit, the Journey's little cousin is a soda can. I opted to not buy a cruise pass for $99.
So with nothing left to do, I visited the buffet for lunch. Unfortunately for my waistline, this became a recurring theme.
I got a Sea Breeze cocktail and some food. Everything was tasty but there was nothing too exotic. They know their target market. Older, fussy folks with lots of dietary restrictions don't want seven types of curried lentils for lunch.
We finally started backing out of our berth. It was still really foggy in Hong Kong. Looking up to the tallest buildings made me wonder if the people inside could see anything at all! Those apartments are worth millions and they were shrouded in cloud. Hong Kong has huge hills which are so steep that there are hardly any homes on them. That's why the land is so valuable where people can build and there is nowhere to go but up.
Finally, it was time to investigate the tiny pool!
It is heated sea water so it really makes one float. The motion of the ship makes it really nice and wavy, too!
After that, there was a visit to the Owners Suite. The cruise line offers a Bingo game and the grand prize is to win occupancy of the suite for the duration of the cruise. I went to the visit and enjoyed seeing the immense room with a marble vestibule (useful for taking your shoes off without tracking in travel-schmutz) and the powder room in addition to the gigantic bathroom with jetted tub. Other than the beautiful aft-facing verandah with full loungers, there were no features that trumped the comfort of my own category six oceanview stateroom so I did not buy any bingo cards.
I got dressed up for dinner and headed over to the +Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle cocktail party. There were 62 of us and I finally met many of the very nice folks I had been chatting with online, face-to-face.
The senior staff introduced themselves. I met all the top brass like the food & beverage manager, the hotel director and the cruise director. They asked us to make as many requests as we wanted. They reminded us that our feedback is more useful while we are on the ship. I learned that they meant it over the course of the trip. A feedback form was provided in the first week and I received two follow-up calls responding to my comments. The level of customer service on +Azamara Club Cruises is unsurpassed in my opinion.
After that, Tony the cruise director hosted a singles and solo cruisers dinner in the main dining room. There were at least 25 of us because Azamara offers low single supplements and I must say, it attracted fun and really interesting cruisers. Throughout the voyage, friendly folks were always willing to chat and dining was not a daunting task. If you wanted to be alone, you could but finding new friends was easy. Solo-ers, fear not!
Now for the good part: Dinner!
The main dining room is about an eighth of the size of a Celebrity MDR. They have cozy booths as well as tables so it feels more like a lounge. Waiters were very attentive. If they needed to get your attention or reach towards you they would say: "please permit me to…" refill your glass or take your plate or clean up your crumbs etc.
It was extremely civilized. The food was fantastic. I had a firecracker shrimp starter, pear soup with cinnamon and tandoori lamb for the main. I started with a Riesling but tried the Cabernet too. It was all new to me to have wine with dinner in such abundance. The waiters keep imperceptibly refilling your cup, so if you're a light drinker, be forewarned!
The desserts were insane and they also had many choices for digestifs or specialty coffees on offer. Since there are no main/late seatings, no one rushes you. Dinner is easily a three hour affair!
If you don't have a quick bite in the buffet, you might want to eat at six in order to make it to the entertainment which begins at around nine pm. Unfortunately, I never did get to the Cabaret lounge or the daily activities so I'll have to leave it to someone else to review.
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