Azamara Journey puts service and adventure first Club

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Azamara Journey puts service and adventure first
Royal Caribbean owns several cruise lines, from the biggest to one of the smallest -- Azamara Club Cruises. Azamara has struggled with its identity in the past. I recently sailed aboard the Azamara Journey, one of the line's two ships (the other being the Quest) on a cruise to Mexico's Sea of Cortez; it appears they have found that identity

In the end, I came to the conclusion that Azamara's success will be based on service and unique itineraries.

Your price for this deluxe brand includes gratuities, wine with dinner and lunch, as well as shuttles (where available) into town.

Azamara's ships can hold 694 passengers each. While service is the hallmark for this line, the creative itineraries are proving to be the most interesting.

Claudius Docekal, previously with Sea Dream, was brought on to produce more late-night departures and more overnights, some of which stretch over three days.

More overnights and more late departures is the theme that allows passengers to enjoy the nightlife before leaving a port. He also has no trouble pulling out of port at three o'clock in the afternoon if there is only one highlight and it can be enjoyed in just a few hours.

A good example of a ship's stay occurred when we arrived at Tobolompo, in the Sea of Cortez. This is the port closet to the famous Copper Canyon. Our day started with breakfast at 4 a.m. aboard the ship and concluded at 10 p.m. with another meal upon our return, after spending some 17 hours on a train and a bus to climb 8,000 feet to see the canyon. The day was long but we were pampered throughout the journey.

The ship has a main restaurant, Mosaic, a coffee bar, that seemed to be the main gathering area, and no matter what time of day there was always food and choice of coffees.

Some of the larger ships today have become the destination, but this is not the case with Azamara, a line that knows in order to succeed it has to prove to its parent company that this business model of service and destination immersion will work.

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Some of the larger ships today have become the destination, but this is not the case with Azamara, a line that knows in order to succeed it has to prove to its parent company that its business model of service and destination immersion will work.