Did you catch the somewhat uneven review of writer Jason Cochran's cruise to Bermuda aboard Azamara Journey in the New York Post? It starts off favorably enough, but the farther you read the less happy he seems to be with the experience.
To sum it up, he seems to like the hardware and the concept, but is anything but impressed with the onboard product.
Part of the problem may be that Mr. Cochran is confused about where Royal Caribbean is positioning the Azamara brand. (Maybe Royal Caribbean itself is sending mixed signals, or at least unclear ones to those who don't know much about the travel industry.) At one point he says that the rates of $1,500 to $2,500 for a 14-night cruise are "sane." Those certainly aren't luxury prices by any stretch of the imagination. ($175/night at the top end of the range for luxury?) When, in another place, he says, "When I spend this much for a cruise...." he starts to lose credibility with me for knowing about luxury cruising. (Seabourn Odyssey will debut with minimum accommodations starting at $645/night.) Then he chides Azamara by saying, "Let's not pretend that you're a true luxury brand." I'm not sure who is pretending and who is confused.
If Mr. Cochran had just stuck to talking about the things he liked and didn't like about the product, it would have been an excellent and credible review.
Note: Link is valid at time of posting.
