uktog
February 2nd, 2009, 02:14 PM
These are the reflections of our cruise on Azamara Quest from Singapore to Hong Kong on 17th Jan sailing. I know you have already read one blog on this cruise; not having the luxury of technology on board, we were not able to do the same, so I have decided for this post on the boards I will do this as a score card comparing Azamara with Celebrity which I hope people find helpful. I will pull together a more general review relating to ports to post in the review section tomorrow.
This was our first time on Azamara (we are Celebrity elite status) so we had open minds as to how we would find the concept but had booked this and another cruise on Azamara because of the itinerary.
Our flight arrangements and pre and post course plans were all done separate from the cruiseline so we will skip over them
Embarkation Azamara wins
From arriving at the port at lunchtime to stepping into our room was 14 minutes. Maybe Azamara got a helping hand from the efficiencies shown by the ever industrious Singapore handling agents, but it was clear from the outset small ship was going to mean less crowding.
Stateroom Celebrity wins
We have gone for Sky Suites in recent cruises and this trip was no exception. The rooms were broadly comparable and, with the lovely Elemis amenities in the bathroom, Azamara should have edged it, however the balcony was very disappointing with limited space and no sun.
Stateroom Service Celebrity wins
We were looked after by the Head Butler, the usual Butler, who is really a stateroom attendant and his assistant. The Stateroom Assistant, whom we never met, was amazing and our room was kept the cleanest we have ever had on many cruises. However, the “usual” butler was a mystery – absent at all times except tips night and the Head Butler was always telling us how busy he was and rushing from here to there. It did seem like he had a lot of rooms to provide support for and he was not quite of the calibre of the butlers we have enjoyed on Celebrity. Because he was always so busy, we did not ask him to do things we did ask our Celebrity butlers to do (ie shoe cleaning, in room dining etc).
Nice touch on Azamara is the night time treats made by the pastry chefs left in the room for you and the afternoon canapés had been replaced by lovely “tapas type” selections from Mosaic Café (Cova to those used to X!)
With better trained stateroom staff (and in the case of the Head Butler, his English needs some help) Azamara could easily nudge Celebrity out of top spot.
Food quality Azamara wins
Food was consistently excellent and the standards of presentation were extremely high. The range of choices in the Main Dining room was very good with a whole page of staple choices available very night (steak; salmon; prawn cocktail; Caesar salad etc) as well as a menu that changed nightly. Speciality Restaurants were very popular (it was very difficult to get reservations for most of the trip by then end of the first day of boarding) in our view Prime C was the best and the Black Angus steak in particular was memorable (says the one who usually avoids steaks and eats fish)
Dining room service Celebrity wins
In the Main Dining room (where we ate 4 nights) the service was struggling. We ate at table sizes ranging from 7 to 2. We never had a problem getting a table at the time we wanted – getting served and out in under 2 ½ hours was a different matter though! On our trip there was a high percentage of new crew (51 out of 420) and there was an illness problem for staff and guests so maybe the dining room team were stretched beyond capacity.
In the Speciality Restaurants, particularly Aqualina we generally enjoyed very good attentive service, though again there were “off nights” where service was way too slow.
These are easy problems that can be fixed though!
Pool Deck Draw
Azamara is smaller so does not offer a lot of pool space, and no indoor pool however if (and that was another issue that they did try and address during our cruise) you find a lounger, they are 110% more comfy than the ones on Celebrity.
Entertainment Celebrity wins
I have to be careful how I judge this one as our issue was we could not get to the entertainment because the dining room service was too slow. Shows tended to be at around 8 and if repeated 9.45, as we like to dine at around 8.15/8.30 (ie Celebrity second sitting) it was tricky to get to the 9.45 show where we should have been able to get there no problem. The entertainment of an evening was fine – we saw a nice song and dance show parody on TV programmes and heard a wonderful pianist and violinist. Sadly the harpist failed to inspire and was technically not of the standard we would have expected on a cruise so we missed the kind of classical pre dinner time we have enjoyed at Cova in the past.
We cannot comment on the DJ on board other than to say we met him and he was a really nice guy to chat to, but the rocking of the waves called us to the land of nod too easily each night.
Other daytime activities Azamara wins
Most activities are the same as Celebrity- quizzes, trivia, Pictionary, Battle of the Sexes however the Enrichment Series is enhanced. On this cruise there were three presenters, Jonathon Fleming who spoke about upcoming ports in a fantastic, informative way not focussed on the content of shore excursions and never based on shops to patronise. He gave historical and cultural background and as this was replayed in the stateroom TV it was a perfect way to get briefed ahead of each port at a time to suit yourself. There was also a psychologist and a water colours class which both got good reviews and again the psychologist could be viewed at a later time on TV if required.
Shore Excursions Azamara wins
Always a heated subjected and I am not a huge fan of the organised excursion but we had decided Vietnam and Cambodia posed too many risks to do it alone. Some guides were not good (language and timekeeping problems of the guides) but overall the structure and content of the excursions was very good. What was excellent was the attitude of the Shore Excursion Staff who went out of their way to give information on the Ports and not push the purchase of shore excursions. Joining the Shore Excursion was easy – only a few buses going to each place and buses were never filled to capacity.
General Staff attitude Azamara wins big time
There was a genuine will to please and the Officers were so visible – nice touches, they greeted you as you went ashore each day, there was always one officer present to greet you on your return. They genuinely wanted your feedback and I was impressed to have a personal call from John Howell (Cruise Director) in response to my suggestions on timings of shows at night that I put on the mid cruise feedback form – great idea to do a mid cruise check of views.
Disembarkation Azamara wins
Again, lower numbers on board and a slick process made it absolutely painless to disembark (other than the fact you are having to leave!) Officers line up to say their farewells another nice touch. You stay in your room until your colour is called – from calling the colour to being in a taxi with all our luggage took 7 minutes – wow!
In conclusion, Azamara and Celebrity are in my mind two distinct brands. There are lovely touches on Azamara and the food is definitely a notch up. You have to remember though it is a smaller ship and so numbers of staff is less. This can have advantages in terms of getting to know everyone but has limitations particularly if only a few are not available for any reason. And yes, I am looking forward to both our next cruises, one on Azamara and one on Equinox.
Feel free to ask any questions – particularly any relating to comparisons which I know was an area that bothered us Celebrity regulars before we sailed
This was our first time on Azamara (we are Celebrity elite status) so we had open minds as to how we would find the concept but had booked this and another cruise on Azamara because of the itinerary.
Our flight arrangements and pre and post course plans were all done separate from the cruiseline so we will skip over them
Embarkation Azamara wins
From arriving at the port at lunchtime to stepping into our room was 14 minutes. Maybe Azamara got a helping hand from the efficiencies shown by the ever industrious Singapore handling agents, but it was clear from the outset small ship was going to mean less crowding.
Stateroom Celebrity wins
We have gone for Sky Suites in recent cruises and this trip was no exception. The rooms were broadly comparable and, with the lovely Elemis amenities in the bathroom, Azamara should have edged it, however the balcony was very disappointing with limited space and no sun.
Stateroom Service Celebrity wins
We were looked after by the Head Butler, the usual Butler, who is really a stateroom attendant and his assistant. The Stateroom Assistant, whom we never met, was amazing and our room was kept the cleanest we have ever had on many cruises. However, the “usual” butler was a mystery – absent at all times except tips night and the Head Butler was always telling us how busy he was and rushing from here to there. It did seem like he had a lot of rooms to provide support for and he was not quite of the calibre of the butlers we have enjoyed on Celebrity. Because he was always so busy, we did not ask him to do things we did ask our Celebrity butlers to do (ie shoe cleaning, in room dining etc).
Nice touch on Azamara is the night time treats made by the pastry chefs left in the room for you and the afternoon canapés had been replaced by lovely “tapas type” selections from Mosaic Café (Cova to those used to X!)
With better trained stateroom staff (and in the case of the Head Butler, his English needs some help) Azamara could easily nudge Celebrity out of top spot.
Food quality Azamara wins
Food was consistently excellent and the standards of presentation were extremely high. The range of choices in the Main Dining room was very good with a whole page of staple choices available very night (steak; salmon; prawn cocktail; Caesar salad etc) as well as a menu that changed nightly. Speciality Restaurants were very popular (it was very difficult to get reservations for most of the trip by then end of the first day of boarding) in our view Prime C was the best and the Black Angus steak in particular was memorable (says the one who usually avoids steaks and eats fish)
Dining room service Celebrity wins
In the Main Dining room (where we ate 4 nights) the service was struggling. We ate at table sizes ranging from 7 to 2. We never had a problem getting a table at the time we wanted – getting served and out in under 2 ½ hours was a different matter though! On our trip there was a high percentage of new crew (51 out of 420) and there was an illness problem for staff and guests so maybe the dining room team were stretched beyond capacity.
In the Speciality Restaurants, particularly Aqualina we generally enjoyed very good attentive service, though again there were “off nights” where service was way too slow.
These are easy problems that can be fixed though!
Pool Deck Draw
Azamara is smaller so does not offer a lot of pool space, and no indoor pool however if (and that was another issue that they did try and address during our cruise) you find a lounger, they are 110% more comfy than the ones on Celebrity.
Entertainment Celebrity wins
I have to be careful how I judge this one as our issue was we could not get to the entertainment because the dining room service was too slow. Shows tended to be at around 8 and if repeated 9.45, as we like to dine at around 8.15/8.30 (ie Celebrity second sitting) it was tricky to get to the 9.45 show where we should have been able to get there no problem. The entertainment of an evening was fine – we saw a nice song and dance show parody on TV programmes and heard a wonderful pianist and violinist. Sadly the harpist failed to inspire and was technically not of the standard we would have expected on a cruise so we missed the kind of classical pre dinner time we have enjoyed at Cova in the past.
We cannot comment on the DJ on board other than to say we met him and he was a really nice guy to chat to, but the rocking of the waves called us to the land of nod too easily each night.
Other daytime activities Azamara wins
Most activities are the same as Celebrity- quizzes, trivia, Pictionary, Battle of the Sexes however the Enrichment Series is enhanced. On this cruise there were three presenters, Jonathon Fleming who spoke about upcoming ports in a fantastic, informative way not focussed on the content of shore excursions and never based on shops to patronise. He gave historical and cultural background and as this was replayed in the stateroom TV it was a perfect way to get briefed ahead of each port at a time to suit yourself. There was also a psychologist and a water colours class which both got good reviews and again the psychologist could be viewed at a later time on TV if required.
Shore Excursions Azamara wins
Always a heated subjected and I am not a huge fan of the organised excursion but we had decided Vietnam and Cambodia posed too many risks to do it alone. Some guides were not good (language and timekeeping problems of the guides) but overall the structure and content of the excursions was very good. What was excellent was the attitude of the Shore Excursion Staff who went out of their way to give information on the Ports and not push the purchase of shore excursions. Joining the Shore Excursion was easy – only a few buses going to each place and buses were never filled to capacity.
General Staff attitude Azamara wins big time
There was a genuine will to please and the Officers were so visible – nice touches, they greeted you as you went ashore each day, there was always one officer present to greet you on your return. They genuinely wanted your feedback and I was impressed to have a personal call from John Howell (Cruise Director) in response to my suggestions on timings of shows at night that I put on the mid cruise feedback form – great idea to do a mid cruise check of views.
Disembarkation Azamara wins
Again, lower numbers on board and a slick process made it absolutely painless to disembark (other than the fact you are having to leave!) Officers line up to say their farewells another nice touch. You stay in your room until your colour is called – from calling the colour to being in a taxi with all our luggage took 7 minutes – wow!
In conclusion, Azamara and Celebrity are in my mind two distinct brands. There are lovely touches on Azamara and the food is definitely a notch up. You have to remember though it is a smaller ship and so numbers of staff is less. This can have advantages in terms of getting to know everyone but has limitations particularly if only a few are not available for any reason. And yes, I am looking forward to both our next cruises, one on Azamara and one on Equinox.
Feel free to ask any questions – particularly any relating to comparisons which I know was an area that bothered us Celebrity regulars before we sailed