Seven days at Sea on Azamara Quest?

We are looking at taking our first cruise on Azamara. Have never cruised on such a small ship before but really like the look of the itinerary going out of Dubai in April 2015. Just concerned that seven days at sea maybe several days too many. Have sailed transatlantic with Cunard which was enjoyable but they have many numerous and wonderful lectures. Any comments much appreciated. We are in our sixties and wonder how we would cope with so many sea days on the Azamara.:o:)

This is a reposition cruise with lower than "normal" rates due to the contiguous 7 sea days. Personally, I would go nuts with so many days in a row on an R ship. But, others enjoy the quiet time at sea. One plus on this cruise is that you can spend a couple of days scanning the sea for the Somali pirates.

This is strictly a question of each persons interests. We love sea days, even on small ships. I love to relax and do absolutely nothing, maybe read, paly trivia, take a nap, get a massage, sit in the sauna/steam room, eat, have a drink. Wears me out just thinking of all this activity. :eek: :D

While we enjoy this, others need planned activities to keep them occupied. I am in your age range ( 67 ). Enjoy your cruise no matter what you choose.

We did a similar trip last year. Sea days were filled with activities including lectures, cooking and dance classes and team progressive trivia which was really a lot of fun. we were never bored. Incidentally, we will also be on the cruise you are considering.

starting in Dubai on April 6

way to many sea days. love sun bathing and massages but not 7 days in a row... between the black out curtins and trivia i would need one big sleeping pill for 3 of the days. not sure but i do not think you can go out on the balcony at night either..

lastly small ships can make even a good sailor tummy not happy.

Sorry, not about this thread, but just want to say hi to ellbon. I think we were on the Quest with you to Baha, Mexico, January 29, 2014.

Esther and Joe

Sorry, not about this thread, but just want to say hi to ellbon. I think we were on the Quest with you to Baha, Mexico, January 29, 2014.

 

Esther and Joe

hi back-- email me mobsnest@aol.com

we can find out if any more cruises are the same. i have tons booked for 2015-2016. yes, we were on cruise together

We are looking at taking our first cruise on Azamara. Have never cruised on such a small ship before but really like the look of the itinerary going out of Dubai in April 2015. Just concerned that seven days at sea maybe several days too many. Have sailed transatlantic with Cunard which was enjoyable but they have many numerous and wonderful lectures. Any comments much appreciated. We are in our sixties and wonder how we would cope with so many sea days on the Azamara.:o:)

Yes there are lecturers, in that part of the world it will be warm so poolside lunchtime bbqs, ice cream times we have booked the equivalent trip in Oct 2016

We had the "blackouts" on a previous Azamara trip, it's no problem and it creates a lovely atmosphere in the restaurant at nights.

We are on his cruise and I am so excited by the sea days. A time to rest, sunbathe and reflect.

Knowing Azamara, I am sure there will be plenty of lectures and activities.

thought you could not use deck 5 or go out on your balcony. I would not be happy with that at all. I love my balcony at night.

thought you could not use deck 5 or go out on your balcony. I would not be happy with that at all. I love my balcony at night.

Not true

Not true

I'm not disputing you at all. But on Crystal sailing from Oman to Egypt, we weren't allowed to use our balcony or the promenade deck. I wonder if this varies from line to line, or cruise to cruise. Just curious. It's something for the OP to consider if this "rule" varies depending on safety conditions. Regardless, this looks like a fantastic itinerary, but that is too many sea days in a row for me on any ship =)

Michael

Without knowing you it is impossible to determine. Many of us love the smaller ships and understand that there will be fewer activities to choose from than on the larger ships But I have met cruisers who tell me they are bored because there is not enough to do

I do not need to be entertained on a sea day. I am happy reading or knitting or going to maybe one activity a day.

You really have to know yourself and what suits you

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Much as I love Azamara, I think that many sea days in a row would be too much for me. I don't think the size of the ship matters so much either. I have done a TA on QM2 and much as I love relaxing sea days usually, by the 4th sea day on QM2 I was ready to scream. I couldn't wait to get off the ship in New York and was so glad that I was flying back home.

I am leaving for Heathrow to do a Quest cruise around The Black Sea in about an hour and we have 2 split sea days, which is perfect for me.

Can't wait to be back on lovely Quest! :)

Much as I love Azamara, I think that many sea days in a row would be too much for me. I don't think the size of the ship matters so much either. I have done a TA on QM2 and much as I love relaxing sea days usually, by the 4th sea day on QM2 I was ready to scream. I couldn't wait to get off the ship in New York and was so glad that I was flying back home.

 

I am leaving for Heathrow to do a Quest cruise around The Black Sea in about an hour and we have 2 split sea days, which is perfect for me.

 

Can't wait to be back on lovely Quest! :)

Have a lovely trip Lottie hope the sun shines for you

As Robb says above it really is down to personal interests. I've done this trip twice and loved it, but I too just love relaxing. There will be lecturers onboard and plenty of trivia to keep you entertained if that is your thing. If you are into bridge they will have a casual meet up in the card area in Looking Glass. You aren't going to find the depth that Cunard has I'm sure, but still good fun.

A word on the black out. You will indeed have pirate measures in place from Dubai together with a security team onboard with you. This will restrict you to inside only (and the small smoking area on deck 9) after dusk and before dawn for a few days. All the lights on the outside of the ship are off. Once you are far enough up the Gulf of Suez it will be back to normal. To be quite honest it didn't affect me. At the time of year you are going it gets pretty hot even at sea and staying inside in the evenings wasn't a problem and much cooler too!

This is not your normal repositioning cruise, but I found passing up the Gulf of Suez and through the Suez Canal very interesting. A number of people we met the first year repeated it the second year, but it's not for everyone.

Phil

Much as I love Azamara, I think that many sea days in a row would be too much for me. I don't think the size of the ship matters so much either. I have done a TA on QM2 and much as I love relaxing sea days usually, by the 4th sea day on QM2 I was ready to scream. I couldn't wait to get off the ship in New York and was so glad that I was flying back home.

 

I am leaving for Heathrow to do a Quest cruise around The Black Sea in about an hour and we have 2 split sea days, which is perfect for me.

 

Can't wait to be back on lovely Quest! :)

I've missed you Lottie, but hope you have a wonderful trip on Quest.

Phil

Some would love it some would hate it.

Personally I looooooooove the "R" ships and sailed through a Cyclone on one so any rough seas wouldn't bother.

If you need someone to keep you occupied maybe best to avoid, if you are happy to sit with the one you love, and maybe a good book, can't be too many sea days.

Just my take anyway.

Interesting variety of responses. We love sea days, we love smaller ships and we never get bored. We have done 14 days trans-At on Azamara and loved it. The big thing is your fellow passengers. We have met so many congenial kindred spirits that it almost seems 14 days is not enough. The ship is the destination, think of it that way.

We did the Athens to Dubai re-positioning cruise last November as our first Azamara cruise. I guess it depends what you like doing, but we loved it. I would say that we also love lazy beach holidays, so we spent most of our sea days on sun beds on the top deck reading, watching the Suez Canal go by and just generally lazing around. It was glorious weather every day, and we were also lucky enough to see a partial eclipse of the sun one day.

We just love Azamara - the food is wonderful, the buffet area is way better than any other ship we've been on (no fighting for seats or being pushed in the ribs by people trying to get at the food) and the meals in the main dining room are terrific. What really makes it tho' is the service and the friendliness of everyone - never seen a Captain wonder about the ship having a word with everyone before! We are converts!

We had 9 sea days on Az and the ship seemed to get smaller and smaller...

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