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EX Azamara Newbie - Our Quest cruise Experience&Comments


lolau79
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We took our first Azamara cruise last may, here are our impressions.

 

The 1st glance of our cabin was pretty good, the space was large enough for the 2 of us, the bed was very comfy and it was very clean. The bathroom, well, one word...Small, but it's fine. On the other hand, the shower is really tiny tiny tiny, and the Dreadful plastic shower curtain:eek: .... Someone on CC commented that if you drop your face cloth while in the shower it will become " wall to wall carpet ". funny enough this is true BUT it is manageable and was not a real issue. For us, this was the only "flaw" on that ship. We can now truly say, we would prefer sailing Azamara even with the small shower/bathroom, than sailing any other cruise line with a big shower....

 

We bought the Chef's Table plus 2 package

French Chef's table - The food was very good, exception for the fish which was not to my husband liking ( but he is a fish fanatic). Wine pairing was great. We had a nice group of people that night very interesting & funny, everyone talking to each others, so, bottom line - Great people, Great food, Great laughs = Perfect evening

We did at first book the 2 specialty restaurants, one each night, but we liked Prime C so much that we cancelled Aqualina and went back to Prime C. Both times, food was spectacular, we loved it...

 

We had a special anniversary to celebrate, so we booked the Night in Private Places venue in the Sanctum spa..... WOW!!!!!!!! ( And NO, we are NOT the couple everyone's talking about from the "View from the living room" post earlier..) We were on the Med cruise.... Just one advice to anyone thinking of booking that event... DO IT!!!!! It is wonderful and romantic. That night the weather was great, the sea was calm and flat, candles everywhere on the terrace, it was beautiful. Our private Maitre D, Anson, was terrific. Champagne & Chocolate dipped strawberry offered while in the spa/pool before dinner.... And then, the main course... Anything and Everything you wish to eat, its ALL there, pairing with wine, alcohol, specialty coffee and great desserts.. Amazing , just Amazing..... We did sleep under the stars for the whole night, sleeping like babies ( maybe it's the wine?) The next morning, Anson came back, woke us up (gently) and we had private breakfast of fresh berries, eggs Benedict and Mimosas... and back to our cabin to began a great new day...

 

I would like to specify, regarding the " view from the living room" post. When you book this event, all the blinds from the living room are closing around 7:45. Yes, this does mean everyone in the living room are "shut out" of the view, and Sanctum gets the privacy. All the security cameras are covered with layers of tapes (in the Sanctum Deck area) to insure privacy. They really put emphasis on this to reassured anyone booking the event that it will indeed "be private". After all, you are sleeping there........

 

The ports of call were great, we did get to enjoy the Stromboli Volcano erupting, the slippery walk up to the castle with Captain Carl and his crew, in Kotor Montenegro, the surprise on White night, a special delivery of Cannolis by private boat from Taormina Sicily (that port was cancelled due to G7 summit restrictions), the Azamazing night with the 3 Tenors... You get the picture, it really was a fabulous cruise.

 

From the cleaning crew to the funny and charismatic Captain Smith, the restaurants staff all through the day & the great bartenders, even the security crew are always chatty and smiling....All of the staff will go above and beyond to make their guests happy and make this a 5 stars experience.

 

I will elaborate here, cause it seems to be a concern in a lot of posts on CC. The included wine, always 2 reds, 2 whites, 1 rose and 1 sparkling, each day. It does vary from day to day and can be different from one restaurant to the other. Some nights we had really great wines and we also had what I would describe as "table wine". We always found the wine to be good and enjoyable, this was not a problem at all, if you don't like a particular wine ask for another, they will try to provide you something you will enjoy.....

The same goes for drinks and cocktails. There is a menu for the included drinks, but, if you specify you want a particular cocktail not on that list to be mix with the "regular" brand of alcohol, they will do it. No Problems....

NO is not an answer you will hear often, and this seems to be the same philosophy throughout the ship..

 

Conclusion - Azamara is " TOP NOTCH "....

This was a long review, but in all fairness, Azamara does deserve it. A ++++++ all the way for us.

As " Azamara newbies" not anymore, we liked it so much, we are already checking out the itinerary for next year.

An awesome vacation it was :) :):)

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So glad your first Azamara cruise was such a success. We returned to Quest recently after our last few cruises had been on Journey and agree with everything you say. The crew were absolutely spectacular, those we had known before and those we were meeting for the first time. As you say no is not a word used in the Azamara vocabulary.

 

Here's to your next Azamara cruise ( and ours)😄

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Really pleased you had such an enjoyable time. Nice review, hopefully it will reassure other new bookers they have done the right thing.

I think on our recent cruise I was the one saying no most - no thank you that is because service particularly in the bars is so proactive I feared I'd be in a permanent alcoholic fog.

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Really pleased you had such an enjoyable time. Nice review, hopefully it will reassure other new bookers they have done the right thing.

I think on our recent cruise I was the one saying no most - no thank you that is because service particularly in the bars is so proactive I feared I'd be in a permanent alcoholic fog.

Nothing wrong with an alcoholic fog! In my full time job, I have to have a zero blood alcohol level at all times (am on call when not on duty), so I may go overboard a bit!

Karyn

( 111 days and counting)

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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Glad you had a wonderful time. We are up to number 5 now, & I meticulously work out where I want to go next from future itineraries, so I am ready to book on board to take advantage of those perks. Because let's face it, there is always going to be another time!

Karyn

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

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So glad your first Azamara cruise was such a success. We returned to Quest recently after our last few cruises had been on Journey and agree with everything you say. The crew were absolutely spectacular, those we had known before and those we were meeting for the first time. As you say no is not a word used in the Azamara vocabulary.

 

Here's to your next Azamara cruise ( and ours)😄

 

Is there a difference between sailing the two ships? Is one better than the other?

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Is there a difference between sailing the two ships? Is one better than the other?

 

To quote one Captain "the only difference between the two is the art work".

 

As the crew interchange between the two ships this has further ensured that guests feel absolutely no difference between the two.

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Is there a difference between sailing the two ships? Is one better than the other?

 

I used to slightly prefer Quest, I think only because she was my first Azamara ship .....it was like my first love and up to 2 years ago most of my cruises had been on Quest. I have done most of my cruises in the last two years on Journey and now I love them both equally. 🙂

 

As Ann says, it is great to see the crew on both ship's and we loved doing that at the #two sistersmeetevent in Barcelona recently. Can't wait for our cruises on Quest in 2 wks and Journey in October. 😄

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Is there a difference between sailing the two ships? Is one better than the other?

 

Both ships are fabulous, both crews are wonderful, the cabins are the same as is the decor.

 

But my favourite of the two is Quest - I'm not sure I can articulate why

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Both ships are fabulous, both crews are wonderful, the cabins are the same as is the decor.

 

But my favourite of the two is Quest - I'm not sure I can articulate why

 

Maybe it was that Quest cruise in July 2011 that did it? 😄

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To quote one Captain "the only difference between the two is the art work".

 

As the crew interchange between the two ships this has further ensured that guests feel absolutely no difference between the two.

 

Yes, I think that in the "early days" there were more differences between Quest and Journey.. and now I think that it is less so ( at least for me). I think that there is now more "transference" of the crew from ship to ship than was previously the case. But I still feel more "at home" on Quest... something I just cannot explain !!

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Beware, you have the Azamara fever now, and there is no cure! Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience.

 

As for the two ships, our first cruise with Azamara was on Journey, and we loved it. However, itineraries led us to Quest for the next six weeks onboard, and because we got to know the crew (Russ is everywhere!), it became our favorite, but we're back on Journey this year and next.

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The best of the two ships is the last one that you were on;). I've been on Journey quite a few more times than Quest because of itineraries and dare I say crew, but as Ann mentioned above there is a lot of interchanging of the general crew now and lots of familiar faces on each. This was what Azamara wanted to achieve. Looking forward to Quest for the first time in quite a while in November.

 

Phil

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lolau79,

So happy to read such a positive review and happy you enjoyed Azamara.

Next time, do try Aqualina. You husband will love the Dover sole.

Right now the Journey is our favorite, but we've only sailed on the Quest once. We sail the Quest on a b2b in Sept. and I cannot wait.

It really was nice seeing some staff members from the Journey on our Quest cruise. :D

Other posters are correct...if you cruise on another cruise line, you won't be as happy. We sail on Celebrity too, but it certainly isn't the same experience.

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lolau79,

So happy to read such a positive review and happy you enjoyed Azamara.

Next time, do try Aqualina. You husband will love the Dover sole.

Right now the Journey is our favorite, but we've only sailed on the Quest once. We sail the Quest on a b2b in Sept. and I cannot wait.

It really was nice seeing some staff members from the Journey on our Quest cruise. :D

Other posters are correct...if you cruise on another cruise line, you won't be as happy. We sail on Celebrity too, but it certainly isn't the same experience.

 

You are absolutely correct midwestchick, the Dover Sole in Aqualina is wonderful. And when it is taken off the bone at the table (particularly by Laze) it is an art form 😄

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You are absolutely correct midwestchick, the Dover Sole in Aqualina is wonderful. And when it is taken off the bone at the table (particularly by Laze) it is an art form 😄

 

My husband ordered it and I only had a taste because I ordered lobster. I'm going to have it in Sept. :D

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My husband ordered it and I only had a taste because I ordered lobster. I'm going to have it in Sept. :D

OK!!!!! I am so jealous at the moment...

I am having regrets now.... But Prime C was really good.

One more reason to go back on that beautiful ship ( like if we needed any ) :D:D:D

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I think that's how Tom ordered it. What is the normal sauce made of?

 

It's a tomato based sauce which would totally overpower the delicate, Dover Sole. Even the excellent waiters in Aqualina think it a strange combination. We too ask to have it served with lemon and butter.

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OK!!!!! I am so jealous at the moment...

I am having regrets now.... But Prime C was really good.

One more reason to go back on that beautiful ship ( like if we needed any ) :D:D:D

 

So, where are you cruising to next? ;p We love Prime C also.

One night a few years ago, we were celebrating our anniversary early. The night we ate in Prime C was our anniversary dinner. When we sat down, I asked the maitre d about the sunset and he said we would have had to eat in Aqualina to see it. He knew I was disappointed. A few minutes later an announcement came over the loud speaker. Captain Johannes announced he was turning the ship because a couple was celebrating their anniversary. He also said he would charge us a dollar for the fuel. ;) You won't see that happening on another cruise line probably.

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