My Quest Review 2/18/14

We sailed on Quest on February 18, 2014 - The Route of the Americas Cruise.

I promised some people on this board I'd post my review so I shall.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=251381.

Please remember that this is my opinion. I realize that other people will feel differently and I won't appredcate bombardment by cheerleaders. :D

How sweet of the kitchen crew to make pavlova just for you. I make it on occasion and it takes one and a half hours of baking time and one extra hour of setting time in the oven after. It's a pretty special gesture when they're willing to tie up an oven for the sole pleasure of one guest. When people talk about that warm and fuzzy feeling you get on an Azamara cruise, this is exactly the kind of thing they mean, that willingness to please.

I thought your comment about Captain Jose was a bit cruel.

Thanks for taking the time to write and post your very thorough review. I enjoyed reading your observations.

Thanks so much for posting your review.

Thank you for your review. Welcome Home !

Nice review.

I too have wondered about the need to give your room number in the MDR. They don't do it in the buffet. Perhaps it has to do with linking particular staff with a guest comment, like " I really like the server I had last night-seat me with him again". Any other ideas?

I also enjoy trivia and win more than my share, so I kind of like the Azamara way of spreading the prizes out more evenly. This way if you never win a game, but play all the time, you can go home with a gift, instead of ME getting all the prizes! The prizes are nicer than the complaints. I have received t-shirts, fridge magnets, xmas ornaments, book lights(rather cheap), umbrellas, baseball caps, pens, and mugs. Plus getting signature allows for more interaction with the staff, and that warm Azamara feeling I like.

Thanks for the review. Not sure about the Quest, but I understand that new adjustable bedside tables and reading lights will installed on the Journey in June.

Thanks for your review. Lots of observations. It's not a big gym, but I'd never describe it as thimble sized. Small in comparison to other larger ships, but nicely kitted out and I found a much nicer atmosphere there than on say Celebrity S-Class. I agree that breakfast in the dining room has never been my best experience unless I get a good waiter I know from dinner.

You spoke of the Motown singer. That was probably Bruce Parker. He's great. Russ is excellent.

Phil

Thanks for your review. Lots of observations. It's not a big gym, but I'd never describe it as thimble sized. Small in comparison to other larger ships, but nicely kitted out and I found a much nicer atmosphere there than on say Celebrity S-Class. I agree that breakfast in the dining room has never been my best experience unless I get a good waiter I know from dinner.

 

You spoke of the Motown singer. That was probably Bruce Parker. He's great. Russ is excellent.

 

Phil

It was Bruce Parker. He was awesome.

I did mention that I'm claustrophobic and the gym brought those feelings on.

Thank you so much for the review! :)

Thanks for the review. Not sure about the Quest, but I understand that new adjustable bedside tables and reading lights will installed on the Journey in June.

That's very good news; those immovable bedside table lamps always were in my way!:)

Thanks for taking the trouble to write such a comprehensive review.

Thanks for your review

Im a little concerned that shower is going to be worse than my imagination

 

I did mention that I'm claustrophobic and the gym brought those feelings on.

That may explain your feelings on the cabin too, especially the shower. The stateroom size are noticeably smaller than Celebrity's S-Class. The Club Continent Suites are quite a bit bigger, but can be a lot more expensive depending upon the sailing, especially if they do the "book a balcony for the price of an inside" deal.

Phil

Very balanced and well thought out review. You found the good and the bad as you saw it. Those are the kind of reviews that are most helpful to all of us.

I have sailed Celebrity and enjoyed those cruises but, unlike you, I would choose Azamara over Celebrity. For me, size matters -- but not the size of the staterooms. Itinerary governs, and after all the travels we have done and the places we have been it is unlikely that I will find a suitable unique itinerary on a mainstream line.

I admit I love the entertainment on a larger ship but I am willing to "suffer" (I find the entertainment on both Azamara and Oceania to be abominable) in exchange for size of ship and itinerary.

Thank you for taking the time to post your review Kellie Poodle.

I may not agree with some of your points but everyone has different opinions of what is important to them on a cruise. For me, Azamara is an almost perfect cruise despite the small bathrooms and cabins. I would choose AZ over RCI and Celebrity every time....in fact I would also choose Quest over Silversea, Cunard Grills and Oceania.....but that's my view and it isn't yours. It is interesting to get different views on Azamara. I hope you enjoy your next cruise, whatever line you choose.

You may have noticed that no-one has "flamed" you either....that's not our way on the Azamara forum as we are generally quite civilised and easy going....much like we are onboard the ships. :)

I really don't like the words "cheerleaders" and although I am a fan of Azamara and Quest in particular, I am not blind to their problems or deficiencies and I dont think many forum members are either. There are plenty of problems, particularly in regard to their Admin and shoreside operations, but to me, the onboard experience is wonderful....my opinion of course. If I didn't enjoy the onboard experience then I would be booking other cruiselines instead.

I cannot find any evidence of Kellie Poodle being flamed by Azamara fans on this thread.....which was actually what I was referring to. If there was any unfair attacking of her on other threads, which I can't actually seem to find despite looking, then I am confident that Host Andy would sort it out immediately. Kellie Poodle wrote a balanced review of her cruise from her perspective and that is how it should be.

Sometimes we all get passionate about our preferred ships but it should never become personal if others don't hold the same views after they have been on an Azamara cruise. The one thing that does annoy me is when some posters are critical or negative about a cruiseline that they have not yet sailed on! :(

There was a bit of flaming on another thread where I posted a few of my initial experiences on Azamara.

I've been posting to on-line forums, including Usenet, since 1995, so my skin is pretty thick and I'm not at all effected by flaming.

I am quite pleased that most people on this forum appreciated my review, whether they agreed with me or not. Thanks, all.

I sincerely hope that somewhere there will be an experience that meets your needs.

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to request that we stay on topic, and refrain from making it personal. There's no need for comments about cheerleaders. Such comments generally takes threads off course, and leads to arguments. I take great pride in our forum being very friendly. As long as I'm your moderator, I will always try my very best to maintain this standard.

When noticing something that requires my attention, please do not hesitate to use the alert triangle , which sends me an immediate alert. I've recently added a tablet to my technology, so I should see alerts nearly 24/7.

To Kellie Poodle : Although I thanked you for your review earlier in this thread, I wanted to say that we welcome your insights, and it's unfortunate that Azamara did not live up to your expectations. No matter what line you sail next, I wish you a wonderful Cruise !

Hi Kellie,

A good, concise, fair review. I wish it had been a better experience for you since I hyped it up so much.

I have read your thoughts concerning staterooms by other passengers which is why we opted for a larger cabin on our cruises.

Unfortunate that the food was not up to par either. As an FYI, hot dogs were grilled during our trips...wondered what changed?

I hope you told Max (piano player) we said hello. Russ and Philip are great as is all the staff in our experience.:cool:

Welcome home and hope your next trips are better. BTW, we cruised the Reflection in January and it is a beautiful ship, largest we had ever been on. Would cruise it again. Summit to Bermuda this June!:D

Safe travels...

 

I hope you told Max (piano player) we said hello. Russ and Philip are great as is all the staff in our experience.:cool:

I did. He seemed to know who you were when all I could tell him was that I was conveying greetings from some people from Austin. :D

The reason the NDR asks room number so they can decided where more waiters are needed each night. Indain buffer is big and they might add extra help that night. Maybe they just want to know if you ate dinner.

Not reading the review as I am pro the cruise line. On my worse day on the Quest it beats snow and large ships. The gym is a fine size but for about 9 am and before dinner

I like it when reviewers place their review in the Cruise Critic Review section & then Make a post to reference their review...allowing comments and questions...Thank You. :):):):)