A Beginner's Guide to Azamara--Quest Christmas Voyage 2013

[dln929]

Thanks for the kind words everyone! John and Linda, still biting cold here in Indiana--sub zero temps. We went from Sunny and Snorkeling to Shivering and Shoveling all in the space of a week. :( If you're staying at the Doubletree Biscayne Bay, it's a super hotel. There are plenty of shops and restaurants nearby and a Publix too, which is where we picked up our four pack of Boddingtons, two of which we brought on board. (Those who know us will be amazed that we had any "leftover" beer on our persons...:D ). You'll most likely have a view to the Venetian Causeway where you might see a Carnival or RCI ship.

 

We had our Muster Drill as soon as Ross concluded our tour. It was quick and painless. Our station was in the main dining room, Discoveries. One thing surprised me. When Mustering was done, the room was emptied out in order. Those seated in the back exited first, then the middle and so forth. Given the advanced age of some of the passengers, this process, though orderly and civilized, took some time to accomplish. No such thing as simply getting up and leaving. You Took Your Turn.

 

Sail away, finally. At sunset! Take a look at this photo and weep if you weren't there.

 

and Miami, as reflected in the porthole window.

 

 

Next up! Meet and Mingle with everyone from our Roll Call. Very nicely done. We met at the Looking Glass Bar up on Deck 10. There was a very good turnout and the ship's officers, including the wonderful, capable, and crowd-pleasing Captain Jose, turned up to introduce themselves and greet us. Cruise Director Russ Grieve (also wonderful, capable, and crowd-pleasing) had everyone present say who they were. It proved to be a nice icebreaker and not long after everyone was mingling and talking to each other. I liked putting faces to the names I'd chatted with for months prior to embarking. There were plenty of waiters circulating to offer us canapes and drinks, a thoughtful touch.

 

 

[AroundTheWorld1]

Thank you for the wonderful review it really helps in knowing we made the right choice for our first cruise. So looking forward to it and counting down the days until May 7th!

[librarylady19]

Fantastic job Deirdre - and I'm not just saying that because were friends ;)

It was lovely of you to dedicate your review to Bill; he certainly will be missed.

 

I'm loving your photos and commentary - thanks for answering all MY questions....

 

In this frozen tundra of the Midwest I can really use a reminder that blue seas and sunshine are only four months away.

Edited January 7, 2014 by librarylady19

[dln929]

Thank you for the wonderful review it really helps in knowing we made the right choice for our first cruise. So looking forward to it and counting down the days until May 7th!

 

You're welcome. First cruise? Be prepared for a delicious addiction. Getting onto the Quest was like stepping into a lovely relaxing world, one you're quite reluctant to leave.

 

So. Dinner dinner dinner, where to eat for dinner. Captain Jose remarked at the Meet and Mingle that he was planning on the Windows Cafe because the featured buffet that evening was seafood. We figured if the Captain said it was good, it must be good, and indeed it was.

 

Rob and I are not buffet people. On any given cruise we'll eat dinner at the buffet only once. Maybe twice but only if we're totally wiped out from a day in port. Part of the pleasure of a cruise to us is that ritual of getting dressed up, being greeted and seated by the maitre'd, having our chair pulled out and the napkin placed on our lap...the whole nine yards. We eat it up. You can't expect similar treatment in a buffet setting. Unless you're on Azamara. Our first evening in the Windows Cafe proved to be one of many. We simply didn't want to eat anywhere else, which came as a real surprise to us.

 

We dressed for dinner in the recommended resort casual attire and we noticed everyone else similarly dressed. The tables in the Cafe were set with stemware, placemats, cloth napkins and tableware. It all looked very pretty and gave off an inviting air of a restaurant, not a buffet. All good.

 

On the first evening on board we were served our dinners at the buffet bar though on subsequent evenings we served ourselves. Everything looked delicious, from the little appetizers to the soup to the main dishes. I noticed that if anyone had two plates in their hands, say a small salad dish and a dinner dish, someone invariably came over to assist by bringing the dishes over to the dining table.

Edited January 7, 2014 by dln929

[Texed]

Deirdre,

 

We enjoyed meeting y'all, and we are enjoying your review very much. :)

Edited January 7, 2014 by Texed

[dln929]

Every night in the Windows Cafe featured a theme. I saved most of the Pursuits newsletter so here's an only slightly incomplete list of what was offered.

 

-Seafood Corner welcome aboard buffet

-Asian

-Caribbean outdoor buffet as part of our Azamazing Evening

-French dinner buffet with rib eye

-Indian

-Turkish (which was my all-time favorite that week)

 

After filling our plates Rob and I made a beeline outdoors to the Sunset Bar. The lure of dining outdoors in December, when you've just left a cold December in Indiana, was too much to resist. It was like a siren song to a starved sailor. Out we went. What a marvelous dining area!

 

First of all there's a bar, which means plenty of wine nearby for your dinner. The daily pour was invariably good. Mixed drinks were fine, too, if that's what you wanted to go for. Or beer. Surprisingly, we didn't mind the draft Becks even though we are craft beer snobs, given all the innovative craft breweries we have in Indianapolis. ;)

 

 

Then there are the wide, comfortable chairs and the well set tables with soft flickering blue candle lights.

 

 

 

[dln929]

Deirdre,

 

We enjoyed meeting y'all, and we are enjoying your review very much. :)

 

Ed! It was great meeting you and Jacquie. I hope we're lucky enough to sail with you again. Thanks for the gift of the highlighter pen. It was a pretty handy thing to have and helped us keep track of everything we wanted to do. Very thoughtful of you.

[Granny DI]

We are also not buffet people but we found ourselves many nights in the Windows cafe! We only ate in the MDR twice. Windows Cafe was quiet and the service was excellent.

[Andy]

Hi Deidre,

 

I wanted to say thank you for your outstanding "guide" and photos. Also, thank you for dedicating your review in Bill's memory. It's a very nice touch, and I'm sure he's smiling up in heaven.

 

One thing I'd like to improve upon, is posting photos in my reviews. I'd love to do more of that in the future. When you have completed your review, I hope you will email me, and share any tips you wish to share.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review, and I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise. Thanks again !

[midwestchick]

Deirdre, I absolutely loved your review and thank you for posting this, especially in Bill's honor.

DH and I are what you would call "cruise newbies", with only 2 cruises under out belt and both Med cruises.

I think it was one of those things that was meant to be...had a trip to the Caribbean planned (which we did not cancel) and a last minute E-mail from my travel agent came and we looked at the itinerary...Italy and Sicily...WHAT? And the price...we had to jump on it...DH's family is from Sicily, so it was a no brainer. We did decide the back to back vacations are a little rough though.

I remember booking our first Azamara cruise on the Journey and the comments I recieved..."you booked the best"....you'll find you're not happy with other cruise lines"..."you will simply fall in love with Azamara"...and so on and so on. I think those people are on to something and many had tried other lines. Cruising was something neither of us had a desire to do...mainly because we have been to islands where cruise ships port...we learned to stay at our resort or do something else when ships are in port, especially Grand Cayman. :eek: It was because of Azamara, the food, the crew, the ship and the ports that we fell in love with cruising. Don't get me wrong, we still love our island beach visits but now have two loves.

This past fall we did X on the Silhouette, which is truly a gorgeous ship and I really cannot find anything to complain about but I did notice the food does not compare to the food on Azamara, and while the crew/staff is quite friendly, there was a noticeable difference. I also love the number of pax on Azamara and the size of the ship.

I love the decor of the Azamara ships....I've never been a fan of contemporary/modern so I did not feel the warmth and coziness on X as I did on Azamara. I love the elegant, traditional style and I thought the ship was gorgeous...(I remember thinking, what do I know, I've never been on a ship :confused:)...but I do know what I like. I'm looking so forward to sailing on the Journey again and to wonderful ports once again.

Your pictures brought back fond memories. The staterooms were the same on the Journey but I did prefer Azamara over X, even though it was a little smaller than X. There was just something special about it...maybe because it was our first cruise and we were so pleased.

We never made it to the gym either, but we did take a stroll through once...lol You get enough of a work out on a port intensive cruise that you just don't have the time or energy. One good thing...we ate as much as we wanted and I didn't have to wear the elastic waist pants home that I packed. ;) :D

I'm a little ashamed I never did a review of our cruise, either one of them. :o Shame on me. It's probably a little too late now.

We're portside for our upcoming cruises on deck 7 and I think a V2.

Keep warm...we're in a deep freeze here too...we're staying hunkered down for a couple more days. I'm loving the jammie days...good time to take the tree down now that the 12 days of Christmas are behind us. :( Sigh!

[kathy9]

Great review...love that you took the time to put the pictures in.

Keep warm and stay safe!

[johnandlinda]

Did you upgrade your drink package? We havent decided yet what were going to do but the wife likes champagne and I like to sample after dinner drinks.

[nordski]

Hi Deirdre

 

Your infectious enthusiasm is the best counterpoint to some bleak news on this forum and some bleak weather outside. As others have stated, how thoughtful to dedicate your comments to Bill Leiber.

 

The information you provide is so thorough, and illuminated so well by your photos, that perhaps HostAndy, and the powers that be, can create a sticky for your thread at the top of the page.

 

I can imagine no better introduction to the Azamara experience.

Edited January 7, 2014 by nordski

[Grandma Gilly]

Deidre, what a lovely review. Although not an Azamara newbie, you have reminded me of why I love Azamara so much.

[dln929]

Thank you, everyone, for reading. I'm grateful for all the nice comments you're leaving.

 

Day 2

 

First morning in the miniscule shower and whaddya know, we lived to tell the tale. :D

 

We were provided with bathrobes nicer than I've seen on either Celebrity or RCI, even in the suites. Very soft!

 

 

We traipsed upstairs to the Windows Cafe for breakfast. If you enter on the door on the right, you'll see the smoothie station just past the doorway. I already knew from reading in this forum that I wanted one of those ginger energizer smoothies, but there are other flavors, as noted on the posted menu board. You can order at the counter if you like but if you're anxious to get started on your breakfast, your table waiter will happily get one for you after you're seated. The energizer comes in a little shot glass and once you taste it, you'll know why! Man o man that ginger packs a punch. The "energizer" is aptly named.

 

Great breakfast foods! There's a waffle station to your left just past the smoothie counter. It's a little hole-in-the-wall. We actually didn't even notice it until mid-cruise but once we did, we took advantage. ;)

 

Let's see. What could you find for breakfast? English bangers for one (yay!) Blood sausage (yes, I tried it...once) Steak (a Christmas treat, I think) Crepes (sorry, faintly tough and not as good as Celebrity's) Fruit Salad (kiwi, pineapple, watermelon, all very tropical and tasty). And more. Like freshly carved ham some mornings and eggs cooked to order and oatmeal and yogurt. Let's just say there was hardly a day that Rob and I bothered to eat lunch. No need.

 

We ate outdoors at the Sunset Bar. Bet you already knew that! We'd no sooner be seated when a waiter would come over and take our drinks order. We could get freshly squeezed orange juice, which we did. NO upcharge. (Those of you who are Diamond on Royal Caribbean know that although your lattes at breakfast are complimentary, the fresh orange juice will cost you $5.) We'd usually have a latte as well and we thought they were very good. The tables, by the way, were set as nicely for breakfast service as they were for dinner.

 

 

Edited January 7, 2014 by dln929

[dln929]

We started our voyage with two days at sea. Make that two ROUGH days. There was a storm in the Atlantic that really affected us. We were bouncing up and down like a roller coaster! The skies were beautiful and sunny, the temperature was perfect for lounging, all was good except for the angry seas. We've sailed the notoriously choppy Bay of Biscay in February and as such are no strangers to storms but this was something else. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. For two days. It got old really fast.

 

The ship, as you can imagine, had a subdued air to it as many people were suffering from seasickness. Rob wasn't bothered--he never is--but I had a queasy stomach the whole time. Not enough to keep me away from the Windows Cafe, mind you, but not entirely ok. :p Others weren't so lucky. Cathy, a friend we'd made from our Roll Call, was white as a sheet until we arrived in St. Thomas.

 

I will compliment Azamara for laying out candied ginger, green apples, and Saltine crackers at various places on the ship such as at Guest Relations and food counters. However, they did not put an announcement in Pursuits telling people this was available. When the comment card came to our cabin, I made this suggestion and promptly received a phone call back thanking me and telling me that they'd overlooked the announcement this time and that they usually do let people know these old food remedies may help with seasickness.

 

 

Daytime, sunny and balmy and you'll notice that the pool deck is WET. The water from the pool was sloshing out with wild abandon, to the point that on the second day Captain Jose made the decision to have the pool entirely drained. It would have been too dangerous to swim. People could have hurt themselves banging against the sides of the pool, such was the wave power.

 

 

[dln929]

So who'd we sail with on our Christmas voyage? The top ten, as reported in Pursuits. (Actually, everyone was listed but I'll be brief.)

 

United States - 424 passengers

UK - 86

Canada - 80

Australia - 7

Germany - 7

Netherlands - 6

Greece - 4

Norway - 4

Sweden -

Denmark - 2

 

All ages were represented and as to be expected, plenty of family groups. There was one extended family that dined a lot in the Sunset Bar. One evening the staff pulled several smaller tables together for them to make a large gathering table at the far corner out of everyone's way. This family had dinner there and it really warmed my heart to see what a great meal they enjoyed. It was a joyful thing that made me wish Rob and I had brought our family along, too.

 

 

[excitedofharpenden]

Really great review Deirdre which shares many of my feelings on Azamara. I will be in 6085 on the Mumbai to Athens leg before we meet. Glad you liked it.

 

Phil

[portofrome]

I'm really enjoying your great review. Thanks for posting.

[dln929]

Thanks, all, for the nice comments. I'm glad you're reading.

 

Rob and I spent our two sea days exploring the ship. Note to Phil: we found Scrabble boards and other games in the Looking Glass on deck 10. There were lots of people playing games so all that was left for us was the Spanish version, which we managed very well despite it having two Qs. :eek:

 

One nice thing about games in the Looking Glass is that if you stay too long and find yourself perilously close to Cocktail Hour, a waiter will rescue you with an offer of drinks!

 

We attended an enrichment lecture given by Eric Ball on the topic "Islands in the Sun." Mr. Ball was very informative but honestly, I felt like I was 18 years old again and back in World History 101. He was not a very exciting or captivating lecturer.

 

What we did like was the beautiful entry passage to the Cabaret Lounge on deck 5 where the lecture was held. We live in a house that's nearly a hundred years old and it still retains its original dark woods, paneling, and archways. Walking through this passage, we truly felt the Azamara greeting "Welcome home." Such a nice coincidence for us!

 

 

Spots on photo courtesy of one rough sea. We'd been outside reading on the loungers on the deck 5 promenade and the salt spray was getting everywhere. It was actually kind of spectacular. You're not that far from the waterline to begin with when you're on the promenade, and we you add in high, crashing waves, you get salt spray. Lots of it. I took my camera out to take some photos and the lens got the better of it. After an hour on the loungers, Rob and I were literally crusted with a fine salt coating. Any self-respecting Indiana deer would have had no qualms in using us as a salt lick.

[dln929]

Still moseying around the ship exploring. Here's one of the ladies' rooms. Not that there's anything too interesting about rest rooms, but I loved that vivid blue painting! It was actually a limited edition signed print but I didn't make a note of the artist. Next time.

 

Edited January 7, 2014 by dln929

[dln929]

Hi Deidre,

 

I wanted to say thank you for your outstanding "guide" and photos. Also, thank you for dedicating your review in Bill's memory. It's a very nice touch, and I'm sure he's smiling up in heaven.

 

One thing I'd like to improve upon, is posting photos in my reviews. I'd love to do more of that in the future. When you have completed your review, I hope you will email me, and share any tips you wish to share.

 

I'm looking forward to the rest of your review, and I'm glad you had a wonderful cruise. Thanks again !

 

Thank you Andy for saying such nice things about my review. I learned an awful lot about cruise vacation by following your posts. You've always been so good about posting links to help people out, so in a very small way I'll return the favor. Posting photos is a pain in the butt, to tell you truth, but I prefer reports that are loaded with them. I loose track and my eyes glaze over if someone doesn't throw in photo or two. :o Everything I learned (or should I say, Rob learned, since he's the one doing the uploading for me to insert into the report) came from Cruise Critic's photo forum. Here's the link: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1714741

 

I'm using Flickr as my photo sharing site but I've used Shutterfly as well. Once you get the photos onto the site, it's dead easy to insert them into posts. Even I can do it, and I'm a computer moron.

[CintiPam]

We'd usually have a latte as well and we thought they were very good.

 

When I returned from my Quest cruise a few months back, I kept looking around for my daily cafe latte, but my server never appeared here at home.;)

 

Thanks so much, Deirdre, for posting this very lovely and comprehensive review, even more appreciated this time of year! Your words and photos really exemplify the importance of one's attitude when vacationing, as in most things in life.

Edited January 7, 2014 by CintiPam

[marcsgran]

Our tour group led by Ross trouped into the Prime C restaurant. It had exactly the look you'd expect of a restaurant serving prime cuts of beef. Pitch perfect space. Rob and I didn't dine there on this cruise as we're saving it for our next, on the Journey with friends Librarylady19 (Sandi) and her husband. Can't wait, I tell you! The restaurant looked so inviting.

 

 

Loving this review. I need library lady to contact me re Hong Kong to singapore on 21january . My email is aramcfarlane@hotmail.com. Would you be kind enought to pass this message on?

 

Thanks

 

Ara

[Spursgirl]

What a wonderful review. I am so enjoying reading about your cruise.

 

And the pictures are bringing back some very happy memories.

 

Thank you.