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

[English Tim]

Deidre, thanks for a fantastic review. You'll also love the Journey. I am FB friends with a couple of the officers.

 

Look forward to meeting you and reading your review.

[cinnamon]

Many thanks for this extensive review. We had our first Azamara cruise on Quest in spring 2013 and are excitedly awaiting our second at the end of next month.

 

Reading this has really whetted my appetite.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[dln929]

Thanks all for the nice comments! We're now just a few short weeks from our first cruise on the Quest's twin, Journey. Of course I plan on writing a trip report for that too. ;) We're bringing our 25 year old daughter with us so I will have some insights about what a young adult makes of Azamara. Should be interesting!

[MandCPtc]

Thank you, Deidre, for taking time to post such a detailed review with so many pictures! We just booked our first cruise on Azamara. Your review helped so much with our decision to try this cruise line.

You're my first post. :D. The reviews looked good except for sailingawaynow??? Hopefully I won't find a server picking their nose at the buffet line. :rolleyes:

I got nervous after reading some of the posts on the forum about the decline of the cruise line, but you made me feel better. Now I know visually what to expect. This is a big expense for us, so thank you for giving me a detailed picture of what our upcoming cruise will be like. Since this will be our first cruise with Azamara, we don't know what it used to be, but it still looks better than some other alternatives and we like the idea of a small ship. I can't stress how important detailed reviews with pictures help! Thank you, thank you!

[midwestchick]

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.

 

 

 

Deirdre,

I don't recall seeing this information in our Pursuits...was it listed each day? It will be interesting to see how this stacks up in Sept.

[dln929]

Deirdre,

I don't recall seeing this information in our Pursuits...was it listed each day? It will be interesting to see how this stacks up in Sept.

As far as I know, the statistics of where passengers came from remained the same from the first day it was listed in Pursuits. No stowaways came forth and neither did we have a man overboard. Population on ship was constant. No need to repeat the list. ;)

[Bobal]

As someone who is about to sail on Azamara (and on Quest) for the first time in a couple of months, I would just like to say thank you for such a well-written and informative review. There was so much information in there which will help us get our bearings.

 

I was a little disappointed to read about the same set up for tables for 2 as they have on the Celebrity S class ships - i.e. squashed up with so little room between so that it feels as if you're on a table for 6 or 8. But it seems that the buffet is so good - and particularly with the option to eat outdoors - that we may be eating there quite a lot.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip on Journey and say hi to the lovely Mr Adamson.

[dln929]

As someone who is about to sail on Azamara (and on Quest) for the first time in a couple of months, I would just like to say thank you for such a well-written and informative review. There was so much information in there which will help us get our bearings.

 

I was a little disappointed to read about the same set up for tables for 2 as they have on the Celebrity S class ships - i.e. squashed up with so little room between so that it feels as if you're on a table for 6 or 8. But it seems that the buffet is so good - and particularly with the option to eat outdoors - that we may be eating there quite a lot.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip on Journey and say hi to the lovely Mr Adamson.

That I will, with pleasure!

 

I don't want to give you the wrong impression however about the dining. While there were tables for two that were very close together as you'd find on the Celebrity S class, there were other two tops that were marvelously private. Like the one under that pretty Italian oil painting that we dined at on Christmas day. That was in the far back of the dining room. What you could do is scope out the dining room in advance (easy to do as Muster Drill is held there on boarding day) and choose a table for two that suits your needs.

 

As long as this report of mine has surfaced again I may as well add to it for other newcomers to Azamara. I saved my Pursuits newsletters so let's see what I can share in the way of nuggets of info you'd find in them.

 

Nautical Chart. "For your convenience, a full size nautical chart plotting the Azamara Quest itinerary, plus a World Atlas, is available in front of the Land Discoveries desk located in the Lobby, Deck 4"

 

Port Agent. Every day in port the name of the emergency contact (like in case you miss the ship???) is given on the front page of Pursuits.

 

Buffet Theme Night. Front page news as to what the specialty at Windows Cafe will be, whether it's French, Italian, Turkish, etc.

 

Sunrise and Sunset Times. Also on the front page if you want to time your coffee or cocktails to perfection. ;)

[hilary732]

I am so grateful I found this. Was looking for cabin reviews, and since you were only a few cabins down from where we will be staying, I for some reason clicked your review. So glad I did. You nailed it for me. Answered a million questions, and I am grateful and glad you took the time to write it.

 

Thanks!

[little britain]

Hi Dierdre,

As we know Champagne is not included in the daily pour....:rolleyes: but at Xmas and New Year are there more occasions where champagne makes an appearance please?

with thanks

[dln929]

Hi Dierdre,

As we know Champagne is not included in the daily pour....:rolleyes: but at Xmas and New Year are there more occasions where champagne makes an appearance please?

with thanks

 

Well, we were blessed by the champagne gods in that we were gifted two extra bottles of bubbly but the other than the welcome glass at embarkation and the freely poured glasses (straight or Mimosa :D) at the loyalty brunch, that was it as I recall. Two things--that brunch is given only on itineraries that are longer than seven nights and at Christmas, the Hotel Director chose a vastly upgraded wine as the pour at dinner, as his treat. Our waiter told us it was a $40 bottle and it was amazingly delicious, better than the bubbly!

 

 

[Freckles49]

Just wondering....have I missed your review from your trip on Journey in May?

Did you have the azamazing evening in the castle at Marseilles?

The reason Im asking is weve just booked a Quest trip at the end of July and this will also be our azamazing evening.

Ive read how frustrated you were with the drinks package. Hope this didnt spoil your trip.

Best wishes to yourself and Rob, loved meeting you at Christmas.

Jen

[dln929]

Just wondering....have I missed your review from your trip on Journey in May?

Did you have the azamazing evening in the castle at Marseilles?

The reason Im asking is weve just booked a Quest trip at the end of July and this will also be our azamazing evening.

Ive read how frustrated you were with the drinks package. Hope this didnt spoil your trip.

Best wishes to yourself and Rob, loved meeting you at Christmas.

Jen

 

Hi Jen! No, you haven't missed my Journey report because I haven't written it yet. I'm holding off until after we get back on the Journey in early September. It's totally corny but I am going to call the report "The Tale of Two Journeys" I can't resist. Last month on the Journey we were traveling with our daughter and good friends and I'm afraid I paid more attention to the (excellent) company we were with than the ship. I didn't take many photos or notes. I need a second cruise in order to write a comprehensive report!!! How's that for logic. ;)

 

The liquor package was a bit of a dud (for me at least) when it came to the cocktails but I will say it was an excellent value for beer and liqueurs. I simply stopped ordering cocktails after a few days because I got tired of hearing "Let me check if this is on your package." I think I was the only one this happened to though! Go figure. Everyone else got whatever cocktails they wanted. No trouble though as I actually prefer a good pint more. I think the liquor packages could use a bit of tweaking but in the scheme of things, it was very inconsequential.

[Cler]

I just stumbled upon your review which was so well written and reminded me of all the fond memories and experiences we had on our last voyage with Journey. We will be on Quest in a few short weeks and hope that your next review will be out by then. You are a great ambassador for Azamara and I hope they know that.

[dln929]

I just stumbled upon your review which was so well written and reminded me of all the fond memories and experiences we had on our last voyage with Journey. We will be on Quest in a few short weeks and hope that your next review will be out by then. You are a great ambassador for Azamara and I hope they know that.

 

Thank you Cler for the compliments. We're actually on the Journey right now on our way to Barcelona. We've just gotten out of a lecture given by the ship captain, Captain Jason, done a half mile's worth of walking before the sun got to us, and now we're killing some time in the A/C before the Discoverer reception. I am delighted to report that our Journey cruise has been every bit as wonderful as we had in December on the Quest! I honestly didn't think that vacation could be topped but this one in right up there with it. The crew is simply delightful. We have Tony Markey as our Cruise Director and I think he's the funniest thing going. The dining has been superb and the ports we're visiting--so interesting! It really has been a bonus that the Azamara ships are smaller because we've pretty well be dropped off in town every day. Excellent shore excursions too, with the glaring exception of today's outing but they'll hear about at 6 pm when Land Discoveries opens. One minescule snag in what otherwise has been perfection as only Azamara can deliver.

[midwestchick]

Thank you Cler for the compliments. We're actually on the Journey right now on our way to Barcelona. We've just gotten out of a lecture given by the ship captain, Captain Jason, done a half mile's worth of walking before the sun got to us, and now we're killing some time in the A/C before the Discoverer reception. I am delighted to report that our Journey cruise has been every bit as wonderful as we had in December on the Quest! I honestly didn't think that vacation could be topped but this one in right up there with it. The crew is simply delightful. We have Tony Markey as our Cruise Director and I think he's the funniest thing going. The dining has been superb and the ports we're visiting--so interesting! It really has been a bonus that the Azamara ships are smaller because we've pretty well be dropped off in town every day. Excellent shore excursions too, with the glaring exception of today's outing but they'll hear about at 6 pm when Land Discoveries opens. One minescule snag in what otherwise has been perfection as only Azamara can deliver.

 

 

This is such good news, as there have been some negative things posted about Tony, as of late. Can you please tell me, how was your meet & mingle? There was a problem with one a couple of weeks ago.

I cannot wait to be back on the Journey once again.

[Grandma Cruising]

As someone who is about to sail on Azamara (and on Quest) for the first time in a couple of months, I would just like to say thank you for such a well-written and informative review. There was so much information in there which will help us get our bearings.

 

I was a little disappointed to read about the same set up for tables for 2 as they have on the Celebrity S class ships - i.e. squashed up with so little room between so that it feels as if you're on a table for 6 or 8. But it seems that the buffet is so good - and particularly with the option to eat outdoors - that we may be eating there quite a lot.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip on Journey and say hi to the lovely Mr Adamson.

 

Why not do what we did on our first cruise on the Azamara. Previously when on our own on a cruise we've always had a table for two, but then we have always been booked into timed dining. If we'd shared it would have been with the same people every night, so if we didn't get on with them we were stuck with them. Azamara is any-time dining, so we thought we'd try asking to go on a 6 or 8 table on the first night. We had such a good time that we did it every night and met so many lovely people. It meant that the next day we often saw people we'd had dinner with and would stop and have a chat with them. It made for a very sociable holiday!

[Familygoboston]

Deirdre

Thanks sooo much for your report!! We are considering a cruise to the Panama canal and Costa Rica on Journey (which I think is set up exactly like Quest...someone can set me straight if not)

 

You answered several questions I had...we are also Diamond on C&A and I was wondering about the reciprocity! Sounds like it went off without a hitch! I appreciated that you take all those photos of the "little" things...I do this and there are many of us interested in things like the size of the laundry bag, and where the plugs are etc (might need a 12 step program, we just can't help ourselves:o)

 

Also, I appreciated your review of the "dress" codes...we really don't want to do the "dress up thing" anymore, but of course we would never go to dinner in less than country club casual. It sounds like the the evening buffet is a nice experience too, like you, we would probably do that a lot...especially the Turkish one- we just returned from Turkey and loved the food!:D

 

I do have a couple of questions, if you can indulge me!!

 

1- do you know how much they charge to dine at Aqualina and the steak house? Does the steak house serve any non meat stuff?

 

2-The cruise we are considering has a few sea days, it looks like you never had trouble finding a cozy lounger to relax in...is that so? I know you had rough weather for the 2 days you had a sea, but in general, its not one of those cruises where everyone races out at dawn to load the chairs with towels for the day is it?

 

3- I saw that they have gelato at the cafe on European itineraries- is that true for Caribbean too? I would be in heaven!!

 

4-Do they charge for self service laundry (have to put money in the machines?)

 

We are between this and a Windstar cruise on one of their newly acquired (old Seaborn) ships, and while this is 400 more people, the cruise we are considering is longer, cheaper and more inclusive of the things we'd actually use (plus our Adventurer perks) We are thinking this may be the way to go, and your review was very helpful!:D

[marinaro44]

No charge for self-service laundry.

 

Gelato available on all cruises. On some afternoons served by the hotel director and cruise director.

 

I believe there is at least one seafood choice in the steakhouse and one vegetarian choice, but I'm not sure. Menus are available on-line somewhere.

 

Specialty restaurants are $25 surcharge but free if you are in a suite.

[Familygoboston]

No charge for self-service laundry.

 

Gelato available on all cruises. On some afternoons served by the hotel director and cruise director.

 

I believe there is at least one seafood choice in the steakhouse and one vegetarian choice, but I'm not sure. Menus are available on-line somewhere.

 

Specialty restaurants are $25 surcharge but free if you are in a suite.

 

Thank you!! We are "light packers" (generally, we've had a few moments where weve overdone it:rolleyes:) and I love the idea of our own laundry, hubby is super tall and rarely machine dries his stuff, and I can't exactly ask the laundry service to bring it back wringing wet to hang in the cabin:p

 

It sounds like once we've paid for our excursions,(most of which we will arrange ourselves) we would really have little other out of pocket costs on this trip!

Edited November 13, 2014 by Familygoboston

[ellbon]

both restaurants have a veggie choice nightly. . there are chef specials too. my favorite place to sit in sun is deck 11.

[Familygoboston]

both restaurants have a veggie choice nightly. . there are chef specials too. my favorite place to sit in sun is deck 11.

 

Thanks! Ive been a pescatarian for 30+ years (before they had a word for it, LOL!) and I have never look for any special food when I eat out because I havent starved yet. :p Nowadays, there is something for everyone, it's pretty remarkable!

 

I think we are going to book. :D We've been wanting to try Azamara for a while, we almost went on Azamara to Europe for our 25 th anniversary, but we didn't have 2 weeks and ended up doing a 7 day Paul Gauguin cruise instead. But we've only read good stuff about Azamara, so I'm hopeful we will love it!

[dln929]

Deirdre

Thanks sooo much for your report!! We are considering a cruise to the Panama canal and Costa Rica on Journey (which I think is set up exactly like Quest...someone can set me straight if not)

 

I am glad you liked my report as I have been following all of your wonderful reports for as long as you've been writing them. Our first cruise ever was on the Voyager out of Venice and we have a real soft spot in our hearts for Royal Caribbean. Great cruise line! Having sailed both Quest and Journey, I can tell you that the only difference between the two is the artwork. Both ships have caring, personable crew and marvelous captains.

 

You answered several questions I had...we are also Diamond on C&A and I was wondering about the reciprocity! Sounds like it went off without a hitch! I appreciated that you take all those photos of the "little" things...I do this and there are many of us interested in things like the size of the laundry bag, and where the plugs are etc (might need a 12 step program, we just can't help ourselves:o)

 

All you need do is call Le Club Voyage (number on Azamara's website, easy) and give them your C&A number and they'll take it from there. Regarding laundry, you'll get your free bag and it's cloth, and strong. Roll your clothes and you can fit two wardrobes that weigh 20 pounds into the bag. Don't ask me how I know this. :D Your wash will come back in beautiful condition. I was most impressed!

 

Also, I appreciated your review of the "dress" codes...we really don't want to do the "dress up thing" anymore, but of course we would never go to dinner in less than country club casual. It sounds like the the evening buffet is a nice experience too, like you, we would probably do that a lot...especially the Turkish one- we just returned from Turkey and loved the food!:D

 

The buffet on Azamara threw us for a loop. A very good one. We're not "buffet people" if you know what I mean but the food was so delicious and the service was superb. Get your dinner, sit down, and a waiter is immediately there to get you your drinks. I can't think of any better experience than a sultry evening with a delicious dinner enjoyed on the aft deck dining area of Windows under a starry sky. It's a perfect cruise experience.

 

I do have a couple of questions, if you can indulge me!!

 

1- do you know how much they charge to dine at Aqualina and the steak house? Does the steak house serve any non meat stuff?

Look on Azamara's website for a menu. We didn't eat there (perfectly happy in the MDR and the Windows buffet) but our friends did and they're foodies and it was a satisfying dinner for them. Next time I suppose we should make reservations because we seem to be missing out on a very nice evening from what everyone tells us!

 

2-The cruise we are considering has a few sea days, it looks like you never had trouble finding a cozy lounger to relax in...is that so? I know you had rough weather for the 2 days you had a sea, but in general, its not one of those cruises where everyone races out at dawn to load the chairs with towels for the day is it?

I didn't notice any chair hog activity nor did I have any trouble finding a sun bed when I wanted one. Maybe others have had a different experience, but I've always found a spot. Waiter service at the pool is generally pretty good, too, and the grill is right there if you get a yen for a burger while you're sunbathing.

 

3- I saw that they have gelato at the cafe on European itineraries- is that true for Caribbean too? I would be in heaven!!

Ok. Gelato is in Windows up on Deck 9. Heavenly stuff. No matter where Azamara sails, you will find gelato. Worth booking an Azamara cruise for. Take my word on it. ;)

 

4-Do they charge for self service laundry (have to put money in the machines?)

Nope. It's a freebie. The thing is, however, it's popular, but the way to skirt it is to wash at unpopular hours. We always found a machine available at cocktail hour. When everyone else is upstairs or downstairs sipping their drinks at 5-6 pm-ish, you are virtually assured of a stress free wash. It can get busy in there in the afternoon when everyone wants to do some laundry in the hopes of having clean clothes for that night's dinner. Think outside the box and you'll get your wash done pronto.

 

We are between this and a Windstar cruise on one of their newly acquired (old Seaborn) ships, and while this is 400 more people, the cruise we are considering is longer, cheaper and more inclusive of the things we'd actually use (plus our Adventurer perks) We are thinking this may be the way to go, and your review was very helpful!:D

Thank you! We've sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity several times and each has its fine points. Azamara has the finest points of them all. It's a relaxing experience where you will meet crew that cares that you enjoy yourself and will look after you. And, being that the two Azamara ships are small, you will find it quite easy to strike up friendships with other passengers. It's really nice.

[Bimmer09]

Deirdre, thanks for such a spirited well-written review. I loved the photos also.

I have not sailed Azamara but was recently on Ocean Princess which is another Renaissance fire-sale ship and a beauty she is.

 

We met Azamara Journey while anchoring in Sorrento. Had to do a double-take!

 

Great review!

 

Norris

[Familygoboston]

Thank you! We've sailed Royal Caribbean and Celebrity several times and each has its fine points. Azamara has the finest points of them all. It's a relaxing experience where you will meet crew that cares that you enjoy yourself and will look after you. And, being that the two Azamara ships are small, you will find it quite easy to strike up friendships with other passengers. It's really nice.

 

Thank you for answering!! Thank you also for your kind words about MY reviews!! I love writing them, and I've been lucky to have been on some great cruises. I like different lines for different things.

 

I just read your new blog post on the Azamara site...wow, you are making it hard to resist ;-) My husband is sold on the gelato! I have a phone conversation with my go to excursion operator in Costa Rica scheduled tomorrow, and unless I hear they can't get me to Corcovado NP from Golfito, I am booking this ship:D