Quest review 31st October sailing - what's good & what could maybe be improved

[Pollypammy]

Summary of my thoughts on the 31st October Quest sailing

 

Pre-cruise:

Having spend a few days in Miami pre-cruise (travelled from UK) we went to the 30th floor of our hotel overlooking the cruise port on the day of embarkation to find no sign of the Quest (or any other ship). This was a little disconcerting but nevertheless on check-out we were informed by other cruisers that the ship would now depart from Tampa and we would be bused there. The communication of this and the subsequent journey could have been better BUT given the circumstances (nearby storm which did turn to a hurricane) I belive that Azamara/ships Captain made the right decision as we had much better weather conditions as a result.

Embarkation:

V.quick - friendly staff at the port & a quick check in. Personnel greeted un upon arrival on the ship - we were handed a glass of champagne & shown to our cabin.

Cabins/room service:

Cabins are smallish but have all the essentials (maybe too many pillows/cushions on the beds as you end up putting lots of them on the floor). I found the cabin comfortable and it was kept reasonably clean - I spot dust easily and there was some but it was better than most hotels and other ships (the bathroom was kept v.v.clean). I'm not sure if its a European thing but I don't like using tablet soap and would welcome shower gel and liquid hand soap but v. much a 'nice to have'.

Its fair to say 'Butler' service is maybe overstating the services of the cabin staff but they were friendly and helpful - anything we asked for was promptly presented. The system Azamara has for Canapes/afternoon tea in your cabin could be improved upon as you have to request the day beforehand and the ticket to do so always seemed to be missing form our cabin - again a minor point (on the one day we did take afternnon tea it was lovely - nice small sandwiches and cakes).

We had room service breakfast a few times - the delivery timing was a bit hit & miss and on a couple of occasions you would find the odd thing missing (they do check v.s your request when they deliver) i.e milk for the cereal. Also on a few occasions we would order tea/coffee/choclate for drinking on our balcony - the service for this was always good - 20 min max wait and drinks were good.

Food:

The biggest negative point of the entire cruise was the service in the Breezes Buffet - at the start of the cruise it was v.v.poor - the waiting staff seemed untrained and extremely inept i.e the tables were not cleared, you had to hunt down cutlery etc. The service did improve post the mid cruise 'questionnnaire' where the trained evening waiting staff appeared. The floor entering the cafe was extremely slippery and this is somthing Azamara must do something to improve on as I nearly fell twice (& I'm in my 30's). The food was good - on a par if not better than the normal celebrity ships. I would also bring back the Celebrity trays - yes it make it appear like a canteen but it is a system that works.

Discoveries - I thought the food was excellent (better than Celebrity) - the service could be a bit slow (again esp. at the start of the cruise (we did complain about this) and it did speed up ). Also we did have the odd longish wait for a table (i.e > 20mins) but generally it was just 5-15 mins. If Azamara could increase the number for tables just for two I am sure they could improve the waiting times etc. as many tables for 4/6 & 8 would just be occupied by two. Breakfast was also good in Discoveries. Also ate in Prime C - service was v.good and the food good.

Sanitizer wipes were available in the resteraunts (though some people seemed not to use them !)

Entertainment/bars etc.

I thought the bar staff were all great esp. the staff in the Mosaic cafe and we found the drinks measures generous. All the musicians were v.v.good.

Tours:

Went on many and found them all well organised etc.

Pool area & gym:

Plently of sun loungers and the pool although small was less crowded than those on larger ships. The gym was also small but had a decent range of equipment.

Disembarkation:

This did appear disorganised - as from the Uk we had to complete further immigration papers and the organisation of this 'broke down' - not helped by some fellow travellers getting irate over who should be at the start of the queue (why people arrive > 30 min before their allocated time for these things is a recurring mystery to me !).

Overall:

An enjoyable cruise - plus points are the ship which looks great, the food & the relaxed ambiance (probably due to the size of the ship). There are a few things that do need to be worked on i.e buffet service & seating in Discoveries etc. However I would travel again with Azamara (if the price was right).