Live from the Quest - Singapore to Hong kong

[Jayayeff]

Well I managed to get my laptop set up but as we are just about to sailaway from Singapore my first post will have to wait until we are underway and I have time to put my first impessions down in writing, then I'll post here to the thread...hopefully some time later today...

 

Anne

[Project_gal]

Anne

 

We are eagerly waiting ....

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Sue

[Jayayeff]

Jan 17th/18th Singapore

 

Stayed one night pre-cruise at the Intercontinental – although my flight was delayed and I didn’t arrive at the hotel until 9.30 in the evening my stay was little more than bed and breakfast. Hotel was perfect, nice room and an excellent buffet breakfast, great location for a short walk around in the morning prior to getting a taxi to the Harbour Front cruise terminal. Arrived at the cruise terminal around 1.00 p.m. and as I had broken the pull handle of my carry-on the previous evening I checked in all my luggage other than my laptop carry-bag and my handbag. Little did I realize at the time this was a huge mistake as it took until almost six o’clock in the evening for them to be delivered to my stateroom (at intervals one by one). Check-in was quick and efficient and within fifteen minutes I was onboard the ship – although not without incident along the way. Prior to boarding staff were asking all pax for a preferred dining time that evening (embarkation night only) and as I have a Sky Suite I was directed to the specialty restaurant maitre d’s desk. I now have the answer to my question regarding how tables are made up in these venues and it is by reserved numbers only. When asked which restaurant and at what time I would like to dine, the inevitable – how many persons question. When I said I was traveling alone and would be happy to join others I was told that would not be possible as they do not ‘mix’ passengers in these venues. It was either eat by myself at a table for two or eat in the main dining room at a table with others!! Words fail me (and everyone I’ve met and spoken to onboard so far) as to the logic behind this but that’s it, like it or leave it. However, as I regularly eat in hotel dining rooms alone when traveling on business I did go to Aqualina later in the evening and ate at a table by myself (much to the surprise of the maitre d’). I had a great waitress, who has to be both the friendliest and most professional crew member I have met to date. The dinner itself was so-so. The starter was excellent, salad ok, but if I had had to blind taste my main course I would not have been able to identify it as lobster thermidor. As it was quite late by the time I ate I didn’t bother with dessert.

 

Stateroom. We were allowed into our staterooms shortly after I got onboard but as I didn’t have any luggage for several hours there wasn’t much I could do with regard to getting settled in other than to try to get to the bottom of the ‘feathers’ issue. Thanks to Host Andy who gave me the contact I was able to email Special Needs prior to my trip and they acknowledged my request, and assured me the ship had been notified accordingly, to have all pillows, duvets, cushions, etc. changed out to hypo-allergenic ones prior to my arrival. Unfortunately that didn’t happen and as I write is still only partly resolved. My butler (room steward) was new to the ship yesterday and hadn’t a clue that there was any kind of bedding other than that on the bed already and after hours of speaking to him, the Head Butler, their Supervisor, and of having no bedding at all I eventually got a replacement duvet and two pillows shortly before bedtime last night. I’m still waiting for the other two pillows that make up the bed, and all my cushions are stowed away in a cupboard as there appears to be nothing they can do about them – won’t be taking any pics of my stateroom as it doesn’t look very attractive!!! I have to say, housekeeping is seriously lacking on this ship. Of the four couples I have already met in my section of Deck 8, I am the only one so far who has even seen or spoken to our Head Butler and that was late afternoon yesterday, I haven’t seen him at all today either. I was out of my room before 9.00 this morning but it was only being serviced as I got back onboard at noon.

 

We sailed from Singapore shortly before 2 o’clock this afternoon and are now at sea until we reach Laemchabang (for Bangkok) on Tuesday morning. It's very windy and the seas are a little choppy but so far we have had good weather with a mix of sunshine and clouds but as yet no rain!! There is a strong focus on hygiene this cruise as apparently there were ‘several’ cases of illness on the prior segment. In fact at yesterday’s lifeboat drill both the Captain and the Cruise Director spent more time explaining hygiene precautions than they did the safety precautions. I noticed at the buffet this morning, crew were serving all the breakfast items, passengers were not allowed to serve themselves. The Captain also announced that, for the time being at least, as an added precaution he and other crew members will not be shaking hands with passengers.

 

My apologies, I didn’t intend this post to be so lengthy. Hopefully things will improve over the next couple of days and my next installment will be a more positive one. Any questions please feel free to post and I’ll reply if I can. Have met a couple of the other cc’ers onboard but whether or not we have a cc gathering or not we still don’t know…

 

More later……….

 

Anne

[shoshona2]

Hi Anne,

 

I am looking forward to your posts from your cruise on the Quest. We are taking the Journey in June because of the unusual itinerary and I am hoping that Celebrity will get their "act" together by then. Azamara was getting good reviews until now. The recent Journey cruise had problems with new staff also. Hopefully, the good staff didn't go to Celebrity's new ship which was just launched.

 

I can't believe that a single person couldn't be seated in the specialty dining room with other people. We did three cruises on Oceania and they did fill the tables in the specialty dining room so people could meet.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Sheila

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

I am looking forward to reading your review. Your prior cruises were on ultra deluxe cruise ships. And it is my opinion that you cannot compare the premium cruise lines such as Azamara, Celebrity, and Princess with Crystal or Cunard.

 

To experience a cruise on a Crystal ship and even with discounts, you spent thousand of dollars and this means that you should get top notch service, food and entertainment. My DW and I enjoy cruises and while we can afford just about any cruise out there, we do not need or want a truly superior level of service and so on.

 

On a premium cruise line you expect to have very good service, food and entertainment at a reasonable price. It is not realistic to expect the level of personal service that you have on a Crystal ship as compared to others.

 

Fred

[Marie-Claude]

Hi Anne!

 

We will be boarding the Quest in Hong Kong in 13 days!!

I'm sorry to hear your cruise started on a shaky note... I hope they resolve the bedding and pillow situation rapidly for you! I'm sure you'll meet people in the next few days and you'll find dinner companion.

 

I'll be following your reports - have a great time!

 

MC

[Andy]

Hi Anne !

 

Im sorry to hear your cruise started with some bumps. I agree there is absolutely no excuse for your special needs not being met. Two of My Family members often have a few special needs requirements, and for some inexplicable reason, they rarely seem to be met on Day 1. This seems to be a common issue with many Cruise lines. The good news is, I am confident this will be taken care of immediately. If not, ask to speak with the Hotel Manager. Don't let it go on another moment.

 

I dont know what to say about a Single Cruiser and Specialty Dining. I've known for a long time, that Azamara does not seat you with others in Specialty Dining. I think we talked about this in a previous thread. Bottom line ? It would have been nice if the Maitre'd worked to accomodate your request, but I wouldnt have expected it to happen, based on past experiences. Why not ask to speak with him/her during a non-peak time, and see if they can do anything for you.

 

If I may offer some advice, I always feel the first and last days are the least enjoyable days of your Cruise. You have an absolutely wonderful Cruise ahead of you. I only wish I could do this type of Cruise someday. Please dont let Day 1 get to you, and have a wonderful time.

 

I look forward to your updates. Bon Voyage !

[Scotswoman]

Hi Anne,

It is great to have your account straight from the ship. Thank you very much for your efforts.

The no-share policy at dining is very short-sighted. My husband and I would have been delighted to share a table with you at any time - and I´m sure countless other cruisers would as well! One of the greatest pleasures of cruising is meeting other people and enjoying dinner with them in pleasant surroundings. To be expected to dine on your own is most disappointing, and I do hope this is remedied soon.

As for the feather beds - surely it is general knowledge nowadays that allergies can cause at least severe discomfort, and at worst dangerous asthma attacks. Hope you get that seen to soonest too.

We look forward to further reports, and hope you have more enjoyable days ahead.

Morven

[cruisePRN]

I got off in Singapore yesterday as you were boarding. I also tried aqualina the first night and the lobster was horrid. The service in the specialty restaurants is wonderful. The room steward situation is sad, we didn't think he was a butler at all and it's the same person. I was lead to believe there was a cabin steward and a butler. We found the dining room way to slow and the service uneven to be polite. The entertainment was the worst. There was a comedian that wasn't funny at all. Then they had a Wierd TV skit which was lame. I prefer Celebrity's service and food and entertainment BUT I loved the ports and the sights we saw. Azamara proved to be nice but not the premium line they advertised.

The itineray was to die for. the ports were wonderful. We took private tours avoiding the large crowds they put on their shore excursions. In Cambodia and Singapore massages were around $20 an hour, we did foot massages in China town for $7 half hour. Don't miss the royal palace in Bangkok it's unbelievable.

[Aussie Gal]

I cannot understand Azamara's policy re not sharing tables. We were on Oceania's Nautica for 35 days and in the speciality restaurants each time we booked we had the choice of a table for 2 or sharing. We had 4 dinners in each one and we mixed it up so that sometimes we were on our own and other times we shared.

 

We also celebrated a special birthday for one of our C.C. friends and were able to share a special table for 8 one night.

 

I do think it is very short sighted policy on behalf of Azamara and they will lose cruisers if they don't change in this department. I do know it does take awhile for new staff to learn the ropes and even on the top ships eg. Seabourn Spirit, this happens and cruisers are not happy when there is a change over, especially if the cruisers have been on the ship for quite awhile. This happened to friends of ours just recently and I know it took them a few days to get used to the new crew and the new crew to get used to the ship.

 

Jennie

[shoshona2]

Hi Fred,

 

I did not feel that Anne was comparing her experience on Azamara with Crystal at all. She was just expressing what was happening to her. I was on the Crystal last year and am sailing on the Journey in June and do NOT expect to have the service I had on the Crystal. I just expect the staff on the Journey to have a heads up about bedding, food, service, etc. Some reviews of the recent Journey cruise were quite upsetting. There was a change of personnel and it wasn't a great cruise for some people aboard. I'm hoping that a lot of 6 month contracts are not up in June and I will be faced with the same problems.

 

Sheila

[Jayayeff]

Hi Fred,

 

I did not feel that Anne was comparing her experience on Azamara with Crystal at all. She was just expressing what was happening to her. I was on the Crystal last year and am sailing on the Journey in June and do NOT expect to have the service I had on the Crystal. I just expect the staff on the Journey to have a heads up about bedding, food, service, etc. Some reviews of the recent Journey cruise were quite upsetting. There was a change of personnel and it wasn't a great cruise for some people aboard. I'm hoping that a lot of 6 month contracts are not up in June and I will be faced with the same problems.

 

Sheila

 

Thanks Sheila - having cruised on virtually all the ships/lines I have it was good of you to 'speak' for me. As you quite righty said, I am in no way comparing this trip to any of my previous ones, but reporting back from this current experience.

 

Fredr - Having cruised on one of these ships before (albeit with Oceania) I knew it wasn't going to be Crystal, and for the record my Cunard trip was the worst I have experienced to date and if there had been any ports between New York and Southampton I would have got off at the first one!!!

 

Today is a sea day but it still appears to be quite windy so you can feel the ship moving around quite a bit. Had a slightly more comfortable night as I now have a full set of pillows but still a make shift duvet and no cushions (which I suspect will remain to be the case for the rest of the trip).

 

Dinner in Discoveries (with uktog and friends) last night. Very good selection, service and food (although the prime rib whilst perfectly cooked and beautifully tender, for some reason had little taste).

 

Today I believe there is a CC gathering...

 

More later....

 

Anne

[critterchick]

Anne, I'm sorry your cruise got off to a rocky start! May it only get better. You might want to speak with the hotel director, if s/he appears at a Cruise Critic or other gathering. On Journey we found that Philip Herbert, HD extraordinaire, took note of our comments and followed up promptly. We also had that good fortune with Guest Relations. Good luck!

 

CruisePRN, I agree with you that Azamara isn't the 5 star line they tout themselves to be. We had a very nice time on the Journey PC transit, but there were some issues that kept the experience from being "all that." And we had only sailed RCI and Princess before, so our prior experiences were hardly luxury.

[Project_gal]

We found the dining room way to slow

 

This is not a criticism, I am just curious. I follow these boards with great interest but one thing I constantly fail to understand is the complaints that meal service is too slow. Why, on holiday, do people wish to be rushed through their food? One of the criteria by which my husband and I judge a restaurant is whether or not you are free to use the table all evening. We did this many times in the Olympic on Millennium and, by the final evening, felt we were saying goodbye to friends. We feel that you cannot fully appreciate food if you are rushed. I this another difference between Europeans and American or are we alone in being out of step?

 

Sue

[Aussie Gal]

We too enjoy an extended meal. We hate to be out of the dining room within an hour. We look forward to a leisurely meal, enjoying our wine etc. and we have also found it to be more of a cultural thing between the different countries of the world.

 

Jennie

[critterchick]

It's all in the presentation.

 

There's a difference between having a leisurely meal and being in the middle of a maelstrom where you cannot get a refill of your water glass or any attention from the waitstaff. I have been at meals where I haven't even noticed how long it's taking to eat because our waitstaff has paid attention to us, talked to us, and made us feel as if we were regulars at a neighborhood restaurant.

 

But on Journey, in the main dining room, our waiter didn't even show up for 20 minutes, did not introduce himself, did not explain that certain menu items were different from what was offered, did not check to see if our meals were satisfactory (they were not, but it was too late to bother with getting anything else) and really didn't seem to give a ___ whether we were enjoying our meal or not. And our wine went missing, so we didn't even have that for 20 minutes. So the hour or so we spent there felt like 3.

 

In the specialty restaurants, 2 hours passed in the blink of an eye. We had great service, great wine (and plenty of it), enjoyed chatting with our waiters and waitresses and the wine stewards and loved every bite of the food.

[Moeve]

Did you have to give up your passports?

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

It will be very interesting to experience first hand the level of service, food, and entertainment on the Quest and hopefully, I can wait patiently for eleven days until we board on January 31, 2009.

 

If anything is remiss, I will go to my old standby that always gets things right...I will make the waiter or steward laugh and smile by offering to help. Such as "where do you keep the duvets?", or "can I go get the water pitcher?" I say this with a sense of fun so they do not feel offended. And because I have been very fortunate to know people from many countries around the world, a smile and laugh will move mountains and even get you an extra fork if necessary.

 

Fred

[shoshona2]

Hi Fred,

 

Love your attitude -- sounds just like my DH. Please post when you return.

 

Sheila

[critterchick]

Hello,

 

It will be very interesting to experience first hand the level of service, food, and entertainment on the Quest and hopefully, I can wait patiently for eleven days until we board on January 31, 2009.

 

If anything is remiss, I will go to my old standby that always gets things right...I will make the waiter or steward laugh and smile by offering to help. Such as "where do you keep the duvets?", or "can I go get the water pitcher?" I say this with a sense of fun so they do not feel offended. And because I have been very fortunate to know people from many countries around the world, a smile and laugh will move mountains and even get you an extra fork if necessary.

 

Fred

 

Oh, be impatient. That's half the fun!:D

 

I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[Jayayeff]

19th January – At Sea

 

As today is a sea day I decided to breakfast in Discoveries this morning – good choice as it was the first perfect meal I’ve had so far. Piping hot coffee, just the right strength for me, a plate of melon and fresh berries followed by eggs benedict which were cooked to perfection - I think I may make this my regular start to the day.

 

Later in the morning we had a lovely hosted CC gathering in the Drawing Room with complimentary drinks and snacks. Several officers and senior crew members were present and were genuinely pleased to chat to those of us who attended. For anyone who ever wondered whether the cruise line reads these boards I can report that they do as my first post has already been relayed to the ship - I’m beginning to feel a little like ‘big brother’ is watching me!! However, I’m happy to also report that not only do they read the comments but they do try to resolve any issues too. I’ve had several visits from various staff re my stateroom problem today and although it can’t be resolved totally due to the current unavailability of supplies, we’ve reached a compromise that I’m comfortable with, and whilst my room may be devoid of all the fluffy soft furnishings, I can live with that….

 

At his noon briefing the Captain broke news that is disappointing for many. Due to the strong winds (apparently the N.E. Monsoon) and the accompanying tides we have experienced since leaving Singapore yesterday the ship will be late arriving into Laemchabang tomorrow. At present we are one and a half hours behind schedule and even at full speed we are unlikely to make up more than fifteen minutes of that, if any at all. Fortunately for me, I have been to Bangkok several times so had no plans to make the long road trip anyway but for those who were looking forward to their visit a shorter stay in port will obviously cut short the time they have to explore this fantastic city that has so much to offer. My day will remain unchanged as I have booked the ship’s ‘on your own’ transport into Pattaya where I hope to do a bit of shopping (mostly for friends) and to find a beauty shop to have a manicure and pedicure, as at present we do not have a manicurist onboard the ship (apparently was due on in Singapore but not now arriving until the day we depart Laemchabang). Whilst on the beauty shop topic. I forgot to mention in my first post, due to a mad dash straight from work to Singapore I didn’t have time to visit the hairdresser either before I left home. Had the full treatment done onboard the ship and although expensive the hairdresser was excellent (no attempt to sell products) and I’m really pleased with the result.

 

Activities & Entertainment: You will find I make very little reference to either in my posts as to be honest I don’t travel onboard cruise ships to do things or be entertained, I just enjoy this mode of travel for a couple of weeks R & R from my normally stressful work life. It’s my floating hotel that I will get off to see places I want to see, or to do things I want to do in the places we visit – I’m happy to spend my days onboard, relaxing by the pool, reading or catching up on correspondence with family and friends. Likewise in the evenings, a drink and dinner with new found friends or traveling companions followed by a wander around the ship and possibly a visit to the casino to try my luck is enough to ‘entertain’ me. If cruise ships didn’t have show lounges, discos or cinemas I wouldn’t notice!! Having said that there is an excellent destination lecturer (John Fleming) onboard and although I haven’t gone to any of his talks in person I have watched a couple of them on the tv and found them to be really interesting without being ‘heavy’.

 

For those of you wondering about the passenger make-up on these itineraries, ours is very mixed both in ages and nationalities. I’ve only seen one young child but there are a couple of older ones too. Adults from all age ranges and many nationalities, U.S., Canadian, Australian, Asian, British, Russian, other Europeans, etc…

 

It is now early evening and the sea is much calmer so I no longer feel light headed or wobbly walking around the ship. It’s been a lovely relaxing day at sea, with activities for those who want them. This evening I shall be having dinner in Discoveries again with another of the CC’ers onboard and his partner, after which we have the Captain’s Welcome Aboard Toast (we will be going to the later one). Tomorrow we should arrive in Laemchabang sometime between 10 a.m. and noon for the next of our overnight stops…..

 

Anne

[shoshona2]

Hi Anne,

 

Here I am drinking my morning coffee in Los Angeles and reading your post from the ship. So glad to hear that Azamara is following the posts on CC and they are trying to resolve any issues. So sorry to hear that the visit to Bangkok will be cut short for the passengers. Such a beautiful place! Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. Thanks so much for posting.

 

Sheila

[Andy]

Hi Anne !

 

Thanks for the update. I'm happy to hear your issues were resolved to your satisfaction (I was totally confident they would be !), and you had a much better day. It is nice to hear that someone at Azamara read your comments, and it was communicated to the ship. It is nice to know they are watching, and were were able to assist.

 

Have a wonderful Cruise. I look forward to your next update.

[Aussie Gal]

Anne,

 

So glad you are starting to enjoy the ship and the meals. I look for your posts each morning as we will be on her in just over 5 weeks time.

 

Jennie

[Marie-Claude]

Hi Anne!

So glad things are getting back in order!! I too follow your post as we are now going to board the Quest in 12 days!!!

 

I'm really happy to hear that there's a good lecturer on board as I find that they really can enhance a cruise!

 

Someone asked earlier about passports... did you have to surrender your passport upon embarking of could you keep it with you?

 

Thanks!

MC