Carol & John
07-06-2011, 03:55 PM
Azamara Quest
Quest is one of the 8 “R” ships (Originally R7) we have been on one of it’s sister ships, Tahitian Princess (now Ocean Princess) so we were a little familiar with the layout. Passenger capacity is 716 although for this cruise it was not full and there were, we were told a little over 600 passengers. Crew we were told totalled 407 made up of 51nationalities, so passenger to crew ratio is quite low. Accommodation is mainly spread over decks 6,7 & 8 with a fewer cabins on deck 4 &3, there are 4 Penthouse Suites at the front and 6 Owners Suites at the rear of the ship. Originally on deck 8 there were all standard balcony cabins, as on Adonia but in the 2007 refit 48 cabins were converted to 32 suites these are the same size as the mini-suites that were a feature of the earlier R ships. This gives a wider range of cabin options, P&O please note!
On deck 4 there is the Reception Desk, Concierge Desk and the Future Cruise / Loyalty Desk, and a grand staircase up to Deck 5 midship to the coffee bar and shops. To the rear of Deck 5 is Discoveries which is the Main Dining Room with a small bar for pre-dinner drinks, going forward there is the Casino also with a small bar area and the photo gallery. Right at the front is the Show Lounge with a small stage and central dance area.
On Deck 9 aft is the Windows Café the self-serve restaurant, as you would expect on a small ship this is not a 24 hour operation, the food here was excellent although the choice could be a bit limited. There is also a small terrace at the back with restaurant seating and a bar in good weather this is a very popular area. Moving forward there is the Pool Grill that has an extensive menu of burgers etc. although there is a salad bar as well. The pool area with a small pool & two hot tubs is midships, there are teak sun loungers all around with thick cushions and a plentiful supply of towels. The pool it’s self was not in the condition you would expect with lots of rust on the metalwork and discoloured tiles. In the pool area there is yet another bar! Moving to the front of the ship there is the Spa, Gym & internet room none of which we had a chance to use with what was a very full itinerary.
Above the Spa on deck 10 there is the Looking Glass lounge a nice Crows Nest type area which is used occasionally for entertainment but on the whole after 9pm home to a few hardy souls! There is however a smoking area on the port side of this lounge so it can smell a bit of stale tobacco in places. To the rear on deck 10 is firstly the Drawing Room (library) and this is a large area lined with bookshelves has comfy seating and an imitation log fire - very cosy. We then come to the two speciality restaurants Prime C a “Traditional Steak House” although it features a large number of fish dishes on it’s menu and Aqualina a restaurant featuring “American food with a Mediterranean Twist” and a menu as confused as it’s title!
Azamara Quest is now 11 years old and in places it shows, money was obviously spent in fitting in the new suites more on this later. Ambiance of the ship overall feels quite upmarket let down only by the stairwells which feel and sound very metallic but this applies to all of the R ships.
Azamara Club Cruises
Azamara was a sub-brand of Celebrity Cruises but as of April this year became a stand alone brand within RCCI and is still finding it’s feet. Trying to create a new brand with a different offering it has come up with some new and interesting innovations. Dress code is resort casual and this seems to mean anything goes, only Tank tops, shorts, jeans and bare feet are banned in the main restaurants in the evening, but the variation in evening attire was immense and not always good.
House wine is now included with lunch and dinner in all dining venues, these wines are changed on a daily basis and where possible are themed on the area you are cruising, general standard of the wines is very good and unless you have very strong views on wine selection there is no need to purchase any wine, you can even ask for the “free” wine in the restaurant bars whilst waiting to be seated!!
All speciality teas and coffees are included as are all canned & bottled soft drinks, only spirits, cocktails and beers are chargeable so your bar bill can be negligible. Gratuities are also included in the fare for all cabin, restaurant and bar staff, although we did notice that quite a few of the American passengers were tipping staff throughout the cruise.
Entertainment was not good we did not expect production shows on a small ship but what was on offer was generally poor. Around the bars and lounges there was a guitarist, who was quite good, a lady harpist, also OK and a husband and wife singing duo who sang old American favourites from the 50’s & 60’s, there was also a resident American singer/comedian who regularly collected a small, and we mean small audience. For the bigger shows (ha) there was a small orchestra and some singers (3 women and 2 men) who could only be described as cruise ship singers! All entertainment was based around eating early, those shows that were put on and that was not often commenced at 9:45 (only one show a night and not repeated) so if you ate any later than 7:30 - 8:00 there was no chance of seeing a show. On two evenings there was a deck barbecue & buffet with music and dancing these ran from 5:30 to 9:00, one overran to 10pm but other than occasionally the comedian there was little entertainment past that time. On the only sea day the main activity was Texas Hold’em Tournaments of which there were 5.
So if you are looking for a lively ship with good entertainment don’t bother with Azamara Quest - be warned after 10:30 pm you could be the only one up!!!
Accommodation, we had S1 grade Club Continent Suite midship on Deck 8, this is a suite in name only and is smaller than most mini-suites, but it is a small ship! That being said it was an adequate size with a queen size bed, small settee, coffee table and a comfy chair there was of course the obligatory large flat screen TV. Wardrobe space was good in the refit they had used opaque glass doors that looked great until you put clothes in them and then it looked really odd. The bathroom had a small bath with shower over, John being 6ft 4 ins could only squeeze into the bath and was unable to stand in the shower but we managed! The balcony was OK but shallow and was crowded with a table and two chairs and a relaxer chair and foot stool
Suites come with extras but some were either non-existent or not worth having, the good points - Complementary seating in the speciality restaurants, but you still need to book well in advance and it’s not easy to get the time you want. A bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka, both good quality are provided and you can swap to your choice of drink if you wish, and of course mixers are free. Bad points - Butler service, now we are used to a butler service on P&O so that does not worry us but for those who don’t know what to do with a butler on Azamara it’s not a problem they don’t do much! With 42 suites and as far as we could see only 3 butlers you won’t see much of them it’s more like room service in a suit. The priority check in, luggage delivery, departure and tender service - just never happened. Silk wrapped hangers - yes there are plenty of hangers but only two silk wrapped (not sure we would want them anyway)
Overall impression, I suppose the acid test is would we go with Azamara again and probably yes but with reservations. The crew are friendly and we have never seen officers that work so hard and are always about the ship talking with passengers. You feel appreciated as well, there were two loyalty club events both with free bars and two Cruise Critic events again hosted by Officers and all the drinks were provided by Azamara. Food was consistently some of the best we have had on any ship, there were two evening deck barbecues and one lunch deck buffet on our only sea day, now whilst we are not fans of deck buffets (or any buffet come to that) the food on offer looked superb. On the lunch buffet there was roast suckling pig! Being a small ship the itineraries feature smaller out of the way ports which is a big plus point.
Our reservations, firstly lack of late evening events, we are not night birds but by 10:30 the ship most nights was dead - the side effect to this at 6:30 in the morning everybody seemed to be getting up with a cacophony of alarm calls slamming doors and loud voices, not to worry we had already been woken at 5:30 by staff cleaning the pool deck above the cabin. Dress code although ultimately not that important it does add to the ambience of a cruise if every one is dressed up - some did but the majority were wearing in the evening what you would expect to be worn ashore in the daytime so it was a bit like going for lunch in the local Beefeater.
Azamara have increased their prices almost to the levels of Silverseas and Regent and whilst Azamara now include a lot of extras there is not the ambience you would expect from a 6* line, it is decidedly 4* with knobs on, so value for money has to be questioned.
We were told that both ships were being extensively refurbished next year with a total revamp of the public areas to make it more plush, there are also plans for a third ship and this could be a new build. So it could be interesting to see what happens then!
Carol & John
Quest is one of the 8 “R” ships (Originally R7) we have been on one of it’s sister ships, Tahitian Princess (now Ocean Princess) so we were a little familiar with the layout. Passenger capacity is 716 although for this cruise it was not full and there were, we were told a little over 600 passengers. Crew we were told totalled 407 made up of 51nationalities, so passenger to crew ratio is quite low. Accommodation is mainly spread over decks 6,7 & 8 with a fewer cabins on deck 4 &3, there are 4 Penthouse Suites at the front and 6 Owners Suites at the rear of the ship. Originally on deck 8 there were all standard balcony cabins, as on Adonia but in the 2007 refit 48 cabins were converted to 32 suites these are the same size as the mini-suites that were a feature of the earlier R ships. This gives a wider range of cabin options, P&O please note!
On deck 4 there is the Reception Desk, Concierge Desk and the Future Cruise / Loyalty Desk, and a grand staircase up to Deck 5 midship to the coffee bar and shops. To the rear of Deck 5 is Discoveries which is the Main Dining Room with a small bar for pre-dinner drinks, going forward there is the Casino also with a small bar area and the photo gallery. Right at the front is the Show Lounge with a small stage and central dance area.
On Deck 9 aft is the Windows Café the self-serve restaurant, as you would expect on a small ship this is not a 24 hour operation, the food here was excellent although the choice could be a bit limited. There is also a small terrace at the back with restaurant seating and a bar in good weather this is a very popular area. Moving forward there is the Pool Grill that has an extensive menu of burgers etc. although there is a salad bar as well. The pool area with a small pool & two hot tubs is midships, there are teak sun loungers all around with thick cushions and a plentiful supply of towels. The pool it’s self was not in the condition you would expect with lots of rust on the metalwork and discoloured tiles. In the pool area there is yet another bar! Moving to the front of the ship there is the Spa, Gym & internet room none of which we had a chance to use with what was a very full itinerary.
Above the Spa on deck 10 there is the Looking Glass lounge a nice Crows Nest type area which is used occasionally for entertainment but on the whole after 9pm home to a few hardy souls! There is however a smoking area on the port side of this lounge so it can smell a bit of stale tobacco in places. To the rear on deck 10 is firstly the Drawing Room (library) and this is a large area lined with bookshelves has comfy seating and an imitation log fire - very cosy. We then come to the two speciality restaurants Prime C a “Traditional Steak House” although it features a large number of fish dishes on it’s menu and Aqualina a restaurant featuring “American food with a Mediterranean Twist” and a menu as confused as it’s title!
Azamara Quest is now 11 years old and in places it shows, money was obviously spent in fitting in the new suites more on this later. Ambiance of the ship overall feels quite upmarket let down only by the stairwells which feel and sound very metallic but this applies to all of the R ships.
Azamara Club Cruises
Azamara was a sub-brand of Celebrity Cruises but as of April this year became a stand alone brand within RCCI and is still finding it’s feet. Trying to create a new brand with a different offering it has come up with some new and interesting innovations. Dress code is resort casual and this seems to mean anything goes, only Tank tops, shorts, jeans and bare feet are banned in the main restaurants in the evening, but the variation in evening attire was immense and not always good.
House wine is now included with lunch and dinner in all dining venues, these wines are changed on a daily basis and where possible are themed on the area you are cruising, general standard of the wines is very good and unless you have very strong views on wine selection there is no need to purchase any wine, you can even ask for the “free” wine in the restaurant bars whilst waiting to be seated!!
All speciality teas and coffees are included as are all canned & bottled soft drinks, only spirits, cocktails and beers are chargeable so your bar bill can be negligible. Gratuities are also included in the fare for all cabin, restaurant and bar staff, although we did notice that quite a few of the American passengers were tipping staff throughout the cruise.
Entertainment was not good we did not expect production shows on a small ship but what was on offer was generally poor. Around the bars and lounges there was a guitarist, who was quite good, a lady harpist, also OK and a husband and wife singing duo who sang old American favourites from the 50’s & 60’s, there was also a resident American singer/comedian who regularly collected a small, and we mean small audience. For the bigger shows (ha) there was a small orchestra and some singers (3 women and 2 men) who could only be described as cruise ship singers! All entertainment was based around eating early, those shows that were put on and that was not often commenced at 9:45 (only one show a night and not repeated) so if you ate any later than 7:30 - 8:00 there was no chance of seeing a show. On two evenings there was a deck barbecue & buffet with music and dancing these ran from 5:30 to 9:00, one overran to 10pm but other than occasionally the comedian there was little entertainment past that time. On the only sea day the main activity was Texas Hold’em Tournaments of which there were 5.
So if you are looking for a lively ship with good entertainment don’t bother with Azamara Quest - be warned after 10:30 pm you could be the only one up!!!
Accommodation, we had S1 grade Club Continent Suite midship on Deck 8, this is a suite in name only and is smaller than most mini-suites, but it is a small ship! That being said it was an adequate size with a queen size bed, small settee, coffee table and a comfy chair there was of course the obligatory large flat screen TV. Wardrobe space was good in the refit they had used opaque glass doors that looked great until you put clothes in them and then it looked really odd. The bathroom had a small bath with shower over, John being 6ft 4 ins could only squeeze into the bath and was unable to stand in the shower but we managed! The balcony was OK but shallow and was crowded with a table and two chairs and a relaxer chair and foot stool
Suites come with extras but some were either non-existent or not worth having, the good points - Complementary seating in the speciality restaurants, but you still need to book well in advance and it’s not easy to get the time you want. A bottle of whiskey and a bottle of vodka, both good quality are provided and you can swap to your choice of drink if you wish, and of course mixers are free. Bad points - Butler service, now we are used to a butler service on P&O so that does not worry us but for those who don’t know what to do with a butler on Azamara it’s not a problem they don’t do much! With 42 suites and as far as we could see only 3 butlers you won’t see much of them it’s more like room service in a suit. The priority check in, luggage delivery, departure and tender service - just never happened. Silk wrapped hangers - yes there are plenty of hangers but only two silk wrapped (not sure we would want them anyway)
Overall impression, I suppose the acid test is would we go with Azamara again and probably yes but with reservations. The crew are friendly and we have never seen officers that work so hard and are always about the ship talking with passengers. You feel appreciated as well, there were two loyalty club events both with free bars and two Cruise Critic events again hosted by Officers and all the drinks were provided by Azamara. Food was consistently some of the best we have had on any ship, there were two evening deck barbecues and one lunch deck buffet on our only sea day, now whilst we are not fans of deck buffets (or any buffet come to that) the food on offer looked superb. On the lunch buffet there was roast suckling pig! Being a small ship the itineraries feature smaller out of the way ports which is a big plus point.
Our reservations, firstly lack of late evening events, we are not night birds but by 10:30 the ship most nights was dead - the side effect to this at 6:30 in the morning everybody seemed to be getting up with a cacophony of alarm calls slamming doors and loud voices, not to worry we had already been woken at 5:30 by staff cleaning the pool deck above the cabin. Dress code although ultimately not that important it does add to the ambience of a cruise if every one is dressed up - some did but the majority were wearing in the evening what you would expect to be worn ashore in the daytime so it was a bit like going for lunch in the local Beefeater.
Azamara have increased their prices almost to the levels of Silverseas and Regent and whilst Azamara now include a lot of extras there is not the ambience you would expect from a 6* line, it is decidedly 4* with knobs on, so value for money has to be questioned.
We were told that both ships were being extensively refurbished next year with a total revamp of the public areas to make it more plush, there are also plans for a third ship and this could be a new build. So it could be interesting to see what happens then!
Carol & John