Live from Quest - June 16th 2018

Well here we are. Back home again. :D

Easy flight from Heathrow yesterday and we were in Barcelona by 10am. We left our cases st the Terminal and headed next door to The Eurostars Hotel for coffee with a friend.

We boarded by 11:30 am and had more coffee in Mosaic with more friends. Probably why I was up at 6am this morning!

We had a lovely dinner in Aqualina last night and then an early night (for us).

There are lots of young people onboard in their twenties and thirties and for Azamara, quite a few children. Russ told us that most of the guests are first timers on Azamara. He said there were only just over a 100 repeaters, which is very low for Azamara. Maybe their new demographic? Anyway, the ship seemed quite lively last night. I think this is going to be a fun cruise.

In Sete today. It looks charming so we are off for a stroll later and some people watching. It's Sunday, so we are presuming the shops will be shut. The weather is lovely.

That’s interesting Lottie it was the same for our cruise in May for the Vintage car GP and med islands. More than half the passengers were newbies to Azamara.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Looking forward to your reports. Like to know what the younger people think of the cruise. Parts of the states just finish s hooligans and others weeks ago. So I wonder where they are from,

Well here we are. Back home again. :D

 

Easy flight from Heathrow yesterday and we were in Barcelona by 10am. We left our cases st the Terminal and headed next door to The Eurostars Hotel for coffee with a friend.

We boarded by 11:30 am and had more coffee in Mosaic with more friends. Probably why I was up at 6am this morning!

 

We had a lovely dinner in Aqualina last night and then an early night (for us).

There are lots of young people onboard in their twenties and thirties and for Azamara, quite a few children. Russ told us that most of the guests are first timers on Azamara. He said there were only just over a 100 repeaters, which is very low for Azamara. Maybe their new demographic? Anyway, the ship seemed quite lively last night. I think this is going to be a fun cruise.

 

In Sete today. It looks charming so we are off for a stroll later and some people watching. It's Sunday, so we are presuming the shops will be shut. The weather is lovely.

Only coffee? Your friend had enough breakfast to share with you too! 😀. Sounds like it’s going to be a fun, lively cruise and hope it’s the same when we get on in 2 weeks. Enjoy!

Well here we are. Back home again. :D

 

Easy flight from Heathrow yesterday and we were in Barcelona by 10am. We left our cases st the Terminal and headed next door to The Eurostars Hotel for coffee with a friend.

We boarded by 11:30 am and had more coffee in Mosaic with more friends. Probably why I was up at 6am this morning!

 

We had a lovely dinner in Aqualina last night and then an early night (for us).

There are lots of young people onboard in their twenties and thirties and for Azamara, quite a few children. Russ told us that most of the guests are first timers on Azamara. He said there were only just over a 100 repeaters, which is very low for Azamara. Maybe their new demographic? Anyway, the ship seemed quite lively last night. I think this is going to be a fun cruise.

 

In Sete today. It looks charming so we are off for a stroll later and some people watching. It's Sunday, so we are presuming the shops will be shut. The weather is lovely.

Hi Lottie

Hope you enjoyed your day.

We are only 45 mins drive from Sete and had hoped to get there today to see where Quest was docked but unable at the last minute. Please can you advise just where she docked? Need to know for our July/August cruise when we’ll be on Quest in Sete, so a friend knows where to park when she comes to meet us. Have emailed Azamara but had no reply. Apologies for thread creep.

Brenda

Hi Lottie

Hope you enjoyed your day.

We are only 45 mins drive from Sete and had hoped to get there today to see where Quest was docked but unable at the last minute. Please can you advise just where she docked? Need to know for our July/August cruise when we’ll be on Quest in Sete, so a friend knows where to park when she comes to meet us. Have emailed Azamara but had no reply. Apologies for thread creep.

Brenda

Hi Brenda,

We were berthed at Berth 35, Quai D'Alger in Sete. Quite an easy 10 minute walk to the canal. It was lucky that today was the yearly Jousting Tournament where the opposing teams try to knock the Captains off the barges into the canal with jousting poles. There was a local band marching up and down and we took the little White Train around Sete. We had a nice low key day followed by a delicious dinner.

Sasha Kovaloff did his piano show tonight and The Sparkling Trio were playing in Spirits.

We are off on a ships tour to Cassis tomorrow and looking forward to it.

Hi Brenda,

We were berthed at Berth 35, Quai D'Alger in Sete. Quite an easy 10 minute walk to the canal. It was lucky that today was the yearly Jousting Tournament where the opposing teams try to knock the Captains off the barges into the canal with jousting poles. There was a local band marching up and down and we took the little White Train around Sete. We had a nice low key day followed by a delicious dinner.

 

Sasha Kovaloff did his piano show tonight and The Sparkling Trio were playing in Spirits.

We are off on a ships tour to Cassis tomorrow and looking forward to it.

Thanks Lottie, very much appreciated. Glad you had such a nice day in Sete, Cassis is lovely. Do enjoy the rest of your cruise, we can’t wait for ours and it’s so good to hear about the obviously much improved entertainment.

Brenda

Lovely to read Live reports, thank you Lottie. I’ve been planning to do a Live thread when we board on 30th. This is whetting my appetite nicely.

Corinne

Sent from my iPad using Forums

We did a ships tour to lovely Cassis today. Now I remember why I don't do ships tours!

Not the best experience....but hopefully Azamara are sorting it out.

Cassis itself was charming and not too busy. We had a lovely lunch, I bought some Cassis liqueur and we had a wander around. We took a taxi back to the ship and it was a bit of a rush to get ready for the LCV cocktail party.

Music and song by Heather, the new pianist was excellent.

Dinner was excellent in Prime C. There is a new chef onboard from Liverpool called Colin. I have to say the food at the LCV cocktail party was the best we have ever had. Masses of choice from Lobster vol au vents to mini beef wellingtons and beautiful desserts.

Then it was Russ's show....full of energy as usual with new songs and presentations. Abba night is tonight but sadly, we have no energy left.

The Sparkling Trio playing in Spirits seem good but we haven't been able to get a seat as they were showing the football games there.

The casino is hopping and I have never seen so many young people onboard Azamara before.

Still having a great time. Tomorrow is Ajaccio but we are having a fake sea day and not getting off.

Hi Brenda,

We were berthed at Berth 35, Quai D'Alger in Sete. Quite an easy 10 minute walk to the canal. It was lucky that today was the yearly Jousting Tournament where the opposing teams try to knock the Captains off the barges into the canal with jousting poles. There was a local band marching up and down and we took the little White Train around Sete. We had a nice low key day followed by a delicious dinner.

.

You were lucky indeed to be in Sete for the annual Jousting Tournament. For those not familiar with this tournament, Google Sete Jousting Tournament to see and hear this entertaining medieval festival.

Having a relaxing fake Sea Day today. I have been to The Spa twice and am being successful in spending some of my OBC! :D

We are in Ajassio and the ship is quiet, as most people got off this morning for tours. They are now arriving back for lunch. The weather is just perfect.

We are having afternoon tea in our suite later with some of our friends onboard. Then dinner in Aqualina tonight.

The Azamazing Evening in Livorno has changed. I loved the Three Tenors show at The Goldoni Theatre in Livorno but I have seen it three or four times. Russ told me that it has been changed to The Five Soprano's instead of The Three Tenors. May not go but will report back on others opinions.

Neither I or my friends have had any difficulty at all getting cocktails made from the included ingredients....whatever we have asked for has been provided with the accompanying usual Azamara smile.

I purchased a frozen Sangria today....they are delicious and very refreshing on a hot day.

The England game was shown in Spirits last night and it was standing room only.

The ambience around the ship at night is certainly livelier with a lot of younger people onboard. I have also never seen so many young children on an Azamara cruise but they all seem well behaved and are having fun. They are not impacting on my enjoyment at all. The crew have all been just as wonderful as always and we are all having a lovely time onboard.

Tomorrow is Civitavecchia and White Night. My favourite night of any cruise.

What is the mix of Nationalities? Especially curious about the younger cruisers and children.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I have seen Facebook pictures of the new AZ Evening with the five ladies. They even changed dresses during the show. Sounds like something I would like.

How do you feel about the shows at night? The band? The new chairs in dining venues?

My favorite way to use OBC is the spa or good wine.

I'd be interested to hear your perspective on why there are so many families and young children onboard which we have not encountered in our two Northern Europe summer cruises on Azamara. In my opinion Azamara is not a product for children & teens as there is nothing geared for them and no facilities for them. Even on our Viking Cruise over the holidays there weren't many teens & young adults and that's a bigger ship. But I remember a thread on Seabourn from last summer about a SB cruise that originated in Spain and was apparently filled with large families and lots of young children and as a result there were a lot of complaints from people who don't view Seabourn as a family cruise line. So I'm wondering if for some reason there was a targeted marketing effort in Spain or is it just because it originated in Barcelona so was attractive to families who could avoid flying etc. as this was not our summer experience on our cruises originating in Dublin and Edinburgh.

We had our AzAmazing Evening at the Goldoni Theatre in May and it was the new show. There are 4 sopranos and their musical director on the piano, they sang a mixture of classical and modern songs with an operatic twist. We enjoyed it much more than the Magic Opera onboard.

Here’s a couple of pictures we took I apologise for the quality.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

I don't know about Azamara's marketing strategy for this cruise...I know the price was reasonable. That may be why there are many younger people onboard but they are certainly no trouble and the children are quietly enjoying themselves in the pool.

We are in Civitavecchia today and most people have gone to Rome so the ship is quiet. It's blazing hot.

They are spending a lot of the cruise lines money in Civi and it shows more each time we visit. Flowers, an expanded market and some new shops are evident now.

We are just going for afternoon trivia ....there is a happy, but competitive ambience about it.

Food in Aqualina last night was wonderful but it took a very long time for the meal to be completed ...almost three hours in fact. They were busy.

Still having a great time. :D

So I'm wondering if for some reason there was a targeted marketing effort in Spain or is it just because it originated in Barcelona so was attractive to families who could avoid flying etc. as this was not our summer experience on our cruises originating in Dublin and Edinburgh.

At least some of the family groups we have encountered on this cruise are from the USA.

In one case, after spectacularly bad advice from a Land Discoveries Officer, a three-generational Miami family adopted us in Marseilles and ensured a successful visit.

The youngest, a daughter, was superb in the skills exhibited by a tech-savvy traveller. Despite her youth, she was impressive!

Like Lottie A, so far we have not observed any problems on board.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

It is summer holiday and i am thrilled that younger people are enjoying the ship Maybe they will love it and and help fill the ships in 10 years when some of us can not travel,

White Night tonight! My favourite night of any cruise, although I am feeling tired after a day of doing nothing at all.

Looking forward to trying the new Chef Colin's White Night food. Chef Monica got off last Saturday for her vacation and she is a hard act to follow. He seems to be doing well though. No complaints at all about the food so far.

We are going on a private tour to Lucca and Viareggio tomorrow, then it's the Azamazing Evening, but we may not attend this time around. We will be tired so a nice dinner in Prime C and an early night may be in order.

It was a great White Night. The Italian Tenor David Righetti and his female singer were superb. Food was excellent and a good time was had by all.

We visited Lucca and Viareggio with friends today and had a lovely time but the weather was hot. We decided to miss The Azamazing Evening in Livorno and spend a quiet night in Prime C.

Santa Margarita tomorrow.

On this cruise too and having a lovely time. No issues with any of the bar tenders or servers with included drinks, but did upgrade after a couple of days. Mainly because in addition to better vodka (Ciroc for me instead of my usual perfectly acceptable Finlandia) it gives me more wine choice on the reds too.

The younger people onboard have been no issue for me. Mainly because this is port intensive wth no sea days. I understand from João that there are nearly 500 Azamara repeaters on the next cruise, so you just never know. It changes from cruise to cruise. I have to say there has been a very nice mix of guests on this leg. Very friendly and polite. Apart from me! Haha

Phil

We had our AzAmazing Evening at the Goldoni Theatre in May and it was the new show. There are 4 sopranos and their musical director on the piano, they sang a mixture of classical and modern songs with an operatic twist. We enjoyed it much more than the Magic Opera onboard.

Here’s a couple of pictures we took I apologise for the quality.

The same five. They were excellent. Glad I went and saw a different show.

Phil

At least some of the family groups we have encountered on this cruise are from the USA.

 

In one case, after spectacularly bad advice from a Land Discoveries Officer, a three-generational Miami family adopted us in Marseilles and ensured a successful visit.

 

The youngest, a daughter, was superb in the skills exhibited by a tech-savvy traveller. Despite her youth, she was impressive!

Yes, yes, Nordski, but can she shop?!

Yes, yes, Nordski, but can she shop?!

To our standards probably yes, but to yours...?

Well, I think we know the answer. [emoji1]

I live for the day when I see someone as accomplished as you!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

The same five. They were excellent. Glad I went and saw a different show.

 

 

 

Phil

Agree with you and Riocca.

My wife would point out that any performance referencing Botticelli/Groban and David Foster has to be eminently worthwhile!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums