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Live from quest

Emdee

By Emdee,
in Azamara

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Emdee

Emdee

Posted
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Our first trip on Azamara but we are seasoned cruisers on a variety of mainstream and luxury lines.

Check in was wonderful and we were soon on board.

 

The ship does not WOW in any way but there is an understated comfort and elegance. The President who is on board plans to run it like a boutique hotel.

 

We are in a standard balcony cabin on deck 7 small but comfortable. It is clear that the linens could be updated but otherwise furniture is fine. The shower is small but serviceable. I like the fact that the ship is not garish.

 

Dinner at Aqualina restaurant was excellent. Cheese selection is superb much better than what we received on Regent or any other ship we have been on. Each course was beautifully presented. Standard white was nice but red rather rough on the palate. $50 bought one a pairing menu with wines per course. Pairing meal was from the normal menu. Staff were excellent and working hard to please.

 

More later

 

Miriam

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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Do enjoy your cruise. It is interesting Mr Pimentil is back on board as it was reported he was onboard Journey earlier in the summer - good that he is checking out the product

You mention Cheese in Aqualina, are they now offering a separate cheese course, which would be new if they are - and welcome

So enjoy your trip, we have loved Quest and made many lovely friends amongst the crew onboard

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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Miriam,

Glad that your experiences so far are good - hope they will continue to be so.

Perhaps you can compare Azamara with Regent after your cruise (beyond cheeses, that is :) ). Speaking of cheeses - I did not order them in Aqualina but leaving the restaurant I noticed that they had one of my very favorite cheeses - Livarot. I regretted that I did not get the cheese plate but I asked for the cheese plate in the MDR, specifically mentioning Livarot, and I received a very generous serving straight down from Aqualina.

Nice touch!

Paul

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Emdee

Emdee

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Day 2 began with the cruise critic get together. Most of the posters were present as well as senior management - capt, hotel director etc. Larry Pimentel is on board and DD Chiara asked him a pertinent question on the future for A. His vision is interesting - his target market and area where he is seeing movement from is Crystal, Silversea and Regent. He asked for destinations we were interested in visiting.

At 10,30 we dropped in for the Discoverers Brunch with senior officers. A boring affair lacked pizzazz. I remember a similar get together on the PG with a lot of fun conversation and laughter. A provencal brunch would have been so nice and topical but not to be. Lunch was on deck a barbecue beautifully done with live music. Officers do the serving. The food was the usual mix of meats - lamb suckling pig etc, crepes made to order ( a little on the thick side). Wonderful music and ambiance. A really nice light white and I think a Maipo valley red were poured. Great event. We have had similar events on the Navigator but the live music makes all the difference.

 

Dinner was at Discover or something like that (MDR). The appetizer of crab sabayon with cauliflower pannacotta was to die for. Almost better than anything I have had from well known chefs in Toronto/New York or Vegas. The other food was quite good as well certainly comparable to Regent. A low point was the gumbo - tasted like a tortilla soup and the cheese plate in the MDR - boring. Paul Chili I will take a page from your book today.

 

Besides the included wines four decent bottles were available on the menu at reduced prices ( LCBO or so)

 

All in all a wonderful intro to Azamara. The service is truly excellent in every venue and the warmth of the staff reminds me of Mariner ( Regent).

 

More later

Miriam

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Emdee

Emdee

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The Ports

 

Weather was a bit dreary but we made the most of St Tropez by shopping. All the stuff in Oliviers was on sale so we came back laden with goodies - olives, tapenade etc

:Provencal tablecloths for the summer cottage etc . And to think just two months ago made DD do the trek to New jersey Oliviers for the truffle oil et al.

 

Cannes weather was even worse cold and rainy but our visits to the Ceneri cheese store and a chocolate store for macaroons and treats made up. Ceneri has a wonderful brie with truffles. Some more provencal condiments added to the wait plus a couple of bottles of french champagne from known and unknown makers.

 

Lunch was our purchased olive fougasse with the ceneri cheeses and fresh olives. Couldnt get the St Emilion open so water had to do.

Made the best of a miserable day.

 

Tomorrow Monte Carlo Nice and Eze.

 

Miiram

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cindilouwho

cindilouwho

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"Besides the included wines four decent bottles were available on the menu at reduced prices ( LCBO or so)"

 

Sorry, what does LCBO mean? Sounds like a lovely trip. We are very excited to board in just 2 weeks!

-----------------

Helen

 

LCBO - Liquour Control Board of Ontario. We cannot buy our booze anywhere else! Nice stores...government controlled. Subsidizes our medical coverage! :-)

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Skeezics

Skeezics

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I notice Regent is doing free shore excursions in 2011 - I wonder if Azamara will trial this one at some stage or not?

 

 

Gosh, I hope not. Then the prices will soar, as they have done on Regent. We like to do private tours; on shore excursions offered by the ship, you can only tour at the pace of the slowest person.

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uktog "Live from...." Rare

uktog

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I agree up to a point, we actually found on Azamara the ships excursions were very good and not large group experiences. I accept it would have an impact on the prices but just as they are trialling all cocktails free on some trips next year, I wonder about all excursions free that is all

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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Miriam,

Thanks for the updates. I would like to hear about your trip to Eze (we'll be in Monaco next year on a cruise).

Also, as you seem to enjoy cheeses - see if you can find St. Agur blue somewhere on land (don't think they have it onboard). It's my favorite blue cheese - it's a creamy blue, best served at room temperature.

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CKforensic

CKforensic

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Anyone who likes Livarot will probably also like reblochon and epoisses. I'd try checking to see if they have them aboard.

 

I can confirm that Aqualina offered a soft epoisse and a hard pressed ossau iratty last week. Both were very nice (especially the ossau iratty). There were a few other selections as well but I do not recall what types they were.

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Emdee

Emdee

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After some rough seas we arrived at Monte Carlo.

Our excursion to Nice and Eze went well - the bus was about 3/4 full but we only semi followed the guide so it didnt matter. Had a nice walk around the Casino area and did a bit of shopping there.

 

Highlight today and in fact the highlight of any of my 36 cruises was today's on deck buffet. People had mentioned a great seafood buffet but this went way beyond. It was a bit chilly but Nevertheless enjoyed every aspect. Live music was great. The atmosphere was wonderful. And the food just made me swoon.... unfortunately I was rather tired after a full day and couldnt enjoy it to the full.

 

Food included lamb shanks, bouillabaise, coq au vin, lamb chops, freshly steamed mussels and clams, frogs legs, oysters rockefeller, soft shell crab, whole stuffed halibut, truffled potatoes gratin and numerous, numerous other dishes. The staff were in full force doing everything to please. If it was on food alone I would certainly take another Azamara cruise just on the basis of this offering. This could just be because its the President's cruise? Regular Azamara passengers would know better.

 

The warmth of the staff on Azamara is unparalled. Staff who had served us only once for dinner would come up and ask how things were going etc. Its hard to fully express the genuiness of feeling. In comparison I found my Oceania cruise cold and clinical and though staff on the Mariner (Regent) also give one the feeling of having arrived home the warmth is certainly to a lesser degree than the Quest.

 

Miriam

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maryann ns

maryann ns

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I certainly got the feeling that the staff liked being on Quest last fall. We talked to several of them. I was very impressed to see some of them with some time off loading bicycles (available to staff) onto a tender in Fethiye.

 

They and the food (we had a great fish buffet too!) were fantastic.

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