Riviera to Summit to Quest in 180 days - musings, whines, opinions and thoughts!

[Dr. Cocktail]

I just returned from my first Azamara cruise today. As I have written some comparative reviews before, I thought I would continue in the same manner and post simultaneously on the Azamara and Oceania boards.

 

While I turned 50 this year, my partner is in his late 40's and we are both very active cruisers. We do all our research in advance and always do self-guided or private excursions.

 

I took my 32nd - and final - cruise on Celebrity on Summit this past May. It was my third poor Celebrity cruise in a row and was the first cruise ever where I thought I would have been more relaxed having a couple of g & t's every afternoon on my deck at home. While I enjoyed Qsine and The Normandie, frankly, the less said the better. I wasn't sure if it was truly that particular cruise or if the "magic” of cruising had finally gone. After my first few hours aboard the Quest, I realized that it definitely was the bad Celebrity cruise!

 

Now, I don't want to compare apples and oranges as I have sailed on Marina and Riviera and not on their older ships that are identical to Quest so I will try not to compare the actual physical plants. I apologize if I seem to jump around - we will blame jet lag!

 

The Quest was in superb condition - it really was impossible to tell that she was almost 13 years old. The pool deck - pool, deck and furniture were all essentially new. Our cabin had some dents and dings but more reminiscent of a two or three year old ship.

 

As many have commented on, Oceania's beds, linens and comforter are infinitely superior to Azamara's new but lower quality beds. Bathroom amenities on Quest are good and all staterooms get slippers, tote bags, fresh flowers, full room service and afternoon tea or savouries if desired.

 

The silver, glassware and china are again far superior on Oceania and more polished - no watermarks or spots. Bread selection on Azamara was not great and only the specialty restaurants offered a decent but non-changing cheese selection.

 

The buffet was very good but Oceania had a better selection of premium ingredients, especially fresh fruit. Almost daily lunch barbeques on Quest were very nice with good selections.

As for the specialty restaurants themselves, the steakhouse Prime C was far inferior to Polo and Aqualina was equally mediocre. In fact, the food presented was among the poorest we have had on a specialty on a ship in the last few years.

 

OK - starting to sound like we have a clear winner.

 

Not so fast.

 

The included wines on Azamara ranged from a few "meh's" to a LOT that were superb and would usually cost about $40 or more a bottle on a ship. You would generally have to fight off the waiters to stop refilling your glass.

The basic complementary alcohol provided was more than adequate for our purposes and encouraged a fantastic conviviality among newly made friends. Martinis, Manhattans, Rob Roy's, Mai Tai's, Margaritas and other favourites were all available. All were good and strong - not the usual watered down cruise specials.

 

Our super schmoopy status on Celebrity entitled us to a bag of free laundry. We screamed laughing as our bag looked like a 356 pound man stuffed into a bikini or a rather dangerous looking German sausage. The next day, I had a heart-to-heart with my t-shirts reminding them that they would never again be ironed and placed on a hanger and my underwear telling it that they would never again be wrapped in tissue!

 

I only had 2 meals in Oceania's main dining room and both were truly wretched. Quest's Discoveries dining room consistently provided hot, beautifully presented and served meals.

 

The complementary Azamazing evening involved tendering 600 passengers to Amalfi, transferring everyone to buses to Ravello, a cocktail and dessert reception in the Villa Rudolfo with live music softly playing in the background and a one hour classical concert with full orchestra and soprano on the Belvedere.. All of the transfers to and from the ship were handled with military precision.

 

The following evening, all of the pool furniture was cleared in the early evening and replaced with tables and chairs. A full Mediterranean buffet was served outside followed by a recital by a local tenor. There was dancing to a live orchestra with singers afterwards. This was all part of their "White Party". Lots of fun and huge attendance.

 

Again, two fantastic evenings in a row.

 

Now, many have spoken of the "special" atmosphere on an Azamara cruise and I rolled my eyes at such ""fuzzy" pronouncements. Well, I have to add my voice to the chorus. While I loved my Oceania cruises, the overall ambiance and mood onboard just couldn't compare to Quest.

 

The Azamara crew were beyond praise - hardworking, anticipatory, funny and generally fabulous. As many have commented, the Captain, the stupidly charming Carl Smith and the Hotel Manager, the warm, genial and hard working Philip Herbert were EVERYWHERE . Always chatting with passengers, smiling and talking to crew and seeing how things were from the ground up. The Food and Beverage Manager, Herbert Wagner and great Cruise Director Russ Grieve were also all over the place. . I began to think that there were three cruise directors - it was actually quite funny. Make no mistake - no-one was over familiar or faux concerned - they REALLY wanted to make sure everything was good and that you were having a great time.

 

I contrast this with Marina's chilly and usually invisible Captain and Riviera's frankly unfriendly and arrogant master. I don't think that the Oceania senior officers understand where their paycheques come from. They’re not there to be my friend but a little socialization would go a long way.

 

Now, I boarded the ship with a chip on my shoulder because of Azamara's numerous pricing games. I got over it after a few hours on board and would gladly return in an instant. I still feel Azamara must somehow, like Oceania, find a relatively stable pricing model and stick with it.

 

The bottom line is that if you offered me a free cruise on either, I would be inclined to choose Azamara but again, I have yet to sail on Oceania's smaller ships. I think a good comparison would be that some people like driving a Lexus while others prefer an Accura. They are both great products aimed at a similar clientele. Instead of people from the A or O boards taking potshots at each other, they should celebrate the fact that they have two such excellent cruise lines to choose from.

[wripro]

Thanks for the great comparison. I could not agree more with your last line. That's why I hate all these "lawsuit" threads....one line vs. another.

[Paulchili]

Thanks for the great post and comparison.

Agrees in general with my views on these 2 lines.

While we prefer O, we'll be back to A next year for the itinerary without any hesitation.

[pacheco18]

Dr. Cocktail's comparison coincided almost identically with mine.

We must be right!

 

And yes, yes, yes -- isn't it great that we have two excellent lines to choose from

[TERRIER1]

Thanks so much for the review. After 6 sailing on O (only ever sailed O) we are booked for 2014 on B2B on the Quest. I am feeling very good good about our choice. We love the smaller ships and the itinerary looked great with all the late nights in ports. Thanks again.

[Caroldoll]

While we have the "super schmoozy"...lol or whatever you call it...status on Celebrity/Azamura, we are only O cruisers. We did really enjoy the Regatta, but of course love the luxury of the Owners Suite on Riviera.

 

That being said, I have heard from travel professionals the the upper crust of Azamura are the wizards of public relations. It is always good to know we have that option and are glad to hear of your wonderful experience.

 

Thanks for the review.