Review Quest May 17 - 25th 2016

[Mrs Miggins]

This was our fourth Azamara cruise.

Excellent flights arranged by Azamara BA from LHR.

Shuttle to Athens Hilton, well organised.

Athens Hilton room excellent. Since we had been to Athens on several other occasions we had dinner locally, meeting up with others on the same cruise ,at the restaurant, which was recommended by the Azamara rep. We particularly liked the small carafes of wine at 6 euros each ! Both couples we met were Azamara regulars from the UK. Neither of them had ever posted or looked at Cruise Critic. Great breakfast with lots of choice.

Shuttle and Embarkation, smooth and fast.

Champagne and lunch, rooms ready at 1.30.

 

Cruise Critic party: We met with our companions for our private tour from Livorno. Well attended with I would guess around 40 people.

 

Food: This time we went to Prime C as DH is a steak lover. We had a shared table at the only time available 7.30. It was fine but not great with the steaks being rather thin. Service was good but nowhere near as good as in Aqualina which was fabulous. Food and service excellent Our waiter Ferdinand was excellent. Patio for lunch was very good. MDR excellent, in fact we seemed to spend such a lot of time on our lively shared table that we missed a lot of the entertainment. For the first time ever we tried the Buffet (Indian) which was good. Didnt get round to the Patio in the evening, so we definitely need a longer cruise next time.

 

We liked the guitarist Teodor, also singer Nathan both in The Living Room. In fact we used this room much more than previously and found it very user friendly. It was certainly much livelier late at night than we have ever seen before.

 

Azamazing Evening in Livorno (3 Tenors) was organised with military precision. Very enjoyable but perhaps not as spectacular as our favourite which was in the Aquarium at Monte Carlo. However everyone had a great time with the three guys singing popular arias (shortened version) in the first half, then more popular songs (ie Tonight, Funicoli Funicola) plus a couple of encores.

 

Decor: Quest was looking good. I liked the lighter decor in the cabins and main rooms. I think housekeeping may not be so keen on the really light cream areas of carpet as I saw then on hands and knees with spot cleaner a couple of times outside Mosaic. Bearing in mind the carpet was only fitted a few weeks ago I hope there are some spare rolls around for the inevitable patching.

 

Ports of Call were all fine but I do share the thoughts on another thread that many of us have been to same places on many occasions and the odd addition of new ports in amongst the old favourites would be welcome. It was our first visit to Giardina Naxos for Taormina so at least we had one new place. We had previously been due to visit it on a Star Clipper cruise but were diverted to Catania, which I personally preferred, as it is not so 'touristy'. We shared a taxi from the port up to Taormina for 25 euros, which worked well.

In Santorini we tried to boat to Oia from the Quay which worked extremely well. However the line to return to the quay, for the cable car in Fira was very long. There were 4 cruise ships in that day, and I have never seen it so crowded. I see that Journey was luckier last week being the only ship in town.

From Sorrento we went to Capri, and took the bus to Anacapri, however wouldn't do this again as there was a long wait. Would splash out on a taxi next time.

For the first time ever we actually stayed on board when we docked in Civitavecchia. The weather was great and DH currently has some mobility issues. We really enjoyed our day, we also for the first time ever had a sea day on Azamara, and we liked that too.

From Livorno we had a private tour with the lovely Paolo from Unforgettable Tuscany, visiting Pisa briefly, then going to the splendid Villa Torrigiani where for once our group were almost the only visitors , finally to Lucca.

From Monte Carlo we got the 100 bus to Nice, just for the lovely ride. Then I walked around Monte Carlo to see the great changes they have to make to accommodate the Formula One race.

We took the Nice central transfer on our final day, hired a car, then spent the remaining four days of our holiday in St Paul de Vence and surrounding areas. We stayed at Toile Blanche. Had some great trips especially to Gordon and Tourrettes sur Loup. Visited the Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. DH had a fall and ended up sitting in the Cactus Garden covered in scratches. It is however a wonderful place easily visited from Nice or Monte Carlo.

I would mention that we have cruised at this time of the year before and we have never seen everywhere so crowded. In theory it was not high season, so goodness knows what it will be like in July and August.

 

Finally I would like to say the Captain, Crew, Guest Relations, Room Attendants, Waiters etc etc were all fantastic. The cruise was almost faultless. I can't praise Azamara enough. My only very small complaint was that there was no music in the cabin and in fact the TV options were poor. This in no way affected our wonderful cruise. We are booked on Viking Sea in September, but I already know that Azamara will remain our number one choice.

[Spursgirl]

This was our fourth Azamara cruise.

Excellent flights arranged by Azamara BA from LHR.

Shuttle to Athens Hilton, well organised.

Athens Hilton room excellent. Since we had been to Athens on several other occasions we had dinner locally, meeting up with others on the same cruise ,at the restaurant, which was recommended by the Azamara rep. We particularly liked the small carafes of wine at 6 euros each ! Both couples we met were Azamara regulars from the UK. Neither of them had ever posted or looked at Cruise Critic. Great breakfast with lots of choice.

Shuttle and Embarkation, smooth and fast.

Champagne and lunch, rooms ready at 1.30.

 

Cruise Critic party: We met with our companions for our private tour from Livorno. Well attended with I would guess around 40 people.

 

Food: This time we went to Prime C as DH is a steak lover. We had a shared table at the only time available 7.30. It was fine but not great with the steaks being rather thin. Service was good but nowhere near as good as in Aqualina which was fabulous. Food and service excellent Our waiter Ferdinand was excellent. Patio for lunch was very good. MDR excellent, in fact we seemed to spend such a lot of time on our lively shared table that we missed a lot of the entertainment. For the first time ever we tried the Buffet (Indian) which was good. Didnt get round to the Patio in the evening, so we definitely need a longer cruise next time.

 

We liked the guitarist Teodor, also singer Nathan both in The Living Room. In fact we used this room much more than previously and found it very user friendly. It was certainly much livelier late at night than we have ever seen before.

 

Azamazing Evening in Livorno (3 Tenors) was organised with military precision. Very enjoyable but perhaps not as spectacular as our favourite which was in the Aquarium at Monte Carlo. However everyone had a great time with the three guys singing popular arias (shortened version) in the first half, then more popular songs (ie Tonight, Funicoli Funicola) plus a couple of encores.

 

Decor: Quest was looking good. I liked the lighter decor in the cabins and main rooms. I think housekeeping may not be so keen on the really light cream areas of carpet as I saw then on hands and knees with spot cleaner a couple of times outside Mosaic. Bearing in mind the carpet was only fitted a few weeks ago I hope there are some spare rolls around for the inevitable patching.

 

Ports of Call were all fine but I do share the thoughts on another thread that many of us have been to same places on many occasions and the odd addition of new ports in amongst the old favourites would be welcome. It was our first visit to Giardina Naxos for Taormina so at least we had one new place. We had previously been due to visit it on a Star Clipper cruise but were diverted to Catania, which I personally preferred, as it is not so 'touristy'. We shared a taxi from the port up to Taormina for 25 euros, which worked well.

In Santorini we tried to boat to Oia from the Quay which worked extremely well. However the line to return to the quay, for the cable car in Fira was very long. There were 4 cruise ships in that day, and I have never seen it so crowded. I see that Journey was luckier last week being the only ship in town.

From Sorrento we went to Capri, and took the bus to Anacapri, however wouldn't do this again as there was a long wait. Would splash out on a taxi next time.

For the first time ever we actually stayed on board when we docked in Civitavecchia. The weather was great and DH currently has some mobility issues. We really enjoyed our day, we also for the first time ever had a sea day on Azamara, and we liked that too.

From Livorno we had a private tour with the lovely Paolo from Unforgettable Tuscany, visiting Pisa briefly, then going to the splendid Villa Torrigiani where for once our group were almost the only visitors , finally to Lucca.

From Monte Carlo we got the 100 bus to Nice, just for the lovely ride. Then I walked around Monte Carlo to see the great changes they have to make to accommodate the Formula One race.

We took the Nice central transfer on our final day, hired a car, then spent the remaining four days of our holiday in St Paul de Vence and surrounding areas. We stayed at Toile Blanche. Had some great trips especially to Gordon and Tourrettes sur Loup. Visited the Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. DH had a fall and ended up sitting in the Cactus Garden covered in scratches. It is however a wonderful place easily visited from Nice or Monte Carlo.

I would mention that we have cruised at this time of the year before and we have never seen everywhere so crowded. In theory it was not high season, so goodness knows what it will be like in July and August.

 

Finally I would like to say the Captain, Crew, Guest Relations, Room Attendants, Waiters etc etc were all fantastic. The cruise was almost faultless. I can't praise Azamara enough. My only very small complaint was that there was no music in the cabin and in fact the TV options were poor. This in no way affected our wonderful cruise. We are booked on Viking Sea in September, but I already know that Azamara will remain our number one choice.

 

Hi Pam,

 

It sounds like you had a simply wonderful cruise on Quest. I am so pleased.

 

Glad that Paolo took such good care of you on your private tour from Livorno. He is such a gentleman isn't he?

 

We board Journey the week after next and are contemplating doing the Oia boat trip from the quay. Sadly we are among five ships in port that day and the thought of queuing for the cable car to return to the port in the heat fills me with dismay so we shall see.

 

And how wonderful that you had some time in the heavenly South of France after your cruise. St Paul de Vence is gorgeous and I remember a very memorable dinner I had there at the incomparable La Colombe d'Or restaurant.

 

Welcome home.

 

Hazel

[ceejilly]

This was our fourth Azamara cruise.

Excellent flights arranged by Azamara BA from LHR.

Shuttle to Athens Hilton, well organised.

Athens Hilton room excellent. Since we had been to Athens on several other occasions we had dinner locally, meeting up with others on the same cruise ,at the restaurant, which was recommended by the Azamara rep. We particularly liked the small carafes of wine at 6 euros each ! Both couples we met were Azamara regulars from the UK. Neither of them had ever posted or looked at Cruise Critic. Great breakfast with lots of choice.

Shuttle and Embarkation, smooth and fast.

Champagne and lunch, rooms ready at 1.30.

 

Cruise Critic party: We met with our companions for our private tour from Livorno. Well attended with I would guess around 40 people.

 

Food: This time we went to Prime C as DH is a steak lover. We had a shared table at the only time available 7.30. It was fine but not great with the steaks being rather thin. Service was good but nowhere near as good as in Aqualina which was fabulous. Food and service excellent Our waiter Ferdinand was excellent. Patio for lunch was very good. MDR excellent, in fact we seemed to spend such a lot of time on our lively shared table that we missed a lot of the entertainment. For the first time ever we tried the Buffet (Indian) which was good. Didnt get round to the Patio in the evening, so we definitely need a longer cruise next time.

 

We liked the guitarist Teodor, also singer Nathan both in The Living Room. In fact we used this room much more than previously and found it very user friendly. It was certainly much livelier late at night than we have ever seen before.

 

Azamazing Evening in Livorno (3 Tenors) was organised with military precision. Very enjoyable but perhaps not as spectacular as our favourite which was in the Aquarium at Monte Carlo. However everyone had a great time with the three guys singing popular arias (shortened version) in the first half, then more popular songs (ie Tonight, Funicoli Funicola) plus a couple of encores.

 

Decor: Quest was looking good. I liked the lighter decor in the cabins and main rooms. I think housekeeping may not be so keen on the really light cream areas of carpet as I saw then on hands and knees with spot cleaner a couple of times outside Mosaic. Bearing in mind the carpet was only fitted a few weeks ago I hope there are some spare rolls around for the inevitable patching.

 

Ports of Call were all fine but I do share the thoughts on another thread that many of us have been to same places on many occasions and the odd addition of new ports in amongst the old favourites would be welcome. It was our first visit to Giardina Naxos for Taormina so at least we had one new place. We had previously been due to visit it on a Star Clipper cruise but were diverted to Catania, which I personally preferred, as it is not so 'touristy'. We shared a taxi from the port up to Taormina for 25 euros, which worked well.

In Santorini we tried to boat to Oia from the Quay which worked extremely well. However the line to return to the quay, for the cable car in Fira was very long. There were 4 cruise ships in that day, and I have never seen it so crowded. I see that Journey was luckier last week being the only ship in town.

From Sorrento we went to Capri, and took the bus to Anacapri, however wouldn't do this again as there was a long wait. Would splash out on a taxi next time.

For the first time ever we actually stayed on board when we docked in Civitavecchia. The weather was great and DH currently has some mobility issues. We really enjoyed our day, we also for the first time ever had a sea day on Azamara, and we liked that too.

From Livorno we had a private tour with the lovely Paolo from Unforgettable Tuscany, visiting Pisa briefly, then going to the splendid Villa Torrigiani where for once our group were almost the only visitors , finally to Lucca.

From Monte Carlo we got the 100 bus to Nice, just for the lovely ride. Then I walked around Monte Carlo to see the great changes they have to make to accommodate the Formula One race.

We took the Nice central transfer on our final day, hired a car, then spent the remaining four days of our holiday in St Paul de Vence and surrounding areas. We stayed at Toile Blanche. Had some great trips especially to Gordon and Tourrettes sur Loup. Visited the Villa Ephrussi in Cap Ferrat. DH had a fall and ended up sitting in the Cactus Garden covered in scratches. It is however a wonderful place easily visited from Nice or Monte Carlo.

I would mention that we have cruised at this time of the year before and we have never seen everywhere so crowded. In theory it was not high season, so goodness knows what it will be like in July and August.

 

Finally I would like to say the Captain, Crew, Guest Relations, Room Attendants, Waiters etc etc were all fantastic. The cruise was almost faultless. I can't praise Azamara enough. My only very small complaint was that there was no music in the cabin and in fact the TV options were poor. This in no way affected our wonderful cruise. We are booked on Viking Sea in September, but I already know that Azamara will remain our number one choice.

Hi Pam

 

Thoroughly enjoyed your company and Mike’s on the cruise and thanks for organising the excursion to Pisa and Lucca.

 

Our thoughts are the same as yours concerning the receptiveness on ports especially around the Italian coastline, saying that though, the ports may be the same but there is still plenty of places to visit irrespective of how many times one has docked in the same place.

 

We also stayed on board when docked in Civitaveccihia, did have a walk along the waterfront/beach but it wasn't up to much I'm afraid. Our daughter Tanya had a hoot of a time, you'll already know that by seeing her in the evening dancing the night away. It was great having her company for a long belated birthday treat, her first cruise and seeing all the crew swarming around her like bees around the honey pot only made her holiday even better but the icing on the cake had to be Monte Carlo......sorry Azamara officers, crew, waiters etc she is now concentrating her efforts around the race track now.....oh to be young again:)

 

Anyway, the cruise was brilliant once again especially after the major refit, officers and crew were, again, really friendly, welcoming and generally pleasant. They are all genuinely happy to meet us again and that's why we keep on returning.

 

Jill and I are returning to Azamara on Journey next month for a B2B from Nice to Barcelona (we found some new ports to visit:)) Enjoy your cruise on Viking Sea.

Craig

[tv24]

Nice review. Glad to see that you enjoyed yourselves.

[Lottie A]

So glad you enjoyed your return to Azamara Pam.

 

As Hazel said, isn't Paolo just lovely? Glad you all enjoyed your day tour with him.

 

Hope Mr M is recovered from his fall.

[BBMacLaird]

Thank you for the lovely review Mrs Miggins.

[KazLoudspeaker]

Pam & Mike, loved meeting the both of you on this cruise. Fair report, will do a more detailed report myself when we get home. Will message you when in London.

 

Just had Seville cancelled on this cruise due to technical difficulties, so calling at Cadiz instead.

 

Karyn

 

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[IsanTom]

Great reviews. I'm looking forward to our TA next year!

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.