Review of Azamara Quest, Athens to Chioggia (Greek Islands) and r/t Chioggia (Croatia intensive)

[Jay19]

We have just returned from a b2b on Quest, Athens to Chioggia (Greek Islands) and r/t Chioggia (Croatia intensive).    These were our first AZ cruises in 5 years and it was great to be back.   While most of the senior staff, with the exception of Ryszard, were unknown to us, they seemed very pleasant and communications from the Captain were excellent.    It was wonderful though to find several crew who remembered us and welcomed us back.   Service in general was excellent with only a few minor exceptions.

 

We were lucky in that we had very few problems with IT prior to the cruise and any issues we did have were dealt with by our excellent TA.   We had ended up paying for some shore excursions rather than using OBC but once on board a quick phone call to Shore Excursions dealt with this very quickly and satisfactorily.   I only needed to go to Guest Relations once, it was a short wait and staff there were very helpful and pleasant.

 

The cruises themselves were excellent, weather was great, if a little hotter than we expected, and seas were calm.    Best of all, after our experiences with Oceania where we missed ports on all four of our cruises, we went everywhere we were supposed to!    While there were a few ports that were crowded thanks to mega ships, most of our stops were small ports and we were often the only ship there which was lovely.    Santorini was the worst, despite Azamara switching two ports around to try and be there with less ships, other lines obviously had the same idea and the total number of passengers ended up being about the same as the original day.   We have been there several times so didn't bother even getting off the ship, it was a lovely peaceful day.   One lady I spoke to told me the wait for the cable car to go up was an hour and 3 hours to come back - why any cruises bother to go there any more is beyond me.    We loved Monemvasia, Syros, Zadar and Sibenik in particular but most of the ports were lovely and it was great to be seeing some new to us places.

 

Food was very good for the most part and we especially enjoyed the specialty restaurants.   The Patio was lovely for lunch and we had dinner there a couple of times as well.    Discoveries was fine, no waits for tables and service was excellent.    We didn't go to Windows much at all, just a few lunches.  We have never been fans of self service buffets, but particularly so since Covid, so only chose things that were served by the crew.    We feel that Oceania has the edge here as their buffet is always served entirely by the crew but that's just a personal view.   We had intended upgrading our drinks package but ended up not bothering and just having the included wines which suited us fine.

 

We now have 3 more Azamara cruises booked and looking at one more for next year.    They may not be 100% perfect but then we've never been on any cruise that was.   We were just very grateful and happy to be back on board again and thank all the crew for making it such a great trip!

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[Mrs.Dukes]

Thanks for your review. Sounds like a great trip. We are on a Mediterranean cruise in July on Azamara which also disembarks in Chioggia. Did you go to Venice from Chioggia after the cruise? If so, how did you get there? You said Sibenik was one of your favorite ports, we are going there also. What did you do in Sibenik? Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your cruise.

[mdeegooden]

20 hours ago, Jay19 said:

We have just returned from a b2b on Quest, Athens to Chioggia (Greek Islands) and r/t Chioggia (Croatia intensive).    These were our first AZ cruises in 5 years and it was great to be back.   While most of the senior staff, with the exception of Ryszard, were unknown to us, they seemed very pleasant and communications from the Captain were excellent.    It was wonderful though to find several crew who remembered us and welcomed us back.   Service in general was excellent with only a few minor exceptions.

 

We were lucky in that we had very few problems with IT prior to the cruise and any issues we did have were dealt with by our excellent TA.   We had ended up paying for some shore excursions rather than using OBC but once on board a quick phone call to Shore Excursions dealt with this very quickly and satisfactorily.   I only needed to go to Guest Relations once, it was a short wait and staff there were very helpful and pleasant.

 

The cruises themselves were excellent, weather was great, if a little hotter than we expected, and seas were calm.    Best of all, after our experiences with Oceania where we missed ports on all four of our cruises, we went everywhere we were supposed to!    While there were a few ports that were crowded thanks to mega ships, most of our stops were small ports and we were often the only ship there which was lovely.    Santorini was the worst, despite Azamara switching two ports around to try and be there with less ships, other lines obviously had the same idea and the total number of passengers ended up being about the same as the original day.   We have been there several times so didn't bother even getting off the ship, it was a lovely peaceful day.   One lady I spoke to told me the wait for the cable car to go up was an hour and 3 hours to come back - why any cruises bother to go there any more is beyond me.    We loved Monemvasia, Syros, Zadar and Sibenik in particular but most of the ports were lovely and it was great to be seeing some new to us places.

 

Food was very good for the most part and we especially enjoyed the specialty restaurants.   The Patio was lovely for lunch and we had dinner there a couple of times as well.    Discoveries was fine, no waits for tables and service was excellent.    We didn't go to Windows much at all, just a few lunches.  We have never been fans of self service buffets, but particularly so since Covid, so only chose things that were served by the crew.    We feel that Oceania has the edge here as their buffet is always served entirely by the crew but that's just a personal view.   We had intended upgrading our drinks package but ended up not bothering and just having the included wines which suited us fine.

 

We now have 3 more Azamara cruises booked and looking at one more for next year.    They may not be 100% perfect but then we've never been on any cruise that was.   We were just very grateful and happy to be back on board again and thank all the crew for making it such a great trip!

Jay19, what a thoughtful review!  Thank you!  DW and I are booked on the Quest next year for a 9d Croatia Intensive.  It will be our second cruise w/ Azamara and our first in the Adriatic.  What excursions or port experiences did you do while there?  Were there any that were particular standouts or that you would recommend?

[terry&mike]

4 hours ago, Mrs.Dukes said:

Thanks for your review. Sounds like a great trip. We are on a Mediterranean cruise in July on Azamara which also disembarks in Chioggia. Did you go to Venice from Chioggia after the cruise? If so, how did you get there? You said Sibenik was one of your favorite ports, we are going there also. What did you do in Sibenik? Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your cruise.

While I'm not the original poster, I will post my experiences. 

 

We ended an Azamara cruise on September 10 in Chioggia. As DH and I had been to Venice in the past, we took an Azamara bus transfer to the Venice airport, and were able to easily make an 11:15am flight down to Bari, Italy; the cost was $29.85 usd pp, and was well organized.  We were traveling with 4 friends who went on to Venice for a few days, and they took the Azamara bus transfer in to Venice;  the cost was $26.95 usd pp, and they said it was simple and efficient.  

 

We sailed Rome to Venice, and Sibenik was also one of our stops, and we all really enjoyed it. It's a beautiful port, and a beautiful sail in/out. We all had lots of OBC to use on this cruise, so 4 of us did the ship excursion "Primosten & Village Experience", we visited a small seaside town, and then went to a local's home and heard his story, and tasted locally made wine and foods (for us it was enough for a lunch). We arrived back at the port with enough time to take a meandering walk around the walled town of Sibenik, which was wonderful. This you could do on your own, and you could easily stretch into several hours, especially if you are a good walker. Lots of wonderful stone streets winding up through a lovely town, with a castle that you can tour; lots of great looking restaurants, some historic churches, shopping. One of our friends just spent the entire day roaming around Sibenik and enjoying herself in whatever she came across, it was one of her favorite days. The last member of our group went on the ship's excursion out to Krka National Park, with a visit to the park and the waterfall, they very much enjoyed it.

[Mrs.Dukes]

@terry&mike Thank you! Very helpful information!

[Jay19]

5 hours ago, Mrs.Dukes said:

Thanks for your review. Sounds like a great trip. We are on a Mediterranean cruise in July on Azamara which also disembarks in Chioggia. Did you go to Venice from Chioggia after the cruise? If so, how did you get there? You said Sibenik was one of your favorite ports, we are going there also. What did you do in Sibenik? Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your cruise.

It was a great trip, probably the most relaxing ever with the exception of the airport experiences which are better forgotten!  😀

 

Yes, we did go to Venice for a few days after the cruise.    We looked at a couple of alternatives but in the end decided to just take the ship's transfer to Tronchetto as being the easiest and that worked out well.   We were the last group off the ship at 9am and the bus trip took around an hour.   The bus dropped us right next to the People Mover and there was an Azamara representative there to help if necessary.   We just got the People Mover to Piazzale Roma and as the hotel we were staying at was a few minutes walk across the park it was very easy. 

 

Sibenik is not very big and our time there was actually the shortest of the cruise as we were leaving at 3pm, presumably to allow enough time to get back to Chioggia.   One thing I would mention is that the sail in and out of the port is quite interesting as you go through a narrow channel so worth watching.   We like to just wander around on our own where possible and these smaller ports are ideal in that respect.    One thing I found very helpful was that you now receive a package containing information sheets on each port and a street map right at the start of the cruise which gives plenty of time to plan ahead.   We started out along the waterfront, headed up the hill towards the castle and a small but pretty garden and then back down to the area around the Cathedral.   In hindsight we should have gone to the Cathedral first as by the time we got back down there were a lot more people, including a tour group from Viking who were not in the port but obviously somewhere not too far away.   After that we just wandered around the little cobblestone streets enjoying the buildings and the local shops.   Hope that helps and that you have a lovely cruise too.

[Mrs.Dukes]

@Jay19 thank you! Really helpful. Truly looking forward to our Mediterranean cruise!

[Haelmai]

13 minutes ago, Jay19 said:

It was a great trip, probably the most relaxing ever with the exception of the airport experiences which are better forgotten!  😀

 

Yes, we did go to Venice for a few days after the cruise.    We looked at a couple of alternatives but in the end decided to just take the ship's transfer to Tronchetto as being the easiest and that worked out well.   We were the last group off the ship at 9am and the bus trip took around an hour.   The bus dropped us right next to the People Mover and there was an Azamara representative there to help if necessary.   We just got the People Mover to Piazzale Roma and as the hotel we were staying at was a few minutes walk across the park it was very easy. 

 

Sibenik is not very big and our time there was actually the shortest of the cruise as we were leaving at 3pm, presumably to allow enough time to get back to Chioggia.   One thing I would mention is that the sail in and out of the port is quite interesting as you go through a narrow channel so worth watching.   We like to just wander around on our own where possible and these smaller ports are ideal in that respect.    One thing I found very helpful was that you now receive a package containing information sheets on each port and a street map right at the start of the cruise which gives plenty of time to plan ahead.   We started out along the waterfront, headed up the hill towards the castle and a small but pretty garden and then back down to the area around the Cathedral.   In hindsight we should have gone to the Cathedral first as by the time we got back down there were a lot more people, including a tour group from Viking who were not in the port but obviously somewhere not too far away.   After that we just wandered around the little cobblestone streets enjoying the buildings and the local shops.   Hope that helps and that you have a lovely cruise too.

Thanks for the info about the buses/transfers from Chioggia. Our cruise in June 2024 ends there, and we are staying a few days in Venice, so we booked the port to city transfer, but I wasn’t quite sure what it really entailed. 
Loved and appreciated your review!

[Jay19]

2 hours ago, mdeegooden said:

Jay19, what a thoughtful review!  Thank you!  DW and I are booked on the Quest next year for a 9d Croatia Intensive.  It will be our second cruise w/ Azamara and our first in the Adriatic.  What excursions or port experiences did you do while there?  Were there any that were particular standouts or that you would recommend?

Thanks so much for your kind comments.    I'm not sure what ports you are visiting but our itinerary was Chioggia, Koper, Opatija, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Sibenik.

 

At Koper we decided to do a morning tour to Piran that also included a stop at the village of Padna.  There was a farmer's market at Padna and the opportunity to taste some of the local produce which many of the people on the tour seemed to enjoy.   Piran was very enjoyable but very crowded.   There were loads of buses in the parking area and a Viking ship was also tendering right nearby.  The guide walked with our group to the main square and then offered the alternative of going with her up a fairly steep walk to the Cathedral, or spending time on our own and meeting back at the bus.   Since we will always take the opportunity of doing things ourselves that was our option, we still went to the Cathedral which had lovely views back over the town but also had plenty of time to wander around the rest of the town on our own.   In the afternoon we spent time in Koper which was easy to get around on our own.    

 

In Opatija we had booked a shore excursion to Trsat and Rijeka and to be honest that was one we didn't particularly enjoy as there wasn't a lot to see and we spent a lot of time just standing around while the guide talked.

 

Zadar we did on our own, it is a very easy place to walk and a very interesting town with lots to see.  It was probably our favourite port of the trip. 

 

We had been to Split before but the tour we had booked to Salona was cancelled so we went into the Old town and to Diocletian's Palace.    You can spend ages just wandering around and again it is very easy to do on your own.  

 

Again we had been to Dubrovnik before but this is the first time we had tendered.   That worked out very well for us as we planned to go to Lokrum Island and the ferries leave near to the tenders.  We were early enough that we were able to walk through the Old Town first with not many people around, and then got the ferry across to the Island.   There is a very pleasant walk through a botanical garden and the remains of an old monastery and you can also do a very steep walk up to an old fort.   We did that but it was hard work and getting down was quite slippy.   We spent several hours there and there were quite a lot of people by the time we left.

 

We had also been to Kotor before so did a tour to Perast and to the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks.   There were lots of groups there and it was very crowded but very interesting.   We also visited a church in Perast and then had a little free time in the town before heading back to Kotor.  The tour included a walking tour in Kotor but as we had done that before we just headed back to the ship for lunch and then went for a walk in the afternoon.   A lovely place and very easy to do on your own.  

 

I think the most enjoyable thing about these ports is that most are very easy to do by yourself and there is lots to do and see.   I hope you have a wonderful time!

[mdeegooden]

2 hours ago, Jay19 said:

Thanks so much for your kind comments.    I'm not sure what ports you are visiting but our itinerary was Chioggia, Koper, Opatija, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor and Sibenik.

 

At Koper we decided to do a morning tour to Piran that also included a stop at the village of Padna.  There was a farmer's market at Padna and the opportunity to taste some of the local produce which many of the people on the tour seemed to enjoy.   Piran was very enjoyable but very crowded.   There were loads of buses in the parking area and a Viking ship was also tendering right nearby.  The guide walked with our group to the main square and then offered the alternative of going with her up a fairly steep walk to the Cathedral, or spending time on our own and meeting back at the bus.   Since we will always take the opportunity of doing things ourselves that was our option, we still went to the Cathedral which had lovely views back over the town but also had plenty of time to wander around the rest of the town on our own.   In the afternoon we spent time in Koper which was easy to get around on our own.    

 

In Opatija we had booked a shore excursion to Trsat and Rijeka and to be honest that was one we didn't particularly enjoy as there wasn't a lot to see and we spent a lot of time just standing around while the guide talked.

 

Zadar we did on our own, it is a very easy place to walk and a very interesting town with lots to see.  It was probably our favourite port of the trip. 

 

We had been to Split before but the tour we had booked to Salona was cancelled so we went into the Old town and to Diocletian's Palace.    You can spend ages just wandering around and again it is very easy to do on your own.  

 

Again we had been to Dubrovnik before but this is the first time we had tendered.   That worked out very well for us as we planned to go to Lokrum Island and the ferries leave near to the tenders.  We were early enough that we were able to walk through the Old Town first with not many people around, and then got the ferry across to the Island.   There is a very pleasant walk through a botanical garden and the remains of an old monastery and you can also do a very steep walk up to an old fort.   We did that but it was hard work and getting down was quite slippy.   We spent several hours there and there were quite a lot of people by the time we left.

 

We had also been to Kotor before so did a tour to Perast and to the Church of Our Lady of the Rocks.   There were lots of groups there and it was very crowded but very interesting.   We also visited a church in Perast and then had a little free time in the town before heading back to Kotor.  The tour included a walking tour in Kotor but as we had done that before we just headed back to the ship for lunch and then went for a walk in the afternoon.   A lovely place and very easy to do on your own.  

 

I think the most enjoyable thing about these ports is that most are very easy to do by yourself and there is lots to do and see.   I hope you have a wonderful time!

Thank you for the recos!  I am researching excursions now and have been reading Rick Steves.  This appears to be an outstanding itinerary! 

[hamrag]

On 10/20/2023 at 8:12 PM, Jay19 said:

.....Food was very good for the most part and we especially enjoyed the specialty restaurants.   The Patio was lovely for lunch and we had dinner there a couple of times as well.    Discoveries was fine, no waits for tables and service was excellent.    We didn't go to Windows much at all, just a few lunches.  We have never been fans of self service buffets, but particularly so since Covid, so only chose things that were served by the crew.    We feel that Oceania has the edge here as their buffet is always served entirely by the crew but that's just a personal view.   We had intended upgrading our drinks package but ended up not bothering and just having the included wines which suited us fine.

 

We now have 3 more Azamara cruises booked and looking at one more for next year.    They may not be 100% perfect but then we've never been on any cruise that was.   We were just very grateful and happy to be back on board again and thank all the crew for making it such a great trip!

If I had taken the time to summarise our Onward cruise back in May it would have been very similar to your experience, that is what we feel about the food and we always mix our evening dining between MDR and specialties. Your point about not being 100% perfect, and never been on a cruise that was is spot on. Across 16 cruiselines, none could be described as perfect nor would we expect them to be.

 

We are booked on Quest next month, eagerly anticipating the experience once again.

[excitedofharpenden]

3 hours ago, hamrag said:

 

 

We are booked on Quest next month, eagerly anticipating the experience once again.

Quest in July was a super experience. The crew were amazing and we all had a first class time. Hopefully you will too. 

 

Phil 

[uktog]

On 10/21/2023 at 6:52 PM, Haelmai said:

Thanks for the info about the buses/transfers from Chioggia. Our cruise in June 2024 ends there, and we are staying a few days in Venice, so we booked the port to city transfer, but I wasn’t quite sure what it really entailed. 
Loved and appreciated your review!

Interesting Royal Caribbean have just been fined by the UK Advertising Standard Agency for advertising cruises as departing from Venice when it was leaving from Ravenna 

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

Interesting Royal Caribbean have just been fined by the UK Advertising Standard Agency for advertising cruises as departing from Venice when it was leaving from Ravenna 

Chioggia is in the Metropolitan City of Venice, so that would make the complaint harder to sustain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chioggia

[uktog]

15 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Chioggia is in the Metropolitan City of Venice, so that would make the complaint harder to sustain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chioggia

Agreed but the ASAs radar is twitching 

[Jay19]

I can understand it for Ravenna - if I google distance from Ravenna to Venice it says 143km which is hardly close by.   Chioggia to Venice on the other hand comes up at 52km so less than Rome to Civitavecchia at 80km which everyone is used to and accepts.    You can even get a vaporetto from Venice to Chioggia and it doesn't get much more Venetian than that.   😀

[uktog]

6 hours ago, Jay19 said:

I can understand it for Ravenna - if I google distance from Ravenna to Venice it says 143km which is hardly close by.   Chioggia to Venice on the other hand comes up at 52km so less than Rome to Civitavecchia at 80km which everyone is used to and accepts.    You can even get a vaporetto from Venice to Chioggia and it doesn't get much more Venetian than that.   😀

Perhaps the word is accepted- now the UK ASA are onto this “naming” issue all the cruise lines will need to look very carefully at what the advertise - Rome, Glasgow and Inverness come to mind. There are probably more. 
I agree Chioggia sounds a great place to stay and cruise from. I’m so over Venus crowds. 

[excitedofharpenden]

3 hours ago, uktog said:

I’m so over Venus crowds. 

I've not been to Venus. I hear the place has a bad atmosphere. 😜

 

Phil 

[uktog]

12 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I've not been to Venus. I hear the place has a bad atmosphere. 😜

 

Phil 

Yes it Mars your holiday experience

[Host Jazzbeau]

12 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I've not been to Venus. I hear the place has a bad atmosphere. 😜

 

Phil 

 

12 hours ago, uktog said:

Yes it Mars your holiday experience

Let's not stoop [or should I say 'squat'] to jokes about the 7th planet... 😉

[Huntingdon1701]

On 10/26/2023 at 7:43 AM, uktog said:

Perhaps the word is accepted- now the UK ASA are onto this “naming” issue all the cruise lines will need to look very carefully at what the advertise - Rome, Glasgow and Inverness come to mind. There are probably more. 
I agree Chioggia sounds a great place to stay and cruise from. I’m so over Venus crowds. 

 

London actually being Southampton is another one.

 

I also think cruise lines are at risk from permanent sales as well - they fined supermarkets for having sales that claimed the price was lower when actually it wasn't because of a permanent sale. By my count, NCL is at least is 18 months into the same sale and still trying to claim 'discounts'. 

[Anchor Light]

And then there's the example of Oceania's "2 for 1 Cruise Fares" which have been in effect in perpetuity!  They do publish the "Full Brochure Price" in their brochures at outrageously high prices (which no one in their right mind will have ever paid) so they can reduce it in half to allow a more marketable/competitive i.e. real price.  Does anyone really believe they're getting a deal in that regard?

 

I have no doubt it's all legal as the outrageous price is published, but a deal as we know it - it is not.