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Long but hopefully informative Quest review

kk99

By kk99,
in Azamara

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kk99

kk99

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Hi everyone,

We just got home an hour ago from Miami, so I thought I would post up what is hopefully a balanced review. I have scanned into my computer the daily programs, the spa menus, and other general information into pdf files. It will not upload as an attachment to the board because the file is too large. I then broke it down into several pdf scans of two to three pages each, and it was still too large. So I'll be happy to email people individually with the scan, or perhaps one of the hosts can assist. I have pictures, but that will probably be at least tomorrow before I post.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND, THE WHAT THE HECK

 

EMBARKATION

An absolute joy. As a veteran cruiser on Celebrity ,never easier. We left our hotel and arrived at building, Terminal J, at 11:30 a.m. It took all of five minutes including the obligatory picture and security to get on the ship. I think we would have made it in four minutes, but the bobby pins in my 83 year old mother's hair set off the scanner, and she had to be wanded, and take her bun down. I don't think she appreciated me laughing as hard as I did. We were visiting relatives in Miami, and decided fairly recently to take this cruise. My mother was on a ship for the first time ever, although we have begged her for years to join us, this time she agreed. We enter the ship, and they hand us a glass of champagne and an attendant took our carry on bags, and escorted us to Sky suite 8036 where we dropped our bags, as the room would not be ready until one o'clock.

 

EXPLORATION OF THE SHIP

We then went immediately to the speciality restaurants on deck 10 to reconfirm. I had not been cancelled like so many others. When I got there, the poor maitre 'd was being yelled at by someone who had been cancelled. I asked him which restaurant was the most overbooked, and he said Prime C, so I offered to give up our reservation, as I thought it would be a nice gesture. I certainly did not want a bunch of grumpy guests spoiling my mother's first outing! I also reconfirmed that I was a vegetarian and could be accomodated when we ate the first night in Aqualina, and they already had that information on the books which I took as a good sign. We then checked out the small library across from the two restaurants which had a lovely painted ceiling, a fireplace(faux) and nice seating. The books were fairly sparse.

 

POOL ,Deck 9

It is a small pool with two hot tubs surrounded by lots of lovely wooden chaise lounges with thick blue padded cushions and towels. There are several seating areas, a small pool grill, and the pool bar. Beer was 5.00 and up, and sodas were 4.00 and up plus the included gratuity. I never saw chair hogs, and there appeared to be plenty of seating.

 

INTERNET ROOM ,Deck 9 fwd port

There were 12 laptops with the slowest speeds I've ever experienced on any ship. The rates were 65 cents a minute, packages were 100 minutes for 40 dollars, if I recall correctly. I had to use the internet room because the power strip in our room was misaligned and not working yet. Wireless speeds were nothing to write home about. There was a very nice gentleman who was on duty to help assist people, especially those who do not use computers much. If I hadn't had an emergency at the office, I never would have spent the time on their computers. They definitely can improve in this area.

 

SPA ,Deck 9 fwd

Just past the internet room, is the small spa. I saw three treatment rooms, one pedicure station, two shampoo bowls and four styling stations. I used three services in the two days. A manicure was $41, a pedicure was $61, and the go smile was $199, and then there was the automatic 18% gratuity. Amanda Brown is the very competent manicurist with a great personality. Thery also offer male facials and barbering done by a male stylist on the Quest. There are no male masseuses onboard. The prices for massages were 194 and 195 dollars, and facials ranged from 145 to 225 dollars. Acupuncture was 150 dollars with packages available. The small well equipped gym is to the right of the spa, and was underutilized by me and most of the passengers on this short sailing. There is a lovely small sitting area off the back of the spa, to be used by spa guests when they have appointments.

 

SHOPPING, Decks 5 and 4

Two small shops on Deck 5, one being the sundries and apparel, and costume jewelry, and the other with perfumes, colognes, and jewlery, mostly for women. On Deck 4 are glass cases of more expensive women's jewelry, with a few men's watches. No particular bargains in my estimation.

 

MOSAIC CAFE, Deck 5

This replaces the COVA cafe on Celebrity ships. Sweets, specialty coffees and wines are served. Wine costs between 8-13 a glass, and they were short pouring . I heard this complaint from many passengers. The markup is at least 100% by the glass, so they could give people their full value. There are small tables set with tablecloths and arrangements of roses on the tables. A very good guitarist , and a harpist who sang performed at the Mosaic Cafe.

 

PHOTOSHOP, Deck 5

It is on one wall leading into the casino. The photos were 14.95. On Celebrity Galaxy this summer, the same dinner shots were 9.95. I'm not sure of why the price increase.

 

CASINO LUXE, Deck 5

ALthough I lost a significant amount of money, I also won a significant amount of money. I actually saw several jackpots in the two days. They had penny progressives that could cost $20 a roll(yes, it was late, and I thought I was betting 2 dollars a spin), 25 cent, 50 cent, 1 dollar, 5 dollar and 10 dollar machines with several Game King video poker machines(all 8/5 payouts), one three card poker table, a roulette table, and I believe 3 blackjack tables. There was also a video Texas holdem table for 8 players. The casino is tiny and was very full. Yes, you can get cash from the cage, and charge it to your room with no atm charges. I promptly deposited a large chunk of what I pulled out, but I had a blast playing with Dave and John, and many other cruise critic posters.

If you hit on 1 spin 350 dollars or more, they call it a jackpot and have to handpay you. No taxes on big hits since you are in international waters, just your conscience to report it to Uncle Sam. Anything else, and on the slots, it pays out in quarters. I finally wised up after the first time, and tipped the slot attendant to get all the coins and cash them in for me, instead of fighting my way through the too small space to get to the cashier(well worth it to me). Everyone in the casino was friendly. No free drinks in the casino, although I did get a few probably because I was taking care of the slot attendants. Backjack tables only pay 3/2 instead of 2/1 , definite house advantage, although I also had some luck there. Azamara does not have a program for play participation like other cruise lines. I think they are behind the times on this as well.

 

DINING

Windows on Deck 10 is the casual buffet. The food was fine, and every server had been instructed to greet every guest with bon appetit. It was hilarious to hear all different languages and accents say this over and over again, because there were many variations spoken. I think saying enjoy your meal would be fine. The service could definitely been improved upon. If you left your table to get a refill of tea for 30 seconds, they would clear the table if no one else remained at the table. Several of the ice machines, and automatic coffee servers were malfunctioning throughout the cruise. There was no handouts of hand sanitizer anywhere throughout the ship. I think that is a safety issue that ought to be addressed to help prevent an outbreak of a stomach virus on the ship in the future.

Service in both the Discoveries restaurant and speciality dining was extremely slow ,more than two hours. There is(or was not on this sailing ) any separate menu for vegetarians or vegans as there is on all other Celebrity ships. When we went to Aqualina the first night after all the cancellations of passenger requests for dining, there were only 8 other people besides ourselves during the two hours we dined there. More than half of the tables were empty- a real shame for those who wanted to dine there. My mother had the osso bucco, and said it was wonderful. I had a salad and brie appetizer, and no entree, because the kitchen forgot about preparing a vegetarian option, not good for a speciality restaurant. I ordered the chocolate souffle which took 30 minutes to prepare- it was wonderful. They also had a Grand Marnier souffle, among other choices. Most upscale restaurants, will allow you to order your souffle when you place your entree order, unfortunately, they do not present the dessert menu until after you have finished your entree. Food should come out faster, so everyone doesn't fill up on the bread and butter. They definitely could have acccomodated many more guests that first night, but didn't. Most bottles of wine fell in the 40-50 dollar range, with a good selection.

 

STATEROOM/ SERVICE

Azamara flunks in this category as I have all of my previous Celebrity cruises and service level to fall back on for comparision. I did not expect perfection, but I did expect more than we received. Upon getting into the room, the colors were coral, orange, and gold. There were two nice terry robes, slippers, and large umbrella in the closet, and a plate of fruit and wine in the room. The bed had not been made into two as the reservation requested, the rose in the bud vase was doa on arrival, and the information booklet was missing. I never received my captain's club booklet(although I requested it twice), never received afternoon canapes, never received the tote bag given to every passenger on the ship, never got an extra facial bar of soap that my mom requested, and never received a gift that was sent to us. I reported all of this to guest relations and to the captain's club representative, but it did not change anything. The computer system was malfunctioning the entire time, and I know that they are trying their hardest. I felt bad for my mother, as I know how much more enjoyable it would have been for her to get all of the little nicieties. The bathroom elemis products were nice, but ladies if you were thinking of taking them in your carryon luggage, the sizes are over the limit by .41 ounces. When I opened the drawer by the bed, there were leftover pills of some kind and several screws in there. I just put it in the trash-but it should have been checked. There were still stickers on the granite and plastic covering on the bathroom seal. The first day, every time I turned on the faucet, rust colored water would come out. I did report it, and it was probably from the plumbing not being flushed out properly.There was also no soap dish, so the soap would make a nice sticky mess on the counter. The Samsung LCD tv on a swivel mount worked well. We had some problems with the cabin phone and the computer strip and outlet.

The balcony was 4 feet wide by 15 feet long which fit a small table sideways with two straight chairs. No comparision to sky suite blaconies on Celebrity ships. It does have a nice sliding glass door to the balcony. They should not call the stateroom attendant a butler, as I have had butler service on Celebrity, and better service from CC class stateroon attendants. If Azamara is going to charge a premium above the Celebrity ships, then this area needs to be vastly improved. I know it is way early, but there was a large group of travel agents on this sailing who went en masse to the Captain's Club representative about the changes that need to be made before they could recommend it. My stateroom butler is a very nice person, but he does not have the training yet to give the service level promised by Azamara.

 

LEAVING

We were about an hour late leaving the ship because there was one non US person who had not gone through the onboard customs procedure. We had priority tag numbers, and we got off at 9:oo a.m. Once off, we were though customs in a few minutes. Some people might have missed their flights if they had anything earlier than 11 a.m. The cab to the airport is 24 dollars for the two of us not including tip.

 

I want to thank everyone who was so kind to my mother for making her first trip so enjoyable. She has several email addresses from people she met, and now wants to go on a real cruise. I've never seen her as vibrant as when she was on the dance floor at 2:00 a.m, putting my generation to shame.

 

I think with a lot more service effort this will be a fine choice for more exotic port intensive trips. It does not have any activities for children or young adults. The average age I would guess was 55 years. In an act of blind faith, I made a deposit for a future cruise with Azamara(or at least I think I did-the ship's computer was down, and I have a hand printed piece of paper). I am still hoping that Captain's Club will actually mean something with real benefits in the future for its members. Any questions, I'll be happy to answer.

Have a good evening,

kk

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kk99

kk99

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Sorry you took it the wrong way. Several people I know like to take home their left over hotel toiletries in their carryon luggage because they like the brand. It isn't a problem for Azamara, I was just commenting on the size of the generous bottles.

k.k.

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swigso

swigso

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THanks for a great review, the comparisons with Celebrity really helped .

The ship sounds as though it is going to be superb once it irons out

the l hicups that are to be expected with any new launch.

BTW- why do posters nit pick about information, as a famous General once said "any information however trivial it may seem can be most vital to the outcome of the battle" maybe not a relevent quote but anyway thanks for the review and also for taking the time to post it.

 

By the way could you mail me the PDF files, my mails is

blueinns@msn.com

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carlyshenk

carlyshenk

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Thank you very much for your informative and speedy review. We're sailing on Quest in February and we're eager to learn everything we can before we sail. We're big Celebrity fans and can't wait to try Azamara.

 

I'm sorry some people have to be so critical. I appreciate you taking the time and being so thorough.

 

Would you please email the other information to me? My email address is caschenck@roadrunner.com.

 

Thanks again!

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kk99

kk99

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I did ask housekeeping while I was onboard about what they do with half used bottles. They throw them out so the next occupants of the room will have unopened toiletries. To me, that might be a bigger expense for the cruise ship than using smaller bottles I was not advocating taking unused bottles off of the ship, just what you had left over from your own usage. They also had cotton balls, qtips, shower caps ,a small loofah mitt in the bathroom , and a separate hairdryer besides the wall hairdryer. The separate hairdryer would have to be used at the desk as there is not an outlet in the bathroom for it to be plugged into. Hopefully this will end the bathroom comments as I did not realize that people would make negative comments about my thinking ability instead of asking questions about the ship or its services.

 

I didn't mention earlier that in the room was a dvd player for which you could check out two dvds at a time from guest relations if you did not to watch what was on the television programming. The tv has an interactive message box for the room occupants, the spa specials of the day, and lots of information about the ship and its amenities if you don't want to read the published material left in the room. I thought this system was a big improvement over the older tv setups.In the Windows buffet, they did have a sushi selection, and asian stirfry for dinner which many people seem to be enjoying. If anyone else has any other questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

kk

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Cathy Maneri

Cathy Maneri

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KKK9...thanks for the great review and taking the time from a short two-day cruise to notice so much.

 

I understood the Elemis comment and I appreciate what your point was.

 

I agree with your butler comments, I also had been in a Celebrity Suite on my last Alaska cruise on the Summit and the butler was fabulous, but then I paid for that service in my cabin price.

 

Azamara will work out the kinks, they have a lot of competition out there and some serious cruisers.

 

Thanks again for the time you took to write this review. I know your Mom will enjoy her next cruise.

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Susan-M

Susan-M

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Thank you for sharing "THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WHAT THE HECK" - a great attitude and a very informative review! :) How nice for your mom to discover the joy of cruising at 83 and for you to be there to share in that experience!

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Renz

Renz

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Thank you very much for this very informative report. I am booked for Dec. 8 and the whole family is looking forward to board the Quest. Comming from Europe the whole trip is always a big adventure for us and it is very nice to read pros and cons before.

If you are in the mood to send the docs. to just another mail box I would appreciate!

goeast67@yahoo.co.uk

Thx

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Host Karen

Host Karen

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Thanks for posting your review. While it was disappointing to hear about some of the "ugly" (short wine pours at high prices and the slow internet connection were two of them), I prefer a well-rounded review to one that focuses only on the positives or, worse, only on the negatives. Let's hope some of the problems are resolved by the time we board Quest in late November.

 

I'm glad to hear your mom enjoyed her first cruise.

 

I would be interested in seeing the daily programs. My e-mail address is hostkaren@cruisecritic.com. Wish I could help you post them here, but the file size limitation is pretty low.

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Ask4Jay

Ask4Jay

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kk99 –

Very thorough review for a two-day cruise. I hope mine can be as detailed and unbiased after we complete our TA cruise in April. Prior to that we will also sail the Regatta again, in the same cabin as on Quest. As far as the in-cabin amenities are concerned (flat screen TV, DVD player, etc in your Sky Suite), we’ll have to see how many of the goodies we’ll have in our Sunset Veranda Cabin.

I also read with great interest your comment about the sparse selection of books in the small library. We will bring our own books anyhow, but the library on Regatta is our second favorite hangout besides our balcony.

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Jancruz

Jancruz

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I too appreciate an honest review, we had a staff member on board and his comments were almost exactly like yours..On a ship that is on its first trip it is not surprising that there were problems..it is just typical of life..each cruise should be better..anyone that has been on O and goes on Azamara (either ship) will find that the comparisons are eerily similar.. There have been a few changes by Azamara, I like some of them and dont like some of them..so here we go, it is just a matter of taste!

Jan

*****

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kk99

kk99

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Hi everyone,

Well I still don't have my pictures up yet but will do so shortly. I've emailed everyone so far with the pdf attachment who has requested it.

Helen and Juergen's comment about the library was something my Mom also commented on (lack of books). Mom donated the two bestseller hardbacks she had read while we were in Miami before the trip to the library. It's an honor system for borrowing(no checkout sheet or anything) Maybe, future cruisers if they finish a book on the trip, instead of repacking it, might donate it to the library for future guests' enjoyment. They also a chess set, and other games in the reading room with very comfortable seating. Anybody else who wants the the pages I scanned, please email me.

kk

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GRBlizz

GRBlizz

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kk99 –

Very thorough review for a two-day cruise. I hope mine can be as detailed and unbiased after we complete our TA cruise in April. Prior to that we will also sail the Regatta again, in the same cabin as on Quest. As far as the in-cabin amenities are concerned (flat screen TV, DVD player, etc in your Sky Suite), we’ll have to see how many of the goodies we’ll have in our Sunset Veranda Cabin.

I also read with great interest your comment about the sparse selection of books in the small library. We will bring our own books anyhow, but the library on Regatta is our second favorite hangout besides our balcony.

 

We had an OV (handicapped), and it had the flat screen TV, DVD player, down comforter, choice of pillows, etc. There were also the large Elemis amenities and a separate hair dryer. Lots of nooks and crannies for storage, too. Very comfortable room.

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