TuckerCrowe

Cabin Number 6062

Ship Quest

Month/Year sailed June 2014

Would you choose this room again. Y

Is noise an issue: N

Balcony size Normal

Any other comments: quiet, close to aft stairs and elevator, one flight down to Mosaic Cafe for morning cappuccino!

I thinling the OP wanted to see food in the MDR that was more local food or style. Windows as always had themed nights but after several cruise you wish they would change the themes.

I missed that, good point.

We were on the same cruise and also had a fabulous vacation. Our focus may have been a bit different from the OP, so I'll add my two cents:

1. Agree 100% about the internet. In addition to the Wifi connectivity issues, we spent a bit of time in the internet cafe with several others trying to print boarding passes for our flight home. I was lucky; on my second visit, they printed without incident. However, to give you an idea of the problem, a cheer went up every time the printer started. Some folks were not successful at all. I also was flabbergasted that they would make you use paid minutes to print boarding passes.

2. We live in Florida, so really didn't spend much time by the pool during the day, other than walking through to get the fitness center.

3. We thought the White Night entertainment was fun, skipped the magician, and spent about 10 minutes watching one of the singing/dancing shows before we decided it really wasn't to our taste. We go to a lot of big name concerts and routinely visit NYC and see Broadway shows, so may be a bit jaded in that respect.

4. They did have a Greek themed buffet in Windows. There was a Greek salad station with local feta cheese, calamari, gyros, dolmades, souvlaki, and baklava dessert. They also had some of the above Greek dishes at the White Night buffet. In general, I thought Windows served above average buffet food, had a pretty good meal in the Discovery dining room, and found the two specialty restaurants outstanding in service, presentation and taste (we had dinner one night in each). I would also like to complement the sushi station in Windows; not as good as our favorite local sushi place, but much better than we've ever had on a buffet.

5. Overall, we felt that Azamara provided an outstanding experience. As the OP said, just a lot of nice little touches that made the cruise special. We really didn't mind the room size (we had a V2) and, although the shower was certainly small, the controls and water pressure were more than adequate. We took advantage of the port intensive itinerary and spent a lot of time outside the ship in each port, going on the group excursions all but two of the days. The beautiful weather during the entire cruise didn't hurt, either. :D

Sub question #1: My 25th wedding anniversary is June 18, a few days prior to sailing, so I can't really say "What can azamara do for me that will make my anniversary special", Since its not actually while we are sailing. But: Any suggestions to make the first night a bit more 'special'? My wife has put up with me for a quarter of a century, I feel like I should do something nice. I plan on eating in one of the specialty restaurants, but above/beyond that?

 

I fly out in 1 week from tomorrow......Excited!

Taking her on this cruise seems kind of 'special' ;)

Actually, we will be celebrating our 30th in the late fall. It's easier for me to take time off in the summer and seeing the Greek Islands was on my wife's list of dream vacations, so we are treating ourselves now.

I am so with you! It's all I can think about right now. Leaving for Athens on the 18th, but I wish it was tonight instead.

Azamara is not a luxury line more of an upper premium

That's why I put "luxury" in quotes. ;)

OP, I'm a huge Seabourn fan, but if this was my first time 'moving up' I'd go for itinerary over amenities too. Especially if you're not based in Europe and therefore a European cruise is a big deal for you.

 

Have you looked at Oceania too? We have friends who sail with them very often and prefer them over Azamara.

Thanks. The Seaborne and Azamara were the only two "luxury" options on the search engine for our vacation time window and itinerary desires. And yes, the European cruise is a 'big deal' for us, since we haven't been to Greece before and 10-14 days total would be my maximum time away from the office.

The itinerary on the Azamara is very port intensive and definitely trumps the Seaborne for us. They now also include one excursion per port in the base price...but not sure if that will make them cattle calls.

Thanks. I am leaning towards choosing itinerary over amenities.

We're veterans of mass market cruising, but have been staying in luxury hotels lately, and thought we'd move up in the cruise line world as well.

My wife wants to go to Greece for our 30th anniversary (neither of us have been), my vacation falls mid June. I have narrowed it down to the Seaborne Odyssey leaving 6/21 or the Azamara Quest leaving the same day. If we chose the Azamara, would probably move up to a balcony room, so the cruise pricing would not be appreciably different (~$1000), although Azamara's current specials may widen it a bit. We are not drinkers, but do enjoy creative dining. On board entertainment not important at all. I do like to get up early, have a nice cup of coffee and work out. The itinerary on the Azamara looks much more exciting and to our liking than the Seaborne.

So do we choose itinerary or comfort/amenities?