excitedofharpenden

Just to manage your expectations the nights aren't free. You'd think you'd book a cruise and they would pro-rata it down by two nights, but in reality all the special offers are stripped out leaving a higher price. Then the free nights are applied. No single supplement deals either. Just the normal 200% So in most cases unless you have a few free nights and are considering a cruise without offers attached it's cheaper to book without using the free nights. Have a read of the terms and conditions carefully. I had 10 free nights and I could make that work well. I've used 6 on a 7 day cruise and that was pretty good, but the taxes and port fees are still applied and I ended up paying near £1000 (I was able to stay in a CW suite though). I'm sitting with 3 at the moment and doubt I'll use them. The free nights are an over complicated Azamara Circle benefit in my opinion and are anything but free. Phil

Yes, me too. Totally. As I have said previously, it's a bad decision and hopefully has been sorted. Anyone who has been on Onward recently able to comment? If it's still restricted as uktog reported I'm prepared to message someone up the line on the ship. I have no desire to live with this restriction if I book Onward. Phil

I'm probably a bit of a heathen, but will drink my white wine with ice to keep it a bit more chilled. Not too much. Just a cube or two. Phil

I was on the Ultimate on Quest recently and the Nicolas Feuillatte was the one that was I served all the time and I really liked it. A nice biscuity champagne taste. Phil

Don't ponder over the negative. Just go and enjoy and decide for yourself I'm not long back from Quest and have done many cruises on Azamara since 2011. I loved it and noticed no degradation in the on onboard experience. Just the same service and atmosphere Have fun! Phil

Uktog has indicated that Onward had the door to the locker rooms closed except for spa pass holders. I can't confirm as I've not been on Onward, but all the other ships have free access to them and the showers. It seems a bit stoopid because the stream room is in there too and that's always been available for everyone. Hopefully they have changed this policy. Phil

The showers in the locker room I really like. There are two. One is larger and has 7 shower heads that come out from the top and side, although being a ship they aren't that powerful. The second one is smaller and has a standard shower head and an overhead waterfall head. I actually prefer this one. The product in the showers are Elemis Revitalise Me which I really like. The standard room shower is just not an issue for me when compared to the rest of the experience. I've stayed in a variety of cabins with all sorts of shower stalls, but it's the rsst of it that counts. Phil

I love some of the gluten free items and I'm ok with gluten. The financiers are delicious. Phil

I found a photo! Lol Phil

Mid-July on Journey it was back to the normal muster meeting for everyone in Main Dining Room/Cabaret Phil

Yes, my speedtest showed Starlink too when I did it. Phil

I'd agree with everything you say. Phil

I was on Quest last month and the wifi was awful. Not sure if they had particular issues on the Greek Intensive we were on. I read so much positivity about Starlink so was very hopeful, but was really disappointed at the number of times it dropped out and we had no internet. I'd agree with others though. The reciprocal perks if you do get them aren't worth getting too excited about. The onboard experience for me is the biggest perk. Phil

I have to say that I'm not really a room service person either and half or more of eating in the Specialty Restaurant is actually going, but if I'm not feeling up to it there are a couple of dishes I really like. And of course the large suites have a proper dining table which makes it more attractive if one wants a quiet/romantic meal with a balcony view. We had a table set up on the balcony going through the Suez. It was special as there were a few us. The soup? Try it. It's really good. Has a little pile of baked potato in the bottom of the bowl that the soup is poured over 🙂 Phil

I don't think it's actually written anywhere, but specialty room service is normally for the COs and CWs only. Having said that I was in a Club Continent Suite last month and asked for the soup from Prime C. I asked very nicely and my butler was more than happy to oblige. I hadn't been feeling well and it was what I fancied. The baked potato soup duly arrived and served properly being poured from the "teapot". My butler knew what he was doing as he used to serve in the specialties. He was probably taken back to his last job! Lol Phil

The longest walk (if there are any long walks on an Azamara ship!) is from the cabin to the elevator bank and that's regardless of deck so I think it's a none issue. I'd also mention that being in one of the big suites you can order off the Specialty Restaurant menus for room service. Phil

You are talking CO suites at the front not the CW suites aft that's being discussed here. Phil

Go for deck 6. The balconies get deeper as you go down. 6 is deeper than 7 is deeper than 8. The difference between 6 and 8 is noticeable. Aqualina is a great option for breakfast. We never had it anywhere else on Quest and it's a very nice suite perk. Partly because of the food (they consistently did a "Masterchef" poached egg) and partly because of the service, ambience and nice chinaware. Phil

I'm looking to him for next promotion to assistant chief housekeeper. I think he'd be excellent. Phil

Have not long returned from a super Greece Intensive 11 night cruise on Quest. The old adage "it's all about the people" holds true. We were lucky to have a great team in charge from Captain Johannes through to HD Tatiana Morello, new F and B Manager Ertan from Turkey and on to Cruise Director Darren Lynton who is just great. Service in Aqualina from Suraj was top notch, from breakfast in the morning to dinner in the evening. We had a couple of really nice meals at Patio served by Bafaati. An excellent and professional waiter. If any of you going on Quest are lucky enough to have Robert as your butler, you are in for a treat. I remember him as a waiter in the Specialty Restaurant. The guy is indeed special. All in all a wonderful cruise with very good food and the usual brilliant service from everyone. I see no decline in Azamara since the change of ownership. I felt the same way last Autumn. Looking forward to the next one. Phil

Exactly. The "free" nights I've learned over time are not free, but if you have enough of them and you are booking a full priced cruise they can work. Trouble is with the plethora of deals Azamara have you are more likely to be better off using those than the free nights. I've got three. I honestly doubt I'll use them. Phil

Hope you are enjoying. We are having a fab time despite the heat. Phil

The one before had 670 and the next has about the same. It seems so hard to predict and I'm not sure why this cruise hasn't sold. Except that I booked reasonably late (April) and struggled with flights which were expensive. Coming into kids holiday season here. Perhaps that's a reason that folk struggled to get here in reasonable cost. Agree, we need to see ships sail full. Phil

Just started to sail now. Check in was the best I have EVER done on Azamara. On the ship after 10 minutes at 12.15. No waiting. It's 40°+ here and Azamara instructed the port no waiting. Normal lifeboat drill because of circumstances. I'm told 308 onboard. So quiet. Great to see some familiar crew faces. Phil

The hanging cage chairs in the Living Room on Pursuit weren't hanging and sat on the floor for ages. Are they still on the floor? Azamara really let themselves down on not correctimg small details like this that are very obvious. It's odd. Like a disconnect between the ship and the land operation. Phil