Lottie A

Lets get another open passage certificate on Quest in October Hazel....and then look at an itinerary that includes Rhodes in 2014? :)

Sorry to hijack your thread Tim....glad you are enjoying yourself.

Loved your pics of Rhodes and White Night Tim. I love Rhodes.

The next AZ or Celebrity cruise I book is definitely going to have to call at Rhodes......are you paying attention Hazel? :)

HudandPug .....I know about the type of cruise before yours, so I can make a guess as to what the "object" was, but I do think you should have told Ryszard the Hotel Director. I have never had a dusty and unclean cabin on Quest and I think he would have been appalled to learn of your experience. :eek:

My experience (and granted it is mine) has been that there is a notification in the cabin 2 or 3 days into the cruise. The OBCs have always appeared by day 2 from what I can remember and often beat the written note. You can check it via the menu on the interactive TV. On the many occasions I have had OBCs, either that I have bought or been given I have never had an issue with them not being there, either on Azamara or sister company Celebrity.

 

Phil

I agree Phil.....my experience too. And occasionally I have been given OBC that I wasn't even expecting. But it was very nice to get it and I had no trouble whatsoever in spending it either! :D

Tim.....there will be a CC party held anyway, as others have said. The email is computer generated from Miami but the lovely crew onboard will make sure it's held anyway. Ask the Le Club Voyage Hostess, Guest Relations as UKtog said or look in the Pursuits magazine for the times.

Have a great time. :)

I thought I'd post the link to the pics of the drinks price lists on this thread too.

These were taken on Quest a week ago. They are not great quality but readable.

https://picasaweb.google.com/116396719857053580602/May252013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJn9j83unPaLxAE&feat=directlink

7040 on Quest. Inside cabin. Never again!

Very noisy, especially early morning. Directly opposite a crew door, which was on a spring mechanism and it slammed shut constantly. Azamara were aware of the noise issue in this cabin and changed it for me with no problem.

Changed to 7055, also an inside cabin, which was very peaceful and quiet.

This was my first time in an Inside cabin on any ship and I found them quite acceptable. Prefer a Balcony naturally, but I think I would book an Inside again.

Same here....never had a problem getting any of the included wines served on ANY day, including in the speciality restaurants.

Just ask nicely and it will be done. :)

Well, we are on the inaugural all inclusive cruise. The ship is fantastic, food cannot be beaten and the service is exemplary. One word of warning though, if you want a drink before 17:30 you are pretty much stuffed unless you want to go to the pool bar (and it's raining today). Very misleading, why cant they just open one of the inside bars?

 

Left to go back to our stateroom and pay for expensive wine. No champagne by the bottle to your room either?!!?

If its raining then surely you could have a drink at Mosaic cafe?

So glad to hear you are having a good time though.....despite the rain.

Tim, to be clear, I am not flaming or denigrating you. I am merely commenting on the recent flood of negativity from some posters.....which started long before you joined. This forum used to be a very pleasant place to visit, to help others by answering questions and share our wonderful memories of past Azamara cruises and look forward to our future ones. It's not like that anymore and that makes me sad. I cannot believe that one night Host Andy had to virtually lock some threads down because of the way they were turning. :( This is not the behaviour of the cultured, pleasant and entertaining people we meet on Azamara cruises.

I am British too and I booked my May Azamara cruise when it was advertised in the UK as "all inclusive" but I never expected this to include top shelf alcohol.....did you? No matter what alcohol is chosen there will always be someone who says "but I drink XXXXXXXX and why isn't that included?" There are many choices available in the included alcohol package and IMHO the extra alcohol packages are very good value indeed. So you could go on an Azamara cruise and not spend anything extra......if that is your choice.

With everything that is included in an Azamara cruise your inboard spend should be very acceptable indeed. No cruise line is truly all inclusive, as I'm sure you know but looking at the choices available on Azamara, I'd say it is doing quite well.

I have been to many Meet&Mingle's on Quest....And not ONCE have I heard even the slightest hint of a moan.....from any nationality! These great opportunities to meet up with your fellow CC members, have a chat to the wonderful officers and generally socialise are a very special part of an Azamara cruise. They don't happen on Oceania or Silversea for example....and I know that many CC members who commonly sail on those cruiselines are lobbying for them to be a part of the cruise....but so far, not with much success.

Perhaps that could be due to them not having the wonderful direct line to AZ management that we are so lucky to have here? Of course I refer to "our Bill Leiber". Does any other CC forum have a "Bill"? Not to my knowledge. He works hard for us all.....and I think it's a tribute to Azamara management that they had the iniative to give us a direct line to them. Just try to get some information on what is currently happening on Silversea for example. Much speculation from seasoned cruisers but no information from SS management at all.

I have just got back from a week in Las Vegas and have been catching up with the posts. I have to say that the tidal wave of negativity from some posters is really beginning to make me angry and upset. As other posters have said....some of these people have not even been on an Azamara ship! I think it was Phil who mentioned "perceived value" but I might be wrong because I'm somewhat jet lagged.....anyway, to me the perceived value of an Azamara cruise does not lie in the free drinks list or any other physical element of the cruise. It is all about what those people who have not yet set foot on Quest or Journey cannot understand and those of you who have been on board know what I'm talking about without me having to say it. :)

As for the drinks packages and the included drinks.....seems more than fine to me. I hope they include Mango Martini's but it won't ruin my cruise if they don't.

The upgrade package prices seem more than fair to me too....and I am quite sure that I would get great value from buying one. But if I don't then a couple of dollars for a Tanqueray 10 or a glass of fizzy water won't exactly break the bank.

Can we please get back to some happy anticipation of our upcoming Azamara cruises and give the depressing moaning a bit of a rest? Do you all know how lucky we are to be able to cruise on these wonderful ships?

I know I will be jumping with joy to get back on the wonderful Quest in a couple of weeks time.

I am off on another cruise next week.....not on Azamara but I won't expect it to be like Azamara either. And we will be paying a lot more for our drinks. :rolleyes:

Captain Carl is from the Isle of Man. Can't imagine he would let anyone else take his ship to his home island.

He most certainly wouldn't! ;)

They are planning a big welcome home for him....with all sorts of boats greeting Quest as she sails in to Douglas. Should be an amazing sight and I would REALLY like to be on that cruise.

I was on the Quest recently and asked about Jim Badger. I was told not to expect to see him back on the Quest. Could be wrong, but that's what I was told by someone who is in a position to know.

I was also told this last October....and again by someone who was in a position to know.

Jim was very funny and I really enjoyed his sets.....but after several cruises on Quest it had come to the point where I knew every word he would say next.

Nevertheless he will be missed if he does not return and I wish him well.

Thank you Andy.....I'm very happy with Captain Carl, Russ and Ryszhard for our May 5th cruise. :)

Hi Rampant Snail,

I have just done my first Silversea cruise and we had a wonderful time. The standard of food, service and entertainment were exceptional and I am sure you will have a fantastic first experience on Silversea. We will certainly be booking another cruise with them very soon.

Perhaps some of the regulars on Silversea do say that standards have declined...I am a dedicated Azamara cruiser and it has been noticeable that there have been a few reviews recently claiming the same decline in the usually wonderful Azamara experience too.....but I have to say that I think both lines provide a wonderful and unique cruise experience and the crew on both SS and AZ try very hard to make it so.

Don't cancel.....you will have a fantastic time.

I enjoy Jim Badger's routines very much too.....but I must say, after several years of listening to him, that I know his act back to front now. If he is back on Quest for my next cruise in May then I do hope he has some new material.

Max di Faz has a different style to Jim, but I enjoyed his act very much on Quest last September. He also kindly sent me a free copy of his new CD.

I am really looking forward to seeing either of them again.....and also the newly refurbed Quest.

Hi Ellen,

Max di Faz is the Mosaic entertainer on Quest at present and I think he is due to stay on for at least a few more months.

He is a nice man, with a mellow voice and also a very good piano player. He is going to send me one of his Cd's, due out in November.

He also doesn't mind if you like to talk sometimes when he is playing! :D

I don't know how accurate this is.....as it is only hearsay from another entertainer on Quest two weeks ago, but I was told that Jim Badger was not presently booked for any further contracts on Quest for the foreseeable future. It was implied by the other entertainer that this was Jim's own choice.

As I said, just hearsay though and I hope he does return in the future, as he is certainly entertaining.

I got off Quest yesterday and was happy to have finally sailed with Captain Johannes, who is a very pleasant gentleman. He told us that Captain Leif Carlson had some health issues and so he had decided to retire.

The new Azamara Captain Stieg Nilsson, who was previously with Royal Caribbean, was onboard "learning the ropes" from Captain Johannes and was seen around the ship and briefly introduced to us all, but he was not formally taking charge as Captain until the next cruise.

We heard that Captain Nilsson even lives on his boat when not Captaining a ship.....he does not have a house on land! A true man of the sea.

Thanks so much for that info Andy. Any chance of making it a "sticky" so it can be updated?

Many thanks for doing this for us at such a sad time for you and your family. We really do appreciate it.

Hi Malcliz,

 

Quest June 17th sailing :

 

Master - Carl Smith

Hotel Director - Philip Herbert

Cruise Director - Russ Grieve

 

You are very lucky Malcliz - you have the "dream team". :)

 

I hope they are still there for my cruise on Quest at the end of September.

OK....food for thought there.

I don't have long to wait to compare them both, so perhaps I will post my comparisons and thoughts on the pro's and con's of Azamara and Oceania when I return.

I have to say that Marina looks to be a very beautiful ship though.....but I don't think any ship could replace Quest in my affections, so I may be agreeing with travelinjudy after our return in June.

And I will get my next Quest "fix" in September.....this cruise is to replace our cancelled Nov 7th cruise.....but almost four weeks after booking we STILL haven't received any paperwork! :(

We are sailing on Oceania Marina in just under a month ourselves and then will be able to compare this cruise line with the wonderful Azamara experience.

I am a devoted Azamara fan......well the onboard experience anyway ;) and I think Oceania would have to be very good indeed to compare favourably with the wonderful crew, food, service and the great atmosphere on Quest. Simply put......absolutely the BEST crew and ship at sea.......with Journey coming in a close second!

However, I do have to say that I am very happy with the Oceania pre cruise information, the booking process, the lovely presentation of the pre cruise documents and the prompt shoreside service when I asked them a question about the ports of call. The Azamara shoreside team could certainly learn some lessons here.

And of course......it is very easy to obtain an Oceania Brochure!

Sorry Bill.......couldn't resist it!! :D:D:D