oddjob16

So 10 days on Quest snd basically we are good with the product. New cast in the Signature Singers and Dancers and they are a great change. Well done. The Specialities are "no go" for us this week. Had three nights there last week and we have cancelled our three this week. Not worth it, in our opinion. Food is meh on quality and service is indifferent.

Windows continues to be touch and go, and Discovery has been excellent. Morning service in Windows is slow. 

Lack of personell?

Looking forward to the next week. It is not bad.

Promotions and benefits are included when you book the free nights. Much easier now. They changed the rules in December and it finally makes the usage of the free nights benefit a good deal. We just used our six free and are absolutely joyfull. 

17 hours ago, Catchum said:

For years I thought I didn't like gin. I have now discovered gin tastes just fine so long as it is on the rocks or in a martini. IMHO Tonic water is acceptable if you are suffering from malaria. To say one brand is better than another is like debating which cough syrup tastes less bad.

Personal taste is always what is important. Nobody can argue personal taste and I always accept other choices in regards to this. I even accept people who prefer bad wine🤭🤣🤣

3 hours ago, laurieb said:

I'll be onboard too!  I had no idea she would be sailing with us.

It was decided just the other day. She will be on board for three days from Saturday and I just spoke to Johannes about it. He and the rest of the senior crew has high expectations and they are convinced she is the right person at the right time. 
Hence I said that I have ONE issue that has not been fixed for several years and that I have done this conversation with numerous F&B Managers over the years: namely the Tonic Gate. He was sincerely surprised. Maybe it will go to the top this time.

54 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I have another friend onboard who is meeting with her and I've sent her a link to this thread. Maybe we can do something, but my confidence is not high. Hope you are having a super time on Quest. Wish I was there. 

 

Phil 

Apart from this minor issue with the tonic we are very well taken care of. We are approaching Elba (Portoferraia) as we speak and that will be a new port for us. Livorno tomorrow will be a sea day.😄

19 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Odd, it will never change. It keeps coming back. The new CEO gets onboard Quest next week. Maybe someone can make a representation to her?

 

Phil 

I can do that😎🤭

The ongoing struggle for decent tonics seems to be a lost one. On Quest now every Gin is served with the Royal Club Tonic. They do have some Schweppes sugar free, but regularily it is The Cheapest Tonic on Earth served. 

By orders of Higher Management. they say.

Quest at the moment

Emily will replace Martin as CD in a couple of weeks.

Both ships will dock in Nice on the 28th

Happy Star Wars Day, everybody. One week until we board again. Yippie.😁🥂

After a week on Quest we did not experience any lack of quality opposed to our sailing 6 months ago.. 

FYI. On Quest there has been a change of band this week. Musique4Soul going on holiday and is replaced by East Pearl. 

6 hours ago, uktog said:

On Azamara journey at present there is a really bad cough going round - it’s not hayfever as people say because it’s a rasping rattling chest cough and unfortunately when you’re on tour you have people bringing up phlegm beside you and doing very little to take care of where they dispose of their tissues.
Also, the concept of putting your hand to your mouth is not something that many of the older guests seem to want to do.  Despite being extremely careful we now are coming down with it and I think we can pinpoint which shore excursion that happened on - even our guide spoke to the guest about her coughing fits. 

Many crew have the cough as well and I really think the ship should have been more open about the problems and perhaps to have made facemasks more readily available. For several guests the argument for not wearing one when they should be as they did not bring any with them 

If embarking tomorrow you might want to get some cough medicine before boarding 

I have it, too. Suspect that in my case it’s a case of reaction to cold AC in warm weather. Will do a test tonight when we get home. Currently in AMS waiting for the flight to AES.

On 4/11/2024 at 12:01 PM, oddjob16 said:

According to Marcello he will be replaced by Ryzcard early May. Marcello goes on holiday and will then return to Pursuit.

On Star Wars Day to be excact.🤪🤣

Quest is in Melilla today. Melilla is a Spanish enclave in Marocco and the city is very open and welcoming. Lots of Art Deco architecture and very clean and neat. We are mid cruise and so far there is nothing to complain about. Been to Discoveries, Windows and Patio and all meals have been excellent. The included wines are 👍  and no reason for us to go for any upgraded packages. We will not do the speciality restaurants on this cruise, but we will check them out on our two cruises coming up in May.

White Night is tonight. Nice and warm weather, so it will be a blast.😁😁

On 4/8/2024 at 3:38 PM, oddjob16 said:

Azamara Quest as of April 8 2024

According to Marcello he will be replaced by Ryzcard early May. Marcello goes on holiday and will then return to Pursuit.

Azamara Quest as of April 8 2024

Sounds like the ship is now "working" under Ryzcard. He is the hardest working HD. A pleasure to sail with.

27 minutes ago, tgg said:

I am grateful today that I'm retired and don't have to make critical decisions with far-reaching and complicated consequences.

Sadly that’s not true. Complicated decisions all the time. Go and make tea, then take trip to the loo, or go to the loo first, then make tea…..And so it goes. On and on…🤣😂

BIG news must be something more than the new CEO or new itineraries for 26/27.  I am expecting anmouncement of a new build in the 1000- segment.

27 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Big news coming on the 10th April. Wonder if that will excite?  Or another special offer?

 

Phil 

First thing that comes to mind is a new build.

1 hour ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Will be happy to do so if someone else can confirm this. I had a look at the Ts & Cs on the Azamara site and there’s no mention of whether unused OBC can be transferred over to the second/subsequent cruise of a B2B.

They treat the B2B as one reservation. You can consider your OBC a total for both cruises.

1 hour ago, Heartfelttraveler said:

No guests between May 3 and May 29.  

Obviously. The cruise is cancelled. 

Port Nah Rong. Ten minutes on the coach from Rex Hotel. Always!

3 hours ago, uktog said:

Thanks

 

And finally 72 hours late we are home - Buenos Aires was getting very boring though fascinating as always.  We did see the impact of the hyper inflation first hand - ever morning when we went to the little "25 hour store" beside our hotel the price of water had gone up - we started at 650 pesos and ended our trip at 900.  The increased cost of a can of Heineken in the hotel was even more significant - we watched them print and replace bar menus every evening.

 

The car park excess was not cheap so that is certainly going to Lufthansa.

 

But in our final thoughts - we are so glad we did this cruise - was it perfect - well can you even define perfect.  Yes there were several things that could have been delivered better my Azamara but overall it was a great cruise.  Are there signs of corner cutting on Azamara -- yes there are and that plus inconsistency remains a concern but we were happy enough to make another booking on board.

 

Thanks to all the fellow passengers who made this voyage so memorable.

Glad you finally got yourself back to your island in the North Sea..🤭🤭Nothing like home. I am not sure your CD will get any new contracts, though...