A longish review of Quest Black Sea 23 August cruise

[uktog]

We have just returned from a really enjoyable 14 night cruise on Quest and are writing this to share what we found on Quest and also to give our experiences in the ports of the Eastern Med and Black Sea. It was lovely to meet the CCers we knew electronically at the reception laid on by Azamara before dinner on the first at sea day. This was attended by all the senior officers including the Captain.

 

We were on Quest in January in the Far East and at that time we gave it 4 stars. Then, a lot went well but there were gaps in part because there were many new staff on board and they were struggling to get things right in the dining rooms.

 

So what about this trip - in summary it well deserved 5 stars!!

 

We boarded in Rome, having made our own flight and transfer arrangements. We travelled the day before and stayed at the Hilton Rome Airport using Hilton rewards. The hotel is ideally positioned, being in walking distance of the airport, however the service was very poor and had I paid the price appearing on the website when I booked I would have been very unhappy. However, it all picked up as soon as Romecabs driver arrived very promptly and drove us down to the port with nice conversation on the way as our young driver who was studying English practiced his skills.

 

Boarding was very efficient, our sky suite was not ready (it was noon) but they even took our hand luggage once we were on board and took them straight to the room for us. Rooms were ready ahead of schedule and we met our very efficient butler Zoran. Now previously we knew he had been only ok but whether it is because of guidance he has had or because he has learned, we found him to be very good and little things like our breakfast order was always spot on. Zoran was helped by Sanjav (who was on his last trip of his contract but will be back) and the friendly Remy. Of course, Chief Housekeeper Edwin is a friend to many CC readers having been a stateroom attendant and latterly butler with Celebrity. He is a gem and the housekeeping team have a huge respect for him, knowing he has done their jobs before. Edwin and his assistant are both very visible. We could find no fault with anything about our suite, the service there or the overall cleanliness of the general areas. In our room, sodas were regularly stocked and they were so generous with the bottled water we could have run a rival water sale service on trips!

 

Dining first night was in Prime C – it was lovely on boarding to be greeted by Lorimel who was looking after suite bookings (everyone from a suite was invited to eat in a special restaurant first night) who remembered us from before so first night several of the waiters including his compatriot Dus we had met on the last trip popped by to say hello which was a nice touch. We dined twice more in Prime C and four times in Aqualina – all excellent nights. But our biggest surprise was Discoveries where the food and service were top notch so much better than last time, the lovely Ante is back on board as Manager and on our first trip he placed us with the delightful Pacheco who will retire next year after being with Celebrity since the start. We asked to be seated at one of his tables on every subsequent visit and had fantastic service, always addressed by name and all our preferences were remembered. Food was spot on every night – well done to Niyazi the Hotel Director (where did you disappear to week 2, not at the Cruise Critic party or final waves so hope you are OK) and Donald Cameron the F and B manager

 

John Howell joined as Cruise Director on our trip, we were delighted to have John having sailed with him several times before. As we all know, entertainment is lower key on Azamara and with 10 port days in 14 many people wanted early nights. In fact John recognised this and it was a running joke each night. First week entertainment especially Lindsay Hamilton was very good, second week less so and Greg Bonham was a mismatch – more Carnival than Azamara (it was his first booking, first night I thought he had yet to gauge the audience, second performance many walked out and we struggled to stay to the end a first for us). The Activities team did run daytime activities though I gather they had very few/no takers. In fact bingo was in the end only offered twice on board and the casino had no one playing most nights. Did not bother us, but if you are looking for an active lively ship Azamara is not for you.

 

To our ports

 

To highlight feedback from earlier trips has been acted on, there are no shuttles in ports, just good guidance on free or short 1 euro transport to the centre of towns. The local guides come on board at every port and provide excellent guidance and maps.

 

Sorrento – been there before so had a lazy day walking around town and having a lovely gelato in Primavera where everyone goes (even a picture of the Pope on the wall having one!) Many other passengers made there way to Pompeii or Capri using local transport without problems.

 

That night a big surprise, on leaving port Captain Carl decided to sail round Capri so great photos and then advised we would be coming past Strombolli around 0030 – we decided to stay up in case. News from the Bridge at midnight was yes they could see it was an active night. Just as we sailed past, a wonderful display you could really feel and see the power of mother nature

 

Santorini - Like all ports we arrived an hour ahead of plan at noon, sailing out at 2300. We took the local bus to Oia – 1 euro 40 cents per person each way, no other currency accepted. Great wander around and a lovely coffee with a view. The cable car is 4 euros each way so we had a perfect day for under 30 euros!! In the evening the ship put on a great Greek buffet and the officers did Greek dancing joined by the Dad of the Safety Officer who was on board. The Captain his wife and son watched it all and Captain was first to go and thank both the Dad and the officers – nice touch.

 

Kusidasi – Again a repeat port for us and we wanted a Beach Day. Probably our fault in that we were not clear what we wanted to the local rep and we ended up at a Beach Club very near the ship. Very clean and pleasant but shingle rather than the sand other cruisers reported they had enjoyed further afield.

 

Chios – We loved this port - they have to close the street so the gangway can go down!! There is no real focus on tourism or shops other than where the locals go but we followed the walking guide given by the tourist rep on board and had a nice day. We heard from others that the inland tours were fantastic and someone who hired a car had found wonderful beaches. To us this was real Greece

 

Istanbul – Again a repeat port so we asked Ekol to set up a walking tour of the Spice and local markets and some less known mosques (the Yeni New Mosque and Sokollu Mehmet Pasa Mosque) It was during Ramadan and Hassan our guide was himself a Muslim so he took (having asked us if we wanted free time) the opportunity to pray when we were at the second Mosque. This was a really great afternoon and we really feel we got to understand Istanbul and its cultures. (We did nothing on Day 2 just enjoyed the sail out up the Bosphorous that night, beautiful)

 

Sinop is like Chios, a place not geared for tourists but again somewhere you get a feel for what life is actually about. We went a walk and then sat in the park overlooking the ship. On a port intensive cruise, you need stops like this where you see a little but rest a lot.

 

Yalta – from now on we did ships tours and we were very impressed with the organisation (only once did more than 2 buses go out on any one trip) and the standard of English was excellent. We were never taken to a shop or factory on behalf of the ship, in fact if anything shopping opportunities were limited again not an issue for us.

 

In Yalta we went on the trip Crimea Diamonds which took us to Levadia Palace (Czar Nicholas summer palace and scene of the 1944 Yalta conference) and Vorontsovs Palace where Winston Churchill stayed during Yalta

 

In Sevastapol we went on the Battlefields Tour, firstly the Panorama – not sure how to describe it but amazing circular painting/ relief of the Siege of Sevastopol, you really think you are there in the middle of the battle. Then on to Sappoune Heights (1944 battle) which also overlooks the scene of the Battle of Balaclava and the Charge of the Light Brigade.

 

Finally in the Ukraine Odessa where we went on a very moving visit to underground catacombs where Resistance members lived (and many so sadly died) during World War 2 – this really made you think and respect.

 

In all these ports we were docked in the centre of the town so you could walk around the town area in the afternoon after the excursions if you wanted

 

In Varna we opted for the Bulgarian Countryside visit – after a stop at Varna Cathedral and the amazing Madara Horseman relief (8thc rock carving) we went to a local house for a lunch prepared by the ladies and were entertained by Uncle George and his accordion before grandma showed us how to make the lovely savoury pie. This was so genuine – some patio chairs in the garden, underneath the grapes about to be harvested beside the veg plots was lovely.

 

All too soon this marvellous cruise came to an end with a bump, though to be fair not Azamara’s fault. Arriving at Athens airport we find contrary to BA policy no fast bag drop was running and everyone was to stand in line and wait 90 minutes + with all their luggage for check in to open even for business class. (BA have confirmed to me today this should not have happened as all checked in passengers should have had a drop off facility and they are investigating why in any event given the queue the local staff did not set up the process ahead of the scheduled time)

 

What can we say in conclusion – well one man I have not mentioned, Captain Carl Smith, the most outgoing Captain ever who clearly enjoys every port he goes to and has a genuine enthusiasm for his job. More crucially he knows his crew, publically acknowledges the backroom team as well as those we see and who clearly has the respect of his entire team

 

Quest was a happy ship, a pleasure to be on board and the whole trip was a great. If anyone has any questions just ask

[Paulchili]

uktog,

Thank you for the review.

I am feeling better and better about our first A cruise coming up in Sept 2010 (after 4 O cruises).

Thanks,

Paul

[Marie-Claude]

Thanks uktog!

 

We were on the cruise after yours in Asia last year, and will be on the Quest again in 52 days!! I sure hope Captain Smith and John will still be onboard when we cruise at the end of October!

 

That sailing around Capri and by Stromboli must have been really fun! I love these little impromtu adventure!!!

 

MC

[Jancruz]

well done to Niyazi the Hotel Director (where did you disappear to week 2, not at the Cruise Critic party or final waves so hope you are OK) and Donald Cameron the F and B manager

 

So glad you had the same positive experience we had on the cruise before you..I had an email from Niyazi today and he has been transferred over to the Century..I hope to be on the Century in March and have the pleasure of seeing him again..

Jancruz1

[captainK]

 

 

Dining first night was in Prime C – it was lovely on boarding to be greeted by Lorimel who was looking after suite bookings (everyone from a suite was invited to eat in a special restaurant first night)

 

 

 

On our August 9th sailing on Quest we were in a verandah stateroom and at boarding we (and everyone else) were asked if we wanted a reservation at any of the two specialty restaurants that evening because they had expected that there would be a big rush of people in Discoveries the first night.

We chose Aqualina that same night and it was lovely as were the other six reservations we were able to make there and at Prime C over the next two weeks.

[uktog]

well done to Niyazi the Hotel Director (where did you disappear to week 2, not at the Cruise Critic party or final waves so hope you are OK) and Donald Cameron the F and B manager

 

So glad you had the same positive experience we had on the cruise before you..I had an email from Niyazi today and he has been transferred over to the Century..I hope to be on the Century in March and have the pleasure of seeing him again..

Jancruz1

 

Jan

I am so glad he is ok!! Announcements kept mentioning him but he was not there - when you email can you tell him Charles will only forgive him for liking Fergie if he lets Liverpool have some points we had saved our copy of Stephen Gerrards bio for him but gave it to one of the guys at the pool instead

hope we see him soon

Ann

[uktog]

Couple of things I forgot to say

If you are from the UK and done a reservation through Captains Club for a Speciality Restaurant go immediately you board and check it is on their system. Although we had a confirmation email through X UK with us, the reservation had not gone all the way through the system. As we checked as soon as we boarded my husbands birthday dinner was saved as Cemel immediately was able to fit us in - might not have been the case if it had been nearer the day

On a positive I have been critical of the spa in the past in terms of being overpriced and pushy on sales. This time I have to say I had a great experience. To be honest the spa team had virtually NO business. In the 2 hours I was in at sailaway time I was the only customer all the time. To encourage guests to visit they had packages - I enjoyed salon treats which consisted of a lovely frangipan scalp massage, a facial, a hand and arm massage, a foot and ankle massage and my hair washed and blow dried all for $120 which I thought was very good value. The therapist recommended two products, was very complimentary about where I did not need products and also the quality of my haircut and was not pushy. Indeed he suggested if I did not want to carry the products home I might like to look for them at a local Elemis supplier which I thought was very honest

A

[Julie Jean]

Hi Ann

 

Great review. Am so glad to hear that many of the fantastic crew are still onboard - especially the wonderful Edwin.

 

The itinerary sounds great - I may have to review my plans for a Spring 2010 cruise on Azamara...! :)

 

Julie

[ruppert18]

Hi UKTog. It was nice to meet you at the cruise critic get together. You really did an excellent job of summing up the trip. We were in a Sky Suite also and would not sail in a regular cabin:( after seeing it. Our friends had a running joke about opening the bathroom door and hitting the wall! We are used to service on Seabourn and Silver Seas and even Oceania so there were many things we missed on the Azamara (but the cost is CONSIDERABLY less). The service in the Windows Cafe is missing. We had a difficult time finding someone to pour coffee or water or clear tables - and we are used to the waiters carrying our food to the table. Many of the waiters look bored!! :(

The head butler (I think Eurp - sp??) was excellent. Yes we could have sold the water on the gangway!

All public rooms are immaculate - our suite was kept very well maintained.

The Capt and his darling son were always so accessible and friendly. John Howell is a gem;)!! Agreed about Lindsay Hamilton - she was the highlight of the entertainment. We only used private guides since we dislike group bus tours so can't comment on them. Thought the spa services were excellent and the gym more than adequate.

Would definitely sail again depending on the itinerary. Ship is beautiful and we had a wonderful time.

[Andy]

Hi Uktog !

 

Thank you for your wonderful review. It is so nice to hear about some dear friends... John Howell, Niyazi, Cemel, and Edwin. I'm very happy to hear you had a great Cruise on Azamara Quest. Welcome Home !

[Skeezics]

UKtog: Great Review! We were on the same cruise and cannot say enough positive things.

 

We were in a veranda cabin and are Elite members....we, too, were offered dining in one of the specialty restaurants on the first evening. We loved the itinerary and everything about the cruise....so much so that we booked the May 29, Holy Land Cruise. This time we thought we would try a Sky Suite; though we were satisfied with our veranda since it was such a port intensive cruise. We did not use the ship's excursions; rather had our own guides or used taxis and trains.

 

Have not experienced such a friendly crew that interacted with the guests. I would not hesitate to recommend Azamara....my biggest fear is that so many people will discover what a gem the Quest and Journey are that prices will start to climb. Just a note of interest, we met several past Oceania cruisers who said they couldn't find a single thing that was different between the two lines and could not justify the price difference.

 

Sorry to have missed the Cruise Critic get together. Guess we were having too much fun.

[California Native]

Thank you for your review...as a new Azamara cruiser I soak these up!

on a total side note my DH and I did a land tour this year into Bulgaria along with Greece and Turkey

and LOVED it!

Bulgaria is a quick flight from IST and ATH that you could do it pre/post trip from a Black Sea Cruise and on the cruise you were already getting just a little taste of this wonderful country

If you want to know more just let me know