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Long but hopefully informative Quest review

kk99

By kk99,
in Azamara

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kk99

kk99

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Hi everyone,

Well I've heard from my TA and as well as a Celebrity cruise manager representative about this sailing. They both were concerned about all of the problems that have been reported and said they would also follow up with the Azamara management. I also forwarded to them a link to this thread and the other reviews of the first sailings on Quest. I've got an office pool bet on when I hear back from Azamara from the letter that I sent to their customer service, Captain's Club and to Mr. Hanrahan. I'm still waiting to see if they are going to send me a statement for my onboard charges and the next deposit that I put down on Azamara.

kk

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GRBlizz

GRBlizz

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May I add something that I don't think has been discussed? There's a disconnect between what Customer Service told us and what turned out to be the truth, and that makes me distrust CS as a communications channel.

 

When we were notified the day before sailing that our confirmed specialty dining reservation would not be honored, we were told that the reason for cancellation was overbooking. We talked to the rep and to a supervisor, who left to get more information. When she came back, she assured us that the reservations were being cancelled in reverse order of when they were made, and we just booked too late.

 

Obviously, that was incorrect information. When we got to the pier, we were handed a letter stating that they had decided to reserve the specialty dining rooms for the suite and Elite passengers. Everyone not in those categories was canceled, regardless of when they booked.

 

I am not arguing about the decision. I am asking why on earth the customer service reps - and supervisors - were not given the truth to share with passengers?!

 

That experience does not give me great confidence that anything I say to Customer Service will make it back to the decision-makers, nor does it give me great confidence that what any of us hear from CS is accurate, including their assurance that Management is watching these threads.

 

Am I looking at this wrong?

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kk99

kk99

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Hi Donna,

You have a valid point about the various answers we are getting from customer service. I started a new thread about getting Azamara's attention with the email, snail mail and fax numbers so everyone who cruised on Quest could put in writing their experiences on the first 3 sailings. I've received wriiten confirmation from both Captain's Club and Azamara customer service as to my letter, fax and email. I am awaiting a response to all of my comments. If I get one, I'll certainly post it. I personally don't know why they cancelled all the dining reservations. As I said before, we ate at Aqualina the first evening, and the restaurant was less than half full. We gave up our reservation at Prime C so that others could eat there, and the people who got our reservation, also said that the restaurant was not full. I'm guessing, it is a staff/ cook issue as the two restaurants share the same kitchen. The speciality restaurants could also request a couple share a table so that 2 people are not sitting at a 4 person table when others want to dine there. I am very grateful that I wasn't on the last sailing which was directed to Tampa. I do hope that Azamara makes an effort with those passsengers to correct what went wrong on that sailing, especially the sign and sail card fiasco. If anyone else wants the pdfs, please post.

kk

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nvcruise

nvcruise

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KK...

 

Thank you for your very informative review.

 

We are booked in room 8036 on Quest out of Acapulco on Feb. 2. Did you detect any noise from the deck above or anywhere else in the room?

 

Also, how would you rate the food quality in Discoveries?

 

If you have time to email your photo file, our email address is arizgolf5@netscape.net.

 

Thank again for your review.

 

NVCruise

LasVegas

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kk99

kk99

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Hi nv cruise,

I did not have a problem with noise above our cabin in 8036. I did here them moving tables one afternoon, but it was not loud or bothersome. I never had a smoke issue outside my cabin like they did on the forward section of deck 8. I though the food was fine in Discoveries, although I prefer Celebrity cruiseline food a little bit better at this point. I am a vegetarian and there was no dedicated vegetarian menu like on Celebrity. My mother ate the filet mignon, and thought it was well prepared and seasoned. The vegetables, salads and desserts were good. Service was slow, but I attribute that to being a new ship. The bread in Discoveries was good, as I ate too much between course deliveries! We sat at a large table so my Mom could meet others. I thought the two person tables were situated without any real privacy between the tables. It is a lovely dining room. I will say that I thought the quality of food was better in Aqualina, but then it should be since it is one of the two speciality restaurants.

kk

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qe2

qe2

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May I add something that I don't think has been discussed? There's a disconnect between what Customer Service told us and what turned out to be the truth, and that makes me distrust CS as a communications channel.

 

When we were notified the day before sailing that our confirmed specialty dining reservation would not be honored, we were told that the reason for cancellation was overbooking. We talked to the rep and to a supervisor, who left to get more information. When she came back, she assured us that the reservations were being cancelled in reverse order of when they were made, and we just booked too late.

 

Obviously, that was incorrect information. When we got to the pier, we were handed a letter stating that they had decided to reserve the specialty dining rooms for the suite and Elite passengers. Everyone not in those categories was canceled, regardless of when they booked.

 

I am not arguing about the decision. I am asking why on earth the customer service reps - and supervisors - were not given the truth to share with passengers?!

 

That experience does not give me great confidence that anything I say to Customer Service will make it back to the decision-makers, nor does it give me great confidence that what any of us hear from CS is accurate, including their assurance that Management is watching these threads.

 

Am I looking at this wrong?

 

I'm glad that you mentioned this issue.

 

I also was told that the specialty restaurant reservations were cancelled in reverse order of booking date. This was supposedly based on a list of how many spaces were overbooked and the time that the reservation was accepted. The message that I was cancelled was left on my answering machine.

I called to get more information. I mentioned to the Captain's Club rep who answered the phone that I was surprised that I got bumped since I was 1 cruise away from being Elite. He said " I heard that that has something to do with it."

Then I was transferred to someone "in charge" of specialty restaurant reservations who told me the order of booking story which was also confirmed by a supervisor.

 

The next day we got story that Elite CC members and suite guests were the only ones who could have reservations for the specialty restaurants.

 

It appears that someone decided that the "order of booking" story would be better than the truth.

 

It does not give one alot of confidence in customer service.

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Xcruiser

Xcruiser

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May I add something that I don't think has been discussed? There's a disconnect between what Customer Service told us and what turned out to be the truth, and that makes me distrust CS as a communications channel.

 

When we were notified the day before sailing that our confirmed specialty dining reservation would not be honored, we were told that the reason for cancellation was overbooking. We talked to the rep and to a supervisor, who left to get more information. When she came back, she assured us that the reservations were being cancelled in reverse order of when they were made, and we just booked too late.

 

Obviously, that was incorrect information. When we got to the pier, we were handed a letter stating that they had decided to reserve the specialty dining rooms for the suite and Elite passengers. Everyone not in those categories was canceled, regardless of when they booked.

 

I am not arguing about the decision. I am asking why on earth the customer service reps - and supervisors - were not given the truth to share with passengers?!

 

That experience does not give me great confidence that anything I say to Customer Service will make it back to the decision-makers, nor does it give me great confidence that what any of us hear from CS is accurate, including their assurance that Management is watching these threads.

 

Am I looking at this wrong?

 

Hi Dona,

 

I would agree there was a disconnect and not only with Customer Service but within the Captains Club itself and ship.

 

As we may have reviewed with you onboard Quest my wife and I booked this cruise to celebrate our anniversary at sea as we have since we got married. I booked threw Celebrity CC and requested to celebrate our anniversary the first night of the cruise and requested reservations at Aqualina at 7:00p. I got a call back from the booking agent the next day saying even though it was in the 60 day window that Azamara was not taking reservations for specialty restaurants on Quest yet and to try back in a couple of weeks.

 

When I called back as requested I got lucky as the person I talked with said they had just opened dinning reservations for Quest about an hour before. I was told by the person taking the reservation that I was only the 3rd one she had taken and the first for Aqualina. She said it should not be a problem for the first night at 7:00p as I requested but she needed a second option as well.

 

I received the confirmation email two days latter for my first requested Dinning at Aqualina, Oct. 24th at 7:00p for a party of two. All was set, so I thought.

 

Like you I got a call from someone at Celebrity’s Captain’s Club at around 3:30p the day before the cruise saying they had canceled my reservation at Aqualina. Unlike you they didn’t say the reason was because they were overbooked. Instead they read want seemed to be a prepared statement saying:

 

“We regret to inform you that because of the short itinerary of your cruise we are canceling your specialty restaurant reservations and we will be offering a $ 25.00 OBC in it’s place”…WHAT? :eek:

 

I asked her to please explain as the itinerary of the cruise had not changed since I made the reservations and had been told I was one of the first to do so. She repeated the same prepared statement and told me she didn’t have time to discus it further as she was handed a list of names to call to tell them the same and that’s all she knows.

 

After reviewing this with my wife and seeing her disappointment I decided to call the Captains Club back to voice my disappointment. The person I spoke with was very helpful and said that’s not right from the information she had on her screen. She then checked the information the ship showed. She told me she confirmed with the ship and all was in order and they were showing my confirmed reservations at Aqualina at 7:00p in celebration of our anniversary. She said she didn’t know why we had been called and told differently as she was looking at the actual ship information. She then offered to double check with the lady down the hall from her that is in charge of specialty dinning reservations for Azamara to make sure we didn’t have any unexpected disappointment once we were onboard. After putting me on hold for 5 minutes she returned saying she was sorry and was told they had overbooked. She suggested checking once we were onboard for cancelations.

 

After informing my wife of my conversation with the Captains Club she decided to use the online CC site complaint link to in writing voice her disappointment in the way they handled our cancelation. This would be the first time we had ever voiced any complaint to a cruise line (10 in total) and before we had even set sail.

 

With the intent not to let this poorly handled cancelation ruin our cruise we arrived at the port and had one of the smoothest embarkation ever. We were assisted to our cabin by an attendant who insisted on carrying our luggage. Upon arrival at our cabin on your door was a invitation that read “We are pleased to confirm your reservation for dinner at Aqualina specialty restaurant on 24. OCT. 2007 at 7:00p.m. We look forward to your arrival”. We both thought my wife’s contact with the Captains’ Club had got someone’s attention and they had reinstated the reservations. Want a wonderful surprise!

 

We went exploring the Quest only to find that when we stopped by Aqualina to confirm they had the reservation we were told “No reservations for you!” ,“You have been canceled” – how about lunch?

 

We didn’t find out the real reason until the CC member M&M at the Martini Bar later that day. I guess they knew they couldn’t use the booking order excuse with us they had a backup story. It’s really sad because we could have understood the truth, why did they need to mislead us?

 

There is a right way, a wrong way and the Azamara way. If that was the only bad thing that happened with that cruise we would have recovered…but the blows just kept on coming. :eek:

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rubens

rubens

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Hi everyone,

Thanks Donna for the Discoveries menu and internet page. I also found the rate schedule which I've made into a pdf file along with Donna's information and emailed to Dave for posting on his webpage. Anyone wants this next addition along with the first, just email me. For general information, the internet rate is 65 cents a minute, $40 for 75 minutes, $60 for 125 minutes, $80 for 185 minutes, and $100 for 260 minutes. There are some Captain's Club coupons for additional discounts, but since my butler never delivered my coupons, perhaps someone else can comment on them. The wireless rate , from what I can recall from my charges was in line with the rate schedule. My Mom asked me if I was going to get her the tote bag passed out on the ship. I guess I'm going to email Customer service, and see if I can buy one for her. She is already asking my brothers and sisters which cruise they are going to take her on next year! Even with all of the small glitches, it was worthwhile to do this inaugural.

k.k.

Hi KK,

 

Please mail me all PDF files you have with menus.

Thanks in advance: patrickasselberghs@scarlet.be

 

Patrick

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kk99

kk99

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Hi everyone,

If anyone else wants the pdf files please post up. I've emailed them to everyone who has requested them. I understand from current passengers on the Quest that they have installed hand sanitizers, quit short pouring on the wine, and are stepping up on the service issues. I take all of that as good news for fellow cruisers. When anyone else gets back from their trip, please post a review, so that we can see that they are making continual improvements.

Take care and happy travels,

kk

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kk99

kk99

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Hi everyone,

Well it seems like the Quest is gaining ground in working out the kinks as recent posts by people on board show some improvement. So, if for no other reason, everyone should post their constructive comments on both the good and bad, as I would like to sail this line in the future, when it is more staff operational. If anyone else needs the pdfs, just post up, and I'll send them. Michele did you get yours? The first time I sent it it came back as a bad address. If you did not, just repost your email. I'm still waiting to hear from Captain's Club, Azamara Customer service, and Mr. Hanrahan's office to the long letter I sent them concerning the inaugural other than the form response letter. They still need to work on customer service foremost in my opinion and that is what will help make Azamara a succcess. Happy future sailing to everyone,

kk

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