Quest Nov. 12 - Nov. 24 Review

[joycruise]

I have not yet been on Celebrity,so I will not do any comparisons in this review, and this is only my third cruise.

I am an active 55 year old. I am planning on sailing with Celebrity in the future as I continue to cruise more.

I had a great time. I have never had such an adventurous, relaxing and easy vacation. Most of the destinations were wonderful, we were the only cruise ship docked each time. I liked the itinerary except for Mayaguez Puerto Rico. I went on "The Nature Lover's Dream" and was disappointing. The tour guides were wonderful, it is just not a beautiful part of Puerto Rico. Grand Turk was great, We took the snorkel and sting ray tour which I highly recommend. Nice reef, lots of fish and beautiful beach where the sting rays come to be fed. Cayo Levantado was interesting because of the native musicians and dancers, the island was pretty, but the water was green and not clear due to the hurricane several weeks ago. It's hard to keep me out of the water, but I did not go into the water in either Dominican Republic nor Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. St. John was great, Virgin Gorda was great; on both islands we took a taxi to Trunk Bay in St. John and The Baths in Virgin Gorda and had great beach and snorkeling in both. Dominica was very interesting. We took a tour of the native Carib village and Emerald pool and both were very beautiful and interesting. In ports like this, you have to take an excursion to be shown the natural beauty of the island. Forget about walking around the town near where the ship docks. The park where it docks is nice to explore. St. Barths was very nice, we rented a car and went to two beaches, one Governor Beach and it was beautiful. Renting a car from Budget was reasonable and taxis expensive. The shops look great, but we were there on a Sunday and most stores were closed. Everything is in Euros which makes this island expensive, but fun nevertheless. Guadalupe was beautiful. We took the Carbet Falls excursion into the rain forest. It was amazing, the path is well maintained and a bit of a hike. Got caught in the rain in the rain forest which was a wonderful experience. The tour guides were very kind, gracious and informative. We also received a madras basket of spices after the tour. The local music and dancers at the port was great. Basse-Terre does not have the "typical" cruise port stores. I also recommend an excursion at this port.

We only ate in the main dining room three times because it took too long and we didn't enjoy waiting to be seated. Some of the food was good. We ate at Prime C twice which is excellent. The best chocolate lava cake I ever had. We also ate at Aqualina twice. The first time was better than the second. Both restaraunts were excellent. We enjoyed the sushi and stirfry and being able to sit in the back of the ship outside in Breezas in the evenings where we weren't in the dining room or specialty restaraunts. The pool area is nice, but the pool and spas need a makeover.

I enjoyed the size of the ships and the destinations and the people I met. I would cruise again with Azamara and am also looking forward to going on Celebrity in the future.

[bigreckster]

Thanks for your informative review. How was the disembarkation ...we're going on Quest in Jan. and have an early flight home. We've been reading some disturbing accounts of late arrivals, late luggage and missed flights...???? In the ports in Puerto Rico, were there any beach destinations worth visiting?? Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[joycruise]

If you are returning to Miami on a Saturday or Sunday please understand there are probably 6 ot 7 other cruise ships returning to the same port, same time, same customs, etc. It would be wise to book a flight after noon and the cruise lines recommends that. I would ask Azamara if they will be returning to the same terminal. If they return to J where we picked Quest up it would probably be much easier.

As far as beaches in Puerto Rico around Mayaguezgo; we went to the best beach the area had to offer on our "Nature Lover's Dream" called Boqueron, a beachside town, The beach was fair, the water not clear and I did not go into the water. I am a swimmer, a snorkeler and a beach lover and this was disappointing. If you like history, some people enjoyed the coffee plantation excursion which went up into the hills and went inland. If I had to do Mayaguez again, I would spend most of my time on board or go into the colonial part of town for a quick look.

Have a great trip! Like I said before I would do it again in a heartbeat.