Still haven't booked - reviews have scared me

[fcombs]

I have a travel agent who had a cabin held for us on the Quest for the Cannes Film Festival cruise departing Rome on May 10, but I still have not officially booked this cruise as of this date. I don't think I have ever read so many negative reviews about a ship in my life. The worst cruise I ever went on and the worst ship I ever sailed on was the Grand Princess. And it gets pretty good reviews. I can't figure that out as my lamp shade had what appeared to be vomit on it, and they would never change it even though I begged them to do so. We thought our refrigerator was broken, and it turned out it was just FILTHY, and all the sticky stuff spilled in it had stuck the door to the fridge, and it wouldn't open. It was a ghastly week with all the problems I've read about on Azamara with the open seating. I couldn't wait to get get off that ship - the Grand Princess.

 

I keep thinking, My God, if the Grand Princess gets good reviews after what I experienced, what must this Azamara ship be like with all the horrible reviews. I've been burned, and I'm really hesitant about booking this line although this itinerary is so wonderful and just what I wanted. I can't find anything like it on another line.

 

Can anybody tell me if this ship has improved or not, and if so, to what degree? I have had one truly miserable experience on a cruise ship, and if I had to endure something of that magnitude for 14 days, I would just lose it. They would surely remember my name. And I had been to the Caribbean many times, so that part of it was no big deal - the ports. But Europe is a very big deal to me.

 

I am overwrought about this as my husband wanted to give me this trip for my birthday, and it is time to make the deposit, however, I am not convinced that I will be happy with this ship, the service, the food, etc. I've cruised most of the major lines - have not cruised Celebrity.

 

Faye Combs

[cruiseyguy]

Your cruise only has one sea day out of 14. It visits many interesting ports. In this case, think of the ship as floating hotel. Price hotels for the ports you are visiting, add meals and transportation between the ports and I think the decision will be made for you.

[Susan-M]

Hi Faye,

 

I have been following the Azamara postings since the line was launched...and have felt positive enough to book a cruise. Reviews of late have improved, with more than one person saying that they've booked another Azamara cruise while on their first one.

 

I am looking at it as an opportunity to go on a nice cruise, with an interesting itinerary, at a price that may not be available next year. Azamara has provided good pricing and incentives .... when this line takes off, I doubt that we'll see prices as low as they are this year. I think the decision is easier for me as we've really enjoyed our Celebrity cruises.

 

It's a very personal decision though and if you are that uncomfortable with it, perhaps it's not in your best interest to go ahead with it.

[Napi's Mom]

We were onthe Quest 12/8-22 and OUR cabin and all the rest of the ship was VERY clean at all times, we watched the attendants for the pool pull off the towel covers for the teak loungers every night to wash each & every one, and the wiping of surfaces was a constant project. I wonder whos reviews you've been reading, excepting one who was so violentsly negative I wonder what REALLY happened with them on their cruise, as NOBODY on ours had that bad an experience, and as the crew and ship was the same, I can't figure it. Almost every person I've read here for the last few weeks have nothing but raves about the crew! We had such willing to serve people it was almost laughable the extremes they'd go to please. People who asked for matress toppers received them the first day (But the bedding is so good I can't believe they'd need them, must be the princess & pea thing). The butler sees you coming they'd open the room doors for us. We were in a 1A, not a suite. Remember this is not like the mass market ships, way better service in general. When I read reviews about lack of service it makes me curious about just what they expected. One of our shipmates had a safe that rattled in the night (Ship vibrates more at high speed and at night is when they usually put on speed especially long distance jumps) She had various crewmembers spend hrs. trying to stop her rattle. ( Finally SHE duct taped it at night , cause she wanted to use it after all in the daytime, and they were doing same to stop the rattle) Ours didn't make any noise. It seems you've been reading the bad reviews only, try the good ones. We were on Oceania the year before and had every bit as good a sail with the Quest, Journey should be the same. If you've got a great itinerary don't pass it up! These small ships are so very special to sail on, and so beautiful.

[greeneg]

Please check mine and other recent reviews of Quest Sailings. While there were less than perfect aspects of the cruise, NONE of them related to the ship, the food, the condition, or the service onboard.

 

Those negative posters are really beginning to look like out-liers for such. Most of the complaints are simply no longer true ( if, indeed, they ever were.)

 

Yes, we did book another Azamara Cruise ( on the Journey) while on board the Quest.

[fcombs]

Your cruise only has one sea day out of 14. It visits many interesting ports. In this case, think of the ship as floating hotel. Price hotels for the ports you are visiting, add meals and transportation between the ports and I think the decision will be made for you.

 

Thanks for your answer. As a matter of fact, I brought up this very valid point with my husband. And sea days on such a small ship were very much a consideration because I have been known to get very sea sick. We usually cruise on the really, really big ships that you can hardly feel motion on unless there is a big storm.

 

But, there again, what if it's a really bad floating hotel. Is that really how I would want to see Europe. There's pros and cons as always.

[Ms. J.]

Hi, f combs....

I just got off the Quest three weeks ago, and found everything nearly perfect. I didn't read my program one day and Azamara had a meeting with the 8 other CC-ers who posted with me. Aza was concerned about what we wanted, suggestions, etc. They gave us a mid-cruise comment card, and followed up with a phone call to thank us. The food was excellent, the service incredible! Everything was clean, the cabins immaculate. Like you, last fall I read all the bad comments, and I wrote to Aza to make sure those concerns were being address, so I could enjoy my cruise on 1-19-08. They assured me improvements had been made. My only complaint was that the PA system went into the cabins, and on a sea day the perky little cruise director, Becky, talked for 3-4 minutes about events of the day. She was reading from the daily program! I called reception and told them we can read for ourselves and that this wasn't Carnival. I asked her how I could shut off my speaker or turn it down, and she explained therre was no way to do this, but she will pass on my comment. When I wrote this (as did another CC member) on my mid-cruise comment card, there were NO MORE annoying announcements. That's what I call action! So, take your cruise, you will love it! The bartenders are particularly friendly, and my butler did exactly what was advertised. All I can say is I've learned a lesson from the maiden voyage cruisers....WHY would they take a cruise when the bugs were being worked out?! I cruised two and a half months later, and it was perfect. The only thing that could make Aza better was to be all-inclusive. So enjoy your cruise! Jini

[lonestarsteve]

Hi

Have been on the Quest for two trips and booked on a third in March obviously we love Azamara and the Quest. We do not understand the negative comments and certainly would not have planned another trip if we had not enjoyed the ship. Sounds like a wonderful birthday present!!

[fcombs]

I didn't book the cruise my TA was holding on the Quest. There just seemed to be so many more negatives than positives. And the last flurry of emails about the photocopied "home office" brochures re the very limited shore excursions just clinched it. They need to get it together.... to many great cruise ships out there for what has been marketed as a "step above" to be so bad. And I've been corresponding by email with a woman who was in a Penthouse Suite on the Quest. She had booked a second cruise apparently at the time of the booking of the first one. She said the first thing she did when she got home was cancel the second booking. She gave a list of things that would have truly affected my vacation had they happened to me.

 

Not putting out $17,000+ for months of anxiety and a bad experience.

Azamara reps - if you are reading this ..... that's quite a bit of money to lose because you could'nt have a brochure printed or come up with some decent shore excursions, or get your act together in the dining room, or get some decent musicians to entertain people during the evening. The list is longer, but I'll stop there.

[Cathy Maneri]

I was on the first voyage of the Azamara Quest and the ship had it problems. I had a wonderful time anyway and being an avid Celebrity cruiser, it will not stop me from trying this ship again.

 

I have always had a wonderful cruise with Celebrity (I consider Azamara the same standards as Celebrity) and when I did have a minor problem, they always took care of it and was very professional about it. Keep in mind it does pay to be nice as well and they do appreciate when there is a problem that we, the cruisers, be as courteous as we expect them to be to us.

 

I know that Azamara will work out the kinks...if there still are some...and I will book my first European cruise with them in 2010.

 

They have some nice itineraries in the European market and even though I did consider Oceania, I will give Azamara my business.

 

Europe is not a cheap cruise with air and excursions, so I too am worried that Azamara will not be up to par, but by 2010 all should be fine, if they aren't already.

 

Keep all the great "Cruise Critic" opinions coming. You guys rock!

 

PS: In my opinion, Oceania has the best Greek Island itinerary so far. Maybe Azamara will offer the same itin in the future.

[qe2]

I hope that Azamara and the Quest in particular ,have improved since October.

There were serious problems in almost every area on the Quest when I sailed. I think that Celebrity should not have sold cruises when the ship and crew were not ready. It should not be the responsibility of the paying passengers to train the crew.

I resent the fact that those who did not experience the very real and serious problems , criticise those who did. It's easy to say that anyone who said anything negative was making things up or exagerating them.

Hopefully things have improved but I don't think that Celebrity has the ability to get past their "onboard revenue" mentality to run a luxury line.

[Napi's Mom]

Oh God ... Your attitude is funny and annoying!

 

It seems you are one of this people that analyze things just to complaint about them ... rather than to enjoy them. Definitely you are not the kind of people we want in an R Class ship. Thank God you are not booking Azamara. Go somewhere else ... not even Silversea, Seabourne or Regent Seven Seas will meet your expectations. (I've been in all of them). Why don't you call Disney Cruises so they can create a "new private and personal fairy-tale" just for you! Wake UP!

I guess I agree, this qe2 is living in the past, but if thats what they want they really should go to the Cunard line, as they still have their 100yr old class system, with separate dining rooms for the elite passengers, even on their new ship. We wouldn't want them to have to rub shoulders with us of the "lower" class. Even in the above mentioned Luxury lines passengers are treated equally, with like amenities etc. I met a waiter who quit working for Cunard as he felt the class system on the ir ships was like to segregation. (I'd be in steerage with Cunard, with Azamara we were treated like the penthouse passengers! No we were in a 1A, but knew some in inside cabins and had same service, AND same dining!!)

[murphysmum]

Hello...

 

I recently completed a 14 day cruise on the Quest, through the Panama Canal. My feeling was that the positives FAR outweighed the few negatives. I hope that you relax about the ship and go and enjoy!

 

The ship is lovely and our cabin was immaculate. It was cleaned twice a day and more if we asked. Everything in the room was new. The linens were excellent and the towels were the thickest Turkish towels I've ever seen...and I'm a towel freak. Without going over every positive aspect of the ship, I will simply say that it is beautifully decorated, goes the extra mile with their food service in all areas and staff members are extremely friendly and helpful. Everything you have read in past postings (I was apprehensive too) seems to have been corrected.

 

I also felt that the ship (probably due to lack of belly flop contests, leg contests and rock climbing walls, etc.) has attracted a little more mature crowd with similar interests. The lecture series was full most days; I met numerous lovely people and enjoyed frequent serendipitous conversations.

 

I had only three complaints. One may seem petty; the other two really need some work.

 

1)Starting with petty, I'm an iced tea drinker. I like and expect fresh brewed (or at least brewed each morning) tea. However, this "first class ship" serves the "dispenser tea with the faint taste of carbonation" throughout the ship, including Prime C and Aqualina. At our first CC Meeting, I met and shared with the head of food and beverage service that even MacDonald's now brews it's own tea and was told that it's very difficult to do fresh brew and that "most people don't know the difference anyway". However, I believe that I have now successfully instructed every server on the ship how to brew fresh tea and they were all quite happy to do so. Okay, I'm over that!

 

2)The shore excursions offered were not well organized in that they could have (geographically) fit much more into their excursions, giving clients a better experience. Example: Nicaragua-A shore excursion was offered to Granada and the lake, or to Masaya, or to another place place fairly close by. I booked a private excursion which included San Juan del Oriente, Santa Catarina, Masaya, Granada and a lake tour (great feeding monkeys in our boat) and a lovely lunch. Our tour guide called ahead, ordered our food (our choice) and we had a lovely lunch within 1/2 hour. We saw people we had met on the ship at almost each stop, but felt sad that they were being (stupidly) denied access to all possible experiences. Several people from our ship were stuck in the restaurant while we ate and hadn't even had orders taken yet.

 

Our price was a little over $400 which is a bit high for two; however, had four people shared the experience we would have been paying less per person than the inefficiently planned ship excursions. We had the same experience in Costa Rica and Guatemala. At other stops, we simple hopped in a cab (sharing with compatible couples) and went wherever we wanted.

 

In Huatulco, Mexico I was surprised that there was no shore excursion offered to the Turtle Preservation Center at Mazunte. We got a cab for the 1/2 hour ride; the cab driver acted as our guide for the Center (amazing and beautifully set right on the ocean) as well as several other points of interest in Puerto Angel and the town of La Cruecita (sp?) very close to the ship. Wonderful day and we met a lovely couple who went with us. When I asked at the Shore Excursion desk if they new about Mazunte and the Center and offered to share info with them, I was told "There's nothing there; that's why we don't bother". Enough said.

 

3)The Library-This may not matter to some people, but I'm a reader when at sea and loved the beautiful atmosphere of the old Renaissance ships. A visit to the library the first evening was very disappointing. There are very few books available. The beautiful wood cabinets are perhaps 1/6 (if that) full of books and the rest of them are full of wine glasses or odd bits of crystal. Most of the books appeared to have been left by prior guests. I left four. I noticed that there's one old lovely traditional fabric sofa left, but everything else seems to have been replaced with either traditional style or reupolstered in fake leather...practical, but not very atmospheric. The lovely ceiling has been left intact!

 

Since the library has been cut in two as far as use, it is never quiet because 1/2 is used for card playing. I did find that the area around Mosaic Cafe had comfortable sofas and was quieter than the library even when people were playing Trivia or other games.

 

Okay, I've aired my "peeves". I'll definitely travel with Azamara again and simply book my own tours. And to those I met on the ship...It was a pleasure!

 

Happy Sailing!

 

murphysmum;)

[2Fltravelers]

I guess I agree' date=' this qe2 is living in the past, but if thats what they want they really should go to the Cunard line, as they still have their 100yr old class system, with separate dining rooms for the elite passengers, even on their new ship. We wouldn't want them to have to rub shoulders with us of the "lower" class. Even in the above mentioned Luxury lines passengers are treated equally, with like amenities etc. I met a waiter who quit working for Cunard as he felt the class system on the ir ships was like to segregation. (I'd be in steerage with Cunard, with Azamara we were treated like the penthouse passengers! No we were in a 1A, but knew some in inside cabins and had same service, AND same dining!!)[/quote']

 

 

We will also be in a 1A cabin on the Quest in October for 14 days in the Med. While I have sailed with the old Rennie ships, I also sailed on Oceania as well as the Celebrity Millie & Mercury. My question is the size of the cabin. While the "R" ships, including Oceania , had/have 1A cabins of 214 sq feet, the Quest is 175 square feet. I was wondering if you thought that the size of this cabin was adequate and comfortable for 14 days or am I just being a nervous nellie? I have an opportunity to upgrade to a sky suite but my husband doesn't think it's worth the extra cost with just 2 sea days and a very intense port itinerary. I would appreciate any opinions and information from anyone who has sailed the Quest in either of these cabin categories. Thanks!

[DaveFr]

We will also be in a 1A cabin on the Quest in October for 14 days in the Med. While I have sailed with the old Rennie ships, I also sailed on Oceania as well as the Celebrity Millie & Mercury. My question is the size of the cabin. While the "R" ships, including Oceania , had/have 1A cabins of 214 sq feet, the Quest is 175 square feet. I was wondering if you thought that the size of this cabin was adequate and comfortable for 14 days or am I just being a nervous nellie? I have an opportunity to upgrade to a sky suite but my husband doesn't think it's worth the extra cost with just 2 sea days and a very intense port itinerary. I would appreciate any opinions and information from anyone who has sailed the Quest in either of these cabin categories. Thanks!

You're comparing apples and oranges. The 1A cabins on all the "R" ships were and are the same size. The 214 (I've seen figures of 215 or 216) sq. ft. 1A cabins on the ex "R" ships are the sum of the cabins and their balconies. The Azamara 1A staterooms are 216 sq. ft. when you add together the cabins and their balconies. Hope this helps.

 

Dave

[Napi's Mom]

Since you will not be in your cabin prolonged times on your cruise, days at a time, We felt, as your husband did about the extra expense, we've sailed on a "Renn. ship 4 times and found the cabin to be adequate for our needs. If you have no cares about expense, or truly need a bath tub rather than shower (I really don't like climbing in and out of tub to shower, it's dangerous for me with knee problems) you can get a Sky Suite...which is 1 !/2 the size of the reg. cabins. The balcony is no deeper, just wider so gives you little more room, none for lounge etc. I've seen photos of the SS but would have missed the nice dark woods in the original cabins. Since they cost more than twice as much I would never consider them. After being on deck 8 this last cruise I'd even prefer to be on 6 or 7 because you get a lot more movement on 8, even tho we were midship, the sway from side to side was more noticeable. :)

[greeneg]

If I might add, we found the cabin to be very comfortable and that the design was efficient enough to pretty much compensate for the slight reduction in square-footage as compared to the other ships we've sailed. The passage between the end of the bed and the mirror wall is definitely one-way, and the bath and angled toilet are interesting to say the least, but we found we adapted easily and were quite comfortable.

 

The more restrictive smoking policy allowed us to use our balcony more which also added to the living space.

 

Hope that's helpful.

[bububr]

We did the short inagural......and though it wasn't the BEST cruise we've ever taken overall, it was the nicest ship in both size, layout and ammenities.

 

We would sail on her again in an instant if we could find time for the much longer itineraries.

 

Based on itn, and the ship itself, a few snafus would'nt detract from cruising Quest again, especially in a port intensive one.

 

Dave:eek:

[2Fltravelers]

Thanks everyone for all of your feedback. There is not much in the way of a discussion on these threads about cabins and locations so all of this information is very helpful. With the dollar in the slump it's in, the shore excursions will be very expensive and I would prefer to spend my $$$ on that. BTW, the only reason I am even considering a SS is that the price is now 30% more-they just dropped the rates but still more than I want to spend.

 

Napi's Mom---I'm glad to hear that Deck 7 had less movement. We were on Deck 7 on the Regatta in the Baltic and had no problem. I expect the Med will be even calmer.

 

DaveFR--Regarding the square footage of the different cabins, I didn't think that I was comparing apples and oranges. I just wanted to know if the Quest 1A cabin size was the same as on the old "R" ships and the current Oceania ships. As for combining the square footage to include the balcony, that's news to me. If it is then it's very misleading. Thanks for this info.

 

Greeneg--I appreciate hearing that the very restricted smoking policy is working. We spent 14 days on the Millie in a SS and couldn't use our balcony or spend much time in the room because our neighbor smoked a cigar for 14 days and Celebrity did nothing about it.

[tgg]

DaveFR--Regarding the square footage of the different cabins, I didn't think that I was comparing apples and oranges. I just wanted to know if the Quest 1A cabin size was the same as on the old "R" ships and the current Oceania ships. As for combining the square footage to include the balcony, that's news to me. If it is then it's very misleading. Thanks for this info.quote]

 

 

This information on balcony comparisons is correct. The balcony footage is added to the cabin footage to come up with the higher number. Same on Renaissance and Oceania.

[2Fltravelers]

DaveFR--Regarding the square footage of the different cabins, I didn't think that I was comparing apples and oranges. I just wanted to know if the Quest 1A cabin size was the same as on the old "R" ships and the current Oceania ships. As for combining the square footage to include the balcony, that's news to me. If it is then it's very misleading. Thanks for this info.quote]

 

 

This information on balcony comparisons is correct. The balcony footage is added to the cabin footage to come up with the higher number. Same on Renaissance and Oceania.

 

 

Thanks!!!

[murphysmum]

Hello...

 

For those worried about the difference in size between the 1A (175 ft.+balcony) and the SS (266+balcony)-I hope I have that right-I think that the storage space in the smaller cabins with balcony is so well organized that, once unpacked, most people would feel they had adequate room. We just completed a cruise and booked the smaller cabin in order to have an aft cabin-deck 8 (and not pay for a penthouse). We were quite comfortable and didn't feel "claustrophobic".

 

I usually stay in a mini-suite, but the wonderful view made it worth it. I did see the SS's as we were right next to them. If money is not an object and you're not looking for an aft view, I would choose a SS just for the extra walking around room. However, I don't think anyone would feel deprived in one of the regular balcony rooms.

 

One thing that I haven't seen anyone mention is the color schemes in the various cabins. Our smaller cabin and those I peeked into had a calming color scheme of blue, green and yellow....very lovely. However, the SS appeared to be a riot of orange and rust; these colors would drive me nuts for one much less 14 nights....just my own 2 cents!

 

Happy sailing!

 

murphysmum;)

[2Fltravelers]

Murphysmum:

 

Thanks for your input. I considered a sunset veranda but I was concerned that on a smaller ship there might be more motion in the aft. I also thought it would be too warm to sit on the balcony in the PM since there might be more sun on our itinerary in the Med. Any thoughts on either of these 2 assumptions (you know what they say about assuming) of mine?

[gillianrose]

Greeneg--I appreciate hearing that the very restricted smoking policy is working. We spent 14 days on the Millie in a SS and couldn't use our balcony or spend much time in the room because our neighbor smoked a cigar for 14 days and Celebrity did nothing about it.

 

How long ago was that? Someone smoked a cigar on a nearby balcony on our Alaska cruise six months ago (on two occasions and most notably while we were at Hubbard Glacier), and Guest Relations personnel at the time couldn't agree on whether it was allowed or not. I got a phone call later from the Supervisor stating is was not allowed and that her staff would not permit it again.

 

And NOW it is absolutely, officially forbidden to smoke cigars on Celebrity balconies—hooray—so Celebrity can and will do something about it.

 

Did you ever call Customer Service when you returned to notify them about the problem? I did and was offered cruise credits to use for a future cruise because of it.

 

Don't ever suffer in silence!

[2Fltravelers]

SOOOOOOO glad that they finally decided that cigar smoking could only be in that one area aft-just like the policy said. It was on the Mille in 1/06 during our South America cruise. It started the very first day and didn't stop until the last. Believe me when I say that we complained all the way up the ladder. You wouldn't believe the excuses we heard- he's from Latvia and doesn't understand English was my favorite but that didn't fly since they had crew on board from Latvia. They offered to move us to a Royal Suite lower deck aft but I booked a mid-ship SS and I said they should move him! When we returned home I was armed with a copy of their smoking policy right from the cabin as well as names, dates, etc. We were finally given a $1200 credit toward a future cruise on the Millie which we booked and then it was cancelled by Celebrity so not only did we get back the $1200 but we also were refunded the additional amount we paid and then we were given an equal value cruise for free. We wound up on the Mercury and a Mexican Riviera cruise. They stepped up finally but it was not worth the misery we had, etc. It was our 25th anniversary cruise, too!