Sunset Veranda Forward stateroom 6001

[Loucat]

We are just off the 2/16 Quest sailing. There are many nice things to say about the ship and crew, but one thing to consider is your cabin location. I had posted in January asking if anyone had sailed in 6001. As hear back, I did not have any advance information.

The cabin is right over the bow and on every port day, we were woken at 6 AM when the crew was preparing to either drop the anchor or set lines for a pier. When we arrived back in Miami, the crew were out at 3:30 AM , as the ship docked at 5 AM.

The noise was unbelievable and the entire cabin shook! The four forward cabins on deck six are right over the theater/lounge and we heard the band practice from 4-6 PM and then for the two nightly shows. I had tried to change to another location, but was told months ago it would cost more as the prices had risen. I asked to be placed on the waitlist for an aft sunset veranda.I did not hear back from anyone at Azamara. During the cruise, we met a couple that live near us. They were upgraded from a deck four oceanview to an aft sunset veranda. They also booked around the time that we did. Needless to say, we lost alot of sleep! We did face 39 knot winds on the first two sea days. The motion was strong from side to side and bow to stern. I wish I had known more, as I would have made a different decision.

[katiebeth]

Dear Loucat,

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. It is kind of you to warn others who may be considering the forward cabins. I am so sorry that your experience was less than you had hoped. The cabin you were in does not seem at all desirable. The noise from the anchor and setting of lines, as well as the theater/lounge is definitely cause for concern.

 

Did the couple in the Aft Sunset Veranda enjoy their stateroom? I have heard there can be issues Aft on this class ship as well. However, it does seem that they would be a better choice than the forward cabins, based on your experience.

 

I hate to sound like ....."other than that Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play? ......but ....overall what are your impressions of Azamara?

 

I sincerely hope that your next cruise exceeds all of your expectations.

 

Nancy

[Loucat]

Hello Nancy- The couple in the aft cabin liked the view, but they could hear the engines on that deck. You can also hear the engines quite loudly on deck five in Discoveries dining room when the ship is at full speed. Overall, the best part of the cruise were the ports. They were wonderful. I have mixed thoughts on this ship. Our butler and cabin attendant were outstanding. Our cabin was small, but nicely decorated. I try to eat low fat foods, so that was a challenge. The regular dining fare was too rich for our taste. We did meet as a group from Cruise Critic and the captain and senior officers attended. One of the major issues we raised was our wish that they maintained their policy on saving pool chairs. Some folks would save two in the sun and two in the shade and left the chairs for hours. They said they would look at that, but nothing changed on our sailing. Overall, the ship is small for some of the open waters of the Caribbean. When sailing among the islands in flat seas, it was fine. We had some really strong rocking after leaving and returning from Miami. I think I will stick with RCC in the future. If you have any specific questions, let me know. Others, I am sure, may have had different opinions.

[Jancruz]

We are just off the 2/16 Quest sailing. There are many nice things to say about the ship and crew, but one thing to consider is your cabin location. I had posted in January asking if anyone had sailed in 6001. As hear back, I did not have any advance information.

The cabin is right over the bow and on every port day, we were woken at 6 AM when the crew was preparing to either drop the anchor or set lines for a pier. When we arrived back in Miami, the crew were out at 3:30 AM , as the ship docked at 5 AM.

The noise was unbelievable and the entire cabin shook! The four forward cabins on deck six are right over the theater/lounge and we heard the band practice from 4-6 PM and then for the two nightly shows. I had tried to change to another location, but was told months ago it would cost more as the prices had risen. I asked to be placed on the waitlist for an aft sunset veranda.I did not hear back from anyone at Azamara. During the cruise, we met a couple that live near us. They were upgraded from a deck four oceanview to an aft sunset veranda. They also booked around the time that we did. Needless to say, we lost alot of sleep! We did face 39 knot winds on the first two sea days. The motion was strong from side to side and bow to stern. I wish I had known more, as I would have made a different decision.

 

Hi Loucat,

Any good TA who knows Azamaras ships could have told you right away you would not be happy in 6001..it is not one of the quiet cabins.

Jan

*****

[StLouisCruisingGuys]

Hi. Following along here from Snowy St. Louis. Wondered if anyone had any insight for us on Sunset Veranda 7000. We'll be in that cabin on the June 1 sailing out of Copenhagen.

Quieter than the 6000 cabins? Probably more motion being up higher...but that doesn't typically bother us. We might even like the 'ocean sense' of the movement.

BG and CG

[Loucat]

That stateroom was above us but one closer to port side. The noise from dropping anchor and docking is heard up there, as we spoke to these passengers. You would not hear the noise from the lounge, however.

[Spender Nui]

We are just off the 2/16 Quest sailing. There are many nice things to say about the ship and crew, but one thing to consider is your cabin location. I had posted in January asking if anyone had sailed in 6001. As hear back, I did not have any advance information.

The cabin is right over the bow and on every port day, we were woken at 6 AM when the crew was preparing to either drop the anchor or set lines for a pier. When we arrived back in Miami, the crew were out at 3:30 AM , as the ship docked at 5 AM.

The noise was unbelievable and the entire cabin shook! The four forward cabins on deck six are right over the theater/lounge and we heard the band practice from 4-6 PM and then for the two nightly shows. I had tried to change to another location, but was told months ago it would cost more as the prices had risen. I asked to be placed on the waitlist for an aft sunset veranda.I did not hear back from anyone at Azamara. During the cruise, we met a couple that live near us. They were upgraded from a deck four oceanview to an aft sunset veranda. They also booked around the time that we did. Needless to say, we lost alot of sleep! We did face 39 knot winds on the first two sea days. The motion was strong from side to side and bow to stern. I wish I had known more, as I would have made a different decision.

 

I suspected much of what you've said. Thanks for letting us know.

[DaveP]

Loucat, room selection on these ships can be difficult if you don't book early. There aren't many good ones if you want a balcony. We spent 22 days on Tahitian Princess last year, a sistership to Journey and Quest. This is what I learned.

 

All the bow suites and balcony rooms are noisy from the anchors, thrusters, or showrom. The wind often makes the balconys unusable.

 

On the stern the 8th deck suites are subject to chairs scraping from the restaurant above. The 6th deck suites get noise from the dining room and vibrations from the engines.

 

ALso on the 8th deck the noise under the ping pong table can be thunderous. If you are under the hamburger grill you will hear every sound the cook makes.

 

There are crew storage areas behind the bandstand on the pool deck and

next to the restroom on the portside of the cafeteria. Rooms under these areas( 8th deck) are subject to banging and scraping early and late.

This leaves the 7th deck as the best chance for a quiet room if you can stand the butt grabbing shower curtains.

 

This was a Princess ship but I doubt Azamara was able to change much. We'll find out in two weeks---Going on the Journey. Dave

[Loucat]

Loucat, room selection on these ships can be difficult if you don't book early. There aren't many good ones if you want a balcony. We spent 22 days on Tahitian Princess last year, a sistership to Journey and Quest. This is what I learned.

 

All the bow suites and balcony rooms are noisy from the anchors, thrusters, or showrom. The wind often makes the balconys unusable.

 

On the stern the 8th deck suites are subject to chairs scraping from the restaurant above. The 6th deck suites get noise from the dining room and vibrations from the engines.

 

ALso on the 8th deck the noise under the ping pong table can be thunderous. If you are under the hamburger grill you will hear every sound the cook makes.

 

There are crew storage areas behind the bandstand on the pool deck and

next to the restroom on the portside of the cafeteria. Rooms under these areas( 8th deck) are subject to banging and scraping early and late.

This leaves the 7th deck as the best chance for a quiet room if you can stand the butt grabbing shower curtains.

 

This was a Princess ship but I doubt Azamara was able to change much. We'll find out in two weeks---Going on the Journey. Dave

 

I booked three cabins on this ship in February 2006. No late booking there!!

One couple we were sailing with decded to cancel. At the time we booked, we paid $800 more for a sunset veranda than their 1A. Before they cancelled, I spoke with an Azamara representative and she told me due to prices increasing, changing to a 1A would cost at least $2000 more.

I did ask to be waitlisted for an aft sunset veranda and called at least twice to check cancellations.

What I see as a major lack of communication is that the couple we met that were booked for an oceanview on deck four, booked the same month that we did, were upgraded to an aft sunset stateroom the day of sailing.

There are two Royal suites on either side of deck six and two sunset verandas, and this is a problem. Everyone in these staterooms were upset.

You have a very limited choice of cabins that do not present a problem with noise and thus, as stated, we would not book on Azamara again. This ship is out of it's league in the waters we sailed. I have taken at least 5-6 cruises in the same area, but never had problems with water coming through the door when it rained, an occaisional wave crashing on our sliding glass door, waking at 5-6 AM on vacation due to docking, needing to ask for a cushion for our bed due to the rolling of the ship (especially at night when it seemed the ship increased speed) etc.

I only wished I had a tape recorder to share the incredible noise.

After one week, althout I LOVE cruising, we are both cruised out and need some time away from ships. I have never felt this way before and I look forward to future RCC cruises. No more Azamara for us.

[DaveP]

Loucat, I understand your frustration. Good luck on your next cruise. Dave

[Host Karen]

Katiebeth, we sailed in 7121, an aft sunset veranda. While I liked the cabin, having chosen it because we usually sail in aft cabins, I don't think I would chose one on these ships again for the following reasons:

 

- We enjoyed the usual aft view, much closer this time because the ship is smaller, but found we actually got backspray from the water onto our camera lenses (we're often out there taking photos or video).

 

- There was soot from the stack on our table, chairs, and deck, so we couldn't enjoy our table without cleaning everything off first.

 

- When the ship was in rough water, rather than being rocked back and forth in bed, we were moved from the head of the bed to the foot. This is, of course, a common problem with aft cabins and bed placement on most ships, but since the smaller ship handles rough water differently, it kept us awake at night.

 

The only other problem we experienced were couples in the two cabins below us violating the ban on smoking on the balcony, so we would occasionally get a nose-full of cigarette smoke.

 

Otherwise, we enjoyed the quiet location and our steward/butler was outstanding. The noise from the engines/propellers were not a problem for us.

[Loucat]

Karen- Thank you for posting on your experience in an aft cabin. Although there are many great things about Quest (our butler Hari was WONDERFUL), cabin selection is important. I had concerns bout a forward cabin in terms of movement of the ship, but could not have anticipated the noise from docking/anchoring.:D

[katiebeth]

Dear Karen,

 

Thanks for taking the time to post on the Sunset Veranda cabin. After reading the boards, (several comments about Aft cabins; noise, soot, motion, etc.) my parents are considering changing cabins. It also appears (although, I don't know for certain) that the balcony is rather "boxed in" on the Sunset veranda. (it looks to be surrounded by a lot of metal). We are on a 14 day sailing, so cabin selection is important.!

 

They may upgrade to a Sky Suite on deck 8, depending on pricing. Surprisingly, there are a number of Sky Suites still available on our June 21st sailing (in addition, to other cabins in most all categories). This is different from our prior experience cruising Europe on Celebrity when most all categories seem to sell out several months in advance.

 

Azamara has dropped their pricing since last week (on our sailing, and probably other European sailings) and am very happy to report that I called Captain's Club and was given the new lower pricing with no problem! The representative could not have been nicer or more cooperative!

 

It does seem as if recent reports, concerning service and overall cruise, experience seem to be improving. These reports are very encouraging. We are looking forward to trying Azamara. It does seem that cabin selection is a little more challenging on the smaller ships, however.

 

We are Aft, as well, and are hoping that the seas will be smooth in the Med. in June and that Azamara will have addressed the issue with soot by then. (if that's possible). I don't mind some motion, but I think I would have a hard time sleeping thru what you have described, also!

 

Thanks again for sharing, Karen.

 

Happy and (Smooth!!) Sailings,

Nancy

[Napi's Mom]

The cabins are very much the same until the SS and above, exactly actually, and the balconies ditto, except the sunset ones that are larger on the lower decks, don't think it is any harder to pick a cabin than any other ship...easier, as they ARE all the same, even the insides...don't let the sq. ft. measurements fool you, they are essentially the very same as all the others.Might be inches shorter, and it will change the Sq. Ft. Seen some ships those inside cabins are tiny.