Azamara Cruises

[brightonguys]

Anyone ever cruised on one of the Azamara ships? We're looking at the Quest based on the great reviews we've been reading, but we've only been on really large ships in the past (expect for the Maasdam, which is still twice the size of the Quest), so I'm a little concerned about running out of things to do (or running into the same people too often!). Also curious if anyone knows if they have much of a gay following at all, too. Thanks in advance for any input.

[obira]

Hi brightonguys,

 

We are travelling on the Quest on 21 June. As this will be our first ever cruise we won't be able to make a comparison with a larger ship but would be happy to answer any questions upon our return. We are an Australian couple aged 42 and 39.

 

Cheers

Mark and Craig

[brightonguys]

Wow, your cruise is just around the corner! How did you guys end up choosing this one over others? We're around your ages, too (41 and 45), so I'll be curious to hear from you all about the age demographic on the ship, as well.

[obira]

Yes, just two weeks until sailing date. We are flying out from here on the 17th and spending a few days in Athens before the cruise. Very excited now.

 

I'd like to say that we carefully weighed up all the cruise lines and destinations before coming to a considered choice but it was a bit more haphazard :).

 

We had decided on Europe as a destination and were considering hiring a car and having a driving holiday when we received some information on cruises. As it's a long way from Australia to Europe a longer cruise makes the flights worthwhile. This 14 night cruise fitted in perfectly with our vacation dates and there were seats available on flights so we booked. A good thing we did too. Waking up each morning to a new Greek island or other Mediterranean view without having to pack bags in a car and navigate on the wrong side of the road on busy highways is a much more relaxing break!

 

After booking we read on these forums that we may be amongst the youngest passengers on board but that's fine by us. We're looking forward to dinner conversation with some interesting people and have faith that people will extend us the courtesy of getting to know us before making any judgments. There are only two sea days on the cruise so, for the most part, we will be out and about exploring our destinations by day.

 

Are you guys looking at a particular cruise/destination?

[brightonguys]

Sounds like a perfectly good way to choose a cruise to me! We are sort of following the same approach. We are going to be in Provence for a week in mid-September and decided maybe we could go on a 12 or 14 day cruise on the front or back end of it. The cruise on the Quest happens to fit the schedule ideally, and I have read such good things about Azamara lately, it seems to make sense. It's a Western Med. itenerary so it's mostly Italy, France, and and overnight in Barcelona.

 

You guys will love cruising as a vacation. Rich and I started a few years back and we've been totally hooked ever since. Being waited on at every turn is something that just doesn't happen for us in "normal life," but it does on a cruise. :)

[quepaquete]

Pied Piper is having a group on a Azamara cruise next May. So it must be good and gay friendly :D .

[obira]

Brightonguys,

 

I think you're right about getting hooked. We haven't even been on our first one and we're already considering where to go on the next!

 

A week in Provence followed by a cruise around the Western Med sounds great- a real gastronomic paradise. We'll let you know how the food is on board. It's funny but the other cruise which we were considering was with NCL around the Western Med out of Barcelona. It was only 7 nights though, so Azamara won out. Mezes instead of tapas.

 

quepaquete, that's good news. I've read elsewhere on here that Azamara may be doing an Atlantis cruise too.

 

Obira

[sfgoguy]

Brightonguys,

 

I've read elsewhere on here that Azamara may be doing an Atlantis cruise too.

 

Obira

 

The scuttlebutt is that Atlantis has booked the Azamara Quest for an Asian cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore in late March/early April '09.

 

The sister-class ships to the Azamara lines are primarily operating now under the Oceania flag and they are wonderful. I was on an Atlantis cruise from Buenos Aires to Rio on Oceania's Insignia and it was heaven.

 

Happy cruising, guys. You'll love the ships on Azamara. ;)

[brightonguys]

I have read that, too, and that the Azamara ships are identical to the Oceana ships at a more reasonable price. Good to hear that you thought so highly of the Insignia, Gary. I'm guessing that even on a non-Atlantis or Pied Piper cruise, out of 700 passengers there will be a few other gay people.

 

Rich and Ed

[YHZcruiser]

Anyone ever cruised on one of the Azamara ships? We're looking at the Quest based on the great reviews we've been reading, but we've only been on really large ships in the past (expect for the Maasdam, which is still twice the size of the Quest), so I'm a little concerned about running out of things to do (or running into the same people too often!). Also curious if anyone knows if they have much of a gay following at all, too. Thanks in advance for any input.

We have done a lot of reading on AZ on this website and are confident we'll like the ship -- size, number of passengers, eating venues. We're booked on the Journey leaving Barcelona on Sept. 27 for a 12-day Med cruise with a stop in Casablanca (2 days at sea). Our AZ itinerary is quite port-intensive, so if anything, we'll be looking for some quiet time on the balcony!

 

As mentioned by other CC members, the age bracket is a little older, but we're OK with that (we're in our late 40s). On a river cruise we took last summer between Budapest and Nurenburg, we were among the yongest passengers but still had a great time. We became friends with a couple in their 60s who did not belong to a group and had some great time. We ate together quite often and enjoyed some good conversation.

 

Don't know yet about the gay following but we'll check it out on our cruise. I hope we'll find a few FODs but if not, our mission is still to have a good time and a great vacation. This will be our first oceanic cruise and I am hoping my partner will like it, because he'll have to follow me on more cruises! I'll try to remember to post a review of our cruise on the site, so that might help you.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[brightonguys]

Thanks again everyone for your input. We just booked the 8/30/08 Western Med. sailing on the Quest (just a couple cruises before yours, Valere). The combination of the great reviews and great price made it impossible to pass up. I'll try to post a review when we return as well.

 

But Mark and Craig, you guys are first! Have a great time, and let us know how it was when you return.

 

Rich and Ed

[obira]

Not long to go now guys. We will be sure to post some info when we return, including the FOD factor:).

 

Thanks for your kind wishes

Mark and Craig

[darrencantwait]

Hey there. We booked Quest for a Hong Kong to Singapore cruise in February 2010. We have found Celebrity to be very gay friendly, so I imagine that Azamara won't be too different. Long time until we're on this cruise, so we look forward to anybody's input.

[A&A_Norway]

Hello

 

We are 2 Norwegians gays 31 and 39 going on the Quest in less than 3 weeks :)

 

Are not sure if we chose the right, but we have been twice with NCL Jewel and Pearl and on both trips it was more than 700 kids..and that is hell... so this time we try something that is more quite. It looks like the age on the ship is more 50+ but that can be fun too. On NCL ships all parents went to bed at 9..hehe

 

Also booked Celebrity Solstice for 1 week from 4 jan 09. THAT looks like a incredible ship.

 

Anyone joining??

[brightonguys]

Hey Norway guys,

 

We've been on Freedom of the Seas with 1200 kids, so know exactly what you're talking about there. :) A trip with all (or mostly) adults sounds pretty good. We're going on the Soltice a month before you guys, so we'll trade you Soltice info for your Quest info when you get back. Have a great trip!

[Raymond1043]

We're doing Azamara's Quest on Nov 8, "The Ancient Empires", out of Rome to Athens. Here is link that you might find interesting about them and the demographics of the passengers.

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=466&order=desc

[obira]

Hi Brightonguys,

 

Well we're back from our cruise on the Quest and we are indeed hooked and already looking to book our next cruise preferably with Azamara :D.

 

I'll jot down just a few points here but if you have any particular questions I'll be happy to post a reply.

 

Food:

The food in the main restaurant Discoveries was great. If ever you find a dessert involving chocolate on the menu then pick it, each was delicious.

 

Entertainment:

The cruise was very port intensive there being only two sea days. Due to our time difference from Australia and our excitement at each new port we were early risers and so after a day's busy exploring and with bellies full of food we were ready for bed soon after dinner so did not explore the entertainment options much at all. We did hear a little disappointment from a couple of others at what was on offer but we weren't dissatisfied.

 

Size of ship:

We never found the ship to be too small. In fact we thought its size was ideal really. Embarking/disembarking at each port, even by tender, was a smooth and speedy process. When arriving back there was always a shaded stand set up on the dock with iced water or fruit punch and cold towels which were much appreciated as the days were almost all in the high 30s (or 90s for the non-metrically minded). We only had to wait once or twice for a table when dining in Discoveries and in those cases a table was always ready before we had finished a drink at the bar. I don't know what the loads were like on the ship but it never seemed crowded at all yet we were still seeing new faces even on Day 14.

 

FOD Factor:

On the second night there was a Friends of Dorothy meeting scheduled and we met two other couples there but subsequent to that we met up with quite a few others, all really friendly people. There were a number of others on board we didn't get the chance to meet. Being a small ship I'd say that more FOD meetings weren't required as it was easy to pick each other out and start up a conversation. Other passengers were friendly and we found the laundry room to be a social mixer. We never felt uncomfortable at any time.

 

Each time we told a fellow cruiser that this was our first cruise experience they told us that we had picked a great one which was of a very high standard compared with others they had done. I think you guys have made a great choice and won't be disappointed.

 

Cheers

obira

[brightonguys]

Wow, thanks so much for the review guys! I had been thinking about you all lately and wondering when you might be back from your trip. I'm really glad to hear you had such a great time, and especially that you were so happy with Azamara. We're about a month away from our cruise now, so the excitement level keeps increasing. :)

 

As for questions, let me see. Did you try Prime C, Aqualina, and Breeza for any meals? Were the officers and crew as friendly as I've been reading? Oh, how about the gym? Was it nice? Crowded?

 

I'm really happily surprised to hear that there were so many other FODs on the ship. I hope we'll be as lucky. And it sounds like the overall crowd on the ship was really friendly and nice. What would you say the age range and average ages were?

 

Thanks again for your report. We reall appreciate it!

 

Rich and Ed

[obira]

Hi Guys,

 

We dined in Prime C once in a group of 10 and the food was very good indeed. Aquilina was also excellent on the one occasion we were there. To be honest though we were so impressed by the food and service in Discoveries that we couldn't wait to see what was on the menu each night and because we were so active during the day we didn't want to tie ourselves down to a reservation time in the specialty restaurants. On a couple of nights we were too tired to shower and dress for Discoveries but we still ordered some room service from the Discoveries menu.

 

We had breakfast and lunch in Windows/Breeza on a few occasions and the buffet was excellent with a wide variety of delicious foods. For breakfast we mainly had room service. We also had some snacks at the poolside grill. Craig particularly enjoyed the gyros. The soft serve icecream was not good though; it was a bit icy. Try the flavours inside Windows instead. For lunch we were mostly in port and wanted to savour some of the local cuisine.

 

The officers were really friendly and always greeted us with wide smiles. The service in the restaurants was great bar a few nerves on the part of the new crew at a changeover point towards the end of the cruise. But this was just nerves because they were keen to do a good job. We found that a few words in Tagalog or Bahasa Indonesia or French were good icebreakers.

 

The gym

Well, we only went there the once :o when we first got on the ship and it looked spacious, well-equipped and, from what we heard, was not crowded. We got our exercise exploring the ports.

 

Age range

I would say that the adult age range was from the mid 30s and up with the majority being above 55. There were plenty of people around our age though. There were some family groups with teenage children but not very many and the kids were all well-mannered.

 

I hope this adds to your excitement. Have a ball!

Cheers

obira

[Boytjie]

and navigate on the wrong side of the road

 

Uhem, it's the other side of the road! :D

 

Being from South Africa and now living in the USA I hear about the 'wrong' side a lot, I prefer to think of it as the 'other side'.

[obira]

Boytjie,

 

I was just trying to even up the score ;)

 

For us (as for South Africans) the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side.

 

We did hire a car in Santorini and Chios and apart from the village of Pyrgis on Chios (where the streets were purposely set up to confuse invaders) managed to make a good fist of driving on the other side.

 

Cheers

obira:)

[Boytjie]

Boytjie,

 

I was just trying to even up the score ;)

 

For us (as for South Africans) the left side is the right side and the right side is the wrong side.

 

We did hire a car in Santorini and Chios and apart from the village of Pyrgis on Chios (where the streets were purposely set up to confuse invaders) managed to make a good fist of driving on the other side.

 

Cheers

obira:)

 

I had a fun time in St. Criox: you drive on the left but the cars all have the steering wheel on the left too! :eek: :D

[abenaki]

Hi guys

 

Just wondering if you ended up on Azamara, and how you found the experience to be? thanks

[RMS Olympic]

Like gary stated earlier, I too was on the Oceania's Insignia in South America and found the size of the ship to my liking. I must admit the English Country home interior designwas not my cup of tea. It looks like Azamara may have toned the look down a bit which would do me just fine.

I will be on the Atlantis Asia cruise and am very excited to be on this size of ship...to make it more social.

I am hoping the food and service is better than Insignia....

Oceania was OK...I am not a snob, but did not feel they were any different than other lines which I expected per their advertisements.

So I will look forward to this cruise line with much anticipation and just enjoy without keeping a score card on whats good and whats bad.

Just as long as they send a steward to my cabin to tuck me in at night....pat me on the head and leave me to drift off into lala land awaiting a new day. If course if he is wearing a speedo......then forget the pat on the head:D

[brightonguys]

We just got back to Boston last night as a matter of fact (the cruise ended on 9/13, but we tacked on a week in Provence while we were in the neighborhood). We loved the Quest! I hope to write a review to post on here in the Reviews section soon, but in a nutshell, we had a great time. My concern going in was that the ship would be too small and that 680 passengers would be too few (especially for a 14-day cruise). Well, we really enjoyed the size of the ship. If you went up to the pool but forgot something in the room, it was a quick trip back to the room instead of a long journey across a crowded ship and back. Sounds sort of silly, I guess, but it really was nice. The other big advantage of the size (although also due in part to Azamara's arrangements, I'm sure) was that we pulled right into ports. In Marseille, for example, I had read in guidebooks that you dock a 20 Euro cab ride from town. And, in fact, all the other ships did. The Quest, however, was docked right outside the Old Port which allowed us to walk to the heart of the city. In Monte Carlo, we pulled right into the little port there, as well.

 

The smaller size in combination with the passenger/space ration was really nice, too. There was never a line for anything on this ship, even for the tenders in the two tender ports. No line getting on, or getting off. No lines in the buffet area. No lines at Guest Relations or Shore Excursion. The only places that were crowded were the pool deck on the 2 sea days (can't get around that!) and the laundry room, which was packed seemingly non-stop.

 

The food in the main dining room and the buffet restaurant was quite good for the most part. There were a few "misses" over the two weeks, but there would be misses in a lot of good restaurants over the same period, I think. The service was outstanding everywhere, but especially in the restaurants. George, the maitre d', was just outstanding (okay, and quite handsome). The only caveat I would say is the alternative restaurants, Prime C and Aqualina. The food in Prime C was average at best. The food in Aqualina was certainly better, but not a lot different than that in the main dining room. So compared to the Olympic on the Millinium, for example, or even compared to Chops on RCI, the alternative restaurants were not really that special. Of couse, they were also only $ 5 pp instead of $20 or $30.

 

The gym was nice, but it was small and therefore lacking in a lot of equipment that you would find on the larger ships. They have to make cuts somewhere when dealing with a smaller ship, I know, but we really enjoy gyms on ships so it was a little disappointing. Of course, on a port-intensive itenery like this one, we ended up in the gym less frequently than normal so it wasn't a big deal.

 

I'll stop there before this turns into a long review, but if anyone has any questions at all, I'd be happy to try to answer them.