Paging Aussie Gal

[Paulchili]

Jennie,

I hope you had a wonderful cruise & land trip in Asia. If you are back and have recovered, I would love to hear about your A cruise and how it compared with your O experiences.

Thanks,

Paul

[Aussie Gal]

Paul,

 

We returned yesterday after a great month away. We enjoyed our cruise on Azamara but did have a few problems to say the least.

 

The two cruises before ours had a lot of passengers ill with norovirus so the ship had to be completely cleaned before we boarded in Hong Kong. We were sent off to Disneyland for 5 hours on a cool day which was not a good beginning to any cruise.

 

When we finally returned at 6pm, our cabins were not ready so we could not get into them until after 8pm and our luggage was finally delivered around 9.30pm. Not a great start to any cruise.

 

We did have another day in port before leaving H.K. so we spent that day away from the ship on a quiet island which was lovely.

 

During the course of the next few days, different things started to appear back into our cabin, such as the dressing gowns, slippers, flowers, fruit etc. so that by the time we arrived into Shanghai everything was more or less back to normal except for the library which was completely empty. Many people were so upset at this as they had relied on the library for their reading material which was needed as on board, there wasn't a lot to do. The library was still empty when we left the ship 14 days later.

 

One of the biggest differences between our time on Oceania and on Azamara was that during the day, and being a cold weather cruise, there was not a lot to do. We did go to Trivia but other than that there wasn't much planned. We found the Cruise Director to be good at speaking over the microphone every day at 12.15pm but other than that and announcing the show at night, he was never hands on or seen around the ship.

 

We had a wonderful Captain-Carl Smith who provided a lot of information regarding anything to do with navigation but we were left in the dark quite a few times eg. our itinerary had been changed a number of times and even when on board it was changed. We found that we were given an extra hour in Hiroshima but did not find that out until we read the Patter the night before we went ashore. We also were never told when immigration had been cleared and that we could go ashore. We just had to go downstairs and find out for ourselves if people were able to leave the ship. Communication was not one of the good points on the Quest.

 

We also had to leave Osaka early - from 10am back to 8am and again we only found out when reading the Patter.

 

We had a fire on board on our overnight in Osaka and everyone on the ship was woken at 2.20am. It was at the back of the Cabaret Lounge on Deck 5 and was caused by a new Bingo machine overheating and catching on fire.

 

We were all awake for over 30-40 minutes and we had smoke in our cabin as we were above the lounge, before we were told everything was under control.

 

We thought that perhaps the next night a free drink for everyone might have been in order but that wasn't on the agenda.

 

In our opinion Azamara is not in the same league as Oceania. We found a lot of the stewards, especially the women from the Eastern European countries had an attitude which wasn't pleasant. The service was not nearly as good as on Oceania and certainly not even as good as we have found on both the Tahitian and Pacific Princesses.

 

The food both in the dining room and up in the Aqualina Restaurant was excellent. Prime C wasn't bad, but the buffet is sadly lacking. Nothing like the wonderful fresh fruits and cheeses that are found on Oceania. Also, up in the buffet the roast of the day seemed to be chicken and only chicken.

 

We missed the lovely free Capuccinos and Lattes that one can have whenever one wants on the Nautica. They cost $4 each on the Quest! We also missed the mints outside the dining room each night. We loved those on Oceania

 

There are refrigerators in each stateroom but no DVD players in verandah cabins. I think they are only in the mini suites and full suites. Instead they have pay movies, something I have never found on a ship. In fact we found that once on board, the cost of everything was exhorbitant. The TV's though are the modern flat screen ones but there are only a couple of channels which are CNN and ESPN.

 

The shops don't have anything to sell and there are no specials at all. Everything is top dollar.

 

The one thing that Azamara has over Oceania are the wonderful big, fluffy towels in the bathrooms. They are great and very much appreciated.

 

To sum it up, we would not look at cruising with Azamara again unless it was a wonderful itinerary with an even better price to match it. We enjoyed the cruise but were happy to leave the ship after 14 days unlike our cruise on Oceania, when after 35 days, I still didn't want to leave the ship.

 

We did meet some great people especially from our Roll Call and we enjoyed quite a few meals together. The itinerary was excellent and we visited some wonderful ports. Unfortunately, it will not be same next year as they have changed it around quite a bit so we are fortunate to have done this cruise this year.

 

Jennie

[Paulchili]

Jennie,

Welcome back and thank you for responding so promptly. I know that after a long trip like that you may have other things to do than just respond to my curiosity.

I am sorry to hear that the cruise was not all that you hoped for. Some things I could live with (i.e. lack of ship activities if the cruise is port intensive), others I would rather not have to deal with (staff with poor attitude).

I am a little disappointed for myself as well, as I had my eye on a B2B A cruise in Sept 2010 with Venice in the middle (it has a good Dalmatian itinerary for me). I guess I will have to wait and see what O (or Princess) may have to offer for next year. As you said, if no one else offers the itinerary I like, I may have to bite the bullet and go with A anyway, as the ports of call are my first criteria.

I am glad you are home safe and sound – you will probably need some rest now that your vacation is over.

Thanks again for your prompt reply.

Paul

PS I am traveling in places where internet access is not always available, thus I may not reply promptly if you post.

[Aussie Gal]

Paul,

 

It was a good cruise overall especially as we were ended up paying half the price that we originally had booked. We did miss out on one port due to high winds and that was Dalian so we ended up with an extra day at sea and unfortunately the C.D. and his staff were left wanting. I know it was a cold weather cruise and therefore we could not go out on deck but I feel that the staff having done 2 identical cruises before ours, should have come up with some ideas.

 

We also had two very rough days. The first was between Shanghai and Busan and the second was between Busan and Hiroshima. We were in a Force 10 that day and even though the ship rides well - according to our Captain - it was still pitching and rolling quite a bit.

 

As you say, if you have a lot of ports then you will be very happy with the ship. I didn't mention that the cabin soft furnishings have been redone and are very tasteful. They are so much nicer now than on Oceania and Princess which have kept to the original blues. Also with a cruise in September around the Med, the weather is warm and you can spend the time outside.

 

There was no way that we could do that and that also helped to make the buffet area very crowded as no-one could eat outside which helps a lot on those smaller ships. In fact we ended up having both breakfast and lunch in the dining room each day.

 

We loved the alternate restaurants but again you pay $5 p.p. to eat there whereas on Oceania it is free. There is a lot of little extras which are added on. With Oceania, you pay more up front but you get the extras included. Also, Azamara has a policy that you can only take on board at the beginning of the cruise 2 bottles of wine. You cannot buy any more in any of the ports or it will be removed from you until the end of the voyage whereas with Oceania, there is no limit.

 

Again, just little things but often it is the little things that get to you more than the big things.

 

Jennie

[meow!]

Thank you, Aussie Gal, for such an observant report. And it is always nice to hear from Paulchili.

[Jayayeff]

Jennie,

 

Welcome back, I've been waiting for you to post about your Azamara experience, which seems to be very similar to mine with regard to the overall onboard ambience and amenities. Although it's over three years since I cruised with Oceania my feelings too were that O as a whole is definitely one or more steps above Azamara. Like you I was ready to leave the Quest at the end of the 14 days, which I found was quite a disapopinting end to the cruise...

 

Please you had a great land trip at the end of your voyage...

 

Anne

[cruiseyguy]

I suppose it boils down to what is most important to someone on a cruise. A half-price port-intensive cruise on a ship with nice staterooms and "excellent" food would be fine with me. But the service issues and lack of onboard activities on an itinerary with lots of sea days wouldn't be so fine. But it is good that there is an alternative to O for those willing to make some trade-offs.

[Paulchili]

Paul,

 

It was a good cruise overall especially as we were ended up paying half the price that we originally had booked. We did miss out on one port due to high winds and that was Dalian so we ended up with an extra day at sea and unfortunately the C.D. and his staff were left wanting. I know it was a cold weather cruise and therefore we could not go out on deck but I feel that the staff having done 2 identical cruises before ours, should have come up with some ideas.

 

We also had two very rough days. The first was between Shanghai and Busan and the second was between Busan and Hiroshima. We were in a Force 10 that day and even though the ship rides well - according to our Captain - it was still pitching and rolling quite a bit.

 

As you say, if you have a lot of ports then you will be very happy with the ship. I didn't mention that the cabin soft furnishings have been redone and are very tasteful. They are so much nicer now than on Oceania and Princess which have kept to the original blues. Also with a cruise in September around the Med, the weather is warm and you can spend the time outside.

 

There was no way that we could do that and that also helped to make the buffet area very crowded as no-one could eat outside which helps a lot on those smaller ships. In fact we ended up having both breakfast and lunch in the dining room each day.

 

We loved the alternate restaurants but again you pay $5 p.p. to eat there whereas on Oceania it is free. There is a lot of little extras which are added on. With Oceania, you pay more up front but you get the extras included. Also, Azamara has a policy that you can only take on board at the beginning of the cruise 2 bottles of wine. You cannot buy any more in any of the ports or it will be removed from you until the end of the voyage whereas with Oceania, there is no limit.

 

Again, just little things but often it is the little things that get to you more than the big things.

 

Jennie

 

Jennie,

Thanks again for your review of Azamara.

I saw the O's 2010 itineraries today and while there are new ports and itineraries, nothing suits me as well as A's (for timing and POC).

I will have some "hard" decisions to make when I get home.

Paul