Azamara Cruise
From the moment we stepped on board we felt at home. What a friendly ship - from the Captain down to the cabin attendants, everyone made us feel very welcome and the pride they all have for their ship was demonstrated in everything they did.
With just 690 passengers and nine decks, Quest is a small ship by today's standards but because of her size, she can sail into ports that aren't accessible to the larger ships.For example, our first port was Sorrento and normally we would have to dock in Naples and take a 60 minute journey by road. However, we woke up to find we were moored in the beautiful Sorrento Bay and just had a short ride by ships tender to reach the town. Another bonus with Azamara, complimentary shuttle buses are provided where appropriate to take you into the heart of the town. This saves a lot of expense and hassle whilst in port and adds to the overall enjoyment whilst ashore.
Azamara Quest is a very well appointed ship with attractive decor and uncrowded public areas. Our cabin was very spacious with a queen size bed, lovely bed linen and every convenience you could think of. Complimentary soft drinks in your fridge, fresh flowers and fruit daily,Elemis toiletries and they even provided umbrellas and binoculars, the former which we thankfully didn't need and the latter which we found very useful both at sea and ashore. Port Information was provided for each location and unlike most cruise companies, guidance was given to help passengers get around without the need for expensive shore excursions.
Our itinerary was well balanced with each port offering a wide choice of trips, whether you did your own thing or took the ship's excursions.Our cruise started in Rome (Civitavecchia) and visited Sorrento, Taormina,Sicily, Chania in Crete, Mykynos, Kusadasi (for Ephesus) and ended in Athens. We enjoyed a diverse and well thought out itinerary. A great advantage of being on a smaller ship was the ease of disembarking and embarking - handled with efficiency and speed by the crew. They thought of everything - from complimentary beach towels and bottled water when going ashore, to drinks and cookies on the dockside when arriving back at the gang plank. On one occasion, we arrived back at a cool windy dockside to find hot chocolate waiting for us with an optional nip of rum and home made cookies!
One can't talk about a cruising without mention of the food! Azamara food is exemplary. There are several restaurants,the main ones being the Discovery restaurant open for breakfast and dinner with waiter service and the excellent buffet restaurant,Windows Cafe, open throughout the day serving breakfast, lunch,dinner and afternoon tea. There are also two speciality restaurants which carry a charge of $15 per person. We ate one evening in the Aqualina Restaurant which served Mediterranean fare and was excellent quality. Where else could you get 5 star food including Lobster for $30 per couple and all served with the finest wines which were complimentary in all restaurants.
Entertainment on board Azamara Quest is fairly low key compared with the razzmatazz of the huge liners but I feel that this suited the style of the ship and guests all seemed very happy with the choice. The cabaret lounge staged a show each evening with the excellent and versatile "Quest Singers" who were joined by guest entertainers most evenings. There was also a nightly themed evening in the Looking Glass Lounge where you could dance into the small hours. Casino, piano bar, guitarist and harpist all completed the variety - there was generally something for everyone. All in all, I think this is the most enjoyable cruise I have ever taken. I spoke with many fellow cruisers who without fail all felt the same. Many passengers who had 50+ cruises under their belt told me they wouldn't cruise on any other ship! And having experienced this for myself, I can understand why. Try this for yourself... I promise,you won't be disappointed.