Azamara Quest – Part 2 – Who are Azamara and What’s Included

Following on from my last blog  Azamara Quest – Part 1

I would now like to introduce you to Azamara and what is included with Azamara Club Cruises.

Azamara are an American Company (relatives of Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean) and have 2 ships in their fleet the Quest and the Journey, I was fortunate to spend 2 nights on the Quest, this ship was also featured last year on the TV programme ‘Mighty Cruise Ships’. Both ships are near on identical and take no more than 680 guests. Not quite a 6 star ship, they are 5 star and are classed as Boutique Style Luxury Ships. Weighing in at just over 30,000 tonnes they are surprisingly spacious in all public areas. We sailed at full capacity and it did not seem that way at all once on board.

Captain Carl has been in charge of the Azamara Quest for over 9 years now and likes to make sure he interacts with his guests daily. He is very approachable and being English (actually from the Isle of Man) he has a very witty sense of humour that our American cousins enjoy. Along with the captain, the majority of staff on board have been since the beginning and returning guests have a great camaraderie with the staff.

Captain Carl with our group on the Bridge.

The very handsome Alexander whom is the 3rd Office

All public areas are beautifully designed and offer a feel of a country club style. There is no formality on board and the only exception of a dress code is when they offer a themed evening of the ‘White Night’ on board during the cruise. I will give a brief description of the areas on board but will let the pictures speak for themselves…

The ship has passenger decks from deck 4 to 11. So, very easy to navigate and not a 3 mile hike from dining to theater.

On deck 4 you will find the main guest services, Land Discovery shore desk and the future cruise and loyalty team plus the medical center.

Deck 5 plays host the cabaret lounge, where during the day you may encounter a key speaker. The Discoveries lounge & bar and also the main dining room Discoveries. The Mosaic Cafe, Casino and boutique shops (2 in total with no alcohol or tobacco duty free sales available) can also be found on this deck. Here you can also lounge on the promenade area and there is ample beds available to watch the world sail past..

Deck 9 is the main Lido deck, here you will find the gym and spa, the pool, Jacuzzi’s’ , pool bar and only smoking area on board. The buffet dining known as the Windows Lounge, The Patio (a grill bar) and the Sunset bar at the very aft. I highly recommend the Azamara burger from The Patio and their home made coleslaw is amazing (no pun intended).

Deck 10 has the Living room at the front, where you can dance the night away and then the Drawing Room towards the aft for some board games and library. There are also 2 x specialty restaurants on this deck, but as we did not dine here, so unfortunately I am unable to offer any advise. I will just have to return!

Living Room

Living Room

Drawing Room

Drawing Room

Prime C Specialty Restaurant

Aqualina Specialty Restaurant

Deck 11 has a further sun deck for a bit more peace and quiet.

Sundeck

Now if the above hasn’t already whetted your appetite, Azamara is an all inclusive cruise. Of course all your food is included, but so is your drinks and an Azamazing Evening. I will stress though that not all drinks are included. At the back of each bar menu is the list of complimentary beverages available and for something not on this menu you will be charged. But as you will see, not a bad list of included drinks, plus don’t forget the soda and water included in your cabin too. Gratuities are not required as Azamara do not feel the need to charge for this, they simply expect everyone to receive excellent service and if you wish to tip at the end, that is your decision.

The Azamazing Evening is a shore excursion, arranged usually when the ship is in dock overnight. The idea is to take the entire ship, free of charge, to a local event organized by Azamara. You are required to sign up for the evening once on board but it is optional for you to attend.

Whilst on board we was lucky enough to experience the Azamazing evening. The event was well organised, making sure everyone was off board in a timely manor, with waiting coaches and formative hosts for the journey. A big hats off to everyone at Azamara for the well structured evening.

We was docked in Amsterdam and this was where the Azamazing Evening took place, guests on board had given previous experience of an Azamazing Evening on other cruises, for example the reenactment of a traditional Greek wedding or a typical Balinese meal and dance. So the evening for this sailing was very different.

Firstly we was advised to dine from 5.30pm, where the main dining room was offering a buffet style service. This was so everyone could eat prior to leaving the ship. But don’t worry as when we returned there was another buffet set out for us to enjoy. From 7 pm we was starting to board our coaches for the short drive to Monnickendam, on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

We was treated to an evening at a 14th Century Church with classical music from Bach, Vivaldi and Handle with the only instruments played was the churches’ great & small organs, a trumpet soloist and a female soprano. With a finale of a ‘live’ rendition of Rembrandt’s Night Watch.

Complimentary Champagne on arrival

I will be honest, this is not my idea of an excursion I would pay for but it was something different and unique and I am glad I participated in the evening. Of course our cousins from across the pond lapped up the evening of culture and thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity.

Now, you may recall me saying ‘bad’ number 2 of this trip from the first blog on this review. Immigration is the word. When we got back to port after the Azamazing evening, obviously all coaches returned very closely together and although this is not Azamara’s fault, the queue to board was horrendous. The majority of guests on board are American and this meant that we could not bypass as EU citizens as there was not the facilities to do so. Rather than wait approx 30-45 minutes, our little group popped next door for a drink in the hotel and then sailed through immigration about an hour later. So a top tip is try and get on the 1st coach or wait it out in the port area by grabbing a drink or checking out the duty free.

To finish off my review, I would like to thank Stuart and the wonderful team at Azamara and on the Quest. This is a brand I love to sell and I am now so happy to be able to give first hand experience. This is also a brand I will be looking to book for a personal cruise holiday as the service, facilities and style of the ship was AZAMAZING.. there I said it…

Dawn

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