Azamara Quest 11 Night West Indies Cruise (March 2014)

Azamara Quest 11 Night West Indies Cruise
March 16-27, 2014
by Tim Larison, CLIA Certified Master Cruise Counselor (MCC)
with contributions from Travel Agent Anne Larison

Ever since Azamara Club Cruises launched in 2007 my wife Anne and I have wanted to sail on this cruise line.  We were given that chance in the Spring of 2014, and we loved the experience overall!  Below we will share our impressions of the voyage.

The Ship

The Azamara Quest was the smallest ship we had cruised on in recent years.  At 30,277 tons the Quest is about 1/3rd the size of the original Disney ships (Magic and Wonder), and approximately 1/7th of the size of the last ship we had sailed on – the mammoth Oasis of the Seas!  While we enjoy sailing on the big ships the Quest gave us an appreciation for cruising on a smaller vessel.

Our Stateroom

We were in ocean view stateroom 4053.  We loved the location!  We were right around the corner from Guest Services and the Shore Excursion desk.  If we had any questions during the cruise it was easy to ask the guest relations staff – just a short walk away.  Despite being close to the ship’s center stairway we found this location to be a quiet one.

Our stateroom was medium sized – we’ve had bigger and we’ve had smaller on past cruises – it certainly was adequate for our needs.  Our stateroom attendant was prompt with cleaning every day (Azamara provides a card that you can put outside your door when you are ready to have the room serviced).  I liked that Azamara provided fresh fruit each day, and complementary bottled water and soft drinks were also provided.

My only complaint was with the shower.  Instead of being enclosed there was a curtain separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom, and we found this arrangement caused water to leak on the floor.  I like the fully enclosed showers we’ve seen on other cruise lines better.

Anne says:

There was sufficient space to keep all of our belongings stored and organized for the long sailing.  There were many extras that Azamara provided, such as two terry cloth robes, slippers, umbrella and even binoculars.  The stateroom attendant left us a sweet treat each night after he prepared the room in the evening. 

Dining

The food on the Quest was excellent.  I liked the “country club casual” dress code for dinner – no need to bring formal wear.  At dinner the seating was “open”.  We often would eat right when the dinner was first served (at 6 pm) and we had no problem getting a table for two by a window most nights.  The one night we dined with a group we were seated at a large circular table in the middle of the restaurant which made it easier to converse with our dining companions.

I was on a restrictive diet for this cruise and I had no problems ordering “healthy” options. I found the chicken dishes especially good.

For breakfast and lunch, we often ate at the ship’s buffet.  I liked the made to order omelette station for breakfast, and the salad bar for lunch and dinner.  We ate dinner in the buffet on a few nights when we wanted something different and less structured than the main dining room, and we were pleased with the selections in the evening, too.

Azamara offered some special dining events, such as a caribbean outdoor buffet with live cooking stations on “white night” (more about that below).  I thought the barbecue entrees were excellent, though the lines to get the food were long.

Anne says:

Drinks are included on the Quest, even alcohol (house brand).  Guests do have the option of paying for top shelf and other specialty alcohol that was not complementary.  Each night at dinner the complimentary wine that was offered was usually from a different country; one night it was wine from South Africa, the next it was France, the U.S. and so on. 

I agree with Tim that the food was always delicious.  There was usually something new to try on the menu in the main dining room, but they also offer the ‘always available’ menu options that include steak, salmon and chicken.  The buffet had a different theme each night.  I really enjoyed the nights we ate in the buffet when it was the foods of Greece, and the French food theme as well.

Entertainment

For a small ship I thought the quality of the entertainment was superb.  The main show room, the Cabaret Lounge, was aptly named.  Rather than being a big auditorium it was a smaller lounge, where you could sit very close to the stage.  The four production shows put on by the entertainment staff were very good.  Cruise director Russ Thomas Grieve had a prominent part in a number of shows and he was very entertaining (with an excellent voice and a good sense of humor).  The Quest had its own small orchestra that provided musical accompaniment for most shows – there was no “canned” music.

The lounge had a large screen behind the stage which was used in many of the shows.  “Voices” was my favorite production show with live singers interacting with images on the screen behind them.

Our cruise also had guest performers on a couple of nights.  Garin Bader was my favorite – a classical pianist and a master magician (an unusual combination!)

The Quest also offered music in other lounges.  We enjoyed the piano playing of Max Difaz and the melodies from guitarist Brian Frank.

Each Azamara voyage features an AzAmazing Evening – a special night designed to immerse guests in the local culture.  For our cruise we had an open deck party titled “Carnival, Calypso, & Conga” with a vocalist, dancers, and a youth drum corp from the island of St Maarten.  This event was followed by “White Night” – a dance party on the open deck where guests are encouraged to wear something white.  I enjoyed both events.  They were a nice change of pace from the Cabaret Lounge shows offered on other nights.

Anne says:

The Cabaret Lounge was more intimate than the larger cruise ship venues.  This wasn’t a problem for most shows, since there was usually an early and late show.  There were a few shows with only one performance, so arriving early was a good idea to get a good seat. 

One of my favorite performances was when Alex Mac sang Michael Buble songs on the open deck…beautiful night, desserts and love songs!

Onboard Activities

Our cruise had four “at sea” days.  There was always something to do.  We especially enjoyed the trivia sessions (one was offered in the morning and three in the afternoon).  The trivia was often hosted by one of the entertainers, which allowed us to get to know the staff better.  The ballroom dance performers (Olga and Anton) also taught dance classes on the at sea days.

For a small fee Azamara offered three iPad classes by Ross Johnson, one of the orchestra musicians onboard.  I’ve owned iPads since the iPad 1 came out.  I thought I knew the functionality pretty well but Ross showed me many features I didn’t know about!  I found these classes well worth it, and Ross was good at answering questions afterwards.  Come early for these classes as word spreads among the passengers how valuable they are (the last of the three classes was much more crowded than the first)

Azamara offered “Destination Enrichment” lectures by Dr Judith Ewell, a retired college professor.  Dr Ewell’s historical tales of the Caribbean were fascinating to listen to.  The cruise also featured interesting “Enrichment Series” presentations by wildlife adventurer Nigel Marven  and hand writing expert Alice Weiser.

There were many other activities onboard – the “at sea” days were far from boring for me!

Anne says:

As with most cruise ships, the Quest has a nice pool and hot tubs.  Other activities on board include a ping pong table, shuffle board, and spa.  There is a library with many books to choose from on the shelves.  If you like to relax and read a good book on “at sea” days, this ship has deck chairs with thick cushions.  It was easy to spend hours in a comfortable deck chair reading, relaxing and enjoying the ocean scene.

Internet Café/wireless access

Azamara offered internet access for a price.  I was disappointed they did not offer an unlimited internet package as I found on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas in December.  Instead I bought a “minutes” package.  I did find the internet connection to be good in my stateroom and in other areas of the ship.  An internet cafe is provided onboard if you don’t have your own device.  I was able to access the internet through my iPad and laptop’s wireless connection easily throughout the cruise.

Shore Excursions

Our Azamara Quest cruise featured two at sea days, then six straight “port” days, followed by two at sea days to conclude the cruise. Listed below are the ports we visited.  Click on each one for our trip report describing our day on that island:

St John, US VIrgin Islands
Iles Des Saintes, Guadeloupe (trip report to come)
Roseau, Dominica
Gustavia, St Barts
Charlestown, Nevis (trip report to come)
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands

We started and concluded our cruise from Miami Florida.  We “tendered” at all the ports except for Roseau, Dominica.  We found Azamara’s tender operations to run smoothly, though the hallways and stairways to the tender dock did get crowded.  I liked how Azamara offered us bottled water and towels at each port, regardless of whether we booked a shore excursion through them or explored on our own.

Anne says:

Azamara also met guests with cool towels and cold water at the return tender site, which was a welcome site after a warm day in port. 

Summary

I thought our Azamara Quest 11-night West Indies Cruise was one of our best ever!  I liked the small ship atmosphere, the level of service provided, the dining, the activities, and a chance to visit a few Caribbean islands we had missed on previous cruises.  I was amazed to find out that Azamara did not repeat one port in all of their voyages last year.  This makes an assignment on the Quest attractive to crew members as they share the excitement of new destinations at the same time as the passengers.

Anne says:

I agree with Tim that this was one of our best cruises.  From our stateroom attendant, to the dining room crew and the entertainment staff, everyone was friendly and helpful.  We were able to eat and drink with new friends and renew our energy with some time away from the office.   A very rewarding and fulfilling adventure.

Azamara currently has two ships offering cruises around the World – contact us for more information or for a no obligation price quote!