11/12/2007

By mimiskinner

• September 7, 2009

The Quest is a former Renaissance ship (only 30,277 tons, 694 cap. passengers) which has retained the luxury feel. Amenities include fresh fruit daily, flowers, canapes, slippers (to keep), use of binoculars & umbrella. Ports were Grand Turk; Samana, Dominican Rep.; Mayaguez, P.R.; St. John, USVI; Gustavia, St. Barths; Cabrits, Dominica; Basse-terre, Guadeloupe; & Virgin Gorda, BVI.

We enjoyed the size & ambiance of this ship including the cabaret showroom (as opposed to the larger Vegas style show. We were disappointed that Azamara does not do an outdoor buffet for "Caribbean night", but the party was fun. I do not recommend this ship for children as there is no program for them. There were multiple informative lectures including what was done in dock, "the evening sky" on stars & planets with application of knowledge on deck, wine tasting events, cooking events, trivia games, etc. Embarkation & disembarkation were excellent. Dining was excellent foodwise; however, service was erratic (open seating) probably due to the kitchen staff not aware of hours of diners since this was only the third sailing. Specialty dining is excellent (Azamara allows at no charge one dinner in each specialty rest.)

We rated this 5+ stars and we took a follow-up cruise in Jan. 2009 on the Journey. The staff is excellent & their english was also. For a leisurely, laid-back & upscale cruise, we highly recommend Azamara.