Azamara Quest Review

4.0 / 5.0
726 reviews

Wonderful experience with Azamara

Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Azamara Quest
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Flatworld
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jan 2014

My husband and I have tried 7 ocean cruise lines thus far and have generally enjoyed Celebrity and Royal Caribbean a bit more than the others. So we had little hesitation in trying their sister line, Azamara Club Cruises, when a really good deal emerged on a Panama Canal Cruise. Eight friends agreed to join us for the January 5-15 cruise from Miami to Caldera, Costa Rica.

We all booked our air arrangements through Choice Air. One couple opted to travel to Miami the day of the cruise; the rest of us flew from Houston to Miami a day early to relax a bit. We'd booked rooms at the Hampton Inn & Suites Miami Airport Blue Lagoon, located about 3 miles from the airport. The hotel van picked us up within a minute of our departure from baggage claim and quickly deposited us at the hotel. Within a block of the hotel were a shopping center with grocery store and cafes, as well as CVS and Walgreen's, where we all made last-minute purchases. We had a nice dinner at a Cuban café and enjoyed the free breakfast at the hotel the next morning. The hotel called 2 taxi vans for us, and we were on our way to the port by 11:45 a.m. on Sunday morning. Quick and easy.

Upon our arrival, we dropped off the luggage and headed through security. We were whisked to the check-in counter so fast that I hadn't had time to pull out our boarding passes. This was truly the quickest check-in I've ever experienced. Within 5 minutes we boarded the ship, where we were warmly greeted by crew members and encouraged to enjoy one of the dining options. We figured the Windows buffet would be packed, but we were pleasantly surprised. Our delightful lunch signaled the start of a lovely cruise.

Cabin Review

Having enjoyed a junior suite on RC's Oasis of the Seas 2 months earlier, we anticipated that the 175 square foot balcony stateroom on Azamara Quest would feel really tight. Yes, it was small, but it was laid out well and had everything we needed--including plenty of storage space. We liked the dark woods, colors and fabrics. The balcony had a good-sized table (which proved nice for breakfast one morning) and 2 comfortable chairs. The bathroom was extremely small, but we found places to store everything. We even got used to the tiny shower after a couple of days; at least it had great water pressure! Overall, we found the cabin very comfortable for our 10-day cruise.Our cabin steward was a magician. We rarely saw him, but he always had our room cleaned and fresh towels laid out by the time we returned from breakfast each morning.

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