We are moderately experienced cruisers, but this was a first time on Azamara. As readers of my previous reviews will know, I eschew day by day accounts and try to march to a different review drummer. For this review, I plan to offer "smiles" and "frowns" as we experienced them on the cruise; S for smiles, F for frowns; no particular order. S: we had heard rave reports of Captain Smith and were disappointed to find he was leaving Quest as we embarked in Venice. But the smile was due to the wonderfully visible replacement Leif ("see you round the ship") Karlsson who proved to be everywhere, including random appearances eating breakfast or lunch with passengers in Windows. As good a skipper as we have experienced. His navigation information was fun to listen to even if his weather forecasts were not always accurate. F: in the past on other ships we have enjoyed listening to the classical and jazz music on channels on the stateroom TV but other than the "muzac" as background on the navigation channel, there was no music available. S: we enjoyed the civilized approach in Windows/Breeza (the cafeteria for B/L/D) in that there are no trays to push around on rails in front of the food buffet. This and the "stations" concept made this less like a high school caf. and more like an attractive place to eat. S: we really appreciated the sensible explanations given for not taking the life jackets to the drill. Though we can no longer call it the "pumpkin parade", it was safer (no straps to trip on), more spacious when we did the shoulder to shoulder shuffle, and easier for the disabled etc. F: I found the cheeses offered in lieu of dessert in Discoveries to be served too cold. In the specialty restaurants they were perfectly served. However when I mentioned this to Donald (Food and Beverage Manager) at the Senior Officer Cocktail party, he quickly agreed, and started to brainstorm with me on how the problem could be solved - probable S on our next Azamara cruise? F: back to the stateroom TV again. I enjoy doing a preview and edit of my digital photos by connecting my camera to the TV with my cable, and switching the controls to Video or AV and seeing the day's photos on a large screen. The remote on Quest did not have an AV or Video option; what a pity. S: the food and service in Aqualina and Prime C. Maitre D's Eric and Roman, Sommelier Ermina, and our servers Ivana and Ramesses performed superbly and all courses we ordered were beautifully presented and provided taste thrills. We dined in these two spaces on the first two nights, and would not do this again because it spoiled us totally. Next cruise we would space the two visits. We two foodies say thank you for the great meals.... sorry we could not secure a second reservation for Aqualina because there were at least five more dishes we would like to have tried. F: our first two nights in the main dining room Discoveries (in contrast to Prime C and Aqualina) seemed a bit disorganized and our servers seemed harried by having to bring courses of different stages of the meal to nearby tables. Later in the cruise, this improved markedly, perhaps once the passengers had developed routines? No complaints about the variety or quality of food, but we had a strange feeling of watching something not choreographed well for a couple of nights. S: the superb efforts of Discoveries Maitre D' Martin in finding us a perfect "table for two" whatever time we arrived for dinner or lunch. F: Captain's Club benefits on Azamara have not yet changed in the ways described for Celebrity. We did use the laundry discount, but given that we take an e-mail vacation when cruising we did not use the computer add-on offered. No reflection on Captain's Club hostess Jennifer who is as charming and efficient as any we have encountered. Having said that, the Senior Officer cocktail party was excellently catered and well attended by the officers, and so was the Captain's Club cocktail party. S: Hotel Director Anton and his staff were amazing. This affable ex-Austrian/American is literally everywhere. He "walks the talk" and it is infectious in that his staff members emulate his efforts. He could be seen on shore in the morning greeting passengers going ashore; he joins in activities (especially table tennis, poker, dance contests). He learns names of passengers and follows up days later on encounters he has had on board or ashore. We somehow scored an invitation to dine at his table one evening and he proved to be a perfect host as well. Not so much a smile here as a big grin! S: Melvin and Enrique (Butler and Stateroom attendant) were invisible unless we needed them, and then they magically appeared and effectively filled all of our needs. A great team! S: the Connections party was held at a very appropriate hour (5.45pm) and day (the second night of the cruise) and had a full array of drinks and canapEs. And, again, Senior Officers attended and interacted. Cruise Director John did a very fine job of keeping introductions moving, and surprise, surprise, Captain Leif arrived during the party and greeted us individually and spoke to the group as well (a first for us a Connections events). F: back to the TV set. For an inveterate channel surfer, the erratic levels of volume from channel to channel proved a challenge. Changing from the movie channel to say Shore Excursions could blast us out of the room and wake neighbours. S: quick thinking of the Hotel Department when the day in Kotor turned very wet. A second edition of Pursuits was published with additional afternoon activities, and Discoveries was opened for lunch though it was scheduled to be closed that day. It meant the passengers who stayed aboard or returned early (some excursions were cancelled) had plenty of activities - and food opportunities. S: friends made through Cruise Critic Roll Call and Connections party. Though we did not share experiences ashore, we met often and compared notes and answered questions for each other with recommendations. F: the wet floor of our stateroom on day 9 and 10. The leak was in another stateroom, but as we have experienced before on ships, water runs under the floor and surfaces in strange places. However the reactions of Guest Relations and Melvin were swift and the plumber was there in short order. The problem took time to locate and remedy, so we had towels on the floor for some time and could not walk without shoes or slippers. Apologies were received from Guest Relations, Butler, and Guest Relations manager Ngawhira. S: cruising with Ngawhira again. We first met this delightful Kiwi on a trans-Atlantic on Century and have stayed in touch since as e-mail friends. She greeted us the first day, provided terrific service and friendship throughout, and answered all of our questions; as I am sure she did with all other passengers who had occasion to deal with her professionally or socially. S: a healthy ship. We did not hear of any cases of infectious diseases and there was no wide-spread coughing towards the end of the cruise (as we have experienced often before). The medical staff, Doctor Paul and Nurse Marjorie, did not hide in the medical centre but were out and about and chatted with passengers in public areas often. They are a fun team. F: no computer access outside the e-connections room. On other cruises, I found computers in other areas of the ship (outside the computer lab) which I have used to write letters or journal entries and print on the nearby default. No such access on Quest. S: small touches abounded. Jugs of water with slices of fruit inside on the jogging track each morning; the paper mats on the floor bedside after turndown; gym towels placed at each piece of apparatus in the fitness centre; a change of egg dishes in ramekins in Windows each day; servers with smiles (e.g. Aline, Maria, Anna); bar-tenders with memories and personalities (Wayan, David); wait staff with sense of humour Michael/Renelao, Arnell); canapEs in the stateroom by 5.30pm if ordered by 11am. S: Somellier Nikolai found the missing half full bottle of Cotes du Rhone which went missing for a day or so.... F: perhaps the towels are too big and too heavy. They were difficult to use without them dragging on the wet floor of the bathroom, and tended to fall off the small hooks on the back of the door. They felt good though. S: menus in Discoveries include a special pasta entree and a special salad entree each day. We found our waiters willing and able to split one of these and bring them as replacements for (or as second) appetizers. As a result we sampled some dazzling dishes without needing to sacrifice the real entrees we individually wanted (the shrimp ceviche entree salad and a seafood pasta in tomato sauce were memorable on separate nights). We also raved about the desserts which were "trios"; long platters with three small but appropriately related servings of delight. F: snafu with our shipboard account. Despite having checked off the box on the embarkation form and providing a credit card number, and having discussed the fact that it is a Canadian bank card but denominated in US dollars and would not need conversion, my disembarkation was prevented by a loud noise produced by my Seapass. Fortunately the Guest Relations desk was adjacent and the staff there (the very friendly and efficient German, Alisson and Carina) told me "we don't want you to leave". For some reason there was no record of a credit card number, but there was cash in my money belt which closed the account, and we laughed about it. S: the itinerary. Combined with B&B experiences in Venice before the cruise and in Rome afterwards.... what a wonderful way to spend three weeks in October! S: the quick wit and musical talent of Jim Badger. He kept us smiling and consequently we tended to follow him around the various venues. Our style of humour, all styles of piano playing, never a dull moment. S. Violinist Nicola Loud. Great talent (unfortunately not enough classical numbers for our taste) and sounded terrific with the smooth Quest Orchestra. F: at finding on checking the itineraries for future cruises on Azamara that there are few opportunities to cruise from ports near our west coast home. Jennifer (she doubles as Future Sales) was able to book us on Journey in 2011, but we were ready to book more cruises on either Journey or Quest if they had been starting or ending closer to Vancouver. Too long already - nuff said! We can't wait to cruise Azamara again."patnles"