We booked this cruise in April 2007 while onboard the Celebrity Mercury. Despite the fact that the inaugural of what would be Azamara was several months away, the itinerary intrigued us. We had sailed on a R-Class ship on the former Renaissance Cruises and had a Baltic cruise booked for June 2007 on Oceania Regatta (R-class) which was also going to be very port intensive. So after a wonderful cruise on Oceania we were looking forward to the Quest cruise. We had been reading all of the reviews and posts comparing and contrasting Azamara to Oceania and decided that we would keep an open mind.

We reserved a room for 1-night at the Hotel Traiano in Civitavecchia (110 euros) after reading positive posts on CC and Trip Advisor. We flew into Rome the day before embarkation and arranged with the hotel to be picked up (110 euros). We arrived at the hotel by 1:30PM and checked in. Our first room smelled of cigarette smoke although we had requested a non-smoking room so we were moved to another larger room with a small balcony. The bed was very hard which was a problem for me since I was experiencing major back problems for the prior 2 weeks. My only other complaint about the hotel was that the a/c did not work despite being told that it was working. Luckily, the day and evening were cool enough so that it was not a problem. The hotel was very clean, had an elevator, a decent buffet breakfast and was helpful in recommending restaurants nearby and providing directions around town. They also had a complimentary shuttle service to the port which ran every hour so we signed-up for the noon shuttle with some other hotel guests that were sailing on the Quest. The evening before embarkation, we walked from the hotel to Aqua, a restaurant they recommended about 6 blocks away. The service was friendly, the food acceptable and the price reasonable. There were other hotel guests dining there. After dinner, we walked to the seaside promenade about 10 blocks away and stopped in at a recommended bar/restaurant, DoppioZero. We had a couple of drinks at the bar and walked back to the hotel at midnight.

We commend the hotel for being gracious enough to invite our friends who disembarked the Quest the following morning to join us for breakfast. We had met them through CC and cruised with them on the Oceania Baltic cruise. They were favorably impressed with the Quest and found it to be comparable to the Oceania Regatta. We were pleased to hear this. After they left, we walked to the small grocery store 2 blocks from the hotel and bought 2 bottles of local wine for approximately 10 euros to bring onboard (2 bottles are permitted per cabin on embarkation). After a 15 minute ride to the port, dropping off our luggage and checking in, we were onboard by 12:30PM. Check-in was very easy and pleasant. We found out later in the cruise that embarkation was permitted as early as 11AM. One of the nice things I noticed was that there was a crew member asking guests who were dining in the main dining room, Discoveries, to request a seating time for the first night only so gridlock could be avoided. This was a problem the first night on Oceania where we waited for almost 30 minutes to be seated. We avoided this on Azamara by requesting 60 days in advance a reservation in the Aqualina specialty restaurant. Another thoughtful touch was the ability to leave your carry-on luggage with the crew until your cabin was ready. Many people opted for this service but we decided to take it with us to Windows, the buffet restaurant on Deck 9 aft where lunch was being served. The entrance to Windows as well as every other dining venue had a hand sanitation stand with Purell and the there were servers at most buffet stations so the use of tongs by guests was limited but not entirely eliminated. Lunch selections were expansive and we ate there every time we were onboard for lunch. There were always 3-4 prepared salads, a salad bar, sandwich fixings with a variety of breads, meat & cheeses, a carving station where the meat selection was different every day, 2-3 hot selections with hot side dishes, a pizza station with good pizza and calzones, fresh fruit & pastries and an ice-cream station. Waiters were always available to bring drinks, refills, clear plates and the entire staff was very helpful and friendly. The only problem in Windows was that the 2 cappuccino machines were broken for most of the cruise. While I always had to request cream on Oceania, it was always available on the Quest. We also enjoyed the food served at the Poolside Grill on Deck 9 starboard aft that had a wonderful selection of freshly made chicken & beef skewers with grilled vegetables, ribs, nachos, burgers & hotdogs and fixings. I didn't like the burger much but really enjoyed the chicken skewers with grilled vegetables. At 1:15 an announcement was made that the cabins were ready and we proceeded to our cabin on Deck 7 mid-ship starboard side (#7081). We were greeted by our butler and cabin steward right away. Our luggage arrived soon afterward and as I began to unpack, I heard banging dishes, glasses, etc. When I opened the cabin door, I saw that the galley was directly across the hall. I asked the crew to keep the door closed but after 2 more requests, I decided that I could not listen to this for 14 days so we went to Guest Relations to change our cabin. Luckily, the ship was not quite full (640 passengers) so we were moved 4 cabins aft which worked out very well (#7089). We now had a new butler and cabin steward who introduced themselves immediately but we continued to be greeted by name by our former butler even though he had only met us for 5 minutes that first day. The friendliness and desire of the crew to be helpful and positive continued throughout the cruise. Whereas on Oceania I saw my cabin steward twice in 14 days, our cabin staff on Azamara was almost always visible and available. We informed our butler, Raphael, of what we wanted in our cabin every day and he never failed to deliver during all 14 days. Our cabin was always promptly cleaned, toiletries restocked as needed, towels replaced, etc. We never had to ask. The cabin was a bit on the small side but laid out very efficiently. I particularly liked the full size glass top table on the balcony which made it comfortable to eat and spend time. The small cocktail table proved a challenge when we had to balance our breakfast tray each morning. It would be a big improvement if the table could be slightly bigger. We both thought our bed was very uncomfortable. There was a cross beam underneath which may have been the problem. Perhaps it was just the bed in our cabin. Our butler brought me an egg crate mattress pad but it didn't help much. The other problem was that there were no electrical outlets near the bed so I could not plug in my heating pad. Luckily, the butler found me a very long extension cord to keep for the duration of the cruise. Storage space was adequate. There was a double-door closet, a small wardrobe-type closet with short hanging space and 4 drawers. Lighting by the closet was dim especially when the closet door was open. It would be helpful to have a light in the closet as well as a make-up mirror in the bathroom. There seems to be no need to keep the wall mounted hair dryer in the bathroom since a hair blower is provided in the cabin. In the desk there are 4 small drawers behind a door on one side and 2 shelves behind a door on the other side. The linens and towels are plush and each queen bed is made-up with 4 down pillows, 2 euro shams and 2 boudoir pillows. There was a pillow menu but I didn't see it until the last night. It was in a small booklet over the room safe and included some of the other free and fee-based amenities. Other amenities included a safe, a stocked mini-bar which we never used, plenty of wood hangars, slippers, bathrobes, an umbrella, binoculars, a canvas tote bag, Elemis toiletries, shower cap, cotton balls/swabs, and for the first time ever, an alarm clock. The television was a 27"(?) plasma that carried CNN, BBC Prime, Discovery Channel, History Channel, a free movie channel, ship-board channels and a pay per view movie channel. Many times the signal was weak and the audio was delayed from the video. The phone was located on the desk. It would have been better by the bedside but the night tables are square and the tops small (but they have 2 shelves inside). Read more