We chose this cruise for its itinerary and to cruise again with Oceania. I've been on 24 cruises (ocean and river). Oceania to the Med was one of the best, and this one (Montreal to New York) was the only bad one. The buffet area was seriously understaffed. We were ignored at tea one day and then insulted by the maitre d when we asked (very politely and quietly) to be served. But the consistent problem was that bad weather meant no one could use any outdoor spaces and caused us to miss two ports. That mattered only because Oceania made NO provision for all the resulting crowding in all indoor areas and provided almost NOTHING extra for the two unexpected sea days (except for showing a movie that was already showing in the cabins and repetition of two craft activities). The food was good but not great. Two chefs did the best cooking demo I've seen on a cruise. We ate one nIght in the Italian specialty restaurant. It was excellent. We didn't try the other specialty restaurant. I've never before missed the evening show, but we skipped all the evening entertainment because it was only offered at 9:30 p.m. There was nothing we were interested in to do between dinner and then. Our cabin steward Min was the best I've had, but I suggest that you seriously reconsider sailing on the Insignia. Read Less

We sailed in September-October on a four week cruise Montreal-New Orleans on the Azamara Quest, under charter by a consortium of Australian travel agents.. As far as I am aware, there was no advertising of this charter on the Azamara website, which was a pity because I am sure many Americans would have appreciated the opportunity to sail down their east coast. The major benefit would have been more rooms sold at full price, instead of the generous last-minute deals, which no doubt necessitated the charter company's cost-cutting. However, if Azamara was prepared to have its brand undermined because of what was clearly a poor relationship between it and the charter company, then that is the product presented to we first-time passengers, and the experience on which I comment. The rooms on the Quest are small and we had to walk sideways between the end of the bed and wall-mounted TV. The upright chair and coffee table were too heavy for regular movement ... but to use one, the other had to be repositioned. The curved sofa was only comfortable for one person to sit; its shape and size did not fit its corner placement, and the best place to watch the TV was from the bed. The designer of these ill-chosen pieces only needed to spend one night to know how unsuitable they are. The bathroom was minute and had no extraction. For a relatively small ship, 700 passengers, I found it impersonal. Middle management was invisible and obviously has no role in engaging with the customer ... except for the marketing people who, in a few ports, invited travel agents into the main guest lounge and spruiked their product. Blinds were lowered, a microphone and AV presentation used. How dismissive of we passengers using the lounge, when two empty restaurants were available to them to conduct business. The cruise director daily produced a long list of activities, most of which were “unhosted”. This was my first cruise where Bridge was not arranged; on ships of only 300 passengers, there can be a hardcore group of 30-40, especially on seas days. In poor or cool weather when the outer decks could not be used, the main dining room and cafeteria were over-crowded and noisy and, over a month, with too few daily changes, the a la carte menus became ordinary. The food was generally okay, but the superior meals were in the two speciality restaurants at an extra $60 a head. Standard alcohol was included, but a number of the wines were not acceptable. To overcome its aging ships, Azamara promotes its Land Discoveries as setting it apart from its competitors. Most of the 20 or so ports and shore excursions on our cruise were tremendous, but attention to detail by the ship’s staff was missing, e.g. presumably to keep down the cost of coaches timeframes were tight, and we were too often moved at a fast pace by guides (who were often half the age of most passengers, but we all kept up); guides unnecessarily cut short some tours; aging coaches; dubious drivers (one who drove with only one fist on the wheel!) who often didn’t know the route; dirty windows which have spoiled photographs. The ship’s New York berth, altered from Manhattan to a remote wharf in New Jersey with a poor shuttle service, was a disaster, and totally spoiled what most would have regarded as the major port of the cruise. Presumably this was cost cutting, and was an absolute disgrace. I have noticed reference in a previous review of Azamara’s “dysfunctional” website, and dirty windows; comments I completely endorse. Having been told Azamara is viewed as a 5-star ship ... I don't think so. Read Less

This was my first and last cruise with this line, The crew is 95% Philippians and spoke and radioed to each other in their native tongue which is fine with me but I would be very confused in an emergency situation, even the practice life boat drill had a huge language gap. the available Internet was only available for a fee, as was virtually everything on the ship including coffee, pop and water. I ordered a glass of wine but was up sold to a bottle that would be available to me when ever I wanted a glass, they lost it and it took 5 days to receive a replacement. We were given Complimentary beverage cards and told to use them quickly as they had no cash value, we did so on a 3 bottle wine package over $ 100 and then we were embarrassed to be told the cards were not valid and that it would be charged to our credit card ( in all fairness they did give us a credit to cover this after several trips to the front desk ) The food in the Lido was not kept hot nor cold everything was at room temperature, this made for a less than enjoyable dining experience. The Lido had long lines every day , every meal and very, very limited selection as what was available ran out often ( on my last night aboard dinner was pasta and french fries ) No drinks were every offered and everything was get up and get it yourself. Coffee here was free but weak and served in tiny cups. Dinner at the Rotterdam was 5 star style but 2 star food food was bland and tasteless but presented very nicely Read Less

This is my first review of a cruise via Cruise Critic, so fellow cruisers here is my opinion of what our cruise on the Yorktown was like. I have identified good points, bad points and where I think they could make improvements. The ships generator went off line and took out the second because of an overload. We sat dead in the water for awhile, but I keep forgetting about this. Seemed like a non-issue. The Yorktown is an American Registered Ship and also contains an all American Crew. It is owned by Travel Dynamics. I do not know if this is a good thing or not, but the ship went to places I wanted to visit and with only 110 other passengers. We booked our cruise through The Museum of Natural History. Other cruisers booked theirs through Our Gang Travel and the Smithsonian. There was a group from France who had their own interpreter and all french lectures were provided. Booking was a little difficult but with E-mail and phones we were able to get through it. The ports visited were really great and I felt I could have spent longer in each but the time was adequate. The lectures offered on the boat were really interesting, they were varied and applied to the trip. Temu, the Cruise director, was informative and there were never any questions on what was going to happen next. Getting off and on the boat at each port was handled as expected without difficulty along with changes in time or rain events like the Dune buggy ride in Saugatuck, which was off and on again and rescheduled. On smaller cruise ships schedules are flexible so things just seem to work well. Some ports visited: Montreal start of the trip. We got to Montreal a few days early, since we have not spent any time there before. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which is a short walk to the ship with our luggage. There is plenty to do in Montreal, great restaurants, easy to pick activities and an underground train. Get the AAA or CAA book and pick from the Gems. Detroit. We took the tour to the Ford Rouge plant. The guide on the bus was not informative and pretty much showed you things we were passing just because they were there. Like this church or that building. However, what was inappropriate, was the off color jokes he was telling! The plant was not running but it had a nice over view of what happens Niagara falls. Yes Maid of the Mist, Everyone has to do it once, Get the Blue Ponchos and everyone looks like Smurfs! After this event the buss takes you to the ship which has moved to a new location, it is a good opportunity to see more of the area. Here too the guide was telling off color and in appropriate jokes. Yes I laughed at the jokes but they did not consider that the youngest person on the bus was an 11 year old. Alpinia. This small town really rolled out the red carpet! They met us att the boat gave us maps water and had a bagpiper playing for us. The Marine Museum is really great too. WE will revisit this town. Macenack Island Fudge is the first word here! There are more places to buy fudge than I think horses on the island. This island does not allow cars or any motorized vehicles. Taking a carrage tour to Fort Henry and the Grand Hotel were highlights of this stop. This was our third visit to the island and once you get by the fudge and tourists it is enjoyable. Other stops in Michigan included, Saugatuck, and Charlivoix. These are small mostly occupied summer towns. Really unique and fun to visit. Anyway, back to the boat! All of the ships servers were properly trained in correct table service other than big Tony who seemed to always be rushed and bringing multiple courses to our table at a time. Micha and Kate on the other hand were the best, we just picked our table locations accordingly to get good service. Note, every meal event on the Yorktown is similar to Open Seating on a larger ship. There were no issues with cabin service and Sherry was very adept of taking care of our cabin on our schedule not hers which is great. Free bottled water was always available in our cabin. Oh and no towel animals! I really like these all inclusive cruises! Well not everything on the ship was great. The galley was staffed by 9 folks and the food they prepared was really bad, not bad like not good to eat, just from what is expected on a cruise of this type! I later found out that the chef was new, so maybe he is just getting used to the galley (benefit of the doubt) I don't know if he is better or worse than the last. I just know that a number of us passengers did not enjoy the food. Breakfast and Lunches were buffets and dinners were table service. The food at breakfast was pretty much the same every day, cheese, canned fruit, some fresh, lunch meat that was cut much too thick. Pate (think of spam) of some smoked meat. Cold smoked salmon was served only once followed by creamed herring in a mustard sauce then more herring was added to the dish but it was salted and was not prepared properly to go into the same dish, too salty. It was also served over and over again. These items were followed by cold overdone dried out scrambled eggs, cold potatoes, cold french toast or pancakes, some days both. Bacon and sausage in the same pan again cold. Biscuits that were really small made in a muffin tin?. Very thin sausage gravy. What happen to the leftover sausage? Also one or two days ham was added to the menu. Getting cold toast or english muffins was not a problem since you could pick one and a server would toast it and bring it to your table. After the week progressed I figured out a method! Request an omelet (It may or may not come out with the requested ingredients) but it was hot. Also you can request poached eggs they needed to be cooked by request, but again they were hot. Lunch had pretty much similar issues. Cheese, canned fruit. Cracker plate which was usually empty (they were just Keebler crackers anyway) and pate from breakfast. Lunch meat again cut too thick, green leafed lettuce and several toppings for a salad bar. Following was a hot pasta with various leftovers (we had flank steak a previous night now we had pasta and flank steak. Reheated breakfast potatoes and peppers and onions for a vegetable. Usually the last two half pans were of a food that had been left from a previous cruise or dinner. Such as some BBQ ribs or airline chicken breast (the way a chicken breast is cut) or fish. I believe the Chef thought not enough for a dinner service but for lunch maybe and if I run out I could plug in another leftover. Oh and that night for appetizers before dinner in the lounge we had left over bbq ( w/bbg sauce this time) on crackers. Or ground up pate sandwiches with the crusts cut off, fancy? Another example was the chicken. It was called airline breast and was served at our table as a lunch choice (a lot of passengers took a train trip), so no buffet this day. It appeared the 2nd time as a lunch item in one of the half pans with some gravy and a 3rd time as Coq au vin for dinner! We had the legs and thighs another time at lunch. Another example of reused, leftover food preparation was pork roast. Served as a roast entree and then as another entree with a different name later in the cruise that still looked like and tasted like a leftover. Soups are offered for lunch and some dinners as appetizer courses most were too thin, with no body, and no flavor. Appeared to me to make more soup , water was added. The best thing were the salads served as the salad course during dinner. Same lettuce but different ingredients added and dressing, very enjoyable. I usually tried to pick fish but one night my wife ordered Blackened Drum, hers was much to much blackened and a fellow table mate had hardly any spice or blackening on his. What I am saying is there is no consistency between the plates. Most of the time, the main item on the plate was a least warm, but the vegetables were usually cold and the potatoes gaggy. Another time I ordered a vegetable cannelloni (stuffed pasta noodle with tomato sauce) because the other items appeared to be created with other leftovers. It did not appear fresh. Just reheated from frozen, maybe from another trip. I was fooled here too. All in all, the food quantity and preparation was horrible! Having a galley staff of 9 is not an excuse for poor food. Basic culinary practices, food preparation, temperatures are not being followed or adhered too. I am sure that proper food safety temperatures on the buffet were also not correct. I never saw anyone checking to make sure it was being kept at a serve safe temperature. I am surprised no one got sick. I would believe that the chef can buy and use products that he wants to as long as that he stays within a budget. I feel that the cruisers on this trip got the short end of the stick on food and I feel that most meals were created with some sort of leftover from something else, not that leftovers should not utilized, I just don't want to have it be so apparent and in my face that they are. I did not see new food come aboard other than when we got to Chicago at the end of the trip, however I saw plenty of other opportunities for new food at other ports we visited. THE ABOVE ISSUES SHOULD NOT BE ISSUES ON A CRUISE OF THIS CALIBER, THE MEALS SHOULD BE UPSCALE AND SIMILAR TO OR BETTER THAN A HOLLAND AMERICA TYPE CRUISE LINE! One other point on food. Not nearly enough vegetables. Broccoli was served once I think with a Fillet Mignon early in the cruise and only one small floret with the the gaggy potatoes. Where I think the Yorktown can improve: Food They could consider some theme meals such as a Taco bar or Hamburger, Hot dog Cookout or a stir fry oriental night or lunch. Have more upscale menu items including for example Veal Chop, Whole lobster, Fillet Mignon. Have a grilled steak available when other menu items do not satisfy the passenger. Create menus before the cruise so that the chef can stock to the menu and not 1 hour before as I was told the chef does. Other We have cruised Holland America and being active boaters know how to read charts Rather than have a road map posted with sticky arrows, where we are going to and from, a nautical chart would be more appropriate. Or a small LCD TV with a charting program running showing our real position with distances traveled and distances to go. Disembarkation: Having a tour bus at the end of the trip to take folks and their luggage to the airport would also be real nice so everyone did not have to take their own taxi. This is also the first cruise we ever received a FREE CD with Photos of Ports visited along with excursions along with a list of fellow cruisers. Really a nice touch! Read Less

We booked this cruise because of the itinerary and joined in Montreal. The boarding procedure was somewhat shambolic, herded into an old port warehouse and told to fill in a health form and take a seat on one of the old chairs set out in rows. After 40 minutes we were called to board the ship, approximately 100 people crowding around the entry to the security system to go through x-ray equipment etc. Eventually we managed to board and found ourselves in a corridor, we thought for a moment we were boarding a cargo ship, eventually we emerged in the show lounge, were given a glass of champagne, it tasted acidic so we left it, and were issued with our boarding pass and suite key card. Not a very good first impression as this was the first time we had cruised with Regent. Once we got to our suite it was better that expected, very clean and an excellent layout. There was a bottle of champagne awaiting us however I noticed it was the same brand as we were served in the lounge so left it until we had a chance to try another glass elsewhere. All the restaurants turned out to be very good although in the self service restaurant called La Veranda we were careful about what we ate. The reason for this is that there are clear plastic fixed covers over the food and we noticed on several occasions guests had to reach under the cover to get to food placed at the back and their clothing was brushing over the food placed at the front, also some guests took food, dropped it from the server then replaced it and took a different one, not a good idea. There were no staff behind some of the of the counters to assist or to watch what was happening. This was the first ship we have ever sailed on that had the observation lounge at the stern, which continually vibrated when at sea. The worse the sea conditions became the more it vibrated. When docking and manouvering in a port the vibration became excessive, it felt as though the stern was going to shake itself to pieces on occasions. I noticed that a skirt had been added to the stern of the ship and asked one of the officers about this, he told me it had been added two years ago to increase the stability. our suite was situated mid- ships and we could not feel any vibration however those at the stern told me they were somewhat fed up with it as it disturbed their sleep. To sum up I would say Regent probably deserve their six star rating on their other two ships which we understand are far superior but not on the Navigator due to its layout and vibration. Everything else is six star so I would classify it as 5*+ I think if we had the choice on two similar cruise itineraries we would opt for Seabourn as they definitely have the edge. Read Less

Arriving in a rainy Montreal on October 6th after two uneventful flights on Delta, I was ready for my trip to begin. Traffic from the airport to my hotel, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, was very slow, taking nearly an hour to reach the hotel. Check-in was swift and the details of my reservation were accurate. My 10th floor room had a wonderful city view, overlooking the Cathedral. Dinner that night was at The Keg, which was directly across the street from the hotel. October 7th was also rainy, so a half-day city tour was an appropriate activity along with exploring Montreal's underground mall. Dinner that night was at The Beaver Club within the hotel, a 5 star dining experience whose cuisine and service lived up to its reputation. October 8th dawned cold and windy with occasional showers that discouraged my plans for visiting Old Montreal and the Old Port area. I did more exploring of the underground mall, began reading my book, and looked for a restaurant for dinner. Settling on Les 3 Braissurers, a brew pub type of establishment, proved wise. I enjoyed very good food and freshly brewed beer along with good service. The hotel was being used by HAL as their pre-cruise hotel. Finding out what time the first bus of guests were being shuttled to the pier, I left for the pier 15 minutes before that time. Getting to the pier proved to be an adventure. Even though the doorman told the taxi driver in French where he was to go, the driver had no clue as to where the Maasdam was docked. He missed the first turn to the Old Port and when we did arrive at the port area, we were downriver from the pier. Having studied a map of Montreal, I knew where to go and directed him to the pier. Arriving at the pier at 11:15 A.M., the baggage was quickly taken by the porters and the few guests already there were directed to a waiting area until check in began. That started within 5 minutes of my arrival. Being a 4 Star Mariner, I was directed to the check-in area for the Deluxe Verandah Suites, was quickly processed, handed an invitation to the Mariner Embarkation Lunch, and directed to a seating area to await boarding. Boarding began at 11:30 A.M., so from taxi to ship, my embarkation took only 15 minutes! The Embarkation Lunch did not begin until Noon. Since this was my first time aboard the Maasdam, I walked through the public areas of the ship, becoming acquainted with the ship and waited in the Explorers Lounge until it was time to enter the dining room. Lunch was delicious with gracious, unhurried service. What a wonderful way to begin a cruise! I found the Maasdam to be in very good condition: clean, a pleasing decor, easy to navigate with really the only crowds being that first day when many were trying to use the elevators to get to their staterooms and in the Lido at prime meal times. The crew were, as one expects on HAL, happy, pleasant, efficient; in short, excellent! My cabin stewards, Dayat and Made, did a better job than one of my cabin stewards on the 2008 World Cruise. And, enough positive things cannot be said about Aji and Iwan in the Dining Room and my wine steward, Nelson! They had time to talk, joke around, and provide excellent service to my table mates and me. At the Ocean Bar, bartenders Benji and Nick as well as the stewards always made me feel welcome and were interesting men with whom to chat when they had a chance. (And, Nick and Benji made good drinks, too!) Saguenay, Baie Comeau, and Gaspe do not receive many cruise ship calls. Thus, they remain unspoiled, giving a very natural view of this area of Canada. The residents of Saguenay gave the Maasdam quite a warm welcome at their new pier facility. The Best of Saguenay by Land and Sea Tour took us down the fjord by boat, stopping at the statue of Notre Dame du Saguenay where the traditional "Ava Maria" was played with a return to the port by bus that allowed a view of the inland area of the region. The Best Of Baie-Comeau Tour was highlighted with a visit to the forest interpretation center Village Forestier d'Antan. At Gaspe, a nice drive along the coast to Perce for a trip out to Perce Rock and Bonaventure Island was most pleasant. But, windy and cold. There were several times during this cruise when I wished I had brought my parka along. A hat and winter jacket, even with layering, was not quite enough for me. In Quebec, I took a short tour of the old and new city with the intention in the afternoon of returning to the Chateau Frontenac for a tour of that building. The cold, windy conditions discouraged that plan and instead I visited the Naval Reserve Museum of Quebec which was located close to where we docked. In Charlottetown, I was interested in learning more about Canadian history and spent time at Confederation Hall and Provence House. Had to stop for lunch and enjoy some of those great P.E.I. mussels! In Sydney, I booked the Area Historical Drive which was OK, not great. In St. John, I opted for the city highlights tour over the Hop On/Hop Off bus. Bar Harbor saw me visiting Acadia National Park, enjoying the views from Cadillac Mountain. At Halifax, I spent the morning at the Pier 21 Museum, learning about Canadian Immigration history. The ship was docked right at that spot so it was easy to get there. It was a very interesting morning followed by an afternoon tour that covered Halifax's connection with the Titanic. Visiting Fairlawn Cemetery was a sobering experience. Those poor souls lost their lives so that today's cruise guests now travel more safely. The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was a stop on the tour and deserves a repeat visit if I am again in Halifax. Cuisine aboard the ship was very good to excellent. A new breakfast menu has been introduced with several different breakfast options, i.e. Dutch Breakfast, Japanese Breakfast. It was nice to see many new items on the dinner menu, i.e. a fish entree of a Unicorn fish, and everything that I ordered was well prepared and presented. I enjoyed two dinners in the Pinnacle Grill and both food and service were excellent. I also decided to try Dinner with the Chef, a limited dinner for 10 guests that was scheduled to take place in the Culinary Arts Center. We were to be seated around the counter/cooking area of the Center with very nice formal place settings, including name cards. That night, however, the Maasdam experienced a Nor'easter and Executive Chef Joachim Barelmann decided it would be wise to move the dinner into the main dining room at a specially prepared table for us. While we did not get to see the Chef prepare some of the items on the menu, each menu item was described as it was presented to us by either the Chef or one of the Assistant Dining Room Managers. A different wine was served with each course and the Cellar Master would discuss that particular wine and why it was selected. This was an excellent dining experience and well worth the $79 cost. (But, because of the change of venue for the dinner, the Chef said we would not be billed for the dinner! And, we were not!) Showtime was at 7:00 or 9:00 P.M. Since I was a 2nd Seating guest, this interfered with my normal 7:00 Happy Hour. I learned to adjust. I started Happy Hour sometime after 6:00 and then took a second drink into the showroom. I found that I did not mind having an early show. It allowed me to try other entertainment venues after dinner rather than attending a show after dinner. It is my impression that this early show was better attended than it probably would have been if it had been at 10:00. The Cast shows were well done and what individual entertainers I saw were good to OK. (I think it is hard to beat the entertainment found on a Carnival ship.) I was satisfied. Particularly on the three sea days between Bar Harbor and Fort Lauderdale, there were many events from which to choose. The Cruise Director did a good job and was visible. There were many Mariners aboard this cruise, with the Explorers Lounge full for the reception before the Brunch for the 300 day and above guests. The Brunch was well done, with Captain Draper speaking for a short time and with J.T. Watters, the Cruise Director, also talking and thanking us for sailing with HAL again. The wine glasses were kept full; the tiles were distributed during the Brunch. My stateroom was a typical HAL outside double, comfortable and well maintained by the stewards. I did note that both in the stateroom as well as in a few of the public areas that some of the soft furnishings are "tired" and in need of refreshing. Linens appeared to be in good condition, although the bathrobes in my cabin were more off-white than white. The new Beverage Cards were being used on the ship and I found them to be easy to use and I liked receiving a discount. They cannot be used for Happy Hour drinks since those drinks, like the Beverage Card, are discounted. I did not think about trying to use the Card to buy an individual bottle of wine. I did buy a Wine Package and received the Mariner Status discount. At the usual Disembarkation Talk and Crew Farewell, J. T. made a funny: He thanked his children's club staff members for doing such a good job. "We never saw the kids." Reason: there were none. I chose to try Luggage Direct for my disembarkation. It is worth the $19!! Being able to disembark with one's carry on and plane boarding pass, pass by the luggage claim area, go through Customs/Immigration quickly, get on the transfer bus, and at the airport go directly through security to your gate was wonderful! The only downside was those of us using this service were among the first ones off the ship. The luggage arrived at my home airport when I did, as promised. This cruise was a treat for so many reasons: the warm, friendly crew, meeting some very pleasant and well traveled people, the autumn scenery, service and cuisine that was as good as, and at times exceeded, what I have experienced on my previous 16 HAL cruises, one stormy night with 18 foot waves, and three out-of-the-way ports that were a true delight to visit. Another real treat was being able to sail again with two friends with whom I first sailed in 2002 and finding a couple of crew members who remembered me from past cruises. It was a great trip! Read Less