With the trend towards cruise liners big enough to sleep a small nation, well at least 6,000 people, Azamara Quest is small fry accommodating just 686 guests. However when it comes to visiting tiny little European fishing ports, Azamara’s captain says this is the vessel you want to be on.
Azamara Quest is the first ship from Azamara Club Cruises to visit Australia and it’s been a long time coming for the eight-year-old company.
Longer stays
One of the points of difference with this cruise brand is longer stays and more overnight stays at destinations. For the Brisbane stop guests arrived at Portside Wharf at 8am and didn’t have to get back onboard until 6pm. Azamara Quest docked in Brisbane on a 10-day voyage from Cairns to Sydney.
There are a wide variety of dining options including the included restaurant, buffet, cafe and bars, along with two signature restaurants which have a $25 per person cover charge.
It wouldn’t be a cruise ship without a casino but it’s easy to ignore if you wish. Much better to sprint past and enjoy the cabaret lounge where the performers are high end according to a passenger I met on the Mooloolaba foreshore.
Plush staterooms
Azamara’s staterooms come with a little bit more than usual, such as Egyptian cotton bed linen, bathrobes and slippers and 24-hour room service. There’s also a shoe shining service. Included extras are alcoholic beverages, coffees, gratuities and a self-service laundry.
If you have a suite you’ll also have English butler service, 235 complimentary internet minutes per guest, and afternoon tea in your suite, should you desire.
Making the destination the star of the show means that Azamara Club encourages guests to experience the destination with behind the scenes shore tours, insider access and small dinner experiences. They also an AzAmazing Evening event for each tour which offers guests a special taste of their destination.
Australia is the third largest market for Azamara Club Cruises and the group promises to send more ships our way in 2017 and 2018. Azamara Quest will be back in 2018 but only after a multi-million dollar facelift. Azamara is a Royal Caribbean brand.
Disclaimer: Ed+bK toured Azamara Quest while the ship was docked at Portside as a guest of Azamara.
For the technically minded, this ship is 180 metres long and 25 metres wide with nine guest decks. It weighs 30,277 tonnes and has a cruising speed of 18.5 knots. There are 347 staterooms.
There are a wide variety of dining options, including the included restaurant, buffet, cafe and bars, along with two signature restaurants with a cover charge.
It wouldn’t be a cruise ship without a casino, but it’s easy to ignore if you wish. Much better to sprint past and enjoy the cabaret lounge where the performers are high end according to a passenger I met on the Mooloolaba foreshore.
Azamara’s staterooms come with a little bit more than usual, such as Egyptian cotton bed linen, bathrobes and slippers and 24-hour room service. There’s also a shoe-shining service. Included extras are alcoholic beverages, coffee, gratuities and a self-service laundry. If you have a suite, you’ll also have English butler service, 235 complimentary internet minutes per guest, and afternoon tea in your suite, should you desire.
Making the destination the star of the show means that Azamara Club encourages guests to experience the destination with behind-the-scenes shore tours, insider access and small dinner experiences. They also have an AzAmazing Evening event for each tour which offers guests a special taste of their destination.
Australia is the third largest market for Azamara Club Cruises, and the group promises to send more ships our way in 2017 and 2018. Azamara Quest will be back in 2018 but only after a multi-million-dollar facelift. Azamara is a Royal Caribbean brand.
Disclaimer: Ed+bK toured Azamara Quest while the ship was docked at Portside as a guest of Azamara.
