All staterooms on the 694-passenger Azamara Quest (and on sister ship Azamara Journey) feature butler service and upgraded amenities such as European bedding with duvet and pillow-top mattress; 100 percent Egyptian-cotton bathrobes; umbrella; binoculars; bottled Evian water; welcome fruit basket; fresh-cut flowers; pillow menu and more.
Suites come with all of that and more: priority check-in and departure; priority luggage delivery; complimentary garment pressing (two items); priority tender service; fragrant drawer liners upon request; silk-wrapped hangers; Hansgrohe showerhead; welcome bottle of champagne; daily fruit basket; daily hors d’oeuvres served in-suite between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and complimentary espresso/cappuccino when ordered in-suite. Soft drinks are also free of charge when taken from the suite mini-bar.
Also, suite guests receive three nights priority-access dining in the specialty restaurants Prime C and Aqualina. Standard stateroom guests receive two nights. All guests, however, may dine as many times as they like in the specialty restaurants on a space-available basis.
There is no additional charge to dine in the specialty restaurants, but Azamara suggests a $5 gratuity, which may be charged to your stateroom.
Barcelona - I was last on Azamara Quest this past October. At that time, the new cruise ship, and indeed, the new cruise line, was still experiencing some teething pains.
Has Azamara made progress in its “quest” for perfection? To find out, this week, I’ll be reporting from the newly revitalized Azamara Quest.
Meantime, check out the video from October, where I had the opportunity to sit down with Azamara Cruises’ President and CEO Dan Hanrahan to talk about the challenges of launching a new brand.
Immortalized by Johann Strauss in Blue Danube Waltz, the Danube winds from Germany’s Black Forest through Austria into the Balkans before dumping into the Black Sea.
Of all the jobs in the world, surely Rudolph van der Meulen’s must be among the best. His job, as instructed by his bosses, is to cruise on a river boat and simply to do this: nothing.
While most people might call that a vacation, it’s a tall order for the otherwise-ambitious 37-year-old hotel manager on Uniworld’s River Empress. Nonetheless, on the day when I talked with him, Rudy was living up to his superior’s expectations with admirable aplomb.
If the lousy exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro has you thinking twice about traveling to Europe, you may want to think again. And this time, think river cruising.
In 1992, Europe’s age-old maritime landscape changed dramatically. It was that year that the Main-Danube Canal opened, connecting the Continent’s main arteries — and along with them, all of Europe. Continue Reading »
