Day 2 - At Sea on Quest

Our first day full day aboard Azamara Quest is a bit rocky, the seas are a little rough and we notice that sea sickness bags have been placed in the elevators and stairwells, just in case. We have certainly been in much rougher seas, so I think it would only adversely affect someone with extreme sensitivity to motion. Nevertheless, the winds are very strong and warning signs discourage guests from walking on the outer decks.

I found Windows Cafe to be the best place for early morning blogging and enjoying coffee. While working on the blog, a gentleman approached me with an interesting request. He is the Bridge lecturer on this cruise and he apparently forgot to pack his MacBook Air, which he uses for his presentations. I could tell he was desperate, so I offered to let him use my MacBook over the next few mornings for his lectures. Fortunately, all of his presentations were on USB thumb drives. Crisis averted.

Rickee and I made our traditional visit to the Casino to make our donation to the slot machines. Ten minutes and a negative $40 later, we decided we had given enough to the cause and walked over to Mosaic Cafe for a well-deserved treat. The coconut macaroons looked very inviting, and were delicious. Mosaic Cafe is open throughout the day and offers a variety of coffee drinks, snacks and sweets.

Mosaic Cafe is a popular spot on Azamara Quest

While Rickee attended a lecture on Humpback Whales, I decided to check out the Indian Cooking Demonstration in Prime C, Azamara Quest's steakhouse. This morning, we learned how to prepare Curry Chicken with a Masala gravy, a very traditional Indian dish. Chef Joao explained all of the spices and techniques used to prepare the dish. At the end of the demo, we all enjoyed a sample of the fragrant, spicy chicken.

Chef Joao shows us how to prepare Curry Chicken

After the cooking demo, and whale lecture, we joined other guests in the Cabaret Lounge for Progressive Team Trivia with Cruise Director, Russ Greive, and Activity Manager, Lee. We sailed with Russ back in 2014 and remember him to be very energetic and a lot of fun. The trivia questions were not particularly difficult, but my contributions were limited. I was certain of one of my answers only to learn I was incorrect. Maybe I will do better tomorrow?

Lee and Russ conduct Team Trivia

For lunch today, Rickee and I decide to give Discoveries Restaurant a try. We were seated at a table for two and quickly noticed that Discoveries appears to be another venue left untouched by the recent renovation efforts. I enjoyed a delicious Thai Chicken soup followed by a Penne Pasta in curry cream sauce with Lamb Kofta. All dishes were very good.

Penne Pasta with Lamb Kofta

This evening, we again visited The Living Room on Deck 10 forward for a cocktail. Formerly The Looking Glass, The Living Room is the ship's observation lounge and offers an expansive view of the ocean. It would appear that this space has undergone a complete renovation with a bright new bar, new furnishings and carpet, and a small buffet service with a selection of tapas each evening.

The Living Room Bar

After enjoying our cocktail and a beautiful Caribbean sunset, we decided to try The Patio for dinner. During the day, The Patio is the ship's pool grill, but in the evening, it is now transformed into a casual bistro with a small, but interesting menu. Our waiter brought us each a glass of the day's complimentary wine, red for me and white for Rickee. Rickee was not too hungry so opted only for a visit to the salad bar and a baked potato. I ordered the lamb medallions with sauteed mushrooms. My lamb was cooked perfectly. The Patio is a new concept, and apparently, a popular one. By the time we left, the tables were beginning to fill.

Sunset on Azamara Quest

After dinner, we made our way back to Cabaret Lounge for the evening show. Due to some technical difficulties, the planned show had to be postponed. Fortunately, comedian Rich Shidner was able to help out by making us all laugh with his comedy routine.

Comedian, Rich Shidner

Tomorrow, we will enjoy another day at sea as Azamara Quest heads towards Cartegena, Columbia.

Day 1 - Quest Embarkation

Today, we flew to Miami to board Azamara Quest. We landed in Miami about an hour late … American Airlines...enough said. When we arrived at baggage claim, we sought out the Azamara representative, as instructed, for our transfer to the ship. Unfortunately, there must have been a mix up in communication, because our names were not on the transfer list. After debating with the rep for a couple of minutes, and even showing her an email stating that we had a transfer, it was clear that, if our names were not on her list, we were not getting a transfer. She offered to sell us a transfer for $29 pp, but we decided to call Mr. Uber instead. Within three minutes of submitting a request to Uber, our Toyota Prius showed up, and we were on our way to the Port of Miami! Have I said lately how much I love Uber?

Our Uber driver had a little challenge finding Pier J at the Port of Miami. It is the one that is across the street from where the big ships dock, sort of behind Royal Caribbean's offices. But, with a little help from us, he was able to navigate through the port and drop us off at the correct location. We dropped our two checked bags with the porter and proceeded inside to the check-in desk. It was about 2:30 when we arrived at check-in and there was no line. We walked right up to the desk and within five minutes, we were stepping on board Quest where we were greeted with a friendly "Welcome Home" and a cold glass of sparkling wine.

Welcome Home Greeting

We were informed that our stateroom was ready, so we proceeded up the stairs to Deck 6 and forward to our Veranda Stateroom (6016). We were not inside the stateroom for two minutes before Edwin, our room steward, showed up to greet us and welcome us "home". Edwin assured us that he and his assistant would take good care of us and asked if there was anything else we needed. Rickee inquired about more clothes hangers, and within a few minutes, Edwin returned with a handful.

Stateroom 6016

Evidence of the ship's dry dock experience was found throughout the stateroom. While the "attached" furnishings appear to be original, the carpeting, wall coverings, bedding, and furnishings have a fresh, new and more modern appearance. The bathroom is still small, but has been fitted with new faux wood vinyl flooring and new wall coverings.

Bathroom Amenities

We did not have a lot of time to spend exploring the ship before the mandatory muster drill. Our muster station was the Cabaret Lounge which, by the way, appears to be untouched by the recent refurbishment. Fortunately, Azamara has dropped the requirement for guests to bring their life vests to the muster drill. Basically, it is a demonstration by crew members of how to put on the vest along with safety announcements. During the announcement from the Bridge, Captain Vilhrino reminded us that, in an effort to prevent the potential spread of germs (like Norovirus), crew members do not shake hands with guests. Instead, they use the Azamara Fist Bump as a greeting. Good idea.

After the drill, we wasted no time in trying find out if the ship was going to be offering the NFL Divisional Playoff game between Dallas and Green Bay on the ship's television system. Unfortunately, they were not. This was an opportunity for me to try out our new Dish Network Dish Anywhere™ technology. Basically, I was able to use my cell phone to connect to the ship's WiFi, then the Dish Anywhere app allowed me to view LIVE TV coming from my Dish receiver at home. Amazing! We spent most of the evening in The Living Room on Deck 10 watching our Cowboys sadly lose to the Packers. We will talk more about The Living Room in a future blog post.

After the disappointing Cowboy loss, we decided to make it an early night. We stopped by Windows Cafe for their Italian Buffet and enjoyed a quiet meal before heading back to our stateroom.

Tomorrow is our first day at sea as Azamara Quest sails towards Cartegena, Columbia.