Taste of South America

Azamara Quest Cruise Review to South America

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 81

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5
Verified Review
Azamara Quest

12 Night Carnival In Rio (Buenos Aires Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 06, 2024

Ship: Azamara Quest

Cabin number: GTY

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

Buenos Aires is a fantastic city with interesting neighborhoods and activities like tango dinners. Montevideo and Punta del Este are both interesting and walkable. There is a small, private "Museum of the Andes" in Montevideo that commemorates the 1972 plane crash of the Uruguayan Rugby Team that is very interesting. Rio de Janeiro is another story. We were there during Carnival so it was very crowded. The traffic was often at a standstill for hours due to throngs of people crowding the streets. Two of our tours were canceled with no prior notification, so we had to rely on Uber to get to the main sites. Carnival is definitely not a time to see the major city attractions as there are thousands of people waiting in line for these. The Sambadrome parades are a must with their colorful, intricate dance troops and floats, but be prepared for uncomfortable concrete bleachers, crowded conditions, and lots of body odor. Take your own water, snacks, and toilet paper.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Quick embarkation, but no one to help with luggage.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The food was high quality, excellently prepared, and a nice variety. The included beverage package offers 4 different red wines, 4 different whites, a rose, and sparkling. The mixed drinks in the included package were limited, but we found selections that we enjoyed.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Lots of trivia, a few dance classes, and some enrichment programs. I didn't attend any enrichment talks because I'm very tech oriented and these sounded like beginner classes. The fitness center offers free classes (stretch, yoga, abs, etc.). Good variety and well attended. The center is well equipped with free weights, weight machines, ellipticals, treadmills, bikes, and a rowing machine.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
The production shows were high energy and entertaining. The local talent was a nice touch. The cruise director and assistant cruise director each had their own shows which were entertaining.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Excellent, attentive service from all departments!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
This was the cleanest ship I've ever been on!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The size, location and cleanliness was great. The showers are very small so many people use the fitness center showers.

Ship tip

Check the Windows Cafe and The Patio for excellent food choices. These are not typical ship buffets. They offer high quality food that is diverse and well prepared. Service in these restaurants is great!

Ports of call

Buenos Aires, Argentina

5 out of 5

Montevideo, Uruguay

5 out of 5

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

3 out of 5

Punta Del Este, Uruguay

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
We had to leave at 4am for an early morning flight. The ship offered us a continental breakfast delivered to our room extra early and gave us instructions as to our early morning debarkation.
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4 Comments

Gwbigdog     8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

karlgrgurich     8 months ago

Wow. You really had a great time!

javawoody     8 months ago

Thanks for the detailed write up

HeavySeas     8 months ago

Thanks for sharing