All Aboard
April 27 - May 11, 2019
After spending several days in Tokyo, with less than charitable weather, we ordered a taxi van to convey the four of us and our kit on the hour long journey from Shinjuku down to Yokohama where our ship was docked.
We weren’t the only ones leaving the Hyatt Regency Tokyo that Saturday morning, however. There were also several bus loads of Australian guests associated with a large tour group that would be boarding our ship as well. Fortunately for us, our taxi arrived and we loaded up and were on our way before the buses arrived for the tour group. This was a huge relief for us. It meant we would arrive at the cruise ship facility before all those boisterous Australians. So no waiting in long check-in lines. Perfect!
Boarding The Azamara Quest
Boarding a cruise ship is not unlike boarding an aircraft. Security is everything. So all the same machines are used to scan your “carry on”, luggage and person. So of course this meant that the box I had packaged the samurai swords in also had to be scanned. The phrase that came loudly from the machine operator was “Oh, katana!” Katana being the Japanese word for a traditionally made Japanese sword used by the samurai warriors of ancient and feudal Japan.
Needless to say, the ship’s security chief wasn’t going to let a guest on board with a couple of swords. So he took possession of the package, gave me a receipt and said he would return it to me as I departed the ship at the end of the voyage.
Once we cleared security, we walked out onto the wharf where we collected our security pass at the base of the gang plank, and then headed up into the ship. We arrived at the ship much earlier in the day than was normal for boarding a cruise ship, so instead of heading straight to our room, we had to go the the ship’s cabaret where we had to wait for the ship personnel to finish their work in preparing the ship for their new guests. This took about an hour.
Exploring the Ship
Once we were settled into the room, and after having a bite to eat at the buffet, we did a quick survey of the ship to see what it had to offer, and where these amenities were situated.
Our staterooms, 7103 and 7104, were located aft on deck 7. This worked out well as it was at the same end of the ship as the breakfast and lunch buffet at Windows Cafe, as well as the Discoveries Restaurant where we ate dinner. So it was quite convenient.
The only downside of being too far towards the bow or stern is the rougher ride in high seas.
The main buffet, where most guests normally had breakfast and lunch, was located on deck nine at the rear of the ship. It had an adjacent outside dining area on the fantail that we made use of several times when the temperature was warm enough, and it wasn’t raining like the first few days of the cruise. Also on deck nine was the swimming pool, outside bar and associated outside pool deck diner. The pool deck diner was always open from lunch on. This came in handy when we returned from a shore excursion late, and the other restaurants had already closed to prepare for dinner.
Deck 9 - Windows Cafe, Patio Grill, Pool, Sanctum Spa, Fitness Centre
Also at the back of the ship, but on deck ten, were two specialty restaurants. One was called Prime C, a specialty steakhouse. The other was Aqualina, an Italian specialty restaurant. But both of these restaurants were not open to all guests. They were available for the guests that paid for the large suites on board. But for us mere peasants that had normal staterooms, we would have to pay an additional fee to eat there. Fortunately for us, the other eateries on board were more than sufficient to satisfy our merger culinary requirements. Seems rather odd though, an “all inclusive” cruise where you have to pay extra to eat at certain restaurants. We never had this situation on the Silver Seas cruise we took from Singapore to Hong Kong.
Deck 10 - Aqualina Dining, Prime C Dining, The Drawing Room, The Living Room, Card Room
The other pubic areas on the ship were located on deck five. They included the main ship full service restaurant, Discoveries Restaurant. This is where we had all of our dinners, and it never disappointed us. As we were not late eaters, we’d head to the restaurant just when it opened at 6pm, and managed to get what we thought was the best table in the restaurant. It was on an upper level with no one on two sides of us, and a view through all the windows that was unhindered by those sitting on the lower level, even when they were at the windows. We sat at this same table, with the same servers, every night. The food was fantastic.
Deck 5 - Discoveries Restaurant & Bar, Mosaic Cafe, Shopping, The Den Lounge, Cabaret Lounge
One of the Japanese artists who were invited aboard the ship for the cruise in order to sell their artwork.
These smaller ships can in no way compete with the monster cruise ships when it comes to on board diversions like quantity of eateries, bars, shopping, activities and entertainment. But for us, the relaxing calm and lack of human enhanced chaos more than makes up for it. Besides, the relaxed quiet pace allows for more meaningful conversations with other guests from around the world.
