February 20, 2020

February 20, 2020

Azamara Quest Cape Town to Athens 

Transition Day

This is a day of mixed emotions as we transition from land to sea. 

We are so happy that we chose to spend a week here in Cape Town. 

The people have been extraordinary. 

The hotel has been terrific in all respects. The location is great. The restaurant is convenient and very good. The staff is top notch. The bed is comfortable and the room is clean. And we slept well every night. 

The city is easy to get around. It is also easy to get to any of the amazing sights in the area. This blog attests to that. 

We found this extended stay to be pleasant, safe and affordable. We would gladly return. 

Now we will move on to the next phase, life on board Quest. 

We checked out at 11:00 with help with our 4 suitcases. The bellman parked his cart near the door and told us to get comfortable. He would call us when our Uber arrived. 

The first driver cancelled our request when he was just one minute away. That was a first for us. We ordered another and in 5 minutes the driver was loading our bags into his minivan. 5 minutes later he had us at the terminal. Our ride was just $2.37 plus a tip. 

Registration went smoothly. While we were waiting in line we met a couple from our Thursday food tour. We saw them 3 more times as the day progressed. 

Our stateroom was not ready yet, so we went up to the buffet for lunch. A very attentive waiter, Neyon, cared for our beverage needs and made us feel welcome. He was very efficient. We will try to sit at one of his tables again. 

After lunch, we went to our cabin. It was ready, but our luggage had not arrived. We left to tour the ship on our own. It is almost the same as Journey, which we were on for our Cuban cruise in 2018.  We felt right at home. 

After a tour of the spa we understand the services available. We may take advantage of some of these later in our cruise. 

Back in our room our luggage had arrived. Clothes were soon hung in the closet or stored on shelves. Suitcases stowed neatly under the bed with room to spare. Now we just had to wait for dinner. 

In the dining room we were seated at a table for 2 close to the stern windows. We discovered that we had missed Neyon’s service by one row. We will be asking for him in the future. After dinner we went to the Living Room on deck 10 for music and relaxation before attending the evening’s show. 

The show was a review presented by the ship’d singers, dancers, and the cruise director. It was a prelude of things to come and it was enjoyable. 

Soon we were in bed. We were happy to be aboard. Sleep came quickly. Tomorrow is a sea day. No need to get up early.