The cruise began in Athens on July 24, 2010, with Istanbul as the final destination. The service and food choices on board were excellent and the size of the ship seems to facilitate good access to ports and seems to attract a great group of guests. Our fellow travelers consisted of persons that spanned many age groups who were as friendly and helpful as the Quest's very amaiable staff. Besides Athens and Istanbul, we stopped in Nauplion, Santorini, Rhodes, and Mykonos in Greece, and Bodrum and Kusadasi in Turkey. We met gracious people in both host countries and enjoyed shore excursions--some arranged through Azamara and one arranged on our own. We also just rambled around on our own in some ports and that worked just fine too, as maps and signage and helpful people were in general readily available. I would highly recommend this itinerary and cruise line for anyone considering a visit to this part of the world. We found Turkey to be particularly interesting, and, in many ways, a pleasant surprise, because we knew less about Turkey than about Greece before this trip. While we received many offers of assistance in both Greece and Turkey, there were, of course, those times when the helpful person was trying to sell food or another product, but that was not always the case. Getting back to Azamara, this cruise line does a very nice job in addressing passengers' needs and wishes without "breathing down your neck." It makes for a comfortable travel style. It also bears repeating that our fellow travelers were great and varied and from quite a few different countries. Azamara staff too hails from many countries around the globe and that adds to the good experience as we were able to learn things about those countries through brief conversations with staff persons. For my next cruise, I will certainly think of Azamara first.