The Best Of Italy cruise, departed Civitavecchia 15th May, was in one word "Exceptional". From the fabulous staff, excellent food, cleanliness of the ship through to the wonderful itinerary. This was our 1st time to Europe so the itinerary played a large part in choosing this particular cruise, along with the Quest having a maximum of around 700 passengers.

The mood was set from the moment we went through the quick check in and stepped on board to harp music, smiling staff and a glass of champagne. Being part of Cruise Critic was a real bonus as Azamara put on a Meet and Mingle the 1st night. It was a terrific way to "break the ice" with other passengers and as a consequence we had numerous meals with the CC passengers because of that initial meeting. We celebrated our wedding Anniversary the next day in the Prime C restaurant (equivalent to a 5 star restaurant) and were presented with a decorated mud cake, which was a lovely touch. That was the difference between the other cruises we have been on and Azamara - the extra touches eg free wine served with lunch and dinner, bottled water, free use of the laundry etc.

The one thing Azamara need to address is the constant chair scrapping noises that travel down to some of the cabins on the 8th deck. We were woken most mornings just after 7am because of the noise. The rare times we were in our cabin or on our deck during the day (thanks to the beautiful ports of call) the noise was a problem. Read more