We have just returned from our very first cruise with Azamara, a seven day dry-dock replacement cruise, which I think meant that it was planned at fairly short notice when dry dock repairs etc were not possible for that week. For this reason, we did not experience the 'Azamazing evening' excursion, which is a usual feature of Azamara cruises. But everything else was nicely in place, including a rather impressive White Nights deck party (a sort of upmarket sail away party), which took place at Calvi, Corsica. We have cruised with P&O, Fred Olsen and Princess, but we found ourselves making comparisons on this cruise with two Regent cruises we have done recently, since both Azamara and Regent are inclusive of most drinks, and gratuities, and Regent is inclusive also of excursions.

Embarking in Barcelona was extremely quick and easy (Azamara make this even smoother by giving passengers the option of checking in online and printing out an 'express pass', a great idea).

Azamara Quest is a sister ship of P&O's Adonia (familiar to us) and boarding her was a real case of deja vu, except that on Adonia we hadn't been greeted with Champagne! Glass in hand, we were taken to our cabin, and then went to the Discoveries Restaurant for lunch. When we returned once again to our cabin (deck 7 aft), our luggage was there waiting to be unpacked. Cabins are considerably smaller than on Regent, but all necessities were there, including bathrobes (very heavy!), slippers and binoculars (small and pretty useless). The bathroom was tiny, but everything worked well, and there was plenty of wardrobe and drawer space. Read more