This was our fifth cruise and up to this point, I can say that we really don't like cruising and much prefer land vacations. We are definitely not the type of people who look at a cruise ship as a vacation in itself. Our sole purpose in cruising is to be able to visit as many different places as possible by using the ship as our floating hotel. We don't go on the ship looking to make friends, participate in any activities, sit around the pool, spend hours eating, etc. So, I guess you can say that we are definitely not in the mainstream when it comes to people who like to cruise.

However, I decided about a year ago that I would very much like to see many of the ancient and historical sites of Europe. Cruising seemed like the ideal way to go. After much research, I found Azamara which had this great itinerary that would enable us to make this once in a lifetime trip to Europe and be able to see 12 different places all from the comfort of a floating hotel. The idea of a smaller ship also appealed to me; the price kept dropping, airfare was low, so off we went. Now that we are back home after an absolutely amazing vacation, I can say that we have finally found a cruise ship that we liked and would sail again given the right itinerary. Here is why: (I'm pretty sure that the ship was fully booked)

No lines for the elevator (most of the time, we were the only ones on the elevator). Read more