Having been on over 20 cruises with MSC, NCL, Royal Caribbean, P&O, and Cunard, we were not sure what to expect on this, our first, cruise on Azamara. We have always enjoyed every cruise, sometimes this has of course meant focusing on the positives, and so we were looking forward to cruising on the Azamara. Our main concern, because we like to socialize and party, was that the demographic would be different and maybe the atmosphere a tad "stuffy". However, we thought the service and food would be excellent, the cabin comfortable, and the itinerary was great - as a student 40 years ago I spent a summer hitch-hiking around Southern France and hadn't been back since to that region.

Well the food and the service was indeed excellent and the ship immaculately clean - a credit to all the hard working and friendly staff on board. The cabin was tastefully decorated and the bed extremely comfortable with bed linen of the highest quality. Our cabin attendants worked very hard to ensure the highest of standards too.

As expected, the itinerary was also well planned, and particularly for me, fascinating. It was awesome to be able to visit small coastal ports and towns that the bigger ships can't reach. Everything was really well organised. The "Azamazing" experience - I believe there is one on every cruise - was also well planned and I enjoyed the evening's entertainment provided at a venue in Marseille. I heard one or two comments from a few other guests, who had travelled Azamara before, saying it was not as well organised as usual and the show a little short, however we felt it all went smoothly enough (quite a manoeuvre getting 600 or so passengers off a ship on coaches to the venue and back again!) We also thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment put on for us - an excellent experience! Read more