Although we had been to most of the destinations on the itinerary before, we chose this cruise to get a taste of what was described as a 6 star experience, and whilst we enjoyed the overall cruise there were some aspects that were definitely not 6 star, starting with the embarkation process which could only be described as diabolical. Arriving at the terminal at midday, we were told to go away and come back in two hours as our booking in time was 2.00pm. Returning at that time we were processed reasonably efficiently, but were then directed to a holding pen where we sat for an hour, waiting and watching others who arrived after us being escorted to the ship well ahead of our group. During our wait in the holding pen we compared notes with other passengers around us and they agreed with our view that no-one had asked us for the results of our antigen test that Azamara insisted we have before boarding, which meant that we wasted £70 having the tests at Gatwick the previous day. Not a good first impression for your first cruise on Azamara.

The cruise itself was very nice with a relaxed, friendly, country club feel where you soon got to know lots of people and continued to enjoy their company. Something that doesn’t seem to happen as well on larger ships, so a big plus for the atmosphere the ship size creates.

Food everywhere was excellent and we dined in both speciality restaurants and the chef’s table which proved to be good value for money. Read more