We are a married couple in our 60's who chose this cruise after having enjoyed an experience a couple years ago on the Paul Gauguin, a small cruise ship in Tahiti. That ship accommodated 300 people and we really loved the smaller passenger load, more personal service and the ability to go from island to island rather than being on a cruise that wastes days at sea. We had always wanted to do a cruise of the Greek Islands and when we heard about this new ship, the Emerald Azzura, the size and itinerary both fit our interests. We were also piqued by the idea of it being a brand new, modern cruising yacht, and all the renderings of the not-yet-built ship that we saw were very cool and sleek. It seemed very upscale and state-of-the-art, which it is.

Our itinerary took us to several islands in Greece (Rhodes, Amorgos, Patmos, Mykonos) as well as two coastal port stops in Turkey (Kusadasi and Bodrum). The ship was very beautiful, sleek and modern, with many thoughtful amenities and features. Since it was built during the Covid pandemic, many features were added to make areas no-touch, so for example, doors to the dining room and public restrooms were all hands free, opening with a motion sensor.

Our cabin a Deluxe Balcony Cabin Suite. We really liked this layout a lot, because it offered a separate sitting area with a sectional sofa as well as a private bedroom with a door. The nice part about this layout was that it was linear along the window side of the ship, so we had a total of 6 floor to ceiling windows, 3 in our bedroom and 3 in the sitting room. Since we had a deluxe cabin, it included some extra amenities such as an Illy coffee and espresso maker, a welcome fruit bowl, a nightly small bottle of a liquor that we selected, and a mini fridge with soft drinks, water and beer. It also included daily laundry service, which we did not use, instead we used the free self service laundry on the ship. The bed was VERY comfy, and I was pleasantly surprised that it was an adjustable bed with a remote, which is what we have at home. You could raise and lower the head and foot of the bed which I really appreciated. The pillows were very comfy too, and there was plenty of convenient storage space and areas to plug things in right next to both sides of the bed. The bed contained storage underneath for our suitcases, as well as a small closet. There is a much larger closet on the right as soon as you walk in the door. There was plenty of hanging space and drawer space with additional drawers near the mini fridge area. Read more