I chose this cruise a surprise gift for my husband's big birthday. After celebrating with his cousins who live in Rome, we hopped the train in Termini to Civitavecchia. We were excited to see new places like Elba, Sardinia, Menorca, and Corsica and revisit Valencia, Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona. We were blessed with sunny days and temperatures in the high seventies. I was so relieved to find the ship very different than some reviews I read here. We have traveled on other lines and most recently, Viking. Our Club Continent Suite was spacious and beautiful- a vanity counter was replaced during our trip but it was no problem for us. Our cabin steward Harold was wonderful and our butler, Alfie so personable and helpful! My son trained as a chef at Johnson & Wales and in Orvieto and my whole family loves to cook- we enjoyed the food on board immensely! Most nights we were in Prime C and Aqualina and during the day we enjoyed the Windows Cafe. Servers Omar, Mary Jane, Michael, Kymberley, Jun, Vicson and all the staff were attentive and friendly. My husband and I were so impressed by how many loyal Azamara cruisers we met, but we could see why they chose this line. We particularly enjoyed the Wanderlust and White Night entertainment and the expert lecturer Dr. Martin with his dry wit. The bartender on Level 10 had a sparkling personality and made delicious craft cocktails.

The only reason I give 4 stars and it would really be 4.5 stars is that the internet is very slow and I had to give my minutes to my husband to get a few work projects completed. In the ports wifi was helpful as was Tmobile texting. The Porto Cervo On Your Own tour with Regula and the Architectural tour in Barcelona with Marta were excellent!

Embarkation in Rome was a little bumpy but in fairness, the space was very small. Disembarking was easy and fast-perfect! Read more