We like small ships and have been on Windstar frequently. Windstar passengers kept recommending Azamara to us, so we decided on this itinerary as a good tryout for another smaller-ship line. Overall, we thought the cruise was excellent and very comparable to Windstar, with some differences.

Some thoughts on specifics:

Vibe: Although bigger than Windstar (400 passengers this cruise out of a total capacity of 700), it still had a friendly vibe and a small-ship feel, which is important to us. We enjoyed the cafe atmosphere at Mosaic cafe, where we felt comfortable striking up impromptu conversations with fellow passengers. A difference with Windstar sailing yachts is that the average age was higher, probably 75. We are in our early '50s and we were easily among the youngest 5 couples on the ship. Read more