We are retired travelers in our 60s who have been seriously bitten by the cruise bug. We have been on 17 cruises over the past 10 years, on five cruise lines. We prefer Celebrity, where we have achieved Elite status. This is our second cruise on Azamara, the first having been last spring in the Caribbean. Both of these cruises were arranged by a travel agent who specializes in group cruises including airfare and pre-voyage hotel stays. We were very happy with our spring trip, and we eagerly signed on when this one was offered.

We flew from Atlanta, changing planes in Paris. A note to the unwary: Charles de Gaulle Airport is not for the faint of heart or the slow of foot. The signage is easy enough to follow, but it takes forever to go from one concourse to another (it is not so much a terminal as an interminable). Be sure to allow plenty of time between planes and wear your sturdiest walking shoes. When we arrived in Athens, we were met by Azamara personnel and shepherded onto our bus for transfer to the Athens Hilton, where we had a very nice room with a balcony. After a nap, we booked an Athens-by-Night tour through the hotel. This included a photo stop at the lit-up Acropolis, a visit to a surprisingly interesting museum of ancient instruments, and dinner and a folkloric show at a taverna, nothing memorable but a way to see a little of the city in our limited time there.

After a stupendous breakfast buffet (included), we were herded a bit roughly and rudely onto buses for transfer to the harbor in Piraeus. The weather had turned chilly with blustery winds, and we had to stand outside for some time while the buses got sorted out. The trip to the port took about an hour. Once we arrived, embarkation could not have gone more smoothly. One very great advantage of the smaller size of the Quest and the Journey is that there never seems to be a crowd anywhere or a long wait for anything. We were on board, champagne in hand, by 1 p.m., with only a few minutes to wait before our cabins were ready. We recognized a number of staff faces from our previous Azamara trip, and were greeted cordially. Read more