In June of 2012, we had a wonderful experience on Azamara Club Cruises! We sailed on the Azamara Quest. The Quest was originally the R7 (Renaissance) it was purchased by Azamara and refurbished in 2007. With just 694 passengers and 11 decks it is easy to navigate and small enough to reach many ports other large ships cannot access.
The Mediterranean sailing included; Nice, St. Tropez France (overnight), Monte Carlo Monaco (until 10p), Florence (Livorno), Rome, Sorrento, Capri (overnight), Taormina Sicily, Corfu Greece (overnight), Dubrovnik Croatia and Venice (overnight).
Positives about the ship:
- Ability to port close to most towns with overnight or late night stays
- Excellent fitness center with a variety of equipment and complimentary fitness classes
- Five dining options – great food, Prime C & Aqualina Specialty restaurants were excellent
- Complimentary boutique wines with lunch and dinner
- Complimentary bottled water, soft drinks, and specialty coffees & teas
- Complimentary self-serve laundry
- Casual and friendly atmosphere dress code on Azamara is always resort-casual - there are no formal nights and jackets for men are never required
- Reasonable spa treatments (18% mandatory service charge)
- Gratuities for housekeeping, dining and bar staff are included
- Passengers were young at heart and active – well traveled
- The ship is going in for an update in November of this year – they are doing a facelift on the pool area, some of the public areas as well as upgrading the staterooms
Bespoke Excursions, also known as Excursions Ltd., set up two shore excursions that were outstanding; A ‘Taste of Sorrento’ which included an exclusive visit to a 5th generation family-owned farm and ‘The Beauty of Cinque Terre’ (Livorno, Italy). I used ShoreTrips for a couple ports (private car & driver in Rome, horseback riding in Corfu and Eze, La Turbie & Monte Carlo in Monaco). Wanting to see what Azamara shore excursions were like, I booked Capri from the Sea, 4X4 Adventure in Sicily and Bike riding in Croatia.
Having cruised 40+ times for business and pleasure, this experience was one of the best ever!
