Azamara Club Cruises: France & Italy

In mid-October 2013 I went on a fantastic cruise on Azamara Club Cruises with a group of friends. I thoroughly enjoyed this and would highly recommend Azamara to anyone looking for a high quality cruising experience, without any of the stuffiness that's sometimes associated with the more old-fashioned cruise lines.

Azamara Quest is a small ship accommodating just under 700 guests, and with 400 crew, the on-board service is excellent. It’s friendly rather than formal, while retaining the elegance you would expect of an upscale cruise line. We sailed from Nice to Rome taking in Monaco, Saint-Tropez, Propriano in southern Corsica and Amalfi and Sorrento on Italy's Neapolitan Riviera. Because of the ship's size she can berth in places where the giant liners cannot. She also stays the night in many places; we were overnight in Monaco where Azamara provided an exclusive trip for their passengers to visit the famous aquarium there.

Called "Azamazing Evenings", there is one of these exclusive events on all of their cruises. When the ships visit Gibraltar for example, passengers can enjoy a candle-lit concert in a cave! They overnight in wonderful destinations such as London and Seville so you can have dinner onshore, go see a show or just go out for a few drinks; and they still have places on the cruise when the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix is on.

The Monaco GP Azamara cruise is superb value when you factor in that all food and a wide selection of drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic, is included. The food is as good as any decent restaurant and this cruise takes in Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera, Portofino and Genoa in Italy, as well as the full day in Monaco itself for the Grand Prix.

Azamara Club Cruises will appeal to those who like to stay in 4* and 5* hotels with an emphasis on good food and service. There is enough deck space so that you don't feel overcrowded and many of the staterooms have balconies. If you like lots of facilities and a huge choice of activities then Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Cruises may well suit you better.

If you've never considered a cruise before, Azamara Club Cruises could be a great introduction to it. To be honest I can't praise them enough and please do contact me anytime if you'd like to find out more. Any clients booking Azamara for next year during 2013 will receive a bottle of champagne with my compliments.

If you like the sound of all this please give me a ring to see whether it would be right for you.