'Riviera Voyage' onboard Azamara Quest. Aug 2017
I was invited as a guest on-board the Azamara Quest to enjoy their – ‘Summer along the Riviera Voyage’, August 2017.
With embarkation, in the groovy city of Barcelona and a few nights prior the cruise there to take in the creative beauty of this captivating city, my trip was off to a great start!
The port that Azamara is small enough to use is in the heart of the city, a very quick cab ride & comfortable walk (without luggage). It was a hot summers day and on arrival at the port I was greeted with warm smiles, no que’s and a glass of champagne – a very nice start! Check in was seamless and the ship was fully booked to the 725 guest capacity.
My Verandah Stateroom was very comfortable with lovely amenities and floor to ceiling glass doors to let in lots of natural light & views.
Our first stop was St Tropez on the French Riviera, a quick and nice tender into the port. This little town is gorgeous, full of quaint architecture, great food & ‘beautiful people & boats’! The walk up to the Citadel afforded gorgeous views. Moored and docked around St Tropez were a range of boats that would enthral an enthusiast and even to my untrained eye were incredible.
Azamara had us there all afternoon & evening of one day & the full morning of the next – with regular tenders it was so easy to come & go.
Next stop, Nice… docked in the heart of the city we could walk off the ship and wander and enjoy this charming French Riviera City. Our itinerary afforded an evening and a full day, so both Nice by night & day was on offer – perfect!
Portofino, Italy – wow. Just like the photos, this is a gorgeous town! Azamara ran continuous tenders to accommodate the Portofino visitors as well as those who chose to visit the Cinque Terre, Santa Margarita and surrounding areas. A spectacular part of the world.
Docked in Livorno a walk off the ship made for an easy day of exploring this nice city or an easy option to board the coach heading to Florence in my instance. I loved Florence and look forward to revisiting this very pretty city.
With Rome looming and the end of our 6 night Azamara Experience, it was important to reflect on the quality of the Azamara Quest. The food on-board was delicious, the service excellent and possibly one of the most surprising elements the lack of ques and the excellent sense of space. I didn’t find myself lining up or looking for a seat at any time. The number of guests on a ship this size with the clever fit out of the public spaces meant it felt like there were not a lot of other guests on-board… and who doesn’t want to feel a little exclusive & special on their holiday?!
The Quest docked in Civitavecchia and disembarking & collecting our luggage was seamless… a short wait for our transfer and then a scenic drive of around an hour into the city of Rome.
I thoroughly enjoyed 3 nights in the city of Rome. Walking for hours & kilometres soaking up the sheer scale of this city. The physical scale of the buildings & ornaments and history – were amazing.
I would absolutely recommend Azamara and I did meet more than a few lovely people on-board who were enjoying back to back cruises and alternatively meeting the ship again in Venice to take in Croatia... both of which would be beautiful options.