Myself and my partner travelled on the Azamra Quest in Aug 2011.
We did a 7 night Croatia cruise roundtrip form Venice.
I have travelled on a couple of other ships before and this was the best i have experienced accomodation and food wise.
Azamara is a boutique ship company carrying just under 700 passengers.
We stayed in an oceanview cabin which is one of the most spacious i have been in.
The dining is all open so you are not limited to a time slot for dinner and there are no formal dress evenings therefore it was a very relaxed feel.
There are various places to eat on board including outside dining and specialists restauarnts charging an extra $15 per person, which is well worth it.
All other venues for breakfast, lunch dinner is included in the cruise fare.
The best thing about it is the value for money as wine and soft drinks are all included! Speaking to people on board who have travelled on the other luxury cruiselines such as Silversea and Seabourn (which can cost double the price), said that there was very little difference in the standard of service and ship, therfore Azamara is a good option to look at for this kind of small ship luxury cruising at a fraction of the price of the competitors.
The best thing about Azamara i feel is the itinaries, it is a very destination focused cruiseline.
We had 5 stops in Croatia and 1 in Italy, places the larger cruise ships dont visit, and places i wouldnt have normally chosen to go if not on a cruise.
These places such as Kotor in Montenegro or Korcula in Croatia had an authentic feel and not over run with tourists, which is rare in Europe in August! The staff were all very good and friendly, i lost my key card on a shore excursion and the guide called the ship to have a replacement waiting for me at the tender on the way back to the ship, those extra touches make a big difference for a hassle free holiday.
The only negative thing i could say is the lack of evening entertainment on board, i prefer the larger ships for the evening all singing all dancing shows and choice of venues,The Quest was fairly low key and the evening entertainment was all over by about 11pm, however as i said Azamara is detaintion focused and passengers should pick this comapany for the varied ports and great service/food.
This is quite common on the smaller ships and it wasn’t a problem.
Overall i would definatly travel on Azamara again, i thought it was fantastic.