We hadn't cruised in years and only on larger ships (which we didn't like), when a friend recommended Azamara. We chose this cruise for the itinerary and it didn't disappoint. Embarkation in Venice was incredibly smooth (took all of 10 minutes) and we were soon on board and enjoying lunch. We had an aft balcony cabin that was comfortable and had plenty of storage and the bathroom and shower, while snug, was not as bad as I had been let to believe (lol). Our cabin attendants kept it all spotless. We found the food to be very good. We ate most of our breakfasts in the Windows buffet and dinners in the MDR, although we bought a package for the 2 specialty restaurants, Prime C and Aqualina and the Chef's Table. We found the food at Prime C and Aqualina not all that much better than the MDR, but the Chef's Table is really not to be missed. Outstanding! I can't speak too much about the entertainment, as we didn't partake that much. We found the group in the Living Room that played during cocktail hour too loud to promote conversation, though and much preferred the pianist in the Spirits lounge. The Azamazing Evening was the cellist Ana Ruchner in an outdoor venue in Split - a rock version of Yo Yo Ma - not to my taste, but a beautiful venue and very well organized. MY azamazing evening was a couple nights later when they brought an Italian tenor onboard as a surprise for a late night concert on the pool deck. We only booked 1 ship sponsored excursion, but it was a great one - at Dubrovnik, an excursion to the town of Ston, about an hour away for an oyster and mussel tasting, followed by a fabulous seafood lunch. The rest of our excursions we arranged privately with folks we met on our CC Roll Call. Although we loved all of the ports, we feel we could have used an extra sea day. We ended up skipping Florence (to our regret) because we were just so exhausted from Rome the previous day. We were struck by the friendliness of both the passengers and the crew. It was easy to meet people and because of the small size of the ship, one would tend to see the same people frequently. I feel like I have forged some lasting friendships.