Planning your first trip to South East Asia can be overwhelming, which is why I knew I wanted to take a cruise. I knew a luxury cruise would not only offer me comfort and convenience, but I would be able to see the perfect amount of sights during my 10-day journey. Azamara is one of the world’s top up-market cruise lines and I couldn’t wait to sail on their Azamara Quest from Singapore to Thailand, Myanmar, and Malaysia! From opulent and spacious surroundings, to five-star entertainment and fascinating destinations, here are the highlights of my Azamara cruise through South East Asia…

The Ship

The Azamara Quest is a mid-sized ship that feels like a boutique hotel at sea. This means that while you have plenty of space and options to explore on board, the deck plan still feels intimate and never too crowded. And after returning from a long day of sightseeing on land, it was so nice to come back to such modern and elegant interiors on the ship. Overall, you can discover seven restaurant on board, along with cafes, lounges with stunning views, a refreshing pool, sun decks, a spa and more.

Speaking of food, we had a particularly memorable night at Prime C Restaurant. We sat at the Chef’s Table and enjoyed a lovely atmosphere and flavorful courses. This restaurant is known for steaks that will melt in your mouth, along with fresh seafood. I highly recommend starting with their lobster salad and choosing the catch of the day for your entree to ensure you’re enjoying the freshest fish.

With a few sea days, having a spa on board to relax and pass the time is a must for me. The Sanctum Spa on Azamara Quest transports you to a world of incredible treatments inspired by exotic cultures and rituals. A deep tissue massage is always my first choice, especially after a long travel day. They also offer a hair salon, nail bar, pedicure area, and dedicated stations for barber, teeth whitening and other special services. I highly recommend enjoying the ocean views from their Sanctum Terrace and taking a refreshing dip in the Thalassotherapy pool before or after your treatment too.

The pool on Deck 10 is a great place to spend a sunny afternoon. However, it certainly comes alive at night during the White Night Party! The only rules are to dress in all white and enjoy yourself. I loved the colorful decor and linen-draped tables surrounding the pool. We enjoyed a fabulous buffet feast along with incredible boutique wines on the house which we enjoyed throughout the night. The live music was a nice touch and it was so special to dance under the stars while cruising through South East Asia!

My Club Continent Suite

My home-away-from-home onboard the Azamara Quest was a beautiful Club Continent Suite. These suites are intimate and comfortable with decor inspired by nature’s elements of water, wood, sand, and stone. My queen size bed was very plush with luxurious cotton blend linens with a duvet. I really enjoyed having a separate sitting area and writing desk. This looked out onto my veranda with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors! This allows the whole room to open up, and for me to gaze out onto the sea. I loved starting and ending my day with ocean views.

The bathroom is very roomy and modern with a lovely shower, other suites come with a bath tub as well. Having the space in your bathroom for a tub on a cruise is certainly a luxury, and I loved that Azamara offers this. Another luxury was plenty of closet space an storage which is very helpful when you’re sharing a room with your partner for 10 days!

A few complimentary stateroom features include Terry bathrobes, slippers, tote bag, use of an umbrella and binoculars, and a shoe shine service. The 24-hour room service is very convenient for when you want to enjoy breakfast in bed or have a late-night craving. My room also has fresh cut flowers which was a homey touch. Also, every day they would leave a daily fruit basket along with turndown treats in the evening.

The Itinerary

Thailand:

Azamara is all about focusing on cultural immersion. While cruising with them, they aim to provide longer stays, more overnights, country-intensive itineraries, land programs, authentic shore excursions and more. Their goal is to go beyond the surface of a place and I feel like we did just that.

We departed from Singapore and sailed first to Thailand. Here we explored the famous Phang Nga Bay with its beautiful limestone formations that come vertically out of the emerald-green water. I had so much fun visiting Khao Phing Kan, which is best known as James Bond Island! This was used as the setting for The Man with the Golden Gun film. Even if you’re not a James Bond fan, this is a beautiful island to visit.

We made some furry friends on our visit to Eat Suwan Kuha. Monkeys greeted us near the entrance of the cave where, inside, you’ll discover a massive gold reclining Buddha. This is definitely one of Thailand’s most important temples. After, we visited the water village of Ko Panyi for lunch. Established towards the end of the 18th century, Indonesian fisherman built these floating homes on stilts that are connected by a series of boardwalks. The population consists of 360 families, which is just over 1,500 people. Fun fact: there’s even a floating football pitch for the youthful residents to enjoy!

Located in Phuket, Siam Niramit is Thailand’s must-see show where we journeyed to the enchanted kingdom of Siam. This was such an impressive evening, it’s one of the largest stage productions in the world! The show explores the long history and culture of Thailand through traditional music and dance. The costumes were extremely detailed and beautiful! But even before the show, guests can enjoy activities such as Thai boxing, carving, painting, and more.

Myanmar:

We began our exploration of Myanmar in Yangon where we visited the Shwedagon Pagoda. This stunning temple is three-hundred feet high and covered with 60 tons of gold leaf. Many locals come here to pray and they say it houses the eight sacred hairs of the Buddha!

Our next stop with Azamara was the ancient city of Bagan. We enjoyed an incredible overnight excursion at the Aureum Palace Hotel & Resort in Old Bagan. My bungalow was so spacious and luxurious, but even more memorable was seeing the famous hot air balloons fly over the Buddhist monuments in Old Bagan. We had the perfect view from our hotel!

Even if you don’t get to ride a hot air balloon, you can still enjoy the views from the Bagan Viewing Tower which is what we did. We also got to explore a local market, take a carriage ride throughout Old Bagan, and visit Ananda – a Buddhist temple that dates back to the 12th century. Old Bagan was especially astounding, as there are over 2,000 Buddhist monuments that tower over beautiful green plains.

Malaysia:

After two sea days, we were welcomed into Malaysia with the most beautiful sunrise that I enjoyed from my private veranda! Our first stop was Penang where we visited must-see places such as Kek Lok Si Temple and the Burmese Buddhist Temple where you can see one of the largest reclining Buddha’s in the world.

A highlight for me in Malaysia were the Batu Caves. The grand entrance is breathtaking with 272 colorfully painted steps that lead to the top of a limestone hill. Inside there are a series of caves that are said to be around 400 million years old! The cave is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside of India and, outside, you can admire the world’s tallest statue of Murugan that is 140 feet high.

Conclusion

Azamara allowed me to explore the wonders of South East Asia for over a week from a luxurious, state-of-the-art ship. Thanks to the incredibly planned excursions from overnight stays to cooking classes, I felt immersed in the fascinating cultures of Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia.