Playing the traditional links of Scotland, known for incorporating old sheep pastures and natural sand dunes, is a dream for many golfers. PerryGolf, which has ample expertise in organizing such experiences, works with Azamara Cruises to offer a 12-night Scottish Intensive Voyage that combines stops along the country’s beautiful coastline and visits to its historic cities with the thrill of playing golf on its legendary courses. That sounded like a whole lot of fun, so I set my Andrew Harper travel advisor to work.

My companion and I joined the Azamara Quest in Oslo (read about our week in Norway) and we made our way across the North Sea to our first stop in Edinburgh. The cruise continued on to Aberdeenshire, Inverness, the Orkney Islands and Liverpool before crossing the Irish Sea to Dublin. Stops in the Hebrides (Stornoway, Oban and Douglas) were sadly canceled due to high winds, remnants of Hurricane Ernesto.

The Quest holds 702 passengers, and apparently every cabin was occupied for this sailing. Most people were over 60, and we did not see any children on board. Despite the relatively large guest count, we hardly ever waited for anything, and it never felt crowded.