brazilgirl

We had a really lovely group… and Progressive Trivia was really a thing to look forward to on our sea days.

It was lovely meeting you too and thank you for all the helpful spreadsheets and suggestions you give Azamara cruisers. They were all so useful!

Thank you all who read the review and commented. I hope those of you inspired to try Azamara enjoy it as much as we did. If anyone has questions about anything specific, I am happy to answer.

Ports and Disembarkation and thoughts on Transatlantic: I definitely want to do another transatlantic. Never have I felt so relaxed. All the sea days and being able to do nothing and be pampered and read and eat and chat with interesting people and just hang out with my husband was truly heavenly. And Azamara was the perfect line to do this on. Our weather was all over great. We had a couple of rough sea days, with seasickness bags put on the stairwells, but overall we had lots of smooth seas and and sunshine. It was fabulous overall. Our ports included Rio, Brazil Buzios, Brazil Salvador, Brazil Mindelo, Cabo Verde Tenerife, Canary Islands La Palma, Canary Islands Funchal, Madeira Island ( Portugal) Lisbon, Portugal We enjoyed all the ports and did independent tours or DIY on all of them except for La Palma, on which we did a ship tour. It was fine. In general, I find we can do better price wise and content wise on our own. Our favorite stop was Funchal. Disembarkation in Lisbon was incredibly easy and smooth. I was surprised that there was no immigration process, we just walked off the ship and got our luggage after having breakfast. Easy peasy. As a newbie, would I sail Azamara again? Absolutely … hopefully, in the near future! posting last photos in order of the ports we visited ( on from each place)

Random comments : - Using the onboard laundry was great. Located on Deck 7, laundry pods are provided and there are 2 ironing boards and irons with timers. We also had 2 complimentary bags of laundry with our Veranda Plus cabin, which we used. Our clothes came back nicely pressed. - gym - the gym had all the basics. This is one are my husband felt could have been bigger ( I don’t visit gyms on vacation, lol). - I saw many people doing daily walks on Deck Ten. - Because our cruise was completely full and we had many sunny days, sometimes it was hard to find empty sun loungers at peak hours. There is a really nice sun lounger on Deck 5 as well where there is protection from the sun. It was always full and I saw people snoozing and enjoying their books. - The library has a fair selection of books plus a book exchange. It was easy to find reading material. The onboard shops had some interesting items. I bought a beautiful silver dragonfly necklace from Spain which I love with our OBC as well as a great beach bag from the brand Inoui, which is a favorite of mine. The spa carries the Elemis products, as do most at sea spas, which are solid beauty products. They also have Perricone and Sisley products in the shop.

Oh, it sounds right up our alley! We will definitely try it. I have a real fascination with all things Scandinavian and love cruising Northern Europe. Will keep an eye out for good itineraries. I love reading about other people’s experiences, helps me make future cruise decisions.

I am curious to try Viking as the ships look quite beautiful. I do think the Transatlantic voyage brings a really good mix as many Europeans are going home from their South American wanderings.

It really did make the cruise much richer because of these interactions. Very natural and pleasant. I was very surprised how easy it was to make friends!

Officers and crew were without exception kind and the Captain was very visible in all events ( Captain Antonio from Spain). The entertainment staff was fantastic. Kudos to the talented Emily ( cruise director) and phenomenal Nicholas ( Asst Cruise Director) for keeping the cruise filled with interesting and engaging activities. There was a choir for the passengers, art classes, destination lectures, tons of trivia ( to my delight), high energy shows and several special events on board. Among the special events: local talent onboard in Salvador with magnificent Middle Eastern bbq Azamara Expo - an event that highlighted all the departments on the ship. Each area had a table and you could ask questions and interact with the crew White Night - the famous evening where everyone wears white, there is a lovely homage to the crew and wonderful food on deck. Be sure to bring your white clothes The Crossing of the Equador - very fun event that initiated the first time crossers. Lots of costumes and laughs as we crossed the line. Even the Captain took a dip Progressive Trivia - we played on teams on every sea day. Such fun IMG_5308.MOV

Fellow Passengers: By far , the best thing about Azamara is the fellow passengers ( at least on our cruise it was). I have never been on a cruise that had such outgoing, well-traveled and interesting people. On our transatlantic, there were fewer Americans than on any other cruise we have been on, which makes sense. Many people from the UK ( we met many kind Scots in particular). We also chatted with people from Belgium, Namibia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Brazil, Spain, the US, Canada and many other places. I came back from our trip having learned a great deal from fellow passengers, which is a nice feeling. This is a huge differential and really makes the Azamara cruising experience stand out.

I forgot to review the boarding process: Boarding Process: this is a part that seems a bit port dependent, it may not have a lot to do with Azamara. We boarded in Rio. We had done the online checkin and received a 3 pm boarding time. We arrived at the port at 3:15 pm Our bags were taken care of quickly and being that we were in Veranda Plus we were given a “Priority Boarding” pass and told to wait in an appointed area. The people with non-priority area had designated groups were called to queue up at certain times. There were multiple attendants and the process seemed fairly efficient. Our group, on the other hand, stayed seated and attendants were going to each passenger with an ipad and doing the checkin. This was badly done. We arrived before many people and they had no order or rhyme or reason about who to checkin first. We ended up sitting there for over an hour and were among the last people checked in. We should have just gotten in the regular line. It was a bit frustrating but soon we were on the ship exploring and all was well. The Muster Drill was the best ever, loved the 5 minute movei, excellent!

Everyone’s favorite topic : food Let’s start with the highlights, the food that was most memorable - strangely enough, I will start with the gelato/sorbet/ice cream. Kudos to Azamara. The variety and quality was surprising and I really loved it. - The Middle Eastern BBQ out on Deck 9 on the evening of our visit to Salvador was incredible. We had local talent come aboard and lovely weather and the food was outstanding. The seasonings and grilling and desserts … yummy. It was my favorite meal other than the Indian Buffet, which was brilliant as well. The food overall was quite good. It was nicely presented and a variety of international flavors represented. Discoveries Restaurant: we enjoyed both dinners and lunches. Because we had several sea days, the venue was open for lunch, which we enjoyed. The service was good and on most nights we did not have to wait to be seated. The fish dishes were a highlight and we had several enjoyable desserts. Specialty Restaurants : we went to Prime C twice and Aqualina once. Our meals were very good. I loved the crab and lobster ravioli, the Prime Rib, the goat cheese tart. The Windows Café. The breakfasts were delicious. I was not terribly impressed by lunches. The international buffets at night were excellent and loved the table service. My favorites were the Indian and Japanese buffets. There was a coconut rice pudding one day that was one of the best things ever. I think the salad offerings could be improved. Mosiac Cafe : fabulous coffee and service and nice bites to eat The Patio was a special place to dine. Great grilled offerings and nice service and ambience. Overall, I liked the food. But it didn’t blow me away. Wish lobster would have been available ( silly thing, but I do love it). I think they overuse bell peppers on the ship. That is just me being nitpicky 🤣

Good to hear the room is nice on both ships. I would love to do the Ireland Intensive cruise!

Yes, we dined there several evenings and really enjoyed it. There were heaters and the tables were nicely set and service was excellent. I was a bit surprised how few fellow passengers took advantage of it.

Enjoying your review so far! We just got off the Pursuit, looking forward to your impressions. On a side note, I have looked at staying at the Chafariz before. Glad you enjoyed it!

Ship Layout: Other than the Celebrity Xpedition , which had less than 100 passengers, the Pursuit was the smallest ship we have been on. The compactness of it was very nice. All public areas are extremely well taken care of and elegantly decorated. The colors and furnishings are traditional and soothing. Nice artwork in the stairwells. Due to the small size, everything is reachable in minutes. There are 4 guest elevators and they were almost never crowded. Our cruise was sold out, so there were times when I felt the venues were a tad overcrowded. It was sometimes challenging to get a sun lounger by the pool and a table in the dining room at peak times. However, most of the time the ship felt comfortable as far as space. The Drawing Room and speciality restaurants were the most beautiful spaces on the ship, together with the Living Room. Very comfy loungers are placed in the Living Room in front of the huge windows to appreciate the views. Photos follow

Review by Topics: Stateroom: We had a Veranda Plus Stateroom, Room 8019. The room was very well located, close to the stairwell and elevators. We could just pop up to the pool or spa or down to the Discoveries Restaurant or Mosaic Café. We did not have bothersome noise ( there were occasional sounds, but nothing that woke us up). We would certainly book this cabin again. Not sure if the “plus” amenities are worth the extra price. We initially had a normal veranda but upgraded due to price reduction. We bid on a CC suite but since the cruise was sold out, we did not get it. There was plenty of storage and I loved the pillows. Bed was comfortable and linens and shower pressure good. We were fine with the dreaded shower curtain, lol. Veranda furniture was very comfortable , but showed some wear and tear. Our balcony seemed leas deep than those we have had on other ships, but no problem. Our ship cabin attendant, Leo, was excellent. He did get off a few days before the end of the cruise, which I thought was curious. Towels were thick as was robe. I did not like the conditioner… I have long hair and it did not condition adequately, so bought some other conditioner. Soap has a great smell. Any questions, will be happy to answer along the review With each topic, will try to post corresponding images I took

We just disembarked for the Pursuit following a 16 night Transatlantic crossing. The cruise is still fresh in my mind, so decided to write a review with observations about the ship, crew and itinerary. Background : I am a semi-retired high school teacher who grew up in California, was an exchange student in Brazil and ended up marrying my Brazilian sweetheart and moving to Brazil. Lived there for over 35 years and we have three children. My husband is a physician. In 2020, we made a big life change and moved to the northern region of Portugal mid-pandemic. An exciting and daunting change. This all made the transatlantic “ Portuguese Pursuit” cruise, leaving from Rio de Janeiro to Lisbon, very appealing. We were able to visit family in Brazil and sail home to Portugal at a leisurely pace and take some extra suitcases as well. We have sailed on many other cruise lines. Crystal, Celebrity, Holland America more than once and Royal Caribbean, Carnival and Seawind ( now defunct) one time each. Most of our cruises included our three kids, they are avid cruisers themselves and We mainly focus on itineraries and have sailed to Antarctica, the Baltic Region, Iceland, many Med trips, the Galapagos, the Caribbean and Norway as well as other Northern European countries. We also really enjoy land trips and will rent airbnbs and cars to explore areas more deeply. We enjoy more elegant ships. Good service and interesting fellow passengers are important. Small ships are appealing because of the destinations and longer port times. I don’t drink alcohol due to AI condition so that does not weigh on our choice and my husband is happy with the standard drinks. We enjoy food but are not terribly fussy. Next Chapter… the review will start

Last Sea Day and Disembarkation: Our last day on the ship was relaxing and fun. We played our last game of Progressive Trivia ( we did not win, but we did well and had such a good time. What a lovely team we had). We enjoyed lunch at the Discoveries Restaurant, always a pleasant option on sea days. In the evening , we headed to the Windows Café. The buffet was Indian and it was amazing. What flavors. I would choose it as one of the best meals we had on the ship. It was quite crowded, people seemed eager to try the delicacies. We had our suitcases in the hall by 7 pm and at 9:00 pm we watched the ship choir, a group made of fellow passengers who practiced with Nicholas the Assistant Cruise Director. Delightful! Then we watched a goodbye video from the crew and a highly energetic and fun performance for the Pursuit Dancers. I got teary eyed watching the video. We really loved our cruise and will miss the ship. Disembarkation was quite easy. We left the ship before 9, got our suitcases and our transport and are now on the road home. Back to real life. To all our fellow cruisers, bon voyage back home. We truly couldn’t ask for nicer people to sail with. posting photos take on last day around the ship and our arrival in Lisbon. Later I plan to write a review with thoughts on Azamara in general, being that it was our first cruise.

Looks like a great company too. I am sure you will really enjoy it! We did the offroad jeep option, so were able to go on some exciting dirt roads. At times we were on narrow cliff roads, which was thrilling and a bit scary! Funchal was definitely our favorite port and everyone we talked to enjoyed their time there.

We used a company called https://www.hittheroadmadeira.com/en/. They were very responsive and engaged. One observation - the jeep was an older Land Rover, which had excellent suspension and was quite comfortable. However, the website says 6 passengers can be accommodated. I am very glad just one person came along ( I tried to get a total of six on the roll call, but no luck) because 2 of the seats were jumps seats in the back and would not have been comfortable. i would easily spend a week in Madeira and love this company. A great option to see more of the island. photo of the jeep

What a gift of a day today! We are happy to be back in Portugal and excited to be able to visit Madeira for the first time. One thing… we will surely be back, as we were blown away by the island. It combines all things we most love - stunning nature, culture, great food and warm people. We opted to take a private jeep tour and one other member of our roll call joined us. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable and know how to pace our tour in order to avoid the crowds. Many of the places it was just us, which was lovely. We had fabulous weather , not too hot and not too cold, with azure skies. Every corner we went around elicited gasps of “wow”. We explored the East side of the island, starting at the highest peak and working our way down to the coastline, with forests and meadows in between. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant for lunch, that had views to die for and local food. We loved Madeira so much we are already planning a trip back. We arrived back at the ship at a bit after four and enjoyed sun at the pool then dinner at “The Patio”, with a comedy show in the evening followed by music in The Living Room. Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving home. The ship will leave “saudades”. photos from today

Today, we visited the so-called “Pretty Island” of La Palma. It is far greener than Tenerife and the over development of multiple high rises and apartment buildings and resorts is not apparent. It has struggled with the aftermath of the volcanic eruption. “Since erupting on 19 September, the Cumbre Vieja volcano destroyed more than 3,000 properties and hundreds of acres of farmland on the Canary Island. More than 7,000 people were forced to leave their homes as lava closed in.” We also chose to do the same tour as Mackdogmolly ( the Panoramic Island tour) and were also disappointed to not get better views of the volcano. We stopped at the little town of El Paso and visited the Silk Museum ( not included in the tour), as well as the black lava beach in the town of Tazacorte. It was not a terribly exciting tour, albeit pretty. One thing that called attention was the vast number of banana plantations. Tonight we will eat at the Japanese buffet in the Windows Café. photos follow - note the Manolo shoes at the Silk Museum as well as the lava flow’s path of destruction ( hard to see )

Was tired after yesterday’s adventure, so didn’t post. Two days to update. Yesterday, as mentioned by previous posters, was Tenerife. We decided to go own our own and had a car rental lined up with Cicar, which has an office at the port. It was quite easy and we picked up our vehicle at 10:00 promptly. We notice a big scratch and dent on the car ( duly noted and photographed), which made sense during the day. We headed for the valley and village of Masca, which I had read was quite spectacular. It really was. I had also read that the drive was not for the fainthearted, which was an understatement. Hairpin curves, no space for two cars and giant buses made for a memorable trip. We even witnessed a tourist van hit a tiny rental car, scratching the whole side of the car with an audible crunch. My husband has driven on quite challenging roads and traffic in Brazil, so we managed well. But, we saw many people struggle. The valley and village were absolutely stunning and we really enjoyed our visit. We then headed to the cliffs called Los Gigantes. We had lunch there, which was fine, but nothing terribly special. Lastly, we stopped in the Unesco World Heritage town of La Laguna and walked around. It is charming and well preserved and my husband sampled the local beer. We ended up driving 270 km and got back onboard at around 6:00 pm. We followed our long day with an outstanding dinner at Prime C. A very good day. photos follow

Waves were choppier today and the wind made it less amenable to be by the pool, Little seasickness bags were discreetly placed over the ship. But that didn’t stop the fun activities all over the shop celebrating St Patrick’s day. There was an “Irish Party” in the Den and green was the color all over the ship today. At the Windows Café, there was an Irish themed buffet in the evening and in the Discoveries restaurant, “Green Velvet Cake” was served as well as the desserts on the menu. For the first time, we ate three desserts between the two of ua. Over the top lol. By far the highlight of the day was Cruise Director Emily Love’s show at the Cabaret Lounge. She is truly a powerhouse and her show showcased her range and talent. She engaged the audience and it was splendid. She is a real asset to Azamara. photos of the three ships in port yesterday as well as the Pursuit alone