Live - Pursuit, Norway 1-13 August (Maiden Voyage)

[Silkroad]

Alsun, thanks so much for taking the time to post your review and gorgeous photos. Thanks too for including practical details about the ship and the ports. We’re considering an Azamara cruise, and I’m using your review to try to convince my DH it will be worth the extra cost (over Celebrity). Should I be successful, I think Azamara should give you a commission;)

[Grandma Cruising]

Alsun, a question for you. We often go for a drink to the Sunset bar(open terrace behind Windows) between 5:30 & 6:00pm. Do you know of there is any drinks service there at that time?

It just occurred to us that as there is no bar there, there might not be service before Windows opens. Given that there are no tables next to the Pool Bar (as there are on Journey & Quest), if there is no service at the sunset bar, it’s difficult to know where we could go for a drink before we change for dinner. We wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting in either Spirits or the Living Room in our shorts & tee-shirt at that time.

 

 

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[BrownieCruises]

Alsun, thank you again for the blog. It certainly brought back memories of our cruise to Norway. Plus, I have loved the practical details about the Pursuit. We are taking our first Azamara cruise in Jan 2019 to Antartica on the Pursuit for 17 day with only 4 port calls, so it’s nice to be familiar with the ship. I feel so much better prepared on knowing what tho expect and what things are called. We normally sail on another cruise line in mid size ships, so some things are similar and some are different, but for sure what things are called is different! Have a great trip home and look forward to seeing you post on a future cruise. :)

[Ithikan]

Your photos of the narrow, cobbled streets of Stavanger (with Pursuit at water's edge) are so appealing! I believe you may have sold us a future Norway cruise, if this lovely port is on the itinerary...

[CA Oceanfront]

Host Grandma Cruising, we’ve had the same concerns, except that we start at 5pm! Priorities! It appears that we may need to get our drinks from the Pool Bar and take them to the Sunset Veranda, at least until Windows opens at 6.

 

 

 

 

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[Grandma Cruising]

Host Grandma Cruising, we’ve had the same concerns, except that we start at 5pm! Priorities! It appears that we may need to get our drinks from the Pool Bar and take them to the Sunset Veranda, at least until Windows opens at 6.

 

 

 

 

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That’s what we were thinking!

 

 

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[workingtocruise-59]

It is possible that I missed it but are there tables (rather than sun-loungers) directly next to the Pool Bar.

 

When we had our tour of the ship we were told the loungers were temporary and the tables and chairs would be back soon!

Many thanks.

[jkadventures]

Alsun- I’m adding our thanks for the time you have put into this wonderful live from thread! We did a Norway cruise last year (on a different line) and it was beyond fantastic! Your post about Flam brought back a particularly fond memory for me. We did the train and hike excursion and when we got to the goat farm they all took a liking to me and followed me around. They liked having their heads scratched and I was very happy to oblige! We are on the Pursuit in April and are more excited about it every minute. We are fans of the Den and haven’t seen it in person yet!

Thanks again!

 

 

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[CA Oceanfront]

That’s what we were thinking!

 

 

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As long as you don’t mind sipping from plastic drink glasses! Cheers!

 

 

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[darcori]

Alsun, we are veteran Azamara cruisers and will be boarding the Pursuit in a couple of week and we have truly enjoyed your posts. Thank you for taking your time to share some of the Azamara magic with so many!

[Alsun]

Last Sea Day!

 

It is as if the weather is sad to as we woke up to a wet & grey day. Even the rose, which was beautitful when delivered to us with one of our room service breakfast (and which stayed in our room) is sad today....

 

We are somewhere on the North Sea, actually I do know where we are as I looked it up at Vesselfinder and Pursuit is definitely heading towards Southampton - but I am sort of still in denial that this lovely holiday is coming to it's end.

 

We have received our embarkation info and luggage labels (actually, we did receive another letter about halfway - but that was mainly related to transfers from Southampton and as we are driving up to London, I didn't pay attention to that letter), so today we will have to start packing.

 

I will post more on that later today, but for now still have a seaday to enjoy on Pursuit.

Today the clocks went also back to UK time, so we actually gained an hour!

 

There is a Pursuit Brunch with live music in Discoveries, so we might go there for lunch today. Also, a Q&A Session with Captain Carl, and we will receive a special Maiden Voyage Certificate.

 

We missed Michael Quinn last night, but he is on tonight again - together with Jonathan Johnston so we do want to attend that as well.

 

I will also post a few more food photos, and some general photos of things I think I didn't cover previously.

 

Thank you to the recent posters - sorry if I don't answer you individually. I will try however to make another photo of the Pool deck bar area and see if I can get an answer to that question re drinks on Sunset Verandah. I do know that on the port side of the pooldeck, there is a nice sitting area, partly tables that can be used for lunch/dinner but also comfortable seating (ie not sun loungers) and I also think there is a seating area right next to the Pool bar, but will check again.

 

[Alsun]

Chef's Table - French

 

Some photo's of yesterday's Chef's Table. We were an uneven number, probably because I was on my own (A. doesn't enjoy Chef's Table) - and I had half and half expected that one of the Officers would join and host but that was not the case.

 

(seats are allocated with name signs, which I think solves the problem of deciding where to sit)

 

Before dinner stared, Executive Chef explained the menu to us and at each course, Martin the sommelier explained the accompanying wines. There are 6 course, with a choice of fish or meat for the main course. plus there is a palate cleanser before the main.

 

I really enjoyed the food and the experience, but I did feel it could have started a bit earlier so that it would have been possible to attend the late evening show. As it was, we did't finish until around 22.30 - that's when I left - (dinner starts at 19.30) and one of our table left earlier (aorund 21.45) to see the show.

 

See below photos (I chose the beef). This also includes a line up of all the wines that accompanied the food.

 

 

 

[Alsun]

Breakfast photos of Windows

 

There is plenty to choose from including freshly made omelettes. There is also a separate station for French toast, waffles and pancakes. There are grits or oatmeal, or both. Preservers, marmite, vegemite, cornflakes, yogurt etc all also available but didn't think they merrited a photo.

 

Re the hot food in the buffet, this can vary a bit day to day. Sometimes there are eggs benedict, other days a muffin with beef patty and egg or littel egg & veg pots. Various potato dishes, different sort of bacon etc. There is also usually a sweet pudding type dish, for example cherry clafoutis.

[teamflames]

Chefs table looks amazing, how much does this cost?

 

 

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[Alsun]

More re Windows.

 

I haven't made many photos of the lunch and dinner buffet in Windows - think I might have shared a few in previous posts, but just a few more general thoughts re Windows.

 

We feel that Windows is convenient but it might not have the best food of all the options on board. There are some themed nights and the seafood one was fantastic but for example, we felt that the British one was less so. However, there is always plenty to choose from and it is possible to have a nice meal there.

 

There is waiter service for drinks - at all meal times - and they will also assist with bringing food to your table if you need this.

 

At breakfast time toast will also be made for you, no need to do this yourself.

 

At lunch time there is a "toasted" sandwich station with a "sandwich of the day" but you can have choose your own fillings as well.

 

There is also usually a "carving" station for dinner (can't recall if it's also there at lunch time).

 

It is also worth checking both soup stations as sometimes the soups are different on either side.

 

There was one thing we (I) really struggled with though, and that was the cutlery! All tables are laid with cutlery in a napkin, but every time a plate is cleared they take away the cutlery too which makes sense. However, I kept forgetting to bring back new cutlery when I took some new food (even in the buffet, I tend to stick to having my meal in courses)- and sometimes the cutlery is not always in the obvious place.

 

The other thing that baffled me was the ice cream station. For desserts there are the usual arrangement of cakes etc, there is usually a hot pudding and there is the ice cream station, a selection of daily changing icecreams and sorbets. However, there is no "proper" ice cooler cabinet so all the ice cream containers are placed in a larger one and kept cold with ice cubes. Especially on a hot day this meant that the ice cream melted fairly quickly.

 

One last remark re Windows, I think I mentioned this already but this is also were it is possible to get your own hot drink 24/7. And where you can also find slices of lemon for your G&T!

 

 

 

 

[Alsun]

Some thoughts re Maiden Voyage problems & Internet.

 

We did see some signs of this. Mainly minor things like some touching up to do at some places. One day we woke up and we found a lot of "dust/rubbish" on our balcony. Investigation learned that this came from the ledge which hadn't been properly cleaned and a first windy day had swept that out over the balcony.

 

There was also sometimes some (re)decorating going on, not clear if this was "unfinished" areas or maintenance.

 

A small silly thing, the sticker on the balcony door has the wrong instructions, the door handle operates the other way around! (They did tell us this on the first day)

 

As mentioned earlier, some of the carpets are suffering from shedding - this is espeically the case in Windows with the constant scraping of chairs.

 

The sun lounger pillows still haven't arrived, and I heard there are some other missing items including alarm clock - but we never missed anything so can't comment on what else was missing.

 

We did hear from others that they have been experiencing some issue with the electricy sockets in their room, but again this wasn't a problem for us.

 

Re the crew, I spoke with several crew members and got the impression that many had previous experience at either Journey or Quest. There were also new crew, and sometimes this was noticeable but not majorly so. The only issue that we had with a new crew member was actually at guest relations, but we just went with any "more complicated" issues to the other guest relations staff.

(I hasten to add that this new guest relations staff was very friendly and tried to help - but didn't always understand our questions)

 

Internet has been hit & miss. Partly due to the area we are sailing (mountains do interfer with satellite), partly due to miscommunication. For example that sometims codes have a time limit on them was known and those guests affected could easily have been informed beforehand about this - which did actually happen at a later stage.

 

Some days a notice was put out at the Guest Relations desk or in the Insider.

 

When internet was working it was okayish. Adequate enough to check on emails etc, but slow for uploading photos and such.

[Alsun]

Chefs table looks amazing, how much does this cost?

 

 

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One evening is $95 per person, I believe there is a discount package if you book all 3 options but I don't know that price for it.

 

I felt it is worth it.

[Alsun]

Oh, the seating area near the Pool deck bar looks to be the smoking area.

 

There are not tables in that area, but as previously mentioned there are some on the port side of the patio.

[Alsun]

Internet seems to working ok at the moment, so quickly a few more posts to share

 

Guest relations also has the daily "newspapers" but these also get delivered to your room daily (mostly in the afternoon) - according to your a nationality you will receive the appropiate one.

 

I also discovered this nice photo display of the senior officers

[lizboyle]

Thank you for a fantastic blog. We came off Quest last month and this makes me want to be back onboard soon. Safe travels home.

[Alsun]

Minor-I, artist in resident, in front of the Triptych she painted live during the Azamazing Evening in Grieg Hall.

 

She is a lovely lady, and will be on board during the next cruise, so please go and say hello to her or watch her work.

 

She will paint live at several times, and also does commissions.

[Alsun]

One more quick post with some practical info

 

There are nice thick pool towels, and also blankets available.

We noticed that some of the sunset deck furniture get's tied up on windy days.

A member of staff welcoming us back on board with a hot drink, and a cold drink station at the embarkation area (also notice the crates with bottled water available)

[Alsun]

Some food photos from Mosaic, room service, tapas etc c

[Alsun]

Our bathroom (club continent)

 

No shower curtain! The glass panel didnot have a tight seal, so some water would overspill when taking a shower onto bathroom floor and could run across to the other side of the floor depending on any listing of the ship.

 

There is a retractable washing line.

 

 

We felt there was plenty of storage space available. There is a hair dryer in one of the deep desk drawers in the room itself.

 

Toiletries were standard, nothing exciting but perfectable usable.

[Alsun]

And the most important post: our wonderful team who looked after us!

 

Elro - Butler

Akilesh - Stateroom Attendant

Lourecin - Assistant Stateroom Attendant

 

They were fantastic. Always looking after us, making sure we were happy. They were cheerful, made time for a chat, took care of our room and made it spotlessly clean, answered questions and just pampered us completely.

 

As this is our first cruise, I was secretly hoping for a towel animal as I had read on CC that some cruise lines do this. I knew that Azamara doesn't do them, but one evening we happened to chat to the whole team and A mentioned that I had this (silly) wish.

 

The next day, two beautiful towel swans appeared! When asked who made them we were told it was a team effort, so of course we needed a photo taken with the swans & the team!

 

Also, Elro gaves us some of the best practical advice to get our bearings on board of Pursuit.

The carpet in the corridors don't have a pattern that shows easily which direction is aft or forward. But Elro said just to follow your nose, as all the food (restaurants) are located at the aft.

 

In addition it is good to know that if you use the stairs, you will always face aft when arriving at a floor.