Review Pursuit 28th May - 7th June

[Mrs Miggins]

This was our 10th Azamara cruise and first on Pursuit.  8 of the others were on Quest with a B2B in June 2018.  Since then we have done our 3rd Viking Cruise and 2 River Cruises.

 

Rome Airport to Civitavecchia - excellent private transfer.  We arrived ship side well ahead of the Azamara coach for others on our BA flight.  Both flight and transfer cheaper than booking via Azamara.

 

First impressions:  Excellent check in and welcome.  Ship looking OK but rather dark and old fashioned after Viking.  Our OV cabin, one of the new ones, looked exactly the same as those on our previous Azamara cruises.

 

Crew were excellent throughout no complaints at all.  Food was also excellent.  Both Aqualina and Prime were great with tip top service.  Service in the MDR initially was exceptionally slow, but we had chosen to table share and I know of course this option takes longer.  We missed desert in order to catch some of the 9.30 shows.  I did mention this on the comment form asking "how long should the entire service take  for a shared table of six or eight in order that we can plan our dining time" but unusually for Azamara I had no response.  Never mind, as we decided then to ask for a table for two.  This was rather a shame as one of the joys of Azamara is meeting new people, and whilst one can easily chat to neighbours on another table for 2, the discussion is often by necessity more limited.

Breakfast in Windows was good, with excellent service in the outside area which we prefer.  We always managed to get a table as of course there is no bar on Pursuit therefore more tables.  Lunch we had onshore, or in the Patio later in the afternoon.  Both good options.

We just had the included drinks, with waiters searching for our favourites if we didnt approve of that days offerings.  I felt limited by the inclusive cocktails this time and just stuck mainly to Vodka Tonic mainly (Schweppes).  Not brave enough to ask for something not on the menu using "included options".  I didnt hear anybody else doing that either.  No big deal as sadly can't drink like I used to.

 

Cruise critic meeting was fairly well attended although many were not actually on Cruise Critic.    One couple complained bitterly about the loss of the bar on the open deck area in Windows.  Another lady, not a cruise critic member, tried to sell a trip she was organising from Sibenik to Split which was going to cost 700 Euros.  Whilst Split is pleasant it would not be worth sitting in a minibus for nearly two hours to get there, and she had no takers.  It was a little embarrassing as nobody, including the officers hosting the gathering, were able to stop her sales pitch which did go on for a while.  It was great to meet others that had been on our roll call.

 

We try often cruise the Med exactly at this time of year, but sadly the weather was the worst we have ever had.  Seas were calm, but we had a mixture of sunshine and clouds, plus heavy rain in Kotor and Syracuse.  A few showers elsewhere and temperatures much lower than usual.  We have friends currently onboard and also on Viking and the weather has now improved very considerably.

 

Another joy of Azamara is its changing itineraries, and we were fortunate enough to visit two new ports on this itinerary, Syracuse, which we liked despite the rain starting after a sunny morning, and Sibenik which was charming, and the sun shone for us. 

 

There were lots of tenders on this cruise, which as ever were very efficient.  However several people in wheelchairs found this very challenging and I am surprised that they would choose this particular itinerary.  One lady, who was pushing her husband, had a very hard time, but had not realised how many tenders were involved.

 

The only complaint I have about the cruise is the very poor, in my opinion, entertainment.  On the plus side we enjoyed "A night at the Opera" with David Righeschi and Maria Salvi.  We have seen David before but only performing on deck.  Maria was excellent.  We also enjoyed the two Dance evenings with Sacha and Dyma but a 45 minute show with just dancing is hard to sustain and we much prefer the time when they used to dance with others whilst the singers were also performing ie a proper show.  The young singers did their best but again they were limited and 45 minutes seemed a long time without much movement.  Certainly nothing like on our previous cruises (to be fair many did not think much of the shows before the recent changes, but we always enjoyed them previously.  We missed Sasha Kovalov the pianist due to over running in the Dining Room.

The trio in the Living Room (White Sand) appeared to be on auto pilot.  This was just live 'Muzak".  No engagement with the audience, only one or two couples dancing.  Very poor.  I am comparing them with the fabulous small bands we have enjoyed in Torshaven on Viking.  Energetic, spirited, great voices and excellent musicians who seemed to be able to give great renditions in a wide variety of styles.

DJ not as good as on previous cruises but we did see a lot of people dancing on Abba night.

We really did not see much of Peter Rossetti in the Den.  Our visits seemed to co-incide with his breaks.  What we did hear was a step down from our previous experience. DH objected to his hat ! but that's just him.

We saw very little of the CD.  We did see her show on the last night.  It was a little too much "I did this, then I did that" for me.  She has a good voice but thought it was a little overstretched at times.  She did of course introduce various functions.

DH loves the Music Quiz, and we also joined others for the Pub Quiz.  This was presented by various different members of staff and they were obviously unaware that on several occasions at least half of the questions had been asked on the previous day.  This of course added immensely to our score but shows lack of attention to detail in whoever was in charge of compiling them.

White Night was very good, although we missed Russ giving his "all". This time we eat in the MDR (surf and turf) with a handful of others.  We joined the party for the

dancing.

Rain in Dubrovnik meant that our Azamazing evening had to be held onboard.  Azaamara did a great job in organising this and Ana Rucner did two shows.  This was really good and I am sad that we didnt see her excellent show onshore in the lovely surroundings onshore.  

 

We did get an onboard letter describing the "new" benefits for UK residents booking onboard.  In fact they appeared to be exactly the same as the benefits we had on previous occasions.  Due to high current pricing combined with lots of last minute deals we did not consider booking onboard.

 

In conclusion we had a lovely cruise.  Pursuit was fine and we met some fun fellow cruisers.   We have a Scenic Bordeaux river cruise and a Saga Norway cruise to enjoy later this year.

Really not sure about where to book our next Ocean Cruise.  We could possibly choose Viking because their ships are beautiful, the cabins excellent, especially the bathrooms,  but their itineraries are not that appealing and they are expensive.  Will look at Azamara, but only on last minute deals I think.  Perhaps another Star Clippers adventure before we get too old. Oceania another possibility.  Azamara does still feel like home, so who knows !

[cinnamon]

Really enjoyed reading your review Pam. We agree with your feelings about the MDR. We like to share a table but it took forever to be served so resorted a few times to a table for two, but it’s not the same. We did enjoy the shows, both the two with Sasha and Dima and the ones with just the singers. I agree that the mixture in the past was possibly better but I’m afraid that bird has flown from Azamara.  😟

We also love doing Trivia so I hope we have some of those to do with you on our Saga cruise in September. I suspect we’ll be keenly comparing the new Saga ship experience with our beloved Azamara. 

 

I agree about future pricing, we can only afford Azamara on repositioning cruises now (hence Quest next March/April). In fact we’ve ‘downgraded’ to a Celebrity cruise in late summer 2020 but that is also itinerary driven. We keep thinking we’ll watch for late deals but somehow still keep planning far ahead. 😉

Corinne

[Lottie A]

Thank for the review of the cruise Pam. Still very upset I missed it due to my unexpected event! 🙁 

Interesting points about the entertainment and I hope it improves for my rebooked July cruise. So wish the weather had been kinder to you both though as that always impacts on the enjoyment of a cruise. M and A seem to be having much better weather on Pursuit this week. 

I have been looking at Star Clippers too....before I get too old for them as well! Like many other friends, I don't intend to book any more Azamara cruises onboard but will wait for late deals. 

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for the review Pam. I'm sorry you struggled with the weather. The two cruises before were cool also, but we had a bit of sun and not as much rain as you. 

 

Your comments about the entertainment are interesting. I don't go to a lot of the shows, but my observation of the entertainment team was that there was just a lack of an attempt at interaction toward the guests. I don't know if this is just their personalities or it comes from the top. On more than one occasion I saw them "do what they needed to do" and then leave.  No chatting to guests. They just don't appear to be having fun.  As I said it's not going to ruin my cruise, but was notable on Pursuit. 

 

Phil 

[cinnamon]

Interesting comments Phil. On our longer TA cruise that you were on too, I felt the entertainment crew interacted pretty well. Is this the problem on shorter, port intensive trips perhaps?  

[Literary Lynne]

Thank you for your really balanced review, Mrs Miggins. Anything I can glean about Pursuit is of great interest. Hope the entertainment improves soon, especially for Lottie's July cruise and our October one.  Where did your cruise end and how was disembarkation and the journey home? 

 

Lynne 😀

[excitedofharpenden]

3 hours ago, cinnamon said:

Interesting comments Phil. On our longer TA cruise that you were on too, I felt the entertainment crew interacted pretty well. Is this the problem on shorter, port intensive trips perhaps?  

I'm not sure Corinne. I felt the same way on the ta. They did what they had to do I felt and that was it. Perhaps it's just me. 

 

Phil 

[cinnamon]

2 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

I'm not sure Corinne. I felt the same way on the ta. They did what they had to do I felt and that was it. Perhaps it's just me. 

 

Phil 

Just a different perspective I guess. With doing lots of trivia and singing in the choir I felt we got to know them fairly well. 

[Mrs Miggins]

4 hours ago, Literary Lynne said:

Thank you for your really balanced review, Mrs Miggins. Anything I can glean about Pursuit is of great interest. Hope the entertainment improves soon, especially for Lottie's July cruise and our October one.  Where did your cruise end and how was disembarkation and the journey home? 

 

Lynne 😀

Disembarkation was unexpectedly from Maritime Port (the one that most large ships use) instead of San Basilio due to the accident with the MSC ship.  There has been discussion about this on another thread on this board,  Our private taxi was waiting for us (cost 40 Euros for a minivan).  BA flight was delayed by about an hour due to weather over the continent,  Venice airport is much improved from our last visit less than 2 years ago.  However the actual gates are still fairly chaotic.

[ellbon]

Pam

Thank you for the review. Find it was interesting that people complained about the  lack of a bar outside windows. As far as I know of the 8 "R" ships ony JR and Quest have them. Not sure when built  they were added in or Celebrity added them in. I have been on another "R" without  a bar.

 

The real weird thing is the  lady trying  to sell a tour at the M&G. Not sure how she got away with it. Why the officers did not stop her.

 

As far as shows go I was not impressed with the JR in Dec either. Alicia was great but not in love and lack of dancers... At least we had the best DJ at sea.

[workingtocruise-59]

We were also on the Rio to Lisbon cruise and were very disappointed with the entertainment. One night it was a film/movie shown in the Cabaret which wasn't really our idea of entertainment.

The production shows were fine and the guest entertainers a bit " hit and miss".

I was told, by a member of the Cruise Director's staff,  that guests on Azamara do not cruise for the entertainment but cruise for the ports. I replied that on a TA the ports are few and far between and was informed "well, you should have known that when you booked"!

We also really missed the Sunset bar and, for that reason,  I am not sure that I would book a future cruise on the Pursuit (but, obviously, "never say never").

Edited June 14, 2019 by workingtocruise-59

[AllisonJames]

Mrs. Miggins — thanks for the review. I was on Pursuit’s Maiden last summer and as my last cruise before that had been on Viking for the first time I share some of your opinions on the ship. Viking’s new builds cannot compete with the R ships, even as nicely as they have been reimagined. But we thought the service on AZ was better and overall find AZ to be a more personable and friendly experience. And Viking annoyed me earlier this year by demanding payment in full for a river cruise 18 months in advance. Ridiculous and we ended up booking Crystal River instead.

 

I have been looking at Star Clippers but I’ve been waiting for itineraries for their bigger new sailing ship Flying Clipper which seems to be really delayed. Would love to hear from you and anyone else how the overall experience compares to AZ regarding the ambience, service, food, guests, etc.  I realize overall it’s probably a very different experience but wondering what you like about them both and what you don’t like and any advice you’d like to share since you’ve been on both.  We do like the small ship environment and sailed on the Seabourn Legend (which is only 10,000 tons) before it became a Windstar ship. Now they are making it larger which I find very interesting!

[Mrs Miggins]

We can all write our thoughts about the food, the crew, the cabins etc. but what we don't review is our fellow passengers.  On our Viking New Year cruise we met and joined a lovely foursome from Florida.  Lovely funny people.   Viking's crew were as friendly as Azamara's, their food was lovely, the ship is better, the entertainment, despite them not being known for it, was infinitely better with music all around the ship. The free spa area is a joy, specially in inclement weather,  The roof over the main pool, means the ship is flooded with light and is a pleasure to walk through.  The interactive TV system is fabulous with huge choices of music and films etc,  Their onboard lectures were better and they were shown on TV.  On Pursuit the lectures were shown on TV with only the, sorry, rather monotonous and low key delivery voice of the lecturer plus on screen bullet points.  They are expensive but do not appear to need to discount in the UK their payment terms seem the same as others,  BUT the New Year  cruise was fabulous not really because all these lovely amenities but because of the people we met.

On Azamara similarly we have met some great people and have made good friends,  That is the undefinable part of cruising,  Some are happy in their own twosome, or are travelling with friends and family.  The best part of cruising for me is talking to others, sometimes from different countries and backgrounds, and sometimes those who are similar to us, and live just up the road.

 

Star Clippers is a whole different experience.  These are sailing ships.  You are close to the sea not in a floating hotel.  The sailaways can bring grown men to tears with Vangelis playing softly then rising to a crescendo.  The visual beauty of the ships is stunning.  We have sailed Royal Clipper and also the smaller  Star Flyer.  The food is good, the cabins are small but beautifully designed.  On our last cruise we had bad weather coming out of Corsica.  On deck it was exciting, not so much so in the cabin, and at one time I thought "why am I paying so much to feel this bad" but next day the sun was shining and the ship back to its beautiful self,  The entertainment was a guy playing an electric piano on deck, some disco, a crew show, some music quizzes.  All very low key, but charming, and more people dancing than I saw on Azamara.  More time is spent on the open deck as you are often sailing from one place to another in daylight.   Writing about it makes me want to do it again.  We were also lucky enough to meet a lovely couple from the UK and a couple from the US so we eat together and laughed together.  

 

We are so fortunate to have such wonderful choices.

[Lottie A]

That's a great post Pam. It perfectly encapsulates why I love cruising too. 

How about a Windstar cruise next year....before we get too old! 😂

[Mrs Miggins]

32 minutes ago, Lottie A said:

That's a great post Pam. It perfectly encapsulates why I love cruising too. 

How about a Windstar cruise next year....before we get too old! 😂

Possibly Star Clippers don't fancy Windstar xx

[Lottie A]

OK Star Clippers it is! Let's find a good itinerary. 😄

[AllisonJames]

Thank you Mrs. Miggins.  The next time we sail the Caribbean I’d like to try Star Clippers. For years most of our trips and all of our cruises were to the Caribbean (we lived in a cold weather state at that time) until I told my husband I just couldn’t go to Cozumel one more time 😊 (ah such problems we all have and how lucky we are to have so many choices) so we haven’t cruised the Caribbean in a while but it seems like Star Clippers would be great for a beachy casual destination like that.  We really did enjoy Viking (we were on for New Year’s) and we had gotten a very reasonable cost for our family of four for the Mediterranean in 2017–prices are much higher now. And the spa area was awesome — they are great ships for a cooler weather cruise due to all the inside options...but AZ still feels like “home” to us!

[ellbon]

5 hours ago, Mrs Miggins said:

Possibly Star Clippers don't fancy Windstar xx

Why Star Clippers over Windstar ? Not been on either.

[Mrs Miggins]

Hi,  I think Windstar and Star Clippers are very different.  Star Clippers are sailing ships with real sails and Windstar have electronic sails.  Windstar is not advertised in the UK so I imagine most of their clients are from North America.  Star Clippers were mixed European and U.S. on our cruises.

Windstar is I believe more luxurious.  Star Clippers offers a real Tall Ship sailing experience. including moving around a lot in bad weather.  I have only been on Star Clippers, both Royal Clipper and the smaller Star Clipper.

There is a thread on the Star Clippers board detailing the differences.

[Sleep7]

Hi Mrs. Miggins!

Thanks for such a detailed and balanced review.  It was fun to read. We are sailing on the Pursuit this October and I'm kind of glad they got rid of the Sunset Bar.  One of my favorite AZ experiences is to have a leisurely lunch out there and I think it's a big plus that there will be more tables available that are out of the sun.

I also liked where you said "We are so fortunate to have such wonderful choices."

So true!  Azamara will always hold a special place in our hearts but it's nice to think that there are others to enjoy in case the itineraries or dates don't line up with our schedules.

We are really locked into 7 day Med cruises that begin on a Saturday from a city with nonstop service to and from JFK as the hubs has to be back at work on that Monday.

Thanks for posting.😃

[kayakcove]

Everything is a matter of perspective,  we had been on the two prior Pursuit sailing and enjoyed the singers, I will say I thought the lead male performer was pushing his range at times, but still enjoyed the shows.  Amanda was a surprise for us as listening to her voice while performing her cruise director duties did not inspire my expectations.  However, when singing she did exceed them.  During the second cruise I was sitting across from a young lady at the White Night Party when Amanda started to sing and the look on the ladies face clearly showed a “Wow”.

As for Windstar, we have been on a smaller sailing ship and a motor yacht and enjoyed them both.  We did feel the sail away on the sailing ship was a more emotional experience that did not fade the next evening. This was our first Azamara experience and were very pleased in that I found what I hoped for. That being the cordial and friendly co-passengers we enjoyed so much on Windstar.  We met several others who were on their first Azamara experience and the vast majority were pleased and certainly considering returning.  I will point out on our Windstar trips 35-40% of the guests were returning passengers.  Staff was also excellent, they rotate ships and on our second trip met staff we knew and who remembered us as well.

I am confident we will return to Azamara when the right opportunity presents itself but continue to seek variety.  Next booking is Mekong River on Scenic.

[Mrs Miggins]

 

Thanks Kayakcove.  I have never been on Windstar but really enjoyed Star Clippers but it was a completely different experience from Azamara. I think Star Clippers sailing ships are completely different with Windstar being more luxurious but perhaps not so 'authentic'. 

 

We really enjoyed our Azamara cruise, but there were a number of things which were not as good as on our previous ones.  The weather, which of course is not Azamara's fault, did contribute a great deal.  My understanding is that the trio in The Living Room has recently changed and the previous ones were better.  Not 100% sure about that.  I can compare them to the splendid small band on Viking though.  I really think the 4 young singers did their best but in the past they would have been supported by dancers and that made much more of a 'show'.  Amanda does have a good voice but as you say she was not an inspirational CD unlike the 3 others I have previously enjoyed.

 

I think Azamara may be losing some ground with their most loyal clients.  For example the cruisers awarded with the highest number of Azamara cruises at the LCV event had completed 19 cruises, with 2nd and 3rd at 15 and 14.  Previously those winning on our cruises had been in the 80's and 90's I believe.  We have now done 10 and only after this cruise will we move to Discoverer level.

 

Like you our next cruise is on Scenic we did the Rhine last year, which sadly was lacking in water.  Scenic understood the disappointment of the passengers and compensated us all.  We therefore booked a cruise in France from Bordeaux in July.  Looking forward to that and fingers crossed for sun and good company.

 

Overall Azamara did not feel quite as good as in the past.  We would book again, but only if the price and itinerary are appealing.  I have to admit that yesterday I did start looking again at the Oceania offerings.  

We are going to Norway on Saga in September.

 

I think Azamara are in a difficult place in the market right now.  Not a luxury product but now trying to appeal to those with deep pockets with their pre and post cruise offerings.  Typically these will not be the passengers we have met onboard before, as they have usually been really well travelled, and well able to book these extras independently.  

 

 

Edited June 19, 2019 by Mrs Miggins

[John E. Canuck]

Wonderful review. Thanks! 

 

The mid-ship bar in the Living Room is the saving grace on AZ cruise ships. It's a convenient place to meet. Therefore, Sunset Bar (while fun), has been better re-purposed for dining.

 

Interesting comment re: DJ. He was awful on inaugural Pursuit (that's subjective, but passengers in and out in 15 minutes, 'Billie Jean', repeated songs...not entertaining). 

 

On a subsequent Silversea cruise,  DJ with a Macbook lit it up. 

[uktog]

I think if you are talking about a midship bar that’s The Den (though it looks like a living room with its fireplace). The Living Room is Deck 10 forward with views ahead to sea.  The DJ is there, the piano entertainer is in the Den.  On Journey no Den until late next year, their midships bar on Deck 5 is called Spirits  

[Mrs Miggins]

Thanks, I enjoyed writing the review.

 

Despite my comments about only booking Azamara last minute, we have now decided to book again for next June.   Two factors influenced this decision.  Firstly, the very good itineraries.  We love both Italy and France and the B2B from June 4th - Italy Intensive and France Intensive - are very appealing.   Porto Torres in Sardinia and Portovenere will be new ports for us on the first cruise.  The French intensive revisits some of our favourite spots,  Sanary Sur Mer and Port Vendres , plus a new port Calvi in Corsica.

 

Secondly we will enjoy 4 free nights having just moved up a category.  Of course this benefit means that the Standard Rate is applied for the remaining nights so it is not quite as beneficial as I first thought, but it still means there is an overall saving.

 

These cruises are on Journey so we will not have the benefit of the revitalised Spirits/Den.

 

Off to lovely Bordeaux for our Scenic River Cruise tomorrow.