Transatlantic travels - Pursuit Lisbon to Rio 13 November 19

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, Salonica said:

I’m sure that was a typo, meaning Canarian. They are a very typical dish in the Canary Islands.

Yes you’re right — blooming predictive text!

[Grandma Cruising]

We arrived at Santa Cruz in Tenerife at 8am yesterday. We had breakfast in Discoveries, then took the shuttle bus which takes you off the dock from where it’s a very short walk through a building into town. We intended to take the tram to La Laguna, the capital of the island and the Olde town is a UNESCO heritage site. We found the tram stop, then the fun started. You have to buy your ticket at a machine - you can get the instructions in English by touching a flag on the screen. However it wouldn’t accept either of our credit cards. We tried a €50 note, the only ones we had and it spat that out. We had to walk back to a shop to buy something hand get some smaller notes. It accepted a €20 note - and gave us the change (€15) all in coins - so weighed down by all those €1 coins, we caught the very modern tram. It took over 30 minutes to get to La Laguna, the last stop.

We wandered through the old streets which were full of  ‘locals’ in their Sunday best, with their families, meeting up for coffee or lunch. There was a nice atmosphere, and some very nice shops in the old buildings. The buildings were in a variety of colours.

 

These 2 guys were playing and singing in a little square

Edited November 19, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[Grandma Cruising]

We had a booking in Aqualina for dinner. Our meal was excellent - every course was perfect. The extra appetiser was a little crostini with mushrooms on it and a little wedge of Parmesan cheese. I had the Antipasti as my starter - prosciutto, cheese, olives, red peppers, tomatoes - then a small portion of the chef’s special pasta - spaghetti with scallops & prawns in a creamy garlic sauce. For my main I had the special fish dish which was a pan fried halibut steak with couscous and vegetables and a creamy sauce. My DH had lobster ravioli, fish soup and lobster and prawns with squid ink spaghetti. For dessert we both had cappuccino soufflé. One of the included white wines was a Viognier which went beautifully with all the fish. I think this was probably the best meal we have ever had on Azamara. 
 

[Baynanno1]

Halibut was also great on Pursuit just a few weeks ago. 😊

[Werangels]

I had the Viognier in the summer and agree.  It all sounds delicious.

[Mackdogmolly]

The meal sounds great. I know this is personal preference, but we prefer Aqualina to Prime C, and actually think Discoveries is almost on a par with both.

Betsey

[Grandma Cruising]

Lovely weather yesterday, which we spent in our favourite sunshine spot up on Deck 11.

They put on a great brunch from 10am-2pm. The buffet was set up in the Patio, with tables set up all along the starboard side of the pool deck. There was a terrific selection of hot & cold food - prawns, smoked salmon, herring, pate, prosciutto, chicken in curried mayo, salads, hot meats (pork, steaks, lamb), pizza, seafood pasta cooking station, loads of desserts - all very yummy!

Last night we were invited to dine with the Documentation Officer, Yvette Terrero, in Discoveries. We asked her about her job - it’s her responsibility to make sure the ship has all the right paperwork and permissions for each port - very important for us passengers, making sure we can get off the ship in each port. There were 9 of us and we had a lovely evening with great food. DH and I made the same choices - Coquilles St Jacques, Leek & Mussel Bisque & Surf & Turf (fillet steak & prawns). We also had 2 other courses which everyone had - Passionfruit & Vodka Granita and Baked Alaska.

After dinner we went up to the Living Room to hear the band play what was described as New Orleans jazz. There was a great atmosphere up there and we enjoyed listening, and chatting with fellow passengers.

[hamrag]

33 minutes ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

....There was a terrific selection of hot & cold food - prawns, smoked salmon, herring, pate, prosciutto, chicken in curried mayo, salads, hot meats (pork, steaks, lamb), pizza, seafood pasta cooking station, loads of desserts - all very yummy!.....

Wow, you must have sampled all of that to know it was 'all very yummy'', I am impressed! Seriously, it sounds like a fantastic upscale buffet, and the 2 main current 'live' threads continue to whet our appetite for all that Azamara promises to deliver. 😊

 

Thanks again for this superb thread.

[jimbri]

Enjoying your review and photos.

[ajpeter]

Dear Grandma,

With interest I am following your travel. Thank you for taking the time to jot down your experiences.  We will be on our first Azamara cruise in january from Capetown.

[Grandma Cruising]

2 hours ago, hamrag said:

Wow, you must have sampled all of that to know it was 'all very yummy'', I am impressed! Seriously, it sounds like a fantastic upscale buffet, and the 2 main current 'live' threads continue to whet our appetite for all that Azamara promises to deliver. 😊

 

Thanks again for this superb thread.

I did have a little of a lot of things, and my DH tried other things!

 

1 hour ago, ajpeter said:

Dear Grandma,

With interest I am following your travel. Thank you for taking the time to jot down your experiences.  We will be on our first Azamara cruise in january from Capetown.

I’m sure you’ll both have great cruises. We’ve talked to lots of Azamara first-timers on this cruise and they’re all loving it.

[combine]

Grandma.

Have they given  the figures yet of the new guests to Azamara on your cruise?

[Grandma Cruising]

3 hours ago, combine said:

Grandma.

Have they given  the figures yet of the new guests to Azamara on your cruise?

Not that I've heard, but we've certainly come across a lot.

[Grandma Cruising]

Had glorious weather today & spent most of the day on Deck 11. We had lunch at the Patio - I had Nachos and my DH had - guess what - yes you guessed right - Greek Burger!

The Discoverer event was a cheese & wine party held on the starboard side of Deck 11 sun deck at 5pm. The wines, cheese and meats (salami, prosciutto etc) had all been brought aboard in Madeira and were all Portuguese and Madeira products.  It was a very nice event, very social and the wine, cheese etc were lovely.

Edited November 19, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Had glorious weather today & spent most of the day on Deck 11. We had lunch at the Patio - I had Nachos and my DH had - guess what - yes you guessed right - Greek Burger!

The Discoverer event was a cheese & wine party held on the starboard side of Deck 11 sun deck at 5pm. The wines, cheese and meats (salami, prosciutto etc) had all been brought aboard in Madeira and were all Portuguese and Madeira products.  It was a very nice event, very social and the wine, cheese etc were lovely.

 

Did you follow Flanders & Swann's advice and "have some Madeira, m'dear?"

[Sleep7]

What a week you are having Host Grandma Cruising!

I have been following along and enjoying every buffet, drink, port, and wave, along with you!

Thanks for the smiles!

[tgg]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Did you follow Flanders & Swann's advice and "have some Madeira, m'dear?"

 

Wow, someone else remembers Flanders & Swann.  I thought I was the only one left.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, tgg said:

 

Wow, someone else remembers Flanders & Swann.  I thought I was the only one left.

 

I have the CD box set and can sing every song!  [I can also quote most of the funny lines from 'Allo, 'Allo; Fawlty Towers; many others; and of course Are You Being Served? – and I am unanimous in that!]

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Did you follow Flanders & Swann's advice and "have some Madeira, m'dear?"

😃No Madeira served, unfortunately - Douro wines — very nice though.

[Grandma Cruising]

We had dinner in Discoveries again last night. I had Frisée lettuce with roast beets and goats cheese, Bermuda Fish Chowder, Red Snapper with Lobster Ravioli and a trio of Maracoons. My DH had shrimp cocktail, escargots, roast veal, then New York cheesecake. My Macaroon dessert was fantastic - best dessert I’ve had on the ship.

After dinner we caught the end of the show - the very talented flautist Suzanne Godfrey.

[Grandma Cruising]

Today we docked at Mindelo, the main town of the Cape Verde island of Sao Vicente. We, along with many others from the roll call, had booked a tour of the island with Green Line tours. Shawnino found out about the tours and posted about them in the roll call -  thanks for that Shawnino, we had a great day.

Each group of 10 was in a (fairly small) mini-bus with our own guide as well as a driver. First of all we did a walking tour of Mindelo. We went to the old custom house, which is now a cultural centre, then up the Main Street 

 

then to the fruit market

 

Along the way we saw a stunning piece of street art which portrayed the ‘Barefoot Diva’, Cesaria Evora. It was chiselled out of the paint and plaster rendering on the end of the building.

 

We went to the African market and were fascinated by the lovely tile paintings on the end of the buildings there.

Edited November 20, 2019 by Host Grandma Cruising

[Lottie A]

Very much enjoying your review HGC. Your photo’s are fantastic. 

[travelberlin]

On 11/19/2019 at 3:07 PM, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Had glorious weather today & spent most of the day on Deck 11. We had lunch at the Patio - I had Nachos and my DH had - guess what - yes you guessed right - Greek Burger!

The Discoverer event was a cheese & wine party held on the starboard side of Deck 11 sun deck at 5pm. The wines, cheese and meats (salami, prosciutto etc) had all been brought aboard in Madeira and were all Portuguese and Madeira products.  It was a very nice event, very social and the wine, cheese etc were lovely.

I am glad you are enjoying your crossing. What is the discoverer event? Is Azamara holding an event for each membership level? 

[marinaro44]

1 hour ago, travelberlin said:

I am glad you are enjoying your crossing. What is the discoverer event? Is Azamara holding an event for each membership level? 

The event is usually for Discoverer level members or higher.

[Bruceandmaree]

On 11/19/2019 at 7:13 AM, Werangels said:

I had the Viognier in the summer and agree.  It all sounds delicious.

An old friend of mine used to refer to Viognier was Verdelho with stockings. He was a gynaecologist as well as a wine lover so his description cannot be lightly dismissed.