Azamara Pursuit Amalfi & Dalmation Coasts Review

[Jellifer]

My friends and I booked a cruise with Fred Olsen for July 2020 to Norway, all travelling in solo outside cabins on deck 4 of the Balmoral. Obviously Covid then happened, and we pushed the trip back a year. We then pushed it back another year when cruises were still being cancelled. Fred then cancelled the July 2022 sailing we were booked on and we switched to a French Rivers cruise from Rosyth (Edinburgh) leaving on 29th August 2022. All was well, no further changes and we started to plan and get excited. We booked excursions and parking at the port – one of our party had her suitcase collected from home on the 23rd to be transported straight to the ship.

 

I was winding things up at work and getting ready for a well needed break when I got an email on 25th from Fred Olsen advising that the cruise was cancelled! The Balmoral had a broken propeller and was limping home to be fixed. The email asked us to ring a helpline to confirm that we had received the cancellation notice and none of us were able to get through. The email gave us the option of 50% off a cruise leaving from Dover later that same week or 20% off any cruise in 2022. We decided to go with a full refund which took about a month to come through.

 

So we were all feeling disappointed and dispirited. There was lots of chat about where we could go instead but it was hard getting dates that were good for everyone. I had annual leave days from work that needed to be taken sooner rather than later so I decided to book a trip an if other could join me, great, but if not, I was more than happy to travel solo. Looking at dates, I decided that 2 cruises with Azamara would best suit my requirements, so I asked my travel agent to price up some packages. I’d cruised once before with AZ on the Myanmar Mysteries cruise in 2019 so knew that both trips would be fab. The TA came back with good deals for both cruises, but the one I eventually chose had better flight times so I went ahead and booked the Azamara Pursuit ‘Amalfi & Dalmatian Coasts’ for Sept 30th from Barcelona to Ravenna. I let my friends know and 2 of them were happy to join me on the trip.

[Jellifer]

I flew from London Heathrow to Barcelona on Sept 29th and my friends got the same flight after connecting from Glasgow. The flight was delayed a couple of hours and they ended up towing an aircraft to the gate which didn’t inspire much confidence but it was fine. It was my first time travelling with Apple Airtags in my luggage and I was happy to see that my case had made it to Barcelona when I checked my phone after landing. The TA had booked private transfers and even though we were 2 hours late the driver was waiting for us in arrivals. It only took about 30 mins to get to the Hotel Espana, just off Las Ramblas in a great location. The hotel was wonderful, an historic building with lots of nice touches. We asked about dinner in the restaurant, but it was a set menu for €72 and we were a bit tired for a formal meal so Oscar on reception recommended the hotel’s rooftop bar to us, Alaire, instead.The menu was extensive and reasonably priced with tapas, salads and the like but we went for a 5 course tasting menu for €29 including a drink. The food was SO GOOD! And there was a lot of it!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

The next morning we were up and about early walking Las Ramblas to see the sights. This was my 3rd visit to Barcelona in 12 months, so I felt I’d covered most of the sights previously so this time an amble to the ‘La Boqueria’ market was in order. It’s just off Las Ramblas and a fantastic assault on the senses. Stalls draped full of Jamon hams, fruits and vegetables that you’ve never even heard of, chocolates, olivesand then as you venture further, the meat market and fish stalls selling strange sea creatures. We stopped at a stall selling nougat and made some purchases as gifts and then stopped to admire a chocolate stall. Everything looked amazing and we were offered a bag to fill with our selections but at €92 per kilogram we decided to just treat ourselves to one each! They worked out to be approx. €2 each and were yummy. We also stopped for a quick coffee and juice at one of the stalls, which was very inexpensive. 

I figured it was best to get there early to beat the crowds and I was right. As we were leaving at approx. 11am, hordes of eager tourists were flocking into the market – some self-explorers, others on an organised tour following someone with a flag. There were several ships in port so some of them may have been on a cruise excursion. We ambled back to the hotel to pack any last bits up before our 12 noon check out time. The reception staff happily stapled our cruise luggage tags where needed and stored the cases until our 1.30pm transfer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still tittering to myself at the thought of 'Sea Hedgehogs' 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Our driver arrived early and was very friendly. It was only a ten-minute drive to the port and he said he had been there 13 times that day so far, picking passengers up as they disembarked the various ships in port, and then dropping off new passengers like us. Our ship the Azamara Pursuit was the very first ship we saw, docked nearest to the city at the World Trade Centre Port. During online check in we’d selected the earliest available boarding time of 2pm but these were not checked. We dropped our luggage with the porters and headed into the terminal at around 1.30pm. Boarding had not yet begun and there were quite a few people in the waiting area but the queue to check in moved quickly. We showed our boarding passes, passports and covid immunisation documents and were given our room keycards and assigned tocheck in group 3B. After about half an hour it was our turn to board. We were led up the escalator and then after a very short walk we were on the ship. Our cards were scanned and we were taken as a group to our muster station for the mandatory safety briefing. There are only 2 muster stations – people towards the front of the ship go to the main theatre and those towards the aft go to the discoveries restaurant. We were met with a glass of fizz or juice and then one of the entertainment staff gave the instructions, and 10 mins later we were free to go to our cabins and explore. Easy.
 

 

[Jellifer]

I’d booked a V2 Balcony cabin on deck 7 and my friends were just a few cabins down the hall. The room was lovely with plenty of storage. The bathroom was nice and well laid out, but the shower could have been bigger. I didn’t have any fights with the clingy shower curtain but can see how people do! Shampoo, conditioner, shower gel and lotion were provided, as well as bars of soap. In terms of power sockets they had US, UK and European in the desk area and the bedside lamps had USB sockets underneath them. Bath robes and slippers were provided, in fact the slippers were 2 different sizes which was a nice touch. There was an umbrella in the wardrobe but thankfully that was not needed. 
 

There was a fridge under the desk – the soft drinks were included but I I’m not sure about the other drinks (I don’t drink so didn’t take any notice) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the room service menus

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Azamara cruise fares include drinks and tips but some higher end drinks have an upcharge. You can either pay as you go for these or upgrade to one of the drinks packages. 
 

 

We spent some time exploring the ship. I’ve decided I definitely prefer small ships and was pleased that the layout was so similar to the Quest, so it felt familiar to me right from the start. Weather was glorious so we enjoyed some drinks by the pool, followed by some tapas light bites in the Living Room during sailaway. Cases arrived quickly and were soon unpacked and stored under the bed.

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

We went to the Discoveries restaurant for dinner. It is open dining, so you don’t have a reserved time, you just turn up when you like and request a table for however many people you need. There are also 2 speciality restaurants, the Italian ‘Aqualina’ and the ‘Prime C’ steakhouse  ($30 charge) but the food and service in Discoveries was so good that we didn’t use them this time. On the first night we were shown to the perfect table for us under the care of Elmer and Ramel, both from the Phillipines. They were so friendly and attentive that we aimed to dine with them each evening and Anna at the desk remembered our favourite table number.

 

It started to get a wee bit rocky during dinner and the captain announced that it would be rough conditions to tender in Monte Carlo tomorrow, so he had made the decision to book a berth for us in Nice instead. Good decision. Nice was a new port for me so I was happy.

 

Sorry for all the shadows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 22, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

The show tonight was at 9.15pm and was the Cruise Director’s welcome and then a show with the entertainment team called ‘The Night Spot’. Our cruise director was Emily Love, a lovely lady from Leicestershire. She is quite low key and unassuming and very funny. Quite the performer too having gone to ballet school and then performing in the West End . She gave us the breakdown of there being 569 guests on board with the majority from USA, UK, Canada and Australia. The show was great – they have 6 performers who sang and danced their hearts out. 
 

I am not a night owl so went to bed after the show. The daily ‘Insider’ schedule was on my bed and had been amended to reflect our new destination of Nice. There were also some hastily arranged shore excursions on offer. I slept so well, the Azamara beds are SO comfy! Hilda had also found me a memory foam pillow which was perfect.

[mchell810]

The market pictures are great; glad you are enjoying your trip so far.  I am really looking forward to knowing more about your trip as I will be on the Pursuit next month.  You mentioned nibbles in living room for sail away; do you remember what other venues were dining options were available upon embarkation? TIA

[Mackdogmolly]

Thanks for the great travelogue!

[montythecat]

We have been on three of the four Azamara ships in the last year (not Onward). I hope

you continue to have a wonderful time. We did on Pursuit in the Baltic in August. I agree

with your comments about Emily who is very good indeed. Delightful and very

sociable. I hope Derek is the pianist on your cruise. He is terrific and is a very good

singer and is always entertaining. With the right crowd he sometimes continued later 

than scheduled because he was enjoying himself so much. We loved him.

You have chosen well with a cruise on Pursuit. 

It is interesting that there can be such differences even within a small company.

I do understand that so much depends on people. Our cruise on Quest in

September fell some way short of our experience on Pursuit which turned out

to be one of our favourites of any cruise line.

[Jellifer]

21 hours ago, mchell810 said:

The market pictures are great; glad you are enjoying your trip so far.  I am really looking forward to knowing more about your trip as I will be on the Pursuit next month.  You mentioned nibbles in living room for sail away; do you remember what other venues were dining options were available upon embarkation? TIA

Yes these are the opening times for embarkation day

 

 

Let me know if I can help with anything further! I’m not on board any more sadly but happy to help if I can, you’ll have a great trip!

Edited October 23, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

6 hours ago, montythecat said:

We have been on three of the four Azamara ships in the last year (not Onward). I hope

you continue to have a wonderful time. We did on Pursuit in the Baltic in August. I agree

with your comments about Emily who is very good indeed. Delightful and very

sociable. I hope Derek is the pianist on your cruise. He is terrific and is a very good

singer and is always entertaining. With the right crowd he sometimes continued later 

than scheduled because he was enjoying himself so much. We loved him.

You have chosen well with a cruise on Pursuit. 

It is interesting that there can be such differences even within a small company.

I do understand that so much depends on people. Our cruise on Quest in

September fell some way short of our experience on Pursuit which turned out

to be one of our favourites of any cruise line.

Yes Derek was excellent! For some reason there were a LOT of scots on board so he was in good company, including his parents!

[Jellifer]

Cruise day 2 – Monte Carlo nope make that Nice

 

We weren’t due to arrive in Nice until 1pm so we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in Discoveries. I don’t often have brekkie at home but I really enjoy it when I’m on holiday. The menu was extensive but only seemed to highlight the special dishes. Things like pancakes, waffles, bacon etc were not mentioned but it did say to ‘inquire with your server about our classic breakfast items’ I kind of wish they would just write them down as we didn’t want the waiters to have to reel off a long list of everything. We got there in the end, and it was all lovely. Orange juice was freshly squeezed & tasty. The only minor issue we had was the toast was barely toasted – first world problems! We soon learned to ask for it to be well done.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

I walked laps on deck 10 (14 laps = 1 mile, every little helps!) after breakfast and then spent some time by the pool where there just happened to be waffles and gelato served…. Well it would have been rude not to! 
 

I watched the sail in to Nice from my balcony. We docked at the Quai du Commerce, a short walk into the town and to the train station, for those still wanting to make their own way to Monte Carlo  (I believe it was just a couple of euros each way) We planned to get the HOHO bus which should have arrived at a quarter to the hour according to the flyer we were given and the website but it never turned up so we just walked to the Promenade Des Anglais instead. Weather was glorious and I really enjoyed my time in Nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show tonight was the Captain’s toast, followed by Kristian Grey a magician and comedian. Not really my cup of tea so we went to the Living Room after dinner for some drinks instead.

 

Edited October 23, 2022 by Jellifer

[mchell810]

1 hour ago, Jellifer said:

Yes these are the opening times for embarkation day

 

 

Let me know if I can help with anything further! I’m not on board any more sadly but happy to help if I can, you’ll have a great trip!

 

Thanks for this.  I was hoping the patio would be open (love those Greek burgers);  since I have heard it was on other ships. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Jellifer said:

I walked laps on deck 10 (14 laps = 1 mile, every little helps!)

I tried this on our first R-ship cruise – and discovered that I can't count to 14!!! 🤣

[Jellifer]

Nearly forgot the photos from dinner that night 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Cruise day 3 – Livorno

We had booked an excursion today of a transfer to Lucca so were up early and went to the Windows Café for a breakfast buffet. There was a HUGE selection to choose from – fruit,cereals, pastries, bread, eggs made to order, 3 types of bacon… pretty much anything you could think of. Oh and they had apple crumble for some random reason too!

 

The meeting point for our tour was the Cabaret lounge at 8.15am. We were given stickers and then walked off the ship when our group was ready to leave. Our guide was very nice and explained about the area on the way to Lucca. She gave everyone a map walked us to the centre of the medieval town and then we were given approx. 3 hours to explore. I really enjoyed walking the streets of Lucca and then walking around the ramparts looking down on the city.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

When we got back to the ship we went to the Windows café for lunch. There is a sandwich bar where they are made to your specification and then toasted – so good! 
 

We made it to the 4pm quiz for the first time today but did not cover ourselves in glory! The quizzes are hosted by the 6 singers and dancers that are in the shows. We discovered that they do this with varying degrees of enthusiasm  🙂

 

As you take part in on board games and activities you can choose to collect stamps. These stamps can be cashed in on the last day in exchange for Azamara goodies.

Straight after the 4pm quiz there was always a music quiz. Today’s was The Beatles and it was a lot harder than we expected. I hadn’t even heard of 2 of the songs!

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Dinner in Discoveries was great once again, I went for the always available steak option and asked Elmer for a sneaky bowl of chips on the side. After Eight gelato was also a yes from me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The show tonight was a real treat. Local opera singers from Florence were brought on board for ‘A Night at the Opera with David Regheschi and Maria Salvini’ This was FANTASTIC and they brought the house down. It way exceeded my expectations and everyone was raving about it.

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Cruise day 4 – Civitavecchia

 

A lot of people make the trip into Rome from here but after visiting Rome previously and having had a busy few days, I decided to make today into an honorary sea day. Well, that was my plan, but then someone mentioned how nice Civitavecchia is and easy to get to so we decided to visit the town. The ship provided a free shuttle from 8am – 7pm so we figured this was the best option. There were 5 ships in port and we were docked closest to the port gate. The bus dropped us after a short ride and then we followed the crowds through the town until we reached the sea front. It was a really nice place and felt very relaxed and old time sea-sidey. We met people from the ship who had walked in and they showed us how to walk straight back to the ship in less than 5 minutes. A lot quicker than walking back to the bus!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Back on the ship we had lunch and then went up onto deck 11 to soak up some sun and sloth for a bit. Weather was really great, much better than I expected for October. The ship was quiet as many people were in Rome quite late. 
 

We didn’t do too badly on the quizzes today, redeemed ourselves with the ‘British Invasion’ music round. 

 

The show tonight was from Assistant Cruise Director Sarah Hayes performing ‘The Great American Songbook’. She was a hoot! Very talented lady and reminded me of Bette Midler for some reason. After our cruise, Emily is going on holiday and Sarah will take up the position of Cruise Director and I’m sure she’ll do a great job.

 

 

 

 

 

Ricotta cheese ravioli

 

Plaice

 

Schweinebraten

 

Black Forest Gateau

 

Pavlova

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[Jellifer]

Cruise day 5 – Sorrento

 

I love Sorrento but had never stopped there on a cruise. Wehad a leisurely breakfast and then got a tender at around 10am, after the initial rush. It was pretty rocky boarding the tender but as always the staff make safety a priority and got us safely on board. We walked a short way to the lift that takes you up to the main level of the town. As you leave the harbourarea turn right and it’s a short way along there. The cost is €1.10 per person each way (cash only), or €2 return and it’s well worth it compared to having to climb up the steep steps.

 

The views from the top are breath-taking any day but with a ship in port they really were stunning. We walked to the main square and then turned left away from the old old town. There are some really nice shops here and plenty of bakeries and places to stop for a drink. We then walked back and explored the tiny streets of the old town. Lots of leather shops and fruit stalls, and of course Limoncello. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was no queue for the tender back to the ship and the buffet was having a special pizza extravaganza with 5 different flavours to choose from…. Yum!

 

 

 

The buffet has a great gelato bar where you can choose your favourite flavour(s!) of the day and they even give it to you in a bowl that has been frozen. There are always umpteen different sweet desserts to try and one hot dish of the day too. For the people with more restraint there is a wide selection of fresh fruit too! I met Captain Mikael Palmroos a couple of times when he was trying to choose which flavour gelato to have. I advised that he should have one of each, but he said for the length of time he is on the ship that is not a good idea!

 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Jellifer

[KY Deb]

Love your review.   Thank you so much for taking the time to do this.