Azamara Pursuit Rio to Lisbon 3/7-23

[brazilgirl]

Ah, today’s photos are few.

[Mackdogmolly]

I had a lazy sea day yesterday, while DH enjoyed the aquatic talk by Dr. Greta and the Engineering talk in Discoveries Lounge. Quite agree with BrazilGirl’s review of the guitarist.

 

We had enjoyable 3 hour Italian Chef’s Table in Prime C. Both food and wine were delicious and we enjoyed the company. Now approaching Cape Verde and looking forward to our excursion.

 

[Mackdogmolly]

Our excursion today was a panoramic tour of Cape Verde. We had a very comfortable bus that seated about 22 and a charming tour guide. We traveled to the interior of the island and on a narrow winding road to the top of Mont Verde. The island gets very little rain, so is not very green and not a lot of agriculture. But still some striking scenery, which was hard to capture on the move! The island is poor though and I was hoping that there had been an easier way back into town after the tour (no shuttles or taxi ranks that we could make out) because we would have liked to have had lunch and spent a little on the local economy. It seemed a bit of a hike for us. 

[Mackdogmolly]

Can’t figure out why some of these photos are coming out upside down! Anyway, the last one (the rock with the white structure) is a lighthouse, now automated, but families used to live there , virtually as prisoners, according to our tour guide.

[Mackdogmolly]

And in other views (from our balcony), currently offloading lots of trash. God knows where it goes. Our tour guide said there is no recycling on the island.

[Mackdogmolly]

6 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

And in other views (from our balcony), currently offloading lots of trash. God knows where it goes. Our tour guide said there is no recycling on the island.

Another upside down one!

[juliacb]

A huge thank you to both Mackdogmolly and Brazilgirl for the fabulous trip reports. We are on the Singapore to Athens Quest cruise in May and it can't get here soon enough.  Your reports feel like we are on the ship with you ( well, almost).  Anyway, thank you for taking the time to give us your reports! 

[Host Jazzbeau]

There is a theory that when you turn your phone one way, the pictures post correctly— but if you turn it the other way they go upside down. Maybe try it as an experiment— but keep records where the button is!  [My guess is that button on right is correct ]

[DS]

Currently on the Journey, heading up the west coast of Africa, starting 4 March.    If its the same guitar playing "Nestor" he was on our ship at the beginning, leaving here on 6 or 7 March in Namibia.   People here had same impression of performances...    

[Mercruiser]

I have a small favor to ask. Could a couple folks on this cruise let us know how well the Azamara Internet (Wi-Fi) is working? You are on a unique itinerary, and some of us would be interested to see how well it works around Brazil and during the TA part of the trip.

 

Here is a link to the thread where you can respond please:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2923906-azamara-internet-wi-fi-with-starlink-how-well-does-it-work/?do=getNewComment

 

Given all the photos in this thread, you must have good Internet, but I'm not sure if it's Azamara or if you have been using cellular data in port.

 

I'm enjoying reading about the Rio cruise a lot. I've had my eye on this itinerary.  

 

[Mackdogmolly]

7 hours ago, DS said:

Currently on the Journey, heading up the west coast of Africa, starting 4 March.    If its the same guitar playing "Nestor" he was on our ship at the beginning, leaving here on 6 or 7 March in Namibia.   People here had same impression of performances...    

It’s the same 

[brazilgirl]

Hello from Cape Verde.

 

We woke up around 7 am and watched our approach to Cape Verde. I felt like a sailor seeing Terra Firme after a long voyage. It was exciting to see land again. The island was bathed in a golden sunrise on the approach and was beautiful.

 

I had contacted a tour operator in Cape Verde months ago and penciled out an itinerary that I wanted to see and asked if any fellow passengers on our roll call would like to join us. Luckily, we ended up with a fantastic group of 11 and had a special day together.

 

We started out on our minibus with our guide William headed toward Mount Verde, with a stop to check out a view of the city of Mindelo. The road up the mount was barren and dramatic. The landscape is very arid with low shrubbery and occasional acacia trees and goats.

 

At the top, we were greeted by clouds and a little hut providing drinks of tea, coffee and “grogui”, a sugar cane rum.

 

We then visited the village of Salamansa. The village has limited running water, so the local residents lined up at the water truck with their plastic bottles to fill in order to be able to cook, wash and bathe. Not an easy situation to live with. We visited the local beach and then headed to the “Baia das Gatas” , that Catfish Bay, where we wandered on the beach for a relaxing time.

 

We headed for lunch at a local restaurant. Our next adventure was the highlight : a swim with the giant sea turtles. This was truly memorable. Firstly, we had the challenge of boarding the colorful boat. A group of strong young local men were in charge of getting us on board and over the surf breaking on the shore at the exact right moment, which was a sight to behold. Once on the boat, we were taken to an area that had a group of magnificent sea turtles that were used to being fed by the young men with fresh fish. We were able to swim with the turtles - and the turtles were quite curious and would get in quite close proximity ( looking for more fish?)

 

To get back in the boat, we had to be hoisted by the team. They were quite agile and experienced in getting us on board. Then we had the adventure of trying to get back off the boat on shore at the right moment without getting swept by the waves. It was exciting and we ended up back on the boat exhilarated by our trip.

 

We finally headed back to the ship with one final photo stop of the city and then arrived to the ship to get ready for the famous White Party, which was delicious and delightful. Photos follow of the day.

[Grandma Cruising]

We were very disappointed yesterday. The ship docked in Mindelo, Cape Verde, alongside Fred Olsen’s Balmoral and Oceanis’s Insignia. We were the first there but got the berth furthest from the port gates.
We were here on Pursuit in 2019 doing the route the other way round. Then there was a shuttle to take us to the port gates, however this time there was no shuttle available. When we asked about this at Guest Relations we were told it was down to the port authorities. 
As the port gate was quite a long way and my DH can only walk a short distance at a time without having a sit down, we were unable to get off the ship.

 

[Mackdogmolly]

7 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We were very disappointed yesterday. The ship docked in Mindelo, Cape Verde, alongside Fred Olsen’s Balmoral and Oceanis’s Insignia. We were the first there but got the berth furthest from the port gates.
We were here on Pursuit in 2019 doing the route the other way round. Then there was a shuttle to take us to the port gates, however this time there was no shuttle available. When we asked about this at Guest Relations we were told it was down to the port authorities. 
As the port gate was quite a long way and my DH can only walk a short distance at a time without having a sit down, we were unable to get off the ship.

 

I quite agree about our berth position and the last time I had checked CruiseMapper, the Fred Olsen was not even scheduled to be here. My DH cannot walk that far either, so were not able to see the town or have lunch there which we were hoping to do.

[oddjob16]

2 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We were very disappointed yesterday. The ship docked in Mindelo, Cape Verde, alongside Fred Olsen’s Balmoral and Oceanis’s Insignia. We were the first there but got the berth furthest from the port gates.
We were here on Pursuit in 2019 doing the route the other way round. Then there was a shuttle to take us to the port gates, however this time there was no shuttle available. When we asked about this at Guest Relations we were told it was down to the port authorities. 
As the port gate was quite a long way and my DH can only walk a short distance at a time without having a sit down, we were unable to get off the ship.

 

We walked into the city and observed that both the other ships had shuttles. When we asked Azamara crew why they had no shuttles they said it was becsuse it was walking distance to town and no need for it.

The walk was about 1,5 km and obviously it would be natutral to have shuttles. It didn't bother us, but if this prevented people from getting ashore it is a bad move from Azamara.

[oddjob16]

Some more winds today. 28 kts in the bow and partly cloudy. 23°C.Healthy ship and Whispering Angel is still in supply.☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️🍾🥂🥂

[Mackdogmolly]

Yes, we are “rocking and rolling” a bit today. Big St Patrick’s Day party in the Den this morning with a singalong, beer, snacks, etc.

The captain gave a very interesting talk about a recreation of Columbus’s three ships and subsequent Atlantic crossings that he was a part of when he was a very young man. Relaxing this afternoon!

[uktog]

I loved that talk by Captain Antonio you really got a sense for his passion about navigation and sailing in it. We were on Pursuit the very first time he did it, he’s so modest he wasn’t even sure people would be interested 

Edited March 17, 2023 by uktog

[Mackdogmolly]

7 hours ago, uktog said:

I loved that talk by Captain Antonio you really got a sense for his passion about navigation and sailing in it. We were on Pursuit the very first time he did it, he’s so modest he wasn’t even sure people would be interested 

It was fascinating! And very well attended.

[Baynanno1]

13 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

We were very disappointed yesterday. The ship docked in Mindelo, Cape Verde, alongside Fred Olsen’s Balmoral and Oceanis’s Insignia. We were the first there but got the berth furthest from the port gates.
We were here on Pursuit in 2019 doing the route the other way round. Then there was a shuttle to take us to the port gates, however this time there was no shuttle available. When we asked about this at Guest Relations we were told it was down to the port authorities. 
As the port gate was quite a long way and my DH can only walk a short distance at a time without having a sit down, we were unable to get off the ship.

 

 

That's very disappointing for you both!

I walked in from the ship in 2019. It was a good hike!

I recollect the cruise on Pursuit was from Rio to Lisbon.

On behalf of the ship's crew Ryszard donated several bicycles to the youth of the port area.

 

Very strange that the two later arrivals both had shuttles, but you being furthest away had none!

[Azulann]

Thinking about doing a Azamara cruise, but if there is no shuttle  when the pier docking and no a ride into town , it is not a good thing in their favor.  Are they down grading their amenities in this regard? 

[brazilgirl]

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

 

 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Azulann said:

Thinking about doing a Azamara cruise, but if there is no shuttle  when the pier docking and no a ride into town , it is not a good thing in their favor.  Are they down grading their amenities in this regard? 

Stuff happens.  Never assume that a one-off report means a trend.  Azamara IME has always gotten the best docking positions, and has organized shuttles wherever necessary.  We don't know why this happened [I'm not challenging the fact that it did happen] and we don't know if that means anything for the future.

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, Azulann said:

Thinking about doing a Azamara cruise, but if there is no shuttle  when the pier docking and no a ride into town , it is not a good thing in their favor.  Are they down grading their amenities in this regard? 

I talked to Marcelo, the Hotel Director about the shuttle. He said that Azamara had asked the port authorities for a shuttle and been told none was available - I assume Azamara asked after the other ships, so missed out. 

[Grandma Cruising]

We watched Emily’s show last night too - it was excellent. She has a great voice and a very engaging personality.