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


Alsun
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Alsun,

thanks for a great thread. Have thoroughly enjoyed the many posts, photos and comments from others. We have sailed on 5 Azamara cruises and are booked on a Norwegian Fjord cruise on Journey next year. Enjoyed the insight your thread gave, plus the beautiful images I am very much looking forward to enjoying in person.

Karyn

 

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Final recap/review post.

We are more or less unpacked, and I have access to a PC again, so will post some final thoughts on our experience on board of Azamara’s Pursuit’s Maiden Voyage.

 

I have already shared a lot of thoughts on our experience during the thread, so for anyone new to Azamara, or new to the ports we visited in Norway, I would recommend reading the whole thread, but for now I will try to recap/review the main aspects.

 

Even so, it will be a very very very long post!

Important disclaimer: We were well aware that this is the Maiden Voyage and that as such, some minor issues would occur and that a lot of the staff was new. Although we did see/experience this a bit – I referred to some of this in the thread itself – it has not influenced our experience in any negative way.

Main likes: The scenery. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. Standing on top of the sundeck(or balcony) watching the Fjords glide by was an amazing experience. Cruising in general: we are hooked (or at least I am!). Our room & balcony. The Azamara crew: hard working and doing a great job in providing a great experience to the guests.

Minor dislikes: Entertainment – we felt this was enjoyable but too much geared to American guests – but see further, some entertainment was really very good. We felt that the display of “goods” to buy from the shop - in the corridor next to it – a bit tacky and cheap. This only happened limited times so it was easily avoidable.

 

And in random order:

Itinerary, ports,weather: Initially we were disappointed about the itinerary change as at some point Geirangerfjord was an included port. We will have to return to Norway another time!

 

But we were happy with most of the ports we visited, and Norway and the Fjords were stunning.

 

In general, we were actually quite lucky with the weather as we even managed to stay dry (or at least inside) in Bergen! On the one day when the weather really didn’t want to cooperate in Flam, the rain and ever-changing clouds and mist actually contributed to the (mystic) views and atmosphere.

 

Of the ports we visited we enjoyed Oslo, Bergen, Flam and Stavanger the most. Whilst Eidfjord is beautiful, it is a tiny town. Haugesund and Kristiansand we didn’t really care for that much. They were fine but we felt that both (and in a way this also counts for Eifjord) needed an excursion,tour or activity planned to make the most of. We would have liked to have a bit more time in Stavanger, as it would have been nice to do another fjord tour there.

 

One thing also to mention here was the welcome we received at the ports. At several ports, especially Haugesund there was a special welcome with Norwegian Maidens, and in Bergen there was a band playing music on the last evening (but unfortunately this was at the same time as the White Night party, so not sure how many passengers noticed this)

 

At each port a local tourist office representative came on board to supply information. As we had researched and made our plans beforehand we only used this service once, but it was helpful that this is available.

 

Pursuit and facilities.We don’t have experience on another ship to compare it with, but we felt it looked pretty, we liked the size, and it offered all that we wanted.

 

We never really used The Den, but we know it was very popular with some cruisers and every time we walked through it, it felt like a nice area. Neither did we use the pool deck very much, we are not really sun bathers, but it was a nicely laid out area with some funky seats, and we enjoyed sitting there listening to the band, or on our first day just to sit and watch the sea glide by.

 

We did walk a few laps round the track on deck 10, and also liked to make photos from there and from the sun deck on deck 11. My only wish is that the view forwards from the sunset wouldn’t be so obscured by the glass panels, I guess this is a design/health & safety feature (?) but I would have much appreciated a few viewing slots interspersed with the glass (the glass does give photos a blue tinge). On deck 9 there were a few windows that could be opened (mainly in the corners) and that was really good for making photos not obscured by glass.

 

We also didn’t use the Spa area so can’t comment on that, aside that it looked nice when we had a tour on the first day. A went to the gym once or twice and he felt it was well equipped.

 

Areas we really liked (aside from our room) were the Living Room – great for late afternoon drinks, after dinner drinks and listening to music. It also had the card room and PC area and snacks were served at several times during the day, the Drawing Room - beautiful, restful and an excellent selection of books available – pity it was sometimes closed for private functions but this was usually only for a short time. It did however happen at least twice when I wanted to use the Drawing Room.

 

We liked the absence of the casino. We didn’t care much for the shops, wandered in once to have a look at that was all. As mentioned, at some times the shops put out a display of wares in the corridor leading towards the den and in front of the shops and I felt this looked a bit tacky and cheap but it only was a few times.

 

What surprised me is that we also liked the art gallery. Reading on Cruise Critic before re art auctions they do on some cruise lines and art in general on cruise ships I was a bit ambivalent and initially inclined not to visit this area. But we actually did enjoy popping into the art gallery to have a look at the displayed art, and to chat with the art specialist and the artist in residence Minor-I. At no point did we feel pushed or guided towards “a buy”. We felt it was a pity they were not able (due to issues with Maiden voyage) to offer the art enrichment lectures as we would have enjoyed these.

 

Internet: very hit & miss. When it worked it was okayish, but it often didn’t work or there were problems with the codes provided. Availability was also hindered by the area we were in. Communication re codes and availability due to satellite issues improved during the cruise duration.

 

Azamara crew: We have mentioned this several times in the thread, but the crew is outstanding.Always friendly, and they do their best to offer the guests an amazing experience. Of course, some minor hiccups, also because part of the crew was still new & learning, but on overall, they lived up to Azamara’s reputation.

 

Incidents like the Twinings tea, and the towel animals show how far the crew goes to please their passengers, and we also felt we received a good response to our comments on the mid cruise questionnaire.

 

Our room: We have contributed to the room thread. We had club continent room 8042 port side and were very happy with the room and the location – even though it was sometimes a bit of a trek walking back upstairs to deck 8 after coming back from an excursion! (Gangway was always at deck 3 aside from the first time we came on board and the last day).

We always took the stairs, and I soon took up a habit to walk back up from deck 3 to deck 5, detour via Mosaic Café at deck 5 and ask for 1 biscuit/cookie to give me the energy to continue up the stairs to deck 8!

 

But back to our room, it was spacious, lovely colours, enough storage, nice balcony etc. Couldn’t fault it.

 

Excursions: Can’t comment any as we didn’t join any of the Azamara Excursions. We made our own plans for each port.

During the one tender port, it was announced the priority was given to those who were joining the Azamara excursion but we were not inconvenienced in any way by this. In Flam it was good to notice that for the railway carriages were reserved for Azamara groups.

 

Food A biggie for me! I have posted loads of food photos so you will more or less know our views/experiences. But I still want to mention a few things.

 

 

First of all, we usually ate at Windows, partly due to dietary restrictions, partly because it was convenient. Secondly, we felt that the food in general, at all locations was good, but that the desserts were the weakest – the best ones I had were the one at Discoveries and one or two in the specialty restaurants, the other desserts were a bit unexciting or even sometimes disappointing.

 

 

We really liked that local food was being brought aboard, especially all the delicious salmon and oysters. I also enjoyed the Isle of Man cheese and the Norwegian goat cheese. This was mainly available during the bigger events, like the brunches and the White Night party.

 

The one time we ate on The Patio, it was fine but not great. I can however I can see why it is popular as it is a nice area to have a burger and the food offered there during the White Night party was outstanding.

 

We only went to Discoveries once for diner – the Officers hosted one (which we heard is not being offered every cruise) and the food that evening was very good.

 

We had dinner several times in Prime C and Aqualina and the food was excellent (aside from 1 dessert). I had more red meat during this cruise than I usually eat because the steaks were just outstanding.

 

I also really enjoyed the Chef’s Table and would recommend this to any food lover.

 

Included wines and drinks? We are not huge drinkers but enjoy a glass of wine, gin &tonic, and whisky. All drinks we had were perfectly fine, quaffable but equally forgettable. We didn’t feel we missed out on any drinks but we would have been ok with paying for the odd drink here and then if needed. Btw, the included sparkling white wine gave A. an headache, but I did enjoy (and had) several glasses without any consequences.

 

We also liked all the snacks and tapas offered in the Living room or at Mosaic. Especially the tapas were very good. The afternoon tea offered was not what Brits would call an afternoon tea but still enjoyable. I have already referred to sconegate several times in the thread.

 

Breakfast was usually in Windows or Room Service and we enjoyed the wide selection of food available. I especially loved all the smoked fish and fresh fruit in the morning!

 

Room service was generally good and there was enough on the menu to choose from. I did notice that the Mediterranean platter looked different on the two times I ordered it, but it was very enjoyable.

 

Entertainment/lectures/activities:We did not go to all the entertainment, lectures or activities offered but we noticed that there were plenty of them.

 

Again, I refer to previous posts in this thread for more details. But as mentioned previously we felt that some shows were a bit too American for our taste. We also noticed that some of the Trivia activities were much geared to an American public – but to be fair we only listened to one or two so maybe we missed out on more general audience ones.

 

We enjoyed the Azamazing Evening and the White Night. We felt the Azamara Pursuit Band was really good, and so were the Chilean Trio. DJ Enzo was a bit hit & miss.

 

One thing to mention here is that we did feel that it would have been nice to have a drinks or gathering for new (Azamara) cruisers. There is the Meet & Mingle of course, but that included a lot of recurring cruiser attending. There is the LCV gathering for loyal cruisers and also a solo/single travellers dinner plus I think some other gatherings.

 

However, as new Azamara cruisers there were some moments where we felt a bit, how to say this, well “not yet included” and I think I would be nice if there would have been a moment – early in the cruise – to get to know other new (Azamara) cruisers and maybe some officers in an informal atmosphere.

 

Let me also hasten to add that the Officers were visible and approachable and of course this is also very personal as some people are bit a more outgoing and sociable than we are.

 

Photographs & filming When we boarded we were told that filming was going to take place and were asked to sign a disclaimer. We actually refused to do this as we didn’t want to be filmed, but we have not (yet) heard back how or in what way they will adhere to this so I guess I will keep an eye out on any future publications.

 

The photographers on board are very good in asking your permission to take a photo and once you let them know you don’t want this, they will leave you alone (but still interact very pleasantly with you).

 

We did notice a handy facility on board to print your own photos, and whilst the prices would stop you to do this with all your photos, it is great to be able to print out one or two to give to others on board as a memento.

 

Other

Some last few remarks:

 

It never felt very busy on board. We know that we did not sail with full capacity but I think that even if fuller, there are plenty of areas (beside your room) to find a quiet spot to relax.

 

Also, the passengers were all very polite and well behaved.There were very few children on board – I think one family and Captain Carl’sown family but we hardly noticed them.

 

The only times where we experienced any queues were on the first day when booking the specialty restaurants, in Windows after the Azamazing event and sometimes at one of the food stations when “special” food was available. But in the latter case, waiting a few moments usually solved this problem. (Special food, more special than the usual offerings, ie the grilled lobster on White Night, or the scones on the last day).

 

We did feel we received a lot of papers during the cruise.We liked the Insider- this was very good and useful. But we felt we could have done without the “newspaper” (although appreciated, but if we wanted one we could easily pick one up from Guest relations), the dinner reservation confirmations and the special Spa offers or new cruise information leaflets. But perhaps some of these will disappear in future once the interactive tv system is up & running?

 

What however would have been helpful is information in the laundry room about the washing program duration. A general note on the walls there that a generic hot wash takes 45 minutes would be sufficient.

 

Conclusion

Would we cruise again? Yes. This cruise was for us a make or break holiday in the sense of whether we would like to concept of cruise holidays. And we do. Or at least I do – I am hooked. A maybe less hooked, but would cruise again.

 

Would we cruise with Azamara again? Probably yes. We liked the Pursuit, we like the size of the ship, we liked the facilities offered, we liked the crew. But the itinerary needs to work for us.

 

I won’t be adding any further posts to this thread (except the fist bump post - see next) but might contribute to other Azamara threads if I feel we can contribute.

 

In the next month or so I will be posting some photos on Instagram – some of which might have already been shown on this thread – some of which not. If you want to see them, just search/follow on #Azamarapursuit (my Instagram name is different than our CC username but I will tag all relevant Instagram posts with this hashtag)

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One final (final) thing to mention is the Azamara Fist bump!

 

This replaces a hand shake for hygienic reasons. It took some time to get used to but we could understand why they do it and we did get used to it.

 

So, I thought this would therefore be a fitting last photo to this thread:

 

A saying goodbye “the Azamara way” to Thomas (F & B).

 

b183c231e4716427849528b0aaae98f1.jpg

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Final recap/review post.

We are more or less unpacked, and I have access to a PC again, so will post some final thoughts on our experience on board of Azamara’s Pursuit’s Maiden Voyage.

 

I have already shared a lot of thoughts on our experience during the thread, so for anyone new to Azamara, or new to the ports we visited in Norway, I would recommend reading the whole thread, but for now I will try to recap/review the main aspects.

 

Even so, it will be a very very very long post!

Important disclaimer: We were well aware that this is the Maiden Voyage and that as such, some minor issues would occur and that a lot of the staff was new. Although we did see/experience this a bit – I referred to some of this in the thread itself – it has not influenced our experience in any negative way.

Main likes: The scenery. Absolutely stunningly beautiful. Standing on top of the sundeck(or balcony) watching the Fjords glide by was an amazing experience. Cruising in general: we are hooked (or at least I am!). Our room & balcony. The Azamara crew: hard working and doing a great job in providing a great experience to the guests.

Minor dislikes: Entertainment – we felt this was enjoyable but too much geared to American guests – but see further, some entertainment was really very good. We felt that the display of “goods” to buy from the shop - in the corridor next to it – a bit tacky and cheap. This only happened limited times so it was easily avoidable.

 

And in random order:

Itinerary, ports,weather: Initially we were disappointed about the itinerary change as at some point Geirangerfjord was an included port. We will have to return to Norway another time!

 

But we were happy with most of the ports we visited, and Norway and the Fjords were stunning.

 

In general, we were actually quite lucky with the weather as we even managed to stay dry (or at least inside) in Bergen! On the one day when the weather really didn’t want to cooperate in Flam, the rain and ever-changing clouds and mist actually contributed to the (mystic) views and atmosphere.

 

Of the ports we visited we enjoyed Oslo, Bergen, Flam and Stavanger the most. Whilst Eidfjord is beautiful, it is a tiny town. Haugesund and Kristiansand we didn’t really care for that much. They were fine but we felt that both (and in a way this also counts for Eifjord) needed an excursion,tour or activity planned to make the most of. We would have liked to have a bit more time in Stavanger, as it would have been nice to do another fjord tour there.

 

One thing also to mention here was the welcome we received at the ports. At several ports, especially Haugesund there was a special welcome with Norwegian Maidens, and in Bergen there was a band playing music on the last evening (but unfortunately this was at the same time as the White Night party, so not sure how many passengers noticed this)

 

At each port a local tourist office representative came on board to supply information. As we had researched and made our plans beforehand we only used this service once, but it was helpful that this is available.

 

Pursuit and facilities.We don’t have experience on another ship to compare it with, but we felt it looked pretty, we liked the size, and it offered all that we wanted.

 

We never really used The Den, but we know it was very popular with some cruisers and every time we walked through it, it felt like a nice area. Neither did we use the pool deck very much, we are not really sun bathers, but it was a nicely laid out area with some funky seats, and we enjoyed sitting there listening to the band, or on our first day just to sit and watch the sea glide by.

 

We did walk a few laps round the track on deck 10, and also liked to make photos from there and from the sun deck on deck 11. My only wish is that the view forwards from the sunset wouldn’t be so obscured by the glass panels, I guess this is a design/health & safety feature (?) but I would have much appreciated a few viewing slots interspersed with the glass (the glass does give photos a blue tinge). On deck 9 there were a few windows that could be opened (mainly in the corners) and that was really good for making photos not obscured by glass.

 

We also didn’t use the Spa area so can’t comment on that, aside that it looked nice when we had a tour on the first day. A went to the gym once or twice and he felt it was well equipped.

 

Areas we really liked (aside from our room) were the Living Room – great for late afternoon drinks, after dinner drinks and listening to music. It also had the card room and PC area and snacks were served at several times during the day, the Drawing Room - beautiful, restful and an excellent selection of books available – pity it was sometimes closed for private functions but this was usually only for a short time. It did however happen at least twice when I wanted to use the Drawing Room.

 

We liked the absence of the casino. We didn’t care much for the shops, wandered in once to have a look at that was all. As mentioned, at some times the shops put out a display of wares in the corridor leading towards the den and in front of the shops and I felt this looked a bit tacky and cheap but it only was a few times.

 

What surprised me is that we also liked the art gallery. Reading on Cruise Critic before re art auctions they do on some cruise lines and art in general on cruise ships I was a bit ambivalent and initially inclined not to visit this area. But we actually did enjoy popping into the art gallery to have a look at the displayed art, and to chat with the art specialist and the artist in residence Minor-I. At no point did we feel pushed or guided towards “a buy”. We felt it was a pity they were not able (due to issues with Maiden voyage) to offer the art enrichment lectures as we would have enjoyed these.

 

Internet: very hit & miss. When it worked it was okayish, but it often didn’t work or there were problems with the codes provided. Availability was also hindered by the area we were in. Communication re codes and availability due to satellite issues improved during the cruise duration.

 

Azamara crew: We have mentioned this several times in the thread, but the crew is outstanding.Always friendly, and they do their best to offer the guests an amazing experience. Of course, some minor hiccups, also because part of the crew was still new & learning, but on overall, they lived up to Azamara’s reputation.

 

Incidents like the Twinings tea, and the towel animals show how far the crew goes to please their passengers, and we also felt we received a good response to our comments on the mid cruise questionnaire.

 

Our room: We have contributed to the room thread. We had club continent room 8042 port side and were very happy with the room and the location – even though it was sometimes a bit of a trek walking back upstairs to deck 8 after coming back from an excursion! (Gangway was always at deck 3 aside from the first time we came on board and the last day).

We always took the stairs, and I soon took up a habit to walk back up from deck 3 to deck 5, detour via Mosaic Café at deck 5 and ask for 1 biscuit/cookie to give me the energy to continue up the stairs to deck 8!

 

But back to our room, it was spacious, lovely colours, enough storage, nice balcony etc. Couldn’t fault it.

 

Excursions: Can’t comment any as we didn’t join any of the Azamara Excursions. We made our own plans for each port.

During the one tender port, it was announced the priority was given to those who were joining the Azamara excursion but we were not inconvenienced in any way by this. In Flam it was good to notice that for the railway carriages were reserved for Azamara groups.

 

Food A biggie for me! I have posted loads of food photos so you will more or less know our views/experiences. But I still want to mention a few things.

 

 

First of all, we usually ate at Windows, partly due to dietary restrictions, partly because it was convenient. Secondly, we felt that the food in general, at all locations was good, but that the desserts were the weakest – the best ones I had were the one at Discoveries and one or two in the specialty restaurants, the other desserts were a bit unexciting or even sometimes disappointing.

 

 

We really liked that local food was being brought aboard, especially all the delicious salmon and oysters. I also enjoyed the Isle of Man cheese and the Norwegian goat cheese. This was mainly available during the bigger events, like the brunches and the White Night party.

 

The one time we ate on The Patio, it was fine but not great. I can however I can see why it is popular as it is a nice area to have a burger and the food offered there during the White Night party was outstanding.

 

We only went to Discoveries once for diner – the Officers hosted one (which we heard is not being offered every cruise) and the food that evening was very good.

 

We had dinner several times in Prime C and Aqualina and the food was excellent (aside from 1 dessert). I had more red meat during this cruise than I usually eat because the steaks were just outstanding.

 

I also really enjoyed the Chef’s Table and would recommend this to any food lover.

 

Included wines and drinks? We are not huge drinkers but enjoy a glass of wine, gin &tonic, and whisky. All drinks we had were perfectly fine, quaffable but equally forgettable. We didn’t feel we missed out on any drinks but we would have been ok with paying for the odd drink here and then if needed. Btw, the included sparkling white wine gave A. an headache, but I did enjoy (and had) several glasses without any consequences.

 

We also liked all the snacks and tapas offered in the Living room or at Mosaic. Especially the tapas were very good. The afternoon tea offered was not what Brits would call an afternoon tea but still enjoyable. I have already referred to sconegate several times in the thread.

 

Breakfast was usually in Windows or Room Service and we enjoyed the wide selection of food available. I especially loved all the smoked fish and fresh fruit in the morning!

 

Room service was generally good and there was enough on the menu to choose from. I did notice that the Mediterranean platter looked different on the two times I ordered it, but it was very enjoyable.

 

Entertainment/lectures/activities:We did not go to all the entertainment, lectures or activities offered but we noticed that there were plenty of them.

 

Again, I refer to previous posts in this thread for more details. But as mentioned previously we felt that some shows were a bit too American for our taste. We also noticed that some of the Trivia activities were much geared to an American public – but to be fair we only listened to one or two so maybe we missed out on more general audience ones.

 

We enjoyed the Azamazing Evening and the White Night. We felt the Azamara Pursuit Band was really good, and so were the Chilean Trio. DJ Enzo was a bit hit & miss.

 

One thing to mention here is that we did feel that it would have been nice to have a drinks or gathering for new (Azamara) cruisers. There is the Meet & Mingle of course, but that included a lot of recurring cruiser attending. There is the LCV gathering for loyal cruisers and also a solo/single travellers dinner plus I think some other gatherings.

 

However, as new Azamara cruisers there were some moments where we felt a bit, how to say this, well “not yet included” and I think I would be nice if there would have been a moment – early in the cruise – to get to know other new (Azamara) cruisers and maybe some officers in an informal atmosphere.

 

Let me also hasten to add that the Officers were visible and approachable and of course this is also very personal as some people are bit a more outgoing and sociable than we are.

 

Photographs & filming When we boarded we were told that filming was going to take place and were asked to sign a disclaimer. We actually refused to do this as we didn’t want to be filmed, but we have not (yet) heard back how or in what way they will adhere to this so I guess I will keep an eye out on any future publications.

 

The photographers on board are very good in asking your permission to take a photo and once you let them know you don’t want this, they will leave you alone (but still interact very pleasantly with you).

 

We did notice a handy facility on board to print your own photos, and whilst the prices would stop you to do this with all your photos, it is great to be able to print out one or two to give to others on board as a memento.

 

Other

Some last few remarks:

 

It never felt very busy on board. We know that we did not sail with full capacity but I think that even if fuller, there are plenty of areas (beside your room) to find a quiet spot to relax.

 

Also, the passengers were all very polite and well behaved.There were very few children on board – I think one family and Captain Carl’sown family but we hardly noticed them.

 

The only times where we experienced any queues were on the first day when booking the specialty restaurants, in Windows after the Azamazing event and sometimes at one of the food stations when “special” food was available. But in the latter case, waiting a few moments usually solved this problem. (Special food, more special than the usual offerings, ie the grilled lobster on White Night, or the scones on the last day).

 

We did feel we received a lot of papers during the cruise.We liked the Insider- this was very good and useful. But we felt we could have done without the “newspaper” (although appreciated, but if we wanted one we could easily pick one up from Guest relations), the dinner reservation confirmations and the special Spa offers or new cruise information leaflets. But perhaps some of these will disappear in future once the interactive tv system is up & running?

 

What however would have been helpful is information in the laundry room about the washing program duration. A general note on the walls there that a generic hot wash takes 45 minutes would be sufficient.

 

Conclusion

Would we cruise again? Yes. This cruise was for us a make or break holiday in the sense of whether we would like to concept of cruise holidays. And we do. Or at least I do – I am hooked. A maybe less hooked, but would cruise again.

 

Would we cruise with Azamara again? Probably yes. We liked the Pursuit, we like the size of the ship, we liked the facilities offered, we liked the crew. But the itinerary needs to work for us.

 

I won’t be adding any further posts to this thread (except the fist bump post - see next) but might contribute to other Azamara threads if I feel we can contribute.

 

In the next month or so I will be posting some photos on Instagram – some of which might have already been shown on this thread – some of which not. If you want to see them, just search/follow on #Azamarapursuit (my Instagram name is different than our CC username but I will tag all relevant Instagram posts with this hashtag)

 

 

 

Thank you very much for your thread. It has been interesting and informative. We are on the Pursuit in a couple of weeks and your information has been extremely helpful for first time Azamara passengers.

I may have missed this but could you give me some indication of how dressed up people get for dinner. I’m planning on taking a couple of dresses and dress pants with blouses. My husband is trying to decide whether to take a suit. Any thoughts?

 

 

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Hope I’m not jumping in here, but I just wanted to say I have never seen a man in a suit on Azamara. A few wear jackets in the speciality restaurants (my DH included). Most wear collared shirts - long and short sleeved. Ladies wear trousers and nice tops, dresses etc, but never over ‘glam’.

 

 

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My DH took a jacket on our Azamara cruise recently because he had worn it in Specialty restaurants last time. However, the weather was so warm he never wore it nor felt out of place. Suits? No I’ve not seen them either.....thankfully.

 

 

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My DH took a jacket on our Azamara cruise recently because he had worn it in Specialty restaurants last time. However, the weather was so warm he never wore it nor felt out of place. Suits? No I’ve not seen them either.....thankfully.

 

 

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Good to hear. He will be happy to leave it at home.

 

 

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JIMitch

My OH has taken a suit on every Azamara cruise and has worn it at some point during the cruise. The trousers can be worn most evenings with long or short sleeved shirts but when its cool in Discoveries he has been glad of that jacket!

 

The temperature in Discoveries is often the same (cool) irrespective of the temperature outside.

 

He wears what he feels comfortable in, and so should your OH. Sometimes it’s chinos or smart trousers and sometimes a suit. Its not right or wrong just a choice.

 

Enjoy your first trip on Azamara.

 

 

 

 

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These posts and information are fantastic. I have been enjoying all comments. Question before I order a new tote bag. In the past Azamara has given totes as a welcome gift- did this happen on your cruise? Alsun and others, you have added to my excitement of boarding the Pursuit in a couple of weeks- Thank You.

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Hi Gary and Mo

 

I read that you did the Windstar Star Legend to Philippines. I will be going on this cruise January 2019 and am finding it really difficult to find info on the ports of call. Would you be able to share any info you experienced at ports e.g. independent tour companies; tours that you did and can recommend. Would appreciate it if you could email me at gypsyjennifer@hotmail.com

many thanks

 

 

Alsun,

Thanks for this amazing thread about the inaugural Pursuit cruise!

So nice of you to spend so much of your holiday time answering our questions & such great photos & we were all captivated by all the nice photos.

Can't wait for our cruise on Sept 29th!

 

Gary & Mo.

Perth, Australia.

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These posts and information are fantastic. I have been enjoying all comments. Question before I order a new tote bag. In the past Azamara has given totes as a welcome gift- did this happen on your cruise? Alsun and others, you have added to my excitement of boarding the Pursuit in a couple of weeks- Thank You.

 

Yes Azamara still hands out Tote bags, it should be on your bed as you arrive, if not your room attendant will quickly provide one for you. We are currently using two of ours as beach bags in Sardinia!

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I’d just like to add my thanks for a fascinating thread Alsun. I have just ‘wasted’ an entire morning in the most interesting and enjoyable way! Many many thanks - and happy future cruising!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

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Alsun thank you so much for this thread. We are taking our first Azamara cruise next month and I have loved reading all of your posts, it has added to my excitement.

 

I have also loved your photos, Norway looks beautiful and I have added this to my bucket list. Your photos are amazing.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Internet is again dogdy and won't let me upload photos. Will try again later :(

 

Meanwhile, some other things we noticed:

 

 

There was a strong smell of paint when we left this morning, clearly some maintenance was taking place or maybe there were some spots missed/in need of redecoration.

 

The speed button menu on our room phone has appeared - apparently the phones had been preprogrammed, but the menu paper thingie wasn't ready yet. Luckily we knew the number of our butler so we were never in need of the other numbers, but it is useful to have.

 

Laundry, our laundry arrived back today, all neatly pressed and on hangers (those metal ones that dry cleaners ues). Smaller items were bundled together and wrapped in tissue paper.

 

Usually there is a twice daily room service, during the day and early evening. With the turn down service at early evening baffels me a bit that they close the curtains already - as with the long evenings you want to keep them open as long as possible - but I guess it is part of their routine. Also they will bring inside the loose cushion from the swivel balcony chair (the table chair cushions are attached to the chair).

 

If you order any room service, this will get cleared afterwards, either you give a call to room service for the trays to be collected, or your butler/room attendant will come and ask to collect it.

 

And of course you can always ask for extra room service, towels etc if needed. (We usually reuse our towels a few times - we hang them up and I do like it that they respect that and won't give you new towels unless you specify it (by putting the towels in the bath/on floor). We have stayed at hotels where they say they are environmental friendly and ask you to do your bit towel wise, but where they still took the towels anyway, which I find really annoying)

 

 

Bottles of water are always available at disembarkation area.

 

 

On more mainstream cruise lines, we tip room service upon delivery...is this expected on Azamara?

SO much GREAT info on here....2 more weeks! :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Alsun, thank you for taking me along vicariously on your first cruise and for giving me a taste of Norway and Azamara Pursuit. I have bookmarked your review in preparation for visiting some of the same ports next September on Celebrity Silhouette.

Thanks also for your generous use of photos to propel the narrative.

Kudos!

Are you already thinking of your next cruise?

Cheers!

Norris

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