Tango, Salsa & Samba Voyage on the Pursuit Review with Lots of Photos and Menus

[MVPinBoynton]

 

I have just posted a review to my website with lots of photos of a recently completed South America cruise on the Azamara Pursuit.  I visited ports in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.  The main reason I wanted to do this cruise was that it spent 2.5 days in Rio de Janeiro. It was as amazing as I had hoped it would be.   I also have the menus from the restaurants and lounges.

 

 

This is the first Azamara cruise that I have been on since 2010.  The Renaissance class ships are comfortable, but they have never been a favorite of mine, since they were very dark and old looking.  With the Pursuit being Azamara’s newest ship, they had done an outstanding renovation job before they put it in service.  I couldn’t believe how much I liked this ship.   Much of the dark wood, dark carpets and dated patterned furniture upholstery had been replaced with much brighter and newer looking decor.  I found the Pursuit to be a very pretty and comfortable ship.  I will happily cruise on her again.

 

The review is located on my website, which is linked to in my signature.  You can also just Google “Mike and Carol’s Cruise Reviews” to find a link to it.  I hope it is helpful for those of you that are planning a vacation to this amazing part of the world; or that it brings back some fond memories to those of you who have been able to visit these places.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2020 by MVPinBoynton
Space photos

[marinaro44]

40 minutes ago, MVPinBoynton said:

This is the first Azamara cruise that I have been on since 2010.  The Renaissance class ships are comfortable, but they have never been a favorite of mine, since they were very dark and old looking.  With the Pursuit being Azamara’s newest ship, they had done an outstanding renovation job before they put it in service.  I couldn’t believe how much I liked this ship.   Much of the dark wood, dark carpets and dated patterned furniture upholstery had been replaced with much brighter and newer looking decor.  I found the Pursuit to be a very pretty and comfortable ship.  I will happily cruise on her again.

Journey and Quest have been redone in the same manner as Pursuit.

[Soptim]

Thank you for the very informative review. I enjoyed reading it. 

[MVPinBoynton]

7 hours ago, marinaro44 said:

Journey and Quest have been redone in the same manner as Pursuit.

 

I am happy that all of their ships have been upgraded.  It really made a difference.

[RedBlu]

Thank you for another excellent comprehensive review Mike, Rio is also on our bucket list & we want to go even more now. We learned so much from your web site when we first started cruising with X ten years ago & are now looking forward to our second Azamara cruise in March on the Quest. We were very sorry to read about Carol, our condolences.

 

Pat & Tony

[tgg]

Mike, thanks for taking the time to do your usual comprehensive review. We look forward to boarding Pursuit in April.

[travelberlin]

Azamara still amazes its first time cruisers apparently. I was also on this cruise and my experience was different. I am glad to now that you liked your cruise with the Azamara Pursuit.

 

[lisiamc]

46 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Azamara still amazes its first time cruisers apparently. I was also on this cruise and my experience was different. I am glad to now that you liked your cruise with the Azamara Pursuit.

 

It still amazes some of us old lags as well.  I’m sorry your experience seems to have been lacking.

[lisiamc]

Thank you for a very thorough review, and your great photos.  We are about to have our first cruise on Pursuit next month, and we just cruised on Journey over Christmas.  I’m looking forward to seeing the little differences in a third ship.  It sounds like you didn’t have a chance to dine at my favourite venue, the Patio Grill in its evening incarnation.  We’ve really enjoy the steaks and other dishes freshly prepared and cooked to order on the grill.  They dress it up with table cloths and attentive service, and we have had many superb meals there.

[travelberlin]

1 hour ago, lisiamc said:

Thank you for a very thorough review, and your great photos.  We are about to have our first cruise on Pursuit next month, and we just cruised on Journey over Christmas.  I’m looking forward to seeing the little differences in a third ship.  It sounds like you didn’t have a chance to dine at my favourite venue, the Patio Grill in its evening incarnation.  We’ve really enjoy the steaks and other dishes freshly prepared and cooked to order on the grill.  They dress it up with table cloths and attentive service, and we have had many superb meals there.

Wishing you a good time on your first time on the Pursuit. Please post your impressions in comparison with Quest and Journey

[lisiamc]

12 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Wishing you a good time on your first time on the Pursuit. Please post your impressions in comparison with Quest and Journey

It sounds like maybe you didn’t enjoy your Pursuit cruise as much as you have others?  Have you done a review, or is there anything you can tell me about?  If there are things I should know about in advance, or know that we will have to work around them , that would be really helpful.

 

Every cruise is a bit different, just because of itinerary, personalities, weather, etc.  So far they’ve all been excellent, and have kept us coming back to Azamara since 2007.  I hope Pursuit will live up to her sister ships.

[travelberlin]

34 minutes ago, lisiamc said:

It sounds like maybe you didn’t enjoy your Pursuit cruise as much as you have others?  Have you done a review, or is there anything you can tell me about?  If there are things I should know about in advance, or know that we will have to work around them , that would be really helpful.

 

Every cruise is a bit different, just because of itinerary, personalities, weather, etc.  So far they’ve all been excellent, and have kept us coming back to Azamara since 2007.  I hope Pursuit will live up to her sister ships.

You can read my experience  on the reviews page of Azamara Pursuit

[lisiamc]

15 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

You can read my experience  on the reviews page of Azamara Pursuit

Thank you.  I’ll go do that now.

[hiccups]

Thanks for the review!  We're booked on Quest in November with a few of the same ports, so this is extremely helpful.  We've relied on your reviews several times in the past, so I was very happy to see your post.

Please accept my condolences on the passing of your wife.  I'm glad you have good friends to help you continue with your travels.

Edited January 20, 2020 by hiccups

[Grandma Cruising]

8 hours ago, travelberlin said:

You can read my experience  on the reviews page of Azamara Pursuit

Just read your review and was very surprised. We were on the TA on Pursuit from Lisbon to Rio which, I think, was just before your cruise. It was our first cruise on the Pursuit after 8 cruises on Quest & Journey. We didn’t feel any ‘cold’ atmosphere at all, just the opposite. We had no problems asking for wine from previous days. My DH found a Viognier he really liked early on in the cruise and was able to drink it every day. We ate twice in Aqualina and thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We found our meals in Discoveries to be just as good as on the other ships. One thing we found was that it was much easier to join a sharing table in Discoveries than on our recent Journey & Quest cruises, making it a very sociable cruise - but of course this may have been because it was a TA with lots of sea days and few early morning starts!

We booked a cruise whilst aboard, speaking to both LCV/ future cruise members of staff and found them both helpful.

We can’t comment on the entertainment as the only show we saw was a magician. He was excellent and did a number of ‘close up’ shows in the Living Room and some ‘how to do magic’ classes as well as his show in the Caberet lounge, but I know he left the ship before your cruise.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Host Grandma Cruising

[MVPinBoynton]

For some reason I haven't been receiving notifications of posts on this thread, so have not replied.  Thank you so much for the very nice comments.  They are appreciated.  I am also looking forward to cruising with Azamara again one of these days.

[dolllover]

Thank you for another excellent review. Your blog has been most helpful. So sorry about the passing of Carol. She will be in spirit as you continue your many adventures. Looking forward to your future reviews. 

 

We had to cancel last year of our first Azamara cruise due to an unfortunate fall my DH had. Looking forward to trying Azamara in the future. 

[travelberlin]

12 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Just read your review and was very surprised. We were on the TA on Pursuit from Lisbon to Rio which, I think, was just before your cruise. It was our first cruise on the Pursuit after 8 cruises on Quest & Journey. We didn’t feel any ‘cold’ atmosphere at all, just the opposite. We had no problems asking for wine from previous days. My DH found a Viognier he really liked early on in the cruise and was able to drink it every day. We ate twice in Aqualina and thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We found our meals in Discoveries to be just as good as on the other ships. One thing we found was that it was much easier to join a sharing table in Discoveries than on our recent Journey & Quest cruises, making it a very sociable cruise - but of course this may have been because it was a TA with lots of sea days and few early morning starts!

We booked a cruise whilst aboard, speaking to both LCV/ future cruise members of staff and found them both helpful.

We can’t comment on the entertainment as the only show we saw was a magician. He was excellent and did a number of ‘close up’ shows in the Living Room and some ‘how to do magic’ classes as well as his show in the Caberet lounge, but I know he left the ship before your cruise.

Experiences can be vey different indeed. I am glad to know your experience on the Transatlantic was different. As a matter of fact I did remember during my cruise that you mentioned the Viognier wine and that you kept becoming it on request. This was not the case during my cruise. My dinner companion one evening (a guest on a suite), requested the Riesling and the waiter at the main restaurant said no. She insisted, and the sommelier came and explained that it was not possible to request other wines than the ones served on the day. He said either the ones we offered on the day or other wines paying extra. The sommelier was aware that it used to be possible but he apologetic said this was not so anymore. 

I did not found that the “cold atmosphere” was coming from the guests. On the contrary, I have found the guests to be quite friendly and experienced cruisers. We have enjoyed lovely conversations with guests from USA, Canada, Germany, Brasil....

 

I was also surprised about my experience on the Pursuit. You are probably aware because of my comments on this board  that I do like Azamara. My biggest complaint has been the price increases, never the onboard experience.  Desto bigger my dissatisfaction on this cruise. However, I am always glad when people report that they had a fantastic time. 

 

As I have said on my review, I will try to book with Azamara again, but I will look rather for the Journey or the Quest. By the way, I do not recall two LCV future cruise consultants onboard the Pursuit. I have interacted only with a lady, I think from Rumania, but I am not sure about the country.

 

Ivi

Edited January 20, 2020 by travelberlin

[Grandma Cruising]

The LCV/future cruise people were a young lady, European but not sure which country, and a chap who seemed to be her manager.

I wonder if there were some crew changes in Rio. That might explain some of the difference between our experiences.
I hope the wine policy hasn’t changed, that would be really disappointing - I’m pinning my hopes on the sommelier being wrong - I’ll be interested to see if others have the same experience. I won’t get the chance to find out for myself until October, when we’re on the Pursuit again.

Edited January 20, 2020 by Host Grandma Cruising

[Baynanno1]

1 hour ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

I hope the wine policy hasn’t changed, that would be really disappointing - I’m pinning my hopes on the sommelier being wrong - I’ll be interested to see if others have the same experience. I won’t get the chance to find out for myself until October, when we’re on the Pursuit again.

 

We also hope the wine policy has not changed.

We were back on Pursuit in October / November and the policy was the same as it had been on our crossing in March. 😊

 

Let's hope it is not yet another of the "if you don't like what is on offer . . . we will sell you an alternative" innovations! 🙃

 

[ptrpanpens]

Hi Mike,

 

Great review of your cruise! I will be on Pursuit again in May and really looking forward to it. It looks like you had a great time and it was nice to see Paul and Gail again. I have never had much desire to see Rio, but after your review, I might give Brazil another look. 
 

Keep on traveling and posting your great adventures for all of the rest of us to read and enjoy. I will be looking forward to the next ones (especially Africa..I am so envious!)

 

Have a great 2020,

Anne

[MVPinBoynton]

25 minutes ago, ptrpanpens said:

Hi Mike,

 

Great review of your cruise! I will be on Pursuit again in May and really looking forward to it. It looks like you had a great time and it was nice to see Paul and Gail again. I have never had much desire to see Rio, but after your review, I might give Brazil another look. 
 

Keep on traveling and posting your great adventures for all of the rest of us to read and enjoy. I will be looking forward to the next ones (especially Africa..I am so envious!)

 

Have a great 2020,

Anne

Thanks Anne.  Rio was much nicer than I expected.   I have lots of trips this year, but the 3 week Safari is what has me most excited. 

[SkystheLimit]

Having trouble finding the link to your review. Could you please post the link.  Thank you.

 

[Grandma Cruising]

18 minutes ago, SkystheLimit said:

Having trouble finding the link to your review. Could you please post the link.  Thank you.

 

Try this - cruise at the top of the list http://www.thepreismans.com/

[MVPinBoynton]

3 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Try this - cruise at the top of the list http://www.thepreismans.com/

 

Thank you for posting the link, since I am not allowed to.  I see that you are going to be going through the Suez Canal this year.  We did that a couple years ago and just loved Petra, Oman and the UAE.  Awesome places.  The Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque is obviously on everyone's "must see" list when in the area.  If you get a chance, you should try to go back to it at night, since it is a much different and truly amazing.