Azamara Pursuit Rio to Lisbon 3/7-23

[Mackdogmolly]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

It's called boarding envy😀. Just make sure you get ahead of them at the Pool Bar and have one for me!

 

Phil

Or two! 😂

[Mackdogmolly]

BTW, no Azamara bags on this cruise. Meet & Mingle is tomorrow at 10 am.

[brazilgirl]

Impressions of today

 

We woke up and had a lovely breakfast on our balcony. It was brought punctually and very nicely presented. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed sitting and gazing out on the water.

 

Our dinner last night was in the Discoveries  Restaurant. We arrived about 7 pm and were seated quickly. Our table was next to a very kind German couple. We enjoyed chatting with them. They were avid Azamara cruisers. Dinner was delicious. I had the Indonesian suggested menu and my husband had a trout dish that was served with shrimp. I really enjoyed the portion sizes and presentation.

 

We tendered to Buzios. It was organized and quick. We walked along the shore and then explored the shops on the Rua de Pedra. We decided to just relax and not do an excursion today as we are familiar with Brazil. We headed back to the ship around 12:30 and then had the bbq lunch that was served on the pool deck. There were ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs and all the fixings. Really tasty with good weather.

 

The highlight of the day was the “Pub” trivia at 4 pm in the “Living Room”. My husband was napping so I joined some fellow passengers from Scotland and England and had great fun. I like the was the fellow passengers are quite friendly and easy to talk to. 
 

We had dinner in the Discovery Restaurant again, followed by a show in the Cabaret Lounge. All the officers were introduced and Captain Antonio spoke and Emily, the cruise director sang beautifully.

 

The thing I am enjoying most thus far is how the ship is compact and elegant and all the passengers and crew are so kind. And the Discoveries food and service is top notch.

 

PS… I agree the bad boarding experience was no fault of Azamara. We arrived at 3:30 ( our boarding time was at 3:00 pm) and we had “priority” boarding, however we still waited almost an hour before we were checked in and many people who arrived after us were attended before us. This is just an observation… no big deal, just could be improved.

 

photos from Buzios and the ship today

[brazilgirl]

I forgot to post these photos of our room as well im case anyone is curious. We have a Veranda Plus stateroom. Also some random ship photos. I am not a frequent photographer of food ( I prefer to just eat it, lol) but will try to get some in.

 

Obs: I was a bit nervous about the much maligned shower being too small. It is okay… not great but less bad than I expected from reports I had read. So I am happy . 🙂

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, brazilgirl said:

Obs: I was a bit nervous about the much maligned shower being too small. It is okay… not great but less bad than I expected from reports I had read. So I am happy . 🙂

I recall from a while back that Azamara had replaced the clingy plastic shower curtains with more substantial cloth ones and that the horror stories of the past were ... past.  There is no solution to the size of the shower [Oceania tried glass doors, and the reports are that it is worse – when your elbow hits the glass door, yeowie!!!] so heavy curtains seems like the best possible approach.

[Grandma Cruising]

22 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Yes, that was unfortunate. It was obvious that most people had arrived WELL ahead of their scheduled check in times.

Apparently that was partly down to Azamara - we talked to people who had   Azamara booked transfers &. they were picked up at 11:30 & at the terminal at 12:00

[Grandma Cruising]

11 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

BTW, no Azamara bags on this cruise. Meet & Mingle is tomorrow at 10 am.

In the  Drawing Room

[Riocca]

19 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

Apparently that was partly down to Azamara - we talked to people who had   Azamara booked transfers &. they were picked up at 11:30 & at the terminal at 12:00

We had mega problems with the port handling agent disembarking in 2014, we had Azamara flights & transfers including a day room in a hotel on Copacabana Beach. First we were taken miles away and dumped in a hotel with a communal room that RC used for check in, we got Azamara customer service involved and the agent then told us that there were no coaches available to take us to the right hotel. Azamara arranged taxis and when we arrived at the right hotel they had the booking but were surprised to see us, long story but they’d bribed the agent to take us to a sister hotel so they could double book our rooms.

Not long after Azamara pulled out from South American cruises because of the corruption and difficulty dealing with local ports, from reports of Pursuit’s season there it doesn’t sound to have improved. We are doing the same trans Atlantic on Quest next year and will be more prepared this time.

 

[Grandma Cruising]

On 3/8/2023 at 7:13 AM, Oslo Dutch said:

We are joining the excellent Pursuit on April 1st in Civitavecchia. Needless to say after a fantastic Baltic last year we really look forward to coming back again.

 

Last July the ship sailed at half capacity while in April were back to a healthy fully booked ship. What is the MDR traffic like? If you want a table for two for dinner do you have to wait, are there any lines etc? What are the busiest times?  We are late diners however flexible.

 

 

UK passengers seem to be in the majority, as a consequence it’s very busy in Discoveries MDR,  as we tend to eat later. There were long queues both nights from 7pm

[travelberlin]

9 hours ago, brazilgirl said:

Impressions of today

 

We woke up and had a lovely breakfast on our balcony. It was brought punctually and very nicely presented. The weather was perfect and we really enjoyed sitting and gazing out on the water.

 

Our dinner last night was in the Discoveries  Restaurant. We arrived about 7 pm and were seated quickly. Our table was next to a very kind German couple. We enjoyed chatting with them. They were avid Azamara cruisers. Dinner was delicious. I had the Indonesian suggested menu and my husband had a trout dish that was served with shrimp. I really enjoyed the portion sizes and presentation.

 

We tendered to Buzios. It was organized and quick. We walked along the shore and then explored the shops on the Rua de Pedra. We decided to just relax and not do an excursion today as we are familiar with Brazil. We headed back to the ship around 12:30 and then had the bbq lunch that was served on the pool deck. There were ribs, chicken, burgers, hot dogs and all the fixings. Really tasty with good weather.

 

The highlight of the day was the “Pub” trivia at 4 pm in the “Living Room”. My husband was napping so I joined some fellow passengers from Scotland and England and had great fun. I like the was the fellow passengers are quite friendly and easy to talk to. 
 

We had dinner in the Discovery Restaurant again, followed by a show in the Cabaret Lounge. All the officers were introduced and Captain Antonio spoke and Emily, the cruise director sang beautifully.

 

The thing I am enjoying most thus far is how the ship is compact and elegant and all the passengers and crew are so kind. And the Discoveries food and service is top notch.

 

PS… I agree the bad boarding experience was no fault of Azamara. We arrived at 3:30 ( our boarding time was at 3:00 pm) and we had “priority” boarding, however we still waited almost an hour before we were checked in and many people who arrived after us were attended before us. This is just an observation… no big deal, just could be improved.

 

photos from Buzios and the ship today

Nice pictures from Buzios where we have been many times.

We are boarding MSC in Santos up to Lisbon in a couple of weeks. You mentioned the Montserrat Castle in Sintra. Do you recommend Montserrat instead of Palacio da Peña? Is it possible to do both on one day?

Ivi

[Mackdogmolly]

32 minutes ago, Grandma Cruising said:

UK passengers seem to be in the majority, as a consequence it’s very busy in Discoveries MDR,  as we tend to eat later. There were long queues both nights from 7pm

Good to know! We tend to eat later too and on previous cruises the queues have been the busiest around 6-6:30

[travelberlin]

45 minutes ago, Riocca said:

We had mega problems with the port handling agent disembarking in 2014, we had Azamara flights & transfers including a day room in a hotel on Copacabana Beach. First we were taken miles away and dumped in a hotel with a communal room that RC used for check in, we got Azamara customer service involved and the agent then told us that there were no coaches available to take us to the right hotel. Azamara arranged taxis and when we arrived at the right hotel they had the booking but were surprised to see us, long story but they’d bribed the agent to take us to a sister hotel so they could double book our rooms.

Not long after Azamara pulled out from South American cruises because of the corruption and difficulty dealing with local ports, from reports of Pursuit’s season there it doesn’t sound to have improved. We are doing the same trans Atlantic on Quest next year and will be more prepared this time.

 

Amazing 😳. Copacabana Palace belongs to Belmond. Were you able to complain to them?

 

We have done some cruises with Azamara in South America since 2014. So I guess Azamara did not pull out too long from South America. Rio has a new terminal and it was supposed to be better. I guess they did not manage. We avoid embarking and disembarking in Rio. But Santos and Buenos Aires are not much better. 
 

In my last cruise with Pursuit, there were large ships every day in Buenos Aires. Azamara stayed overnight in Buenos Aires. We, Azamara Passengers, had to stay in the line behind everybody else if we wanted to return to our ship and follow orders given by an unfriendly security person. No separate line for Azamara for security. That was a bottleneck. I wonder if Azamara couldn’t influence that. I think there is a similar situation in Barcelona.

Ivi

[Riocca]

22 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Amazing 😳. Copacabana Palace belongs to Belmond. Were you able to complain to them?

 

 

Ivi

Can’t remember which hotel chain but it wasn’t the Copacabana Palace, it was in the days of Richard Twynam and only found out the details afterwards as the hotel claimed no knowledge of anything and the local agent disappeared very quickly.

[Mackdogmolly]

Schedule for today. Lots of activities for our first full sea day!

[uktog]

Nice range of activities there!  Looks like a new phrase - not Enrichment Lecture, but Special Interest - and the topic looks good.  Hope the delivery matches.  

Oh dear with Derek, a fellow Fifer in the Den I would be up way too late many nights on your cruise!

[laurieb]

23 hours ago, WatchHill said:

We'll be boarding the Pursuit in Lisbon on the 23rd. Seems we need to be at the Terminal not only at the confirmed time slot, [2:-2:30], but early enough to get ahead of the crowd. Hoping to get a few  reservations at the a la carte restaurants ASAP - our TA gifted us this perk. 

 

Mackdogmolly - Of course, escaping Logan is be our primary goal on the 20th. This week, two Untied planes "kissed" on the tarmac and another had to make an emergency/priority landing when a passenger disarmed the plane door and attempted to open it in flight. Passengers and flight crew had to hold the guy down until the plane landed - the zip tie cuffs didn't hold. The video has been uploaded to WCVB. 

 

Take good care of the ship for us.

 

Darcy

I think you’ll find boarding in Lisbon to be quite smooth.  

[Mackdogmolly]

6 minutes ago, laurieb said:

I think you’ll find boarding in Lisbon to be quite smooth.  

It was last summer 

[cavaaller]

3 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

It was last summer 

Do you remember, if boarding started at 14 o clock?

[Belfastman]

10 minutes ago, cavaaller said:

Do you remember, if boarding started at 14 o clock?

Yes we boarded in Lisbon last year and it did start at 14.00 although there were many people there before that.

[WatchHill]

12 minutes ago, cavaaller said:

Do you remember, if boarding started at 14 o clock?

 

1 minute ago, Belfastman said:

Yes we boarded in Lisbon last year and it did start at 14.00 although there were many people there before that.

The first boarding option listed for our cruise is 14.00 to 14.30, which we reserved. 

 

We've cruise through LIsbon in previous years, and notice there are multiple piers - our tickets have directions to the "new" pier. 

 

I have my EU's and now it's time to pack a few things.

 

Darcy

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, laurieb said:

I think you’ll find boarding in Lisbon to be quite smooth.  

 

 

 

[Mackdogmolly]

Well attended Meet and Mingle!

[takemewithyou]

21 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Well attended Meet and Mingle!

That looks very nice!

How did the meet and mingle not happen on boarding day?  Was it just scheduled that way or did someone request it?

Any drinks provided?

[Mackdogmolly]

1 hour ago, takemewithyou said:

That looks very nice!

How did the meet and mingle not happen on boarding day?  Was it just scheduled that way or did someone request it?

Any drinks provided?

It was just scheduled that way. And since it was in the library at 10 am, no drinks provided 😂 . I think there were at least 25 of us though! And since boarding day was such a shambles, it was just as well that it was put off until a sea day.

[oddjob16]

4 hours ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Well attended Meet and Mingle!

Nice to meet you all. I am sure we will have plenty of time to chat during the next two weeks.😁😎