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Is The Pursuit up to snuff?


nelsjay
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A few years ago, we did a Mediterranean cruise on The Quest and loved it. Other than Azamara, we have cruised on the mass market lines, Windstar, and Crystal. We choose our cruises mostly by itinerary, avoiding the mega ships these days. The Pursuit has an attractive itinerary for us next summer, but we are a little hesitant reading the few reviews here so far.

 

Is there cause for concern?

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No in our opinion there’s no cause to worry, we were on Pursuit’s Maiden and given it was the first cruise with paying passengers it was well up to standard.

Pursuit itself has been refitted to a higher standard than the other two ships, it felt lighter and brighter and The Den is a space that works so much better than Quest & Journey. The lack of a bar on the Sunset Veranda was different and initially caused a few logistical problems but that was being resolved with experience.

Staff were excellent it was hard to believe that some hadn’t been with Azamara for years, we had to keep reminding ourselves that for lots of them it was their first exposure to Azamara passengers.

We wouldn’t hesitate in returning to Pursuit, in fact we already have a future booking for her.

 

 

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Also on Pursuit’s maiden...loved, loved, loved it...especially all the improvements like The Den, so much so that we’re worried that Quest and Journey (upcoming cruises) which we loved first time around will now seem a little less special...don’t hesitate, Pursuit is awesome!

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I, too, am on my first Azamara cruise in November on the Pursuit and have been concerned about these first reviews. Hopefully any issues will be addressed and corrected in the coming weeks. I realize that the cabins and bathrooms will be small and I’m ready to deal with that. However, I do expect exceptional food and service based upon Azamara reviews of the past.

 

Laura

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Wow those are pretty brutal, and half of them have cruised on Azamara before, one of them multiple times. They were not premium cruise line virgins. I hope the problems are mostly related to just growing pains, although the shape and decor of the ship, AC problems, a rude crew member insulting a disabled passenger were not the result of that. I'll be on Pursuit in November and I'm bummed about the lack of the interactive television system. It's not like this is 1999 and that's something that should have been done before it set sail. While many will say "who sails for television" the fact is, while that's not the most important thing to me, I cruise to recover from my hectic daily life of a 50+ hour per week job, aging parents, sick dog and home renovations. I like to eat good food, catch up on reading, sit and watch the sea go by, nap, and yes...order movies and room service in a 21st century manner. I'm going to forget those reviews and hope for the best - although they'll all come back to mind if those things pop up during mine. Good thing Azamara has so many active cheerleaders to counter these type of reviews.

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Wow those are pretty brutal, and half of them have cruised on Azamara before, one of them multiple times. They were not premium cruise line virgins. I hope the problems are mostly related to just growing pains, although the shape and decor of the ship, AC problems, a rude crew member insulting a disabled passenger were not the result of that. I'll be on Pursuit in November and I'm bummed about the lack of the interactive television system. It's not like this is 1999 and that's something that should have been done before it set sail. While many will say "who sails for television" the fact is, while that's not the most important thing to me, I cruise to recover from my hectic daily life of a 50+ hour per week job, aging parents, sick dog and home renovations. I like to eat good food, catch up on reading, sit and watch the sea go by, nap, and yes...order movies and room service in a 21st century manner. I'm going to forget those reviews and hope for the best - although they'll all come back to mind if those things pop up during mine. Good thing Azamara has so many active cheerleaders to counter these type of reviews.

 

I boarded the Pursuit in Haugesund from the Journey during their meet up (admittedly not the most scenic of Norwegian ports but it served its purpose and no reason to slam Azamara for using it for a celebration, plaque presentation by the mayor, performance by the local school band and twirlers, etc). The Pursuit public areas blew me away vs. the Journey. Reading the bad reviews I suggest considering the sources. One didn't like the small cabin and bath, and they are small, but one should know that going in. The rooms are the same size on every Azamara (and Oceania) ship (in spite of an incorrect comment that the rooms had been downsized to cram more passengers into the Pursuit - actually they added a few full size cabins on deck 4 for that purpose). One didn't like the decorator's taste nor the public art, a personal priority and opinion. One primarily complained about the food, a personal taste, and minority, opinion. One was focused on public areas being too cold for him/her. Another had what sounds like a justifiable shakedown complaint about noisy A/C in their room, an isolated incident apparently. One complained about a lack of a "cloakroom attendant" in the public lavatories, insisting that other Azamara ships have them, not so. Another complained about sneeze guard design and the lack of "baffles" (?!) on exterior doors in the Windows cafe. And finally one reviewer complained that Azamara loyalists, who know the ships (and perhaps complain less), were a clique and were treated better than the reviewer. Some folks look at life as a glass half full and some, well......

Edited by flyingshoes
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Wow. All I can say is our experience on Pursuit’s Maiden couldn’t be more different. We found the food delicious (especially the soups!) and improved from previous Journey and Quest voyages. Yes, there were AC issues, but they were very quickly addressed. Service was amazing, especially for s crew that was still “finding its feet.” And we think it is just gorgeous and we were so n another gorgeous ship in December...Viking Star! To each his own I guess, but Pursuit is wonderful and we’ve been on at least 7 other cruise lines!

 

 

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My overall opinion of Pursuit from the two days I spent on the ship last month was they had done a lovely job fitting her out. This view was shared by many friends too.

 

There will be some mechanical challenges when a ship is taken over like this. I do know that P and O did not do a good job of maintaining this lady through her life. Even though the previous owners had to carry out much work after a US inspection when she sailed as Fathom, when Azamara finally acquired her there were still some hidden issues that cropped up. Knowing the way the ships are run with Azamara, this will be attended to as a priority. The Chief Engineer will be busy!

 

 

Finally, I have to make comment on the subject of an old ship. She is 18 years old now. A properly maintained ship will last 40+ years. She may not have the bells and whistles, but with the crew she still has a beating heart and the basic design is a good one. It would be nice to have a new ship, but I think these are lovely and classy without being OTT.

 

Phil

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My overall opinion of Pursuit from the two days I spent on the ship last month was they had done a lovely job fitting her out. This view was shared by many friends too.

 

There will be some mechanical challenges when a ship is taken over like this. I do know that P and O did not do a good job of maintaining this lady through her life. Even though the previous owners had to carry out much work after a US inspection when she sailed as Fathom, when Azamara finally acquired her there were still some hidden issues that cropped up. Knowing the way the ships are run with Azamara, this will be attended to as a priority. The Chief Engineer will be busy!

 

 

Finally, I have to make comment on the subject of an old ship. She is 18 years old now. A properly maintained ship will last 40+ years. She may not have the bells and whistles, but with the crew she still has a beating heart and the basic design is a good one. It would be nice to have a new ship, but I think these are lovely and classy without being OTT.

 

Phil

 

Like...and agree Phil

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My overall opinion of Pursuit from the two days I spent on the ship last month was they had done a lovely job fitting her out. This view was shared by many friends too.

 

There will be some mechanical challenges when a ship is taken over like this. I do know that P and O did not do a good job of maintaining this lady through her life. Even though the previous owners had to carry out much work after a US inspection when she sailed as Fathom, when Azamara finally acquired her there were still some hidden issues that cropped up. Knowing the way the ships are run with Azamara, this will be attended to as a priority. The Chief Engineer will be busy!

 

 

Finally, I have to make comment on the subject of an old ship. She is 18 years old now. A properly maintained ship will last 40+ years. She may not have the bells and whistles, but with the crew she still has a beating heart and the basic design is a good one. It would be nice to have a new ship, but I think these are lovely and classy without being OTT.

 

Phil

 

 

 

Agree 100% Phil.

 

Having mainly cruised P&O (U.K.) & Princess before coming over to Celebrity, Azamara & RC in 2010 with a few cross over cruises in between the difference that really hit us was how much better the RC brands look after their ships.

I know from our experience on the maiden that there were more than a few expensive hidden problems to resolve during the refit. Reading between the lines I think that’s probably the reason for the lack of an interactive TV system in the staterooms, but I’m sure it will follow in due course.

 

 

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...... did they forget to put a bar in? Sitting on the sunset verandah is one of our favourite places....[/font][/color]

 

 

 

There was no existing bar there on the ship, but it is still a seating area for Windows, with more seats. You can still go and have a drink there, but the servers have to fetch it to you from other bar areas.

 

 

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There was no existing bar there on the ship, but it is still a seating area for Windows, with more seats. You can still go and have a drink there, but the servers have to fetch it to you from other bar areas.

 

 

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Thanks. Seems unnecessary extra workload for staff though, rather than being able to walk to the bar and get it yourself.

I’m sure they know what they’re doing! [emoji848].

 

 

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The structure is different with stairs in different places as I recall. We had no issues with the drinks service and liked the fact there were far more seats and more under cover - so more chance of sitting there for the evening buffet. As you say, time will tell if it’s as nice.

 

 

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...... did they forget to put a bar in? Sitting on the sunset verandah is one of our favourite places....[/font][/color]

When they built R-ships there was no bar there. When Celebrity acquired Journey and Quest (with a view to sailing them as Celebrity Journey and Quest) they added the bar.

 

Phil

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...... did they forget to put a bar in? Sitting on the sunset verandah is one of our favourite places....[/font][/color]

 

Nice dining area but a wasted area when dining finishes.

 

I suspect they don`t want to encourage people sitting around having a drink only in that area, wishing to use the area as overflow from the inside dining areas.

 

There really isn`t an area onboard Pursuit where you can sit and have a drink whilst gazing out to the ocean.

It`s nice to sit at a bar chatting to fellow travellers....

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Nice dining area but a wasted area when dining finishes.

 

I suspect they don`t want to encourage people sitting around having a drink only in that area, wishing to use the area as overflow from the inside dining areas.

 

There really isn`t an area onboard Pursuit where you can sit and have a drink whilst gazing out to the ocean.

It`s nice to sit at a bar chatting to fellow travellers....

As I understand it, there were Sunset bars on Quest and Journey when acquired, so they kept the bars. There was no Sunset bar on Adonia when acquired, so they left it that way. Many here prefer to have more tables and no bar taking up table space. Personally, I liked the ambiance with the bar and not having wall-to-wall tables like a cafeteria.

 

It has nothing to do with wanting to discourage people from sitting around and drinking.

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As I understand it, there were Sunset bars on Quest and Journey when acquired, so they kept the bars. There was no Sunset bar on Adonia when acquired, so they left it that way. Many here prefer to have more tables and no bar taking up table space. Personally, I liked the ambiance with the bar and not having wall-to-wall tables like a cafeteria.

 

It has nothing to do with wanting to discourage people from sitting around and drinking.

 

When I say "sitting around drinking" I should have qualified by saying sitting around taking up space which would accommodate overflow from Windows.

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When I say "sitting around drinking" I should have qualified by saying sitting around taking up space which would accommodate overflow from Windows.

And my point was that Azamara just left that area as they got it (with no bar), just as they did with Journey and Quest (with bar). They felt they could serve drinks from the bar area within Windows so why go to the expense of adding everything necessary to add another bar in the outdoor area.

 

As I said, I'd have preferred there been a bar there, and I rarely drink in that outdoor area.

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Nice dining area but a wasted area when dining finishes.

 

I suspect they don`t want to encourage people sitting around having a drink only in that area, wishing to use the area as overflow from the inside dining areas.

 

There really isn`t an area onboard Pursuit where you can sit and have a drink whilst gazing out to the ocean.

It`s nice to sit at a bar chatting to fellow travellers....

 

What about the Living Room? That was our favorite place to have a drink (and nibbles), listen to music and gaze outside.

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