End of First Leg of B2B on Pursuit

[nordski]

These are some thoughts upon the completion of the first of two seven day itineraries (B2B) on Pursuit. The focus of this itinerary was on ports in Croatia using Venice as the focus for embarking and disembarking.

 

1/ The service has been exemplary. We cannot point to any weaknesses. Even the personnel at the Services desk on Deck 4, sometimes a weak link in our experience, have been very helpful. One of the Land Discoveries officers went above and beyond to help us out. That has not always been our previous experience of that office.

 

2/ The transformation of the Sunset Deck and the creation of the Den are major positives to us. We were anticipating the added tables on the Sunset Deck, but we had never realized how the bar on the Sunset Deck had previously blocked sight lines. 
 

3/ Generally the furniture in public areas and staterooms is more comfortable and attractive than on Pursuit’s sister ships. The only exception is on the Sunset Deck and on The Patio. The chairs there have a bar that manages to soon make our backs very uncomfortable.

 

4/ The food has been excellent, but then I am a person who finds the complementary wines perfectly acceptable. The only concern is that there is a young man at the morning toasting station who has devised a method to speed up production unfortunately, as you might imagine, quality has suffered. But he is always good natured when we ask him to produce a product both hot and toasted 😄

I am a little concerned that The Patio seems poorly populated at dinner. They no longer seem to offer special dishes each evening. I hope that that facility remains open as we enjoy its offerings.

 

5/ The Azamazing Evening in Split featured the triple threat Ana Rucner: cellist, singer, and dancer. Her performance reflected an interpretation of elements of traditional Croatian culture. An exciting artist, she created one of the better and more sophisticated  Evenings we have attended.

 

6/ The entertainment ensemble, the band, and Assistant CD Amanda Paulson are all new to us and have shown real strengths. We really enjoy Maryfer who is the pianist/singer in The Den. She has superb skills in performing romantic songs made famous by artists from Carol King to Adele.

 

7/ The passengers on the ship are quite typical of those found on Azamara: friendly and well-informed. There is a great atmosphere on board. Only twice have we witnessed rather petulant behaviour.

Based upon attendance at the LCV cocktail party, I think there were a large number of cruisers who are new to Azamara. CD Tony Markey mentioned that there was also a significant contingent of newcomers on the previous cruise.

 

We are looking forward to the 2nd half of this B2B, an itinerary which will take us from Venice to Rome.

 

 

[Grandma Cruising]

Thanks for this positive post about Pursuit - great to hear as we’re going on her for the first time in November.

[travelberlin]

Thank you for your impressions on Pursuit. I will have my first cruise on the ship in December this year and I am very much looking forward to it.

Ivi

[BBMacLaird]

Thank you Nordski for the review of your Croatia cruise and the AZ Pursuit.  She is a lovely addition to the fleet. We were fortunate to sail on her to Lima last Fall.

[excitedofharpenden]

7 hours ago, nordski said:

 

 

1/ The service has been exemplary. We cannot point to any weaknesses. Even the personnel at the Services desk on Deck 4, sometimes a weak link in our experience, have been very helpful.

 

 

 

Guest Relations Officer, Dimple (previously part of the security team) is a star. As is Marta. You just need people with an attitude like they have to make all the difference to a role that is, let's face it, pretty thankless at times. 

 

Enjoy part two!  

 

Phil 

[nordski]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I would also like to thank those who were on Pursuit’s early voyages who detailed some of the shortcomings they encountered.

 

We are benefiting from their diligence.

 

One of the senior officers mentioned to us that they had to commit time and effort to train new staff into the Azamara culture. The fruits of that commitment are clear.

Edited September 28, 2019 by nordski

[Literary Lynne]

So happy to have your thoughts on your cruise nodski and more than pleased that you are having a great time. We are on Pursuit in a couple of weeks so every morsel of information is of interest.

 

Look forward to hearing more but in the meantime I hope you enjoy every minute.

 

Thank you.

Lynne 😀

[nordski]

13 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Guest Relations Officer, Dimple (previously part of the security team) is a star. As is Marta. You just need people with an attitude like they have to make all the difference to a role that is, let's face it, pretty thankless at times. 

 

Enjoy part two!  

 

Phil 

Haven’t identified Marta, but I had encountered Dimple without knowing her name.

 

I agree, she is terrific and hilarious.

[nordski]

Thanks again for the positive comments.

 

I have now identified one reason why the first leg was so good.

 

Based upon the Captain’s final report, the second largest nationality on board was Canadian! That has never been the case on any of our previous cruises.

 

Although perhaps this achievement was less about our numbers and more about absent cruisers from the UK letting down the side.

 

Regardless, if this is the case on the second leg, with our new-found strength we shall demand the relabelling of the English bacon in Windows and institution of a better Canadian butter tart recipe.

 

And this is just the beginning of our ambitions 😄.

[hrhdhd]

nordski--a B2B?! I am green all over again.

 

Demand poutine and maple syrup. It's the least they can do. 😁

[roberts2005]

Any idea why Pursuit has not left Venice as of 9:30 Saturday night instead of 6:00.

[Baynanno1]

1 hour ago, roberts2005 said:

Any idea why Pursuit has not left Venice as of 9:30 Saturday night instead of 6:00.

 

No idea, but the port site is showing the ship departed at 2246.

 

I am sure nordski will have an answer.

Edited September 28, 2019 by Baynanno1

[Werangels]

It hasn’t left Venice on any of it’s departure nights at the time stated of 6.00pm.  For us, it wasn’t announced until drill that we wouldn’t be leaving until 10pm.  

[roberts2005]

Shame, that it left in the dark.  It is one of the nicest departures in daylight.

[kelliebiz]

Thank you Nordski! After you disembark in Rome next week, we will get on for seven nights in Italian ports. We are first timers to Azamara and are enjoying all of the details provided. Delighted to hear that you have such a positive review. 

[nordski]

5 hours ago, Baynanno1 said:

 

No idea, but the port site is showing the ship departed at 2246.

 

I am sure nordski will have an answer.

My understanding is that because of the new port rules, following the MSC accident at San Basilio, the arrivals/departures are operating under stricter rules.

 

For example, all ships are now under the auxiliary control of three tugs; two fore and one aft. I expect they are also creating a greater separation in departure/arrival times to keep the channel clear. An MSC ship left before us and there may well have been others.

 

We did enjoy a sail-in at noon on Friday accompanied by CD Tony’s very good commentary.

 

 

[nordski]

17 hours ago, nordski said:

Haven’t identified Marta, but I had encountered Dimple without knowing her name.

 

I agree, she is terrific and hilarious.

Now that I have met Marta, I can agree that Phil’s judgement is once again spot on.

 

Amazing how a sunny disposition augments the service they provide.

[Grandma Cruising]

Bonnie published a letter sent to people about disembarkation & embarkation at San Basilio in Venice. This talked about the use of boats - can anyone tell me how this works? Is it because of the damage to the pier outside the terminal?

[marinaro44]

3 hours ago, Host Grandma Cruising said:

Bonnie published a letter sent to people about disembarkation & embarkation at San Basilio in Venice. This talked about the use of boats - can anyone tell me how this works? Is it because of the damage to the pier outside the terminal?

Where is this letter?  We board Journey in Venice on October 8 and the hotel will shuttle us to port.  San Basilio, I hope.

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, marinaro44 said:

Where is this letter?  We board Journey in Venice on October 8 and the hotel will shuttle us to port.  San Basilio, I hope.

It’s in the Pursuit Roll call for 28/09/19 here 

 

[marinaro44]

Wow!  Thanks.

[excitedofharpenden]

On 9/29/2019 at 7:04 AM, nordski said:

Now that I have met Marta, I can agree that Phil’s judgement is once again spot on.

 

Amazing how a sunny disposition augments the service they provide.

I think Geeta, concierge is on the ship too.  She is another star.  If you see her please say hi from me.  

 

Phil

[BBMacLaird]

On 9/29/2019 at 4:21 AM, marinaro44 said:

Where is this letter?  We board Journey in Venice on October 8 and the hotel will shuttle us to port.  San Basilio, I hope.

Hi marinaro44,  I am inquiring whether the same boarding instructions apply to your Journey 10/10/19 voyage, as I posted for the 9/21 and 9/28 voyages.

[BBMacLaird]

On 9/30/2019 at 1:54 PM, BBMacLaird said:

Hi marinaro44,  I am inquiring whether the same boarding instructions apply to your Journey 10/10/19 voyage, as I posted for the 9/21 and 9/28 voyages.

 

Marinaro44, I've just posted boarding instruction on your JR 10/10/19 Roll Call.

[marinaro44]

6 hours ago, BBMacLaird said:

 

Marinaro44, I've just posted boarding instruction on your JR 10/10/19 Roll Call.

Thanks, Bonnie.  Received an email from Azamara today explaining it all.