Azamara Pursuit Rio to Lisbon 3/7-23

[brazilgirl]

What a gift of a day today! We are happy to be back in Portugal and excited to be able to visit Madeira for the first time. One thing… we will surely be back, as we were blown away by the island. It combines all things we most love - stunning nature, culture, great food and warm people.

 

We opted to take a private jeep tour and one other member of our roll call joined us. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable and know how to pace our tour in order to avoid the crowds. Many of the places it was just us, which was lovely. We had fabulous weather , not too hot and not too cold, with azure skies.

 

Every corner we went around elicited gasps of “wow”. We explored the East side of the island, starting at the highest peak and working our way down to the coastline, with forests and meadows in between. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant for lunch, that had views to die for and local food. 
 

We loved Madeira so much we are already planning a trip back.

 

We arrived back at the ship at a bit after four and enjoyed sun at the pool then dinner at “The Patio”, with a comedy show in the evening followed by music in The Living Room.

 

Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving home. The ship will leave “saudades”.

 

photos from today

[ECCruise]

26 minutes ago, brazilgirl said:

What a gift of a day today! We are happy to be back in Portugal and excited to be able to visit Madeira for the first time. One thing… we will surely be back, as we were blown away by the island. It combines all things we most love - stunning nature, culture, great food and warm people.

 

We opted to take a private jeep tour and one other member of our roll call joined us. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable and know how to pace our tour in order to avoid the crowds. Many of the places it was just us, which was lovely. We had fabulous weather , not too hot and not too cold, with azure skies.

 

Every corner we went around elicited gasps of “wow”. We explored the East side of the island, starting at the highest peak and working our way down to the coastline, with forests and meadows in between. We stopped at a wonderful restaurant for lunch, that had views to die for and local food. 
 

We loved Madeira so much we are already planning a trip back.

 

We arrived back at the ship at a bit after four and enjoyed sun at the pool then dinner at “The Patio”, with a comedy show in the evening followed by music in The Living Room.

 

Tomorrow is our last day at sea before arriving home. The ship will leave “saudades”.

 

Glad you loved Madeira.  After at least a dozen times there, we always look forward to returning.  It truly is a magical place and anyone who visits Funchal only to "walk around the town" misses the beauty that is everywhere.

[Host Jazzbeau]

48 minutes ago, brazilgirl said:

We opted to take a private jeep tour and one other member of our roll call joined us. Our guide was knowledgeable and personable and know how to pace our tour in order to avoid the crowds. Many of the places it was just us, which was lovely.

Who was the tour operator?  Your pictures make me want to add this to our Madeira excursions on our post-Ponant cruise stay next month!

[uktog]

10 hours ago, ECCruise said:

 

Glad you loved Madeira.  After at least a dozen times there, we always look forward to returning.  It truly is a magical place and anyone who visits Funchal only to "walk around the town" misses the beauty that is everywhere.

I agree but even a walk around Funchal is fabulous particularly if you add in a cable car ride. We spent a week on holiday in Funchal - very much a town break on that occasion and were blown away by its beauty and how much there was to see and do. We love coming back there on cruises for the day 

[brazilgirl]

We used a company called https://www.hittheroadmadeira.com/en/. They were very responsive and engaged.

One observation - the jeep was an older Land Rover, which had excellent suspension and was quite comfortable. However, the website says 6 passengers can be accommodated. I am very glad just one person came along ( I tried to get a total of six on the roll call, but no luck) because 2 of the seats were jumps seats in the back and would not have been comfortable.

 

i would easily spend a week in Madeira and love this company. A great option to see more of the island.  
 

photo of the jeep 

[Ithikan]

Thank you so much for your posts and photos, brazilgirl!  I think I hear the siren song of the island of Madeira...  

[Host Jazzbeau]

7 hours ago, brazilgirl said:

We used a company called https://www.hittheroadmadeira.com/en/. They were very responsive and engaged.

Thanks.  We have already booked a similar excursion with https://www.madeira-island-tours.com/.  Comparing the two itineraries did point up one difference (other than your private tour vs our small group 8-16 in a minivan):  no mention of lunch for us!  I have emailed the provider for clarification.

 

Edit:  very quick reply to my email:  Yes, there is a lunch stop on the full day tours.

[brazilgirl]

18 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks.  We have already booked a similar excursion with https://www.madeira-island-tours.com/.  Comparing the two itineraries did point up one difference (other than your private tour vs our small group 8-16 in a minivan):  no mention of lunch for us!  I have emailed the provider for clarification.

 

Edit:  very quick reply to my email:  Yes, there is a lunch stop on the full day tours.

Looks like a great company too. I am sure you will really enjoy it! We did the offroad jeep option, so were able to go on some exciting dirt roads. At times we were on narrow cliff roads, which was thrilling and a bit scary! Funchal was definitely our favorite port and everyone we talked to enjoyed their time there. 

[brazilgirl]

Last Sea Day  and Disembarkation:

 

Our last day on the ship was relaxing and fun. We played our last game of Progressive Trivia ( we did not win, but we did well and had such a good time. What a lovely team we had). 
 

We enjoyed lunch at the Discoveries Restaurant, always a pleasant option on sea days. In the evening , we headed to the Windows Café. The buffet was Indian and it was amazing. What flavors. I would choose it as one of the best meals we had on the ship. It was quite crowded, people seemed eager to try the delicacies.

 

We had our suitcases in the hall by 7 pm and at 9:00 pm we watched the ship choir, a group made of fellow passengers who practiced with Nicholas the Assistant Cruise Director. Delightful! Then we watched a goodbye video from the crew and a highly energetic and fun performance for the Pursuit Dancers. I got teary eyed watching the video. We really loved our cruise and will miss the ship.

 

Disembarkation was quite easy. We left the ship before 9, got our suitcases and our transport and are now on the road home. Back to real life. To all our fellow cruisers, bon voyage back home. We truly couldn’t ask for nicer people to sail with.

 

posting photos take on last day around the ship and our arrival in Lisbon.

 

Later I plan to write a review with thoughts on Azamara in general, being that it was our first cruise.

[juliacb]

Brazilgirl,

A big thank you again for posting such wonderful recaps of your trip.  We thoroughly enjoyed them!

[Mackdogmolly]

Disembarked the ship yesterday with @luv2ski2 and our DH’s and were met by a Tours by Locals guide, Rafael, in his 7 passenger van, for our tour of Sintra and some other hidden (almost off road) treasures. We had a great time, with lots of walking and lunch at a little restaurant in his home village. He even gifted each couple with a bottle of local wine before dropping us at our hotel at the end of the day.

[Grandma Cruising]

That sounds like a great day Betsey. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

We got home OK after a tiring day.

[Mackdogmolly]

10 hours ago, Grandma Cruising said:

That sounds like a great day Betsey. Glad you enjoyed it.

 

We got home OK after a tiring day.

It was! So glad we got to spend some time with you and Nick on our cruise.

[excitedofharpenden]

On 3/23/2023 at 12:01 PM, brazilgirl said:

Last Sea Day  and Disembarkation:

 

Our last day on the ship was relaxing and fun. We played our last game of Progressive Trivia ( we did not win, but we did well and had such a good time. What a lovely team we had). 
 

A few faces there that I recognise. Glad you had fun.

 

Phil  

[brazilgirl]

2 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

A few faces there that I recognise. Glad you had fun.

 

Phil  

We had a really lovely group… and Progressive Trivia was really a thing to look forward to on our sea days. 

[uktog]

If you treat it as fun Progressive Trivia certainly is fun - its those who take it seriously that come unstuck

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, uktog said:

If you treat it as fun Progressive Trivia certainly is fun - its those who take it seriously that come unstuck

True for all trivia.  On our second Azamara cruise we had a blast playing trivia most days, as did most of the other groups – except the professional trivia team who had to win every day.  But unlike some other cruise lines, winning isn't everything:  every player gets one point just for showing up, and the winners get one extra point – hardly worth getting the knives out for!

[Mackdogmolly]

Just a final recap. We flew home on Saturday: Lisbon to Boston, connecting in Barcelona. Our flight was late leaving Lisbon and we barely made our connection in Barcelona (we were literally sprinting through the airport - and were the last ones on board). Arrived in Boston late Saturday night without our luggage. Drove back to Vermont on Sunday and were just notified last night that all three bags have been located and are being shipped to us. Whew! 
 

Our thoughts on the cruise: this was our first time on the Pursuit (or any ship other than the Quest), but not sure if that is even relevant. Found the crew as lovely and anxious to please as ever. Food (with a few exceptions) as good as ever. We mostly dined in Discoveries, but did do the Italian Chef’s Table and ate in the Specialties a couple of time and once on the Patio for dinner. Had a couple of lunches on the Patio that weren’t great.

The service in Discoveries was consistently very slow at dinner. Ordinarily, I don’t mind that much, but one night we arrived at 6:30 to a nearly empty dining room, hoping to make an 8:15 performance in the Lounge and barely made it with no one having coffee or dessert. That seems odd to me.

I can’t comment too much on the entertainment because we don’t attend most of it, but I did enjoy Derek in the Den, who was talented and not so loud that you couldn’t converse! Also the Marvelous Funk (terrible name) were a talented band in the Living Room. They had a Canadian comedian, Andrew Gros, who performed on a couple of nights, who was very funny and well received.

Shuttles and shore excursions: the lack of shuttles in most of the ports was a disappointment and the excursions (at least that we went on) were a little hit or miss. We did enjoy the paella making one though.

I must say that we seemed to connect with more fellow cruisers on this trip than on any other! Some from my roll call (yay CC) and some that we just met on the ship. That in itself made for an overall highly enjoyable experience!

Can’t wait to be back onboard in October.

Betsey

[luv2ski2]

Yes, it WAS an enjoyable cruise. I concur with Betsey's post. We extended our trip with 3 days in Madrid and loved it. We finally got home last night - and thankfully with our bags.  We had $1650 in OBC so we booked Prime C/Acquelina 8 times and weren't disappointed with the food and service but must add their new requirement that you sign the "check" on a tablet was a bit confusing.  It "suggests" tips based on a percentage.  My DHH, unthinkingly, clicked on 20% and we learned mid-cruise that it equated to a $50 tip for one night.  Needless to say, we disputed the charge, and it was removed but it was embarrassing. As is our custom, we recognized our favorite servers with a cash tip at the end of the cruise.  

Unfortunately, our experiences with the excursions were not very good. We ONLY booked thru the ship as we had so much OBC. Our 1st one was a sailing/beach/snorkeling trip in Buzios. The guide told us the boat was switched that morning so we couldn't stop at the beach. The Catamaran that replaced the other boat broke down (the engine was smoking up a storm) so we didn't get to snorkel (with the jellyfish that surrounded the boat) but were stranded on a smelly old boat with no beer or wine for several hours and had to be towed back to shore.  Our guide on the 1st hike was a lovely man, and knew the history of the Island, but we didn't get the "narrated" hike advertised so we knew little about what we were seeing.  The guide on the hike in La Palma to the volcano was another nice man but he got lost (told me it was his 1st time to lead the hike) so we didn't go up to the top of the volcano and stand on the rim as was advertised. I love to hike and enjoyed the others on the hike so I enjoyed myself, but it was probably my only chance to look into a volcano and it didn't happen.  

We LOVED White Night as the band played the kind of music we dance to - the dance floor was packed - and the food and company were excellent.  I wished the band/s had played similar music in the Living Room more often.  

We also loved meeting people that we'd blogged with on CC and especially those who we got to know at Sol Ipanema Hotel in Rio before we sailed. We booked 3 more cruises while on board but won't sail until January 2024. I pray you all stay safe and healthy so you can sail the seas again.  And with luck, maybe our paths will cross again. 

[Mackdogmolly]

On 3/29/2023 at 6:06 PM, luv2ski2 said:

We also loved meeting people that we'd blogged with on CC and especially those who we got to know at Sol Ipanema Hotel in Rio before we sailed. We booked 3 more cruises while on board but won't sail until January 2024. I pray you all stay safe and healthy so you can sail the seas again.  And with luck, maybe our paths will cross again. 

It was great meeting you and Tem too, Cindi! I do hope that we will sail together again someday!

Betsey

[luv2ski2]

22 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

It was great meeting you and Tem too, Cindi! I do hope that we will sail together again someday!

Betsey

Something we enjoy most on Azamara Cruises is getting to know people from all over. Spending time with you and Andrew was one of the highlights of our trip. Our 2024 is booked - 13 nt Central Am Tapestry 1/5-18/24 and B2B Spain and France intensive 9/13-30/24. Take another look and see if one might fit in your schedule and you can book in Oct. And then let's look at 2025 next year and find one that sounds good. SOOOO glad your luggage caught up with you!  I know it was a nightmare.  After almost losing a bag years ago (only because I'd seen it with a group from Tennesee and called that airport's "lost luggage" dept was it located), I make a list of everything I pack - "just in case". Tem laughs at me, but I figure better safe than sorry.  We'll stay in touch!. PS Thank you again for the TRUE maple syrup.  I plan to make pancakes or waffles this weekend (to be honest mine are better than Azamara's) and will relish every bite with that wonderful syrup.  Pictures will be forwarded soon.  

[Mackdogmolly]

4 minutes ago, luv2ski2 said:

PS Thank you again for the TRUE maple syrup.  I plan to make pancakes or waffles this weekend (to be honest mine are better than Azamara's) and will relish every bite with that wonderful syrup.  Pictures will be forwarded soon.  

We left what remained of our bottle (along with a tip) to our cabin steward. He had never heard of it. I hope he enjoys it! We will definitely look at those itineraries!