We enjoyed our cruise around South America. South America was not high on our list of places to visit, but we learned a lot and saw a lot. I don’t know if I would return or not, but some places, such as Monttvideo, Punta Del Este and Buenos Aires would be worth visiting again. I would not return to Lima Peru. There is a nice shopping center along the coast and the Fountains Park are great. That’s about it though. While visiting South America, which is a long way from our home, we found it was worth extra time to visit Iguazu Falls, especially since it is quite close.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
The embarkation went smoothly except for one detail. Since there was a problem with the ship location due to harbor construction, we had to take a shuttle bus from the Marriott Hotel to the distant ship location. The problem was that when we arrived at the ship, we left the bus to board the ship. In the confusion of leaving the bus, my wife inadvertently left a bag behind. This was not life threatening, but a huge inconvenience because she had all of her knitting material in the bag. Material that she had accumulated over many years. We did not realize that the bag was missing until the next day on the ship. We went to the customer service to see if they had a lost and found of which they did, but the bag was not there. Big disappointment!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The first few days we had breakfast in the Windows Café. Every morning one of the workers would come by and take our drink request. We would never see our drink or the worker again. This also happened in the Living Room Lounge. This was a big disappointment as we would try and get our drinks ourselves. We were advised by the ship personnel to write a review and submit it with this problem of which we did. We must say, after that, service was outstanding, over the top, extremely satisfying. The ship personnel do really care about complaints. A huge thanks to them for that!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We did use the fitness center. It was rather small, but adequate. We did not use the pool or other activities.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
We only went to one show and we were not impressed with that. We spent several evenings in the Living Room Lounge. The main singer was not very good, but the lady on the piano and the guitar player were extremely good. There were a couple of piano players in the Den area bar that were extremely good, very good, outstandingly good! We really enjoyed them.
Children's Programs
No children.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff was very friendly and helpful. Unfortunately, we cannot remember all of their names. Some were so outstanding that we did bring it to the attention of the supervisors when we were there. They went well beyond superior service. We cannot say enough good things about the staff. There was one supervisor in the café who was always friendly and called us by name. His attentiveness was much appreciated.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
There are good points and bad points to small ships such as Azamara Pursuit vs Celebrity Solstice. The small ships have the advantage of shorter corridors and fewer flights of stairs. In our case of Azamara Pursuit, we thought that the selection of lounges and restaurants were good. Also, smaller ships mean fewer people to deal with for shore excursion getting on and off the ship. The advantage of a larger ship such as Celebrity Solstice is there is an adults only indoor pool that we use a lot. The smaller ships do not have that. The cabins and bathrooms are larger on a larger ship vs smaller ship smaller cabin and bathroom. Azamara Pursuit we felt was well maintained and clean. It is an older ship and in some areas it shows its age such as the windows in the Windows Café were quite water stained.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We are used to Celebrity ships where the bathroom and cabins are a bit larger. We prefer the larger bathrooms and cabins. Our cabin was very well maintained, clean and quiet. Our cabin was in a good location in the center of the ship. The advantage to Azamara smaller ships is the corridors are shorter and fewer stairs to get from one floor to another.
Ship tip
Research the shore excursions. Visit the informative talks that are offered regarding ports of call and other interesting topics.
We went on a local tour to a remote Inca ruins ancient archaeological site known as Tambo Colorado. 4-hour tour, that transports you from Port San Martin to the ruins of Tambo Colorado $90 per person. http://www.nazcaflights.com/tours-outside-nazca/sanmartinporttours/index.htm.
Well worth the trip. It was very interesting and informative. Our guide was outstanding.
We went on a Ship Tour. Explore two villages Baquedano. This small town once served as a major railway junction. Chacabuco, built in 1922 to house the workers of a nearby nitrate plant. Duration: 5 hours $139.00 USD. Very interesting and learned a lot about Chile.
Not visiting this was a big disappointment because we were very interested in seeing the observatories. Not visiting this could not be helped as there was a problem with the ship.
We went on a tour and we were not impressed with anything that we saw. Explore Valparaiso and Vina del Mar on this scenic panoramic journey through the heart of these picturesque cities.
We went to see the falls. They were nice. We were not impressed with seeing the lake or Puerto Varas, also known as the city of the roses. Not much to see or do there.
There is absolutely nothing here to see or do. We took a bus to the next town, Puerto Aysen. The bus ride was the most interesting part as it was like riding a carnival ride. Again, not much to see or do, just shopping. We heard that the falls were nice to see, but we did not get there.
Took a tour by locals and was very interesting. We went around Punta Arenas and saw the few sights there. The highlight was going to the penguin island, Magdalena Island. This was well worth it and is very popular. Penguin Island is highly recommended! Went to a local museum, Museo Nao Victoria, where there is a replica of Magellan’s ship and also a replica of the Beagle ship that took Darwin around on his journey’s. This overlooks Magellan’s Strait. Very interesting museum.
We did a tour by local that was outstanding. Our guide took us to the Tierra del Fuego National where we took a train ride through the park. After that we explored more of the park and then we went around the town of Ushuaia to see the sights and hidden viewpoints. Ushuaia and the park are both beautiful. Lost of shopping in downtown Ushuaia. Can’t say enough good things about our guide, AlmaCalma Expediciones. He was interesting and informative. He took very good care of us. We highly recommend AlmaCalma Expediciones! It is an easy walk from where the ship docks to the main downtown area of Ushuaia.
Montevideo, Uruguay is a huge gorgeous city with long breath-taking beaches. We took the On-Off bus and it took us all over the city at a very reasonable price. Lost to see. We recommend this.
. Upon researching Buenos Aires, Argentina prior to our cruise we were not impressed with nothing to see. We were wrong! Buenos Aires, Argentina is a huge gorgeous city with lots to see and do. We took a ship shore excursion and we highly recommend this. They took us everywhere and showed us a lot of the city and our guide was very informative.
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