Carnival in Rio Cruise: At Sea (parts 1 & 2)

by Bethany Explores March 10, 2023

In this third post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores what life is like at sea while on her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara.

Back for my second cruise on Azamara…this time I am exploring South America. The 15-night Carnival in Rio cruise is round-trip from Buenos Aires, going up to Rio de Janeiro and back. Join me as I explore the many wonderful ports in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil along the way!

Carnival in Rio Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the trip. This post includes details about Cruise Days 3, 4, 12, and 13 at sea. Looking for info on other stops? Check out the ‘Links’ section at the end of this post!

Pre-Cruise – February 9 & 10: Buenos Aires, Argentina (embarkation)
Cruise Day 1 & 2 – February 11 & 12: Montevideo, Uruguay
Cruise Day 3 & 4 – February 13 & 14: At Sea
Cruise Day 5 – February 15: Santos, Brazil
Cruise Day 6 – February 16: Ilhabela, Brazil
Cruise Day 7 – February 17: Parati, Brazil
Cruise Day 8 – February 18: Buzios, Brazil
Cruise Day 9-11 – February 19-21: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Cruise Day 12 & 13 – February 22 & 23: At Sea
Cruise Day 14 – February 24: Punta del Este, Uruguay
Post-Cruise Day 1 – February 25: Buenos Aires (disembarkation)
Post-Cruise Day 2 – February 26: Iguazu Falls, Brazil
Post-Cruise Day 3 – February 27: Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Cruise Day 3: At Sea

Monday, February 13 was Day 3 of my cruise. This was the first of two consecutive sea days as we made our way from Montevideo, Uruguay to Santos, Brazil. After two marvelous days in Montevideo, it was a great opportunity to rest and recharge! Today started with another relaxing breakfast out on the Sunset Veranda. They offer a very nice buffet breakfast here at Windows Cafe, with an assortment of both hot and cold items. There is also a fresh make-to-order station where you can get pancakes, French toast, omelets, and other types of eggs. My favorite parts of the breakfast buffet are the fresh fruit and the fresh baked goods…the chocolate croissants are especially tasty with a hot cappuccino! But the overall highlight of the entire breakfast is definitely the fresh-squeezed orange juice.

Life At Sea

I settled into life at sea today. Because this trip is so long (3 weeks from start to finish!) I planned to work when I could, and the sea days were the perfect opportunities for that. This morning I settled into the Drawing Room, a quiet retreat near the aft of the ship, to get some work done while my fantastic stateroom attendant was cleaning my room. The luxurious Drawing Room has a gorgeous painted ceiling, a grand piano, and lots of shelves stuffed with books that passengers are free to use. It was a great spot to start catching up on the many emails sitting in my inbox!

Chef’s Table

Tonight’s dinner was definitely a highlight of the cruise. I was fortunate to get a seat at the French Chef’s Table! I did this same Chef’s Table on my previous cruise on Azamara, and I was delighted to get another opportunity to enjoy it. The food and wine pairings are wonderful, and the intimate setting (12 guests) is a great way to get to know people better. We had a great group of Americans, Brits, and Canadians at the table tonight. Near the end of the dinner the full team comes out for introductions…there is one individual dedicated to each course of the dinner! Needless to say, they each got a warm and hearty round of applause from us tonight.

My fabulous meal started with the lobster salad with spinach parfait and Bacarii caviar. This was followed by the beef consommé with caramelized onions, then the quenelle de volaille. A refreshing pomegranate rosé wine granité was a perfect palate cleanser, to prepare for the entree of filet of beef aux herbes de Provence. A selection of delicious cheeses followed. The grand finale was a wonderful fondant au citron. Each course was expertly paired with a fantastic wine, which the sommelier introduced to us before each course was served.

Cruise Day 4: At Sea

Tuesday, February 14 was Day 4 of my cruise, and the second of these two sea days. We were getting closer to our next port, Santos. Today was another work day for me, but I managed to find some time to relax and enjoy the beautiful day as well! My veranda was the perfect spot to get some work done today.

Valentine’s Day Brunch

There was a sumptuous Valentine’s Day brunch available today. Discoveries, the main dining room on Deck 5, was all decked out with festive heart-themed decorations. The house band was also playing romantic tunes for us in the background to help set the festive mood.

The food itself was amazing, and rather abundant! There was table after table of a wide variety of foods, from sweet to savory and everything in between. And the smiling faces of the crew members serving up the goodies is definitely the icing on the cake.

Valentine’s Day Dinner

Since it was Valentine’s Day, I wore my heart-print scarf to dinner. Every woman at dinner got a beautiful rose…I took mine back to my stateroom and put it in some water and it lasted for the rest of the cruise! At dinner in Windows Cafe on Deck 9, there were also some luscious Valentine’s-themed desserts available. After dinner I headed upstairs to the Living Room on Deck 10 to sip a festively colored pink cosmopolitan while enjoying the tunes from the Marvelous Funk band.

Other Days of the Cruise

To catch up on days 5 through 11 of the cruise, click the links below:

Cruise Day 12: At Sea

After an energetic three days in Rio, it was wonderful to have another two sea days to relax and unwind! The first of these two sea days, February 22, started with another leisurely breakfast out on the Sunset Veranda at Windows Cafe.

After breakfast I had some time to sit in on the Q&A session with the senior officers of the ship. This was a fun and informative discussion about a lot of different aspects of the ship and cruising.

From here I headed back to my stateroom to get some work done. It’s never fun to work while on vacation, but with this trip being so long I really needed to check in on things while I was gone! Having this lovely view during the day made things ever-so-slightly better.

Dinner tonight was another delicious one in the main dining room, Discoveries. After dinner I headed up to the top deck to enjoy the beautiful night sky over the water. The clouds were a bit ominous looking, but made for some dramatic views!

My evening wrapped up with a delicious specialty cocktail in Spirits Bar…a delicious drink called “Date of Cairo,” which is Grey Goose vodka, Egyptian date sauce, and passionfruit juice. From here I headed over to the Cabaret Lounge for an entertaining show by the lovely cruise director, Emily. She put on quite a show! My entertaining evening ended up in the Living Room, where DJ Abbey was spinning the tunes for ABBA night.

Cruise Day 13: At Sea

My last full sea day of the cruise, February 23, was another lovely and relaxing day on the Pursuit. The sun was sparkling on the water all day long as we made our way back to Uruguay.

I spent most of this day working again, but I did take some time to head to the Cabaret Lounge to catch the “Wanderlust” show in the late afternoon. This was a wonderful show that took us through different locations around the world and through different seasons of the year. I was delighted to see that one number was set in Maine, my home state!

My day wrapped up with another delicious dinner in Windows Cafe, and an encore performance by the Tango duo of Roxana and Cesar. This new show was yet another fabulous display of their wonderful skills and showmanship.

Conclusion

My sea days on the cruise were wonderfully relaxing. While it is fun to be out and about exploring the various ports of call, it is equally nice to be able to just rest and recharge. The ship itself is smaller than most ocean vessels, with a maximum passenger count of around 700. So, there are not the usual ‘bells and whistles’ like water slides, go-cart tracks, movie theaters, etc., on this ship that are on the larger ships. But for a small ship there are still a lot of things to do on sea days…the crew does a great job of offering a nice mix of events throughout the sea days.

Carnival in Rio Cruise: At Sea (parts 1 & 2)

In this third post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores what life is like at sea while on her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara.

Carnival in Rio Full Itinerary