Carnival in Rio Cruise: Montevideo

In this second post of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the first port of call on her Carnival in Rio cruise on Azamara: Montevideo, Uruguay.

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 Day 1 & 2 in Montevideo.

• 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 1: Montevideo

We arrived into Montevideo as the sun rose early the morning of Saturday, February 11. The sail-in was beautiful as the city’s skyline became closer and closer. It was a perfect morning to enjoy breakfast out on the Sunset Veranda (the outdoor dining area off of the Windows Cafe on Deck 9). I had a brief moment to enjoy the fresh morning air by the pool deck before setting off on the day’s excursion. And…new day, new port, new country, new flag! I always love seeing a new country flag waiving in the breeze on the ship’s main mast.

Harvesting at Pizzorno Winery

I hit the ground running on the first excursion of this cruise. This hands-on excursion included harvesting at the Pizzorno Winery. We took a scenic drive from the ship out to the winery in the rolling hills outside of Montevideo. Once we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the family who runs the winery. We had an opportunity to sample some of the wine. I chose to try the local specialty, a variety called Tannat. It is a delicious, light red.

Harvesting the Grapes

We were given some basic instructions on how to harvest the grapes: grasp a clump from the underside in one hand and snip it off of the vine with the shears in the other hand. We were STRONGLY reminded (many, many times!) to ensure that your fingers holding the clump were well clear of the shears! After pairing up with a partner, we grabbed a bin and some shears and headed off into the vineyard to harvest our grapes. It was another very hot day, but they kept us well hydrated and fed along the way…they handed out water and skewers of freshly grilled meats and vegetables.

Crushing the Grapes

After our buckets were full, we loaded them onto the tractor which hauled them back to the main winery. Here we emptied the buckets into larger bins, threw off our shoes, and jumped into the buckets. It was so much fun to stomp the grapes to start releasing the juice!

Touring the Cellars

Once the grapes were crushed (and our feet were washed off!), we headed down into the pleasantly cool cellars for a tour. Our friendly guide walked us through the small cellars at the winery and explained how they use square, concrete vats instead of traditional barrels for the first part of the process. The wine goes through many different steps and vessels throughout the process, eventually ending up in the bottles.

Enjoying a Delicious Lunch

The final part of the excursion was a delicious Uruguayan lunch at the winery. Each of the three courses was paired with a local wine. I chose the Queso Provolone Fundido (a grilled cheese dip served with toast) appetizer, paired with a Marselan wine. Next up was the Bife Ancho Grillado (grilled beef with roasted potatoes and vegetables), paired with the Tannat wine. Lunch ended with a delicious flan casero de vainilla acompañado de dulce de leche (vanilla flan with a thick caramel sauce), paired with Espumoso (a bubbly wine similar to champagne). After lunch we returned to the ship to relax a bit in the afternoon.

AzAmazing Evening

This evening was the “AzAmazing” Evening. This is an event that is held once each cruise. It is held at a local facility off the ship. Our evening was held at the gorgeous Teatro Solís, located in the heart of Montevideo. The show was a history of the carnaval traditions, and we were greeted out front by performers in brightly colored carnaval costumes. We were provided a glass of champagne and had an opportunity to pose for a picture at the top of the main entrance stairs with our fantastic Cruise Captain Mikael and our fabulous Cruise Director Emily.

The Beautiful Teatro Solís

Once inside, I had an opportunity to enjoy the stunning architecture and design of the Teatro Solís. The building was inaugurated in 1895 and named for Juan Díaz de Solís, the navigator who discovered the nearby Río de la Plata. It is beautifully restored and today hosts many different music and dance performances. Tonight’s show was exclusively for our ship, so we were the only people in the audience.

A Fabulous Show

Our Cruise Director and Captain kicked off the fabulous show. There were several different acts of the show, each one walking us through the history of the carnaval. It was a beautiful mix of colorful costumes, stunning performances, and heart-pounding music from start to finish!

The final act depicted a modern-day carnaval performance, including melodious drummers and flamboyant samba dancers. It was definitely a perfect prelude to what would come in a few days when we got to Rio!

After the breathtaking performance was done, we headed back out to the buses to go back “home” to the ship. The performers were all out in the courtyard to send us off in style, and we each got our own carnaval mask to take with us. Once we returned back to the ship we were provided with another cool, fizzy cocktail to wrap up the fabulous evening.

Cruise Day 2: Montevideo

Day 2 in Montevideo, Sunday, February 12, was another full and fun day. I did the Local Ranch and Barbecue Lunch excursion.

City Tour

The excursion began with a brief tour through the heart of Montevideo. We stopped first at Independence Square, which is where the theater for last night’s AzAmazing Evening is located.

From here we made a quick stop at the historic Congress Building.

Ranch And BBQ Lunch

Once the brief city tour was done, we drove out to Estancia La Rabida. This private working ranch is owned and operated by a local family. Two of the family’s third-generation, a pair of cousins, were our primary guides throughout the day. One of the cousins met our bus at the gate and ushered us to the main ranch on horseback. We first stopped for a quick, cool beverage and saw some of our lunch being prepared on the grills. Our ride for the day, a traditional wagon with hay bales, met us by the ranch.

Ranch Tour

Once on the wagon we got a rumbling tour through the fields of the large ranch. They have been suffering through a drought lately, so much of the land was pretty dry and dusty. But it was interesting to see the vastness of the ranch.

Enjoying the Beach

During the tour we stopped to enjoy a small beach on the shores of the Río de la Plata. This peaceful little beach was a wonderful spot to relax for a few minutes. I enjoyed dipping my toes in the refreshing water!

Tucking Into Lunch

Our tour ended back at the main ranch house, where lunch was ready and waiting for us. There were some appetizers available, including grilled sausages, vegetables, and bread. The main meal included grilled beef, pork, and chicken. Grilled potatoes (regular and sweet) were also served, as were many different fresh side dishes and salads. A tall, cold beer hit the spot as I sidled up to a hay bale and enjoyed my typical Uruguayan barbeque lunch!

Visiting the Stables

The final part of the tour was a visit to the stables. Here, one of our guides and one of the local gauchos gave us a demonstration of how they saddle their horses. It was a great end to a fantastic excursion!

A “Super” Sail-Away!

After the day at the ranch, we got back to the ship in the late afternoon before we set sail early that evening. Today just happened to be Super Bowl Sunday as well, and the Azamara team had us football fans well covered! Having lived in Kansas City for several years, I still have a place in my heart for the Chiefs. I brought some Chiefs gear with me on the cruise, and so I donned my shirt and grabbed my flag and headed to the party. I also had a chance to catch the gorgeous Montevideo skyline again on the sail out, and the start of another beautiful sunset.

The Cabaret Lounge was all decked out with Chiefs and Eagles decor. They even had the team decor split by sides of the room, so one team’s fans sat on one side and the other fans on the other side. There was also a wonderful buffet with some traditional American tailgating fare…pizza, burgers, hot dogs, wings, and fries were plentiful. About a third of the passengers (about 220 of the 650 total) were American, and many were passionate fans of one of the two teams, so there was a large and energetic crowd. Although, admittedly, there were also many people there just for the halftime show! Either way, it was a lot of fun to watch the game on the big screen. And a Chiefs win made it even better!

Conclusion

The first two full days of the cruise in Montevideo, Uruguay, were a fantastic start to what would be a fabulous cruise from start to finish! I really enjoyed my first two excursions, which both stepped out of the traditional ‘city tour’ experience and instead really got me out to experience and explore the real Uruguay.

Links

Click the button below to read the next post in the series:

Click the button below for part 1 of this series:

Click the buttons below for more information about Azamara, and to read about my first cruise on Azamara in June 2022:

Note: I fully funded this trip on my own and received no compensation or any other benefits from any service providers I used along the way. The opinions expressed here are my own and I am not being compensated by any service providers.