Northern Cities Voyage: Cruise Pt. 1

In this second part of a multi-part series, Bethany explores the first part of her Northern Cities Voyage cruise (from embarkation in Lisbon, Portugal through St. Peter Port, Guernsey) on Azamara.

June 2022 was big for me…it was the month I turned the big 5-0! In order to celebrate properly, I booked myself on my first non-river cruise, the wonderful 10-night Northern Cities Voyage cruise on the Azamara Pursuit (what I lovingly refer to as my “Fabulous 50 Cruise”!). This cruise starts in Lisbon, Portugal and ends in Stockholm, Sweden. As with my other cruises, this one covers entirely too many wonderful stops along the way to fit into just one single post, so this series is broken up into several parts. This second post spotlights the first part of the cruise, from embarking on the Azamara Pursuit in Lisbon, Portugal through St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

Northern Cities Voyage Full Itinerary

Below is the full itinerary for the cruise. This post includes details about Day 1 through Day 4.

• Day 1 – June 7: Lisbon, Portugal
• Day 2 – June 8: Porto, Portugal
• Day 3 – June 9: At Sea
• Day 4 – June 10: St. Peter Port, Guernsey
• Day 5 – June 11: Honfleur, France
• Day 6 – June 12: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Day 7 – June 13: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• Day 8 – June 14: Kiel Canal, Germany
• Day 9 – June 15: Copenhagen, Denmark
• Day 10 – June 16: Visby, Sweden
• Day 11 – June 17: Stockholm, Sweden

Embarkation

Embarkation day is finally here! After a terrific first two days on my own in Lisbon it is finally time to see the gorgeous Azamara Pursuit. Unfortunately it took longer than expected to actually get onboard…apparently the people who usually manage the check-in at the port went on strike, so the ship’s crew had to improvise and do the check-in themselves onboard. So there was a bit of confusion and delay, but the crew did a fantastic job getting everyone on the ship and checked in. All’s well that ends well, and we set sail on time at 5:00 pm.

Sail Away

As this was my first non-river cruise I was excited to experience a big sail away. River cruise ships have a very subdued sail away. After attending my muster drill and dropping my carry-on bag in my stateroom I headed up to the pool deck to check things out. It was a glorious, sunny afternoon and many people were out and about. I enjoyed a delicious rum punch and danced to the tunes played by the Lucky Charm band. Sailing out of lovely Lisbon, I spotted a few of the places I had visited earlier in the day.

Settling Into My Stateroom

Once we were sailing I headed back to my stateroom to settle in. I stayed in 8035, which is a Club Veranda Plus Stateroom. This stateroom measures 175 square feet in the stateroom itself with an additional 40 square feet on the veranda. It includes a Queen size bed (which can convert to two twin beds), a comfortable sitting area, a writing desk, a minibar, and a bathroom with a (tiny!) shower stall. There is ample storage space in the large closet with shelves and drawers. An in-room safe and USB ports are also nice features in the stateroom.

The “Plus” part of the stateroom means that there are extra features that are included in the price…complimentary internet (either 120 minutes free or 25% off the unlimited package), one free bag of laundry service, one night of complimentary dining in one of the specialty restaurants, complimentary in-room spirits, and priority embarkation and debarkation are all included at this fare level.

First Dinner Onboard

After a busy day of exploring on my own, embarkation, sail away, and unpacking, I was definitely ready for my first dinner onboard! I headed up to Deck 9 to check out the Windows Café. This restaurant is more casual than the main dining room on Deck 5, Discoveries. Each evening for dinner the Windows Café offers an a la carte menu featuring dishes from a specific country or region. This first night featured a Mediterranean menu. I enjoyed the roasted beets & orange salad, the Mediterranean fish & chickpea soup, the lamb chops entrée, and a delectable fig almond olive oil cake for dessert.

I ended up eating virtually all of my dinners here in this restaurant. It was never crowded, the service was fantastic, and the food was delicious. Having a different regional focus each night was also a plus! It is always open seating and has no set dining times. As a solo traveler I do generally prefer to eat by myself and I was a bit nervous about potentially being “forced” into sitting with other people. However this restaurant was never crowded and I was able to enjoy a leisurely dinner on my own at a window-side table each evening.

Porto

Day 2 started as a rather dreary day! We arrived into Porto, Portugal at 8:00 am. There was a lot of fog and low-lying clouds, so there wasn’t much of a view to greet me as I made my way up to the pool deck for a quick peek at the area! Just trust me when I say that the city of Porto really is in the background of the pic below…

Walking Tour

Shortly after the ship docked in Porto I headed out on my first excursion: Porto City, River Cruise, and Wine Tasting. Because the weather was less than stellar we did a driving tour through most of the city instead of getting out in the drizzle to walk. The bus let us off near where we would meet the boat for our river cruise on the Douro river. Walking to the dock gave us a small glimpse at parts of the city.

River Cruise

After the short walk down to the river we boarded a small boat and took a nice cruise along the Douro River. The weather did not cooperate so we were all forced to sit inside for the majority of the cruise, but the rain did let up a bit as we were returning to the dock so several of us did venture out to the open-air deck. Even in the clouds and rain, Porto is still a very beautiful city!

Porto Alley

Our river cruise ended on the opposite shore of the Douro River from where we embarked. We were right in the middle of what I affectionately referred to as “Porto Alley.” This area on the banks of the Douro is just one Porto cellar and tasting room after another. I had absolutely no idea there were so many different Porto producers! The buildings are beautiful, and many are decorated with the same azulejos (ceramic tiles) that I fell in love with in Lisbon. There is also a display of the boats that used to carry the port wine (it is all done by trucks now) and a long row of flags representing each cellar.

Touring the Calem Porto Cellar

A short walk through “Porto Alley” brought us to our last stop of the excursion, the Calem Porto Cellar. This cellar has been producing wine for more than 150 years. Once inside, our guide led us through the gorgeous cellar and explained the history of and the process to make Porto wine.

Enjoying a Tasting at the Calem Porto Cellar

Last but not least we finally got to taste the wine! Our tasting included three different port wines: fine white (aged in stainless steel and oak vats), late bottled vintage ruby port (results from a single harvest and has aged in vats and large oak for four to six years), and special reserve tawny port (a blend of wines which have been aged in small oak casks for an average of seven years). They were paired with a couple of different cheeses, some crackers, and some chocolate. All three were delicious. Saúde (that’s how to say ‘Cheers’ in Portuguese)!

A Delicious Lunch Onboard

Once the tasting was finished, we had some time to peruse the gift shop at Calem. I purchased a few goodies, including some fabulous port wine dark chocolates (which may or may not have made it back home with me…). We then returned to the ship for our late afternoon sailing. Back on the ship I enjoyed a delicious local specialty for lunch, a Portuguese fish stew called Caldeirada. To say this was delicious is an understatement…it absolutely hit the spot on this cool and dreary day! The Windows Café always featured a local specialty every day for lunch, and they were all wonderful.

Later in the afternoon we set sail for our longest stretch of sailing for the cruise…sailing overnight and the next full day. Captain Mikael made an announcement that afternoon to advise us that the water would be a bit rough for at least part of the journey. The area we were sailing through, the Bay of Biscay, is known to be treacherous and the current weather conditions were not going to help. He recommended that anyone who is sensitive to sea sickness should go ahead and take any necessary medications. There were also several bundles of seasick bags strategically placed in common areas such as stairwells. Luckily I did not experience any true problems…I definitely felt the sway of the ocean at times but I managed to survive just fine!

Sea Day

Day 3 was our first full sea day of the cruise. We rounded the tip of Spain and were headed into the Bay of Biscay this beautiful Thursday morning. Yesterday’s rain was gone and the sun was brightly shining. I kicked off my relaxing day at sea by enjoying the sunrise from my veranda and getting a delicious latte and muffin from the Mosaic Café on Deck 5 before heading back up to the Windows Café for a delightful breakfast out on the Sunset Veranda. It was a beautiful morning to enjoy a light breakfast while looking out over the water. So long, Portugal!

Tea Time

One of the fun events on this sea day was a lovely tea time in the afternoon. High tea on the high seas was fabulous! I was seated with some lovely ladies for the afternoon’s “Elegant Tea Time.” We all laughed at how well coordinated our pastel striped outfits were, even though only two of the four knew each other prior to the tea. A wonderful assortment of sweet and savory treats was served, and there was a nice selection of tea. The four of us enjoyed relaxing over tea while getting to know each other.

Exploring the Azamara Pursuit

On this sea day I had lots of time to better explore the Azamara Pursuit. I had fun wandering around the ship and seeing all of the beautiful areas. I started on Deck 4 and admired the gorgeous grand staircase just outside of Guest Relations. Deck 5 includes the Den (a mixed use area which has a bar, a seating area, and books), shopping areas like the Pursuit Shop and Indulgences, the Cabaret Lounge (where I saw many wonderful performances throughout the cruise, and which also serves as the meeting location for all excursions), Discoveries Restaurant (the main dining room) and the Discoveries Bar, Mosaic Café, and service areas such as the Photo Shop, the Shore Excursions Desk, and the Cruise Again Desk.

Deck 9 also has several public areas, including the Sanctum Spa, the Fitness Center, the Salon, the pool area (with one main pool and two hot tubs, plus a dedicated Pool Bar), the Patio Grill and the Swirl & Top ice cream shop, and Windows Café and its Sunset Veranda area.

Up on Deck 10 is the Living Room, the Card Room, the Drawing Room, and the two specialty restaurants (Aqualina and Prime C). The Living Room is a great spot to just relax during the day, and it also has a bar and serves tapas in the evenings. The house band and other entertainment was available there every evening. The elegant Drawing Room is a gorgeous library, complete with a painted ceiling and a grand piano.

Captain’s Toast

To round out my relaxing day exploring the ship, I enjoyed an Old Fashioned in the Living Room before a Moroccan-themed dinner at Windows Café. After dinner we had the Captain’s Toast, where we met the senior crew members. Then the Cruise Director, Ernest, performed his fabulous high-energy Las Vegas-themed show. This happened to be Ernest’s last cruise with Azamara, so after his show the senior crew came back onstage and presented him with a cake.

Guernsey

Day 4 started while we were still at sea. We arrived at our next destination of St. Peter Port, Guernsey, around 9:30 am. So I had plenty of time for a relaxing room service breakfast in my stateroom. Unfortunately it was a bit too chilly to eat outside, but the breakfast was delicious nonetheless. St. Peter Port was the one and only tender stop of the itinerary. This was my first experience with a tender (a small ship that picks passengers up from the ship docked in the bay and ferries them to and from shore), and it was an adventure! There was definitely some rocking and rolling in the small tender but we all arrived safe and sound after the quick trip to shore.

The Little Chapel

Once onshore in St. Peter Port we hopped on a small bus and headed for our first stop, the amazing Little Chapel. This quaint chapel was originally built in 1914 by Brother Déodat and measured 9 feet long by 4.5 feet wide. Upon receiving criticism from his fellow brothers, he demolished it shortly after it was constructed. He build a second chapel later that year, this one measuring 9 feet long by 6 feet wide. The second chapel was demolished in 1923, when the Bishop of Portsmouth visited but could not fit through the door! The third and current version was constructed soon after the second demolition, and it measures in at 16 feet by 9 feet. There is room for about eight people at one time inside! It is decorated with seashells, pebbles, glass, buttons, figurines, and broken china.

After exploring the Little Chapel we walked down to the gift shop. Here we were treated to some local Guernsey ice cream…I tried the strawberries and cream and it was delightful!

Scenic Overlook

We then headed back to the bus and drove all around the island country of Guernsey – it has a total area of only 25 square miles so we got to see the whole country! Guernsey is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy. During the drive we stopped at a picturesque seaside overlook in Torteval for some photos.

St. Peter Port

The bus tour ended back at St. Peter Port. Here we had some free time to walk around the gorgeous town and to stop for some lunch. I found a wonderful pub called the Ship & Crown and enjoyed some fish and chips (and mushy peas!) and a cold pint of a local brew called Liberation Ale. I had a great time just wandering through the charming town, enjoying the beautiful flowers and the delightfully sunny and warm day.

Along the drive we saw many homes and businesses still decked out for the recent Queen’s Jubilee celebration that had occurred just before we arrived. The city center also had lots of festive decorations everywhere!

Back On Board

I took the tender back to the ship later in the afternoon. Back in my stateroom to relax for a bit, I could see the tenders coming and going all afternoon. We set sail again around 6:00 pm that evening and I headed back up to Windows Café for the appropriately-themed Authentic British dinner. For this evening’s dinner I enjoyed the country pate appetizer, the leek & potato soup, the roasted sirloin entrée, and the Eaton Mess for dessert. Everything was delightfully delicious, as always!

Conclusion

The first four days of my Northern Cities Voyage cruise on Azamara Pursuit were wonderful. I got a chance to enjoy fun and informative excursions in Porto and St. Peter Port, plus I had an opportunity to relax and explore the ship on a sea day. Stay tuned for the next installment in this series which will focus on Days 5, 6, and 7 of the cruise, with stops in Honfleur, France and Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Links

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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.