Azamara Quest Cruise: Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina

We just returned from a cruise on Azamara which started in Brazil and took us to Uruguay and Argentina. Read all about it here! The above map shows a few additional stops that we didn’t make, but I wanted to give a you an overview of the route. We started in Rio, with stops in Paraty, Brazil; Ilhabela, Brazil; Santos, Brazil; Punta del Este, Uruguay; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Check out photos from our trip here.

The Ship- Azamara Quest

I could not find our specific itinerary on the website, but this one is very similar. Azamara is a smaller cruise line with smaller ships. The Azamara Quest is 592 feet and holds 704 passengers and 408 crew. The ship has 8 decks, with the main gathering areas on decks 5 and 9.

The ship was elegant and beautifully decorated, without the over-the-top bling and color of the larger Royal Caribbean ships. The pool was very small and squished between two medium-sized hot tubs. It was still impossible to get loungers unless you arrived early in the morning and claimed chairs.

Overall, Azamara is definitely pricier than other lines we have cruised with. You do get a lot of bang for your buck, and the ship definitely feels more expensive- classy, understated elegance and high quality amenities and cuisine. Service was impeccable.

Technology

Or lack thereof… I found the Azamara website clunky and not user-friendly. It was awkward to search and book excursions or purchase upgrades. With that said, customer service by email was prompt and helpful.

Azamara did not use an app, which I found inconvenient. Embarkation was a bit disorganized, but this may have been the port instead of the cruise line. Disembarkation was pretty simple and seemed more organized.

Dining Options and Venues Onboard

The main dining room, Discoveries, was very elegant and felt more like a high-end restaurant than a cruise ship dining room. What I really liked about the MDR is that there was a bar/seating area just outside of the entrance, where you could wait for your friends comfortably.

The food at the buffet, Windows Cafe, was very good, several steps up from Royal or Celebrity. There was also a poolside grill, The Patio, with amazing burgers, skewers, and a few other basic selections. The specialty restaurants were Prime C and Aqualina. We were not able to score reservations for Prime C, but Aqualina was just OK and not worth it, IMO. Overall, the food was excellent and specialty restaurants were not necessary.

Mosaic Cafe was a coffee stand with rotating pastries and small bites that was usually open. The pastries were above average for cruise ships, and specialty coffees were included.

The main bar area, The Den, was elegant, with lots of seating areas and conversation groupings. Service was prompt, and there were lots of interesting cocktails on the menu.

The Cabaret Lounge hosted nightly entertainment and later turned into a dance club. We particularly enjoyed the Samba show on the first night.

Other Areas of the Ship

The salon and spa looked nice, but we did not partake. The gym was adequate, but nothing special. There were quiet venues on Deck 10, including the Card Room, the Living Room, and the Drawing Room, where you could escape to read or play games. Two shops are also available, with minimal necessities, souvenirs, and jewelry.

Amenity Packages

The basic drink package was included, but if you prefer top shelf selections, you’ll need to pay for the upgrade to the Ultimate Package. For our cruise, this was $175 per person for the week. Take a look at the beverage list ahead of time to see if you need to upgrade.

You can purchase amenity packages once you board, which may include internet, spa credit, shore excursion credit, upgraded drink packages, and specialty dining. Look carefully at what you want to do before paying for this. The spa services are very expensive, and the cruise line shore excursions may not be what you want. For us, it didn’t make sense. We only found cruise line shore excursions we wanted at two ports and, to be honest, those two were not great. I recommend finding your own excursions on Tours by Locals, Shore Excursion Group, or Viator. I recommend only booking an excursion with an outside provider if you are guaranteed to get back to the ship in time. They will not wait for you.

One thing that was annoying (to me) in a way- the announcements onboard were few and far between. It was not always obvious when we were allowed to disembark and when we had to return. On previous cruises on other cruise lines, announcements were made and repeated so you knew what was going on- arrival and departure times, weather, etc.

Balcony Stateroom

We had a balcony stateroom, which is what we usually book. The room on the Azamara Quest was a typical cabin, with a comfy king-sized bed, a small couch, a small coffee table, a vanity, and a bathroom. The shower was small and had a removable hand shower and a shower curtain- we prefer the shower doors we have had on other ships, as the shower curtain sticks to the body. Otherwise, the bathroom was pretty standard for this stateroom type.

The closet was adequate, one section for hanging longer items, and one small section where you could hang shorter items which also had four drawers. The doors were tight to the opening, so we could not use our hanging shoe holder for organization and storage. Each bedside table had a small drawer, and the vanity had 4 small drawers on one side and a cabinet (with a hairdryer) on the other. There were actually several outlets of both the American and European type.

The balcony was small and had a dining table for two.

There was a TV mounted over a storage cubby and a cabinet with a fridge and safe. Our stateroom attendant kept our fridge stocked with still and sparkling water and our ice bucket filled. Pro tip– we always tip our stateroom attendant up front and ask him to keep the ice bucket full and to provide wine glasses and a corkscrew.

Ports of Call

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Our cruise started in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Read about our time and my tips for Rio here.

Embarkation was on December 30 beginning at 12:30. We did not actually leave until December 31 at around 4:00 pm, so we could get off the ship after checking in if we had wanted to, but we did not. The cruise line offered city tours of Rio on these days.

We set sail on December 31, then remained anchored off of Copacabana Beach to watch the fireworks. The ship had a white party on the pool and sun decks, and I am surprised we did not list to the side as all 700 passengers were on the side of the ship facing the shore! The fireworks show was spectacular! See a sample here.

Paraty, Brazil

We made our way south to Paraty, Brazil. The seas were rough and many people suffered as a result. Paraty is a small town located on the green coast of Brazil. Its historic downtown area floods once a month with the full moon, and the town boasts several historic churches.

Cruise ship excursions include walking tours, 4X4 drives to waterfalls, and boat rides around the surrounding islands. You can hike the gold trail, kayak, or snorkel. We chose a boat ride, and swam in the chilly Atlantic. The weather was a bit unpleasant, but we powered through and had fun regardless.

Ilhabela, Brazil

Ilhabela, or “The Beautiful Island” is a gorgeous archipelago and town off the coast of the São Paulo area of Brazil. The town is charming and full of quaint shops and restaurants serving fresh seafood and Brazilian cuisine.

The island has 41 beaches and 360 waterfalls. You can get off the tender and explore on foot, walking to several gorgeous beaches with full amenities including restrooms and snacks. Atelier de Tonhao was the perfect lunch spot, serving creative fresh seafood dishes.

We opted for a ship excursion which took us and 6 other people in a 4X4 to a beach and a waterfall. We spent about an hour at the beach, which had complementary chairs and umbrellas. Definitely take some Brazilian Real so you can have some ice cream, a cocktail, or a snack. There are also a few vendors selling hats, dresses, etc, so you may need cash for this. The vendors were not pushy, which was a nice change. The sand was nice, and the water pleasant.

We visited the Trilha de Pancada d’Agua, a triple tiered waterfall where we could swim/wade. It was nice but crowded…

Walking tours, boat tours, and tours that included hiking and chasing waterfalls were available through the cruise line.

We definitely want to visit this town again, perhaps stay for a week or so.

Santos, Brazil

I heard buzz around the ship that many people didn’t like this port. I really liked it… The port itself is massive and you may have to take a shuttle bus from your ship to the terminal, depending on where you are docked. I thought it was kinda cool to see the workings of the port.

We had booked a private tour with Tatiana through Tours by Locals. She was waiting for us at the terminal, and our driver picked us up shortly. We had originally planned to tour São Paulo; however, we realized it was at least a 1.5-2 hour drive. This would mean we had roughly 2-3 hours to spend in the city and would spend 4 hours in transit. We had never seen either city, so we decided to stay in Santos.

Half-day City Tour of Santos

Coffee Museum

Our first stop was the Coffee Museum, which was super interesting! It is housed in the palace of the former coffee exchange, and the trading hall remains at its center. This was where the coffee barons negotiated trade deals related to coffee. We learned about what a crucial role coffee played in the economic development of Brazil, and picked up some history along the way. We saw the old and new ways of processing coffee, and learned about the history of slavery in Brazil and how the British, Spanish, and Portuguese shaped the socioeconomic structure of the country.

I highly recommend spending time here, and it is best to do it with a guide unless you speak Portuguese. Very few of the displays are written in English.

The cafe serves all sorts of Brazilian pastries and coffee. Fun fact- have you heard of Kope Luwak? This is the Indonesian coffee that is “processed” by the civet cat. The cat chooses the best beans, eats and digests them, and poops them out. The partially digested beans are retrieved from the poo and used to make coffee. It is very expensive and pretty good. Read about our trip to Bali where we tasted it here. Brazil has a similar coffee that is processed by Jacu birds. I tried it and thought it was delicious!

Brazilian pastries we tried here included Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese egg tarts) and Pão de queijo (Brazilian cheese bread). So good!

Monte Serrat

We took the funicular up to Monte Serrat. The building used to be a casino, but is now a cafe and event space. The views of the city and port were stunning, and we enjoyed the experience. Look out for marmoset monkeys in the forest along your ride!

We drove around the city, taking in views of the in-city beaches and surrounding islands. Several high-rises along the waterfront are leaning, some as much as 2 meters. These “Leaning Towers of Santos” are due to the sandy soil upon which they are built. Many of the residents have to buy special furniture so it stays put! Our day ended with a visit to the local fish market, where we had lunch at Paru. The fish was fresh and delicious! We had dorado and sororoca. The latter was meaty and served whole, with grilled bananas. Highly recommend!

Cruise Ship Excursions in Santos

The ship offered several options for excursions, including a city tour with many of the same stops we had, a visit to the Pele Museum (apparently a very famous football/soccer star), beach time, and a cooking class.

Punta del Este, Uruguay

What a beautiful town! We will definitely be back. This tourist town normally has a population of around 20,000, but during high season, it swells by thousands. The country of Uruguay has the largest per capita beef consumption in the world (some years) at 53 kg per person. There are 12 million cows in the country, but only 3 million people!

We did a bike tour of Punta del Este, which means “Eastern Tip.” This was an excursion offered by the ship, and we enjoyed it very much. The provider was PG Travel Expeditions if you’d rather book directly, and they offer numerous tours in the country. The bikes were these funny little foldable things, but they were easy to ride. We didn’t have to contend with a lot of traffic, and the ride started early before the heat of the day. We stopped for snacks at A Brillar Cafe, then had an amazing lunch at Zazu Puerto.

Other excursions offered by the cruise line included a visit to Isla de Lobos, where you can see and swim with sea lions, city tours, and olive oil tasting.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Our cruise ended in Buenos Aires, and we stayed on for 5 nights. I am going to save my stories about this spectacular city for my next post, as we did, saw, and ate so much that it would make this post way too long…

I will just mention that if your cruise starts or ends here, you can book a city tour with hotel or airport transfer through the cruise line. If you don’t do this, I HIGHLY recommend booking a transfer ahead of time through Viator. People had a lot of trouble getting cabs or Ubers, having to wait in the scorching heat with their luggage for a very long time with hordes of other tired travelers.

The End

In short, this was a fantastic cruise and a great way to spend New Year’s and see the fireworks display in Rio. Have you done a similar cruise, or do you plan to? Come back next time to read about our adventures in Buenos Aires!