Leg 1 – Ft. Lauderdale to Lima

AZ 2024 World Cruise – LEG 1 – Ft. Lauderdale to Lima – Jan 5 – Jan 17

Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4 Leg 5 Leg 6 Leg 7 Repositioning Leg 9 Leg 10 Leg 11

Day 1 – Embarkation

Bon Voyage! We’ve embarked, had our first champagne, set sail, and entered our cabin finding four large suitcases, four carry-ons, and two large boxes waiting to be unpacked. Yikes!

First things first – Melanie has to assemble the rack that we brought to hang up clothes that will not fit into our (small) cabin closets. Well, tomorrow is a sea day – so the unpacking can wait! For now – on to the bar and then to the theatre to watch the welcome show. Life is good!

Day 2 – At Sea

Yes – we have to unpack today! However – before we begin, Melanie trips on a piece of the furniture, and breaks her toe! Of course, that doesn’t stop her from walking four miles on the track. Probably not the best idea, but anyone who knows her understands how important walking is to her. We’ll see how well her walking fares in the upcoming days.

After exercising, we head to breakfast on our favorite sunset deck, then back to the room, where unpacking is the next activity scheduled. As I unpack toiletries, Melanie assembles our clothes rack. We are so proud of this rack and can’t imagine where we would put all of our clothes if we hadn’t brought it! Below is a photo of Melanie beaming after the rack assembly! (By the way – you can also see the fabric boxes we brought to store shoes and backpacks!)

Didn’t she do a great job – even with a broken toe! Our cabin attendant told us he had never seen guests who brought their own clothes rack, but we’re very happy with it!

Day 3 – Cozumel

It feels like we’re finally winding down from a whirlwind three weeks – and we need a day to decompress! It also appears that Melanie’s toe is either severly sprained or broken and after consulting with two new friends – a Physican Assistant and Orthopedic Surgeon – she’s decided to discontinue power walking and begin elevating and icing. We also asked our butler for some electrical tape so she could tape her toes together. As we’ve been to Cozumel many times before, we decide not to do any daytime activities. We finish our unpacking, create our internet accounts, and organize the pictures that Melanie has been taking.

We do go off the ship tonight to attend the first “Azamazing Evening”. For anyone that hasn’t sailed Azamara – this is a complimentary event that Azamara presents on shore that showcases the local culture in the area we are visiting. This was one of the best Azamazing Evenings that we have ever attended!

Day 4 / 5 – At Sea

Two sea days! Some people ask what we do on sea days, particularly considering that we on sailing on such a relatively small ship. I can say at this point, there is no lack of things to do. On this first leg, we have three on-board lecturers – a legal expert, a historian, and of course, a naturalist! That translates into two to three lectures a day. That is in addition to excercise classes (yoga, stretching, pilates), dance classes, art classes, bridge classes and games, Mahjong games, and of course music around the ship – the house band at the pool, and a pianist in the den. In the evening, there is always a special show in the cabaret – either an inhouse production number or a special entertainer.

On Day 4, we focus on an i-Phone photography class and a lecture by the naturalist, Nigel Marven. Nigel hosted a series of naturalist shows on the BBC and CBS, and used clips from those series in his talks. We missed the line dance class, as Melanie is still struggling with her broken toe. We’re hoping that it is healed before our booked hike in Easter Island!

On the next day, we continue with the lecture series, listening to a talk about famous legal cases, and of course, the talk by Nigel. Today, he is presenting information about Hummingbirds, which we love! Afterwards, we head out to the Thalassotherapy Pool for some afternoon relaxation. We’ve also met some new friends, so we meet in the bar for a pre-dinner cocktail. Early night tonight, as we’re meeting early for a private excursion tomorrow.

Day 6 – Puerto Limon

We have booked an independent excursion today with some other passengers on the cruise. As we disembark the ship, we are welcomed by a local band.

First on the itinerary is a visit to a Sloth Sanctuary. However, before we get there, our bus driver pulls over as there is a sloth in the middle of the road. If you know anything about sloths, you know that they move very slowly. Our driver gets out of our van, and moves the sloth to the side of the road. Of course, we all get out and take photos before proceeding to the Sanctuary. The Sloth Sanctuary is where injured sloths are brought, rehabilitated and released. However, there are some sloths whose injuries prevent their release. We visited those sloths in their homes and learned many attributes of this animal. It was very interesting!

After the Sloth Sanctuary, we get into small boats and explore the Tortuguero Canals, considered to be Costa Rica’s “Amazon River” because of the biodiversity. On our short trip, we saw some seabirds, frogs and monkeys – and after the river tour had a short stop at the beach.

Day 7 – Transit Panama Canal

Today we transit the Panama Canal – the second time that we’ve experienced this. It’s an engineering marvel, but does get a bit boring to watch when you’ve seen it before. Fortunately, there were lots of on-board activities to choose from!

Day 8 – Panama City

We explored Panama City today on our own. We checked out the Catholic Church, the monastery ruins, and the charming streets. We particularly liked the street that had a canopy of hats. Of course, we ended our day at a pub – in this case – the “Blue Moon” Taphouse!

Days 9, 10, 11 – Sea Days

We had to omit Ecuador from our itinerary, resulting in three straight sea days. During the second sea day, we crossed the equator! If you’ve crossed the equator on a cruise ship, you’re probably familiar with the “King Neptune Crossing Ceremony” where the officers (and any willing passengers) must perform silly acts such as kissing a fish, getting “gob” spread on their body, etc. Below are a few pictures of our ceremony – King Neptune leading the procession of his court, Queen Amphitrite (otherwise known as our beloved world cruise host, Lee) with me, and Queen Amphitrite hugging Captain Carl. Watch your hand, Captain Carl!

During the third sea day, I had the “pleasure?” of being invited to the stage to play “Laurey” to Cruise Director Eric’s “Curley” as he sang songs from the musical “Oklahoma”. (How appropriate, right?) While I did ham it up onstage, I told him later that it was a one-night only performance! :>)

I have included a montage of photos that our fellow passenger and friend, Richard Harris, compiled showing sea day activities. This montage includes a picture of me with our Cruise Director Eric, on the stage. It also includes a representation of the many activities available on-board that keeps us busy on sea days!

Day 12 – Peru

Our first “turn-around” day! Some guests will be getting off today, but as we are staying onboard for another 155 days, we planned an exciting itinerary for the day – a boat excursion around Palomino Island. The Islands are known as the “Peruvian Galapagos”, with Sea Lions and Humboldt Penguins, which we have the opportunity to swim with. We saw hundreds of both Sea Lions and Penguins during the 3 hour boat ride and swim, many more than what we saw in the Galapagos Islands during our 7 day excursion. To make this excursion even more exciting, we find that we are on the same boat as our resident onboard Naturalist, Nigel Marven. He gives us great insights as we motor around the islands, and jumps into the water with us when we get to experience the sea lions up close and personal. As a note – sea lions are very playful and inquisitive – they swim under you, around you, sniff your toes and look right at you face to face. Very Cool!

That’s it for Leg One – it has passed so quickly! Leg 2 is coming up with much anticipation for Easter Island and Pitcairn Island – will we have smooth seas to allow us to embark on one or both islands? Fingers crossed!