From High Seas to High Street: Azamara Pursuit Hits Freo!

Our Shipping & Sailing Correspondent, Jean Hudson reports on this weekend’s THIRD cruise ship visitor, indeed a regular Freo visitor – Azamara Pursuit

It’s a weekend of cruise ships—three in total and each one with it’s own unique vibe.

This morning, Sunday, was cloudy with white caps on the ocean and gusting 24 knot south westerly winds. At 7.30am Azamara Pursuit passed the outer limit marks and made her way into the harbour and tied up close to Silver Moon, the second cruise ship visitor this weekend! The third cruise visitor, Arcadia, has already departed on the next leg of her cruise.

Azamara Pursuit is no stranger to Freo, having visited late December 2024 for a Christmas Cruise.

Azamara Pursuit’s current cruise is а 15 days, one-way from Sydney to Bali. The cruise began on 5 February and ends on 20 February. After Sydney she visited Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany and Busselton.

Arriving this morning were 635 transit passengers. 186 will disembark; 145 will join the ship. There are 238 crew onboard.

Azamara is described as a ‘globe-trotting charmer’. She is a medium sized cruise ship, that carries around 700+ guests. That’s not a floating city— more like a floating boutique hotel with good sea legs. In 2018, she got a full makeover.

Because she’s compact, she can visit smaller ports that mega-ships can only wave at. Azamara Pursuit has sailed everywhere from South America to Northern Europe to Asia.

The dress code is smart casual, so no need for monkey-suits and ball gowns.

Unlike early-to-bed ships, Azamara is famous for longer port and overnights stays. You can dine out, wander back at midnight, and still catch live music onboard. On this visit, she’s staying overnight, so watch out for her passengers in your favourite Freo haunts today and this evening.

She’s a ‘charmer’ for sure, isn’t she?

Azamara Pursuit departs Fremantle tomorrow Monday 16 February at 5pm, for Bali.

* Words and photographs by Jean Hudson @jeansodyssey

Jean Hudson is our Shipping and Sailing Correspondent and also a regular feature writer, reviewer and photographer here on the Shipping News. You may also like to follow up her informative Places I Love stories, as well as other feature stories and Freo Today photographs, right here.

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