Lisbon - Day 1
Our journey to Lisbon on Tuesday, June 4 took much of the day so we got to enjoy some of the things the ship has to offer while at sea. Azamara ships are small by many standards so it does not have the variety of activities you find on large ships, but there is live entertainment in multiple venues, an adequate pool and two hot tubs. There is also a nice library with lots of books, puzzles and comfortable chairs. There are also a few activities like trivia and bingo, and a few deck games like ping pong. And of course there are plenty of opportunities for eating. We have enjoyed all of the food on board and much of it has been excellent.
We arrived in Lisbon around 4 PM and docked right near downtown Lisbon.
On most Azamara cruises, Azamara arranges an event they call AzAmazing Evening for everyone on board. For the event on our cruise we were taken by bus to a venue that is part of an immense greenhouse called Estufa Fria in Edward II Park where the entire ship was treated to a concert of Fado music.
Fado is a traditional Potuguese music style that originated with urban poor. It is played with 2 guitars, one being a wire-strung Portuguese guitar and often sung by one person. Most of the songs are mournful. In the mid 20th century Fado became popular across all of Portugal. In Lisbon there are many small Fado clubs. Our performance had 2 singers and included traditional Fado plus some other more upbeat music. It was an excellent performance.
When we returned to the ship there was a ship docked right next to ours that was refueling our ship. It was interesting to see a ship pulled up so close to ours.
