Azura Cruise - The Review

I promised a final entry on this holiday to give an overall view of the cruise, unfortunately I never got around to it yesterday, so here it is a day late!!

This cruise was the first that we had been on to the Med, the first time with P&O and obviously the first time on the Azura, so I will deal with each in turn.

THE ITINERARY

One of the main reasons that Sylvia and I choose this particular cruise was the itinerary, which looked good on paper and was even better in real life. Every single stop fully lived up to expectations, with plenty to do at each location. So much so that a return visit would not be a waste.

The highlight was undoubtedly Venice. People had described to me how good the sail-in to this city was likely to be but the words hardly do it justice. A quite magnificent day!!! My only slight disappointment was the lack of time available to explore the cathedral and museums, but in honesty a longer holiday is probably needed for this. Many cruise companies seem to over-night in Venice giving the best part of two days to experience the city and this would be a great way of improving this particular cruise.

Dubrovnik was small but enjoyable and a future trip would probably necessitate an organised excursion out of the town. The same applies to Corfu but both these towns were well worth the visit.

A slight disappointment at missing Korcula but these things can't be helped. The miss being made worse by the fellow cruisers telling us how good the visit was the last time they had been here!!!

Overall though a great choice of stops something for everyone.

THE COMPANY - P&O

The prices in P&O's brochures always seem slightly higher than comparative cruises from other lines but having now tried them, they do offer real value for money. Once on-board the ship P&O did not rip us off with drink prices, did not charge a service charge on drinks, did not charge for any shore transfers [except the water taxi in Venice] and were not forever pushing excursions or other services. In other words you knew at the start what your holiday would cost.

I cannot fault the organisation in boarding and leaving the ship. Although the embarkation process seemed slow, it only took around 45-60 minutes and most of that delay was caused by passengers not adhering to the times they had been given!!

Leaving the ship yesterday was superb. We were due to leave the ship at 10.00, but by 10.15 we had left the ship, picked up our baggage, cleared customs, found and loaded the car and were heading up the M27 away from Southampton. We were back home in Wales by just after 1.00 after having a comfort stop on the way. Well done P&O!!!!!

THE SHIP

Prior to travelling we had both had some misgivings about cruising on such a large ship, but after spending around a day getting our bearings we found the whole experience very enjoyable. The larger ship has the benefits of scale that you don't get on a smaller vessel but most of the time did not give the impression of being too crowded.

We were told that with this ship P&O are aiming at a target market of around 45 years old, the evidence on this trip was they missed it by about 25 years, with many of the passengers certainly in their 80's if not older. Although in fairness there were very few children on board [around 21 aged 0-17 years] for this trip but I gather that there were 600 due to board yesterday. That'll bring the average age down!!!!!

The room that we had, a standard balcony on B deck, was perfectly adequate for our needs although it did overlook the balconies below. No good if you wanted to participate in some topless sunbathing. The facilities in the room included a fridge , a safe , tea & coffee making facilities and a great hanging space for our clothes. Excellent!

The food was excellent and the choice first class. In our opinion the main restaurant was the poorest of the offerings with the service a little slapdash, although in fairness this may have been due to our lateness in attending. The speciality restaurants offered a great selection but some of the passengers questioned whether the space was utilised effectively. I'm sure that the bean-counters from P&O will be closely monitoring that situation!!

Two downsides for me. Although overall the entertainment was first class the Playhouse theatre was too small!! Apart from the early show it was almost impossible to get a seat unless you queued for around an hour before the performance, with the queues causing chaos through the casino and the bar at the front of the ship. They really do need to sort this out quickly!!

Second moan - the Internet. The whole ship is wi-fi accessible which is brilliant but with prices starting at around 30p per minute for what, for most of the time, is a really slow connection this is exorbitant. Although not wi-fi enabled both our previous cruises offered better access at much better prices. They should review this.

In summary the ship, the company and the itinerary were first class and it was a great holiday. Would we do it again??? Probably, we've already studied the brochures several times but will wait until later in the year before making a commitment.

Thanks once again for listening and I look forward to blogging again from France in July. See you all then!!

Day Sixteen – The Final Post.

The last day of any holiday is always a strange day, half sadness at leaving behind new made friends and a lovely ship balanced with a desire to be back at home.Sixteen days is just about long enough not too short but not long enough to get too home-sick. Cases have to be packed and left outside the cabin. There always seems far more to pack than we bought with us, and of course, the cases are not the only thing to put on weight.The diet starts tomorrow!!!!! Not everyone will have gained weight as there are two places on the ship where you can lose pounds. There is on-board a fully equipped gym with a number of running and cycling machines including ones that it looks as if you can do mountain biking on. In addition there is space for aerobics, weights and it is fully staffed for advice and personal training.         

I would like to say that I have spent a lot of time in here but in truth I’ve only just found out where it is. Next cruise I’ll take full advantage of the facility…HONEST! So, Rosemary , you do not need to put on too much weight on a cruise as long as you are sensible [I reckon I’ve put on around 10 pounds] Sylvia reckons that if they provided scales in each cabin then they would save a fortune in food when people realised how much weight they had added. The other place that you can lose pounds is the CASINO.

Not as big as the casinos on the American ships and doesn’t seem to get used as much, it basically consists of  slot machines, roulette table and a couple of card tables for Blackjack and Poker. I used it on a couple of occasions but had no wins to speak of.The other place that I haven't mention is The Planet Bar shown above, this is located at the back of the ship and features a large video wall showing HD photos of a different continent each day. Its very popular and the pictures are superb. 

And finally, despite an appearance by Noddy, The Village People won the progressive quiz,a terrific performance by all the team for the last nine sea days. And the prize………………………………………..

A BOTTLE OF WINE!!!!! Back home tomorrow when I will post my post-cruise review. Thanks for listening.

Day Fifteen – At Sea

Once again a lovely day, we woke early to see Queen Victoria following us up to Southampton. I’m not sure where she has been but apparently we are sailing “in tandem” all the way home.

It seems strange to get up early, reserve a sun-bed and then fall asleep in the sun, but that is exactly what we did today. After breakfast we walked over the sun-decks and found two seats in a good position with no towel covering. We lay here for all of the morning and I must admit as my eyes closed every now and then to falling asleep. Tonight was the last formal night of the cruise and we had booked a table at XVII, but were thinking of cancelling as we have eaten far too much rich food. I overheard a couple next to us discussing booking the restaurant but they had been told it was full, I was able to go to the desk with the man and pass over our reservation. It was at this stage they informed me that it was their wedding anniversary. Perhaps that was supposed to happen!!

The quiz was on at lunchtime and we did well gaining five bonus points for knowing that Nick Cave fronted The Bad Seeds, and thus winning today by six clear points. I think we are back in the lead now!!! We did lose out on another five points by not knowing ‘Who had a number 58 hit in 1986 with the Annie Lennox song “No More I Love You”'?’ Luckily no-one else knew either!!

We went to the early theatre show, a production number entitled ‘New York Rhythms’. I enjoyed it although Sylvia thought it was weak,a couple of technical hitches didn't help the situation. We ate in the main dining room with two other couples one from County Durham and one from Nottingham. The Nottingham man, Colin, had worked briefly for the Co-op dairy and knew my first boss, Bob Bracegirdle. Another instance of a small world. A nice touch at the end of the meal, we were all presented with a set of menus from the voyage in a presentation folder.

The Queen Victoria was still there as the day drew to a close, tomorrow I will give my summary of the holiday.

Day Fourteen – Gibraltar and Homeward Bound.

Since leaving Venice on Wednesday afternoon, we have had three days at sea, and for many cabin-fever takes hold. This coupled with our arrival in Gibraltar at 10.30am, a time that even on this ship most people are up, lead to massive queues leaving the ship when we docked. This was the first time on this trip that we had experienced queuing to leave the ship even when being tendered and it certainly brings out the worse in people.

Sylvia and I waited patiently in line and as we slowly progressed down the stairs to the exit, a lift arrived with the occupants going ahead of us in the queue. The fact that several of these passengers were in wheelchairs and at least one was blind did nothing to prevent a certain section of the assembled crowd venting their anger at this situation. In fact there was only a minor delay in getting off the ship but this will not prevent “official” complaints being made. Life is far too short for such aggravations after all we are on holiday!!!! Think of Gibraltar and probably two things spring to mind, The Rock and The Apes, and no visit would be complete without seeing both. Therefore we made our way from the ship, along the main street to the base of the cable car, a walk of around two miles. Despite the ranting of the local taxi drivers trying to convince us that the wait would be several hours[in order to sell their taxi trips],within 20 minutes we were in the car travelling to the top of the rock.

The apes were every where and did appear to pose for photographs like the one above. I will resist the temptation to tell you that Sylvia is on the left!! We were warned that they could be dangerous and one did jump on a fellow tourist looking for food as we exited the cable car. I must admit I didn’t enjoy the experience but then I’m not really that keen on animals generally.

We slowly walked back to the ship in the ever hotter afternoon sunshine, it had turned out to be yet another glorious day, looking at the duty free stores as we went. We had been joined in the harbour by Queen Victoria, the ship not the monarch and this was the view from our balcony on our return.

In many people’s opinion cruising is analogous to Butlins onboard ship and although I would disagree with that description most of the time, tonight’s sail away probably fitted quite well. After handing out union flags to the assembled passengers, the entertainment team treated us to a series of patriotic songs from the Home Countries [although they did get confused between the Republic and Northern Ireland] as the ship left the harbour. The passengers on the Queen Victoria must have wondered what was happening………actually it was GREAT FUN!!!!!!!

Tonight we decided to try out The Glass House, Olly Smith’s on-board wine bar. To drink I tried out The French Classics wine flight.

This consisted of a glass each of Chateau Latour a Pomerol 2004,Dezat Sancerre 2008 and Bourgogne Blanc Les Setilles, Olivier Leflaive 2008, accompanied by tasting notes to fully enjoy the experience. to eat we choose the 3 small dishes for £4.95 option. Sylvia choose [from left to right], Tempura King Prawns, Salmon Fishcakes & Hummus. While I went for Rillette of Ham, Chorizo Sausage and Bean Cassoulet and Portobello Mushroom with Waldorf Salad.

For sweets we went for Rice Pudding Tart [Sylvia] and Banoffe Cheesecake [me].

With a cup of coffee finishing yet another superb meal it was a perfect ending to a lovely day. Well worth the small extra supplements.

I mentioned in an earlier post the Enomatic serving system that preserves the integrity of the bottle of wine even after opening utilising inert gases. Shown below for all the geek followers is a photo of said device.Two more days and then we’re home, I’ll try over the remaining time to talk about areas of the ship that I have not yet mentioned and sum up our overall views of the ship.

Day Thirteen – A wonderful Day at Sea.

You either love or hate sea-days,but when the sun shines early in the morning, then it’s usually the former. Today was one of those days. We woke early and went for breakfast just after 7.00. Even at this time of the morning towels and books had been placed on sun-beds reserving them for absent sun bathers. After eating we found two beds in a good position, resisting the temptation of mixing up the reading matter left in the sun, and lay in the early morning sunshine.

It was hot even at this hour and it got hotter. We managed about two hours relaxing before giving up our prime spots. Still many beds were still only occupied by towels.

We attempted a couple of games of shuffle board, but with the bright sunshine reflecting off the deck it was difficult. Well that’s my excuse for once again being defeated by Sylvia!! On the sports front we also played table-tennis in the afternoon, this time being invited to play doubles. As neither of us had played anything but singles this was a new experience. We split up and played a couple of very enjoyable games , a much better work-out than our normal games. We will probably attempt this again. 

The sea days begin to have some routine to them, with two Tate lectures[Pop Art in the morning followed by Surrealism in the afternoon] and the daily quiz [ second again but still in with a shout]. Yesterday’s question correctly answered by Victoria and Rosemary as BJORK.

Now for some food!!!! Every night at the buffet there is a different speciality menu and tonight’s was Indian. We wanted to go to the early show [ a vocalist doing Michael Buble and Josh Grogan style songs] and didn’t fancy having a set meal too late. So the buffet was the choice. The menu included starters of Mulligatawny Soup, Valoo Chatt, Lamb & Vegetable Samosas and Onion Bhaji [pictured above] together with a selection of salads etc.

For mains there was a choice of Butter Chicken Masala, Beef Biriyani , Prawn Bhuna, Lamb Rogan Josh, Pork Vindaloo, Vegetarian Tandoori Gobi, Sabzi Korma and Cabbage Foogath. All served with a selection of rice, chapattis and naans. As with all buffets you could have as little or much as you wanted returning for fresh plates.

The food is very authentic as the vast majority of the kitchen staff are Indian in origin, although the meals tend to be on the mild side. Talking to one of the waiting staff he explained that the crew would eat the same food except that there would be one chilli in the passenger’s dishes but SEVEN in the crews. PHEW!!!!

The sweets were divine very sweet and tasty. There was a selection from Gajar Ka Halwa [Sweet milk and carrot cake – above] , Phirni [Rice pudding] and Gulab Jamun [milk dumpling in sugar syrup]. In addition there was a selection of Asian fruit platters and pastries and tropical fruit salads. There’s plenty to choose from there Oliver!!

I’m always amazed at what a small world it is when you are travelling, meeting people that have some connection with you. Yesterday I met a couple who have lived in Ross[my home town] for over thirty years , the husband of which was given a lift to work on a regular basis by my brother Ernie. Tonight meeting up with our Irish friends for a late night coffee, we chatted about friend’s and family. Lawrence and Elizabeth were surprised that you used to be Rector of Dunmanway , Patrick, as they knew a previous incumbent. Indeed they once visited the Rectory and were surprised at the presence of tennis courts.[I can’t remember his name but I will find out]. Tomorrow Gibraltar.

Day Twelve – At Sea [Passing Sicily]

After the double disappointment of yesterday, both missing Korcula and the poor weather, it was a pleasure to wake up this morning with land in view. The ship was about to pass through the Straits of Messina, between the toe of Italy and the Island of Sicily. We went on deck to try to get some good photos of both sides of the straits but there was a very strong wind, so we returned to our cabin where we had good views of the island.

The captain explained over the public address system that he had tried to get us into Gibraltar early as compensation for missing the last stop, but the limiting factor was getting a pilot to take us through these waters. Having said that we should arrive some two to two and a half hours earlier than originally scheduled on Sunday morning. As the morning passed the sun came out and so did the sunbathers, filling the sun beds that were out of the wind quite quickly. As with all ships the perennial problem of people saving sun beds with their towels is an issue here on Azura. I’m not sure what you can do about it without causing trouble. 

We skirted the island all day but were not fortunate enough to see Mount Etna as the mountains were covered in low lying cloud. A splendid sight though. As the day progressed small islands all formed by volcanic action appeared on the starboard side of the ship, like those pictured here.

Apart from passing islands Sylvia and I had quite a busy day with two Tate lectures to attend, both expertly presented by Linda Bolton. The subject of both lectures were paintings of Venice, the first concentrating on Turner, while the later one on others such as Sergeant, Whistler and Monet. The overall standard of the Tate presentations are excellent with today’s speaker, the best of the bunch.

In addition to table tennis other games on board include shuffleboard which we had a go at today. With the sunshine beating down on our backs we attempted a few games. Sylvia likes this game as she beat me fair and square, although she did finally wake the man at the back with her shouting.

Of course, it was another sea day so it was another quiz. We did well today and are up there with a shout if we continue at this level. One question that I should have got but didn’t was Who released an album entitled POST ? , answer as usual tomorrow. I thought you may be interested in the rest of the team, they are from left to right :Lawrence, Elizabeth, Eileen and Derek.

Tonight was formal night, with a black and white theme, an opportunity for me to wear my white dinner jacket. No photos as we had some done by the ship’s photographers, we’ll have to wait to see what they are like.

Day Eleven [Part Two] – At Sea.

As  I explained in my earlier post we did not stop in Korcula due to high winds, it was disappointing as the place looked lovely as I hope you will see from the few photos we took from the ship. Although very windy this morning the skies were clear and it looked set to be a nice day at sea. The entertainments team who were probably looking forward to a morning off, rapidly put together a programme to keep occupied 3000 disgruntled passengers. These included another Tate lecture [The Eastern Influence on Art] another lecture from the Red Arrows man and a series of deck games for lunchtime.

As lunchtime approached so the skies got greyer and it started to rain, for the first time on this cruise almost all the passengers were in the ship off the decks. It was very busy everywhere you went. A few moans and groans were heard as we passed tables in the dining room but you can’t do anything about the weather. I did overhear someone threatening to sue P&O for missing the port this morning…SAD!!!

As it was a sea day now, the quiz was back on. At the start the quizmaster announced the three leading positions with our team [naturally called “The Village People”] in second place two points behind The Seasiders , who appeared not to be present today. A chance to establish a lead! Unfortunately not, they had arrived late and, getting the same number of points as us, maintained their lead. We sat with our Irish colleagues for about an hour chatting about our respective families and careers and then stayed to play Killer Darts once again. No luck this time.Tonight’s show was “Blame It On the Boogie”, a mix of 70s tunes from Disco through The Carpenters to Tommy. Once again a high energy performance well received by the audience. Of particular note was the acrobatic female dancer who performed amazingly. Now for two more days at sea before Gibraltar on Sunday.

The pictures are just some images of Croatia as we passed by this morning.

Day Eleven [Part one] – Korcula or Not.

We woke early and after showering and packing the bags for our trip today, we went for breakfast. We had booked on a “Vines and Wines” excursion that would take us wine tasting in addition to having lunch in a Croatian farmhouse. When the Captain comes on the tannoy at 7.30 in the morning you know that it’s important, when he starts the announcement with “I’m Sorry”, you know it won’t be good news. The winds on deck were apparently in excess of 50mph meaning that the tender operation could not be attempted, he even said that he would have difficulty stopping the ship with these winds. Therefore we would not be making the arranged stop at Korcula [pronounced Kor-Chew-La apparently] and would therefore make our onward way to Gibraltar. Sylvia had promised to ring her Dad from this stop , so can you tell him Lorna – thanks. More Later………………..

Day Ten - Venice

They say that Venice offers the most spectacular views of any cruise ship sail-in, so we, in line with about half the ship’s passengers rose at 6.30 am to view the scene. Our cabin is on the port side of the ship while all the views especially that of St. Mark’s Square were starboard side, so in order to view a trip to Deck 15 was called for.The sun was just rising on what was to prove a quite magnificent day , we saved our space against the railing. The beautiful sky-line of Venice soon came into view backed by the just visible snow-capped Dolomite mountains.

After a quick breakfast we left the ship to catch the first shuttle of the day that would take us to St. Mark’s Square. It was just before 9.00 when we arrived and the square was comparatively empty which enabled us plenty of photo opportunities.We passed the Doge’s Palace and the Bridge of Sighs, unfortunately covered in advertising hoardings in order to raise monies for renovation work, and walked into the square. 

The queues were already forming for the Cathedral, while we deciding that this would be an outside day with no museum or church visit, followed the signs to the Rialto Bridge.

Along the way we passed shops selling a combination of cheap souvenirs and stylish Italian ware, stopping every now and then to take photos. As we crossed a small bridge, Fabio,the most handsome gondolier in the whole of Venice[Sylvia’s words not mine!!], approached. He enquired whether we wanted a gondola ride, how could we refuse??

The cost was 80 Euro, but where else can you experience this? He punted [not sure if that’s the correct term] us down narrow canals, describing the history and architecture as we went, onto the main arterial route of Venice, the Grand Canal.

Here we felt like celebrities. As it was early and few gondolas were on the canal the tourists all aimed their cameras at us, just like paparazzi. We passed the Post Office, Marco Polo’s house and one of Casanova's dwellings before the ride finally came to a halt. Short but sweet, it was a great experience.

The day had turned into a real scorcher and the narrow street and squares were beginning to fill up. We were the only cruise ship in today, I dread to think what it’s like when there are several, especially in the extreme heat of the summer.

The architecture in the city is stunning and as we turned every corner a new picture postcard appeared in front of us. Thank goodness for digital photography, over a hundred photos taken this morning so far.[Lorna, tell your Dad that I will go through each one with him as I know how much he enjoys them!!!]

As recommended by Helena we sat in Saint Mark’s Square for a coffee and watched the ever increasing crowds pass. In the background music from the small orchestras assembled outside every cafe played, as one finished the next one started.

I could write reams on the history and sights of this city but I will not bore you [presuming it’s not too late]. My advice is simple, if you have not visited Venice do so at your earliest opportunity and if you’ve been here before, return soon.

We went back to the ship for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing on the sundeck in the glorious Venetian sunshine. As sail-away approached a local gondolier band joined the ship to serenade us as we continued to soak up the rays.

As the sip sailed out of Venice we were treated to the same wonderful views that we had had 12 hours earlier, only this time on our side of the ship. We sat on our balcony waving at the passing boats and taking even more photographs of the picturesque scene.

In the theatre tonight was Cheryl Baker, ex-Bucks Fizz and TV personality, talking about her life. I went to the first show, Sylvia deciding that this one was not for her. It was sparsely attended but quite entertaining. Tomorrow the Croatian island of Korcula, and a trip that starts at 8.30, so Good Night.