Blodders70

Hi,

I'm thinking of booking a fly cruise on Oceana in July. Does anyone know approximately what time the flight leaves birmingham to Genoa?

Thanks in advance.

Hi,

We went on our first cruise on Azura over the New Year. I loved it and the 2 kids (aged 2 and 9 at the time) loved it! My 9 yo we couldn't get out of kids club but my 2yo was a bit clingy at the time so wouldn't use it as much as we wouldve liked. She enjoyed it when she was there though. The guys in the kids clubs were fantastic.

We used kids tea in one of the buffet restaurants mostly because my son wanted to go back to kids club and it was a better time for our little one. There was a good choice of kiddie food, so it was better for our youngest who didn't really like much in the MDR, then she would just sit and munch on a bread roll while we had our meal.

We also didn't notice any victor meldrews on board and the age demographic was varied.

Have a lovely cruise!

We took our 2yo on Azura in December. She loved the kids club when she was there, but due to a clingy phase, didn't use it much. The girls there were great though. During the evening they have a wind down dvd, about 8pm, and all the kiddies crash out on beanbags, pick up by midnight. If you want a very late night, the night nursery closes at 2am.

We found kids tea a good option, from 5-6pm. It had a good choice of kiddie food, plus we found it was a better time for my Little One. We were on freedom dining but usually dined 6.30-7pm so my LG would either munch on a bread roll or just sit in her pushchair if she was tired. We were lucky to be seated around the edge of the dining room too.

We didn't really do any excursions, Caribbean, just visited some beaches. We did take a pushchair after much debating, and was glad because LG got very tired!

On Azura, the kiddie pool was aft, so we tended to go there. There's the choice of kiddie pool and aft pool plus it's quieter.

It's a great holiday with a young family and can't wait to do it again! Have a fab time ☀️

Our bus driver told us that Friday can be hectic so the drive to the airport will take longer so on Saturday departures, the drive doesn't take so long!

We did the turtle swim on our full day in Barbados so no advice but I would highly recommend it!

Enjoy your cruise 😊

Just got off the New Year Caribbean cruise on the Azura with our 10 and almost 3 yo. The kids club were amazing. They were open til midnight on our cruise. Activities til 8 pm at which time they would put on a DVDs and the kiddos would settle down on the beanbags. They opened at 9am in the morning, closed 1-2pm for lunch and 5-6pm for kids tea. I would recommend the kids tea because even when our 2yo came to the dining room with us, it was a bit late for her to eat. She'd almost gone past it. Kids tea took a lot of stress out of mealtimes just. because they have more choice.

We also used the pool at the stern mainly. It was generally quieter plus upstairs is the kiddies pool ( not open on sea days though.)

No complaints from me re Azura, but I'm a newbie too so I had nothing to compare it too. On thing, though, I didn't like so much were the sea days! Chaos, bodies everywhere! Haha! Buffet was crazy and I wish we had maybe tried the main dining room on these days!

Enjoy your cruise. I loved mine and wish I was still there! 😀

We've just come back from our New Year Caribbean cruise on a select fare. We were a family of 4 sharing one cabin. P&O sold us another outside cabin 5 days before we left for £250, which we considered a bargain, and probably saved our sanity too!

Great review, thanks!

I've just come off the Azura New Year cruise and I had a totally different experience booking the New Year freedom dining sitting, but maybe they have more tables for four. I went down at 11am, walked straight in and got first sitting no problem.

We were also lucky at the ports. At some ports we were the only ship in and at others, there was only one other.

Thank you Jeanlyon and Shallwe, very helpful posts. It gives me more of an idea of what to expect!

We are on that cruise. Denarius is absolutely corect in his reply. We are on Freedom and normally get a table for 2. We get our pager and go and dance in the Atrium. We are normally buzzed before our drink is finished.

That sounds very civilised! Much better than queuing!

Not long to go now. I'm getting very excited! :D

Most definitely avoid the time immediately after the end of the Captain's welcome party.

The queues will be very lengthy.

What time does the party end, please? This will be my first cruise.

Thank you for the replies everyone.

We booked originally on first sitting but changed to freedom so we could have more freedom. I'm not fancying the long queues I've read about on here. I think I'll have to partake in afternoon tea to keep me going! :)

Unfortunately a vague question does result in a vague answer.

 

Yes and no because it depends on many things, not least the ship.

Fair enough! :)

It's the Azura, New Year cruise. Anyone have a crystal ball? :D

Does there tend to be busy times in freedom dining?

Ok, that solves the issue. You've probably guessed it's our first cruise, so we want to get it right!:)

Thanks for the replies.

He's got a tux for formal nights but he doesn't wear casual trousers, just tracksuit bottoms, jeans or shorts in the summer. I didn't want to purchase trousers that he wouldn't wear after the cruise but if I have to, I will. His shorts are smart though, not the cargo or sporty type ones.

Hi,

I have a 10yr old boy so can he wear shorts on the Azura on casual nights?

TIA

Thank you everyone for your responses!

After reading Laurakdy's response, I'm tempted to book. I would be very disappointed to miss the opportunity to eat there because my partner and I love that type of food.

Do you pay if you book before you go, or on the night? If you book beforehand, do you pay a surcharge if you cancel?

Sorry, more questions!:rolleyes:

Thank you Rick.

It's a great help. :)

Thanks for the reply netchells.

I know this is relative, but how long after they were released did you book and was there much uptake at that time?

I've got 2 kiddies so want to make sure we book seats. Ive got an idea of when they'll be released. Guess I'll just have to check everyday around that time. :)

Hi,

How much notice does P&O give regarding the release date of flights seats for booking? It says 9 weeks before on the personalised but will they be more specific closer to the time, or do they announce it after being released?

Hope that makes sense! :)

TIA X

Thank you, Brian, for such an informative response. You've anseered all my questions in one post! :)

Getting excited now! X

Hello,

It's my first cruise coming up, and we're going to the Caribbean on the Azura on December 27th. We'd like to try out a speciality restaurant, probably Sindhu, but I'm not sure if we should book now or wait til we're on board. We have a couple of kiddies, so not knowing the lay of the land and how things work re kids club etc, how flexible is the booking system for these restaurants?

TIA x

Hi,

We're going to be 2 adults and 2 children and we've asked for two bed guards. My 2yo will sleep on the bed with a guard but my 9 yo will sleep on the Pullman with a bed guard. I'll probably sleep on the other Pullman and hopefully won't fall out! :D

It is expensive and I do begrudge paying it but I'm almost relieved it's only £120 after contemplating £360!

It's £15 pp per flight so for 4 of you it will be £120 :eek:

Phew! Thank you for clarifying that. :)