elmsliebev

but it hasn't got "Oh, Jerry, don't let's ask for the moon. We have the stars." from Now, Voyager (Bette Davis & Paul Heindred), partly set on a cruise ship. I think that film sparked my fascination with cruising. Ooops, of course it's there! Phew.

This is the little train. There is a step up to it. I'm guessing the coach is the standard one with 2 or 3 steps up to it. It does say the activity level is Moderate on the excursion page.

Nationwide also include car breakdown and mobile phone insurance. We got covid on a cruise last year and as we'd taken out the additional cruise specific cover (£40 for both of us for a year), they paid out £1800 very quickly, with no issues.

we decided to add the extra cruise specific insurance last year when we cruised with Cunard. It was £40 for a year for both of us. We ended up with Covid and had to isolate so we got £1800 back for "confined to cabin" which we spent on another cruise! It's personal choice of course, but we've done it again for this year 😀

Brooklyn has a brilliant botanical gardens, and the views across to Manhatten really are amazing. So it might be worth having a look across, then maybe subway. The subway is very straightforward. We went from near the World Trade centre site all the way up to the Yankees Stadium and back and felt very safe.

we go on Azura in October. At the moment our cruise personaliser says "coming soon" for booking Epicurian, Beach House & Sindhu in advance. I've read elsewhere that it will open up 2 weeks before we go. I don't think the app is currently used on Azura for booking restaurants, just the pager if needed. And, no you can't swap around between Freedom and fixed. You could eat in the buffet of course. We're on Freedom for the first time, so we'll see how that goes!

Rotterdam itself is an interesting city. When we were there in March we docked near the old Holland America Line building and used the water taxi to get across to the main part of the city. Great fun! There's an excellent food hall and the cube houses are nearby.

we're on Azura for 3 weeks soon and all that is showing is a 28 day pass to be booked onboard! No use to us whatsoever. I quite fancy booking it for the final week or our cruise as we have 4 sea days in that week. I'll "enquire on board" and hopefully be able to use up some OBC.

accidentally? Did he think it was a particularly free range mayo??

a fish finger butty for us!

hi all, In October we will be on our first P&O cruise for several years (Oriana & Oceana previously) though we were on Cunard's QE last year and MSC's Virtuosa in March. We are on for 22 nights (Malta-Croatia-Malta-Tenerife). A couple of questions: Does Azura have a jogging/walking track? Is there a proper Promenade deck? I understand there is an outdoor cinema screen - are films shown every evening (weather premitting)? What sort of guest speakers are there? We were very spoiled with Cunard speakers and just wondering if Azura will have some. Very much looking forward to it especially as quite a few of the ports are new to us - Sicily x2, Sardinia, Trieste, Zadar, Split many thanks

thanks for your reports @DamianG, really enjoyed reading them and especially the food photos!

Oriana is my favourite, I think she's probably bean cans too!

well, we had snow in August on holiday in Wales many years ago! I think you'll be ok though.

I've really enjoyed reading your review, and your wonderful photos - especally the food ones! Thank you.

we did this last year, from Alaska. Had a wonderful time, in a standard inside cabin. We spent literally all day on deck going through the Panama Canal, fascinating day. Enjoy!

who knows. There will be more choices than other Cunard ships. We tried MSC earlier this year and we had the option to book a dining package in advance and make a saving. Or you could book individually on board. We booked 4 venues in advance and it was some of the best food we've had at sea. That said, QE Britannia restaurant last year was very good, better than the MSC one. I'm looking forward to finding out next year!

fabulous shop, always spend far too much there!

we are on her next June. As yet there is no indication of a dining package on our booking. It does currently say that bookings for the speciality restaurants can be made from a date 2 weeks before our sail date.

Valencia is one of my favourite cities. We went for 1 day from a cruise and loved it so much we went back for a week. It's quite spread out, from beach to the Arts and Science park and the old town so probably best to focus on 1 area. There is a local bus that runs the whole way from the old town to the beach and past the Art and Sciences park though. The old town has a great indoor market where you can eat and drink. There was a good traditional tapas bar opposite the main entrance (Bar Central, if it's still there). There's a small but lovely botanical gardens, the railway station has the most amazing tiles. There's an amzing church St Nicolas de Bari, which has stunning frescoes. Enjoy!

thank you! Ordered one. We have a 22 night cruise soon so we'll give it a go.

Thoroughly enjoying your blog. We visited Valencia from Oriana some years ago and loved it so much we ended up going for a week the following year. We stayed very near the Arts & Science park and there is an excellent bus that runs past there, from the old town to the beach. A very frequent service. Also enjoying your wine comments. We are on Azura in October so I hope they have Albarino, one of my favourites and I must try a red zinfandel as well.

@AndyMichelle that sounds like a good idea, I often get a cough too. Can you share the type you've got?

After extensive research, Lidl have the best pastel de natas!

I love the Library, but as someone who works in one, I had to stop myself from shelving the books in true alphabetical order 🤣 It was a struggle!