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For those of you with cruises booked on Azura over the coming months and want to eat in Epicurian, Sindhu, The Beach House, or Glass House all I can say is ‘good luck’ - and if you are on a one week cruise then ‘sorry but no chance’. All the venues are running at a fraction of the normal capacity because of a lack of back of house staff - and apparently it is likely to get worse when Azura moves to its summer season around the med because of the more stringent visa requirements for staff imposed by Malta and Greece since… For those on two week cruises and arriving on a Friday there is a possibility of grabbing slots in the second week in the restaurants that can’t be booked before embarking (i.e. virtually all of them), but damn all chance in the first because those were booked the previous week by those on two week cruises. For those arriving on a Saturday they will be picking up the leftovers from the Friday crowd. And so those on one week cruises - no chance.

I completely agree. It seems utterly crazy that someone paying top tier prices for a suite ends up in the same endless queue for the restaurant (or the invidious ‘but we can seat you straight away if you will share’) as someone who paid a fraction of that amount for a Saver inside cabin. On other cruise lines the suite guests get dedicated restaurants and bars, areas set aside in the theatre, etc. whereas on P&O you get… not a lot. But whilst there is a queue of people willing to pay P&O those top tier prices for not a lot then things won’t change.

Been out for a stroll this evening as Azura is overnight in Tenerife to check out the apartment we have booked for a couple of months when we return just after Christmas, and it seems to have been a good pick being in a quiet area overlooking the cruise port and just a short walk from parks and shops.

I was there yesterday on Azura and weirdly the shuttle bus was completely different. It was a two minute ride in the shuttle bus (£4 each way if you were not Select!) to the port entrance, and then a 15 minute walk to the town centre around the ‘puddle’. Today a glorious 24c in Tenerife.

No, you got to choose the only remaining cabin available at that time. Now that might seem silly, choosing from a single cabin, but at least you know which cabin it is and you will certainly receive it. Had you booked Saver then you might have received that cabin, or you might have been allocated a dreadful cabin after the ‘ripple’ of cabin allocations took place closer to departure time as people cancelled, were upgraded, paid to upgrade, etc, and as a Saver you would likely end up at the end of the queue.

And Azura

6pm in Gran Canaria but still 23c and an ideal time for a beer on the promenade.

Given how some of those who were not in Christmas jumpers were dressed yesterday then even that isn’t an issue, as just a jacket with no tie seemed to be acceptable to get you into the MDR.

Yes, there were lots of people just wearing Christmas themed shirts with jeans.

No idea. I only found out when I saw it in Horizon, but as this is billed as a ‘Christmas cruise’ with lots of onboard Christmas activities then presumably some people travel with a Christmas jumper just in case.

On Azura at the moment and yesterday night was the second Black Tie night of the cruise. Except it wasn’t. It was a Black Tie or Christmas Jumper night, so a mixture of people smartly dressed in the Black Tie venues and people wearing jeans and T shirt with a Primark jumper thrown over their shoulders, since as usual it’s a bit too warm to wear a jumper onboard. Now having a Christmas Jumper evening is absolutely fine, but combining it with a Black Tie night is just silly.

Hopefully, because I will still be here next Saturday for the second ‘loop’ around the islands.

Currently sat in a bar in Funchal enjoying a cold drink after a very pleasant day cruising up from Tenerife on Azura - when we finally got to Tenerife after the aircraft had to be de-iced twice at Gatwick on Saturday. Full sunbathing on deck weather yesterday, and although slightly cloudy today, still very pleasant.

Suitcases packed and in the car ready for the trip down to Gatwick this evening for the flight out tomorrow to Tenerife and then the next two weeks doing loops around the Canary Isles and Madeira. It will be an interesting taster of Tenerife as we will be back there again after Christmas for a few months, with the first month spent in an apartment that virtually overlooks the cruise port.

Likewise, but the downside I find is that the wine by the glass in the MDR can be a bit hit and miss, particularly if you order something that sells less well and the bottle may have been open a while, and also the white is not always chilled as well as it could be if you order something popular where it is constantly restocked and a bottle taken from the front. Therefore I have resorted to going via the Glass House on the way to the MDR to pick up a couple of glasses of wine on the way, as their stock control and presentation seems better - but then it is a bit rubbish having to carry the wine to the MDR.

That presumes you actually choose to pay them. If you don't the aircraft isn't leaving without you. Personally I liked the old old days of Ryanair when there were no seat bookings - its a flying bus so get on and sit down, and ironically in those days people were likely to be far more amenable to moving to allow a family to sit together because they didn't have the 'investment' in having paid to book a seat.

If it is a charter then you just turn up with your boarding pass and passport at the airport check in.

Sounds reasonable, so perhaps a bit more metal and punk on the show band's session list, perhaps Overkill and California Über Alles? After all those approaching retirement were teenagers when those were released and so those tracks are likely still on plenty of people's Spotify playlists... And as a result some cruise companies are doing that because they see money in it - https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/tattoos-wildcat-cruise-heavy-metal-punk-rock-tattoos-2bqnhfcm2 https://archive.is/ezTfA

Departures 31st March or 14th April on Arvia from Southampton to the Med, £1438 from P&O for a Saver inside or £1708 for a Select inside (with an extra £50 per cabin OBC), balcony £2068 / £2662 (with an extra £220 OBC). So for the basic Saver inside it is just over £51 per person per day.

Only if you are in the shorter EU citizen queue as I will be...

I know they are using using both Tui and Jet 2 out of Gatwick, with the Tui flight at 09:50 so 14:15 into Tenerife and the Jet 2 leaving at 10:15 as I am on the Tui in a couple of weeks time and I know someone on the same cruise who is on the Jet 2. But then when I come back I am on the Jet 2, 15:45 out and back at 20:15.

You can't have the card without the passport book - it is an addition, not a substitution, so it is more costly to have one. You do, but you can use the card on its own without the book if you are travelling within the EU, the UK, or the members of the EEA, so if you prefer you can leave the book behind and just travel with the card. It is handy if you want to travel light and as it is a credit card size then you can just keep it in your wallet. It is also handy as you effectively have two passports as the book and card have different numbers (or three passports if like me you have dual nationality).

If you had read my comments earlier you would have already noted that I had expressed a view that it would not be a good idea. My reference to the law was directed at someone who was pontificating about the legality without either knowing about the legality or the initiative to look up the legality before commenting.

It isn't too hard to discover what the law is in the EU rather than just speculating - Internal market - Services (cabotage) (europa.eu)

I have seen it happen several times on European cruises with no issue, other than the passengers needing to cover their own travel expenses and accommodation getting between the ports. Europe isn't the US and things are done differently here.