New Crusiers - Few P&O Questions

[LS78]

Hey All,

 

Me and my partner are new to cruising (you may of seen my thread worrying about seasickness) and just have a few questions on P&O.

 

We are going on Azura in Feb next year flying to Barbados and around the Caribbean. We are both in our early 30's and was just wondering what to expect from P&O. Is it mainly an older cruise line as opposed to some of the other ones which seem more family and younger.

 

We picked P&O as my mum and dad have been and loved it, and it being mainly british (not that not being british would of bothered us at all so please dont get me wrong) so we didnt even research any of the other lines and what may of suited us. Also the itinerary is good for us as we only have 4 sea days which is what we wanted for our first cruise (although we have gone straight into a 2 week one so hope we like it!!)

 

Also I know nothing about the different nights onboard ship and dress codes etc. Any advice on this would be great! Is it smart every night or could I wear my smart black jeans with heels and a nice top etc? (obviously not on the formal night as I will have dresses for that but I certainly dont have 14 nights worth of dresses ha ha!)

 

Any advice would be great.

 

Thankyou

[BrianI]

See here for dress code.

http://www.pocruises.com/Help/Dining/

On Azura, the brochure says 4 formal, 4 semi formal and 6 casual per fortnight. However they may drop the semi formal in the Caribbean but this remains to be seen.

You have picked a good ship for your first cruise and the waters are normally calm in the Caribbean so you should not feel any movement. The P&O charter flights now have very good legroom, with individual seat back video screens, complementary drinks. You get a main meal shortly after take off and a snack just before landing. The flights take around 9 hours and on arrival you will come off the plane straight into a fleet of small buses to take you direct to the ship, which is around a 45 min journey. Your hold luggage will follow later and be delivered to your cabin but this may take up to 4 hours so bear this in mind when packing your hand luggage. Barbados time is 4 hours behind GMT so your travelling day is a long one.

On your last night you put out your hold luggage before midnight and you will have to vacate your cabin in the morning. However you do not leave the ship until about 3 hours before your flight, which are late afternoon. You are free to use all the ships facilities during this time. If the incoming flight is delayed you stay on the ship longer. Some friends of ours stayed on for an evening meal due to a delayed flight.

Brian

[angiebabes]

Hi,

As a rule most people tend to dress up each evening. I always wear long dresses for the formal nights and cocktails dresses for the rest of the nights, mostly Karen Millen and a few designer numbers. We always eat in the freedom restaurants in an evening and do the buffet or grill during the day so its nice to look glam. I didnt see any girls wearing jeans but i dont suppose it matters. I wear jeans all year round at home so i like to dress up on our cruises!! You will have a great time, we are on Azura next Christmas!!!:D

[BrianI]

Just to clarify for a new cruiser, Freedom dining does not mean lowering the dress code. The dress code of the day is the same for all restaurants, Freedom or Club. The menus and food are exactly the same. The only "free" bit about Freedom is the flexibility in dining time, when you can go anytime between 6pm and 9:30pm.

At other times of the day, there may be only one or two of the main restaurants open but these operate on an open seating basis open to both Freedom and Club diners. They are open for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. The self service is open 24/7, although some areas will be closed down at quiet times.

Brian

[tightwad]

We were on Ventura which is the sister ship to Azura and basically identical, in April and we loved it and i am sure you will also love it .Yes P&O do cater for the elderly market but ships like Azura and Ventura are so large there are plenty of people of all ages .The food , service and entertainment onboard are all exceptional and P&O drink prices are very reasonable compared to some other cruise lines.We were also on a fortnight cruise and the time flew in and we are now planning our next one already . Enjoy the cruise.

[LibraLass41]

Azura has plenty of people in all age groups. Lots to do in the evenings , great entertainment and plenty of restaurants to choose besides the main dining room.

Photos of the ship here 60+ photos

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/AuroraPartyCruiseSueV/AzuraApril10#5458865851795395218

 

You have chosen well, all cruiselines have older people on - Cunard, Fred Olsen, Princess etc, as Ocean Village will be gone soon, choosing a brand new family ship is a excellent choice.

[LS78]

Thanks for the info everyone. I guess we can double on outfits and where them twice. Is it all long dresses for the formal nights or can I wear a shorter dress. I have some lovely dresses but not any long ones (about knee length). We will get a tux for my other half and he has some nice suits aswell (shiny dressy ones from Next)

 

Brian - Thanks for all the info, I think the flights are Thomson or Thomas Cook, but sounds lovely not having to worry about your cases! Im glad we have picked a good cruise too. Im hoping for smooth sailing all the way.

 

Hey tightwad - Sounds lovely!! I had heard drinks were reasonable compared to other ships which is always a good thing. As long as its not all elderly I dont mind. Although saying that my mum and dad have more energy than us and stay out drinking more than we do sometimes ha ha (and they are 61 and 71!!)

[angiebabes]

On the whole the majority of ladies wear long dresses for the formal nights. On our last cruise we dined one evening with two students holidaying together. They both wore their prom dresses and looked amazing. T K Maxx has some fab long dresses. Very reasonable -

£50-£60. You will feel very special on these nights when wearing something glamourous!!!

Angie

x