Azura A101 review

[38anchor]

38 Anchor, I would be most interested to know how you managed to book the Retreat for sea days & 17 for that matter, we couldn't.

 

We were one of the first flights from Manchester that flew in on the Friday.

 

As soon as we boarded we went straight up to the Spa to book the Retreat, and then back down to the Atrium to book the Supper Club, XVII & Sindhu. We didn't even drop off hand luggage in the cabin first.

 

Most people we spoke to had a problem booking these, especially the Retreat. One couple we met also arrived on Friday, but when they went to book they were told all spaces had gone for Fridays arrivals and what was left was only available for Saturday arrivals. Sounds perfectly fair to me, so I couldn't understand why some other friends of ours went straight up to the spa on Saturday after they arrived and were told it was fully booked!

[themommy]

Hi 38 anchor

We were on your cruise but didn't get to meet.

Our opinions of the cruise were exactly the same as yours.

Food only OK and service poor, waiters don't engage like those on the USA ships.

Our table waiter was lovely but our party of 10 really had to work hard for responses and the dining experience was really just dinner being served - not what we are used to on Celebrity and Princess.

Its the overall benefits which P&O rely on - great itinerary, great overall price, great transfers, tea and coffee in rooms sadly food and service are not high on the agenda and haven't been on my last 2 outings.

Would I sail P&O again? Yes with the family but not on Azura - Ventura beats Azura in my view. Didn't like the impact that the Retreat had on Sardine sunbathing on the Coral Pool.

We also couldn't work out why informal night with a jacket was so difficult to understand! P&O need to be clear on the code BEFORE people travel.

We also did not like the mix of the casino with the pub - the mix of spaces and ambience clashed terribly in our view. We love to do both but I don't want to be in the casino with my ball gown on standing next to a chap in the pub in jeans.

[jeanlyon]

Gail, my thoughts exactly. Our first drink the first evening was in the pub. We didn't go in there again. Firstly, i thought the Casino being just the other side was completely wrong and secondly, we'd only been in there half an hour before a loud girll started a quiz! About 2 people took part, the rest of us couldn't hear ourselves think.

 

After that we went to the Planet bar which we enjoyed every night, apart from when the classical concert was on. Bar staff in the Planet were excellent.

 

Agree totally about the sardine sunbeds, but don't agree about the food. our waiters were superb and the food was good. Perhaps we were lucky.

[Quercus]

We were one of the first flights from Manchester that flew in on the Friday.

 

As soon as we boarded we went straight up to the Spa to book the Retreat, and then back down to the Atrium to book the Supper Club, XVII & Sindhu. We didn't even drop off hand luggage in the cabin first.

 

Most people we spoke to had a problem booking these, especially the Retreat. One couple we met also arrived on Friday, but when they went to book they were told all spaces had gone for Fridays arrivals and what was left was only available for Saturday arrivals. Sounds perfectly fair to me, so I couldn't understand why some other friends of ours went straight up to the spa on Saturday after they arrived and were told it was fully booked!

I must admit we did drop the bags & we had to attend the drill but so did everyone else. I was told ''we did keep some places for retreat back & sold them this morning'', I observed that they sold to the same people then, as nobody had arrived in the morning, just got "a look"(troublemaker!) I didn't think the Retreat would be that popular & I didn't think there were as many mugs as me who would want to pay about £400 for a sunbed!

We didn't try to book any restaurants that night, we left it until the next day as in our experience you can get in usually, we were wrong! Did book Sindhu, we must have chosen the wrong dishes as we didn't think much of it, I do think that it may be a case of "the emperors new clothes" with these places. We knew NOTHING about the "supper Club"

Being unable to book these places didn't ruin our cruise, but it didn't help much!

[Quercus]

Hi 38 anchor

We were on your cruise but didn't get to meet.

Our opinions of the cruise were exactly the same as yours.

Food only OK and service poor, waiters don't engage like those on the USA ships.

Our table waiter was lovely but our party of 10 really had to work hard for responses and the dining experience was really just dinner being served - not what we are used to on Celebrity and Princess.

Its the overall benefits which P&O rely on - great itinerary, great overall price, great transfers, tea and coffee in rooms sadly food and service are not high on the agenda and haven't been on my last 2 outings.

Would I sail P&O again? Yes with the family but not on Azura - Ventura beats Azura in my view. Didn't like the impact that the Retreat had on Sardine sunbathing on the Coral Pool.

We also couldn't work out why informal night with a jacket was so difficult to understand! P&O need to be clear on the code BEFORE people travel.

We also did not like the mix of the casino with the pub - the mix of spaces and ambience clashed terribly in our view. We love to do both but I don't want to be in the casino with my ball gown on standing next to a chap in the pub in jeans.

If it was a formal or semi formal there shouldn't have been a bloke in jeans!

[goodyearbaggieboy]

Hi 38anchor We were on same cruise but sorry didnt meet up because of our flight from Bham being 14 hours late! We were very lucky to meet up The Mommy and her party as we had a fantastic time. Have to agree with your review word for word i asked our wine waiter on the first night about a wine package but he hadnt got the time to talk to me so i didnt have the time to tip him.Apart from room service and cabin steward service was a bit of a hit and miss affair! Gail is right in saying when you make the effort to get dressed up it does not go down well when you are in the casino in your best attire and someone next to you is dressed in jeans and the ladies are proud to show off their tattoos on their shoulders!!! I had better beware because when i made a jokey comment about tattoos i came in for a bit of a battering.Would try p and o again but not azura, not for us.So yes there were people in jeans i wear jeans but not on formal nights.For all those booked on azura go with an open mind but dont expect it to be like other p and o cruises thats what i am told anyway. Oh and yes we were compensated with on board credit,a bottle of wine and a plate of sandwiches.An apology from someone would have been nice.It wasnt all bad there were some good parts.

[38anchor]

Sorry I didn't get to meet you all on the sailing - it was a bit of a nightmare with planes coming in late, although we did manage to find a few people we had been chatting to on here.

 

Totally agree about the Brodies and casino situation. Our group liked to be in the Casino most nights and the last thing you really want when trying to concentrate on the tables is a name that tune quiz going on next to you.

 

Its really funny though, as I've posted my review on here and most people seem to be agreeing with me, yet I've posted the same review on the P&O site and have been kinda insulted for it.... One person even put something like 'so what else did you do on your cruise apart from eat and complain - we have been on Azura before and the only problems we found were the whingers' - charming!

[goodyearbaggieboy]

Hi 38anchor does not surprise me about adverse comments from other posters as they do not understand that these posts appear on a critic board and everyone has their own comments to make. They don't understand you have to respect everyones comments! Sometimes what happens is that you book early and you pay top price then others book late and pay half so for them it's good value but it's all about expectations we have done Cunard and msc. Cannot compare msc rearly but Cunard is far better than p and o and we would not do azura again if others want to that's ok it's just that our expectations are different and more exacting!

[jeanlyon]

I had the same result. I put on a review every day about Azura, good points and bad. It was enjoyed by some, but others just called me a moaner. Actually I'm not really, but to me the loudness of the Seascreen and the constant beat of rock music day in day out make Azura a no-no for me

 

Will be on Arcadia in August, so no doubt I will be accused of being a wrinkly with a mobile scooter, which I'm not LOL

 

Also a big LOL for the tattos and beer stomachs. They were much in evidence on Azura. Ladies with a pretty dress and an enormous tattoo are just gross in my opinion.

[EJNutz]

38anchor

 

Thanks for sharing your review of your cruise with us. It was very informative and very interesting. I don't like poor service , especially where food is concerned.I too have cruised on both RCI and P&O. P&O is my favourite between the two.

 

However the service you received in the dining area is not acceptable. It this experience that can ruin a special occasion. Let's hope that your next cruise whoever it is with, is a far better experience.

 

Would you mind submitting your review to our cruise review section so that it would be available to a widen audience. It would be a real help to many members.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/reviews/

[jem57]

we were on the same cruise as you and the same flight,we too booked all our restaurants as soon as we boarded and were not disappointed.some passengers were annoyed as they couldnt get a reservation but they never thought to book asap.agree with you on some points but not on others,we always found a great spot for sunbeds on seadays never with crowds side by side,but if you looked there were lots of places to chill in the sun.the one thing i couldnt stand was the noise from the seascreen - horrendous,no way could i have lay there listening to that racket all day,on the princess ships you were given receivers to put in your ears so if you wanted to listen to the film you could without all the noise,so much better.

all in all we had an excellent time,on par with the 2 princess cruises to the caribbean.

[Lesleywhiteman]

We keep fancying the Hawaii RT on Princess and I always read the reviews of this itinerary. The one thing that puts me off is that they often have bad weather and miss ports, which must be a bit disappointing after so many sea days and having to bypass these lovely islands. :(

I agree, we sailed on the golden princess around the islands, March 2009, the weather was dreadful, sea was so rough on our way back, never experienced anything like it. There were too many sea days for me, would have preferred to visit more islands over the 15 days. Having sailed both Princess and P & O, would never choose Princess again. Looking forward to the Azura in 2 weeks, so many friends of mine have returned with fantastic reports.

[Lesleywhiteman]

I had the same result. I put on a review every day about Azura, good points and bad. It was enjoyed by some, but others just called me a moaner. Actually I'm not really, but to me the loudness of the Seascreen and the constant beat of rock music day in day out make Azura a no-no for me

 

Will be on Arcadia in August, so no doubt I will be accused of being a wrinkly with a mobile scooter, which I'm not LOL

 

Also a big LOL for the tattos and beer stomachs. They were much in evidence on Azura. Ladies with a pretty dress and an enormous tattoo are just gross in my opinion.

what date you sailing in August jeanlyon, friends of ours are sailing also in august (20 of them) some of which have tattoos! however I am sure their two thousand pound evening dresses and Jimmy Choo Shoes will take the attention away from their tatoos LOL

[Lesleywhiteman]

I had the same result. I put on a review every day about Azura, good points and bad. It was enjoyed by some, but others just called me a moaner. Actually I'm not really, but to me the loudness of the Seascreen and the constant beat of rock music day in day out make Azura a no-no for me

 

Will be on Arcadia in August, so no doubt I will be accused of being a wrinkly with a mobile scooter, which I'm not LOL

 

Also a big LOL for the tattos and beer stomachs. They were much in evidence on Azura. Ladies with a pretty dress and an enormous tattoo are just gross in my opinion.

Forgot to mention when sailing from LA on the princess I was shocked to see so many very large people on the ship, with huge bellies, but not from the beer, but the amount of food they consumed, they were never far away from the buffet, I couldn't actually eat in the buffet after our second lunch visit there, it was gross actually watching them consume so much food. An experience not actually witnessed on P&O.

[mrspjotter]

We've just got back from our 1st P&O cruise on Azura having previously done 2 RCI cruises.

 

I have to say we found the main dining room better than RCI we had freedom dining but had a great waiter and assistant waiter on the 1st night that we asked to be sat in that section every night. The food was great and nothing was too much of a problem if the kids didn't like something on the menu an alternative was always found as was 2 helpings of beef wellington for my husband!

 

I have to say though that the buffet restaurant wasn't up to the standard of RCI in the evenings, we ate in there 3 times but i'm not sure why it has to be themed it would be much better just having a choice of stuff every evening like RCI.

 

I was worried that the staff wouldn't be as friendly as they were on RCI but there were no problems there we were always made to feel at home by our cabin steward and the staff in all the areas were very friendly and definitely the indian and oriental staff more so than the english and the kids were made a fuss of wherever we went.

 

We didn't find any of the areas noisy - I was a bit disappointed with the seascreen as the choice of films was a bit odd, during the day I would've expected more easy to watch films like Mamma Mia and then keep things like Inception and Moulin Rouge for the evening. Also as it is brochured as a family ship I thought the films would have more of a family theme - on Oscar night they showed the Wizard of Oz at midnight???????????

 

Also I was expecting one of the pools to be more family friendly rather than the shallow end on both of the main pools being 1.8m deep - even I like to be able to swim and stop without having to tread water all the time!

 

All in all we had a brilliant time but i'm not sure Azura was the family ship we hoped it would be although none of the kids wanted to come home so I guess that says something!

[jeanlyon]

what date you sailing in August jeanlyon, friends of ours are sailing also in august (20 of them) some of which have tattoos! however I am sure their two thousand pound evening dresses and Jimmy Choo Shoes will take the attention away from their tatoos LOL

 

Already sailed last August, not again on Azura thanks :-):p

[jeanlyon]

I am still surprised that P&O doesn't give headsets for the seascreen. It would be so easy and so much better, so that the whole place isn't a no go area for those who just want to read and sunbathe.

[mrspjotter]

To be honest I thought the Aqua Pool which has the sea screen was much quieter than the Coral Pool which seemed to have more music.

[jeanlyon]

I think they may have turned it down but agree the Coral Pool was just as bad. Constant loud music all the time.

[Britcruzer]

We've just got back from our 1st P&O cruise on Azura having previously done 2 RCI cruises.

 

I have to say we found the main dining room better than RCI we had freedom dining but had a great waiter and assistant waiter on the 1st night that we asked to be sat in that section every night. The food was great and nothing was too much of a problem if the kids didn't like something on the menu an alternative was always found as was 2 helpings of beef wellington for my husband!

 

I have to say though that the buffet restaurant wasn't up to the standard of RCI in the evenings, we ate in there 3 times but i'm not sure why it has to be themed it would be much better just having a choice of stuff every evening like RCI.

 

I was worried that the staff wouldn't be as friendly as they were on RCI but there were no problems there we were always made to feel at home by our cabin steward and the staff in all the areas were very friendly and definitely the indian and oriental staff more so than the english and the kids were made a fuss of wherever we went.

 

We didn't find any of the areas noisy - I was a bit disappointed with the seascreen as the choice of films was a bit odd, during the day I would've expected more easy to watch films like Mamma Mia and then keep things like Inception and Moulin Rouge for the evening. Also as it is brochured as a family ship I thought the films would have more of a family theme - on Oscar night they showed the Wizard of Oz at midnight???????????

 

Also I was expecting one of the pools to be more family friendly rather than the shallow end on both of the main pools being 1.8m deep - even I like to be able to swim and stop without having to tread water all the time!

 

All in all we had a brilliant time but i'm not sure Azura was the family ship we hoped it would be although none of the kids wanted to come home so I guess that says something!

 

 

Glad you had a good time, where did you go to in Curacao in the end?, how was the day pass in grenada?, what about St Maarten - Questions Questions;)

[mrspjotter]

Hi Britcruzer - in Curacao we did the p&o trip to the Sea Aquarium beach in the morning which was gorgeous and then walked across the queen emma floating bridge into Willemstad and had a late lunch in the Iguana cafe on the quayside which was amazing!

 

Le Gallion Beach in St Maarten was great for the kids and our best day by far was our day in Grenada to the Grenada Grand Beach resort would love to go back to the island and just stay there for 2 weeks it was amazing.

 

If you know how to add photos to a post please let me know and I will add some!:confused:

[Britcruzer]

not sure on the photos, what about Picassa or photobucket etc

 

We are now looking at le galion and the butterfly farm for St Maarten.

 

did you go to Cockleshell in St Kitts?

 

how was the Ship, and the Reef Crew, food, restaurants, entertainment, speakers etc etc etc.:eek:

 

definately give Ventura a go, we have twice:D

[mrspjotter]

We did go to Cockleshell - I have posted some info in one of the threads on the St Kitts board if that's any help.

 

My main disappointment with Azura was the pools - there was a tiny splash pool for toddlers at the back near the terrace pool which is adult only but the two main pools aqua and coral were 1.8 m at the shallow end and 2.2 m at the deep end - my son was fine as he can swim but my 7 year old girls are confident swimmers so hardly went in there - I didn't either as i'm a short*ss and can't be done with treading water the whole time.

 

I am trying to write up my cruise report to put on the forum but basically the food in the MDR was amazing didn't like the buffet in the evening didn't see the point of having a theme would've preferred a bit of everything at night like they have on RCI.

 

Disappointed with sea screen. My son used the kids club - wasn't impressed with one member of staff in the scuba's section and the fact that he could sign himself out whenever her wanted. Registered my girls on the 2nd day and the staff were too pushy and frightened them off so one of them started crying and they never went back - shame as they really enjoyed the RCI club.

 

Watched 2 shows which were great - speakers were Tony Yule - concorde pilot / Robin Williams and Peter Snow - didn't go to any of these i'm afraid.

[Britcruzer]

Thanks Claire

 

The two Adult pools on Ventura were also the shallowest, around 1.2-1.5m!

 

glad the food was up to scratch, we have my in-laws coming with us (their first time) and this is one area I know they will enjoy, along with the main shows.

 

What tributes were on board, its usually Freddie Mercury and Annie Lennox! (both good btw)

 

We have friends going on IoTS in April, and am looking forward to their take on RCI.

 

We like P&O, they are really great for the really little ones, but its Disneyworld, Florida for us next year, may return to cruising in 2013.

 

I am surprised about the kids club, we have found them to be great, did you not have a word with Claire the YD?, especially with so few on board.

 

Some of the speakers are a bit dry (sorry concorde man thats you!), but I would have listened to Peter Snow.

 

thanks for taking the time to respond, really appreciate it

 

look forward to your review, and photos( if technology allows it)

[Eclipse1]

Thanks for the report. Really interesting & detailed.

I'm booked to sail on Azura next Feb with my Mum, flying from LGW in Premium to Barbados with Thomas Cook, so the info etc is really appreciated.

I too have so far cruised with RCI & Celebrity, this will be our first trip on P&O.

Fingers crossed we have a good trip onboard. Your tips/advice are really helpful - thank you.

You'd love Celebrity, especially Eclipse out of Southampton - they're very good & consistent.

Enjoy your next cruise.......

Cheers, Shaun.