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Reporting from Azura - very poor, and much in need of that refit!


Harry Peterson
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Five days into this cruise and none of the TV channels are working. They haven't worked since day one, and they're still using the excuse that it's satellite interference.

 

No hot water last night, bathroom lights flickering and can't be fixed, shower doesn't drain, front of drawer falling off - and this is in a suite costing a fair bit of money. 

 

Just heard the first and only apology for the failed TV service, and by the sound of it it could carry on for quite a while. All you get is excuses. No effective action.

 

On the strength of this cruise (the people looking after us in the suite are excellent, to be fair) and the Amsterdam fiasco we're now cancelling the three cruises we have booked, and that will be the last we see of P&O. 

 

Enough is enough, and it's now dropped to such a level that it's not worth travelling with if you want an unspoiled holiday.

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We were on Azura in December - tbh we were disappointed with the state of the cabin carpets - very tatty 😏and had to ask for a new shower curtain - very smelly 😏 the bathroom also had a ‘smell’ which we complained about and seemed to be sorted (unless we just got used to it). It was Caribbean so we weren’t in the cabin that often but it could have been better for sure - P&O sort the problem out!

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1 hour ago, docco said:

Five days into this cruise and none of the TV channels are working. They haven't worked since day one, and they're still using the excuse that it's satellite interference.

 

No hot water last night, bathroom lights flickering and can't be fixed, shower doesn't drain, front of drawer falling off - and this is in a suite costing a fair bit of money. 

 

Just heard the first and only apology for the failed TV service, and by the sound of it it could carry on for quite a while. All you get is excuses. No effective action.

 

On the strength of this cruise (the people looking after us in the suite are excellent, to be fair) and the Amsterdam fiasco we're now cancelling the three cruises we have booked, and that will be the last we see of P&O. 

 

Enough is enough, and it's now dropped to such a level that it's not worth travelling with if you want an unspoiled holiday.

 

We were on the 4 day “Amsterdam” Cruise & my Parents had problems with their toilet overflowing & then not flushing.

 

What suite are you in?

 

We are booked I. D737 in September for 19 nights 

 

joan

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Sorry to be repetitive, but rather puts to bed the idea that an older ship has these problems.  Azura is only about 6-7 years old.  Oriana is 28 years old.  These are all the same problems that people said about her.

 

We sailed on Azura 6 months after launch.  Most of the c ruise the public toilets were out of order and leaking into the outside area.

 

 

Edited by jeanlyon
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been back one week from the recent trans atlantic on the azura  we also thought the ship needs a refurb starting to look tired we noticed a number of lights out  around the public areas  also the carpets are looking worn around the atrium areas in brodies there were a number of seats unusable due to the legs were loose that said the service we recieved was very good and it would not stop us cruising on the azura again

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1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Sorry to be repetitive, but rather puts to bed the idea that an older ship has these problems.  Azura is only about 6-7 years old.  Oriana is 28 years old.  These are all the same problems that people said about her.

 

We sailed on Azura 6 months after launch.  Most of the c ruise the public toilets were out of order and leaking into the outside area.

 

 

Azura's maiden voyage was in March 2010 so she is 9yrs old and Oriana entered service in April 1995 which makes her 24 yrs old.

Edited by majortom10
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In a superior deluxe balcony on the recent Amsterdam trip I could not believe how poor the tv was (if tv is not part of your thing don’t worry). Why don’t P&O broadcast the daily movies in the cinema inside and outside on a specific channel like Cunard do also enrichment programmes, early morning shows showcasing the days acts and activities in a magazine format, also cookery demonstrations....this was for all but especially for passengers with limited mobility. Apart from that every day for four days the programmes were repeated on every very limited channel...could be a lot better.....The minimum is showing the films of the day being shown in cabin...

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1 hour ago, philred said:

any idea when azura is due a refit and what will that refit involve ? 

I think the refit is due in April 2020.Some people have had their cruise cancelled to bring it forward by a couple of weeks

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13 hours ago, docco said:

Five days into this cruise and none of the TV channels are working. They haven't worked since day one, and they're still using the excuse that it's satellite interference.

 

No hot water last night, bathroom lights flickering and can't be fixed, shower doesn't drain, front of drawer falling off - and this is in a suite costing a fair bit of money. 

 

Just heard the first and only apology for the failed TV service, and by the sound of it it could carry on for quite a while. All you get is excuses. No effective action.

 

On the strength of this cruise (the people looking after us in the suite are excellent, to be fair) and the Amsterdam fiasco we're now cancelling the three cruises we have booked, and that will be the last we see of P&O. 

 

Enough is enough, and it's now dropped to such a level that it's not worth travelling with if you want an unspoiled holiday.

What a shame Docco, but it is a competitive market so I'm sure you will find suitable replacements for the ones you cancel.

We too have 3 booked with P&O but won't be cancelling just yet as apart from the usual niggles, we are yet to have had a bad cruise with them.

The Amsterdam issues don't affect us as we were there in December on Aurora with one of the highlights being the transit through the lock in daylight, which unfortunately now is a thing of the past for P&O passengers.

I hope you can enjoy the rest of your holiday, despite the problems.

Andy

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Going on an Amsterdam based cruise this Easter and a Caribbean cruise on Azura Christmas 19 (pre refit) so these recent reports and misgivings are a real worry given I've spent the best part of £8000 for what you would presume would be hassle free luxury holidays.

 

Now I know everyone has a right to post whatever they like and some expectations are higher than others but I just hope the opening post is a balanced and honest view of what's going on because it's certainly I worry for us going forward.

 

 

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44 minutes ago, ozzysdad said:

Going on an Amsterdam based cruise this Easter and a Caribbean cruise on Azura Christmas 19 (pre refit) so these recent reports and misgivings are a real worry given I've spent the best part of £8000 for what you would presume would be hassle free luxury holidays.

 

Now I know everyone has a right to post whatever they like and some expectations are higher than others but I just hope the opening post is a balanced and honest view of what's going on because it's certainly I worry for us going forward.

 

 

I think we all understand P&O are far from perfect, but there will be plenty of passengers having a fantastic cruise while others are not.

We always seem to experience excellent service, good food and some great entertainment, but often end up with poor TVs and smelly bathrooms, especially on Aurora, but the good always outweighs the bad for us.

Long may it continue.

Andy

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Just by way of an update, there was no hot water again last night, and the TV channels are still absent, and have been for several days. We expected they'd get it fixed yesterday in Madeira, but no.

 

I'm seriously wondering now, after the way they've behaved over the Amsterdam port tax issue, whether they've picked another dispute with the satellite service provider and are refusing for whatever reason to pay for the service. Saving money obviously matters far more than keeping customers happy or providing them with what they've paid for.

 

Some very irate passengers, complaining not just about this but also the extraordinarily dismissive attitude of the customer service staff towards complaints. 

 

On the positive side, though, the food's good, particularly in the Epicurean, and the staff are all excellent. I don't in any way blame the staff, even the dismissive customer service staff. It's all entirely down to penny pinching by P&O and a seriously bad corporate attitude towards customers.

 

I've tried to make this as balanced as possible, but if you've paid a lot of money for a cruise I think it's reasonable to have expectations that you'll be given what you paid for. 

 

P&O just don't seem to agree.

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10 hours ago, ann141 said:

I think the refit is due in April 2020.Some people have had their cruise cancelled to bring it forward by a couple of weeks

 

My cruise has been cancelled due to the refit bringing forward. 

 

Im also on the azura from 4th May this year. Last went on her 2012 so will have to see how bad it is. 

 

I also want to agree that they seem not bothered about complaints. But I have emailed the ceo so will see if they want to keep customers or if as above we end up cancelling the remaining two cruises next year. 

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24 minutes ago, docco said:

Just by way of an update, there was no hot water again last night, and the TV channels are still absent, and have been for several days. We expected they'd get it fixed yesterday in Madeira, but no.

 

I'm seriously wondering now, after the way they've behaved over the Amsterdam port tax issue, whether they've picked another dispute with the satellite service provider and are refusing for whatever reason to pay for the service. Saving money obviously matters far more than keeping customers happy or providing them with what they've paid for.

 

Some very irate passengers, complaining not just about this but also the extraordinarily dismissive attitude of the customer service staff towards complaints. 

 

On the positive side, though, the food's good, particularly in the Epicurean, and the staff are all excellent. I don't in any way blame the staff, even the dismissive customer service staff. It's all entirely down to penny pinching by P&O and a seriously bad corporate attitude towards customers.

 

I've tried to make this as balanced as possible, but if you've paid a lot of money for a cruise I think it's reasonable to have expectations that you'll be given what you paid for. 

 

P&O just don't seem to agree.

Perfectly reasonable to expect hot water and a working tv, especially at suite prices...

Such a shame, I just hope you can get some enjoyment for the rest of your cruise.

Andy

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We were on the recent TA and yes she is a little worn, carpets in the 2 cabins we were in had stains in fact the first cabin had an awful smell!! 

Complaints again I agree the front line staff are very poor we had a stressful experience at embarkation we only booked a couple of weeks before sailing (can only do that once carer commitments are agreed and confirmed) so paid saver and have always been happy with the cabin we as we get what we pay for and sometimes lucky and upgraded. This time we were allocated a cabin at the back of the ship just before the suits no problem with that apart from the extra beds come out of the wall making it impossible for my partner with restricted movements to get in and out of bed these beds on the walls take 15 inches off the size of the cabin. We went straight to reception and to cut a long story short after numerous people making a pretence to deal with the problem, being told direct lies at 11.30pm (3.30am to me) they came and split the beds at my suggestion. Next morning back to reception and we came across Sunit excellent just what we expect from P & O within 20 minutes we were moved into our new cabin 3 from the front of the ship. 

3 days later we had a visit from another officer who came to ask me to explain what the problems had been he listened and empathised then offered us a meal at one of the other venues - we went to the Epicurean and had a lovely night and I also noticed they removed the gratuities from our account.

I was still a bit miffed that the start of the cruise had been tarnished a little, we missed a planned trip to Oistins but just relieved that we could sleep in a cabin that didn't smell, we could have a double bed and my partner could sleep in it and move around the cabin safety. Well done Sunit.    

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Just to say that I was on the 4-night Amsterdam Cruise and whilst I was unhappy at the whole 'Ijmuiden Fiasco', found everything else to be okay.  Yes, my cabin carpet could have done with a deep clean or replacement but everything else was fine.  TV worked okay most of the time, plenty of hot water and no smell in the bathroom.  I didn't notice any signs of wear around the ship.  I personally do not like Azura but didn't notice any problems regarding her condition.

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49 minutes ago, Vampiress88 said:

 

My cruise has been cancelled due to the refit bringing forward. 

 

Im also on the azura from 4th May this year. Last went on her 2012 so will have to see how bad it is. 

 

I also want to agree that they seem not bothered about complaints. But I have emailed the ceo so will see if they want to keep customers or if as above we end up cancelling the remaining two cruises next year. 

We have 3 more cruises currently booked after this one but will be cancelling all of them. I'd rather lose the minimal 5% deposit than risk P&O again. It's just not up to par, but even worse is their refusal to do anything to resolve anything without a huge fuss, and that just shouldn't be necessary.

 

The entertainment is sadly lacking too, but I fully appreciate that's very much a personal view. Used to enjoy the excellent speakers they had, but that's been pared back to the bone too. TV would have been good but they've even managed to get rid of that now! 

 

I've used the CEO route before, but it has only limited success because you always end up back again with the same customer service people. It's not their fault - they just aren't empowered to deal properly with complaints. Even serious ones.

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4 hours ago, ozzysdad said:

Going on an Amsterdam based cruise this Easter and a Caribbean cruise on Azura Christmas 19 (pre refit) so these recent reports and misgivings are a real worry given I've spent the best part of £8000 for what you would presume would be hassle free luxury holidays.

 

Now I know everyone has a right to post whatever they like and some expectations are higher than others but I just hope the opening post is a balanced and honest view of what's going on because it's certainly I worry for us going forward.

 

 

I agree that's the basics should be working but no way should you be expecting luxury from an standard line such as P & O.

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Sorry to say but this rings true with our recent experience on Azura. We had sailed on her previously the year after launch and had a fabulous time so were looking forward to a return. However, it was not the same standard this time around.  For the first time ever (in 20 + cruises) our cabin steward was poor and the cabin not well maintained or cleaned properly and the air conditioning barely worked. We complained about the aircon (again first time we have ever had to complain on a P&O cruise) and an engineer came out and confirmed there was a problem but didn't return to fix it. We asked again and were told it was working properly - it wasn't - we had to sleep with the balcony door open to make it bearable (and very noisy). It was only after we contacted head office on social media that they sprang into action.  Reception staff were disinterested and the captain was conspicuous by his absence - all the updates were by crew members. Service in the bars and restaurants remained good as was the food. 

 

We are generally very happy with P&O and have sailed on Ventura (1 year older than Azura) recently without any issues and have future cruises booked. We wont however book Azura until after the refit. 

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Latest from Azura at La Palma - and no sign of functional TVs anywhere across the entire ship, which has been the situation for several days.

 

The excuses change daily, from satellite problems to engineering problems, to waiting for an engineer.

 

I'm pretty sure they're lying through their teeth, and when you suggest it's going to remain this way till we get back to Southampton in a week, nobody disagrees.

 

I don't expect luxury with P&O but I do expect the basics such as hot water and TV that we paid for. 

 

This isn't really an Azura issue now. It's a P&O issue that nobody chooses to resolve, despite huge numbers of complaints from fellow passengers.

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We have a Captain Howarth supposedly responsible for all aspects of this ship but I have to say he doesn't seem to be achieving much. 

 

There's an air of disorganisation which I've not come across before.

 

Is it staff cuts, or does the Captain make any real difference to the way a ship functions on the passenger side?

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