just back from our first p&o cruise on the Azura

[miaandmum]

For anyone worried about the bad reports from Azura please dont be - we had a lovley time.

 

the ship certainly needs a refit but the crew were ALL amazing - we never had to wait to be served, the pool attendants were great - never had to ask for blankets, was told without asking which pool was the hottest, and they were all engaging and seemed happy.

Entertainment - was fine although nothing outstanding (apart from Tom Binns who was great - although im biased as i find him funny in everything he does).

Food - again was ok, nothing special (we didnt try any of the cover restaurants)

Cabin - we had B748 which was a corner aft suite - amazing balcony would book this again although quite noisey at times

CPS parking - absolutley no problems and would book them again.

 

This was our first p&o cruise - all our others were Royal Caribbean. some differences ive noticed are:

Daily tv show on RC hosted by the cruise director which gives info on whats happening - really fun and interesting  Cruise director more visable on rc

Onboard account is shown in your tv screen on rc - i had to ask at reception on this cruise.

pool towels are available by the pool all day with rc 

There are more but they are just some which came to mind

 

just afew thoughts but want to reassure anyone going on Azura that it seems to be a ship with a good vibe to it. i would book p&o again but do prefer rc.

 

[miranda53]

Thanks for this review. We’re on Azura on Saturday and I was a little worried reading some of the comments.

[Rupert2251]

Thought that the on board account was available on the TV on Azura and Ventura? Or at least they were last time we were on them.

[miaandmum]

8 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

Thought that the on board account was available on the TV on Azura and Ventura? Or at least they were last time we were on them.

not on this cruise - guest services told me it used to be.  maybe it was just a problem on this cruise.

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, miaandmum said:

For anyone worried about the bad reports from Azura please dont be - we had a lovley time.

 

the ship certainly needs a refit but the crew were ALL amazing - we never had to wait to be served, the pool attendants were great - never had to ask for blankets, was told without asking which pool was the hottest, and they were all engaging and seemed happy.

Entertainment - was fine although nothing outstanding (apart from Tom Binns who was great - although im biased as i find him funny in everything he does).

Food - again was ok, nothing special (we didnt try any of the cover restaurants)

Cabin - we had B748 which was a corner aft suite - amazing balcony would book this again although quite noisey at times

CPS parking - absolutley no problems and would book them again.

 

This was our first p&o cruise - all our others were Royal Caribbean. some differences ive noticed are:

Daily tv show on RC hosted by the cruise director which gives info on whats happening - really fun and interesting  Cruise director more visable on rc

Onboard account is shown in your tv screen on rc - i had to ask at reception on this cruise.

pool towels are available by the pool all day with rc 

There are more but they are just some which came to mind

 

just afew thoughts but want to reassure anyone going on Azura that it seems to be a ship with a good vibe to it. i would book p&o again but do prefer rc.

 

 

Well, we were in B749, just opposite you and had a great time too - totally agree re the crew.

We have yet to do our review but it is good to see another positive.

We took a photo of your aft balcony area one day when on a boat cruise as we were waiting. Bet we have you on camera as there were 2 people on the balcony --- ha ha

 

Great weather too eh !!!! :-)

[Presto2]

38 minutes ago, Rupert2251 said:

Thought that the on board account was available on the TV on Azura and Ventura? Or at least they were last time we were on them.

 

No on board account on the TV at all.

[miaandmum]

6 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

 

Well, we were in B749, just opposite you and had a great time too - totally agree re the crew.

We have yet to do our review but it is good to see another positive.

We took a photo of your aft balcony area one day when on a boat cruise as we were waiting. Bet we have you on camera as there were 2 people on the balcony --- ha ha

 

Great weather too eh !!!! 🙂

hope we were decent lol.  

[Presto2]

Just now, miaandmum said:

hope we were decent lol.  

 

We were on a boat opposite the ship taking photos. We had friends in a cabin nearby and you were out on your balcony ---- remember that as we thought it was them and realised it was the wrong balcony. About 9.30am Monday morning so you were decent from what we could see. Will check the photo and zoom in ------------ ha ha ha

[amfc_lenny]

Thanks, reassuring given the other post which is on the board at present. Sailing on the Azura on Saturday.

[rachiem]

We are still in two minds. 

We've booked a Caribbean cruise for next Feb. For the same price though, we can book a 10 night cruise with Aqua class on Celebrity reflection and a drinks package plus 3 nights in Ft Lauderdale, which is a great ship (have never sailed P&O)

We would loose our deposit of £250 and would need to organise transfers from Miami, so not hassle free, like P&O.

The PoC are similar, although P&O have a couple more?

So undecided!

[jody75]

6 hours ago, rachiem said:

We are still in two minds. 

We've booked a Caribbean cruise for next Feb. For the same price though, we can book a 10 night cruise with Aqua class on Celebrity reflection and a drinks package plus 3 nights in Ft Lauderdale, which is a great ship (have never sailed P&O)

We would loose our deposit of £250 and would need to organise transfers from Miami, so not hassle free, like P&O.

The PoC are similar, although P&O have a couple more?

So undecided!

 

It's a no brainer, choose Celebrity every time. 

Very easy to get from Miami Airport to Fort Lauderdale. The Tri-rail operates from within MIA, the station is next to the Car Rental Centre and only costs $3.75/pp from MIA to FLL. We usually take the train to Sheridan Street Station, Fort Lauderdale and spent the night at the Holiday Inn which is just 100 yards from the station.  Then take UBER to the port the following morning for $12. 

For Tri-Rail - http://www.tri-rail.com/more-trains-on-weekends.asp

Edited April 29, 2019 by jody75

[rachiem]

Thank you that's helpful. 

Still undecided but we are off on an NCL cruise in a couple of weeks time, staying in the Haven...so something else to compare to the others

[Eglesbrech]

1 hour ago, rachiem said:

Thank you that's helpful. 

Still undecided but we are off on an NCL cruise in a couple of weeks time, staying in the Haven...so something else to compare to the others

 

That will spoil you for absolutely everything else, P&O have nothing that compares (but Then P&O obviously costs much less).

[Presto2]

11 minutes ago, Eglesbrech said:

 

That will spoil you for absolutely everything else, P&O have nothing that compares (but Then P&O obviously costs much less).

 

I like it when people compare like for like re cost. Thank you. We could have an amazing experience in a  Celebrity suite but that would be the only cruise we could afford for about 3 years …..

Edited April 29, 2019 by Presto2

[emam]

2 hours ago, rachiem said:

Thank you that's helpful. 

Still undecided but we are off on an NCL cruise in a couple of weeks time, staying in the Haven...so something else to compare to the others

 

Are they all the same price and same type of ship? P&O ships don't have a fairground and water slides on the back of them. Are you wanting a cosmopolitan holiday, if so Celebrity is the one you want. I think if you decide to stay with P&O then you have to go with an open mind. You can't compare them like for like. They all have their good points and some  points not so good to them. It's impossible to cater for every single persons idea of a perfect holiday. That's why there are so many to chose from.

 

Do you want the hassle of trying to arrange your own transfers (both ways) and losing money or the ease of a P&O holiday. . Only you can decide. While I love P&O Cruises even though we haven't been cruising very long, you have to remember that as I stated before on my good points of P&O thread, the bad points are always portrayed more than the good ones.

 

We went on a Celebrity holiday with my sibling and spouse.  While we loved it, they hated it and said they won't go back with them again. They have cruised mostly with P&O apart from that one and one with Marella. They preferred the Marella cruise to the Celebrity one. They are a couple who, how shall I put it, like the finer things in life. So it's not a case of low standards as some would say. One of the reason's they like P&O is that they like the formal nights, as do we. It just wasn't the same atmosphere on the Celebrity cruise on the evening chic night. It was just like dining on any other night, nothing special about it.

[rachiem]

Thank you for this.

I am very tempted to cancel now as we are just a couple in our late 40's, so no kids coming with us.

The cruise with Celebrity is 3 days less but takes in the islands that we wanted to visit and gives us 3 nights chilling in Ft Lauderdale.

We have loved all our cruises with NCL, RCI and Celebrity....Celebrity was probably the best for us but then we went with friends, so never had the "couplely" feel?

Just seems for the price and the cost of a transfer, Celebrity may be better value.

[fastnloose]

On 4/28/2019 at 10:24 PM, Rupert2251 said:

Thought that the on board account was available on the TV on Azura and Ventura? Or at least they were last time we were on them.

We were on Ventura last week and accounts are not available on TV, you HAVE to go to reception.

[Bazrat]

7 hours ago, rachiem said:

Thank you for this.

I am very tempted to cancel now as we are just a couple in our late 40's, so no kids coming with us.

The cruise with Celebrity is 3 days less but takes in the islands that we wanted to visit and gives us 3 nights chilling in Ft Lauderdale.

We have loved all our cruises with NCL, RCI and Celebrity....Celebrity was probably the best for us but then we went with friends, so never had the "couplely" feel?

Just seems for the price and the cost of a transfer, Celebrity may be better value.

Just reading through your posts I get the impression p@o was never really in the running you just needed other people to make your mind up for you.

 

[rachiem]

3 hours ago, Bazrat said:

Just reading through your posts I get the impression p@o was never really in the running you just needed other people to make your mind up for you.

 

No, we have just cancelled.

We have a P&O cruise on the Iona booked for 1 week next year and also a cruise in Sept 2020 with Celebrity booked too.

My hubby doesn't like the idea of the formal evenings and after looking at some videos and reviews, I'm not sure I'm 100%, so £5K is too much money to spend...that's without drinks and tours.

Not sure what we'll do instead as I don't want to rush in to anything

[Bazrat]

12 minutes ago, rachiem said:

No, we have just cancelled.

We have a P&O cruise on the Iona booked for 1 week next year and also a cruise in Sept 2020 with Celebrity booked too.

My hubby doesn't like the idea of the formal evenings and after looking at some videos and reviews, I'm not sure I'm 100%, so £5K is too much money to spend...that's without drinks and tours.

Not sure what we'll do instead as I don't want to rush in to anything

Bit surprised you would consider a cruise that offers formal nights when neither of you are keen on them,but saying that our last holiday to Florida we chose a really quite apartment to be than hit with a hurricane,a curfew and the thousands of people moved inland from the coast,so careful planning does not always work out.

[rachiem]

5 minutes ago, Bazrat said:

Bit surprised you would consider a cruise that offers formal nights when neither of you are keen on them,but saying that our last holiday to Florida we chose a really quite apartment to be than hit with a hurricane,a curfew and the thousands of people moved inland from the coast,so careful planning does not always work out.

I know, in hindsight I rushed into it!

I thought that maybe we could just do the buffet or try the formal and probably enjoy it.

We are new to cruising (2nd year for us) and this was booked before we took a Celebrity cruise.

 

[emam]

12 hours ago, rachiem said:

 

We have loved all our cruises with NCL, RCI and Celebrity....Celebrity was probably the best for us but then we went with friends, so never had the "couplely"

 

Watch channel 22 now.

[Harry Peterson]

On 4/29/2019 at 9:15 AM, amfc_lenny said:

Thanks, reassuring given the other post which is on the board at present. Sailing on the Azura on Saturday.

I'm sorry to see from your post this morning on another Azura thread that you're having the same difficulty getting problems resolved that I reported recently in that thread.

 

Being without a working WC overnight, despite asking for help, must be a nightmare.

 

Have you managed to get them to fix it yet?

[P-L-B]

1 hour ago, docco said:

I'm sorry to see from your post this morning on another Azura thread that you're having the same difficulty getting problems resolved that I reported recently in that thread.

 

Being without a working WC overnight, despite asking for help, must be a nightmare.

 

Have you managed to get them to fix it yet?

I think the implications were that the problem has been fixed (8 am) hence my post 319 on the other thread asking for clarification.

 

However, I totally agree that it must have been very inconvenient.

[amfc_lenny]

On our balcony enjoying a drink, and making the most of the sun 

 

Our deck manager has been round this afternoon, to apologise and credited £50 to our room which is some recompense for the inconvenience.

 

Making the most of the sunny weather, not a cloud in the sky in Cherbourg.