First cruise on P&O

After 11 cruises on the likes of Princess, Celebrity and NCL, we've decided to try P&O and have booked a 2-night cruise on Azura in May. We hope that P&O will compare favourably with Princess and provide us with more options for departures from Southampton as well as new itineraries in the Caribbean.

We like the Princess Grand-Class ships, so assume that Azura will be a similar experience, but what will the atmosphere be like on Azura? In the past our fellow cruise passengers have been fairly international, though predominately from North America. Is it so different being on a ship with 3000 others from the UK?

As a male couple, we've never felt uncomfortable on any of our cruises, so I hope that the same will apply on P&O?

Thanks. :)

We recently went on a cruise with P&O, having also sailed with other lines. We had a great time, but did both actively notice there were far more people staring at us than we are used to. We even got the occasional dirty look, which really surprised me.

It wasn't enough to really register at the time, or to change the fact we had a fantastic trip and met some lovely people, but in response to your question there was a marked difference in reaction to us as two young men holding hands on P&O compared to our experiences with Royal Caribbean and Princess.

My partner and I have cruised on P&O a fair few times and have always had a nice time, though to be honest most of them have been short 2 or 3 night cruises as we only live half an hour away from Southampton and its a good excuse to get away.

Would I pick P&O for our main holiday? I would have to say no, mainly because of the passengers - its just too full of Brits and we prefer a more cosmopolitan mix that you get on the other lines, specially Celebrity. We did do a two week transatlantic on Ventura and the low point (apart from the surly and miserable staff) was the Great British Sailaway - think drunk middle aged men crying as their favourite football anthems were played over the tannoy - well, you get the picture :) (I maybe shot down for that).

Some people love P&O, and for a two night trip I am sure you will have a great time - the drinks are at least cheap!

Thank you both for your replies.

So we are back from a weekend on Azura. I have mixed feelings. As far as being a male couple on board, no issue. Neither the mostly-grumpy staff nor the somewhat-grumpy British passengers paid any attention. We felt comfortable from start to finish. And even being a 2-nighter “party” cruise with hen and stag groups around, it was much quieter than I had expected and certainly quieter than all the Princess cruises we have sailed from the US. As noted, the drinks were certainly good value.

I like that the ship seemed familiar from the start, being the same design as Princess Grand-class ships. However, for me, at least, it lacked any wow-factor and most of the time I felt like I was walking round a ship decorated in the style of Debenhams (UK department store). The atrium felt cramped and was a glorified staircase, not the hub of the ship it should be. The bars (Blue Bar, Planet Bar) were particularly disappointing - bland and lacking any warmth, style or colour. Java café resembled a waiting room with its lines of chairs and rubbish bins lining a wall. Service in all areas was lacking and a good step down from Princess. Perhaps this was a result of it being a 2-nighter. The exception to this Sindhu (specialty restaurant), which was excellent (food and service), but at £50 surcharge, that was expected.

We were intrigued to experience P&O and have done that now, but as for a 14-night itinerary, I think we’d be happier returning to Princess or Celebrity. You can’t help but make comparisons with lines you already know and we did that too many times over the weekend and not in P&O’s favour.

Hi Apple - I am glad you had a good time - I think you hit the nail on the head - for me there was no wow either, but then that is just personal opinion ;)

I was interested to read your comments on Princess - we have never tried them but have seen some nice itineraries - our concern is that they would just be like going on a P&O ship. Though the basic structure is the same, in your opinion is it a much better product overall? We do have some concerns on the deck space - on Ventura it was severely limited (though on Azura they have resolved it partially by taking away the roof to the 'indoor' pool.

Hi bellaj

As far as Princess goes, I think they will always be our “go to” line, since we have always had a good time and enjoyed the ships - Caribbean, Grand, Crown and Royal (less so). Even though Grand-class are the same design structurally – Princess is a very different experience to P&O. On Florida departures, the population is predominately North American. On Royal in February, the English captain announced there were 300 from the UK on board (out of 3000+). This makes for a different atmosphere – more international, more interesting but certainly more boisterous and loud, which was one thing in P&O’s favour – in spite of the hen parties on board, I found it to be quieter with people being less vocal in the bars and restaurants. However, the biggest differences on Princess are the service – friendly but professional, welcoming, interested and the decoration – warm, modern but stylish, especially Crooners cocktail bar with its art-deco design.

We had a problem on Azura with our luggage that still hadn’t arrived by 6pm. Guest Services didn’t know where it was and asked us to return after they’d searched for it. They didn’t even note our cabin number. After returning to the cabin, I looked out in the hallway just before the 15 mins were up to see the case there, label intact. Not even a knock on the door to say it had arrived nor an apology for the delay. It arrived, so that was OK, but it was the fact that there was no communication from staff – not even to say “don’t worry, we’ll find it, probably the label has come off.”

By contrast customer service on Princess is in the other direction – sometime it’s embarrassing how helpful and interested they can be. I think catering to a north American clientele who expect (and pay for) good service, Princess staff are aware of this and deliver. The daily auto tips charge is higher than on P&O, maybe that is a factor.

Regarding the open decks, never had a problem finding somewhere to sit in the sun, though that’s not to say they don’t get busy. There always seems to be somewhere out-of-the-way you can escape to. On Royal Princess we discovered a fantastic area on deck 7 aft where they have cushioned wooden steamer chairs that were very underused. We spent several afternoons there in the sun relatively isolated from the throngs on the top sun deck.

Why not give Princess a try? They sail from Southampton, so just as easy as P&O. I’m not saying that you won’t find things you don’t like, but we spent a lot of the weekend on Azura saying “that wouldn’t happen on Princess”. :)

Hi Apple,

Thanks for your thoughts - we are sorely tempted by a couple of trips next year, one New England & Canada and one Hawaii, so it's good to know the overall experience is a step up from P&O :D.

We don't mind a more US centric passenger make up - in fact we prefer it!

Though we're not making our minds up until we have tried Oceania Cruises which we board in 4 weeks today (not that I am counting).

Andy

as to gay yanks we tried a long cruise on p & o and found it to be full of council house people who were definitely not comfortable with a gay couple.. stick to the American ships and look at celebrity princess and oceania as good choices

We are going on our first P&O from SIngapore to Southhampton in March 2015 (the world cruise leaves from Sthhampton on Feb 17). Whilst we think this will be a little different for us, we believe a cruise is what you make it, no matter who's on board.

We find there are always some fabulous people to meet and have a good time with..on sea days we have a busy time chatting with friends, playing cards, getting involved in activities etc, so we imagine this cruise won't be any different.

Regards

Rod and Barry

We are going on our first P&O from SIngapore to Southhampton in March 2015 (the world cruise leaves from Sthhampton on Feb 17). Whilst we think this will be a little different for us, we believe a cruise is what you make it, no matter who's on board.

We find there are always some fabulous people to meet and have a good time with..on sea days we have a busy time chatting with friends, playing cards, getting involved in activities etc, so we imagine this cruise won't be any different.

Regards

Rod and Barry

Hope the world cruise does not leave Southampton on 17th February, as we join it on 31st January in San Francisco :eek: