Tomcruise92

It did have the My Holiday app but the virtual queues have been removed across the ship. The maitre d told us that virtual queuing was being removed from all ships (not sure if anyone can confirm that?).

So I'm now back from my first ever cruise on the P&O Azura. It was booked very last minute and with the included flights to Malta, it was an excellent deal. Having only ever cruised on Princess, I thought it may be fun to do a comparison. For context, I'm in my 30s and haven't been cruising too long, but have now done five Princess trips and have no experience of other lines. Cost We payed just £750 for a week onboard P&O Azura with flights and a balcony on the saver fare. On a similar Regal Princess cruise of the same duration in the med last year (taking off the plus package upgrade for parity) we paid £999 + flights and shuttle buses taking the coat to around £1400. I spent £300 on board Azura whereas I spent £280 on Princess last time (I think it has now increased to £50 per day) plus plus around £150 on speciality dining a couple of retail items. I had roughly the same amount of speciality dining and drinks onboard both cruises. Azura and the P&O experience for the cost is good. We had a consistent cruise, very good service (on the whole) and nice food. We did not buy a drinks package as the drinks appeared reasonable. Of note, I dislike the P&O saver and select pricing model. One of the key things for me is to choose a good room location as I'm an extremely light sleeper. To do this on P&O would mean paying an additional £1000+ for the particular cruise I was on, and I didn't see many other benefits of the select fare so avoided that. Luckily the room was quiet and got plenty of sleep. Princess has placed it's package deals front and centre. Without a package, drinks are very expensive and with the addition of gratituties, it always makes sense for my partner and I to use the Plus/Premier option. This makes the outset payment much higher but it's nice to relax on board and not worry about an ever growing bill. Ships and Staterooms P&O Azura ship is pleasant, but is in need of refurbishment. There is a charm to the ship, and the public areas had nice new furniture, as did the pool areas. The ship does have some issues with its drainage and a sewage smell is prominent in a couple of places which needs to be resolved. This wasn't a major deal. The staterooms are very 'well used' let's say. The White Company toiletries are lovely and the balcony furniture was great. Our favourite area of the ship was Brodies. This was really different for us in comparison to Princess and we loved the relaxed vibe. The Venezia buffet on Azura is extremely small and cramped, which is a result of the addition of the Beach House, using what was originally buffet space. Princess ships appear to be kept more consistent and up-to-date. The beds and linens are better quality (albeit, I have only used the Azura so this may not reflect the entire fleet). On the older Princess ship I have stayed on, the rooms seem to have been updated and well appointed. The buffet is generally spacious and well designed. The lack of turndown service on P&O definitely gives Princess a more elevated feel in terms of Staterooms. Entertainment P&O shows were diverse. We enjoyed the Stephen Mulhurn Astonishing show. Of note here, was the lack of a live band during stage shows. The atrium area didn't have much live music, instead it was mainly used for line dancing to a track/CD. Princess stage shows are traditional, but very well to exceptionally done. They have a live band/orchestra and good vocalists. The shows are polished. We enjoy the live music around the ships, particularly in the Piazza. As a Brit, understandably there is a more American vibe for some of the entertainment, but that is reflective of the line and not a criticism, rather a point of note. Food and meal service P&O food surprised us. The MDR was generally good quality. It was a little repetitive at times but the starters and main dishes were nice. The steaks were very good. The desserts were often a let down and bland. Overall I really enjoyed the MDR experience and the wait staff were really friendly and helpful. The Glass House and Beach House were really cool, I loved the experimental menus and it definitely gave the food offer on P&O more contemporary and relaxed feel in comparison to Princess. The Glass House in particular, was nice to sit and have a drink at lunch time with small plate/tapas options. I understand that traditional P&O cruisers like fixed dining, but those of us who had the freedom dining option, the inability to book needs addressing. You also can't join a queue, you just get a buzzer. We waited for an absolute maximum of 15 minutes (usually more like 3-5 minutes) which was fine. I would prefer a booking system like Princess here. Princess MDR service is good, but the service on the Sky Princess recently was incredibly slow. We have also noticed a decline in Princess service recently. We were averaging 2 hours a night. P&O massively won here for us based on a comparison to recent Princess cruises. P&O meals took us on average an hour to 1.15. It was neither rushed or slow. Overall, the MDR experience was similar. The P&O MDR afternoon tea was well done but the Princess afternoon tea marginally wins (minus the awful Princess strawberry jam, again P&O win on the jam front (Bonne Manan!)). P&O had excellent scones. As you can probably tell, I love afternoon tea. P&O only offered this once a week and Princess on sea days only. Room service Princess wins this hands down. You can order on the app. Its generally for us, been quick and hot, and pleasant. The breakfast offer is good. P&O room service was okay, but the lack of coffee with breakfast was bad. I know there is a Nescafé sachet or two in the room, but I don't think it would hurt P&O to bring a cup of coffee with the breakfast in bed. The mini conserves with the in room breakfast are a nice touch. Overall I do think Princess is more upscale. I read a lot of reviews of P&O before going with people saying it is very similar to Princess. In my experience, it was definitely different. The Azura was very fun and we had a brilliant week, with lovely company and laughed a lot. Azura had a slightly more British holiday park feel than my previous experiences and the cruise was definitely more budget feeling (which rightly so, cost less so this again is not a criticism, as I paid less so would expect this). The Princess ships have elements of holiday park vibe, but there was definitely more on Azura. There are a few minor things P&O could do to elevate the experience for me, by introducing an app and booking system for meals, changing the package set ups and reintroducing a turn down service (I know this sounds snobby but as a neat freak I really like this). I would definitely cruise both lines again, but my preference overall would be Princess.

I have only travelled on Princess and so far so good. My first P&O (next week on Azura) and first Celebrity coming up, so I will report back! I will say P&O could do with an app as finding all the different sites you need to go to a bit confusing.

This may have already been mentioned somewhere but do you think this is P&O preparing to introduce a plus and premier package to include WiFi etc similar to Princess?

Spot on!

This is my worry! I am taking my mother (her first cruise and time n Europe). My partner and I got the train from Termini to Rome last year to board the Regal Princess which was fine, but I worry it may be a bit rushed. But I am going to do a bit of planning this evening and see how a train option would work. The cost difference is insane for the same route. I suppose you pay for the reassurance and convenience.

This is great to know! Thank you. I am struggling a bit as the P&O descriptions of the shore excursions are not very detailed.

Thank you all for your help...Rome on your own is now booked!

Hello all, this is our first P&O cruise and looking at the excursions. Any help would be really appreciated. There doesn't seem to be huge amounts of details about the itineraries. Has anyone done the Rome Tiber Cruise and Walk excursion? Do you spend most of the day on a coach? We would like to get out and see the attractions (particularly the colleseum) but worried it is more of a drive by situation? We are on the Azura on the 29th June.

Still had a really good cruise though. Entertainment and staff were awesome. You'll have a great time ! 🙂

I was on this cruise yes... Overall really enjoyed but the seating thing did drive us a little crazy by the end.

I severely hope they wouldn't get rid of Vines too. I agree about the seating. After the two week cruise on Sky just gone, we can probably mostly all agree finding a seat in the evening was an absolute nightmare. The lack of Crooners is evident. I really don't know why they need all that space for photos. Surely they can fit that elsewhere and add another large bar to alleviate the seating pressures.

Good luck...Hopefully you can get some $$ back!! No we also did not receive $100 OBC.

Hi all, I have been looking for our 2024 cruises and I have noticed how much Princess has increased its fares. My European cruise has increased around £850 / $1000. I know the new Sun Princess is having an impact on the European prices for that period, but this was on Sky. Is this huge increase fleet and destination-wide? Do you think they will reduce fares later this year for 2024? I appreciate the cost of things has generally increased (fuel, food etc) but when looking at other lines they don't seem to have increased this much.

First time poster here. Agree with others that most people tend to be satisfied with food and don't post. We have been on Regal twice this year, and the first time the food was absolutely excellent every night and the second time the food was excellent most nights and still good on the others. We tend to like the consistency of Princess and find that there is always something fairly simple to be found on the menu. As Brits in our 30s on an American cruise line it still caters for my partner and I really well. On a side note, I would hope the fettuccine comes back nightly though... Always a personal favourite (can we please start a petition?!)