sandancer

I really like that you have the choice Jean. Our last cruises with Celebrity were “all included” and the drinks, tips and Wi-Fi were not negotiable (that’s changed now) so many people objected to paying for alcohol when they were tee total, didn’t use the Wi-Fi and still tipped. It caused such a furore that Celebrity gave in and now offer a basic cruise with no extras. This is in effect what P&O do. We have never paid for a drinks package on P&O, always had plenty of OBC and simply paid for drinks when that ran out. This time we’ll bite the bullet and buy the package and see how it goes.

I was actually surprised at the size of Azura. She was our first taste of P&O and that was back in 2018. We were used to the big ships of RCL and NCL so Azura seemed so much smaller whist in fact she is still quite a big ship.

Our cruise before that was on Arvia and our next 2 are on Iona. Azura is the smallest P&O ship we have sailed. Prefer the bigger ships for the choice of dining and entertainment but I think it’s great that all choices are catered for. Those who love the small ship ambiance and us who love the big ship buzz can have the choice.

I’m thinking about just going for the package after doing some calculations based on our recent cruise where we had a shed load of OBC. This time we don’t so even working on the minimum we would drink, and we are not big drinkers, we would gain a few £s with the classic package given our discount we would be paying £37.41 each per day. It’s not difficult to spend that much if you add in coffees and soft drinks.

Recently cruised on Azura. They did not use the My Holiday app and you could not join a virtual queue. You had to go to the restaurant and either get a table or take a pager. We tended to go to the Meridian restaurant and had the same table for 2 most nights. The Oriental restaurant was club dining. Strongly recommend booking the speciality restaurants in advance, especially the Epicurean as it was fully booked for the whole cruise. Reservations are available 2 weeks before departure. No booking of entertainment, the theatre was full for most shows they were putting “house full” signs at both entrances. Lots of people there 30 mins beforehand. We did see some saving of seats. One night a group saved 4 seats and there was a 94 year old lady, travelling alone who asked to sit there and they refused to let her sit down. Fortunately she was able to get one seat on the end of our row but I was furious.

Hope you are enjoying your cruise. We are trying to decide between the classic and deluxe packages so I look forward to hearing your experience. Not bothered about the 15 drink limit but would prefer to have a large glass of wine at dinner as it takes so long to get a drink with no wine waiter now.

Just had the upgrade email for our NYE cruise. They point out that once your bid is accepted and you are allocated a new cabin you have to accept it. The cabin booked originally will no longer be available. That makes me nervous. Don’t want to end up in a less desirable location and we usually say “no upgrade”. This time we booked late although still Select and had very little choice of cabin. Now there are only inside cabins available so how would it be possible to bid for an upgrade.

Definitely. The waiters will probably approach you but it won’t be a problem if you say no thanks.

Nothing listed yet for our NYE cruise so not surprised that February is not available yet. On our recent Azura cruise 3 black tie nights were on the cruise planner but when we boarded an extra one had been added so even if the dress code is showing on the planner it can be different onboard.

I just have to say that my contact with P&O this morning could not have been better. I used the 0800 number and after a few minutes of going through the menus the phone was answered by a lovely lady called Charlotte. She resolved my query in a matter of minutes, emailing back and forth with one of her colleagues. At one point we were cut off and she immediately called me back. Really impressed.

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the 35 nighter Phil as we are doing it in 2025. We are booked for this New Year cruise and 2 weeks in March. Both on Iona. We know the NYE cruise will be very busy and we’ll book everything possible in advance. They say forewarned is forearmed so we will expect the lifts to be rammed and the bars to be heaving but we’ll still have a good time.

I was wondering if there would be a special meal in Epicurean on NYE.

I haven’t seen this video but it’s obviously a horrible situation for Gareth Gates. He still has to perform when he must have been feeling really distressed by the antics of these despicable women. Shame on them.

Yes, it is, also on pre-booked dining.

P&O also have the same notices. It’s just that people ignore them.

It’s sterling. Machines don’t take currency. You have to set up an account using your cruise card to play the slots. No idea about table games.

Thank you.

That’s a shame. We ate in Epicurean 3 times on Azura and enjoyed all of the meals. It seems that “fully booked” seems to be the standard reply.

Amazon here I come.

I know this has been discussed before but I feel so strongly about it, I just have to vent. Why do people ignore the request to not refill personal water bottles from the dispensers in the buffet. On our recent cruise one woman was doing this and I pointed out the notice to her and she just shrugged and said “everyone else does it”. There were at least 4 staff members stood watching this exchange including the head waiter. None of them attempted to back me up. There were a lot of coughs and colds around and this woman put the spout of her bottle right up the the dispenser. Selfish person!

The cards all looked pristine which made me think it was something new. None of the crew pointed them out though and if you didn’t notice them yourself you would never have known about them. Not much help to me as I had to collect hubbies food as well as my own as I’m sure you are aware. NO trays.

Don’t worry. I think everyone who requests assistance gets this email. We have. Our TA had already warned us that P&O are enforcing the rules regarding assistance at Southampton. Maybe too many people were just turning up and asking for assistance. I would suggest either printing your confirmation email or having it on your phone.

We have decided to stay overnight at the Travelodge. I know it’s going to be an early start and who knows what the weather will be like end of December. Haven’t stayed in a Travelodge for years. Hopefully it’s not too far to the coach park from there.

We were in Epicurean 3 times on our recent Azura cruise. Once in the first week and twice in the second. I think the menu changed on Saturday. We enjoyed both menus. I highly recommend booking online before you sail, even if you have tons of OBC as it is very popular. We also did the afternoon tea but unless you’ve got a sweet tooth, like me, then I wouldn’t bother. We are on Iona at New Year and I will be booking everything I can in advance. I’m sure I’ll find something to spend the OBC on.

On the Azura you could pick up a card from the wait staff at the entrance to the serving area which could be left on your table to show it was in use. Great idea I thought.