yes!yes!yes!

lunch

breakfasts are good

the internet  has been excellent. I got the basic package. you can switch devices. its pricey tho

had dinner last night at the beach house, which has an 11 pounds door charge. it has a lot of Mexican stuff.

the crab tostadas were very good. the filled steak on the hot stone was 7 pounds extra, it was lovely, the king prawns that came with it were average. the dulce de Leche was average, apple pie was good

3 hours ago, Belmont Babe said:

Hope that food tasted as good as it looks! Its lunchtime and my mouth is watering.

most dishes are very good. desserts can be a bit bland now and again. but the puddings don't disappoint 

6 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Lots of food.

My cruise on her was pre covid, and service was great but then service across most lines is poorer since covid. This may because of lack of trained staff wanting to come back, staff shortages and also cut backs by the cruiselines.

I agree. There are not enough bar staff anywhere. 

here are some sailaway photos from Malta 

I will post more tomorrow.

2 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Those English can eat. Was that just one meal? 

I'm a big eater

some more food

The glass house food. you just pay per dish for these. very cheap and good

some food shots

That is a shot of prosecco that you can add to the cocktail or drink on its own like a shot

I'm not really a cocktail girl, but I have enjoyed a few of these passionfruit martinis

They allow 2 litres of alcohol per cabin on boarding. this can be wine, champagne and spirits.

We booked this cruise at fairly short notice. I  think it was less than 3 weeks prior. There was no inside rooms available and our travel mates managed to get a balcony room (it became available whilst going thru the booking details), we only got an outside view room. P&O require proof of travel insurance on confirmation of booking which I haven't come across before.

I don't really like to compare cruise lines too much as they all have good and bad points.

But to put it briefly, the service is pretty  poor. It almost feels understaffed  in the dining room and barely any staff smile.

The food is good.

P&O enforce the dress code. no suit jacket, no dining room or 2 of the paid extra restaurants on formal nights. I like to dress up, but our travel mates don't so we have been eating elsewhere on formal  nights.

I still dress up.

English people in general  dress up much nicer than Americans or Australians and I like that. They are also very good at queueing.

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Enjoy your cruise. I look forward to your postings.

I have been on the Azura, it is a nice ship.

we like this ship too. although the Vista lounge/Manhattan  is poorly laid out.

Well a few of you asked me to post on here even though this cruise is not in Australia or New Zealand.

I'm on this p&o Azura cruise from Malta to Athens, Kusadasi, Rhodes and Santorini for 7 nights. Flying in from Gatwick return on a package deal. I'm cruising with my son and a cousin and her partner. 

May I start by saying P&O UK is much better and alot different to p&o Australia. This ship is the same class as the grand princess but much newer. 12 years newer. It has a very similar  layout to the grand and identical rooms.

I have attached a few daily schedules and menus and spa menus.

On 5/13/2024 at 5:22 PM, SinbadThePorter said:

 

I avoid jugglers, comedians and hypnotists like the plague.

 

We are skipping Port Douglas and going straight to Cairns. I suspect that this is related to the missing of Conflict. No tendering due to some kind of failure perhaps.

I avoid them too

3 hours ago, libbygirl1 said:

The most disgusting ship we have been on. A rusty ship, Terrible food, virtually no

entertainments, dirty, our balcony was so bad with Rust holes and God knows what was on the floor we weren't gamed to use it! If this is how they treat Aussie! We are only worth rusty crap to sail in. Never again! Spoke to a lot of people on board who were as shocked as we were. 20 Years ago, P&O were fantastic. What happened?????    

I wasn't expecting much after what everyone else said prior to sailing. But to be honest my only big complaint is the food. I thought the ship was in much better condition than the Coral princess in most places, both are rusty on the outside (hello, salty sea air) A lot of the public areas were in excellent condition, Blue bar, Vista lounge (wow, cant remember the real name of that lounge) and dining rooms. The entertainment was good for our 3 night cruise in spite of it being an 80s cruise.

P&O Australia has always had a bad name, I don't think its connected with P&O UK at all.

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Princess has been able to sell individual packs of 20 over the bar for $12, whether domestic or international. This was still true ex-Sydney last season. They were restricted to 1 pack per adult per day. Thankfully no longer required for us. I don't recall P&O being as cheap for us either.

Fung Kuei is the go. Cheaper, more choice, plus you can take them to your cabin and consume during the remainder of your cruise.

Mums the smoker, not me. But I was with her when she bought a pack from the poolside bar and they said $15.00 per packet, limited choice tho.

5 hours ago, arxcards said:

When built, it was the Dawn Princess Vista Lounge. P&O only changed the decor when she became Explorer. The layout of most areas are very similar to her Dawn Princess days.

 

Thanks for your posts. I am looking forward to your comments from Europe.

Mum has spent months on the Dawn and she kept pointing out all the original stuff.

Most of it was quite obvious, especially the room carpet and stair well carpets. Vista just has different carpet and cushion covers

5 hours ago, dazadelaide said:

Yes would love to read about your adventures.

Have never thought about posting on this forum when we have cruised in other locations.

Have a great time.

Daz

Nor me, I have done lots of "foreign cruises"

On 5/6/2024 at 7:17 AM, arxcards said:

No foreign port = no duty free cigs or alcohol.

I know, thats the over the counter individual packet price. Its available whenever the pool bar is open. I dont think there was a duty free shop on board