Azura Review 20th Oct 2017 Transatlantic

I will post in this the review section but thought readers of this forum might be interested in the following (in depth) review of Azura A731A on 20th October 2017:

This is a review of A731A which was Azura’s transatlantic repositioning cruise leaving Southampton on 20th October. The original itinerary was changed following the hurricanes in the Caribbean and the itinerary was to change again due to storm Brian which had been battering the UK.

Our taxi was booked for 11am on Friday 20th October to take us from Bristol to Ocean Terminal in Southampton where we would join Azura for the next 15 nights as she transitioned to the Caribbean. The taxi was nice and early and we were already on the M4 by 11am. Our check in time was 3:30 however we wanted to allow cursives plenty of time in case of any hold ups etc. As it happened traffic was clear and we were at the Ocean Terminal by shortly after 1pm. We pretty much walked into the terminal, got our embarkation cards which were then called immediately, we collected our cruise cards and went through security. We were onboard and in our cabin by 1:30 - fantastic! We were on C deck forward in a balcony cabin unfortunately however neither of our cruise cards would open our cabin door. A steward let us in but informed us we would need to go to reception to sort out the cards. After a quick look around the cabin we went to reception and were promptly issued two new cruise cards.

On the journey to Southampton we received a text telling us that due to storm Brian we would not be sailing until the following night, meaning that we would be spending the next 24 hours or so on board in Southampton. We were also informed that this delay would impact our later itinerary but that the impact was not yet known. Needless to say this prompted much gossiping and rumour mongering amongst the passengers! We then went for lunch in the buffet where we saw both Aurora and Independence of the Seas, then off to muster and then had a little snooze!

As a little bit of background to this cruise my wife and I booked this in Feb 2017 when I was undergoing a course of chemotherapy so needless to say we had both been looking forward to this holiday for quite some time. During my treatment my wife bought me a bottle of whiskey and we decided that we wouldn’t open it until we were onboard. So finally the time had come to open the bottle in our cabin before dinner. It was perhaps the best whiskey I have ever tested!

We were on freedom dining (we had chosen freedom as we booked a select price fare) and were allocated to the Peninsular restaurant. We each had crab pasties for starters and roast pork, both of which were delicious. We both commented on how friendly the waiting staff were. We have previously cruised on Ventura and Britannia and felt that Azura was probably the friendliest so far. Before retiring we went to the Blue Bar for a whisky flight and a G&T for my wife. We liked the blue bar but couldn’t work out if the chairs were broken or were meant to wobble - each chair we tried did the same thing!!

One of my favourite parts of a cruise holiday is the first morning breakfast in the MDR. It wasn’t quite the same as we were still in Southampton but that was a minor detail. Later that morning we had a facebook/Cruise Critic group meet up in the Planet bar where about 30 people showed up. It was lovely to meet people that we had spoken to online over the previous months. After so much social interaction we obviously needed refuelling so it was up to the buffet for lunch.

One of my most enjoyable aspects of a cruise is attending guest speakers. In many ways if doesn’t matter about the content if the speaker is engaging. With this in mind I attended the talk entitled “the wonderful world of Carry On” in the theatre. I’m not a big fan of the films but thought it might be interesting. Unfortunately the speaker basically gave a powerpoint display starting with the first film and ending with the last. He had had no personal involvement in the series so was really just reading info that could be obtained from Wikipedia. His style of delivery wasn’t engaging either so I made a point not to attend any more of his lectures.

We finally got underway at about 6pm. We had a sailaway drink on the balcony as the cabin told us to prepare for bad weather this evening. We again dined in the peninsular and noticed that at the end of the evening the staff were wrapping salt/pepper pots and sugar bowls in cling film due to the expected drought seas over night. On our way to the theatre to see a comedian we noticed the motion discomfort bags had been distributed across the ship.

We awoke the following morning after a bumpy but not dreadful night and promptly headed for breakfast in the MDR. This felt like the first ‘proper’ morning as we were now at sea. I attended a camera basics class this morning and then went to a guest speaker who was a retired policeman. He had been involved in protecting a witness against the Kray twins amongst many other high profile cases in his career. He was an excellent speaker and his lectures soon became the daily event that everything else was scheduled around! I thoroughly enjoyed his style of delivery and the content of his lectures. Given the ever increasing number of people in the audience it was clear that many other people shared this viewpoint.

Following a music quiz hosted by DJ Danny in Malabar it was time for fishcakes in Verona buffet then onto the epicurean, sindhu and glass house to book our specialty dining evenings and then a quick drink in the glass house. The Captain announced that itinerary will now definitely contain one less Caribbean port but we don’t yet know which that will be. Dinner was again in the peninsular restaurant and although the sea is starting to calm there was still noticeable movement when we went to the planet bar for a night cap.

Next morning was much calmer and the sun was out. We had a lie in this morning and had a buffet breakfast. I went for a run on the promenade deck before breakfast which was lovely, warm and sunny. Captain has announced new itinerary. First island is St Kitts, then Antigua then St Lucia and finally Barbados. So we are missing out Grenada. We were in St Lucia last year but it was only for embarkation to Britannia so we never got to see the Pitons so we are both very pleased that we will get to see them this time. This afternoon consisted of the music quiz, guest lecture and sitting on the balcony. Captain said it was 19c but it felt much warmer.

Tonight is our first black tie evening and captains gala reception. We decided to have a photo taken with the captain so we got dressed and headed down to the atrium nice and early. Unsurprisingly there were already a few people queuing for a photo so we joined the queue. The captain was due to arrive at about 7:30. Whilst we were queuing the captain arrived at about 7:25 and did the oddest thing. He came over and said hello to the photographer at which point we thought he would have a chat with the people in the queue but no, he literally went and hid behind a pillar in one of the shops. He was on his own and was hiding for a full 5 minutes. We could see staff giving him odd looks as he stood there on his own, hiding!! At 7:30 he emerged from the pillar and we had our photo taken with him. Clearly customer relations is not his strong point.

The following morning I attended a talk on P&O’s 180 year history which was very interesting, even if the entertainment director was simply reading from a powerpoint. This was followed by Ian Brown’s (the ex-policeman) lecture which as usual was excellent. Today it was in the Manhattan bar which was far too small for the number of people that wanted to attend, they were rammed on and spilling out into the corridors. We followed this with a personal best in the music quiz followed by lunch, sunbathing and our first holiday swim in the terrace pool - which was a bit chilly but was fine once you got used to it. Dinner this evening was in Sindhu. The food was excellent and we both had a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

The next day was our first port of call which was Funchal in Madeira. I had been here many years ago but it was the first time my wife had been here. We took the P&O shuttle bus from the port into town which took about 5 mins. We walked up to the cable car station and got a combined return trip ticket for the cable car and hop on hop off bus. Walked around at top of cable car then came back down and did a full circle on open top bus. We had a lovely lunch in the marina overlooking Azura before popping into spar to get some water and beer before joining the shuttle bus to come back to azura. It was fantastic weather and a very enjoyable first port of call

Although tonight was a black tie evening we were both really tired and didn’t fancy getting dressed up so instead we just went to the buffet, watched a film in the cabin and had an early night. Clocks go back one hour tonight so that gives us an extra hour in bed too. Lovely!!

The following morning was the first of 5 days at sea as we crossed the atlantic headed for the Caribbean. Today we had room service breakfast after a short jog on the promenade deck. We were both impressed with room service breakfast - this was the first time we had experienced it since P&O changed the menu. Weather was quite changeable this morning and started to rain about 11.30 so we came inside. After lunch we went to Brodie’s to review their beer menu. I was pleased to see that they have a wide selection (probably about 30) of U.K. bottled beers and they do beer flights. Read kindle and had a couple of beers then back to room for a snooze before dinner. Always surprises me how tiring cruising can be…..!! This evening we went to the playhouse for our first headliners show. Needless to say, it was awful! Electric avenue it was called. So, so bad on so many levels!! As we left we heard other passengers saying either that they hated it or they loved it so I guess there is no pleasing everyone. Based on a number of headliners shows on Ventura, Britannia and now Azura my wife and I can confidently say that they are not for us and we wont be trying any more of them in the future.

Black tie this evening and we have the Epicurean booked for 8pm. Caught half of the show of a harpist in Malabar lounge before heading to Epicurean. Food and service were both excellent as you would expect. Starter of smoked salmon aged in 21 year old whisky. Main course of beef brisket and lobster tail. I couldn’t decide between two desserts so had both!! A Jaffa cake and trio of berry desserts and my wife had apple crumble. A thoroughly enjoyable evening completed by a comedian in manhattan. And to top it all off we get another extra hour in bed tonight as the clocks go back again.

Next day we had breakfast In peninsular restaurant followed by the Man Utd v spurs game in Brodie’s (9:30 kick off). Went to Ian brown talk at midday then we sunbathed on balcony. Then upto the pool for a swim (and some pizza) before returning to cabin to get ready for our wine pairing evening at Glass House. We had Salmon and caviar starter, beef brisket, cheeseboard and dessert, each accompanied by a different wine. Very pleasant evening finished off with a walk on deck and a drink in Planet Bar listening to Shore Sound Duo.

As the days start to roll into one another we decided to try Breakfast in the Oriental restaurant this morning, just for a change. The Oriental restaurant is a Club Dining (set times) restaurant in the evening but is open to anyone at Breakfast. It seemed as though the oriental is a bit nicer than the peninsular and even the staff seemed friendlier and more attentive. Unfortunately my iPhone set itself back an hour as was on U.K. time zone but I had already put it back meaning that I woke up thinking it was 7 when actually it was 8.

After the Ian Brown talk we went to the oriental restaurant for champagne tasting and talk which consisted of 90 mins tutored tasting and 4 different Lanson champagnes. Very Informative and of course the champagne was lovely. We followed this with a wine flight and a bite to eat in glass house as we watched the thunder and lightning closing in....whilst we discussed the possibility of a transatlantic next October on Britannia…..

Tonight was our final black tie night. We ate in peninsular and had lobster for main course. Couldn’t decide between ice cream or chocolate mousse cake for dessert....so had both. Went to Manhattan to see comedian. Was ok but not great. Early night watching the lightning from our balcony.

Our first Caribbean port of call was St Kitts (first time for us) and we got a taxi to Carambola beach in South Friars which was fantastic. Lovely sand, beautiful weather and warm sea. As the beach started to get busy and (very) hot we returned to Port Zante at about 1pm but sadly couldn’t find anywhere that looked nice for lunch so we retuned to the ship. Tonight was Tropical Night onboard and we saw a comedian in Manhattan. He was OK but some of this tricks didn’t really work, still it was a fun evening.

Next day was Antigua and we got a taxi to Valley Church beach which comes highly recommended. This afternoon was the Great British sail away which is very definitely not our ‘thing’ so we stayed on our balcony but could hear the ‘fun’ from the top decks. In fairness some great tunes were played in amongst the rather nationalistic nonsense and of course the painfully embarrassing god save the queen. A few people waving union flags but there were far more on their balconies watching the fantastic scenery. This evening we ate in the Meridien restaurant and we have concluded that both the Oriental and Meridien have better, more friendly and attentive staff than the Peninsular. Next stop St Lucia

Watched Adonia berth behind us from our balcony before breakfast. Today was our first P&O excursion - a catamaran to the Pitons. Whilst the scenery was stunning and the weather gorgeous this sadly couldn’t detract from the fact that P&O had oversold (in my opinion) this trip - there were simply too many people on board. Many people (us included) were unable to sit in the shade and were force to sit on the netting area at the from of the catamaran which is fine if thats what you want but not great when you have no choice and are unable to sit for long periods in the sun. We complained to the staff at the excursion desk when back on board and had expected some form of apology or note in our cabin but other than a couple of ‘thanks for your comments’ from the member of staff at the desk we heard nothing more.

After the catamaran we got the water taxi over to Pointe Seraphine and went to the rum bar called Rum Therapy. Had a great afternoon and got the last water taxi back at 4 ready for sailaway at 5.

Next day saw us in Barbados where we got a taxi to a beach recommended by the driver (I don’t think his brother worked there!). Anyway it was much better than the Boatyard (in our opinion) and although the weather clouded over with some rain we had a lovely morning before our driver collected us and returned us to the ship. We had another P&O excursion this evening - the sunset catamaran cruise which we have done before and both enjoyed. It is a lovely tour around the island with some fizzy wine, beer and nibbles - a lovely way to end the holiday.

The following morning we were out of the cabin by 8 and had to wait until 9:30 before we could get into our day use inside cabin. This was the first time we had booked a day use cabin and were both very pleased we did. It enabled us to sunbathe and swim on deck and then still have our own space to shower and get dressed before being called for our flight back to Gatwick.

All in all, we had a fantastic cruise. We both love sea days so a transatlantic really appeals to us. Yes it was a shame about the change of itinerary but nothing we could do about that. The entertainment on board is variable to say the least. One guest speaker was awful, the other excellent. Headliners were appalling but some comedians and singers were very good. We particularly enjoyed DJ Danny’s music quiz each day!

The food was generally very good with some parts being excellent, particularly the speciality restaurants. We were a little confused by the difference in attentiveness and friendliness in the Peninsular restaurant compared to the Oriental and Meridien. Needless to say if we return on Azura we wouldn’t choose to dine in the Peninsular. It felt almost as though it was used as a staff training ground and once they became proficient they were moved to one of the other restaurants.

Before leaving for our flight we visited future cruise sales desk and took advantage of the £50 pp onboard deposit for……next years Transatlantic on Azura!!

Just sat and read through your very detailed review. Thank you! We’ll be doing the same, but in reverse, in March.

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Thanks Tin Soldier, really interesting review. Have always fancied the idea of a transatlantic cruise, but my wife is a little wary of it being a bit choppier than we're used to. One day :D

Looking forward to next years review. In the meantime, stay well(y)

Great review, thank you

Thanks for your review, we were on Britannia’s repositioning cruise which left the week after you and felt sorry for you having such bad weather as we left to glorious sunshine and calm seas.

We have booked Azura this year as, although we really liked Britannia, the cabins and beds are slightly bigger and we were given a really good price for a C deck forward cabin. Like you we love the sea days and that extra hour as you do the crossing is great.

We also did the cruise to the Pitons but didn’t find it crowded but we sat in the sun at the front by choice as we do enjoy sunning ourselves. We found Britannia a fabulous ship and enjoyed a couple of evenings in the Epicurean, saw Darren Day in the Limelight club (excellent) had lunch in the Glass House and also attended a wine pairing talk which was a very enjoyable couple of hours drinking different wines and eating tapas.

We aren’t fans of the sail always either and noticed a lot of people, like us, were on their balconies, although the atmosphere between the ships in port was wonderful and the banter was really good.

Might bump into you on Azura this October and I really hope she has better luck with the weather this year.

Thank you for your report.

Keith

Thanks for the review. Good to see that Football is shown in Brodie's bar (as I have booked our cruise during the World Cup) on Azura. I know my husband and son will be able to watch in the cabin but as we are cruising with relatives, it will be fun watching all together.

Thank you for this! Very thorough and informative! X

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