Very Negative Azura Review

[LibraLass41]

My cousin who got married a fortnight ago and joined that cruise in Barbados on the Saturday is now back too.... Now... I am loyal to P&O and love Azura but...she reports (and she has cruised quite a few times on P&O)

 

 

... food in main dining room 'like warm school dinners' so they ate mostly in Seventeen or the Glasshouse...

 

, Lots of loud mouth 'chavs' onboard...swearing, shouting drinking too much... on 1 caribbean isand after drinking all day on the beach they left their P&O pool towels on the sand and didn't even bother to take them back to the ship

 

Thats what she says, and shes a honest level headed person. What can you say to that, perhaps SKY Travel is to blame for advertisng cruises cheaply on last minute discounts but its certainly not the same as it was even 5 years ago. And I'm speaking from experience too after a noisy cruise on Ventura in March, with bunches of ladettes in inside cabins shouting , and running around with their cabin doors wedged open all early evening and after 2am too when they came back to cabins after a night out.

[C at Sea]

Its amazing how you can have different experiences on the same ship. This was brought home to us a couple of years ago when we did a weeks cruise break on Oceana during August. Fraid wasnt impressed! Full of, shall we say, not the usual type of passengers, iffy service, food not as good etc etc. Got really worried as we were due on her the following Jan for a Caribbean cruise. Some people on our table were so fed up with the week that they cancelled a cruise on her that they had booked for later on and chose another. However, we were glad we hadn't done that as our next cruise on her was great - it was like being on a different ship altogether! Goes to show how things can vary. We had another one on her last March, again - great. Booked for Azura in Feb 2012 and not going to take the review too much to heart cos we'l make up our own minds based on our own experience. If that was that reviewers experience - fine. My advice to her is to write it factually without resorting to derogatory terms and people are more likely to accept it as a valid review without it putting anyones back up!

[jeanlyon]

Azura cannot be blamed for "loud mouthed chav" - you fnd them in all walks of life. However, "luke-warm school dinners" does seem odd. As I've said, Azura was not for us for the things I mentioned, but the food was excellent.

[LibraLass41]

I know Jean. You know I am always championing Azura - so was sad to hear a rough element of cruiser was onboard....perhaps its destination, perhaps its low price discounts attracting people like this but they are onboard all the ships now. The food was good for us too on the Naming Ceremony (which it should be with the VIP's and Carnival Directors etc onboard) and on a Azura cruise I did last year.

 

C - Oceana, I had a brilliant cruise on Oceana with lovely people and no trouble, - so agree all cruises are different so one bad cruise review won't put me off a ship as 'my' cruise maybe OK.... I still highly rate Azura -she's my number 1 in the fleet at the moment, so I take all what is said with a 'pinch of salt. ' But my niece did echo a few of the comments of that ladies review....

 

I am on Oriana - which will be adult only and am going to the Fjords, a expensive place, so some will tell me it will be a 'floating old folks' home...but I don't care what they say and will enjoy my cruise, my way and thats it.:):confused:

[Beopthtuh]

been on a few of the grand class ships ,grand princess, emerald princess, sapphire princess and ventura and always found then a nice ship to be on not my favourite in the p&o guise (prefer aurora) but thats down to the exchange.:eek:

always found a nice quiet place to relax ,people are always friendly,cabins a decent size (their for sleeping in not spending all day in)food always a good standard.:)

you will always get the hyacinth bucket on a cruise ship thinking shes better than others. we just have to forget about them and enjoy the 99.9 % of the other passengers .

as for chavs its becoming a regular thing on all cruise lines sign of the times im afraid alas they only like the carribean ,med summer cruises so alaska,baltics and far away cruises are safe to enjoy:D:D

[laurakdy]

I am not long back from my barbados trip on the azura and for all you people who are sailing on her soon please do not worry, it is an utterly amazing, fantastic and wonderful ship...

 

This was our 3rd cruise and although we loved RCI, we would be hard pushed to move away from P&O now as the prices were truly fanastic, we couldnt believe it...Gratuities were soo cheap and no 15 vat like all the other ships...Our bill was less than half it was last year...

 

That said obviously its not always about the money...Yes its a big ship with a lot of people but maybe on sea days it was perhaps a tad busy but nothing to complain about...I wouldnt go on a ship with over 3,000 people if i was worried about these things...

 

Staff, service, cabins, food - The whole experience was truly amazing...I am so jealous of you people still to go on her...Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy...xx

[Sutho]

From some of the comments above about types of passengers - you will see that more often now with cruises being cheap. They are certainly cheap enough for the working classes (including me) to go on.

 

If you think it is bad you should have seen it 5+ years ago when they had the "friendly four" cabins on sale. They were cheap cabins if you wanted to share with a stranger.....to cut the long story short you would get people in those cabins who wore the same cloths every night of the cruise!

 

Back to Azura, I can honestly say that I have experienced a much better ship recently - Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas. It had much more to do like rock climbing, the Adults only Solarium made Azura's Retreat look like a cheap 3rd rate gimmick (and you didnt pay for it on Radiance). The Atrium was much more spectacular on Radiance as were all of the public rooms. Passenger space was much better too.

 

When I compared the both being a P&O loyalist I had to admit P&O had no ships that could match that Royal Caribbean ship. However P&O have much better entertainment, service, food. Dining on Royal Caribbean was painfully slow - worst than watching paint dry, the theatre shows were ok but no where near as spectacular as P&O. Even though the majority of my cruises are with P&O - I found Royal Caribbeans Radiance of the Seas a much better ship.

[Wavebreakers]

We sailed on Azura in June this year to the Baltics and this was our first ever cruise and we simply cannot wait to sail on her again. With P&O you know what to expect and despite Ms Constables comments it is an excellent cruise line and great value and an outstanding ship, did she not read about the size of the ship before booking!! If you are waiting to sail on Azura - You lucky people - make the most of it and ignore such negative, over the top comments, judge for yourself, you will not be disappointed.

Personally I think we have all been saved from meeting Ms Constable and thankfully she won't be seen with P&O again.

Just reading her review again..... I see kids get batter where she comes from!!! (I think she means better), long corridors, what a surprise on such a long ship!! must be the batter slowing her down!!

Perhaps people reserved sun beds so they did not have to lay anywhere near her.................

We personally found Azura very easy to Navigate, after a day you soon know where you are, if not, its all part of the fun getting lost. Obviously Ms Constable cannot read the Map P&O give you on embarkation, can I recommnd a GPS handheld devise Ms C!!!

Yep, the truth hurts, its a wonderful ship, fantastic crew, outstanding food and all the entertainment you want, oh yes, and us Primark passengers of course. This kind of hurt I can take, looking forward to sailing Azura again next year.:)

[jeanlyon]

Can't agree on finding your way around! LOL And we were not alone. No windows on the main decks, so you don't know whether you are going forward or sternward.

 

As for chavs, I'm afraid we met a few when on Azura as well. I think the bigger the ship, the more likely. I ignore them. However, the face jewellry and tattoes usually give them away!!

[SueFrankuk]

Well I just thought I would add my opinion, as you can see we sailed Azura and are sailing her again on the transatlantic as she will then be round the world in2013.

We are big Princess fans and must admit we have only sailed P&O on discounted cruises, another bone of contention we find the food on P&O pretty poor, especially at lunchtime, and spend more money on alternative restaurants, also the waiters in the ATD to be so miserable, and to dare ask for anything like parmesan on your pasta is a crime. So we are looking forward to the Glass house and Sindu.

On our last Princess cruise we had planned to try the alternative restaurants but the food is so good in the MDR never needed to go there.

Yes I know the drinks and tips are far more on Princess but are bill was no different on P&O as we paid so much more for dining.

just my opinion

[Sutho]

Well I just thought I would add my opinion, as you can see we sailed Azura and are sailing her again on the transatlantic as she will then be round the world in2013.

We are big Princess fans and must admit we have only sailed P&O on discounted cruises, another bone of contention we find the food on P&O pretty poor, especially at lunchtime, and spend more money on alternative restaurants, also the waiters in the ATD to be so miserable, and to dare ask for anything like parmesan on your pasta is a crime. So we are looking forward to the Glass house and Sindu.

On our last Princess cruise we had planned to try the alternative restaurants but the food is so good in the MDR never needed to go there.

Yes I know the drinks and tips are far more on Princess but are bill was no different on P&O as we paid so much more for dining.

just my opinion

 

Its very interesting how some people can have very differing opinions on such matters.

 

I too like Princess, BUT...I actually find it the opposite to you. I found P&O offers far superior food, service and has much better waiters in the main dining room than Princess. I have always found P&O waiters to be extremely friendly, very perceptive and have a photographic memory. Princess on the other hand their waiters left allot to be desired, forgot what you ordered, made mistakes, never smiled and the head waiters just stood in the corner smiling like ornaments rather than real people.

 

Same goes for P&O cabin stewards - much better than Pricness ones in every way, shape and form you can imagine. In fact I have often found Princess staff to be rude, inconsiderate and miserable. (by rude I mean they knock on your door asking you to leave the cabin so they can make it up when they want to).

 

The only thing I found better about Princess was their ships. I dont think P&O's Azura came anywhere close to matching how good the Grand class is with Princess in style, feel and layout. Azura's layout was a bit of a big disappointment compared to Sapphire Princess where on Azura many of the areas available on Sapphire were blocked off and unaccessible. Also on Azura it is extremely confusing with the lifts facing forward and not facing a stairwell, there are too many crew only doors that confuse you as well.

[NSWP]

Can't agree on finding your way around! LOL And we were not alone. No windows on the main decks, so you don't know whether you are going forward or sternward.

 

As for chavs, I'm afraid we met a few when on Azura as well. I think the bigger the ship, the more likely. I ignore them. However, the face jewellry and tattoes usually give them away!!

For us colonials, please explain a CHAV ? Is it akin to a lager lout?

[Sutho]

For us colonials, please explain a CHAV ? Is it akin to a lager lout?

 

I have only heard about them on cruises with P&O....from what I can understand if you know Sydney well and can imagine people who live in the likes of Macquaries Fields turning up to a fancy restaurant in Valcluse or Mosman and mingling with the people there and making their presence very known.

 

I gather it is like people who are on the dole long time in Australia and possibly live in housing commission estates.

 

That is how best it has been explained to me, but obviously the British posters here know more about them than us.

[NSWP]

I have only heard about them on cruises with P&O....from what I can understand if you know Sydney well and can imagine people who live in the likes of Macquaries Fields turning up to a fancy restaurant in Valcluse or Mosman and mingling with the people there and making their presence very known.

 

I gather it is like people who are on the dole long time in Australia and possibly live in housing commission estates.

 

That is how best it has been explained to me, but obviously the British posters here know more about them than us.

Gotcha SUTHO, thanks mate, now me understand. Chav, I like the term, dropkick or westie would be a more appropriate Aussie description of the Pom Chav.

 

Standing by for a Brit to further explain Chav, please. Will there be any 'Chavs' on Arcadia WC next year ? LOL.

[daiB]

Gotcha SUTHO, thanks mate, now me understand. Chav, I like the term, dropkick or westie would be a more appropriate Aussie description of the Pom Chav.

 

Standing by for a Brit to further explain Chav, please. Will there be any 'Chavs' on Arcadia WC next year ? LOL.

 

A chave in my mind has money, and spends it and makes sure other people know about it. The word Bling comes to mind.

 

Gan canny

 

Dai

[bluebelle]

Is this a posh word for 'Chav' lol?

Chavs are usually recognised by their track suits and white baseball type caps with white trainers, lots of big rings and thick gold chains. That's in our neck of the woods anyway, lol again!:)

[mkh999]

When P and O Azura are selling internal stateroom 15 nights Carribean for £599, 9th December ( iglu cruise ). I think there may be a drop in standards that some people could be expecting. A sign of the times. Probably less than you would pay for an all inclusive in main land Europe.

[NSWP]

When P and O Azura are selling internal stateroom 15 nights Carribean for £599, 9th December ( iglu cruise ). I think there may be a drop in standards that some people could be expecting. A sign of the times. Probably less than you would pay for an all inclusive in main land Europe.

Caribbean cruise pricing is currently very competiive, hence P&O price reductions. The U.S. Cruise lines, Princess, Carnival etc have really dropped their Carib prices, the ships arrive and leave Fort Lauderdale like London buses. The Americans can t get on Carnival and the like for $60 per diem. I walked around Fort Lauderdale recently between cruises and was amazed by the Carib deals at travel agencies.