Azura - are there any good reviews?

[annieuk]

Liz, yes we are doing a back to back on Azura. I really like sailing back to Southampton rather than the awful overnight flight which, last time we did it, landed at Gatwick at 4.30am on a freezing morning! As we only use the flight out on the 1st of the two cruises we obviously get a discount for not using the return flight, we also got a discount for booking a back to back - sorry I can't remember how much, but it was a signficant amount. As we are Carnival Shareholders we also get additional On Board Credit and as the cruises are classed as two separate ones we get the OBC twice - if you see what I mean - at £150 per cruise it's certainly worth having.

 

Last year, I admit we thought it would be great getting home in the first week of April - Spring would be here, daffodils out - when we docked in Southampton it was snowing - and freezing!

 

Better luck this year I hope.:)

[daiB]

Liz, yes we are doing a back to back on Azura. I really like sailing back to Southampton rather than the awful overnight flight which, last time we did it, landed at Gatwick at 4.30am on a freezing morning! As we only use the flight out on the 1st of the two cruises we obviously get a discount for not using the return flight, we also got a discount for booking a back to back - sorry I can't remember how much, but it was a signficant amount. As we are Carnival Shareholders we also get additional On Board Credit and as the cruises are classed as two separate ones we get the OBC twice - if you see what I mean - at £150 per cruise it's certainly worth having.

 

Last year, I admit we thought it would be great getting home in the first week of April - Spring would be here, daffodils out - when we docked in Southampton it was snowing - and freezing!

 

Better luck this year I hope.:)

 

Annie,

 

BtoB discount is 10%. :)

[NauticalMiss]

precisely the type of tuppence ha'penny snobbery that makes us prefer the mix of nations and cultures on Celebrity to the pomposity of the exclusively British attitudes you find on P&O.......

 

Sorry to contradict arpster, but the overwhelming display of snobbery exhibited on Celebrity is exactly the reason why we no longer sail with them. Passengers on P&O are far more down to earth.

[NauticalMiss]

..and just for the record..I dont have any tattoos and I dont like football..the fact that other people do doesnt bother me or effect the enjoyment of my holiday in the slightest

 

That should be 'affect' not 'effect'.

[kevinyork]

That should be 'affect' not 'effect'.

 

Bad form to pick up on spelling or grammar.

[the owen clan]

Just returned ourselves from the Christmas cruise and like previous posters had an unforgettable holiday. Only been on ventura before so perhaps cannot give a great comparison compared to other liners but what I can say is if they're heads and above what p and o put on then I'll look forward to cruising with them in the future. Personally found azura better than the ventura mainly down to sea screen deck. With both the advantage of getting beds on sea days and the football on the screen which imo adds to the atmosphere on the cruise as you get to talk to lots of people you might not have if they are just laying down soaking up the rays. The crew were outstanding and kids club outstanding. Was also faced with the same problem with reading too many negative reviews but as you have said you have sailed on the ventura before and there is hardly any difference so you know what to expect .sometimes people are more inclined to post a negative review than a positive. Perhaps its a British thing. Would not hesitate in going on azura or any p and o liner in the future.

[the owen clan]

Just to add not a snob or pompous. Just an humble working class steelworker.

[arpster]

That should be 'affect' not 'effect'.

 

 

Thanks for proving my point.

[Wiltonian]

Bad form to pick up on spelling or grammar.

Especially since in October she wrote: "All this Visa talk is giving me palpatations [sic]"

 

If you pick holes in people's grammar or spelling, you really need to beyond reproach yourself. ;-) ;-)

 

Stuart.

[chigley]

Lots of good reviews are in for December. Try to manage your expectations... It's a huge ship with most people paying £999. For UK people, no immigration, few sea days. Yes I would rather be on the Eclipse but it is twice the price.

[Cruise_lover11]

We have been on Azura twice, Ventura once and Independence of the Seas twice. We have thoroughly enjoyed all of our cruises and would not hesitate in recommending P&O Azura. The staff and other passengers have been very friendly and the ship was well presented. The check-in process was also faultless, we have arrived early each time and have got through and on to the ship very quickly. There are also some good deals at the moment with extra onboard credit etc, which when you work it out does not work out much more than the early saver and means that you have more benefits i.e. choice of room etc. I would definitely sail with P&O again.

[alvin moondust]

We have now done two cruises, Ventura in the Caribbean and Azura last May to Norway.

While we cannot compare to other cruise lines we can say that we really enjoyed both ships, The food standard and selection was excellent particularly in the speciality restaurants.

The entertainment is very good and there is something for everyone. The balcony cabins are nicely laid out and very comfortable.

 

If we have one criticism, it is P&O charging over £100 extra to use the front pool and sundeck. Deck space is at a premium on ships with 3000 passengers and its really frustrating to see packed sunbeds when the front third of the deck is nearly deserted, When we looked there was only about a dozen people in that area, very annoying:mad:

But thats a minor gripe on an otherwise great ship and we would happily travel on either ship tomorrow:)

 

If its not against forum rules then here is a link to our Azura trip

 

 

 

Steve

[Cruise_lover11]

Steve, we really enjoyed watching your video and it brought back memories of our trip to the Fjords on Ventura last year :)

[bentleybabe]

We have now done two cruises, Ventura in the Caribbean and Azura last May to Norway.

While we cannot compare to other cruise lines we can say that we really enjoyed both ships, The food standard and selection was excellent particularly in the speciality restaurants.

The entertainment is very good and there is something for everyone. The balcony cabins are nicely laid out and very comfortable.

 

If we have one criticism, it is P&O charging over £100 extra to use the front pool and sundeck. Deck space is at a premium on ships with 3000 passengers and its really frustrating to see packed sunbeds when the front third of the deck is nearly deserted, When we looked there was only about a dozen people in that area, very annoying:mad:

But thats a minor gripe on an otherwise great ship and we would happily travel on either ship tomorrow:)

 

If its not against forum rules then here is a link to our Azura trip

 

 

 

Steve

HioHi

 

 

 

 

Bit confused about £100 charge to use 'front pool' - which pool is this as we haven't had to pay to use pools on previous cruises. Is it the one belonging to Retreat as I understood from previous posts that if you booked Retreat now it didn't include the Oasis pool or do you pay just to use pool now?

[kersh]

No charge to use the pool on Azura or Ventura. Free to all adults. Only charge is for the a Retreat sun beds and steward service.

 

Sue

Edited January 3, 2014 by kersh

[Josy1953]

We went on Azura after 24 cruises on Princess and found that Azura outshone Princess everywhere. The only thing we didn't like was that P&O have copied the awful sea screens that Princess have on most of their ships. That said we did on Azura exactly what we have always done on Princess - we made sure that we did not spend our time near to the sea screen. Go with Azura and enjoy yourself.

[arpster]

conversely we think the seascreens are the one of the best features on Princess and P&O ships...watching a movie under a blanket while eating popcorn on a warm Caribbean night is always a treat....would love to see other cruise companies introduce them

[Presto2]

We went on Azura after 24 cruises on Princess and found that Azura outshone Princess everywhere. The only thing we didn't like was that P&O have copied the awful sea screens that Princess have on most of their ships. That said we did on Azura exactly what we have always done on Princess - we made sure that we did not spend our time near to the sea screen. Go with Azura and enjoy yourself.

 

Totally agree re the sea screens. WAS having a lovely peaceful day in Kusadasi on the Celebrity Silhouette when the Royal Princess arrived along side ------------ screen on full blast and remained very loud for about 2 hrs. I was not happy ------------ especially when it wasn't our ship ! (I think she was trying to make a point as she pulled in along side --------- she did that. I'd never sail on a ship with one of those screen things!)

 

:(:(

[alvin moondust]

Im sure the sea screens could be intrusive but on our Norway cruise we did enjoy sitting out watching James Bond until about midnight under an amazing blue sky, Apart from that I dont really remember sitting in that area very much during the day. On Ventura this area is a covered pool which would potentially be better if the weather in Norway was poor

[liztheslimmer]

Liz, yes we are doing a back to back on Azura. I really like sailing back to Southampton rather than the awful overnight flight which, last time we did it, landed at Gatwick at 4.30am on a freezing morning! As we only use the flight out on the 1st of the two cruises we obviously get a discount for not using the return flight, we also got a discount for booking a back to back - sorry I can't remember how much, but it was a signficant amount. As we are Carnival Shareholders we also get additional On Board Credit and as the cruises are classed as two separate ones we get the OBC twice - if you see what I mean - at £150 per cruise it's certainly worth having.

 

Last year, I admit we thought it would be great getting home in the first week of April - Spring would be here, daffodils out - when we docked in Southampton it was snowing - and freezing!

 

Better luck this year I hope.:)

 

Hi Annieuk,

The pair of us have booked the back to back, but no discount for the non flight, nor the second cruise, (and I can always get a discount) ! We have had the Carnival shares for a couple of years now, the price has really galloped on this last month, has it not ? i think one cruise is only 13 days, the other 14, so we will have to suffer only £225 ish, rather than £300, OBC, which we would have had for the extra day. Still, thats a 10% return on what we paid for them, on just this one extended trip. Try getting that at the Nationwide !

If anyone is still lurking, wondering whether to book, I think that discounts are difficult to find, but going from Manchester, the TA, gave us £100,(total), off the premium seats,so we got them at the same price as last year.

Can't wait, but I guess I will have to,

 

 

David.

[MadBrewer]

We've been thinking about taking a Caribbean cruise on board Azura but some of the reviews have put us off. Does anyone have some positive things to say about this ship?

 

I was on this ship in August on a different website I did a review and gave it 4 out of 5 I also summed it up concluding

 

"Would we go again? Yes. Are we desperate to make P&O our next cruise? No. We met plenty of P&O stalwarts on board though who are obviously more than happy. Their product therefore is not a bad one. More lobster and less annoyances however would have made this a contender for a truly great cruise. "

 

I think to be honest I try not to let things annoy me too much; when I travel I like to think I am a Glass Half Full (rather than empty) person. Admittedly Metal Coat Hangers in my cabin were not met by me with enthusiasm!!

[Slugsta]

I love the Sea screens! Due to back problems I am not able to sit through a film at the cinema, it is a joy to be able to watch a full film in relative comfort, even if I need coat, gloves and several blankets. It is even better if the weather allows me to lie out without all the padding.

 

Yes, I would prefer that the screens are quiet during the daytime, I guess P+O want to get full use out of them. I can always manage to find a quiet corner if I want to though, probably easier because I don't like to lie in the sun and toast.

[xacoberrr]

We've been thinking about taking a Caribbean cruise on board Azura but some of the reviews have put us off. Does anyone have some positive things to say about this ship?

 

We did the Caribbean on Ventura 3 years ago and enjoyed it but again there are so many poor reviews on it now that we don't think we'd travel on her again.

 

Is it just these ships or P & O in general who have gone downhill?

 

Having been on Celebrity recently for a special occasion we found them far superior to P & O, however not keen on flying into a US port to board for their Caribbean itineraries.

 

I was in the Azura last year and enjoyed it a lot.

My schedule was:

 

Cruise Schedule: Southampton, England (April 19) Cadiz, Spain (April 22 morning-early evening), Barcelona, Spain (April 24 morning-afternoon), Cannes, France (April 25 early morning, early evening), Civitavecchia (Rome ), Italy (April 26 early morning, early evening), Ajaccio, Corsica (April 27 morning-afternoon), Gibraltar, UK (April 29 early morning-early afternoon), La Coruna, Spain (01 May morning-afternoon), Southampton , England (03 May)

 

All locations are beautiful. In almost all cities (Barcelona, Cannes, La Coruna ...) you can enjoy Panoramic tours made ​​by local agencies, a cheap way to visit important sites in the town. In smaller cities, you can enjoy a wonderful ride .... One way or another you can enjoy your cruise the best way ....