Summer 26

[lancashire_cruisers]

3 minutes ago, david63 said:

I bet there won't be many booking that on opening day.

😂 I’ve actually got it on my shortlist!

[Uovisa]

Is Azura still doing the same 3 itineraries around the Med from Valletta in August 2026? 

[lancashire_cruisers]

29 minutes ago, Uovisa said:

Is Azura still doing the same 3 itineraries around the Med from Valletta in August 2026? 

I don’t do fly cruises so not sure about itinerary but Azura is still based out of Valletta.

[Uovisa]

13 minutes ago, lancashire_cruisers said:

I don’t do fly cruises so not sure about itinerary but Azura is still based out of Valletta.

Thank you. 
I have just seen the 2026 itineraries. Sadly not much to get excited about. 

[Megabear2]

2 hours ago, lancashire_cruisers said:

😂 I’ve actually got it on my shortlist!

And me ...

[Presto2]

I thought they were coming live today so that you could see them ..... 😞

[pete14]

21 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I thought they were coming live today so that you could see them ..... 😞

Tomorrow I think (if P&O technology can cope).

[Presto2]

Just now, pete14 said:

Tomorrow I think (if P&O technology can cope).

I thought today was the 16th ---- this retirement lark means I have noooo idea what the day or date is any more !!!!

[yorkshirephil]

22 minutes ago, Presto2 said:

I thought today was the 16th ---- this retirement lark means I have noooo idea what the day or date is any more !!!!

Soon you will be wondering how you had time to work.

[kermchem]

5 hours ago, Uovisa said:

Is Azura still doing the same 3 itineraries around the Med from Valletta in August 2026? 

Major, high street, travel agent seems to have persuaded Royal Mail to deliver their glossy today. 
 

“Azura’s continuing her fly-cruise holidays to the Mediterranean but you’ll see more stops at Kusadasi where you can explore Ephesus - one of the world’s best-preserved ancient cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There will also be more overnight stays in Valletta, giving you more to uncover Malta’s capital. 
Also new to Azura’s holidays are stops in Toulon, and Calvi where you can explore Corsica. This rugged, mountainous island offers plenty for nature lovers from hiking and snorkelling to sunbathing and kayaking”

 

My summary of the various 7 day itineraries is that there are more than 3. Some run more than once, indeed perhaps every 3 weeks, but they have tried to spice up the variety. 

[Josy1953]

1 hour ago, Presto2 said:

I thought today was the 16th ---- this retirement lark means I have noooo idea what the day or date is any more !!!!

15 years after retiring I still have no idea what day or date it is. 

My friend says "Everyday is a good day if I don't have to work".

[Uovisa]

15 minutes ago, kermchem said:

Major, high street, travel agent seems to have persuaded Royal Mail to deliver their glossy today. 
 

“Azura’s continuing her fly-cruise holidays to the Mediterranean but you’ll see more stops at Kusadasi where you can explore Ephesus - one of the world’s best-preserved ancient cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There will also be more overnight stays in Valletta, giving you more to uncover Malta’s capital. 
Also new to Azura’s holidays are stops in Toulon, and Calvi where you can explore Corsica. This rugged, mountainous island offers plenty for nature lovers from hiking and snorkelling to sunbathing and kayaking”

 

My summary of the various 7 day itineraries is that there are more than 3. Some run more than once, indeed perhaps every 3 weeks, but they have tried to spice up the variety. 

Only interested in August as need to fit into school holidays. Thus looking at the 3 weekly itineraries to see whether any variation from last year and this year. Already done the ports. Nothing new for us. Would like to see Dubrovnik, Kotor and Split appear in August. 

Nothing that inspires us sadly. 
 

 

[Presto2]

19 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

15 years after retiring I still have no idea what day or date it is. 

My friend says "Everyday is a good day if I don't have to work".

Sadly we are a decorating.... it'll pass 😀

[rickycheshire]

Has anyone got a copy of the brochure some have received today they can upload? 

[jh1809]

27 minutes ago, rickycheshire said:

Has anyone got a copy of the brochure some have received today they can upload? 

Since AIUI it's a travel agent's brochure, I imagine that posting it would fall foul of Cruise Critics rules and would get taken down pretty sharpish.

Edited April 15 by jh1809

[daiB]

11 hours ago, david63 said:

I bet there won't be many booking that on opening day.

That will fill up very quickly as it is so different. We would go but it is 2/3 weeks to early for us.

[Lee Jones Jnr]

On 4/5/2024 at 4:18 PM, Pirateguy said:

Why do they never do regional departures e.g. Liverpool. Bristol, Scotland, etc,,,,,id have more ships based overseas in winter to avoid the bay of biscay 

I'll be interested to see your itineraries, how big is the ship you have on order?

[yorkshirephil]

7 hours ago, daiB said:

That will fill up very quickly as it is so different. We would go but it is 2/3 weeks to early for us.

I think this will sell out quickly, it is ideal for us retiree's who would prefer not to fly, it is well priced too for Aurora to say it is over two years out. I will keep an eye on this but don't expect and late availability.

[DamianG]

We are looking at various itineraries during the main school holidays in 2026. Yet again some of the Mediterranean cruises have very few days in port, such as this one with just five and a half days:

B618 Mediterranean (pocruises.com)

 

At least there are some new ports (for us anyway) on certain cruises, such as Gijon, El Ferrol, Santander and Cherbourg (somehow we've never been there). It's also good to see Cagliari again on some itineraries from Southampton.

 

Finally, I don't recall seeing an itinerary like this one before, with a combination of the Mediterranean plus a call to Madeira:

N619 Spain And Portugal (pocruises.com)

 

At first glance the cruises all looked a bit "same old" but after some research I think there are some more interesting itineraries (for us) than we've seen for a while.

 

Best regards

 

Damian

 

 

Edited April 16 by DamianG

[Pirateguy]

3 hours ago, Lee Jones Jnr said:

I'll be interested to see your itineraries, how big is the ship you have on order?

?????? Sorry youve lost me

[P&O SUE]

29 minutes ago, DamianG said:

We are looking at various itineraries during the main school holidays in 2026. Yet again some of the Mediterranean cruises have very few days in port, such as this one with just five and a half days:

B618 Mediterranean (pocruises.com)

 

At least there are some new ports (for us anyway) on certain cruises, such as Gijon, El Ferrol, Santander and Cherbourg (somehow we've never been there). It's also good to see Cagliari again on some itineraries from Southampton.

 

Finally, I don't recall seeing an itinerary like this one before, with a combination of the Mediterranean plus a call to Madeira:

N619 Spain And Portugal (pocruises.com)

 

At first glance the cruises all looked a bit "same old" but after some research I think there are some more interesting itineraries (for us) than we've seen for a while.

 

Best regards

 

Damian

 

 

I agree Damian, I’ve seen a few different ones including the Ventura one. Also the Arvia Med were really only Spain but in 2026 they’re going to Italy again. Ok so ‘only’ Rome and the Florence port but some of us haven’t been there yet!

 

Also noticed the Amsterdam ones say ‘from Ijmuiden’ again. Wonder how many people will notice that!

[david63]

Why does there have to be so much secrecy around the release of a new season's cruises?

 

There is this ability to pre register (if you can ever get through on the phone - yes I know you can use a TA but I choose not to) but the cruises are only just available and then there is no way of knowing the price other than for an inside cabin!!

[Cathygh]

There are a few Arcadia cruises to Norwegain ports that interest me, and  Aurora to Istanbul. I was hoping Azura could nip over to Istanbul too.

I am not sure that we will book as we are concentrating on long haul holidays for the next few years, but I can always fit in a late deal.

[showingdiva]

24 minutes ago, david63 said:

There is no way of knowing the price other than for an inside cabin!!

 

If you are in the P&O site, you can change the cabin type to whichever you prefer.   There's a blue filter bar near the top that says "Ports to Visit", "Ships" and "More Filters" - the drop down arrow allows to change to "Cabin Type"

[terrierjohn]

27 minutes ago, david63 said:

Why does there have to be so much secrecy around the release of a new season's cruises?

 

There is this ability to pre register (if you can ever get through on the phone - yes I know you can use a TA but I choose not to) but the cruises are only just available and then there is no way of knowing the price other than for an inside cabin!!

Even if you dont book through a TA you could check the price for all grades of cabin with them.