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For info only and NOT an opinion, we have just returned from a cruise with Azamara and their dress code is smart casual, apart from the white night (which is optional), one evening a party of eight were in front of us waiting for the Matre d to book them a table, she noticed that a lady in the party was wearing a smart matching top and shorts which at first glance looked like a short skirt, she advised the lady she would have to change or eat elsewhere but the rest of the party would be allowed in, after a heated discussion the lady had to change and the rest of the party waited in the bar until she returned and all were then allowed to dine in the mdr. We witnessed another similar incident and it ended with the same result

Thank you, we did indeed enjoy the whole experience😊

We have just returned from our first cruise with Azamara on the Quest (world cup voyage) and here is a quick review of the experience. Firstly, the ship was well turned out and all areas were tidy and well kept, our cabin was very nice, but the shower was one of the smallest we have had (not a complaint just an observation), for a day or so it took some getting used to the size of the ship having never sailed on anything less than 1800 pax, but the ability to move around without congestion was wonderful , although we tend to keep to ourselves everybody was very friendly ,allowing for the fact there were 27 different nationalities on board , service at all the bars was really good with very little wait time and staff calling back to check if another drink was required, food choices were plentiful and we never had one bad meal and again service was top drawer. We never got the chance to use the two specialty restaurants so unable to comment on them. We decided against the azamazing evening trip and from comments from those who went we made the correct decision; however, the white night was brilliant, the staff worked so hard to set it up and then keep it flowing and deserve all the credit for a fabulous night. Only two negatives to mention and not sure if one of them is just "a one off" checking in/embarkation was so long winded, for such a small ship it took forever for check in to be completed even though we had done all the precheck in prior to flying out, there were plenty of staff, but nothing seemed to be happening, the other small downside was the timing of the evening show , 9pm was virtually impossible to get to without having to eat rather early , 9.30 would be a better time but again that is a personal view. So, our first time with Azamara and we loved it!! ALL the staff were so, so friendly and helpful and gave us a wonderful impression of the company, will we be back? Yes, but it will have to wait as we have cruises booked right through to 2025 as well as land-based holidays with very little gaps to work with, the worry is that some of the future cruises will, without doubt struggle to match what we have experienced on the Quest

Booked yesterday at 08.17 via ta with first choice cabin 🙂

Thank you for the information, we had guessed that dining times would be about the same as the other lines we have cruised with ,however some take seatings up to and including 9.30 pm and as most of the evening trips are two hours we would be back onboard by 9.15

Hi , we are going on our first cruise with Azamara but are unable to find the hours for the main dining room on Quest, we want to book some evening trips while on board and they are mostly departing at 7 pm, so just trying to work out dining around these times, any help would be greatly received. Thanks.

On some of our other cruises the clocks were changed at 12 noon, far better as they were sea days, and you don't miss the time, we can live with it at 02.00 but the crew lose out

Our friends did the visit and loved it, also Concorde is sat next to it on the pier, and you can pay extra to go onboard it

Maths was never my strong point😄

We were docked on 92 which is four piers from the Intrepid

Not been on here for some months due to some members accusing me of Character assassination, been banal and having hidden innuendoes, as I stated then I would not comment on anything again but will answer any question about this subject only and as such this is a short review of Arcadia as she is at the moment. Firstly, it has to be accepted that she is twenty-two years old and after been on Iona it shows how things have changed in that time, decor is a little worn in places (mostly corridor and stair carpets) but she is still a fine ship and handled some rough weather very well although we did miss some ports. the onboard facilities are adequate with a few exceptions these been the lack of alternative eating venues (ocean grill opened with four days of the cruise left and no chance of getting a booking), merchandise in the shops been very limited, especially the men's department where only one rack was available the whole cruise and two thirds of that was taken up by dogs Barbour coats and the lack of certain drinks in bars. Food in the restaurant was good and the buffet was also sufficient, although it did get busy at peak times due to one section been closed. Staff, as always were exceptional and make the cruise for us, we had a couple of good guest speakers on board, unfortunately the artist Philip Gray could not get on the ship due to the changed itinerary, entertainment was varied and as always is down to personal choice, although it seemed top heavy with singing acts and geared to the demographic. Some things which were not so good were the coldness throughout the entire ship, not helped by leaving the retractable roof open (ajar) during most of the cruise, we left the crow's nest on numerous occasions as it was just too cold to sit in there even on formal nights when we had jackets on, other bars were just the same, a mention of the waiters in the crow's nest (or some of them) who must have been affected by the temperature as they were very unhelpful and less than friendly. We also felt the handling of the clock adjustment was handled poorly on the way home, three days running when it could have been spaced out, we had to lose an hour and instead of doing this at lunchtime it was performed at 2 am which meant the staff lost three hours sleep in three days which we felt was unfair on them. So, to sum up the ship is still in pretty good condition and appears to have plenty of life left in her, but the temperature really needs adjusting as it was just too cold to sit in most places (suspect this may relate to Covid prevention). Finally on the subject of Covid, mask wearing was mandatory for the first seven days and was relaxed to personal choice after that, but as so many people didn't comply in the first seven days it was inevitable what would happen and mask wearing became advised (daily by the captain) for the rest of the cruise, for those people that missed Boston, New York and subsequent ports due to getting Covid if you complied with the request than we are really sorry for you, if you were the selfish ones who didn't think it applied to them then you reap what you sow

Maybe we had a lucky escape with the Olive Grove after reading your post😄

I think the loyalty to P and O is very strong within a certain age and perhaps stems from peoples first cruise, which I suspect for most would have been with P and O, we are up to nearly twenty and the main reason to look elsewhere is the different Itinerary, not because of prices on board for services etc or cabin prices, we have always been happy with what we have received. I would say we have been and will continue to be loyal to the brand , but if you want to see places that P and O do not visit then you have to try alternatives, which we are increasingly doing, even though it means in most cases very long flights. We do enjoy the longer cruises which most other lines don't do out of England and overall they are good value , unable to comment on prices for solo travellers

Always book select but even we are starting to question it

Will be interesting to see what you make of MSC ,we have toyed with trying them for quite some time and have had mostly good reports, but as with everything also some not so good.

Sorry , I meant for MY mothers later years🙂

It did exist for her later years,🙂

Quite agree, my mother was widowed at 52 and lived alone for over 40 years and was housebound for the last ten years of her life, like lots of her generation she never asked for help, it did her no harm living without social media as she lived out a very fulfilled life until the last three months , while appreciating it may well be a lifeline to the generation now, in her time she managed perfectly well without it

I would agree with that to a point ,however taking into account the amount of negative comments on the P and O boards a number maybe ready to jump ship, no pun intended

Thank you ,that is kind , if had got the gist of the reply I would have understood better , I appreciate that everybody has differing views to everything and go out of my way to make sure that posts do not come across as personal 👍

Actually I am very, very, very easily pleased and to say I am beyond help because I do not like social media sites is a little insulting , something which I haven't and never will do to cc members, The point that appears to have been missed is that on a personal level the things you highlighted in your reply will not make getting through all of life's issues any easier to me, funny as they may be. As I have said many times on other posts ,each to there own

While the thread has appeared to help a great number of people , which is a positive thing that many obviously appreciate, it does feel at times like some other social media sites which I am not on or ever will be, my OH, who is on it ,shows me some of the banal and utter rubbish that gets posted which can't possible be of any support or help to anybody. Would any of that be useful to me during Covid, not at all, there have been far worse things to deal with in my life than that

On a Ventura cruise this year the ship was only 25% full and they still wanted an enormous amount of money ( £1500) to transfer to a balcony from inside , it was still the same quote with less than two weeks left of a five week cruise, our whole deck of balconies was empty, we had no intention of changing for the last two weeks as the best of the good weather was behind us , fully understand the price at the beginning of the cruise as it would upset people who have paid upfront for a balcony but with only two weeks left we were astonished

Megabear2 I would say you have been extremely lucky with your upgrades ,as have one or two others , when we naively started cruising we always ticked the upgrade box and never got anything, however with a bit of experience we soon learned of the possible pitfalls and now pick our cabin beforehand and stick with it , we have no problem been at the front and on the upper decks and as such we usually get the cabin of choice, only ever been offered an upgrade and that came at a cost of £600!!

Fine by me, might be easier to get a table now