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Festive scenes tonight in Funchal -

They are - we spent a month down here last year over Christmas and the New Year and we took a stroll out most evenings to see them. But the best were in December 2020 in the midst of… when we got down here for a couple of weeks, and then the display down the jetty that sticks out was fabulous.

Perhaps I am just luckier than you…

It was always in the small print on the advertising poster at the venue, but it has probably been added to the app to counter the ‘book and don’t turn up’ brigade who then moaned about the charge - which given the origin of your screenshot is pretty likely.

A410C - £1,399pp for 19 nights for a balcony cabin, so £73pppn - and that includes flights to Tenerife and back from Malta, so realistically the cruise part itself is around £60pppn.

Yes, there is a charge made if you don’t cancel any of the pay restaurants other than the Glass House with more than 24 hours notice, but that has been the case for aged.

Well it’s been a glorious day here in Funchal at a very pleasant 25c with a slight breeze to keep the heat down. As it is a 9.30pm sailing then off for a stroll these evening for the Christmas lights.

It has been a glorious 25c here in Funchal today, so I certainly hope so.

Occasionally Select are actually cheaper than Saver due to the OBC.

Yes. The explanation given to me was that due to the ship effectively being based there for a long period then it fell under the visa rules controlled by Malta / Greece and those required longer contacts for the crew from some countries to be eligible for visas (11 months was mentioned) - and the issue was that crew preferred to be on shorter contracts which were available on other ships and other lines. Hence it being an Azura specific issue.

It is - but having stayed in many for work over the years I think Premier Inn delivers a damn good product, and a far far better product than many independent hotels. Calling something a Premier Inn is praise, not an insult.

A Premier Inn price is fine for a Premier Inn, but if you choose to pay Hilton prices but book a Premier Inn… It goes to the other topic of why pay for a suite when you get very little extra for that huge extra cost.

No, the people buying the overpriced drinks packages (or the overpriced drinks or the overpriced internet or the overpriced spa, etc.) are the people subsidising my cruise!

That isn’t the usual meaning. Anyway take your pick - - P&O have messed up the crewing of Azura and not the other ships; or - There is an issue caused by the schedule of cruises that Azura is running that doesn’t impact the other ships which are not doing those month on end loops from Malta.

But the prices are not even a fraction that Premier Inn charge! Deduct the cost of the flights from my current cruise to the Canary Islands and they are charging £70 per night for a couple - AND that includes three or more meals a day - so deduct the cost of those and it would be like Premier Inn paying you to stay!

A few extracts from the current menus -

It certainly isn’t. There were men in the Planet Bar last night just wearing an open collar shirt with trousers, no jacket or tie - and no issue at all with the staff on the door or getting served. But… they were smart open collar shirts, and frankly looked a lot more presentable than many wearing old badly fitting DJs.

They said they are trying, but they can only switch those crew members with the visas and that they had the length of contract left that made it worthwhile. However since you put the word visa in inverted commas then you have clearly already made up your mind about this.

Good. Nor me, but primarily because I wouldn’t dream of bringing a jumper of any sort on a fly-cruise to the Canary Islands.

So time then to abandon all dress restrictions, formal nights, etc. Although having been on an NCL ship in their ‘posh’ French restaurant sat next to people who thought that wearing baseball caps, ‘wife-beater’ vests, and shorts, as ‘smart-casual’ on an evening then I am not sure it is a good idea.

Then perhaps they have been better at sorting out visas for their crew. The issue isn’t that it is impossible, just more restrictive.

As an observation from Azura’s formal night last night (and the ‘proper’ one not the silly Christmas jumper one) is that ties now seem to be optional as no challenge going into the MDR, Planet Bar, or the Blue Bar simply wearing a jacket - no questions at all from the host on the restaurant desk or the ‘bouncers’ on the bar doors.

I can post some later once I get back onboard Azura, but the prices do seem to have snuck up a bit recently - and the impact it seems to have had is fewer people in the Planet Bar drinking than in the past but no difference in Brodies where it is still rammed full.

Malta and Greece was what I was told. And so do NCL or RC have a ship doing ‘loop the loops’ for months on end from Greece?

Do they have a ship doing the same ‘loop the loop’ from Malta for months on end?