Lanzalady

Thank you all so much for taking time to read and reply to my post. You have all helped a lot, one more question is the azure noticeably larger than the Serenade?

Yes! We sailed on the Azura this year and the Serenade last year and Azura seemed huge in comparison. Haven't been on the Independence of the Seas as it's not our type of ship. We like peace and quiet and places to sit and watch the sea and both Serenade and Azura gave us this. Cabins are very similar but preferred the aft cabin that we had on Azura as I like the way that the wardrobe area is out of the main room and doubles up as a dressing area. Preferred the glass shower door on Serenade to the ghastly shower curtain on Azura but both shower rooms were as tiny as the other. Breakfasts better on Serenade (crispy bacon and eggs cooked to order) but drinks and tips much cheaper on the Azura. Given the choice I'd probably choose Azura but only by a whisker.

Yes we were ripped off once. Cant remember where, but there were lots of market stalls set up near the ship. One of them was really lovely smellies.

I decided to purchase on of the soaps. The lady did not cut a slice of the soap on display, instead I was handed something wrapped up. It was soap, but mixed in with it was a piece of green scouring cloth, which I only discovered at home when I started using it.

Lesson learned and I never buy any smellies from anywhere now abroad, due to that persons underhandness

We were ripped off last year in Turkey, when we bought some so-called Turkish Delight from one of the market stalls around the port at Kusadasi. Most of the stalls were selling the same product, so we bought several boxes, only to find that the box was half-empty and the stuff that was actually in the box was not proper Turkish Delight but some type of jelly cubes. It was disgusting and we had to throw it all away. We met some other people on our cruise who had gone into town and bought some of the real stuff - gooey and scented with roses - just the way I like it. This was my only ever visit to Turkey and I doubt that I would bother going there again.

For Santorini, I agree with the suggestion that you take the cablecar up to Fira once you leave the tender. The steps where the donkeys walk up are thick with excrement and apart from being slippery, are very smelly. Take the bus into Oia as it's easy and cheap and you get to see some of the countryside at the same time. There are lots of excellent restaurants in Oia too, so you can relax, have a nice meal and watch the cruise ships down below in the caldera. For Ephesus, if you don't want to go on one of the ship's tours, then see whether there are other people on your roll-call, who might be interested in arranging a private tour there. We did that last year and were part of a group of 9 people, in a comfortable air-conditioned mini-bus with a guide and had a fantastic tour around the site without feeling herded or rushed. Word of warning about the so-called Turkish Delight that is being sold in the stalls around Kusadasi port. It's not proper Turkish Delight and the boxes are only half full. We bought several and had to throw them away as the contents were disgusting. Some of our shipmates told us that there was real Turkish Delight being sold away from the port that was cheaper and very delicious. Enjoy your cruise!

Well I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks that P & O needs to sort out their disembarkation procedure. We were on Azura for the Baltic cruise at the end of June and were allocated a disembarkation time of 10 - 10.15 a.m., which was a little later than we would have liked as we had friends picking us up from the port and wanted to spend a little time with them before beginning our long journey back to Lanzarote. Disembarkation was already running an hour late by 9 a.m. and you could see people below, walking through the glass tunnel one at a time it seemed. It was going to take forever to get off this ship! We were the last group to leave and were given the go ahead just after 11 a.m. and then shuffled forward with the crowd in a long line of passengers creeping slowly down to the luggage hall. There was chaos here and they had managed to lose my husband's suitcase in the short journey down from B deck. It was eventually found amongst a huge pile of unlabelled suitcases, as someone had managed to rip off the well-secured label (that had been stapled and encased in sticky backed plastic for extra strength). They must have thought that the loop was the handle of the suitcase and tried to carry it by the label. Such a lack of care with other people's belongings! Once our luggage had been retrieved, we joined the enormously long queue of people trying to leave the luggage hall through one small door. There were at least six different queues all filtering into one, eventually breaking out into the sunlight. What a shambles indeed! We cruised with Royal Caribbean last year and were off the ship within 10 minutes of our disembarkation time. And our suitcases were almost handed to us as we walked into the luggage area. No crowds, no fuss.

Have to say I find the most anti-social behaviour are folks who 'taste' the food on display with their fingers. I mentioned it once to a lady who was tasting the chips and her husband almost punched me' date=' he was so aggressive. Or the folk who fill their water bottles from the buffet water/juice dispenser. Don't they know about the Norwalk Virus and how easily it can spread.

 

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111 P&O cruises - 12 in the pipeline[/quote']

 

We were recently on the Azura and a woman in front of me stuck her water bottle under the nozzle of the water dispenser to refill it and as I am not known for my tact and diplomacy, I asked her politely if she could read the large notice stuck in front of her eyes, regarding not doing that. I mentioned that her bottle had probably been in her mouth and now it was touching the water nozzle. She scowled at me and told me to mind my own business and called me a silly old woman. I've never been called an old woman before as I've only just hit 65 (but really I'm still 27)!

We returned from our Baltic cruise on Azura 2 weeks ago. We had been given an embarkation time of 2 p.m. but as we had to be out of our hotel by midday, we just checked out, got a taxi and arrived at the port at around 12 o'clock. Our bags were whisked out of our hands and we were sent into the hall and handed cards with a "P" on them. We filled in our health declarations and waited about 10 minutes until the P's were called and suddenly we were on board! The system was organised and the queue constantly moving. There was no reference to the time that we had been allocated - they just kept on processing the people who were actually there. By 12.45 we were sitting in the Verona buffet, having lunch. The cabins were ready at exactly 2 p.m. as we had been informed previously. As there was no back-up of people waiting to embark, the system was either very efficient or quite a few passengers who had been given an earlier embarkation time, were still travelling down from wherever they lived. Imagine if we had waited until 2 p.m. We could have arrived just when all those late arrivals of the earlier embarkation times were arriving too!

P & O need to sort out their disembarkation process though as that was a total shambles. We had been given a time of 10.00 - 10.10 a.m. but didn't manage to get off the ship until almost 11 a.m. We were all waiting in our allocated place but the speed that people were leaving the ship was one by one. We were the last group to go and by this time, we were almost an hour later than scheduled and we had people waiting to pick us up outside the terminal. Once we finally disembarked the ship, we realised that the delay was in the terminal building. There were thousands of people trying to leave the baggage shed with their luggage through ONE DOOR! There were several queues of people shuffling along and joining one central queue of passengers trying to get out. What a shambles! Just as well there were no emergencies! Comparing this to our 2014 Eastern Mediterranean cruise with Royal Caribbean from Barcelona, where we were given a disembarkation time of 06.15h, walked off the ship and had our luggage come down a chute into our hands and were outside the terminal in 5 minutes. Now that was efficient! It's true that RCI start disembarking early but they also start embarking early. We were on board by 11 a.m.

My husband and I were on the Azura Baltic cruise on the 20th June. We had been sent an embarkation time of 2 p.m. but as we had to be out of our hotel by midday, we just checked out and got a taxi and arrived at the port at around 12 o'clock. Our bags were whisked out of our hands and we were sent into the hall and handed cards with a "P" on them. We filled in our health declarations and waited about 10 minutes until the P's were called and suddenly we were on board! The system was organised and the queue constantly moving. There was no reference to the time that we had been allocated - they just kept on processing the people who were actually there. By 12.45 we were sitting in the Verona buffet, having lunch. The cabins were ready at exactly 2 p.m. as we had been informed previously. Great embarkation! Shame about the chaotic disembarkation at the end of our cruise - but that was down to the port authorities only having 1 door to funnel out all the passengers and their luggage from the baggage hall. What a shambles!

Well, each to his own, as they say! My husband and I don't like being tied down to set meal-times and also prefer to keep to our own company over dinner. We eat out at least once a week and as my husband says, we wouldn't imagine having to share a table with strangers when we dine out in an a la carte restaurant in our own town (despite it being a popular tourist area), so why would we want to have to share a table with total strangers when we go on a cruise? And as other posters have commented above, you have to sit down at the same time and eat at the same pace or you will upset the rest of the table. If we were to meet some people during the course of the cruise, with whom we felt we would enjoy spending an evening, then we could easily request for a table for 4 at the hour of our choosing, when we go down to dinner in the freedom dining room. Communal dining reminds me of school dinners, regardless of the dressing up involved.

I'm just amazed at the energy some people put in to having a horrible holiday experience. You get out of life what you put into it!

Thanks for the update on Azura. I'm looking forward to seeing the changes for myself - less than 7 weeks to go! Pity that they changed the shower curtains for more shower curtains, I was hoping that maybe they would modernise a bit and put shower doors on instead. There's nothing more disagreeable than shower curtains sticking to your legs in such a confined space. Still, I'm sure that I'll manage!

Sailed out of sight now.

Yes. She's finally edging her way out of the dock! About halfway now with just one tug behind her and a couple of others lurking around further out. Fantastic! :)

No. We're back again on air and there is quite a bit of activity going on now with 2 or 3 tugs lurking about. It's too dark to see much and the lights are pretty bright around the ship but hopefully something will happen soon.

Well at 1.30 a.m. there seemed to be something happening as a tug came along, soon joined by another tug and they stopped outside Azura's dry dock. Then a third tug came down and seemed to be joining them and then the webcam decided to get stuck looking in the opposite direction. It's still working as the cars can be seen driving along but the camera stays looking the wrong way! :mad::( So it's bedtime now I suppose.

Thanks for the information. My husband and I are flying into Gatwick from Lanzarote and were concerned about how to get down to Southampton on a Friday night in June for the start of our cruise the following day. We have booked seats on a National Express coach leaving Gatwick at 18.30h and getting into Southampton at 21.05h and also booked a room at the Premier Inn West Quay for the night before we sail (£91.50 including breakfast) so we seem to be doing it right. Can't wait!

Maybe we should set up a P & O Aft Club!

We booked our first aft balcony on Azura this winter; from memory I think it was B749. We loved it. The balcony was slighter larger than usual as it curved around the stern. Also as it was the last cabin along the corridor, there was no footflow of any other passengers. We almost felt like we had the ship to ourselves as it was so quiet in the corridor approach. We would book that cabin again in a heartbeat.

That's great to know as we have cabin B749 booked for our Baltic cruise on the Azura in June and any information on it will be gratefully received! Do you have any photos of the cabin that you could put up here? We love relaxing on our balcony on sea days and as we have 4 of them on this cruise, we hope that our aft cabin will prove to be a fantastic haven away from the crowds. Well you can't get any further away from them without dangling of the stern into the sea, that's for sure!

Does anyone have any comments to make about the aft cabins on Azura? We shall be cruising the Baltics on her in June and we have booked aft cabin B749 as we enjoy watching the wake. I'm a bit concerned now about the possible soot and the noise and vibrations of the bow thruster. Anyone?

Hi LanzaLady, When are you going in June? We are on Azura 1st June for Canaries...lol our honeymoon! Have never done a P & O cruise before.

Hi Cruisejunkie, This is our first P & O cruise too and we will be cruising the Baltics on the Azura from 20th June. We live in the Canaries (Lanzarote) and know all the islands and I'm sure that you'll have a wonderful time. And June is the best weather as it's not too hot. Have a great wedding and a wonderful cruise!

Whilst my hubby and I are not obsessed with rushing out and laying in the sun every time that it shines a little, we might like to relax for a while in the late afternoon or after a port visit. We would prefer to do this on our own balcony rather than go to the noisy pool area or where there are lots of children running about. Why don't all balcony cabins come with proper recliners at least? I'm sure that there are many people like us who just want to enjoy relaxing and gazing at the ocean in the peace and quiet of our own private area but the chair that we usually find on the balcony is just not suitable for anything but sitting. We are cruising on Azura in June and would be interested in knowing what terrace furniture we are going to find on our balcony. Anyone?

I'm so glad to hear that the beds on Azura are really comfortable. We'll be sleeping on one in June and counting the days! Any other information or tips would be gratefully received.

Each if us have our own personal views, preferences and are quite entitled to voice them. However it does get a bit boring to view so many gripes about quite minor things. The sharing of useful information should be uppermost on this forum unless of course there are serious and major issues. ?

 

I would say please consider how lucky we all are to have the financial means and physical ability to enjoy what cruising offers - the list is endless and varied. There are many who would so love to have a holiday let alone a cruise.

 

I appreciate so much every day of good health (having had some health worries in the past) I also value the fact that we can afford to cruise. (Endured some hard financial times years ago). So life is too short to waste time and thoughts with so much negativity which can really rub off on others and make you miserable.

 

Lots of smileys to share with all us lucky cruisers

:):);):p

Thank you for your positive comment sunny seas!

I too, am grateful for many things and also for the fact that I have a wonderful holiday to look forward to when my husband and I cruise away to the Baltics on the Azura in June 2015. I think that everyone enjoys things in different ways and some people look for problems where there are none. Alcohol can also be a factor in the lack of enjoyment of some people. Too much booze causes problems for the drinker and the recipients of the drinker's temper when things don't go his or her way. I consider myself a positive person and prefer to see the positive in things rather than the negative and I can't wait to board the Azura and start enjoying my holiday. I know that I'll have a great time!

Hi Ayasha,

Thanks for your wonderful review. It took me back to that wonderful cruise on the Serenade of the Seas in June, which seems such a long time ago now!

It was great meeting you and maybe we'll meet again on another cruise sometime! All the best to you and your family.

Margaret and Geoff xx

Originally Posted by Tink78

Hi everyone, have just booked our first cruise with P&O after deciding not to return to Royal Caribbean. We'll we went all out and booked balcony cabins aboard the Azura for two weeks staring Boxing Day 2015 round the Eastern Caribbean! Can't wait for New Years Eve! So first time with P&O and first time to the Caribbean. Looking forward to reading all about P&O cruises :)

Hi Tink.

My hubby and I are doing the same thing! We were on the Serenade of the Seas in June and were lucky enough not to have many children on board, so were not affected by the usual chaos that school holidays bring. But whilst we had a wonderful cruise around the Eastern Mediterranean, we found the overwhelming Americanism around the ship (I know that it's an American company but we were sailing within Europe!) did our heads in in the end. The constant pushing of products and services and the ludicrously high prices of everything, made us stay out of the bars etc. and stick to enjoying our balcony cabin and the gorgeous ocean just outside it. The food was OK but again, very American and generally lacking in anything healthy - like vegetables. You could tell that many of the passengers ate nothing but burgers and fries!

So we have now booked our first P and O cruise on the Azura for June 2015 and will be cruising the Baltics. The idea of a cruise aimed at the British market appeals to us and although we are not the "stiff-upper-lip, let's get dressed up for dinner" types, we are looking forward to having tea-making facilities in our cabin. We are keeping an open mind and hoping that P and O will suit our personalities. If they do, we´ll be back again for another one!

Enjoy your cruise!

Give the tip to the person who brings the food, so that you know that you are tipping the person who actually attended you.