Azura. P and o made decision for us re excursion

[Nextholiday?]

Well I asked for thoughts on whether bruge or blankenberge

 

Well went on Saturday, rough crossing and unable to dock at zeebrugge

 

Did not expect that in may :D

Edited May 12, 2014 by Nextholiday?

[tom_uk]

So basically you had to stay on-board for the whole 2 days?

 

I'm quite surprised - I hadn't ever thought of Zeebrugge as a port where it was difficult to dock. Exactly the opposite, in fact, with all the ferries slogging across the channel 24/7/365.

[Nextholiday?]

Hi :)

 

Yes, the first night was rough (I did not sleep), the captain said it would be, then on Sunday the captain advised early in the morning the port was closed, so we got there, turned around and came back

[tartanexile81]

When we did a short cruise in October, we couldn't get into Zeebrugge because of the weather so we went to Le Havre for two nights instead. We were really disappointed as we particularly chose the cruise as we'd never been to Bruges :o

[Nextholiday?]

It would have been nice if we could gone somewhere else :)

[Soaring17]

I was also on that cruise, I was disappointed like you but the decision wasn't taken lightly and was entirely safety driven was was explained to us. I felt quite sorry for the staff who were due time off but had to work instead....

[Nextholiday?]

I was also on that cruise, I was disappointed like you but the decision wasn't taken lightly and was entirely safety driven was was explained to us. I felt quite sorry for the staff who were due time off but had to work instead....

 

Oh yes not moaning just stating (as per my original smiley face at end of first post)

 

I said to my husband that the captain was great in keeping us informed, and being nervous when "choppy" this was greatly appreciated rather than not knowing what was going on :)

[P&O SUE]

Oh no! What a shame - we are due to go to Bruges in November - I hope the weather is ok then :eek:

 

Hope you enjoyed the break though?

[Nextholiday?]

Oh no! What a shame - we are due to go to Bruges in November - I hope the weather is ok then :eek:

 

Hope you enjoyed the break though?

 

I assume it was fluke weather?

 

I must admit I was worried the night it was rough so did not sleep :o but loved Verona, thought entertainment was great with lots of choice in the evening :)

Edited May 12, 2014 by Nextholiday?

[manateemike67]

I was also on this cruise as a first timer on P&O. I am very intrigued for your thoughts on the events or lack of events on Sunday.

 

I was disappointed we didn't dock, however if people had been listening during his muster station speech the Captain dropped the hint that the pilot might not get aboard.

 

My disgust, and shared by many fellow passengers, unprompted i might add, was the utter lack of events on Sunday. The Cruise Director announced an updated schedule. This consisted of a few more films, bingo moved from 8 to 4 and a quiz at 5. Where were the band, the singers, the performers.

 

They even dragged out Freddie again that evening to (and i quote an overheard conversation) "he did the same set, he could of mixed it up a bit".

On a positive note, the comedian was good and clean.

 

 

I apologise, i know realise im bordering thread hi jack, but you seem quite relaxed about it all. I paid £1000 for a surprise birthday present for my wife and child and received entertainment on a par with a caravan park not the respected P&O.

[manateemike67]

Hi :)

 

Yes, the first night was rough (I did not sleep), the captain said it would be, then on Sunday the captain advised early in the morning the port was closed, so we got there, turned around and came back

 

I would like to point out the port was not closed.

 

If you go to here you can see all the shipping movements that day. P&O docked their own car ferry that morning and two very large and very square cumbersome car transporters managed to dock that morning (admittedly two thirds the size of the Azura). I mention these because i heard the explanation was high winds pushing the side of the ship, which would have happened to the car transporters.

 

I understand P&O looking after their investment, and quite rightly so. I would just like a return of some of my investment in it for the shocking Sunday we had instead.

[manateemike67]

I assume it was fluke weather?

 

I must admit I was worried the night it was rough so did not sleep :o but loved Verona, thought entertainment was great with lots of choice in the evening :)

 

Oops missed your thoughts.

 

I must admit a disco, Freddie Mercury (repeated) and a karaoke were not my idea of a great choice, considering what i have witnessed before on other cruises.

 

Seems like i'm now picking on you....sorry not my intention.

[Nextholiday?]

I was also on this cruise as a first timer on P&O. I am very intrigued for your thoughts on the events or lack of events on Sunday.

 

I was disappointed we didn't dock, however if people had been listening during his muster station speech the Captain dropped the hint that the pilot might not get aboard.

 

My disgust, and shared by many fellow passengers, unprompted i might add, was the utter lack of events on Sunday. The Cruise Director announced an updated schedule. This consisted of a few more films, bingo moved from 8 to 4 and a quiz at 5. Where were the band, the singers, the performers.

 

They even dragged out Freddie again that evening to (and i quote an overheard conversation) "he did the same set, he could of mixed it up a bit".

On a positive note, the comedian was good and clean.

 

 

I apologise, i know realise im bordering thread hi jack, but you seem quite relaxed about it all. I paid £1000 for a surprise birthday present for my wife and child and received entertainment on a par with a caravan park not the respected P&O.

 

Hi :D

 

Mine was a birthday treat as well :)

 

When I was talking about the entertainment, it was more for the first night.

 

My husband did say he was surprised on Sunday there were no extra singers, or bands etc put on during the day which was a shame especially because it was not "outside" weather. A few other activities would have been nice but what?

 

We saw Freddie on the first night and thought he was very good. We went along because it said Gary Barlow so not sure what happened there. That is a shame the second night was the same.

 

I thought the bands and singers were very good. I saw the show in the theatre the first night, but missed the comedian.

 

It would be nice to get a small refund re not docking/lack of extra activities but I doubt that will happen.

 

:)

Edited May 13, 2014 by Nextholiday?

[Nikkipink]

Who was the comedian on this 2 nighter please?

[Nextholiday?]

Who was the comedian on this 2 nighter please?

 

Sorry I did not see him

[WATB]

Think he was called John Evans, he was funny too :-) The theatre was pretty much full and everyone seemed to be enjoying his show.

[Nextholiday?]

Sorry I did not see him

 

Hi

 

Just looked it up. Yes Jon evans :)

[Nikkipink]

Thanks for the info. I have seen John Evans on P&O and Cunard ships but not for some years - nice to know he is still about.

[Host Sharon]

It's not easy to go somewhere else at such short notice - P&O have to sort a berth, linesmen, pilots, customs clearance and last but not least - coaches and excursions for everyone. There are not many ports close to Zeebrugge than can take a ship as big as Azura.

 

It is also not a light decision to miss a port since they still have to pay costs. Wind is always going to be a problem the bigger the ships get as the huge side of the ship acts like a sail. Only last week in Southampton, QM2 had to use tugs all day to keep her safely close to the dockside in Ocean Terminal.

Edited May 13, 2014 by Host Sharon

[P&O SUE]

SO If I'm going to Zeebrugge on the Oriana does this mean we'll have more chance of docking? I already had my break to Amsterdam cancelled because of Aurora's re-fit !

[Dan3108]

We had to use tugs all day on this cruise at the weekend in Southampton for same reasons. We should have guessed from that just how heavy the winds were. Still had a very enjoyable weekend and will be looking to book a trans Atlantic next year.

 

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

[Denarius]

SO If I'm going to Zeebrugge on the Oriana does this mean we'll have more chance of docking? I already had my break to Amsterdam cancelled because of Aurora's re-fit !

 

I suspect that you will. Big "pile em high with cabins" ships like Azura were not really designed for ocean sailing in rough seas, they were mainly designed for more sheltered areas like the Caribbean and the Med. Oriana was designed with long distance cruising in mind and should cope much better.

[P&O SUE]

I suspect that you will. Big "pile em high with cabins" ships like Azura were not really designed for ocean sailing in rough seas, they were mainly designed for more sheltered areas like the Caribbean and the Med. Oriana was designed with long distance cruising in mind and should cope much better.

 

Thank you :D