Azura - Med Cruise - the highs and lows

[picsa]

1 hour ago, davecttr said:

Om my last Iona cruise once I realised I could access my account on the in cabin TV 🙂

Unfortunately the TVs on Azura are ancient relics. 

[terrierjohn]

5 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I must confess that, as a glasses wearer, I really struggled with masks and always felt very sorry for those trying to perform a job wearing them. 

I found that, presumably due to the heat, there was very little condensation, so mask wearing was not a major problem.

[Megabear2]

4 hours ago, wowzz said:

I think it very much depends on the airline. We flew to Barcelona and returned from Athens on BA a few weeks ago, and mask wearing was not compulsory. I'd say no more than 10% of the passengers wore masks.

Cabin crew on the Barcelona sector were masked, unmasked on the Athens flight.

My flights were BA masks required both ways.

 

Today's debacle: at Gatwick but Easyjet overbooked us so not on the flight.  Currently waiting for hotel and rebooking hopefully for tomorrow.  At least the ship doesn't sail until later in the week ... never using Imagine again, they don't give a damn about their customers.

[Denarius]

22 hours ago, Grandad John said:

Thanks Picsa, that at least is reassuring, however Moleys assertion that supply issues affecting the availability of speciality restaurants being down to U.K based ships tends to lose all credence, how long has Azura been based out of Malta?

A few years ago I dined with the officer responsible for provisioning on a P&O ship and was surprised to be told that most of the provisions were loaded in the UK, even if the ship was to be based in an overseas port. If this is still the case, then Moleys assertation rings true.

[picsa]

25 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Today's debacle: at Gatwick but Easyjet overbooked us so not on the flight.  Currently waiting for hotel and rebooking hopefully for tomorrow.  At least the ship doesn't sail until later in the week ... never using Imagine again, they don't give a damn about their customers.

But the denied boarding compensation will sweeten it a little. 
 

Anyway next time book Ryanair - for all their faults they don’t deliberately overbook flights like EasyJet do, so never deny boarding because of greedy overboooking. 

[wowzz]

22 minutes ago, Denarius said:

A few years ago I dined with the officer responsible for provisioning on a P&O ship and was surprised to be told that most of the provisions were loaded in the UK, even if the ship was to be based in an overseas port. If this is still the case, then Moleys assertation rings true.

As Azura no longer visits the UK, supplies cannot be loaded in Southampton.

[terrierjohn]

4 minutes ago, wowzz said:

As Azura no longer visits the UK, supplies cannot be loaded in Southampton.

I believe, like Caribbean fly cruises, that most of Azuras provisions are shipped from the UK to Malta.

[wowzz]

3 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I believe, like Caribbean fly cruises, that most of Azuras provisions are shipped from the UK to Malta.

That was my understanding as well. So if there are shortages in the UK, there will be shortages on ships based abroad. 

A certain amount can be sourced locally, but at a significant oncost.

[awmartin]

Left Azura on 23rd June after 7 nights to Greek islands,Mykonos cancelled due to high winds. This was our 5th time on Azura and she is looking a bit tired in places but not too bad. We found that some of the crew especially the bar staff and waiters did not seem to have the same “bounce” they looked like every task was a chore and did not want to be there. The holiday app did not work in our cabin

( B deck midship ) but worked in Reception area. Just one message to those joining Azura to pay attention to your on board account, there were several people we know of that had extras added to their bills, one guy had 4 bottles of champagne in 1 day when he was on a tour of Athens. On returning home I also found a charge of £40 added a day after we left the ship, this is now being investigated by Carnival accounts.

[wowzz]

On 6/27/2022 at 3:13 PM, Megabear2 said:

My flights were BA masks required both ways

Given that no one wore masks in the airports,  or on the buses,  no one  bothered wearing masks on the aircraft. 

 

[Megabear2]

34 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Given that no one wore masks in the airports,  or on the buses,  no one  bothered wearing masks on the aircraft. 

 

Did seem fruitless but the crew stated no masks no flight which geed everyone up.  It had to be KN92 as well.

 

Nothing required on Easyjet flight but transpired that it wasn't an easyjet plane today but a leased one. 

[wowzz]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Did seem fruitless but the crew stated no masks no flight which geed everyone up.  It had to be KN92 as well.

Does seem strange - on our BA flight to BCN, there was an announcement that masks should be worn,  and everyone totally ignored it. I guess the cc decided that  the odds were against them ! 

[wowzz]

54 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Did seem fruitless but the crew stated no masks no flight which geed everyone up.  It had to be KN92 as well.

 

Nothing required on Easyjet flight but transpired that it wasn't an easyjet plane today but a leased one. 

Very strange,  unless the flight was to/from Italy.  

I just think that nowadays,  who cares ?

Yes, there are issues for people such as Harry and his wife,  which are not easy  to  solve,  but otherwise just get rid of masks,  quarantine cabins etc. 

[Fionboard]

Funny that we were all issued with masks night before arrival in LA Spezia. Coming out of terminal, policeman said "take that off, you do not need it here"! Just the ship covering itself probably.

[picsa]

Well back from my two weeks on Azura bobbing about in the med and my final thoughts are -

 

Because the Azura cruises are effectively a series of one week 'back to backs' with some staying for a week and some staying for those two weeks and some staying for the other two weeks (and some staying for three or more) then with the lack of staff to operate the restaurants the availability to book in the Beach House might be possible for next week, but not this. Eventually Sindhu opened for the second week for a few bookings; but then instantly sold out for the whole week, but Epicurean remained closed for the entire time with no sign of opening.

 

I have no idea of the exact numbers who were on Azura, but it certainly wasn't busy. In the MDR you looked out at a sea of empty tables on the 8.30 sitting, never and issue getting a table in the cafeteria, never an issue getting a seat in any bar or the theatre, no queues to get on board, to get on shuttle busses or tenders, etc.

 

It seemed that almost everyone I spoke to this was that this was their first time on a cruise - part of the reason being the absurdly low prices that P&O were selling these Azura cruises fly cruises at, and partly because it seemed people were looking to book package holidays rather than independently booking flights and accommodation due to the airline chaos and the lingering uncertainty with the pandemic.

 

It also seems that an awful lot of the traditional cruisers haven't returned yet, although I did have the misfortune to be sat in the MDR near a 'Hyacinth and Richard' where every meal it was "It's not like it used to be" with him nodding in silence.

 

The staff are as they ever were; hard working and glad to be back working again.

 

Entertainment - you may have seen the Headliner's shows before, but they are performed well. The other acts were a bit hit and miss, but then they always were.

 

Azura is starting to show its age  with the cabins looking a bit dated in comparison to the new ships (the new cruisers were just laughing at the tiny pointless TVs in the cabins), and the lack of money being spent on replacing aging furnishings - the seating on the promenade deck was rather dirty and tired. 

 

And given the current circumstances P&O seem desperate to be nice - an incredible example of this was that two people traveling independently into Rome and not on a ship's tour missed their connection and were going arrive back into Civitavecchia almost an hour after the ship had sailed for Valetta. The Captain decided to delay the departure and wait for them.

 

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, picsa said:

Well back from my two weeks on Azura bobbing about in the med and my final thoughts are -

 

Because the Azura cruises are effectively a series of one week 'back to backs' with some staying for a week and some staying for those two weeks and some staying for the other two weeks (and some staying for three or more) then with the lack of staff to operate the restaurants the availability to book in the Beach House might be possible for next week, but not this. Eventually Sindhu opened for the second week for a few bookings; but then instantly sold out for the whole week, but Epicurean remained closed for the entire time with no sign of opening.

 

I have no idea of the exact numbers who were on Azura, but it certainly wasn't busy. In the MDR you looked out at a sea of empty tables on the 8.30 sitting, never and issue getting a table in the cafeteria, never an issue getting a seat in any bar or the theatre, no queues to get on board, to get on shuttle busses or tenders, etc.

 

It seemed that almost everyone I spoke to this was that this was their first time on a cruise - part of the reason being the absurdly low prices that P&O were selling these Azura cruises fly cruises at, and partly because it seemed people were looking to book package holidays rather than independently booking flights and accommodation due to the airline chaos and the lingering uncertainty with the pandemic.

 

It also seems that an awful lot of the traditional cruisers haven't returned yet, although I did have the misfortune to be sat in the MDR near a 'Hyacinth and Richard' where every meal it was "It's not like it used to be" with him nodding in silence.

 

The staff are as they ever were; hard working and glad to be back working again.

 

Entertainment - you may have seen the Headliner's shows before, but they are performed well. The other acts were a bit hit and miss, but then they always were.

 

Azura is starting to show its age  with the cabins looking a bit dated in comparison to the new ships (the new cruisers were just laughing at the tiny pointless TVs in the cabins), and the lack of money being spent on replacing aging furnishings - the seating on the promenade deck was rather dirty and tired. 

 

And given the current circumstances P&O seem desperate to be nice - an incredible example of this was that two people traveling independently into Rome and not on a ship's tour missed their connection and were going arrive back into Civitavecchia almost an hour after the ship had sailed for Valetta. The Captain decided to delay the departure and wait for them.

 

Thanks for your final review.

We are booked on Azura, for the first time, next March, for 20 days. 

After reading your comments about the ship showing its' age, we are beginning to wonder if we should cancel, especially as we have been spoilt by having two recent cruises on immaculate Princess ships.

As far as I can see, Azura is not due a refit anytime soon, so over the next few months her general condition can only deteriorate further. 

Time perhaps to review our options.  

. 

[Gettingwarmer]

23 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Thanks for your final review.

We are booked on Azura, for the first time, next March, for 20 days. 

After reading your comments about the ship showing its' age, we are beginning to wonder if we should cancel, especially as we have been spoilt by having two recent cruises on immaculate Princess ships.

As far as I can see, Azura is not due a refit anytime soon, so over the next few months her general condition can only deteriorate further. 

Time perhaps to review our options.  

. 

We are not due on till 2024 but like you have had some recent cruises on Princess with up to date services. Azura really needs to be looked at as her cabins and infrastructure needs modernisation. 

[picsa]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

Thanks for your final review.

We are booked on Azura, for the first time, next March, for 20 days. 

After reading your comments about the ship showing its' age, we are beginning to wonder if we should cancel, especially as we have been spoilt by having two recent cruises on immaculate Princess ships.

As far as I can see, Azura is not due a refit anytime soon, so over the next few months her general condition can only deteriorate further. 

Time perhaps to review our options.  

. 

 

For the price I paid and the cruise I did it was fine, but...

 

Would I want to do an cruise where there are lots of sea days and watching something on tv in the cabin would be nice - nope, I want a nice big flat screen tv like Iona (and all the other modern ships).

 

Would it be nice to watch a film in a proper cinema rather than the pathetic 'sea screen' - too right it would.

 

Can I deal with the 1980's style cabin furniture - well I don't spend a lot of time there so it's OK, but it is rather dated; and shower curtains, good god I can't remember the last time I had to deal with a shower curtain.

 

Would it be nice to have outside chairs that aren't grubby and ripped - yes it would be.

 

Would it be nice for the public areas to have clean carpets and not have handrails and door thresholds fixed with bits of tape - yes it would be.

 

The Azura is no 'rust bucket' but it isn't going to get anyone going 'wow, look at that'. 

 

So for a 20 day cruise... not for me.

[Snow Hill]

Azura was the first cruise we took with P&O in 2011, it seemed to us then to be a big ship. We next went on it in 2019 on a cruise in the Norwegian Fjords, it was starting to look dated then and need some TLC in some areas, the cabins were pleasant enough, although we had to get the balcony chairs changed as they were not safe to sit on. The TV didn’t work the first week, finally someone fixed it early in the second week. It sounds like nothing has been done to the ship since then 

[wowzz]

5 hours ago, picsa said:

 

For the price I paid and the cruise I did it was fine, but...

 

Would I want to do an cruise where there are lots of sea days and watching something on tv in the cabin would be nice - nope, I want a nice big flat screen tv like Iona (and all the other modern ships).

 

Would it be nice to watch a film in a proper cinema rather than the pathetic 'sea screen' - too right it would.

 

Can I deal with the 1980's style cabin furniture - well I don't spend a lot of time there so it's OK, but it is rather dated; and shower curtains, good god I can't remember the last time I had to deal with a shower curtain.

 

Would it be nice to have outside chairs that aren't grubby and ripped - yes it would be.

 

Would it be nice for the public areas to have clean carpets and not have handrails and door thresholds fixed with bits of tape - yes it would be.

 

The Azura is no 'rust bucket' but it isn't going to get anyone going 'wow, look at that'. 

 

So for a 20 day cruise... not for me.

Thank you for your comments.  We have a great price for the 20 day repo cruise to Malta, but I'm beginning to think that the downsides outweigh the cheap price.

A Princess cruise in April is starting to look more appealing.

[terrierjohn]

Just now, wowzz said:

Thank you for your comments.  We have a great price for the 20 day repo cruise to Malta, but I'm beginning to think that the downsides outweigh the cheap price.

A Princess cruise in April is starting to look more appealing.

Do Princess start their European schedules in April, most US ships still seem to be sailing the Caribbean until well into April.

[wowzz]

7 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Do Princess start their European schedules in April, most US ships still seem to be sailing the Caribbean until well into April.

14 days on Sky Sky Princess (lovely ship) leaving Southampton on April 1st. 

[wowzz]

24 minutes ago, wowzz said:

14 days on Sky Sky Princess (lovely ship) leaving Southampton on April 1st. 

Just to add, that the Sky minisuite cost, including Princess Plus,  is about £800 more than our Azura cruise (including flights, to be fair). 

So, the dilemma is this:  20 days on a ship showing wear and tear, plus having to pay for drinks, or 14 days in a minisuite on a ship we like,  with drinks included. Both cruises are offering similar obc.

Given the various reviews abiut Azura, I'm tending towards sacrificing our £200 Azura deposit and switching to Princess.

Mrs W was less than impressed by the state of Arcadia in March this year - by the sound if it,  she will be less than impressed by Azura as well.

All views welcome! 

[emam]

29 minutes ago, wowzz said:

Just to add, that the Sky minisuite cost, including Princess Plus,  is about £800 more than our Azura cruise (including flights, to be fair). 

So, the dilemma is this:  20 days on a ship showing wear and tear, plus having to pay for drinks, or 14 days in a minisuite on a ship we like,  with drinks included. Both cruises are offering similar obc.

Given the various reviews abiut Azura, I'm tending towards sacrificing our £200 Azura deposit and switching to Princess.

Mrs W was less than impressed by the state of Arcadia in March this year - by the sound if it,  she will be less than impressed by Azura as well.

All views welcome! 

 

Sky: In your position I would go for it.

[gsmt47471015]

We have five cruises booked with P and O up to 2024 ,three are catch ups that were cancelled of which one is 65 nights and the other 99 nights all on various ships , just beginning to wonder what condition they will all be in when we get on after reading some of these latest reviews, we do have an Azamara coming up and recently been on HAL so the comparisons could be quite alarming🤔