Our Thoughts on Azura, Then and Now.

[gsmt47471015]

Having just returned from a two week Med cruise on Azura, these are our thoughts .

We last sailed on her in 2018 and although she has had some refurbishment and various colour scheme changes in places, the layout was vary familiar and we soon found our way around.

Check in at Malta was swift ,we were onboard by 1300 and our cabin was ready for us, a quick drink and bite to eat and out for a wander around .

First impressions were that the ship appeared busy but staff were doing a good job of guiding incoming passengers to muster station registration and helping people find their way around.

Back on board ,luggage delivered to cabin , shower ,change and down to the Meridian for evening meal, and managed to get a table for two without a pager and by and large the meal was good, all good so far but the recurring theme was the luke warm vegetables and the choices were less than before and smaller portions.

Next day was a sea day and then it hit us just how busy the ship was, trying to get a sunbed after 10 am , pah dream on ,eventually found two near the outdoor cinema upper deck but crammed in like sardines, next stop buffet, are you kidding, not a seat to be had anywhere (we never go in before 10am to avoid the rush) ,in time we blagged a table and ate around 10.45 ,food choice has decreased considerably and has been mentioned before, no trays, forward planning needed to make sure you don't have multiple trips to the counter , waited until 14.15 to go for lunch and ended up in another free for all with tables etc ,food choice again very limited .Back outside and cinema now in full swing and so many people in such a tight space made it pretty awkward to concentrate on reading.

Decided to try the Meridian again for evening meal , pager required for table for two ,no worries Question, when is a table for two not a table for two? Answer when ten are lined up side by side so close you could converse with nearly all the other diners, vegetable's once again sparingly and not overly hot with only one different main from the previous evening.

All  the ports we visited were excellent and getting on and off the ship was fairly easy considering how many folk were on her, ate out every lunchtime as couldn't face the limited and monotonous choice in the buffet, however on one sea day we ate in the restaurant but again the choices were so pro vegetarian / vegan/gluton free we , me in particular, struggled to find anything we would like , and once again sat in a line of ten two seat tables.

We booked the Beach house as we always enjoy the food there ,however the cover charge has increased and the menu has changed to a more spicy Mexica/Caribbean theme with some of the popular deserts removed ,so not quite as we expected ( perhaps we should have taken a look at the menu before booking).

We ate mostly in the Glasshouse and this was one area of the ship that felt just as it used to ,friendly ,good value and well staffed with excellent service and good choices of HOT food, it did get busier the longer the cruise went on but we always managed to get a table.

So as for Azura how is she looking?  For her age pretty good but if you look hard enough there are signs of wear and tear, the plumbing has a mind of its own and the most awful raw sewage smell is often present on the open decks at times

The biggest difference we noted from 2018 is the clientele , its a while since we did a cruise without it been adults only and we now know why, the behaviour of some kids was unacceptable ,one group had to be told by another guest to stop jumping in the aft pool even though their mother was filming them with the no jumping or diving sign right in front of them, they were not overly impressed at been asked to stop, next day they were in the main pool as we sat and had a drink at breakers bar ,jumping, diving ,throwing towels in and there is mother filming them again under the no jumping /diving signs ,lo and behold two of her party join her and they all start throwing themselves in repeatedly, staff did nothing to stop it.

A lad with his mother and another lady attempted to access the meridian wearing shorts, the maitre d informed him it was smart casual evening and he would have to change to enter , he agitated that his shorts were smart casual and would not give in but neither would the maitre d, his mother stood like a wet lettuce and let him give the staff grief before he stomped off to get changed, people clicking fingers at staff to get there attention in bars and in one case whistling at them , it is so embarrassing, in most cases the staff are more educated than those they are asked to serve and better mannered.

In closing its fair to say that a vast amount of people on this cruise were first timers ,more so in the first week and this was evident as the Baltic/Ligurian lunch had just 18 of us.

Will we sail on Azura again? current thinking is no ,same with the other big ships if the type of passengers who are the target for P and O are as we witnessed in the first week, the difference in our recent 65nighter on Aurora and 14nights on Azura are like chalk and cheese, World cruise next and then we will see if standards have slipped on Arcadia .

These are just our personal observations and thoughts ,others will have a different view so please don't shoot the messenger    

[Ilovemygarden]

Gsmt - did you have to book for the Glasshouse - if so via the app or in person?  They keep changing this.

[gsmt47471015]

2 minutes ago, Ilovemygarden said:

Gsmt - did you have to book for the Glasshouse - if so via the app or in person?  They keep changing this.

No we did not book at all , in fact I don't think you could but don't hold me to it

[Ilovemygarden]

1 minute ago, gsmt47471015 said:

No we did not book at all , in fact I don't think you could but don't hold me to it

Thanks - when I was onboard in February you did have to book at the venue but they’ll probably have changed it back again next time! 
I have to agree with a lot of your observations but I go back because -

1 - it’s a good ship for solos and

2 - I can get a local flight.

[gsmt47471015]

1 hour ago, Ilovemygarden said:

Thanks - when I was onboard in February you did have to book at the venue but they’ll probably have changed it back again next time! 
I have to agree with a lot of your observations but I go back because -

1 - it’s a good ship for solos and

2 - I can get a local flight.

Horses for courses ,and if it works in your favour why would you not go?

[Red Ray]

Agree completely with the point about far too many vegetarian/vegan/gluten free choices on the menu. The majority are being penalised.

[Waju]

We all like cheaper holidays (well we do 😉) but it would appear that with lower prices comes passengers that I don't want to share my holidays with.  We have seen this behaviour on the bigger ships and it isn't nice.

 

Our recent Aurora cruise was fine, everyone was very well behaved.

 

It seems that if you want a peaceful holiday you have to pay a bit more for it sadly.

[poorer]

Was this cruise over the school holidays ?

We are going in September so hoping it will be quieter.

[gsmt47471015]

1 minute ago, poorer said:

Was this cruise over the school holidays ?

We are going in September so hoping it will be quieter.

No it wasn't,  at least not from our part of the country ,we never book when schools are out so unless holidays are timed differently in other parts we were at a loss why there were so many in the first week especially

[Thejuggler]

Issues around crowding on sea days demonstrate the low space per passenger on the Grand class ships with the extra deck of cabins.

[Ladyshopper23]

53 minutes ago, Red Ray said:

Agree completely with the point about far too many vegetarian/vegan/gluten free choices on the menu. The majority are being penalised.

You do realise that anybody can eat vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options? I'm sure there were meat and fish options too on the menus you saw?

And specifically in regards to gluten free - why on earth would a dish being marked as gluten free put you off? As someone who has to eat gluten free for medical reasons, P&O are by far the best cruise line for marking up allergens on menus and in the buffet. It's really helpful for anyone who is coeliac, or has a gluten intolerance. However, it doesn't suddenly make the dish untouchable to anyone else, no-body who isn't gluten-free is being penalised by eating a dish that is marked up that way! Meat, fish and vegetables are all naturally gluten free, it's what they do to these dishes that can change that (adding sauces etc). It's fantastic that P&O make such an effort to keep things as natural as possible, and in doing so have a great range of gluten free meals.

Just looking at my own photos from our cruise on P&O last year and picking an evening menu at random. There were 8 main course choices. Of those 8, 2 were fish, 3 were meat, 1 was vegetarian and 2 were vegan . 4 of these were also marked as gluten free (1 fish, 1 meat and 2 vegan) as standard.

 

So, that's 8 different options for anyone that eats meat and fish (because not everyone who eats those things eats them at every meal, and shock horror sometimes pick veggie or vegan options for a change). 3 options for anyone that is veggie, and 2 options for anyone that is vegan. 

If you don't like the options available. then that is unfortunate, but it seems like a pretty good range of options, and designed to appeal to as many people as possible. We all know food prices have gone up, and there are lots of threads on all the boards (not just P&O) about certain foods not being available on any cruises, cheaper cuts of meat being used etc etc. The combination of covid, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, general supply chain issues and all manner of other things mean that the cruise lines have had to adapt their menus as best they can in line with what food they can get at any gievn time. For the price you pay for a P&O cruise, I think they're doing a pretty good job under the circumstances. 

[Fionboard]

MDR dinner menus are usually fine for me, but the veggie options are often horrible and the vegan desserts are tasteless. However, the chips (with mayo) are always an alternative as they are very good on P&O. I find the MDR lunch menu nicer.

[Harry Peterson]

Goodness - is that on-deck sewage experience still running. It’s several years now since they were calling it a temporary issue.

 

Seriously.

[gsmt47471015]

47 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Goodness - is that on-deck sewage experience still running. It’s several years now since they were calling it a temporary issue.

 

Seriously.

I'm afraid it is ,and it was so pungent 🥵

[Harry Peterson]

2 minutes ago, gsmt47471015 said:

I'm afraid it is ,and it was so pungent 🥵

It's very difficult to equate a pungent smell of sewage that goes on for years with even basic standards of health and safety.  I wonder how long a UK restaurant would last, or a holiday resort, if it emanated the smell of sewage.  I doubt it would be for years!

[jeanlyon]

On 6/20/2023 at 5:07 PM, Fionboard said:

MDR dinner menus are usually fine for me, but the veggie options are often horrible and the vegan desserts are tasteless. However, the chips (with mayo) are always an alternative as they are very good on P&O. I find the MDR lunch menu nicer.

Agree.  I am happy to eat veggie options, but most of them are quite awful for me.

 

Edited June 21, 2023 by jeanlyon

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Thanks for the review we are sailing on her aug 24. So i am reading lots of the reviews people post.

I dont think P&O are marketing towards bad parents and kids. With so much competition and better younger ships with better facilities for children  esp( waterslides etc) P&O have to make up for that by offering better pricing. We got two weeks p&o greek islands cruise for less than 1 week on royal Oasis of the seas from barcelona. Better value for money. However that should not equate to bad parents and kids. But we have seen the same bad parents and kids on oasis of the seas in feb. What is disappointing is lack of staff stopping said behaviour. 

As for sunbeds and buffet, every ship is busy in that area, esp sea days 🤷. Also dont forget even in the main restaurant most of the food is cooked well in advance and just warmed up on hot plates. 

[terrierjohn]

1 hour ago, jeanlyon said:

Agree.  I am happy to eat veggie options, but most of them are quite awful for me.

 

I had one on our last cruise, it came in a pie case and was quite spicy, which I quite liked, but I wasn't  tempted again.

[Snow Hill]

On 6/20/2023 at 4:52 PM, Ladyshopper23 said:

You do realise that anybody can eat vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options? I'm sure there were meat and fish options too on the menus you saw?

And specifically in regards to gluten free - why on earth would a dish being marked as gluten free put you off? As someone who has to eat gluten free for medical reasons, P&O are by far the best cruise line for marking up allergens on menus and in the buffet. It's really helpful for anyone who is coeliac, or has a gluten intolerance. However, it doesn't suddenly make the dish untouchable to anyone else, no-body who isn't gluten-free is being penalised by eating a dish that is marked up that way! Meat, fish and vegetables are all naturally gluten free, it's what they do to these dishes that can change that (adding sauces etc). It's fantastic that P&O make such an effort to keep things as natural as possible, and in doing so have a great range of gluten free meals.

Just looking at my own photos from our cruise on P&O last year and picking an evening menu at random. There were 8 main course choices. Of those 8, 2 were fish, 3 were meat, 1 was vegetarian and 2 were vegan . 4 of these were also marked as gluten free (1 fish, 1 meat and 2 vegan) as standard.

 

So, that's 8 different options for anyone that eats meat and fish (because not everyone who eats those things eats them at every meal, and shock horror sometimes pick veggie or vegan options for a change). 3 options for anyone that is veggie, and 2 options for anyone that is vegan. 

If you don't like the options available. then that is unfortunate, but it seems like a pretty good range of options, and designed to appeal to as many people as possible. We all know food prices have gone up, and there are lots of threads on all the boards (not just P&O) about certain foods not being available on any cruises, cheaper cuts of meat being used etc etc. The combination of covid, Brexit, the war in Ukraine, general supply chain issues and all manner of other things mean that the cruise lines have had to adapt their menus as best they can in line with what food they can get at any gievn time. For the price you pay for a P&O cruise, I think they're doing a pretty good job under the circumstances. 

Well said. Why do people think that they can’t eat Gluten Free food? It’s good to see P&O improving what they offer for coeliacs, when we started cruising the options for my wife were limited, I remember 1 occasion where she had steak 3 nights on the run as the was nothing on the menu gluten free or that could be adapted. One place we go for Sunday Lunch on occasions stopped mentioning it Sunday offerings were gluten free, as people kept asking for a non gluten option. The solved that problem with a complete gf Sunday option. Options are advertised for vegetarians and vegans still. 

[Mollag]

13 hours ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

Thanks for the review we are sailing on her aug 24. So i am reading lots of the reviews people post.

I dont think P&O are marketing towards bad parents and kids. With so much competition and better younger ships with better facilities for children  esp( waterslides etc) P&O have to make up for that by offering better pricing. We got two weeks p&o greek islands cruise for less than 1 week on royal Oasis of the seas from barcelona. Better value for money. However that should not equate to bad parents and kids. But we have seen the same bad parents and kids on oasis of the seas in feb. What is disappointing is lack of staff stopping said behaviour. 

As for sunbeds and buffet, every ship is busy in that area, esp sea days 🤷. Also dont forget even in the main restaurant most of the food is cooked well in advance and just warmed up on hot plates. 

You’ll have hit the jackpot if you get warm food on Azura no chance at all of anything hot🤦‍♂️😂

[Britboys]

On 6/20/2023 at 12:14 PM, gsmt47471015 said:

Having just returned from a two week Med cruise on Azura, these are our thoughts .

We last sailed on her in 2018 and although she has had some refurbishment and various colour scheme changes in places, the layout was vary familiar and we soon found our way around.

Check in at Malta was swift ,we were onboard by 1300 and our cabin was ready for us, a quick drink and bite to eat and out for a wander around .

First impressions were that the ship appeared busy but staff were doing a good job of guiding incoming passengers to muster station registration and helping people find their way around.

Back on board ,luggage delivered to cabin , shower ,change and down to the Meridian for evening meal, and managed to get a table for two without a pager and by and large the meal was good, all good so far but the recurring theme was the luke warm vegetables and the choices were less than before and smaller portions.

Next day was a sea day and then it hit us just how busy the ship was, trying to get a sunbed after 10 am , pah dream on ,eventually found two near the outdoor cinema upper deck but crammed in like sardines, next stop buffet, are you kidding, not a seat to be had anywhere (we never go in before 10am to avoid the rush) ,in time we blagged a table and ate around 10.45 ,food choice has decreased considerably and has been mentioned before, no trays, forward planning needed to make sure you don't have multiple trips to the counter , waited until 14.15 to go for lunch and ended up in another free for all with tables etc ,food choice again very limited .Back outside and cinema now in full swing and so many people in such a tight space made it pretty awkward to concentrate on reading.

Decided to try the Meridian again for evening meal , pager required for table for two ,no worries Question, when is a table for two not a table for two? Answer when ten are lined up side by side so close you could converse with nearly all the other diners, vegetable's once again sparingly and not overly hot with only one different main from the previous evening.

All  the ports we visited were excellent and getting on and off the ship was fairly easy considering how many folk were on her, ate out every lunchtime as couldn't face the limited and monotonous choice in the buffet, however on one sea day we ate in the restaurant but again the choices were so pro vegetarian / vegan/gluton free we , me in particular, struggled to find anything we would like , and once again sat in a line of ten two seat tables.

We booked the Beach house as we always enjoy the food there ,however the cover charge has increased and the menu has changed to a more spicy Mexica/Caribbean theme with some of the popular deserts removed ,so not quite as we expected ( perhaps we should have taken a look at the menu before booking).

We ate mostly in the Glasshouse and this was one area of the ship that felt just as it used to ,friendly ,good value and well staffed with excellent service and good choices of HOT food, it did get busier the longer the cruise went on but we always managed to get a table.

So as for Azura how is she looking?  For her age pretty good but if you look hard enough there are signs of wear and tear, the plumbing has a mind of its own and the most awful raw sewage smell is often present on the open decks at times

The biggest difference we noted from 2018 is the clientele , its a while since we did a cruise without it been adults only and we now know why, the behaviour of some kids was unacceptable ,one group had to be told by another guest to stop jumping in the aft pool even though their mother was filming them with the no jumping or diving sign right in front of them, they were not overly impressed at been asked to stop, next day they were in the main pool as we sat and had a drink at breakers bar ,jumping, diving ,throwing towels in and there is mother filming them again under the no jumping /diving signs ,lo and behold two of her party join her and they all start throwing themselves in repeatedly, staff did nothing to stop it.

A lad with his mother and another lady attempted to access the meridian wearing shorts, the maitre d informed him it was smart casual evening and he would have to change to enter , he agitated that his shorts were smart casual and would not give in but neither would the maitre d, his mother stood like a wet lettuce and let him give the staff grief before he stomped off to get changed, people clicking fingers at staff to get there attention in bars and in one case whistling at them , it is so embarrassing, in most cases the staff are more educated than those they are asked to serve and better mannered.

In closing its fair to say that a vast amount of people on this cruise were first timers ,more so in the first week and this was evident as the Baltic/Ligurian lunch had just 18 of us.

Will we sail on Azura again? current thinking is no ,same with the other big ships if the type of passengers who are the target for P and O are as we witnessed in the first week, the difference in our recent 65nighter on Aurora and 14nights on Azura are like chalk and cheese, World cruise next and then we will see if standards have slipped on Arcadia .

These are just our personal observations and thoughts ,others will have a different view so please don't shoot the messenger    

We've had a similar experience of Azura but at different times. I felt she was very crowded on both the cruises I did on her. Also, I agree about the current menus- they really don't work sell for me...

[yorkshirephil]

On 6/20/2023 at 3:38 PM, Red Ray said:

Agree completely with the point about far too many vegetarian/vegan/gluten free choices on the menu. The majority are being penalised.

My thoughts exactly, we had a great cruise on Arcadia in December but the sweets were noticeably tasteless as nearly all as specified.

[GSPG]

The bigger issue in my view is the smell. That would truly wreck my holiday and I was thinking of booking two weeks on Azura next year.

Going to have rethink strongly on this one.

Just why hasn’t it been sorted? Have the crew become immune to it?

 

[Neecy1]

6 hours ago, GSPG said:

The bigger issue in my view is the smell. That would truly wreck my holiday and I was thinking of booking two weeks on Azura next year.

Going to have rethink strongly on this one.

Just why hasn’t it been sorted? Have the crew become immune to it?

 

Hi we just got back yesterday from a week on Azura. Never noticed a sewage smell on deck. We had a lovely time. Went on her 4 years ago. Still looking lovely. Only problem we had was a vibrating deluxe cabin on E deck. Seriously couldn't sleep when she was docking which was a pain as sometimes this was very early. The whole cabin shook. But we'd definitely go on Azura again.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

41 minutes ago, Neecy1 said:

Hi we just got back yesterday from a week on Azura. Never noticed a sewage smell on deck. We had a lovely time. Went on her 4 years ago. Still looking lovely. Only problem we had was a vibrating deluxe cabin on E deck. Seriously couldn't sleep when she was docking which was a pain as sometimes this was very early. The whole cabin shook. But we'd definitely go on Azura again.

The only "poo" smell we have noticed on all our cruises across multiple companies is when they off load the dirty water at ports. I know they have treatment plants onboard but in some places they also offload the dirty water and waste. Also some of the ports just stink. Never noticed at sea though.