Our Thoughts on Azura, Then and Now.

[Harry Peterson]

7 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?

 

It’s mainly in a particular area of the ship, and it’s been a ‘temporary’ problem for some years. The problem is doubtless financial - too expensive to fix for the return on the cost.

[Fionboard]

41 minutes ago, FamilyCruiserUK said:

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. 

Like Morocco, could smell it from the ship. 

[zap99]

1 hour 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.

We were on Azura twice this year. Noticed a pongy smell sometimes in port, but never had a vibrating cabin.🤔

[Neecy1]

35 minutes ago, zap99 said:

We were on Azura twice this year. Noticed a pongy smell sometimes in port, but never had a vibrating cabin.🤔

Nor us prior. Won't be booking that one again. It wasn't nice, believe me. And yet the cabin was lovely, plenty of space. 

[gsmt47471015]

5 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

It’s mainly in a particular area of the ship, and it’s been a ‘temporary’ problem for some years. The problem is doubtless financial - too expensive to fix for the return on the cost.

It was most noticeable at the front upper deck ,adjacent to the retreat, it came and went but it was horrible when it did , its quite possible that passengers who have not had the misfortune of this issue were not or didn't visit that area of the ship? 

[Neecy1]

10 hours ago, gsmt47471015 said:

It was most noticeable at the front upper deck ,adjacent to the retreat, it came and went but it was horrible when it did , its quite possible that passengers who have not had the misfortune of this issue were not or didn't visit that area of the ship? 

I have to be honest and say we never visited that area this time. 

[purplesea]

23 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?

 

I have cruised on Azura several times and have never noticed the smell on any of them.

[GSPG]

1 hour ago, purplesea said:

I have cruised on Azura several times and have never noticed the smell on any of them.

Interesting, and assume your sense of smell is okay!😀

 

I have been hearing two sides of the coin, but whether that is a matter of luck and area(s) to avoid.

 

As it’s mentioned quite often, it suggests it’s there, but also suggestions of stinky ports themselves perhaps?

[Grandad John]

With regards to the smell and vibrating cabins, I was on Azura last October, aft balcony on D deck. When docking the vibration in the cabin was very pronounced but saved me booking an early morning call as it would have woken up Rip van Winkle!! When we were heading to the theatre one evening, just past the photography area if memory serves me well, the sudden horrendous sewage smell caused me to turn to the member of my family nearest to me and advise her (it was her first ever cruise) that it was a not uncommon occurrence on Azura. I have sailed on her three times and the smell has been noticeable, albeit very briefly on each sailing at some point. Maybe some people have a more sensitive nose than others!?

[Harry Peterson]

5 hours ago, GSPG said:

Interesting, and assume your sense of smell is okay!😀

 

I have been hearing two sides of the coin, but whether that is a matter of luck and area(s) to avoid.

 

As it’s mentioned quite often, it suggests it’s there, but also suggestions of stinky ports themselves perhaps?

It’s there, it’s very noticeable in the area of the ship concerned, it’s nothing to do with ports (except that they have been known to work on it whilst in port), and P&O acknowledge that it’s there. They say it’s temporary, but they’ve been saying that for years?

 

@molecrochip Are you able to comment please?

[Neecy1]

4 hours ago, Grandad John said:

With regards to the smell and vibrating cabins, I was on Azura last October, aft balcony on D deck. When docking the vibration in the cabin was very pronounced but saved me booking an early morning call as it would have woken up Rip van Winkle!! When we were heading to the theatre one evening, just past the photography area if memory serves me well, the sudden horrendous sewage smell caused me to turn to the member of my family nearest to me and advise her (it was her first ever cruise) that it was a not uncommon occurrence on Azura. I have sailed on her three times and the smell has been noticeable, albeit very briefly on each sailing at some point. Maybe some people have a more sensitive nose than others!?

The vibrating cabin wasn't just ours then! We wouldn't book another aft for that reason. It was horrendous. Like being next to a pneumatic drill when docking. On an odd night (seemed to be when we were going a bit faster) the bed shook that much I had to sleep on the sofa, although I am a light sleeper. Will stick to midship next time.

[zap99]

On 6/24/2023 at 8:01 AM, Neecy1 said:

I have to be honest and say we never visited that area this time. 

We noticed it mainly in port, but it was only a minor niff. In Tenerife walking through the port I said to DW. " is it me, or is the pongy smell coming from the ship ?" She said" I thought it was the port, but it could be you ".🤔

[Red Ray]

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

You do realise that anybody can eat vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options?

Strangely enough, I do realise that but I don't want to, and there are too many vegetarian & vegan options on the menu in relation to the percentage of people who choose to follow these diets. (I exclude gluten free as that is not a lifestyle choice).

[Cruisemeister2002]

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    

It is and will always be my opinion that Carnival will always update and renew their fleet in America before they will in the UK. I don't know what Americans pay for their cruises as opposed to Brits, but due to them being more inclined to complain I think they get better overall service. Have never been on Cunard so I don't know how it compares to P&O and to be honest I don't really like the fact that depending on which level of cabin you purchase allows or doesn't allow you on certain parts of the ship. Think I'd feel like Jack on the film Titanic.

[Red Ray]

As my final word on the subject, I'll just leave this here - the percentage of UK residents who choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet is 4.5%. Not sure how this correlates to the choices on offer in the MDRs.

[Son of Anarchy]

5 hours ago, Red Ray said:

As my final word on the subject, I'll just leave this here - the percentage of UK residents who choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet is 4.5%. Not sure how this correlates to the choices on offer in the MDRs.

Operational Reasons 🤣

[senior lady]

On 6/26/2023 at 4:25 AM, Red Ray said:

Strangely enough, I do realise that but I don't want to, and there are too many vegetarian & vegan options on the menu in relation to the percentage of people who choose to follow these diets. (I exclude gluten free as that is not a lifestyle choice).

just pick something else.   I always order a extra portion of veggies at dinner

[Red Ray]

10 hours ago, senior lady said:

just pick something else.   I always order a extra portion of veggies at dinner

Good for you, well done.

[Snow Hill]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:25 PM, Red Ray said:

Strangely enough, I do realise that but I don't want to, and there are too many vegetarian & vegan options on the menu in relation to the percentage of people who choose to follow these diets. (I exclude gluten free as that is not a lifestyle choice).

You don’t have to order them, just choose the non vegetarian/vegan/gluten free option, it’s not difficult, the menu list options for meals for those who are the above, so say for sausages, for you it would be standard sausage, for a vegetarian it would be a non meat option. 

[Red Ray]

19 minutes ago, Snow Hill said:

You don’t have to order them, just choose the non vegetarian/vegan/gluten free option, it’s not difficult, the menu list options for meals for those who are the above, so say for sausages, for you it would be standard sausage, for a vegetarian it would be a non meat option. 

Thanks for explaining that, I would never have worked it out myself 🙄

[kalos]

On 6/23/2023 at 4:29 PM, zap99 said:

We were on Azura twice this year. Noticed a pongy smell sometimes in port, but never had a vibrating cabin.🤔

 

We did two Atlantic crossings on her and never noticed any smells apart from one day in port

and that was as we got off the ship ,which only lasted a minute . Maybe they were clearing out

the tanks ?

Our cabins were B deck mid ship and never had vibration issues either. We have had other

cabins near aft that vibrated when docking but that was down to the thrusters when docking .

For vibration that award ,for us has to go to the Thomson Majesty, that was something else!

As you walked towards the aft you really felt and heard it .

[reece.twiggwhite]

We have sailed on Azura four times over the last 10 years. First 3 cruises we didn't notice any smell whatsoever and thought people were making it up. On the 4th (in 2019) the sunbathing areas near The Retreat, wow, yep smell was definitely there, and was there every time we either sunbathed there or passed through. It does come in waves though, you get an almighty stink which then disappears for 30 minutes or so and then you get the next one. 

[Fionboard]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

 

We did two Atlantic crossings on her and never noticed any smells apart from one day in port

and that was as we got off the ship ,which only lasted a minute . Maybe they were clearing out

the tanks ?

Our cabins were B deck mid ship and never had vibration issues either. We have had other

cabins near aft that vibrated when docking but that was down to the thrusters when docking .

For vibration that award ,for us has to go to the Thomson Majesty, that was something else!

As you walked towards the aft you really felt and heard it .

MDR on Oriana was pretty shakey too!

[grandoug]

We sailed on Azura from the 15th June out of Malta. Unfortunately our flight did not get to Luqa until 7.15pm so it was very late by the time we ate. The luggage label had come off one suitcase after being put on the van at the airport so we had to look for it ,turned up around 10pm at reception. We enjoyed the cruise, very few children and none jumping in the pool. The food was maybe not quite as good as before, the shows were great but the films on deck were repeated twice a day and again the 2nd week, that could have been better. We suffered a stomach upset during the 2nd week and heard that others also suffered so I am not sure if the Norovirus had been prevalent onboard. We would go on Azura again but never during school holidays as I’m sure it would be too busy on deck.

[Britboys]

On 6/26/2023 at 7:25 PM, Cruisemeister2002 said:

It is and will always be my opinion that Carnival will always update and renew their fleet in America before they will in the UK. I don't know what Americans pay for their cruises as opposed to Brits, but due to them being more inclined to complain I think they get better overall service. Have never been on Cunard so I don't know how it compares to P&O and to be honest I don't really like the fact that depending on which level of cabin you purchase allows or doesn't allow you on certain parts of the ship. Think I'd feel like Jack on the film Titanic.

I agree that more resources are generally put into the USA based ships of Carnival but it is a much bigger market. I believe prices are significantly lower for USA cruisers but that's at least partly supply & demand.

You probably wouldn't even notice the areas on Cunard ships that are restricted to Grill Class pax...