Azura Malta to Tenerife October 2023 Review

[elmsliebev]

Azura cruise October 2023 Malta to Tenerife

 

We are currently on the last week out of Malta for summer 2023, followed by the repositioning cruise to Tenerife. A bit of background about our cruising history and us: early 60s from Blackpool (though himself is an exiled Geordie), we love to travel, Spain is a particular favourite, love exploring, walking, food and film & theatre. We’ve been on cruises with Marella, Costa, CMV, Cunard and MSC. Not been on P&O for several years and only on Oceana and Oriana. 

 

We flew from Manchester airport with Jet2 at 06.55. The whole experience was very good. Terminal 2 at Manchester has been redeveloped and was an excellent experience. I liked the self-service luggage label printing and Security was quick, we didn’t use fast track. Breakfast was at Wagamama and was very tasty with excellent service. Flight was on time and comfortable. There were a few empty seats and we had a row of 3 to ourselves, a rare treat! 

 

On arrival at Malta we collected our luggage, took it to be loaded onto a truck and we were taken by coach to the cruise terminal. The journey took about 15 minutes. Embarkation was super quick, no queue and straight on to the ship by 12.15. We were asked to go to muster station and get our boarding passes scanned, and watch the tv safety video later in our cabin. We were told our cabins would be ready by about 1.30 so we went off to the buffet to get some lunch. 

The buffet was very busy though we were told by a couple leaving later that it’s not usually as busy. The layout is a bit jumbled and doesn’t seem to flow well but the food (lots of salad and cold meat/fish for me) was fresh and tasty. 

 

Once we’d finished we went to find our inside cabin which is on Lido deck, forward. Cabin is great, I love the separate little wardrobe area, loads of drawer and shelf space. The bathroom in small but everything is immaculately clean. One problem is the tap runs hot and I can’t get cold water apart from the first minute or so. Last night we filled our water bottles and glasses and put them in the fridge. Ice cold water this morning! But I will speak to our steward later to see if it can be sorted out. 

 

After checking out the cabin we went into Malta for a couple of hours. As I’ve read on here, turn right as you come out of the port, walk 500m and there’s a lift. It’s €1 pp (keep your ticket for the return) and wizzes you straight up to the barracks garden where there are fabulous views over the ship and the 3 cities. We had a wander round, had a beer (I had a local white wine, very good) and watched the 4pm cannon being fired. Then back to the ship. Our bags were outside the cabin by then so we unpacked, a rest and a shower, and it was time for an early dinner. We were both tired having been up for the 3am taxi and only had about 2 hours sleep! 

 

We are on Freedom dining and went to Meridian. We’re pretty sociable but decided a table for 2 was needed tonight in case we fell asleep in the soup! We were given a pager and had just ordered alcohol free cocktails at Java when the pager went off, less then 5 minutes. The waiter very kindly went to the desk to tell them we’d be there very soon (great service). Dinner was absolutely fine, despite some of the things I’d read on here. The only disappointment was the soup - soups on Cunard and P&O used to be excellent but this tasted like a packet mix. I had chicken satay, the vegetable soup with pistou which had no pistou that I could see. The leg of lamb was good, roast potato, broccoli and carrot. It came with a very tasty mushroom and lentil ragout and mint sauce. I had limoncello pannacotta for pud which was good, very light lemony flavour but I enjoyed it. Himself had mixed mezzo, the dreaded soup, cauliflower and potato curry (delicious) and vegan cherry cheesecake - the stand out  dish, absolutely gorgeous, made with coconut cream from the flavour and so light. We both felt there was plenty of choice - I had to pick between 4 things that I really wanted to try. Portions are smaller than they used to be but we could have ordered more or cheese and pudding or extra veg and we certainly weren’t hungry when we left the table. Service was good, very smiley and efficient. 

 

Then a nightcap in the Planet Bar. We nearly gave up trying to find the way in but we now know the rear lifts are the best way! I liked it in there, again great service and the piano guy was good. It all felt very chilled. Early night, though I got distracted by Liverpool FC being on the cabin tv. Even that couldn’t keep me awake and we were asleep by 10pm. 

Slept really well and it’s now 10.30 and I need to find some breakfast! Can’t promise to write as much on future days but I wanted to get my thoughts down. We don’t have a Wi-Fi package so I’ll be posting and checking in onshore but first impressions are very positive. Clean, comfortable and great service. Looking forward to formal night tonight, then Trieste tomorrow.

 

Update: we only just made breakfast! Plenty of choice, I was just getting a little dish of shakshuka when they brought out some fresh eggs Benedict, so in the interest of research I tried one. Both were tasty and hot. 

We spent the day very lazily, reading, people watching, entering the Musicals and Movies bingo and the music quiz. Didn’t win either! There were plenty of seats and sun beds around in the shade which is what we wanted. We spent an hour above the aft pool doing the crossword and sudoku from Reception then moved to the Coral pool for the quizzes. 

 

Celebration night with a glass or two of fizz courtesy of P&O, then into dinner. We opted for a shared table and there were 6 of us seated together, all lovely people and we had a great time. I’m happy to report that the clam chowder was much better than the previous night’s soup! I had lamb again, 2 decent sized French trimmed chops and a croquette of lamb shoulder, very tasty. Most people we saw were in black tie or suits and lovely dresses. Himself wore a suit and tie rather than bringing black tie this time and I wore a “posh frock”!

 

We ended the evening by watching the ballroom dancers for a couple of hours followed by a quick trip to the buffet - a very tasty curry! I then took a hot chocolate back to the cabin and slept very well again. 

[tring]

We will be on Azura for a future late season cruise with the translocation to Tenerife after that, so thanks a lot for your thread.  Can I please ask if they are using the app to book the Meridian, or it it purely pagers now if no availability when you go there?  I seem to remember the pagers on Azura being very short range, to the extent they did not even work properly in Brodies, so we had to stay very near to the restaurant if carrying one.  Is that still the case?

 

I hope you enjoy the cruise and the weather is good for you.

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by tring

[elmsliebev]

9 minutes ago, tring said:

We will be on Azura for a future late season cruise with the translocation to Tenerife after that, so thanks a lot for your thread.  Can I please ask if they are using the app to book the Meridian, or it it purely pagers now if no availability when you go there?  I seem to remember the pagers on Azura being very short range, to the extent they did not even work properly in Brodies, so we had to stay very near to the restaurant if carrying one.  Is that still the case?

 

I hope you enjoy the cruise and the weather is good for you.

 

Just pagers at the moment. We sat very near the restaurant as it just seemed easier. Not been into Brodies yet. 

[elmsliebev]

Today was Split, not Trieste, that’s tomorrow. There is a regatta there so we are docking slightly further out and a shuttle bus will run all day. We’re trying the Beach House tonight, looking forward to it. 

[carlanthony24]

Five days to go 🙂

[sandancer]

We are joining you on Thursday. Very happy to hear that all is going well. Hope to meet up with a fellow Geordie (even an exiled one). Enjoy the rest of the week, you lucky things. 

Edited October 7, 2023 by sandancer

[Mad4WDW]

We're flying out to this cruise on Thursday from Birmingham 🙂 See you onboard!

[elmsliebev]

Hello from Dubrovnik! I was awake quite early so came up on to deck 16, one deck above our cabin to watch us dock in Dubrovnik. It’s a bit overcast but hopefully will brighten up later. 

Split was a fascinating place, wandering around the Diocletian Palace was so interesting then exploring the back streets, taking a break for a glass of Radler(shandy!) - all a good way to spend a sunny day. Then onto Trieste which was incredibly busy, but we loved the busy Regatta atmosphere. We walked up to the Roman amphitheatre and then the church high up, then meandered back down, stopping for an excellent lunch. We ate at the buffet that night as we were still full from lunch. They had someone cooking salmon to order, which was very good. After dinner we watched the Phil Collins tribute act, Deano who was good. 

 

Yesterday was Zadar. I’d not heard of Zadar before we booked this cruise and it has been the highlight so far. A wonderful walled city, with a Roman forum and a beautiful promenade with a sea organ. The sea organ sounded like whale music to me and it was very meditative to sit listening to it and gazing out to sea. We are making plans to come back and stay for a few days. I also had an excellent ice cream for the bargain price of €1.50! We sat on deck watching the sun set as we sailed towards Dubrovnik.

 

Back to the Meridian for dinner last night. We asked for a table for 2 and were given a pager again. This time we waited about 20 minutes but as we were sat in the Atrium bar with an elderflower tonic and a Heineken zero it didn’t matter. The star of the menu was the veggie cottage pie which was delicious. Neither of us are vegetarian although we do eat a lot of non-meat meals at home and we’re always up for trying something different. Himself had halloumi with figs, then vegetarian sushi and I had the sushi and French onion soup. Everything was very tasty and we left the table definitely full! I had a glass of white Rioja with dinner, very good. There’s no issue asking for extra courses and a lady had the next table had 2 puddings last night. 

 

Our cabin steward is very good. I asked for face cloths and body lotion on day 2 and they were there later that day. The issue with the tap only producing hot water has also been sorted. One odd thing was that we asked for skimmed milk last night in the buffet for coffee (himself can’t have too much full fat dairy) and we’re told there was none on board. Magically it was there this morning! I think they couldn’t be bothered to go and look. I’ve seen someone cooking omelettes to order in the buffet at breakfast time, so that’s my next stop. 

 

[elmsliebev]

A few days have passed and we continue to enjoy ourselves very much. We had a full day tour in Malta that a fellow CCer organised, a brilliant day. We had a minibus and Edmund took us all over including a bakery for lunchtime snacks. Mdina was especially beautiful.  

In Catania we went on a P&O trip to Taormina and Mount Etna. The only thing we'd have liked was a bit more time in Taormina. The lunch provided at Mount Etna was good and included wine and water. Mount Etna was fascinating and very busy! Last night we tried the Glass House, very good. I'd suggest you need to get there early, we got a table just before 7pm but a queue soon formed. 

We used the gym for the first time this morning, it's very well equipped. Palermo today in 32c heat, too hot but an interesting place. We found a great lunch spot where 5 dishes, a big bottle of sparkling water and a glass of wine cost us €28 - €12 of that was the seafood salad! I'm trying to post a photo from my phone, but can't seem to! And now I have 🤣

 

 

Edited October 15, 2023 by elmsliebev

[Angel57]

1 minute ago, elmsliebev said:

A few days have passed and we continue to enjoy ourselves very much. We had a full day tour in Malta that a fellow CCer organised, a brilliant day. We had a minibus and Edmund took us all over including a bakery for lunchtime snacks. Mdina was especially beautiful.  

In Catania we went on a P&O trip to Taormina and Mount Etna. The only thing we'd have liked was a bit more time in Taormina. The lunch provided at Mount Etna was good and included wine and water. Mount Etna was fascinating and very busy! Last night we tried the Glass House, very good. I'd suggest you need to get there early, we got a table just before 7pm but a queue soon formed. 

We used the gym for the first time this morning, it's very well equipped. Palermo today in 32c heat, too hot but an interesting place. We found a great lunch spot where 5 dishes, a big bottle of sparkling water and a glass of wine cost us €28 - €12 of that was the seafood salad! I'm trying to pist a photo from my phone, but can't seem to! 

 

 

Allo Allo…..🤣 that last sentence made me laugh out loud. The wine was obviously  rather good…..🤣🤣

[elmsliebev]

1 minute ago, Angel57 said:

Allo Allo…..🤣 that last sentence made me laugh out loud. The wine was obviously  rather good…..🤣🤣

Just re-read it and noticed! It was only 1 glass, honest! 

[carlanthony24]

Wrong thread

Edited October 15, 2023 by carlanthony24

[purplesea]

3 hours ago, elmsliebev said:

A few days have passed and we continue to enjoy ourselves very much. We had a full day tour in Malta that a fellow CCer organised, a brilliant day. We had a minibus and Edmund took us all over including a bakery for lunchtime snacks. Mdina was especially beautiful.  

In Catania we went on a P&O trip to Taormina and Mount Etna. The only thing we'd have liked was a bit more time in Taormina. The lunch provided at Mount Etna was good and included wine and water. Mount Etna was fascinating and very busy! Last night we tried the Glass House, very good. I'd suggest you need to get there early, we got a table just before 7pm but a queue soon formed. 

We used the gym for the first time this morning, it's very well equipped. Palermo today in 32c heat, too hot but an interesting place. We found a great lunch spot where 5 dishes, a big bottle of sparkling water and a glass of wine cost us €28 - €12 of that was the seafood salad! I'm trying to post a photo from my phone, but can't seem to! And now I have 🤣

 

 

We are about half an hour from Palermo and the temperature here has been 35c. This is exceptionally hot weather for this time of year for Sicily. 

Palermo has a lot of interesting places to see and visit.

[sandancer]

Just docking in Sardinia and the weather is not looking so good. Cloudy and cool. It’s still early so time for the sun to get out. 

[elmsliebev]

On 10/16/2023 at 8:10 AM, sandancer said:

Just docking in Sardinia and the weather is not looking so good. Cloudy and cool. It’s still early so time for the sun to get out. 

Really enjoyed Sardinia. Found a great market with wine for sale in big vats, €4 for 1.5litres!