Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

Reports about cruises on Azura
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qbman1
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Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#1

Post by qbman1 »

A very nice short break on Azura this week passed largely without incident.

We booked the cruise with no great hopes of actually seeing Guernsey, knowing how temperamental the sea conditions can be in early Spring but we wanted to explore the ship and also meet up with some friends we had previously met on board Aurora at Christmas. We had always said we would not cruise on the larger ships, having previously enjoyed the medium-sized ships Arcadia, Aurora, Oriana and Oceana but this was an ideal opportunity to experience Azura for ourselves and we particularly wanted to try out Sindhu as well.

We set off early for Southampton on Tuesday, intending to make the most of our limited tome on board and arrived at the Ocean Terminal at about 11:30. No valet parking for this jaunt so we had to park ourselves in the CPS compound and walk to the terminal building with our luggage. There were a limited number of porters outside the entrance, who took any large cases but anything else had to be carried on board. Even at that time in the morning, we were allocated letter “S” for the queuing system. Good God, what time did people begin to arrive? Those with “A” and “B” must have slept in the terminal overnight !!

In the event, we were moved though in the usual efficient manner and were on board and ready for lunch by about 12:30. Most importantly, our friends were just ahead of us and had already booked us in for Sindhu on the first night.

After lunch we wandered into The Glass House and were surprised to find it almost deserted so we settled down for a leisurely bottle or two whilst we waited for the cabins to be available. In the event, we almost missed the safety briefing! I can well recommend a visit to The Glass House on day one if you want to avoid the crowds.

As it happened, the muster was about half an hour late as they were trying to herd wayward passengers to the muster stations. I can only assume that there were a significant number of first-timers who didn’t know the ropes or who thought they were too important to attend a safety briefing on a 2-nighter!

We just had a standard balcony cabin on B-deck and were most pleasantly surprised. Very slightly larger than those on Arcadia and extremely well laid out and with a decent balcony. I will try to do a cabin review for you later. The interactive telly is good too so I was able to do our future cruise deposit downpayment without leaving my bed! That’s another £100 OBC next Christmas.

So, on to sailaway and our free Peninsular Club glass of fizz. The forward lines were cast off and the ship almost ready to sail when the Captain announced there would be a delay as some passengers were disembarking. Out came the gangway and an extended family were shepherded off the ship. No indication as to why but they appeared quite happy about it! In addition, it was announced that a couple had just arrived late at the terminal and, as the ship had been delayed anyway, were allowed to board – to jeers and cat calls from the open decks !

We had a very smooth and even crossing overnight, although with copious quantities of pre-dinner wine and an excellent feast in Sindhu, we probably wouldn’t have noticed a Force 10. On a personal note, I was slightly disappointed with Sindhu. No doubt that the food, service and ambience were absolutely excellent but the hype had been so great I was probably expecting a little too much.

On Wednesday, we were greeted by a ship-wide announcement that the wind speed and direction off St Peter Port was too great and would make tendering a dangerous option so we had a few tours around Herm Island until the Capt. Decided to have another bash at about 9:30. What a surprise when another announcement was made that it had been decided it would be unsafe to attempt to land so we were tootling off home! I think it was a bit optimistic to go for Guernsey at this time of year anyway.

We were not at all bothered as we had planned to stay on board to explore the ship anyway but a few people were understandably miffed. It would have been nice to have the ship largely to ourselves but, hey-ho, we made the most of it.

Our initial thoughts on Azura when we arrived were that she is an ugly brute, more like an apartment block dwarfing Southampton than a ship. Compared to our other experiences on P&O vessels, we thought that the public spaces are, by and large, rather mean. The promenade deck, for instance, is extremely narrow and doesn’t go all the way round (there being no access around the forward end of the ship). In addition, it is so pinched, it is very difficult for two people to pass around the stern end. Also, many of the other public areas are smaller than we have been used to. Some stairways are quite narrow and some of the open areas at the lifts are too small. This is a particular problem outside the theatre on deck 7 which could get very congested. Most of the bars and other public rooms were fine, although Brodie’s was most definitely not to our taste and Malabar was a bit raucous for us (although maybe that was partly due to the nature of a party cruise). Now, what is this SeaScreen malarkey all about? When we sauntered through, there were tiers of people double-wrapped in coats and blankets staring at a showing of Twilight but the screen was so dark, you couldn’t see a bloody thing! I suppose it is OK after dark but talk about a gimmick!

After a wander round the ship, we met up for coffee at Java and then back to the Glass House for lunch. It is a fabulous place to take a leisurely lunch with a fine selection of reasonably priced wines and their “flight” selections of three 125ml taster glasses is ideal. Similarly, the food on offer is to an excellent standard and we went for the choice of three small plates for £5.25. Top quality. We were there until almost 4 p.m. so there went the afternoon!

After a quick kip whilst we bobbed alongside the Cherbourg peninsular and nought knots, it was time for pre-dinner Champagne and dinner at Seventeen. As we were only on board for two nights we had decided to try out the select dining venues rather than the MDR, which we knew from past experience would be fine.

Seventeen was exceptional; an extremely high standard of service and top quality food. We all had to rate it above that in Sindhu.

So that was it. Back to the cabin to pack and no time for the entertainment but we did not feel too deprived by that. Tuesday was a Headliners show or the ubiquitous P&O “comedian” Steve Tandy. Wednesday was Steve Tandy again or a Take That tribute act. Mmmmm!

As we only had limited luggage we opted for self help disembarkation so it was breakfast in the MDR at 7:00, back to the cabin to pick up the luggage and off the ship just before 8:00. We were in the car and on the road well before 8:30 – all very painless and queue-free. I can’t say how smooth the standard disembarkation arrangements were but it all seemed very well organised as usual. The plan was for groups to meet in specified public rooms at specified times with no option to change the allocated venue or time. I suspect it may have involved a degree of queuing but we were halfway home by then!

All in all, a most enjoyable, but all too short, break with everything well up to the usual P&O standard.

Would we sail on Azura again? Well, no, the larger ship is not really for us but I can quite see her appeal to many people. It is modern, bright and very friendly. We are very happy with our medium-sized ships but if we could take The Glass House and Seventeen with us each time, I, for one, would be a happy bear !

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HK phooey
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Re: Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#2

Post by HK phooey »

A great review thanks Cubie. Can you tell us what was on the menu in Sindhu and Seventeen please as I am a restaurant buff and very nosey? I'm glad you had a good time and hope your enjoyment wasn't spoiled by the lack of bingo on board.

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Dark Knight
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Re: Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#3

Post by Dark Knight »

QB
welcome back old chap
with regard to your restaurant critique, I found quite the reverse, in that Seventeen was a bit gastro pub, a la the slug and lettuce chain and that Sindhu surpassed all my expctations and afforded me a wonderful Indian dining experienced yet to be equalled and unlikely to be surpassed.
Seventeen reminded me of a gastro pub I once frequented in Manchester, luckily we are not all the same, else the line for Sindhu, would be right round the bit of the prom deck , you can actually walk on

thanks for the review

Ps Guernsey is a fantastic place to visit and well worth making the effort, rather than being fobbed off by a breath of wind and the odd white horse atop a 1 foot wave :lol:
Nihil Obstat

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Suekersh
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Re: Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#4

Post by Suekersh »

Great report QBman.

We actually prefer Azura to Aurora as it is more modern and gives a better choice of entertainment. Also have to disagree about Sindhu and Seventeen. Loved Sindhu but thought seventeen was overpriced for mediocre service with average food.

As DN has posted good job we all have different tastes.

Sue

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Manoverboard
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Re: Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#5

Post by Manoverboard »

Nice one Cubie ... agree with just about everything you said but NOT the part about Sindhu :lol:

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noddy10
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Re: Azura Booze Cruise to Guernsey A309P

#6

Post by noddy10 »

Azura is our favourite P&O ship and we both love XV11 and Sindhu but out of the two prefer XV11.

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