Following an impressively early finish from work on Friday, we were actually en-route to Southampton at about 3pm, so took it nice and steady to our overnight stop in Nuneaton. The journey (being Friday after all) took longer than was promised by the satnav, but we managed to get our not-insignificant luggage into the hotel and ourselves into the adjoining pub before 6pm! A pint of San Miguel elicited the first “Ow Much???” of the holiday which was quickly followed by an even louder version when I ordered a pint in Frankie & Bennies. Really, £4 for a pint of 4% lager is approaching daylight robbery IMO. I was also dismayed to find that the “2 Courses for £9.95” has also been renamed…. and not surprisingly, not for the cheaper!! Despite such a stressful start to the evening (for a Yorkshireman anyway), we enjoyed a good meal and made our way “home” for an early night in order that we could get an early start for the remainder of the drive to Azura.
The next morning we were up early and indeed were on the road again before 8.30. We made good time and decided to avoid the potential travel problems in Southampton that day by heading to Jn7 on the M27 and into the city that way. The route was great and we may well use it again in the future. We finally hit some traffic about 1/4mile from the dock-gate. I worried that this was the start of the queue to enter the dock, but it actually wasn’t and we got our first proper view of Azura as we approached the terminal at about 10.50am. Just a short delay while CPS caught up with the demand and then we were in the already quite busy Ocean terminal. Disappointed to be given “E” cards, as I like to be onboard as soon as possible. Nevertheless, check-in started soon after and before long we were finally on this beautiful ship – and she is indeed a lovely ship. We immediately made bookings for both Seventeen and Sindhu for our chosen nights; Sindhu was chosen on Wina’s birthday but we did slip-up as this falls on a day after Atul Kochar has left the ship. Naively, I assumed that all of the “Celebrities” on this Food & Drink themed cruise would be on for the duration. It transpires that Atul is on board for the first few days before disembarking in Gibraltar. Similarly, Olly Smith doesn’t arrive on Azura until well into the itinerary (embarking in Barcelona). Never mind, I’m sure we will enjoy the meal – so many people we have met on board since sailing have raved about how good it is.
After a quick lunch in the buffet, we had a wander around the ship to familiarise ourselves what is where. It helps having been on Azura’s sister (Ventura) before (albeit for only a 3 night cruise), and we found our way around very quickly. We headed for a drink in Glass House (thanks for that tip Qbman) where we bumped into fellow table companions from a previous cruise! We also enquired about the food/wine tasting/matching evening that they offer on some evenings, but the presence of Olly Smith has raised the price for the events to £45pp and so we haven’t booked.
Next we knew, the cabins were ready and so we headed directly down to ours – a balcony cabin on C deck. We met our very friendly cabin steward, Suresh, who made a concerted effort to prioritise our luggage and we managed to get all our many cases unpacked and away before muster. Luckily for Suresh, he had only just boarded himself that day and so missed the 4 short cruises which preceded ours – which must have been a nightmare for the stewards, knowing how busy they are on turnaraound days. The cabin is great – I love the open wardrobe area and the balcony is huge in comparison to those on other decks.
We decided to use our vouchers for a glass of bubbly on the Sailaway party, and so we headed up to Breakers Bar from where we watched as Azura departed. Some furious waving was enjoyed as we attempted to get a response from the next quay where a friend from the P&O Facebook page had promised to be. (If you are reading this Nick, I sincerely hope we weren’t waving in vain while you sat at home chuckling)!!
We are on Club Dining - 2nd sitting, and so we went to Glass House for pre-dinner drinks (you may note some repetition of this in my report, as it is the best bar on board any ship IMO). Whilst we were sat there one of a couple of ladies at the bar looked over and asked “are you Romig and Wina?” Obviously, I don’t own up to being me unless I know who is asking
but it turned out to be MaureenB and Lizzie (Bizzie31) from this forum (and others) – so we had a nice chat, and have managed to bump into them several times since– though I’m not difficult to find as we are invariably in a bar. 
On club dining I always spend the first evening worrying about whether we will get on well with our dining companions, but yet again we were pleased to meet the other 4 passengers on our well-placed table. As it turns out, one couple had requested 1st sitting (they had booked 6 weeks before the cruise – which the gentleman didn’t consider a “late booking”!) and were hoping to get switched. Well, that’s what they said…it is entirely possible that they took one look at me and made that story up. They have indeed managed to change their dining time, and so we haven’t seen them since – but we are getting along well with the remaining couple. In our area of the restaurant there are several tables for 4 which have been unused for the whole cruise to date. I assume that these people have either switched dining time (or to Freedom) or are simply going to the buffet/select dining options. Still, it makes light work for our waiters who are both friendly and efficient.
The next day was at sea and we sailed through a very benign BoB, We took in an enjoyable cooking demonstration by Atul (and his head chef onboard – Prebu), after which we had our first formal evening which we rounded off in Manhattan show lounge watching John Ellis (an Elton John tribute act) who was remarkably good. He looked and sounded like EJ, and had copied many mannerisms very well. Yes, he didn’t sing all the high notes on Crocodile Rock or Yellow-Brick Road – but then again I don’t think Sir Elton has since the Millenium either.
Monday found us in La Corunna where we wandered into town but little else apart from sitting in the warm sun. Keen to get my value for money from the balcony I suggested we head back to the ship where we ordered room service and enjoyed the afternoon sun. We ate in seventeen that evening which was ok, but not as good as others have suggested IMO. We haven’t rebooked, and feel that £28pp is a tad too much for the quality on offer. Being at that end of the ship, we popped into Planet Bar for a drink afterwards, where Wina got to taste the Raspberry Crème Brulee cocktail for the first time. Nice, but I defy anybody to drink more than one! The Planet Bar (like Metropolis on Ventura) is a great place to have late-night drinks…it’s just such a long way from many other venues! Sad as I am, I counted the number of paces along the corridor from the stairwell at the stern to our (fore) cabin…it was 210!!!!
Another day at sea followed where we attended a question/answer session with Atul and Neil Oliver, with more sunbathing on the balcony (that VFM is getting better by the day) and our second formal night (black and white) which again was pretty well adhered to.
Wednesday morning saw us open the curtains to see the rock of Gibraltar which was a nice sight. In keeping with probably 95% of the passengers we disgorged in the hunt for the cheapest gin. We headed to Morrisons, where we got a great bargain – 1L of Tanquery Gin for £9.50…a price which we didn’t see bettered in any of the other shops (and yes, I did check of course). My joy was slightly diminished when I discovered that we had overpaid by the tune of 50p for our Bombay Sapphire though! We also checked the price of some perfume/EDT, but found that we can get it cheaper on-line at home from reputable sources. On the walk back to the ship I took a phone-call from work, which got mysteriously cut-off after 12 minutes – my credit had expired…..turns out that on my PAYG tariff I pay £1.50 per minute to receive calls in Gibraltar…I foolishly had assumed I would be paying the 7p Spanish rate!! A very expensive lesson learned there.
Yet another sea-day followed (yesterday), which we once again spent the major part of on the balcony chairs, sunbathing and reading. I’m beginning to get a decent tan…but only on the front. At this rate I’ll be looking like the toast Wina had at the Holiday Inn Express en-route to Southampton…black and crisp on one side, yet white and insipid on the back! We’ll get chance to get on a sunbed by the pool and toast our rears on the way home hopefully, as I doubt we will get much balcony sun in that direction. Last night we went to the show consisting of the two tribute acts – both Elton John and Michael Buble, which was enjoyable again, but not well attended. Both these guys leave Azura on Saturday (tomorrow) in Rome, and I’m hoping there will be a replacement or two, as the standard lounge-bar type vocalists don’t seem to be our thing (we left after 3 songs when we went to see Peter Cutler a few nights ago).
So, I’m finishing this off whilst lying in bed on Friday morning (which means we must be in in Ajaccio). Hereby starts 5 consecutive port days which could be quite hectic. The ship is presently tying off her lines, and it’s really quite pleasant here overlooking the old town and citadel. I’m hoping to get some wi-fi (free of course) where I can post this report so far to the forum though I’m seriously regretting bringing my full-sized laptop with me – which will be a pain to lug about. Mustn’t moan too much, as Wina has already seen Maureen and Lizzie’s neat little tablets and is trying to talk me out of some dosh for one of those! Apologies again for the length (I can’t seem to be concise) and for the diary-style…I promise to write more in general about the ship and venues and our thoughts about various other things later. I’ll also try and post some pictures…I have one or two nice ones taken on the balcony….
Thank goodness for this forum, I was worried I'd seen the last of you both 
We had a fabulous, fabulous experience. It was more an experience than a cruise and my son does have lots of memories to hold onto. As you can see our cruise has taken years off me 
I hope you and Wina have a great time, I'm sure you will. I'll be reading your reports. You seem to like the Azura. 
Obviously Maureen's allegiance has been changed - Blue Bar before 
