Anyone been on the Azura?

[T.C.]

18 months ago we did a cruise to the Baltic on the Carnival Legend with an overnight stay in St Petersburg in Russia. Had a great time seeing places like Estonia, although for me the biggest disappointent was the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen.

Anyway, she who must be obeyed wanted to do that trip again and so she has just booked 14 nights on the P & O Azura for 14 nights in June out of Southampton.

Done Carnival (Legend and Glory - 3 times on each) and Royal Carribean (Indepenendce of the Seas - 2 cruises on her) a number of times, but this will be our first time with P & O and on the Azura in particular. She came out of Hamburg last Friday after a refit (she is 5 years old after all), so just wondered if anyone on here has any experience of the ship.

At £1100 for 14 nights all in, (which includes tips and car parking) I can't complain about the price, especially for that time of year, and she looks a nice ship, but looks can be deceptive and the reviews on sites like Cruise Critic are mixed.

So any observations most welcome

[Dalemac]

I have stayed on the Ventura, which is the sister ship of the Azura.

Very nice ship, was only on it for a couple of days.

I have to say i'm not a massive fan of the 100,000+ ton behemoths - too big and too many people. Although I couldn't fault anything on the ship really, good service, food and facilities etc.

If she has only just come out of a refit then the reviews may not be very reflective of the ship in its present state.

[T.C.]

I have stayed on the Ventura, which is the sister ship of the Azura.

Very nice ship, was only on it for a couple of days.

I have to say i'm not a massive fan of the 100,000+ ton behemoths - too big and too many people. Although I couldn't fault anything on the ship really, good service, food and facilities etc.

If she has only just come out of a refit then the reviews may not be very reflective of the ship in its present state.

I had forgotten that the Ventura was the sister ship. The Legend was 98.000 tons and was a nice size, Independence was 165,000 tons and was too big, anf the Glory was 130,000 tons which we loved. Also done a couple of smaller 65,000 ton ships and I have to say I did not enjoy them as much.

On the Independence, which we have done twice now, there were 4,000 passengers on board, and to be fair you were never aware that it was carrying so many.

But thanks for your thoughts.

[Dalemac]

I'd have thought that ship will suite you very well then!

I do love cruises, there is something magical about waking up in a different country every day, especially in the Mediterranean where there is so many different cultures. The only problem is you don't get to stay for very long.

One day I would love to do a Caribbean cruise.

[T.C.]

I'd have thought that ship will suite you very well then!

I do love cruises, there is something magical about waking up in a different country every day, especially in the Mediterranean where there is so many different cultures. The only problem is you don't get to stay for very long.

One day I would love to do a Caribbean cruise.

I have no doubt that the ship will be ideal for us, but it is always nice to get opinions from others.

I am with you regarding waking up in a different country every day. We have done the Western Med and the Canaries on the Independence, and we did the Cariribean on the Glory where we did Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Grand Bahama in the middle of December when it was abot 28 degrees which was fantastic. We did 14 days in the Carribean, it cost us £1200 including flights and hotel, and I doubt we could have done Spain for that price.

But I know what you mean about not staying very long, but we work on the basis that it gives you a feel for a country. In Russia we do an overnight stay, and you get your passport stamped . St Petersburg is a fantastic city and you need a couple of days at least, but for me it is the naval graveyard as you follow the channel out back int the Baltic that took my breath away. At the end of the cold war, everyone upped sticks and left all the ships and machinery behind and it is still all there rusting away.

Estonia is another country I am looking forward to seeing again.

We have not even been yet, but already we are looking at West Coast USA for later in the year or early next. 16 nights cruising the Hawaian islands on the Carnival Legend (which we crusied the Baltic on last time), and which includes return flights is currently £1150. I thnk that is pretty dam good value for money and I would lke t go back and visit Pearl Harbour again.