P&O Azura, P&O Cruises

Norway Fjords - 12th August to 19th August A relaxing, good cruise – saw the fjords, ate good food and calm seas! Service was excellent, with helpful and courteous staff throughout the ship. Cabin was good – C753 – at the stern, with larger than usual balcony for a Balcony cabin. We took this as it was only a couple of doors away from our in-laws who were staying in a rather nice suite – C749, which had a stupendous balcony. Both at the rear of the ship with great views as cruise along, looking back over the wake. Both cabins will be noisier than one down the side – simply because of the wake – but it is an almost soporific calming noise, with only exception being the arrival/departure at a port as thrusters etc are used. But it did not bother us at all. Perhaps makes conversation a bit more difficult on the balcony when under way, but again didn’t bother us. Food was very good – we ate breakfast in the buffet (always up too late for the sit down restaurant!) – I would note that whilst it can get crowded at times you always end up finding a table. Parents being early risers had proper sit down breakfast which suited them – they would not have enjoyed the buffet scrum (which is not as bad as it sounds). For dinner we were Freedom Dining in Meridian, where staff were very friendly, and food was super – especially recommend the fish dishes. And the curries are almost always excellent – the Tikka Marsala being the tastiest I have had the pleasure of. Entertainment was probably our one disappointment – we felt that whilst there was plenty, it was very similar – and was certainly missing some of the quality/variety that we enjoyed on a similar cruise last year on Britannia. The ship is a really nice, friendly ship – certainly better than we had envisaged. A shame it does not have a front facing bar – such as the Crows Nest etc on other ships – but the Planet Bar at the back, on Deck 18 was very good – and the Tides Duo were excellent musician/singer combo (with added fun of one of the waiters standing in when the singer was poorly!) Itinerary was good – Stavanger is delightful, with the Sardine Canning Museum a must see, Alesund a very pleasant town, with great views rewarding those walking up the 400+ steps, and funky heated public benches by the best fish & chips. Olden was our perhaps least anticipated port of call (with the exception that the cruise in and out of the fjord (60 miles each way) is spectacular), having been before and been underwhelmed by the Briksdal Glacier – but to our delight a new Cable Car – the Loen SkyLift has opened up – and whilst expensive it provided the most amazing views over the Nordfjord and surrounding lands, including glaciers – providing a 990m lift up from sea level to a superb viewing station with accompanying restaurant, and well marked paths for additional exercise. It was the icing on the cake as it provided an alternative spectacular view that you don’t get from the ship – and boy did the ship look small from over 3,000ft up! Bergen is nice, and easy to get around. Both ways across the North Sea we were blessed with calm seas. Overall a good value cruise – good itinerary, with drinks still priced sensibly on the ship. Definitely recommend.

Wow! Our first ever cruise and we are heading straight to the travel agents to book another one :-) we did the Canary Islands and we were not disappointed! The Azura was spotless and efficiently run. The staff were lovely and very attentive & the food was better than most of our local restaurants lol so much choice, and there was always something to do too. This holiday was above and beyond our expectations, and we picked up a few tips for our next one. Our balcony cabin was ideal for the two of us, and the cabin steward was very professional. Only one problem we had and that was with the key cards, my card would only open our door a few times a day so had to keep getting a new card on a daily basis. Highly recommend.