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ConclusionSunday, October 2. 2016This has probably been one of the best cruises that we have done, due to three things: As I have mentioned before this was our first cruise with Freedom Dining and is something that we knew that we would have to try one day. Our conclusion is that Freedom Dining is not for us and I know that many prefer it – but we are not amongst them. We have tried it and can now speak from experience. The things that we thought we would like about it, we did and the things that we thought we would not like, we didn’t. As for the ship I still think that Azura is one of our favourite ships but she is starting to look a bit tired and in need of some TLC. This was our first cruise since the introduction of the two dress codes. The Back Tie nights were, on the whole, fairly well adhered to but some of the ladies ideas on evening/cocktail dresses does stretch the bounds of one’s imagination. The main problem seems to be with “Evening Casual” as there is such a variation with many still adopting what was “Jacket required” whilst many others varied from casual to scuff. Sunday 2nd October 2016Sunday, October 2. 2016Ah, joy of joys – disembarkation day. I used to think that disembarkation was easy peasy, then they changed it to be “silent” disembarkation which, at first appeared to work quite well. Now it has degenerated into the most appalling shambles I have ever seen (and that is being generous). Rules state that you have to be out of your cabin (or in our case – suite) by 08:00 – not a problem as we can have breakfast from 07:00. Now not wanting to push the point of having a suite but there was an expectation that there would be some consideration given to the fact that most suite passengers have paid a lot of money for their accommodation so there should be “something extra” – well you might think that, and I might think that but P&O most definitely do not think that. Having asked at reception do suite passengers get any priority for disembarkation and being told only the upper levels of the Peninsular Club have priority and you have the first slot after them does not go down over well when you find thr other passengers (i.e. our neighbours) have an earlier disembarkation time. Anyway being the good passengers that we are we assemble in out allotted venue (Meridian Restaurant) at 08:00 for our 09:15 – 09:30 disembarkation. Cutting a [very] long story short we eventually disembarked at around 10:00 – a three year old could have organised it better. Finding our cases was easier than on previous cruises due in part to many cases already having been reclaimed. Now the one bit of good news – our car was literally parked next to the CPS cabin (row A1 – and it was the first car in the row) The journey home was going OK until we hit the road works around Stoke on the M6 where there had been an accident on the southbound carriageway so we were delayed about 45 because of “rubbernecking”. All back home now and cases unpacked – washing, I am told, will start tomorrow! Saturday 1st October 2016Saturday, October 1. 2016This is our last sea day before arriving back in Southampton tomorrow morning. We have had a surprising calm crossing of the BoB – even the Captain remarked on it. Although the temperature has dropped a bit there has been quite a lot of sun today. Obviously the main focus today has been with packing and just enjoying the last of the good weather before we get home and having a final relax – nothing much else to as everything seems to stop on the last day – apart from the shops. It always amazes me as to how many people have to spend so much time buying so much “tat”, and looking round the shops I never realised how many things that are on sale that neither of us either want or need! We had already pre-booked Sindhu for tonight and I have never seen it so quite. In our opinion Sindhu does not have the “wow” facter that it used to have, but apparently Atul is on board soon and he will be changing the menus – not sure if that is just for Azura or across the fleet. Friday 30th September 2016Friday, September 30. 2016Our penultimate sea day which started off somewhat overcast but improved as the day progressed, only to deteriorate later. We were able to spend a large part of the morning on the balcony, and even saw some dolphins alongside the ship. We did also have a walk round the inside of the ship but were beaten back by “Paddy’s Market” – why do P&O allow the shops to take over the whole ship? This afternoon was the crew talent show which we were persuaded to go and watch by one of the waiters in The Planet as he was taking part in one of the dance items. Some of those taking part really should stick to their day jobs, but there were some good bits of entertainment amongst the other acts. Tonight was our last Black Tie night and once again another gentleman was asked to leave the Planet for being inappropriately dressed – he, or at least his wife, was nor a happy bunny. Tonight we ate once again in the Epicurean restaurant and had what was probably the best meal of the entire cruise. Thursday 29th September 2016Thursday, September 29. 2016Today we were awoken to strong vibrations from the engines as we docked in Gibraltar due to the strong crosswinds which, at times were gusting at over 30 mph. proved so strong that three of Azura’s aft lines snapped – something I have never seen happen, or heard of, before Once breakfast was out of the way we went ashore with the intent of going up the Rock in the cable car and walking down – we had pre-booked, and paid for this. When we got to the cable car it was still quite windy and the lady at the kiosk told us it would take about three hours to walk down – time we did not have. So we went up to the top with the intention of doing the caves and coming back down but because of the high winds decided that it would be prudent to come back down straight away, rather than getting stranded at the top of the rock as Azura sailed away in the distance. I must say that Gibraltar does not get any better and on any future visits it will probably mean that we stay on-board. Tonight was the Peninsular Club party – something that has, in the past, been held on Black- Tie night – not sure if this is a new practice or not. We ate in the Beach House which was 10 times better than our previous experience there. Wednesday 28th September 2016Thursday, September 29. 2016
Rant number one for today. It clearly states in the Horizon that sun-beds should not be reserved and doing so renders the personal items used to do so being removed (not that I have seen this done) – so Mr & Mrs Sunbed hogger come up on deck where I estimated that there were at least 200 sunbeds free and move two sunbeds into a passageway blocking people from walking along, put their towels and books on the sunbeds and then walk off returning some 30 minutes later when there were still 180+ sunbeds still vacant. The Captain, on his six o’clock announcement warned us that entering Gibraltar was going to be a bit rough – and he was not wrong. Tonight was Black & White night which was really a mixture of some doing B&W and others not – however overall the dress code was reasonably well adhered to. One interesting thing that happened was when we were in The Planet Bar (where dress code is required) a gentleman who came in with a short sleeved shirt, no tie, no jacket was asked to leave. Tonight we ate in Epicurean which was as good as ever. After our meal we went to the theatre to watch the Opera Boys who we thought were very good. This was our first visit to the theatre mainly due to the fact that the shows have not tied in with our dining arrangements. Rant number two for today. In the theatre of all P&O ships there are, at the back, seats with spaces between then for wheelchair users and their companions. As we were a bit late going to the theatre we were standing at the back and all of the “companion” seats were occupied with no sign of ant wheelchairs. A woman, along with her companion, enters the theatre and takes up a place between the companion seats but did anyone give up their seat for the companion? The answer is a two letter word!! Tuesday 27th September 2016Wednesday, September 28. 2016Today is our second (and last) day in Barcelona and as the Deputy Captain promised it is warmer, and sunnier, than yesterday. We have booked an excursion to Montserrat by Train but this does not leave until 10:30. Now the instructions for meeting for excursions clearly state meet 15 minutes before the departure time and no earlier. So we arrive at the coach just about 10:15 to find that we are the last ones to arrive! The dive out to Montserrat is about an hour and it is interesting to see the changes in the landscape from being quite flat and industrial to quite mountainous and barren. Upon arriving at the train station to go up to monastery we were one of about 50 coaches but the trains ran regularly and held probably a couple of hundred passengers at a time. Once on the train the seats were in blocks of four and as we were with other cruise passengers they obviously thought that they were back in the buffet as they had to sit facing each other both in a window seat. The journey up the mountain on the train was quite impressive and you can only marvel at how this was built over 100 years ago. Once we were at the top (well actually half way) where the monastery is we were then told by the guide what there was to see and do – being more precise we were told what we would not have time to do, like take the funicular railway to the top. Why do P&O make the excursions so short? This excursion left at 10:30 and arrived back at 15:00 so it could easily have been an hour, or even two hours, longer giving time to see things properly. In the leaflet we were given when we arrived it clearly said do not use flash when taking photos in the Basilica and no not take photos when there is a service in progress. As we arrive at the Basilica there is a “special” service taking place so what is everyone doing – you’ve got it in one, taking flash photos!!! The Monastery is a fascinating place – to call it a monastery in probably a bit of a misnomer, it is more like a small village but it is very commercialised (monks have never been backward at exploiting a commercial opportunity!) At out appointed time we all met up again and set off to find the coach for the drive down the mountain – you have to have respect for these coach drivers as I would not particularly fancy driving a car down that mountain. Once all back on board we set sail for Gibraltar (deep joy – but at least it saves having to pay tax!) and as we sailed out of Barcelona you could see that work has started on the new Carnival cruise terminal. My guess is that at some point in the future Barcelona will become a turn round port for P&O – there are several cruise lines already busing it. Tonight was another excellent meal in the Glasshouse. One thing that I have noticed is that the alternate dining venues (by which I mean paid venues) appear to be less busy than in the past. Whether this is just this passenger demographic, or people are resenting paying the extra, or they have been before and do not see the point in going again I don’t know but at the current rate I cannot see then continuing as they are. Monday 26th September 2016Monday, September 26. 2016Today was the first of our two days in Barcelona and the weather, although very pleasant, was not was hot as it has been for the last few days. The Deputy Captain did promise that it will be better, and hotter, tomorrow but then again he said it would rain later today – and it didn’t! As we have had a couple of hectic days we decided that today would be a leisurely amble into the Ramblas and back. Now it is some time since I was last in Barcelona and I do not really remember the port area that well but from where we were docked (terminal C) it was about a 40 minute walk each way. What it will be like when Carnival have their own terminal some way further out of town I cannot imagine. Anyway we walked to the Ramblas as Mrs Smurf needed a traditional rustic Spanish jug – don’t ask as it is a long story! Eventually we found a shop, chose jug, paid for jug and then walked back to the ship. The rest of the day was used as recovery period from the last two days (a.k.a. – sleeping) Tonight we used the MDR again and, unfortunately our view of Freedom Dining has not changed. My cruise is now complete as I have today encounter the obligatory “serial whinger”. At reception this morning was a woman complaining that her whole cruise had been ruined, was demanding a refund and would never travel with P&O again as when she went onto her balcony there was an unpleasant smell from the port – excuse me this is a working port. Sunday 25th September 2016Monday, September 26. 2016Today we are in Cannes which is a tender port. Despite all the reports that there have been in the past with tendering on Azura this all seemed a very smooth and efficient operation – although many passengers were not keen on being told what to do and where to sit. We chose to go on the Monaco and Monte Carlo on your own tour as this is another area that we have never been to before. So once off the tender it was on to the obligatory coach for the journey into Monaco. This took just over an hour and if it had not been for the dozens of traffic lights could have been done in half the time – I dread to think how long it would take on a weekday. Once we arrived in Monaco we had a new experience – parking the coach in a multi-story car/coach park. We later realised that due the small size of the Principality it would become too congested parking on the streets – perhaps this should be adopted in other tourist centres. For anyone who has never been to Monaco it is on two levels – the upper level (the rock) where the Cathedral and Palace are, and the lower level where the marina and GP circuit are. There are lifts between the two levels but they are not the easiest of thigs to find as they are in car parks. Now one thing that was not mentions anywhere was that it was the Monaco Yacht Show this week (we are not talking little 30 foot things with two sails here but mega million pound have your own helipad yachts) which meant that moving around Monaco was not particularly easy. We took in the changing of the guard at the Place (the Queen has nothing to worry about). This, apparently is one of (no is the only) attraction and large crowds gather to watch it. We did of course have to contend with the rude French who thought that they had some divine right to push to the front – not a chance where I am concerned! This is then where this excursion went a bit “pear shaped”. We were supposed to have the whole time to ourselves in Monaco and Monte Carlo but the guide decided that we all should meet up and drive over to Mote Carlo – which I am led to believe is about a twenty minute walk around the marina. So off we go to another underground coach park to then be led up to the Casino. The Casino in Monte Carlo is an impressive building and looking at the cars outside even with a Lottery win is out of my reach. We were then left to our own devices for the next hour or so but by then the temperature was up around the 30F mark and it was getting a bit uncomfortable. Our overall impression of Monaco and Mote Carlo is that the area is over developed with too much “high rise” construction. Tonight we had our second visit to Shindu and whilst the meal was as good as ever we found that the staff to be a bit “robotic”. Saturday 24th September 2016Monday, September 26. 2016
Obviously Rome is the main attraction here, and is probably the main reason that many have come on this cruise so it is going to be pretty busy with excursions and had all the makings of being an uncomfortable day as the temperature was forecast to be in the upper twenties. As we have, strangely, never been to Rome before we decided that we would do the Roam Around Rome excursion as we are not that keen on sitting on coached for hours being driven round and jumping off and on the coach. The journey from Civitavecchia to Rome was about an hour and a half and once we reached Rome we picked up the local guide and proceeded to have a short drive around taking in mainly the area around the Coliseum. We then left the coach and started our walking tour with sights such as the Spanish Steps (which was a bit disappointing), the Trivoli Fountain (really impressive), the Parthenon and several others. After a lunch break it was then back to the coach to cross the river for our (brief) visit to the Vatican & St Peter’s. St Peter’s Square is nothing like we imagined it to be from having seen it on the television – it seems a lot bigger on the TV. We joined the queue (apparently it was quite a short queue today as it was only half an hour!) to enter the Basilica, which originally we did not think we were doing and were not that keen on doing – how wrong we were, this place is just magnificent and requires several hours to take it all in – not the 30 minutes that we had. It was then back on the coach for the drive back to Civitavecchia. This visit to Rome has certainly whetted our appetite for a longer visit at some point in the future. Tonight we tried the MDR again – this time we walked in and got a table for two without any problem. The meals was also excellent, but as I have said before, lacked atmosphere, Whilst talking MDR the menus have changed since we were on Arcadia at Christmas and whilst there is nothing wrong with the menus many of the items on the menu are not to my taste. Friday 23rd September 2016Friday, September 23. 2016Today was another sea day so most of the day was spent lying and/or sleeping on the sunbeds. As the sun was on our balcony this afternoon then so were we. Tonight was the second formal night and we had our first outing for dinner in Epicurean (a.k.a, Seventeen) – this was as good as ever. The dress code seems a bit (no make that a lot) varied with the majority conforming, although some do stretch the definition somewhat but there are quite a lot who prefer to have their own interpretation. If fact on “evening casual” nights there seems to be more “overdressed” as in semi-formal. Another “instruction” that I have not encountered before is with charging ones devices. The rule now is that you cannot leave anything left charging when you are not in your cabin or at night – nobody actually says when you can charge your devices if you do not spend much time in your cabin. Thursday 22nd September 2016Friday, September 23. 2016We woke to another warm day that was destined to get hotter as the day progressed and as we got closer to our port for today – Cartagena (pronounced Cartahena – that’s Spanish for you!) We docked on time at 10:00 but, unfortunately, RCL’s Navigator of the Seas had the best berth which meant that we had to be shuttled to the town (a 10/15 minute journey) Never having been to Cartagena before we decided that we would use our self-acquired map off Cartagena’s tourist web site to explore the town (or is it a city?). Now that turned out to not be one of the better decisions that was made this cruise as the map was totally useless, but having said that the “official” tourist map was not a lot better. The main problem is that there has been a lot of regeneration in the centre and most of the street names have been removed so there are streets with no names and those that do have names are not on the map! Add to that that what few signposts that there are point in any direction other than the correct one – all very confusing for the visitor unless you want to “shop ‘till you drop”. Despite all of that Cartagena is a very modern looking centre which does not give any impression of being poor – in fact quite the opposite. We wandered around for a while and I was trying to find the city walls, so we were up this street and down that one – all good exercise. Eventually we found them but they are part of the Roman excavations so that was about as far as we could go. These continental folk have some strange ideas – the Roman excavations are “fenced off” so that it you want to see them you have to pay to get it – fair enough. The problem is that the type of fencing used has slats with gaps between them that any passer-by (in this case us) could see through at what was there. Having had a taster we though that it might be an idea to put our hands in our pockets (or to be more precise – for me to put my hand in my pocket) and pay to go in. So we found a sign pointing to the “Entrance” – great. We followed the sign, and kept going but never found any entrance. By this time it was getting very hot so we called it a day and headed back to the ship via the shuttle bus – along with many other passengers – some of whom were trying to stop the first shuttle bus that they saw (and was full) in an attempt to get on it when you could clearly see another four busses parked up. At times you begin to wonder if these people have ever travelled anywhere before! As the sun was on our balcony in the afternoon that was where we adjourned to for the remainder of the day – we did have a bit of entertainment with the Spanish Navy docking behind us – it took longer to tie up that little boat than it did Azura. As we were not leaving port until 19:00 we were, unfortunately, liable to the dreaded Spanish Tourist Tax of 10% on bar purchases which meant that the ship was like the Marie Celeste in the early evening. It never ceases to amaze me that people will spend thousands of pounds on a holiday but will refuse to pay a couple of extra pounds on a couple of drinks. Tonight we decided to try the Glasshouse for dinner. We have had lunch there several times in the past, but never dinner. We both agreed that it was one of the better meals that we have had. If anyone wants a “blast from the past” then the we have on-board as an entertainer none other than Bernie Flint. Will P&O ever update their entertainment? Wednesday 21st September 2016Thursday, September 22. 2016Today was our first port – Cadiz. It is quite a while since I was last here and cannot really remember much about the place, and did not recognise anything due to the fog! Question: How do you reverse park a cruise ship in the fog? We had booked a trip to Seville today which was due to leave at 08:00 with instructions to meet at the coach 15 minutes prior to the departure time. Now is it beyond the wit of man (or woman) to realise that it breakfast does not start until 07:30 that passengers on this trip will not get any breakfast, and room service cannot be guaranteed before 07:30 – however those of us with a butler can manage to get room service breakfast at 06:30 (another perk – and no butlers on P&O cannot reserve tables in the MDR) Now I am sure the journey to Seville passes through some pleasant countryside, but not much of it was visible through the fog. Fortunately the fog had cleared when we reached Seville. We were on the Seville on your own tour so the guide took us all to the Cathedral where we were then left to our own devices, having been told to be back at the coach for 13:30 – which effectively only gave us about three hours in Seville. The weather in Seville was getting hotter by the hour. As there were already lengthy queues for both the Cathedral and the Palace we gave them a miss and just had a good walk around. Seville is a pleasant city with wide streets but difficult to see much in the limited time we had. With hindsight we should have used the ho-ho to get the most out of the place. The journey back was fogless so we were able to see the countryside, but there really was not that much to see. On our arrival back at the port the guide said that as we were back early the driver would take us on a short tour of Old Cadiz – fine but we had just been sat on the coach for the last hour and a half and personally I just wanted to get off. On our return we had an email from P&O confirming our second choice cabin for out 2018 cruise to New York and Canada. Tonight we decided to try the MDR again and whilst we were able to just walk in we have yet to be convinced about Freedom Dining. Tuesday 20th September 2016Wednesday, September 21. 2016Today started off much brighter than yesterday and we even got sight of the sun for most of the day – so today mainly revolved around trying to find a sunbed. There is a major problem with sun beds on Azura and that is in order to allay the “there are not enough sunbeds” they squash them so close together that you cannot get on one. This problem is exacerbated, understandably, by passengers who move the sunbeds into other positions or, heaven forbid, actually put the back of the sunbed down in order to lie on it. All of this ends up making difficult to move around the deck – it is one of those situations where it is a no win scenario. Tonight we went up to the Planet bar for a pre-dinner drink and ended up spending an hour or so with our neighbours. We then decided that we needed some nourishment (you know how it is on a cruise with not knowing where the next meal is coming from!) so we decided to try the Beach House. The Beach House is OK(ish) but was not helped by the fact that we were late in and the staff obviously wanted to get off which meant that our meal was somewhat rushed. There are a couple of changes that I have noticed. The first is that it would appear that auto tips are not now taken at the start of the cruise (obviously I don’t at the moment know when they will be taken) but the upshot of this is that they are not being taken out of the OBC and the knock on effect is that we, as passengers, are losing discount – it would seem that the “bean counters” have been at work again! The other change is that there is an advancement in the technology that is being used. Nearly all the bar stewards/wine waiters now have a tablet device which has a card reader attached. They swipe your Cruise Card and then enter your order. They then have a printer hung on their belt which prints out your ticket for your order. This is all well and good but it does make the waiters look “untidy” Monday 19th September 2016Tuesday, September 20. 2016This was our first sea day which started off overcast and quite chilly so we had the usual “milling around” that passengers do when they are unable to sit out on deck. The weather improved as the day progressed and we got round into BoB. Being of the “suite” class we are entitled to use the Epicurian for breakfast and I must say that this is a far more civilised way to have breakfast – at times there are more waiters than passengers. Not only that it is one of those “if we have it then you can have it” places – no just menu items. In order to pass the time a bit we went to listen to the port talk for Cartagena, which is our second port of call (for some reason we have not had a port talk for Cadiz – the first port). Having been to port talks before in order to glean some “pearls of wisdom” about where were are going we were somewhat disappointed this time as it was more sales pitch than usual – which is why there was no talk about Cadiz – the bookings were closed so no mileage there. Lunch was taken in the Glasshouse, which is still as good as ever, and then it was time for the afternoon siesta. Tonight was our first formal night and also the Captain’s welcome. Not impressed with the location of this on Azura as it is round the atrium and you cannot move, so we went up to the Planet Bar for a pre-dinner drink. I quite like the Planet Bar but it tends to be somewhat underused – probably due to its location. This is where we encountered our neighbours for the first time. In general the dress code was well adhered to and it was encouraging to see the little ones dressed up (there are quite a few small children on board). However there were some who can only be described as “scruffy” – torn jeans, tee shirt and trainers – and I am fully aware that “Evening Casual” is allowed in some areas but that was not within the requested definition. Thought of Foxy tonight when the canapes were chocolate dipped strawberries. There seems to be a new trend now with the lifts – you get in irrespective of where the lift is going so that you don’t miss it coming back. So, for example, we are going up and some gets in who is going down! Tonight we thought we would try using the MDR as it was one of Marco’s gala dinners. This was our first foray into Freedom dining in the MDR and it was not overly successful. Firstly we had to wait for a table but as that was for only about five minutes it was not too bad, but the main problem was that on the table behind us was a rather loud gentleman “holding court” – in a way glad we were not on club on the same table! The meal was good and they had the Stilton with port at the end (if you asked for it). We will probably try the MDR again before making a final judgement on Freedom dining. There was not much on in the way of entertainment – Headliners show was Destination Dance that we have seen several times before and a comedian that I have never heard of. One problem that Azura suffers from is a lack of lounge space after dinner – perhaps because we have got used to Arcadia where everyone has their Horlicks at 20:00!!
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