My wife and I are just back from a 2 night mini cruise on P&O's Azura from Southampton to Zeebrugge, back to Southampton.

This was our 2nd ever cruise, our first being last August for a 2 week roundtrip cruise from Southampton to the Med, on Princess' Crown Princess. Azura and the Crown are the same ship, just run by different cruise operators, so we knew what to expect from the ship in terms of size and layout. The similarities between the two ships sadly ended there for us...

Let me start by saying we aren't snobs by any stretch of the imagination, and we are down-to-earth and easy going people (both in our mid-late 20's). BUT... we see cruising as a very expensive top-notch holiday choice; and as a result, it is reasonable to expect good service and quality. Princess more than exceeded ALL our expectations and as a result, obviously this has set our expectations for future cruises. Read more