First of all, the Azura is a beautiful ship, very plush but very large. We have only been on smaller ships and were constantly getting lost. It can be a bit annoying finding yourself at the front of the ship when you thought you were at the back. Entirely our fault, but I think more signposting would have helped. We had a superior cabin with balcony and I can't fault it. It was very comfortable, the bathroom was a good size and we were lucky in that our balcony got a lot of sun. Having said that, it was almost impossible to enjoy it once the ship sailed as it was very breezy and cold, so there wasn't a lot of sunbathing going on. However, it was nice to sit inside on the sofa and watch the world going by.

I understand we were very fortunate with the weather as it was very warm in every port we went into with the exception of Zebrugge which we had to miss because of poor weather. We were very disappointed to be missing all that chocolate! Where the port was quite a distance from the town, P & O put complementary buses to and from the centre, which I thought was really good. The prices for a beer or coffee in town were unbelievably expensive so take plenty of money. The highlights for me were Talinn - very quaint, had lots of shopping. Also, the folk evening in St Petersberg was fabulous - not to be missed. For something a bit different, I recommend it.