We'd been to Dubrovnik before and wanted to add Split and the rest of the Dalmation coast to my bucket list so we'd chosen to go on this trip a few months ago.
But we didn't expect to find the lingerings of covid to have such an impact on the embarkation and with the day to day running of the ship.
The TUI check in was terrible, it took 1 hour 45mins, then there was the famous Manchester ...
After 2 long years my daughter and I were really looking forward to this cruise. The form filling, testing and App downloading nearly drove me to distraction but I was sure it would be worth it in the end. The flight from Gatwick airport was trouble free but we were kept waiting at Malta airport for over an hour on the coach, Valetta cruise terminal just can't cope with the number of passengers ...
This was our 12th cruise, and our 4th on Azura/ Ventura. Chosen due to 5 of the ports of call were new to us.
There were very many first time cruisers on this trip who thought the Azura experience was brilliant, but the experienced cruisers we spoke to were, like ourselves, rather disappointed with the lowered standards and penny pinching by P & O.
First thing we experienced was - blamed on ...
I chose this cruise for the itinerary. It was my first P&O cruise and it will certainly be my last. My wife and I had completed 18 cruises with various lines all of which were of a much higher standard than P&O. Azura is tired and the service, food and entertainment are well below an acceptable standard. This was Azura's first cruise in Europe and the ship had travelled from the Caribbean to ...
Choose this cruise in 2020 as liked the itinerary and the idea of crossing Atlantic. Unknown to the joining 500 in Barbados on 18 & 19 March the ship already had Civif amongst guests who had finished Caribbean sector, the Crew especially waiting staff etc and booked Entertainment. Getting to ship however was like the Crystal Maze. Totally understand P&O wanting to create a safety bubble of guests ...
We chose this cruise (Barbados to Malta) because it seemed like the cruise of a lifetime & ship pictures were lovely.
We understandably had a PCR test and an airport antigen test before leaving the UK (Gatwick) to create a 'Covid bubble' i.e. only allowed to travel if results negative. This made us feel safe.
We got onboard on the evening of 18th March and the ship seemed to live up to ...
We had cruised on Azura in Jan 21 and it was so good we booked again. Manchester airport was a nightmare and it took 3 hours 40 min from bus drop off till we cleared security. mostly because of covid testing and not enough TUI check in staff. We had booked the Aspire lounge but had to walk briskly from security to the departure gate in time for boarding. £50 down the drain.
The check in etc ...
We chose this cruise some months back when it was thought covid was slowing. It was an itinerary we had done before on Britannia. This was Azura's 3rd cruise after cruises were suspended. Although not an official figure it was thought there were about 1600 on board - half capacity, and most notably the age demographic was far far lower than cruises I have been on, well done younger people ...
Did the same cruise 3 yrs ago so good to be back. Surprised to find only 900 onboard but understandable. Interior lacked a bit of atmosphere if you didn't go at peak times (after 8.30 show, usually). Felt sorry for some of the artists because of this.
Plus point was no queues for dining rooms, where the food was very good. Service varied - generally good but sometimes slow and forgetful, even ...
we were lucky this must have been the last cruise during the virus outbreak, for those people that could not get to the cruise because of sickness I am very sorry, for those who changed their minds and got a flight home what a treat you missed, it was like new years eve every day, the weather on the crossing could not have been better, the entertainment was fantastic the crew were wonderful and ...