A310N continued….
We managed to find a nice café in a little square near the ferry terminals in Ajaccio, where for the cost of a coffee and a beer got a wi-fi connection to post the previous report. There was some wi-fi in the terminal building (from the adjacent Chambre de Commerce) but it was incredibly slow and nigh on impossible to access (possibly due to large amounts of crew using up the bandwidth with their Skyping?) Ajaccio is nice enough, and there was a market in one of the squares but there’s nothing too interesting there. The beach although quite narrow, looked nice and sandy – though those who went there told us that the water was still only for the brave, being quite chilly this early in the season. We spent the afternoon back on board enjoying another sunny day on the balcony.
Not for the first time (and certainly not the last) we retired not long after dinner and didn’t get as far as the Headliners show. We knew that the next day would be a tiring one…
So, the highlight for our cruise duly arrived… Rome. Being newbies to the city we decided to take the safe option and book the transfer into the city centre, known as “Rome on your own”. Despite us arriving at the quayside some 10-15 mins before the departure time we found that we were on the 4th coach out of 5. So much for the requests for passengers not to get down too early that we had read on previous copies of the Horizon! The guide on the coach gave us maps and some information about the city and we reached St Peter’s Square at about 10am. We really raced around the city by foot and took in all the main sights, despite it being quite a hot and sunny day. We also managed to find time to get lunch of pizza, before reconvening to meet the coach in the late afternoon. Rome certainly didn’t disappoint, and we got enough of a taste to know we want to return and to do the sights justice. Wina wanted to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain to see whether we are destined to return but I quickly brought her down to earth with a sharp rebuke… “By eck lass, has tha forgotten tha’s from Yorkshire????” The coin was quickly put in my pocket, to live to see another day (or year).
![Rolling Eyes :roll:](./images/smilies/icon_rolleyes.gif)
The only gripe about Rome was the chaos in the underground coach park – where we had to stand in the heat and fumes for about 15minutes while the guide located the coach (which had apparently been not allowed to stop and had therefore to go out again to rejoin the queue). It certainly didn’t spoil a great day though. The heat and all the walking took its toll however and we made a quick return to the cabin following dinner.
Sunday saw us in Monte Carlo (or rather anchored with Monte Carlo in the distance), and Wina’s birthday. As usual Wina had decreed that she didn’t want “anything special” for her birthday and being the gentleman that I am, I went along with her wishes. Having said that, I thought I detected a slight touch of disappointment – that I hadn’t got her the traditional box of maltesers. Being a little hung-over from the night before, we decided not to open the bottle of champers we fetched from home so that will go back home and save until the next appropriate celebration. We took a leisurely breakfast and headed down to Malabar to get a bingo-ticket type number for tendering order. Well, we actually had to join the queue to get a ticket – which extended back well into the atrium! All in all, from joining the queue to getting on the tender took about 45 mins which wasn’t as bad as had been earlier predicted by the captain. Apparently, the dock authorities had only made a single tender berth available to Azura, because their other had been assigned to a Seabourne ship. Fortunately, common sense took over, and Seabourne allowed Azura to share their berth (which to be fair was hardly used – due to the small size of the ship and hence the number of passengers) thereby allowing the number of tenders to be increased significantly.
Once ashore we immediately headed up the steps through the parkland leading up to the old part of the city with the cathedral, palace and the Oceanographic centre (from where we knew the little road-train runs). We took the train around the city which gave us a good oversight – we were also very lucky in that they were preparing for the forthcoming Grand Prix – so it was obvious to us where the circuit runs. After being dropped off we then proceeded to explore the city by foot, and got chance to walk along many of the areas used in the motor race – including the pit areas. We also walked into the famous tunnel, before heading up to the Hotel de Paris and Casino. As it was Wina’s birthday, I allowed us to buy ice-creams from the Café de Paris, which I guess must have been almost the priciest in town. Boy, I do spoil that girl rotten.
![Angel :angel:](./images/smilies/icon_angel.gif)
A final walk around the marina took us to the solar-powered boat ……and a 2 Euro pp trip across the water to get back to Azura’s berth, whilst drooling at the various mega-yachts in the marina.
When we got back to the cabin Wina found some balloons and a card from the Captain, and a box of choccies from my brother and family. Yet again we were fortunate in that we had the late afternoon sun on the balcony, so we made the most of it. That evening was another formal night and we had a booking in Sindhu. We arrived in good time and got a bottle of Peller Ice opened before enjoying what can only be described as a fantastic meal. Wina had calamari to start followed by lobster and panacotta, whilst I enjoyed crab, duck and chocolate pudding which was intriguingly flavoured with tarragon…and superb. In our humble opinion, Sindu compared to XVII was twice as good – at half the price. We’re now really wishing we had gone during the first week so we could have had chance to experience both menus. All in all I think Wina had a good birthday (despite the weather not being quite as good – it even briefly rained as we got back on the tender)…after all, how many ladies can say that their husband took them for a “money-no-object” day-trip to Monaco???
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
And so, onto our 4th consecutive port-day – Barcelona. Once more, Azura seemed to be given the furthest berth possible – though this didn’t make much difference as the shuttle transfer takes only 5 minutes. Again, this city is new to us (I had briefly visited some 26 years ago – but could only remember there being a C&A near the main square!), so we simply wandered up Las Ramblas – calling in at the market. Seeing the wonderful chilled fresh fruit juices we immediately bought two for 2E each…as I predicted that healthy competition (or a cartel type arrangement) would ensure that the price wouldn’t vary. How wrong was I?? Suffice it to say that my mood was not improved by the sight of them at E1.50 shortly after…and at E1 each at one stall! We found some decent toilets at the back of the market too….although you do need a 50 cent coin to access them. Oddly enough, I still haven’t worked out whether 50cents admits 1 or 2 people – because the turnstile seemed to have a mind of its own.
The market itself is wonderful, with all sorts of fruit, veg, fish, meat etc available. Plenty of tourists in there too, so it’s important to watch your bags etc for the pickpockets that plague the city.
We continued up Ramblas until we got to La Ledera (sp?) with it’s Gaudi-designed façade and balconies and then headed towards Sagrada Familia for some more exterior photos. We then had some tapas at a tiny street café which was off the beaten track and therefore used by locals mainly. Of course we had to have frittata which was delicious along with a plate of ham and other meats and some calamari. Oh, and a couple of beers. We went back down to the shuttle point via Las Ramblas and the market – for another “comfort stop” and fruit juice……and no, I DIDN’T pay E2 each!! It had been another lovely day, though fortunately not as hot as Rome had been. You won’t be surprised to read that we sat on the sunny balcony for the sail away!
That evening we decided to try Verona (the trattoria) so went along at 7.15 to be told the wait would be around 1hour. No problem, we just took a pager and headed up two decks to Planet Bar where we sat in the sun on the area overhanging the sea for a wonderful view. At this point I tried to ring the Oriental Restaurant to inform them of our impending no-show, but the phone just rang and rang. I therefore had to trudge the 220 stairs down and back up again to tell them in person. Silly fool that I am, I tried to run back up….but only got about half-way before I had to slow to a walk. I blame it on the altitude affect rather than the many extra pounds I’ve probably put on during the cruise so far. The wait for the table was just about 1 hour and we found ourselves shown to a window seat where we could see the setting sun as we dined. The food was ok – nothing more IMO, but the lava-rock steak was the tastiest fillet we have had on board so far. The only problem with that dish is that you spend all the meal trying to ensure you don’t burn your wrist on the stone. Also, 3 of the 4 people on the next table ordered it, and the amount of smoke emitted was quite unpleasant.
The next morning saw us in Valencia…. or more accurately, somewhere near Valencia as we were right at the end of a very distant dock – with the terminal building in the distance and the city further yet. The port information provided by P&O said that it was possible to walk to some beaches along a nice promenade just a few minutes from the terminal. Because we had to be back on board by 3pm and the shuttle into the city was 30mins each way we had toyed with doing this. When we got off Azura this option wasn’t available… we were so far from the terminal building and there was no transport to it. The only option was to take the city shuttle – so that’s what we did, and with hindsight we were pleased that we did. P&O hadn’t provided a city map (no idea why) and so we accepted one from the port policeman who was handing them out as we disembarked. Unfortunately it wasn’t a map – but just a multi-lingual reminder to take care of one’s possessions when in cities etc! So we were dropped in the centre with no idea where anything of interest was. We headed for the two remaining towers from the 14thC city walls which we saw from the coach. We climbed these (payable locally) and managed to get some bearings i.e. where the cathedral was. As it was late morning by this time we sat at a pavement café and had a coffee and beer before wandering into the city proper. The city is nice, but nothing too special – however the market hall is wonderful – both in terms of architecture and content. The stalls in there catered for all types of food….there was even an old lady whose stall sold nothing but edible snails…about 5 or 6 different types! There were also many fantastic seafood stalls and of course charcuterie too. After buying some beers for drinking in the cabin we headed back towards the cathedral near where I had earlier spotted a shop selling E1 ice-creams. Well, we thought we had headed for the cathedral, but after about 5 minutes walk we ended up at…the market! Ooops, that led to a red faced ex-geography student! We eventually saw a street we recognised so retraced our steps and found the shop selling the cheapest ice-cream in town. Very nice it was too…as well as being cheap. A basic map would have helped…we will be mentioning that to P&O.
That evening we headed to our usual pre-dinner hang-out (Glass House) but found it much busier than it had been previously and only just managed to get a seat at the bar. According to some other “regulars” it had been busy the previous evening too…..isn’t it funny how the presence of a celebrity on board (Olly Smith) brings people out of the woodwork? Just as we headed down to dinner we noticed our remaining two MDR companions eating in the Glass House. After talking to them we realised that if we ate in the Glass House ourselves the next night (as we were planning) then we would only have the last night dining together as a foursome, so we decided to eat there that night too instead. So again I had to race down to the dining room to inform Anthony our waiter that we wouldn’t be coming… again. By the looks of it, he was going to have a very easy night, as another table hadn’t arrived either – so he was probably only going to be looking after one table of 6! He did look a bit disappointed – I hope he doesn’t think we would reduce our gratuities after dining elsewhere so frequently?
Our meal in Glass House was very good. We shared 3 of the small plates to start. The chorizo, belly pork and bean cassoulet was the tastiest thing I have eaten on the cruise to date. We followed those up with haddock and chips for Wina and burger for me (there’s a surprise!). Both were very good. After dinner we headed up to Planet Bar (and used the lifts for a change) where we enjoyed a couple of drinks. The cocktail “Bramble” is really good – if a bit pink…though in the darkness of the Planet Bar I think I got away with it!
So, that ended our hectic schedule of 5 consecutive port days, and we were left with just the long 3 day sail back to Blighty.
Our luck had now run out regarding the balcony sun, and it was clear that we wouldn’t get any on the first sea day (sailing down Spain and through the Straits of Gib). As such we went to find beds up on deck and were pleasantly surprised to find plenty available at 11am. After 2 changes of sun beds (that’s actually quite a low number for us!!!) we ended up in the area next to the Retreat – where the wind was less. I spent the day with my nose pushed up against the glass partition – something akin to a child outside a sweet shop – gazing longingly at the promised land of milk and honey (or comfy spacious sun beds and a private pool at the least). I did manage to sneak my hand under the glass at one point, so I can justifiably claim to have tried the Retreat…and to be honest I didn’t think much of it! I kept looking at Lizzie and Maureen who were sunning themselves in comfort in there – in the hope that they would sneak us in, but they had assumed a haughty look of disdain and were pretending not to notice us plebs. (Only joking ladies!).
After our first dinner in the MDR for a few nights we actually managed to make it to another Headliners show – “When Swing Was King”. To be honest, we were not very impressed at either the content or the performance so think we maybe haven’t missed much in the previous shows. On a bit of a late-night-roll however, we then went back down to Manhattan where we enjoyed Rob Lewis’s tribute to Phil Collins. His show was slightly different from the Elton John tribute we saw earlier in the cruise in that he concentrated a little less on the visual accuracy and put a bit more of his own style into the performance. That didn’t detract from a highly competent and enjoyable show though. The highlight of the show however had to be the “old dear” sat near us who nodded off each time a new song started, only to wake up during each round of applause to add her own…before nodding off once more.
The next morning was quite grey and miserable outside which was fine as we had planned to go to the audience with Olly Smith. The guy is so entertaining – and comes across as being naturally enthusiastic and cheerful – his Twitter account is under the name of “Jolly Olly” which just about sums him up. There wasn’t really any need for Neil Oliver to be there as an interviewer – Olly took to the stage and immediately took control of the proceedings. He is so at ease and funny with it – I bet he’s great company on a night out! The sun managed to appear after lunch so we soaked up a few last rays overlooking the wake which was an unexpected treat.
That evening we shared pre-dinner drinks in Glass House with the comedy double-act that is Maureen and Lizzie. Unfortunately soon after they departed for the Captain’s cocktail party - I’m sure they are looking at us differently since they found out we are not at the Peninsular level required to receive an invitation. We’ve really enjoyed their company on this cruise. We then retook our usual places at the bar where we got talking to Rob Lewis (the Phil Collins act) and told him how we enjoyed his show. Turns out that he’s from Sheffield, so we’ll keep an eye out for him performing locally. This evening was our last formal night and we were due to be dining alone (as our companions were eating at Sindhu….I do hope they enjoyed it as we had enthused after our own visit). As anticipated, there was beef welly on the menu and I took my chance to ask for two pieces (well, I wasn’t having any soup or champagne sorbet – does anyone actually like that???) Anthony our waiter didn’t disappoint, and I was doubly pleased as it was the best welly I’ve ever eaten on a ship. The finale to the meal was the parade of the chefs and the presentation of the menus from the cruise.
After waddling out of the MDR I decided (after previous comments from our table companions) to go and get some culture i.e. see the second show by Peter Fisher – a very capable violin player. We both enjoyed his show – after which we decided that we couldn’t really be bothered to go the whole length of the ship to see Fogwell Flax, so instead nipped back up to the cabin. I wonder if P&O will specify an airport-style travelator on their new even bigger ship, as the distances from fore to aft are likely to be quite long!
The sea really got up during the evening and through the night got really quite rough. There were numerous bangs during the night and for a newer ship Azura doesn’t half creak – particularly the partition dividing the main cabin space and the walk-in wardrobe.
The next day began rough and grey also – we were by now into the BoB proper and it continued to be lumpy for most of the day. I do suffer with seasickness but have found ginger to be quite affective. Having said that, I spent all morning after breakfast lying on the bed and sleeping quite a lot while Wina found some brief sun on an otherwise chilly balcony. The afternoon saw me trying to avoid the packing due to feeling queasy (that’s what I told her anyway) while Wina did it all manfully.
Disembarkation went without a hitch; we had requested (and been given) 9-9.30am, and we were in the car leaving the dock-gate at 9.35. There wasn’t a customs officer in sight, but we had noticed a sniffer-dog on the quayside earlier so I assume anyone with a case of fags would be pulled for a quiet “word”. I breathed a sigh of relief when we exited with our 2.8L of gin…which at current rate of drinking should last Wina until the end of the month!
A quick stop at one of my favourite pubs (in Nottinghamshire) for lunch broke up our journey home – which passed uneventfully…. Now we are back home with the second load in the washer…well done Wina!
So after all that, here are my thoughts of the cruise overall…
Ship.
Azura is, as many people have said, an extremely stylish ship. The décor and colour schemes are much to our tastes and there is a general feeling of style and maturity. The passengers on this cruise were generally older – I would guess the average age to have been around 65 though I may be way off the mark. Most people seemed to dress in keeping with the dress codes too – the majority of men wore dinner suits on Formal nights and the ladies too wore more dresses than I’ve witnessed on recent cruises (on Arcadia and Oceana). Our favourite bar was Glass House which epitomises the style of the ship. Azura is now officially my favourite ship…by a country mile.
The cabin has been decent too. If choosing a balcony cabin I would highly recommend those on C deck, which enjoy a much deeper balcony than others. Sure, part of it is overlooked, but there is also part which is completely private and we’ve managed to situate our chairs back there (yet enjoy the sun) on many occasions.
Staff and Crew.
As usual, they are the jewel in Po’s crown. Helpful and friendly and willing to do their utmost to make people’s cruise as good as it can be and almost always smiling. Our cabin steward, Suresh, has been excellent and has brought us ice and lemon each day. Our waiting team in the MDR Anthony and Alexandre have similarly been top notch and I have been fetched a large espresso each night without needing to ask after the second evening.
Food.
Excellent at times (Sindhu and Glass House), but less so at others. As I mentioned in my previous report, Seventeen was a disappointment and the food in the MDR does seem to me to be less exciting than on some earlier cruises we have done. Having said that, I do believe the quality in the MDR still to be good when you consider the vast numbers they are catering for. We also suspect that the quality of choice has diminished in the buffets at lunchtime somewhat. The drinks prices keep moving upwards too. It was only a couple of years ago that you could buy a bottle of Crabbies for £2.50…it’s now £3.75!
Itinerary.
Superb (but for the 3 sea days coming home). I think if they had managed to split these with a call on the Atlantic coast somewhere then it would have been perfect for us. The weather too has been very kind to us with only occasionally some greyness (and touch of rain). We’ve had a brief but very good introduction to some lovely cities.
Entertainment.
Again, we found this to be mixed – though I realize that this is highly subjective. We enjoyed the tribute artistes and the audiences with both Atul Kochar and Olly Smith were particularly entertaining. Neil Oliver does a good job as CD – he’s often visible around the ship and frequently chatting to passengers. He even asked me (on our way to see Peter Fisher) if I had been sat next to him in the Phil Collins tribute – apparently he’d noticed me singing the words to the songs. Fortunately he wasn’t trying to get me to do karaoke in Brodies the next day…perhaps he heard me too?!?!?
All-in-all, one of the best cruises we’ve been on….as the size of our onboard account will testify. I’d recommend Azura to anyone who hasn’t yet tried her.
Any questions…just ask.