I felt rather privileged being one of the first people to set foot aboard P&O’s brand new super liner Azura, as you would expect with P&O although the ship was brand new, it has a sense of style and warmth, with classic decoration that made it feel fresh yet contemporary.After having a quick look around the state room, I had been given a balcony room, which I must say was fantastic, and well worth the extra, as it really does give you some open space all to yourself! The Stateroom itself was really well fitted out, complete with flat screen TV, with quite a few TV Channels. There was even tea & Coffee making facilities, which is great when you have just got back in from somewhere.
Next we popped off for a quick lunch. WOW the buffet at the Verona restaurant was unbelievable, and after a long drive to Southampton from Liverpool, it certainly filled a gap! We had lunch outside overlooking one of the pools, and in the sunshine it was almost as if you had been swept away to some Caribbean island, rather than sitting dockside in Southampton!
Next we had a wander round to see what this stunning ship had to offer, and there was so much! The Oasis Spa has to be seen to be believed, and the gym was so well equipped, I almost had a go myself. Well Almost! After the thought of all that hard work, next we sat and enjoyed a cool drink at the Breakers bar, watching people swimming in the pools below, I can’t believe how lucky we have been with the weather!
After getting ready for dinner, we wandered through the main atrium, with it’s impressive sweeping stair case and glass lifts with a band playing away, and people dancing, we stopped and took it all in for a while before browsing the shops, and there where some really unusual presents to buy!
As we strolled through the Library, passed the internet area, we wandered to the Glass House, a wine bar that has wines selected by the TV Wine expert Olly Smith, who was there ‘holding court’ advising everyone about the different wines, it was truly inspiring, and hopefully when you cruise on the Azura, he’ll be on one of your sailings.
Food, as I have already said is a grand affair on the Azura, and for evening meal we ate at the ‘Meridian restaurant’ I have to say the ambiance was really relaxed, yet the service was unobtrusive, yet efficient, and the food… well what can I say, everyone on our table deliberately chose different starters, and we where not disappointed! Everyone we spoke to had nothing but praise for the ship, as we laughed and enjoyed the tails of fellow cruisers we soon realised we would need to get our act together if we where going to be in time to see the show in the theatre.
The Theatre itself, is bigger than most theatres you will ever have been to, and the quality of the acts where to match, when we where on there was like a mixture of all your favourite west end musicals, and it brought the house down. When we finished there we wandered into the casino, and had a little flutter (well, you have to don’t you!) before moving on to the Malabar, where there was a tribute group on, and everyone was up dancing! We spoke to some people there who had just eaten at Atul Kochhar’s Indian Restaurant, and they where raving about how good it was. (Note to self: Try there next time!)
Eventually it was time to go back to our stateroom, where the bed had been folded back, and as we wandered on to the balcony, the world felt a better place. Pity we where only there for one night, as she sailed on her maiden voyage the following day.
After a rather good breakfast in the Verona Restaurant, it was time to take our bags and head back ashore, leaving this gleaming fairy tail of a ship behind. I was only there for a night, but the memories will last a long time… imagine having a couple of weeks on board!
