Fred Olsen. The Braemar in the Caribbean by Nick Belger

Spending the early winter months in the Caribbean is an ideal way to prepare you for the depths of the British Winter, and what better way to do it than on the beautiful Braemar, sailing out of Barbados.

We chose to use our own flights rather than Fred Olsen., which allowed us to tailor make our cruise/fly package, even though Fred Olsen. offered charter flights direct from Manchester to Barbados.

The earlier departure allowed us to enjoy Barbados a little more and acclimatise before making our way to our ship, which also stayed overnight in Barbados.

Luckily we had booked ourselves a Balcony Suite on the Braemar, and it was well worth it for the extras you get, first there was the welcome bottle of sparkling wine, as well as the fruit basket, and the flowers. We also had our bathrobes and slippers!

Then we had pre dinner canapés delivered every evening, and the free formal wear press, all included in the price, not only all this but a suite on deck seven, Bridge deck, so perfectly positioned.

In all cabins and suites, you have your own safe and on the TV set you can continually check your on board account, as well as pre ordering your wine each evening, and any excursions you wish to pre book. Whilst most people, understandably, lodge a credit card for their own account, we decided to pay it as we went along, so there was no need to lodge a card, which is great for more ‘controlled’ spending!

The ship itself was surprisingly spacious and we felt, well proportioned and suited us, although some may want the bigger ships that offer more activities on board, but we were quite happy with what was on offer.

Our restaurant of choice was our pre booked Grampain, although there were other choices the main Thistle and the informal buffet style Palms Café, which is were you can find the fabulous afternoon teas and the midnight buffets. We were given the later sitting in the Grampain was the smallest and most intimate of all the restaurants, but again suited us, with the Maitre Dee and our wine and food waiter giving us extra attention we well looked after, and chose this for breakfast and lunch too!!

The ports of call were varying and gave a wide variety of experiences, Trindad, Tobago, Jamaica, Tortola, St Kitts, Antigua, St Lucia, to name but a few, but the highlight in the Caribbean after a full day of exploration is always sailing away from the pier, when the sun is going down, standing on the cascading decks at the stern of the ship, whilst the steel drums are playing, add to that the cocktail of the day in your hand, and you can appreciate how mellow and lucky you feel.

The other great thing is the cost of drinks on board, in £’s too, look out for the cocktail of the day, well worth a try and the choice of wine in excellent as well.

The bars and entertainment and shows gave a varied choice too, from the Observatory Lounge, were because of my suite 7007, I was referred to as Mr Bond all week, which obviously left an impression, and yes I know they call everybody that week in week out, but it does make you feel special, so there for pre dinner drinks, to the Neptune theatre after dinner for a show, before a night cap and start all over at a different Caribbean island tomorrow, I could go on and on!

P&O's Brand New Azura by John Cooper

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!