John Cooper visits the Adonia

As you first board the Adonia, you get a feel of real luxury, yet also a feel of home, with its rich dark wood walls and tasteful furniture, its almost like a country house feel. As you start to get a feel for the ship, it is obvious she is not a large ship, however, the benefits that come with that are also transparent. We after a day, started recognising staff and fellow guests, and it does help you ‘settle-in’ quicker.

The bars and lounges onboard are tastefully decorated, and there always seemed to be plenty of staff around, no matter where you went. The pool deck was really good, and although the pool is not the largest I have every seen, the way it is situated makes the whole area a sun trap, and keeps away any sea breezes.

There where 2 restaurants onboard, the more formal ‘Pacific’ was really nice, and when we came to be seated, I have never seen so many waiters looking after so few people, making you feel a bit special. As you would expect on a P&O cruise, the food was of a very high standard, and the choice was plentiful, everyone around us seemed very impressed with the whole dining experience.

The less formal ‘Conservatory’ on the Lido deck, which we chose for Breakfast and lunch was very cool and contemporary in feel, a little bit American / smart. The choice of the food was excellent, and once again, although this is buffet service, there where plenty of staff to clear away dishes etc, and this was done quickly and unobtrusive. The only downside I would say is that of a morning, the coffee making machines and orange juice dispensers are almost at the opposite side of the restaurant to the food, but this may have been rectified by now.

We did enjoy the Crows nest bar of an evening, which gives you a panoramic view as the ship glides forward, it really is spectacular, whilst the evening entertainment in the Curzon Lounge was excellent, with a intimate feel, you felt as though you where part of special night, every night.

The stateroom we had was an outside balcony, and whilst compact, it had everything you could ask for, including Sky News, BBC News and Sky Sports as part of the TV package, which at least kept me happy! The bathroom, was as is normal on cruise ships, compact, but I must say the shower was fantastic. Easy to control, and it had a real strong flow, that wakes you up in the morning!

Who would this ship appeal to? Well, to be honest, anyone who likes a feel of the finer things in life, with personal friendly service, and does not want to feel as though they are one of the masses, and likes to make great friends and feel the camaraderie a cruise holiday can bring. Would I go back? In a heart beat!

Black Watch Iceland & Norwegian Fjords Cruise by Nick Belger

With our departure from the busy port of Southampton, we decided to drive down the night before and take advantage of a nights accommodation with breakfast, including car parking (upto 15 days) and transfer to the port included for £149, which the next day seem very good value for money as we were then relaxed and ready for the cruise we had looked forward to all year.

The Black Watch carries less than 1000 passengers, so is only a small ship, but provides enough facilities to keep us active for our two days at Sea on our journey to Iceland!

Our suite was based on deck 7, and was ideally located for Restaurants, bars and the Library, as well as being a comfortable sized room, with a separate bedroom area. We choose a late sitting for our evening meal in the Glentanar restaurant, which is on deck 6, although you can choose the newly renovated Braemar Garden Café, which offers a buffet service, so you can choose to dine at anytime from around six thirty.

The choice of menu for each meal, breakfast, lunch and evening meal, has something to satisfy all tastes, and if you cant find anything on the a la carte menu, then the buffet is always open! Even if that does not have your choice then just ask, and whatever you want, within reason, the friendly staff will always try and cater for you.

Then there is afternoon tea, which you can take the normal service which is normally served in the Braemar Lounge, and offers tea, sandwiches with a selection of cakes or why not try the Traditional afternoon tea, which is a supplement of £5.95 per person, and includes Teas from Taylors of Harrogate in your porcelain pot, finger sandwiches, dainty pastries and warm scones with Jam & cream, served by white gloved staff, and accompanied by Piano melodies all in the Observatory Bar.

In the evening along with having entertainment in every bar area, there is the Neptune Lounge which has a wide variety of Shows, every night of the week. After the shows we could then continue, if we wished, in the Lido bar, which offered entertainment to the small hours.

All this meant we were refreshed and ready for Iceland, unfortunately we were unable to stop at the first port of call Heimay, due to the weather and being unable to board the tenders, instead an alternative of a cruise around Surtsey, which is one of the worlds newest islands, and started forming in 1963, by a volcanic eruptions, and the island still is free from human interference, fascinating and eerie.

We then continued our cruise and because of missing the stop at Heimaey, we arrived a night earlier in Reykjavik and were able to leave the ship that evening to tour the city. The following morning all passenger left the ship most opted for the Golden Circle tour, or the Blue Lagoon, both of these tours, offer once in a lifetime experience and very worthwhile, although we chose the Blue Lagoon, which was very enjoyable and relaxing.

The next morning we arrived in Isafjordur, a small town, were the Black Watch towered above all the buildings, and as we found out from our walk out of the town, could be seen for miles so we couldn’t get lost. As I say here we choose to stay local and as it was a beautiful sunny winters day, the walk was made even more enjoyable and the stunning views around the area from every angle took on a new look, we then departed late afternoon sailing through the mountains in the calm waters, looking back over were we had walked to and regretting a little we had not walked around those last few corners!

The next morning we arrived at Akureyi, for an early start, as we only had till early afternoon, we had arranged a 4x4 jeep, which took us down unfrequented roads, first to Godafoss (“waterfall of the Gods”), you could see the mist from the waterfall for miles around and the spectacle was even better close up. When we arrived the coach trips from the Black Watch were already there, although they had taken the less bumpy route! We then headed with our informative driver to a more secluded waterfall, Aldeyjarfoss, with its contrast of black basalt columns and the white waters of the fall, a hidden gem that we were lucky enough to see, only those on the 4x4 tour!

We then were driven over some beautiful and changing landscapes to Myvatn for a coffee stop and to take a look over the lake, one thing we noticed was the quietness, no noise not even bird in the area.

We then made in back to the Black Watch in time for our departure from Iceland and our overnight cruise to Norway and Alesund, here again we had an early arrival and we took the opportunity to take a walk around the small but elegant waterfront, before heading back to the Black Watch for our tour, a cruise through the Fjords on a small cruiser, enabling us to get deeper into the Fjords, so they majestically rose dramatically above us, with waterfalls cascading from all angles, magnificent!

After making our way back to the Black Watch, we departed late afternoon to Bergen, here again we chose to walk into the town, there was choice to take a shuttle bus for £5 return, but we took a chance even though it looked as if rain was about to come, but there again Bergen does have 300 rainy days a year, so chances are it was always going to have some rain and it did not disappoint! Having said that, the journey was worthwhile, seeing the Old Town and taking the funicular cable car of Bergen, gives you a wider view of what the city and the area has to offer. Alternatively we could have done the popular Norway in a Nutshell, which operates all year and everyone who went on the tour said how wonderful and worthwhile it was.

We then headed for our last port of call Farsund, which is a small town, again and has the most fabulous beaches and small harbour area in the town, which was a walk away, or a shuttle bus was on offer for £5 return.

We arrived back in Southampton, with a quick exit from the Black Watch and then taxi back to the hotel to collect our car we headed home, for what was a very enjoyable and stunning cruise.

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!