To Bruges or not to Bruges…

After our visit to Southampton to see the 3 Queens we stayed overnight in Southampton ready for our 2 night cruise to Bruges to celebrate a friends ‘Hen Weekend’..

As we were up early we headed down to port to see what ships were in, we saw Emerald Princess & Celebrity Eclipse.  If only we could have gone on board one of them to have a look round as we had a few hours to kill – oh well maybe next time we will organise that. I loved the look of the Emerald Princess with all the blue glass balconies – she just looked stunning!

My family & friends make fun of me when I see a ship – they tag me under the same lines as train/plane spotters – but I don’t care – it’s my passion & I love to see the different ships.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrity Eclipse is still my all time favourite ship & I so wish I was boarding that ship on this day but no off to Ocean Terminal we go for the Azura.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had booked car parking at Southampton which was so easy, just park and walk to the terminal, took about 5 minutes.  Our bags were taken from us & we headed into the terminal ready to check in.  We didn’t have to wait long and we received ‘Priority Boarding’ so no queuing. We were on the ship by 12pm so had plenty of time to look around.

We had a Deluxe Balcony cabin (E725)  on deck 8 (E Deck) which is suitable for 4 people as has a double sofa bed but it could actually sleep 5 as also has a pull down pullman bed so I don’t know why P&O don’t sell this for larger families, it would surely entice these families to travel as they would save money without having to pay for 2 cabins.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loved the walk-in wardrobe…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I liked the ship, it is the biggest of the P&O fleet at the moment at 115 tons & carries 3100 passengers & 1226 crew.  My first impressions were great but that didn’t last long.

The cabins were spacious, even the inside cabin was a good size…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and the outside cabin…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We headed up to the pool bar to meet the rest of the party and have our first glass of wine for the trip – I couldn’t believe the price £6.25 – wasn’t that much when I went on Oceana 18 months ago – I was not impressed.  In other bars the wine was cheaper at £5.25 for a large glass of Pinot so not sure why the pool bar charged more as should be the same throughout the ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit the staff were not brilliant, not sure why this is, maybe because its a mini cruise and there were lots of groups on there, stag parties, hen weekends, birthday celebrations – but these 2 night cruises can be classed as party cruises.. I wouldn’t go on one unless it was with a group for a special occasion ( I say that now – but who knows)…

The first night we went for dinner with the group, there were 8 of us so had a large round table, some of the girls had never sailed before and it was a bit choppy so didn’t feel great – the wine waiter was rather rude as he thought one of the girls was drunk but she wasn’t she just didn’t like the motion so we asked for a different waiter – they accommodated us but we shouldn’t have had to ask in the first place.

After dinner we headed to a bar as we had seen advertise in the Horizon paper (which tells you what is going on throughout the day) that there would be a Gary Barlow tribute – Yeah!! So off we went but only to find Freddie Mercury – he was good but I wanted to watch Gary Barlow, we were told he was on the next night – OK great, that’s tomorrow sorted then.  We had dressed up in our ‘hen party’ gear this night which was great fun – I think the Hen had a great night, I know I did.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even went in the Jacuzzi late at night – great as no-one around…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next morning we were advised that the ship couldn’t dock in Bruges so we would be returning to Southampton but at 14 knots to take it slowly.  We were a bit disappointed but couldn’t be helped due to the weather.  It was quite rocky and so many people had to go and buy sea sickness tablets – luckily I don’t suffer so was ok.

The outside decks were closed off as not safe to be out there so we were a bit restricted in what we could do so we booked the ‘Oasis Spa’ for a bit of relaxation – this wasn’t a great experience as so many people on board with the same idea. We booked into the ‘Thermal Suite’ so should have been able to do all of this:-

Thermal Suite
Influenced by an ancient healing practice,
the thermal suite offers therapeutic
mild sauna and steam grottos to gently
cleanse and purify the body. Feel free
to move in and out of the grottos,
showers and heated benches as you wish.
However, a good place to start is in the
laconium chamber (mild heat sauna)
to gently open the pores and begin the
cleansing process. When you feel ready,
you can move to the caldarium steam
chamber which offers high humidity and
radiant heat to further purify the body.
You can then shower in our tropical
shower and then retreat once more into
the aromatic grotto where powerful
aromas help to cleanse your lungs and
respiratory system. end your journey
lying on heated ceramic benches. this
is a his and hers social experience and
you can come alone or with friends. We
encourage the use of the thermal suite
before and after all spa treatments.
passes are available for purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

The 5 heated beds were supposed to be used for 15 minutes then let someone else on, this didn’t happen we waited a while then went to use the steam room which was out of order – it was far too busy and would not have been relaxing at all so we left and asked for a refund.

Tonight was formal night so we got ready for dinner then headed to the Gary Barlow tribute night……….

Guess what –  Freddie Mercury again – I wasn’t impressed and no-one could tell us why – maybe the Gary Barlow guy was feeling the motion & couldn’t perform.  So we headed off to the Karaoke in Brodies Bar instead.  This was a great night, sang a few songs and had a dance, the atmosphere was great – a good end to the weekend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My overall expectations of the Azura on this 2 night cruise was average and that’s all it was, the food was ok but not much to choose from at the buffet & the midnight buffet – shouldn’t have even bothered.
The service was poor as I am used to happy smiling staff who can’t do enough to help you but not on this trip.  I waited 20 minutes for a wine waiter to order a drink with lunch whilst at sea then a further 10 minutes till it arrived – I’d eaten my lunch by then.

It was by far the worst service I have ever experienced on board a ship but it won’t put me off – I would love to go on this ship again for a longer duration to compare the service – that would be interesting!!

A few more pictures of the ship….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I must admit it is a great way to celebrate a special occasion but be prepared for rowdy hens & stags as very popular for these groups – I think we were the quietest group!

So of you fancy a party cruise or any other cruise give me call on 0800 408 6108 or email me at [email protected]