One Day Holiday!

You’re probably asking, how can you have a one-day holiday?  Well, I had just that on Saturday 9th June, where I got to spend the day onboard the beautiful Azura!  Now I have sailed on Ventura before, so with the Azura being Ventura’s sister ship, I knew what to expect, however, this wasn’t just any old ship visit.  For starters it wasn’t so formal, it was more relaxed.

Anyway, as any trip to Southampton for me, as an early start.  So I got to Southampton Ocean Terminal ready to check in for our one day holiday.  Our tour guides for the day were Alice, Fiona and Audrey.  Whilst waiting for everyone to arrive, we were treated to breakfast and pastries (bang goes my diet), and we went through the running order of the day.

Once everyone had arrived it was time to start the tour, we were taken to a Suite (A752 very nice I might add), a balcony cabin (HD grade number A722), an inside cabin (A712, and you can fit 13 travel agents into!), the superior deluxe balcony (D417) – and did you know ALL the balconies on D Deck are interconnecting – you learn something new everyday!  We were also shown an obstructed cabin and a couple of single cabins as well.

Once we had seen the cabins it was time to explore the ship, so we went on to the Casino, the main dining area (Beach House) and we were taken up to the Retreat.  Now the Retreat is an adults only section on the ship, and I have to say if you get the chance to book it, then do it.  It costs around £20 per person (subject to season and duration of the cruise), and is stunning, you have astroturf grass, with luxurious seats, and with the Retreat being located right at the fore of the ship, you can relax and take in the views, plus if the heat is too much say on a Mediterranean itinerary, then the Retreat is also partly in the shade.

Now comes my favourite part – food!  Normally on a ship visit, you are treated to lunch, but as I said this was no ordinary ship visit.  First of all, we were taken to Epicurean, where fine dining is fused with modern British cuisine.  Epicurean costs £28 per person cover charge and again if you get the chance, do it!  Although we couldn’t sample the full menu, we were treated to the famous “Flambe Crepe”, the smells and the taste were to die for (and my wife works in a Crepery), and since being home I have taken a sneak peek at the menu and have to say, WOW!  So next we were taken on to Sindhu, the Indian Speciality restaurant and Atul Kochar is a Michelin star holder (and I believe now 2 stars) and again we were treated to little nibbles of onion bhaji, chicken tikka and a samosa, again the food is amazing, you can visit Sindhu for lunch as well (for a lower cover charge), but if you wish to visit Sindhu for your evening meal it costs £20 per person and £25 per person for the shorter cruises.

After all these delights, we had to walk a bit off before heading for our lunch, so we were taken around the Lido deck, where guests were starting to board and enjoy their cruise holiday.  We had a quick peek into the Theatre, we had to be quick as the performers were coming back to rehearse, these shows are put on 2 to 3 times a night, so everyone gets the chance to see the shows no matter what dining sitting you are on.  Then it was on to the Glass House, where even I was blown away by the various types and the sheer number of wine they have to offer.

And so that was the end of our tour, so it was on to lunch in the Peninsular Restuarant, again the food was amazing!  I had the Crab Parfit to start, then Tandoori Lamb Chops with curried cauliflower and rice.  After lunch we were granted some free time and handed a drink voucher, so with it being such a nice day, we all decided to chill out on the Lido deck until it was time to disembark and allow passengers to get on with their holiday and allow the Azura to set sail for the Baltics.

If you ever want to “try before you buy”, ship visits are available with P&O and Cunard for around £35 per person, and with this, you get the tour of the ship and lunch included.

Or if you have sailed on P&O or in fact any other cruise line before and want to check out Azura’s itineraries click here for more information.

Until next time x