P&O Azura vs Emerald Princess

[Royston1, Royston1]

We are booked on the former for May Half Term but a good deal to Fjords has come up on the latter and I am tempted to swap. My kids really enjoy the Fjords cruises. I've been on Azura a few times so very familiar but never travelled on Princess. Can anyone give me a view on how the companies compare in terms of food, drinks prices and kids clubs. I've spotted gratuities much higher on Princess but don't know much else.

Thanks!

[Malcolm, Essex]

I've cruised once with P&O (Ventura) and once with Princess (Sapphire). I think Princess are better - others will disagree.

Firstly P&O offer a British experience and Princess an American one, although our cultures are not so very different these days!
Personally I found Princess's food to be better. The entertainment was probably similar in standard.

Both Azura (2010) and Emerald (2005) are essentially the same design of ships. Even the internal layout will be similar, although the livery and internal décor are different.

Personally I'd pick Princess in order to try something new - you might be pleasantly surprised!

[Hockeysticks, Bournemouth]

Having done many cruises on P & O but only 2 on Princess, I would go for Princess. The food is much better and you usually are able to get off at the time they say for arrival and not left hanging around for clearance as on P & O.

[mauden, billingham]

Have cruised with both several times , but Princess have the edge over P&O in my opinion ,

[All at sea, Yorks]

It's few years since we were on the Azura, we did the mid summer Fjords cruise when she was new, but were on the Emerald for a much longer trip last year. Whilst the Emerald is rather older, we liked her and found the food to be very good. Not sure if this would be relevant on a Fjords cruise but we found that the Emerald spent a lot longer time in each port than a P&O ship generally does. If you can get a good deal on Princess, I'd go for that.

[tuggy, warminster]

Considering that you will lose your deposit on the P&O booking the price of the Princess cruise would have to be very very good to make it worth the change though.

[Royston1, Royston1]

Considering that you will lose your deposit on the P&O booking the price of the Princess cruise would have to be very very good to make it worth the change though.

Taking into account the loss of deposit it would cost me c£75 more overall for a 7 night vs 6 night cruise. That doesn't factor in difference in gratuity rates though.

[andyn, Bucks]

Just to throw a spanner in, we preferred PandO over Princess. Found the entertainment better and really don't like the American food. After reading all the comments about PandO food it appears that we prefer bland to sweet junk.

[Royston1, Royston1]

We've gone for it, in the main to try out a different cruise line and for a slightly longer trip. I'll miss the Glass House on Azura but will report back on what we think of Princess. Thanks everyone

[tuggy, warminster]

We've gone for it, in the main to try out a different cruise line and for a slightly longer trip. I'll miss the Glass House on Azura but will report back on what we think of Princess. Thanks everyone

Enjoy your cruise, Why don't you enquire about transferring your deposit to another P&O Cruise later on next year time it right you could use it for a 2017 cruise

[Barrowman, Bedford]

And lets not forget all your P&O points will count towards discounts on Princess too,......just pity it doesn't work the other way.

Do try the crispy bacon, is to die for,.... just a pity they insist on cutting the great British banger into small bit-size pieces.....

[Wilba]

Another in agreement about better food on Princess (let's face it, not difficult) and not just in the MDR.

The Wheelhouse Bar on sea days serve Fish & Chips, Curry, Steak pies, etc all complimentary.............Wilba

[Royston1, Royston1]

Enjoy your cruise, Why don't you enquire about transferring your deposit to another P&O Cruise later on next year time it right you could use it for a 2017 cruise

I haven't cancelled P&O so could transfer the deposit, but we need to decide by February. I suspect we'll lose it as we already have other cruises booked for Easter and summer 2016 and I dont think 2017 will be on sale by February.

[All at sea, Yorks]

And don't forget the International Cafe in the lower atrium on the Emerald. A lovely alternative to the buffet etc, which offers food from breakfast onwards, the lunchtime paninis, salads and pastries are freshly made and with an adjoining coffee and drinks bar, perfect. I bought myself a coffee select card and the soda unlimited package and got excellent value for money as so many types of drinks were included. The latter is brilliant for kids.

[Royston1, Royston1]

And don't forget the International Cafe in the lower atrium on the Emerald. A lovely alternative to the buffet etc, which offers food from breakfast onwards, the lunchtime paninis, salads and pastries are freshly made and with an adjoining coffee and drinks bar, perfect. I bought myself a coffee select card and the soda unlimited package and got excellent value for money as so many types of drinks were included. The latter is brilliant for kids.

I'm thinking about purchasing the all inclusive drinks package as it seems to include coffees and bottles water as well as alcoholic drinks. We'd probably only break even, but we've just come back from an NCL cruise with an all inclusive drinks package and we really liked it.