P&O madness - upsets me and my single passengers

P&O have recently infuriated me. I had a single passenger wishing to join friends on an Azura cruise


He was realistic and aware that single passengers often end up paying a hefty supplement, so obviously he was after the cheapest option. Now on this cruise P&O had all grades of inside cabin available for 2 sharing passengers, and had two people been travelling his cabin would have cost £3252. However the lowest available cabin for a just one person was an obstructed view outside cabin at £3379.

I called those nice people at P&O to see if they would allow us to sell him inside cabin, he was willing to pay the price of two people. Or if I could book the inside cabin with a 'pretend friend,’ however I was told a definite no and that if my customer turned up at the port without a friend, he would be charged cancellation charges for the missing passenger and then a single supplement on top.

This seem ludicrous to me, I can see that they want they want as many people spending money on board as possible, but they have just gone and alienated a good customer and his friends. There is plenty of availability on this cruise and I am sure they will end up dropping this price of the inside cabins just to sell the cruise. I do understand the business reasons, but it just seems daft to sell an outside cabin to a single passenger but not an inside.

Azamara Journey - my recommendation for the Caribbean this winter

If you're looking for a Caribbean deal this winter then my absolute recommendation would be Azamara Journey.

Azamara Club Cruises are an informal luxury cruise line, with more intimate ships that can reach smaller ports of call, and with just under 700 passengers on board you receive excellent service and experience a friendlier ambience on board, than many of the larger ships in the Caribbean.

They class themselves as ‘Primarily All – Inclusive’, this means that as well as your food being included in the cost they also include wine with your meals, bottled water throughout the day, speciality tea and coffees (which are often $5 each on other ships), gratuities, free shuttle buses in ports of call and the self service laundry.

Now with all of this included you would expect the prices to be high, however they are actually on a par with P&O’s Azura. I have just priced a balcony cabin on Azura in November for £1959pp whereas Azamara Journey comes in at just £40 more - £1999pp. What’s more – P&O are offering £50pp on board credit, whereas Azamara are currently offering $500pp. And don’t forget with P&O you have to pay for all of your drinks and pay gratuities. This Azamara sailing is 2 nights shorter in duration being just a 12nights cruise, but this can often be preferable by the time you’ve allowed for a hotel stay before the cruise and overnight flights returning. Both prices quoted include return flights from London.

If you’re worried as to why the prices are so good – don’t be. Azamara cruises are a fairly new brand are are trying to build their presence in the UK market, they have good reviews which you can read on our main website. With offers like this they won’t need to promote themselves for long so my advise would be to try them now, before everyone else has heard of them.

By the way -  I believe the on board credit on selected sailings is being increased next week in a four day sale too.

P&O Free Kids sailings for 2011

Here is a comprehensive list of those sailings with free kids places on board for 2011. These place will be subject to availabilty so you are better to book early.

Personally whilst they appear to be offering alot of free kids sailings there are that many that are child friendly itineraries - the only one that really jumps out at me is Azura 14 October 2011 as this will tie in with half term a for some of the cruise.

Please note these are for free kids only - there are many more sailings where infants can sail free.


Ventura                                              Azura
15 Sep - 12nt Canaries                        04 Jun - 14nt Baltics
27 Sep - 12nt Med                              18 Jun - 15nt Iceland
09 Oct - 12nt Canaries                        27 Sep - 17nt Med
                                                           14 Oct - 14nt Med

Oriana                                               Aurora
20May - 14nt Baltic                            14 Apr - 21nt Caribbean
21 Jun - 14nt North Cape                   05 May -13nt Baltic
11 Sep - 16nt Med                             06 Jun - 14nt Spitsbergen
27Sep - 34nt Caribbean                      06 Jul - 18nt Greenland
31 Oct - 16nt Med                              01 Nov - 11nt Canaries

Oceana
15 Apr - 14nt Med
05 Sep - 12nt Canaries
17 Sep - 14nt Med
01 Oct - 14nt Med
17 Oct - 9nt Atlantic Coast
26Oct - 14nt Med
09 Nov - 12nt Canaries
21 Nov - 24nt Med
08 Jan 2012 - 35nt Caribbean
12 Feb - 14nt Canaries
26 Feb - 24nt Med
21 Mar - 14nt Med

My Azura Review

I have just had the pleasure of a night on board P&O's newest ship Azura and I really liked her. I was lucky enough to have a deluxe balcony room and it was lovely - a large sitting area, 2 flat screen TV's, so you can watch from your bed or the sofa, plenty of wardrobe space and a bathroom with bath tub. Plus the largest bath towels at sea which gave a real feel of luxury from the start.

For my full review just click on read more.

As a sister ship to Ventura the layout and features of the ship are the same but she is marketed at the non family marketed and to attract the classic P&O customer. I haven't been on board Ventura but in comparison to Aurora I loved this ship. She is modern and bright yet still smooth and sophisticated. Lunch in the buffet restaurant was busy, but this can be a hazard of cruising and eating at peak times, the food was kept replenished and there was a good choice of hot and cold dishes. Dinner in the Meridian was fantastic - the restaurant was split into sections giving the impression that you were dining in a much smaller venue and the menu was perfect for me with a good selection of light starters, and main courses (the lobster was divine) giving me plenty of room to sample the puddings and the cheese board. Coffee and chocolates were also served.

With only one night on board I didn't get the chance to sample Sindhu the modern Indian restaurant, the Oriental room or Seventeen,  but I look forward to returning to and trying them all. Just reading the menu's made my mouth water.

The one thing I was really impressed with was the cool ambiance of The Retreat. Situated around the Oasis spa, this exclusive adults area is availaible for £6 per half day on port days and £10 on an at sea day. It has it's own pool, wicker loungers and private massage areas. It did look very inviting and at this price is a very affordable treat.

The evening entertainment was great, I chose to dance the night away in the Manhatten bar and the drinks were well priced, at £1.95 for a wine spritzer and £2.60 for a spirit and mixer the costs are in comparison to a local pub. The dance floor was also plenty large enough for a host of travel agents, although with only a small ladies toilet close by the queues did get a big long.

Finally breakfast was as expected - a good selection on the hot buffet, fresh fruits, dried fruits and pastries. There was nothing special or unexpected - an omelette bar or pancake station for instance but the food that was there was all a good standard and fresh.

Overall I thought Azura was great, my last trip on Aurora had disappointed me a bit but Azura restored my faith in P&O and I would definately holiday on this ship. If you're not booked up for this year I recommend you look at this ship, especially as there are some really cheap deals for her. And if you are already booked then you'll have a great time and I am very jealous. Let me know what you think on your return.