I didn’t take anywhere near as many photos from on board the P&O cruise ship Azura on this trip simply because it had only been seven months since we’d last been on her – you can see those photos here: P&O Azura – but for reasons of completeness I’m including phone photos and a video featuring the Grand-class cruise ship here.
We had a couple of issues with the ship and this particular trip that two of those images have reminded me of. Firstly, on our first cruise on Azura to Belgium we noticed a smell of sewage near the Malabar lounge. At the time we just shrugged it off as one of those things that can’t be helped; cruise ships have complicated systems for getting rid of waste and things can occur. You can’t expect perfection. You can expect not to be assaulted by the same smell in the same location on the same ship seven months later, though. At first we wondered whether we were the only people who could detect the stench as other people seemed to sit in the area without concern but we did eventually get talking to another couple one evening who seemed overjoyed that they too weren’t losing their minds. Definitely a problem there somewhere. The second issue was with the pianist in the Blue Bar. He was good. I have no problem with his skill on the piano. It just would have been nice to be able to hear yourself speak to other people during some of the songs. Just needs turning that volume down a bit; it’s supposed to be a bar to relax and grab a cocktail, not flinch on every piano key strike.
The Planet Bar was our regular late evening place to grab some final drinks. A guitarist and singer duo called High Tides, I believe, played there on a few nights and were enjoyable company.
This bit of video was shot in Amsterdam dock as we returned to the ship for the evening.