We booked the Christmas and New Year cruise on the Azura and had been looking forward this all year. As this was our first cruise on P&O and we had many friends telling us how wonderful this cruise was going to be, I was slightly disappointed.

We have cruised several times before with Celebrity and NCL. Although we expected a very "British" cruise, I guess we didn't quite bank on what it would really be like!

CABIN: We opted for a standard balcony on the AFT of the ship. I love the views in these cabins for sailaway, and having stayed on the back of the ship before in NCL's Penthouse Suites, I thought this would be a nice idea. Although the cabin was a perfectly acceptable size, I was very taken aback how a ship that is only a year old could have cabin's that looked so dated! I'm sure brass light fittings on the ceilings and various other items of brass and the dark teak wood are reminiscent of a bygone era, but this is 2012 and the cabin looked like something that should have been overhauled many, many years ago. The shade of creams they use on the walls and in the bathroom don't look fresh or clean, they look like someone had been smoking in there very heavily. It's such a shame as they could have really made an effort here, but this dated look just didn't do it for me after Celebrity and their more contemporary feel. The bathroom was particularly disappointing, very small and when in the shower, you very easily ended up with the curtain wrapped around you. Kettle and tea/coffee is always a nice touch, but milk portions that were in date would have been even nicer! The cabin steward was very friendly and always ready to help, but unfortunately hadn't grasped the use of a vacuum cleaner and the cabin didn't feel it's cleanest! Read more