it still amazes me how people can write pages full of
any new development regarding some non subjects
or whatever and that the delivery of a NEW cruiseship is completely ignored at all

it's only a ship of 116.000 tons carrying
some 3100 passengers for some unknown company
as P & O (never heard of it before)
costs estimated on 535m USD

people will say, oh just another clone of the
Grand class, not interesting why bother

i wonder if even cruisepage.com will get it
in their news section

to me it is relevant, may-be not so much the ship
rather than the continous growth P & O is making
since the Carnival take over
to me P & O was more or less 2 ships
(Canberra, Oriana) (Oriana 2 , Aurora)
how far these days are gone

to have a fleet consisting 7 ships and selling
it at not real bargain prices isn't it???

there must be some wealthy Britons left at all

I agree

Well i find the new AZURA as very important. its true that her sister Ventura recived more focus

Generally, and I dont know why, it seems to me that P&O dont get the amount of fucus which is expected to get....

I dont think P&O gets much attention because it caters to the British market and also Australia/New Zealand. It is one of the few lines that does not cater to the US market, does not operate in US dollars and does not operate out of US ports. All other major cruise lines operate or cater to Americans with a few exceptions.

2. P&O gained a certain reputation over the last 180 years or so, both Ventura and Azura are fundementally a different product from what most P&O people remember - again (as a shareholder and ex P&O staff) if they had created a specific brand for these ships (like they did for OV) then perhaps some might be more interested, for many it is simply more evidence of a line we now have less in common with.

3. Oh yes- bring on the mesh funnel ! They couldn't even be bothered to give her (or Ventura) a P&O funnel.

4. Decor - sorry again just my taste but the interiors of both these ships is so bland and so 3 star hotel in places it is just awful and nothing like what P&O is supposed to stand for. That said it does have its highlights like the Metropolitan bar etc - its just most of it is very City Lodge / the latest version of Holiday Inn Express.

5. However it should be applauded for having single cabins - why however do they only get a single bed ? Even Epic gives them a double. I do applaud that she will make Carnival lots of cash.

How can one get excited about Azura and Queen Lizzy when they are not only from a long line of clones, they are clones of Ventura and Queen Victoria.

Love em or hate em, the likes of Oasis, Epic and the Solstice class are much more worthy of excitement.

[ 03-29-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
P&O have a very 'hard core' following in Britain as well as those who think they are overpriced and mediocre.

How can one get excited about Azura and Queen Lizzy when they are not only from a long line of clones, they are clones of Ventura and Queen Victoria.

Love em or hate em, the likes of Oasis, Epic and the Solstice class are much more worthy of excitement.

[ 03-29-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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Well said Malcolm. It's great that P&O is getting a new ship, but it's not exactly a ship to get all in a tizzy over. It's another Grand Class and aren't there enough of these already? Perhaps not but IMO the world does not need another Grand Class.

I think once you get past the prototype, the excitement wears off. Lets face it, new ships are a dime a dozen these days. We got excited over SOLSTICE, but not so much over the sisters in the Solstice class. ALLURE wont get the same buzz as OASIS because we already know what to expect. Same with QE, the next Costa and Aida newbuilds. Nothing new.

EPIC and DISNEY DREAM are next in line for the spotlight, because they are completely new and innovative. Perhaps the new Princess newbuilds will be deserving of the spotlight too, if we discover they are more than a Grand Class on steroids ... although I'm not holding my breath.

I agree with you to a certain extent (well mostly).

Sure use a common platform it makes huge sense and indeed enables to a large extent the growth in numbers of ships etc. However it is entirely possible to use an operational common platform but do something very different with it internally and product wise at minimal cost.

So often it appears that the only difference is a coat of paint. Ventura and Azura don't even get their own funnel design !

Compare it to Princess for example. Princess has designed their ships and maintained the same products for years - yet they have also evolved to the modern style of cruising to include the MUTs and The Sacntuary. It is un unwritten rule for a Princess ship not to have its hallmark features like a Wheelhouse Bar etc. Princess has maintained its tradition whilst innovating to modern cruising at the same time.

On the other hand P&O has not. Oriana and Aurora are much the same ships and were derrived from the old Canberra. P&O has evolved since then and adapted to new things, but for some inexplicable and unknown reason they have not maintained their traditional features as Princess did.

I am not sure if it is Carnival being too tight with its budget not allowing P&O to redesign an entire interior of a ship to its style, but since the introduction of Oceana they have constantly changed style. The new Arcadia is was built as a Cunard ship and still has allot of the features that were desinged for Cunard. The Grand class they got is pretty much the same as the Princess ships with no changes.

quote:

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Originally posted by Sutho:
I will be on Azura soon for a Baltic cruise I have always wanted to do and intend to enjoy it. I see it as "killing two birds with the one stone" see the Baltic and find out what their new ship is really like.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sutho:
Oh I cant wait for this trip. I have a few days in Portsmouth when I arrive to explore the Maritime museums and city.

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The 'Warrior', 'HMS Victory' and the Mary Rose are well worth a look. The Gosport Submarine Museum, a short ferry ride from the 'Historic Dockyard' is also pretty good.

www.historicdockyard.co.uk

The 'Spinnaker Tower' offers nice views of the solent.

www.spinnakertower.co.uk

[ 03-30-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

Is Azura newsworthy? Well, as others have said, not as newsworthy as Ventura was a year ago. Also this has been a good year for (fleeting) visits to the UK by interesting cruise ships: we had Equinoxe actually embarking a cruise, then Oasis of the Seas came quite close.... So I'm afraid that Azura is indeed a bit ho-hum. Which is a pity, because there are quite a few good things about her. First among these must be the single cabins. I know Fred Olsen have been retro-fitting them to their ships for a while, but this may be the first such cabins on a new ship? Second must be the fact that this is a testament to the health of P&O. I haven't been cruising long enough to remember the Good Old days, but I'm impressed with P&O's efforts to be almost a one-stop shop for UK cruisers.

I looked very hard at Azura itineraries both for this year and next, but they don't seem to be quite interesting enough and P&O are certainly charging a premium for her over Ventura, so we're cruising on the latter ship both this year and next. I'm beginning to like P&O more & more. We were on Solstice last year, but for next year we've definitely chosen P&O over Celebrity. Among our reasons for this are the fact that we've found a cracking Ventura itinerary; and on-board expenditure will be a lot less on Ventura than on Eclipse. Drink prices on the Celebrity ships are very high, even before the obligatory 15%; and I'm also upset by the fact that they don't use measures on Celebrity ships; you buy a glass of indeterminate size (whatever the waiter feels like pouring). Once or twice in the dining room on Solstice I felt a bit short-changed when I bought wine by the glass. On P&O you buy a standard measure - 175ml or 250ml in the case of wine.

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:
I'm beginning to like P&O more & more. We were on Solstice last year, but for next year we've definitely chosen P&O over Celebrity.

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If my memory serves me right you have gone 'full-circle' Tom - no shame in that. Was your first cruise not 'Costa(?)' or 'MSC(?)' because you did not relish the idea of cruising with fellow Brits? Are you now joining the 'Socks and Sandals' brigade, or is Ventura more the 'Ugg Boot' brigade?

Next you will be booking cruises with the maximum number of sea days!

How about Cunard next, a sort of 'British' (well Anglo-American) Celebrity.

By the way, Epic must be the first mega-ship to announce single cabins (the studios) but they were originally designed and promoted as doubles.

[ 03-30-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

Ernie

quote:

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Originally posted by Malcolm @ cruisepage:
Thanks for posting Ernie.

The Atrium looks rather 'American' to me.

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Last I checked I am American, so perhaps that is why I like it?

Sure beats the Olive Garden "Italian" Piazza atrium on the Princess Grand Class ships.

AZURA

[ 04-05-2010: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]