P&O Azura Top Tips | Things I learnt on my first cruise 🛳

[@RowlandNightingale]

Well done for doing a video after just one cruise Lorna. The “correction” comments are from people who cruise a lot but don’t have the cojones to make one. 👏👏👏

[@carolerossiter7405]

Freedom dining is not just the buffet for dinner, you can eat in the freedom dining main resurants

[@Millsiebee]

Yes - definitely learnt this the hard way as I didn’t do my research before the trip! Made full use of olive grove on my recent Arvia trip :)

[@IainWaite0166]

Really good advice there, especially getting room service on the first day for the milk. We were also on freedom dining on our recent cruise on Azura and you can also use the Peninsular or Meridian restaurants for no extra charge, so unless things have changed, it’s not just the buffet or paid for restaurants, there was a halfway house option with waiter service at no extra cost, and the food was very good too.

[@Millsiebee]

Ooh that is so good to know - going to be honest I did find the first cruise a little overwhelming trying to get my head round it all, definitely didn't do enough research before the trip! I think the Peninsular/Meridian would have definitely been more my jam than the buffet!

[@Missybitch-gs6dc]

Love your video and your first cruise is always a learning curve. I think you might find you will like Cunard and should give them a try. I've tried P&O once and Cunard once and I'm back on my second Cunard trip in the autumn. Yes people say it's stuffy 🧐 but I like that. I wanted the feeling of the Titanic and still like the idea of the class structure. My first experience the Queens grills was amazing and this time I will be in a Balcony room. Can't wait for all the dressing up in the evening. It was one of Cunards ship's that was sent out to rescue those unfortunate souls on Titanic 😢

[@ritzytravelguide]

Great video! . Enjoyed it. Keep them coming! We were on an almost identical itinerary!

[@alisonmcowan]

So much great advice thank for your help we are going on our first azura cruise soon!

[@Millsiebee]

Hope you have the best time!

[@pauledwards4712]

Hey Lorna! Just thought I’d add some more info, so the app has changed. No longer need to book the theatre anymore, you can attend any show you like. On Azura particularly the first show (8:30) is always really busy and more often the house is full so if you wanting to watch the first show it’s worth getting your seats earlier. Also you mentioned you were on freedom but only went to the buffet, you do have the peninsular and meridian dining rooms available which are the same as the oriental but you don’t have times to attend so arrive when you like and depending on if there’s tables free, you’ll get seated or they give you a buzzer. You may find that useful for your future cruises! 🛳️🛳️🛳️

[@Millsiebee]

That's great news you no longer need to book! We missed out on a couple of things we really wanted to see because of that system - out of interest is there a better time to go for audience behaviour? We watched a later show and were sat next to someone who belted through every song - we had to move seats!! I'm hoping we were just unlucky! Clearly missed a trick with the Peninsular/Meridian - definitely more what I would have enjoyed over the buffet!!

[@gemmabramston7290]

Tips are included in your cruise fare with P&O (and I believe MSC) but most other lines still add the daily amount to your on board account. I do like that I don’t have to worry about tips and only have to take extra if someone really goes over and above. Some shows and restaurants you can book two weeks ahead on your my po cruise account too which is good to know. We haven’t done it but if you pre book Sindhu you pay a deposit but it gives you 20% off your meal (and the deposit gets taken off) which is fab Really good to know about the luggage for a fly cruise as I’ve always wondered how that works You’re going to love Arvia! Our first cruise was on Iona and once we got our head around what freedom dining actually meant and got into the habit of joining the virtual queue on the “app” it’s great It’s much easier to get your head around freedom dining on the big ships as they don’t offer club dining :) My top tips would be research. It’s a bit like Disney world - so much easier with a plan 😂 there are some great (and not so great) vloggers who I learnt loads from

[@Millsiebee]

I'm so excited for the Arvia! Thanks for the tip on the virtual queuing, we will definitely be making use of that! I'm doing a lot more research this time round, as I think we missed out on a couple of things with Azura, just because we didn't know what we were doing/how things worked! Any recommendations on restaurants from your experience with Iona? Very much looking forward to booking our dining - we weren't able to do it with Azura (not sure why, maybe length of our cruise/small boat?) but we have the booking day on the calendar so we are ready to go ahah!

[@gemmabramston7290]

@@Millsiebee olive grove is amazing and only a couple of things are an up charge which is fab! We loved it there and the Keel and cow was really nice too! I’ve also heard good things about the 6th street diner on Arvia!

[@carolineweir3356]

How long is the ship in port for at each stop

[@arnoldsnodgrass2953]

Really, really useful. Thank you.

[@Millsiebee]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sarahwenham340]

Excellent advice & information. 😊

[@Millsiebee]

Hope it helps! :)

[@joffee516]

Oh dear! Rooms at the aft are brilliant. You cannot feel much movement and rooms in this area are one of the cheapest. Rooms on C deck aft has large balcony and still cheap. Check out the deck plan before booking

[@Millsiebee]

I think it's great they have so many options on each of the ships; means there really is something to suit everyone. For us, my fiance suffers quite badly with motion sickness so a room more midship is preferable - we had two nights on Azura where we couldn't even stay for a drink in the Planet Bar, located in the aft, for this reason. As I said, great there is something for everyone :)

[@sistersontheseas]

Oh no, I feel like you’ve really missed out only going to the buffet and specialities. There should have been a little card on your desk area telling you which dining rooms were available for freedom dining, and you’d have had the same experience as in the club dining restaurant. 😕

[@Millsiebee]

Agreed! My fiancé has cruised before so I let him take the lead on this one and didn’t do any research! Wish I’d known there were other places we could dine in freedom! But we know for next time!

[@sistersontheseas]

@@Millsiebee absolutely, and it’s a good excuse to book another one!

[@Millsiebee]

100%!

[@joffee516]

You can get milk from the Buffet and take a cup back to your room for your morning cuppa

[@Millsiebee]

Absolutely! We just like getting it in the jug as it’s easier to store in the fridge 🙂

[@natasha8966]

That’s why I feel more comfortable with booking with cruise line excursion piece of mind

[@Keapix]

Same! I don’t want to risk being left behind.

[@charlieking6718]

You can use cash in the casino

[@gwiracing]

I was on this cruise when you were on board I think

[@Millsiebee]

No way! We were there from 11th Feb for 7 days - hope you had a great trip!

[@stuartbrodie9150]

Instead of ordering room service to get milk, why not head up to the buffet and get some milk for your room? 🤷‍♂️

[@Millsiebee]

I guess you could! However, when we sailed there were no jugs to put the milk in - only mugs and glasses, where as with the room service it came in a metal lidded jug, which was a bit easier for storing in the fridge. That said, maybe we were just unlucky on our sailing - we didn’t have any juice for the self serve machines on board until our final day so there could well have been other items missing!

[@donnarichards3625]

❤🚢🚢🚢❤

[@marh1949]

It’s a ship, not a boat. You can put a boat on a ship, but you can’t put a ship 🛳 on a boat 🚤. It’s a cabin, not a room. Just saying 😀😀😀

[@arnoldsnodgrass2953]

FFS. It doesn’t matter 🙄🙄

[@bradsayers7962]

Get over yourself Marh. She’s made a video to help others.