Our first trip to see some of Beijing’s highlights took place surprisingly soon after with a bus turning up to take us all to the main site of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Those games had taken place in August 2008 and our visit was in early November.

The first stop for us was the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, known colloquially as the Water Cube. Our bus parked up and we walked towards the building where there was a short wait while our guide went ahead to pick up the pre-booked tickets to allow us inside. Looking around we could see signs of the recent Olympics everywhere and two buildings other than the Water Cube dominated the local landscape: the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium where we’d be heading next, of course, and a rather odd-looking building called the Pangu Plaza office complex which was described as representing both an olympic torch and a dragon but which to us seemed to resemble a rabbit more than anything else. We’d get more photos of this building following our next visit in the city.

We weren’t the only tourist group in the vicinity but we were the only non-Chinese tourist group around which made us as much a point of interest for the other visitors as the sights we’d all come to see but that was okay with me as I found them equally interesting too.

Our guide returned and we headed inside. It’s nice to say that we’ve stood in the venue of an Olympic Games but to be fair there wasn’t much else to do other than peer at the pool and the seating and other tourists. The 2022 Winter Olympics will also take place in Beijing and the Water Cube will be repurposed as the Ice Cube to host the curling event so we’ll be keen to see how it all looks although it has already undergone an internal redesign since we visited in 2008.

Our guide had given us all ten minutes to look around but we were done in less than half that so headed back outside the aquatics centre to the designated meeting point. This did at least give us the chance to look more at the building itself and its very distinctive bubble patterning. The building had been designed by a consortium of Chinese and Australian firms with the idea for the bubbles coming from the Australian architects; the base design of a cube shape was a traditional Chinese style choice and represented the Earth while the nearby circular shape of the Olympic Stadium represented Heaven. The bubble covering is a fluorine-based plastic with high resistance to corrosion and better efficiency at allowing in light and heat than glass, part of the Beijing’s attempt to create an ecologically-friendly event.

It wasn’t long until everyone had come out to join us and once the headcount was confirmed we walked the short distance to the next venue, the Beijing Olympic Stadium.

• pretty cheap as cruises go,
• we were familiar with the ship layout having cruised on Grand-class ships before so were intrigued to see what differences the decor would make,
• with an upcoming cruise on Princess in June and an arrangement where P&O cruises count towards Princess loyalty (but not vice versa) this would allow us to advance a level before that and gain a few perks.

We had a balcony room, A610. Identical layout to a Princess standard balcony room with slightly different colours used inside, as you’d expect. Differences included the UK plug sockets, a kettle to make your own tea and coffee, and a bowl of sweets. Fully intending to steal the sweets before disembarking we discovered the bowl was emptied before heading to bed on the second night. A couple of bottles of water were provided free while a larger bottle of water and a stocked mini-fridge would incur additional charges if used.

The view from the balcony was what we expected: we weren’t overlooked on our deck but could see down onto the deluxe balconies (mini-suites on Princess) below; the balcony was a good size allowing the chairs to be moved and positioned easily (as opposed to Royal-class ships operated by P&O or Princess).

Dropping our carry-on luggage in the room we then headed off to orient ourselves and see what the ship had to offer. One of the first things we discovered was that the ship’s deck was dotted with various pieces of art sculptures by Andrew Sinclair.

The rest of the top deck was very familiar to us – swimming pools where you’d expect them, for instance – and a band was performing live as part of the pre-sailaway party.

Inside the Azura things were less familiar on account of the names, functionality, but mostly decor of the various spaces. The atrium, for instance, felt very enclosed on account of its dark colours and bold, black columns. There was definitely the sense that you were in a flashy, modern hotel in some big city rather than a luxurious ship. Some seating at the bottom of the atrium did look appealing, though.

Malabar was Azura’s equivalent of Explorer’s on Princess. The decor here was pretty decent but we can’t comment on the venue itself as the trip was too short to experience any event in it.

Manhattan was the larger venue on the same deck, equivalent to Vista on Princess. There were plenty of New York-style and deco references in fitting with the name of the place and a cabinet with some interesting shoes on display which caught my wife’s eye. We very briefly wandered down to Manhattan on the first evening and very quickly left again as it was very noisy and fully-packed. The short cruise encouraged a bit of a party atmosphere on board and it felt like most of the ship was present. While it might have been fun and probably great for people-watching we suspected getting a drink would prove to be nearly impossible and we’re fond of the odd drink.

The Planet Bar would prove to be the place where we spent the ends of both evenings on board Azura. Equivalent to Skywalkers on Princess this was more of a quiet, live music venue than a disco with its strangely compelling feature being the wall-mounted screens showcasing various vistas from around the world.

A few more interior shots of the cruise ship Azura.

Yes, Ireland is not part of the United Kingdom and therefore foreign, but they speak English, and many of them in an accent that’s actually comprehensible. Not my uncle Stephen, but that’s why his wife Sarah is always around to translate the lilting mumbles.

Ah! Mmmm mm mmm gh, ha ha! Hey! Mmm mmmm, mmng mmm.

He said he flipped the tractor over in the ditch last week.

I know they also speak some form of English in Canada, the USA, and those former colonies in the southern hemisphere, but you can reach Ireland by a reasonably short ferry ride so you can see why it’s foreign, but not really.

And, the fact my uncle’s Irish should also give you a big clue that one of my parents is as well, and that happens to be my mum. Ireland is a second home nation for me and my brother and so any trips there aren’t to foreign parts. That’s like a legal argument or something.

So, Ireland: not foreign. But Mallorca: very foreign.

Clearly, package holidays were becoming easier to book, perhaps through things like Ceefax and Teletext services on the television (I’ve got a vague memory of my parents watching the pages flip over and making notes), and clearly my parents were doing well enough to switch from nobody letting you pay for a thing across the Irish Sea to splashing the cash on flights, transfers, and hotel accommodation in the Mediterranean.

The hotel we stayed at was the Amapola and it appears to still be there in more-or-less a similar layout as my photos and memories attest to, although a little swankier these days. The area of Mallorca in which the Hotel Amapola was located was Alcudia, situated on the northeast coast of the island. The hotel was set around a hundred metres or so back from the beach and on the edge of a decent-sized lake on which it was possible to take out pedalos and pedal around. And we did.

The big draw for my dad, my brother, and me was the swimming pool. You don’t get outdoor swimming pools very often in the UK, or you don’t get many that you’d want to swim in anyway. That’s the sort of experience that really makes it a holiday. You’ll note that my mum wasn’t included in that list of people enjoying the pool. She never did learn to swim, but she still liked it beside the pool, if not in it. She could sunbathe, she could smoke, she could get drinks delivered to her (we were on an all-inclusive basis), she could flirt with the staff in a way that only just stopped from being full-on sexual harassment; she was happy.

My brother learnt to dive while we holidayed at the Hotel Amapola in Alcudia, and I learnt to surf on a lilo. I’m going to be honest with you here and point out that neither skill has really been used since but they say that lilo-surfing is like riding a bike, and once you learn it’s with you for life, so consider me prepared for whatever the world throws at me so long as there’s water around and an inflatable bed to hand.

The hotel guests were a mixture of British and German tourists for the most part. My understanding is that this is broadly true of Mallorca as a whole and that you’ll likely find certain hotels favour one nationality over another in order to simplify needing multiple languages for announcements, menus, entertainment, etc. While the Amapola was mixed during our stay, I believe that it caters more predominantly for Germans these days. But when are these days? I don’t know when you’re reading this. Check it out yourself before booking.

Activities were arranged at the hotel and clearly my dad took part in some of them as we have photographic evidence.

With our holiday being all-inclusive and my family wanting to take full advantage of it – plus we were all new to foreign travel; there weren’t blogs you could read or videos you could quickly call up – most of our time was spent at the hotel. However, we did venture out on occasion.

The lake at the back of the hotel had a path that could be walked around and I recall that we did that. I also remember people jogging along it. Jogging. On holiday. Madness.

As I’ve mentioned before, there was also a beach a short distance from the hotel. Getting to it and the assorted tourist shops, supermarkets, and restaurants that had sprung up to service the beach crowd involved a walk of just a few minutes but part of that was over what seemed to be an outlet for raw sewage. If I think about it then I can still smell it now. The mind’s a weird thing. After our first experience of crossing this stream of evil we took to sprinting across this stretch of road with hands over our mouths and noses.

The beach at Alcudia was amazing. Sand was amazing to people who’d lived in Portsmouth all of their lives and known only pebbles and shingles and saying “Ooh, ouch, ouch, fffuuu…dge!” while trying to get from towels into water. It was golden-white sand in a crescent-shaped bay with warm water. The water was warm partly because it was the Mediterranean in summer, and partly because the water was shallow. Really shallow. Walk out until the people are ants on the beach in order to get enough depth in which to swim sort of shallow. Even my non-swimming mum was able to brave the water, safe in the knowledge that drowning was going to take a lot of effort.

In addition to shops near the beach we also ventured slightly farther afield with trips to Can Picafort, a town just along the coastline, a visit to a nearby Water Park, and even an organised excursion to the Caves of Drach. No pictures of these, though, for some reason, and not much memory of them either. While I’ve considered my parents unadventurous when it comes to holidays in latter years – Greek Islands and the Canaries on firm rotation, it’s seemed – it’s clear from thinking back that they did try to break up the monotony of simply being at a hotel with occasional forays outside. I guess it can’t have been easy to juggle the strange newness of everything, having two children, and ensuring boredom didn’t set in.

In addition to activities in and around the pool each day, Hotel Amapola provided entertainment every evening too. Music was common, but I remember my dad took part in a Mister Amapola contest (likely pushed up to enter by my mum, and he didn’t win), and it looks like everyone enjoyed the drag show.

And please ignore my red nose. I’m half Irish. Sunshine does strange things to us.

We]]> https://www.neonbubble.com/travel/amapola-alcudia-mallorca/feed/ 0 966 https://www.neonbubble.com/travel/outside-diamond-princess/ https://www.neonbubble.com/travel/outside-diamond-princess/#respond Tue, 09 May 2017 19:23:15 +0000 https://www.neonbubble.com/?post_type=portfolio_item&p=1786 These photos and general review of the Diamond Princess cruise ship cover the external spaces. For interior spaces on the ship as well as some information about our trip from Beijing to Tianjin in China to pick up the Diamond Princess please read Inside Diamond Princess.

The big draw about cruising is that you get to see different sights every day even if you never leave the ship you’re on. For most cruise ships the two main outside spaces from which to gaze out at the always changing view (assuming you don’t have a balcony cabin or room with a sea view, of course) are the promenade deck and the top deck with its pools and loungers.

Promenade Deck

With Diamond Princess being a Grand-class cruise ship the promenade deck was deck seven, accessed from several locations along each side and circling the entire ship. We tried to make a point of walking the promenade deck once a day after dinner and we spotted a lot of people using it as a walking track, completing multiple circuits to build up their miles. We’re not quite that crazy.

It was interesting to contrast the different conditions when walking the promenade deck on Diamond Princess during our honeymoon cruise in the Far East. We found that at the start it was quite windy and could be chilly as you walked around (hence us buying hoodies from the stores on board) but as we got towards Vietnam and Singapore near the end of the cruise the conditions changed to nearly flat seas and high humidity making stepping out from the air conditioned ship to the deck like stepping into a sauna.

Swimming Pools

The swimming pools always look lovely even if it seems strange at some level to be swimming many metres above the sea level when you’re surrounded by sea as far as you can see. They weren’t utilised a huge amount by other passengers or us on the cruise although I can’t remember why exactly; certainly, as mentioned before, it was quite windy on the South China Sea, especially at the start of the cruise, but there was still a measure of protection from the wind and there was an inside pool as well. However, it did get a little rough on the seas so that might have scared people off and they did sometimes put netting over the ship’s swimming pools to prevent their use altogether.

The swimming pool areas were also used to house some ice sculptures on one of the sea days during the cruise.

The Sanctuary pool towards the front of the ship was the closest pool to our inside cabin. We didn’t know at the time (we would discover this five years later when on the Crown Princess cruise ship) but there was a means to generate a current against which to swim when in the Sanctuary pool so despite its small size it could have provided a reasonable means of exercise if desired.

Top Deck Areas

Around the main swimming pool were a number of food locations and a bar; the pizzas, hot dogs, and burgers prepared by the pool on a Princess Cruises cruise ship are outstanding.

In addition to a sports section there was a small golf putting area. Just like the onboard gymnasium that you’ll notice hasn’t featured in any photographs on the interior post about the Diamond Princess we don’t really do sporting activities so we didn’t engage in these parts of the ship.

The rest of the upper, exterior decks was lounging space or walkway spaces affording fabulous views of the sea from a high vantage point.

On one of the sea days while my wife was recovering from a little sea sickness I went for a wander up top and watched a large, dark stormcloud come in. People stayed out for as long as possible while the darkness enveloped the cruise ship but eventually the rain came down and drove everyone inside.

We started with a walk of the grounds of the place in order to take advantage of the good weather which we suspected might change. The landscape gardens of Upton Court were wonderful, sloping down from the main house and including a swimming pool, a lake, and a walled garden area below the line of sight of the long lawn. The pool in particular looked very nice with its steps descending into the water at one end.

The decor inside Upton House was in keeping with a 1920s aesthetic which meant there were lots of art deco period pieces here and there. Outside brutalism it’s my favourite type of design so this was lovely to see and made a nice change from the older periods that make up the bulk of trust properties of this size. The bathroom was a true marvel to see with its reflective, metallic surfaces. I’d probably have to say that Upton House is one of the most memorable buildings I’ve explored in the United Kingdom and it’s one I should make the effort to pop up to Warwickshire and visit again one day.

We’d spent the previous day in Punta Arenas which was in the sheltered Strait of Magellan but out on the ocean things started to move. We were awoken in the morning by drawers opening and closing in the bedside cabinets and we’d already had to remove all the coat hangers from the wardrobe to stop them clattering around. I stepped over to the balcony window and leaned against the wall to support both me and the camera in order to shoot some video. You’ll have to imagine it because I’ve removed the video, temporarily, hopefully.

After we’d had some breakfast I then spent a little time taking video and photos of the swimming pools which had been netted off to stop anyone getting in and enjoying themselves. Spoilsports.

I realised I’d get a more interesting view of the waves in the pool crashing and splashing from the balcony above and was soon joined by another photographer trying to get some pictures of the enjoyable event too.

After we completed our day’s scenic cruising to see the Amalia Glacier we would return to the rough seas for the evening and we spent some enjoyable time in Skywalker’s Nightclub (which was surprisingly busy); being at the top and aft of the ship it was subject to large amounts of movement and we were highly impressed that the waiting staff never spilt a drink even when their trays were full and they occasionally had to stop and hold a hand out for support as they navigated the lounge area. Our drinks on the table were sometimes filled to the brim and top-heavy with garnish and had to be drunk immediately on arrival to stop from losing any liquid as the ship lurched. Immense fun.

Note, because visitors to this page are up, up, up: No, this isn’t the new Star Princess (due to launch in 2025). This is the better one that Princess let go before thinking “Hey, what if we made a new cruise ship look like it was swallowing a marble!? And added in restricted areas just for the big spenders!? And a central piazza that’s just a solid wall of noise all day long!? And what if we named it after another ship we’d only very, very recently sent down under just to confuse people using search engines!?” And then you turned up here. And now you’re disappointed. Don’t blame me.

One big difference in the three cruises we’d taken by the end of this cruise was in our rooms; we’d started with an inside state room on Diamond, got a free upgrade to a balcony on the Crown, and decided that since we were splashing out on a big cruise into the southern hemisphere and the difference in price wasn’t huge we’d go that little bit extra and grab a mini suite on the Star Princess. The state room we ended up picking was D201, close to the front of the ship and on the starboard side. The reason we chose the front of the ship was because we love seeing and hearing the waves breaking against the bow of the ship; you just don’t get that so much further back. Also, we love the movement of the ship so central positions where the ship’s movements are less pronounced don’t really appeal to us. The reason we chose the starboard side was because we would be cruising around South America in a clockwise direction which would then place land on our side of the ship whenever we were close enough to it; while we love a good, wide ocean view as much as the next person this would allow us to break up the constant view of the water on occasion, providing more interest.

The mini suite was larger, with an extended section with a sofa and a second television set. We hadn’t thought we’d make use of that section but surprised ourselves with just how much we did. The bathroom was larger and included a full bath over which the standard shower was connected. We never got around to using the bath itself but the extra long drying line came in very useful for our swimming gear as we swam a lot during that cruise. Outside, the balcony was very large indeed. The one downside was that it was uncovered and therefore both looked upon and at the mercy of the elements. This didn’t end up being a problem during our cruise but it’s worth considering if privacy on a balcony is important or you’re going somewhere that weather might play a part. Naturally, there were wonderful, unobstructed views and we saw a spectacular night sky leaving Buenos Aires where we could make out the Milky Way despite a fair bit of light pollution.

Getting anywhere on the ship involved use of the stairwells and elevators, all of which were very much what we’d experienced before. Having our room on the deck we were on meant we walked up and down to our room when heading off to the various entertainment options we were typically interested in on the promenade deck throughout the day. Usually we’re very much walk down, elevator up people.

The piazza was exactly what we’d come to expect as well. Light, bright, but warm colouring. We’ve seen other cruise lines’ atriums that have flashier elements but they always seem to pair them with darker, contrasting parts too that make the areas seem more claustrophobic. We do like the open, clean look on Princess ships. There were occasional demonstrations or activities taking place in the piazza but the only one we spent any time looking at from memory was an Argentine Tango being performed.

The first place we had a drink on Star Princess was in Crooners, the piano and cocktail bar on deck 7 at the top of the piazza. During the day and early evening this was one of the best places to come for a quiet chat and to experience the great cocktail-making skills on display. The bar staff on Star Princess remain to this day the best as a group we’ve ever had the pleasure of being with. Drinks were poured on glasses balanced on chins and elbows, funny chat was commonplace, names and what we’d drunk before were remembered, nothing was too much trouble.

Other areas off the piazza or on deck 7 where most of the onboard activities took place included the theatre where we had our muster drill, Explorer’s Lounge where quizzes, BOGOs (buy one drink, get another for a dollar), and art auctions entertained us, Wheelhouse Bar for more BOGOs and some pleasing jazz from an onboard group, and the art gallery.

The promenade deck on Grand-class Princess ships (i.e. not on the newer Royal-class ships) are full, wraparound decks allowing for complete walking circuits, and they were very popular, particularly early in the evening when it seemed a lot of passengers would work off some calories before going for dinner. We took our promenade walks at a far more sedate pace and always loved the views out to the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

On the top deck the big draw for most passengers is naturally the various swimming pools. In common with every cruise we’ve been on getting a lounger anywhere near a pool on a sea day was next to impossible which I wouldn’t mind if the people near the water were going to make use of the facilities but they typically don’t. As a result, because we’re averse to getting out of a pool and dripping everywhere up two decks to get to the lounger we managed to find tucked away down the side somewhere, we tended to do most of our swimming in the small pool by the Sanctuary as most people don’t seem to realise it’s there; it’s not ideal for swimming because of its size but it does in a pinch.

The large screen for movies, some sports activities, sun loungers, and great views to the horizon made up the rest of the attractions of the top decks of the Star Princess cruise ship, and if it wasn’t raining then the Zumba classes were held there too.

Another new feature for us and one thing different on the Star Princess compared to the other Grand-class ships we’d been on (and still have been on) was the positioning of Skywalkers Nightclub. On other ships it’s a little further forward, directly accessible from the rear elevators and stairwell but Star Princess and a few others make use of advances in materials weight during construction to shift the nightclub back where it can be reached on a travelator. From the outside this looks like a long tube connecting the club to the rest of the ship. At night it was lovely to step onto the moving walkway and glide along looking at the ocean views through the glass while a smiling member of staff usually waited at the end to see where we would sit in order to hover for a drinks order.

Skywalkers Nightclub was our regular late night stop after dinner. We got to know the staff there pretty well and always enjoyed the disco despite the penchant of the resident DJ, Pedro, to play latin. He’d play requests that would fill the dancefloor then immediately switch to something he liked and everyone would vanish back to their seats. The inability of the DJ to read a crowd notwithstanding, it was a great end to every evening.

State Room

Nothing obvious to distinguish state rooms on Azura and Ventura other than the art in our room which felt more vibrant, youthful, fun in Ventura as you can just about tell from the comparison photos below. There was a more grown up feel in our Azura rooms. For reference we have stayed in cabins A610 and B237 on Azura and we’ve stayed in B215 on Ventura. Space and layout were identical.

The bed’s mattress on our Ventura cruise was on its last legs – very obviously suffering a dip but not enough to cause discomfort or give me reason to complain for the short trip we were taking – but there is a planned refit in 2018 that will hopefully refresh this.

Azura requires you to put a card in a slot to turn on lights in your room; Ventura does not. We prefer not having to do this and not just because we’ve almost walked out with our card left in the room on occasion. While the idea behind the card slot seems reasonable – reduces electricity usage for the lights in the room when you’re not in there – this is offset by finding all the TVs left on when you walk into cabins when you first arrive. I’m pretty sure they eat up far more power in that time than a handful of light bulbs for an entire cruise.

Swimming Pools

In terms of layout the pools on Ventura were the same as on Azura for all intents and purposes. To see pictures of the pools on Azura see here: P&O Azura or On Azura. The one big change was that one of the pools was covered on Ventura and that can be a big factor depending on the cruise ship’s itinerary.

Having a covered pool makes a lot of sense when taking a cruise in northern Europe late in the season and it’s certainly worth considering when weighing up Azura or Ventura for similar cruise ships depending on the time of year you’re cruising. As an added bonus the covered pool reduced the amount of space for smokers to light up on the starboard side of the top deck which made for a more pleasant walk to the buffet for breakfast in the mornings.

Late Night Lounge: Metropolis/Planet Bar

The late night lounge at the top of the ship, aft (and equivalent to Skywalkers Nightclub on Princess ships) is either the Planet Bar on Azura or Metropolis on Ventura. There’s nothing to choose between them in terms of their layout or functionality (either a pianist or the ship’s resident acoustic duo on alternate nights providing some gentle live music) but this is a location where Azura wins out over Ventura.

Metropolis, Ventura

Planet Bar, Azura

The Planet Bar has a sculpture related to the theme and large TV screens providing fabulous, relaxing views of the planet (naturally); Metropolis has some abstract piece of metal that could possibly be a deflated weather balloon and plain, black, glass panels. By way of comparison Ventura’s Metropolis feels colder, quieter, and duller than Azura’s venue and it was definitely less busy on our cruise.

Atrium

The big overall difference in the two ships to us is that Azura feels a little more modern than Ventura but Ventura typically feels warmer, cosier, and friendlier (Metropolis notwithstanding). This can be demonstrated immediately with a comparison of the atrium areas of both ships. While both are laid out identically and contain identical main features Ventura’s atrium has pleasing, relaxing, warm accent colours whereas Azura is more monochromatic and has a light sculpture that somehow feels a little oppressive in the space.

Ventura Atrium

Azura Atrium

Cocktail Bar: Red/Blue

At the top of the atrium on both ships is the piano/cocktail bar: Blue on Azura, Red on Ventura. On Ventura the colours are plain to see and, being red, there’s warmth in the decor. On Azura it’s less obvious where the blue influences are and the carpeting looks like something from the 1980s: bold, bright, really not right for the area. The warmer colours on Ventura should have made the area feel more enclosed but we actually found the opposite to be true with the Red Bar seeming to have more space in it.

Ventura, Red Bar

Azura, Blue Bar

Both bars suffered from slow bar service. We’re not sure why but on three trips with P&O on their cruise ships we’ve yet to get a drink quickly from the Red or Blue bars even when there’s been practically nobody else around. Maybe that’s their signature move.

The Glass House

This venue is the main location to get wine (P&O keep a great range of wine very well) and it serves some food for a modest fee. As an aside we’ve only eaten here on Ventura but can happily say that the food was absolutely fantastic for the price; some of the tastiest, most succulent fish I’ve ever eaten, and plenty of it; far superior to the main dining room food, hence the additional cost, but highly recommended.

In terms of decor fitting the name of the venue Azura wins with its clean, mostly white, glass-like look. But, again, Ventura feels cosier even if the Mediterranean theme present looks a bit dated and was obviously prepared for the venue’s previous name on the ship, Ramblas. You’ll have to take my word on how the place looks on Azura because I don’t have any decent photos that show it off.

Glass House, Ventura

Midship Lounge: Tamarind/Malabar

There’s not a lot to choose between these cabaret lounges on either ship when it comes to functionality or appearance. Both have a touch of the exotic to them and both had similar events taking place during the days and nights. Ventura’s Tamarind lounge, however, was the clear winner when it came to not smelling like it had sewage running down its wall, an affliction suffered by Azura’s Malabar on both occasions we’ve sailed on her seven months apart.

Ventura, Tamarind Lounge

Azura, Malabar Lounge

Nightclub: Havana/Manhattan

The largest lounges on the ships, situated aft, were both pretty similar again, differing only in very slight aesthetic changes. Hence there being only the one photo from our most recent cruise. Manhattan on Azura was always rammed in the evenings when we wandered past so we never stayed; by contrast Ventura’s Havana was busy but there was always room on our trip so we made sure to pop in when the music sounded like something we’d appreciate and we had an enjoyable time listening to the DJ and people-watching tipsy passengers dancing.

Ventura, Havana

Azura, Manhattan

Miscellaneous Differences

The pub on board Azura is called Brodie’s; the equivalent on Ventura is The Exchange. The layout, available space, and general decor for The Exchange was quite poor compared to Brodie’s. The theatre is the Arena on Ventura and the Playhouse on Azura; we never went in the latter so cannot compare them although I imagine they’re identical.

I can’t remember what the carpeting looks like on Azura along the photo gallery section between Malabar and Manhattan as it didn’t seem interesting enough for me to photograph but on Ventura the corridor that runs from Tamarind to Havana is certainly bold and interesting to walk on if you’re drunk or the seas are rough, I imagine.

Verdict

Azura is the newer ship with the most recent designs and it’s targeted at a general cruiser. Ventura is older, seems geared towards families a bit more, and has some (some might say) dated looks and feels in places. There are certainly areas where Ventura could improve – the pub/casino layout could do with a shift around, the Glass House might benefit from a few design tweaks more in line with its name, and Metropolis would be improved with something more in line with the big city feel of its name too – but given a choice between cruising on the two ships with identical itineraries we would pick Ventura over Azura as it feels friendlier. That said, there’s very little to choose overall as you’d expect from sister ships run by the same cruise company, and from a purely practical perspective the only thing you might really need to consider when selecting Azura or Ventura for a cruise with P&O would be whether a covered swimming pool would be beneficial.

Embarkation was as good this time as it was on our prior trip to Amsterdam on Azura. We used CPS and arrived to hand over our car about 40 minutes before we were scheduled to board. It took about 15-20 minutes to queue again before we could give our keys to the driver, grab the bag from the boot, and walk into the terminal where, because it was close to our boarding time, we were again given a fast track ticket to immediately queue instead of waiting around to be called. Check in was smooth, done quickly, and we were on the ship 5 minutes ahead of our due time. Dropping off our bag, unpacking and hanging things up, we then went for a quick wander to see what was the same and what was different on Ventura compared to Azura. We started up top.

Almost all of the outside space was identical to what we’d seen before with the main exception being the presence of two circus ring areas for the ship’s circus training!

Nobody really wants to see views of Southampton when they’re on a cruise ship but it simply can’t be helped and when I’ve got a camera in my hand I feel compelled to take some pictures of the city.

We wandered into Metropolis which wasn’t serving drinks at that time (otherwise we’d have had our first drink on board there) and were a little disappointed with the decor when thinking back to the impressive TV screens in Azura’s Planet Bar.

Heading back along the top deck we saw that one of the two main pools was covered. As explained in my comparison post about Ventura and Azura we liked this a lot even though we never got around to having a swim on this cruise simply because the wind can be a bit nippy in northern Europe late in the season and the covered section reduced the space for smokers who often make going for breakfast in the mornings a rather revolting experience.

The colour scheme on board Ventura is far warmer than its sister ship and the atrium in particular was a far more welcoming place than the same space on Azura. While some areas did look a little bit old fashioned (the Glass House most obviously) we found it overall a friendlier feeling ship to be on.

Our state room was exactly what we were expecting in terms of layout and facilities; we’ve been on enough Grand-class cruise ships to be able to move around these rooms in the dark without issue now. We did have a few problems with our cabin that needed addressing when we first got on board, though. The TV was reporting an error connecting to the ship’s network but that was soon remedied using the skills I’ve developed from decades in the world of IT (I rebooted the router). More irritating was that the connecting door on the balcony wasn’t locked and kept swinging open with a loud bang in the wind even while we were docked in Southampton. We didn’t know who our steward was (Princess usually leave a card explaining who your steward is and how to get hold of him/her but there was nothing like that on Ventura) so explained the situation to the first employee we saw in the hallway; he said he’d tell our steward without actually finding out what room number we were in which didn’t inspire confidence so we made our way to the reception desk off the atrium and decided to forget that too once we saw the queue of people waiting to have some issue or another addressed stretched out of sight. We eventually left a note for our steward on the bed knowing that it would be seen when it was turned down for the evening and this problem was rectified by the time we retired for the night.

We spent the first full day at sea, at times with some decent swell and high winds and occasionally just drifting in nearly flat conditions. It was a strange thing to be at the aft of the ship, at sea, with no apparent wake. I would guess that there is a tax benefit to having a mostly wasted day out of port and it probably doesn’t hurt to have a captive audience for all those bars on board but we did hear a few people complain about it. Personally, it was quite nice and I think not a bad idea for an introductory cruise to show people what a ship is like when it’s not simply in port; you really don’t get a real feel for cruising on a 2-nighter.

On the Sunday we awoke to find ourselves docked in Zeebrugge. There had been rain overnight with more forecast for the day in Belgium but with a clear sky initially it lent Ventura a fresh look as we headed off to breakfast. Breakfast on Ventura, I must point out here, was significantly better than that we’d experienced on Azura with a few more options each morning; it’s still pretty basic fare but we did appreciate the improvement.

We had a lovely day in Bruges (to be covered in another post) but were then delayed getting away from Zeebrugge partly due to high wind speeds that eventually required making use of tugs to get the ship out into the open sea.

Pools were emptied and covered over for safety during the ensuing return trip as the ship faced gusts of up to 62 knots and it spent a fair amount of time leaning to starboard. By estimating the difference in height of the drinks we had in the glass against each edge along with the diameter of the glass I was able to approximate the lean of the ship at 7 degrees which doesn’t sound much but made for entertaining “uphill” walking in places. We had dinner with a group of four, only three of whom were present due to one of them feeling the effects of the rough crossing. We’ve had worse; we enjoyed it.

Monday morning’s return to Southampton was early enough to see a lovely sunrise. It was, however, bitterly cold and a hell of a shock to the system.

Our review of the cruise as a whole would be that the ports of call were superb and the Royal Princess itself was a beautiful ship inside and out but there were some design and feature choices on the ship we didn’t particularly like (personal preference so your views may differ) and, far more importantly, we were treated to some incredibly un-Princess-like levels of service during the trip that left us vowing to never set foot on the ship again during and just after the cruise. Time has a way of smoothing out those peaks and troughs and looking back through the pictures I’m reminded of some of the better parts of the ship and holiday so… the right price, the right itinerary might change my mind. But the Royal Princess would not be my first choice of ship in the Princess Cruises line.

Embarkation

We’d arranged flights to Italy and transfers to the port and ship with Princess for convenience (and they’re very well-priced, we’ve found) so a 4 a.m. start, drive to Heathrow, and check-in resulted in the holiday starting in traditional British fashion with drinks in the airport before we’d normally even be awake.

The weather was perfect across Europe for our holiday (which always helps) and obligatory phone photos of the landscape and lakes we flew over swiftly followed.

Luggage was retrieved, we found the Princess representatives easily, and with only a little bit of hanging around until everyone from a couple of flights had gathered together we made our way to the coach (quite a walk as I recall) to then take the fairly quick drive to Civitavecchia where the ship was waiting. Unlike everyone else, it seemed, we’d filled in all our paperwork early and walked straight through to pick up our ship card, boarding the ship itself within about three minutes of arriving at the port. Outstanding work.

State Room E102

Our late deal gave us the most forward balcony on the Royal Princess, low down on the port side of the ship. The room was decorated in much the same way as any other Princess ship we’d been on but everything was newer and a little brighter as you’d expect from a more modern ship. The Royal Princess was the first (and at time of writing, only) Royal-class ship we’d been on, with all our previous cruises taking place on Grand-class vessels. The only major layout change in the room we could see was a large, wall-mounted TV opposite the bed rather than the smaller, corner-set ones we’d seen elsewhere. In the bathroom there was a minor change in positioning of the toilet which is usually at 45 degrees to the vanity unit.

We like balconies on our cruises and if you like balconies too then you probably really need to think about any of the Royal-class of ships (Royal, Regal, Majestic from Princess, or Britannia from P&O) as balcony depth is appalling unless you’re willing to really splash out on some of the higher priced rooms. As it was, though, our room was at the flaring point of the ship near the front which gave us an angled, deeper balcony than typical; the three or four cabins further back from us had deeper cabins again; the only “downside” was that our balconies were described as partially obstructed which in this instance meant that the barrier portion of the balcony was metal instead of glass. This was no obstruction at all and it even meant there was a metal shelf that was handy for putting drinks on when we were sitting out there. The balcony was partially covered and partially exposed and the ship’s bridge was above and just behind. If you’re concerned about privacy it’s worth thinking about but it didn’t concern us. We’d read that when the bridge windscreen was cleaned some of the cleaning fluid could drip onto the balconies where we were but for E102 this didn’t seem to be possible as we were set ahead of the bridge.

In Civitavecchia we were docked alongside the Celebrity Eclipse. As we unpacked and enjoyed a drink in our room a sudden thunderstorm hit the area; lightning was flashing across the suddenly dark afternoon sky and the rain came tipping down. With only a half-covered balcony we couldn’t step out to really take in the splendour of nature but we did sit for a while with our bodies sheltered and our legs exposed to the elements; the warm rain coming down was nice but the subsequent drips from the metal overhead were decidedly cooler. The storm passed quickly in time for a pleasing sunset before muster and departure.

So, Royal Princess state room E102 was perfectly adequate (and arguably better than the majority of balcony cabins on board) and it was conveniently located just one deck above the promenade deck making it easy to walk to between them rather than rely on elevators (although it’s a big ship so it’s still a fair distance). One thing I must point out, though, is that if you’re a fan of sleeping in then best find another room. Proximity to the anchor meant an alarm clock was rarely required. This didn’t bother us, but it might bother you.

Piazza

The piazza was huge, light, and a very attractive space with some very familiar bars and shops hanging off it as we’d come to expect from Princess Cruises along with a few new places too. But looks aren’t everything. We came to realise very quickly that one of favourite things to do when we’re on a Princess ship – enjoy a cocktail from Crooners at the top of the piazza in the early evening before (and sometimes after) dinner – was completely ruined on Royal Princess because of new functionality for the atrium area; namely, activities. Specifically, noisy activities. It seemed there was almost always something happening in the piazza with the subsequent noise rising up to fill the space. At times it was difficult to hear yourself think because of a band or dance class taking place. This was a real disappointment for us.

Art Gallery

We’re fond of art, always make a point of attending at least one auction on board, usually buy something, and Princess (or, rather, Park West, who manage art sales on numerous cruise lines) knows this so we were invited to private events during our week on the ship. Yes, we bought again; one of the pieces is shown below but I won’t say which (other than it’s not the sculpture because we’re not made of money). The location of the gallery on deck 7 was a shock to us and we didn’t really like that it was along a main walking area on this class of ship but I understand the reasoning in trying to capture a bit of passing traffic (more on this in a bit). Our experience says that people who like art already know they like art and it’s unlikely you’re going to entice someone in for a sale on the off chance but I suppose it’s possible. The art gallery was by a stairwell above the casino and we did notice the smell of smoke every now and then which was unpleasant. The gallery staff were superb, friendly, and we enjoyed many chats with them both on and off the ship in ports when we bumped into some on occasion (more on friendliness of staff in a bit too).

Club 6

Our favourite venue on the Grand-class ships operated by Princess Cruises is Skywalkers Nightclub; nothing beats some late nights dancing and drinking. So it was an immense disappointment to discover that not only did the Royal Princess not have this club but the club it did have instead, Club 6, had no views out to sea in the evening and was both adjacent to the casino (smoking smell would creep in from time to time) and formed a corridor between the theatre and the piazza. The reasoning – we suspect – is again to capture passing traffic to the club, something that’s not possible for Skywalkers as it’s at the aft and up top of ships. The reality – we found – was that a crowd of people would just suddenly walk through the place a few times each evening talking loudly while you were trying to enjoy the music, blocking most of the routes to and from the dancefloor until they’d cleared. Baffling design decision. We’ve subsequently talked to a DJ who has worked on Princess ships and who made all the same complaints about Club 6 that I’ve done here.

One interesting thing about Club 6 on the Royal Princess, though, was that the resident DJ was Pedro who had also been on our South American cruise aboard the Star Princess. To date we think he’s the only crew member we’ve encountered twice on a trip. If he wasn’t so fixated on playing latin music all the bloody time then this would have been a good thing.

Other Interior Spaces

The food locations were (mostly) all excellent and none more so than the buffet; huge, open, well laid out, fantastic choices; this was one area that was substantially improved over other Princess ships. Quality and range were all excellent. With our recent experiences on P&O, for example, it’s incredible just how good and varied the breakfast is on Princess with regular choices, local dishes, changing dishes sensibly making use of food not eaten the night before, etc. With P&O it will typically be the same five things every day. Wonderful cake choices too.

The blot on the food landscape was the specialty dining in the Crown Grill, something we always like to do on a Princess cruise but… the location was attached to the Wheelhouse Bar which transformed it from a specialty location to a side room in a pub, and a noisy one at that; it was too bright so intimate dining was gone; the waiter didn’t listen to me at all (more on service in a bit). Anyway, awful.

A TV studio replaces one of the lounges on the Royal Princess and it’s a complete waste of space. That’s all I have to say on that. Another lounge had an odd layout of seating that made talking to other people difficult. Pleasant enough artwork was dotted around the ship and the namer of the ship, the Duchess of Cambridge, had her photograph in one of the corridors.

Promenade Deck

We like a nice walk around the promenade deck on other ships. Sadly, this was impossible on Royal Princess with just a few small areas of decking you could step out on and no walking circuit except for up on top of the ship. The deck areas on the promenade deck were pleasant enough but the views were a little limited by the presence of lifeboats. A nice view to the SeaWalk above could be had but that’s little compensation.

SeaWalk

One of the big features of the Royal Princess cruise ship is its SeaWalk, a glass platform jutting out from the side of the ship and allowing views down to the sea. Sort of. It’s mostly over the promenade deck below so there’s no worry about falling through into the water as the wooden decking below would probably cushion any fall. It’s a nice enough gimmick and looks attractive from the ship’s exterior. Except with the lights on in the evening you can’t really see through the glass because of the reflections. What you can see, though, is onto the balconies and into some of the state rooms nearby. And as for what those rooms can see out to? If you like to gaze out at the stars at night (we do) then you’re only going to see a glowing glass obstruction I imagine.

Sports

The sports and gym options seemed to be improved from what we’ve seen on other ships with plenty of equipment and walking and jogging lanes. Not that we tried any; we’re not insane.

One piece of equipment looked like it was installed backwards from the accompanying explanation of how to use it and its proximity to the ship.

Swimming Pools

Swimming pools were generally very good with lots of lounges around. A water fountain area seemed to be a little bit of a waste of space but it was fairly entertaining on a few evenings when a sound and light show was performed. The best discovery, though, was the Retreat pool; adults only, sheltered, large enough to do plenty of laps in, and pretty much ignored by most of the passengers on board which suited us perfectly. We were very pleased to get in plenty of swims on our week on the Royal Princess.

Service

The biggest, biggest, biggest problem we had with our week on board Royal Princess was that the level of service was nothing close to what we had come to expect from Princess Cruises. We were met with indifference from bar staff who would take orders with barely a glance, no chat, no smile, then head off without a word until they’d return to hand over drinks in silence, and this happened in every bar we visited on board; at the Retreat pool we couldn’t even catch the eye of a bar steward when we were the only ones there who went out of his way to wander around looking out to sea and ignoring us.

While the food was good in general the level of service was perfunctory at best in the main dining room, and in the Crown Grill it was atrocious with the waiter getting my order wrong and sighing loudly when it was pointed out. By far the worst service we had was when we had to go to the customer services desk to re-register a credit card that had stopped working because two digits had somehow transposed themselves between us booking the cruise and it being entered in their system somewhere; during a puzzled query as to how this could have happened since the card numbers had only been entered once and had obviously initially worked to get us on board we were met with an eye roll from the customer service person and an accusation that it had to be our fault. It was all I could do to hold my wife in check who was livid at being treated in such a way. We’ve never been treated that badly before or since and it just seemed to be pervasive among all the crew we encountered in some manner or another, again with the exception of the art gallery people who couldn’t have been nicer.

I know that sometimes something isn’t quite right or an encounter might not be perfect but it happened to us throughout the week and we weren’t the only people to experience this; during our disembarkation tour in Athens we were talking to some elite-level passengers who had all the same complaints to raise that we did.

Anyway, to finish: a few more photos and a couple of videos of the Royal Princess cruise ship top deck because despite problems on this cruise she was a pretty ship. It just might be a while before we’re tempted back on her or any of her class though.