Russell Watson at Sea

Russell Watson at Sea

I was worried about our English Channel cruise which I had planned with my mum and sister. The weather was my main concern – would it be sunny in July or would the sea be choppy? Neither of them are the best travellers so this was a bit of a risk! I needn't have worried – it was a scorcher and as calm as a mill pond! We sailed from Southampton on a Friday afternoon in brilliant sunshine on-board P&O's Azura - a stunning ship with excellent facilities. It was a four night mini cruise, visiting Guernsey, and Zeebrugge (ideal for a day trip to Bruges or Flanders Fields) along the way. After boarding the ship and enjoying a leisurely lunch we had a wander round before heading to the spa for some pampering. We spent the late afternoon relaxing whilst having treatments. The spa was great and everything you’d expect! It was a lovely way to start our break. Then it was time to return to our stateroom. We had opted for an outside stateroom which sleeps 3 people. We thought the space provided was very good with a decent enough bathroom, ample storage space and dressing area. The room was fully airconditioned/heated and it was kept clean for us by our friendly room assistant. Dinner on-board can be anything you like. We dined each evening in our designated formal restaurant, Peninsular. We had selected late dining on a table of 8 and really enjoyed the company we shared. There are plenty of places to dine if you don't fancy the formal restaurant. There are two buffet restaurants, Venicia & Verona, serving a wide range of dishes as well as Sindhu, an Indian restaurant. Seventeen serves British fine dining and at The Glasshouse you can enjoy British Style Tapas (as well as other dishes) complemented by wines selected by Olly Smith - the famous TV presenter & wine expert. If you would like to eat in a formal restaurant as we did but not be set to a time then the Meridian on Deck 5 offers Freedom Dining; you arrive at the time you wish and dine with different people each evening. There are so many choices it never feels repetitive and the same applies for breakfast and lunch where you can again choose formal or not, indoors or outdoors. Our first port of call was Guernsey and as it was a first visit for both Mum & I, we all went off around the island on a bus tour. It is a very pretty island full of flowers and strongly influenced by its proximity to France. There are many places of interest to visit on Guernsey or you may prefer, as we did, to just potter the small streets of St Peter's Port and watch the world go by from a restaurant terrace. We then went on to Zeebrugge where we headed to Bruges. This is easily done; we took the free shuttle service provided by P&O to the nearest train station and then the train into Bruges - be warned the station is 20 minutes stroll from the central area so allow time for your return journey! Bruges itself is a stunning medieval city aptly nicknamed "Venice of the North". The labyrinth of canals are beautiful and no visit to the city would be complete without a ride on one of the many boat tours. There are many places dotted around where you can start your canal tour and at just 7.5 euros each it was a lovely way to spend 45 minutes. Aside from this we wondered the old cobble streets, enjoyed a Belgian beer and purchased some Belgian chocolates - very nice! The other huge treat was that this cruise was to include entertainment from world famous opera singer Russell Watson. Every passenger on board was given a ticket to see Russell at one of the four shows he did in Azura's Playhouse theatre. This was a real treat and Russell's performance was fantastic. We all left the theatre ready to belt our some tunes in the karaoke bar Brodie's, a very popular spot. Azura has bars for all tastes, ages and times of the day. My favourite was the Planet Bar up on Deck 18 with stunning vistas and wonderful cocktails; a great spot for pre and post dinner drinks. All in all, I think Azura is a very pleasant ship and I would recommend her to my clients.

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Caroline Bailey

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