The cruise was excellent as was the weather. The ship was nice inside, but in all honesty it was my least favourite ship and I will not be back on that.

There are a few things P&O have done to change this time that have made me seriously consider trying another line not affiliated with Carnival at all. One example is massage prices. I used to go for several on a cruise. They have now jumped to a really obscene amount at least 40% more than what they were.

I did try to post the photos on here but it is failing. I am using Windows 7 now and the server rejected my .JPEG photos so I had to convert them to .BMP and that worked, however they are appearing as red X's in the icons in the gallery, yet the photos still turn up.

I am not sure what the problem is as it all worked perfectly when I had Windows XP and uploaded them.

The link is here

http://www.travelserver.net/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=3487

Anyhoo, The Atrium on Azura looks a little bare and could use some more 'something', be it furniture, appoinmtents, or pizzazz. It just looks unfinished to me. A lot of the rooms look that way, sort of half dressed if you know what I mean, sorry. Maybe thats the way P&O interiors are?

[ 07-03-2010: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

quote:

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Originally posted by avalon1025:
I wish Princess' version had as modern of decor, I might be interested in them then....I think she looks good for a grand class

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Having very recently been on Ventura, it's interesting to compare the two. I agree that the atrium looks very bare, and cold. The same space in Ventura has more furniture in place (it's very much part of the coffee bar, in fact) plus there's a burguncy carpet (I think?) which gives it a lot of warmth. However there are downsides to this: the atrium space is used as a venue for 'presentations' by spa and shop staff and it can get very busy..

I like the look of the Blue bar, however, although I can't see much there that's blue! On Ventura the Red bar is very - red.

Here's an image of the atrium in Ventura:

[ 07-04-2010: Message edited by: Tom Burke ]

I am not impressed with the interiors but I would need to see them in the flesh' to really pass judgement.

Thanks for sharing.

[ 07-04-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

I actually prefer the atrium on AZURA over VENTURA. I like that the carpet is not there. Again, just me because I like a very contemporary and minimal look.

I love the staircases in the lobby. They are so sleek looking. They have almost no supports and appear to be one continuous unit which is cool from a design perspective. They are connected to supports at the landing between the lowest and highest decks, but the overall effect is that they are floating with no supports.

If the Princess Grand Class looked like this I would be onboard in a heartbeat.

How did you like the pool areas? This has always been a very strong point of the Grand Class IMO. There are four pool areas and they are all very nice.

quote:

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Originally posted by avalon1025:
I don't think the decor is "American" its current. I'm off to London Wed and my hotel looks just like this....and its not an American hotel....

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There's not much London left in London these days, it's very "American" now. We even dress the same now.

Above: Auroa's Atrium (notice the lack of glitz)

[ 07-04-2010: Message edited by: Malcolm @ cruisepage ]

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How did you like the pool areas? This has always been a very strong point of the Grand Class IMO. There are four pool areas and they are all very nice.

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At the risk of hi-jacking the thread - and I don't want to do that - but people may be interested in a Ventura picture as well (especially if Sutho can put up a conparison picture). This is the Terrace Pool. We practically lived there on our recent cruise. We generally had breakfast & lunch in one of the buffets just forward of this area, and finished off with a cup of tea on the Terrace. Then most afternoons we'd migrate here some time after 5 o'clock and have some drinks: generally some sparkling mineral water to begin, and often a glass or two of wine to follow. I especially remember the sailaway from Cannes. We were sailing roughly ESE (towards Livorno) so the setting sun was shining directly onto the Terrace, with the Alpes Maritime below it. Wonderful.

[ 07-04-2010: Message edited by: Tom Burke ]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tom Burke:

This is the Terrace Pool. We practically lived there on our recent cruise. We generally had breakfast & lunch in one of the buffets just forward of this area, and finished off with a cup of tea on the Terrace.

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I loved this area as well. All the Princess Grand Class have them. It's also the one area that has teak decking. The aft facing view is fabulous.

I think at one point the design for the aft Terrace pool was to place it at the very edge of the ship. That would have been cool, especially if there was a partial glass wall. Can you imagine?

I got the same messge above that the file appears empty.

Although these pictures are low resolution, they are better than I can manage uploading on here. I normally enhance my holiday photos like the above so I can do screen saver slideshows to remind me of my holidays and also show people on the screens at home.

quote:

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Originally posted by Sutho:
Ok now that I have established the links work here are some more:

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I really like the interiors of Azura and her style. Its not bland with the same old tans, creams etc. in every room. But every room has its own style and is diffrent from one another. Thanks for sharing Sutho.

I did buy a whole new digital SLR before the trip complete with lenses etc. It takes allot better shots than the bridge SLR that I was learning with.

If anyone has had problems loading photos to the site then let me know.

I might try adding them with my laptop with Windows XP to see what happens.

Come to think of it I uploaded Queen Victoria gallery with the same camera and this new computer and it loaded fine:

Also the ones I took on Arcadia with my old camera and using the old computer turned out fine