My first blog instalment....

Hello and welcome to my first instalment of James’ blog!

Wow! It seems I have some ENORMOUS shoes to fill, but I’m really excited about stepping in to help James out while he’s enjoying a well earned rest - and hopefully I’ll be able to give you another insight into life on the beautiful new ship, Azura.

First of all, let me tell you what I do and where I work, just to give those of you who’ve never even heard of me, an idea about why I’ve been asked to take the reins in writing the blog for you.

Port Presenters write, produce and present live presentations and pre-recorded TV programmes about each of the ports of call that our ships are due to visit, during the course of a cruise.

The Port presentations that I write are designed to give general information about the country/island we’re going to visit, explain what you can expect from the town and port area that you’ll be stepping onto, and recommend some of the highlights, attractions and Shore Excursions running (that I think are great value for money and will appeal to those of you looking to make the most of your day ashore).

The more a port presenter can get out to see and experience, the more first-hand knowledge we can offer you during your cruise, so you’ll see me everywhere! (on tour, on the quayside, at the excursions desk, at the cocktail parties etc etc) - and chances are, I’ll always have a camera or a notepad in one of my hands!

Anyway, where have we been, and where are we going?

As Neil was telling you last week, Azura has just completed her first cruise to the Canary Islands. It was a 12 night cruise jam packed with fun and entertainment that took us to some wonderful places (despite unfortunately, some terrible weather).

What’s happening to the world’s weather?? Surely you’d think that a week as far south as the Canary Islands would at least have brought us a little bit of sunshine? Apparently not. Thankfully, our old faithful Tenerife pulled through and gave us all a couple of hours to rush out in our bikinis. Fingers crossed that next week will prove to be a little better.

Azura’s third cruise is taking us back to the Mediterranean and we’re all optimistic that we’ll be wearing our sunglasses from the very first port of call. This eastern Mediterranean cruise that Azura is doing (a few times this summer) has a truly lovely itinerary – one that we could never tire of.

We’re going to Katakolon in Greece at the end of the first week, which is fabulous for me because it’s not one of my regular ports of call (and I love to visit new places). Katakolon is the port that we use as the gateway for getting passengers over to the ancient site of Olympia; the original site of the very first Olympic Games.

This was a new port for most of the Shore Excursions team onboard Azura so our agent took us out to explore the area, show us what sort of ground we expect people to cover when they visit the site, and teach us about the history of the area.

What an amazing place! Not only is it incredible to visit such a massive, ancient, archaeological site, but there’s also a museum there which displays some of the most incredible artefacts. (see AMAZING pictures below)....

Plus, of course, while we were there we absolutely HAD to run the length of the track, which is believed to be where the first ever Olympic race was run and won!.....

Thankfully, unlike the original Olympic Games, women were allowed into the site (oh, and we were allowed to wear clothes as well! – which trust me, was definitely a bonus!) Maybe they changed these rules when they saw us coming?! haha

Anyway, we’ve got LOTS to look forward to in this coming cruise.

More new passengers have started to arrive and are getting lost, (turning the wrong way out of the lifts and walking the length of the ship before realising that their cabin is actually on a different deck etc), but it’s lovely to see so many awe-struck faces as they look around at Azura’s exquisite decoration and furnishings.

I have to say, the carpets on Azura are BEAUTIFUL (I’ve had more conversations with people about the carpets on this ship than anything else so far!) Here’s a couple of pictures for those of you who haven’t had a chance to visit us yet and have a look around....

Aren't they just fabulous?

There are lots of new Headliners coming to entertain us this cruise, including one of my absolute FAVOURITE performers ever seen on a cruise ship (Jimmy James). Plus, the theatre company (who we all agree are incredible on here!) have got lots of West End style shows lined up as well.

Anyway, I’ll sign off now and let you put the kettle on. I’ll update you as regularly as I can with what’s happening on P&O Cruises newest ship, and of course I’ll welcome any questions, feedback, or opinions you have (about anything you could possibly think of to send me). Anything you’d like to say, fire it over to me and I’ll do my best to reply to you.

I’m here until June (when I’m due to take a bit of a break before heading off to Aurora), so I thoroughly look forward to hearing from and meeting any of you who are sailing with us this summer, or just following us on our journey.

Have a great day, whatever you have planned!

Jo