Mr & Mrs Mugford, I’m delighted that you enjoyed your cruise on Azura and that you liked our Headliners’ Theatre Company shows. Our chosen performers work very hard to make sure each performance is up to our exacting standards, and the feedback we have been receiving from our passengers about the different groups on our ships has been extremely positive. I’m also pleased that we are often able to have all our performers up on stage for a ‘getting to know you’ hour. I think these question and answer sessions are a fun way of hearing what happens behind the scenes – something by which I think we’re all quite intrigued!
Unfortunately we’re not able to produce a dedicated DVD of the shows for copyright reasons. We can reproduce visual snippets of the shows in our ‘My cruise diary’ DVDs, but we can’t include show music. So the only way to see these shows in all their glory is, I’m afraid, to go cruising!
Sir Henry Cooper is very entertaining to listen to. Our new ’Spotlights Programme’ of talks and after dinner speakers will certainly include many such speakers, who we feel will be excellent at bringing their subject matter to life, so we hope to provide an even wider variety of talks across our cruises going forward.
Thanks for your welcome back Chris. Yes, I enjoy being able to chat about what we’re doing across P&O Cruises and hearing the questions and comments that follow. I hope you enjoyed your Oriana cruise with us. Oriana was really the start of our investment in modern day cruise ships, and with her naming by Her Majesty The Queen, she is a very special ship to us all.
Arcadia, likewise, has become a firm favourite ship for many in her own right. Being ‘Exclusively for Adults’, she attracts many people who quite often, whilst loving children, just fancy a few weeks away with adult company. In fact many of our passengers on Arcadia in July/August time are teachers having a well earned rest from the classroom. Other teachers, of course, enjoy holidays where children are on board, and we are building up our Youth Crew on our ‘Family Friendly’ ships and look forward to welcoming our young P&O Cruises passengers with their families during the school holidays.
Regarding Freedom Dining (where you can sit with a different group of people every evening and dine at different times), we now also offer this on Azura and it is certainly is a popular option there. However, we have never really been asked to provide this option on our other ships, where the Club Dining concept has proved popular. Perhaps others have views on this? We do, of course, have our Select Dining venues to give you a choice of dining location on these other ships.
So Chris, I do hope you’ll try a cruise on Azura in the not too distant future, so you can enjoy Freedom Dining there, but in the meantime Arcadia can offer you a great alternative in Arcadian Rhodes for the occasional evening.
I notice that there have been a few more comments, so I’ll get back to you shortly with responses to these.
Hello again from Carol
Dear members
Well James and Johanna are enjoying some well deserved leave, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to chat with you directly for a while. This year is certainly flying by, I can't believe we're nearly into July and Azura has already completed five maiden season cruises. The feedback from those who have travelled so far has been hugely encouraging and she has settled into the P&O Cruises fleet well.
In fact I’ve been on Azura today as part of the cruise convention that’s being held for travel agents in Southampton this week. Around 300 guests came and had a look around the ship and I had the pleasure of chatting to them whilst they had lunch in the Oriental Restaurant. I’m pleased to say they seem to have very much enjoyed seeing her.
I was also pleased to be able to chat with several of our Gold Tier Portunus passengers as they were relaxing in Malabar having just embarked. It was great to meet so many people who have travelled on several of our ships before and were trying Azura for the first time. I also met a family with two young boys who were twins; the only way you could tell them apart was by their different colour t-shirts – I think the Youth staff will have fun trying to work out who is who! And I was delighted to see some passengers again who had been on her Maiden Cruise – it’s super that they’ve come back again so soon.
On the news front, July is set to be another big month as we launch our largest ever world cruise programme, sailing in 2011 and 2012. We're thrilled to be able to offer customers more opportunities to see the world than ever before.
We have four ships offering five world cruises; two are sailing on east and westbound full circumnavigations, while the others will be exploring the continents in more detail, including a wonderful cruise for Adonia destined for South America. We'll release full details of the cruises online soon and you'll be able to book from Thursday 15th July.
I'll be blogging over the next couple of weeks, so if you’d like to post any comments or questions online I'll be pleased to come back to you.
With kind regards
Carol
Well James and Johanna are enjoying some well deserved leave, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to chat with you directly for a while. This year is certainly flying by, I can't believe we're nearly into July and Azura has already completed five maiden season cruises. The feedback from those who have travelled so far has been hugely encouraging and she has settled into the P&O Cruises fleet well.
In fact I’ve been on Azura today as part of the cruise convention that’s being held for travel agents in Southampton this week. Around 300 guests came and had a look around the ship and I had the pleasure of chatting to them whilst they had lunch in the Oriental Restaurant. I’m pleased to say they seem to have very much enjoyed seeing her.
I was also pleased to be able to chat with several of our Gold Tier Portunus passengers as they were relaxing in Malabar having just embarked. It was great to meet so many people who have travelled on several of our ships before and were trying Azura for the first time. I also met a family with two young boys who were twins; the only way you could tell them apart was by their different colour t-shirts – I think the Youth staff will have fun trying to work out who is who! And I was delighted to see some passengers again who had been on her Maiden Cruise – it’s super that they’ve come back again so soon.
On the news front, July is set to be another big month as we launch our largest ever world cruise programme, sailing in 2011 and 2012. We're thrilled to be able to offer customers more opportunities to see the world than ever before.
We have four ships offering five world cruises; two are sailing on east and westbound full circumnavigations, while the others will be exploring the continents in more detail, including a wonderful cruise for Adonia destined for South America. We'll release full details of the cruises online soon and you'll be able to book from Thursday 15th July.
I'll be blogging over the next couple of weeks, so if you’d like to post any comments or questions online I'll be pleased to come back to you.
With kind regards
Carol
Jo's Final Post from Azura...
Hello from Azura!
As mentioned in the title, this is going to be my final instalment for James Cusick’s blog. I’m going home when we get to Southampton for a well anticipated rest. I’ve absolutely loved helping to set up this incredible new ship, and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a wonderful inaugural team.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know what to expect from Azura. I’ve worked on every one of P&O Cruises’ current fleet of ships, and we all secretly have our favourites, our likes and our dislikes. But I don’t think I ever expected this ship to be so breathtakingly spectacular.
It’s a massive cruise ship (but never feels big), it carries over 3000 passengers (but nowhere ever seems busy), there are 1,159 cabins (yet they are all a lovely size and beautifully decorated), and the officers and crew work extremely hard (and yet never let it show because we all thoroughly enjoy being here).
I’ve spoken to many of our passengers, and the only negative comment I’ve heard is ‘that it’s a long way from their cabin to their favourite dining room’. As Azura is advertised as P&O Cruises’ newest and biggest ship, I don’t think anyone can expect anything other than a fair walk from one end of the ship to the other, so I look at this as a great opportunity to work off a few calories before tucking into an extravagant dessert or an extra glass of wine with dinner!
If you get the opportunity to sail on Azura in the future, I don’t believe any of you can be disappointed. She’s everything that P&O Cruises wanted from her. She’s stylish, sophisticated, has all of the latest technology to offer passengers the ultimate in luxury service and quality, and yet she recognises what our loyal passengers have always loved about cruising.
I’m going to hand the blog over to Carol Marlow (Managing Director of P&O Cruises) for a short time before James Cusick returns from his break, but in the meantime, I’d like to thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my posts, and I thoroughly look forward to meeting many of you on your forthcoming cruises with us.
Have a wonderful day and I hope to see you soon!
Jo
As mentioned in the title, this is going to be my final instalment for James Cusick’s blog. I’m going home when we get to Southampton for a well anticipated rest. I’ve absolutely loved helping to set up this incredible new ship, and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a wonderful inaugural team.
I have to be honest and say that I didn’t know what to expect from Azura. I’ve worked on every one of P&O Cruises’ current fleet of ships, and we all secretly have our favourites, our likes and our dislikes. But I don’t think I ever expected this ship to be so breathtakingly spectacular.
It’s a massive cruise ship (but never feels big), it carries over 3000 passengers (but nowhere ever seems busy), there are 1,159 cabins (yet they are all a lovely size and beautifully decorated), and the officers and crew work extremely hard (and yet never let it show because we all thoroughly enjoy being here).
I’ve spoken to many of our passengers, and the only negative comment I’ve heard is ‘that it’s a long way from their cabin to their favourite dining room’. As Azura is advertised as P&O Cruises’ newest and biggest ship, I don’t think anyone can expect anything other than a fair walk from one end of the ship to the other, so I look at this as a great opportunity to work off a few calories before tucking into an extravagant dessert or an extra glass of wine with dinner!
If you get the opportunity to sail on Azura in the future, I don’t believe any of you can be disappointed. She’s everything that P&O Cruises wanted from her. She’s stylish, sophisticated, has all of the latest technology to offer passengers the ultimate in luxury service and quality, and yet she recognises what our loyal passengers have always loved about cruising.
I’m going to hand the blog over to Carol Marlow (Managing Director of P&O Cruises) for a short time before James Cusick returns from his break, but in the meantime, I’d like to thank you so much for taking the time to read and reply to my posts, and I thoroughly look forward to meeting many of you on your forthcoming cruises with us.
Have a wonderful day and I hope to see you soon!
Jo
Heatwave hits Azura in the Mediterranean
Hello!
Well, Azura has just finished a run of 5 busy ports and we’re heading through the Messina Straits towards Malaga now. After disappointingly missing our call to Korcula last time we were in the Mediterranean, we had a wonderful day ashore there yesterday.
The weather was a little cloudy but this was a welcome relief from the blazing hot days we've had in the Greek, Croatian and Italian ports (it got up to 40 degrees in the centre of Dubrovnik’s old town this week, and a sweltering 45 degrees in the ancient site of Olympia!!). It was still very hot in Korcula, but it was a really pleasant heat to potter around in and see the sights, because there’s always a wonderful breeze blowing in from the sea on this island.
I think Korcula was the surprise port for many people on Azura this week. It’s the one place that less people have been to than any other port, and it was a perfect destination to visit after a very busy and hot day in Venice.
For those of you who’ve never heard of (or been to) Korcula, it’s a little long and thin island that lies just off of the Croatian coast in an archipelago in the Adriatic sea. It’s a very green island, is very picturesque, is absolutely full of agriculture and the surrounding waters are some of the clearest I’ve ever seen.
Despite being situated very close to Dubrovnik, Korcula saw absolutely nothing of the Croatian war of Independence that swept through the international news network in the 1990s. As a result of this, it’s an island that’s still full of historical buildings and old fortifications and it makes for some wonderful photo opportunities.
As Korcula is such a little island, and Korcula town (the capital and our docking destination) is such a tiny place, we can’t dock a ship of Azura’s side alongside a quay, so we tender everybody ashore. For those of you who’ve never experienced a P&O Cruises tender operation, this is basically a transfer service using Azura’s lifeboats (or Tender boats) to get passengers ashore from the ship (as opposed to using a gangway).
Well, Azura has just finished a run of 5 busy ports and we’re heading through the Messina Straits towards Malaga now. After disappointingly missing our call to Korcula last time we were in the Mediterranean, we had a wonderful day ashore there yesterday.
The weather was a little cloudy but this was a welcome relief from the blazing hot days we've had in the Greek, Croatian and Italian ports (it got up to 40 degrees in the centre of Dubrovnik’s old town this week, and a sweltering 45 degrees in the ancient site of Olympia!!). It was still very hot in Korcula, but it was a really pleasant heat to potter around in and see the sights, because there’s always a wonderful breeze blowing in from the sea on this island.
I think Korcula was the surprise port for many people on Azura this week. It’s the one place that less people have been to than any other port, and it was a perfect destination to visit after a very busy and hot day in Venice.
For those of you who’ve never heard of (or been to) Korcula, it’s a little long and thin island that lies just off of the Croatian coast in an archipelago in the Adriatic sea. It’s a very green island, is very picturesque, is absolutely full of agriculture and the surrounding waters are some of the clearest I’ve ever seen.
Despite being situated very close to Dubrovnik, Korcula saw absolutely nothing of the Croatian war of Independence that swept through the international news network in the 1990s. As a result of this, it’s an island that’s still full of historical buildings and old fortifications and it makes for some wonderful photo opportunities.
As Korcula is such a little island, and Korcula town (the capital and our docking destination) is such a tiny place, we can’t dock a ship of Azura’s side alongside a quay, so we tender everybody ashore. For those of you who’ve never experienced a P&O Cruises tender operation, this is basically a transfer service using Azura’s lifeboats (or Tender boats) to get passengers ashore from the ship (as opposed to using a gangway).
The tender boats pull right up alongside a little quayside that fronts Korula Town and you step ashore to be graced by a ring of huge stone 13th Century defensive walls.
Korcula Town is completely surrounded by these ancient walls and so is only really explorable on foot. It’s completely pedestrianised and is only accessible via a series of old, winding, flower lined staircases like these...
Korcula Town is completely surrounded by these ancient walls and so is only really explorable on foot. It’s completely pedestrianised and is only accessible via a series of old, winding, flower lined staircases like these...
The local people must be pretty active to be negotiating steps like these every day eh? Apart from the exercise required though, this town is an absolute delight to explore. It’s packed full of tiny medieval squares, churches, and beautiful architecture, and with the red roofs that seem to grace all of the buildings, it’s no surprise that many people fondly refer to Korcula town as ‘Little Dubrovnik’.
I think Korcula town is ideal just to wander around and relax in. It’s all about strolling, photographing, eating and drinking. There are ice cream parlours everywhere and lovely restaurants and cafes spill out onto the streets and around the town walls. Plus, as well, I’ve never found anything there that seems to be particularly expensive. What a treat!
Korcula is primarily famous for 2 things though, I think;
I think Korcula town is ideal just to wander around and relax in. It’s all about strolling, photographing, eating and drinking. There are ice cream parlours everywhere and lovely restaurants and cafes spill out onto the streets and around the town walls. Plus, as well, I’ve never found anything there that seems to be particularly expensive. What a treat!
Korcula is primarily famous for 2 things though, I think;
Firstly, it’s stone cutting and masonry history - which has been deep rooted in the island’s heritage for centuries. All local houses, walls, pavements, and patios are constructed from large blocks of stone cut from nearby quarries and archaeologists are still finding examples of masonry work dating back hundreds of years.
Secondly, local legend has it that the famous explorer and seafarer Marco Polo was born in Korcula in 1254. The building that’s believed to have been his home stands in the centre of Korcula town and it’s currently being converted into a museum.
For a small fee you can climb the tower that tops Marco Polo's former dwelling, which looks along the eastern channel that Polo is thought to have navigated. It offers some of the best views of the island.
Here are a couple more photos of Korcula to tempt you into a visit...
So, we’re at sea today and as it’s a beautiful sunny day with wonderful views of Italy and Sicily, lots of people are out on the open decks enjoying the Mediterranean heat.
The Retreat is busy today. Azura’s Retreat is described as an adult only sanctuary that’s full of comfortable cushioned loungers, fresh towels, robes, slippers, full waiter service, cool towels to relieve the heat of the sun, light bites to enjoy in the shade of a canopy, a private pool, and massage booths that open out offering views of the ocean.
Passengers do have to pay a supplement to use this area, but I think it’s worth every penny, because numbers are limited which gives it a really exclusive feel. It’s wonderful! The people who’ve used it so far can’t say a bad word about it and just go to enjoy a bit of sheer luxury.
I haven’t spent much time there myself (apart from a lunch under the canopy and a quick 15 mins chat in a huge cushioned circular lounger) but it’s definitely something I’d recommend to anybody planning a cruise on Azura in the future. It’ll be a perfect respite when Azura gets to the Caribbean.
Saying that, this ship is sure to be be a huge hit during the Caribbean cruise season. Everything about Azura is absolutely perfect for cruising in the sunshine. Take the Seascreen for example (which is the huge outdoor cinema screen that’s attached to the funnel). We’ve been watching the World Cup football matches and movies on it over the last 2 weeks, and there are cushioned sun loungers in front of it, blankets provided, and waiter service from the bars. During the Caribbean season, I’ve no doubt that this will continue to be a huge hit!
Anyway, I think I ought to get back to my real job and continue preparing my Port Presentations for my forthcoming cruises on Aurora this summer. Lots to do!
Have a great day, and I’ll write again soon!
Saying that, this ship is sure to be be a huge hit during the Caribbean cruise season. Everything about Azura is absolutely perfect for cruising in the sunshine. Take the Seascreen for example (which is the huge outdoor cinema screen that’s attached to the funnel). We’ve been watching the World Cup football matches and movies on it over the last 2 weeks, and there are cushioned sun loungers in front of it, blankets provided, and waiter service from the bars. During the Caribbean season, I’ve no doubt that this will continue to be a huge hit!
Anyway, I think I ought to get back to my real job and continue preparing my Port Presentations for my forthcoming cruises on Aurora this summer. Lots to do!
Have a great day, and I’ll write again soon!
Jo
Azura's Adriatic Arrival
Hi there!
Well we’re 5 days into our Mediterranean cruise and it feels like we’ve been sailing for weeks (it’s funny; every now and again we wonder where on earth the time goes, and then suddenly we stop and think ‘Are we STILL at sea??).
We’ll be calling into Katakolon tomorrow (The Greek port that I told you about a couple of weeks ago - the gateway port to the ancient site of the original Olympic Games). There are hundreds of people venturing out to the archaeological site tomorrow, and I’m heading over to a nearby beach to check out the facilities. I’d love to say that I’ll have my bikini on and a lilo under my arm, but unfortunately this will be a research trip only. If it’s nice and offers lots of facilities, then I’ll know to mention it to people in my next lot of port presentations.
We stopped for a half day call to Gibraltar on the way down into the Mediterranean Sea, which was a lovely way to break up all of the necessary leisurely sea days. The weather was quite mild in the morning which meant it wasn’t uncomfortable to rush out to the Duty Free shops or up to the top of the rock, and as soon as we set sail, the sun burst into the sky and the decks were full of happy faces covered in tanning lotion.
I spent the morning inside Gibraltar’s rock exploring the WWII tunnels that have recently opened up. What a fascinating insight into the little country’s history.
For those of you who’ve never been to Gibraltar before, it can be perfectly described as a ‘little piece of Britain in the Mediterranean Sea’ and there’s a lovely atmosphere which is immediately apparent.
Well we’re 5 days into our Mediterranean cruise and it feels like we’ve been sailing for weeks (it’s funny; every now and again we wonder where on earth the time goes, and then suddenly we stop and think ‘Are we STILL at sea??).
We’ll be calling into Katakolon tomorrow (The Greek port that I told you about a couple of weeks ago - the gateway port to the ancient site of the original Olympic Games). There are hundreds of people venturing out to the archaeological site tomorrow, and I’m heading over to a nearby beach to check out the facilities. I’d love to say that I’ll have my bikini on and a lilo under my arm, but unfortunately this will be a research trip only. If it’s nice and offers lots of facilities, then I’ll know to mention it to people in my next lot of port presentations.
We stopped for a half day call to Gibraltar on the way down into the Mediterranean Sea, which was a lovely way to break up all of the necessary leisurely sea days. The weather was quite mild in the morning which meant it wasn’t uncomfortable to rush out to the Duty Free shops or up to the top of the rock, and as soon as we set sail, the sun burst into the sky and the decks were full of happy faces covered in tanning lotion.
I spent the morning inside Gibraltar’s rock exploring the WWII tunnels that have recently opened up. What a fascinating insight into the little country’s history.
For those of you who’ve never been to Gibraltar before, it can be perfectly described as a ‘little piece of Britain in the Mediterranean Sea’ and there’s a lovely atmosphere which is immediately apparent.
All of the street furniture, the signposts, the phone boxes, the food, most of the bars and the restaurants, and the currency are all British, and yet the climate and the scenery are typically Mediterranean and warm.
Traditional British pubs sell real ale and fish and chips alongside some lovely little Spanish Tapas Bars, who offer jugs of Sangria in the sunshine.
Main street (which as the name suggests is the main street that runs through the town) has all the shops you could wish to find, including familiar names like Barclays Bank, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, Top Shop, BHS, Next, and Marks and Spencer, so there were lots of bags running through the Security scanning machines back at the port.
Probably the famous sight in (or rather on) Gibraltar is the colony of Barbary Macaques.
Originally from Morocco and Algeria, these are the only group of wild primates remaining in Europe, and they wander around quite freely just like our New Forest Ponies.
They look so cute and cuddly and have got fascinating facial expressions but they are really, really cheeky. If anybody has a bag or a camera in their hand, they’ll try to steal it and eat it, and they have a great habit of jumping onto people and sitting on their heads. I found this out for myself as I was about to enter the WWII tunnels! A little ape jumped from a rock, across the road, and landed on my head.
Looking back on it now it was hilarious and gave everybody in my tour group lots to point and laugh at (and photograph), but at the time I was more concerned about keeping all of my fingers and both of my ears intact!! Obviously as the person underneath the ape and desperately concentrating on not freaking out, I didn’t get any pictures for myself, so if anybody gets home from Azura’s current cruise and has a photo of that little situation, please feel free to post it on the blog so that we can all have a little giggle about it! :o)
The WWII tunnels have only recently been opened up to the public, in the last couple of years, and they let you peer into what life was like in Gibraltar’s recent history. During the war years, thousands of men and women lived inside the protective shells of Gibraltar’s chunk of Jurassic limestone and life in the tunnels was highly organised around a 24 hour regime.
The soldiers would have 8 hours rest, followed by 8 hours of mining, followed by 8 hours of sentry duty. Men and women lived here in strictly regimented routine, and it’s absolutely fascinating to explore the huge complex network of tunnels.
One tunnel inside Gibraltar’s rock would take 2.5 hours to walk the entire length of it and there are tunnels big enough to accommodate trucks and lorries too. There were enormous mess rooms, womens’ quarters, truck and car stores, kitchens, bathrooms and even a hospital!
Have a look at some of the photos I took while I was following the tour guide....
I’m going to go and prepare for our Katakolon excursions now, so I’ll finish up and update you more on Azura’s travels in the next couple of days.
If any of you have any ports that you’d specifically like to know about or there is anything about the P&O Cruises fleet that you’ve always been wondering about, please feel free to fire any requests over to me. I’m going to be with you for just another 10 days, and then I’ll hand the blog over to my replacement so that I can go home for an awaited break, so please feel free to ask as many questions as you like.....
Til the next blog post!
Jo
Azura heads to the hot and sunny Mediterranean
Hello from Azura!
We’ve just left Southampton and are on our way to the Mediterranean.
The Southampton turnaround seemed to all go very smoothly, and the last few days of the Baltic cruise were nice and relaxed.
As well as being perfect for couples, Azura also caters brilliantly for families, as I saw for myself when I went to judge the kids’ fancy dress competition on Monday. What a lovely afternoon. For obvious reasons, those of us who are not involved with the running of the Youth Department don’t ever have anything to do with the events run for children onboard.
However, Hazel (Assistant Shore Excursion Manager) and I were asked to appear as special guests in a big, kids' party and fancy dress parade - and we loved it!
The costumes that the children (and the mums and dads) had made were fantastic and included a Queen of Hearts (winner of the 1-4 year old category), naughty gnomes, a car, a ship, a fairy, 3 Russian Dolls (winners of the 5-8 year old category), Spiderman, a sunburnt P&O Cruises’ passenger (winner of the 9-12 year old category), and lots more too.
The winners were awarded plaques to take home with them and all participants were presented with a gift from Noddy (who was the surprise guest).
Then we ended up being dragged up onto the dance floor to celebrate all of the winners. We were totally shown up by all of the children who knew the ‘moves’ to every song – and made us look (and feel) very old and out of touch! Still, we had a good go.
I have to say, having never really been involved with any of the childrens’ events before, I’ve never really known a lot about the jobs that are done by the members of the Youth Department. I was totally blown away. They were fantastic! Every child in that room was captivated by the energy and attention that the team portrayed (they made me feel shattered just watching them! Haha). Don’t get me wrong, there’s always some kind of singing or dancing going on in the Excursions department, but an afternoon in the youth department made me feel absolutely exhausted!
Have a look at a couple of photos...
My parents joined Azura today and are sailing with me until we reach Venice. It’s lovely to have family onboard with me. They’re very excited to be sailing with us (they’ve sailed with P&O Cruises a few times, but obviously never on Azura), and I’m very excited to show them the ship and introduce them to all of the fabulous venues and the new ports of call that they’ve never visited.
Anyway, it’s been a long, busy and eventful turnaround day. I had the pleasure of seeing my favourite person, embarked my parents and showed them the ship, have written my next blog post, have booked a few Excursions, have been to the safety drills, have prepared my next live presentation, have had a bite to eat, and now I’m off for an early night (live port talk tomorrow in the Playhouse theatre so I need my beauty sleep).
I’ll update you again soon,
Have a fabulous day!
Jo
We’ve just left Southampton and are on our way to the Mediterranean.
The Southampton turnaround seemed to all go very smoothly, and the last few days of the Baltic cruise were nice and relaxed.
As well as being perfect for couples, Azura also caters brilliantly for families, as I saw for myself when I went to judge the kids’ fancy dress competition on Monday. What a lovely afternoon. For obvious reasons, those of us who are not involved with the running of the Youth Department don’t ever have anything to do with the events run for children onboard.
However, Hazel (Assistant Shore Excursion Manager) and I were asked to appear as special guests in a big, kids' party and fancy dress parade - and we loved it!
The costumes that the children (and the mums and dads) had made were fantastic and included a Queen of Hearts (winner of the 1-4 year old category), naughty gnomes, a car, a ship, a fairy, 3 Russian Dolls (winners of the 5-8 year old category), Spiderman, a sunburnt P&O Cruises’ passenger (winner of the 9-12 year old category), and lots more too.
The winners were awarded plaques to take home with them and all participants were presented with a gift from Noddy (who was the surprise guest).
Then we ended up being dragged up onto the dance floor to celebrate all of the winners. We were totally shown up by all of the children who knew the ‘moves’ to every song – and made us look (and feel) very old and out of touch! Still, we had a good go.
I have to say, having never really been involved with any of the childrens’ events before, I’ve never really known a lot about the jobs that are done by the members of the Youth Department. I was totally blown away. They were fantastic! Every child in that room was captivated by the energy and attention that the team portrayed (they made me feel shattered just watching them! Haha). Don’t get me wrong, there’s always some kind of singing or dancing going on in the Excursions department, but an afternoon in the youth department made me feel absolutely exhausted!
Have a look at a couple of photos...
My parents joined Azura today and are sailing with me until we reach Venice. It’s lovely to have family onboard with me. They’re very excited to be sailing with us (they’ve sailed with P&O Cruises a few times, but obviously never on Azura), and I’m very excited to show them the ship and introduce them to all of the fabulous venues and the new ports of call that they’ve never visited.
Anyway, it’s been a long, busy and eventful turnaround day. I had the pleasure of seeing my favourite person, embarked my parents and showed them the ship, have written my next blog post, have booked a few Excursions, have been to the safety drills, have prepared my next live presentation, have had a bite to eat, and now I’m off for an early night (live port talk tomorrow in the Playhouse theatre so I need my beauty sleep).
I’ll update you again soon,
Have a fabulous day!
Jo
Azura's Maiden Baltic cruise is coming to an end...
Hello from Azura!
We’re coming to the end of our wonderful Baltic voyage and I have to say, apart from the torrential rain we had in St Petersburg, we’ve had better weather in the Baltic cities this week than on any of our previous cruises to the Canary Islands and Mediterranean.
There are lots of happy and sun-tanned faces onboard the ship today which is always a lovely sight.
Just 2 days at sea now and we’ll be back in Southampton turning the ship around and preparing for our next Mediterranean cruise – I don’t know where the last 14 days have gone!
The last 2 ports of call in this fabulous Baltic itinerary were Oslo and Copenhagen – both very expensive (1 small beer and a cup of coffee cost me approx £15!) , but wonderful cities.
Copenhagen is always a delight to explore, especially on foot (once you’ve got out of the port area). The quayside in Copenhagen is exceptionally thin and a public main road runs along the edge of it. We arrived along with another large ship on a boiling hot, sunny Saturday which meant that traffic was extremely heavy. Not only did we have our excursion buses lining the single carriage main road, but we had the other ship’s excursion buses squeezing past us, we had large lorries and small trucks delivering stores to both ships, and all of the local people’s cars were slowly driving back and forth full of people who’d come down to the port area to look at the cruise ships.
We’re coming to the end of our wonderful Baltic voyage and I have to say, apart from the torrential rain we had in St Petersburg, we’ve had better weather in the Baltic cities this week than on any of our previous cruises to the Canary Islands and Mediterranean.
There are lots of happy and sun-tanned faces onboard the ship today which is always a lovely sight.
Just 2 days at sea now and we’ll be back in Southampton turning the ship around and preparing for our next Mediterranean cruise – I don’t know where the last 14 days have gone!
The last 2 ports of call in this fabulous Baltic itinerary were Oslo and Copenhagen – both very expensive (1 small beer and a cup of coffee cost me approx £15!) , but wonderful cities.
Copenhagen is always a delight to explore, especially on foot (once you’ve got out of the port area). The quayside in Copenhagen is exceptionally thin and a public main road runs along the edge of it. We arrived along with another large ship on a boiling hot, sunny Saturday which meant that traffic was extremely heavy. Not only did we have our excursion buses lining the single carriage main road, but we had the other ship’s excursion buses squeezing past us, we had large lorries and small trucks delivering stores to both ships, and all of the local people’s cars were slowly driving back and forth full of people who’d come down to the port area to look at the cruise ships.
(A picture of Arcadia in port at the pier to give you an idea of the tiny quayside between the ship and the fence, and the main road that runs along the length of it).
It was hot, it was busy, car fumes filled the air, and it was stressful to be standing in front of moving buses to let our passengers cross the road safely.
It was hot, it was busy, car fumes filled the air, and it was stressful to be standing in front of moving buses to let our passengers cross the road safely.
Saying all of this, once you get out of the little quayside area, Copenhagen is just wonderful (exactly as the famous song suggests!).
It’s quite a compact city but it’s vibrant and colourful, and is full of canals, palaces, museums and gardens. As Denmark's capital, Copenhagen is the only large city in the kingdom of Denmark. Despite its size though, it’s actually the liveliest city in the whole of Scandinavia with a real mix of people, styles, cultures, and atmospheres. It’s an easy-going and stylish city with lots of attractions and this all seems to make it a really popular place for long weekend visits and short city breaks (as well as obviously, a great port of call for cruise ships).
It’s quite an appealing place to look at as well, because it’s void of any enormous high rise, unsightly buildings. (In fact, in an entire city where ornate church steeples punctuate the skyline, only a couple of modern hotels seem to spoil the view).
Anybody who’s been to Copenhagen, or who knows anything about the city, will know that the most famous historical era (after the time of the Vikings), were the glory years had by the city’s most famous resident. Hans Christian Anderson was known primarily for his children’s fairy tales (published between 1835 and 1872), but he was also a playwright and a travel writer.
Probably the most famous landmark usually found in the city, and known worldwide as the icon of Copenhagen, is the bronze statue of the little mermaid, (which was inspired by one of Hans Christian Anderson’s most famous fairy tales).
It’s quite an appealing place to look at as well, because it’s void of any enormous high rise, unsightly buildings. (In fact, in an entire city where ornate church steeples punctuate the skyline, only a couple of modern hotels seem to spoil the view).
Anybody who’s been to Copenhagen, or who knows anything about the city, will know that the most famous historical era (after the time of the Vikings), were the glory years had by the city’s most famous resident. Hans Christian Anderson was known primarily for his children’s fairy tales (published between 1835 and 1872), but he was also a playwright and a travel writer.
Probably the most famous landmark usually found in the city, and known worldwide as the icon of Copenhagen, is the bronze statue of the little mermaid, (which was inspired by one of Hans Christian Anderson’s most famous fairy tales).
The little mermaid, despite being a children’s story, was a really pessimistic and unhappy tale, and it’s believed that a lot of Anderson’s sadder stories have a strong autobiographical element running through them.
The statue itself was designed and sculpted by Advard Eriksen in 1913 and it usually has pride of place along the waterfront (just a stroll away from where our ships dock on Langelinje pier).
Despite being beheaded twice and also having her arm cut off, The Little Mermaid statue has never before left her waterside spot. Until now, that is! - and I think it’s a real shame.
The Copenhagen City Council (for the first time ever) have packed her up and sent her around the world to Shanghai (to be a part of the 2010 world Expo - which is running from April through to November).
The statue itself was designed and sculpted by Advard Eriksen in 1913 and it usually has pride of place along the waterfront (just a stroll away from where our ships dock on Langelinje pier).
Despite being beheaded twice and also having her arm cut off, The Little Mermaid statue has never before left her waterside spot. Until now, that is! - and I think it’s a real shame.
The Copenhagen City Council (for the first time ever) have packed her up and sent her around the world to Shanghai (to be a part of the 2010 world Expo - which is running from April through to November).
The original Little Mermaid will sit on a rock in her own lonely pool in the world exposition’s Danish pavilion. 70 million visitors are expected to go and see her, and they can ride around the solitary statue on a city bike (to give the experience of feeling like a true Copenhagener).
China have offered Denmark a replacement to temporarily fill the Mermaid’s void, and it’s prompted a hugely mixed reaction.
Here are a couple of photos to help you make your own mind up as to whether or not you like or approve of it....
Basically, a Chinese artist has created a multimedia sculpture, which features a movie about the Little Mermaid’s travel to China, and whether you like it or not I guess is a matter of personal taste.
I went to the Carlsberg brewery while we were docked in Copenhagen to see why it’s renowned for producing ‘probably the best lager in the world’. It was really interesting to look around. The entrance itself is an enormous stone arch gate supported by 4 elephants (which represent 4 sons of the founder of the Carlsberg brand), and the visitor centre is fascinating.
It’s a little wordy at the start of the tour because you follow a timeline of the product’s historical events, but as you follow the marked route, you find a room full of thousands of bottled Carlsberg beers, the malting basement, the stables where the powerful horses are kept that pull the Carlsberg carts, the blending rooms, and a lovely garden and courtyard too.
The tour that operates for P&O Cruises includes a voucher for 2 pints of any Carlsberg beer (so if the sun’s shining you can sit in the courtyard and sample a couple of different varieties of lager), and also a scenic tour of the city and a stop at the Amalienborg Royal palace as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it and so did the passengers who were with me. I think because it was something a little bit different. here's some pictures for you to see...
I've been asked to judge a fancy dress competition in the Manhattan showlounge today for the Youth Director, so I’m going to finish up and will update you with more Azura tales soon.
In response to some of your recent comments:
Gary, Jane and Victoria – Unfortunately I won’t be here for Azura’s next Baltic cruise. I’m leaving this lovely ship on 25th June and I’m going home to hopefully spend 6 sunny weeks with lots of my favourite people in the UK. You won’t be disappointed with your cruise though. Azura is a very happy and friendly ship and she’s perfectly suited to Baltic cruising.
Bethany – How lovely that you’re going to spend your honeymoon onboard Azura! You’re going to love her. Plus, if you’ve never been to the Norwegian Fjords before, you’re going to be totally blown away by the scenery. It’s absolutely staggering. Unfortunately Oslo and Kristiansand are the only Norwegian ports I’m going to visit this year (as part of Baltic cruises on Azura and Aurora).
In response to some of your recent comments:
Gary, Jane and Victoria – Unfortunately I won’t be here for Azura’s next Baltic cruise. I’m leaving this lovely ship on 25th June and I’m going home to hopefully spend 6 sunny weeks with lots of my favourite people in the UK. You won’t be disappointed with your cruise though. Azura is a very happy and friendly ship and she’s perfectly suited to Baltic cruising.
Bethany – How lovely that you’re going to spend your honeymoon onboard Azura! You’re going to love her. Plus, if you’ve never been to the Norwegian Fjords before, you’re going to be totally blown away by the scenery. It’s absolutely staggering. Unfortunately Oslo and Kristiansand are the only Norwegian ports I’m going to visit this year (as part of Baltic cruises on Azura and Aurora).
Last year I sailed on a big Norwegian adventure right up as far as Spitsbergen on Svalbard (in the arctic circle) and you just can’t describe the natural beauty that you’re presented with - on a daily basis. I stood on the ice one day watching a wild reindeer drink from a pool that was reflecting snow capped peaks, and an arctic fox ran past me. Hopefully one day I’ll get a chance to repeat a cruise like that, because it’s days like that that really offer the most wonderful memories. Any Norwegian cruise is a perfect ‘couples’ cruise so you couldn’t have chosen any better for your honeymoon!
Chris & Yvonne – Great to hear from you! I look forward to seeing you on Arcadia’s World Voyage. You must be counting down the days already.....
Jacqui – Thanks for your message. Hope you manage to get yourself booked onto a cruise soon. I think you’ll love it. Plus, anyone who’s been lucky enough to see or sail on Azura will tell you that the single occupancy cabins are fabulous. I’ll try to get some photographs posted on the blog next week for anyone who’d like to see what they look like.
Sarah – You’re going to be spoilt for choice on Azura if you like a bit of dancing. I’ve got a few sea days coming up as we sail down to the Mediterranean, so over the next week I’ll fill you in with what sort of events happen onboard that might interest you.
Chris & Yvonne – Great to hear from you! I look forward to seeing you on Arcadia’s World Voyage. You must be counting down the days already.....
Jacqui – Thanks for your message. Hope you manage to get yourself booked onto a cruise soon. I think you’ll love it. Plus, anyone who’s been lucky enough to see or sail on Azura will tell you that the single occupancy cabins are fabulous. I’ll try to get some photographs posted on the blog next week for anyone who’d like to see what they look like.
Sarah – You’re going to be spoilt for choice on Azura if you like a bit of dancing. I’ve got a few sea days coming up as we sail down to the Mediterranean, so over the next week I’ll fill you in with what sort of events happen onboard that might interest you.
Bye for now!
Jo
Azura's Baltic success...
Hello from Azura!
Well our first Baltic cruise is proving to be a great success. Apart from torrential rain on one of our days in St Petersburg, we’ve had some really lovely weather.
As I said a couple of days ago, I’ve got lots to update you on, so here goes.....
Everybody seemed to love the surprise port of call this week; Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and is an absolute Baltic gem. I always describe it to people like a cross between a Disney theme park and a little quaint seaside town. It’s just like someone’s opened up a fairy tale book and you’ve stepped inside. It’s a wonderful little medieval city that’s enclosed in a ring of huge stone walls.
The walking in the city isn’t easy – everywhere is made up of cobblestones and high kerbs and there is no transport (apart from a little trolley train and some 3 wheeled bicycles which double up as taxis), but the atmosphere and architecture is stunning.
The city is divided into 2 halves (which isn’t quite as evident today as it was in the past), and it’s very easy to get in between the upper part of town and the lower part.
The upper part of town is home to Estonia’s Government and Parliament, and its high situation offers some of the most fabulous views of the city and the harbour.
Not far from the Parliament building (in the upper part of Tallinn), is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was built in 1900 on a former garden. Its architecture is perfectly, typically Russian.
Built by the Russians to demonstrate their perceived superiority over resident Germans in Tallinn (and the local Estonian population), this cathedral looks completely out of place compared to the rest of the upper part of town. It is so architecturally and politically incompatible with any other building that surrounds it today, plans are often discussed to completely remove it from the skyline, but there’s such a prominent Russian speaking population in Tallinn today though, none of the plans ever go ahead in fear of the inevitable hostility that it would cause. It’s still a fabulous building to see though; the exterior supports huge onion domes that are typical of Russian church architecture, and inside the building is decorated with colourful mosaics and a great deal of gold.
My favourite part of Tallinn is the Town Hall Square area, which is in the lower part of the city. This is a lovely pedestrianised sector which houses the town hall and is surrounded by open air cafes, bars and restaurants. It’s a real social hub and a great gathering place for locals and tourists.
Straight after Tallinn Azura made her way to St Petersburg, which was obviously the highlight port of the cruise for most people (the Playhouse Theatre was packed to the rafters when I did my Port presentation – to the point where people were sitting on the floor in the aisles!).
For passengers to go ashore in Russia, they need a Russian visa (either obtained before they join the cruise, or via a group visa that’s obtained by P&O Cruises through the Shore Excursions programme).
Well over 6,000 tickets were sold for excursions in St Petersburg and 153 full sized coaches left Azura's side and travelled to every corner of the city and beyond. For such a massive operation, the embarkation and disembarkation of everybody ran very smoothly (despite the torrential rain that we had on the 2nd day of our call and the excursions team getting soaked to the skin and being blamed on several occasions for the fact that the weather was dreadful – all in a day’s work - hahaha) ;o)
We’ve had a record number of comments about one of the full day tours - all of them positive - which is fantastic news! The ‘Palaces of Catherine and Peterhof’ excursion is 9 ¼ hours in length, but my goodness, it’s worth tiring yourself out for! This tour takes you to see the 2 most famous palaces in (or rather, just outside) St Petersburg.
Catherine Palace one of the world’s largest Palaces (standing at almost a kilometre in circumference. It was designed by an Italian Architect (who also designed the Hermitage or Winter palace), and it’s very distinctive because of its bright blue and white façade.
Although the palace is primarily associated with Catherine the Great (Because it was she who brought in the lavish works of art from abroad and spent much of her time enjoying the building and its grounds), it was actually designed for the Tsarina Elizabeth who named it after her mother Catherine 1st (Peter the Great’s wife).
Around the palace are nearly 1,500 acres of gardens, and the grounds are all perfectly manicured, and linked together with lakes and fountains.
Peterhof is set to the west of St Petersburg, and was built by and for Peter the Great (who wanted a palace that ‘befitted the very highest of monarchs’). Basically, during a visit to Versailles in 1717, Peter the Great saw new and inspirational designs and architecture that he believed would suit his new and developing city. So he decided to use some of these new architectural ideas and eventually rivalled all of those buildings in Europe with this construction.
Yana was a similar age to me (I’m guessing - late 20s / early 30s) and lives with her family in a tiny apartment in a tenement block near to the new port area. She was so happy to be living there, with her family alone. She was telling me that many of the tenement blocks of tiny apartments were built to help overcome a serious housing problem in Russia – which consisted largely of communal flats.
Basically, as an example, a huge house would be converted into, say, two 6 bedroom flats (a 6 bedroom flat on the ground floor and a 6 bedroom flat on the upper floor). Each bedroom would be leased to a family and each family would share the one bathroom and kitchen in each flat.
We walked around the local market and spoke to the butchers, watched cheese being made, and smelt the fresh cut flowers,
We went to an Orthodox church service where the women wear skirts and cover their heads and pray to their own chosen icon,
And we browsed the shops as trams rattled past, ladies smoking cheap cigarettes sold heather to passers-by, and battered dusty trucks pulled up and parked next to brand new shiny cars (that’s how it seems to be in Russia – some people have nothing and some people have everything. I guess it’ll take many years and a great deal of political change to remedy that).
What an eye opener. Days like that really make me appreciate the life that I live and the luxuries that all of us unintentionally take for granted.
We’re in Copenhagen tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about that in the next couple of days (I’m sure I’ve given you enough food for thought for one day!).
Just before I finish up though, let me just tell you about Jimmy James (70’s Soul legend who sang with the Vagabonds) and his performances last cruise.
Here’s a couple of pictures. If any of you are lucky enough to join a ship where Jimmy James is performing, don’t miss his show. Whatever else is happening on the ship that evening, it will never compare to one of Jimmy’s shows!
Jo
Well our first Baltic cruise is proving to be a great success. Apart from torrential rain on one of our days in St Petersburg, we’ve had some really lovely weather.
As I said a couple of days ago, I’ve got lots to update you on, so here goes.....
Everybody seemed to love the surprise port of call this week; Tallinn. Tallinn is the capital city of Estonia and is an absolute Baltic gem. I always describe it to people like a cross between a Disney theme park and a little quaint seaside town. It’s just like someone’s opened up a fairy tale book and you’ve stepped inside. It’s a wonderful little medieval city that’s enclosed in a ring of huge stone walls.
The walking in the city isn’t easy – everywhere is made up of cobblestones and high kerbs and there is no transport (apart from a little trolley train and some 3 wheeled bicycles which double up as taxis), but the atmosphere and architecture is stunning.
The city is divided into 2 halves (which isn’t quite as evident today as it was in the past), and it’s very easy to get in between the upper part of town and the lower part.
The upper part of town is home to Estonia’s Government and Parliament, and its high situation offers some of the most fabulous views of the city and the harbour.
Not far from the Parliament building (in the upper part of Tallinn), is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, which was built in 1900 on a former garden. Its architecture is perfectly, typically Russian.
Built by the Russians to demonstrate their perceived superiority over resident Germans in Tallinn (and the local Estonian population), this cathedral looks completely out of place compared to the rest of the upper part of town. It is so architecturally and politically incompatible with any other building that surrounds it today, plans are often discussed to completely remove it from the skyline, but there’s such a prominent Russian speaking population in Tallinn today though, none of the plans ever go ahead in fear of the inevitable hostility that it would cause. It’s still a fabulous building to see though; the exterior supports huge onion domes that are typical of Russian church architecture, and inside the building is decorated with colourful mosaics and a great deal of gold.
My favourite part of Tallinn is the Town Hall Square area, which is in the lower part of the city. This is a lovely pedestrianised sector which houses the town hall and is surrounded by open air cafes, bars and restaurants. It’s a real social hub and a great gathering place for locals and tourists.
Straight after Tallinn Azura made her way to St Petersburg, which was obviously the highlight port of the cruise for most people (the Playhouse Theatre was packed to the rafters when I did my Port presentation – to the point where people were sitting on the floor in the aisles!).
For passengers to go ashore in Russia, they need a Russian visa (either obtained before they join the cruise, or via a group visa that’s obtained by P&O Cruises through the Shore Excursions programme).
Well over 6,000 tickets were sold for excursions in St Petersburg and 153 full sized coaches left Azura's side and travelled to every corner of the city and beyond. For such a massive operation, the embarkation and disembarkation of everybody ran very smoothly (despite the torrential rain that we had on the 2nd day of our call and the excursions team getting soaked to the skin and being blamed on several occasions for the fact that the weather was dreadful – all in a day’s work - hahaha) ;o)
We’ve had a record number of comments about one of the full day tours - all of them positive - which is fantastic news! The ‘Palaces of Catherine and Peterhof’ excursion is 9 ¼ hours in length, but my goodness, it’s worth tiring yourself out for! This tour takes you to see the 2 most famous palaces in (or rather, just outside) St Petersburg.
Catherine Palace one of the world’s largest Palaces (standing at almost a kilometre in circumference. It was designed by an Italian Architect (who also designed the Hermitage or Winter palace), and it’s very distinctive because of its bright blue and white façade.
Although the palace is primarily associated with Catherine the Great (Because it was she who brought in the lavish works of art from abroad and spent much of her time enjoying the building and its grounds), it was actually designed for the Tsarina Elizabeth who named it after her mother Catherine 1st (Peter the Great’s wife).
Around the palace are nearly 1,500 acres of gardens, and the grounds are all perfectly manicured, and linked together with lakes and fountains.
The interior of the palace is sure to impress any visitor. There’s a room adorned from floor to ceiling with amber, there’s original art work and sculptures by some of the masters, and there’s a 50m long great hall, which was built and used for exuberant costume balls and galas and completely glitters with mirrors, candles, chandeliers, windows, ornate cherubs, and golden garlands....
What an incredible place!!
Peterhof Palace though, is one of the most incredible places that I’ve ever seen, and somewhere that I’ll never, ever forget.
Peterhof is set to the west of St Petersburg, and was built by and for Peter the Great (who wanted a palace that ‘befitted the very highest of monarchs’). Basically, during a visit to Versailles in 1717, Peter the Great saw new and inspirational designs and architecture that he believed would suit his new and developing city. So he decided to use some of these new architectural ideas and eventually rivalled all of those buildings in Europe with this construction.
5,000 labourers worked with architects, water-engineers, landscape gardeners and sculptors to create what can only be described as an absolute masterpiece. This photo is just one section of the 'Grand Cascade' of fountains that run from the palace, Down through the gardens, and out towards the sea.
Every direction that you turn in Peterhof presents you with an absolute myriad of water and gold, so the whole place just sparkles as soon as the sun rises.
The fountains in the grounds are the most famous attraction and they are fed by underground springs coming down from the nearby hills. Unbelievably, there’s not a single pump used to enhance the design. All of the fountains are created using gravity and water levels alone, which makes you feel even more awe inspired.
Absolutely breathtaking!
I personally did something a little bit different this week in St Petersburg. I’m very lucky and privileged to be able to say that I’ve seen and visited all of the big tourist attractions and landmarks, and after specialising in the Baltic region for a couple of years now, I’ve tried and tested the excursions that run from the ship too.
I personally did something a little bit different this week in St Petersburg. I’m very lucky and privileged to be able to say that I’ve seen and visited all of the big tourist attractions and landmarks, and after specialising in the Baltic region for a couple of years now, I’ve tried and tested the excursions that run from the ship too.
So, this week I went out with one of the local guides to see where she lived, how she gets to work, where she meets her friends, and where she shops etc. What an education!
St Petersburg isn’t all about the glittering gold of Tsarist Russia. It’s full of people who’ve been suppressed for many years and have had to deal with a great deal since the city sprang up out of the marshlands.
Yana was a similar age to me (I’m guessing - late 20s / early 30s) and lives with her family in a tiny apartment in a tenement block near to the new port area. She was so happy to be living there, with her family alone. She was telling me that many of the tenement blocks of tiny apartments were built to help overcome a serious housing problem in Russia – which consisted largely of communal flats.
Basically, as an example, a huge house would be converted into, say, two 6 bedroom flats (a 6 bedroom flat on the ground floor and a 6 bedroom flat on the upper floor). Each bedroom would be leased to a family and each family would share the one bathroom and kitchen in each flat.
So in a 6 bedroom flat, it wouldn’t be uncommon for about 36 people to be sharing a toilet and a stove.
When Yana told me that her current flat literally consisted of a small kitchen, a small bathroom, and 2 small bedrooms (for her, her parents, and her brothers and sisters to share), I struggled to keep the shock from my face, which unfortunately, in turn, shocked her. She was so excited to tell me that her family had their own space, it really pulled at my heart strings. She thought it was fantastic. I found that hard.
Still, we recognised that our lives were a million miles apart and learnt a great deal from each other.
We went into the metro system (clutching our possessions in fear of being targeted by the thriving pick pocketing industry),
We walked around the local market and spoke to the butchers, watched cheese being made, and smelt the fresh cut flowers,
We went to an Orthodox church service where the women wear skirts and cover their heads and pray to their own chosen icon,
(no photo to show you I’m afraid, for obvious reasons)
And we browsed the shops as trams rattled past, ladies smoking cheap cigarettes sold heather to passers-by, and battered dusty trucks pulled up and parked next to brand new shiny cars (that’s how it seems to be in Russia – some people have nothing and some people have everything. I guess it’ll take many years and a great deal of political change to remedy that).
What an eye opener. Days like that really make me appreciate the life that I live and the luxuries that all of us unintentionally take for granted.
We’re in Copenhagen tomorrow and I’ll tell you all about that in the next couple of days (I’m sure I’ve given you enough food for thought for one day!).
Just before I finish up though, let me just tell you about Jimmy James (70’s Soul legend who sang with the Vagabonds) and his performances last cruise.
I’ve been very fortunate (throughout my TV career and during my years at sea) to see many big musical acts perform, but Jimmy James is one of the few artists that makes my spine tingle when he’s on stage.
Jimmy James is a fantastic guy on and off the stage. He’s easy going and really makes me laugh (which as anyone who's met me will know, is my favourite hobby!).
When the spot lights flick onto Jimmy James' purple suit, his feet start moving, his hips start going and his fingers click. From the second he draws a breath to start singing, he’s got the audience captivated. He’s brilliant (and the only performer I’ve EVER seen on a cruise ship that’s got the entire audience on their feet dancing and rewarding him with a standing ovation).
Here’s a couple of pictures. If any of you are lucky enough to join a ship where Jimmy James is performing, don’t miss his show. Whatever else is happening on the ship that evening, it will never compare to one of Jimmy’s shows!
I’ll update you again with another post in the next day or two (life onboard Azura has calmed down again now that we’ve successfully completed our call to St Petersburg).
Have a wonderful day!
Have a wonderful day!
Jo
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