Azura

I was lucky enough to be invited onto the Azura the day before its naming ceremony whilst docked in Southampton.
Upon arriving the check in and embarkation was very quick and from dock to ship took no longer than 10 minutes. The atrium is very grand with the usual glass elevators, several bars and easy access to all duty free and a couple of restaurants. I was in a Balcony cabin on deck 10. The room itself wasn't as big as other balcony cabins i have stayed in but still very plush. Flat screen TV, tea and coffe making facilities, minibar, seperate wardrobe area, small but clean bathroom. The bonus was the Balcony size, it was very big with reclining seats and a table, very nice although overlooked by the cabin above.
The pool areas are very nice, open bars, plenty of shaded sitting areas, at the back of the ship is a half size basketball court, shuffle board and the kids club is Massive with loads of playstations/xbox games to keep them amused.
at the front of the ship is the spa area, spread over 3 deck it is absolutely amazing, a relaxing area on the first deck in the open with sunbeds and gazebo's for an outside massage, a private pool area, sauna, single and double massage rooms offering every treatment you could imagine. i was very impressed, the best spa i have seen on a ship.
The evening was black tie with a formal champagne reception in the aitrium with a string quartet creating the ambiance. this was followed by a gala dinner in the main restaurant, a 6 course meal which was 5* all the way, from my carrot and orange soup to my rack of lamb, it was all superb with very good service.
the evening entertainment was also good although a little dated, the cabaret singer in the Malabar lounge had the look of lilly savage and the voice of lorraine page, good but not my cup of tea. Then into the Manhattan show lounge where the Annie Lennox tribute act was very good followed by a disco that kept everyone dancing until 2 in the morning.
so on a whole i though Azura was a great ship, nice cabins, good entertainment and amazing food and service. i would recomend this for people who sail P&O or cunard, also very good for children in the school holidays.